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Fizzling Out, apart from The Banquet

John, the friend who used to tell me what on the blackboard in my functionally blind days has lived in London all his life and has developed a number of ‘walks with facts’ over the years.  This trip was a perfect opportunity to enjoy a guided walk and we had a really good day-long meandering wander, from Whitechapel and through the City, ending up on the south bank for dinner near the National Theatre.  According to the pedometer on my iPhone it was about 12 miles.  We started our walk just behind Whitechapel Tube station where the first Jack the Ripper victim was discovered in 1888 at the beginning of a killing spree lasting only a little over two months.  I think people generally think it was over a much longer period.  When I was growing up this was very much a Jewish area but now is very Indian sub-continent and a Sari shop just along from the tube station was the location for the displaying of John Merrick, The Elephant Man as a curiosity....
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Exploring

We’ve bought a set of books of London walks and walking up here in ’the smoke’ reinforces the ‘country mile’ and ‘town mile’ difference.  A country walk may have wonderful views, fresh air or an unusual flower or tree now and again but they do tend to be spread out somewhat.  In town, certainly using a book, it seems quite normal to stop every few yards to look at something.  At home it’s nearly a four mile journey to the paper shop (and 4 miles back).  Four miles here would take you from The Tower of London to about Marble Arch.  The books do add a lot to the interest of a walk but annoyingly also contain some errors.  However there are some great little known facts (little known to me at least).   For instance, the former church of St Mark’s in Silvertown (well in the East End on the river) caught fire in the 1980’s and was saved from complete destruction when huge amounts of accumulated pigeon droppings on the roof fell and extingu...
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Getting Started

Well, we’ve come for a proper break to what is one of, if not the most exotic city in the world.  Yes I do know about New York (so good they named it ONCE) and I also know about New Amsterdam and accept that that it isn’t so catchy.   Having been born and grown up in East London, it all seems a bit strange.  Well, of course it would, we’re sauf of the river and staying in Abbey Wood just downstream from the great shipbuilding area of Woolwich, original home of the greatest football team, The Arsenal.  The only team in the whole football league not to be named after a geographic location and the only one to have a London tube station named after it.  For anyone who’s interested Arsenal station was originally Gillespie Road.  Those who aren’t interested can consider the next bit as social commentary.  I haven’t checked this for accuracy but I read that every club bar one in the Premier Division is situated in a Labour held constituency.  T...
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London intro

Dear all Heather had the bright idea that we should come to London in our motorcaravan for three weeks in February and it has turned out to be a brilliant one.   We’ve never had a long van trip to London in all the years we’ve had them, from 1977 with a few gaps and starting with the VW Microbus.  In those days apart from a few Australians ‘doing Europe’, we were by far the youngest people on the sites.  Now everyone seems about the same age.  Old. I shall be sending these notes over about a week after we get home although they have been mostly written on the trip, so a proper historical record.  It’s just that I refuse to pay the ridiculous amount the Caravan Club charges for an internet connection and I really can’t write these on my IPhone. As I always put in the introductory email, please let me know if you don’t want to receive these notes.  Some of you very kindly let me know that you enjoy them but I’m sure every one doesn’t read th...
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