Braunston and Rugby

It's 78 miles to Braunston in the first picture but Mark, Phil and I got there on 3rd February and ended up at 0 miles. Braunston in Northamptonshire is the centre of the canal network where the Oxford Canal joins with the Grand Union Canal and there was a canal boat festival taking place this weekend. There were lots of stalls of canal boat impedimenta and several extremely luxurious boats on display. We even went for a ride in one!



The journey was good- thanks to Phil for the night's hospitality, although it was a complicated journey to Braunston, involving a trip to Rugby then a local bus. We arrived and walked down to the marina and headed straight for the refreshment tent - bacon roll and cup of tea for £1.70 Great!!

We had another look round the stalls there were lots of flower painted coal buckets etc, and got a price list for the boat shares on offer then it was time to head off into the sunset on a narrow boat! The boats all have beds (doubles) and bathrooms with a real bath shower and toilet (no piddling over the side then). There is also a coal stove (a plus point with me and central heating (a plus point with Mark). The engine appears easy to operate and fairly silent but the boats are not easy to manoever. I asked various questions about the boats to get an idea of what was involved in the management of a boat (they are fairly economical with diesel) and the number of people required. It can be done single handed but it's better with two and even better with four. Isn't that so much like life?

So were we convinced enough to want to buy a boat? Not really but the germ of an idea is there and it might be best to have a holiday aboard before deciding.





















Braunston itself is a pleasant little village with a church and a few Northamptonshire limestone cottages. Most are brick and there was one half timbered shop called the village salon. The Canal people seemed friendly and pleasant without the hard sell I first expected.

Rugby (the picture shows Rugby Town Hall) was quite a long way from the station, and although we did not spend much time admiring the cement factory the town was pleasant if a little ordinary. Rugby is home to a large public school (US Private school) where the game of Rugby was invented, when William Webb-Ellis picked up the football and ran with it, no doubt being rugby tackled as he did so. The town museum is rather sparse but the Art Gallery contained an amusing exhibition of photographs and an installation of electronic projections that I don't think any of us 'got'. The museum contained exhibits related to Roman Rugby and social history (more interesting) including memorabilia relating to British Thomson-Houston, an electrical engineering firm which I think made generators and light bulbs amongst other things.

There was a large and delapidated coöp department store and smaller electrical shop and the usual town facilities although not much for a town of its size.

Tottenham Walthamstow and Ilford

Tottenham has Bruce Castle museum within its boundaries, however the opening hours are not for early birds. Wed-Sun 1pm-5pm. So when I arrived at 1100 on Saturday I was disappointed and not really prepared to hang around for another three hours. So I went off to Walthamstow to the William Morris Gallery, which proclaims itself as the only museum dedicated to the life and work of William Morris. William Morris had his childhood home in Walthamstow, when it was nice, and this has been transformed into a museum of his life’s work. This includes furnishing, fabrics, stained glass and wallpaper. The museum also contains pictorial art and a room for temporary exhibitions.

I also went to have a look at Walthamstow Town Hall a 1930s sub totalitarian style building with a pool outside, similar to Rugby Town Hall but bigger with a clock tower and in Portland stone. The technical college next door has sculptural panels depicting activities such as music and swimming that take place (or once did) in the college.

The weather was not promising so I took a bus to Ilford where I got rained on and heartily sick. The Redbridge Borough Museum, which wasn’t bad, displayed a lying notice stating that it’s lunch hour was from 1pm-2pm. On this occasion the museum did not open until 10 past.


Having become sick of Ilford I got on a bus to go back but then noticed that the chapel of St Mary’s hospital, Ilford’s oldest building, was open that day. St Mary’s Hospital was founded as a leper hospital and became an almshouse after the lepers moved out on the dissolution. The flats were made new in 1927, and the chapel was in use as a tea room and market. It wasn’t very interesting.

Twickenham

A visit to the Middlesex side of the Borough of Richmond, including the voluntary Twickenham Museum.


Think Twickenham and the thought goes immedietely to Rugby. Not sure I can cope with the arcane sport that used to be divided in two with a league and a union so all I can say is that Twickenham, and Whitton, is pretty good for charity shops, in some cases three in a row.

The shopping and pubbing is OK in Twickenham - basically just Richmond's poor relation although there are some aristocratic mansions. The old riverside (and Eel Pie Island) is much more interesting. First off I went to Twickneham Museum, staffed by enthusiastic volunteers (including a lady from the North East) diamond geezer was disappointed with the museum and so was I really. It was a bit short on artifacts and a bit heavy on reading.

I think the church was having a striking competition or peal attempt day on their 8 bells. On the wall of the church high up was a flood commemoration level - floods are not a recent phenomenon..

Twickenham has some of the nicest council offices I've seen. These used to belong to an indian millionaire who had these naked ladies frolicing in his garden. They have been restorred recently.

The Modern art gallery had some connection with the Duke of Orleans but the house was mostly demolished apart from this little banqueting house with a very fine interior.
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Twickenham - I might go back.

Ipswich - Urbs veteris

I hope it's not the onset of senility: I said to the custodian in the museum that I'd never been to Felixstowe before. But I had a good day none the less in the oldest town in England (it sez 'ere). The first thing that greets you when you come to Ipswich proper from the station is the Willis Faber Building - a black glass walled building housing a firm of solicitors that like impressive buildings - they are also in the former Port Of London Authority building. The first commission of Norman Foster after establishing Foster Associates it was the youngest building to be given grade 1 listing. This certainly makes a statement in what is a meadieval town but the black glass reflects the older buildings and is a pleasant blend of old and new. The museum is also a blend of old and new too with a proper Victorian natural history display, including a woolly mammoth and these bad boys. The whole museum has some interesting artifacts, including a scolds chair and a gallery devoted to Thomas Clarkson an Ipswich man who campaigned for the abolition of the slave trade. Not all the galleries looked like this. The Co-op department store in Ipswich has alas been closed down. But there is an Age Concern charity shop in there, and I'm glad I went in because they had limited edition prints of the store, done for the 120th anniversary of Ipswich Society in 1988. Five years later the Ipswich Co-operative Society merged with Norwich and twelve years later East Of England Co-op was formed from societies in Essex and East Anglia. Sadly the department store business isn't what it was and these vast co-operative palaces had to close. You can see pictures here. Ipswich is under catered foodwise but has three Wetherspoons! I ended up in the Golden Lion which had nice food. After lunch it was time to call in at the Christchurch mansion and the Wolsley Art Gallery which contained some great art and artefacts displayed to advantage in the historic house. I particularly noted the Great Hall had some half doors which I thought unusual. Ipswich does not neglect its famous sons: Cardinal Wolsley is honoured by a statue in front of his birthplace although the plaque is rather back handed in its compliments. Although not as protestant as Lewes Ipswich is firmly puritan. Aother Ipswicher to be honoured is a rugby playing pilot, Prince Obolenski who has his statue in Cromwell Square. Ipswich worth a return, although might do Lowestoft and Felixstowe...

Mysterious message

The unsigned text message arrived late on Friday: 'Meet me Strawberry Hill Station @ 1007 Saturday. This msg will self destruct in 15 seconds.' How could I not go to this very leafy, well heeled suburb after a message like that! I boarded a train at Waterloo with a lot of people going to the Army and Navy Rugby match at Twickenham. Some of them had even been drinking at that time of the morning! Not just the men. Anyway they got off at Twickenham. I arrived at Strawberry Hill station and got off the train. Who should be waiting there but my friend Jackie who announced a seven mile walk around Teddington in the rain. Unfortunately the walk managed to miss one of the best features of Teddington - Strawberry Hill House, simply affording a back view of St Mary's College. Still there are good points in Teddington - the Parish Church of St Mary was built in Tudor times and eventually became too small, leading to the Parish building another church - reminiscent of Lancing College Chapel on an adjacent site. This became too big and was taken over as the Landmark Arts Centre and services reverted to the original church. Teddington High Street has some old cottages covered in wisteria and a very unusual looking branch of Lloyds TSB. The picture was taken by Jonathan Cardy.. After the high street and Carnegie library,

with a bust of local boy made, maybe, good - Noel Coward, it was on to Bushy Park. Missing the Diana fountain and the deer we entered by one gate and left by another on the same side of the park. By chance we stumbled across a USAAF and RAF memorial, but that was all of interest. Pinewood Teddington had some plaques on the wall to dead comics Kenny Everett, David Nixon and Tommy Cooper were all represented and there were some real hollywood style flats nearby - a fitting place for a British film star.

. After a while we came to Radnor Gardens with some historic gazebos and a summer house. We missed the school with a plaque to the villanous Labouchere whose amendment to an act got Oscar Wilde prosecuted. Walking back to the station gave another tantalising glimpsette of Strawberry Hill house. My pictures were not good today so many thanks to those who provided them.