Maggi dropped me off at Hatch End and I strolled to the station and waited in the cold until 9 am before my Freedom Pass would allow entry.
I didn’t mind the wait as my appointment at St Mark’s wasn’t until 10:20 and the journey to Harlesden plus walk would only take 40 minutes. I walked along the filthy Acton Lane from Harlesden Station to the hospital concerned about what waited for me. On either side of the busy road sit industrial and warehouse properties with tips and garbage thrown from passing motorists. Not a place to visit for sightseeing.
I have suffered from rectal bleeding for a year on and off and finally I have an appointment. The appointment came out of the blue. On Tuesday I visited Pinn Medical Centre to find out why I couldn’t contact St Mark’s about my referral dating back to last May. The receptionist phoned while I waited and said they had no times available and the waiting list stretched to up to a year. She did however give me another phone number.
On Wednesday I called the new number and was immediately given an appointment for the next day i.e today. Once I had checked I sat down in the reception area and spoke to a fellow patient to make sure I had followed the correct registration procedure. He seemed very pleasant but after a few minutes moved away from me.
After a relatively short wait the doctor appeared and called my name I followed him to his room unable to pronounce his surname, but found his Christian name, George, easy.
We chatted about my condition and then he called for a nurse so that he could examine me. I pulled down my trousers lay on the bed and curled my legs up towards my chest. He prodded and poked and declared what I already knew that I have a bad case of Haemoroids.
He declared that had I not been taking Apixaban then he would have done the procedure to resolve the issue there and then. I must now wait for a pre-op call and have a self-administered jab as an alternative to taking the Apixaban and Clopridorel. I await with less concern than previously.
From the hospital I returned to Harlesden and boarded the tired Bakerloo Line down to Oxford Circus. Compared with our Metropolitan Line getting on a Bakerloo train seems like going back 20 years. The train is noisy, dirty and not particularly comfortable.
As I disembarked at Oxford Circus and crossed the road I looked into the Microsoft showroom that sits on the junction of Oxford Circus. The place seemed to have no one but employees inside. A few minutes down the road sits the Apple Shop which buzzes with life loads of people serving and lots of customers or just sightseers. I wandered around the shop and bought a plug that accepts 2 USB-C inputs. Possibly a luxury because we down need it at home but only when we travel in the UK or where they use the same plug type.
From here I wandered over to Manchester Square and entered the Wallace collection.
I haven’t been here for several years and I thought I would just have a look around. Despite the wonderful sky the air had a bitterly cold sting so I was glad to enter and enjoy the warmth. The place is a real mish mash of items plus paintings that the Earls of Hertford bought during the nineteenth century plus on the first and second floors you can view the painting they have purchased.
I started my tour by visiting a display of 5 clocks made by 17th C cabinet maker André Charles Boulle. He made clocks for Louis XIV and his courtiers of the most elaborate Baroque designs. The clocks and cabinets must have cost a fortune in their day. They feature figures from Greek and Roman myths.
I then moved onto the arms and armour displays wondering at the intricate and ornate workmanship involved in the ancient pistols rifles and swords. The collection features items of war from the Middle Ages up until the 19th C from all over Europe, The Middle East and China. There are hundreds of items on show most only represented by a number or a short phrase. To the layman like myself it is all a bit bewildering.
As I moved on I entered a long room that held the assorted items, again from all over the world. Beautiful crafter masterpieces in gold, silver, ceramics, glass and other materials. It seems amazing that a few very wealthy individuals had the time to collect all these things and then have time to admire them. It would be pointless buying these objects unless you are going to study and enjoy them.
I found that Bloomberg offer an app that allows you to read or listen to a short piece on some selected items in the collection which makes the tour much more interesting. Finally I climbed the stairs and had a quick look at some of the painting especially those famous images of Venice by Canaletto.
I too a few photos shown below.
I returned home after finishing my look around