Reflected In The New Pudding Mill Lane Station
I took these pictures today of passing trains reflected in the new Pudding Mill Lane station.
It’s only a few months off being finished.
I had to laugh as a London guide was telling his charges it is the new Crossrail station.
Ariel On The Bank Of England
I’ve never thought that the actual building for the Bank of England, was much more than a functional one. Wikipedia says this about the building.
The Bank moved to its current location on Threadneedle Street, and thereafter slowly acquired neighbouring land to create the edifice seen today. Sir Herbert Baker‘s rebuilding of the Bank, demolishing most of Sir John Soane’s earlier building, was described by architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner as “the greatest architectural crime, in the City of London, of the twentieth century”.
I’d thought it was much older.
As you walk alongside the building up Princes Street, it looks very much like an over-grand prison.
There is though, a gilded sculpture on the roof.
Ariel On The Bank Of England
Surely this isn’t the best place to put a work of art!
Riding The Drain For The First Time
Surprisingly, I’d never ridden on the Waterloo and City Line (a.k.a. The Drain) until today.
Normally, it’s closed on a Sunday, but to help out the Northern line, TfL were running it today.
I must be the first Londoner, who first rode the Drain in his sixties on a Sunday.
When I used it today, I just walked up the travelator to the surface, up a few steps and along Princes Street and I was at the stop for the 141 bus to take me home.
I do hope that the Drain is going to be run to a similar schedule to the rest of the Underground, as getting to and from Waterloo isn’t the easiest of journeys from Dalston.
I’ll probably use the line again in the future!
Lost In Millwall
I usually like going to the New Den to see a football match, as to get from Dalston Junction station to the ground is simple and it is a stadium with good viewing.
I knew that going yesterday wasn’t going to be easy, as South Bermondsey station, which is connected to the ground by a walkway was closed due to engineering works.
So I went the way I usually go, which is to take the Overground to Canada Water station and then get one of the single-decker buses to a stop named Millwall FC.
The bus was full, but the usually-friendly Millwall supporters were not bothering me. Sometimes, I think that their reputation is worse than the reality. But I arrived at the ground, as I intended, a few minutes before kick-off.
It should be said, that London’s talking buses make it easy to find your way in strange parts of London. Other cities should follow the example.
The match was probably Ipswich’s worst display of the season, with the spark of the previous Championship encounter against QPR completely missing. The only positive thing to say, is that Millwall played well enough to stay up, so that should be another easy away game to get to, next season.
After the match, my normal route home via South Bermondsey and London Bridge stations was not on, so I decided to walk to TfL’s recommended alternative of Surrey Quays station.
I got lost, as there were no maps in this part of London. Where I live in Hackney, there are liths and maps all over the place.
So in the end I got to the station by walking in a great circle.
As I suspect the works at South Bermondsey will be going for some time, something needs to be done.
The Anonymous Widower 