My Holborn

I have lived in Holborn for this last sixteen years. I applied to come back to London on a scheme called ‘Mobility’. This scheme allows pensioners to move nearer to their families. This in theory takes the pressure off the social services as a family member would be near enough to look out for their ailing old parents. My son lives at a very easy distance from me in Willesden.

In the middle-ages Holborn was all grass fields. Holborn got its name from the river Holbourne which was a tributary of the River Fleet which itself was a tributary of the Thames.

Holborn is well situated not far from the central shopping centre of Oxford Street - famous for its bargains and frequent sales. It is always on the itinerary for tourists.

Covent Gardens - famous for its street entertainment - is another exciting place not far from my doorstep. The performers include musicians, clowns, stilt-walkers and jugglers. It also boasts of a Transport and Theatre Museum where you can wander down the ages with old fashioned buses and dated vehicles. At the movie museum you see the early technology of the twenties dating back to the time of films like ‘Sing Fool’ the first talky as well as stills of actors and actress past and present.

Not far from my dwellings is theatre land, all with glittering and sparkling productions, musicals to set your feet tapping with wonderful lyrics and unforgettable music, plays that thrill you and frighten you and give you culture. You laugh and cry with the emotions that come across the footlights at you, plays that open you up to all walks of life and situations.

I am not far from the city with its wall to wall history and many fine buildings. You stand in awe of St Paul Cathedral. I have spent many hours in the public galley in the Old Bailey. These ancient buildings are all part of the view from my window and I am amazed that these building have stood so long the test of time. I wonder how long the modern building of today will last.

Hatton Garden is a street that runs parallel to Leather Lane which incidentally is a famous street market. Hatton Garden dates back to the 16th Century and was then and is today the street of jewellers.

Holborn has many colourful characters and can boast of Sir Francis Bacon who was a lawyer and said by many to have written Shakespeare plays, Hiram Maxim who invented the machine gun.

This area is convenient as it is so accessible for travelling around London and the out-lying districts. It was very useful when I belonged to a First Aid Organisation which called for me to travel to different places - convenient transport was at hand.

The time I love most about Holborn is the weekends when I set out to go to church on a Sunday morning and there are very few people about. More people tend to work in Holborn than actually live here. The streets are calm with very little traffic - a great peace prevails in the area, in stark contrast to the hurly burly of the weekdays.

I love this place particularly in the summer when the sun is shining and casts a shimmer over its ancient buildings as I pass. I feel a sense of awe as I ponder the scenes of long ago and wonder about the lives that have lived in this magical place before me. I imagine the ladies in their long skirts. The men in tight trousers, colourful caviars and flock coats. This was Dickens' London and it is conceivable that the Holborn portrayed in his many novels was indeed about the squalor, degradation and sufferings of the poor in this part of London.

Compare this to the up-market and affluent homes and businesses that exist to day of Holborn -noted for being the centre of the legal profession and the home of justice. Today Holborn is a place of excellence - a hive of big business.

I feel happy living here in this part of London as I was born here and the playground in Coram Fields was the same playground that I used to play in as a child and is the same playground that my grandson played in when he was small.

My life has gone a full circle as I am now back in Holborn where my life began.
I have come back to my roots.

A little mystery

I seem to be having a slight contretemps with the post office at the moment.

Just after Christmas a card from a post office in London was put through my door stating that an item had been sent but with insufficient postage. If I sent the same card back with £1.30p in stamps attached, they would deliver the item. Of course I did that, but all that happened was that it was sent back but with no more messages on it!

All very annoying as I am intrigued to know what the item is and who the person is who has sent it!

I took the card to Mount Pleasant post office where a nice man said there was nothing wrong with the stamps I'd put on and he was as mystified as I was. He made some squiggles on it and posted it himself. Big stuff !!

That was well over a week ago, and I'm still waiting !
Any ideas? Comments gratefully received.

Polly.

The image is from

www.clipartheaven.com/ &

www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/