Today, I strolled from King's Cross station, along the Pentonville Road, and past the Angel, Islington. Now, if you're a fan of the original board for 'Monopoly'. you'll recognise all of those names.
That walk was just a little less than 2 miles each way in length, and, whereas in some parts of London, that distance would have taken me hours because there was so much to see, sadly that wasn't the case here.
Don't get me wrong, the things I did find were well worth seeing and exploring. It's just that between the highlights was a lot of nothing worth looking at.
Anyway, I did enjoy the stroll, mostly because it's an area of London that I don't know at all well.
The original Angel public house, which gave its' name to the area, was a coaching inn with a galleried yard, offering entertainment by groups of travelling actors and players. It was popular with overnight guests who were travelling to the City but did not want to risk highway robbery on the hazardous last stretch of their journey.
Where Islington Green diverges from Upper Street, the A104, there is a small triangular fenced garden. This is actually the Islington Green Memorial Garden - more usually referred to as 'Bob's Garden', I'll explain all in a moment.
Meanwhile, at the pointy bit of the triangle, is this imposing statue of Sir Hugh Myddelton 1555 - 1631. He was a Welsh clothmaker, entrepreneur, mine-owner, goldsmith, banker and self-taught engineer. He is most renowned for a scheme which created a 'New River' to bring clean water into London. Financially assisted by King James I, his company would continue to be a powerful and extremely profitable force in London's water supply for nearly 300 years.
William Gladstone, then chancellor of the exchequer, unveiled the statue of Sir Hugh Myddelton on the green in 1862
The unusual design of the Islington Green War Memorial. The original obelisk war memorial that stood here, was demolished in 2006, and this took the place. It was designed by John Maine, whose proposal was for a twisted stone ring, reminiscent of a wreath
And so to Bob.................. The world-famous book and subsequent film is the true story of James Bowen and his cat whom he named Bob. Bob the cat, eventually died aged 14. James Bowen penned the book after meeting Bob in 2007 while he was battling a drug addiction. Mr Bowen had found the ginger cat abandoned and injured and decided to look after him. They went through life loving and supporting each other. After Bob died, James felt suicidal, and turned to Heroin again. However, I hear he is getting help and is clean again. I wish him well.
The memorial in the gardens, is a fitting tribute to a story of hope, and a cat who brought that hope to a friend in need. The benches are carved with messages from the book
The centre piece has a statue of Bob perched on a pile of books, on the arm of the middle bench.
And for a bit of trivia, pupils from the fourth-form music class at Islington Green school sang the chorus to Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ in 1979.
I don't normally photograph pubs unless they are historically important. However, I couldn't resist the incredibly beautiful glazed tiles on the front of the Old Queen's Head. I just hope they are adequately protected
Spotted this beautiful piece of wall art down a little side road when I glanced to make sure it was safe to cross. I'm glad I went for a second look. A lovely tribute to Mahatma Gandhi
Here's something you don't see too often these days - the brass balls of a monkey, the traditional sign for a pawnbroker
Actually, the origin of the term for a pawnbroker's sign, was actually nautical. Back in the days of wooden fighting ships, cannonballs were stacked on a brass holder called a 'monkey'. In very cold weather, the monkeys would warp, and the cannonballs would roll away.
There you are - you learn something new every day!
I had to walk a little further along Essex Road than I originally intended to find the old Carlton Cinema. Now called 'Gracepoint', it is currently an event and party hire venue. It is Grade II listed, and bears a striking resemblance to the decor of the Carreras factory in Mornington Crescent. It was designed by architect George Coles in 1930, using the same influences from the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt.
If you don't look, you don't see. On the walk back to the station, I continually looked upwards. You can sometimes find clues to the origins and history of buildings, that aren't obvious at ground level. On the street, this was a cafe-bar called the Flight Club. Up above it is revealed as having originally being the Three Wheatsheaves inn
And finally...............a whole row of old, unloved buildings being torn down to make way no doubt, for yet another block of faceless concrete. In the words of Bob Dylan, Desolation Row
And someone says"You're in the wrong placeMy friendYou better leave"And the only sound that's leftAfter the ambulances goIs Cinderella sweeping upOn Desolation Row
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