2025: A Year in Review

HMS Belfast 'fires' her guns.

What a year 2025 turned out to be!

I surpassed last year's walking and underground distances, while visiting new places, and some familiar places, with family and friends.

January

Almost good enough to eat.

Some of the highlights from January included visiting Paddington and Kensington, where we saw 'The Wild Table of Love', 'Man in a Clock', Kensington Gardens, Gnome Land (again), the Design Museum and Japan House. At Japan House Keilyn and I visited the 'Looks delicious! Exploring Japan's food replica culture' exhibition, which was a wonderful and informative exhibition, which Keilyn really enjoyed.

Camden, Hampstead Heath, 'London School of Mosaic', the 'World Peace Garden' and the Regent's Park were all visited, too.

The 'Whitechapel Bell Foundry', 'Trinity Green Almshouses', the Regent's Canal, Mile End Park and Ropemakers Fields, Canary Wharf and Trinity Buoy Wharf, for what would be the first of three visits this year.

February

Knight of Cnihtengild.

February saw me partaking in only a few walks. I saw the statue of the 'Knight of Cnihtengild' by Denys Mitchell, Elsyng Spital Church Tower, the Bell Building in Lambeth and the 'Sam the Cat' statue, all while learning much more.

March

BBC Television Centre.

Some of the highlights from March saw us visit Swiss Cottage, Lancaster Gate, Portobello Road Market, BBC Television Centre, Shepherd's Bush Market and 'The Princess Victoria', one of London's last 'Gin Palaces'. 

Crystal Palace Park and its dinosaurs, Primrose Hill, Camley Street Natural Park, the 'Word on the Water' bookshop on a boat, the grave of Joseph Grimaldi and various alleyways were also explored. A highlight was Emma and I staying at The Tower Hotel, for our anniversary.

April

Whale on the Wharf (Skyscraper).

April highlights included visiting Barbican, the 'hidden' garden at St Vedast-alias-Foster, seeing possibly the oldest tree in the City of London, Tower Hill Market, Borough Market and Lambeth, where we discovered a piano that was once played by Charlie Chaplin Senior. 

East India Docks, the 'Whale on the Wharf (Skyscraper)', West India Docks, Trinity Buoy Wharf (second visit) and the Royal Docks.

Tibetan Peace Garden, Southwark

The overall design of the Tibetan Peace Garden symbolises the meeting of East and West, by bringing together contemporary western imagery with traditional Tibetan culture. The circular shape of the garden, for example, is based on the fundamental Buddhist image, the Wheel of Dharma. 

As you walk into the Tibetan Peace Garden, the first thing you come across is the Language Pillar. Built in Portland stone, its design is based on the famous Sho Pillar in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa. It carries His Holiness the Dalai Lama's message of peace and harmony in four languages: Tibetan, Hindi, English and Chinese. The pillar is topped by 'precious jewels' set upon three steps representing peace, understanding and love.

Walking from the pillar towards the garden, you will see in the pathway a circular logo, cast in bronze and set in Kilkenny stone. The two Tibetan syllables in the centre mean 'Virtue' and 'Foundation', and the six 'vajras' represent the perfections of generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, concentration and wisdom as well as the six mythological families of the Tibetan people. This is the logo of the Tibet Foundation, who commissioned the Tibetan Peace Garden.

Walking with Keilyn: Waterloo to Lambeth... and beyond

Tuesday May 27, 2025.

As I had a few days away from work, Keilyn had planned the day by saying that she wanted to revisit the Imperial War Museum. Possibly trying to learn more about the military, before she joins the Army Cadets in September.

With the weather forecast telling us that there would be intermittent rain showers, throughout the day, we set off. A gentle walk to Watford Metropolitan station was where we took a train to Finchley Road, where we changed to a Jubilee line train to complete our journey. However, Harold Stabler had designed 18 decorative tiles, that can only be found at 5 specific stations, so I suggested jumping off the train at St John's Wood, so that I could get a photo of them all. Keilyn agreed.

As soon as we pulled into St John's Wood we alighted from the train and began searching for the tiles. I already had a photo of 11 of them, so there were only 7 more to find. In the three minutes before the next train arrived we found another 5. I guess I am going to have to do another trip to find the last 2.

We boarded the next train and alighted at Waterloo, from where our walk would begin. 

We headed southeast, along Waterloo Road, with the 'London Ambulance Service Headquarters' being our first stop. Three ambulances, a 1947 Daimler DC27, a 1965 Morris LD and a 2004 Mercedes Sprinter, were stood on the plaza, in front of the building, while information sheets, affixed to the rear wall, told the history of the service.

With photos taken we headed back up Waterloo Road, with the Waterloo Bus Depot being our next stop. A bus garage may not be that exciting, even if this particular one was the first to have an all electric fleet, but it does have a cafe that is open to the public. So, we went in, ordering a full English breakfast, for myself, and a small breakfast for Keilyn. The food was perfectly cooked, with the meal coming with tea, for Keilyn, and coffee for myself. The food was delicious and we demolished it all.

On leaving the 'Bus Cafe' we headed to the Waterloo MillenniuM Garden, just as rain began to fall. Not a heavy rain, but a rain that could quite easily soak you to the skin. The garden has a pond, sculptures, meadows and wildlife areas and was fun to explore.