Another photo essay from my London trip.
Kew Gardens
Note from Sarah
I am experimenting with photo essays to document my London trip.
I may write more another time, but I caught COVID on the journey home and have limited capacity at the moment.
This feels like something I might have done in 2013 so maybe it’s reclaiming a lost art.
Accessibility
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London. 003.
A year ago this felt impossible.
Sometimes it’s hard to disentangle what’s actually impossible and what just seems that way.
This is your PSA that mums don’t need permission to have time and space to ourselves. We just need a bit of support and cooperation.
Notes from my adventure to London.
The flights both ways were a total bloody disaster and I lost 2 whole days to them. 🫠
On the plane I listened to Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman and Pyramids by Terry Pratchett.
I’ve never slept on a plane, but I was so exhausted I dozed in and out of both.
I also started reading Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson, but quickly grew too tired and overstimulated to concentrate. (I finished it since coming home and it’s one of my favorite short stories he’s written.)
I got through the worst of the overnight layover laughing at this podcast episode What Was Going On In The Middle Ages? with Dr. Janina Ramirez & Jonathan Van Ness. Heads up for language. I couldn’t have listened to this one with Davy or he’s be swearing like a sailor.
I ended up flying in to London the next morning seated near singer Myles Smith & his touring band / crew. If you like acoustic music with British accents check it out.
When I finally arrived it was 12 hours after planned and I had to take a bus because of Tube shortages. It was past 1 am when I finally reached the hotel.
28 hours after leaving home. 🫠
While in London I saw…
Japan Myths to Manga at the Young V&A
Brick Lane
RSC’s My Neighbor Totoro
Covent Garden
Trafalgar Square
St. Martins (where I did brass rubbing)
Hadestown (I did a thread for my WoT fam here.)
Kew Gardens
I put together a photo essay for this one… Kew. A portal.
I shopped at…
Oxfam & Oxfam Books (Brits call thrift stores charity shops and they are a great place for inexpensive souvenirs.)
Transport for London Museum Gift Shop
Young V&A Giftshop
Totoro & Hadestown Gift Shops
I ate at…
Nandos
The Albert’s Deli (in Richmond)
Bills (great for a full English breakfast)
Greggs (cheeky bacon cheese wrap)
The Approach Tavern (near Whitechapel - amazing Sticky Toffee pudding)
Paul (French bakery chain and not as good as Greggs to be honest)
Round Table (pub near Covent Garden)
and a picnic at Kew Gardens.
I rode…
a London bus
Elizabeth Line
District Line
Piccadilly Line
Overground
Another photo essay because I am a huge nerd for the London Underground.
This post was cut short because I caught COVID, but I have lots more to say about this trip. Maybe I’ll circle back to it after I recover.
Meanwhile sharing what I have managed to get down.
Treacle Tins
One of my favorite reads on Substack this week was Nanette Regan’s post about the new Lyle’s Golden Syrup logo.
Apparently this lion was the world’s oldest logo. And the original logo is a dead lion that Samson killed in the Bible and bees made honey in his carcass.
(Note they are only changing plastic packaging. They will be keeping the old design on the tins.)
The new lion has Aslan vibes and I like the shape of the bottle.
I have a few of these treacle tins from my time living in London to hold art supplies. It seems they aren’t changing the Black Treacle design (perhaps it only comes in a tin?) but when I was looking for it I found this.
I’d love to have one of these if anyone has a spare knocking around in their cupboards!