Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

  • 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.

  • Heathrow T5

    Heathrow T5

    Just some photos from Heathrow T5 today, it didn’t feel that busy anywhere.

  • London – Shoreditch – Goose Island Brewpub (Visit 2)

    London – Shoreditch – Goose Island Brewpub (Visit 2)

    I’ve pinched this exterior photo from my first visit to Goose Island, but the rest are from my second visit. I went as I had a voucher for a free drink, so thought this visit would be a marvellous idea after arriving into London Liverpool Street railway station.

    The tap list, which had a wide range of different beer styles including from Goose Island themselves and also guests. And, this is what I have to say annoys me a little about other pubs. I don’t expect country pubs to have this spectacular array of drinks, but it’s a shame that some make nearly no effort other than to offer some bland mass-produced IPA. Especially given a lot of this stuff is also available in cans, making it easy to store and with long best before dates.

    It wasn’t overly busy.

    The service was exceptional and the barman knew his stuff about the beers, which was a delight in itself. It’s rather lovely when the staff don’t just name beers, but also really engage about them. I know a barman in Norwich who was moderately good at doing this, but I won’t name him here….. The health requirements were well managed and one customer who came in and didn’t want to use his phone to sign in, instead wanting to write his name down, was refused entry.

    I went for the Eric by Brewski and the Forty Watermelons from Goose Island themselves, being rather delighted that one was free. The other drink isn’t a gin or tonic, it’s a water since I picked two different beer types and wanted something between them.

    The Eric by Brewski was decadent, a word I’ve been using too much recently, but absolutely appropriate here. Rich, smooth and a flavour of coffee and chocolate running through, with a slightly sweet aftertaste. The Forty Watermelons was a bit complex with its strong flavours of watermelon and mint, being rather quite sour, although that’s not a bad thing since it is a sour. Not quite as packed with flavour as I had expected, but still very drinkable and a nice contrast to the imperial stout.

    The bar is doing money off food and soft drinks at the moment, 25% off and this is a continuation of the Eat Out to Help Out campaign. I didn’t eat today, although I know from my previous visit that the food is excellent. Anyway, this is a quite beautiful bar and it’s another place which is on-trend not because that’s how they’ve designed it, but because others are following this sort of style. The staff members were knowledgeable and helpful, so this was another pretty much perfect visit.

  • Royal Tunbridge Wells – Basil

    Royal Tunbridge Wells – Basil

    Basil is a wholefood cafe located in Royal Tunbridge Wells and they have a couple of outlets, with this being the town centre one. There was a free table outside so we went for that, although discovered that there were also a few tables inside as well.

    The cake selection inside, which were all very tempting, although perhaps priced towards the higher end of the scale for a cafe.

    I wasn’t quite sure what was happening with the salad section, it seemed a bit limited in scope but they might have just been half-way through putting it out. For anyone interested, the options were (i) lightly Curried Slaw with Savoy Cabbage, Fresh Mango & Toasted Almonds, (ii) Quinoa with Avocado, Radish, Baby Cress, Cumin & Lemon and (iii)
    Roasted Spiced Carrots with Ginger & Honey, Toasted Pinenuts & Pomegranate Seeds. The service in the cafe was friendly and it was quite a relaxed location, with staff cleaning tables on a regular basis.

    I went for the sausage bap, with a soft granary roll and a rich and meaty sausage, so all rather lovely. The cafe prides itself on its wholesome ingredients and this quality seemed to be reflected in the food that I had.

    And the latte, which was of a suitably high quality with a rich taste. All in all, this is a pleasant little cafe, all welcoming and comfortable. Perhaps not the cheapest, but the prices weren’t entirely unreasonable and the staff were friendly.

  • London – Thames Photos

    London – Thames Photos

    Back in London today, giving me an opportunity to take more night-time photos by the River Thames, a little further downstream the river than last week.

  • Royal Tunbridge Wells – Name Origin

    Royal Tunbridge Wells – Name Origin

    The origins of the town name of Royal Tunbridge Wells are logical, as The Concise Oxford Dictionary Of English Place points out, but they are a little confused by the different spelling to nearby Tonbridge. The book notes that “named from Tonbridge, the medicinal springs are said to have been discovered in the times of James I”. Although disputed by some historians, Tonbridge is named after “Tunna’s Bridge” according to the book and the place name spellings have switched between Tonbridge and Tunbridge over the centuries.

    The reason to have different spellings seems to have been more recent, likely from the early part of the twentieth century, a deliberate attempt to show that the two settlements were very different places. The Royal bit of the name dates from 1909, when the honour was granted by King Edward VII to mark the popularity of the town with the Royal Family.

  • Royal Tunbridge Wells – Stopping Point for Omnibuses

    Royal Tunbridge Wells – Stopping Point for Omnibuses

    I have nothing to add about this pavement marker near to the town’s war memorial other than I like it….. And I also like that the town planners have managed to keep it.

  • Royal Tunbridge Wells – Holy Trinity Church (Thomas Moon)

    Royal Tunbridge Wells – Holy Trinity Church (Thomas Moon)

    The gravestones at Holy Trinity Church in Royal Tunbridge Wells are now mostly shoved around the outside of the churchyard, some being more accessible than others.

    This is the grave of Thomas Moon, who was born in 1823. If I’ve got the correct birth record, he was baptised on 1 May 1823, the son of Richard Moon (who worked as a fishmonger) and Priscilla Moon. At the 1841 census, Thomas was living with his parents and his 1-year old brother, Henry. He died at the age of 24 on 19 April 1847 and was buried on 25 April 1847.

    And that, annoyingly, is the limit of what I can find. Why he died at that relatively early age, I don’t know…..

  • Royal Tunbridge Wells – Holy Trinity Church

    Royal Tunbridge Wells – Holy Trinity Church

    What is now the Trinity Theatre, a well-respected theatrical hub for the area, was constructed as Holy Trinity Church in 1829. It was designed by Decimus Burton and was the main church for the town. Unfortunately for the building, by the 1960s there were falling congregation numbers and in 1972 the church was declared redundant. The Church Commissioners, who by all accounts were hardly pro-active in their efforts, left the building to dereliction and it was only due to pressure from the local community that funds were finally raised to re-open as a community theatre and arts centre in 1981.

    Over its history, the church has been noted for some of its vicars, not least Edward Hoare who took over in 1853 and built quite a reputation for his sermons, remaining in post until his death in 1894. The vicar in 1907 also seems to have been quite innovative, as he installed phone lines which led from the pulpit to the pews to assist the hard of hearing amongst his congregation to hear the sermons.

    Fortunately, the structure of the building has been saved.

    Less fortunately, the graveyard has been mostly decimated and the gravestones shoved to the outside whilst picnic benches and car parking spaces have been left to take over the space that has been left. It doesn’t feel very dignified and I’m not sure it’s what the families of those who died would have liked. But, it seems better to have this than to have entirely lost the building.

    And where there were once graves, there’s now a seat.