Then last week we we had two young men trying to sign people up for organic vegetable boxes in the Epsom Market Place. We did not sign up, but we were reminded that they operate a pub, The Duke of Cambridge, in Islington, so we decided on a visit, earlier this week.
Opened the proceedings with coffee, tea and a drop of Monkey Shoulder in the wine bar above platform 1 at Waterloo, a place doing a good trade in same before the lunchtime topers turned in. A place, I might say, where I once had a surprisingly good bacon and egg sandwich. See reference 3.
No.341 bus to Islington Green, which mainly seemed to consist of restaurants and bars intended for people younger than ourselves. But there was a well stocked Oxfam shop where I nearly parted with £10 for a fat book about the geology of Pennsylvania, published by the US Geological Survey. There were lots of pictures and I think I would have had my £10's worth, but it was a bit early in the day to be picking up such a weighty book, maybe 5lbs of it. So settled for a spot of Branagh doing Wallander instead, about 8 hours of it at around £1 an hour. A change from the fare on ITV3. And when the restaurants and bars petered out, it was solid estate agent, offering houses which were expensive and flashy but which looked, from their pictures, rather cold, more like show houses than houses which were actually lived in. Plus a couple of pub-theatres just to remind us what a fashionable area it was. Which it was, at least in part; but you did not have to walk very far to find out where the affordables lived. So really a bit mixed, like lots of other London districts - say Notting Hill, Balham and Brixton.
Quick look in the handsomely rebuilt St. Mary's, which we visited when we were last in town, probably in the margins of the visit noticed at reference 4. Quick look inside the once proud town hall, one of the relics of the far off days when local government stood tall.
And so to the Duke of Cambridge, in the street illustrated, once proud to be part of the Barclay's licensed estate, a gang gobbled up by Courage at some point. Quite busy for late lunch time on a weekday, pleasant atmosphere and service. Two very cute children, around a year, just about walking. One rather into trying to take bites out of the nearest bench.
Slightly surprised to find that orgo was not the same as veggy, with the menu being quite into meat.
Starter of bread - not bad for sour dough - and roasted vegetables. Lots of parnips and carrots. Various other stuff, including a couple of sprigs of romanesco cauliflower, first spotted by us some years ago in Boston Stump, HQ of the gangmasters. And contrariwise, of the vote for Brexit,
Main course for me of pork faggot, actually a meat ball, with various trimmings. Rather good.
A meal with plenty of bread, but otherwise low on carbohydrate, with my faggot only coming with a smear of mashed potato. Washed down with an orgo sauvignon blanc from South Africa. So all very good, and we were very full at the end of it, root vegetables being quite bulky.
Unable to inspect the not very old and rather grand St. Peter's church nearby, seemingly closed for conversion into starter offices.
Entertained at the bus stop by a herd of school girls, off to Cheapside to sing carols. Their teacher, a graduate of Goldsmiths who liked to compose, was head of music at the nearby academy and seemed very happy with his lot there. Enthusiastic place, much better than when under the previous management. Happily for all concerned, our entertainment was curtailed by our being slated for different buses.
Reference 1: https://www.riverford.co.uk/.
Reference 2: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/buckfast-1.html.
Reference 3: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/master-builder.html.
Reference 4: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/an-adventure-in-islington.html.
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