Hampstead Heath Bench

Hampstead Heath Bench
Originally uploaded by d m.

Speaks for itself really. Droll and most people who have had a walk on the Heath will have probably come across this bench, but I hadn't had a good ramble around there until this Sunday. Which was nice.
Especially if it is rounded off by a Lamb Roast here. No Yorkshire pudding though which was a grave(y) mistake. Lovely pub but too many people using it as a second living room, staking their claim to the (already cramped) space by piling high the style sections of the Sunday papers on the tables and then tutting loudly when you have the cheek to actually use the table to place a beer upon.

Twenty Two

Twenty Two
Originally uploaded by d m.

Not quite sure what the purpose of this is other than counting just how rubbish the state of London's pavements are on a scale of 1 to 22.

Maybe contractors have to be told precisely how many cracks need to be fixed before they will start any repair job for a council these days.

The First Casualty of War

Good article here (via the Londonist) on the image used to maximise the Sun's incredibly subtle powers of persuasion, which didn't quite have the desired effect.

Of course the Police want more power because... er... well, they're the Police. Will any additional powers be used wisely with due care and diligence? Let me think.

Pie and Ale

As it proudly proclaims, the Newman Arms has an 'Upstairs Pie Room' which I noticed whilst walking through the alley beside it, Newman Passage, on my way to meeting friends at Nordic Bar (don't bother with that one by the way). I visited after work the other day and had a hearty pie and a nice ale which hit the spot marked 'pie and ale' very nicely indeed.

It was one of George Orwell's favourite drinking spots (as was the Marquis of Granby over the road) and featured in 1984. It was also apparently the location for the opening scene of Peeping Tom. Dicken's probably drank here as well but he seems to have drunk at every pub except the Wetherspoons on Elephant and Castle roundabout.

p.s. Don't go there expecting a wide variety of vegetarian options. There is one pie on the menu that fits that bill, simply entitled 'Vegetarian'.