Sunshine arrives in London on the day of the 100th pub sign

Last Wednesday (23 April) was St George's day and the very first day of a decent dose of sun. According to locals there was not much of a summer last year and the joy was palpable. The crowds were out in great force around all the pubs and eating places along the Thames where we went for a drink at the Market Porter with Alan's uncle, his sister and her partner prior to dinner at a restaurant near the Borough Market.

On Saturday (26 April) the sun shone warmly again in London with the temperature reaching the early twenties. We ventured out in short sleeves and no coats but still included the brollies just in case. Claire and Alan were keen to take me to The Farm, a favourite weekend brunch spot in Fulham Broadway. This was a good plan but they had not factored in the at home game for Chelsea and Mancheste United that was also happening. The sea of blue kit gathered intensity as we got closer to our destination and it was clear that most eating places were full to overflowing. However we managed to secure a table at The Farm and discovered that they had a special modified (ie reduced) menu for the occasion. This did not matter as our preferences were there - Eggs Benedict for Claire, Eggs Royal for me and a full cooked breakfast for Alan. It was delicious and the crowd dissolved quickly as the game starting time approached. The police were out in force in the street (manpower, vehicles, dogs, mounted police) and I was astounded as Claire told me the costs involved for a season ticket and the kit which most supporters seemed to have.


Claire and I then left Alan who had other engagements with his mates, and set off on a shopping afternoon in Marylebone High Street - chosen because I found out that there is a Button Shop nearby - The Button Queen. While catching the Tube, a voice called out to Claire and it turned out to be her friend Anna from Primary School who was in London on her honeymoon! How random! They have now caught up on Facebook but catching up turned out not to be feasible as they were off to Paris the next day.

We had a lovely afternoon in and out of gorgeous shops such as The White Company and Ollie and Nic, trying on a few things, buying me some new jeans (much easier with a daughter to assist) and picking up lunch from the Natural Kitchen which we ate in the grounds of St Marylebone market. The Button Shop was shut by the time we found it (Claire was relieved) and as usual we did not get as much done as intended (and not only because of pub signs I hasten to add) - but it mattered not. It seems fitting that the Marylebone Tup in the High Street was my 100th pub sign. I did not realise at the time or we would have had a drink there. Pub signs added since the last update are:

95 Cock and Hen, Fulham Broadway
96 The Prince Albert, Battersea
97 Tattersalls Tavern, Knightsbridge
98 Paxton's Head, Knightsbridge
and from today:
99 The Pontefract Castle, Wigmore St, Marylebone
100 The Marylebone Tup, Marylebone High Street
101 Prince Regent, Marylebone High Street
102 Angel in the Fields, Marylebone High Street
103 The Conduit of Tybourne, Marylebone Lane


Claire's friend Kate joined us at home in the late afternoon - in fact she was sitting near us on our bus and none of us realised until near the end of the journey - and we three went to the movies to see "21" which was fun.


All in all, a very pleasant way to spend a day. A web album of snapshots from the day is also online.

Monet's garden

The highlight and main purpose of Claire and I spending a weekend in Paris was this "must do" for gardeners. On Sunday we travelled by train from Paris to Vernon and then by bus to Giverny to visit Monet's house and garden, fulfilling one item on my long list of "must dos". The garden peaks in summer but seeing it in mid Spring was fabulous in its own right and arguably gave a better overall view of the structure as it was uninhibited by dense foliage. You could also gain a good sense of the promise of things to come with the fat buds and emerging fresh juvenile growth on vines, roses, perennials and deciduous trees and shrubs.

The slideshow below is a selection of the large number of photos taken.

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The house presides over the garden which is in two main sections - the geometrically laid out beds and the waterlilly pond. Our visit was punctuated by a shower of rain which meant we visited the waterlilly pond twice in two quite different light settings. On a macrp and micro level there is a seemingly endless set of visually compelling images.
The garden was not as extensive as I had imagined though it is intensely planted and would take a small army to keep in order - definitely not a low maintenance affair. I took over 200 photos and had a good time playing with close up shots. Many of the photos are for ideas in my own garden, particularly colour combinations of plants. The large number of visitors were easily absorbed along the many paths.
My favourite parts of the house were the kitchen and dining rooms - particularly for the colour schemes and as photography was not allowed I bought the postcards.
[I am experimenting with using Slideshare to embed a slideshow rather than link to an external web album. They each have their pros and cons and I have not decided yet which is generally better for my purposes .]

From London to Paris in 12 hours - a Eurostar saga

Claire and I set off from from London for Paris on Friday 21 April at 8pm expecting to arrive 2 hours later on the super fast Eurostar train. It turned out to be a comedy of errors with one technical failure after another. As a result we spent the whole night stranded on a broken down train in the middle of the French countryside, mostly in the dark and with little information provided. To make matters worse, people were allowed to smoke in the bar car which filtered through the other cars affecting myself and others with respiratory health issues. On the plus side, the staff were very helpful and responsive when alerted to medical issues. It was hard to know whether to laugh or cry as the situation went from bad to worse.

By 4am, in the absence of information updates, there was growing uncertainty and when the silhouetted figures of large darkly dressed men carring guns appeared in the doorways, it was not at all clear whether they were police coming to help or armed terrorists. Fortunately most passengers remained calm though frustrated and the gun-toting men were in fact police marshalling us to get off the train and walk along the track to the replacement train that had finally arrived from Paris. We then had a very slow journey to Paris towing the beleagured train behind us, arriving a little after 9am Paris time.

Upon arrival in Paris we were given some light refreshments (sweet sticky muffins and orange juice), taxi refund vouchers and an address for claiming a refund. Having lost a night's sleep, and therefore half our weekend we did not think that was enough and will be writing a letter.

Initial news report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/7356283.stm

Preliminary inquiry findings: (apparently the driver was to blame..... )https://outlook.education.tas.gov.au/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://uk.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUKL2112787920080421

Pub signs added today

Today's explorations took me to the London Bridge area. My plans were interupted when my camera battery ran out and I decided I could not possibly continue without out so I returned home to rethink my day, ending up going out again to the Theatre to see the Sound of Music West End production. More on that later.

Nevertheless I collected a number of new pub signs today from around the London Bridge and Tower Bridge areas (both I which I traversed).

It is curious how many of the older pubs are to be found down laneways, off the main drag. There must be a reason for this.

Pubs added today with links to their signs:

• 86. The Globe (in the Borough Market area - famous as the pub above which Bridget Jones lived in the films)
• 87. The Market Porter (Borough Market area)
• 88. The Wheatsheaf (Borough Market area)
• 89. The Old King's Head (down a lane in the Borough Market area)
• 90. The George (a haunt of Shakespeare and Dickens, now National Trust)
• 91. The Southwalk Tavern
• 92. Old Thameside Inn (right beside the Golden Hinde replica)
• 93. The Barrowboy and Banker (just across the road from London Bridge on the South side). This one is a cool name but only just qualifies under my criteria as its sign is a generic one for the Fullers chain of "ale and pie houses" - see also the Blackbird at Earl's Court. Further the image is very stylised.
• 94. The Imperial (just off Leicester Square in Theatreland)
  

The updated gallery complete with additional shots of the actual pubs and information where available are at http://picasaweb.google.com/j9bowes/PubSigns2008

Shipp's Tearooms - an absolute gem

Today while I was exploring Borough Market near London Bridge, I happened upon Shipp's Tearooms. The sight of the shop immediately prompted the reaction I get when a place, object or scene resonate in complete harmony with my tastes. What first caught my eye was the collection of china teacups suspended by the handles from the ceiling just inside the window. A glance inside revealed a pretty and interesting interior - an eclectic mix of embroidered tablecloths, unmatched chairs, pink walls with large mirrors and white chandeliers as lighting. Each table had a consistent but individually unique setting - a small flower arrangement, a candle, an ornament. Orders were served on china that did not necessarily match but was co-ordinated in terms of style.

The range of cakes and teas on offer was impressive and I enjoyed a pot of Orange Peko tea and a slice of Apple and Plum tart. The total bill for that was £ 5.25 which was exceptional value and the service was excellent. I was amused by the use of a scrabble ledge and letters to indicate a reserved table! I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who likes something outside the square.

They have a website http://www.shippstearooms.info/

Update on pub signs

I have now collected 85 pub signs and am in the process of defining my inclusion critera. Some places put up what I would call a pseudo sign - single colour, text only and generally they look pretty characterless. If the building appeals I might include them but in my opinion they are not in keeping with the original intent of pub signs which was to have a visual way of identifying a pub for illiterate people.

The full collection so far is at http://picasaweb.google.com/j9bowes/PubSigns2008

London Marathon

Last Sunday was the London Marathon and our planned picnic in Hyde Park to be there near the finish line was hijacked by the weather. Having been somewhat drenched the day before at Portobello Market, my daughter and her partner were reluctant for a reprise. They are great fans of the Marathon and Alan is a Marathon runner himself.

My knowledge of the Marathon was very limited so I found the TV coverage combined with Alan's personal knowledge most informative. By 1 pm I decided that I would brave the weather and go and check it out.

The photo story tells all about my little adventure (WARNING: many photos not directly related to the Marathon as such but rather my way of seeing things): Photo story is at http://picasaweb.google.com/j9bowes/LondonMarathon2008

Springime unfolds in London

Last time (the only other time!) I was in the United Kingdom, Autumn was emerging. It was a delight to see the leaves start to turn and to witness the vividness of colour compared to Australia. At the time some local press reported that the colours were particularly vivid that year because of an exceptionally warm summer. I wondered whether the colours also seemed moe intense than in Australia because there was more contrast with the background light - the brightness of Australian light really struck me on my return.

This time I am here in early Spring and in the two weeks since my arrival the emerging buds have plumped out and the earliest bulbs are fading. I am saving most of my garden visits until May when Spring will be at its peak. Whilst I have always been interested in gardens, my knowledge and personal endeavours have grown significantly since I was last here. I am hoping that my photos will capture the changing season.

England by pub signs

Fourteen years on, I was quite surprised to note that my fascination with English Pub signs had not dwindled and so on my first day here I decided to collect photos of them. I love them as little works of art both in the sign itself and the wrought iron hanger.

It has proven to be a great way to explore new parts of London. Pick an area, and see where the pub signs take you! In the process I have happened upon many serendipitous discoveries of interesting shops, pieces of history and pretty scenes.

I have read that there are 3500 pubs in London alone! So far I have collected 50 including two from Scandinavia. Getting good photos of the signs is quite problematic - getting close enough necessarily means looking up on a steep angle. One needs to take account of the background (sky or building?) so that the detail can be picked out and try not to be intrusive to any local patrons.

I am assembling an album of the full collection of pubs and their signs

First week in London

I've now been here a full week and settled into a routine of sorts. When I was here in 1994 it was all about cramming as much as possible into each day. Because I have many weeks this time round, I have the luxury of a more leisurely pace, savouring each treat rather than becoming numbed and blasse from overload. It also gives me time to notice and enjoy the emerging Spring and respond to whatever I feel like doing each day. A favourite way to spend a day is to pick an area and really check it out - I love the planned and the serendipitous. The thrill of turning a corner and unexpectedly happening upon some well known landmark or building.
Claire and Alan have made me very welcome and comfortable - I am becoming familiar with all the bus routes to and from their flat, partly through a trial an error process!
The highlights so far have been

• Covent Garden


• the Boat Race


• Victoria and Albert Museum


• the Terracotta Army and


• Rediscovering my previous interest in pub signs - 32 so far and growing daily!

Last Friday I decided to go to Covent Garden and whilst a tad disappointed in the markets, the buskers were amazing and the surrounding streets exciting with all the theatres and pub signs. I kept hearing different songs from musicals in my head, prompted by street signs. Seeing the proximity of the Royal Opera House to the Covent Garden market conjured images of Eliza Doolittle and her flower basket.