Pub 1: The plan was to meet at The Gatehouse Pub Highgate Village. We needed sustenance for our walk. Fortunately it was all downhill. Into the valley of death we traipsed along the paths both worn and muddied.
Highgate Cemetery is renowned for being the final resting place of a number of notables very few of whom I knew. There were a couple- Karl Mark, Douglas Adams and George Michael but otherwise it was a bit lost on me. Apparently London did need to open up a new cemetery and following the success of Paris Cimetière du Père-Lachaise they thought it might be an idea to follow on and make a money-spinner out of their dead place. Well…it’s just not Paris.
However it was a great experience and Max and Paul were determined to find the actual gravesite of the great socialist Karl Marx and we trudged through the mud into an indeterminate part of the ‘park’ to discover he had been found by others. There was evidence, although why anyone would place money on KM’s tombstone left me a bit confounded.
Pub 2: We followed the path towards a possible good transport connection. Not particularly easy in Highgate and then we needed sustenance to continue. We stopped in at The Star on Chester Road where we entertained the idea of staying for a bite to eat but quickly changed our minds when we realised the connections were so convoluted. We headed for Angel.
Pub 3: The York in Angel is a bit of an institution and it was pumping. The game was on and this was an Arsenal pub. Max, Paul and Karen are all Gooners/Gunners and I was wearing a red hat so all was good in the world. We settled in for a few pints, Proseccos red wines. The stadium was not too far away and Arsenal had won. A decision needed to be made. Eat…now…
The pub had very little options that anyone was interested in so we headed to a safe standby- Pizza Express. Again the banter was better with ample alcohol.
The following day it would be impossible to get a table at a pub or restaurant as it was Mothers’ Day so the decision was made- John would do lunch for us at our little bolt hole. It was a challenge but he did a great job and as is our usual arrangements I did everything else. Fortunately the gate table folds out and I found two folding chairs in the Harry Potter cupboard under the staircase. We were set.
Our guests arrived absolutely soaked but completely unfazed. Coats and umbrellas all dutifully found themselves in the bathroom and copious amounts of wine – all colours to cover all tastes- upon the table. We settled in for an afternoon of good company, good wine and good conversation. It was delightful to host these wonderful friends.
We were definitely going to have a day off. We were exhausted however I found a second wind and decided to head out to buy a coat for Tromso…a continuing saga. Well…John was not going to be left behind. We ended up in Kensington High Street where I did buy a down puffer and then decided seeing we were already out we might as well head for the Battersea Power Station.
Wow! It was amazing. We also accidently stumbled into a tourist shop where a wonderful woman explained that there is a bit of an exhibition and then the Lift 109 to the top of one of the chimneys which had a spectacular view over the city. We could not resist. It is definitely overpriced and it wasn’t a great day for views but we were still thrilled. The building is Art Deco and a stunning example of how industrial buildings can be repurposed.
We decided to take the Uber Boat to Millbank which stops at Tait Britain and then walk home. We got as far as the White Swan and stopped for an ale. Such a lovely pub!!
