What a wonderful hour I have spent having driven to Chelsea Green to the place of my birth. Took takeaway coffee and croissant from Birley Bakery and sat in my car with the rain of London Town falling upon me. This blog following.
Moved to take the photo above I so enjoyed the trip back down Memory Lane at the junction of Elystan and Cale Streets , the former where I was born and the latter where my school was. Where did those 70 odd years go to , how many places around the world had I been and seen yet this was still home. Call me romantic, call me nostalgic but there is a magic here like nowhere in the world. Where rich meets poor , where privilege meets damaged, where fake meets real.
The Post Office now estate agents John D Wood , the laundromat now Birley Bakery. The triangular green a remnant of Chelsea Common laid out in 1836 with Kings Road two minutes to the east. Sutton Dwellings built 1913 and survived two world wars and the assault of Property Developers trying to rob the less well off from an affordable place to live.
It is like heaven where the stalwart Brits remain and the languages of Babel have engulfed every square inch. Chelsea stands tall that unique place on earth , home of fashion , music and true London.
On the exact spot where I heard that Pope John the 23rd died , 1963 and two minutes from the school where I saw Neil Armstrong walk on the moon 1969. With Charles Dickens marrying in St Luke’s Church behind me this is history 1836. It’s been a memorable hour , a fabulous coffee and yes I bloody well loved the croissant.
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