Sweded

Given the quality time we are spending with Wallander, it was perhaps appropriate to pay another visit to Aquavit in St. James, websited at reference 1. A place which I might have last visited nearly a year ago, well before the onset of Wallander and noticed at reference 2.

Noting that while I associate the place with Sweden, the publicity material talks of Nordic. Perhaps reflecting the rather mixed up history of the area, with Norway having been attached to both Denmark and Sweden in the past, and with Finland having been attached to both Sweden and Russia. With periodic famines and mass emigration to Canada and the US.

The morning started off by failing to find the moon after sunrise, despite knowing roughly where it was. There had been a frost and it was still quite cool at 11:15, kick-off time, despite it being sunny. The trolley noticed outside Costa the previous afternoon at the end of reference 3 was still there. Probably the trolley captured a few days later as trolley No.508 and noticed at reference 4.

Got to Waterloo and pulled a Bullingdon from the ramp, a Bullingdon which turned out to have a very squeaky back brake, the sort of noise you used to get on my bicycle when the brake pad had worn down to the metal. Probably not any more, with brake pads made in a different way. Too much bother to change the thing then and there, and I forgot to red flag it when I landed at William IV street, by the late lamented Terroirs. Which I noticed had been pretty much stripped out. From there to the Chandos, near St. Martin's in the Fields, for an apéritif. A house I use from time to time and which is, I believe, a member of the Samuel Smith family, although I cannot find a website, or even an entry in a website. But well known, with plenty of other stuff turned up by Bing, a sample of which is included above.

Prompted to trot out my line to the barmaid about how I first used the place fifty years ago, I was put smartly in my place. We get lots of older people in here saying how they have been coming for thirty or forty years or whatever. We seem to attract them... But she also told me that the décor hadn't changed for a very long time. Lots of brown wood and brown wood booths, not something you see so much of these days. Other than in the famous Crown Liquor Saloon in Belfast that is, one of the few public houses to be owned (but not run) by the National Trust.

Passing the memorial snapped above, onto Aquavit, opting to eat inside on this occasion, there being a bit of a cool breeze outside. Which meant that I was able to admire the handsome interior, with its very high ceiling. Very plague friendly for indoors.

To eat, bread, meat balls and mash. Mash as only this place seems to know how to do it. A different animal altogether from the stuff that you get while fine dining in a public house. I also took the Chablis, despite it having gone up 30% or so in price since I last took it. On that occasion, perhaps that noticed at reference 7, I thought the stuff was very good indeed - but not quite so good on this occasion. Perhaps I had got out of bed on the wrong side.

Too full to take dessert, but I was able to admire one. For a change, elected to take my Calvados in the Beau Brummel opposite, a member of the Cubitt House family. Not clear what, if any connection there is to Cubitt the builder of the Isle of Dogs and Belgravia. I also thought that he was a big user of stone from either Portland or Swanage but I have not been able to confirm that.

In any event, the Beau sold Calvados from Sassy, a brand which was new to me. There was also plenty of flannel and plenty of staff. Plenty of cocktails if that is what you wanted. Perhaps it was the slack time between lunch time and evening rushes. But not so grand, as I noticed someone sneaking out of the place opposite for a quick fag. Fag door in the green visible bottom right in the snap above.

And, in the event, it turned out a few days later that Majestic Wine sold the very same Calvados. Perhaps they have a busy new sales manager for the UK. See reference 9. I stuck with the Majestic own brand which I like and which was significantly cheaper.

Passed on the Korean Cultural Institution on this occasion, but I did spot the flashy scooter snapped above. Onto Hungerford Bridge where I passed a middle sized snake - maybe two inches in diameter at fattest - around someone's neck.

At some point, I was taken in charge by an older gentleman from Iran, an older gentleman with a very tragic sounding story, with most of what was left of his family still being stuck in Iran. He had married his wife in Canada, and some years later she and her two daughters had thought that visiting the family back home would be OK. I think the problem was that they were Christians, although he was a Muslim. I was reminded that they are still very keen on hanging people in Iran - and of the massacres of 1988, around the time of the end of the sanguinary war with Iraq. Where we in the west were happy to see Iraq (Saddam Hussein) and Iran (Ayatollah Khomeini) tear each other apart. Keep them out of our hair. 

With everything else going on in the world, it must be a struggle to get heard. But for more, see reference 11.

Onto a South Bank Centre which was very quiet, deserted even, although people were still practising their break dancing (or what ever they call it) in the area below the main bar. Not that we are likely to be visiting any time soon, with their rather short classical card dominated by symphony orchestras. Something I like once in a while, but not too often.

Break dancing area visible behind the white pillar nearest the telephone.

Tree art, somewhere near the South Bank Centre.

At Waterloo, I joined the great rush of people onto platform 1 for the train to Epsom and Dorking. Clearly a popular line.

At Epsom, I took a long taxi. Plenty of room inside, but they don't seem to have caught on, with just one or two of them at Epsom. The old style black cabs still dominate the taxi rank.

References

Reference 1: http://www.aquavitrestaurants.com/.

Reference 2: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/07/two-kinds-of-cheese.html.

Reference 3: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/05/back-to-stones.html.

Reference 4: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/04/trolley-508.html.

Reference 5: https://www.samuelsmithsbrewery.co.uk/.

Reference 6: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/the-crown-bar.

Reference 7: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-return-to-metropolis.html.

Reference 8: https://www.cubitthouse.co.uk/.

Reference 9: https://www.maison-sassy.com/.

Reference 10: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_executions_of_Iranian_political_prisoners.

Reference 11: https://iliberty.org.uk/.