A summery day in London 13.6.14
DiscussieLibraryThing Gatherings and Meetups
Sluit je aan bij LibraryThing om te posten.
Dit onderwerp is gemarkeerd als "slapend"—het laatste bericht is van meer dan 90 dagen geleden. Je kan het activeren door een een bericht toe te voegen.
1kidzdoc
Attendees:
Bianca (drachenbraut23)
Claire (Sakerfalcon)
Darryl (kidzdoc)
Heather (souloftherose)
Luci (elkiedee)
The original plan of yesterday's meet up was to start the day with a medical history walking tour of Bloomsbury, which was to be led by Richard Barnett, the author of the book Medical London: City of Diseases, City of Cures. I found out about the walking tour via the book's web site, www.medicallondon.org, and I noticed that there was a guided tour scheduled for Saturday 13 June, starting at the Holborn Underground station. I didn't pay much attention to the fact that 13 June was a Friday, not a Saturday, which was my first mistake.
Claire, Bianca, Heather and I met at Holborn station at 11 am:
We didn't see anyone there who seemed to be part of this tour, so I pulled up the map from the web site on my smartphone, and we made our way along the route, first going to nearby Lincoln's Inn Fields, the largest of the public squares in London. We passed by, but didn't enter, Sir John Soame's Museum, and we stopped to look at the buildings of the Royal College of Surgeons on the far end of the park:
A monument to barrister Philip Twells, outside of the southeast entrance to Lincoln's Inn Fields:
I checked the Medical London web site again, and it wasn't until then that I noticed that the walks were held on 13 June 2009! Since we forgot to bring our pocket time machine to transport us five years into the past we decided to visit the original Twinings Tea shop on the Strand and the Temple Church, passing the Royal Courts of Justice and the buildings of several organizations associated with it along the way.
Lincoln's Inn, one of the four Honourable Inns of Court of London, where barristers have belonged since the early 14th century:
A building and a gate on the campus of St Patrick's College, a for-profit business school in operation since 1803:
Along the way we found a perfectly sized car for Bianca:
Bianca (drachenbraut23)
Claire (Sakerfalcon)
Darryl (kidzdoc)
Heather (souloftherose)
Luci (elkiedee)
The original plan of yesterday's meet up was to start the day with a medical history walking tour of Bloomsbury, which was to be led by Richard Barnett, the author of the book Medical London: City of Diseases, City of Cures. I found out about the walking tour via the book's web site, www.medicallondon.org, and I noticed that there was a guided tour scheduled for Saturday 13 June, starting at the Holborn Underground station. I didn't pay much attention to the fact that 13 June was a Friday, not a Saturday, which was my first mistake.
Claire, Bianca, Heather and I met at Holborn station at 11 am:
We didn't see anyone there who seemed to be part of this tour, so I pulled up the map from the web site on my smartphone, and we made our way along the route, first going to nearby Lincoln's Inn Fields, the largest of the public squares in London. We passed by, but didn't enter, Sir John Soame's Museum, and we stopped to look at the buildings of the Royal College of Surgeons on the far end of the park:
A monument to barrister Philip Twells, outside of the southeast entrance to Lincoln's Inn Fields:
I checked the Medical London web site again, and it wasn't until then that I noticed that the walks were held on 13 June 2009! Since we forgot to bring our pocket time machine to transport us five years into the past we decided to visit the original Twinings Tea shop on the Strand and the Temple Church, passing the Royal Courts of Justice and the buildings of several organizations associated with it along the way.
Lincoln's Inn, one of the four Honourable Inns of Court of London, where barristers have belonged since the early 14th century:
A building and a gate on the campus of St Patrick's College, a for-profit business school in operation since 1803:
Along the way we found a perfectly sized car for Bianca:
2kidzdoc
Continued...
Claire and Heather standing in front of a portion of the Royal Courts of Justice:
More photos of the Royal Courts of Justice, from the front and one side:
Claire, Bianca and Margaret standing in front of The Seven Stars pub:
The Silver Mousetrap, a jewellry founded in 1690:
The Temple Bar, which marks the historical boundary between the City of London and the City of Westminster, created to regulate trade into the City:
Heather standing outside the front entrance of Twinings Tea Shop, which opened at this location in 1706:
Finally, some photos of the Temple Church, founded in the late 12th century. Unfortunately it was closed, so we weren't able to go inside:
Claire and Heather standing in front of a portion of the Royal Courts of Justice:
More photos of the Royal Courts of Justice, from the front and one side:
Claire, Bianca and Margaret standing in front of The Seven Stars pub:
The Silver Mousetrap, a jewellry founded in 1690:
The Temple Bar, which marks the historical boundary between the City of London and the City of Westminster, created to regulate trade into the City:
Heather standing outside the front entrance of Twinings Tea Shop, which opened at this location in 1706:
Finally, some photos of the Temple Church, founded in the late 12th century. Unfortunately it was closed, so we weren't able to go inside:
3kidzdoc
Continued...
We walked back to the London Review Bookshop, where we were fortunate enough to nab seats for four at its lovely Cake Shop, which sells excellent soups, sandwiches, quiches, salads, desserts and tea. The tea that Claire and I had were in served elegant small pots, with cups that were equally stylish and functional:
I was famished after the walk, so I had the tomato soup and smoked salmon on a baguette:
Luci joined us at the Cake Shop for dessert, and we began our book buying frenzy. At the London Review Bookshop I came away with three books:
The Ingenious Gentleman and Poet Federico García Lorca Ascends to Hell by Carlos Rojas: I chuckled when I saw the title of this book, which uses the poet's death at the hands of Francoist rebels in 1936 to explore his life and work. I just noticed that the author is a professor of Spanish at Emory University, so I'll have to learn more about Dr. Rojas when I return to Atlanta.
The Iraqi Christ by Hassan Blasim: The winner of this year's Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, which explores "the dark absurdities of Iraq's recent past and the torments of its countless refugees."
Outlaws by Javier Cercas: The latest novel by the acclaimed author of Soldiers of Salamis and The Anatomy of a Moment, which focuses on the generation of youth caught in the chaotic years between Franco's death and the rise of democracy in Spain.
From the Oxfam Bloomsbury Bookshop I bought one book, an advance review copy of Mr Loverman by Bernadine Evaristo, a novel about an elderly man born in Antigua who moved to the London Borough of Hackney in the 1960s and has lived flamboyantly with his wife and children, but also has a secret relationship that enriches and complicates his life.
Luci suggested that we visit the Waterstones branch on Gower Road, on the edge of the campus of the University of London, to check out its selection of remainder titles. I bought one remainder book and one new book there:
Vlad by Carlos Fuentes: A novella in which Vlad the Impaler is dispossessed after spending several centuries
in Eastern Europe, and finds himself in modern day Mexico City, where he causes havoc in the bourgeoisie there.
Portobello Road: Lives of a Neighbourhood by Julian Mash: Claire pointed this out to me, since I had mentioned that I was planning to visit the Portobello Road Market this weekend. The author explores this iconic street that is representative of the diversity and energy of London, by telling the stories of its inhabitants.
We were some distance away from our last planned bookshop visit, the newly opened Foyles on Charing Cross Road, so we took a quick bus ride there. We didn't think to take any photos, since we were all entranced by the impressive appearance of the bookshop. I bought two more books from my wish list:
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent: This novel, shortlisted for this year'sOrange Prize Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction, which tells the story of Agnes
Magnúsdóttir, who was one of the last three people put to death in Iceland for her role in the murder of her lover and another man in 1829.
A God in Every Stone by Kamila Shamsie: A novel set in the mid-1910s, centered around the relationship between an Englishwoman and a young man returning home after being seriously injured while serving in the British Indian Army, who meet on a train heading to Peshawar, and then encounter each other again 15 years later during a brutal fight for freedom. I loved her earlier novel Burnt Shadows, so I wanted to buy her new book straight away.
We said goodbye to Claire, and the remaining four of us walked to Cafe Mode, an Italian restaurant in Covent Garden where Bianca and I had coffee yesterday. Bianca, Heather and I had dinner (I had grilled lamb with a salad and new potatoes, which was excellent). We proceeded back to Holborn station, nearly nine hours after we first met, and parted ways.
It was a very enjoyable day, despite its unauspicious beginning, and the weather was very favorable, with partly sunny skies and slightly warmer than normal temperatures.
We walked back to the London Review Bookshop, where we were fortunate enough to nab seats for four at its lovely Cake Shop, which sells excellent soups, sandwiches, quiches, salads, desserts and tea. The tea that Claire and I had were in served elegant small pots, with cups that were equally stylish and functional:
I was famished after the walk, so I had the tomato soup and smoked salmon on a baguette:
Luci joined us at the Cake Shop for dessert, and we began our book buying frenzy. At the London Review Bookshop I came away with three books:
The Ingenious Gentleman and Poet Federico García Lorca Ascends to Hell by Carlos Rojas: I chuckled when I saw the title of this book, which uses the poet's death at the hands of Francoist rebels in 1936 to explore his life and work. I just noticed that the author is a professor of Spanish at Emory University, so I'll have to learn more about Dr. Rojas when I return to Atlanta.
The Iraqi Christ by Hassan Blasim: The winner of this year's Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, which explores "the dark absurdities of Iraq's recent past and the torments of its countless refugees."
Outlaws by Javier Cercas: The latest novel by the acclaimed author of Soldiers of Salamis and The Anatomy of a Moment, which focuses on the generation of youth caught in the chaotic years between Franco's death and the rise of democracy in Spain.
From the Oxfam Bloomsbury Bookshop I bought one book, an advance review copy of Mr Loverman by Bernadine Evaristo, a novel about an elderly man born in Antigua who moved to the London Borough of Hackney in the 1960s and has lived flamboyantly with his wife and children, but also has a secret relationship that enriches and complicates his life.
Luci suggested that we visit the Waterstones branch on Gower Road, on the edge of the campus of the University of London, to check out its selection of remainder titles. I bought one remainder book and one new book there:
Vlad by Carlos Fuentes: A novella in which Vlad the Impaler is dispossessed after spending several centuries
in Eastern Europe, and finds himself in modern day Mexico City, where he causes havoc in the bourgeoisie there.
Portobello Road: Lives of a Neighbourhood by Julian Mash: Claire pointed this out to me, since I had mentioned that I was planning to visit the Portobello Road Market this weekend. The author explores this iconic street that is representative of the diversity and energy of London, by telling the stories of its inhabitants.
We were some distance away from our last planned bookshop visit, the newly opened Foyles on Charing Cross Road, so we took a quick bus ride there. We didn't think to take any photos, since we were all entranced by the impressive appearance of the bookshop. I bought two more books from my wish list:
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent: This novel, shortlisted for this year's
Magnúsdóttir, who was one of the last three people put to death in Iceland for her role in the murder of her lover and another man in 1829.
A God in Every Stone by Kamila Shamsie: A novel set in the mid-1910s, centered around the relationship between an Englishwoman and a young man returning home after being seriously injured while serving in the British Indian Army, who meet on a train heading to Peshawar, and then encounter each other again 15 years later during a brutal fight for freedom. I loved her earlier novel Burnt Shadows, so I wanted to buy her new book straight away.
We said goodbye to Claire, and the remaining four of us walked to Cafe Mode, an Italian restaurant in Covent Garden where Bianca and I had coffee yesterday. Bianca, Heather and I had dinner (I had grilled lamb with a salad and new potatoes, which was excellent). We proceeded back to Holborn station, nearly nine hours after we first met, and parted ways.
It was a very enjoyable day, despite its unauspicious beginning, and the weather was very favorable, with partly sunny skies and slightly warmer than normal temperatures.
