Castles in the Air

This is the view from the top floor looking north. The futuristic office building on the left is The Ark. To the right, the chocolate and white striped building is a Novotel.

Wash Doctors

Never buy or sell anything on the doorstep. This rule has served me well in the past but rules are made to be broken. Wash Doctors knocked on the door and hooked me.

From Sewage to Senile Treatment

In between Mortlake and Kew by the towpath there is a substantial plant that was used by Thames Water to treat sewage. It’s proper name is a biothane plane but that needn’t concern us as it shut in 2015.

More Tales from the Riverbank

The application (see Wind in the Willows) by developer, St George, to fell the willow tree in front of their flats at Fulham Reach was withdrawn. There was much opposition including a well-reasoned submission by a reader here, who knows more about trees than I do.

Planning Application

There was a rumour that the empty retail space at Barons Court station would be taken by Tesco for a mini-store. If so they have been beaten to the draw by Aussie baristas, The Roasting Party.

Staveley Road

You wouldn’t give Staveley Road a second glance as you drive past along Great Chertsey Road towards the M3, although it looks a lot like Stella Street. (It is adjacent to Chiswick House.) I walked along it to look for two things and found three.

Stella Street

Over Christmas 1997 BBC Two showed Stella Street. Each episode was ten minutes and there were three or so every night spread over the evening. It is completely bonkers in a very good way.

On the Riverbank

Yesterday morning was warm and sunny but as it was high water I didn’t expect to see much on my regular perambulation upstream to Richmond. Here is what I saw, in order of size.

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Today & Yesterday

The beauty parlour that closed at the end of last year remains vacant and now Paperchase, that opened in March 2016, has closed too.

Gloriana Incognito

Monday morning and I’m out of the house early to give the cleaner a free rein to wreak the havoc that seems necessary to have a house that doesn’t give the appearance of being lived in by a smelly, old tramp.

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