Jim and Kim's Travels: To Great-Grandmother's House We Go!

The trains were running this morning and, as we waited, this lovely policewoman came over and asked us what we were doing and where we were going. They have all been so kind and helpful. Well, at least it's a great photo of her and Trevor...

Selfie in Herne Hill...we made it!

Herne Hill was a place of gathering for Dad's family when his grandmother lived there from 1945 to 1961. Dad and his sister were orphans at an early age and they were taken in by friends of the family. I believe Dad's sister was not treated well, so they ran away and went to find Gran. Dad joined the Merchant Navy when he was 15. It wasn't a happy childhood.

The last time we were here we wanted to check out the church that Cousin Dot was married in, so we hoofed it up the rather large Herne Hill. This time we decided to skirt the hill and headed down Milkwood Road. Thanks, Google Maps!

It was looking pretty flat so far...

And in no time, we were at Poplar Walk. We were fooled by this before. This time we knew that the Poplar Walk we were looking for is now called Poplar Road. We asked a lady passing by and she took us around the corner.

Yup, that's it!

And here we are once again. I'm holding up a photo from the 1980s when Dad last visited England. Gran passed away in 1961, so things have changed a bit since then.

And here we are, complete with Dad's hats. We were trying to take him everywhere.

And there's Little Lennie...it's showtime!

Pam and Trevor checking it out...

I think it's fair to say this might be the last time we visit #17...

With a last look down the street...

We headed off...

Loved the thick, luscious vine on this house...

Ambling along Lowden Road on our way back to Milkwood...

Well, this was interesting...

And a reason for some of the grasses and plants we saw...

We could see the Shard in the distance, so you realized how close to London you actually were.

Not sure what these flowers are, but they were pretty...

A cat! We finally spied a cat!

This poster cracked me up. I agree with the "pick up your dog's mess," but it was the dog's comment of "Ahhh! I feel better!" that got me. Well done, youngster!

Jim following Pam and Trevor down the hill. OK, so there was a hill, but nothing like Herne Hill.

We decided to find a place for lunch and there were a few restaurants near the railway station. Everything at this little market looked so fresh...

We chose to go to the Half Moon Pub. Apparently, U2 played there three times in the 1980s. There has been an inn on this site since the middle of the 17th century.

A beautiful old building...

The best pub in London...who knew? I was looking at the Chef's Signature dish. Nope, not the duck...the Bailey's brioche and butter pudding with Fuller's coffee ice cream. I was saving room for that.

Very eclectic decor...

While we were waiting for lunch, Pam and I explored. Loved these old window frames...

Looked like someone had stuck stickers on them at one time. Franklyn's Superfine Shagg was a kind of tobacco.

Loved the decor...

The pub side...

One of our favourite selfies of the trip...

They have a front pub, a side pub (I'm thinking this is it) and a snug pub...not sure what the snug pub is, but it sounds cute. All great places to have a quiet pint. The pub was flooded by a water main burst in 2013 and remained closed for the next four years.

They did a beautiful job of restoring it!

Notice I only took a photo of the dessert menu! I think I had a salad for lunch, but the only thing I really remember was the Fuller's ice cream. I did have the brioche but switched the coffee ice cream for salted caramel. Oh my god, seriously the best ice cream I've ever had. It was so creamy and rich. I don't remember anything else about the meal, except that.

We laughed on the way back on the train. We felt like the pregnant person after that lunch.

And it was back to Goodmans Field that night. Mmmm...Strongbow. We caught on that several meals on the menu came with a free drink. We gravitated to those after that!

This Tesco Express attached to Marlyn Lodge was amazing. Fast and efficient with a wide variety of food and wine. We were there every day for something.