Fulham Road Back in the Day Walk

Today, it was the Fulham Road Back in the Day Walk, booked with TAC. As also advertised - slightly more expensively - with the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners. An earlier start, and a longer journey, than yesterday - plus I had to get out some more cash! But at least I knew who my guide was going to be..

A long journey ended in Fulham Broadway, where there were ready cash machines, happily. And meeting at Pret meant I could grab brunch, which I did. I met someone I knew from previous walks with the 45+s, too.. but it was another blisteringly sunny day, and - stupidly - I hadn't brought my hat. Well, after yesterday, which we spent mostly in the shade, I didn't think I'd need it! Huh. Damn near got sunstroke today - on top of which, I had a dicky tummy.. I'm afraid I didn't have a terribly good time. But that's not the guide, Barrie's, fault.. Did mean I wasn't as sociable as I could have been. But to be fair, most of us were flagging by the end..

We started at a housing complex for war veterans:

Attractive-looking flats! Anyway, we could not keep the residents away from us - when they saw Barrie giving forth about their home, they felt obliged to chirp up - first, we had a guy called Ian, on a mobility scooter, who scooted over and listened for a bit, then contradicted Barrie. No, it wasn't the developer's original idea to build a war memorial - he was an impresario, who wanted to build a theatre but couldn't get planning permission! Ian's (wife?) called down to tell him to stop chatting us up.. Then we had a van, driving out of the complex, whose driver and passenger took the time to tell us that no, the question of Chelsea FC buying the ground to demolish the flats hadn't been shelved!

Which brought us to Stamford Bridge:

Of necessity, he had to talk about football at this point, of course - me, I was suffering in the heat, and willing him to move on to the next stop. Of course, this is a large stadium, so it took us a while to walk past it. And that's before the planned expansion!

When we moved off football, we came to a lovely church - that isn't a church! It's a private, listed residence - the windows are listed too, and can't be opened. So, as he said, the air-conditioning must be pretty sophisticated. But there's a swimming pool in the basement, among other features:

In due course, we came to Brompton Cemetery! which, as I explained to people, I used to live at the other end of - and spent a whole day in, one Open House weekend:

Further along, we came to The Boltons - I remember, when I lived in this direction, once buying Christmas decorations in a shop near here. Not much, it was too expensive - the guy behind the counter asked whether I was "checking they'd go with my colour scheme".. Today, Barrie enlightened us as to the neighbourhood's strong sense of community. Apparently, houses here rarely come up for public sale - it's more usual to pass them on within the family. And the church at the centre is a focal point for the community - they have regular fetes and such:

We saw some other curiosities:

And speaking of cemeteries, he had us all poke our cameras over a wall to capture the first Ashkenazi cemetery in London! Still holding out against the developers, apparently:

We found the residence of the inventor of the Hansom cab:

and finally finished up at a former garage, turned restaurant:

It was a fascinating tour, as always - the only problem was, it was too hot and sunny, plus he ran over by almost an hour, with all his detours and such. Me, I only just managed to make it to the end - some went to investigate the restaurant; I checked Google Maps, and discovered there was a Starbuck's five minutes' walk away. So I scurried off there, and was lucky there was no queue for the toilet - I needed it desperately. Afterwards, needing a cold drink, my only choice that didn't involve coffee was a bottle of water - so I bought one, took a welcome seat, and drank it all down before heading home for a bit, to rest. When I felt a bit more like myself, I headed out for food - thought I'd try The King's Arms, but it was packed. Which, as I said to someone, was either because the food was excellent, or just because of its prime position on the main road. Either way, I headed back to the Dean Swift, having the same as last time - one day, I should vary it..

Tomorrow, I'm with CT, who have slightly cheaper tickets for the Backyard Comedy Club. First time I'll have been there in years! I always remember them being good, though. Hallelujah, no more walks for a while..

Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend. I've booked to see Haunted Mansion - well, my choice isn't huge - I'm hoping to see some decent SFX. Rosario Dawson is a single mother who moves into what turns out to be a haunted house. Owen Wilson is the priest she recruits to exorcise the place, Danny DeVito is a historian, an expert in its history, Jamie Lee Curtis is a psychic. Jared Leto is.. one of the ghosts, by the look of it! Limerick Omniplex is the chosen venue; it's convenient for the biggest Tesco around!

On Monday, back at the cinema - for Arret Avec tes Mensonges (Lie With Me), at the Curzon Bloomsbury. One of these films about someone returning to his hometown and reliving a past romance - looks beautifully filmed, though. Booked for free, with my renewed membership.

On Tuesday, heading to the Embankment bandstand (weather permitting) at lunchtime to hear the Algoma Community Band - tickets from Eventbrite.

Next Wednesday, booked with CT to hear Laurence Juber in concert at Piano Smithfield.

And on the 24th, finally back with Meetup - and Up in the Cheap Seats - for Word Play, at the Royal Court.