The Princess of Shoreditch
One of the problems of being a coeliac is that you have trouble with eating on the hoof. Today, I was walking through Shoreditch, just looking at the buildings, when I came across a (gastro)pub called the Princess of Shoreditch.
The menu looked that one or two of the items were gluten free, so I thought I’d go in and see if I could have a meal. I entered and found that they had Aspall Cyder on draught, which is always a welcome sign for me. And probably for a lot of other coeliacs too!
I asked whether the poached cod on the menu was gluten free and this was checked with the chef. I got a friendly thumbs up sign, so I ordered it.
Poached Cod
It was very good and the whole lunch including a pint of Aspall and coffee cost twenty pounds. I’ll go again.
Since I’ve got home, I’ve checked Time Out. They like it too!
The Crypt at St. Martins-in-the-Fields
St. Martins-in-the-Fields is one of London’s most famous churches. It sits in the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square and you can see and hear the church in the video I made when I was on the Fourth Plinth.
The crypt contains a nice cafe and is now entered through a new entrance to the north of the church.
The Entrance to the Crypt of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
It is worth a visit.
The Best Roof in the World
Every time I pass by the British Museum I always pop in. It’s because the place that used to be so fussy and almost dust-ridden has thrown off all that gloom and not vibrates with people.
But the best feature of the museum is the roof.
How many visitors does it attract?
Around Spitalfields
Spitalfields is an area I don’t know well. In the year she died my wife and I had a good sunny Sunday walking the area and finally ending up walking down Brick Lane. We were surprised how vibrant it was. I walked it yesterday and as it was early, it was quiet.
In some ways Spitalfields is part of my history. I didn’t know too much about it, but my mother’s family were French Huguenots, who came over some time in the 17th or 18th centuries. When, I’m not sure, as all of the family’s papers which documented the history were destroyed in the Blitz.
It’s funny but I learned more about the history of Huguenots on a trip to South Africa, than I have ever done in the UK. Perhaps, we don’t have too many specialist museums.
After all where are the museums to printing in the UK?
There is one in Norwich, The John Jarrold, but it is only open on Wednesdays.
A Lonely Horse
Or perhaps what a silly place for a statue!
As you can see the building could never be described as an architectural gem, but what possible point was there putting the horse so far up in the air.
Perhaps, it can be seen from the Chairman’s office.
Liverpool Street and the Kindertransport
Liverpool Street Station is one of London’s finest stations.
It also has the memorial to the Kindertransport on the main entrance.
The station was the main terminal for all the trains from Germany carrying mainly Jewish children to safety from the Nazis before the Second World War.
Escape to the Country
Just watched the end of this program and the way I feel trapped here with no car and taxis few and far between, I want to escape to the city. And that really means the best of them all; London
Would I Go Cambridge-Nice by Train Again?
Let’s count the positives.
- It was interesting. I know that is a word you shouldn’t use, but there was a lot to see.
- Security. There wasn’t a lot of time spent taking off shoes and having machines check you for bottles of water. They do check as you go on the Eurostar, but it’s not that intrusive.
- Meals on Eurostar aren’t that bad and are better than the airlines. But then you don’t need them on the plane.
- It was a lot more comfortable than a plane.
- I had a large table, which would have allowed me to play patience if I had wanted.
- I could plug in the laptop.
- Luggage was as much as I wanted and not subject to silly rules.
- I could have taken my Brompton.
And the negatives.
- It took twelve hours door-to-door, whereas the plane would have taken about six.
- It was lonely, but then my life is most of the time.
- It was more costly, but then I did travel First Class.
- I had to take an extra train to get London.
But remember I had no choice this time because of the stroke.
I think that if say I had to go to Lyon on business, that I would definitely use the train and for Marseilles I would make a decision based on train times and cost. But Nice, unless I had to use the train, then I would take the plane. Although like my late wife and I said, we’d have probably enjoyed taking the train one-way and the plane on the return.
Overall though, it was an exercise worth carrying out.
Eurostar to a Cold England
Lille was cold and it wasn’t a bad interchange with just a hundred or so metres to walk between tracks to transfer from the TGV to the Eurostar.
I did get a gluten-free dinner on the train. It was some sort of fish. I’ve tasted better, but it filled a hole.
I was perhaps a couple of minutes late into St. Pancras, which meant that I had no chance of catching the 19:15 to Cambridge. So I had to wait for the 19:45, which got me back to Cambridge on time.
The taxi got me home about fifteen minutes short of twelve hours after leaving Nice.
The Anonymous Widower 