Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: London

  • London – Benugo at London Liverpool Street

    London – Benugo at London Liverpool Street

    Benugo opened their new outlet at London Liverpool Street railway station a couple of years ago, carving the space out of an area where people used to sit on steps looking down over the concourse. That view of course remains, but there’s a pleasant seating area now, which helpfully has power points along it for those who need to charge devices.

    The service was certainly interesting, a staff member looking at their phone and not noticing I was there until I started to do this strange fake cough to get their attention. The staff member was perfectly competent and unusually conversational, although they started to talk about politics. Unfortunately, their world view wasn’t quite the same as mine, I’m not very nationalist and am discomfited about the current political landscape for numerous reasons. Anyway, this blog isn’t a place for politics (I have Facebook for that), and perhaps nor was Benugo.

    But, putting that to one side, I quite like talking about politics, so I’ve carefully avoided giving any indication of who served me. And, it’d be obtuse to complain of a staff member just trying to engage with customers. Anyway, the coffee was reasonably priced, tasted of a decent quality and the environment was surprisingly calm and peaceful.

  • London – Science Museum (Fire Damaged Stones from St. Paul’s)

    London – Science Museum (Fire Damaged Stones from St. Paul’s)

    I sometimes look at exhibits in museums and feel that I find them unusually interesting, although I assume that so did a curator at some stage. In this case, it’s some old bits of stone. There’s a slightly tenuous link in my mind to the Science Museum, but these are fire damaged stones from St. Paul’s Cathedral. The building was destroyed in 1666 during the Great Fire of London, being replaced in the late seventeenth century by the current cathedral, designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

    There was talk of repairing the previous Cathedral following the fire, with some remedial repairs being undertaken. But, it was felt that a modern and new design was needed, although demolishing the building was challenging since the stone had become fused together by molten lead. So, the authorities had a great idea to use gunpowder to blow the remaining parts of the cathedral up, making the removal much easier. Anyway, to cut a long story short, after several deaths, many noise complaints and damaged neighbouring buildings, Wren had enough of the chaos and brought battering rams onto the site to attack it that way.

    I’m not quite sure at what stage the museum’s bits of stone were taken away from the site, or where they’ve been over the centuries. But, they’re very lovely, as I like history in science museums, as they can be a bit science orientated otherwise…

  • London – Science Museum (Guinevere)

    London – Science Museum (Guinevere)

    I remember seeing this on the television in the 1990s, one of the original machines used to draw National Lottery numbers randomly. It was brought into use in 1994 following the introduction of the lottery by the then Prime Minister, John Major.

    The machine was kept in use until 2004, at which point it was replaced by a shinier machine, although they kept the name Guinevere. It entered the Science Museum’s collections in 2006 and is one of those things that I’m pleased someone thought to keep. The museum reminds visitors that devices have been used for many hundreds of years to produce random results, with this being a more modern version of the technique.

    I’m not sure why some of the balls appear more faded than others. I heard some other visitors also overly excited to see Guinevere, perhaps the machine had been helpful to them in the results that it produced…..

  • London – Science Museum (Slide Rule)

    London – Science Museum (Slide Rule)

    I definitely need to get out more, since I now find myself posting about slide rules.

    But, it’s an interesting slide rule, as much as these things can be. It was made by William Cary of The Strand in London in 1815 and is a slide rule for weights, measures and currency conversions. It’s made from wood, but the front is made from paper, with these apparently being popular in the early nineteenth century (I didn’t know that, the Science Museum web-site helpfully told me this little titbit).

    It makes me pleased to have a smartphone though, I can’t imagine having to traipse this sort of thing around and it has limited entertainment value….

  • London – Science Museum (King George III’s Mural Arc)

    London – Science Museum (King George III’s Mural Arc)

    This sizeable instrument was designed to be used in King George III’s private astronomical observatory in Richmond. Designed by Jeremiah Sisson of The Strand in London in 1770, it’s still owned today by the Crown Estate Commissioners. It’s nearly three metres in height and over four metres wide and it was used to make astronomical measurements. Sisson might have been a fine maker of instruments, a skill he had inherited from his father Jonathan Sisson, but he wasn’t as successful financially.

    The museum’s blog mentions that one of the challenges was moving it from storage into the museum itself, as it weighs around 450kgs and needed a sling around it when it was being hoisted into place. It was also restored so that it looked like new and Sisson’s signature could once again be seen, although personally I prefer to see these things in their dilapidated state as it feels that bit more authentic.

    There are some old books which give lots of detail on how the mural arc was originally used, but it’s all a bit complex for me to understand. It’s an impressive piece of apparatus though, with an interesting heritage.

  • Waltham Cross – Moon and Cross

    Waltham Cross – Moon and Cross

    I last came here in May 2004, I remember it as I was staying nearby for my pub licencee training at the Sultan pub at Waltham Abbey. I nearly walked over to see that pub as well but I couldn’t honestly be bothered as it was pouring with rain. I was sure that this pub was called the Moon Under Water, as other Wetherspoon pubs in London are, although the Moon element is from the same derivative, which is from George Orwell’s definition of a perfect pub.

    Quite a warm and homely atmosphere inside, well, as far as these things go.

    I don’t know of many Wetherspoon pubs with rugs on the wall, or tapestries, whatever they’re called.

    And a lovely pint of Guinness, which was poured fine, it was just still cascading when I took this photo.

    And a reasonably priced Chicken Jalfrezi curry club, costing just over £7 including the Guinness, all cooked as it should have been.

    Service was fine, all efficient and friendly, quite a comfortable atmosphere and I was pleased by the number of power sockets as well. Anyway, onto their TripAdvisor reviews….

    “Came in tonight to have dinner and had to wait over 45 mins to get my curry. I know they make big pots of curry so as to why it took do long heaven only knows as it was not even a busy night…..”

    One person complaining earlier in the year about curry club. Although, they really don’t make big pots of it, it’s microwaved and heavily portion controlled. Which is just fine with me, as long as it tastes good, I’m not after an authentic Indian experience here.

    “[I left] after calling them ‘ignorant pigs’. I tried to report it to there head office but they were totally unresponsive to my complaint & totally unintrested neadless to say that we shall Never go there again”.

    One pleased customer who was upset that the staff didn’t respond nicely enough when they told them that their food wasn’t there yet. I’m not surprised that the Head Office ignored anyone who called their staff “ignorant pigs”….. I do like a bit of drama like this though.

    I can’t, if I’m being honest, remember anything of this pub from 2004 (including seemingly even its name), although it’s fair to say that I’ve been in more than a few during the intervening period. Price wise, it’s excellent value for money, and fortunately it wasn’t too busy. All very lovely.

  • Waltham Cross – Eleanor Cross

    Waltham Cross – Eleanor Cross

    I’ve discovered another gap in my historical knowledge, as I had never heard of the Eleanor Crosses before today. These were twelve stone monuments erected by King Edward I in honour of his wife, Eleanor of Castile, which marked where her body laid in rest overnight when being taken to London from Harby in Nottinghamshire. The end point in London was Charing Cross, later named after their cross, although their stone monument was destroyed on the instructions of Parliament in 1647.

    Of the original twelve monuments, only three survive, which are the one in Waltham Cross and at Geddington (in Northamptonshire) and Hardingstone (also in Northamptonshire). The monument here has been repaired many times over the centuries, but it still dominates the entrance to the tower centre. The statues of Eleanor aren’t original, they’re 1950s reproductions which were placed here as the originals were being damaged by the environment. The originals were initially placed on display in the town’s library, but they’re now at the Victoria & Albert museum. It’s probably now been a little over-restored so not much of the original is left, but the town is fortunate that they are one of the locations where the monument has survived at all.

  • London – Tower of London (Traitors’ Gate)

    London – Tower of London (Traitors’ Gate)

    This notorious water gate was added to the Tower of London in the 1270s, at the instruction of King Edward I. It takes its current name from around the 1530s, based on the stories that traitors were brought into the Tower via this gate.

    Above is the gate from the River Thames side.

    This is the gate from the inside of the Tower of London, looking out to where the water would have lapped up against the wall. I’m unsure how much of this has been rebuilt relatively recently, the stonework doesn’t quite match that from the late nineteenth century, so there must have been some minor reconstruction over the last century. Not to mention that the stonework here is from different periods anyway.

    The steps down into an area where various machinery relating to the gate has historically been located, although it has since all been removed.

    There was an article in the press in February 1866 which reported that “one of the most famous antiquities in London has just disappeared.The gate, through which condemned prisoners passed from the Thames into the Tower, has for some time past been in the course of demolition, and has in the last few days been entirely removed”. This relates to the element of the gate that still remains walled up, so it is no longer possible to get to the gate from the River Thames.

    The story that the gate was used by Anne Boleyn when she was transported to the Tower of London also appears to be false, she was brought in at the Byward Tower. However, it remains nearly certain that this gate was used for political prisoners and it still has a slightly haunting feel to it.

  • Greenwich – The Gate Clock

    Greenwich – The Gate Clock

    I think this is one of the few Wetherspoons in London that I haven’t previously visited, or at least I can’t remember visiting it. It’s located opposite the Cutty Sark DLR station and is a relatively sizeable pub, with seating on two floors.

    I can’t be doing with change at my time of life, which is 43 years old, so I had my usual chicken wrap and chips. And, it was perfectly acceptable and good value for money, so all was well with the world.

    Not the most inspirational of photos I admit, but I’m pleased to see that this is one of many Wetherspoons where they’ve made a real effort to provide plug sockets for customers to use.

    The pub themselves give some information about their name:

    “This Wetherspoon pub takes its name from the ‘galvano -magnetic’ clock fixed to the gate of the Greenwich Observatory in 1851. One of the first electric public clocks, it shows Greenwich Mean Time, still used as a measure for longitudes and global time zones.”

    Service in the pub was fine, friendly and attentive with the environment being clean throughout. Well, other than the male toilets, I do wonder whether a staff member perhaps skipped a toilet check given the state of them. But, I don’t let such things concern me. This is one of the few Wetherspoons that I’ve visited where the disabled toilets are on the first floor, although there is a lift to get to them, which it seems from reviews was out of action for several weeks earlier in the year.

    Anyway, onto TripAdvisor to amuse myself.

    “We visited this pub on a cold day. We had two young children with us who are fussy eaters and wanted McDonalds. Their mother bought them their lunch and the rest of us went into the Gate Clock to eat. We found a large table and the two children and their mother sat at the table while we went to order our food. We had ordered our food and drinks and paid for them when the mother came over and told us that she had been told to leave as she could not consume other companys food in their restaurant. We have always used Wetherspoons when we have been out as we find them child friendly and have had no comment on the children eating their own type of food before.”

    Some customers never cease to amaze me. They bought their children McDonald’s and then sat in Wetherspoons with it, being surprised when the manager told them not to. And then they give the pub a 1/5 rating on TripAdvisor, as seemingly they’re meant to be a food court in the eyes of some customers….

    “So we are sitting having dinner and my friend is asked to leave because he is wearing his hat after 8pm. He is Finnish and elderly and they proceeded to intimidate him saying they can’t speak to me because their issue wasn’t with me. I’m 32 and speak English well so they decided to pick on him. It was because he never understood them the first time they asked. RACISTS RACISTS RACISTS!”

    Not that it’s anything to do with me, but they always say that gentlemen should take off their hat when entering a pub. I always do, although that’s primarily due to me never wearing a hat in the first place. I don’t rule out that bar staff might have had some race hatred against the Finnish, but I’m not sure they’re the usual group who are targeted in south London….

    “You pay upfront so they have your money and can serve you any old crap”

    I quite liked this reviewer’s turn of phrase.

    Anyway, I liked it here and that’s what mostly matters to me…..

  • London – Tower of London (Salt Tower and Hew Draper Graffiti)

    London – Tower of London (Salt Tower and Hew Draper Graffiti)

    There is quite a lot of graffiti on the walls of the Salt Tower, much of which was created by those who were imprisoned here, although a little unfortunately seems to be rather more recent.

    This is one of the most impressive pieces of graffiti I’ve seen though, credited to the brewer Hew Draper of Bristol, who conveniently dated it to 30 May 1561. By this time Draper had already been imprisoned in the tower for fourteen months, for the alleged crime of sorcery. The information panel notes:

    “The sphere is surrounded by the signs of the zodiac. The grid on the left shows the planetary influence over every hour of every day of the week”.

    A photo of the same graffiti, taken in 1898 by Sir Benjamin Stone, when the tower was used by Yeoman Warders for their accommodation. The fate of Draper isn’t known, with the Tower’s records not giving any information on whether he died or was freed. Missing records are hardly rare, but this hasn’t stopped some people suggesting that Draper managed to spirit himself away to avoid punishment. This graffiti was mentioned in the media as early as 1810, so it appears to have puzzled and intrigued many generations.