London Calling
Wednesday, 22 February 2023
VOICES IN THE PARK by Anthony Browne a review.
Wednesday, 18 January 2023
POEM OF THE WEEK : Lightning Strike by John Clegg
Thursday, 3 November 2022
A WALK ALONG THE WEY NAVIGATION from Pyrford Lock to Newark Lock and Ripley Village
Tony Brown and I beside The Wey Navigation.
Thursday 6th October 2022. Tony and I went for a
walk. We go walking together often, along with John Lodge. John couldn’t make
it this time so Tony and I decided that we would walk the canalised part of the
River Wey from near Wisley. There was no thought of a given distance. We merely
wanted a pleasant walk and a pub lunch in
whatever establishment we came across.
Walking, It is what us human beings are made for. I remember
teaching and learning about the human body with some of the primary school
classes I taught over the years I would
get the class into groups and each group would lay out a long piece of lining paper on
the floor. A child would volunteer to lie down on the paper. Other children
would draw an outline around them. The whole group, using books and diagrams as
source information, would draw a skeleton within the outline shape, naming the
bones. Then muscles attached to the
bones and interior organs would be sketched and labelled too. Once the whole
diagram had been finished the children had created a life size, detailed
diagram of the human body. Muscles attached to bones showed where they pushed
and pulled creating movement in any particular limb. It was obvious for all to
see that the whole of the human body was designed to move. When we watch the
Olympic Games every four years humans jump, run, swim, dive, twist and turn,
throw and balance. Every possibility of human movement is explored and employed
in the most amazing ways. When we don’t move, we become sedentary. We can lose
our full potential. Not moving for a long time affects our brain and moods. We
only have to think of our own experience.
Tony drove to my
house in West Barnes Lane and came in for a cup of tea and a chat with Marilyn
and I. When we were ready , Tony did the driving, we drove down the A3. Once
past The Kingston bypass and the Ace of Spades roundabout we get out of Greater
London.
“Is this where the fifty mile an hour speed limit finishes?
“asked Tony.
“Yes.”
And so we accelerated up to seventy miles per hour.
Tony is a smooth driver and we sped swiftly onwards. At
first fields and sheds and small industrial units appear on each side. A
liminal space, neither countryside, residential or industrial, an in-between
world, one type of terrain melding into the other. Then dense woodland, Oxshott
Woods, with footbridges arching over the top of us from one side to the other.
Sometimes you can see horses being ridden over a bridge. In its full autumn
foliage, the A3 feels like driving through a canyon of leafy walls. A pleasant
wilderness, a great forest. Of course from an aerial viewpoint and on my satnav I could see villages and towns and farms not far away, but, for that
stretch of road you can dream. I like this drive. It’s not just a long black tongue
of road leading for seventy miles down to Portsmouth. The sense of forest and
wilderness appeals to something primal perhaps inside all of us.
We turned off for Wisley, coming off the slip road on the
left and passed under the A3 and drove back up the A3 on the opposite side for
a mile until we came to the partly hidden Wisley turn off shielded
behind trees and shrubs.
The Wisley Road to Pyrford Lock on The River Wey passes the
entrance to the RHS Wisley Gardens on the left. It is a winding road tree lined
with some depth of woodland in places but also with fields visible through the
gaps in the trees followed by open areas of fields. The road has no pavements.
It is just wide enough for two cars to pass. But the blind bends and turns make
it difficult to drive along. A driver needs to be fully engaged and fully
concentrating on the road ahead. We passed Wisley Church and thought it would
be a good idea to visit the church on our way back. It is a small stone built
church mostly from the 12th century. We wound our careful way to the
Pyrford Lock where the Anchor Pub is located right on the side of the river. A
car park next to the river is on the right but we drove into the larger car
park on the left across the road from The Anchor.
The Wey Navigation.
We set out We discussed the idea that we would walk
along the river and canal for a while and then turn back to have a pub lunch at
The Anchor. A lock gate leaking water to
the lower level was next to the bridge crossing the river here. A pathway wends
its way towards Guildford on the left bank so we started our walk in that
direction. Trees still green with leaves, a few turning autumn yellow. The river
full to the top of the banks after recent rains, glassy smooth, reflecting the
trees and shrubs. It is amazing how walking promotes talking.
“Is the river flowing?” Tony wondered. It looked so still
and glassy.
We stopped for a moment and observed the surface. We could
see the river moving to our right almost imperceptibly. It was flowing in the direction
of the Thames which it feeds at Shepperton Lock near D’Oyly Carte Island.We
noticed masses of what at first looked like large clumps of watercress growing
profusely on both sides of the river. Again we stopped to look more carefully.
We decided that it wasn’t watercress but what appeared to be small lily pads
but probably something else entirely. These days an app on your phone can
recognise almost any plant, tree or shrub and provide you with information as
well as a picture. However Tony hasn’t got a plant recognition app on his
phone and I deleted the one I had. I used the app assiduously for a while and
then lost interest in it. We will have to wait for another time to identify
that particular water plant.
The banks of the river and canal changed as we walked along.
Sometimes the banks were those of a river, winding and curving. At other times,
especially where there were locks the river was straight sometimes with brick
built sides and sometimes with turf sides. I have never seen a turf sided canal
before.
Lock gate near Pyrford.
The Wey River Navigation is one of the oldest types of canal in the
country. A turf canal was first
constructed along The River Wey between 1618 and 1619 by Sir Richard Weston an owner of the
land stretching either side of the river.He built a three mile cut through his
land in 1618. The Guildford
Corporation petitioned the King to extend the canalisation so that boats could
reach Guildford from the Thames.The work was completed in November 1653. This new
canal, the idea for which came from visits to the Netherlands, improved the
economy of Guildford and mid Surrey well before the Industrial Revolution and the
northern canal systems. Wood to rebuild London after the Great Fire of 1666
came from Surrey via The Wey Navigation. Stone from quarries near Guildford was
moved along the canal and was used for building of St Paul’s Cathedral. Timber,
corn, flour, wood and gunpowder moved north along the canal and then down the
Thames to London. By linking Guildford and hence mid Surrey to The Thames,
exports from Europe by the Hanseatic
League, ( a commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and
market towns growing from a group of north German towns in the late 12th
century) provided wood, tar, cereals, fish, salt and many other items. Wines from
Italy and Spain and many other links could be accessed from the trading highway
The Thames provided and could be transported to Guildford. From the 18th century the,”
triangular trade,” created by The Royal Africa Company involved enslaved
Africans from the West Coast of Africa. The slaves were used on the plantations
to grow sugar cane and the sugar created great wealth for Britain. Products
such as sugar reached Guildford along
the canal.
Nowadays our present government is
critical of any emphasise on the effects that 18th century slavery
still plays today. The fact that we have systemic racism in most large organisations,
denied by our Conservative Government, and racist acts and attitudes are still
prevalent in our society, can be
directly linked to our attitudes and beliefs deriving from our past trade in
slaves . I think we have to be aware of
that to able to address the issues that occur today and not just say , that all
happened in the past. By knowing our history and accepting its
consequences we can begin to solve
racist problems today. Change only comes about through knowledge and being
aware.
The Pathway wending its way along
the side of the Wey Navigation is cared for by The National Trust. The Trust members
these days are divided along political and
social factions because of the different attitudes to historical interpretation, some of which is linked to our slave trade past and some attributed to how we
differ on our views about land management and the attitudes to the countryside
as a whole. I am a member of The National Trust. It’s houses, landscapes and gardens
are without doubt national treasures and absolutely amazing to be able to visit.The
National Trust allows all of us to experience, historic houses and their
treasures, historic landscapes such as Capability Brown designed gardens, forests, moors and mountains. They
also have to pay regard to current issues about sustainability, the
environment, interpretation of our past history and also take into account the
effects our past has on our present such as the legacy of colonialism and
slavery. Some members think there is too
much emphasis on the legacy of slavery. Slavery created the wealth for building
many of The Trusts properties and lands. Therefore the role of slavery surely must be part of the
interpretation of our past.
With regards to the landscape and
the grounds of many of The Trust properties, some think The National Trust should
only be involved in keeping the landscapes as they always were. As long as this
does not damage our environment they can do that I think. However, members are divided. The
National Trust by its very name has to take into account national issues. It
can’t be divorced from the real world. The management of our environment helps
us all. The historic landscapes the trust oversees were developed to meet the
needs of past times. Many trust members think that aspects of them should develop
in line with the needs of today. Originally these landscapes and grand estates
were developed to meet the needs of
different times.
It appeared to Tony and I that the fields around The Wey are affected by some of these issues. Fields near us were in a wild and unkempt state. Tony and I talked about food production in Britain. There we were surrounded by fields and marshes much of which did not appear to be farmed.One weedy and overgrown field had a single cow in it. I wondered if this was part of the rewilding happening on some National Trust properties. Some think rewilding is wrong. Tony made the point that Britain needs to grow as much food as it can and be more self sufficient than we are at present. I think both arguments are right . We need to produce food as a country but we also need to nurture and care for nature. Some might think that is sentimental . However, I know this from exploring habitats in school even with young children, that the smallest habitats interrelate by way of ecosystems and there is a reliance on each part for all parts to thrive. Plants rely on the soil and climate,insects rely on plants, birds and dormice rely on insects, larger preditors rely on the small animals and so the chain goes on. There are those among us who wonder what all this means for us humans. Healthy habitats and the larger ecosytems affect the air we breath, the water we drink, the standards of food we eat. All of life is connected. If ecosystems are destroyed then in the long run we do indeed destroy ourselves. Rewilding has a very important purpose in sustaining the ecosystms we need to survive, creating those important environmental chains.
As humans we need to connect
with nature, as Tony and I were doing in our walk, helping us to become
stronger physically and mentally. Breathing fresh air and the beauties of
nature are good for us in many ways. It makes you feel good and a healthy
environment does you good.
As we walked along the river, various locks and sluices have been added and developed over the centuries. One sluice gate near Ripley had a late 19th century date on it . So it is obvious the canal has not remained exactly as it was when first made in the 17th century. The canal has had a history that continues and develops up to the present day. The arguments of one faction in the National Trust is regressive and not helpful and damaging. We need to look at our world in the round.One final point about The Wey path being cared for by the National Trust.As Tony and I walked along there were many pristine and shiny house boats , some anchored at the side of the canal, one or two chugging along gracefully in mid stream. The very use of the canal,not only being used by Tony and myself as a very pleasant walk but the canal is also being used in ways that are appropriate to nowadays. Those arguing for nothing to change have lost out already in the uses of The Wey Navigation.
One of the things I always enjoy on
a walk is passing other people.Two ladies of our age , probably in the
retirement category like Tony and I walked past us going the opposite way. We naturally
moved to make way for each other and none of us broke step. A nod of
acknowledgement, a smile, a word or two overheard. It was a fleeting human
connection. We have never met them before and they have never met us. We will
never see each other again.It is a few seconds of all our lives. Strange to
think of our life’s journey and obviously their life’s journey leading to those
fleeting seconds. It’s good to acknowledge other humans , a glance, a smile.
That is all it takes.I suppose you know you are not alone on this planet.
John Donne lived near Ripley for a
short part of his life. As we walked along we came across some large houses
partly hidden behind trees and lush lawns. These homes had their own riverside quays to tie up
boats . Next to the river on the
opposite side we saw a two storey brick built building with a strange, what
appeared to be an oriental style roof. Tony thought it looked like a Dutch
design. I noticed the brickwork looked weathered and the individual bricks were
narrow and wide. From visits to Hampton Court, as a comparison, they looked like Tudor brickwork. The windows, top
and bottom were lead latticed in a diamond formation which also leant this
building an ancient feel and look. I noticed a plaque on the side of the
building. It read,
“John Donne lived here. 1600-1604”
Jonne Donne the poet and Deane of
St Pauls Cathedral in the City of London, suffered financial problems at one
time in his life and he stayed here as cheap alternative accomodation. This riverside building
had been part of a larger complex, no longer in existence. It belonged to his wife’s
(Anne More) family. I wonder if he felt inspired to write any of his poetry
here?
Perhaps he complained about the sun
waking him in the morning?
THE SUN RISING
Busy old fool, unruly sun,
Why dost thou thus,
Through windows, and through curtains call on us?
Must to thy motions lovers’ seasons run?
Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide
Late school boys and sour prentices,
Go tell court huntsmen that the king will ride,
Call country ants to harvest offices,
Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime,
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time …
Further on we caught sight of Newark
Priory, set in an expansive meadow across the river from us. It was established
in 1189 but redeveloped in 1312.The priory is set on a large island and cannot
be easily reached. It is not open to the public because it is privately owned. A service is held once a year
in its ruins lead by the Bishop of Guildford. It stands alone.The parts that
remain are a steeply pitched end wall of what was once a great hall or perhaps
the church that once stood here. Other ruined walls of buildings and rooms are clustered there. When
you see a ruined place like this thoughts go to what life was like in a place
like that when it was a vibrant religious establishment. Tony suggested the
priory made its living from mills on the river. The meadows surrounding it
could have been used for sheep farming. I read on Wikipedia that the priory
also owned land and property in the city of London from which it could exact
rents.
After observing the priory Tony and
I reached Newark Lock. We stood for a while listening to the sound of rushing
water and observing two swans gliding by gracefully. A sign post nearby pointed
us in the direction of Ripley Village. I have never been to Ripley before. It
has a wide main street. Tudor timber frame buildings are interspersed with
white Georgian fronts and Victorian brick built structures. Standing in the centre
of the village we could see at least
three pubs . The names of the pubs in Ripley all have nautical names. Ripley
was on the main route from London to Portsmouth, so many sailors passed this
way in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Ship Inn looked inviting but when we arrived at the door it was closed. Further west down the High Street we could see the sign for The Anchor. When we reached it it too was a timber frame building. I noticed a small round Michelin sticker on one window as we passed but didn’t give it a lot of thought. We walked into a low beamed room and walked to the counter in front of us. A young lady came to enquire our needs. As I approached her I suddenly staggered to the left. A steep slope in the floor from one level to another caught me unawares. A little embarrassing. Jokingly I said to the girl that the restaurant wanted to keep people off balance. She didn’t take it as a joke and pointed out a warning sign below the desk she stood at. The sign was indeed a warning about the slope but it wasn’t at eye level. I think the restaurant was at fault but I laughed it off. Another young lady showed us to a table and gave us each a menu. Looking around it could be seen that different rooms from different connected buildings had been made into one space by demolishing dividing walls. There were lots of nooks and crannies which gave it an old comfortable ambience. We decided we liked it.
The menus were a little,” eye
watering.” They were pricey. I remembered the Michelin sticker in the window
and asked the manageress about this. The restaurant had been awarded a Michelin
approved status. It did not have a Michelin star but the manageress explained
that they were obliged to produce food of a Michelin star standard. Having Michelin recognition without the star allowed them to be more experimental and not keep
to the narrow menu a Michelin star might require. Then Tony and I focussed more on the prices of the individual dishes,
took a deep breath and decided, after a pause and a bit of muttering between us,
that we would order food, consoling each other that we didn’t do this sort of
thing often. The pricing was double what we would have normally expected to pay
, but hey, anyway.
We ordered two pints of the Rebellion IPA brewed at the local Ripley
brewery. Local breweries are producing some excellent beers these days and this
particular IPA had a lovely light flowery flavour and at 3.7% it wasn’t too
strong. We had a return journey along the Wey Navigation to achieve yet.
We both ordered from the A La Carte
menu. I ordered a starter of ,”Hand divided Scallops with a raisin and caper
vinaigrette.” My main course was ,”Seed
crusted venison with a butternut puree pickled blackberries and roast shallots.”
Ok I know what you are thinking. “Blimey.” Well, I can report the food was
delicious. It appeared on square white china plates. The food was laid out on
our plates like works of artwork that Picasso would have been proud of. It
looked fantastic, but, disappointingly, the portions were tiny. For my starter the
waitress presented me with the plate of scallops and then in a dramatic manner
posing like an actress dribbled the vinaigrette sauce in a swirling flourish
over the scallops. Of course when you order ,”posh,” food this is what you have
to expect. We took our time
sipping our pints of IPA. We also took our time eating the food, not wanting to eat it too quickly, reassuring each
other how good it tasted. I would love
to eat the scallops and the seed crusted venison again but a lot more of it and
at half the price. I think we need these sort of experiences even if only once. The waitress who served us
and the restaurant manager were both very friendly and helpful and they made
for an overall enjoyable, warm, relaxed experience. We ate and drank and then
payed the bill trying not to think about the cost.
From Ripley Village we retraced our
steps to the weir on The Wey passing an apple tree that overhung the pavement
from a field nearby. Perhaps the remnants of an orchard that once grew in this
field. Who knows? We tried an apple
each. They were sweet and crunchy. A free dessert!
We reached the Wey Navigation and wended
our way back along the tow path to Pyrford Lock. The pub at Pyrford Lock, also called The Anchor,
has an amazing coffee machine. Chrome levers with a chrome trim encircling the whole
machine, catching the light. Hissing and steaming , the coffee machine provided for all the senses. We sat by the river and drank a coffee and ate a
scone each. There was a noticeable difference between , The Anchor at Ripley and the The Anchor here at Pyrford Lock. The food at Pyrford
Lock is cheap, fish and chips and pie and mash. Perfectly good tasty food but
not Michelin style of course. There is nothing wrong with that. It was the
atmosphere created by the staff at the Pyrford Lock Anchor pub that was noticeable. The restaurant manager and waitress
at The Anchor in Ripley were friendly, warm
and smiled, a lot . You could sense they their friendliness and
they made us feel good. The Anchor at
Pyrford Lock had a stern bar manager who seemed to create anxiety among the two
staff behind the bar. The staff seemed to be ruled by fear. Maybe
a little of an exaggeration but the difference in the two establishments was
certainly stark. The Anchor at Pyrford could learn from The Anchor at Ripley.
On the way back, driving along Wisley
Lane we remembered to stop at Wisley Church. It is a small church, almost a
chapel ,set back from the road behind some farm buildings. It is an ancient
church first built in the 12th century and like most village
churches added to over the centuries. Although, as Wisley church is a very small
church very few parts have been built on in later
centuries . A wooden north porch was added in the 17th century and
the church itself was refurbished in 1872 quite recently in the broad scheme of
things. The font looked as though it might have been part of the original 12th
century church. An original tiled reredos behind the altar was uncovered in the
refurbishment of 1872. The thick whitewashed walls of the interior look and
feel ancient too. Walking into a country church like this, one of the first things you notice is the
stillness and the quiet. The interior feels cool. Any light and warmth from the
sun can only penetrate through the beautiful stained glass windows. Being
inside a church like this encourages
contemplation and thought.
Tony and I spent sometime looking
at the various stained glass windows and artefacts inside the church.
Then back into the car and home.
As I have described we walked
through and past a number of historic landscapes.
The 17th century Wey Navigation,
Ripley village with its timber frame Tudor buildings, the lodge where
Jonne Donne and his wife lived in the
1600s, Newark Priory founded between 1189 and 1199 and Wisley Church built in
the 12th century. It is reasonably easy to find out historical facts
about these places. Why were they built? Who used them? We can find artefacts in museums locally
and read historical analysis based on
documents, archaeology and the artefacts discovered or handed down through
time. What we can’t do is know what it was like to actually live at the time
these places were constructed and first in use. What was life like as a monk in
Newark Priory? What was it to be the person who met and spoke to John
Donne? Beliefs , life experiences,
relationships, what were they really like? How for instance did a Tudor or a
Plantagenet actually feel and think? Nowadays we have historic reconstruction
events and the writers of historic fiction use as much as they can to imagine
life in a given period. You can begin to get a sense of life then but it can
only be a vague inkling with the little knowledge we have. We can’t really
know.
Monday, 2 May 2022
REGENTS CANAL WALK CONTINUED. Part 2 (Kings Cross to Kingsland Road.) Part 3 (Kingsland Road to Limehouse.)
Part 2 KINGS CROSS TO THE KINGSLAND ROAD HACKNEY
On Thursday 24th
February John and myself joined by Tony Brown, continued the Regents Canal Walk.
John and I had finished the first part of the walk at The British Library and Kings Cross Station, so it was from there we continued walking the canal path.
We had a wander around St Pancras Station, opened in October 1868 and designed by William Henry Barlow looking at the immense iron and glass arched roofs and
the wonderful Victorian brickwork all around, archways and pillars, brickwork,
windows and doors. A masterpiece of Victorian Gothic. A ,"cathedral," in its own right. St Pancras is now the Eurostar station and the gateway to
Europe from London. Two long sleek Euro Star trains were in the station while
we were there.. The tall giant bronze statue of a couple embracing, the plinth
of which is surrounded by bronze plaques depicting events connected with the
station.
We found the statue to Sir John Betjamin and posed for
photographs with him. Betjamin, star of TV documentaries and accessible poetry,
his poetry always striking me with the depth of its meaning within the simple
imagery and rhythms he created. In
many ways he is the poet of the mid 20th
century landscape and buildings of
Britain. Apart from his poems he is known as the saviour of many a Victorian
building that might have been demolished,including St Pancras Station itself. That
is why his statue is here.However he was too late to save the amazing façade of
Euston Station a mile down the road from
St Pancras.
“Revival ran along the hedge
and made my spirit whole
When steam was on the window panes
And Glory in my soul"
The age of steam, the Industrial Revolution, the glories of
the Victorian age, the rural landscape and practices of the past were what inspired
John Betjamin. I don’t remember, when watching his documentaries as a
youth, whether he ever delved into the detrimental aspects of all that, and may
well have condoned them as necessary; the class system underpinned by poverty,
the coal polluting practices of the Victorian era and so forth. So, in many
ways, the popular poet maybe is not so popular now.
Inside The Betjamin Arms set within The Midlands Hotel.
Britain is , on the whole, quite good at keeping the best
examples of our past buildings. We have The National Trust and also English
Heritage which are devoted to keeping many examples of the great country houses of the Georgian
period, Medieval Castles,Roman Forts, including more modern examples of architecture and in some cases
buildings kept just because of who lived there. I am thinking here of John
Lennon's Aunty Mamies house in Menlove Avenue Liverpool,an ordinary 1930s semi.
The National Trust has also preserved
the council house in Forthlin Road Liverpool where Paul McCartney lived
as a child and as a teenager wrote, along with John Lennon some of their early
hit songs. Houses like those are justly kept. However, our city and town council
planning departments have not been so good at retaining unique examples of
architecture within their city and town boroughs. “Concrete Brutalist,”
buildings , housing estates from the 60s and 70s , often well designed and unique
examples of our built heritage in their own right have been the target of
demolition. Renovation and repurposing are not in many town planning
departments vocabulary, which is a great shame. It begs the important questions,
what is valuable? what should be kept? what can be repurposed or renovated? The
canal walk provides examples of a whole range of architecture, old and new ,
some has been repurposed and some developed in new ways, and also places where buildings have been
demolished and new masterpieces erected.
The three of us had a coffee and a chat about this and that,
as you do, in the Betjamin Arms bar and
tea room set within the structure of the magnificent Midland Hotel which fronts
St Pancras and overlooks the Euston Road. We could also look back into the station concourse
with those Eurostar trains waiting. The interior of the bar displays all the
Victorian Gothic features Betjamin was so proud of.
From here we walked out of the front of the station passing
the front of The Midland Hotel marvelling at its magnificence.
We reached the canal again just north of St Pancras and Kings Cross.
We turned right beside the British Library next door and headed north towards the canal. We passed
There is a whole mixture of things the canal is about. It
has its history of horse drawn boats moving goods about the country and helping
in boosting the Industrial Revolution. Iron, sugar, tea, tin, explosives, oil, wool,
items from the West Indies , the coal and the granaries at Granary Wharf all
part of the diverse trade that the canal enabled.There is much left to show us
about its origins. The tow paths are stone edged. Brick sides drop vertically
into the water and there is the complexity of lock gates, at intervals, moving boats
from one level to another. Often the lock keeper’s cottages still remain. Wide
basins that extend off the canal to the north and south of the canal include City Road
Basin, Battlebridge Basin where the London Canal Museum is now located, St
Pancras Basin where we began the second part of our canal walk and others. These must have been locations for
industries that required their own quays and piers for loading and offloading
goods produced locally making items for trade with other parts of the country
via the canal system. Some of the old warehouses still remain converted into flats , offices and workshops. Along the route of the canal
there is also a cross section of society, social housing, small businesses,
elegant architectural builds, modern executive flats, businesses secreted under old brick
archways beside the canal, boating clubs and of course a multitude of canal
boats. Sometimes you can smell the wood burners on some of these canal boats
from a distance as you approach. Often the spaces on the roofs of the canal
boats are a collection of flower pots, washing lines, stove chimneys, bicycles
lying on their sides and the clutter of canal living.
As we walked, often
joggers went past. Cyclists, sometimes, but not often, warned us of
their approach by ringing their bell but sometimes provided no warning at all. Mums with buggies and as the day
proceeded, teenagers making their way home from school. Once in a while we see
the owners and inhabitants of the canal boats, through the open entrance to
their boat or perhaps as they emerge on to the pathway. We have spoken to some,
passing the time of day. I remember seeing one lady ensconced in the cabin of
her boast brewing tea in a cramped area. I looked down at her and she looked up.
I felt a little guilty, perhaps impinging on her privacy. But I am sure she is
used to this with her lifestyle.
As we approached Islington the canal enters a tunnel and
goes underground for 960 meters just short of a kilometre. It was opened in
1818 and designed by the engineer James Morgan. There is no towpath here so we
had to walk above the tunnel following the signs to where the tunnel once again
emerged further along.. We walked along Chapel Street where Chapel Street market
is located . It is a multicultural area,
Italian coffee shops, Indian restaurants and fruit and veg stalls, and clothing
stalls. A little reminiscent of Albert Square in Eastenders.. At the end of
Chapel market, near The Angel Islington we went into The Islington Town House
public house for a beer and something to eat. We later rejoined the canal
towpath at Duncan Street and Colebrook Row.
What is prevalent everywhere is the graffiti and tags. Tags
are signature names. Graffitti is more complex and often makes a political or
social commentary.Much of the tags look untidy because the artists have created
their signs and pictures, one on top of another. You can make out most of their
tags though. TAGS are primarily a set of initials sometimes just scrawled swiftly
with a can of spray paint, sometimes intricately formed giving the initials a
three dimensional effect and carefully painted in two or more colours. D.E.X,
MUNS, CHUP, PUAN, MOEX and the tags multiplied as we walked along. The ZERZ tag
was done on a number of locations along the canal, meticulously formed in
silver and sometimes green but always in
a three dimensional form. Why would somebody want to leave a mark like that?
This form of street art has been carried out for thousands of years. I remember
visiting Pompeii in the Bay of Naples a few years ago and seeing Ancient Roman
tags in the streets of the ancient city. A particular gladiator had his fan
following in one street in Pompeii. It makes me and other onlookers notice. We
read it. We wonder at the nerve of somebody to do that. A connection is made
with the tag artist. They have made their mark and we have been affected by it. A message saying, I exist, is conveyed. I find
graffiti really interesting. Some people think its an act of vandalism but surely
vandalism is about making a comment,
sending a message from the heart and mind and not always destructively. Graffitti and TAGS are often positive things.. Banksy is one of the most famous and
sophisticated of the graffiti artist known all over the world. There is a
famous Banksy in Shoreditch just south of the canal. Shoreditch has its famous
stick people logos by an artist called Stix. Many advertising companies use his
graffiti art work. Often the graffiti around Shoreditch carries importance to the
local community and all of us who see it. Sitting on the top of the 243 bus
from Hoxton to Waterloo the other day I passed a fence, fencing off a building site that has a
recent mural depicting urban bombing in the Ukraine. A child with a teddy bear
melts into a skeletal form half flesh and half skull. I saw the mural for a
passing moment but feel its emotional impact even now when I think about it. Walls,
roofs, a collection of disused underground trains stacked on top of a building,
bridges and shop fronts are all a canvas for the graffiti artist.
Graffiti along the canal side.
Just before we reached the bridge over the canal at Kingsland Road in Shoreditch we saw some elegant modern flats with balconies overlooking the canal labelled the ,"Gainsborough Studio Flats." This modern block is the northern canal side of the complex. On the south side overlooking Shoreditch Park in Poole Street is an old Victorian industrial building. It was originally a coal fired power station for the Great Northern and City Railway. A small white surround art nouveau doorway is located at the right this façade and a blue plaque on the wall near this entrance provides further information about this buildings later use. After its first life as a power station it was repurposed as the famous Gainsborough Film Studios.
Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. Other films were made at Lime Grove and Pinewood Studios. This former film studios was converted into flats in 2004.The studio is best remembered for the Gainsborough melodramas it produced in the1940s.
Gainsborough
Studios, produced some of Britain’s best-known early films, such as The Lady
Vanishes (1938), The Man in Grey (1943) and Fanny by
Gaslight (1944),
as well as launching the careers of the many of the country’s cinema stars.
Above all, one of the world’s greatest film directors learned his trade at the
studios, east London-born Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980).
We climbed
the stone steps from the canal side at Kingsland Road and finished our second
leg of the walk near the mosque on Kingsland Road and got the bus back to
Waterloo Station.
Part 3 THE KINGSLAND ROAD TO LIMEHOUSE
We continued our walk on the final stretch from the Kingsland
Road bridge over the canal on the 16th
March. After passing more graffiti on walls,
a set of lock gates and the expected cyclists
and joggers eventually we arrived at Victoria Park, with its Chinese Pagoda and
boating lakes. Victoria Park
opened in 1845 and was created to beautify the East End, provide recreational
space and improve public health. The consultant planner was Sir James
Pennethorne. The park is located in Tower Hamlets. It is bordered by
Hackney, Bethnal Green and Stratford, where the 2012 Olympic Park is located.
We didn’t venture over to the Olympic stadiums because we kept to the canal
footpaths.
The Chinese pagoda in Victoria Park.
While we were in the park, John had a word with a couple of
police officers patrolling the park. We had had a few near misses with cyclists
speeding past us along the canal towpath. None of them had rung their bells as
they approached us. Tony and I walked on
and only observed from a distance. The police officers looked suitably
concerned and noted John’s complaint it appeared.
Victoria Park must
have witnessed the recreation of so many ,”East Enders.” It is a beautiful
park. All of us from whatever section of society, deserve to experience the
beauty of nature. London is blessed with not only the famous parks, Hyde Park and Regents Park which our canal walk has taken us past, set in central London but
a multitude of local parks in every London borough , often each borough has a
number of wonderful parks not just one, across London. Londoners are very lucky
to have this legacy from as early as Victorian times and from the early twentieth century to enjoy , to be able to exercise, taking part in football, cricket,
bowling, tennis, paddling pools and children’s playgrounds. The parks are a
resource that improves the populations health and well being. Local people love
their parks and defend their existence vehemently at times. My own local park
created in the1930s by a local politician Sir Joseph Hood,is the beating
communal heart of my neighbourhood. Childrens’ sports teams, adult sports
teams, a playschool open everyday of the week for toddlers and a place to just
stroll, relax, listen to bird song and
in one case, I have witnessed, to practice your skills at tai chi.
The entrance to Victoria Park, Tower Hamlets.
As we approached the Limehouse Basin, where the Regents
Canal actually begins, at the heart of docklands, we were passing some blocks of flats on the opposite side of the canal. We
heard an angry voice shouting abuse at a neighbour. We could not work out what
the gentleman’s anger was about. He was very upset and very angry. And he
didn’t stop his tirade. It continued certainly after we had moved on into the
distance. We could hear the other person trying to reply but not getting a word
in edgeways.
Flats beside the canal.
Limehouse Basin is a large area of water surrounded by quays
where luxury yachts amd motor launches are moored. It is worth taking a moment
to recall what was here before. In the 19th century this basin would
have been surrounded by multi-storey brick built warehouses. Doorways high in
the structures would have had cranes with rope winches to haul bales and crates
of products to the upper levels. Steam ships puffing out coal dust, the splash
and rumble of paddle steamers. Thames barges that traded all along the Kent
coast with large brown and red sails would have proliferated . The shouts and
calls of stevedores, the clip clopping of horses pulling canal barges alongside
some of the quays and ships at anchor ready to take on-board produce from all
over the Empire and transport it up the canal system to Birmingham , the
Midlands and the north. It was all here;a hive of activity.
Arriving at Limehouse Basin.
Now nearly all the buildings are modern, apartments, offices
and small businesses. Very few examples of the 19th century infrastructure
remain. The brick chimney of a pump house can be glimpsed behind the Docklands Light Railway Railway viaduct. The bridge archways that support the viaduct that arch over the final part of the canal
as it joins the basin are part of the old canal and basin infrastructure. It is apt to remember
that most of the old docklands were destroyed during the Blitz, the docklands
in the east end being a prime target. We walked around the pathways that lead
over pedestrian bridges across narrow inlets that lead to smaller basins off
Limehouse and around the quay side. A
sign post indicated the direction of The Grapes public house. At the end of our
walk we were looking forward to a pint and some grub.
A Victorian pump house chimney protruding above the Docklands Light Railway viaduct at Limehouse.
The Grapes pub is situated in, Narrow Street, backing on to
the Thames with Docklands stretching east of it. The back of the pub has a
balcony over the Thames itself. Narrow
Street appears to be a misnomer. It is not narrow. What there is today is a
wide thoroughfare with wide green
verges and a small park. Referring to the history of
Limehouse however, Narrow Street was indeed narrow with originally, the row of
houses where The Grapes is situated almost within touching distance of the houses and buildings opposite it.
Other streets in the area, Ropemakers Fields, East India
Dock Road, Basin Approach, Shoulder of Mutton Alley all give indications about
the local history.
Entering The Grapes in Limehouse. (The Six Jolly Fellowship- Porters)
We walked through the door of the Grapes into a narrow
passage to the right with dark brown varnished
wood panelled walls giving a gloomy feeling to the place. Old black and
white photographs hung on the walls showing dockworkers from , I presume, the 1930s sitting in a row each supping a pint of beer. There was a small bar to the left with a smiling welcoming barmaid and landlady standing
behind the counter. We walked on through to the back of the pub which had three
or four beer barrels turned on end as tables and wooden benches. Another bar
opened on to this part of the pub. The windows at the back looked out onto the
Thames. It was obvious the back of the pub was lapped by the river. Some steps
inside the back of the pub lead to a balcony outside overlooking the Thames. We
sat down and perused the menu on the table in front of us. I noticed the walls
were covered in pictures of Charles Dickens and some his characters. I didn’t at first give
these pictures much attention. The thought that always occurs when you walk
into an old pub anywhere in London and see Dickens on the walls is that once
Dickens came in here. Dickens walked all over London, finding inspiration. I
was certainly not wrong about, The Grapes.
However the first thing I asked the genial smiling landlady
was , jokingly ,”that’s a big shillelagh you have behind the bar.”A large brown
varnished knobbly stick with a gnarled end was on display. “Oh no, that’s not a shillelagh ,” she said.
“What do you think it might be?” I don’t
know why but I immediately said, tongue in cheek, “It’s Gandalphs staff.” “ Yes
it is. Sir Ian McKellen is a part owner of The Grapes.” I was gobsmacked. I
then noticed, near us at the back of the pub, was a miniature statue of Gandalf
the Wizard wielding his staff.
Gandalph is behind me.
Then of course I asked about The Dickens connection. Both
the landlady and the barmaid came together , all smiles and enthusiasm and
related to us about the Dicken’s link. The Grapes is ,”The Six Jolly
Fellowship- Porters,” that features especially in the first book of Our Mutual
Friend. Here Gaffer Hexam fell out of favour with Miss Abby Potterson, the landlady in the
novel. Here too the soaked and presumed drowned body of Rogue Riderhood was
dragged from the Thames and laid out on a table in the pub and eventually
revived to live on. Here Lizzie Hexam pleaded with Abby Potterson for clemency
for her ,as it turns out, falsly accused father over being too successful at
finding and recovering dead bodies from the Thames. Suspicions had been set
going by Rogue Riderhood. Miss Abby
Potterson was a wise and intelligent warm hearted woman who everybody respected
in the area and who laid down the law and looked after her customers wellbeing,
knowing their wives and families intimately. The present day landlady, I never
got to know her name, is just like Dicken’s description of Miss Abby Potterson,
it occurred to me, warm, personable, in charge. So much happens around this pub
in Dicken’s novel and we were sitting there in the bar where a lot of the early
action takes place. Locations like this in London are exciting to be in and a real privilege. The three of
us had a couple of pints of the local brew and ate a plate of fish and chips,
with napkins and all the condiments provided. We went out on to the balcony at
the back of The Grapes to look over the Thames and Docklands to the east. There,
standing out of the water facing docklands is an Anthony Gormley iron cast
figure, calm, implacable, gazing straight at the international banking area of Docklands.
Perhaps, like Miss Abby Potterson, holding her customers to account, this Gormley figure, above the
lapping waves, is holding docklands and its financial commerce to account.
Antony Gormley's figure contemplating Docklands. (From the balcony at the back of The Grapes.)
Chapter VI Book One Our Mutual Friend
“ The Six Jolly Fellowship Porters already mentioned as a tavern of
dropsical appearance, had long settled down into a state of hale infirmity. In
its whole constitution it had not a straight floor , and hardly a straight
line; but it had outlasted, and clearly would yet outlast, many a better a
trimmed building, many a sprucer public house. Externally it was a narrow
lopsided wooden jumble of corpulent windows heaped one upon another as you
might heap as many toppling oranges, with a crazy wooden verandah impending
over the water; indeed the whole house, inclusive of the complaining flagstaff
on the roof , impended over the water, but seemed to have got into the
condition of a fainthearted diver who has paused so longon the brink that he will nevre go in.”
Yes, that is definitely The Grapes. After leaving The Grapes
we walked along the Thames Path to the
Thames Clipper pier nearby. We got a ferry back to Westminster where we
embarked walking a short distance to Waterloo Station and got our trains home.
As an afterthought, if John, Tony and myself created our own
graffiti tags what might they be?
Here you are. Have a guess whose TAG is whose.
References:
Stik graffitti artists: http://stik.org/
Gainsborough Studios: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gainsborough_Pictures
Limehouse: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limehouse
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens Penguin Classics (first published 1865) 1997
Victoria Park: https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgnl/leisure_and_culture/parks_and_open_spaces/victoria_park/victoria_park.asp
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Park,_London
The Regents Canal: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-and-river-network/regents-canal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regent%27s_Canal
John Betjamin: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/john-betjeman
Canal Boat art: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roses_and_Castles
Antony Gormley: https://www.antonygormley.com/
The London Canal Museum: https://www.canalmuseum.org.uk/