Following the warm up noticed at reference 1, I checked in at 07:00 the following morning. By 09:00 I was weighed in at 85kg. In a six bedded bay with three gents down one side and three ladies down the other. The staff were careful with curtains and being mixed did not seem to matter at all - perhaps because most of us had more important things to worry about than privacy.
On the way there, St. Luke's was looking rather impressive in the dawn light - with BH making it inside a bit later on. I think we have been inside in the past. And checking, I find that I was there back in 2019, as noticed at reference 2. I don't suppose I noticed the hospital at all.
Followed by a full moon over the entrance to the hospital.
Following the weigh-in, I was labelled: a wrist band for each wrist and a label for spectacles and walking stick, which last survives to this day. For some reason, it was not deemed necessary to label my slippers, some own-brand version of Crocs. If they had been real Crocs? For consent, it was sufficient for me to make a squiggle on a tablet - a squiggle which I thought a graphologist could probably reliably link to my signature. Maybe some back-room health person conducts blind tests of same.
Given that mild sedation was involved, I did not get my exit visa until 16:00, which gave me plenty of time to lie around and to wander around. Plenty of the machines snapped above dotted around the place, known in the trade as WOWs. Readers are invited to work out what this might stand for - with a clue being that the previous generation were known as COWs.
I noticed that most of the ward was unoccupied, with some of the bays stripped down. Most of the action was concentrated on my bay, right by the nursing station: perhaps they were winding down for the upcoming holiday.
I find the Oxford History of England makes good reading material on these occasions, suitable both for dipping and serial reading. On this occasion, the second edition of 'The Whig Supremacy'. Both interesting in itself and instructive as to the organisation and transmission of power, matters which have interested me for a long time. Putting it crudely, how is it that Augustus Caesar could say 'smash the Germans' and then, after a while, thousands of his soldiers would be locked in mortal combat with said Germans? Possibly being annihilated. While he sat in his palace in Rome.
With the nurse looking after me thoughtfully remembering, as I left, to give me a set of ECG tabs for use in granddaughterly games of hospital - presently taking second place only to games of school. This is preference to my simply keeping the ones she had used on me.
There was also a small day room, which did not appear to be much used, but which did include the handsome picture snapped above.
Google Images turns up what looks like the very picture, or at least another print of the very picture, but does not go so far as to identify the J-class in question. It is not as if there were ever very many of them: billionaires were a bit thinner on the ground in those days.
But a bit further down the hit list we have what looks to be the same image from Alamy where it is described as 'Osprey sailing the mouth of the Brisbane River, ca. 1890'. Didn't know that they had billionaires over there at that time - although someone who was very big into sheep did figure in one or two of Maigret's Simenon stories. And, indeed, in Patrick's White's 'The eye of the storm'. In any event, a story which is confirmed at reference 3 - so one wonders where Mallams got their story from.
Back to the hotel to pick up BH, who had had a good day, including strolling down to Peter Jones at Sloane Square, and we settled for eating at the very nearby PJ's, a converted public house, rather than walking to South Kensington and Daquise (of reference 4), despite the threatened closure of this last in April. It seems the TFL want to redevelop that parade.
PJ's looks to have once been a public house, with a lot of it retained in conversion. Which did, however, include cutting a large square hole in the ceiling above the bar to create a mezzanine floor above. A hole occupied by a large propellor. But I have failed to find out anything about the public house, despite diligent search. All that Gemini could add on this occasion was that PJ stood for 'Polo Joe', polo being a big sport with the chap who founded the brasserie in 1990, one Brian Stein. But Gemini did know about the propellor. Old maps, on this occasion, also unhelpful. Spot marks the spot, on the north side of Fulham Road. Possibly built as a house in the first instance.
Bread and olives to start. Bread not long out of the freezer, but quite satisfactory. Followed by a fine salmon salad for her.
And my seafood pasta - linguine - was very good.
As was the Albariño which went with it, even if the telephone had trouble with the focus. To be found at reference 6 for 14.95 euros. So the mark-up was reasonable.
All followed by some sort of cake taken with a spot of Armagnac.
Service and ambience good. With a table from the Marsden behind us, going on about oncology. Or as I explained to the receptionist back at the hotel, embroidering just a little, they had the good manners not to recognise me!
A lucky find. We shall try and get back.
PS: industry not yet rewarded. Frustrated, I have just had another go at trying to find out what came before PJ's. First up was an error, in that I had been talking about it being on the Brompton Road whereas actually it is near the town end of the Fulham Road. Second, CAMRA were able to tell me that it was called the Cranley or possibly the Cranley Arms. Not to be confused with the nearby Cranley Hotel. There seems to be some confusion about the street number with both 52 and 54 being offered. Possibly even 3 Cranley Terrace, or 3 Cranley Mews. A public house since the mid 19th century - presumably not a particular interesting or busy one or it would have survived. Sadly, the name failed to deliver any more history.
Curious about the filling in behind the building in the old map, I took a look at Satellite View, to find Sydney Mews jammed in there. What I take to be the entrance visible to the right of PJ's. Backland development wasn't invented in Epsom!
While Gemini is optimistic. We shall see.
References
Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2025/01/kensington-warming-up.html.
Reference 2: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/08/kensington.html.
Reference 3: https://jenikirbyhistory.getarchive.net/topics/yachts+in+queensland.
Reference 4: https://daquise.co.uk/.
Reference 5: https://www.pjschelseabrasserie.co.uk/.
Reference 6: https://adegasvalminor.com/portfolio-item/valminor/?lang=en. '... Follow up and and quality control of the Albariño grape in the vineyard until it reaches full ripening. Handmade harvest made in 20 kg cases. Bunches selection table. Cold maceration (10ºC) for 6 hours. Soft pressing of the grape. Static settling of the juice in stainless steel tanks. Alcoholic fermentation under an automatic controlled temperature. Stabilization of the wine, filtering through a tangential filter and bottling. Resting in bottle for a month prior to distribution...'.
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