04 Aug 11 Lazy Sunday Afternoon
Last Sunday was such a pleasant afternoon. A shame to sit around indoors on a day off.
Statue at Twickenham Rugby Stadium
The buses are frequent around here, even on Sunday, and then there’s no problem with parking or having a glass or two of beer or wine either. So we took a bus to Hounslow, and then the 281 bus to Twickenham.
Eel Pie Island
Twickenham is world famous for Rugby Football of course, but there’s a lot of hidden gems there too.
Alighting from the bus at the King Street stop, it is a very short walk to Water Lane, and then down to the riverside. At the bottom and to the right is the bridge to Eel Pie Island.
The island was a major Blues venue during the 1960′s. Pete Townsend had studios here, and many renowned artists played at the Eel Pie Island Hotel, including Pink Floyd, The Who, Long John Baldry, John Mayall, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds and many more. The hotel closed in the 1967, and for a while became a hippie commune, until burning down in the early 1970′s.
River Thames, at Twickenham, looking downstream.
Today there are about 50 houses and around 120 inhabitants on the island, including Trevor Bayliss who invented the clockwork radio.
Music started up from the direction of The Barmy Arms, so we took a walk along to see what was going on, and found a part of the 60′s London Week going on.
Some cracking r’n'b was happening. We stood listening for some time, but our stomachs were protesting. The pub was very busy, so we decided to head somewhere less busy to eat.
Bread & Olives
Church Street is a great place to check out if you’re hungry in Twickenham. A good variety of restaurants offering all types of cuisine from French to Italian, Indian to pub grub.
After checking out a number of places, and dithering somewhat, we ended up in Masaniello, an Italian restaurant on Church Street. It was a great choice.
Ice Cream
We started with some bread and olives which we shared. I had Lasagna, and Kathy had Pappardelle Alle Vongole (clams and mushrooms with pasta). Ice cream to follow, and finished off with a double espresso.
After that leisurely late lunch, we took a slow walk back to the bus stop, and then dropped into The Goat in Fulwell.
That’s for another article though….
Tags: clockwork radio, early 1970, eel pie island, hidden gems, hippie commune, island hotel, john baldry, last sunday, pete townsend, pink floyd, radio music, renowned artists, river thames, rugby stadium, trevor bayliss, twickenham, water lane
02 Aug 11 Heatwave?
So the moaners are out already!
We get a month of pretty crappy weather thru July, and as soon as the weather warms up again, and we get some glorious summer days and evenings, the muttering commences!
For those of you who do not like a decent summers day, just remember that warm spells here rarely last long!
River Thames, at Twickenham, looking downstream.
Tags: crappy weather, England, evenings, glorious summer days, moaners, river thames, spells, summer, summers day, twickenham, weather
28 Jul 10 Historic ship is set to return to Medway
The United Kingdom’s last estuary paddle steamer, the Medway Queen, is preparing for a historic return to Medway thanks to European funding secured by Medway Council.
The Medway Queen restoration project, led by the Medway Queen Preservation Society and supported by Medway Council, will see the ship return to the waters of the River Medway next year.
This is really good news for those who remember how this ship, was at one time forgotten and neglected.
PS Medway Queen is the last estuary pleasure paddle steamer in the UK.
She was built in 1924 on the Clyde.
Used as a pleasure craft until she was commissioned as a minesweeper during World War Two, she became well known as one of the ‘little ship’ and she rescued around 7,000 men from the beaches of Dunkirk in seven crossings.
After World War Two she returned to being a pleasure steamer on the River Thames and Medway, until she was decommissioned in 1963.
For many years she was threatened with the scrap yard, and then used a a nightclub on The River Medina in the Isle Of Wight, until being rescued, and now, being restored in a Bristol Shipyard. She will soon return to Medway for more restoration work.
Read more at this Medway Council Press Release
Tags: beaches, crossings, dunkirk, isle of wight, medway council, medway queen preservation society, minesweeper, paddle steamer, pleasure craft, restoration work, river medina, river medway, river thames, scrap yard, shipyard, world war two
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