Post 4 Lunch with Christine

Those who receive email versions of this blog will have been confused by yesterday's post (and possibly today's as well). The email is sent out automatically each day in a 2 hour window, early in the morning Adelaide time. Yesterday, because of the Dreamliner post, I had two posts in a 24 hour period. I was trying to hold the second over for the next day but inadvertently published it momentarily - just catching the window. I then retrieved and amended it - so the amended version may well be attached below this Post 4. I promise, from tomorrow, I will have fixed the problem and there will be one post per day only! They will also be labelled by number.

My main plan today was to have lunch with my friend Christine. She and I met on the first Crewel Work Company trip I did in 2015 - the Embroidery Tour of the Scottish Highlands, and each time I am in London we have met for lunch and a catch-up natter. As she lives at Watford, on the Euston line, we meet somewhere around here - usually at my hotel. This year, however, in view of the excavations, scaffolding,  disruption to streets and detours we met at Caffe Nero on the edge of Euston Station.


So, after a substantial breakfast at The Wesley, I navigated my way to Caffe Nero, through the hoardings that are part of the HS2 upgrade - laying tracks for the High Speed line to the midlands.

site of St James' Churchyard excavation under white plastic

A significant part of this work is the excavation of St James' Graveyard, where the grave of Matthew Flinders was recently found.   I had wondered if I'd be able to get near to the excavation site, but alas, there is nothing to be seen but the huge white plastic cover over the site - at the end of the road in the photo to the right.

There are useful maps and explanations in the London Inheritance blog (for Australians who are interested).

So Christine and I met at Nero's, then, inevitably, worked our way to the Wellcome Collection up on Euston Rd (past more scaffolding) where she generously treated me to lunch.

We began well with the Broth, constructed at the table by our waitress pouring hot stock over fresh vegetables. It was delicious - and healthy.

I did not take photos of the ice-cream we had for desert because we were feeling so virtuous.


Eventually we repaired to the Ground Floor Exhibition space and its current Living with Buildings: Health and Architecture Exhibition. As with all exhibitions I have seen at the Wellcome Museum, this one presented information in useful and thought-provoking ways.  There were posters contrasting the health hazards of slum living with that of the post-war housing development along with maps, art work and photographs of the garden cities and utopian villages like Bourneville. There was a copy of Dickens' introduction to the first complete edition of Oliver Twist pointing out the essential nature of 'decent and wholesome' housing for the poor. There was also a section on Modernist hospital architecture, capturing fresh air and sunshine to help combat tuberculosis - a disease from which two of my maternal grandmother's siblings died. The exhibition includes a huge model of a hospital, built to promote King Edward's Hospital Fund in 1932, which raised money for London's voluntary hospitals (many of these were later converted into NHS hospitals). Queen Mary donated lace handkerchiefs for the bedspreads in the model. (For a brief moment Christine and I thought she donated the handkerchiefs to make  bedspreads for the actual hospitals. We were relieved to be proved wrong!).

Photography was not permitted in the exhibition, so I can't illustrate. I was fortunate to see it, as it finishes this weekend.

I am sorry, however, to be missing the exhibition opening in April, The Psychology of Magic. Christine spent yesterday helping one of her neighbours, a retired magician, make a superannuation claim. I'm sure this did not involve smoke and mirrors!










Christine, however, later told me of a news item last week, involving the Wesley Hotel. 

Apparently a young man was fatally stabbed in the vicinity of the hotel and managed to stagger into the hotel lobby for help, but, in spite of fast action by staff, could not be saved. Christine had, wisely, not sent me news of this when it happened a week ago. On my return to the hotel I recognised the spot where the attack occurred, a few metres from the hotel entrance.

The weather today has been fine and warm - that is not, however, forecast to last. I had a lovely, heart-warming day.

Tonight I repack my bag ready for my train journey tomorrow.  I had trouble with the zips on my carry-on bag at the end of my plane journey - two (out of three) of them gave way. I have managed to get them working again, but don't want to put them under pressure. I have plenty of room in my suitcase so can reorganise. I might need to replace the bag if the problem persists.

I'm looking forward to more familiar faces and new embroidery projects at the Ryebeck Hotel in Bowness-on-Windermere.