Out and About

Being able to get out and about with the help of modern day drugs is a bonus that keeps me sane.

Couple of nice benches outside the bank to rest my aching bones while waiting for the bus home.

The sign(left)  gives the impression that pedestrians are now needing a permit to stop in a restricted area or risk a fine.

Our friend Google shows things a little differently.
It just made me smile so just thought i`d share it with you.







Now with my senses being greatly affected by  Morphine my writings at times might seem strange, I`m sure you understand. Every morning we have the pleasure of a Cormorant arriving outside of the boat and having a very successful breakfast hunt below the surface. A couple of days ago two cormorants appeared together which is not rare but not to common.
My fuzzy brain got me thinking along these lines. If you wake up in the morning you might ask your partner if they want tea or coffee or would he/she like some toast put on, communication. So how did these two end up outside Nb Valerie together diving for breakfast?
How does one Cormorant tell the other about a swell breakfast bar on this section of canal. Yes you could say I have too much time on my hands but as we know that`s not true. I just put it down to looking at everything so differently through eyes now affected by the wonders of modern day painkillers of course.

By far my best out and about day of late has been with son Kevin. Having spent the last part of my working life around Park Royal, a very large industrial area in North West London I wanted to have a look around and see how the last 12 years have changed the area. Kevin is familiar with the area as he often accompanied me in the school holidays.
I decided to make a day of it and call in at Paddington Basin and show Kevin the newly installed Fan Bridge plus the long established Rolling Bridge. Also we could visit the house where I spent the first 18 years of my life.
As a bonus we would have lunch at a typical fast food wagon that also has an indoor diner that features in the BBC programme "The Apprentice" named "La Cabana". Who knew when Kev and I had our lunch break at La Cabana it would one day be part of a TV series.
Park Royal was also a location in the mid 1990`s series 9/10 for the lock up featured in Minder that starred George Cole as the wide boy and many others as "the minder" over many years the TV series ran.
George Cole was always ready to chat as he sat in the doorway of his mobile dressing room and Kevin just felt so important sitting drinking Orange juice with George, happy days.
Lots of other filming went on during my total of twenty years working in the area.

Start with the Rolling bridge, video is in the link above.

Next is the Fan bridge, again video in link above.

A few shots around the basin as we leave what is a very busy lunch venue for the office workers located here.

Now we are off to the house that was home for my first 18 years of life.

 Yours truly standing outside 23 Lothrop Street, Queens Park, W10. What you see is what you get, yes that`s the width of the 2 bedroom house. A house just 3 houses along from 23 has just sold this year for £850 thousand ($1million, one hundred and five thousand). 832 square feet.

 Above the Pink line is the Grand Union Paddington Branch. Over to the left the Orange are the moorings at Kensal Green by Sainsbury`s. Just about centre of  picture the Blue marks Lothrop Street.

 Some houses are larger than others so
with over two thousand houses on the estate that is some valuable piece of ground. 

As you can see from the floor plan on the left the whole property is just 15 feet wide and the whole property including the garden is only 70 feet deep.
Bedroom 3 I have marked is to be ignored as ours was a two bedroom house.

Toilet was outside and as you can see on this 1867/77 plan no bathroom. A tin bath in front of the fire in the room marked kitchen was the personal hygiene dept.

Not sure when the bathrooms were added but it must have been nice to have running hot water and a proper bath to soak in. The extensions were built across the sections marked larder and w.c.