Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: London

  • London – Havering (Borough of) – Hornchurch – Towers

    London – Havering (Borough of) – Hornchurch – Towers

    I couldn’t quite work out why on earth Lidl had put the word ‘Towers’ outside their supermarket, but it looked interesting so I took a photo. Wikipedia has the answer here though for me, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Towers_Cinema, this was a cinema between 1935 and 1973. It was in the art deco style and looks an impressive building, operated by Odeon for most of its time as a cinema. It was then turned into a bingo hall, before closing in 2015.

    Unfortunately, the building didn’t survive despite the efforts of locals. This is a shame, I suspect they’ll regret the demolition of these art deco buildings over the next few decades. Wikipedia note, so it may or may not be true, that Everyman Cinemas tried to buy the building, but Lidl won through and wanted it demolished. Shame that such a beautiful building was lost for such a generic supermarket design, but they kept the Towers lettering and placed it outside.

    As a piece of art design, Lidl’s idea to place the lettering here seems a good one, a reminder of what once stood here.

  • London – Havering (Borough of) – Romford – Cosmo World Buffet

    London – Havering (Borough of) – Romford – Cosmo World Buffet

    It’s a few years since I’ve been to the Cosmo at Romford Brewery, but I thought I’d have a decadent treat as they’ve re-opened this weekend. Being a self-service buffet, these have been challenging times for them, but they seem to have put a fair bit of work into making things operate safely and efficiently.

    The table-mats now operate as instructions for how to move around the buffet. A staff member also gave me a comprehensive introduction to the service arrangements and how to move around.

    The interior of the restaurant, which was moderately busy, but by no means packed. The service was efficient and payment is now taken during the middle of the meal, which is an interesting time to take it. The unlimited soft drink offer remains, but the staff now get drinks for customers. Cosmo have also temporarily surrendered their alcohol licence for the time being, although their drinks selection in this regard has never surprised and delighted me. So I stuck to Vimto.

    The buffet arrangement, with the usual high levels of choice. The roasts section was a bit depleted, but otherwise everything seemed well stocked. The one minor difficulty that I had was the gloves that they ask customers to use, as I found them challenging to open, but they’re a good idea. I had wondered whether Cosmo would revert to a system of staff serving customers, but that would have required a change of equipment and design, so wasn’t really viable.

    I think it’s fair to say that I could enter Masterchef with presentational skills such as this.

    And a selection of desserts, which weren’t particularly exciting, although this has never been a strong area for Cosmo in my view. Anyway, it’s perhaps not the most upmarket of restaurants, but it was all organised and well-managed, with the Norwich outlet of their chain also re-opening this weekend. I assume that they’ll be taking out a lot of their tables in Norwich, as otherwise customers end up being just too close to each other.

  • London – Havering (Borough of) – Hornchurch – JJ Moons

    London – Havering (Borough of) – Hornchurch – JJ Moons

    This JD Wetherspoon outlet opened in 1993 and it’s the only pub in Hornchurch which is listed in the Good Beer Guide.

    It’s relatively sizeable inside, this is at the back of the pub and the bar is located towards the front. All relatively clean and organised, with the health precautions being taken seriously.

    A quick chicken wrap without chips, all entirely acceptable, although slightly unusually the food arrived before the drinks. I had a half of the Dodge City Delta from Kansas Avenue Brewing, quite a floral beer and it was well-kept. There was another customer holding court loudly about Brexit, but it made a change from listening to people angry at how the Government are dealing with the health crisis.

    I had a quick look at TripAdvisor and the pub has some mixed reviews, although I liked this one:

    “We visited most Thursday or Saturday for breakfast. Only TWICE in the last year did we enjoy our meal enough to thank the chef. Food was either look warm, congealed looking, ville tasting or rolls covered in oil…….horrible
    Today, we visited. I had a new dish… Shepherds Pie……once again almost cold.”

    So, someone visited just over 100 times and had good food only twice. I have to say, it’s surprising to say the least that they kept going. But each to their own. There’s also a photo of someone’s breakfast which shows toast which is burnt. Often the customer seems to be exaggerating, and I quite like toast which is on the well-done end of the scale, but the photo that the customer uploaded shows toast which is pretty solidly black. Perhaps not the best day in the kitchen.

    Anyway, all was well with my visit, there were around six real ales on although no dark beers, and I can see why the pub is in the Good Beer Guide.

  • London – Havering (Borough of) – Upminster – Upminster Windmill

    London – Havering (Borough of) – Upminster – Upminster Windmill

    There are some more rural parts to Upminster that I had expected and this is a mill which was constructed between 1803 and 1805. It was badly damaged during storms in 1899 and the costs of reconstruction were thought to be too high, but members of the public donated half the cost of repair. The mill then stayed in usage until 1934 and there were plans for the site to be turned into housing. These plans didn’t come to fruition due to local opposition, with Essex County Council taking over the site just before the Second World War.

    The council didn’t do a great job, they left the outbuildings to fall into disrepair, requiring them to be demolished in the 1960s. They also lost some of the equipment, but in the 1970s volunteers started work on a project to restore the mill. It was fully restored and complete, but there’s a current restoration effort which has meant the top section has been temporarily dismantled.

    And an information board at the site. The mill is occasionally open to the public, although not until 2021 due to the current health crisis.

  • London – Havering (Borough of) – Upminster – Crumpled Horn

    London – Havering (Borough of) – Upminster – Crumpled Horn

    As a slight declaration of interest, I received a free drinks voucher for this pub, hence why I thought I’d pop in. The pub is run by Marstons and the voucher should have been for a free pint of any ale. I can’t really complain that they didn’t have any, since I was taking their free gesture anyway, but Marstons are a big brewer and it isn’t ideal they had entirely run out.

    The welcome was very personable, with the staff here seeming particularly friendly. There was an elderly customer that they spent some time on, it all seemed a pub that the community could call their own. The pub was also clean and the staff were taking the health situation seriously.

    I could have had a pint of Fosters, but that thought really didn’t appeal, hence the free white wine. I bought the crisps and they were rather lovely. I’m not really a wine person, but it tasted OK, that’s about my limit of comment on that. The pub is reasonably well reviewed, but there are a few comments running through that they’re offering no craft beer and their choice of real ales is either weak or not there at all. Unfortunately, this is a lager-led pub, but then again, if that’s what keeps them busy, I guess that’s working for them. But, for decent beer, I’d recommend the Upminster Taproom.

  • London – Havering (Borough of) – Upminster – Clockhouse Gardens

    London – Havering (Borough of) – Upminster – Clockhouse Gardens

    Clockhouse Gardens are laid out on the former site of the moated property New Place, which was demolished in the early twentieth century. It’s possible to walk around the water which was once the moat and it’s a quiet and peaceful area in what is now quite an urban environment. The site was used to grow vegetables for the war effort during the Second World War, but has now been returned to a park for use by the local community. It’s a bit hidden away, but is a rather beautiful area, although some people have complained about the number of rats which have found a home here. The site isn’t huge, around three acres, and there’s also a bowling green laid out at the site.

  • London – Havering (Borough of) – Upminster – Upminster Taproom

    London – Havering (Borough of) – Upminster – Upminster Taproom

    This is the only Good Beer Guide listed pub in Upminster and, according to CAMRA, the first micropub in the area. And, without wanting to veer into politics, I’m disappointed that the pub clashed with local councillor Ron Ower, who the owners barred. Ower opposed the opening of this excellent bar against the advice of council officers, which is perhaps now one of the best establishments in the area.

    The interior is quirky and full of upcycled materials.

    As can be seen from the lights on the ceiling.

    This wasn’t under-poured, I only took the photo mid-way through the drink. It’s The Brazilian porter from Colchester Brewery and it had a richness to it, with a strong flavour of coffee and notes of vanilla and chocolate. It’s the third different drink I’ve had from this brewery and they produce some intriguing flavours.

    Anyway, the pub was welcoming and I was served by the co-owner. Everything was managed professionally and it’s a relaxing environment. There were five different beer options and I liked how the owner had attached the pump clips to a stick and could then show that to customers. A nice idea and there were a range of different beer types, so I was pleased that they had the dark option which I went for.

    All rather lovely, and a deserving entrant to the Good Beer Guide. And I’m glad they persisted to ensure that they opened a few years ago.

  • London – Hard Rock Cafe Oxford Street

    London – Hard Rock Cafe Oxford Street

    I haven’t grumbled about anything in a while, so now feels appropriate. I received an e-mail on behalf of Hard Rock Cafe saying that they had a 50% offer which was off all food in their Oxford Street location in London. This is a very good offer, as Hard Rock might be a little expensive, but that makes it quite a reasonable expedition to get food at half price. I’ve been to around ten Hard Rock Cafes over the years, with the service in Atlanta and Krakow being outstanding, and my visit a few months to Hard Rock Cafe Bucharest was also perfectly enjoyable.

    Anyway, after being quite interested in this offer, it was then noted that solo diners were excluded from taking part. So, group sizes of 2 to 6. I don’t much like this at the best of times, but it’s vaguely understandable as solo diners don’t make as much money. But, nor do three diners at a table for four. And, judging from recent reviews, Hard Rock Cafe Oxford Street is not exactly busy. Which is evident from their deluging food out at half price.

    I remember doing some work for a certain Italian restaurant a few years ago which was how to make solo diners welcome. This was marvellous, there are people who are on business trips, who might be lonely, key workers or just people who want to get out of the house. Ideally, the welcome should be positive and engaging for all of those, especially somewhere upbeat such as Hard Rock Cafe which can offer that friendly feel.

    Or, they could be like the management at Hard Rock Cafe in Oxford Street who puts two fingers up at solo diners. Unimpressed.

    Anyway, moving on, I can write about the rather lovely brewery I’ve just been to.

  • British Airways (Warsaw to Heathrow T5)

    British Airways (Warsaw to Heathrow T5)

    This was the British Airways aircraft in Warsaw, G-NEOY, one of the new Airbus A321-Neo aircraft and this was only delivered to BA on 15 June 2020. It wasn’t the aircraft that they expected to use, but the UK Government announced an end to the travel corridor from Poland and this was one of the last flights back to the UK that avoided this issue. So, the aircraft was entirely full.

    The gate was busy and the announcements were hard to hear as the tannoy wasn’t very loud. There was boarding via seat row and this seemed sufficiently well managed.

    The free snacks provided en route, although three customers near to me tried to order food and drink from the Buy on Board service which has been suspended for some months. The crew explained that it was unsafe to serve customers food at the moment, and one customer asked why they were serving food then. It isn’t an unreasonable question (and the crew member couldn’t answer it), although I’m happy with the current set-up.

    This was one of the tensest flights that I’ve been on with British Airways and it’s clear that some passengers were on edge throughout. A passenger opposite me who reclined his seated immediately and then hugged the seat in front of him was one of the more selfish I’ve seen, but I was pleased he wasn’t near to me. This same customer also irritated a member of cabin crew who ordered him over the tannoy to sit down after we had landed otherwise he’d suspend the disembarkation process. It was the same customer who talked over the safety announcements and ignored the crew throughout, then seemed confused why he was being called out for standing up whilst taxiing to the gate. I quite liked the drama to be fair.

    Overall, this wasn’t an expensive flight as I booked early, although the last few seats were costing hundreds of pounds each for those who needed to return home before 4am on Saturday when the travel corridor option was slammed shut. The problem with this new aircraft is that it’s not very comfortable when it’s at this capacity. There’s not enough space and things such as the at-seat power didn’t work, which it really should have done given how new the aircraft was.

    But, having written that, I was just pleased to get back out of Poland given the travel corridor issue, and British Airways didn’t let me down there. The flight was around thirty minutes late in departing due to a delayed outbound flight to Warsaw, but our aircraft arrived just one minute later than timetabled as they were able to make the time up. It was a slight shame that the aircraft landed at C-gates, as that’s a bit of a trek back, but the airport wasn’t particularly busy. So, all sufficiently pleasant, but not my best flight with BA.

  • London – Waltham Forest (Borough of) – The Drum

    London – Waltham Forest (Borough of) – The Drum

    This is one of the oldest pubs in the JD Wetherspoon estate (opened in the mid-1980s) and it’s one of their smaller locations as well. Since I was staying at the Ibis Styles nearly next door, this proved to be a convenient breakfast option and it’s the best part of a decade since I was last here.

    As an aside, this is the opposite side of the street, and in the middle (with the white doors) is the former JD Wetherspoon pub that was known as The Auctioneers. That pub was even smaller than The Drum, which is named incidentally as the former owners had a collection of commemorative drums hanging from the ceiling.

    Photos of the interior and this is about the entire size of the place. It was all sufficiently clean, the health protocols were followed and the staff member was personable and helpful.

    A dray delivery arrived when I was there, which meant closing off the bar area and pretty much suspending service as well.

    And the traditional breakfast, purchased under the bargain JD Wetherspoon £2.99 for a traditional breakfast which is running at the moment. This is as good as their breakfasts get, the egg was runny and the bacon was crisp, with everything served hot. There were a couple of other customers in the pub, but it was otherwise quiet when I was there, although that was between 08:00 and 09:00 to be fair….

    I think this is one of the better pubs in the JD Wetherspoon estate as it retains some atmosphere to it, unlike some of their larger more sterile pubs. Having written that though, I think it fills up quickly, so it’s probably a nuisance to get a seat quite a lot of the time. As a piece of JD Wetherspoon history, it’s interesting though, and perhaps an unusual survivor.