Thank you so much for all your kind comments. I took a short break from Blogland but returned to rewrite the Camden post. I don't think it is as good as the original when the trip was fresh in my mind but having all the photos helped me to reconstruct the missing post.
This blog records my wanderings, achievements and disasters since retiring in 2011.
Sunday, 20 July 2025
Thursday, 10 July 2025
Blogging
I'm so fed up, I am ready to give up. For those of you who follow me on my other blog
https://62andthenext10pathways.blogspot.com/
you will know that this is where I write about my visits to London Underground stations. It is over 10 years since I started the challenge of visiting all 272 stations and writing about them. My latest venture was to Camden Town, the 211th station I've visited. It has taken me about 3 weeks to research and write about it. Finished it last night and this morning I did a read through, corrected a few bits and pieces and just as I was writing the final sentence it disappeared. There is no way of retrieving a post on blogger once it goes. This has happened once before and it took me ages to regain my motivation to continue. If it wasn't so early in the morning I would head for the gin bottle. Hope you all have a better start to your day. I am going out for the day now. Whether I open this computer again remains to be seen!
Wednesday, 25 June 2025
Chinese coins
I had always wanted to see beyond this door. Londoners may recognise it as the door to the old Royal Mint. It's situated to the right of Tower Bridge. Until 1810 the Mint was housed in the Tower of London and from there moved to this building on Tower Hill. In the 1960s it was moved to a purpose built building in Wales.
These coins represented the Chinese Zodiac.
Friday, 6 June 2025
More to explore
A 10 min walk from where I am now living is a very large area full of allotments. These plots of land are rented by local people to grow vegetables or flowers. Normally only allotment holders are allowed access but here I discovered that the public can visit at the weekend. There are pathways between the rows of allotments making it easy to wander around.
The individual plots are large enough for you to erect a shed and a greenhouse.
Just getting it ready to sow.
Quite a few plots had raised beds.
Potatoes were the main crop on this plot.
Flowers were the choice here.
I even discovered beehives in one corner. Everyone was very friendly and chatty and there was even a cafe where I could get a bacon sandwich and mug of tea for just £2.50!
Sunday, 1 June 2025
Inside the windmill
We were escorted round in small groups by a knowledgeable volunteer. The windmill was built in 1808 and ceased milling in the 1890s.
It has been refurbished and a number of the timbers were replaced as part of a heritage project. There are three floors which are accessible by very narrow, steep staircases. It felt more like climbing up and down ladders than stairs.
When built the view from the windmill would have been very different from today.
One of the old mill stones.
The Windmill is only open a few times during the summer months so I was pleased to get on one of the tours.
Who knows, with the climate crisis maybe one day we will have to return to using wind power to grind the flour.
Wednesday, 21 May 2025
Chelsea in bloom
This week is the Chelsea flower show. It is a 5 day event run by the Royal Horticultural Society and is the height of the serious gardeners' calendar. I have managed to get a ticket twice in the past but not this year. However, in the local area of Sloane Square in Chelsea, local businesses have put on their own displays. Yesterday I went for a free walk to see their contributions to street floral displays.
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Loved the ballet shoes.
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