thestreetnames

This blog has been a bit neglected of late due to my training for an participation in the recent MoonWalk London 2014, organized by Walk the Walk in aid of breast cancer charities.

Apologies for the long gap in communication. However, all will be back to normal soon and in the meantime, here is a photo of me with my finisher’s medal as proof that I did walk all 26.2 miles. The team of ten women (including me)  I walked with managed in it just over 7 hours.

The event was spectacular; apparently there were a few logistical glitches but I was one of the fortunate ones unaffected by that, so from where I stood (strode) it all appeared extremely well organized. Clapham Common was pretty cold between 9pm and midnight, with a brisk wind howling through and keeping us pretty chilly, especially those of us, like me, who didn’t want to end up carrying layers as we warmed up, so were wearing just our decorated bras and a thin jacket.

Thank you to all the supporters who cheered us on along the way, especially the man with the rucksack who appeared at a number of different spots including the finish line, and was our most enthusiastic galvaniser.

Incidentally, Clapham Common (taking its name from the Clapham family) was home to many notable people, including the novelist Graham Greene, and Elizabeth Cook, widow of the explorer Captain James Cook; she lived there for many years following the death of her husband.

And one of the first cool London names our route took us past was Lavender Hill. Yes, that is named because Lavender was once grown there. It is probably best known as the setting for the Ealing comedy The Lavender Hill Mob.

So more on London street names soon, possibly continuing the MoonWalk theme, or maybe just random names that I like. I’m currently reading and enjoying Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch so maybe I’ll look at covering some of the street names that crop up in the book.