Sunday 17th September 2023

Woke around 0800. Aki got up and made tea. Cooked breakfast. Headed out, as Aki had booked us in for an Open House visit to a flat in Southwark. Took a No.17 bus from Nags Head to London Bridge, then walked down Borough High Street. Took a brief detour into Lant Street, where the 11 year old Charles Dickens had been lodged in a garratt room near Marshalsea Debtors Prison, where his father had been incarcerated. Don't think much of the street would be recognisable to young Charles now, though. The Open House venue was a fourth floor flat in a 30s era Council block, which had been slightly enlarged by the owner knocking through to the disused communal laundry space next door. It was a tiny flat still, though, but he had commissioned a joiner to make much of the furniture in laminated ply. He hosts emerging artists from around the globe, who are given bed and board in return for staging an exhibition of their work in the flat...we promised to keep our eye out for any future exhibitions via his website. 

Wandered back to Borough High Street via an alleyway, the southern boundary of which was marked by a high brick wall...found a plaque stating that it had once formed the southern boundary wall to the Marshalsea Debtors Prison. We had planned to get lunch at Wright Bros in Borough Market, but as we walked up the High Street it started raining...so by the time we got undercover at the Market, hundreds of people had had the same idea...the place was gridlocked. 

Decided to walk on over London Bridge, and Aki remembered a little Japanese udon noodle house she had once eaten in. It was situated in the pedestrian underpass beneath Norman Fosters' Bloomburg HQ. Food was good...had broth with a large tempura prawn floating in it. I had a feeling the Temple of Mithras site was very near at hand, and we came across it as we walked around the southern corner of the Bloomburg building. 

To our astonishment it was free to gain entry...Bloomburg had financed the creation of a mini museum, and, after perusing some of the 14,000 artifacts that had been discovered on the site when the foundations were being dug in 2010, we descended to a sub basement where the temple footprint had been found, and is now very atmospherically displayed...we were within touching distance of beautifully built stone works that were 1,800 years old. We regained the street level, and popped in to Wren's St Stephens, Walbrook...there is a huge alter stone beneath the impressive cupola, hewn by Henry Moore. Chad Varah had been rector here, and had founded the Samaritans on the very spot. We headed home after that. I cooked dinner...confit of duck, with sauteed potatoes, lentils, vegetables, and a mushroom sauce. Managed to FaceTime ma and pa...they looked in good nick. Dad has an appointment for an endoscopy procedure on Thursday. They are going to put him under. Hope it sheds some light on what's been troubling him! FaceTimed Kath, who has been swimming in the North Sea...she seems to enjoy it! Watched England v Japan from the Rugby World Cup...Japan were well beaten in the end, probably because most  of their players are no more than 5'5" tall!!! Bathed before bed...