I’ve received more positive feedback from friends, family and colleagues about my London Loves Lunchtimes articles than I have about anything I’ve ever written: it’s an important lesson to learn that people are generally more interested in hearing about my lunchtime adventures in London then they are about my thoughts on music, sport, politics and life!
My company moved offices from just off The Strand to between Barbican and St Paul’s about 7 months ago and in the following months I haven’t really ventured too far and have fallen into a routine of all too familiar trips to safe and comfortable Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Boots, M&S and Greggs. With my period of working full-time in London fast coming to an end coupled with my recent realisation that I need to do more with my life, I suddenly have a sense of urgency to make the most of my time left in the City.
In the last few weeks I have had a couple of highly enjoyable lunchtimes discovering the delights of Vietnamese French baguettes (pork with tasty fresh and spicy flavours all wrapped up in a comforting hunk of French bread) and the stunning array of sights and smells from wonderful Whitecross Street Market (a deliciously salty halloumi Turkish pizza wrap followed by an enjoyable mini Brazilian cheese bread thing).
I felt it was time for a new adventure so set out on Monday with two goals: that I was going to go somewhere I had never been before and eat from somewhere I had never eaten before. No more Sainsbury’s meal deals eaten outside St Paul’s for me! Speaking of Sainsbury’s, I have adopted one of their former brand campaigns as my new lunchtime mantra: Try Something New Today. It’s a simple philosophy and one that is perfect for the long overdue return of my lunchtime adventures.
Heading south I decided to look for a food market that a couple of colleagues had mentioned was near New Change. I hate shopping centres and walking though One New Change was no more fun than walking through Tower Ramparts in Ipswich. The only difference was that this shiny mecca of capitalism had higher quality shops – Bang and Olufsen instead of Dixons, Hugo Boss instead of BHS, basically everything to keep city boys and girls looking beautiful.
I walked through there because I thought it was the way to the market; soon I realised it wasn’t so I decided to continue walking south. I kept doing so until I reached the entrance to Mansion House Tube station where I saw a sign for a river walk route – perfect. Heading in the direction of the river walk I passed some of the many brutal building sites that seem to be a permanent part of the City, before coming to a statue of one of the strangest things I have seen in London: a statue to the historic role of the bridge master and swan marker. What a statue and what a job that must have been!
To head further south and reach the river meant crossing a busy road via a steep concrete footbridge. Tentatively I made my way up and across, not helped by either my fear of heights or the aching muscles in my wobbly legs, caused by my decision to run 5 and half miles the previous day. I made it across in one piece and then there it was: the world famous River Thames.
Previously I had experienced the Thames via Waterloo Bridge (my favourite view in London), South Bank (my favourite place to hang out in London) and beautiful Victoria Embankment (one of my favourite places to walk in London); now I had a different take on this historic waterway and I liked what I saw. Directly opposite me was the dominating modernist building that is the Tate Modern and next to it was an instantly recognisable round building. The building looked natural, like it belonged to this part of London; I soon realised that was because this building was Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre!
Leaning against the wall I took in the amazing view around me: the striking differences between the glass of the Shard and the ornate iron detail of Southwark Bridge to my left, geese bobbing in the waves of the murky green river below me, the historic Globe Theatre and striking Tate Modern buildings opposite me, and the many more bridges to my right, towards the west and the South Bank that I had often visited from my previous London office.
Tourist boat cruises passed by and I instantly thought how much I would like to be on one of them, taking in the wonderful riverside sights of London on a sunny day like this. My daydream was soon shattered by a familiar London street smell – the ammonia hit me hard and made me take a step back as I realised that I was enjoying this great view from what was effectively a tramp’s urinal!
Taking a step back I turned my attention to the many riverside runners also making the most of their lunchtimes. I myself had ran (well jogged with a little bit of walking) alongside a river the previous day, and although my Norfolk river was far removed from the Thames of central London, I felt I could still relate to them a bit with their choice of running alongside a river. It’s no surprise that people who live in cities flock to the few natural environments that are left – that’s why the most expensive houses in New York are the ones opposite Central Park.
Walking east briefly I soon found the way to Southwark Bridge and started my way back north towards my office. Over the bridge and back into the City I passed many of the pubs that must have made a fortune in keeping city boys (and it is always mostly men in this part of London) refreshed over the years. It was St Patrick’s Day so there were plenty of city suits outside Irish chain pubs with their obligatory pints of Guinness. My favourite scene was of a well fed city boy in a regulation dark blue suit taking it in turns to eat his takeaway sushi with chopsticks with one hand and slurp from his pint of black stuff with the other. If ever there was a scene to describe the City, this was it.
Leaving the Monday lunchtime drinkers I continued north to St Mary Alderman Church where I had passed a few pop-up takeaway stalls on my way down. I had planned to get a burrito from one of the stalls on my way back but there was a large queue and time was fast running out on my lunch break so I continued heading north until I found myself on Cheapside. Crossing the road and then turning left to make my way back to the office I was fast running out of having somewhere new to get my lunch from. I then saw a small kiosk called Deli Box and decided that this was a good a choice as any. Bewildered by the choices on the menu I went for chicken on top of rice with sweet chilli sauce on top of that. I ate it when I got back to my desk and it tasted exactly as chicken, gravy and vegetables on top of egg fried rice coated with sweet chilli sauce tastes like – not unpleasant but perhaps not the greatest combination in the world.
The important thing for me however was that I had tried something new today! I’d been somewhere I’d never been before, seen things I’d never seen before, and ate something I’d never eaten before. I felt good for these new experiences and wanted to have this feeling repeated again and again. There’s so much more I want to do in London, so many things that I haven’t experienced, so many opportunities that I have missed out on. Not all of this can be completed in a lunch hour from the City of London but I’m going to try my best to do as much as I possibly can before my time working full-time in London is forced to an end. London: I’m not finished with you yet!
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