Bonkers Conkers
I took this picture in Bermondsey yesterday on the walk.
Conkers in July
I’ve never seen conkers on the trees this early.
Walking Along The Thames
On Tuesday night I took a guided walk along the Thames from Bermondsey station to the Brunel Museum at Rotherhithe. The walk is described here.
These pictures were taken as we walked along the river.
The guide was excellent and the trip was well worth the eight pounds it cost.
The Neapolitan Line
The travel bunny on BBC Breakfast for London referred to the combined Metropolitan, District and Circle lines as the Neapolitan line today. It’s actually quite obvious as they are shown as a multi-coloured line, but why have I never heard it before?
First and Second Class Buses
The London bus route 73, is one of the last of the dreaded bendy ones and hasn’t got too much longer. Today I was going to the Angel and one of Ken’s chariots of fire arrived followed by a 476.
At the stop with me were several kids, who made their way down the bus so they could use the rear entrance of the seventy-free far from the gaze of the driver.
As the 73 was very crowded, probably with non-fare payers, I walked past it to the 476 behind and had the bus almost to myself.
Who says there is no class system on London buses?
Lakeside On The Slide
The leader of Thurrock Council has said that the development of Eastfield on the Olympic Park will harm the Lakeside Shopping Centre at Thurrock.
Let’s face it, Lakeside is a tired dump and impossible to get to be public transport, so it has no appeal for me. But then when Bluewater opened C and I always crossed the bridge to a much better place. As a coeliac too, where’s the gluten free food at Lakeside?
The Museum of London Docklands
I ended up here yesterday by accident, as I’d gone to Docklands to have lunch and got caught in the rain. So as it was free I went inside.
Museum of London Docklands
It was definitely worth a visit. I should say that it is very comprehensive and it will take at least three or four hours to see everything.
I particularly liked the section on some of the technology we used to invade Europe on D-Day. It’s the first place I’ve seen a detailed display about PLUTO (Pipe Line Under The Ocean), which supplied fuel to the invading forces using undersea pipelines. The museum also has a large display about the Mulberry Harbours, that were created to land Allied forces in Normandy. Some of the giant Phoenix caissons were actually built in the drained West India Docks, where Canary Wharf has now been developed. I have actually been inside the four Phoenix breakwaters, which were used to bridge the gaps in the dykes in the Netherlands after the terrible floods of 1955 and now form the Watersnoodmuseum.
It covers London Docklasnds from Roman times to the present and all of the important figures like the Brunels and Bazalgette are properly documernted.
During the Olympics, the Museum will become the German House. I wonder what some of them will make of the wartime section!
London’s Floating Cinema
When I was watching the MS Deutshland leave, there was an interloper.
London's Floating Cinema
It is London’s floating cinema, that cruises the canals and rivers in the east of the city.
Auf Weidersehen, Deutschland!
I couldn’t resist going to Docklands to see the departure of the MS Deutschland.
It was a tight squeeze to get out.
I think we’re going to see more ships like the MS Deutschland entering the docks at Canary Wharf and berthing on the South Quay. I suspect that a lot of people are wishing that the lock connecting the West India Docks to the River Thames was built a bit larger by the Victorians. This was published by Motor Boats Monthly.
The manoeuvre took just under three hours, and a huge amount of skill to complete. The ship itself is 175.3m long with a 23m beam, and the lock is just over this at 178m long and 24.4m wide.
So it was a very tight squeeze. Note that the largest ship of the nineteenth century was the SS Great Eastern, which wouldn’t have fitted into the lock to get in and out of the docks.
Through The Angel,Islington On a 30 Bus
I took this video in the style of Mitchell and Kenyon, from the top of a 30 bus, as it went through the Angel at Islington.
Note the tram washing shed on the right, which is now the Jack Wills store and the statue of Hugh Myddelton on Islington Green.
In the end, I got off to go to the Carluccio’s on Upper Street.
Germans Book Their Place For The Olympics
I know there is a bit of a stereotype about Germans getting up early to put their towels on loungers.
But then they go and bring their cruise ship, the MS Deutschland, into London Docklands, a whole year ahead of the Olympics.
It did suffer the indignity of having to come in backwards. So is this an omen, that the Germans are going to do well in the rowing?
The Anonymous Widower 