His friend St Paul's

Millenium Bridge, London, Yesterday.

"London Dust"

"It" is everywhere,
In your eyes and in your hair,
You cannot escape this,
perfect example of sodden bliss,
When one moves away,
It follows anew,
It will always be there, clinging to you,
Reserved just for me,
This dark matter must,
Stay by my side,
My London dust.

London called yesterday..........so I went.

Mainly to scout the area, in this case London's South Bank all the way to London Bridge, for potential venues for a London gathering of fellow Hep C forum members. Ever since it was suggested that a possible London meet take place, quite a bit of interest has been shown. Not all can make it unfortunately as there are members on the forum from all over the world and the rest of the UK too. It is a shame as there are some very Lovely people whom I would so Love to meet, including some fellow US bloggers and one from Scotland for sure will be sorely missed. Next time eh.
So I got to Waterloo from Twickenham in 20 minutes, I still relish with the thought of living so close to London! Where else on earth could beat London and all of it's history, sometimes quite colourful and at others not so much! There is plenty of dirt been built up over the centuries in this wonderful city of mine and I Love getting dirty! I took my camera to take some pics of the route, but instead of taking photos of stuff like pubs and places to eat, I saw other things that caught my eye. besides, who really wants to see another "Wagamama" or "Pizza Express"? Certainly not me, I think we can all imagine just exactly what the majority of London has to offer in regards to food and drink. And looking at the poll on the forum, I really don't think that this area will be the place most people decide upon. But it is great for a walk though, even in the pissing rain and a murderous ankle.
The giant ring of spinning pods had it's human filled eye's on me as I started towards the old County Hall to begin my walk ending at Borough Market by London Bridge. The rain was on it's way and the seagulls new long before the rest of us did. I new before I left and packed my rain gear into my rucksack. Apart from the London Eye and the Aquarium and a MacDonalds, there wasn't much else to see amongst the tourists trying to get that perfect photo with their tiny little camera phones. They come all that way and use a pathetic phone camera. They would be better off sketching the view on the back of a coffee stained serviette!
I was more interested in the tap dancing, scavaging Gulls. Or were they just angry with the fact that they weren't allowed into the Salvador Dali exhibition that was over looking the eye?
Past numerous cafes, pubs and the South Bank skate boarders doing their stuff. I remember when I was a kid of about 14 or so going there to see the skaters, BMX'ers and graffiti. There were some graffiti artists doing a "Piece" when I returned later.
I stopped at Gabriels Wharf where I had lunch, actually, this would be an alright place to meet if the weather was dry, as it has a fair bit of outside seating, but it is a bit of a walk to reach it and it took a while to get my Panini so you can imagine how long it would take to knock up 10 or 15 of the little buggers. This is when it rained.......for the rest of the day as it goes. I didn't mind as I like the rain and was prepared too. My next stop was the "Tate Modern", a great looking building which was once a power station built in the 40's and was designed by the man who designed battersea power station. I just had to go in there to see the "Test Site" or "Unilever Series" I had seen on the news recently. It is an exhibit made up of 5 slides made from metal and clear fiber glass and are open for the public to slide down. All free too. I wanted to go down, but I was soaking wet and I didn't want to leave my stuff anywhere. It closes in April next year, so I have plenty of time to go back:)
As you come out of the tate, directly in front of you is the Thames and the back end of the South side of the Millenium Bridge, formerly the Wobbly Bridge! It has been fixed now of course. I stopped to take a photo of the back of the bridge looking out directly towards St Paul's Cathedral. I put the dome of St Paul's right next to the homeless man as I thought that they looked like friends sitting next to each other. After all, it is things like St Paul's and other tourist attractions that keep him fed & alive. It was pissing with rain and cold! I don't think too many people take photos from behind the bridge. But they miss so much from following the crowd eh!
On another day in the past, I have been across the bridge and walked across the road to St Paul's and made my way through the inside of the surreal & highly fascinating dome of St Pauls, out on to the very top to see London in all of it's naked wonderment. There are no barriers, no glass or bars, just a chest high railing to stop one from jumping over onto the side of the dome and into the depths of the grotty, pigeon shit filled roof! Ignore the "Whispering Gallery" on the way up as you can't even hear a bus bomb going off outside for all the tourists whispering over each other, eventually just ending up shouting! Still, do look up at the inside of the dome.......Amazing! The "Monument" by Pudding lane is another fantastic building to climb inside! Not for the faint hearted or suicidal! No, you can't jump or fall off the top anymore, you're effectively inside a giant steel cage, built because of people coming here to commit suicide.........doesn't make too much sense, because if you really wanted to jump, all you have to do is hop over the waist high railing winding it's way inside the towers shaft right down to the bottom with no nets or anything. That would give the ticket seller at the bottom a bit of a shock I can tell you;)
Anyway, enough about that.......where was I? Ah yes, eastbound from the Tate and past the "Globe" Theatre. Not the original, but an exact replica right near to where the real one once stood, that I have never been inside yet. Very popular as you can imagine and maybe one day I will find myself in there. The iron gate that is the main entance looks amazing, although my mate Lee could do just as well, if not better:)
Past more pubs and then a quick walk past the sublime Clink St Prison. I Love this place and have been in there a few times. Very atmospheric and musty smelling once you're inside. I didn't go in yesterday as my ankle was hurting more and more and Borough Market was just around the corner. This is a great place to visit and very spooky. Outside the building is a metal cage with a skeleton rotting inside, just hanging there as a warning not to be naughty;) Plenty of cobbles on the streets around here.....imagine all the feet, hands, knees (and no doubt arses too), hoves and carriages that have been over these cobbles over the centuries! Love it!
So on past St Mary's Ovaries Dock which floating inside it is a replica of the "Golden Hind" (formerly the "Pelican") captained by Sir Francis Drake back in 1577-80. He was the first Englishman and first captain to circumnavigate the globe. This is within easy walking distance from Borough Market and there is a pub & restaurant right next to it. Also right next to the market is Southwark Cathedral. There has been a church on this site for over 1000 years. For many years this area (being right next to London Bridge) was the only crossing point into London. So one can only imagine how well a "Starbucks" over looking the bridge would've done:)
And on to Borough Market. It was closed, but you can see that it is very busy when it is open, selling all kinds of meat, veg, fruit and exotic foods from all over the world. If you have never been there before, then give it a go as it is such a fascinating area and so old too.
That was my day......wet, hurting and in need of a few units of Factor VIII:) But before I went home, I got on the train just by the market at London Bridge Underground Stn and caught the Jubilee line to Waterloo. Walked back over to the eye and got a few more photos of the graffiti and the giant wheel. Not sure why really as I have loads of photos from previous visits there. I have been on it twice too, highly recommended.
Train ride to Twickenham was good, but not so the walk over Twickenham railway bridge back to my car in Waitrose car park. I barely made it back. If only I had my bike;) I must have looked like a cripple (hang on....I am;) hobbling along the path! Of course it doesn't bother me in the slightest what people may be thinking, I have bean wearing that t-shirt for years.

Home....Injection.....bath.....dinner & still I can feel that London Dust!

Jason