Fri, 11 March 2016,10:26 am: London often feels in a hurry, and so will you when you’re there. Let me show you a few things you’d miss if someone didn’t touch your forearm mid-stride and say, “Hey, did you notice that?”
Registered with Historic England, this building at 176 Blackfriars Road dates to 1909-10. According to the paperwork defending its historical designation, “the building retains its original signage, stained glass and mosaic roundels, all loudly announcing the identity and character of the organisation for which it was built.”
“Temperance” means complete avoidance of drinking alcohol. I might’ve quickened my pace to get away from THAT message.
10:27 am: Everybody walks right past the pile of rocks. Nothin’ to see here. But wait… what’s that in the background? Didn’t seem like one of modern London’s most iconic sights would be so close by, did it?
10:32 am: The Clear Channel billboard affixed to this overpass lets us know that England is ahead of the US in one major area of child protection.
In America, smoking in a car with anyone under the age of eighteen is illegal only in the states of Oregon and California. In Utah and Maine it’s illegal with anyone under sixteen.
10:34 am: This is my fourth consecutive day of walking this route, and to watch this single road paving project get completed in real time has made me feel like a real London local.
All of these scenes are in the Southwark district (just south of The Thames), within a few blocks of each other.