Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: London

Saturday : Leaving Bev, the Barcelona Airport Lounge, BA into Heathrow and Bus to Hotel

Saturday was the day that we were all returning back to the UK, Bev on Ryanair as she likes the jeopardy, with Ross and I departing with British Airways a little later on during the day. Without a huge desire to traipse heavy bags around for the day, we thought that we’d walk slowly around the city and then get onto the Metro to the airport. And that day started with a delicious goat’s cheese roll with doughnut and coffee at Cafe Bazar, with the advantage of people watching as the cafe windows overlooked the busy nearby market. I can’t recall a city with so many cafes, this was my sort of city….

It was a bit hot, but these narrow streets do a very decent job of shading walkers from the overheat sun pounding down on them.

Pub one and needs must… This was a sheltered terrace so that I wasn’t sitting in the sun itself, but it allowed Bev to feel free in the outdoors. We pondered whether we might have been better with the pub next door as their food looked quite exciting, but I got beer of sorts and that sufficed me. I know my loyal readers (or reader might be nearer the mark) might comment that this sounds very relaxed of me, but I had already accepted I wouldn’t be getting craft beer on this day.

Free olives, I was sold on this pub after that.

Bev, busy looking at the football scores, she was a nightmare doing that, always wanting to see how her favourite teams were getting on and getting the latest news on the transfer markets.

After the pub we had a little walk through the nearby park, which offered views over the city.

The second pub and more free olives. Bev ordered some dumplings as well, Ross gave up on beer and I just had to tolerate what they had. Such a trooper….

I’m glad I have a new phone now, as my old one didn’t produce the quality of the photos I’d like (obviously it can’t possibly be my fault that this photo is blurred). This was us waving goodbye to Bev as she was departing from a different terminal. I’m pleased to report that she got back safely with Ryanair and National Express, but that’s the end of Bev’s story on this blog. She was marvellous company as usual, glad that she’s out and about again.

That meant just one more stop on the Metro to get to Terminal 1, where we were departing from. As I mentioned earlier on in the week, I was impressed with the Metro system, it was clean, reliable and we rarely had to wait for more than a couple of minutes. Other than when Bev posted her ticket into the machine itself, we had no issues with the tickets either.

Safely at the airport with its grand sweeping spaces which felt rather under-used. Think of the number of craft beer bars that they could fit in there.

Ross wanted to go to Burger King, it says one minute but it took us about half an hour to find the bloody thing.

Not that I’ve ever tried smoking, and it’s not exactly likely I ever will, but this is a good idea for an airport, having an external outdoors area which is embedded within the airside section of the building. Smokers can then do what they want in this area, away from sensible non-smokers.

The lounge was easier to find than Burger King and we were welcomed in by a friendly member of staff and it’s fair to say that I was surprised at just how large it was. There were also plenty of power points which transpired to be useful.

More of the spacious lounge and I noticed that the staff were obsessively cleaning, always reassuring.

The food and drinks area, with a range of high and low seating. I prefer high seating and so we perched about three metres from the food for about three hours. What a time to be alive….

Cold meats and cheeses, some of my favourite food and quite a lot of this disappeared quite quickly as I needed to test its quality on numerous occasions.

Light bites. Ross had already gone to Burger King as the reviews of the lounge that we had already read didn’t make it sound very decadent, but I’m glad I didn’t get anything as I was surprised and delighted with the food options here. I took the risk that food would be available as I was hungry (again) and the lounge didn’t let me down.

There was a selection of pre-made rolls, or customers could make their own.

Pastries and biscuits.

It wasn’t busy at this time in the late afternoon, but it got much busier later on, but it was never going to be anywhere near capacity. This is the non-Schengen lounge, there’s another one for those boarding Schengen flights. I won’t mention that I’m quite jealous of them, as that might suggest how much I quite like the border-free arrangement of most of the EU.

They had three different beers which at least gave me some variety, although there was nothing that surprised and delighted me in that regard. There were plenty of different soft drinks though, so no shortage of choice and there were some spirit options as well.

The hot food only came out a little later on in the day, I’m not entirely sure why they couldn’t have been more generous with the hours that this was served. The portions were small, but the food had a depth of taste, and it was easy to just get another portion. This was the chicken curry, which wasn’t overly hot in terms of spice, but the chicken was tender and flavourful. The pasta was perhaps a little bland though.

Off we go, we were the 19:10 flight to London Heathrow.

This isn’t the plane we were getting, but I liked the view out of the window over the tarmac. The airport itself was spacious with plenty of seating and nowhere felt particularly busy, although it was clearly a well-used terminal.

The boarding gate and everything was neat and organised here, with plenty of seating. There was boarding by group number, which meant we could get on to board early on, giving me sufficient space to put my bag over my seat. I mention this as one group of three people put their bags in the overheads by the exit row seat before walking about twenty rows back, which gave the crew later on at the empty gaps for bags were at the back of the aircraft. I’m not sure why passengers do this, they’re in danger of the crew moving the bags into the hold if no-one in the vicinity identifies them as theirs.

Our aircraft, and again I’m writing this too far after the event to work out what the registration number was to see if I’d flown on this before. A pointless hobby of mine I accept, but it occupies me for a few minutes.

Boarding the aircraft, with the crew being friendly and personable. I wore my mask out of habit on the aircraft and only noticed mid-way through the flight that nearly no-one else was, namely because they weren’t required. It occurred to me that unless there’s another outbreak then this might have been the last time that I had to wear a face mask, so that’s the end of an era. Or, at least, I hope it’s the end of an era.

I had an exit row seat and there was no-one else in the row. Given that, during the flight I went to find Ross who was stuck at a middle seat somewhere near the back and suggested he moved forwards, which he did.

The usual snack on-board, so I can’t write anything different to what I usually do, which is it’s basic but I appreciate having something provided. Perhaps British Airways could though at some point rotate the snacks, as those customers who fly weekly deserve a little change. Maybe they could offer Hula Hoops, or something just that bit more decadent such as Roast Beef Monster Munch.

We sailed through security into T5 without any delays, always a relief when getting late at night. It was a quick walk to the bus stop at T5 to get the first of our two buses.

Waiting at the bus stop for the second bus to get us to the hotel and this is the Longford Pump, a Victorian water pump.

The accommodation situation wasn’t ideal, but the cheapest hotel in the area was the Holiday Inn Express and Ross and I can’t afford the luxury of the Sofitel that Richard always goes for. We got to the hotel just before midnight and I, as usual, had worried that they would have given our rooms away, but my concern was unnecessary. Although, that reminds me, they didn’t bother to reply to my email saying we’d be arriving late, so I’m now post-annoyed as I had forgotten I had sent that. Our hotel was the Holiday Inn Express T5, although it’s not hugely convenient for T5 if I’m being honest, as it requires two buses or taking the over-priced Hoppa Bus which I haven’t used for the best part of a decade.

I’ll take this opportunity to write a little about Barcelona, although I’ve alluded already to my thoughts about this rather really marvellous Spanish city. I was very much of the opinion that this was a city at ease with itself, as although Barcelona has problems with so much accommodation turned into holiday lets, the heart remains. The markets are vibrant, there are endless cafes, the food is of a decent quality, the people were friendly and the streets were clean. The beach area contrasted with the bustling city centre, the suburbs maintained their own identity and last, but definitely not least, there was decadent craft beer. I look forwards to going back, this was a city that felt on-trend, modern and well-run, I liked and enjoyed it very much. And thanks to Ross and Bev for keeping me company.

May 24, 2022
Sunday : Offa’s Twisted Wye Kanter LDWA Challenge Event and Back to London
I might have gotten a little carried away again, this post is mostly about the Offa’s Twisted Wye Kanter LDWA challenge event and I managed to take 155 photos…. For anyone who wants to see them, they’re at https://flickr.com/photos/julianwhite-uk/albums/72177720298765447.

The NEC had met in Bristol the previous day and three of us, Julie, Bill and I went to do this challenge event in south Wales, with Stuart coming along to help with the marshalling. We were fortunate to get a lift with Bill’s son and partner, as the train options seemed a little challenging to get to the start before lunchtime. It was quite sad to leave the comfort of the Novotel in Bristol, but the sun was shining and the walk looked a good one.

As some background, Offa’s Twisted Wye Kanter is an event run by South Wales LDWA and it took place in 2017, 2018 and 2019. It’s back this year and there were four different routes and it uses routes such as Offa’s Dyke, Wye Valley Walk, Wales Coast Path and Gloucestershire Way. As some added excitement, there was also a series of questions from key points along the walk although GPX and route descriptions were available as well. Having a GPX is fortunate, this is the way that I like to navigate….

After a quick snack of toast at the beginning of the event, I mentioned to Dave and anyone who I suspected might listen that I was being very brave taking part. The trained sympathiser that I had asked for wasn’t available, but the volunteers at the event were endlessly helpful and supportive. After a final failed effort to swap with Stuart so that I could sit and eat cake whilst he went walking, it was time to collect my tally card for the adventure ahead.

And off we go through the sunny town centre of Chepstow.

I don’t think that I’ve been to Chepstow before, but I will go again as there are numerous things worth seeing including pubs and also the impressive castle, which apparently is the oldest surviving post-Roman stone fortification in Britain. It seems a charming town, with plenty of information about its history, definitely worth another visit.

Unfortunately, Chepstow is in the footlands of mountains, with this being a long slog up the hill although the locals have kindly provided a bench. I messaged Stuart here asking for a car to pick me up, but that request was refused. I had a feeling that there might be more slopes ahead…..

An atmospheric path.

I’m slightly annoyed that this photo doesn’t show how big these rocks were that entrants had to clamber over.

That’s better, they look much more challenging in these photos, and there’s Julie charging over them. To be fair, Dave warned me about these rocks and I sailed over them as I needed to get to the other side quickly to message everyone at HQ about how brave I’d been. Imagine a mountain goat, well, that was me.

My friend Liam would take one look at this and want to cycle down it….

I accept that the Wye Valley does look rather lovely.

The ruined St. James’s church at Lancaut, one of the earliest Christian churches in the Wye Valley area and it’s thought that there has been a religious building here since the seventh century. The Vikings kept interfering with arrangements here (mainly by pillaging and destroying stuff), with this current structure dating from the eleventh century. The village of Lancaut doesn’t exist any more, it was likely abandoned after the Black Death, although a few residents continued to live in the area. The church was used until the 1860s, but then the Rector decided to take the roof and interior fittings away, which it’s fair to say wasn’t ideal for the building’s future. It nearly fell down in 1980s and since then the structure of the church has been secured and it’s an interesting building, with some remnants of lime plaster visible.

The ruined church was a little bit more ruined when a part of the door mechanism fell off in my hand, but the LDWA are a responsible organisation and we ensured that the issue was resolved….

I thought for a moment that we were allowed to get the bus back.

A standing stone.

This was not what I wanted to see.

I took this opportunity to message Dave and question in a very positive manner why the route went through a wood which was evidently packed full of snakes ready to attack anyone walking through. It seems the snakes have been left without supervision as well, there were no snake wranglers in the area.

I’m sure there’s an interesting back story as to what has happened with this gate, but it wasn’t anything to do with us or the LDWA.

The view from Devil’s Pulpit (or a few metres away from it) which overlooks Tintern Abbey. Judging from the number of people, this is clearly a popular walk with locals and visitors to the area, and I can see why. Very picturesque.

There’s Devil’s Pulpit and I didn’t feel the need to stand on it as it didn’t look secure enough to me.

Over the river at Tintern.

Whilst we had a little break for lunch, Stuart decided to message at this point as he realised that I was about to summit another mountain on this walk and frankly, I think he was trying to deliberately annoy me, but I didn’t say anything…. I think Dave also found my messages useful about my thoughts on this mountain, as I sent several to reinforce what I was saying.

Some bluebells.

This tells a story of its own about Covid and then, later on, Putin.

St. Mary’s Church at Penterry and this is another mostly abandoned village, devastated by the Black Death. Platforms are visible in the field showing where some of the buildings were and there’s also an area which has been identified as a plague pit.

Simon interviewing Julie for the video about the event. Simon is a runner who completes these things far too fast, including the marshals’ event for the 100 last week.

One of the clues for the challenge walk was on the mast. Fortunately, just on the boards at the base and not higher up.

It’s always rather lovely to have a walk which goes past several churches.

Beautiful, the Wye Valley.

Woodland is one of my favourite terrains to walk through, I really enjoyed this section.

The history behind this property is substantial and it’s a real shame to see it in its current condition. It’s Piercefield House which is Grade II* listed, with the park around it being Grade I listed, not that this has helped in the building’s preservation. It dates from the late eighteenth century and its history is quite intertwined with that of slave owners, which was turned slightly on its head when in 1802 it was purchased by Nathaniel Wells, the son of a white slave owner and a black slave. He had a successful career as a magistrate and also as the first black sheriff in Britain. It’s also thought that Horatio Nelson, the hero of Norfolk (we have a lot of brave people) stayed a night here.

I’m not sure what can be done with this now, with a problem that there’s a limit to what can be done with the structure because of its historic listing. Some compromise is going to have to be made with regards to its heritage as very little of the building is left, but this would make a lovely hotel, craft beer venue or Greggs.

This is why I don’t eat lamb, look at their little faces…..

How very sweet. I decided the jolly happy one in the middle, who bounced into where he probably shouldn’t be, should be called Leon ?

Back at the end, there’s Dave and Stuart at the back and Julie at the front. I’m not one for gossip, but Dave mentioned he had hurt his back or something whilst standing around the checkpoint. I, however, completed my mountain expedition with no ill effects although I imagine that’s my tough Norfolk training coming to the fore. I’d also like to thank all the marshals who put this event together, it takes a lot of work and everyone was helpful and kind. There was a major controversy when Julie got a time that was one minute faster than mine, I think she must have slipped someone some Twixes for that, but I didn’t say anything.

Very lovely, although the Viennetta promised by Stuart didn’t arrive…. However, there was a marvellous selection of cakes.

Back into Bristol (thanks Bill and son!) and at Temple Meads, ready for the train back to London.

I spend quite a lot of time in waiting rooms and here’s the one at Bristol Temple Meads railway station, with power I’d add, as well as an excessively hot temperature. But I did think that perhaps my body was still at the 8,000 metre height that I had spent some of the challenge walk at, so maybe that was just me.

The GWR train sweeping into Bristol Temple Meads. I didn’t bother trying to get my reserved seat as there was a table seat without any reservations on it, meaning I could get some work done on the train.

The Crossrail train at Reading.

Not very busy, but that didn’t entirely surprise me on a Sunday night.

The Southall sign that has caused some controversy because of the translation at the bottom, although I fear the negativity is perhaps a little unwarranted as it’s hardly a substantial change.

I was annoyed by the time I got into this Ibis Budget Hounslow hotel room. The receptionist randomly said “I need your ID” in quite a blunt manner when checking in. I thought this was very odd, as there’s no need for them to see my ID at all, but I had my passport and just handed that over, as I’m quite compliant at hotels in case they offer me a lovely upgrade. Although I accept that there’s a limit to what an Ibis Budget can do. I thought that the service was terse, but it was late at night and I guessed that the staff member had perhaps had a long day, although I was slightly disappointed that I couldn’t tell her how brave I had been on the walk.

Anyway, a youngish black guy next to me (and I mention his colour for a reason) said “they wanted your ID as well?” to which I replied “yes, which was unusual”. The receptionist then started on me, saying that it has always been the hotel’s policy. The guy next to me said that he thought he was a victim of racism, and I can’t possibly comment on that, but the service was very odd from the receptionist. I replied saying I had stayed at the hotel several times and had never been asked for ID, but she was insistent that it was a policy at the hotel and that it was in the booking e-mail. I know bloody well it isn’t in the e-mail and so I perhaps unnecessarily asked her to show me where it was mentioned. She couldn’t find it and said that she didn’t know about third party booking sites and their emails.

I was a little annoyed at this service and mentioned I had booked with Accor directly so it was their email and I didn’t understand her hostility. Her claim was that the hotel was having problems with people pretending to be other people and that’s why ID was needed. At this point I couldn’t be bothered to argue any more, it isn’t the policy of Accor, Travelodge, Premier Inn or just about anyone else, although it is the policy of YHA but that’s because of child protection issues. I hope the poor guy got into the room that he had paid for, as the staff member’s attitude towards him was I felt completely unnecessary. It was nearly midnight and so this was an unkind and potentially reckless way to treat one of their customers, although I was just relieved that I had my ID so as not to be caught up in the same dispute.

Fortunately everything in the room was fine as I hardly dared go back down to reception anyway…… But with that, my day was complete and I could reflect on the glorious views that I had seen on the challenge event and all of the mountains that I had summited without complaint.
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May 22, 2022
Greater Anglia : Norwich to London Liverpool Street

As this is a journey that I often take, I wasn’t going to write about it, but Greater Anglia’s choice of train annoyed me. So, I have.

Norwich railway station on a Wednesday lunch-time in February, it’s getting busier, but I’m sure that passenger numbers aren’t there yet. Shame that West Cornwall Pasty, which was to the left of Starbucks, has closed, but that unit could perhaps be turned into a Greggs…. The M&S at the railway station is still closed, it’s been like that for two years now.

Here’s the train, all shiny on Platform 2.

And then I realised this. It’s the bloody Stansted Express train they’re using again. I thought to myself just how not ideal this was.

I have no idea why Greater Anglia keep using these Stansted Express trains, they were never designed for this route. They don’t have tables, they don’t have first class (not that that much matters to me) and they don’t have a buffet car (actually, that doesn’t much matter to me either). Other customers have asked Greater Anglia why they use these trains on social media, but it’s seemingly a mystery to customers and Greater Anglia alike. Two groups came walking by me on the train on a hunt for tables, but their search would have been forlorn. The conductor, who was friendly and helpful, made an announcement saying that a last minute train change was required, but this train continually goes up and down the Norwich to London mainline so it’s not a rare occurence.

A lack of table is annoying when using a laptop, although the power points worked. It’s quite hard to sit at these seats without wanting to put your feet on the chairs opposite, because that would make using a laptop much easier. However, I consider that to be a crime against humanity, although it’s possible to put one foot on the heating panel below the window. Greater Anglia have also decided they’d like their trains to be like rolling furnaces along the track in some sort of commemoration of the heat of steam engines, and there’s no way for a customer to cool the carriage themselves.

We arrived into London Liverpool Street at the unusual platform 4 (unusual as in this train doesn’t usually stop there, it’s otherwise a normal platform) which I guess is because they’ve decided that the Stansted Express train was going to be used to go to Stansted.

London Liverpool Street is definitely looking busier. All of the e-tickets were failing (again) so the gate guard was busy checking tickets manually, which I’m not sure is how the system is meant to work.

As an aside, I went to the rear of the station and this is all looking much tidier.

I don’t know when this was landscaped, but the whole area around London Liverpool Street appears to be being modernised, it’s all a clear improvement.

I suppose it’s hard to complain with a fare that’s only £10 from Norwich to London (although, as is evident here, I’ve had a good go), but this would be a nicer journey if the train was more comfortable. But, the staff on board were friendly and conversational, although the train was rather hot, but everything ran to time and was efficient.

February 17, 2022
Crossrail : London Paddington to Reading

One thing that I have realised is just how confusing the rail pricing is from London to Reading, with the rail fare being at least £20 if looking to use rail booking web-sites. I discovered, to my surprise and delight, that it’s a little over £11 if travelling off-peak on the new Crossrail service, which is much more realistic. It’s not ideal though that this train journey pricing isn’t on the rail matrix for those trying to book tickets, another failing of the whole Crossrail set-up. Anyway, complaining aside, the signage at London Paddington is clear and I caught the train with just a minute to spare.

Inside the Crossrail train carriages, this really could do with power points, but they decided early on that they weren’t going to bother with that burden. Nor does the train have toilets, despite the length of the journey and they had to bend the rules as a train service of this length would usually require toilets on board. I suspect they’ll retrofit power points at some random time in the future, it’s rare for services not to have them now. But, to be fair, these decisions were made by Boris Johnson when he was London Mayor, so it’d be unkind to expect them to be any good. Anyway, enough politics.

At the moment the train is departing from London Paddington to get to Reading, they still haven’t quite finished the testing of the middle section between London Liverpool Street and London Paddington. This whole line was meant to open in 2018, just as an indication of how messed up the entire project has become, billions over budget. However, it is a very useful line to cut across London and it increases capacity as well as speeding up many journeys. Unfortunately, the Crossrail 2 project which would have been equally useful was scrapped by Boris Johnson in his Prime Ministerial role in 2020. It will probably be reinstated in the future, although the earliest opening date would now be in the late 2040s at very best according to TFL.

It wasn’t a particularly packed service, but it was clean throughout.

There’s the journey section between London Paddington and Reading. Hopefully this signage will all be removed this year as the entire line should be formally opening in late 2022.

And getting off at Reading, on time and as expected.

I didn’t linger at Reading station as the weather was quite stormy, but the railway station feels quite modern with a new section added onto the older building.

This proved to be an easy way into Reading from London, with the journey taking under an hour. The facilities have actually been downgraded since GWR ran this line, as they offered more comfortable seating, power points and toilets. But, there has been an increase in capacity and for any passenger wanting to go through to east London, this is a much more efficient service than changing at Paddington and then switching to the underground and then another train.

February 17, 2022
London – Tower of London (Wild Flowers)

Last year I went to look at the poppies that they put in the moat of the Tower of London, this year they’ve dug the moat up to grow wildflowers. As an aside, I still think it’d look better with water in it, but it’s been a dry moat since it was drained during the nineteenth century.

The Tower authorities are making some big holes around the place as they’re planting 20 million seeds this spring so that they flower from June to September, to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. There will be chance to walk amongst the wildflowers, but I imagine that’ll be expensive, so I’ll just return in a few months to take photos from the same elevated position. I’m sure it’ll look impressive when the flowers grow (and probably play havoc with my hayfever), it certainly looks like they’re going to a lot of trouble to get it right.

And as an aside, here are a few more photos of the exterior of the Tower of London at night whilst I was meandering around it.

February 16, 2022
London – Westminster (Borough of) – Oxford Street – Hard Rock Cafe (3rd Visit)

This visit to the Hard Rock restaurant at Marble Arch is from a couple of weeks ago, another funded by a promotion from The Fork.

Like another customer, I tried to be seated away from the stage, but they’re not having any of that. This has happened before and I think the staff are privately slightly annoyed that the restaurant is paying for entertainment, this is a music venue and that customers are trying to sit away from it. Fortunately, the music wasn’t too loud and seemed to my highly untrained ear to be suitably professional.

I was aware of the restaurant’s limited beer choice before going, but this was a tolerable option. It’s expensive at £5.50 and although I wasn’t paying, that really is at the high end of the scale. There are other options, such as a pint of Heineken which costs £5.95 and a Birra Moretti which costs £6.75. This isn’t a venue that will much care what CAMRA think, but they charge significantly more proportionally for a half than for a pint.

The BBQ chicken with fries, coleslaw and ranch style beans. This is a photo of the second meal, as the chicken they brought over on their first attempt was cold in the middle. I think they’re brought in pre-cooked as the chicken was entirely cooked, it was just cold rather than raw. I always have a moment of wondering whether the meal is tolerable to avoid having to waste it and complain, but it was fridge cold in the middle and that was far from ideal.

The staff member was apologetic and took it away immediately, and the wait for a new meal wasn’t too long. The chicken was tender and moist, with the half a chicken portion being entirely sufficient. The chips were the usual fluffy on the interior and firm on the exterior arrangement, with the coleslaw being of a good quality but rather sparsely portioned. For those paying full price, the meal would be £16.75, which isn’t cheap, but isn’t entirely unreasonable given the location and prestige of the restaurant. Although hopefully usually they’ll cook it properly.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was comfortable and the staff were attentive and polite, so the experience was once again positive. The number of offers here seem to be reducing, so I imagine that they’ll be gone nearly entirely in the next few weeks as the number of customers starts to return to normal. Anyway, I’d merrily recommend the restaurant, but would still recommend going on a voucher offer…..

February 9, 2022
London – Trailer for Group Trip in February

For legal reasons (I don’t want to be sued) I usually have to be careful about blogging about group trips, but I’ve received permission to blog about a trip to London in late February that I think eight or so of us are going on. This is just a little trailer post and I like blogging weekends as they’re good for access numbers on this blog (mostly Gordon’s legal team) and so I need little convincing to do them.

We’ve been planning this for a while and this was initially meant to be a trip to Amsterdam, but Omicron and the like means it’s just a little too early for some of our party to want to go there. We’ll do a foreign overseas trip later in the year if this weekend doesn’t end in arguments and a punch-up.

It’s a cross between a walking weekend and a drinking weekend, but it’s mostly the latter, although this might not be clear to all of the group at this stage. Steve focuses on the walking arrangements and I focus on the drinking arrangements, because walking can lose its excitement without lots of beer. I’ll also put myself in charge of most of the food arrangements, although that will be less of a surprise to the group.

The itinerary is something like:

Fri 25 Feb: Bermondsey Beer Mile (1 mile / 17 breweries/pubs)
Sat 26 Feb: Tracing the line of Falcon Brook (8 miles, 6 pubs)
Sun 27 Feb: Walking the Monopoly Board (14 miles, 7 pubs)
Mon 28 Feb: Limehouse to Little Venice along the Regents Canal (9 miles, 7 pubs)

And Goose Island is booked for the Saturday evening, wooo!!! Now that is a delight and I can almost taste the decadent drinks already. Gordon is bringing cash to buy a barrel of the Bourbon County Stout as he’s kind like that.

Names to be confirmed, but we likely have the following:

Steve – supreme leader of one of Norfolk’s best walking groups, he’s cool, calm and very collected. Annoyingly photogenic, smooth and really lots of things that Gordon would want to be. Knowledgeable about cars, he’s going on a pilgrimage in a few months and I hope he’s quieter than when Gordon went shrieking along it.

Sarah – becoming one of the strongest walkers in Norfolk, she’s now entering LDWA events like a champion. A bit huggy, but I don’t say anything.

Andy – after strolling out bravely into the waters on the St. Cuthbert’s Way trip, nothing phases him. Steve nearly had us drowned doing that walk, but Gordon and I don’t mention that any more. Richard and Andy will be able to discuss sandals.

Gordon – he retired early in his 40s and now lives in Old Catton in a private gated community. Quite an exotic and challenging character, he is always good for telling gossip. He’s recovering from nearly being washed away a few months ago. As mentioned earlier, his legal team read this blog carefully ready to take action, so I’ll have to be careful.

Susanna – the model of the group, a Marilyn Monroe figure and another tough walker. Spiritually beautiful and has a great knowledge of history and culture.

Richard – a VIP guest and he’s getting better at this beer drinking thing. He might be bringing his Christmas jumper which will annoy at least four people (Andy will probably embrace the quirkiness though). Richard might not be doing much of the walking.

There are two more people I’m not sure if they’re coming or not, more on them when they’re confirmed 🙂

How exciting! I don’t get to go to London enough, so this is all rather lovely. As usual, I’ll be the calming influence on the group, as well as being the voice of sanity and reason.

January 24, 2022
London – Hammersmith and Fulham (Borough of) – Apprentice You’re Fired Recording

I got a ticket to see the third episode of the Apprentice – You’re Fired being filmed and this is the delight of the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. I managed to stand in the wrong queue last week when waiting to watch the Unbelievable Truth being recorded as I should have been in the priority queue, but here there was just one queue and that was something that confused a fair few people who tried to walk straight to the front of the queue. I didn’t walk to the front of the queue as I’m not that brave to check such things, but I was impressed at the nerve of those people who did. Although they then looked sheepish walking back again.

There were thorough checks here unlike in other things I’ve been to recently, they needed to see proof of vaccination and proof of a negative test, hence the delay in proceedings to get everyone in. It was all efficiently managed though and the staff were keen to be helpful to everyone, which boded well.

Before the recording started it was fine to take photos, but after the floor manager gave an introduction to the process then phones were entirely banned from proceedings. There were some dire warnings made if anyone tried to use their phone during the recording and I didn’t see anyone brave enough to try and break the rules. We then got to watch this week’s episode of the Apprentice before the You’re Fired show was recorded.

And the rest I can’t say anything about as the episode doesn’t broadcast until Thursday, but it was interesting to watch how the programme was made. I was at the end of a row and the crane camera was very near to me when it panned across, so my hope of hiding in the background probably won’t have been met, but there we go….. I was told that I could wear my usual face mask if I wanted (my LDWA branded one), but I opted for a medical mask so I looked slightly more in keeping with most other people in the audience. One man was told twice to put his mask over his nose, but he ignored that and there wasn’t much they could do when filming had started.

Incidentally, I noted a few people tried to take the Hired and Fired card, even though they asked everyone not to. I think they managed to reclaim a fair few of them from leaving the studio and I decided a photo of it was all that I needed. The filming was a bit laborious in places, but they met the time schedules we had been given, so everything remained professional. An interesting experience and I’d go again in the future if I got chance, although you can only be in the audience for one episode per series.

January 18, 2022
London – Hounslow (Borough of) – Tabard Pub

This is a Greene King pub, so I obviously didn’t come here for the beer, but instead because it’s listed in the Good Beer Guide and it was designed by Norman Shaw. There’s also the bonus that this was a building that Nikolaus Pevsner thought was “especially attractive”, so what could Greene King possibly mess up? Firstly, they make no effort to mention the history on the pub’s page on the Greene King web-site, the usual lack of effort they make in so many ways.

There’s a corridor type entrance, with doors to the left and right. Food is served throughout the day and there’s a menu board visible on entry, next to the rather nice pillars. CAMRA have some information about the pub’s history on their Historic Interiors pages.

That’s the other side of the door that’s on the left in the previous photo. There’s a Wikipedia page about the pub at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tabard,_Chiswick#Pub.

And the same door, but my phone’s wide angle makes it look much wider. The central bar is visible at the rear, just behind my well travelled bag. The atmosphere was a bit excitable for my liking with staff members singing away, but there’s nothing wrong with that as this is a pub which is keen on its music.

The beer was half a pint of the XX Mild from Greene King, which was served too warm, I think because of the temperature of the glass. The beer was adequate, about as good as Greene King manage to churn out. The service was verging on rude at first with staff members just standing about talking, but the staff member who served me was friendly and helpful enough.

This building is exceptionally interesting and there’s even a theatre on the first floor. I can understand why it’s in the Good Beer Guide as it’s an historic pub and that makes it worth visiting in itself. There were five different real ales available, mostly generic and none that particularly interested me. However, it’s nice to see a mild, so I’ll credit that with being the most exciting option that they had.

The reviews of the pub on-line are a little below average, mostly about unfriendly staff and food that didn’t surprise and delight. That probably seems to fairly sum the pub up, but they do respond professionally to all reviews that I’ve seen, so it’s positive that they’re keen to engage. I can’t help but feel that this pub would be lifted if it wasn’t operated by Greene King though, this is something that Fullers or Nicholsons would handle a lot better, but ideally it could perhaps do with an independent operator.

January 17, 2022
London – Islington (Borough of) – Cinnamon Tree (Exmouth Market)

What an appalling photo, but it’s what I have of the exterior of the Cinnamon Tree and so I’ll have to go with it. Richard was on one of his decadent business weekends to London, so we popped to Mikkeller at Exmouth Market as not enough people take me there and it’s one of my favourite bars. We had thought about eating there, but that plan fell apart as they weren’t serving food. I found that on TheFork (TripAdvisor’s booking system which keeps annoying me) the Indian restaurant over the road had 20% off food, so that seemed as good an option as any other.

We made the 30 second walk to the restaurant and there was a friendly welcome from the staff. It isn’t the largest Indian restaurant, but they had a couple of tables free. Richard is still wearing his Christmas jumper, even though it’s mid-January, but I didn’t say anything. We limited ourselves to just two poppadoms each instead of our usual three as it’s important to eat healthily. The quality was fine, nothing exceptional, but they met my expectations.

I’ve decided that any Indian restaurant that doesn’t serve a mango lassi is probably going to be disappoint me in general. The one here was a little expensive, but suitably rich. Richard went for a white wine which he didn’t think was exceptional, but I’m not a wine person so I wasn’t really that engaged with worrying about that. I noted the beer menu was generic though, they could just walk over the road to buy some cans from Mikkeller to give more options but I accept that it’s not always about the beer. Actually, I don’t accept that, it’s like an apology from Boris Johnson, a fake comment. Anyway, I mustn’t get engaged with politics on this blog, that’s not my aim…..

Another inadequate photo, this isn’t ideal. Richard had the salmon mach bahja which he was content with, whilst I had the chicken bhutako. I had never heard of that dish, but it transpires nor has Google, as my searches simply found the menu for this restaurant. It was similar in taste to jalfrezi and the chicken was tender, the sauce had a depth of taste to it and I thought it was perfectly decent. We shared a coconut rice that was acceptable, but not as deep in flavour as I’ve had before. The peshwari naan was suitably almondy, I enjoyed that. Everything was also at the appropriate hot temperature and it took around 12 minutes to be served after ordering. But, the food wasn’t as complex in flavour as I’d ideally like, there was a touch of the generic about it, although it was sufficiently tasty for me not to be disappointed.

The service was always timely and efficient, so the welcome felt authentic. Although three different people served us, there was no duplication of service, so everything felt well managed. I liked that they just lifted off the white tablecloth to reveal another white tablecloth underneath, which Richard had managed to stain as well. The staff didn’t say anything though….. I wonder why Indian restaurants bother with all this linen, it must be a bloody nuisance to keep sending off to be cleaned.

One review I noted, although it’s from 2016, is from a customer who went as a single diner and wasn’t welcomed. This is now incredibly rare, but I hate hearing about it (and hate how TheFork often don’t offer discounts for single diners) and hopefully that’s not their practice now. The review was titled about being an unhappy solo diner, noting:

“Despite restaurant being nearly empty insisted on seating me on a table next to door and at top of stairs by toilet. No sooner had fork touched the table each side dish mid meal was literally whisked away. Clearly just wanted you fed, paid up and out the door to clear the way for bigger parties.”

The 20% off food was taken off the bill, although a 10% service charge put on and the whole bill was hazy in its adding up so it was difficult to check. It came out at £20 each, which seems to be the fairly average price for a meal at an Indian restaurant, so that was fine. I’m not sure that I’d head here again as there was nothing exceptional here that I could think to mention. There was nothing wrong, but it just felt like so many run of the mill Indian restaurants about, and they need something to lift the experience. On the bright side though, we did get a chocolate each with the bill.

January 17, 2022