My home town
An email came in yesterday, reminding me of April’s A to Z blogging challenge. You write a post a day (except Sundays) in April, each day using the next letter of the alphabet as the prompt. They can be themed or random as long as each day you use the correct letter.
Lots of twee signage – a sure ‘sign’ of a village
As I set off today, a beautifully crisp London day, I had a ponder. Maybe I should take my city as my theme? And if I did then my home town – Dulwich – would be D.
Dulwich, pronounced Dullitch and not like a boring sorceress, isn’t a town but a village.
Yeah, right. It’s part of the urban sprawl of one of the world’s biggest cities so a village? Really?
and there are lots of walks around here…
Really.
Let’s explore that contention.
We have fabulous buildings.
The Old College, home to some grace and favour apartments and the College church; the Armistice day Parade on November 11th congregates around the memorial in the left of the picture
Bel Air house, in Bel Air park and now a rather grand restaurant; dog enjoys marking the front steps
Dulwich College, school to the likes of PG Woodhouse and Raymond Chandler
Open green spaces.
the gardens of the art gallery, this
Parks.
the lake in Dulwich Park
Ponds and areas of water
the lake in Bel Air Park
Historic schools.
Dulwich College is one of three foundation schools, all set up by the charitable trust funded by one of Shakespeare’s era actor Managers, Edward Alleyn
Funded by… I was cut off in that video; suffice it to say it was funded by a Russian Oligarch who owns a London Football Club, a somewhat different character to the original funder of the College – or maybe not. Who knows?
A toll road, the only one left in London.
cute hut but the toll fee is excessive if you ask me
these would be acceptable if they remained the fees – a pound a pop is the price these days
One consequence of a toll road locally is the danger of relying on a satnav. The Lawyer, after he passed his driving test, tended to use his satnav to find his way around even areas close to home. But he didn’t want to be taken via the toll road so set it to avoid routes that had tolls. Which was fine until he and a friend drove to Cardiff. Rather than follow the bloody great sign on the M4 saying ‘Wales, Cardiff and the West’ and crossing the Severn Bride, they followed the satnav that sent them 50 plus miles and 2 hours out of their way via Gloucester.
Where were we? Oh yes, the criteria for a village…
A golf club that sits beneath the last remaining element of the Great North Wood that covered an area of some miles around here some hundreds of years ago.
you can see the playing fields of the Prep school with the woods in the distance behind.
I’m with Mark Twain about golf
Golf is a good walk spoiled
A bowling club with some quality street art.
Stik’ work, on the side of the bowl’s club, is well known in London
While Thierry Noir came to fame painting the Berlin Wall before it came down
A tennis and croquet club.
No more my sport than golf
A quaintly beautiful High Street
the drinking fountain is rather isolated these days; built in 1874 it celebrates some local MP
This is the original school from the seventeenth century
With six million pound houses.
Rumour had it that Nicole Kidman and Tom Crius, then they were together planned to move here; I’m sort of glad they didn’t
And the Oldest Public Picture Gallery in the world.
Is that enough?
It is for me.
Wonderful commentary and pics Geoffles!
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Thanks Ritu. I see myself as the new Paul Theroux. Not!
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Ha ha lol!
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Looks lovely, Geoff – and I like the idea of that blog challenge. Think it would take some planning though 🙂
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Sort of depends if you want a theme. A random set can lead you anywhere.
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That’s true – and I am a definite Pantser!
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I feel like I know it so well now 🙂
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One day you should visit. Bring Roxy!
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LOL!! Roxy will be pleased – her first invite out :-))
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A walk wouldn’t be a walk without a dog – absolutely!
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He wouldn’t let me go either!
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Dulwich looks a very pretty place to live, you even have tasteful street art. Thanks for the lovely walk Geoff, I enjoyed it 🙂
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It’s a little bit self aware, a bit pretentious but I don’t want to live anywhere else.
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If you love it there, then it doesn’t matter. 🙂
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Well put
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Love Dulwich after all din’t our youngest son and his wife start married life there!
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What people of taste and discernment!
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Ah! Yes!
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wow, its genuinely beautiful. I am a little shocked how green it is – given its London! Also had to snigger – your commentator voice came out! – remember that commentary thing you did at the cricket!! proper reminded me of that. Are you impressed I remembered? my memory is so shit!
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I am and I’m touched. Best bit of my year that. If I had my time again….
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A lovely walking tour. Charming village you have there. ☺
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A fantastic tour! What have you saved for A-Z???
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When I worked in Southwark’s Tooley Street in the early 1970s, I was amazed that Dulwich could be in the same Borough
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Indeed so. I spent an age in the 80s working on the redevelopment of London Bridge City along Tooley Street. And now they’re doing London Bridge Station at last.
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Thanks Geoff. I was there from ’72-’74
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Still derelict docks with the bright light the PW HQ I think
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A lovely place to live!
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Yes, we think so!
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Dulwich looks beautiful, Geoff! Very similar to where I live now which is Greenwich. Lots of parks and green areas. Looks peaceful too.
I think I’m tempted to do the A to Z challenge this April. Sounds challenging!!
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I did it last year, and chose places I knew, cheating a little with ‘X’. It doesn’t have to be complex or anything and it is a good way to find other blogs and be found.
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Lovely! Thanks for the tour.
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I’m glad you enjoyed my little back yard, Merril. Pretty unique in many ways.
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It doesn’t look too bad for London, Geoff!
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I look forward to visiting it in June 🙂
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The tour bus is booked…
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I love the little toll booth, Geoff, though doubtless I’d feel different if I had to pay up every day 🙂 Is it fairly easy to avoid? A good looking village you have there. Thanks for joining me.
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A charming village with some lovely architecture. Not a place I knew until now. Thank you for the tour 🙂
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Pleasure Jude. It is pretty unique, certainly for London.
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