London’s Step-Free Bus Stops Show Their Worth
The picture shows the bus stop I used to go to lunch today.
A Typical London Bus Stop
It is typical of many stops in London these days, with a wide pavement reaching out into the road, so the bus can draw close alongside.
This one has the standard shelter with a seat and I suspect a map inside showing all the local routes. It’s also got a litter bin.
It looks like too, that Hackney Council has been keeping the snow off the pavement to make it all very safe.
When I got off, there was no chance I would slip, as I only had a downward step of a few centimetres to get off the bus.
It would be interesting to look at the statistics of accidents where passengers are getting on and off buses. I suspect they’ll be some very bad anomalies.
I also think that the expense of these more spacious stops may well pay for itself in less accidents.
To The Other Side Of Hackney For Lunch
My youngest son used to live near Victoria Park and to get there I used to drive down Lauriston Road. I also used to go there to get postcards for various clients and businesses from a company called Just Postcards. The company did move to Norfolk I think, but they are no longer on the web. A pity, because they did a good job.
So today, I went to the area to check out a pub called the Empress of India. I was not disappointed with my lunch.
Lunch At The Empress Of India
As you can see I had some beef with cauliflower, capers and kale. It was gluten-free of course. I washed it down with a glass of Hogan’s cider.
I chose it because I’m very much a sucker for capers, but then if you’ve been to the Aeolian Islands, you always are.
History doesn’t record much of Queen Victoria’s taste in food, but would she be amused that a good pub/restaurant is named after her.
It is one of these places that is very convenient for me, as I just get a 277 bus all of the way.
An Advantage Of Living In A City
I’ve lived for forty years of my life in the country, where of course in weather like this you have to clear snow, so you can get into your house.
I’ve just walked down the road to get my paper and on the other side of the road, three workers from Hackney Council are clearing the pavement. They have a rather nifty pair of grit spreaders!
A Pair Of Nifty Grit Spreaders
I suppose to be fair to the Council, they spent a lot of money replacing the pavements last year and they’re only protecting their investment. And helping the residents’ balance!
Meandering Through The Snow
Today, I wanted to do two things.
First, I was going to Broadway Market to track down an old friend of C’s, who I knew had a relative with a shop there.
And then I was intending to go to a restaurant called Pappagone in Stroud Green Road to have lunch with an old friend.
I intended to get to Broadway Market by taking a 236 bus direct from Newington Green, just up the road from my house. As you an see, it was snowy, but the conditions weren’t too difficult.
Newington Green In The Snow
The 236 is rather an untypical London bus, as it more like a country bus, that meanders around various communities as it goes on its way. It was full and comfortable an d got me safely to Broadway Market, although it probably took longer than normal due to the weather.
I didn’t find C’s friend, but I met a man who knew her and gave him my card before returning to the bus to take it all the way to its terminus at Finsbury Park station. but the stop was closed due to roadworks and I couldn’t get to the next one, before the 236 bus arrived. Then a 394 bus arrived going the other way and I decided it was better to take this to Angel station. I didn’t get that far, as the roads were slightly blocked and I then swapped to a 271 to take me to Highbury and Islington station, which would enable me to take one stop to Finsbury Park station. From there I intended to walk up Stroud Green Road
If it all sounds complicated, you have to remember that South Hackney is mainly densely packed buildings, with few main roads. Hence the meandering routes of the buses.
It might have been better, if the Chelsea Hackney line had been built after the Jubilee line as was originally planned. But not that much better, as there is no direct Underground connection between Angel and Highbury and Islington stations.
At Finsbury Park station my troubles weren’t over, as there was no staff about to tell me how to get out in Stroud Green Road and the sign had been obscured by a notice board. I also had the disadvantage, in that although I’ve changed trains at the station many times, I’ve never emerged above ground there. Eventually, i found my way and walked up the road to Pappagone.
Up Stroud Green Road In The Snow
The weather wasn’t too bad, but I could have taken a bus up the hill if I’d needed to.
I had some very good gluten-free pasta at the restaurant and after a couple of hours or so, we took the 210 bus to Archway, where she went home and I took the Underground.
A quick change at Angel station onto a 38 bus and I was on the last leg home.
This trip illustrates how London or in fact any other city with a decent public transport system generally copes well with snow, as you can change your plans according to circumstances.
I always remember as a child, that the buses then, didn’t perform as well as the modern ones, which have most of the weight over the driving wheels and better tyres to boot. I saw a couple of New Buses for London and they seemed to be coping well, but strangely they had more snow on the roof, despite it being more curvy than the older buses. Perhaps the roof is better insulated!
The Arches Underneath
I had gone to London Fields station to find the E5 Bakehouse, that delivers bread to the pub next door. I hadn’t expected this line of railway arches, that had been creatively turned into small business units.
The E5 Bakehouse has a rather good cafe and I had an excellent cup of tea before moving on. There was no gluten-free bread or cakes, but there was at the Happy Kitchen.
I bought a cake for later and it was certainly worth the couple of pounds I paid for it. They said it was a bit stale and that they would have some new ones tomorrow, which they were baking for their stall in Broadway Market.
My one problem with the cake, was that if this was a stale one, just how good is a freshly-baked one? I shall go and get another in a few days.
As I look back on my visit to this immaculate row of railway arches, I can imagine C, my late wife, swooning over that bread in the bakehouse and I was almost feeling resentful at being a coeliac. But then I did have that glorious cake!
Good luck to all, who try to run a business in these difficult times! And especially those, in a small niche market like gluten and everything else free cakes. Except of course quality!
A Dangerous Staircase
If people complain about the London Underground not being step free, they may be missing an easier target. This is the exit from London Fields station.
A Dangerous Staircase
It is not as dangerous as some, but it is not what we expect in the twenty-first century.
London has plenty of stations like this and really needs to find an innovative solution to make them more accessible to all. I’ve flagged a few up in the past at places like Stoke Newington and White Hart Lane.
Checking For German Bombs
The web site called Bomb Sight has just been launched.
Now you can check where German bombs landed near you in the Blitz.
I often wondered if my house sat on a bomb site, but I checked the physical form of the atlas a few weeks ago in the excellent Hackney Records Office. It wasn’t a bomb. If you’re anywhere near the CLR James Library by Dalston Junction station, it’s much quicker to look at the book, rather than try to find the area on the website.
A Rather Forlorn, Cold And Manky Fox
I walked through De Beauvoir Town about five o’clock tonight.
I thought at first it was a bit of an overweight moggy, but my path in the square was crossed by a fox, who definitely looked the worst for wear and absolutely freezing in this cold night, judging by his gait.
The life of the urban fox is not as comfortable as many would like to think.
Not Monaco, But Hackney!
I took this picture in the sun this morning.
Not Monaco, But Hackney!
As you can see the location is rather given away by the Hackney Empire.
Vapour Trails Over Hackney
I took this picture this morning.
Vapour Trails Over Hackney
They’re not normally this clear, but the sky was very blue at the time.
The Anonymous Widower 