That Bloke In The Big Smoke

The Highgatehill Murugan Temple was the first Hindu temple that dad visited in England more than thirty years ago. And therefore it has a very special place in his heart. Every time he passes through the city, he pays his respects and last weekend was no different. This is how it looks today after a front extension upgrade giving the appearance of a Tamil abode of worship. Dad (along with many other devotees) paid towards its construction. The two statues in gold colour are of Muruga and Ganesha (the elephant-headed God) who are the sons of Shiva and Parvati. Muruga is often referred to as the God of Tamils and wherever in the world you are, a Murugan temple is the best evidence of a Tamil community in the area. Mounted onto the inner-side of the window, halfway between the two gold statues is the Hindu symbol Om depicted in Tamil. And just above the main entrance are two sculptures of peacocks, the traditional vehicle of Muruga. If you're ever in the area, the temple serves a simple yet delicious free lunch consisting of just three Tamil dishes every day around noon. All are welcome. And here's a cheeky photo I took of the main Muruga idol inside the temple a couple years ago.

This is a map of all the London drinking and dance establishments that I've graced my presence with since moving here in the summer of 2007 (updated to yesterday's visit to The Gazebo in Kingston, bottom-left). 200+ places and counting!

You can see the map in detail here. The last time I posted a part of this map (in February 2010), I had visited just over 130+ establishments. Despite expanding my pint footprint at the rate of about 40 places a year, there are obvious gaps to fill.

UPDATE: Since making the original post, I've updated the pic above to include a club in Notting Hill, but annoyingly it seems to have reached some sort of limit on Google Maps, because it's created a second page of pins. This means not all the pins are on a single page any more. I'm tempted to fire off an email to the good people in Mountain View and demand an answer! Also, since adding the Notting Hill Arts Club I've also added another pub, one which I'd forgotten about in Sarf London's Forest Hill neighbourhood. With the disparity between establishments graced on either side of the river, I could do with remembering every one south of the Thames! Just another 4000+ pubs, bars and clubs to go in the rest of London. Time to up the ante!

KEY:
Green - Pubs & Bars
Light Blue - Pubs & Bars whose names I can't remember!
Purple - Pub where I used to go quizzing
Yellow - Ancient Pubs (usually 18th-c or older)
Red - Restaurant Pubs
Dark Blue - Clubs (includes Afterhour institutions like MoS, Egg etc)

I suppose when a cricket fan decides to make their Test debut as a spectator having followed the game with a religious passion for nearly twenty years, it seems only fitting to pick an occasion that turns out to be the biggest ever crowd for the last day's play of a Test at Lord's, the home of the world's greatest sport. And so it was for me last week Monday. The record books will show that England outplayed India comprehensively but as far as experiences go, few will match the pure joy that was 25 July 2011. It felt special from the moment the ticket prices were announced the evening before and the response online was immediate. I knew it was going to be a big crowd but I never imagined people would be turned away because it was full! It wasn't as bad as Old Trafford in 2005 but for the biggest ground in England, this was something new. At £20, boy was it worth it!

(If you missed the panoramic views of my day out at Lord's that I posted about a week ago, you can view them here).


By the time I arrived at St John's Wood tube station around eight, the queue had already snaked itself in an orderly fashion half a mile from the ground and onto Circus Road (as pictured above). Ticket sales were to begin at half-eight, gates to open at nine and play to start at eleven. And as the rate of people joining the queue behind us increased after my arrival, I'm fairly sure it eventually ended up close to a mile long.


The queues were so long because the MCC wanted to negate the effect of touts buying tickets in bulk. I'm led to believe the MCC normally sells a maximum of four tickets per person on Day Five at Lord's but for today they sold a maximum of one per person. And with free entry for Under-16s who had just embarked on their summer vacation, a lot of young fans could be seen waiting patiently with the rest of us. Stood in front of me was an Indian gentleman who was also attending his first Test at Lord's but he had arrived in London just for the match alone from Dubai. The lucky bugger didn't have any tickets until ten days before the first day's play but his English manager at work (he was employed with Willis Group Holdings) suggested writing to the MCC. He did and they got him tickets for the first four days and then he queued for the fifth!

( 23 More Pics From A Great Day Out ... with Commentary! )

Who knew? My old digicam still works. This is great news, London photo/walking tours beckon again! But for now the view outside my bedroom window will suffice. [Taken 23 Jul 2011]

View of Canary Wharf (incl One Canada Square - Britain's tallest completed building) from a street with one of the best views in North London. All of these houses were built in 1900. I apologise for the poor quality but that's what you get with an iPhone 3GS in overcast conditions. [Taken 13 March 2011]


The same view taken a couple hours earlier. Again the quality's not great but I just love the juxtaposition between Mussy Hill's chimney tops and the Canary Wharf skyscrapers.


Same street. I'm only posting this because the big white structure to the left in the background is the new Olympic Stadium/Park, hence the adjoining cranes.