Old age
Just like research itself is an ongoing process, work-in-progress, one might say, so is reflecting upon it. Along with key findings about the significance of walks for research to be fulfilling, one would also be prone to think that it’s also people who appear to be great sources of information and inspiration. What follows is a sketch of one such source, not a stranger to the Strand and its communities. Coupled with it is a description of the character of the encounters with the conversationalist.
…is 99 and grey. Naturally grey. Does not dye one’s hair. 
‘It’s not for us’, says Louise. Her sense of dissociation from the local area is shared by others at the Age Concern Day Centre in Covent Garden. During the afternoon I spent at the Centre last Wednesday, Louise, Stan, Alma, Jean and Antony remembered local stalls and shops - now lost: their view seems to be that the old places have been replaced or rebuilt to suit the interests of younger people and tourists; those with larger wallets and more expensive tastes. Read more »
Noble St.
One drizzling summer afternoon found me walking along London Wall. Something swerved the direction of my stroll towards St. Paul’s Cathedral through Noble Street. That’s where I found a monument in the air, spelling out my thoughts in the form of somebody else’s reminiscences.
January 21-2, 4000
Sad Lady
It was late Saturday evening
when I saw the Sad Lady
Slumped on the pavement
by busy Holborn station
She looked a benign, loving, person
White hair, large glasses
Sturdy cardigan and floral dress
But her shoes were forlorn
In front, was a small paper cup
from the ominous betting shop
Entreating alms, but ignored
by the disengaged horde
Sad Lady appeared so saintly
but bore the stigma
of a tainted medieval leper
And the little cup was bereft Read more »
The Strandlines team met with a group supported by the Age Concern Day Centre three times this December. Most meetings involved discussions of distant memories: how the local area had changed over the past fifty years, for instance. On Friday 3rd December, however, we decided to take a different tack. Strandlines is not only interested in long-ago happenings, but also recent events and the everyday lives of people living and working in the area. Read more »
Joseph Johnson was an infamous ballad singer who had a pitch on the Strand.
