A cold and sunny day and I met Harry at Pret a Manager just outside Stratford Station. Stratford and the surrounding area has changed so dramatically since I used to drive to see printers in the 1990s. The whole area at that time can only be described as semi-derelict. Lots of industry, including many printing companies, and that made the place dirty an unloved.
Now the place has transformed into brand an area of brand new developments erected prior to and after the 2012 Olympics, and the station has become a natural hub with its adjacent shopping malls. As you walk away across the railway lines and away from the bus station towards the Olympic stadium the area has a more open feel to it.
We first came across Sadlers wells East, of course, a brand new building. We entered and saw an exercise class in one area of the foyer and a large cafe beside the class of mixed adults.
We essentially walked through the bright new Sadlers Wells building past the aerobic class, with just a glance at the canteen and out the other door.
We continued to the nearby V&A Storehouse. I’d visited with Ray in January, so I didn’t want to spend too much time there, but I knew Harry had an obsession for David Bowie. On the second floor the V&A have a large space dedicated to to Bowie and so we spent quite awhile in the room. I mostly watched the videos displayed on the huge screen that dominates the room.
While in the storehouse I watched one of the conservationists while Harry had a chat to his brother or brother-in-law I couldn’t make out which about a train set he had just bought for £50 from a local charity shop. This woman meticulously cleaned the dust from what looked like a chines cabinet. Dressed in a high visibility jacket with a miniature vacuum cleaner carried on her back like a rucksack she brushed up the dust with what looked like a paint brush and sucked up the dust. She had a mask and head torch and some other contraption stuck to the side of her head. It all looked very high tech for a dusting operation.
We walked a little further around the building and left.
From this point on we followed the adjacent canal northwards for several miles passing Hackney Marshes and then Walthamstow Marshes until we had really had enough of walking and hunger had begun to set in. We arrived at a T-Junction in the path and turned right following Coppermill Stream on our left and then under the railway line. Shortly afterwards we joined a road which turned out to be Coppermill Lane built to carry transport to the pumping station and sewage works on our right.
We walked on and on until we found a pub. By this time Harry had become desperately thirsty. Unsurprisingly the pub was named The Coppermill. I thought the place had closed down when I first approach, but no the door swung open and we entered a long bar where the publican sat and his only customer. We had just trebled his trade. I’m still not drinking so I had a fizzy water and Harry drank a pint. The landlord had racing blaring away on two TVs and the three of us recounted our racing stories Both Harry and the publican told of big wins but forgot about the losses.
After our drink we walked on to St James St where we found a pizza place. We ate our food, Harry had another pint and then continued our journey north to Blackhorse Road Station where we picked up the Victoria Line. I said goodbye to my old school chum at Kigs Cross.