Say cheese

About a week ago it was time to replenish cheese stocks, so off to London Town. A bright but cool day, but the scarf and winter cardigan seemingly needed at the off, proved too much in the event.

The record

Stock of Bullingdons on the ramp at Waterloo rather low, but there was one for me. On the other hand there was no space outside the Temple, so I had to push on to Newton Street again, where there were spaces. Strolled through to the cheese shop, being reminded of Elmer from Bognor (of reference 2) by a large flat package called Elmer being delivered to a picture frame ship. But while the logo at reference 3 looks familiar, this company seem to be best known for glue and slime, with the website offering some jolly pictures of this last. Not the sort of stuff that is delivered in large flat packages. Perhaps next time I go past I shall have to pop in and ask them.

Bought my cheese and also bought some hazel nuts, possibly from the same batch as that at reference 1. So those nuts had been picked a little too early and were a little damp; while these nuts, at the proper price of £4.50 a pound or so, were not very good at all and a lot were missing. Possibly the same nuts, a couple of weeks later. Plus some rather off-putting white weevil-like bugs. Probably best to stick to cheese at the cheese shop in future - although, that said, I have had some decent apples from them from time to time.

Across to Soho to pull the second Bullingdon to take me down to Storey's Gate to find Westminster Abbey closed for the Paddy Ashdown memorial service - attended by no less than four past prime ministers. Don't know whether the present prime minister turned out. Getting on for an hour to wait, so elected to push on down to Westminster Cathedral.

The sandwich bar

Sandwich shops down Victoria Street were either crowded, selling exotica or both, but I found a place called Keen's, just off Victoria Street, where there was neither crowd nor exotica and I got a perfectly respectable ham and cheese roll for £3.90. The rather anonymous people at No.3 in the rather grand building in the snap above. The people at reference 4. I associate to the Parisian gentry of Proust's day who still had their big houses in town, but gave their cash flow a helping hand by letting out ground floor units to trade.

The table

Some light tables and chairs in the piazza in front of the cathedral, provided by the people snapped above made a convenient place to eat before going in.

Not empty, but a large and peaceful place, something I value when in busy towns. Although not so peaceful as I arrived, as I had caught the tail end of a lunch time communion service, complete with bells, smells and a priest who knew all about devils and other evil doings. He also spoke rather fast. I was sat at the back with a few other people, but the lady from east of Suez taking the collection took one look at me and passed on. I did not push the matter, although I was ready and willing, for form, had she asked. Congregation of about fifty, most of whom seemed to be taking communion. Not very many pale skins.

Another lady, this one in Islamic dress, including a veil covering that part of her face below the eyes, probably from somewhere quite near Suez, was reading a large devotional text in one of the side chapels. I recall reading somewhere that this was considered OK for those for whom proper prayer provision had not been made at their places of work. All very proper and ecumenical.

And not so peaceful while the candle men made their rounds, topping up the supply of devotional candles. Surprising noisy bunch.

On the plus side, I am getting to like the Gill 'Stations of the Cross', with some if not all of them being attributed to individuals. Whereas I had thought one individual had paid for the whole lot, so one more thing to check at some point. Also, I like the building as a whole, at least from the inside, with the considerable merit, from my point of view, of being a working church rather than a Tier 1 tourist attraction.

Out to pull the third and last Bullingdon of the day to take me down to Vauxhall. Three single aeroplanes from two trains in the Wimbledon area. An Evening Standard from the Raynes Park platform library, another plus as they had not arrived at Vauxhall when I went through. Plus, I picked up a paying-for newspaper for once, albeit only the 'Sun'. To think that fifty years ago, I could rely on picking up a more-or-less mint condition DT more or less every day - something which had been declining anyway, but which came to a fairly abrupt halt when they started providing the freebies. Freebies which squeezed out the paybies. Should we be surprised that real news has been overtaken by fake news?

Maybe six cyclists jumping lights in the course of the day. Lots of slow moving - not to say stationary - traffic in the west end.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/09/a-day-at-library.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/09/elmer-one.html.

Reference 3: https://www.elmers.com/.

Reference 4: https://www.eatkeen.com/menu/.