2016, London in May, week 1

We arrived on May 1 and wandered a bit in the Bloomsbury neighbourhood.

: Our apartment hotel near Holborn Station.

: No comment.

: Ubiquitous umbrella stand

: The Square Pig Pub

: The cliche snapshot

: Same Spanish restaurant we went to in 2005.

: End of our first day.

May 2 was spent settling in and trying to recover from jet lag. We went to dinner at a friend’s home.

: Seen at St Pancras Station

: Blooming trees everywhere.

: From the top of a double decker bus.

: On a school.

: Friend and dinner hostess.

On May 3, I went to see a friend who took me to the bluebell woods. A lovey drive through the English countryside.

: Train to Nunshead

: From the train window

: Telegraph Hill

: The woods

: Pub lunch

: London back garden.

On May 4, I ventured out on my own to the London Centre for Book Arts in Stratford City. To get there I walked through the Olympic Park which took time as I had no accurate maps. Several people helped me find the place to exit the park to find the street LCBA is on.

: Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

: Female boxers

: London Centre for Book Arts

: Nice selection of Japanese bookbinding tools and papers.

After the adventure of looking for and finally finding the LCBA, I walked along the canal in the sunshine to get to the Overground train station. Crossing at the locks, I noticed that people were living in boats tied along the edge. Many had bicycles and gardens on deck.

: A boat waiting to go through the locks

: Environmental carelessness.

: Looking back towards the Olympic Park.

: View from the train station.

My second destination for the afternoon was the Geffrye Museum. The exhibition called “Swept Under the Carpet” showed a series of middle-class rooms as seen from the point of view of the servants from 1663 to the present day. The museum is housed in an old 19th century almshouse.

: Books about how to be a good servant.

: A exhibition of wallpaper by contemporary designers.

: Leaving to go home.

: The Korean restaurant near our hotel where we ate on Tuesday.

On Thursday, May 5, I went to see a friend in Putney. We walked through Bishop’s Park near her home.

: Hanging sculpture in a student gallery on High Holborn

: In Bishop’s Park

On Friday, May 6, I walked to Liberty, one of London’s most famous shops. I bough fabric for quilts and had tea in the cafe. The first 16 photos are what I saw along the way there.