Further reminiscing about the old days came to mind again while I was in Limehouse. I was bored one night so went for a stroll 'inland'. You can imagine my surprise when I happened upon a small park, surrounded by the most wonderful Georgian terraces. These houses on York Square, and a few streets around it had survived the blitz and are now I am sure much sought after properties being walking distance from Canary Wharf and less than five minutes from the Docklands Light railway ( DLR).
As I further explored the area, I revisited The Queens Head, a Young's pub which I and a work colleague, Mike McBride, had been to in the late 70's when we were attempting to join the 135 Club.
This club was open to anybody who had travel to, and drank in, every one of the pubs which made up the Young's estate. The number fluctuated as the brewery opened and closed pubs, but the 135 Club name remained.
We visited the Queens Head after we had knocked off The Ship in Rotherhithe, The Crown in Lee and The Richard I in Greenwich. We then darted through the tunnel, ticked off the Queens Head then bombed down the A11 to Barking to do The Britannia, a fine pub with a figurehead as the pub sign. Sadly it is no longer in the Young's estate. So much for drinking and driving.
The final pub we visited some time later to qualify for the 135 Club was The Bishop out of Residence, in Kingston, Surrey. It was its opening day and we were lucky enough to get John Young, the chairman, to sign our card. It was 31st October 1979.
Young's no longer brews beer after selling its Wandsworth brewery in 2007 and tying up with Charles Wells, the makers of Wells Fargo. Earlier this year it sold its last remaining share in the joint venture and now concentrates on its real estate. Young's beer is still available in its outlets, but it is now brewed exclusively by Charles Wells.
Anyway, back to The Queens Head, and York Square. It may be an urban myth, but the word is that the Square and the pub gave the producers of Eastenders, the perfect model for Albert Square and the Queen Vic which feature so prominently in the soap opera.
The pub was really quiet when I went in and messageboards do indicate this to be the case. You wonder how some of these small old traditional outlets do survive.
Across the square was another pub, The Old Ship, which was closed the night I was there. It is one of the major drag artist pubs in the East End and attracts a gay and mixed crowd on the nights it is open. On Thursdaynights one of the drag queens hosts a quiz night. That would be quite interesting.
Given the area these pubs are located I would have thought a gastro and a wine bar would have been a perfect combination, given the gay community in Limehouse seems to be well served elsewhere. That said, the pink pound is still a most welcome commodity!!
Thursday 22 December 2011
Thursday 8 December 2011
Betamax and 8 track tapes
This list was published in the paper this morning. Now I have highlighted those which I do, and there are quite a lot, but I don't think I am in any way a digital dinosaur.
Duties for digital dinosaurs:
1. Ring the cinema to find out times
2. Go to the travel agents’ to research a holiday
3. Record things using VHS
4. Dial directory enquiries
5. Use public phones
6. Book tickets over the phone
7. Print photos
8. Put an ad in the shop window
9. Ring the speaking clock
10. Carry portable CD players
11. Write handwritten letters
12. Buy disposable cameras
13. Take change for pay phones
14. Make mix tapes
15. Pay bills at the post office
16. Use an address book
17. Check a map for a car journey
18. Reverse charges in payphones
19. Visit a bank or building society
20. Buy TV listings
21. Own an encyclopedia
22. Queue for car tax at the post office
23. Develop and send off for photos
24. Read the Yellow Pages
25. Look up something in a dictionary
26. Remember phone numbers or have a phone book
27. Watch videos
28. Have pen friends
29. Use a phone directory
30. Use pagers
31. Fax things
32. Buy CDs or have a CD collection
33. Pay by cheque
34. Make photo albums
35. Watch programmes at the time they are shown
36. Dial 1471
37. Warm hot drinks on the stove
38. Try on lots of shoes in shops
39. Hand wash clothes
40. Advertise in trading papers
41. Send love letters
42. Hand-write essays/schoolwork
43. Buy flowers from a florist
44. Work out how to spell something yourself
45. Keep a personal diary
46. Send postcards
47. Buy newspapers
48. Hang washing out in winter
49. Keep printed bills or statements
50. Go to car boot sales
32 I did yesterday, and 45 is what this blog is all about. What is very worrying though is the implication that books, newspapers and other printed matter is considered old hat by the younger generation. That contrasts with the comments made recently by Peter Andre where he extolled the virtues of the bedtime story read from a book with pictures and charactures, and not a Kindle. People develop an imagination, and creativity by examining the written word and there isno better way of doing it than by using an encyclopedia or dictionary.
I remember my Uncle impressing on me the value of looking up a word in the dictionary or a topic in an encyclopedia, and then absorbing the work or article above and below it, that's how a vocabulary builds up, not by embracing Wikipedia.
As for number 50, what better way to spend a Sunday morning than rummaging through somebody elses cast offs looking for that one item you have craved for years. I love it, and indeed, one of my first blogs extolled the virtues of car boot sales
Duties for digital dinosaurs:
1. Ring the cinema to find out times
2. Go to the travel agents’ to research a holiday
3. Record things using VHS
4. Dial directory enquiries
5. Use public phones
6. Book tickets over the phone
7. Print photos
8. Put an ad in the shop window
9. Ring the speaking clock
10. Carry portable CD players
11. Write handwritten letters
12. Buy disposable cameras
13. Take change for pay phones
14. Make mix tapes
15. Pay bills at the post office
16. Use an address book
17. Check a map for a car journey
18. Reverse charges in payphones
19. Visit a bank or building society
20. Buy TV listings
21. Own an encyclopedia
22. Queue for car tax at the post office
23. Develop and send off for photos
24. Read the Yellow Pages
25. Look up something in a dictionary
26. Remember phone numbers or have a phone book
27. Watch videos
28. Have pen friends
29. Use a phone directory
30. Use pagers
31. Fax things
32. Buy CDs or have a CD collection
33. Pay by cheque
34. Make photo albums
35. Watch programmes at the time they are shown
36. Dial 1471
37. Warm hot drinks on the stove
38. Try on lots of shoes in shops
39. Hand wash clothes
40. Advertise in trading papers
41. Send love letters
42. Hand-write essays/schoolwork
43. Buy flowers from a florist
44. Work out how to spell something yourself
45. Keep a personal diary
46. Send postcards
47. Buy newspapers
48. Hang washing out in winter
49. Keep printed bills or statements
50. Go to car boot sales
32 I did yesterday, and 45 is what this blog is all about. What is very worrying though is the implication that books, newspapers and other printed matter is considered old hat by the younger generation. That contrasts with the comments made recently by Peter Andre where he extolled the virtues of the bedtime story read from a book with pictures and charactures, and not a Kindle. People develop an imagination, and creativity by examining the written word and there isno better way of doing it than by using an encyclopedia or dictionary.
I remember my Uncle impressing on me the value of looking up a word in the dictionary or a topic in an encyclopedia, and then absorbing the work or article above and below it, that's how a vocabulary builds up, not by embracing Wikipedia.
As for number 50, what better way to spend a Sunday morning than rummaging through somebody elses cast offs looking for that one item you have craved for years. I love it, and indeed, one of my first blogs extolled the virtues of car boot sales
Wednesday 7 December 2011
Docklands revisited
I am experiencing the East End of London at the moment in a way I have not done for over 35 years. Work has taken me down to Canary Wharf, and I am billeted in Shadwell between Wapping and Limehouse.
Now Shadwell is a huge tenement style development which recently has been populated by the Bangladeshi community. It contributes to Tower Hamlets challenge as a deprived inner city borough.This maintains the heritage of the area as it has been the home and settlement for South Asian sailors brought over to work for the East India Company as well as Chinese and Greek seaman many of whom intermarried and co-habited with locals. It is interesting how areas of high poverty can co-exist so close to wealthy financial districts like Canary Wharf.
The stretch of land between the Limehouse Link , a four lane highway parallel to Commercial Road, and the river Thames is now a sought after settlement for people employed in Canary Wharf. New blocks of flats have been built and many of the old warehouses have been converted into sought after residences. Many have kept the name of the wharves on which they reside.
It was down to Wapping that I ventured initially to re-visit the Prospect of Whitby one of the oldest riverside pubs in the Capital. A regular haunt for 'hanging' Judge Jefferys in the 17th century, there has been a tavern on the site for over 400 years. Execution Dock next door got its name from the practise of tying pirates to stakes in the river and waiting for the tide to come in and drown them.
Last night there was no evidence of that, just a good traditional pub menu and a few good beers. The pub is now on the tourist track and two coach parties came while I was there, but the pub layout allowed one such to go upstairs to the function room and another into the restaurant, leaving the drinkers to the bar area.
Now when I was last here in about 1975, there was a roaring log fire. This has been replaced by an enclosed wood burning stove but other than that it stays a good old fashioned pub which befits the area.
The other 'trendy' riverside pub in the area is The Grapes in Narrow Street, and no premise could have been better placed. The pub was recently acquired by Ian McKellen, Gandalf in Lord of the Rings amongst other things, and an ex-gay lover, and must be one of
the narrowest pubs in the C0untry. There is seating for 8 as you walk in, four stools beside the bar and seating for about 12 in the back bar. A small terrace overlooks the river at the back.
There is a restaurant upstairs, but I took the opportunity to try the bar menu, and found this delightful combination. The only thing to spoil the visit was the fact the two barmaids were amongst the most miserable and dull you could have. Pity really as the place needed a bit of vitality behind the bar to finish it off.
On the subject of gays, I was lucky to spot the local pub, The White Swan, was listed as a gay pub before I went in to it. otherwise I could have been in trouble, Limehouse must be a spot!
Now Shadwell is a huge tenement style development which recently has been populated by the Bangladeshi community. It contributes to Tower Hamlets challenge as a deprived inner city borough.This maintains the heritage of the area as it has been the home and settlement for South Asian sailors brought over to work for the East India Company as well as Chinese and Greek seaman many of whom intermarried and co-habited with locals. It is interesting how areas of high poverty can co-exist so close to wealthy financial districts like Canary Wharf.
The stretch of land between the Limehouse Link , a four lane highway parallel to Commercial Road, and the river Thames is now a sought after settlement for people employed in Canary Wharf. New blocks of flats have been built and many of the old warehouses have been converted into sought after residences. Many have kept the name of the wharves on which they reside.
It was down to Wapping that I ventured initially to re-visit the Prospect of Whitby one of the oldest riverside pubs in the Capital. A regular haunt for 'hanging' Judge Jefferys in the 17th century, there has been a tavern on the site for over 400 years. Execution Dock next door got its name from the practise of tying pirates to stakes in the river and waiting for the tide to come in and drown them.
Last night there was no evidence of that, just a good traditional pub menu and a few good beers. The pub is now on the tourist track and two coach parties came while I was there, but the pub layout allowed one such to go upstairs to the function room and another into the restaurant, leaving the drinkers to the bar area.
Now when I was last here in about 1975, there was a roaring log fire. This has been replaced by an enclosed wood burning stove but other than that it stays a good old fashioned pub which befits the area.
The other 'trendy' riverside pub in the area is The Grapes in Narrow Street, and no premise could have been better placed. The pub was recently acquired by Ian McKellen, Gandalf in Lord of the Rings amongst other things, and an ex-gay lover, and must be one of
the narrowest pubs in the C0untry. There is seating for 8 as you walk in, four stools beside the bar and seating for about 12 in the back bar. A small terrace overlooks the river at the back.There is a restaurant upstairs, but I took the opportunity to try the bar menu, and found this delightful combination. The only thing to spoil the visit was the fact the two barmaids were amongst the most miserable and dull you could have. Pity really as the place needed a bit of vitality behind the bar to finish it off.
On the subject of gays, I was lucky to spot the local pub, The White Swan, was listed as a gay pub before I went in to it. otherwise I could have been in trouble, Limehouse must be a spot!
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