IMAGES CAN BE ENLARGED WITH A CLICK, THAT CAN BE REPEATED IF REQUIRED
Steady rain today sent me to my colour slide archives, specifically to the Streets of London series from July 2005.
Ruskin’s Café on the corner of Museum Street and Little Russell Street WC1 is a popular source of, among other meals, a good English breakfast. Imago Mundi, dealers in antique maps is no longer next door. The shop takes its name from the Babylonian Map of the World, the oldest such, residing in the British Museum around the corner. Are the couple in the foreground still together, I wonder?
I was intrigued by the collage of reflections in the windows of Konaki Greek Restaurant, a family run taverna in the parallel Coptic Street.
Here is an extract from the website of the Cock and Lion in Wigmore Street, W1:
‘The Cock and Lion is on Wigmore Street just two minutes walk from the world famous Oxford Strret. Yet as soon as you enter its premises the first thing you notice is the ambience – something money can’t buy. The warm and inviting atmosphere is so apparent that you cannot help but grin on entering – a “must” for anybody from the local, to the business associate to family diners.
We are also uniquely situated on one of Londons most historic sites. This area was settled in Roman times and the corner of Wigmore Street and Marylebone lane beside the old River Tyburn. The river flows south from Hampstead through Marylebone and crosses Oxford Street near the bottom of Marylebone Lane, on it’s way down to the Thames. At the point where the river crosses Oxford Street was the village of Tyburn notorious from the 14th to 17th century for it’s connection with gallows. Boswell and Dr. Johnson would have visited this area as we know from their writing. Many infamous heads have rolled at these gallows including highwaymen, common miscreants and thieves, courtiers and clergy.’
According to https://www.hdwe.co.uk/about-marylebone-history.aspx ‘The Ossington Buildings estate, off Moxon Street, was built between 1888 and 1892 to house some of the area’s working class poor, who had previously lived at the same site in miserable slum dwellings.’ Kay and Company have a two bedroomed much modernised flat currently on their site advertised at £745 per week.
The rather new wall in Crinian Street N1, behind the hard-working gentleman sweltering on hardcore, has already been daubed upon.
Crumbles Castle free Adventure Playground must have been undergoing some construction work when I wandered past it, because it was barricaded off.
The UK HQ of the International WOSEM Christ Apostolic Church has its accommodation in what must once have been an Anglican place of worship in Gifford Street N7;
whereas another church in Offord Road N1 now sells paint. The Transco sign at bottom left would suggest there had been a suspected gas leak.
Roman Pizza apparently serves pizza in the Roman Way.
During all the years I walked past this abandoned property on the corner of St Clement’s Street N7 on my way to Parents for Children, I never saw any activity there. I wonder what it is like today?
Jackie answered this question the next morning by doing the Google Walk.
Back in WC1, what looks like a purple towel provides a touch of colour to the facade of a building in Mecklenburgh Square;
and the resident of a property in Ampton Street dries washing on the windowsill.
This evening we dined on seconds of Jackie’s superb beef pie, creamy mashed potato, and crunchy carrots, cauliflower and broccoli. Jackie drank Peroni and I finished the Malbec.