Money in the Garden

Saturday, March 16th 2013

I mentioned that we are going on a trip soon though I didn’t say where. That will come later. The local currency of the country we are visiting is the euro and so we need to buy some before we leave. That was today’s little task. We had plenty of time, however, so there was no need to rush.

Staircase
1820s vintage

We live in a Georgian era house, built in 1820, the last year of the reign and life of King George III. We don’t occupy the whole house, just a small flat, one of several into which the old house has been  divided. The basket hanging on the banister is for mail and the door behind the stairs leads to the back garden. I have never met any ghosts upon the stairs but were there any, they would no doubt have some interesting tales to tell.

Pret
A good place for breakfast

We started, as we often do at the weekend, with breakfast at Pret A Manger. Coffee, porridge and croissants are our usual fare. Time was when porridge was looked down upon but in recent years it has experienced a revival and most food outlets now sell it, especially in the morning. Porridge is thought of as a Scottish dish but Roman soldiers also had porridge for breakfast, so it has a long history.

Puddle
On the corner of Earlham Street with Shaftesbury Avenue

We caught a bus and got off in Shaftesbury Avenue near the Palace Theatre. The day had started sunny but there had been heavy rain beforehand and for the rest of the day the weather alternated between clouds and sunshine. On the corner of Earlham Street, pedestrians were avoiding a large puddle. A young man asked permission to take a photo of me for a school project and I agreed. I won’t ever see the picture, though.

Tower Court
From Tower Street (note the balloon)

We went along Tower Street and here, off the beaten track, it was a lot quieter. In Tower Court, only one thing moved: a white balloon rolling along on the ground. You might just be able to make it out.

Orange pom-pom crossing
Garrick Street, looking towards the Strand

Garrick Street is a fairly long street passing through Covent Garden and leading to the Strand, just visible in the centre of the photo. On a dull day, the orange pom-pom on the man’s hat made a welcome splash of colour.

Rickshaws
King Street, Covent Garden

From time to time, the sun would break through and light the scene as though with a spotlight. Colours would then sparkle, often reflected in the wet paving. Rickshaws were busy touting for custom in Covent Garden. These vehicles are a controversial feature of city life. Cabbies don’t like them (understandably) and bus drivers resent them clogging up the bus lanes. There are claims that safety standards are not high. Despite this, the rickshaw seems to be here to stay.

Funny man
Performing in Covent Garden

All sorts of show people perform in the main square of Covent Garden, sometimes in groups, but often alone. They frequently try to involve passers-by or members of the audience in their act. In the open, the acoustics are not good and anyone relying on dialogue needs a microphone and loudspeaker. I was struck by the fact that this performer had a very red face.

Bureau de Change
Jubilee Market, Covent Garden

To one side of the “Piazza”, as the Covent Garden market building and surrounding open space are now called, is the Jubilee Market, a covered market so crammed with stalls that it’s quite hard to move around in it. At one end is a small bureau de change where we bought our euros. Covent Garden is a popular place for tourists to visit so I imagine this bureau does plenty of business.

A hard act to follow
David Garrick lived here

We continued on into Southampton Street. According to English Heritage, number 27 is a “substantial terrace house” built between 1906 and 1908 and has awarded it a Grade II listing. For most people, though, its interest lies in the equally substantial plaque affixed above the front door. This large and elaborate piece of bronze work, executed by Henry Charles Fehr, was installed in 1900 and has been much photographed since then.

It informs us that the famous actor-manage David Garrick (1717-79) lived here from 1750 to 1772. At the time, Garrick was manager of the nearby Drury Lane Theatre and acquired a lease for the house from the Duke of Bedford who owned the land and properties hereabouts. Proximity to his place of work was not always an advantage: on one occasion, certain members of the audience, displeased that the theatre was presenting a French ballet, went to number 27 and broke the windows.

Bistro 1
Inexpensive but good

Further down Southampton Street is a restaurant with the unassuming name Bistro 1. We stopped off here for lunch. The service was polite but not particularly amiable until I prepared to take a photo of the place.

Me! Me! Photograph me!
How can you resist me?

At that point, one of the waiters emerged, demanding to be included in the photo. Not that this is a particularly rare occurrence. Quite often when I am taking photos, people try to get into the picture. The strange thing is that they rarely ask for a copy of the photo. It’s enough for them, apparently, to think that they have been recorded.

The Coal Hole
A popular pub on the Strand

Having reached the Strand, we went to a pub called the Cola Hole for a ginger beer. This is at least the second pub of that name, the first being located in a cellar in Fountain Court. It is thought that the name derives from the coal-heavers who plied their trade on the Thames nearby, though the fact that the original pub was in a cellar suggests that the locale might once have actually served as a coal store.

Pargetting and woodwork
A medieval decor

The pub was so crowded that it was quite difficult to make our way to the bar and then find seats. Even more remarkable was it, then, to discover two comfortable armchairs untenanted! The pub’s decor is a mixture of Victorian style woodwork and medieval themed decor.

Escutcheon
“Medieval” fireplace

The building dates from the early 19th century and the decor reminded us both of the medieval themes explored by the Pre-Raphaelites and William Morris but it is probably later than that. How much later? I really don’t know. More research needed… Note the gold-paper covered candle, presumably a left-over from Christmas and the New Year.

Back entrance
Carting Lane

We left the pub by the back entrance into Carting Lane. Many of the streets and lanes leading off the south side of the Strand have steps like this one because the land slopes fairly steeply from here down to the Thames.

Cigarette break
Some prefer their own company

In a yard I noticed a group of people taking a “fag break”. This has become a common sight since smoking was banned in the work place. It’s slightly odd, though, to see so many people taking a break all at the same time. The chap on the left seems to be more interested in writing up his diary. Or is he a poet composing deathless verse before returning to his mundane tasks?

Gas lamp
Serving a dual purpose

It was Tigger who spotted that this lamp was burning gas, not electricity. That is not the end of the story, however. This is one of a number of surviving gas lamps in this area, considered sufficiently important historically that they have been given listed building status. Though providing light, they also had a secondary purpose as a nearby plaque informs us: “The adjacent street light is the last remaining sewer gas destructor lamp in the City of Westminster. Installed in association with Sir Joseph Bazalgette’s revolutionary Victoria Embankment sewer, which opened in 1870, this cast iron ornamental lamp standard with original lantern continues to burn off residual biogas.” (Also, see Update below.)

Victoria Embankment Gardens
Arthur Sullivan remembered

We finally arrived at Victoria Embankment Gardens and took a short stroll therein before catching a bus home. In finer weather, the gardens are usually crowded with people sitting or strolling but today the cold and the threat of rain were enough to keep people away.

In the foreground is a sculpture memorializing Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900), the composer, remembered by most people today for his collaboration with W.S. Gilbert in the composing of 14 comic operas. The bronze sculpture, comprising a bust of Arthur Sullivan and a weeping female figure with dishevelled dress, dates to 1903 and is by Willam Goscombe John R.A.

Despite the intermittent sunshine, the chill on the air and the dampness were enough to make me content  to return home, my conscience eased by the fact that we had got out and about and that we had accomplished a necessary task.

Update April 25th 2013

For more information on street lamps that burn sewer gas, see Sewer power on Caroline’s Miscellany.

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