london – Page 4 – Neil Baldwin's blog : Warning contains walking, technology, photography, holidays.

London walk around Ladbroke Grove

I had Sunday to myself so did some homework on Saturday evening, to see if there was anything on worth doing. I remember that I have often ended up on the www.eventbrite.co.uk site so I thought I would have a search on the website directly. I came up trumps I found Londoner offers walks in London cost just £10 for a 3 hours which seemed good value. The meet up point was Ladbroke Grove tube station. The instructions in the email said “The walk will start fairly promptly at 11am. From the meeting point outside Ladbroke Grove tube station we will be heading along Malton Road to St Marks Road so, if you are delayed, by walking briskly in that direction you should be able to catch up with us.”

The subject of the walk was “Stuart’s first walk”. According to the website: In Geoff Nicholson’s novel Bleeding London, jaded tour guide Stuart London sets out to walk every street in the A-Z.

London house with preserved pub frontage

“He knew he had to begin somewhere and he knew that in one sense, any place was as good as another, but he scanned the index of his A-Z looking for a street name that sounded appropriate. His eyes fell on a line that read North Pole Road. Next day he went there and started his walk.” (p.84)

This walk takes in some of the streets that Stuart would have covered in this first walk.

I considered driving up just like Stuart did as it would save 30 minutes journey time, but in the end opted for the more relaxing train journey. The 09:07 from Berkhamsted would get me to the appointed tube station for 10:30 time for a coffee and cake. Unusually the Euston train was alighting on platform 2, rather than the usual 4. A few people had not read the signs and an elderly gentleman put them right. He told me on a Sunday it was best to wait at the top of the stairs as you never knew if the platform would change. Apparently the lights indicated the line was in slow mode, hence the reason for platform 4 not being used.

At Euston I walked west to Euston Square station to so that I could get on a train without changing before getting to Ladbroke Grove. I wax early so popped into Cafe Nero for a coffee and a pee. They had the Sunday times lying around so I spent some time reading up on the news, or what ever it is they have in that publication. Apparently most of the last 12 London marathon winners were tainted by suspicious blood counts, Mo Farah passed the tests OK so England are off the hook, and it is the Russians who they are pointing there finger at. It looks like the labour candidate Corbyn us going to be the next leader, and will most likely shake things up a bit, which is a refreshing change to the middle of the road stuff we have had for a few decades.

We walked away from the tube station and under the Westway for a bit, then we went into the suburbs. The guide Jen told us about a number 7 ghost bus which has been seen in May at 0130 going down Cambridge Gardens without a drive. It has so the myth goes been the cause of a few accidents.

Further along we passed a church, on St Quintin, which was rebuilt after being destroyed during the war. In the church hall the BBC held rehearsals for such programs as Z Cars. One of my fellow guidees, and a local, can remember hanging around outside to get autographs.

We passed the hospital where Roger Daltry was born, although it is named Hammersmith hospital it is not in Hammersmith. Just on from the hospital we took a detour to look at the entrance to Wormwood Scrubs prison. A few famous people have stayed there including Keith Richards who was sentenced to a year but only stayed a day. George Blake the infamous spy was imprisoned there for a 42 year sentence but managed to escape by climbing out of a window and into a waiting car, he then fled to Berlin.

The football season had started and was in full swing on the Scrubs I overheard a couple of the players complaining that they needed to get fit! We got a bit lost trying to get to The Harrow Road on the edge of the scrubs, and ended up walking through a wooded area, where there was a parakeet roost, there was certainly lots of birds shit about.

Off The Harrow road we crossed the Grand Union, then we walked through one of the Magnificent seven London cemetery’s, Kensal Green. It is a fascinating place and we’ll worth another visit. There are according to our guide regular walks you can join, and I think I will.

Back on The Harrow road we crossed the Grand Union for a second time, then passed a small nature reserve, called Meanwhile nature reserve owing be the fact the council allowed it to be used in the 70’s while they decided what to do with the land, they never have. Shortly after that we were told about the history of the Trellick tower and its Hungarian Architect Goldfinger.

Just around the corner was Portobello road, which even when the market is not on is buzzing. There are lots of interesting food shops, cafes and restaurants. We finished off with a drink at the KPH Kensington Park Hotel, which is a pub now. I then took the tube back to Euston Square then got the fast train to Birmingham which stopped at Berkhamsted.

I will definitely do another walk sometime, it was very enjoyable even if it was a bit tiring in the heat of August.

Double Hubble in London

My birthday was coming up and Helen had arranged a treat in London, for the Saturday so we were up earlyish and out of the house to catch the 0915 from Berkhamsted. We managed to find a spot in the free parking outside Berkhamsted castle. We got travel cards from the machine and only then did we notice delays and cancellations on the Euston line, apparently due to signalling problems. It turns out that we would have less of a wait because the 0901 was due in at 0908 so we only had time to get a coffee before the train arrived.

I had plans for the trip too, I was going to choose a new light tripod, with a tilting centre column to help with taking photospheres. I thought I might also have a look at a Canon 8-15mm lens, which would enable me to apply to be a Google trusted photographer.

The weather was grey with the threat of rain, temperature was below 10 degrees. It turns out the signalling issues were near Tring so it did not affect our journey time. We got on the 68 bus and because we were early I suggested that we get off the bus at the British museum. I thought it would be a good idea to take some photospheres of be fantastic roof inside the british museum.

Helen tried to help some Chinese guys looking for the university of London once I told Helen that she had the map upside down she send them on the right direction. We can across a load more Chinese tourists outside the museum some of them in factory overall suits, not sure if they were the guides or something else. Once at the museum helen send a happy half an hour with the elgin marbles while i went round and took photos of museum roof.

Suitably photographed we left the museum and got on the 188 and alighted on Waterloo bridge, then headed to the BFI iMax cinema which was the surprise that Helen had arranged, the film was about the Hubble telescope in 3D, which I was well pleased about. We had time for a coffee at the Costa franchise.

The film was excellent it told the story of a mission to upgrade the Hubble telescope in 1990. The result I on of imax is very high and the footage from n space was stunning. After the film we headed to o the National Theatre just in case there was a photo exhibition in the lobby, it turns out there was not but in the past we have seen the press photographer of the year and landscape photographer of the yeat., both free and well worth a visit to. On the was to the NT we past a street food market and after some deliberation I had an excellent griddle toasted sandwich and Helen had a Polish cottage cheese, onion and potato dumpling.

We decided to walk to Tottenham court road, I wanted to check out Park cameras. I looked at the to pods and liked the look of the 190 carbon fibre model with 4 sections, it is small light, has a 90 degree centre column feature and is very expensive. So I bought the even more impressive Canon 8-15mm USM lens because I asked and got a £50 discount. It is likely to become my goto lens as it covers that wide angles I look and is suitable for photosphere sets. Oh forgot to mention we also stopped off Foyle’s and helen bought some books.

Having spent enough money for the day we headed back to Euston on the 73 bus.

A wet London to Brighton 2014

Another year has cone round quickly and it is time four our annual pilgrimage to Brighton. A good friend has a car that qualifies for the Bonham’s London to Brighton vintage car run, and we use it as an excuse to take Monday off and stay the Sunday night in Brighton, which this year only cost £25 at the North Street Premier Inn. Helen and I have in recent years (I have been doing it for over 21) skipped the early 05:00 start to be in Hyde Park by 07:00 and motored directly to Crawley leaving the house at a more sociable 09:00.

The drive round the M25 was steady due to the biblical rain caused by a long bank of cloud dissecting the country at 45 degrees and stationed directly over the A23 on this Sunday morning. Luckily the rain had stopped by the time we reached Gatwick Honda on the outskirts of Crawley, which new for this year is where the official coffee stop was arranged. Usually the coffee stop the is on Crawley high Street which is an ideal spot for the public to see the cars parked up on the cobbled square. The Honda dealership was on a main road with pretty poor viewing opportunities. We found a suitable place to park in a nearby housing area and soon met up with the support crew at the car show room. I heard many people grumbling about the new venue. Suddenly the rain came down again so we made a sharp exit and got back on the road to chase down the Humberette. I got some pictures of Paul Holywood who was driving the Beaulieu DeDion Bouton, we later found out that Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Ben Ainslie were taking part but did not spot them.

We did some of the office coal route but diverted off to do some catching up and with some luck caught up with the Humberette not far from Pyecombe where we had agreed to meet up for a passenger swap. Swap done we took the back road into Brighton to park the car near the Premier Inn before heading down to Madeira Drive to meet up with the others. Helen went shopping L&J whilst Rory and I went down the front. Chilli and mulled wine was on offer in the hospitality tent, but I opted for a coffee. We did the usual hanging around looking at cars before getting the car on the trailer for its journey home.

Walking back to the hotel Rory felt peckish and could not resist the opportunity for some traditional seaside fayre of Fish & Chips. Back at the hotel we found the girls and agreed to meet up at 19:00 to go and find somewhere to eat. We settled on Zafferelli’s which was just down the road. The food was good and the waiters took a shine to J and did some impromptu baby sitting so that his parents could enjoy their meal. I had Calamari Luciana (squid in a chili tomato sauce) followed by spaghetti Puttanesca both of which were good. We were all drinking and the bill came to £26 each which I thought was a fair price. We went for a final pint at the Horse and Wagon which was just up the street, a got to bed about 23:00 ish.

London to Brighton Vintage Car Run LBVCR

We woke up to rain the next morning and met up in reception at 08:50 for our tradition visit to Bill’s for breakfast. I had the vegetarian breakfast which consists of eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms on two pieces of toast one spread with Guacamole the other with chilli humus, and it is always very nice, and I washed it down with two Americano’s. Bills is on North Street just 5 minutes walk form the Premier Inn. Then we were off for a spot of shopping, and I managed to buy a T Shirt. We had to leave at about 11:30 or pay for extra parking at an exorbitant rate but that suited us as we had a stop on the way home to visit and elderly relative of Helen’s, who was expecting us for lunch.

We stopped off for a couple of hours and caught up on family news then headed off at about 14:00 home. It was still raining and we took a cross country route to avoid the tail back on the A23 near m25. We were home in good time about 16:00 we had beaten the rush hour traffic. A great weekend with friends.

Tower of London Poppies

Helen and I have the day off so I thought I would treat Helen to a day in London. We got the 09:31 from Berkhamsted by the skin of our teeth due to the queue at the ticket office and our in ability to figure out how to use or travel card on the automatic machines. The train must have started from Tring as it was empty so we got good seats.

The plan was to go and look at the poppies at the tower of London, where I had a surprise for Helen, then the museum of London which neither of us had been to before, and then possibly the British museum if we had the stamina and the time. We had ofg peak tickets so had to avoid the rush hour.

We took the slow bus to the tower of London it seemed to stop for every traffic light. In the end we got off early and walked the short distance remaining. The poppies at the tower are very impressive and there was an army of people planeting the new ones. The surprise I has for Helen was that one of them was hers, you can buy them on line here, then when the installation is over with they pay out to you. Helen seemed really chuffed with the idea.

We stopped for a bite to eat at Eat whisly we consulted the maps to find the most interesting way to walk to the museum of London. It is close to the barbican and was probably built at the same time. On the way we stored at the guildhall to have a look at the Roman ruins that are displayed there but they were refurbishing so we had a look around the great hall which was quite interesting. The is also a church which inside is very bright and airy not quite enough though for a handheld panorama.

Moving on we passed through the banking district and on to the “roundabout” that the museum of London is on top of. The museum is free to look round and I would say worth a visit, you are taken from the earlier time to current time as you make your way through the exhibits, I found the more recent two centuries most interesting. Helen preferred the older stuff.

The journey back was for more straight forward we eventually found a tube station and got on the Northern line and popped out at Euston, “simple”. I got Helen a bit worried while we waited for the train to leave I jumped off the train to do a panorama of the platform, just 5 minutes before the train was due to depart. I got some wifely looks when I came back.

London Triathlon

I had nothing to do on Sunday morning then I noticed that the London Triathlon was on so I checked the website they were still accepting entries, excellent my Sunday was sorted, the bike would need oiling apart from that I was ready. Actually Mr T was doing the Triathlon I was going to watch. I had arranged to pick up A at 08:30 and we drove to the Excel Exhibition centre via the M25. The weather was great but a not of a chill in the air at that time. The atmosphere was clear and there were nice white clouds in the sky great for taking some photos.

The Emirates Airline (Dangleway) terminus Emirates Royal Docks end

Parking at the Excel wax expensive at £15 but A paid. We wandered to the centre a and grabbed a coffee then contacted Mr and Mrs T who were off the rack his bike and sign in. I went off and took some pictures around the Emirates Airway ( the Dangleway) including some panorama sets. I don’t like to take too many otherwise I have too many to do and sometimes rush them resulting in a far from perfect result. The weather had warmed up and cumulus clouds had joined the cirrus from earlier. All the different elements of the triathlon started and finished at the Excel so we watched the swim the hurried over to where we could see the cycling after one and a half laps of that we headed to the running area then three laps of that and we went to the finish. Mr T did it in about 2 hours 35 minutes and a bit which puts him in the very fits and take it seriously category.

Steam trains Sewing machines an Eid

Steam train at Moorgate Tube station London

Being home alone while Helen is on a weekend coach trip /song a long I needed Ian Visits website to rescue me by pointing me in the direction of an event to take a look at. 2 things took my fancy a Seeing machine museum in Tooting and the Eid festival in Trafalgar square I had a plan.

I was up early and and checked the logistics as I had breakfast, it turns out the festival starts at 12 and the museum opens at 14:00 not ideal for me I wanted am early start. I umed a and ahed a bit then spotted that the last steam train event on the London underground would be this weekend as part of the 150 anniversary of the tube, I now had a revised plan.

I arrived at Berkhamsted station bought a ticket and the train was already pulled in when I got to the platform perfect timing, the plan was coming together. The 08:31 train was quite busy but not at Berko so I easily got a seat by the window. It was a day train and skipped a few stations on the way in and arrived at 09:05.We passed through some reason on the way but nothing enough to dampen my enthusiasm.

I was running late the as I only had 15 minutes to get to Moorgate and it helps if you get the Bank line rather the the one that does not go through Moorgate, so I got off the treason that I just managed to catch and starved the journey back to Euston and got back on the Bank branch of the Northern line to Moorgate, once again jumping on just as the doors closed. At Moorgate I headed for the the Hammersmith and City line, the train was running late so I saw it since slowly into the station under steam. There were quite a few train enthusiasts there but not as many as I would have expected. Suitable pictures were taken and posted on Facebook. I had a chat to a policemen who was in my field of view, I had seen him worrying in his now pad and thought he might be a train spotter. My next stop would be Trafalgar square and I figured a trip round the circle line would be best as the trains depart from the next platform over from where I was stood.

After a pleasant journey with a seat I got off at embankment and walked up to Trafalgar Square where the festival was still in preparation. I had an hour to waste so o headed to the National Portrait Gallery I had a vague idea that the BP portrait award was on, I was not to be disappointed. If you are ever in London it is worth a look, it always amazes me how people can paint and it is only when you are within 6 inches of some of the detail that the brush strokes are evident. I have caught it a few times over the years and have always left in awe. I still had time for a coffee before 12 and it was welcome as the last one I had was for breakfast. The National Gallery cafe would be the venue which severed great coffee but tired looking Chelsea buns. The cafe has a queue up part and a table service with waiters in white shirts with aprons, something Helen would enjoy.

I hung around at the top of the square waiting with the masses for the festival to be opened. When it was my first mission was to find something to eat, there were plenty of stalls to chose from I had a Dahl rice and vegetable curry which I eat sat in a cordoned off arrears that the public seemed to think was out of bound but the security guards said otherwise so me and another couple had a whole table each with table cloth and an chiefly view of true stage. The cities were very nice work just the right amount of spice. Google provided me with a bus option to the sewing machine museum, number 88 followed by a 249 to Tooting Bec. The 88 was interesting as it went round the back of Westminster on small streets but past lots of Government offices such as the Home office. I changed at Clapham common, which I had never appreciated the size of it is a massive piece of green real estate. The locals were making the most of it some resting others playing sport tag rugby and volley ball the less common ones that I saw. I got off the bus at Tooting Bec about 20 minutes before it opens. It was not obvious where it was so I had to get my phone out and check the building number.

Shoes at the London Sewing Machine Museum

I went over to the building about 5 minutes early an Asian looking lady was there who asked me whether this was the museum. Then the owner of the museum arrived and said it would be another 5 minutes before it would open. The museum is owned by the the Wimbledon Sewing Machine Co. and is a real gem of a specialist museum. The ate literally hundreds of old sewing machines from miniature ones to industrial table top ones on display in glass cabinets in two large rooms and a few side rooms. I spent so me time looking around an taking some pictures, it was surprising how specialised some of them were built for a single purposes such as joining carpets or stitching eyelets in leather. There were photos and letters on the wall from presidents of sewing machine manufacturers on the walls up the stair way the owner had and/or is a big player in the sewing machine market. The owner looked quite an old and I hate to think what might happen when he is not around to look after it. There should be some scheme like the listed building scheme to preserve the collections that are worthy of preservation. I picked up a copy of ISMACS News the official journal of the International Sewing Machine Collectors’ Society to read on the journey home. By the way if you want to visit the museum is open from 14:00 to 17:00 every first Saturday of the month, its website is here.

I jumped on a bus but then decided that the tube would be quicker and jumped off the bus at South Clapham where the Northern line goes to Euston without the need to change lines. I got talking to a guy who was interested in photography and said I should take some pictures of the people to in the carriage, explained that I preferred landscape photography he seemed a bit out of it and it was hard to hear what he was saying over the noise of the train, so I was glad when he got off a few stops later. I spent the rest of the journey using the Virgin WiFi at each station to purchase a battery case on Ebay for my mobile phone as I regularly run down the batteries on a trip to London because I use the GPS a lot for navigation and use the screen a lot for writing this blog post.

I got the 15:34 from Euston which arrived on the platform at the same time that I did with a fresh coffee. I got a take away curry from Waitrose, yes my second of the day, and went home for an early night, tomorrow I am back in London to watch Mr T do a Triathlon at or around the Excel exhibition Centre.

Walk to HMS Bulwark from Rotherhithe

London seems to be a weekly commute for me at the moment. This Saturday I have managed to get tickets for a tour of the Navy ship, HMS Bulwark moored up in Greenwich for a few weeks. To make a day of it I thought I would walk from Rotherhithe which will complete the walk I started last weekend when I walked from Rotherhithe to Tower Bridge.

Waiting at Berkhamsted there were quite a few groups of people with picnic hampers clearly some outside event was on. The train was relatively busy but I got a seat with a table for the coffee I purchased on the platform. The train was running 7 minutes late.

I chose to tube it to Rotherhithe, then I kept to the Thames path as much as I could, it turned out to be quite a long walk and at Deptford high street I thought about getting a bus but the next one was in twenty minutes so I carried on walking. By the time I got to the Cutty Sark I was quite tired of walking. There was a sort of French market on and I bought A veggie quiche for lunch the whole transaction done in French. I followed that with a coffee and a pee at the Greenwich museum the cafe was a bar as well and brewed its own beer in the big atrium of a bar in big copper brewing things.

I joined the queue at about 1245 for the 1300 trip. I had a spare ticket and offered it to a guy carrying a camera, I don’t think he really understood what I was offering him, he said yes bit then disappeared. Luckily for a young lady in the queue near me I was able to offer her the spare one. She had registered but could not get the eTicket up on the screen of her blackberry.

Her name was Natalie and she was a bored commercial lawyer and was thinking of joining the Navy as a legal reserve? We were soon herded into a tent for 10 minutes of how great the Navy is and why we contribute taxes to the service which provides value for money. Then we were herded onto a jetty where our launch to take us to the Bulwark was waiting. Once on board I tagged onto one of the guided tours of he boat. We visited the control room where they play war games the helicopter deck where we were able to go into the cockpit of the helicopter parked there. In the control room I noticed they were still using Windows XP that probably explains why the government has agreed to pay Microsoft for patches post them making the OS end of life. We also went into the depths of the vessel where we got to see the landing craft which can be launched out of the back of the ship.

We were on board for about an hour and a half. Were were herded back to the pontoon to pick up the launch to take us back to land at the Cutty Sark. I was quite tired by this point so decided to take the most quick and direct route back possible. Google t0 the rescue, a Tube station was near by bit the line was closed further down the line so down 10 flights of steps on to DLR then off at the next stop up some steps, onto a bus that went all round the houses and eventually to another DLR station where I got a train to Bank, then the Northern line to Euston where I was two trains ahead of the Google suggestion.

At Berkhamsted I picked up Helen who was shopping for dinner then we went home for Pizza and salad for me at least an early night. A tiring but enjoyable day.

Emelina the luxury motor yacht

Luxury yacht Emilina moored on the Thames London

When I was in London the other day I took a picture of a large motor yacht or Gin Palace as they are sometimes called. Emelina was moored the seaward side of Tower bridge, when I got home I decided to do some investigating to see if I could find out a bit more. It turned out to be very easy possibly because of the unusual name, and the fact that it was a big yacht.

Emelina is 51 m (167 foot) long and was created by Codecasa boat builders in 2008, it can sleep up to 12 passengers, thats about 3 times the number of people I can comfortably sleep in my house. As well as the 12 passengers there is apparently accommodation for a crew of 10. The twin Catterpillar engines produce and impressive 9788hp and can help the yacht reach speeds of 17.5 kts. I guess this is probably not possible when full oaded with fuel (8o,000 litres) and water (20,000 litres). The fuel can possible allow for a range of 4,000 nm.

A few other facts about the yacht are : it has a Jacuzzi Spa but no helicopter landing pad, the interior was designed by Studio Dellarole and the hull is made of aluminium.

Google also also popped up a link to a site that allows you to see the location of lots of boats including Emelina you can see her current location at the Marine Traffic website (click on the “Show live map button”). When I looked on Sunday she was in Dagenham but now she is moored in Amsterdam.

I did a panorama photo from the riverside which is now on Google maps.

Views: Luxury cruiser Emelina moored on the Thames London UK by Neil Baldwin

The Brunel tunnel

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Rotherhithe Tunnel under the Thames London

Ian Visits came up trumps again the Brunel Tunnel under the Thames is open for the weekend due to a line upgrade to convert from four to five carriages per train. I got in quick and managed to get myself a ticket before that sold out less than an hour later.

I was up early and managed to get the 08:46 to London Euston from Berkhamsted, which unusually had no free seats. On arrival I used Google maps to find out how to get to the Brunel Museum at Rotherhithe. You may not be aware but Google recently announced it had all the public transport times so when you ask for directions not only does it know which trains and buses to use it knows when the next one is. This is a great improvement on trying to read the bus maps that have no road names and then work out the coded bus stop you need to be at. It suggested Victoria line then Jubilee but I fancied the bus so set the options for buses only. 68 then change at Waterloo bridge to the 381. The 68 arrived as I got to the bus stop.

It was still raining when I got off the bus at Waterloo bridge but there was some sun to the south in the distance which was good because I was lugging three cameras with me. The 381 took me past the Kirkcaldy museum of material testing which I had visited a few weeks before. The bus passed through some interesting areas where you could see that there had in the past been companies that manufactured goods. For example I saw a building with a painted sign for a company that made tin boxes. Further on there is evidence of shipping with old warehouses, pubs with nautical names (The Shipwrights) and even the London nautical school. By the time I got off the bus the sun was out.

Once alighted I followed the signs to the Brunel Museum and the staff there directed me to Rotherhithe station which was the correct place to congregate. I was early but they let me join the queue, but not before I stocked up on batteries for my flash. I would have to wait for the allotted time but thanks to my trusty insulated foam sheet was able to sit down while I waited, all the time the sky got bluer and the clouds more fluffy and white.

The 1100 tickets were called and we were guided into the closed station, and given blue surgical gloves to put on, then told to gather at the top of the escalators then we were taken down the steps to the platform of the station. First we had to have the obligatory Health and Safety briefing which explained why we had to wear gloves, dirt and weil’s disease so don’t touch stuff and then suck your thumb. We then stepped down on to the track and were led into the tunnel, our guides explained some of the history and features of the tunnel when we stopped every 30 metres. Eventually we came to the next station Wapping where we crossed over and went back up the other side to where we started. Then we left the station via the escalators not forgetting to throw the gloves away and disinfect our now sweaty palms.

As the weather was bright I decided a walk along the Thames path would be nice and provide plenty of photo opps . I followed Jubilee walk which keeps you as close to the river as is possible and you get to see some interesting buildings, most of them dock related so lots of converted warehouses with cranes sticking out of them. Just as it looked like the next shower was due I came across the Design Museum and popped into the cafe for a sandwich and coffee it was pretty average and cost £8.50!

Tower bridge was nearby so I carried on and crossed the bridge and attempted a panorama set at the mid point. On the other side was St Catherine’s dock always a good place to take photos so had a wander around. There are old buildings, boats and bridges. From there I headed towards the tower of London, then consulted Google maps for an escape route. At the no. 15 bus stop I got chatting to a fellow photographer who had a spirit level bubble in his hot shoe. I have one but it is a sharp cube that stands proud he had one that was more or less flush. He said he got it from Amazon and with the power of the internet so did I got just £1.99 a bargain.

I alighted at Aldwych and walked over the road and jumped on the 68 to Euston. It was pouring down at Euston and I had 10 minutes to spare before the 14:54 to Northampton . I grabbed a coffee and a paper then headed home to process my photos.

Elvis Presleys false tooth and the WW2 Bunker

WW2 Paddock bunker in Neasden North London

I have mentioned the Ian Visits website before on this blog, well today we attended two events we we spotted there. Both events are a bit unusual and completely different. First we visited a rarely open WW2 bunker, then we went to a dentist surgery to have a look at Elvis Presley’s false tooth. The day started with a bit of a panic, when I realised that although we had got up at 07:00 to get to Neasden in good time I thought we had to be there at 09:30 but when I checked the ticket it said 09:00. Any how we left the house at 07:45 and the Sat Nav was suggesting that we would be there by 08:55 plenty of time we thought!

The Sat Nav it turns out take account of traffic it knows about but that is not all traffic so after following it to detour the traffic it did know we ended up in queues that it had not anticipated. At 08:55 we called Katy the organiser to let them know we were running a few minutes late. We finally go there at 09:20 and they kindly allowed us to tag along with the school kids on the 09:30 tour. The tour started by obviously going down some steps quite a few in fact, the tour guide was very good and explained how far down we were and the little amount history of the place. The Bunker was only ever used twice during the war then was locked up to hardly ever be opened again so no one really was aware of it presence and those that were had signed the official secrets act and could not divulge anything. For example they had contact with a person that whose duty it was check the phones worked every week but she could not tell them much about the place as she was only permitted to descend the steps walk along the corridor check the phones then exit they way she had come, blissfully unaware of the size of the complex.

The tour took about an hour and was very interesting, the place was very damp (because when they built some houses on top they breached the water proofing) dirty mouldy and there were stalactites on the ceiling. The Paddocks as the bunker is know is made available to be viewed by the public twice a year by the housing association that built the house on the research site which was above the bunker. This was a stipulation of the planning consent and although the stipulation as run out they sill keep the pumps going to get the water out and pay for the lighting.

Once the tour was finished I suggested we went to the RAF museum at Hendon for a cup of coffee at the cafe there. It turned out to be a popular idea and a cheap one at that the parking cost £3 but the entrance to the museum was free so we had a bit of a look around while we were there. I took the opportunity to take a few panorama sets of photos before we left for the highlight of the day Elvis Presley’s false tooth.

Again Ian Visits tipped me off that there was a once in a life time opportunity to see Elvis Presley’s false tooth (or crown as they say in dental clinics). I set the sat nav and after 30 minutes in London traffic we pulled up outside a house in an Victorian housing estate in Bounds Green which had been pebble dashed and converted into a dentist practice. There appeared to be nothing happening but on the door was a poster suggesting an Elvis tribute would be there between 1200 and 1400. On entering we entered into a strange situation, there was an Elvis impersonator singing songs whilst the practice staff milled about with fancy dress on. On the reception counter was a clear perspex box containing a tooth moulding and a bright white crown, the object of our mission.

There were a couple of press photographers taking photo’s, some Cancer Awareness representatives and Virgin Active sales people apart from that we seemed to be the only people there at that moment. A woman approached us and asked if we wanted a free mouth cancer check we said yes and filled out the forms. As we waited we made sure we got selfies with the tooth and were interviewed by the Mouth Cancer awareness people. We both declared clear so we left with our sugar coated cup cake!

We headed back via the super market and endured a very violent hail storm on the A41 and were back home to good time, after a bizarrely interesting day.