Buttered crumpets for breakfast. Left at 9:45am, Black Sheep coffee to go, then Ronda, Tim and Jeri walked to Charing Cross to meet the rest of the group. Alec first, then Paul and John and finally Keith and Jeanne all the way from Sandling on the stopping train. Together we turned left out of the station and soon entered Trafalgar Square. We examine the plinth of Nelson’s column depicting different battles on each of its four faces. Under Admiralty Arch, down the Mall to St James’s church. No Norman or gothic churches today just 17th century ones with flat ceilings, ornate capitals and wooden interiors. Chatham House then towards Piccadilly, Burlington arcade and 3 Saville row for the obligatory Beatles shot. Winding through SoHo, past the Denmark street guitar shops to lunch at the Cittie of Yorke pub where we meet up with Dave & Angie. Dylan Thomas drank here and wrote verse in one of the wooden booths in the Henneky’s long bar. We take a group shot at Holborn Viaduct and John unfurls a banner marking the 350th walk of our group since 1975. Smithfield market on our left, Churches at St Barts and Bow.
When we arrive at the Monument it is time for the fellowship to break. Our friends take their trains home but the three of us decide to climb the 311 steps winding to the top of the Monument to take in the marvelous views of the City of London. But that’s not the end of our day for there is still another four hours of light so we continue our walk east to the Tower where we sit for a soft drink and make our plans. Ronda suggests Tower Bridge and the Globe so we walk east along the embankment, across the bridge then wend our way back westwards to the new Globe theater where they are just about to start a play, ‘The Crucible’. We think about tickets but decide instead to head back over the river for dinner at Pizza Express near St Pauls and cap the evening off with a glass of white wine at El Vino’s near our apartment. No sign of Rumpole of the Bailey but the waiter confirms that the fictional Pomeroys Wine bar was indeed based on this place.
