Nunhead Cemetery

It is All Saints' Day, so what better place to spend the afternoon than in a cemetery?  Nunhead cemetery, to be exact.  It was part of a guided walk organised by the Cooltan Arts Centre, not as exciting as the blurb suggests - the guide to the cemetery wasn't available until 2:30, and then he was held up, so really, touring the cemetery was all we had time for.

The walk started off outside Nunhead Library, which is closed for redevelopment until 5 December, but is really rather an enchanting building.  We then stopped on Nunhead Green to talk about the area - a craft beer shop and an enormous estate agents providing proof of gentrification!  Then it was along Linden Grove (where Charles Dickens apparently installed one of his mistresses) to the cemetery.

It was really lovely!  It is, of course, on of the Magnificent Seven suburban cemeteries established in the 1830s and 1840s when London's churchyards were overflowing.  It was used for burials for over 100 years, but closed in 1969.  And left to rot for the next 20 years, while wildlife and nature took over.  And, of course, there was a lot of urban exploration, drug-taking, and downright vandalism going on.  Eventually the cemetery was bought by Southwark Council for £1, and eventually it was restored - there are Friends of the Cemetery who volunteer to help keep the walkways open and so on. 

Because it was All Saints' Day, some of the graves had fresh flowers, and some had flameless candles on them.  Not all, by any manner of means, but enough to show that people still care.  There was one modern grave that just said "Harold and Tim RIP" (it might not have been those names) with no date; we wondered whether it  had been an unofficial burial while the cemetery was closed, in an era when Harold and Tim might not have been welcome to be buried together elsewhere.

There was a very moving memorial to some scouts who had drowned in a disaster off the Isle of Sheppey, near a World War 1 cemetery. 

From the top of the hill, there is a protected view of St Paul's Cathedral, but it was too foggy to see it today!

And then we walked back downhill to the exit. 

Contrary to popular perception, it wasn't in the slightest bit spooky - it was lovely and peaceful.  Apart from people walking their dogs, of course, but then, how lovely that they should have such a big space available for to do that in!  It really is a lovely place, and I would happily go back if it wasn't slightly awkward to get to! 

A third trip to the Museum!

Half-term Friday, so I picked the Boy up from Senate House, as usual, and we had decided that we would visit that part of the Museum of London we'd failed to visit last time we went.  We decided to go on the Metropolitan/Circle/Hammersmith and City lines from Euston Square, and were delighted to find that the first train was a Metropolitan one (neither of us gets much opportunity to go on these!) which we duly took to Barbican.  Then we walked down Aldersgate Street to the Museum, discovering on the way that the no 56 bus went to Whipps Cross Roundabout, very near where The Boy lives.  So we decided that after we'd been to the Museum and had lunch, we'd go on it.

We knew where we had finished our last tour, at the end of the Regency period, but weren't quite sure how to get to it without going through the whole museum, but it was fairly well signposted, and after one false start, fortunately terminated by the Boy's need to visit the loo, we found where we had been, and headed on through the Victorian section, where they have mock-ups of shops as they would have been back then.  And a very splendid penny-farthing bicycle, which neither of us could imagine riding.  And so on through the sections until we reached the point we had reached three years ago, where there are model trains and things to play with.  And, just as three years ago, he was promptly engrossed and spent a very long time playing!

I was happy enough sat down at the table from an old Lyons Corner House, but eventually persuaded him it was time to move on!  Of course, the nice thing is that now he can read, he is much more interested in the interactive displays and so on; we spent a long time on the ones about the future of London, and about the clean and dirty water of "the olden days".  And rather fun to sit on a comfortable sofa and "Watch with Mother" snippets from Andy Pandy, The Woodentops and Bill and Ben, all childhood favourites of mine....

So then to lunch at Pret's - the Boy had his current favourite tuna and cucumber baguette, and drank 3/4 can fizzy lemonade, and I had a their falafel mezze salad and some coffee.  I do like Pret's coffee!  Then we went back and eventually found the bus stop - I had got turned around and needed help from my phone to find where I was, compared to where I meant to be - and waiting for a 56, which took us up through Islington and Hackney Downs and past the Lee Valley Ice Centre and Riding Centre.  We changed buses at the Bakers Arms and went the rest of the way on a W16.

 

Sunken Cities at the British Museum

Lunch with an old friend today.  We had arranged to meet outside the British Museum, and as I now have a membership card, after we'd had lunch I decided to visit this exhibition.

I have to admit to being a bit underwhelmed.  It ought to have been fascinating, but somehow it wasn't.  Archaeologists had discovered two cities near Alexandria, called Thonis-Heracleieon and Canopus, and the exhibition showed some of the things they had excavated.  Which were good, especially the heads of two sphinxes, one of which looked exactly like my old headmistress....

The selling point was supposed to be the links between the Greeks and the Egyptians back in the day, but mostly they concentrated on who worshipped what, and how, which was very dull.  I'd have loved to have seen more about how ordinary people lived, and what they did.  But I suppose that sort of thing doesn't survive long immersion in the Mediterranean, whereas votive statues and so on do....

Ah well.  En route to the museum, I was amused to notice the signs at Tottenham Court Road station which will, one day, direct the traveller to "Crossrail" - presumably they are now going to have to change these as it's going to be called the Elizabeth Line instead!  What a waste.  Very slow journey home on the 59, there must have been a diversion somewhere as the Royal Mile down to Aldwych was gridlocked.

German Fairy-Tale Tour, Wednesday 28

And so the adventure ended, as it began, in the aire at Calais.  We slept well, and then I did a big shop in Carrefour while the SW cleaned the van, and then it was time to head home.  We decided to lunch during the crossing, and after it I vaguely remember coming off the Shuttle, but fell so very soundly asleep that I didn't stir until we got to Forest Hill!

So home, and unpacking and putting away and tidying up....  and on Friday the van will go home to Sussex until the next time.  When and where that will be we don't know yet.  Probably at least one more holiday this year.

German Fairy-Tale Tour, Tuesday 27

Our last full day, and we knew we had a long drive ahead, so we got up early.  We had spent the night in a campsite, which ok, there was electricity and free WiFi and services, but imagine our frustration when we arrived at the local Park and Ride to find it full of smug motorhomes who had spent the night free of charge!  And there were services. So we were most frustrated, but we will know for next time.

We took a bus into town and wandered round the sights, and then found a ReWe to do some last-minute shopping, and an Eiscafé so I could finally have my sundae, which was lovely.  But i don't want another one for a long time!

Then it was back to the motor home and a long, boring drive across Luxembourg and Belgium, stopping once for lunch and once to stretch out legs. We have now arrived at the Buffalo Grill in Calais for our traditional Last Supper before home tomorrow.

German Fairy-tale Tour, Monday 26

We did not hurry in the morning, as we didn't have far to go. Our first port of call was Bad Durkheim, just down the road, where they had a spa, and an extremely lovely park, which we both enjoyed walking through, but whose main claim to fame was a restaurant with an enormous wine keg!  We had lunch there, and I had more new wine, which was a failure as I then slept all afternoon and missed most of an (allegedly) scenic drive to Trier, where we spent the night. The SW went for a walk, as per usual, and then flaked out for an hour or so before supper.

German Fairy-tale Tour, Sunday 25

We decided that the little we had seen of Würzburg wasn't nearly enough, so we went back there this morning and had a proper look round this exceptionally pretty, even by German standards, little town. Slightly spoilt by the fact that there was a stall offering bottles of new wine (Federweisse, and I've also known it called Ström), but when we got there they said they didn't sell it like that and didn't have any bottles anyway (what were those in the fridge, I'd like to know?), which was disappointing.  In the UK I'd have reported then to the TSA for misleading advertising....

So we drove on along the Main valley and up to Worms, only I was asleep and missed most of the latter town.  Then down to Ludwigshafen and the most enjoyable hospitality of our niece, once more. Including her broadband. My phone has been shrieking at me to upgrade it for the past week, so I have done that and now have Android Nougat, but don't know what difference it will make.

And our niece kindly produced a bottle of new wine... Great minds obviously thinking alike. It was delicious!