The Road Not Taken

…that I decided to take one more trip into the city. The day looked promising weather wise and I had mentioned to my Dad that I would meet him for lunch up at the Law Courts in Great Portland Street. I also needed just one or two more items for my trip so off I went on the tube to Charing Cross.

Being such a nice day, albeit pretty windy, I chose to walk around a fair amount and soak up some of Londons bustle before I get to experience the relative quiet of the New Zealand islands. First stop was Ellis Brigham in Covent Garden, fast becoming the place I part with my money with most often. After a few select purchases I wandered around Covent Garden and enjoyed the ever present sound of a string quartet planted firmly in their corner downstairs under the covered part of the Garden. I made a point not to hang out by the railings looking over at them play as the guy with the collection box soon swoops down for a contribution for the students of the Royal College of Music or wherever they are from, like they really need the cash - the posh bastards ;0).

I then took off around the back streets which I much prefer to the main roads. My stroll took me back down towards Trafalgar Square and past a few pubs that bring back some memories, the Pitcher and Piano and Chandos to name but two. Then up to Leicester Square and through to Piccadilly Circus and along Glasshouse street to my old haunt the Glassblower. Keeping to the back streets I went past more pubs I have frequented in the past, up Kingly street past the Red Lion (7 hour lunch break was had here), the Blue Posts and a few others.

It was soon time for lunch and hopping on a train from Oxford Circus to Baker Street and changing for a quick one stop on the Circle line to Great Portland Street I was soon at my destination to meet my Father for lunch. I was a little early so walked around Harley Street and Devonshire Street where there are some amazing Mews, the sort that always appear in movies. As Regents Park was so close it seemed rude not to pop in so I took a stroll along the south paths which I shared with many lunchtime joggers and various people sitting on benches having their lunches.

Entering the Law Courts I went through the security machine and was then “wanded” by the security guard due to my belt setting the thing off numerous times. I headed for court 9 but on arriving at the first floor via the stairs there were only 2 courts here. The elevator sign showed that court 9 was on the first floor but it was not here!! I went back down and found out that I had taken staircase A instead of staircase B….how stupid of me!

I eventually found the court and my Dad informed me I had missed all the action. He introduced me to Judge Knight briefly and we trotted upstairs for lunch. There was not much on offer at the small canteen but that didn’t matter. We beat the rush as rank after rank of pinstripe suits flowed in grabbing sausage sarnies and donuts.

After lunch I headed on home for an uneventful journey back which is actually a good thing on the tube these days. So it was a nice windy day to spend up in town and it felt good to be there. I won’t miss the hoardes of people (I had picked the first day of half term to go when the kids are all off school) but will miss the feeling that you get being up in London, a mix of insignificance due to the mass of people and a sense of belonging that comes from having spent so much of my early working life there.

London - it’s time to go but I’ll be back, so I sing in my best Cockney accent, altogether now …

Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner,
That I love London so.
Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner
That I think of her wherever I go.
I get a funny feeling inside of me
Just walking up and down.
Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner
That I love London Town.

Oh, I had to show you this picture that was in the Times newspaper today, it was printed along with many letters to the paper complaining about street signs…looking at this picture, I see their point.

Tags: Pre-Trip

This entry was posted on Monday, October 25th, 2004 at 5:07 pm and is filed under Pre-Trip. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.