St George’s Day – London 2011 – Part 2
Millenium Bridge
Oops! I almost forgot about this blog about our little trek around London last month, visiting various watering-holes on the south side of the Thames! Well, here I am again with the long-awaited part two…
Where did I get to?? Oh yes…I remember…the Founders Arms! We left there and headed for our next destination, passing such landmarks on the way as the Tate Modern and the Globe Theatre..
Tate Modern
Globe Theatre
By this time I had developed a bit of a headache, and Robert’s hand had gradually swollen more and more due to a bite received the evening before. I had suggested that he take his wedding ring off before his finger got too swollen, and it was just as well he did, because by the end of the evening his hand and arm looked like an inflated rubber glove!!
We arrived at The Anchor, where most people were crowded onto the terrace/beer garden area, so we found a table inside…
The Anchor
When we left, the skies were beginning to darken, and it was feeling quite oppressive…which would explain my headache!
On the way to our next port of call it began to rain, and as we turned down one little street there in front of us was the Clink Museum…I wanted to go in, but everyone just sailed straight past…it was a pub-crawl after all! A recent episode of Mud Men featured this interesting-looking museum.
The Clink Museum
The rain turned into a downpour, but didn’t last long, so we wended our merry way to a beautiful 17th century hostelry called The George…
The George
There were plenty of tables outside, but after the rain were a bit too wet to sit at, so we struggled to find a table inside as the place was packed! Eventually a table became vacant, but chairs were in short supply. This is where Graham finally caught up with us.
Random madwoman finds a shield!
Anne-Marie, John, Ian and Jo
We actually stopped here longer and had more than one drink. (By the way, I didn’t actually drink that much…several J20s with lots of ice, and one half pint, then I had the odd sip of Robert’s).
Next we headed for the Bunch of Grapes…
Random woman, Pete, Ian, and Graham
I found this pub far too noisy (must be my age!), the music was so loud I couldn’t hear what anyone was saying…or should that be ‘shouting’? It didn’t do my headache any good either! Besides, by this time I was ravenous and in need of food, and Robert had mentioned stopping somewhere several times, but it was always on to the next pub!
When we left, it was dark out, and The Shard looked quite spectacular…
The Shard
The next pub had a rather odd name…The Barrowboy and Banker…
The Barrowboy and Banker
I couldn’t work out what this had to do with the pub name though…
The Charge of the Royal Scots Greys above the bar
Anne-Marie and Pete departed from here, and the rest of us headed for…
The Mudlark
…The Mudlark…also seen on Mud Men as their base after grubbing about on the shores of the Thames. Johnny Vaughan and Steve Brooker (AKA Mud God) used the upstairs bar…we stayed in the downstairs bar.
A full-sized replica of The Golden Hinde was moored near our last port of call, The Old Thameside Inn…
The Golden Hinde
The Old Thameside Inn
No, that isn't Johnny Vaughan...!
Graham, Jo, Ian, Pete, and Random Woman
The Thames at night
We stayed here until kicking-out time, then made our way back to the station…taking in one or two more sites…
Fishmongers Hall, London Bridge
The Monument
Next day, I could look back and remember a great day out…headache and sore feet forgotten. 🙂
So, did Robert’s hand fall off? Why did you bite him in the first place? Do you still have the shield? Are you getting tired of all these silly questions?
I really enjoyed the tour and the photos are great!
LOL! No, Chip, his hand didn’t fall off, but it did look pretty sore, as the skin was stretched and looked as though it was going to split. On the way home next day, we stopped off at motorway services to get some anti-histamine tablets, and over the next couple of days his hand started to return to normal.
It wasn’t me that bit him! It was some nasty little midge/gnat/mozzie thing!
Yes, we still have the shield, though why Robert brought it home I really can’t say…men!
BTW Robert took most of the photos…I just do the cropping.
Well i enjoyed the photo’s, cropping and tour! 🙂 Did you actually get something to eat in the end? I can’t do pub crawls without stopping for food at some point…its an age thing! Must admit i miss Johnny Vaughan in the mornings….i should clarify that by saying i’m going back to the days when he did a breakfast show on C4…guaranteed to start your day with a laugh!
No, Mike…nothing to eat until we got back to Ian and Jo’s, then I had a cheese sarnie. It must have been gone 01.00, so I hadn’t eaten since lunchtime…and I’m one of those who has to eat little and often.
Johnny Vaughan should be on TV more often (I don’t listen to radio) because he’s so funny…such a character!! Besides, I think he’s gorgeous!!
What a smashing day you had, all these lovely places with the great names, which reminds me I was going to do a blog on Pub names, hmm memory’s going. As I was trawling through them with you, I couldn’t help but feel for Robert and worrying that maybe he should have gone to A&E, [no it’s not a pub]
I would have been tempted to break off and gone into the Clinker, sounds interesting.
Thanks for dropping by, been meaning to return the compliment and now here I am.
Hi Arlene…thanks for dropping by. Yes, I have been guilty of neglecting my blogging friends of late, and am now trying to make more of an effort to visit and comment…after all, what is the point of blogging if no-one visits or comments! (As my old school reports always said…must try harder!!)
As for A&E…where was the nearest hospital?? He would probably have had to wait several hours to be seen anyway, but an injection would have releived the pain.
I expect the alcohol dulled Robert’s pain 😉 so obviously you were all in the right places to aid and assist him in his hour of need! Shame you didn’t get to stop at that museum….sounded quite intriguing….however you have got some cool photos there and a great tour to share with us 🙂
Thanks Wolfie…as I’ve already mentioned, Robert took most of the photos, and I cropped.
Once he’d got some tablets, as well as the cream, the swelling gradually receded.
As for The Clink Prison museum…maybe next time.