This is Borough High Street, yesterday around 1 pm.
Notice how sunny it is. It was quite warm too. |
Yesterday was another fine and warm autumn day. Unfortunately, although it was Omelette Day it was also a working day. We were looking forward to the weekend, hoping to get out and about.
We got up bright and early today and set off. It was grey and overcast, seeming to threaten rain. It was also cold. We took the bus to Waterloo, intending to go on from there.
This is the Old Fire Station, now a pub on the ground floor and offices to rent on the upper floors. They serve food here and we tried it one evening but were a little disappointed. Perhaps we should give it another try.
The Old Fire Station pub, Waterloo
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The Old Vic theatre is here, too, as you theatre-lovers will know. This picture shows road works. There seem to be road works everywhere today. You get the feeling they are digging up the whole of London. It’s a nuisance because roads are closed and bus routes diverted.
The Old Vic
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On a corner, beside a bookshop, is this strange little mosaic. Any ideas as to what it might be?
Space invader mosaic
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This one is rather damaged, perhaps because of its street-level location. Usually they are much higher up and you will see them all over London. They are all different, but they all resemble the little figures in the early Space Invaders games. I don’t know who makes and places them but this is just one of the several types of anonymous “art” that graces London’s streets.
Cubana
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On the opposite corner of the same street, this handsome lady welcomes you to Cubana, a Cuban restaurant. It was understandably still closed at 9 am but perhaps we’ll perhaps try it another time. The street is called Lower Marsh Street, for the rather obvious reason that in past centuries the area was a marsh. This days it is a shopping street and a market street, as well as being a conservation area.
Parked market barrows, Lower Marsh Street
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We like Lower Marsh Street because it contains interesting shops and two of our favourite cafes. The first cafe is the justly famous Scooterworks Cafe and Bar. Between sipping your cappuccino and browsing old scooter magazines, you can buy a motor scooter or a helmet or ask where they’ve moved their workshop to (see Web page!). The atmosphere is calm and the decor understated – just the sort of place we like.
Interesting shop
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Scooterworks Cafe and Bar
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But we were not going to Scooterworks today. (We thought we might come back later but it didn’t work out.) We were more interested in getting breakfast and so headed for the curious little Marie’s cafe.
Marie’s Cafe
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Half hidden behind a flower-bedecked street lamp and next door to a hairdresser’s called Arena, Marie’s looks like a typical English caff. And I suppose it looks a bit like that inside as well! Though if you look carefully, you may notice a certain oriental look to the decor.
Inside Marie’s Cafe
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Marie’s serves a dual purpose: in the early part of the day, it is a cafe serving typical English breakfasts while in the evening it turns into a Thai restaurant! We haven’t eaten Thai food there yet but I think we should it a try one day soon.
The back end of Waterloo station
with the London Eye peeping around the corner |
It was pleasantly warm in Marie’s and when we went out into the street, the cold greeted us and removed any desire to go on a long ramble. We’re obviously not winter-hardened yet!
Marylebone, one of our smaller and prettier stations
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We caught the number 4 bus to Marylebone station and from there, the faithful 205 that takes us back to Angel. Marylebone station is very pretty and I would like to take photos inside but this is not allowed – you get shouted at. So you need to do it on the QT 
The glass canopy, Marylebone station
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We didn’t go into the station today so I contented myself with a couple of quick snaps of the outside. This magnificent glass canopy was built so that in inclement weather, passengers could cross between the station and the Hotel Great Central (built 1899 and now called the Landmark), or board the taxicabs drawn up in front of the station, without getting wet.
The bus stop is not protected by the canopy but it did not rain, fortunately. The bus carried us back to Angel, negotiating more tiresome roadworks on the way. As soon as we got in, we put on the heating and made tea. Later, we will round off the day by going out for an Indian dinner as this is always good medicine for a disappointing day!
You are certainly good at finding interesting little eating outlets. I love the look of Scooterworks.
So why did you go home? Because you were chilly? I think you both need to dig your thermal undies out of the wardrobe and be better prepared!
You are no doubt right about the thermal underwear as the weather seems to have taken a turn for the worst, as we must expect at this time of year.
Sightseeing is never fun on cold dull days, though. This is the season for indoor visits such as museums and galleries and I expect we will be doing some of that.