Day Seven

Before meeting Kristina for our book chat I had time to visit Lincoln's Inn Fields. This area is in Holborn, tucked in behind the tube stop of the same name. It contains a square, the largest public square in London and the setting for some public executions when that sort of thing was a source of entertainment. This photo shows the entrance into The Inns of Court, a place where all things concerning law are learned and practiced. If you're lucky you will see Barristers in their wigs and gowns.Rich lawyers are housed in many of the buildings surrounding the square. In Dicken's, Bleak House, the sinister solicitor, Mr Tulkinghorn, has offices in Lincoln's Inn Fields.The Sir John Soanes Museum was the reason that I came here and is housed in the light-coloured building between the two darker ones. Sir John owned all three of these buildings. The Museum contains everything from Egyptian artifacts including a massive sarcophagus to books and an impressive art collection. It is here that I discovered the wonderful artwork of William Hogarth and had to know more. A guide wearing white gloves spent quite a long time pointing out the details in 'A Rake's Progress' and 'An Election' to me. Have a look at these two series of paintings on the internet and read about them, they're absolutely fantastic! Soane died in 1837 and this house is virtually as it was on that day. Green Park was my meeting spot with Kristina so I hopped onto the tube and headed over that way. It was lunch-time so I stopped into the Marks & Spencer food hall and grabbed a roast chicken and stuffing sandwich, a yogurt and a drink. I was looking for a spot in the park to picnic and heard a marching band play, it could only be one thing. Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, what luck! I walked through the park and hoisted myself up on a stone wall to have lunch and watch the proceedings from afar. After a short while, Kristina emerged from the tube stop and off we went, we had some time to browse in Fortnum & Mason (another lovely window display pictured below) and Hatchards whilst we were on Piccadilly.

The tube is such an efficient mode of transportation, most of the time, and Kristina is a fast walker so we even had time to whip over to Covent Garden. She introduced me to the world of Orla Keily and we had fun noting that many of the styles reminded us of clothes we wore as children. We made our way to Lamb's Conduit St for the book chat at Persephone Books and settled in with a fantastic group of ladies and one gentleman. We discussed Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple with everyone, including the owner, Nicola Beauman, whom I quite liked. I've heard that she can be quite formidable. There was great discussion about single beds for a married couple, does that mean the marriage is out of spark or did it have more to do with it being 1953 when the book was written? You couldn't show a married couple in bed together then on any television shows. I could go on but there isn't the space, suffice to say that it was a wonderful group of people that I would meet with again and again and the tea and Devon seed cake were delicious. I asked Nicola if it were homemade and she replied (insert upper class accent here) "Well yes, and presumably by someone from Devon". I love it! Sadly, it was over all too soon and Kristina walked me back to the B&B where we said our good-byes. I so enjoyed meeting and spending time with her, we will have to do it again one day. After dinner, it was another London Walk for me. This one was called Old Marylebone and was full more entertaining stories and history. We even stopped into a pub called The Tudor Rose, right next door lives Rod Stewart. He must have been busy doing the dishes or changing light bulbs as he wasn't at the pub that night.