Walk: Birthday Boy! Winston in Westminster & Social

Yesterday was a busy one for me. First off, I was back with Laurence Summers and the 45+ Not Grumpies - the walk was Birthday Boy! Winston in Westminster - it was Winston Churchill's birthday, d' you see. I made it in good time, for once, stopping en route for a hot chocolate in the nearby Nostos. Dunno about their coffee, but I wouldn't bother with their hot chocolate again. But it filled a hole, sustaining me for the walk.

Saw some familiar faces in what was an unusually large group, on this occasion! Happily, although it had obviously rained recently - some of the pavements were wet - we had none on the walk.

Our first stop was at St. Ermin's Hotel, where the SOE used to meet - in which Winston had a major interest. They were just putting up their Christmas decorations - and the lobby is gorgeous!

There's also a very small, but interesting, exhibit in the lobby:

You can even see how they used their personal possessions as hiding places!

Down the road a bit then, to Caxton Hall, where Winnie spoke:

Right across from that, you find Christchurch Gardens, with its statue to the Suffragettes, whose meetings were held in the hall (even though they, as ladies, weren't allowed to attend):

At the other end of the gardens is a fetching statue of Purcell:

(Quite the hairdo.) And would you believe it, Pete Townshend was inspired by Purcell's music.. who knew?!

And so to Westminster Abbey - always worth a picture. What surprised me though was how we managed to keep the group together in the crowds! :-)

And around by the - naturally, as we were discussing an ex-Prime Minister among other things. We were there for the chiming of Big Ben.. which coincided nicely with bellringing from the abbey. All very musical!

Speaking of music, a piper playing on the corner was collecting to raise the funds to go to the World Championships..! Meantime, just as we were being told about how people had wanted to have spikes put on top of Winston's statue (which I couldn't get a good picture of yesterday), to prevent pigeons.. a pigeon landed on his head. Timing is everything..

Meanwhile, we had a look at the Treasury Building, on whose balcony he apparently gave a speech on VE Day:

We stopped for a good while at the Battle of Britain monument - well worth it, I never realised there was such detail! or that it was so evocative:

Lists of the dead, too.. but too many to picture them.. and further down is another very striking RAF memorial, relating to the First World War:

The Ministry of Defence:

This was as close as we came to the Palestinian protest, although as we crossed roads, we did benefit from the resulting road closures:

The Quatari flag was in evidence, the Emir being in town:

The Old War Office is now owned by Raffles!

Our last sight of the day was the rather post-modern Nativity scene at St. Martin-in-the-Fields:

We headed for lunch afterwards in the Lamb & Flag, Covent Garden - where Helen joined us  - she'd been shopping, and brought my Christmas present with her. As she said, I had to squeeze her in - we didn't have much time together, but it couldn't be helped. Afterwards, we headed to Le Beaujolais, where she didn't join us, as she wasn't drinking, because she'd have to drive when she got home, so at that point she headed off for more shopping - but at least we had an hour or so..

At Le Beaujolais - which is a small venue - it was crammed, so we shared a table with a couple, then took it over properly when they left. And then it all went wrong.. someone took my order for a glass of wine for me, and for someone else - but most of those who came to the bar decided to share a bottle of red, which we weren't interested in. Now, what exactly happened at that point, I don't know - but it seems that the person the two of us had ordered from passed over the serving duties to someone else: but crucially, didn't pass on the order! So while the bottle arrived, the individual glasses didn't.. 

They were mostly through the bottle, 20 minutes later, when we thought to ask. Whereupon the two waiters concerned just looked at us, mesmerised, as if they'd never heard anything about an order apart from the bottle.. when I challenged the one I'd ordered from, she just shrugged. I got my Sauvignon - which was insipid, I might add - but I can't recall an apology. Anyway, when I went to pay for it at the end - going to the till myself, as I didn't trust them to bring the bill - I discovered the cost had been waived. Still no apology, and I doubt it was them that waived it, I daresay it was the manager.. Well, I won't be hurrying back there.

Nonetheless, it was a great walk, and I was delighted with most of the afternoon. Laurence is on holiday next week - Bon Voyage!

Meantime, in the evening, I'd finally managed to persuade Ivan and James to meet - first time since September! And with Ivan rehearsing, as most Saturdays, we headed up in that direction, to the Approach Tavern. So I schlepped all the way up there, on a crowded Tube - by the time I could have got a seat, I was nearly there, and it wasn't worth it. I was first there, and wow, was I glad I'd booked - there was a private function in the back, and the place was crammed! It was so good to see the others, though.. delighted I squeezed this in yesterday. Unfortunately, of course, James had to leave a bit early to catch his train - and Ivan wasn't feeling the best, so it wasn't a late one.

I was too tired to blog last night, though. Tonight, there's a carol service at St. John's Hyde Park, so I'm heading over there. I booked the local Maximini Chinese restaurant beforehand - and wouldn't you know it, I booked it days ago, but they cancelled just this afternoon, with no explanation! Not very professional, and I doubt I'll bother with them again. Instead, I've booked the Thai restaurant at The Heron for afterwards.

Tomorrow, I'm with CT for Shake it Up - the Improvised Shakespeare Show - at the Hen & Chickens.

Two Christmas socials next. On Tuesday, our company's Christmas Party is lovely and convenient for me - at The Oyster Shed, walking distance from home! So I might skip heading into the office that day, which is likely to be manic anyway.

Wednesday is the Christmas Social for The Hideout and their sister group, Movie Roadhouse London (MRL). At the BFI again.

On Thursday, back with MRL for Conclave, starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, and John Lithgow as cardinals involved in the election of a new pope. Isabella Rossellini shows up as a nun. Shenanigans are promised. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.

Back in London, two nights of music beckon. On the 9th, I'm at a Conductors' Podium student classical concert at the Royal College of Music. 

And on the 10th, I'm at another Jazz Night at Americana. Courtesy of CT.

On the 11th, storyteller Nell Phoenix - who has a newsletter I've signed up to - has just advertised a night of storytelling at Torriano Avenue! Right, that's me sorted..

On the 12th, I'm headed with London Social Detours to a talk on "Painting the Christmas Story" - a history of paintings of the nativity - at the Wallace Collection. Social afterwards, of course. Daytime, yes - but I start my Christmas holidays that day, whee! And Ivan is planning to meet me afterwards, as he could only stay for a little last night, and didn't get much of a chat with me.

On the 13th.. well now, I could hardly skip Laurence & the 45+s' annual Dickens in the City, could I? No, and I'm not..

On the 14th - the Christmas social with Ivan, James, and Martin, who couldn't make it yesterday! Unfortunately, The Approach Tavern can't accommodate us indoors in the evening, so I've now booked The Bethnal Green Tavern.. who can only guarantee our table until 8pm. Best I seem to be able to do, though..

And on the 15th, I'm back to Ireland for Christmas, returning on the 5th of January. Have a very merry one!