BARKING AND BARKING CREEK

I was chatting to my friend Kate the other day, and the conversation turned to Barking Creek. When Kate was a girl, she lived close enough to be able to walk down to the Creek, with her uncle (he’s only about 18 months older than Kate, so they played together as children). I knew that Barking had once been a fishing port and our conversation made me want to find out more.

Barking

Barking is 9.3 miles from Charing Cross, which makes it ideal for commuting. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning the settlement of the Birch Trees. There has been a settlement here at least as far back as 735 AD.

Barking Abbey, established in the 7^th century, was once one of the most important nunneries in the country. It was a wealthy nunnery, until the Thames flooded in 1377. 720 acres of the Abbey’s land was flooded and was never able to be reclaimed. Notwithstanding that, it was still the third richest nunnery in the country when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1539. The remains of the Abbey are in ruins now, part of a public open space at Abbey Green.

Barking as a Fishing Port

I was quite surprised when I first learned that Barking was a major fishing port, it seems way too far from the Thames Estuary to me, but turns out I am wrong. By 1850, Barking was a major fishing port, with everything that goes with sailing and boats.

According to the Barking and Dagenham Post, the rise of the industry was due to a Scotsman called Scrymgeour Hewett marrying into a local fishing family. Hewett revolutionised fishing. Before he took over, the fishing boats, which sailed as far as Iceland, either kept the fish alive onboard in a pool, until they returned to Barking, or they were immediately killed and salted. This meant that each boat had to return home fairly frequently,

Hewett believed this to be an ineffective use of resources and he introduced a system known as fleeting, which meant that the fish were killed as soon as they were caught and kept on ice until they were collected by fast boats called cutters. The cutters transported the fish back to Barking and the fishing boats could stay away for up to three months at a time.

The system was extremely successful and was instrumental in making Barking a thriving fishing port, to the extent that by the mid 1800s almost every family in Barking was involved in fishing in some way.

However, in 1862, Hewett moved his headquarters to Gorleston in Suffolk, some 120 miles closer to the fishing grounds. Others followed suit a few years later when a fast rail link was built from Gorleston to London and Barking stopped being a major fishing port.

https://www.barkinganddagenhampost.co.uk/news/heritage/bustling-barking-was-world-s-fishing-capital-1-573348

Barrier

Barking Creek is where the River Roding joins the Thames. It was where the fishing fleet mentioned above was based. The nearby Icehouse is where the ice that was sent out of the boats was stored. The Barking Creek Barrier is a tidal flood barrier that was built in the early 1980s as part of the Thames flood defence system. It was opened in 1983. It is usually closed before, and opened after, the main Thames barrier.

Battle of Barking Creek

On 6 September 1939, just three days after the start of World War II, the Battle of Barking Creek took place, killing the first fighter pilot of the war. Eight RAF squadrons were based there. Early one morning, a squadron of Hurricanes took off, followed by two reserve Hurricanes.

Somehow, the two reserve Hurricanes were mis-identified as enemy aircraft and Spitfires from Hornchurch airfield attacked and shot them down. Sadly, one of the Hurricane pilots, Montague Hulton-Harrop, died.

The exact details of what took place are not known, including the name – it didn’t happen above Barking Creek.

http://northwealdairfieldhistory.org/2009/06/22/the-battle-of-barking-creek/

Tragic as it was, the incident highlighted that several of the RAF’s systems needed improvement and fast, which fortunately happened before the Battle of Britain.

A few more facts about Barking

Neil Young recorded “A Man Needs a Maid” and “There’s a World” with the London Symphony Orchestra at Barking Assembly Hall for his 1972 album Harvest.
On 3 September 1878, the iron ship Bywell Castle ran into the pleasure steamer Princess Alice in Gallions Reach, downstream of Barking Creek. The steamer broke in two immediately and over 600 of the 800 passengers died. At the time, there was no official body in charge of managing safety in the Thames. As a result, an enquiry that the Marine Division at Wapping should be equipped with steam launches to replace their rowing boats and thus be better able to with future rescues.
There is a local hospital radio service called Bedrock, which focusses on King George, Queens and the Royal London Hospital.

LONDON IN LOCKDOWN – COOKING

So we’ve been locked down in London for about a month now. What do we do to amuse ourselves? Of course, I have been taking advantage of the free theatre shows and operas, virtual museums, and so on, but I am busier than ever somehow. I am trying to grow my own vegetables, and then, of course, there is cooking…

I have always enjoyed cooking but it’s been one of those things that went on the back burner while I was getting on with my projects, only cooking my quick meals (I am a master at 15 minute meals) or a Sunday roast. I [sort of, while writing and doing other computer-based jobs] watch Saturday kitchen every week, have done for years. Now, BBC has a spin off called Daily Kitchen….

Naughty Nadya (Nadya Hussain, one of my favourite chefs) as she is called in my house, is a frequent chef on both, and I love the simplicity of her recipes. I made one of her ice cream recipes today – double cream, a can of condensed milk blitzed together with a flavouring. On the TV show, Nadya used cardamom, I thought I had some and didn’t so substituted cinnamon. It is yummy. Calorie laden but yummy.

I tried Matt’s recipe for fish coated in mayo followed by a cornflake crumb (ideal for me as it is gluten free). It’s a very good combination and I am going to try it again tomorrow with chicken, to see what that is like. Just to ring the changes. This is one of the things I am loving about the lockdown: because I am not going out, I am introducing or reintroducing things that used to bring me joy.

I am enjoying cooking again. I am not able to get the full range of veg that I would have bought before, but that’s ok. I remember when we had to eat seasonally, and can do so again. I don’t always follow recipes: I have a quick read through, get the idea and then carry on. But then, for everyday cooking, we don’t need to follow recipes slavishly, it’s only if you are a restaurant chef or Masterchef contestant that you have to follow rules. And then again, there are some recipes, things you’ve never cooked before that maybe you do need to follow. I suppose it’s about how familiar you are with the genre of cooking.

My [Naughty Nadya’s] ice cream is lovely, and there are a lot of recipes out there for me to get on with…

GHOST TOWN?

Wednesday, 18 March 2020. That was my last day of going into the office. The company I work with is closing all its offices and its staff will work from home. The day my world changed. The day London should have become a Ghost Town.

My tube was nearly empty in the morning, as was the mainline train. There were very few cars on the roads. Many of the sandwich/food shops (and there a lot of those in the City) closed early. It was a bit scary, I hadn’t seen anything like it since 9/11 when London became quiet for a while. Why does H G Wells’ War of the Worlds keep coming into my mind?

The next day, I went shopping for some fresh vegetables and a few other bits in my local high street and was stunned by the amount of people. It was like living in a parallel universe. What the ….? I am honestly flabbergasted at how cavalier some people are. And, there were no vegetables to be found. I don’t have a car so I can’t drive around to search, but I will find a way to get fresh vegetables.

Today, Tuesday 24 March, the Prime Minister has announced a National Emergency, and more severe restrictions have been imposed. I’m up for that, and I genuinely hope people now take note.

I genuinely worry for them and the small businesses, and how this will affect them all long-term. I worry for my hairdresser, Carol, a self-employed woman with a very small business.

A chap on the television the other day said he thinks it will change the face of theatre in this country completely. Will it? I don’t know. London survived the Blitz and I’m sure it will survive this, although I’m not so sure about the rest of the country.

We are all in this together and some of us will not make it through to the other side. Now is the time to be kind and try to help each other. I know there are lots of people who are already doing that, hats off to them. Now is the time to comply with government restrictions, shop sensibly and not stockpile. I make a heartfelt plea to everyone not to panic and not to panic buy. There is food out there, you just have to be inventive about where you will get it.

Remember that we are now in meteorological spring, the days are getting longer, the flowers are coming into bloom and it will soon be getting warmer. I know that some people will feel that they have already taken as much as they can take (due to flooding, poor harvests, etc) but honestly, the only choice is: Sink or swim, survive or perish. Strive to be one of the survivors.

Good Luck

CIERA AND DENNIS (WHAT TO DO WHEN IT RAINS IN LONDON)

It is true that we in London haven’t suffered from the high winds (Storms Ciera and Dennis) as much as other parts of the country. Nonetheless, it hasn’t been the best place to visit of late. I can’t help but feel sorry for the tourists. Forget Corona virus, you’ve needed to cover your face to keep warm.

So, if you are in London when the weather is not great, what do you do? I have listed things you can do for free, on a separate page in this blog. There are many more things that you can do in London, some I’ve already done, some are still on my [very long] list.

Westminster

The obvious ones are Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral. Unless you are going to pray, you have to pay to get into the Abbey, although St Margaret’s, which is next door, if free. Details of opening times are here:

https://wizzley.com/westminster-abbey/

St Margaret’s is small, with some history, but it’s not an all day trip.

Westminster Cathedral is free to enter too, although you have to pay to go up the viewing tower. The viewing tower is closed when the weather is bad though. It’s beautiful inside, and I wholeheartedlyrecommend it. There is a café downstairs in the basement (or should that be crypt?)

The obvious place to visit is the Houses of Parliament. It’s open from Monday to Saturday, but book first, at busy times there are long queues and there are always security checks.

https://www.parliament.uk/visiting/

I used to work at the parliamentary estate so I may be somewhat biased, but I think it’s a wonderful building. There is so much history, over a number of centuries.

The Tate Britain is on Millbank. I’m not a huge fan of art galleries, but do feel that I ought to visit one day.

https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-britain

Somewhere that has been on my list for a long time is Churchill’s War Rooms. They recommend allowing an hour and a half for this visit, which, in my experience, for me at least, means longer.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/churchill-war-rooms

The City

Despite a great number not being rebuilt after the Great Fire, there are still a great many churches, almost one on every street corner. Some of them, such as All Hallows by the Tower, house museums and run tours, some are just beautiful and worth visiting. St Stephen’s Walbrook is reputed to have been the prototype for St Paul’s Cathedral.

https://www.ahbtt.org.uk

https://ststephenwalbrook.net

The dome from inside St Stephen’s Walbrook

https://www.stpauls.co.uk

If you visit St Paul’s, bearing in mind you need to pay to enter, unless praying, it’s worth booking on a tour. Even if you are not religious, it’s interesting and informative and the architecture is amazing.

There are so many museums and other attractions in the City of London, I haven’t included them all, but check out the link below:

https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/visit-the-city/attractions/Pages/default.aspx

Tower Bridge, the Museum of London and the Monument are among my favourites (although I’d leave the Monument for a day with good weather, there is an open viewing platform at the top, which I imagine is not very friendly in the wind and the rain). And of course, there is the Tower of London. The Bank of England Museum is worth a visit, too, but it’s usually only open Monday to Friday. (I say usually, because it does open at weekends during Open House.)

That should be enough to occupy you for a couple of days of bad weather, and remember that we have lots of places to eat and drink too.

There are many more things to do in London, some I will have already written about in this blog, some you may just stumble over as you walk around.

Enjoy your visit!

BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

I am a massive fan of the Natural History Museum. I love the building and I love the exhibits. Recently, my brothers bought tickets for some of us to go along to the ‘Behind the Scenes’ exhibition.

We started the tour in the Hintze Hall, where our guide told us something of the history behind the museum. Before the museum that we know and love was built, the British Museum housed the exhibits held at the time.

A little bit of history

Sir Hans Sloane (he of Sloane Square and Hans Crescent fame) had been a prolific naturalist and collector, amongst other things. When he died, in 1753, the government of the day bought his collection of 71,000 items for the ridiculously low amount (even at that time) of £20,000. They built the British Museum to display them.

Fast forward a hundred odd years, to 1856, when Sir Richard Owen took over as the curator of the natural history collection. Owen was acutely aware that he was running out of space at the BM, so he persuaded the board of trustees that a separately building was required. In 1865, architect Alfred Waterhouse started work on the building we have today.

Owen was forward thinking in that he wanted the museum to be open and free to all, an unusual standpoint at the time. The outside of the museum depicts various flora and fauna – those to the east were believed to be extinct at the time of building the museum. Both inside and outside, the building bears terracotta tiles, which are hardy enough to stand up to the British weather.

The museum was still a part of the British Museum until 1963, and wasn’t officially called the Natural History Museum until as late as 1992. In 1986, the Geological Museum was absorbed into the NHM so you can walk through without going outside, although the exhibits are quite different.

The Darwin centre was opened to the public in 2009. This is where all the collections that are not on show are kept, and also where the scientists do their work. It is also home to the Behind the Scenes tour.

Behind the Scenes

Our tour guide explained that they have wet and dry exhibits at the museum. Dry exhibits are the things like the giraffe that is on display in the Hintze Hall. Wet exhibits are mostly stored in alcohol, which is a preservative. Most of what we saw behind the scenes were wet exhibits.

We started in a hallway with exhibits behind glass, much like any other museum space. Then we went downstairs to what was essentially a large locker room. Not very exciting until we got to one of the rows where there were small exhibits in glass jars (stored in alcohol). Mostly small mammals and embryos, but nonetheless, an interesting start.

From here, we went into a large room with large glass jars all around the edges and some tanks in the middle. The smell told us exactly what was in this room, even if we hadn’t been able to see. Fish. More correctly, various forms of marine life. Our guide pointed out a few things around the edges – coelacanths and so on. Then we were invited to venture into the middle of the room.

On our right, was a large glass tank encompassing Archie, a giant squid who is not believed to be fully grown. He is 8.62 metres long. There is also an immature Colossus squid, who is maybe 6 metres long. The thing is, no-one is absolutely sure how big these chaps will grow because sightings are rare.

At the end of this room are some of Charles Darwin’s original specimens. Honestly, it was all quite incredible. And wonderful. I’d really like to go back and do it all again so I could absorb more of it.

The tour ended soon after that. An incredible and interesting day, thoroughly enjoyed by all. If you have any interest in natural history, I cannot recommend this museum enough. I have been there dozens of times and I still haven’t seen everything. (Ok, I can and do spend hours in one gallery.)

Tentacles of the Colussus Squid (above) and the Giant Squid (below)

The thing is, we are very lucky in London to have museums that are free to enter (yes, they do all ask for donations now, which is ok with me). In my opinion, the NHM is one of the best. I will be back there again very soon.

MAIL RAIL AND THE POSTAL MUSEUM

The Fabulous Five had another outing, to the London Postal Museum and Rail Mail.

See https://www.postalmuseum.org/discover/attractions/

We met up at Farringdon Underground and walked the short distance from there. As always, there was a lot to talk about, we hadn’t seen each other for a couple of months, so there was catching up to be done.

Our visit started with Rail Mail, the underground postal railway, which was probably the most fascinating part of the day. The carriages were made for mail bags rather than people so the carriage are small: two adults can sit next to each other but it is a squeeze. And you wouldn’t do to be too tall…. The journey is only 15 minutes, although they pack a lot in. The journey takes you to some of the stations where mail was dropped off and picked up to be sorted and continue on its journey. Passengers aren’t allowed out of the train while it is on its tour, but there are videos depicting stories relating to the Mail. The ‘stations’ look remarkable like any London Underground station, except, of course, that they were not public stations.

When it was working, the railway ran from Paddington to Whitechapel, a total distance of 6.5 miles. It opened in 1927. The museum located next to the railway shows the original pneumatic railway, which was later replaced with electric trains. There are lots of fascinating little facts, like, there was a slight upward incline when trains came into stations, to help slow them down.

We got talking to one of the people who worked there, and who had worked for Royal Mail for 45 years – fascinating to hear someone telling us about his working life. He told – and showed – us lots of details that we would not have known otherwise, and he’d clearly really loved his life there.

The railway was closed as a working railway in 2003 – apparently, it was five times more expensive than using road transport. Interestingly, at the time, the Commercial Workers Union challenged this figure and the reasons behind the fact that the line was so expensive to run. Whatever the truth, we are where we are, or rather, we were where we were. The line closed. It re-opened as a museum in 2016. We all really enjoyed our ride, it really was fascinating and fun.

The Postal Museum is on the other side of the road. It gave a history of post in England – started by Henry VIII, although the peasants amongst us would not have been able to afford to use it in those days, even if we were able to write – right through to the Great Train Robbery, with much more besides There was the true story of a horse-drawn mail coach being attacked by a lioness – more correctly, one of the horses being attacked. Fortunately, the horse and lioness both survived and no mail was lost. (No laughing, tampering with mail is a serious subject.). Stories of postal workers during the war and how women got involved. There was something for everyone.

We were at the museum for about three hours, including our train ride. Truthfully, if we hadn’t been hungry, we probably could have been there for longer. The good news is, our tickets are valid for a year (I love it when museums do that, it’s a real bonus, it gives them much more chance for people to buy things in the shops) so there is the opportunity to go back.

HMS BELFAST

The Fabulous Five recently visited HMS Belfast. It was a glorious day, London was at its finest and we were lucky enough to see Tower Bridge lift just before we went onboard HMS Belfast.

History

HMS Belfast is now a museum, docked near Tower Bridge in the Pool of London, but she was once a serving warship in the Royal Navy fleet. She was commissioned on 5 August 1939 and is the only remaining Town Class cruiser of the ten built.

Her first role was to be part of the naval blockade against Germany during the Second World War, but she had only been at sea for two months when she hit a mine. Severely damaged, the Admiralty considered scrapping her, but eventually decided against it. She was out of action for three years, and, fortunately, there were only a few casualties.

She re-joined the fleet in 1942 and was sent to protect the Arctic convoys and was involved in the Battle of North Cape in December 1943. She remained in the Arctic until the D-Day landings, when she was deployed in a support role. After the Second World War, she was set to the Korean War between 1950 and 1952. After that, she performed peace-keeping duties until 1963 when she was retired from service.

Visit

HMS Belfast was taken up the Thames and opened to the public as a museum on 21 October 1971 – Trafalgar Day.

It was my first visit for many years, and things have changed a lot in that time. For starters, visitors are offered free audio tours around the ship – I’d wholeheartedly recommend that, it helps to bring the whole tour to life, with some narrations by those who had served on her. Guidebooks are also available.

There are arrows on the deck, to guide visitors around the ship in the right direction – my advice is to follow them, as far as possible, it makes a lot more sense that way. The museum is very lifelike, showing what it would have been like to live and work on a warship.

It’s very lifelike – you can really envisage yourself being in the engine room or the galley. One of the most startling things was the lack of space. Hammocks hanging across the communal areas, which in themselves aren’t big. It wouldn’t have been the job for anyone who suffered from claustrophobia.

The ship itself was pretty much self-sufficient in its day, having its own bakery, workshops, etc. In fact, as far as the bakery was involved, HMS Belfast produced bread and other bakery products for other ships. It must have been incredibly hot in the summer and the opposite in the cold weather. There was no air-con, and not much air circulating at all. When she was deployed to the Arctic, the crew was issued with duffle coats although I have my doubts as to whether they would have been much use above deck. I suppose there weren’t many alternatives back in the 1940s.

There is a cafeteria on board the ship (and a bar shore-side) so we stopped for a well-deserved cuppa towards the end of our visit, feeling a little tired but also a combination of moved and further educated. I would allow a good four or five hours when you visit, there really is a lot to see, which makes it, in my opinion, one of the best value tourist visits in London.

For information and tickets visit https://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/hms-belfast

BANJO ON THE BANJO

Banjo on the Banjo is part of a project called Living Together* created by an artist called Verity-Jame Keefe, in partnership with Create London and the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. I first found out about it about three months ago, when a leaflet was put through my front door. The whole project is going to grow into a larger project to celebrate the centenary in 2021, when construction began.

The leaflet didn’t mention Banjo on the Banjo, that came later. It did talk about the anniversary of building the Becontree estate, where I live. I was intrigued. I booked myself onto an information session.

The location of the meeting was, I later discovered, at Alderman Jones House, and a pleasant walk from my house. There was no absolute time to attend, it was more a ‘drop-in,’ so I pitched up when the conversation was in full swing. Leaflets with names and dates of acts were affixed to the walls. With my love of history, I was already hooked.

To keep it brief, there have been various housing acts passed over the years. The Banjo on the Banjo coincided with the 100^th anniversary of the Addison Act (Housing, Town Planning &c Act, 31 July 1919). The Act was named after Christopher Addison, who was, at that time, the minister for housing. It was he who attended the official opening of the estate in 1935. The Act allowed the London County Council to build houses outside of [what was then] the county of London. (That wasn’t the only thing it did but it was, perhaps, the most significant, in that it was instrumental in making what we now know and love as Greater London.)

The Becontree Estate was the largest council (sorry, Social Housing) estate in Europe at that time. It turns out that it was innovative in its day, and, I believe I am right in saying, involved architects from Sweden, of all places. One of the innovative things was the Banjos, which are pedestrian cul-de-sacs across the Borough.

So, as our meeting progressed, Verity explained about the Banjo on the Banjo. They aren’t all round-ended, some of them are very clearly oblong, but let’s not be pedantic. Verity asked for volunteers (a) to play the banjo, and (b) to assist and film the banjo players. I modestly admit to having many talents. Being musical is not one of them. I declined to play a banjo but offered to assist in other ways.

It transpired that Banjo on the Banjo was to be a performance at various banjos across the borough, which would end up with a performance in Parsloes Park.

The music teacher, and composer was Ed Hicks. He taught most of the 21 performers to play in a matter of weeks. When I arrived back at Alderman Jones House (by the way, he is no longer alive, he does not have to put up with hoards of people traipsing through his house. It is a where he used to live and the council has allowed it to be used as the headquarters for this project.) on the 3 August, I was very pleasantly surprised by the turnout (we’d only met a few of our fellow volunteers because of the dates of various events, and my inability to attend the last couple because of work commitments).

Ed tuned peoples’ banjos and ran them through the music a few times. (I did video it, but I’m not going to put it up here, That’s for Verity’s project. I will later but not now.)

In due course, my two banjo players (Pat and Jean) and I walked off to our banjos – it just so happened that they were opposite each other. My lovely ladies played as instructed and then we walked off to Parsloes Park for the group session. We all had a glass of fizz to celebrate and verity had even arranged cake. The weather held for us too. It was a really fun day and I am looking forward to the next instalment. I hope you are too.

For more information see https://createlondon.org/centenary-celebration-of-dagenhams-becontree-estate-wins-national-lottery-support/

Centenary celebration of Dagenham’s Becontree Estate wins National Lottery support

AFTERNOON TEA AT THE CORINTHIA

Earlier this year, or was it last year, I watched the BBC television series entitled “Hotel for the Super Rich and Famous.” I thought it looked like a wonderful place to visit. So did my friend, Sheena. Of course, we don’t have the kind of money to stay there overnight, but we could afford afternoon tea…

We wanted to go in the summer, when the weather was good. The day we chose was overcast, but it didn’t stop us wearing posh frocks and have a good walk to and from Liverpool Street Station. (Going, to work up an appetite, going back, to work it off.)

We always enter via the back entrance, in Northumberland Avenue, so no footmen in frock coats for us, but that didn’t matter. It’s still beautiful and takes you almost directly into the salon where afternoon tea is served.

The main hall area, known at the Crystal Moon Lounge, has tables for four or more people, then there is an area to the right with tables set for two, which is where we were seated. It was a good position, with a view out into a little garden just behind us. There was the beautiful Baccarat chandelier in the centre, all white drops, bar one that was red – the heart of the hotel, our waiter told me. The china is lovely – the saucers were either red and white stripes or black and white stripes, the cups gold, so they reflected the saucers.

They serve three different afternoon teas at The Corinthia – one with white champagne, one with pink champagne and one without champagne, with a selection of teas instead. This was what be plumped for.

Sheena chose a red berry tea, I went for the 1st flush Darjeeling Okayti, which, the menu told me, is the champagne of Indian teas, apparently often compared to a fine Muscatel wine. I didn’t get that but is was the palest of golden Darjeeling. Very light, very fine.

I had already pre-warned the hotel about my food allergies and intolerances, so they were prepared. After tea had been served, they brought up the sandwiches. The main menu is:

Cucumber, radish and cream cheese served on white bread

Truffle egg mayonnaise on malted granary bread

Severn and Wye smoked salmon and marmalade curd served on brown bread

Tandoori chicken, green apple and raisin served on white bread

Salt beef, horseradish and watercress served on Mediterranean bread

There aren’t quite as many choices of bread in gluten free, but they did me proud, and because I don’t eat beef, I had two smoked salmon sandwiches. None of that mattered, they were delicious. And surprisingly filling, even though they were finger sandwiches. We were offered, and accepted, a couple more fingers of our choice.

Then the home-made scones, with a choice of organic strawberry jam or rhubarb Litsea Cubeba (Litsea Cubeba, I later found out, is a shrub native to China, with a number of medicinal properties) .I tried it, it was very good, but I am a strawberry jam girl through and through (jam first, Cornish clotted cream second, in my world). One scone was plain, the other had sultanas, still warm from the oven.

I would happily have stopped there, but there was more to come. Our waiter brought up my gluten free desserts (there was a delicious little pistachio cake and a chocolate cake, both topped with gold leaf, and a couple of other desserts. I tried them all, but only finished the pistachio.

Our waiter brought the trolley for my friend, so she had a selection that looked too good to eat. The selection was as follows:

Lemon, blueberry and mint cheesecake

Strawberry, coconut and time pepper eclair

Chocolate and raspberry sable

Breton Apricot, Vanilla and Lavender Honey Chantilly Verrine

Strawberry and Cream Cake

Violet, Elderflower and Strawberry Marshmallows

Neither of us could finish all the desserts and our waiter was really quite worried until we explained that we were full. It was all absolutely excellent food and service; I absolutely recommend The Corinthia.

THE HOMELESS SITUATION IN LONDON

They say we are all only three months away from being homeless, and it seems that prophecy has come true for a good many people, judging by the number of homeless people I see every day. I spend a lot of time in the City of London, and live in one of the outer boroughs. I’m used to seeing homeless people in the Centre, but where I live, it is a pretty new phenomenon.

I am the first person to be sceptical, I have known people go out and pretend to be homeless just to get money, so I am usually unwilling to part with my hard-earned cash, but something has changed recently. Of course, there are still the out and out beggars (for info, don’t waste your time putting packets of tissues on the seat next to me on the tube, I won’t be paying for them) and I try to steer clear of them.

I was on a tube recently, admittedly, not a journey I usually do, so I could have been well and truly conned, when a young man got on and told his story. It was pretty hard to hear every word, but what I got was that he had recently lost his home. He was 23 years old, a qualified chef, couldn’t get a job without a home address and couldn’t get a permanent home without a job. He said he needed £25 to get into some sort of housing, and once he had been there for two weeks, legally, they couldn’t throw him out and had to find him somewhere permanent. At that time, I didn’t know whether he was speaking the truth, but it sounded plausible. And, I suppose that I couldn’t help but think about my very entitled, deceased nephew who had been a chef. If what that young man was saying, how did he get to this situation?

According to Crisis, the charity for homeless people, there are several different types of homelessness. Yes, there are those who sleep on the streets, and depending on whose figures you go with, there were anything from 4000 to 8000 at any one time in 2017. Then there are those in temporary accommodation, for a whole host of reasons. These include people living in Bed and Breakfast accommodation, hostels, night shelters and women’s refuges. And then there are the hidden homeless: those ‘sofa surfing’ or living in squats or even sheds.

Why has it got so much worse and what is being done about it?

Why it’s got worse

According to the Connection at St Martin’s in the Fields (https://www.https://www.connection-at-stmartins.org.uk/facts-about-homelessness/why-is-homelessness-increasing) much of the problem is the general cost of accommodation and a shortage of homes. Rents rising faster than wages and changes in the benefits system (reductions in housing benefit), closure of hostels and strapped council budgets have all played their part.

Some people say they feel safer on the streets than they do in their own homes, which sounds incredible, but if you are subject to domestic violence, maybe, even if you have nowhere else to go, the streets are the only answer.

It seems like most of the answers are quite simple, although, of course, it’s never that simple, is it? Do I want to pay more in tax (it doesn’t matter to me whether it’s central or local, tax is tax is tax)? Hell no. By the way, it’s not just me. I suspect that most people would give the same answer. Especially when other costs are going up, but it all costs money.

What is being done?

The london.gov.uk website, quite a lot is being done, including

Doubling the number of street outreach workers;
Offering a ‘no second night out service’ to those sleeping rough for the first time;
Working with Veterans Aid to help over 300 veterans at risk of homelessness;
Investing over £1 billion to fund 11,000 new council homes for social rent over the next four years;
Providing 3,700 low rent homes for former rough sleepers

That all sounds like a good start but is it enough? When I read on the website that they want donations and volunteers, it doesn’t see as though it is. I shall continue to monitor this situation and report back.