Another busy weekend.

Non canal related as we were visiting our daughter but there was this river close by. I thought I'd post some pictures before getting back to the Boats , Beers and Boozers.

The South Bank near Battersea seems to be just one big building site. There is a new tube station being built here as well as the newly opened USA Embassy.

We had a very interesting tour of the Globe Theatre (reduced price tickets) and had a couple of hours there and the exhibition too.

Evensong at St Paul's.

 Lighting the flares for the latest installation in the moat of the Tower of London. The smoke was added, but I did wonder about how good for the environment it all was?

Quite atmospheric but I wasn't sure what the music added to it all. Wrong type for the atmosphere I thought.

There are lots of creeks and moorings on the Thames bank and this little scene was near where we stayed. The modern glass apartment building was built on the site of an old glucose factory.

There had been a large firework display in Battersea Park the night before but all was quiet on Monday morning. The trees are just starting to get in their full splendour.

This unsual  War Memorial was designed and paid for by Eric Kennington. It is dedicated to the 24th Division, one of Kitchener's New Army of Recruits and was disbanded in 1919 after losing 35000 men killed, wounded or missing, on the Western Front. Kennington served in the Lodon Regiment and later in the War became a war artists, and again the WWII. It was unveiled in 1924.

 This is the Royal Victoria Patriotic Assylum and was built using a fund set up by Prince Albert to assist the injured soldiers and the orphans and widows of the Crimea War. It was opened in 1859 as an orphanage. In WWI it became an hospital and then when peace returned it became a Girls school until 1939 and the outbreak of another World War. It was then used by MI5 and MI6. It later became a Secondary School until 1974 when it fell into disrepair. It was rescued in 1985 and now has apartments, offices the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, and a bar. That was whey we were there. It must be one of the nicest Gothic Buildings that nobody knows about. Not far from Clapham Junction Station.

Even closer to the station is the old Arding and Hobbs Department Store, now Debenham's. A lovely building. There are plenty of things to see in this area, and plenty of shops too, from very high end to charity shops. A nice mixed area of London.

Last train from King Cross to Hull, via Doncaster after a very busy and tiring weekend in London. Got back home about 0030 on Tuesday.

Normal service will be resumed in nthe next day or so.