Greenbelt

Festive Road

Festival season has come round again and - for the first time in many years - we find ourselves heading to an event as punters, not volunteers. So the tents went up in the garden to see how they fared in the forecast showers.

And tonight, when I realised I'd left home this morning without a key, I am pleased to report both are cosy and dry. Blogging from the garden isn't a bad way to pass time while I wait of Emma to return and let me in. This isn't the first time I've been grateful for the extended reach of wi-fi.

Coastwalk

Island Gardens → North Woolwich

Distance: 7.10 miles
Ascent: 80 metres
Duration: 2 hours 4 minutes

Private
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Throughout central London the Thames Path National Trail offers a route on both riverbanks. That changes east of Island Gardens where the north path ducks under the river to join the south. Today I found out why.

The first leg - north along edge of the Isle of Dogs - was plesant enough, with a waymarked path that largely stuck to the riverbank. But beyond Blackwall, the scene changed. Here the sense of community shifted from welcoming to exclusive. At one apartment block I was approached by a concierge who requested I not take photographs of the building, even though I had not attempted to do so. He lied about there being no through route on the riverside and insisted that I return to the road.

Thankfully not every development was obsessed with privacy. A lovely avenue of trees marked the intersection of the river and the Prime Meridian. A little further on at Virginia Quay a monument marked the departure point in 1606 of those who "founded the first permanent English settlement in America". This is the second disembarkation point I've met on the coast, the other one also being very close to the meridian.

Further on, the sights become more disjointed, reflecting the diversity and history of the town. "R.I.P. NAN 07/11" had been painted on the ground at East India Dock where a bunch of flowers were tied to railings; from the dual carriageway of the Lower Lea Crossing I could make out the Olympic Park rising to the north; in Silvertown I saw a monument to "London's largest explosion" which levelled a T.N.T. factory and hundreds of houses here in 1917.

Then, somewhere ahead of me, I heard gospel music. Within a short distance of each other, three Nigerian churches rent separate light industrial units and were in full swing. I saw worshippers pouring out of other buildings re-cast as churches too, and near the end of the walk a traffic jam led to the Loveworld TV studios while directly across the road the dishes of the Arqiva London Teleport sent messages of another kind into the heavens.

Places

A walk through Amsterdam

I'm in Amsterdam on business for just a couple of days. This morning was my one and only chance to get out into the city. I had an hour. Here are some notes.

Bicycles glide past in graceful procession.

Every building is leaning: most towards the roads as if pulled over by the hoists that invariably jut out from the rafters, but some are slumped to the side, resting on their neighbour.

More people smoke here.

I went looking for the Anne Frank House. I walked straight past it without noticing the nondescript door. This seems somehow appropriate.

The canals bless the city with serenity.

Although the city is arranged on a grid, it felt unstructured. I didn't find a High Street as such; boutiques are sandwiched between homes; seemingly every shop visit would require its own journey.

There is much to like here, and much more exploring to be done. I think I'll be back.

Places

€

Today I held a Euro for the first time. Since the unified currency of our neighbouring countries has been in physical circulation for almost ten years now this makes me feel rather parochial.