Another Day in London

Our next adventure was another visit to London with our friend and neighbour, Adam (11). This trip was over two days and we started out early on the train from Northampton. After dropping off our bags, we straight to Hammersmith and then down the Fulham Palace Road headed for Craven Cottage - this time armed with our library book so we knew just how to get there. The brisk walk through the tree-lined streets of Fulham filled us all with excitement. And when the lights of the stadium was just visible above the houses we could not stop ourselves from taking photos. We stopped into the shop first to look at (and photograph) everything. The shop assistant kindly gave us a program or two and the Kit Catalogue. After walking around the outside of the ground as much as we could and peaking in through the fences, we hopped back onto a bus down the Fulham Road to Chelsea. 

When we reached the ground, we were overwhelmed by how many other fans were around us. No one seemed to be speaking English. It couldn't have contrasted more than the quaint and secluded Craven Cottage. Chelsea was busy, noisy and brash. We walked through the two story shop and around the public areas of the ground but we did not get a sense of personality from the atmosphere. After a little lunch on a bench we were tired and a long trip on the District Line from Fulham Broadway to Upton Park was just the thing. 

When we emerged from the station we might as well have come a hundred miles. My "country boys" were wide-eyed at the ethnic market and shops around us. With the scents of spices and shoe leather in the air and the sounds of reggae blasting from somebody's market stall, we headed down the road and soon enough The Boleyn Ground came into view. The boys just loved the castle look to the outside of the stadium. There is a primary school next door and they all said how they wished they could go to school there. Again we headed for the shop first to photograph everything in sight. The shop assistants couldn't have been more kind, recommending a few key places to visit - including the Bobby Moore statue a few minutes walk away. http://www.ukattraction.com/london/the-bobby-moore-statue.htm When we mentioned the reason for our visit, they gave the boys a little squeezy football each as a memento. We walked past a sort of cemetery memorial place set aside for people to have their ashes scattered. There we candles and fake flowers. Clearly there are some devoted fans. After a few photos of the charming statue we popped into the Boleyn Pub next door for a photo. This pub is a well-known watering hole for fans and we made the hammer sign next to the bar with several customers cheering us on. It was getting late, and though we had hoped to make it to Dagenham and Redbridge I thought better of it and we headed home for the night. I found out later that we have a distant Dumbell cousin who was goal keeper at West Ham for a short time. I wonder if this would have gotten us a little more attention. It didn't matter, we had a great visit. It was a lovely view of the Olympic Park from the tube as the sun was fading away over London. Adam took most of the pictures this day, but I got a few before my battery ran out:

The Lights of Craven Cottage