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Tag: London

  • London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – National Army Museum (Earl Haig Fund Poppy Badge)

    London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – National Army Museum (Earl Haig Fund Poppy Badge)

    This is my photo of the Earl Haig fund poppy which is on display at the National Army Museum.

    This image (courtesy of NAM) is much clearer though. The poppy was made at a factory in Edinburgh and the operations there were set up Earl Haig’s wife, as few of the poppies produced in London were getting to Scotland. The factory was opened in March 1926 and initially employed just two people, but this increased to over 100 within just a few years.

    The poppy in the collections of the National Army Museum dates to around 1930, at a time when poppies were made out of different materials which were charged at different prices. It wasn’t until 1954 that only the paper poppy was produced, with no fixed price but offered instead by donation.

    And one thing I never knew until today, the Scottish poppy has four petals, whereas those produced in the Richmond factory in London have two petals. Which goes to show how unobservant I am…..

  • London – Southwark (Borough of) – The Rockingham Arms

    London – Southwark (Borough of) – The Rockingham Arms

    I’ll add now that this visit was from some weeks ago, they’re not open during the second lockdown. I’m working through old photos since I can’t currently go to pubs….

    This is an image from Google Streetview of the front of the Rockingham Arms (taking its name from another pub which had been in the area), the JD Wetherspoon pub in Elephant and Castle, London. It’s not the most glamorous of buildings, it’s in the 1960s Metro Central Heights building, the former home of the Department of Health and Social Security. It was another little design error, the Government were very pleased with their new building, but it soon fell out of favour and it suffered from sick building syndrome. The civil servants moved to a lovely new building in Whitehall and this structure was repurposed to be used for residential flats.

    Anyway, back to what it is now, a JD Wetherspoon pub. Punk IPA, always cheaper than Brewdog charge in their own pubs, I find that this a very drinkable beer. It might be one of Brewdog’s more generic beers, but it’s still nicely citrusy and with some depth of flavour to it.

    And the chicken jalfrezi from Curry Club, which is very rarely a disappointment and wasn’t here either. Served quickly, at a hot temperature and by a staff member who was perfectly polite, it’s hard to find anything to complain about here.

    The pub interior is perhaps a bit bland, but it feels like a safe environment and I’ve never experienced any problems in the times that I’ve visited here. It lacks the atmosphere of some of the more historic buildings that Wetherspoons operate and the open plan of this pub does make it all feel a bit generic. The toilets, which are located downstairs in the basement, could do with a little bit of a refurbishment as well.

    The reviews for the pub aren’t great, but I think that’s more because some customers are keen to complain and the ones who are happy don’t tend to post. There was a 1-star review as the barman didn’t serve a customer who was on the phone, with the customer noting “I told him that it doesn’t matter that I’m at the phone as far as I order properly”. I suspect a fair few bar staff would have agreed with the pub here.

    Anyway, all perfectly acceptable, keenly priced and just a short walk away from the London Underground.

  • London – Tier Two

    London – Tier Two

    That’s a relief, since despite not having planned to travel for the rest of the year, I had accidentally booked a train journey to London and some hotel nights in early December before the Government’s announcement. So, here comes London and some ‘substantial meals’ with craft beer. I’m pleased that Brewdog have told me that they consider unlimited chicken wings to be a substantial meal (because it clearly is), so I’ve booked that as a little treat for myself in London….

  • London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – National Army Museum (Siege Bread)

    London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – National Army Museum (Siege Bread)

    This item is on display at the National Army Museum and it was kept by a soldier as a souvenir of war, displayed in what was likely originally a wooden packing case. The bread is from the Siege of Ladysmith which took place between 2 November 1899 and 28 February 1900, when supplies were short and so the bread was made from maize meal and starch. The museum also notes that the soldiers during this period would have also had the delight of eating horse-meat soup. It’s not known which soldier kept this little piece of bread, although the arms are that of the Army Ordnance Corps, but it makes for an interesting memento….

  • London – Westminster (Borough of) – White Horse

    London – Westminster (Borough of) – White Horse

    This isn’t a recent visit, I went to this Nicholson’s pub in Soho back in August, when things looked a little more hopeful for the hospitality industry…..

    I like pubs which have signs explaining their history, including why so many pubs have the name ‘The White Horse’. Incidentally, there are lots of pubs called ‘The Black Horse’, many of which are named after Dick Turpin’s horse because of the mystery and intrigue that caused. In short, this pub was rebuilt in 1939, replacing the earlier 1718 pub of the same name, and the exterior of the new building has some Art Deco features.

    Everything felt safe and there was a staff member at the front door welcoming customers and taking them to their seats. I visited in the early afternoon and it did get a little busier, although the outside seating area was always busier with customers people watching (on my visit I preferred sitting inside phone watching in case anything exciting was happening on social media).

    I have to add here that Nicholson’s gave this pint away to me via a promotion on their app, so I can’t much complain about the range of drinks. But, there were no dark ales and another customer later asked for the same, we were both told that they had Guinness and that was it.

    This was the Nicholson’s Pale Ale (made for the company by St. Austell Brewery), perhaps just a little unexciting, but drinkable with a depth of taste to it at least. Nicholson’s seem to have a habit of pushing drinks that aren’t beer, instead particularly advertising gins and other spirits, but they do have some marvellously historic pubs in their estate that are worth visiting in their own right.

    As an irrelevant aside here, I’m moderately confused why the pub has this on the front page of their web-site:

    “It’s only 12 minutes on foot from Bond Street Underground Station.”

    It’s also only four minutes walk (according to Google) from Oxford Street underground station, which is on the same line and around the corner from the pub. Strange…

    Anyway, most of the recent reviews are positive and the staff here were friendly and helpful. Food is a bit richly priced, but the White Horse focuses on their selection of pies which is part of the Nicholson’s aim to push a certain style of food in each of their pubs. I’m not entirely sure I’d return here as the beer selection isn’t really exciting enough (even before the current restrictions) in an area with plenty of competition.

  • London – Newham (Borough of) – Stratford – Tap East

    London – Newham (Borough of) – Stratford – Tap East

    This is the only Good Beer Guide listed pub in the Westfield Centre at Stratford, with the only other in the area being JD Wetherspoon’s Goldengrove in the town centre. It’s bright, open and slightly hard to find for those who aren’t used to Westfield. I’d add that I visited just before the second lockdown, they haven’t found some exemption to stay open.

    The beer list with a suitably interesting range of beer types. It’s not the cheapest, but it’s also not unreasonable and the unit that they’re located in can’t be the lowest priced either.

    A moderately decadent choice, this is the Export Stout Raspberry from the Kernel Brewery. This was rich, beautifully fruity and slightly bitter, but very moreish. Given the price, I limited myself to half a pint, but it was smooth enough to last for some time. This is the second beer I’ve had from this brewery, I had the Dry Stout Centennial Mosaic when I visited Mikkeller Bar. I preferred this one, the raspberry gave it that extra edge.

    Service was timely, friendly and welcoming, so this was a relaxed environment. It’s not the largest location and I’m sure that this must get busy at times, but there were sufficient tables inside and outside when I visited. They have a fair few bottles and cans in the fridges as well for those who want more choice. There’s a food menu, which looked quite tempting, with hot dogs and the like available.

    It’s all slightly quirky as outlets like this aren’t normally available in shopping centres, not withstanding the Craft Beer Co outlet at the Broadway Centre in Hammersmith. But, they’ve been going for a few years and have won several awards, not least being mentioned in the Good Beer Guide. Since it’s at the side of the shopping centre, it’s not too loud, it’s a helpful hideaway for anyone who needs to escape the retail demands of the rest of the site….

  • London – Hammersmith and Fulham (Borough of) – Margravine Cemetery (Thomas Austin)

    London – Hammersmith and Fulham (Borough of) – Margravine Cemetery (Thomas Austin)

    This is the grave of Thomas Austin, located at Margravine Cemetery in London, which looked interesting due to the mention of Queen Victoria.

    He was born in 1816 and joined the army, although there’s lots more information about him (and a photo) at https://www.soldiersofthequeen.com/OldSoldiers-YeomanoftheGuardThomasAustin.html which it’s easier for me to just link to….. But, in short, since his army records are on-line, he served in the Coldstream Regiment of Guards, joining on 16 September 1833 and being given military service number 1666.

    Thomas died at the age of 79 on 17 February 1895, with his wife Frances Ann being buried at the same spot on 17 December 1903.

  • London – Hammersmith and Fulham (Borough of) – Margravine Cemetery

    London – Hammersmith and Fulham (Borough of) – Margravine Cemetery

    This London cemetery was laid out in 1868, designed to relieve pressure on churchyards in the area, and the first burial took place here on 3 November 1869. It has also been known as Hammersmith Cemetery and there was an area for Church of England burials and another area for non-conformists.

    Burials continued here until 1951 and at this point the site was taken over by the council who termed it as a ‘garden of rest’. What this really meant is that the council took down a large number of gravestones and buried them, leaving what I think looks like a slightly disjointed and confused cemetery, albeit it in beautiful surroundings.

    The friends of the cemetery seem quite active and their web-site has an interesting take on the history of the site. They mention how sluggish the borough were in opening their burial ground, but an outbreak of cholera in the area speeded things up somewhat. The friends also note that the cemetery saw:

    “A superintendent’s drunken foul mouthed wife upsetting visitors and creating “a crowd” on Christmas Day 1879, belligerent gravediggers demanding higher wages and having fist-fights in the tool house, the nonconformists’ objections, the battle with Sir William Palliser and a fair amount of wheeling and dealing when acquiring or exchanging land”.

    Although I didn’t find his grave, George Wimpey of construction fame is buried at the cemetery. There are 83,000 burials at the site, although when it opened the cemetery was only designed to hold 12,000.

    This squirrel followed me for quite some time, but annoyingly was unwilling to pose for photos.

    There were a large number of dog walkers using the cemetery when I was there, but there’s plenty of space and it looked generally well cared for. Well, other than for the empty beer cans dotted about the site.

    The cemetery’s chapel, which was designed by the local architect George Saunders, who was also responsible for pretty much everything at the site. There was a second chapel at the cemetery, but this was demolished in 1939.

    I visited shortly before the cemetery was due to close, so my meandering was limited and I missed the “ghoulish” Victorian reception house. This building, where bodies were laid to rest, has now been listed and is the only one of its kind left in London. I’m not sure why Historic England thought it was ghoulish, it’s a place to store bodies in a cemetery before they were buried, but there we go….

  • London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – Brompton Cemetery (Alfred George Auger)

    London – Kensington and Chelsea (Borough of) – Brompton Cemetery (Alfred George Auger)

    Sapper Alfred George Auger was born in 1924 and was the son of Joseph Auger and Ellen Gertrude Auger. Alfred joined the Royal Engineers and was part of the Bomb Disposal Company, not a role that was ever going to be anything other than risky. He died on 18 April 1945, alongside Sappers George Raymond Lewis and Mark Pierce, although I’m not sure what this incident was.

    The inscription on his grave is “gone from my home but never from my heart, mother” which is one of the more personal that I’ve seen. Alfred’s mother lived until 1981, when she died in London at the age of 95.

  • London – Newham (Borough of) – Stratford – Holiday Inn Express

    London – Newham (Borough of) – Stratford – Holiday Inn Express

    I booked this hotel as there was a 5,000 points IHG rewards bonus on it, which is pretty generous as 10,000 points can get a free room. It was the cheapest IHG hotel in London, coming in at just under £40 for the night, including breakfast. That’s a bit more expensive than the endless Accor hotels that I’ve been booking, but it’s a modern and clean hotel.

    The dining and bar area of the hotel. It was never particularly busy, but it’s a pleasant environment for guests who want somewhere to sit.

    A water feature. How decadent.

    The room, which I’d booked as a family room to myself, as it was the same price as the other rooms. All bright, clean and comfortable. The television was meant to allow casting from my phone, but it didn’t work and I couldn’t be bothered to make it work. The remote control was also wrapped up in a little bag which was very thoughtful in terms of the health issues.

    The rewards voucher. I’ve never lost the key folder before, but I managed to last night, I have no idea where it went. Luckily the keycard wasn’t in it and I remembered what room number I was in. In the morning, a cleaner came into the room (well, she didn’t, she couldn’t get past the key chain thing), just as I was leaving it. She looked horrified but said she thought the room was meant to be empty. Her timing was fortunate though since I was leaving, but it would have been annoying if I was having a lie-in.

    The welcome drink, this was the best I could find. It’s something a little different, although I found it a bit drab. Anyway, it was free, so I won’t complain. Well, not much.

    The breakfast arrangement.

    The hot food was served by a staff member, who was very generous on the beans front. The ingredients were of a decent quality and if it was self-serve then there might have been a lot more bacon on the plate. There was only one other hot option, which was scrambled egg, but I’m not much of a fan of that. The croissants and muffins were a bit drab, but at least the hotel had made an effort with putting some sort of breakfast on.

    And this is my final hotel of 2020. I have a trip to Bilbao booked on 3 January 2021, although given everything I’m really not sure that this will actually happen. Anyway, I’d stay here again, although I’m not sure why I’d be in the Stratford area of London….