The London Traveler

I still remember the first time I saw a really great tapestry. It was the central panel of the Lady and the Unicorn series in the Musee de Cluny, in Paris, and I must have stood in front of it for half an hour, looking at the tiny flowers in the borders, each petal and leaf neatly delineated – an amazing profusion of detail.
But generally, my generation saw tapestry as something like needlepoint – something for little old ladies, something hanging in draughty old castles or at the back of ‘Ye Olde Tea Shoppe’. Tapestry was something from a world …read more

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Boris Johnson has just dramatically cut London’s future transport plans.  And he’s also announced that the fares Londoners pay will be going up.
Boris is cutting a whole raft of projects:

the Thames Gateway Bridge
the Cross River Tram (Euston to Waterloo – two very badly served termini)
extension  of the Docklands Light Railway to Dagenham
tram extension to from Crystal Palace to Croydon
the Oxford Street tram
plans for bus routes on two new estates in East London.

At the same time he’s said fares will rise by 1% more than inflation. That basically means 6% or more for next year, I’d reckon.
To be fair Boris does …read more

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Although most Londoners never really notice it, the Thames is still a strongly tidal river as it flows through the city.
Most Londoners don’t  need to notice it, of course. The Thames is regulated these days, safely channelled between concrete banks, and we spend our lives well above the level of the water. (In medieval and early modern London, on the other hand,the Thames was bordered by muddy flats and shingly beaches for much of its length.)
The Thames has a tidal drop of 25 feet – really quite a massive drop.  So look down at low water, and you’ll see huge …read more

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I recently found myself with a hungry chum on the South Bank at about three o’clock in the afternoon. We’d already had a couple of pints at the Market Porter in Borough Market (Potbelly Beijing Black – yum!) and  my friend mentioned the Wagamama in Clink Street.
It’s a bright, modern restaurant -  not a huge amount of luxury, but enough space on the table to spread our walking guides out, and very clean and well maintained.   We had attentive service, too – ordered quickly, and the food arrived quite soon (though not with the kind of indecent haste that …read more

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