In October 2021 a group of 15 of us went on a London Walks outing. It was around what I suppose is the village of Hampstead, followed by a short visit to part of Hampstead Heath. Most of us enjoyed eating our sandwiches by the lovely pond by the Pagoda Gardens, one of the hidden gems of London.

Our November 2021 walk was rather a contrast as this time we took a shorter walk from Trafalgar Square via the Strand and along Fleet Street towards St Paul’s Cathedral. The day started off with coffee in the Crypt of St Martins-in-the-Field church. We found the time to make brief visits inside three further churches, and passed numerous interesting places en-route. We listened to Hodge the cat talk about life with his owner, Samuel Johnson, who compiled the very first English dictionary in around 1746. Hodge was a very fine cat indeed. Also on our travels was the Old Cheshire Cheese, which was rebuilt in 1667 and was frequented by the likes of Charles Dickens, Dr Johnson, James Boswell, Mark Twain and US President Theodore Roosevelt. The pub was also home to a parrot called Polly who had the unique ability to swear in numerous languages. On her death in 1926, her obituary was placed in 200 newspapers around the world. Some achievement indeed for a very famous bird! The tour finished at St Bride’s Church in Fleet Street where we were able to look at some remains in the crypt, from Roman, Saxon and Norman eras. Three of us then went back to the Old Cheshire Cheese for a drink.