Happy December everybody! As is becoming traditional, I took a week off to celebrate my inability to plan my annual leave well and it’s surprising how I can find things to fill a chilly November week every year. I won’t tell you everything I got up to, as there was lots of sitting around eating or drinking but there are a few interesting things I saw along the way that the world in general might wanna know about:
1) Penguin trail
This was a very happy accident but, walking from Farringdon to Waterloo between breakfast and lunch dates, I spotted a couple of these perky fellas. Turns out there’s a whole penguin trail around Fleet Street and it’s on till January. More information here.
2) Eco dome
Now, this is a quirky thing to find among the windswept highrises of Stratford. Roo and I were on our way to the London Aquatic Centre for a swim and spotted this dome, which is a apparently an outdoor classroom and insect habitat. It is also a bit trippy, as the ceiling panels seem to change colour depending on the angle you’re looking at. An interesting little detour.
3) Prison Art
This is one of the only things I had planned for the week – a trip to the “No Comment” exhibition on Level 1 of the Royal Festival Hall (underneath the Clore Ballroom). The artworks ranged from incredible to slightly inexplicable – a single word written on a white piece of paper was on sale for £540. One of my favourites was art made entirely from grains and seeds:
And another from matchsticks:
It’s worth checking out and strangely, one of the curators (Jeremy Deller) is also holding a Santa’s grotto for adults at the Walthamstow Trades Hall in a couple of weeks’ time. The Trades is the home of Disco 2000 so it feels like a bit of a small world…
4) Free toilets
Not exciting for everyone, I realise that but a novelty in Central London. I took an impulsive shortcut through Lincoln’s Inn Fields and found loos that were free and didn’t even have those chilly metal seats. You can thank me in your own time.
5) Hipster pastries
The obvious companion piece to prisoner art is Arôme – a hipster bakery in Covent Garden, which is where we went for lunch straight after the Royal Festival Hall. There was a queue to be seated so we got a takeaway and perched on a bench on Mercer Walk. I had the seaweed and tomato jam scroll, which was a little odd but tasty. My companion Mimbles had the hotdog and BBQ sauce croissant and pronounced it very enjoyable…so maybe I just chose poorly. The homemade lemonade hit the spot though.
6) A new coffee shop
I think I might have mentioned Helen’s Coffee on the Green in North Chingford on the blog before. Probably around this time last year, when I was shuttling back and forth almost constantly. Well, the shuttling is thankfully over but sadly Helen’s closed earlier this year. Here’s the good news though – a new coffee shop has opened up in its place! It’s called Randerson’s Cafe and they sell delicious homemade cakes and Perky Blenders coffee. Well worth stopping off if you’re in the area.
7) A broken playground
While I had many coffee or dining companions during the week, only one of them demanded I find him a playground. His wish was my command, and it just so happened that we were near St John’s Churchyard, which I last visited in 2015. After reading my own blog post for reference, we found the way in but alas – the main climbing frame was out of order. There were still swings and a spinning thing and bouncy things…and squirrels. So all was not lost!
8) A Victorian bathhouse
I also got a chance this week to check out the intriguing Victorian bathhouse just behind Liverpool Street. If you’re ever invited to go inside, it’s well worth a visit. It’s just as quirky inside as it is outside. I shall say no more…!
9) New overground signage
This is probably well-worn news by now but over the past week, the Overground signage has gradually morphed into the new names and colours. No, they did not take my suggestions, but nevertheless, it’s interesting to see the updates. There are some confusing bits – I don’t know whether it’s just a work in progress but the signage at Stratford has you following the orange signs until you’re in the subway, when they abruptly change to light blue “Mildmay” signs. And this sign at the Hackney Downs/Hackney Central interchange doesn’t know whether it’s coming or going:
But here’s the more pleasing version:
And I bet you’re wondering what all the new lines look like in rainbow order, don’t you? Wonder no more!
10) Lots of Christmas trees
Well, what do you expect this time of year?? Here are just four of the beauts I spotted on my way around town:
Happy Advent everyone!
