Around West London

Feeling a little better today, I dozed away the morning, got up for lunch, and scanned another dozen slides from the Streets of London series. These were all made in April 2004.

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This young mother, speaking on her mobile phone in Avery Row W1, to the west of New Bond Street, blended perfectly with her surroundings.

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Further west, Westbourne Terrace Road Bridge crosses the Regent’s canal in Little Venice. As the plaque indicates, this was once in the Borough of Paddington which was absorbed by Westminster in 1965.

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The Bridge House pub lies at the corner of Westbourne Terrace Road and Delamere Terrace. The pub was fortunate enough to survive World War 2 bombing, which is more than can be said for many of its neighbours.

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The Little Venice area lies within the parish of St Mary’s on Paddington Green, visible in this view of St Mary’s Square.

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The A40 flyover overlooks a bricked up end of the square, and in 2004 the now- completed apartments for sale in Paddington Walk were still being built.

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Church Yard Walk provides a route through to Edgware Road.

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Sussex Gardens W2 forms a T junction with Praed Street, which is always as congested as this.

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Marylebone’s St Christopher’s Place looks like an alfresco dining room.

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Maintenance work was being undertaken at The Churchill Hotel in Portman Square.

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Ashland Place W1 is one of the many streets that enjoys a view of The Post Office Tower.

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Saint Michael’s Street W2 houses one of London’s many Starbucks coffee houses. I wondered whether the man on the chair was waiting for coffee, or simply having a breather. So many food and drink outlets place seats outside that are very tempting to people who simply want to sit down.

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The historic Mason’s Arms pub in Upper Berkeley Street was founded in 1778 and rebuilt in 1870.

This amble round West London was probably carried out on one particular day.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s famous sausage casserole; crisp carrots, broccoli, and green beans; and mashed potato, followed by treacle tart and custard.

23 comments

  1. I used to get used coffee grinds from Starbucks for my garden until one day the barrister said to me, ‘ you can buy a coffee, you know’ so I did. Trouble is their coffee is undrinkable and I had to tip it out. Soon they had to close most of their shops in Sydney, including my local one. There is only one left in the CBD, presumably for American tourists and two way out west where they can’t get real coffee; maybe.

  2. Good news that you are better–back to more living. Perhaps the owl is a muse as this is an interesting post. I hope ‘China Court’ is holding your attention better–another I have waiting on my bookshelves. Have you read ‘The Peacock Spring” or ‘In This Hoouse of Brede?”Loved both.I am currently reading an M.C. Beaton mystery for pure relaxtion, little thought. The next will be better meat for mind. Really dislike Starbucks overall and I hail from USA. We have many more that are tasty. But I prefer to drink tea!

      1. Egads, terrible experinces. The stores here are quite nice, service good, but still cannot abide their bitter, burnt coffee. Luckily we have many neighborhood cafes with interesting coffee brands, some excellent local coffee roasters, that are delicious. The Pacific NW is bursting with coffee addicts and snobs. But… I still prefer tea– herbal primarily, I admit!

  3. Ah, the west end – a trip down memory lane for me – I worked in the area for fifteen years and know all those streets like the back of my hand, as the saying goes.

  4. “The Little Venice area lies within the parish of St Mary’s”. Please tell me more about that area. Why Little Venice? Are there canals and gondolas!

  5. There is a certain vibe to London that can’t be mimic’d anywhere else – wonderful visiting the beautiful city through your lens, no matter the age.

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