Jan 12
Little Kingshill
Hideously wet again. I drove through the drizzle to Great Missenden, parked in the huge station car park and caught the train into London. This both departed and arrived on time.
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A short walk to Baker Street station took me past one of Bo Jo’s (Boris Johnson’s) new public bike racks. It seemed to be doing good business - either that or most of the bikes had been pinched.
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I then took a short tube ride to Ladbroke Grove and emerged into an area that I inhabited many decades ago. The main road is as busy and drab as ever.
Once into Portobello Road, the atmosphere changes. The market was quiet but there were a few food stalls about. A wet Wednesday in January is hardly the time to see it in all its glory! I'm sure I recognised the lady working on one stall. I remember her being a dishy young blonde working the stall when I used to do my shopping there every week thirty years ago. Now she would grace East Enders as one of the more matronly figures.
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I found Books for Cooks on a side street and was directed towards a number
of books on Polish cookery. I examined these in detail and selected one
of them whilst drinking a cup of coffee. I was good and ignored the wonderful
looking cakes which were also on offer. The clientelle was interesting.
Quite a number of media types having a discussion about articles for some
journal or other and some earnest Notting Hill ladies.
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Once outside, I passed the old cinema - the Electric Cinema - which opened in 1910 and is one of Britain's oldest.
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This is towards the antiques end of the market, where the buildings become more decorative and the prices become higher.
Notting Hill and Westbourne Park are now very trendy areas, beloved of the movie industry and home to many celebrities. The food shops I failed to find in my home area have sprouted here in great abundance but most have prices that I couldn't possibly afford. The estate agents' windows offered many properties in excess of £2.5 million. The buildings are a mixture of the elegant, the peculiar and the nasty. Seeing Trellick Tower, one of London's most hated buildings in the distance was a reminder that not all in the city merits nostalgia.
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Meandering along Westbourne Grove, I was able to admire the shops, the buildings and the non-stop traffic until I reached Queensway. There I walked into Whiteley's, the old department store building where I used to work, which is now a shopping mall. The main part of the old structure to remain is the magnificent stairways. I took a few photos of these in the hope that I could capture some shapes and patterns. |
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I was just leaving when Mike accosted me and complained that the restaurant at which I had agreed to meet him didn't open for weekday lunch. This seemed a bit unreasonable but there was little that I could do about it so, at his suggestion, we went to Le Café Anglais, which was on the first floor of Whiteley's.
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This was very elegant but they let me in and we decided to eat in the Oyster Bar. We ate beautiful food, drank tolerable French wine and discussed life, the universe and everything for about three hours. |
We then paid a large bill and went our various ways. It was expensive but it was worth it.
It was growing dark as I returned to Oxford Street but there were still lots of people scurrying about. I walked from Tottenham Court Road back towards Oxford Circus, stopping to buy some clothes en route. I returned to Marylebone and caught the train back to Great Missenden.
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In the evening, I went into Amersham to meet my new tenants at Bourne End. Not wishing to alarm them, I left the camera behind, so cannot document a very pleasant evening spent in one of the black and white pubs which occupy the main street.
Right: The train back home |