MISS ELAINEOUS VISITS FAIRLOP WATERS...

I hopped on the bus and headed to Fairlop Waters, Essex, as I fancied a semi-rural walk.  

Here is the entrance, not far from Fairlop Underground Station...

'Watch out for balls' warning!  You don't want one of them clocking you in the face...

Deserted golf course...

This snowy plant is cow parsley.  There was an abundance of it and it was as light as gossamer...

Blossom...

There was talk of developing this area back in 2011, to include housing.  Obviously the idea was rejected- I have to say, I'm quite glad, although these derelict buildings need to be torn down...

I did have a nosey inside, and no dossers appeared to be living there...

Fairlop Waters is three miles north of Ilford town centre and consists of open land providing space for sport and outdoor activities, on an area originally known as Fairlop Plain...

The Lakeside Suite can be hired for functions and is licensed for weddings...

The lake is not accessible to the general public.  You have to be a member of a club to take part in water sports including swimming, canoeing, paddleboarding and rowing.
Many clubs offer a pay-per-go service...

Swans and buoys...

Launching/ landing deck.  It was actually quite peopley around the lake, and I had to work hard to include as few as possible in my photos!

Boat dock...

The walk was certainly picturesque...

I made some friends on the way...😁

The centre holds approval from various watersport bodies, including British Canoeing and the Royal Yachting Association.

The district took its name from an old oak tree, the Fairlop Oak,  which stood in Hainault Forest when the area was much more bosky than it is today.  The oak is said to have had a trunk which measured 66 feet in circumference!  17 branches sprang forth from the tree, with most of them measuring more than 12 feet in girth.

In the 18th century, a pump and block maker from Wapping named Daniel Day would take his employees on an annual fair in the forest on the first Friday in July.

They dined on bacon and beans, and it's thought that this could be the origin of the English phrases bean-feast and beano (meaning a get together/ day out/ shindig...)

By the mid 18th century the annual excursion to Fairlop had become one of London's most popular entertainments.  As a result the area became known as "Fair" (after the fair) and "lop" (after the tree flourished after part of it was used to make Daniel Day's coffin).  He is believed to have died in 1767.

A society of archers- the Hainault Foresters- met under the Fairlop Oak.

Quackers...  

For lockdown this place was quite busy, with walkers and cyclists abounding...

Close-up...

Webbed friend showing me his bum!

Webbed friend and a view across the lake...

Gaggle of geese...

...And a family of geese...

Family photo...

The Lakeside Suite from over the water.  The lake is not that big and I was quick in circling it...

You can take part in night fishing on the lake.

Roach, carp, bream and pike live here, with some specimens weighing up to 30 lbs.

Legend has it that Queen Anne visited the Fairlop fair.  One of the songs sung at the fair was called "Come, come, my boys."
One verse states:

The Hainault Forest Queen Anne Did Ride,
And saw the old oak standing by her side,
And as she looked at it from bottom to top,
She said to her court, it should be Fairlop.

In June 1805 the tree caught fire and was blown down in 1820.  The site is marked (roughly) by the boat house by the lake.

In nearby Fulwell Cross is a pub called the Fairlop Oak.

It's a Wetherspoon's pub and it's quite nice.  I've had many a good meal in there, and also four Christmas Day dinners!😀

More gaggles of geese...

Closer...

I like this little island, and what looks like an upturned boat...

The Boulder Park is a climbing area, and was cordoned off during my visit.

The centre is licensed by the Adventurous Activities Licensing Authority...

There was no danger of me even wanting to climb onto boulders...

In these shoes?

I don't think so....😁

These are designed for solo climbing...

And are a great place to practice bouldering and traversing skills...

They are constructed of sprayed and carved concrete and vary in heights and standards, to suit all levels of climber...

The interesting island from another angle, and I didn't realise it but I'd almost completed a full circuit of the lake...

Wooden climbing area...

It was a muggy May day, but nice to get out and have a good walk.

Fairlop Waters, I shall return.

TTFN

The Miss Elaineous

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MISS ELAINEOUS CROSSES THE PLESSEY BRIDGE...

This wasn't a visit as such, as it was only a walk over a bridge!

Footbridge 151, known locally as the Plessey Bridge, is an iron footbridge which connects Ley Street with High Road, in Ilford, Essex.
It's local to me and it wasn't the first time I've had a nosey across it.

This is the approach from Jaffe Road, just off Ley Street.  The obligatory wino was standing drinking his Special Brew at the top of the stairs...

Crossrail trains as I gawped through the iron grill section, right at the part where the stairs meet the bridge... 

View down the length of the footbridge.

Ilford suffered a large amount bombing during World War II; the target of the Luftwaffe being the Plessey electronics factory, where equipment vital to the war effort was being manufactured.  

German pilots frequently unleashed streams of machine gun fire, in an effort to interrupt the supply lines.  They were unaware that the factory had already been moved underground to a stretch of the Tube between Leytonstone and Gants Hill.

Apparently the Plessey underground factory was so large that foremen were issued bicycles to get from one end of the factory to the other!

View through a hole, a scar left over from one of these attacks and considered to be a vital part of local history.  There are more at a lower level, but I didn't nosey around looking for them, preferring an easy day taking photographs at eye level.  Plus, by this stage I was not alone on the bridge, and had to consider my own health and safety.  

This is my favourite 'through the hole' photo, taken from my previous visit in 2017 where you can clearly see the brand new Crossrail trains.

 Sticking my camera right into the hole, and I was surprised at how big this junction was, and at the amount of working lines, as Ilford Station has only four platforms plus one siding...

The way down onto Ley Street..  There is local concern that the history of the area might be swept away by modernisation, but there's no sigh of that happening yet.

View from the ground.  Apparently the Luftwaffe never did get to know about the existence of the underground factory...

TTFN

The Miss Elaineous

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LOVE AND OTHER INFIDELITIES by HELEN TOWNSEND

LOVE AND OTHER INFIDELITIES

BY HELEN TOWNSEND

THE BLURB:-

How many does it take to make a marriage? And how many does it take to destroy it?

The Husband

She was the boss's daughter- but I wanted her. I didn't know Susan would have a checklist for married life: the house, the garden, the kids, the schools...

The Wife

I hadn't wanted a boring life. That's why I chose Martin. But once we had the kids other things became important- like knowing if he would come home at night.

The Other Woman

With Martin and me it was more than just sex. We felt the same about life, freedom and fun. But then my biological clock started ticking.

The Other Man

I ought to be preaching about patience and forgiveness. But I've been in love with Susan for years, and even a man of God has his temptations...

THE REALITY:-

This was a slow burner for me- despite being on lockdown, ahead with my MA work and with many-a-chance to read this, it didn't motivate me enough to want to pick it up every second of every day. Criticisms for this book seem to centre on each character sounding like the same voice, but I didn't feel that at all, and certainly picked up on everyone's personality. I think the journal style of first person writing- whilst being clearly labelled, with each section clearly defined by the character's name- did make it seem rather like a memo than a collection of feelings.

Having said that, it was a good study of life and times in Sydney, and of relationships themselves. I couldn't warm to Susan (the wronged wife) but did have a modicum of sympathy for her, as she appeared to be a woman who became totally absorbed and overshadowed by her role as a working mother. Martin, her husband seemed reluctant to grow up (he's the one I could most associate with!) and I enjoyed the way his kookaburra ornament became a symbol of all that was wrong in the marriage. Phil, the other man, is a man of the cloth and, as someone who's putting a vicar into her next novel as a main character, it was good for me to interpret him from a research point of view- but I would have liked for his relationship with Susan to actually have become physical! He ends up with (spoiler alert) Mary, another character I liked and could relate to.

This good study in human relationships read like a soap opera, which wasn't a bad thing, and kept the pace galloping along, but the work didn't touch me at all. That is, apart from in one way: Susan and Martin's son, Josh, listens to his parents disagreements from a cupboard on the landing, which he christens 'the hearing cupboard.' I liked this personal touch and it gave a good idea of what goes on from the perspective of the kids.

An okay read, but nothing enthralling.