Exploring Neighborhoods and Activities

London, like New York, has many different neighborhoods. One guide book describes London as a collection of villages.

Our village, St. John’s Wood, is within the borough of Westminster. (London also has boroughs, like New York.) By the way, the name of our village, when said by the locals, is pronounced with the emphasis on John’s, as follows: St. John’s Wood. If you treat the name as a three-syllable word, the emphasis is similar to that of the following three-syllable words with the stress on the second syllable: discover, enhancement, and convenient. St. John’s Wood is an upscale area north west of the ‘city’ (the ‘city’ being the London equivalent to the Wall Street area in Manhattan) and has more trees and greenery than you see in some other London neighborhoods. The area has condos, apartments, and private homes.

Last week, I visited neighboring Marylebone (pronounced like ‘Marilyn’ without the ‘n’ and adding the word ‘bone’ to the end.) which is closer in to the city, heading south. I walked along Church Street with its many antique shops. One shop in particular, Alfie’s Place, filled three storeys with different booths selling all kinds of items like old jewellery (not jewelry) and clothing, and lots of 50s-style furniture and lamps. I’m not a big fan of 50s style furniture, though; most of the antiques in Connecticut look more appealing to me. As I followed Church Street down further, I came across an open market on the street. There were two to three blocks of streets filled with stands of delicious looking fresh fruits and vegetables for sale. Most of the people in the neighborhood looked to be of a middle-eastern background. A couple of women were wearing burkas; most of the others had on long skirts and head coverings. Many of the stores on the blocks were of the dollar discount kind – with very inexpensive houseware items. There were bargains to be had everywhere!

Inside one of the stores, I asked the owner if the market was here everyday – or just today. He said that the today – Tuesday - was a small version of the market, and that on Friday and on the weekend, it was much larger. (I must go back.)

One of the stores missing in St. John’s Wood is a hardware/ housewares store. It took me a while to locate that kind of store in surrounding neighborhoods. And, as it turns out, when I want to purchase something from that kind of store, I must walk long distances or ride the bus or tube – carrying my bags of purchases home with me.

During our first week here – I took a bus north to Finchley Road on a hunting trip for housewares stores – and I discovered a few up there. It was good to see that there were even more housewares available going in a southerly direction too.

Yesterday, a sunny spring day, I headed off on the bus in the opposite direction – north and east – to Hampstead, a beautiful village on a hill that overlooks London. One of Carl’s colleagues, Jane, lives in Hampstead, so we were familiar with it and had driven through it once with a London cabbie. I loved the tree-lined sidewalks filled with tables and chairs outside of cafes. There were lots of shops – including a housewares shop (yay!!)- and beautiful homes to look at down each side street. The High Street climbs a hill that is said to be the highest site in the London area. Jane’s husband told us a story he heard -- that during World War II, the people sat on the hill in Hampstead and watched the bombs being dropped on London.

Hampstead has a very active community of retired people who have formed a group called The Third University. They offer talks, classes, and seminars on all kinds of interesting topics. I plan to take advantage of some of those classes.

Another organization (it is written here as ‘organisation’) that I think is very interesting is called The Ramblers Association. There are several branches based in London, and many more throughout the British Isles. Hampstead also has a group of Ramblers. They are a not-for-profit group that focuses on walking and its benefits. They also maintain the footpaths in their areas. They plan regular group walks – usually on weekends and some weekdays – from 3 miles to 20 miles long. I have been looking for some Ramblers walks that are offered during the week – so I can go while Carl is working. Ramblers also plan occasional longer walks in the country or for the weekend.

There is also a group called ‘London Walks’ that for 5 pounds will include you in a group with a guide somewhere in London. You just meet up with the guide at a given place and time and join in on a scheduled walking tour. This one sounds a little easier to arrange – and I will definitely try it out.

I am also planning to attend meetings of some other groups – for the purpose of getting to know other people in the area. The local library has a book club, and their meeting is next week. I read the book – The Time Traveler’s Wife – and I’m ready to go! The St. John’s Wood Women’s Group, that describes itself as an expat group, will meet the following week. I’ve got that scheduled on my calendar too. Also, Sue, our English relocation advisor, has given me the name of another one of her clients who is an American woman my age who has moved here with her husband. I will call her later today.

Yesterday, I spent hours on my computer looking over all the courses that are offered at various locations around London as adult education. London must have the largest selection anywhere-- it’s a treasure chest of course offerings! I am looking for something I can take during the day once a week for five or six weeks. I still have not decided which course to sign up for: modern art or digital photography.

Lots happening!