Another View Of Lower Marsh

Jackie drove me to and from New Milton today for my lunch date with Norman at Tas.

Lower Marsh sign

On reaching Waterloo, I walked along Station Approach Road, taking steps down to Lower Marsh and back along the lower road to The Cut and Tas. Lower Marsh has featured before, notably in ‘A Beautiful Setting‘, which tells of my earlier knowledge of this thriving little unpretentious London Street of market stalls and cheap eating places, the ethnic origins of which have changed so much since the early 1960s when I spent my Luncheon Vouchers in the cafes.

Station Approach Road

The approach road is on two levels, and it is possible to look down on one section from the wall in the first photograph above. The right hand section of this picture shows the backs of Lower Marsh buildings.

Lower Marsh 1

Others may be seen before descending the steps.

Lower Marsh 2Lower Marsh 3

Graffiti is, of course, in evidence.

Lower Marsh 4Inshoku and Steve's

Inshoku and Steve’s, visible alongside the graffiti in this picture stand side by side, being examples of the indigenous and incoming cuisines. In the bottom right hand corner of the back view can be glimpsed the alley that is Granby Place,

Camel & Artichoke

running alongside the Camel & Artichoke,

Camel

whose ship of the desert rests high up on the later extension to the Victorian building. The nesting box on the wall is probably an optimistic gesture.

Frazier Street SE1Greensmith's 2

At the corner of Frazier Street lies Greensmiths ‘A local supermarket with a real difference’. Peering through the windows suggests the boast is not in vain.

Barbecue stall

A barbecue queue still forms in Waterloo Millennium Gardens, the ‘beautiful setting’ of the above linked post.

Norman and I enjoyed our lunch. My choice was a kalamar starter, followed by a tasty sea food casserole, and baklava. We shared a bottle of the house red wine. I needed nothing more after my return home.

It will be apparent from the above photographs that it was a drab morning in an un-beautiful part of London. It was therefore a positive idea of my Driver’s that we should have a look at the sunset at

Walker, sunset on sea 1

Barton on Sea,

Sunset 1Sunset 2Sunset on pools

and across Roger’s field in Downton Lane.

49 comments

  1. Oh my thank goodness for us you drove to the sea. Although I have to say the walk was interesting and the pictures were good starting from Greensmiths. Thanks for sharing as always

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  4. I wish I had your knowledge of London when I stayed there for a month; not that I ran out of things to do. It’s interesting that you referred to kebabs as indigenous. 🙂 So grateful for the sunset photos.

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  5. Some excellent photos, especially the sunsets and the camel. The sad thing is that the world is run in such a way that so many people have to live in places like Lower Marsh.

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    2. Please don’t be obtuse. Can’t you see that Derrick loves Lower Marsh?
      It’s where he grew up!
      I’ve lived in neighborhoods that are literally falling down – and there was STILL much beauty in them.
      I’m sorry to be pissy, but please don’t assume so much – it leaves too many people out.
      When will the world start respecting working class culture?

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      2. Claire Marie, your response is a more fiery version of mine! I noticed that the walks are swept and the camel is rather charming. It reminds me of the decorative touches on businesses in Metro Detroit and Toronto. I’ve lived in low-rent areas for years, and Lower Marsh looks a decent place.

        As for the graffiti, there is no escape anymore. Once taking the train from Madrid to Paris, I noticed walls and overpasses seemingly in the middle of nowhere sporting multi-colored tags (sometimes slang in English, no less). Young morons in my area get into the train yards at night and tag the cars (carriages?) so they look like rolling advertisements for idiots.

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        2. I love it that you like Metro Detroit!
          I lived in St. Louis proper when stunning little parks were surrounded by blocks with more than half the old brick houses abandoned. Vacant lots were either lush with huge wild overgrown foilage or carefully tended garden plots. A quarter of the homes were painstakingly kept up. One old African-American woman told me ” In five or ten years, the whites will want to live here and we’ll be driven out.”
          She was exactly right.
          The Black people then moved to places like…you guessed it: Ferguson.

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  6. The sunset across Roger’s field is magnificent….and the close-up, cropping of the….are they puddles?…. is surreal; like some kind of stairway to the stars!…

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  8. Even though it is ‘an unbeautiful part of London’ I found it really quite beautiful Derrick – just differently so I guess. I loved the optimistic gesture of the bird house, the different cuisines nestling side by side – the camel makes you smile doesn’t it? Of course its not chocolate box perfect like that fabulous sky, but, from your photos, seems as if it is a lively place………

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  15. This is exactly the kind of London neighborhood I most want to see and hear about!
    THANK-YOU, Derrick.
    I think it’s beautiful and I love it! I would never hang around in the rich parts of London if I ever got to go there.
    What sorts of food did you spend your school vouchers on?

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    1. Thank you, Claire Marie. I’ll bear in mind what you say. Luncheon Vouchers were issued by employers. You took them to outlets at lunch time. I could buy a pint of Guinness and a Cornish pastie in a pub, or a good cafe meal, such as shepherds pie followed by rice pudding – and custard!

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  18. Rain puddles from lavender skies! Absolutely breathtaking. I also love the name of the restaurant, Camel & Artichoke. Derrick, do you know if the camel was a Dromedary or Bactrian? 🐪 🐫 😀

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