St. George the Martyr and Borough Market

Welcome Back, Children

Still having issues with my network connection both at my apartment and at work. So I have been a little behind on my postings.

Today we are going to learn about Borough Market

But before we do that, Erika is going to tell you about the creepy things she found across the street.

Ok, I know I told you about the bell that rings on the hour somewhere near me. Well it is the bell tower in a church near me. Yep, I am just a regular Sherlock Holmes.

After the first week of being very harried, I realized, there is pretty large church that is in the center of the square that I walk through on the way to and from work every day.

I guess I was so focused on being on the correct side of the street and getting to the correct tube station, I didn’t notice that the walls and gates I was passing twice a day were associated with a church and a church yard and that pretty much any way I walk, I am passing this area on the way to my apartment.

It is called St. George the Martyr http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_George_the_Martyr_Southwark
Someone told me that this area where I am in has a lot of Charles Dickens history and this church apparently is part of at least one of his novels. http://www.shadyoldlady.com/location.php?loc=4. It has been so long since I have read any Dickens, that it would have to be Ebenezer Scrooge or Tiny Tim got get my attention. Possible Fagon or Mrs. Haversham but that is really going to be a stretch back to high school Freshman English Lit. So people said the street names are the same and all that business. Totally lost on me.

I never know if I should say I live in the Borough District but I think the council is Southwark (pronounced suth-ick, It should all be English but in many cases, the same language sounds totally different.) Anyway, when I finally had the opportunity to pay more attention, I noticed the church itself as well as the there was a park across the pass through. It looked a little odd because it wasn’t that well maintained but I stopped by again and went through the gate on day when I had time to look around and take few pics.
It was really hard to tell if this was private property or what but it had a sign that said it was a park and had specific hours. When I looked further, there were people sitting on some of the benches reading and a few others lying in the sun and taking naps. Because the Brits don’t see much sun, they are out in it as much as possible.

This place seemed a little odd but I thought I would just stay a moment and check it out. So I look around and take a few pictures, nothing overly nice about it and it had some charm. So I started taking picture of the area then some of the what looked like sculptures or plaques with engraving that were on the far side. Why are they leaning against the wall? As I was zooming in to take a picture, I realize that all of these engraved plaques are actually headstones that had been dug up. As you can see, there were tones of them Just tons of them that have been dug up and are now lining the “park”. What in the world? Why would you go and take a nap here?

Some had just recently been dug up also. And there were even some tombs that couldn’t be dug up, obviously so they are just there in the middle of the sidewalk. I would thing that would be considered a desecration to do that? Maybe they didn’t dig up the bodies but that is even more strange to just move the headstones to the side and people are having picnics over the graves.
I asked Mike if that was an custom and he said it was not really traditional but it happens that they “repurpose” the land and they may not be able to afford to move the headstones yet. And they probably don’t exhume the bodies. You guys like the 80’s have you not seen Poltergeist? That doesn’t seem like a good idea. But I guess they have been doing that for centuries. I guess during Dickens’ time, they were worried about the Black Plague and the bodies were actually out in the streets so this is probably “quite lovely” by those standards.

At one end of Dead Man’s Park (or should I say Dedman), there was an actual plaque so I walk over to read it and is about the site of Marshalsea Prison. http://knowledgeoflondon.com/marshalsea.html This just keep getting better. http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/southwark/borough/marshalsea-prison-1850.htm Not much left of it but these walls that lead to the library. I wonder if these headstones are related to the prisoners.

But since it was a debtor’s prison, I doubt they could afford such fancy smancy headstones. (There’s some more Sherlock Holmes comin’ at ya. Am I blowing your mind yet?) Actually, it looks like there were two prisons on this site.

So when people say this part of town used to “not be that great”. Well, that was an understatement.

Borough Market

On to more savory things. Literally! Borough Market is the Bomb if you are foodie. This place is so much to drink in that I really feel like I should go every weekend to truly absorb this place. I thought it was more a green grocery and butcher shop with some specialty things but it was like a food fest, amazing artisan cheeses, breads, spices. You name it, it was there!

When I first walked in I did see more a green grocer but the produce was so phenomenal, I just kept taking pictures of it. They are just tomatoes, radishes and onions but they looked so pretty.

It reminded me of going to the fruit market with my grandmother where you put the fruits and vegetables in the brown bags then pay by the weight to the guy in the apron. I can’t remember the fruit stand we used to go to but I think it was called Neil’s or Al’s Fruit Market. I don’t think children today have any concept of that, you just get everything at the grocery store or Super Target.
I should not have eaten lunch before I came. This food was out of this world looking and everywhere you looked, someone was eating or drinking. One guy was just on overload, you could tell, he had a curry with rice in a clear container in one hand, we was eating some kind of sandwich that was hanging out of his mouth and he had a cider in another hand. All of this while he was walking down the middle of one of the walkways. He clearly didn’t have control of himself.

It was really neat because you might see a place selling seafood but from that same stall where you could get fresh fish and seafood, they were also selling amazing grilled scallops or fish fillets and rice and veg. They say “veg” here.

One area with the exotic meats had a long queue where they were grilling ostrich burgers and at the end of the stall they also had ostrich feather dusters.

I did decide I could drink something. They had fresh pressed juices where the guy was cutting up and pulverizing watermelons, mangos and oranges. I just loved how everything looked so colorful and neat. Just about everyone had a camera.

In one area, there was a series of umbrella covered kiosks. And you just wind your way through, sampling and asking questions about their hand pressed oils, marinated olives, truffles, pestos, candy. You name it! They are really “keen” on Mexican. Especially chilli con carne and burritos and nachos (pronounced gnat-chose). So there were lots of stalls dedicated to what they defined as salsa but they were pretty much any sauces of various combinations but not that many that were tomato, onion, chilies based.

I really was overwhelmed and, although I brought bags, didn’t want to carry a lot back with me. Now I definitely need to go home and drop off food before I headed to the museum (was on my way to Tate Modern).

It just seemed like every stall had something interesting to take in. There were also wine, beer and cider shops so in addition to people stopping by to eat, they had min pubs set up.
I ran into a colleague of mine and found out that she and her husband do not live very far, they live near the Tower Bridge where I went the first weekend, near Hays Galleria.

I stopped at an herbal shop called Neal’s Yard http://www.nealsyardremedies.com/and picked up these cool aromatherapy roll ons. The man at the store said if I came back another time, he would teach me about the herbs on the wall. (They say Her-bs here.). I have noticed that if you go to any store, pharmacy or other stores, you will find the herbal and homeopathic options displayed. You will rarely find a try pharmaceutical option just on the shelves and if you do (like at Boots), it is a small selection. I found a sleep aid that is made of about 3 herbs and it really knocks me out. I have to take something just about every night and this one I got is so much more effective than any that I get in the states. I also use my Neal’s Yard aromatherapy roll on (initially for Relaxation then closer to bed time I use the Night Time) and I have been getting much better, more restful sleep. I did have to get a decongestant and the pharmacist had to get it from behind the counter (Some Sudafed that they market here).

Finally, one of my favorite stores where I spent a bit more time was the a Chocolate store called Rabot Estate http://rabotestate.com/index.html. I like chocolate but I am not a chocoholic like some people (Ron) so I didn’t expect to really enjoy this place as much as I did. Not only did they have the most amazing selection of chocolate there but they had kits of chocolate for you to have chocolate parties and chocolate tastings as well as chocolate cookbooks. They have chili chocolates and chili chocolate dipping sauces, caramels, “boozie” chocolates, on an on. Then in another section of the store they had a reading, seating are and they had a bar where they make chocolate teas, deserts, have salads and sandwhiches and I think a few other goodies like cappuccinos . Really a cool store. I got a 4 piece sampler that was fantastic, a set of chilli chocolates (haven’t tried yet) and an assortment of “melts” that look like M&Ms but I think they are more exotic than those.
I left and took my small bounty home.

There was more to this day but want I am going to write it in two parts.
The next set will include :

Southwark Cathedral
Shakespeare’s Globe Theater
Tate Modern
Bankside Pier
The girl and her pants

Hugs and Kisses everyone!
Cheers,
E