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Lara Ruffle

Lara Ruffle

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Category: London


Snowy Thames Path walk

Filed Under: London by Lara Ruffle — Leave a comment
March 17, 2013

Back in January us Londoners had a bit of proper snow and it was lovely. Also that month, stories appeared on the Interwebs declaring that the Thames Path by the Lovell’s development was to be opened after being shut for years (that is how it felt at least).

These two exciting events coincided with a visit from my aunt and uncle the weekend after the snow, so what better thing to do in freezing January than go for a walk to the O2! :)

It was also another opportunity to crack out the new shiny camera so here are some photos…

My favourite local, The Pelton Arms

An amazing sight! One can walk beside the river!





I spotted these wooly bollard hats two days earlier and found out they were the work of the Guerilla Knitters, Greenwich branch. Part of this walk turned into ‘spot the knitting’ which was quite enjoyable.







After the first knitting spots we came to Enderby’s Wharf which is supposed to be turning into a cruise liner terminal

Yes, I do cruelly force family members to pose for embarrassing photos





The east side of the Isle of Dogs is in the background

Morden Wharf with its awesome lettering



Spotted this great bit of work, I would imagine the Greenwich Industrial History Society were involved





Thwarted!

After walking the long way round we finally reached the O2 and went to Starbucks for a much needed hot drink!

We then went on the cable car but it was raining by that time and my photos are completely awful. It was fun though! Hooray for Boris’s dangleway!

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Tags: Enderby Wharf, Greenwich, Greenwich Guerilla Knitters, Greenwich Industrial History, Greenwich Industrial History Society, Morden Wharf, Thames Path, The Pelton Arms
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London from the 6th floor of One New Change

Filed Under: London by Lara Ruffle — Leave a comment
February 17, 2013

Whilst in the City last Saturday I came upon One New Change and went in to see what all the fuss was about. Not much to see, bog standard new shopping centre with a mediocre range of shops and restaurants.

However, the architect did some wonderful things to lift this shopping centre out of its mediocrity. For example, if you go to the lift in the centre of the building, the aspect from the lift is of St Paul’s Cathedral and the shopping centre has been split in the middle so you get a stunning view of the cathedral as you rise and fall. Nice!

Also stunning is the free panorama from the 6th floor, take the lift up to this superb view…














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Tags: Jean Nouvel, London, One New Change, St Paul's Cathedral, The Shard
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Little Pilates Studio

Filed Under: London by Lara Ruffle — 2 Comments
September 18, 2012



I’ve been attending various dance classes at Little Pilates Studio on Trafalgar Road for the past two months.

My favourite classes are Barre Fit and Zumba and I am really enjoying popping round the corner for a class after getting home from work. I used to do a lot of disco and contemporary dance at school but it has been a long time since I went to an exercise class!

Barre Fit incorporates elements of Ballet and Pilates and is more about stretching and toning than weight loss. Zumba on the other hand is fast, intense and you sweat a lot! However, both classes are great fun and I am enjoying improving my fitness little by little.

The two instructors I have been exercising with are really friendly and lead the classes really well. One of them is a bit of an exercise nutter and works you flat out but that is the point!

The studio offers a large variety of classes at different levels and classes are available all week at different times. Classes operate on a credits system so you only need to purchase credits to book and attend any class with 24 hours notice. Cool!

Discounted packages are also available and I signed up like a proper healthy person a few weeks back! :D .

So, if you don’t fancy the gym at The Arches or can’t be arsed with swimming either, go and dance and stretch and bend at Little Pilates!

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Tags: Barre Fit, East Greenwich, Greenwich, Little Pilates, Little Pilates Studio, Pilates, Street Jazz, Trafalgar Road, Zumba
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The Queen comes to Greenwich

Filed Under: London by Lara Ruffle — 8 Comments
April 25, 2012

I took the day off work today to see The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh officially open the Cutty Sark. The other half and I aren’t Royalists in any kind of nutty sense, but we do have a soft spot for the Royal family and this was too good an opportunity to miss.

Approaching the Cutty Sark through the Old Royal Naval College, the barriers were there for the procession a few hours later.

Reports on Twitter that grass spoilt by the Les Miserables filming was to be spray painted green was true…

Spots were designated for the local Primary schools to come and cheer the procession.

I still don’t know why these poor people were attached to the rigging for the whole morning.

Bit wet.

I bet these were The Queen’s bodyguards. The one in uniform was on stage with The Queen.

A good turn out for a horrible day. The stage was there for the inaugural performance of Diamond Greenwich.





The closest I got to the stage where the speeches and presentations were done!

But then they came down the path towards us and I took this! Yay!!! It was well worth the wait! :) .


View from the junction of King William Walk and Romney Road.

We were feeling cold and miserable after all the rain so headed to the Trafalgar Cafe for breakfast before going home. We went back via the Naval College and saw the King’s Troop passing through College Way as part of the royal visit.

I think the first three photos might not be of the King’s Troop as they walked instead of riding. Can anyone enlighten me?







I love that our lovely power station gets in all the shots!








We didn’t stay about for The Queen’s procession through College Way or for her visit to the National Maritime Museum but more photos and details about the royal visit can be found here:

Long to Rain Over Us – Crowds Brave Weather for Queen’s Visit, Greenwich.co.uk

Cutty Sark: Queen Reopens Greenwich Tea Clipper, BBC News

In Pictures: Queen Reopens Restored Cutty Sark, BBC News

Queen Officially Re-opens Cutty Sark, BBC News

The Queen’s Rain, The Greenwich Phantom

The museum also has some wonderful photos from 1937 when The Queen visited aged eleven!

Opening of the National Maritime Museum, 1937

A lovely day was had by all and the reward of a Trafalgar Cafe Full English Breakfast made the day even better!

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Tags: Cutty Sark, King's Troop, Lord Sterling, National Maritime Museum, Old Royal Naval College, Richard Doughty, Royal Horse Artillery, Royal Museums Greenwich, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Queen, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
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Meantime Brewing Company

Filed Under: London by Lara Ruffle — 3 Comments
April 9, 2012

Back in October I took the boyfriend to the Meantime Brewing Company for a boozy treat. For £15 each you get an excellent two-hour tour explaining the brewing process, the ideology behind Meantime and lots of free beer… if you can drink it that is!

The tours are currently on hiatus as Meantime is refurbishing its visitor area, the latest details can be found here.

A stone’s throw from Greenwich and the O2, Meantime moved to Blackwall Lane two years ago in order to expand its business. The brewery was started by Londoner Alastair Hook on Penhall Road, Charlton in 1999 and at first just brewed and bottled beer for other brands.

As detailed here, Meantime gradually developed its own beers, opened The Greenwich Union pub in 2001, and The Old Brewery restaurant in 2010. I can fully recommend the restaurant’s £15 lobster nights, yum yum yum.

Armed with a tasting glass we were taken round the brewery by charismatic guide Peter Haydon and were shown in excellent detail how the brewing process worked.



The Meantime logo sits atop the ROLEC vats

Huge shiny vats of booze



Spot the London Eye and the Jubilee Bridges on the London Lager labels

Meantime has its own laboratory where batches of beer are checked and tested frequently

Old and current brands brewed and bottled by Meantime

Haydon told us great stories about the history of beer in London and it was great to hear about the changes in business and drinking culture over the centuries.

As a non-beer drinker I only had a tiny amount of the London Lager, India Pale Ale and London Porter offered, but the other half more than made up for it as our tour group was small and you can’t waste five pint tankards can you!

He also bought a case of the Chocolate and Porter Style Ale which he indulged in over the next week or so.

We had a great time and are very much looking forward to the opening of the Meantime shop so we can pick up a well-priced case of beer on a regular basis. Here’s hoping the refurbishment will include the shop!

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Tags: Alastair Hook, Greenwich, Meantime, Meantime Brewery, Meantime Brewing Company
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Elephants and Lambs

Filed Under: London by Lara Ruffle — 3 Comments
April 7, 2012

Today I visited Mudchute Park and Farm for their lambing season, and on the way I passed through the Old Royal Naval College to see the set that is being built for the filming of Les Misérables.

The part of the film being shot in Greenwich relates to the Elephant of the Bastille, an unfinished monument conceived by Napoleon in 1808. The elephant is used as a shelter for a character named Gavroche in the film.

French flags are now flying from the walls of the ORNC and the entire central area has been covered in tarpaulin with dark gravel on top. Carriages from the 19th Century are dotted around the area and the central area looks quite desolate.

It was pretty cool to walk through a film set too!










Fake ground on the left, real paving on the right


The lavender smelt lovely


Not sure if this is entirely historically accurate






Fake left, real right

I then wandered down to the foot tunnel and experienced the awesome new lifts that have been installed (at last!) at either end of the tunnel. They are huge inside and are very swish in comparison to the dirty mess of the stairs and tunnel itself.



It was then time for my first 2012 visit to my favourite city farm, and I had my customary walk round to say hello to the pigs first.









I was hoping to see some baby lambs and was quite lucky to be there at the right time of the day when the farm’s volunteers were feeding the sheep. I was led into the sheep shed where all the mummy sheep were looking after their young and lots of parents and their children came in too.

It was quite wonderful seeing the lambs and there was a little white face lamb that had been born yesterday huddling in the corner of its pen. They were all running about and feeding on their mummies, a beautiful experience.








Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww!








Triplets!

Once I had torn myself away from the lambs I said hello to the lovely llamas.





I then witnessed turkey rape which wasn’t quite so pleasant!




But the lovely flowers on this plant made me happy again, as did my hot chocolate from the Mudchute kitchen. :)

Happy Easter etc!

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Tags: Elephant of the Bastille, Greenwich, Isle of Dogs, Lambing, Les Misérables, Mudchute, Mudchute Park and Farm, Old Royal Naval College
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