(Un)Forgotten End(ing)s

Well, I made it to the finish line. The last few miles were tough, however. The following is my wrap up of the final four days in London.

Monday was a bank holiday, the beginning of half term break for schools, and the weather looked a bit pants. I still hadn't used the National Trust free entry coupon that I had clipped from the Daily Star, so I looked through the properties in London for one I could visit that day. The best (only?) option was Rainham Hall, a Georgian home with three acres of gardens. I took the tube to East Ham (never been there before) and changed for the C2C train to Rainham, which is in Essex just beyond Zone 6, putting me into uncharted eastern territory. The C2C train crossed flat, reclaimed marsh land, with low housing and industrial buildings. The only things punctuating this flatland were the many electricity pylons and occasional wind turbines. The River Ingrebourne used to flow past Rainham down to the Thames, making this a bustling place for trade in the 17th century. Now, there's not much of anything in Rainham.

Rainham Hall is interesting primarily for the stories of the people who have lived there, including a sea captain and merchant, a vicar and his family, a wealthy family using it as a country home, and a late 20c fashion and lifestyle photographer. During WW2 and for several years after, the house was a day nursery for local children, providing care to dozens of kiddies so that their mothers could work in the local munitions factories and other industries. The layers of the house reveal the decor and uses of the property. 

After spending an hour or so mooching around in the house (it wasn't too busy and there were very few children), I went to the nice cafe to eat my packed lunch and a piece of homemade cake that I purchased. I was just about to go out to explore the gardens on the property when the skies opened and the rain poured down. I debated waiting it out or making a dash to the station to head back into London. When I realized that the C2C train through Rainham was only twice per hour, I decided to rush through the showers and head home. 

That evening, I had a ticket to see Letters from Max in the black box space at the Hampstead Theatre, a 12-minute walk from my gaff. Productions in the downstairs black box are usually works in progress and tickets are cheap, so I often take a chance on them. This one had a lot to do with poetry (I'm pretty much a philistine where poetry is concerned) and the correspondence between a Yale drama student and his teacher. Very intense, not the best I've seen, but I didn't mind spending 10 quid on it. I always like to support the Hampstead Theatre, but I admit that I haven't been thrilled with what I've seen there the last couple of years. 

When it's raining in London, I head to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Because I'd had such dry weather for the past four weeks, Tuesday was the first day I was motivated to go to my tried-and-true rain destination. I'd momentarily forgotten about half-term, however. When I got off the tube at South Kensington and headed toward the subway that connects the station to the museums in Cromwell Road (the V&A, Science Museum and Natural History Museum), I found myself in a steady stream of people going that way. I imagine this was what it's like to be in a crush of people headed toward a football stadium on match day, except that in this instance the crowd was made up of mums, kids and push chairs rather than lads and fans with cans. Fortunately, when we emerged from the subway I could see that 40% of the people were aiming for the queues at the Science Museum, another 40% for the Natural History Museum, and only 20% for the V&A. 

When there isn't a special exhibition I'm interested in, I choose a floor or category of displays that I haven't seen before. In the entry area, I was looking at a directory of the museum on the wall and pondering my choices. A nice, helpful volunteer asked me if I needed help. I said I was thinking of seeing the British Studio Pottery display. The woman told me that was a good choice as the fourth floor, where ceramics are located, is very quiet and pleasant. I thoroughly enjoyed walking through the collection of factory ceramics (dinnerware, tea sets, etc.) and studio ceramics (arty stuff). The V&A always reminds me of a huge jumble sale or charity shop, only higher quality items that are well curated and displayed. Anyone who is a collector or a hoarder can find something to like here. 

My ceramics experience reminded me that I hadn't looked at the Ceramic Staircase in years. I knew it was on the western side of the building, but couldn't for the life of me find it marked on the map or locate it. After asking another helpful volunteer, I made my way there. The staircase leads to the three tiled refreshment rooms (the world's first museum cafe) -- no empty tables there, but I found a place in another caff to eat my packed lunch (probably not recommended to bring food in to eat there, but it was raining and the courtyard was not an option). 

I also fit in two gallery visits, one before and one after the V&A. The first was Michael Hoppen Gallery, a photography gallery in Holland Park, for Seeing Britain. I thought the photos were fab and I had a nice conversation with the bloke working there (the owner, perhaps). The second gallery was BEERS in Smithfield, for a show by Andrew Salgado (Self-portrait as a Stack of Books). Salgado, a Canadian who studied and lives in London, paints very colourful portraits incorporating layers of memory, symbolism, humour, and mystery. And I chatted up the bloke there as well. I think I'm getting more bold in my old age and less concerned about sounding like a twit with my American accent. 

My day ended with a meet-up in a caff in Smithfield with friends Kathy, an artist,  and Allan, a writer. We always have wonderful chats and I love catching up with them. I hope I didn't rabbit on too much. 

On the way to catch the tube at Moorgate, I passed through Charterhouse Square to look at a cool temporary installation, called "A week at the knees", by Alex Chinneck. 

After a bit of cloud cover passed over on Wednesday morning, glorious weather returned to London for the day. I spent over two hours at mid-day on a fantastic guided walk around Hoborn with my friend Lesley, a Camden and Islington guide. I had never given much thought to Holborn, merely considering it an area to pass through to get to somewhere else. But it's much more than that when you know where to look. We saw the site of a bishop's palace, heard stories of Queen Elizabeth I and her court, walked through the diamond district (site of a huge jewelry heist in 2015), visited inns of court, and passed many places referenced by Dickens in his stories and books. I also learned a bit more about reading the geography of the land as we followed and crossed the course of the River Fleet. 

I next hustled down to the Embankment, hopped on the tube at Temple Station, and made my way to Tower Bridge to watch a replica of Christopher Columbus's ship the Santa Maria as it sailed into the Pool of London. I just missed seeing Tower Bridge open for the ship to come up the Thames. After it sat in the water for a half hour by the HMS Belfast, it started moving slowly back through Tower Bridge toward St Katharine Docks where it would be moored for the next ten days. 

Since it was such a splendid day, I faffed around for a few hours, walking on both banks of the Thames. I made a stop at Borough Market -- I was on a cheese mission (a gift for someone at home who loves the Belper Knolle from Jumi Cheese). 

The day ended with another fab meet-up with mates at the Horseshoe Inn in Bermondsey. I was drinking the Brakspear Gravity. 

I woke up on Thursday without a plan in my head for how I'd spend my final day. Knowing that I'd need to be back at the flat by around 4 to do my packing and then get to bed early, I didn't want to push myself too much. Deciding to stick close to my patch, I booked a ticket for Unearth: The Power of Gardening at the British Library. It was a good choice -- not crowded, interesting but not too taxing. The Brits love their gardens, and this exhibition both celebrates plants and gardening while it also exposes some of the dark underbelly -- the use of enslaved labour, orchid hunting in the 19th century, etc. 

I then thought I'd like to eat some of my favourite foods one last time before heading home to Massachusetts: lunch was a cup of Forgotten Ends (Waitrose at the Brunswick Centre, bench in Brunswick Square while admiring the 200-year-old Brunswick Plane tree), followed by pastel de nata (Queen's Cafe stall, bench in Queen Square next to Sam the cat), and a stop at the real food market outside King's Cross Station to get a savory tarte from Popina for my dinner, which I would wash down with a bottle of Badger Fursty Ferret. 

With a couple hours yet to fill, I took a bus to Regent's Park and had a lovely stroll next to the boating lake before tackling the packing. My AirBnB hosts kindly invited me down for a pre-dinner drink in their garden. 

On Friday, I was out of bed at 4 a.m. and out the door at 6:10 to get the tube from Belsize Park to Tottenham Court Road, then the Elizabeth Line to Heathrow. All went to plan with no delays. When I arrived in Dublin, I checked my Tile tracker app and was relieved to see that my checked bag had made it to Dublin as well. With a layover of several hours, I started pecking out this blog post on my phone but didn't get very far. Just before my plane was getting ready for boarding, I looked up and saw a familiar face. It was Cheryl, one of my mates from the charity shop at home where I volunteer! She and her wife were returning from Spain where they had hiked the Camino de Santiago for the third or fourth time (they are intrepid). Not only were we on the same flight home, but we were sat in the same row across the aisle from each other. This isn't the first time I've run into someone I knew on the Hartford to Dublin to London (or reverse) route, but this was the happiest. I had been feeling tired, achy and a bit grumpy, but my mood brightened immensely upon seeing friendly faces from home. Big thanks to them for the ride from the airport to my front door. 

I've been home for four days and am gradually getting over my jetlag. I never have any problem with jetlag going east to London, but the journey westward to home really knocks me for a loop. They say that recovery takes a day for each time zone crossed, and it certainly was the case for me on this trip. I think age is a factor as well. I remember the days when I'd arrive home from London one evening and show up for work the next day. 

I've now had a bit of time to reflect on my adventures, and as I promised a friend, I'm hereby giving you my "best of" list for the 2025 London trip.

Best blockbuster exhibitions: Grayson Perry at the Wallace Collection, Noah Davis at the Barbican, Resistance at Turner Contemporary, Dora Carrington at Pallant House Gallery

Best small gallery or museum exhibitions: Peter Mitchell at the Photographers' Gallery, Richard Hunt at White Cube Bermondsey, Leighton and Landscape at Leighton House

Best gardens: Sissinghurst Castle Garden, tulips in Dutch Garden (Holland Park)

Best guided walk: Evolving Islington with Nigel, Historic Holborn with Lesley

Best building tours: Shoreditch Town Hall, 575 Wandsworth Road

Best solo exploration of hitherto uncharted territory: Bluebells in Highgate Wood

Best talk: Amir Dotan "Look Up, Look Down" at Hackney History Festival

Best live performance: Henry Normal and Brian Bilston at Hackney Empire

Best beer: Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter, Badger Fursty Ferret

I loved being back in London in the springtime (first time since 2008). Unlike my customary autumn visits, when every day was a little bit darker and colder, it was delightful to find the days getting longer and, for the most part, warmer throughout my stay. I've got the AirBnB on hold for next spring and I've already started my 2026 spreadsheet. In the meantime, my time as a culture vulture has inspired me to soak up as much art, theatre and performance back home in New England this summer. And perhaps I'll work in a wee trip of some sort. Subscribe to the blog (you have to view it on your computer or as a web page on your phone in order to see the "Subscribe" button) to find out what I get up to next. 

Stats:

Monday:
Free entry to Rainham Hall with NT coupon
£3.50 cake
£10 theatre ticket
12,239 steps
5.02 miles

Tuesday:
£4.54 beer and bananas
20,228 steps
8.44 miles

Wednesday:
£15 Holborn walk
£2 cookie
£3.65 beer
£9.70 cheese (gift)
25,161 steps
10.33 miles

Thursday:
£7.50 British Library exhibition (half price with Art Pass)
£2.45 Forgotten Ends
£1.80 pastel de nata
£4.50 tarte for dinner
£8.50 another gift
21,188 steps
8.72 miles

Friday:
€2 water in Dublin airport
13,498 steps
5.55 miles