Tales From the Walking WeekThe OTHER Festival in August
The Edinburgh Festival: thousands of shows, several of which are good: of the several good ones, all of those are sold out. Stay in London. We’ve got our own festival this and every August. Here are a few highlights:
Ann’s at it once more. Her
Foodies’ London: The West End rides again this Saturday 1st August meeting at Green Park Station (Ritz exit). Scroll down for her latest
LW Blog post – and click
HERE for a new section of the
London Walks website dedicated entirely to
Ann’s much-loved Foodie Walks…
It’s now 62-years since Sgt Pepper taught the band to play (do the math) – and it’s 40 years since that colourful Non-Commissioned Officer’s close chums
The Beatles marched across the zebra crossing at Abbey Road for the shot that would become one of their most iconic album sleeves.
Richard P is on the case: celebrate with him on 8th August on his special
Abbey Road 40th Anniversary Walk…
On 15th August
Richard IV is taking steps to reveal the London of
Alfred Hitchcock. Our resident Sherlock Holmes expert is also a movie buff extraordinaire, so get this one in the diary – Facebook Group members keep an eye on your inboxes for your special invitations…
Way down south,
Adam is staging a one-man Olympic Games of a walk in
Crystal Palace Park, taking in, as it does, cricket, football, rugby, cycling and motor-racing not to mention track and field athletics. Walk on parts will be granted to Winston Churchill, John Logie Baird, Anas Platyrhynchos (that’s the Sunday name of the plain old moorhen) and a Diplodocus. Huh? All will be revealed on 23rd August.
Click
HERE for the full programme of From the Repertoire Walks. See also the
In August page of
The Mothership HERE.
(P.S. Only kidding, Edinburgh! ☺ )
Sunday on the Heath With George
Last Sunday,
London Walks guide Adam was filling in for David (who was on sabbatical), taking care of the
Hampstead Walk.
Adam takes up the tale…
“Outside St Mary’s, Hampstead I was detailing a little of the history of the church, explaining that the Religious Freedom Act of 1829 (180 years ago last April) allowed for such a church to stand here and that we had followed in the footsteps of General de Gaulle who celebrated mass here when he was resident in Hampstead.
At which point the Parish Priest emerged from behind the church door. ‘You forgot to mention,’ he smiled, ‘that Graham Greene was married here.’
And I had. So thanks to the Parish Priest at St Mary’s Hampstead – and to all the other London souls who, from time-to-time, take a moment to colour our
London Walks.”
(The illustration above is from
St Mary’s R.C Church website.)
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H2OxNW1 4 V.G LW *Definition time… epic |ˌɛpɪk|
noun a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the history of a nation.
• a film, book, or other work portraying heroic deeds and adventures or covering an extended period of time
• heroic or grand in scale or character : “his epic journey around the world” | “a tragedy of epic proportions”.
ORIGIN late 16th cent.(as an adjective): via Latin from Greek
epikos, from
epos ‘word, song,’ related to
eipein ‘say.’Which pretty much covers
Roger’s
Regent’s Canal odyssey, which continues this Tuesday 28th July covering ground from
Little Venice to Old Camden.
Over to
Roger…

“Little Venice needs no introduction. Home of poets, actors and film stars – and itself a film location. A beautiful area, with the Regent’s Canal as its centre-piece.
On to an extravagant piece of Victoriana called ‘Crocker’s Folly’ – how did it get this name? (Sounds like a cop show: Ed.)
Decimus Burton’s success in laying out London Zoo has paved the way for many pieces of award-winning architecture since. For instance, Lord Snowdon’s Aviary still looks a good home for exotic birds.
A floating Chinese Restaurant adds a colourful oriental touch to the Canal. As it is obviously much bigger than anything else on the canal, it also adds a touch of mystery. How did it float here?
And there’s much more – so come and explore.”
Join
Roger on the
Regent’s Canal – Little Venice to Old Camden Town Walk, meeting at Warwick Avenue tube station this Tuesday (28th July) at 6.30 p.m.
(
* H2OxNW1 4 V.G LW = Water by Camden makes for a Very Good London Walk. Our first
LW Blog attempt at Text-ese in preparation for our launch on Twitter, perhaps? We’ll get better at it, honest! Ed.)
(Roger is a member of the The Inland Waterways Association, a voluntary organization which campaigns for better use of and improvements to the Waterways.)Trooping the OTHER Colours
That
Karen and that
David: they’ve been a-hiding in corners again and whispering. And they’ve come up with another one of their Pomp & Circumstance Walks. Last month, the ancient rites of the Worshipful Company of Vintners – one of The City’s oldest established institutions – formed the centrepiece of a unique
London Walk. Well, they’re at it again – with the Worshipful Company of Painters and Stainers (that's their coat of arms above) taking centrestage this October when one of their ancient ceremonies forms the hub for the
Pomp & Circumstance Walk No.2. You’ve done the Trooping of the Colour, the Ceremony of the Keys and the Changing of the Guard: the Pomp & Circumstance walks unveil the hidden gems of pageantry-mad London. Click
HERE to read about last month’s Vintners walk and keep an eye on the
LW Blog,
www.walks.com and
Facebook for full details and invitations nearer the time.

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