Following my wonderful adventures in Paris with a party of blind travellers, I was very pleased to get a call from Amar Latif of Traveleyes asking if I could look after a visibly impaired traveler called Courtney who was coming into London from Tunisia. Courtney lives in San Francisco and had a day to kill in town.
We had a ball. Having picked Courtney up at Leytonstone tube station at 10.00am, we made our way tback along the Central line and surfaced at St Pauls. We wondered around and made our way upo Fleet Street, stopping at the Olde Cheshire Cheese (where both Twain and Dickens a long time before him at quenched their thirst) and the Church of St Bride....this boasts the first spire that Christopher Wren designed and is also the inspiration of all three tier wedding cakes that you see the world over. We examied the old Daily Express building and had our elevenses in El Vinos.....not the most obvious choice for that time of day, but it does open at 8.30am so we weren't the first. Courtney was able to smell the atmosphere....sour wine and cleaning fluid, this is the last venue of the serious boozer -the spirit of Keith Waterhouse and Bill Deedes live on in this dive.
We progressed on up to the courts of justice via, momentarily, the chapel of the Knights Templar (so resolutely shut as always - it seems proudly so). We went into the massive and spectacular courts of justice - a kind of Harry Potter version of 'Crown Court'. We quietly allowed ourselves into court number 5 where 3 pub managers were justifying their role in the rent arears and explaining how, after a downturn in business, the pub happened to catch alight.
After that we crossed the road to Somerset House to great the feeling of the great 18Century architecture and on hearing the scrapes of the Ice Skaters, Courtney suggested we give it a go. As I'd discovered in Paris in October, some blind people have an extraordinary courage. As luck would have it, there was a free slot starting in less than 10minutes. It was as if they were waiting for us. Bemused I watched as Courtney completed the exercise of booting up before I had finished.
Now call me old fashioned, but it was amazing to be lead around the rink by a beautiful, 27 year old woman who has, incidently, been blind since birth. It was exhilerating, liberating, not quite reckless and bloody good fun. Especially when Courtney decided, for fun, to test out the sensation of skating with her stick in front. In very little time we got the rink to ourselves.
Gordon's wine bar in Charing Cross was an excellent place for lunch. In San Francisco, Courtney works in a restaurant that serves people in complete darkness. 'The idea is that your senses are heightened and you taste all the flavours more intensely....what really happens is that people take longer to order and concentrate a little harder whilst they are eating'. This wine bar is about as dark as it gets without you offering 50p for the meter. The cavarneous cellar was a musty novelty and Courtney could not only sense the the womb-like spirit caused by the extremely low ceilings, but by listening and feeling was able to describe the types of people who where eating in there too. The food was delicious and the experience was fun as the pitch darkness made the meal more democratic...we shared perceptions and experiences which had started with us on the ice rink.
The Lions of Traflagar Square were fantastic to touch as I explained the story of Nelson and his part in our history. We walked down along Whitehall and Courtney greeted the mounted guard with confidence and purpose. She caressed the snout of the charger and felt the bridles and stirrupts. The mounted guard were utterly complient and not remotely phased by the sight of a blind person fondling and exploring their horses. I loved her for her bravery.
We wondered through Soho to provide a contrast in sounds via Cork Street and Regents Street. From there we went to tea in the House of St Barnabus on the corner of Greek Street and Soho Square. There we we met by David and Linda, Courtney's hosts for her stay in town. We went to the Flag and Lamb in Convent Garden - opposite the always attractive Garrick Club - to sample some ale and then settled for an Indian at the Palms Of Goa in Meard St, Soho.
Showing a blind person around town is every bit as interesting and revealing as any one else.
We had a ball. Having picked Courtney up at Leytonstone tube station at 10.00am, we made our way tback along the Central line and surfaced at St Pauls. We wondered around and made our way upo Fleet Street, stopping at the Olde Cheshire Cheese (where both Twain and Dickens a long time before him at quenched their thirst) and the Church of St Bride....this boasts the first spire that Christopher Wren designed and is also the inspiration of all three tier wedding cakes that you see the world over. We examied the old Daily Express building and had our elevenses in El Vinos.....not the most obvious choice for that time of day, but it does open at 8.30am so we weren't the first. Courtney was able to smell the atmosphere....sour wine and cleaning fluid, this is the last venue of the serious boozer -the spirit of Keith Waterhouse and Bill Deedes live on in this dive.
We progressed on up to the courts of justice via, momentarily, the chapel of the Knights Templar (so resolutely shut as always - it seems proudly so). We went into the massive and spectacular courts of justice - a kind of Harry Potter version of 'Crown Court'. We quietly allowed ourselves into court number 5 where 3 pub managers were justifying their role in the rent arears and explaining how, after a downturn in business, the pub happened to catch alight.
After that we crossed the road to Somerset House to great the feeling of the great 18Century architecture and on hearing the scrapes of the Ice Skaters, Courtney suggested we give it a go. As I'd discovered in Paris in October, some blind people have an extraordinary courage. As luck would have it, there was a free slot starting in less than 10minutes. It was as if they were waiting for us. Bemused I watched as Courtney completed the exercise of booting up before I had finished.
Now call me old fashioned, but it was amazing to be lead around the rink by a beautiful, 27 year old woman who has, incidently, been blind since birth. It was exhilerating, liberating, not quite reckless and bloody good fun. Especially when Courtney decided, for fun, to test out the sensation of skating with her stick in front. In very little time we got the rink to ourselves.
Gordon's wine bar in Charing Cross was an excellent place for lunch. In San Francisco, Courtney works in a restaurant that serves people in complete darkness. 'The idea is that your senses are heightened and you taste all the flavours more intensely....what really happens is that people take longer to order and concentrate a little harder whilst they are eating'. This wine bar is about as dark as it gets without you offering 50p for the meter. The cavarneous cellar was a musty novelty and Courtney could not only sense the the womb-like spirit caused by the extremely low ceilings, but by listening and feeling was able to describe the types of people who where eating in there too. The food was delicious and the experience was fun as the pitch darkness made the meal more democratic...we shared perceptions and experiences which had started with us on the ice rink.
The Lions of Traflagar Square were fantastic to touch as I explained the story of Nelson and his part in our history. We walked down along Whitehall and Courtney greeted the mounted guard with confidence and purpose. She caressed the snout of the charger and felt the bridles and stirrupts. The mounted guard were utterly complient and not remotely phased by the sight of a blind person fondling and exploring their horses. I loved her for her bravery.
We wondered through Soho to provide a contrast in sounds via Cork Street and Regents Street. From there we went to tea in the House of St Barnabus on the corner of Greek Street and Soho Square. There we we met by David and Linda, Courtney's hosts for her stay in town. We went to the Flag and Lamb in Convent Garden - opposite the always attractive Garrick Club - to sample some ale and then settled for an Indian at the Palms Of Goa in Meard St, Soho.
Showing a blind person around town is every bit as interesting and revealing as any one else.
If you have a spare couple of hours, do visit the Winter Wonderland in the heart of Hyde Park. There are some fantastic rides and also ice-skating. But the bars are brillaint fun...try and go after dark... the lights are brilliant and the atomosphere vibrant. I had the pleasure of looking after two adorable children from Serbia with their nanny. You might blow your entire Christmas budget in an hour, but you can just go and enjoy the atomosphere and the mulled wine.