Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

  • London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – Glorious Beauty by Simon Hitchens

    London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – Glorious Beauty by Simon Hitchens

    This sculpture is located where Holland Road and Warwick Road meet and was installed here in 2014. Designed by Simon Hitchens, it’s called ‘Glorious Beauty’ and rather than me explain it, I thought I’d use the information on the artist’s web-site:

    “Glorious Beauty is a playful arrangement of natural forms in an urban environment. A man made celebration of nature’s beauty that echoes a piece of the natural world and represents innovation, technology and a fast changing world. The solidity of a large glacial boulder sitting in the urban world has a reassuring permanence to it. Seemingly weightless, balanced on the top of the boulder is a mirrored copy of its form in stainless steel. Simon digitally scanned the boulder and flipped its form to create a mirror image which reflects the size and intricate detail of the original. Standing almost as tall as a double decker bus, its presence is captivating. The surface of Glorious Beauty gives the impression of an endless state of flux, due to the ever-changing distorted reflections in it as people pass by.”

    It’s fair to say that there’s more detail there than I would have given. For what it’s worth, I liked it, this country seems to be in an endless state of flux, so perhaps we should plonk this at Whitehall instead. Anyway, I digress. The artist’s focus in general is regarding “how we comprehend the geological and human worlds” and how they work together, an interesting concept.

  • London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – Beatrix Potter

    London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – Beatrix Potter

    This plaque marks the site of where Beatrix Potter lived in West Brompton, from when she was born in 1866 until she was married in 1913. The house, at 2 Bolton Gardens, was unfortunately destroyed during bombings in the Second World War. What is perhaps most intriguing is that Potter lived just a short distance from Brompton Cemetery and graves have been discovered there with the same names as some characters from Peter Rabbit. These include names such as Nutkins, McGregor and Jeremiah Fisher, so it’s entirely possible that she named the characters in her books after graves which she had seen.

  • London – Hackney (Borough of) – Shoreditch – Old Street Craft Beer Co

    London – Hackney (Borough of) – Shoreditch – Old Street Craft Beer Co

    This is the next outlet of the Craft Beer Co that I’m working around, which seemed to me to have a frontage that didn’t shout out classy crafty beer. It’s in an on-trend area, well sort of, near to Old Street and WhatPub note has previously been called the Canvas Bar, Nelson’s Retreat, Gluepot and the Murphy Tavern. It seems a challenging location to make work, but I suspect the Craft Beer Co can make something of this.

    The interior of the bar is minimalistic, retro and also very slightly exciting with those beer pumps. In the past, the left-hand side has been a kitchen area, but it’s all been opened out now.

    A sweet little niche area at one end of the pub. The staff member was friendly, welcoming and knowledgeable, with the environment being comfortable and relaxed. I can’t say that there were many other customers, although a few more trickled in as the early Friday evening progressed. They don’t do food themselves here, but they can order pizzas in and I think that’s a decent compromise.

    But, this is why I visited, for the beer choice. The glass looks quite empty here, but this is a third of the 8th Anniversary Pecan Cookie Stout from Westbrook Brewing Co, with my previous beer from them at the Beer Merchants being spectacular. This one, which was slightly cheaper, was again beautiful, with a richness of flavour and competing tastes from the pecan and vanilla. OK, I’m getting over-excited again, but this really deserved to be called decadent, smooth, full in flavour and soothing. My friends Gordon, Steve and Bev will mock these words, so I hope they don’t read them, but what do they know about beer……

    So, another way above average pub and I’m delighted to see that it’s in the 2021 Good Beer Guide. Indeed, with one exception, every single pub in the chain is in the guide, so I’m delighted that CAMRA has recognised just how good these pubs are. They have a large number of bottles and cans here, but the main selection is so well thought out that I haven’t needed to go looking into that option.

  • London – Hackney (Borough of) – Shoreditch – Goose Island (Third Visit)

    London – Hackney (Borough of) – Shoreditch – Goose Island (Third Visit)

    This is my third visit to Goose Island this year as I think this might be my pub of the year and I need to ensure that I’ve made the right decision…… It might necessitate a fourth visit if I’m being honest, just so I’m entirely sure.

    The tap list behind the bar, but it’s also available on-line. Table service is offered by knowledgeable staff members, with the friendliness here being high, always welcoming. The staff seemed disappointed that the pub was quiet, but these are challenging times and London is in Tier 2. I suspect that in usual times that this pub would be full on an early Friday evening in central London.

    This is the pub’s new menu, from Nanny Bills and it’s primarily a burger menu. Interesting, although I’ve got my dining options sorted for the evening.

    The bar, all clean and organised.

    And my choice of beer, the Bangalore Breakfast from Goose Island themselves, a decadent milk stout. I limited myself to half a pint of this and despite someone else on Untappd saying it wasn’t very milky, I thought it was milky and smooth. Not quite as full a flavour as I’d been expecting, but suitably sweet to be moreish and sufficiently
    Epicurean. Although it was delicious, I did think that half a pint was probably enough, the sweetness did eventually become ever more apparent. It’s the same feeling that I get after accidentally eating two sharing packs (which is a stupid term, who shares them?) of Randoms.

    My friend Nathan gets annoyed that I keep saying just how good the Hop and Vine is (although it is), but he won’t mind me saying just how good this place is (he will be very slightly annoyed I’ve come here again though). Bearing in mind this is a relatively big bar in central London, the service element is perfect, the atmosphere is welcoming and the beer is delightful. Nicely beguiling, I’m happy here.

  • London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – National Army Museum (Leg Bones of John Fraser)

    London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – National Army Museum (Leg Bones of John Fraser)

    The National Army Museum is a perfect reminder of just how painful, messy and disastrous war is, there are a lot of stories of agony here. This one isn’t different, these are the leg bones of John Fraser who lost them in Gibraltar in 1782. He thought he’d like to keep them so that they could be interred with the rest of him when he died.

    Fraser served in Gibraltar between 1780 and 1782, but he came home after losing his leg, which seems sensible. He did though become a captain of an invalid unit and he returned to Gibraltar a few years later as a judge advocate. He was perhaps fortunate to survive such a loss, living until 1843 when he died at the age of 83. He was buried at St Barnabas’ Church in Kensington, leg included, but for some reason they decided to remove it again during later work at the church. I’m not entirely sure that he would have been thrilled….

  • London – City of London – The Telegraph Pub

    London – City of London – The Telegraph Pub

    Firstly, thank you to Fuller’s for my free drink, which will of course influence everything else that I now write….. This is one of what I consider to be their upmarket pubs, located near to Moorgate and likely popular with city workers when there are any workers in the city…..

    The lighting wasn’t ideal for these photos, but a shot of the interior.

    And the bar area.

    My free drink was a pint of London Pride, which was entirely acceptable. I treated myself to the cheese and onion crisps, which seem to be sold throughout the Fuller’s estate, although I wish they’d stock Brannigans. Not that they can because Brannigans have been discontinued, which I find very annoying indeed. And I’ll try not to complain about this savage decision from KP Snacks too often.

    The pub is a bit tucked away and visitors to London are unlikely to just stumble upon it, unless they get a bit lost. It had around ten customers on Friday afternoon, none of whom were dining, but the food menu was available. This is quite an expensive pub for food and drink (unless you get a free pint) and I found it just a bit formulaic. Given the history of the area, it’s all a bit sterile for my liking. The building itself is though new, built in 2003, replacing the Butlers Head pub which was demolished in 2002. The staff were though friendly and helpful, so the welcome seemed authentic and genuine.

    Anyway, since this was rather a cheap visit for me, I can’t complain.

  • Greater Anglia : Norwich to London Liverpool Street

    Greater Anglia : Norwich to London Liverpool Street

    So, back to London Liverpool Street today, and this is my train having safely arrived into the capital.

    This wasn’t ideal when I arrived at Norwich railway station at 11:05, my train had been cancelled. I say not ideal, I wasn’t that displeased, as that means a delay repay gets triggered.

    I was travelling First today, which wasn’t some decision to switch to a more decadent lifestyle, but just because the price was pretty much the same as standard. I don’t think I’ve been in First on the new trains, they look all smart and tidy.

    The individual seats and I like these raised ones, there’s a ledge for my bag and also easily accessible power points. Despite the service having to cater for the 11:30 passengers as well as the 12:00 passengers from Norwich, it wasn’t overly busy.

    First class passengers get free snacks and drinks, so I merrily meandered to the cafe bar to collect my refreshments for the journey. There was a very friendly staff member at the cafe bar, although he told me something which I’ve suspected, which is that the InterCity 125s now removed from the route were more stable than the current new trains. He mentioned this as he was being flung about, as was I, and I can’t imagine how difficult it is to try and work like that. I had wondered if the trains were going faster and that was the problem, but he thought not. So, all that money and Greater Anglia have bought more rickety trains than the ones they already had.

    These new trains don’t really seem to be perfect in numerous ways, it was a train fault that caused the cancellation of my 11:30 journey. The automatic announcements also went wrong as it kept repeating that we were stopping at stations that we clearly weren’t (stations such as Goodmayes and Romford are not stops which this service ever calls at to my knowledge), which led to the driver (or guard, whoever does the announcements) having to clarify the situation. The train was though clean and all was comfortable.

    The fare for this journey was £18, more than the usual £10 that I pay. The train delay means that I get 50% back, so the journey cost me £9, which is entirely agreeable to me. So, all rather lovely.

  • London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – National Army Museum (Child’s Shoe from Siege of Cawnpore)

    London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – National Army Museum (Child’s Shoe from Siege of Cawnpore)

    This is another emotive exhibit in the collections of the National Army Museum, a child’s shoe recovered from the well at Cawnpore. This was an uprising in India in what is now known as Kanpur, where for numerous reasons, there was a siege which forced British troops and residents to defend themselves. Nana Sahib led the rebellion against the British, seemingly as he hadn’t received a pension from the East India Company that he had wanted.

    Anyway, making a long story quite short, Sahib’s forces killed hundreds of women and children and threw their bodies into a well. The British soon recovered the territory, and committed a brutal shock and awe policy in retaliation with many locals humiliated and killed. This shoe belonged to one of the children who was killed, a reminder of a bloody siege.

  • London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – National Army Museum (Earl of Uxbridge Loses his Leg)

    London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – National Army Museum (Earl of Uxbridge Loses his Leg)

    Here’s a lovely cheery display at the National Army Museum, the saw which was used to cut the Earl of Uxbridge’s leg off. The note by the exhibit explains that “the Earl remained composed throughout the operation and his only comment was that the saw appeared somewhat blunt”. A stiff upper lip and all that… I can say, with some confidence, that if I was in the military I would be more vocal with my annoyance about such a situation.

    The little incident took place during the Battle of Waterloo when a cannon ball, one of the last to be fired that day, hit the Earl in the leg. It’s said (well, it’s written on Wikipedia) that he turned to Wellington and said “By God, sir, I’ve lost my leg!” and the response was “By God, sir, so you have”.

    The glove that was worn by Thomas Wildman, the Earl of Uxbridge’s aide, which got covered in blood when his master’s leg was sawn off. What a delightful day that must have been for all concerned. The Earl of Uxbridge, more commonly known as Henry Paget, was born in 1768 and he died in 1854.

  • London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – Brompton Cemetery (Joseph Thomas Bowskill)

    London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – Brompton Cemetery (Joseph Thomas Bowskill)

    This grave at Brompton Cemetery commemorates the life of Joseph Thomas Bowskill, born in 1923, the son of Joseph and Alice Bowskill. He was married to Marjorie Ruth Bowskill and they lived in Brighton.

    He was part of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and was a leading aircraftman, service number 1385868, working from RAF Weston-on-the-Green. Joseph died at the age of 22 on 1 April 1945 when his aircraft crashed shortly after take-off near to his airbase, also killing his two fellow crew members, William Callander and Harry Norman Skelton. He was buried on 7 April 1945, just a few weeks before VE Day and the cessation of military action in Europe. Marjorie, his wife, died in the Westminster area in 1973 at the age of 51.