Stormy Weather

[Stillhomewardbound]

CRYSTAL PALACE FIRE

Because of it's very high aspect and the fact that it burned so extensively it lit up all the London sky that night. Certainly, the Pathe boys had time to get their cameras down there:

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=7102

And still the entire foundations stand today and about every seven years a scheme is announced to build a new crystal palace on the site, but rarely to any avail.

[Serial_Apologist]

SA, no, they are still out of action and likely to be for about another ten months. I'm not the fittest 48 year old but my bike is relatively light so I don't struggle too much.

My latest bete noir are the road works which have partially closed Moorgate for the last four months or so. Ocasionally I need to get from Great Eastern Street down to Kennington via Southwark Bridge. It's almost a straight line, but I had to walk around the road works ... fair enough, but then just when I'd got going again Prince's Street leading down to Mansion House was closed, so tried to resort the to the side streets only to find by the time I got to the end - closed. Aaarrgh!! Then I got lost round the Castle, didn I!!

Have you ventured through the Rotherhitche Tunnel at all?

Only discovered the RT back in '97 when a group of us mature grads from Writtle College got together a few times to visit unvisited places, Greenwich Park being one of 'em. We met up on Stratford Station, got the Docklands down to the bottom of the Isle of Dogs, which was as far as the DLR then went, and legged it through the tunnel. Greenwich was till like a mini-Bath back then, or Clifton in Bristol as I remembered it in the early 70s, lots of alternative shops mostly if not all gone now I gather; and that walk up through the park, to discover at the top (Blackheath) one seemed almost in the countryside, only a mile from canary Wharf , was one of the many things that followed that sold me on S London.

[Serial_Apologist]

SA, no, they are still out of action and likely to be for about another ten months. I'm not the fittest 48 year old but my bike is relatively light so I don't struggle too much.

My latest bete noir are the road works which have partially closed Moorgate for the last four months or so. Ocasionally I need to get from Great Eastern Street down to Kennington via Southwark Bridge. It's almost a straight line, but I had to walk around the road works ... fair enough, but then just when I'd got going again Prince's Street leading down to Mansion House was closed, so tried to resort the to the side streets only to find by the time I got to the end - closed. Aaarrgh!! Then I got lost round the Castle, didn I!!

Have you ventured through the Rotherhitche Tunnel at all?

Only discovered the foot tunnel back in '97 when a group of us mature grads from Writtle College got together a few times to visit unvisited places, Greenwich Park being one of 'em. We met up on Stratford Station, got the Docklands down to the bottom of the Isle of Dogs, which was as far as the DLR then went, and legged it through the tunnel. Greenwich was till like a mini-Bath back then, or Clifton in Bristol as I remembered it in the early 70s, lots of alternative shops mostly if not all gone now I gather; and that walk up through the park, to discover at the top (Blackheath) one seemed almost in the countryside, only a mile from canary Wharf , was one of the many things that followed that sold me on S London.

The Rotherhithe tunnel took a bit of finding _ I had a weird experience driving through one November night when my windscreen got covered with what I can only describe as ectoplasm. I'd never cycle through it, let alone walk! Full of CO2 fumes, always.

[Stillhomewardbound]

Well, you can make a return to the visit to the tunnel with these rather exciting images, even if I say so myself:

http://outhereplus.blogspot.com/2009/11/tunnel-vision.html

[salymap]

S_A I've got a feeling that single decker buses from down in Kent to ?? went through the Rotherhithe tunnel years ago. I distincly remember how creepy it was and water dripped from the roof too. Certainly not for cycling through. It was route 228 by the way.

[Serial_Apologist]

S_A I've got a feeling that single decker buses from down in Kent to ?? went through the Rotherhithe tunnel years ago. I distincly remember how creepy it was and water dripped from the roof too. Certainly not for cycling through. It was route 228 by the way.

Sorry to be so slow in reponse sal - a neighbour with chainsaw problems need oiling. The chainsaw, that is. The maximum permitted speed nowadays is 20 mph, so I find myself holding a hanky over my face for the five minutes it takes. My friend, who drives, has to keep both hands on the steering wheel, poor fellow, and so prefers the better-ventilated Blackwall, even though it adds a few miles to the journey.

[mercia]

nice photos SHB, but that tunnel doesn't look big enough to take a bus, or are we talking about two different things?

[Serial_Apologist]

That's the pedestrian tunnel, which on the Greenwich side comes out by the Cutty Sark, mercia - not the Rotherhithe.

[Stillhomewardbound]

"Nice photos ..." Thanks Mercia. As per SA, we're looking at the footunnel twixt G'wic and Isle-de-Canines.

I think I'm right in saying that the Rotherhite features in one of the BBC idents, y'now shot from car going through the tunnel. It seem to have the correct ceramic lined interior anway.

And on checking, I've found it. Here's a way to sample the Rotherhithe Tunnel sans fumar.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctwo/idents/mirror/

[salymap]

For what it's worth my computer crashed with a massive virus yesterday. I am partly back but lots of beloved things are missing. I handed the screen over to BT for about 4-5 hours earlier but results are patchy.

Best to everyone from salymap

[Serial_Apologist]

For what it's worth my computer crashed with a massive virus yesterday. I am partly back but lots of beloved things are missing. I handed the screen over to BT for about 4-5 hours earlier but results are patchy.

Best to everyone from salymap

Really am sorry to hear that, saly. My computer whiz who lives at St Mary Cray, not far from you, and has a car, could probably fix that. He's fitted my computer with firewalls so thick it could be Fort Knox! I can't swear by him, as he's having unpredictable problems with swelling legs; but he's been really fantastic for me these past 5 years, and says he can always do with a bit of work thrown his way. Don't hesitate to let me know, if you're really stuck.

By coincidence he's just rung to say he's coming round here this afternoon - which is a bit of a drag, as I'd rather hoped to cycle out to the countryside on what may be one of the last really nice days this year.

S-A

[BBMmk2]

Hope you get back to us soon Salymap!!

Rather a hot day today. Methinks a thunderstorm is likely?

[Serial_Apologist]

Tomorrow night/Sunday morning the most likely times for storms, BBM.

[Mahlerei]

Beautiful late summer's day; perfect for walking the pooch, who had a cooling bath afterwards. Devil of a job trying to dry her, though. She's growing fast and developing that typical husky mane.

On the subject of weather I see New Orleans is braced for a battering from TropIcal Storm Lee.

[marthe]

For what it's worth my computer crashed with a massive virus yesterday. I am partly back but lots of beloved things are missing. I handed the screen over to BT for about 4-5 hours earlier but results are patchy.

Best to everyone from salymap

saly, I hope your computer is OK. It's such a pain to lose those beloved things that are stored on a computer. Fingers crossed for you and your computer.

Mahlerei, we're keeping an eye on TS Lee and New Orleans. Some folks in New England are still without power. Vermont has been devasted by flooding. We are very fortunate here in Newport.