The Solitary Review

The Bullring and St Martins, Birmingham

"Tell you what, right. We'll put it about that Birmingham is a post-industrial wasteland where people speak in funny accents and keep ferrets down their trousers and perpetually on the edge of a race war."

"And not mention the young and vibrant cultural scene, the green spaces, the genuinely integrated population, the house prices about half what they are in London,  and the straightforward and tolerant nature of most of the inhabitants. Or even the amazing sunsets."

"That's the idea. Keep the southerners from moving here and putting up prices, that will."

"Right you are."

 

Watercolour and pigment liner, September 2018

Croix-Rousse, Lyon

 

I revisited an old subject from three years back but one of my favourite places - the Croix-Rousse district of the fabulous city of Lyon, France.

Watercolour, 29.7 x 21 cm, August 2018

The Tolworth Apple Store

 

Watercolour, August 2018. The Tolworth apple store is a building in Tolworth, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. 

Parkrun alphabet

Parkrun venues done by initial letter (ongoing Alphabet Challenge):

A - B - Bushy, Beckton, Brighton Hove Park, Brockwell Park C - Cannon Hill, Crane Park, Clapham Common, Crystal Palace  D - Dulwich E - F - Fulham Palace, Finsbury Park G - Gunnersbury H - Highbury Fields, Hazelwood I - J - K - Kingston L - M - Mole Valley

N - Nonsuch O - Osterley, Old Deer Park P - Peterborough, Preston Park, Perry Hall Q - R - Richmond S - Southsea T - Tooting Common U - V - W - Weymouth, Woking, Wimbledon, Wormwood Scrubs (there are none beginning with X) Y - Z -

Cafe Review: Waylands Yard, Birmingham

This was another of those lazy mornings - had a full day the day before (including running too many laps of a parkrun!),then met a former work colleague for lunch, then in the evening to the legendary Hare & Hounds in Kings Heath to hear post-punk funkateers A Certain Ratio supported by the upcoming and exciting Sink Ya Teeth. Even without alcohol (I don't these days) I slept well into the morning. 

So, on the bus (at least Birmingham now has a smart card for the bus. Perhaps by 2020 they'll introduce next-stop information like pretty much everywhere else) back to central Brum, and a short walk up in the direction of Snow Hill to the Birmingham branch of Waylands Yard. Quiet still at this hour of a morning that was growing warm like a sleeping cat. Hi, what would you like? asks chirpy lady behind the counter. I'm not sure yet, but it will involve breakfast. But for now an Americano (which is very good ) and peruse the menu. Sandwiches, bagels, eggs, baps ... 

But of course. Eggy crumpets. Who could resist an eggy crumpet or two for brunch, especially if there is bacon? So I don't. Resist, that is. It is delish. Tuck into this interrupting my use of their wifi, because yes there is wifi and the password is noted clearly on a board, as is the varied menu of drinks and coffees and food. A second coffee I would like, but as time is pressing before my train I fish out the KeepCup from my pullcase and have it in that. Trundle back down the hill to Moor Street (yes, I could have gone on to Snow Hill but not all trains start from there I think). Chiltern Rail is its usual wonderful self as well. 

And you're home. Not that you weren't home, but you are home.

I had:

Americano £2.00 each
Eggy crumpets £5.95 + Bacon £2.00

Would I return: oh yes. 

Waylands Yard Birmingham
42 Bull Street 
Birmingham B4 6AF

Monday - Friday 7.00 - 18.00 | Saturday 8.00-18.00 | Sunday 9.00 - 16.00 (kitchen closes at 3pm)

Website

There was supposed to be another picture, of the outside, but for some reason it didn't take.

Carrer del Pont Vell, Besalu', Pyrenees

The Carrer del Pont Vell (Old Bridge Street) in Besalu', in the Pyrenees. Besalu' is an ancient and historic town with a varied past including a well-documented Jewish Quarter. The Bridge in question is quite remarkable. Maybe a painting of that one day. Watercolour, c. 25 x 28 cm, June 2018

Camprodon, Pyrenees - watercolour

Camprodon is a lovely village in the Catalan Pyrenees. Down the road from it at a place called El Ral (formerly El Reial), was one of the last known habitations of the Golluts, the so-called Lost Race of the Pyrenees. 

Watercolour and pen, c. 30 x 20 cm, June 2018

Paragliders

Paragliders, acrylic on canvas, June 2018. Done at the suggestion of one of my friends who wanted me to do this to 'get me started' back in painting. 

Cafe Review: Boys n Berry, Fulham Road

This isn't an area I know very well. But I'm being specific here: I lived in West Kensington (also in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham) for longer than I've lived anywhere before or since*, and was familiar with Fulham Broadway and the Fulham Palace area … but not really with the road between them. It had a lot of antique shops, a few somnolent pubs, and not much else.

But of course that was then, and for various reasons the antique shops are mostly gone, and this is now an area which has very much arrived. Up from Parsons Green (always smart what with the White Horse, aka the Sloaney Pony in its midst) Fulham Road is positively full of bars and coffee shops. This one, Boys n Berry, came highly recommended by coffee blogger, barista and Instagrammer Izzy Austen (@caffeinegalore). 

BnB (for short) is opposite a pub called the Brown Cow, which may take its name from a fictional pub which skills here tracked down to what is now the Nell Gwynne on Kings Road. Be that as it may: BnB is smart and reassuringly dark wood, a bar downstairs that is a bit more steel 'n' neon than the wood-panelled and smart-mum-friendy upstairs. I sat in the back which is a pleasant secluded space with rough brick walls and bookcases, but somehow reminding me a bit of Maison Mayci in Kings Heath. 

Izzy suggested I not eat before my visit as the lunch menu looked gorgeous. It certainly did: I had Slow Cooked Eggs i.e. two poached eggs with Hollandaise sauce, spinach and bacon. This was yummy and reminded me of my favourite breakfast at Fat Fanny's (later Café Continente) near West Kensington station. I also had long black coffee (they'll let you call it an Americano but it's a long black, m'kay?). This was excellent as well.

---

* which must be why I still dream of it, 13 years after I left!

I had:

Slow Cooked Eggs £11.00
Long Black Coffee £2.50

Boys 'n' Berry

839 Fulham Road, London SW6 5HQ
www.boysnberry.co.uk

 

Tree and Leaf - Watercolour, 2018

A picture of my garden, from the arch to the shed and the foliage above it. On the left there is a pear tree. On the right foliage from the plants by pond and from the apple tree.

Watercolour, c. 18 x 12 cm, May 2018