CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE. REPEAT IF REQUIRED
Steady heavy rain fell all morning, so I delved into my photographic archives and scanned another batch of Streets of London colour slides made in May 2008.
Earls Court Road runs from Old Brompton Road in SW5
to Kensington High Street in W8.
The Blackbird pub, almost opposite Earls Court Underground station, was previously a branch of the Midland Bank. Currently closed for refurbishment, it was converted to a Fuller’s Ale and Pie house in 1994. It would be fun to speculate on the conversation taking place outside.
The Hansom Cab, now specialising in craft beer, has been operating on this site since 1827.
A little further along, on the corner of Pembroke Square W8 lies Rassell’s up-market garden centre, which has rather mixed reviews.
Immediately opposite Pembroke Square lies Scarsdale Villas W8.
Trebovir Road SW5 is very close to Earls Court Underground Station. Nando’s, started in South Africa, in 1987, now operates 1,000 outlets in 30 countries. Its speciality is peri-peri chicken.
Cumberland Terrace
and Cornwall Terrace NW1 both lie alongside The Outer Circle of Regents Park.
Transept Street NW1 crosses Chapel Street beside Edgware Road tube station.
Just off Camden High Street NW1 the bustling Camden Market has over 1000 shops and stalls selling fashion, music, art and food next to Camden Lock;
Inverness Street Market NW1, a more quintessentially English example, established around 1900, is tucked away from the high street.
This afternoon we visited New Milton to collect items from the dry cleaners, and to deliver more kitchenalia to the Oakhaven Hospice Shop. They had been unable to take my Epson printer, complete with spare, unused ink cartridges, but suggested that the Mind shop might, because they had a tester. They couldn’t. There was no alternative but to offer it to the sales area in the local dump, now known as a recycling centre. They were not allowed to receive the printer, but could accept the inks. I was directed to carry the machine over to the container dedicated to such goods. The man in charge of this spoke of the culture of fear of legislation which now dominates us. While we were conversing, a woman brought a pair of pristine looking crutches she had not been allowed to return to an NHS hospital.
My printer was about seven years old. It had been used once or twice only; its last six years having been spent in bubble wrap in a cupboard. I do all my printing on the Canon A3+ model, but, had I been so inclined, I could have printed all today’s images on the device I could not give away.
Our next stop was Otter Nursery where we collected a flat-packed wooden arch for Aaron to assemble on Sunday.
Elizabeth was out this evening. Jackie and I dined on Mrs Knight’s hot and spicy pasta arrabbiata, with which she drank more of the Chardonnay and I finished the Malbec.