Freshers' Week

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  • Nick Armstrong
    Host
    • Nov 2010
    • 26572

    #16
    Originally posted by teamsaint View Post
    some geog lessons in order, is what AG is suggesting I think !!
    Ah.... not someone else who doesn't know his East from his West (8tho!). Mind you I've done the same thing here to (I sent people the wrong way from Waterloo to that nice little pub behind the RFH I remember )

    Easily done!
    "...the isle is full of noises,
    Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
    Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
    Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."

    Comment

    • Mr Pee
      Full Member
      • Nov 2010
      • 3285

      #17
      Originally posted by Caliban View Post
      Ah.... not someone else who doesn't know his East from his West (8tho!). Mind you I've done the same thing here to (I sent people the wrong way from Waterloo to that nice little pub behind the RFH I remember )

      Easily done!
      Do you mean The Hole in The Wall, in the railway arches by Waterloo Station?

      I've always liked The Founders Arms. It's a few minutes walk, on the other side of Blackfriars Bridge, but it has some great views over the river to St.Pauls, especially on a summer's evening when you can sit out.
      Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.

      Mark Twain.

      Comment

      • Nick Armstrong
        Host
        • Nov 2010
        • 26572

        #18
        Originally posted by Mr Pee View Post
        Do you mean The Hole in The Wall, in the railway arches by Waterloo Station?
        No - see my geographically confused (and subsequently corrected) post here: http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...854#post282854
        "...the isle is full of noises,
        Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
        Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
        Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."

        Comment

        • teamsaint
          Full Member
          • Nov 2010
          • 25225

          #19
          Originally posted by Caliban View Post
          Ah.... not someone else who doesn't know his East from his West (8tho!). Mind you I've done the same thing here to (I sent people the wrong way from Waterloo to that nice little pub behind the RFH I remember )

          Easily done!
          personal experience suggests that Londoners give incorrect advice on directions as a matter of course.Just one of those unlucky things I guess...
          I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.

          I am not a number, I am a free man.

          Comment

          • Mr Pee
            Full Member
            • Nov 2010
            • 3285

            #20
            Originally posted by Caliban View Post
            No - see my geographically confused (and subsequently corrected) post here: http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...854#post282854
            Oh yes, that is a nice pub, and Roupell Street itself is a little gem. I know the hostelries of this locality well, living as I did on this helipad barge just beneath the Oxo Tower during my college days:-




            And of course since the re-generation of that whole area around the Oxo warehouse and Coin Street there is now a surfeit of eating and drinking establishments within a few minute's walk of the RFH.
            Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.

            Mark Twain.

            Comment

            • Nick Armstrong
              Host
              • Nov 2010
              • 26572

              #21
              Originally posted by Mr Pee View Post
              living as I did on this helipad barge just beneath the Oxo Tower during my college days
              That's an extraordinary statement, Pee! Care to elaborate?! How come?
              "...the isle is full of noises,
              Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
              Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
              Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."

              Comment

              • Mr Pee
                Full Member
                • Nov 2010
                • 3285

                #22
                Originally posted by Caliban View Post
                That's an extraordinary statement, Pee! Care to elaborate?! How come?
                My stepfather ( an ex Army Air Corps pilot) ran a Helicopter Charter Company, which was a very small part of the Vestey business empire. The Vesteys owned the Oxo Tower warehouse at that time, and wanted a landing facility in Central London, Battersea Heliport being the wrong end of town for their main offices, which were in the City.

                So they purchased an old Thames lighterage barge- (called William)-fitted a large landing deck on top, and fitted out below decks with a living room, kitchen, bathroom, 5 single cabins, and one double. When I got into TCM, my stepdad did a bit of negotiation, and I moved in- rent free. The company quite liked the idea of having somebody in permanent residence, to keep an eye on it and generally be around. It was pretty luxurious; the only drawback was that it could get bitterly cold in the winter, although that was a small price to pay. Helicopters didn't land that often, but I would sometimes be woken by the sound of a Jet Ranger touching down a few feet above my head!!

                Needless to say it was a great place to live, central, close to the RFH, and of course the Thames was an ever changing panorama. The Warehouse behind, which is now trendy flats and a posh restaurant, was empty and pretty much derelict. Access to the barge was through that warehouse- I got in and out via a big green gate at the RFH end of the building, to which I had a key. You can see where the gate used to be- the big archway is still there, and it now leads through the re-developed warehouse to the Riverside Walkway. When I lived on the barge there was no public access.

                There were staircases inside the warehouse which eventually led out onto the roof, and there was access into the Oxo tower from there. Inside was a spiral staircase which led up to a narrow walkway above the top "O" of Oxo. The views from there, particularly at night, were stunning and I often took myself and friends up to enjoy them, usually with some alcoholic refreshment.

                Whenever I go there these days, I walk out onto the jetty where the barge used to be and I'm aware that I was extremely lucky to have been able to live in such a spot. Even now, after the re-development, I don't think it is possible to get up to the top of the Oxo Tower.


                Happy days. Writing this has reminded me of them. If I could go back, I would do it in an instant.
                Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.

                Mark Twain.

                Comment

                • Nick Armstrong
                  Host
                  • Nov 2010
                  • 26572

                  #23
                  Lucky old you. Fantastic.
                  "...the isle is full of noises,
                  Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
                  Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
                  Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."

                  Comment

                  • Beef Oven!
                    Ex-member
                    • Sep 2013
                    • 18147

                    #24
                    Originally posted by Mr Pee View Post
                    My stepfather ( an ex Army Air Corps pilot) ran a Helicopter Charter Company, which was a very small part of the Vestey business empire. The Vesteys owned the Oxo Tower warehouse at that time, and wanted a landing facility in Central London, Battersea Heliport being the wrong end of town for their main offices, which were in the City.

                    So they purchased an old Thames lighterage barge- (called William)-fitted a large landing deck on top, and fitted out below decks with a living room, kitchen, bathroom, 5 single cabins, and one double. When I got into TCM, my stepdad did a bit of negotiation, and I moved in- rent free. The company quite liked the idea of having somebody in permanent residence, to keep an eye on it and generally be around. It was pretty luxurious; the only drawback was that it could get bitterly cold in the winter, although that was a small price to pay. Helicopters didn't land that often, but I would sometimes be woken by the sound of a Jet Ranger touching down a few feet above my head!!

                    Needless to say it was a great place to live, central, close to the RFH, and of course the Thames was an ever changing panorama. The Warehouse behind, which is now trendy flats and a posh restaurant, was empty and pretty much derelict. Access to the barge was through that warehouse- I got in and out via a big green gate at the RFH end of the building, to which I had a key. You can see where the gate used to be- the big archway is still there, and it now leads through the re-developed warehouse to the Riverside Walkway. When I lived on the barge there was no public access.

                    There were staircases inside the warehouse which eventually led out onto the roof, and there was access into the Oxo tower from there. Inside was a spiral staircase which led up to a narrow walkway above the top "O" of Oxo. The views from there, particularly at night, were stunning and I often took myself and friends up to enjoy them, usually with some alcoholic refreshment.

                    Whenever I go there these days, I walk out onto the jetty where the barge used to be and I'm aware that I was extremely lucky to have been able to live in such a spot. Even now, after the re-development, I don't think it is possible to get up to the top of the Oxo Tower.


                    Happy days. Writing this has reminded me of them. If I could go back, I would do it in an instant.
                    Wow!

                    I know you mentioned living on a barge by the OXO Tower before, but this story is amazing!

                    Lucky devil!

                    I used to knock around there at various times; 1970 - 1976 (Red Bus Rovers), 1979, the early eighties through to the 90s.

                    I wonder if I ever walked past when you were in there!!?

                    Comment

                    • Mr Pee
                      Full Member
                      • Nov 2010
                      • 3285

                      #25
                      Originally posted by Beef Oven! View Post
                      Wow!

                      I know you mentioned living on a barge by the OXO Tower before, but this story is amazing!

                      Lucky devil!

                      I used to knock around there at various times; 1970 - 1976 (Red Bus Rovers), 1979, the early eighties through to the 90s.

                      I wonder if I ever walked past when you were in there!!?
                      I think if you were around the area at that time you almost certainly did!!
                      Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.

                      Mark Twain.

                      Comment

                      • Stillhomewardbound
                        Full Member
                        • Nov 2010
                        • 1109

                        #26
                        The picture is excellent and I would previously have scoffed at anyone who told me there had once been a mini-heliport in the very centre of London.

                        Comment

                        • teamsaint
                          Full Member
                          • Nov 2010
                          • 25225

                          #27
                          every so often, like to visit the OXO Tower, take a bit of time out, maybe have a meal, and take stock of my life.
                          I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.

                          I am not a number, I am a free man.

                          Comment

                          • ferneyhoughgeliebte
                            Gone fishin'
                            • Sep 2011
                            • 30163

                            #28
                            Originally posted by teamsaint View Post
                            every so often, like to visit the OXO Tower, take a bit of time out, maybe have a meal, and take stock of my life.
                            I'm sure Life has bistoed you with glories in every season, knorr would anyone begrudge this.
                            [FONT=Comic Sans MS][I][B]Numquam Satis![/B][/I][/FONT]

                            Comment

                            • teamsaint
                              Full Member
                              • Nov 2010
                              • 25225

                              #29
                              Originally posted by ferneyhoughgeliebte View Post
                              I'm sure Life has bistoed you with glories in every season, knorr would anyone begrudge this.


                              to think we have been reduced to this. Its a gravy situation.

                              (OK, very weak, but had a long day at work !)

                              AND nobody else found a pun for the Fifty Shades/Tallis thing, so no flak till that is improved upon please !!
                              I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.

                              I am not a number, I am a free man.

                              Comment

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