Buy chocolates – a gift from my Marks and Spencer rewards point plan, so free
Have a cocktail, something delicious, somewhere relaxing
Have dinner out – decided on Shikumen (we had a coupon)
Eat cake
None of my birthday wishes worked properly! First the chocolates couldn’t be bought – trouble with the coupon I had. Then i decided the antihistamine i was taking (for a post viral rash) was making me very groggy so I decided against alcohol of any kind. Then Shikumen didn’t have the one dish on the menu that was my absolute favourite and I was forced to choose something brand new that wasn’t nearly as good. And we didn’t get the cake since the evening went flat at that point.
It wasn’t the happy birthday i’d planned.
I’ll survive and extend the celebrations until the end of the week so i can fit some good things in. But I did take a few photos.
We weren’t sure what this tree was all about – on Bishopsgate
Two photos showing the changing face of The City. Note the curve on the firstI really like this little closed street off Bishopsgate, with a tiny peek of the Gherkin. Must take a photo from insideThe contrasts around the Gherkin make me smileThere’s always some odd art establishment around the GherkinChicken Sha Cha at Shikumen – the substitute dish that didn’t come close to my favourite
There are some happy after-notes, though. Marks and Spencer were so sorry I couldn’t get the chocolates on my birthday that they sent me a e-coupon big enough for chocolates and cake. Hawksmoor are extending their half price offer so I’ll go back. Tom wants to take me to dinner on Wednesday. I picked up ingredients to make aperol spritzes today or tomorrow. Juliet bought me a cornflake cake with some tea on Thursday. Yay!
Just about able to see Esmeralda, who was visiting from Bologna for the first time since 2004 or maybe 2003. I was just recovering from having a virus but now Krish was sick and it was tough to tell if I could leave him alone or not. The day before I’d been to my mentor assessment day and then come home to find Krish in bed barely able to lift his head.
Thank God for the NHS. They advised me over the phone to get hold of the doctor, who then called me back to talk about his diagnosis and off I rushed to the drugstore before it closed. After just one double dose of antibiotics, Krish could get out of bed and inhale some steam. Relief! And some hope for the next day.
Esmeralda arrived in Dalston some time around noon and we set off pretty quickly to do some exploring.
Quick visit to the Eastern Curve Garden – Esmeralda was impressed
No surprise that I followed my usual route. We made a quick stop at Shoreditch Church, then a peek into Leila’s, Arnold Circus and the glorious buildings on Boundary Estate.
Hard at work inside Leilla’sLovely piece from Shok-1 near Redchurch Street
Not many photos of that area today – I was feeling better but tiring quickly. Redchurch Street looked good, Boxpark was doing its retail thing, and on down to Brick Lane, watch some salt beef beigel action and a beeline to Meraz.
I ordered what I always do – no objections from Esmeralda. What is it? The tarka dhal (I really like their version), the sag aloo (not too spicy today), tandoori lamb chops sizzling wonderfully, and Es was brave enough to ask if they’d make a small portion of chicken korma – Of course! So delicious after a week or two of rather bland food. Esmeralda was pretty happy. What was really cool was the owner, Sami, arriving and coming over to shake my hand and say he hadn’t seen me for a long time. Oh, the groupie in me!
‘The usual’ at MerazA piece by Fanakapan on Hanbury Street
Embarrassing how I love this sort of encounter and I had one more to come.
I’m a huge fan of graffiti artist, Fanakapan. His art is so well executed – the 3D images he produces are spectacular. The first one I ever saw, in Star Yard, I honestly thought was a metallic helium balloon stuck on the wall! It was totally 2D but you’d never have guessed it. When we got into Star Yard, the first thing I saw was a hideous metal shed now built into one corner! The yard will never be the same! What’s it there for? There was an artist up a ladder working on the large wall at the entry. It was difficult to make out what he was doing but then a graffiti tour guide wandered by and mentioned the word Fanakapan. When he left, I asked the man on the ladder ‘Are you Fanakapan?’ He said he was and I managed to say that I was a huge fan of his work and delighted to meet him. He came down the ladder, asking my name and shook my hand. I had seen him before but never this close up. The piece he was working on wasn’t obviously his work and wasn’t finished. We moved on.
Fanakapan working on his newest – anamorphic – piece
Later that night, I saw a photo of the finished work. It had only appeared to be far from finished. It was in fact an amazing piece of anamorphic art – you can see it at https://www.instagram.com/p/BfgYq8JhsGm/?hl=en&taken-by=fanakapan I must go back and see if I can take it from the right angle. He let me know on Instagram what to do:
Once before I went to Sir John Soane’s museum when it was supposed to be a late closing but I got the date wrong that time. This time I double checked my facts and got the bus to Holborn Station to make my way to Lincoln’s Inn Fields. I was a bit puzzled on why the areas devoted mainly to the legal professions were called Inn (Gray’s Inn and Lincoln’s Inn being the ones I know). It turns out that this refers to the ‘Inns of court.’ These are associations that lawyers must belong to and in these fields there are facilities and offices they can use. That’s sort of how it is. We don’t know which is the oldest since apparently there’s a tradition to not tell. However, it seems to date back to the 1300 or 1400s with the squares and buildings themselves in the 1500s. Someone is going to correct me!
I knew nothing about Sir John Soane or his house/museum before visiting but I had heard it was worth a visit and I had a free day.
Lincoln’s Inn Fields itself covers 11 acres within a lovely large square set off by itself not far from the Royal Courts of Justice. The green space is very large and all around the perimeter sit beautiful houses. It’s far more grand than Gray’s Inn Fields.
Today I was sloppy with photos since I wasn’t alone. I shot wildly and quickly.
Sir John Soane’s Museum
Sir John Soane’s museum is built inside the walls of his home. Sir John was a famous architect – he designed the original Bank of England, and Dulwich Picture Gallery. He bought three houses in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, demolished and rebuilt them almost two hundred years ago. He requested the houses be left as they were and become a museum.
Sadly, no cameras or phones are allowed. At the door they ask you to turn off your phone and then present you with a large clear plastic bag to put your bag into. A bit annoying to have to carry this around in your hand (I carry my bag on my shoulder so I can avoid that) but them’s the rules.
And it is quite a museum, being absolutely crammed with artifacts since SJS was a great collector – statues, curios, and even a tomb – that of Pharoah Seti II. Oh and small galleries with paintings by such as Hogarth, Turner and Canaletto. In various small ante rooms and courtyards and libraries, all of these things sit from floor to ceiling. It’s overwhelming, slightly oppressive, and very fascinating.
In one room they had an exhibition of Egyptology – items collected by Soanes and a character called Bolzoni. A video showed how they had created a digital image of the Seti sarcophagus and that the replica they would make from this would go back to where it came from. I was sad to hear the original place would get the replica and not the real sarcophagus. Plunder…
They do candlelight tours on some evenings. It would be a creepy tour to take but there it is. Besides the rooms of collections, there are the regular rooms that they lived in. These too seemed dark and heavy to me. Not a single spot to relax in. I wonder how his family life was.
There’s a lot to see in my neighbourhood and many ways to walk towards the same point. There’s also a ton of history – enough to probably bury me under for years so I try to pick up bits of it as I can.
Just at the end of the road is the newest Pembury Circus development. It’s built on part of the Pembury Estate.
Pembury estate has two distinct parts; Old Pembury (divided into East and West) and New Pembury. Old Pembury consists of 24 walk-up blocks dating from the 1930s. New Pembury consists of streets of maisonettes and bungalows dating from the 1960s.
In recent years some of the Pembury estate was demolished and newer buildings were constructed along the periphery, called Pembury Circus. I have no idea how much of it is affordable housing but it was the beginning of big changes in the local community. One concession to the former residents was the inclusion of the community centre on the ground floor of the largest new building. There are many community events and a cafe serving breakfasts and lunches. One of these days I want to try their chana roti.
Pembury Circus towering over the rest of the estateIt’s kind of fun walking through this space towards the much older neighbourhood
The 1930s part of Pembury EstateHackney Downs
At the top of the road that borders the estate is Hackney Downs Park, which gives its name to the station and my whole neighbourhood. This is one of many Hackney borough parks.
Walking away from the park and along the top edge of the park is one favourite way to get to Lower Clapton, another area that is just starting to change into more trendy, vibrant area.
I’ve coveted this house on the way to Clapton for a long time. Buy it for me!I’m a bit of a sucker for narrow roads! This will take me to Lower Clapton RoadPages of Hackney, a wonderful indie book storeThe historical Round Chapel opened in 1871, but its beginnings were in 1804
The next part of my journey is probably my favourite bit – cutting through from Lower Clapton Road to the Narroway (the upper part of Mare Street, Hackney’s main road). To get there you walk from the now abandoned Clapton Police Station and through the grounds of St. John-at-Hackney Church. It amazes me that in very urban Hackney there are pockets of land that look mostly unchanged from their pastoral beginnings.
Some tombs in the grounds of St. John-at-Hackney Church (seen in the background)
To my right is St. John-at-Hackney Church.  a very active church. the original dating from 1275. The current church building was built during the 18th century (1792). It was designed by James Spiller, who was influenced by Sir John Soane. (This a massive coincidence since I recently have been to John Soane’s museum.) St. John does a lot for the homeless as well as hosting large musical events. Of the old church only a tower, St Augustine’s Tower (substantially rebuilt 1520), remains. The tower is open to the public once a month so I will take some photos there when I can.
St Augustine’s Tower, the only remaining part of the old church
At this point weve reached the Narroway (Narrow Way) which is being pedestrianised. It used to be the route for buses and, trust me, with so many bus routes in Hackney with a bus station entrance at the bottom
, that didn’t make it a very fun place to walk. I won’t lie – it’s maybe the lamest shopping area around. Its redeeming quality is a small Marks & Spencer.
Pedestrianisation still underway Love this utility cover on the Narroway
Today we went to see an exhibition of Alice in Wonderland prints at the Eames Fine Art Gallery on Bermondsey Street. These prints are from the original woodblocks on which Tenniel made his drawings and the Brothers Dalziel, master engravers, engraved. You can read more about this and about John Tenniel at the bottom of this blog post.
We arrived at London Bridge and decided to walk through the newer part of the station entrance, which landed us right at the Shard. It was an incredibly windy day. I could hardly stand against it. Seems the wind was mostly in some corridors since it wasn’t like that everywhere.
The Shard
I then promptly got lost trying to find the gallery. Going a different way threw me completely off. I’m a terrible map reader!
After one false start, we found Bermondsey Street, and the gallery was pretty close to the corner. The walls were covered in framed prints so we went right in. I absolutely loved looking at them and reading the bits and pieces that were around. At one point the gallery guide came up and talked to me and explained how much detail was in each engraving, and showed me a couple of her favourites. She also suggested I use a magnifying glass to see them properly. I have a lot of trouble focussing with a magnifying glass but what I did manage was quite incredible.
Above is the gallery guide’s favourite. I really like it too. The white marks in the circle at the front of the picture are apparently scratches that appeared mysteriously and no one knows how they got there.
The detail!
I’ve never looked at those illlustrations so closely, close enough to notice Tenniel’s signature and that of the Dalzeil brothers. Amazing how beloved these pictures are.
