The Number 67 Route

Monday 19 April 2010

Mary, Linda and I did not have to wait long at Wood Green and boarded the 67 at 11.30. The bus was quite busy as we headed down past the shopping centre and the many shoe shops to Turnpike Lane Station, and then down West Green Road to Black Boy Road.  The housing is quite dense around here, as confirmed by the fact that we passed 3 primary schools in the first five minutes of our trip, including Chestnuts Primary school, by a small green area called Chestnut Park, although most of the trees seemed to be London Planes

We saw Papa Jonas Vie-Court's Congolese Restaurant, but sadly it does not seem to have a website although the Florentia Clothing Village does!  We also passed St Ann's hospital, still associated for many people with the tragedy of Baby P.  The Police Station is just across the road, but clearly proximity did not make communication any more effective.

Soon we were in Stamford Hill, passing Lubavich House as well as many shops serving the needs of the local community, perhaps the strangest being a Kosher kebab shop.  As we headed towards Stoke Newington, we spotted a political, or perhaps anti-political poster by Dr.d  impressively up to date as the Goldman Sachs story only broke on Friday.

Down into Dalston, and we were in among the works for the East London Line extension,  as well as admiring a beautifully tiled Mosque.

We were also taken with the clock outside a hardware shop. Mary was delighted that we passed Ridley Road Market, where she used to shop when she was a student, as well as the Metropolitan Hospital, where she did her first job, and the Fox pub where she and her co-workers used to unwind.  We were, though,  less happy to see a ghost bike outside the Fox.

The Geffrye Museum is clearly having major works done on its grounds, as there were diggers and large bags of soil lying around.  Its beautiful trees make it hard to take a decent photo, however.

Heading straight for the Gherkin, we passed a second impressive mosque, as well as the beautiful church of St Leonard's Shoreditch, built by George Dance: clearly the early 18th century was a good period for architects - we were about to pass Christ Church, Spitalfields, built by Nicholas Hawksmoor.

Then we came to Toynbee Hall, with its Blue Plaque to its founder Jimmy Mallon, and Canon Barnett Primary School, named for the husband of Henrietta Barnett, whose parish this was.  After a quick turn around Aldgate East Station, we were at Aldgate, arriving an exact hour after we had left Wood Green.