Richmond

London has a good transport system because it has to, such are the numbers of people that need to move around. There are many lesser known lateral lines especially railways that are not obvious to the casual visitor. One of them is the line between Clapham Junction and Richmond. The neophite would go to Victoria or Waterloo and take a train but if you look closer there is a direct train service that takes about 10 minutes and runs many times and hour from Clapham Junction, albeit from the further reaches of the station, to Richmond.

I have fond connections of this town on the River Thames. At one point I had a close friend who lived there just a few minutes walk from the river. There is enough money around to ensure and abundance supply of very good whole food shops, quality cafes and pop-up stalls. It is famous for a flooding by the riverside at spring tides and it gave me a certain amount of perverse pleasure to see cars having been parked on a slip way to find themselves flooded.

In contrast to Saturday, it was pleasant enough on Sunday though it could have been a trifle warmer but at least it was not raining.

Here we have an image form some of the memories which hopefully speak for themselves. I will make a comment only where necessary.

‘Affluent’ is the word. You need a few millions to buy this prime riverside property.

In the same road, a lovely local pub. Amazingly the prices were reasonable. I guess that a high proportion of business is local and the owner would not want to alienate his customer base.

Below, a Wholefood store well up to Central London standards if not towards the higher end. Because the turnover is so high and the customers so affluent, have a decent buffet both hot and cold. However, you pay per 100 grams rather like they do in the USA so you can top up a bill of 10 pounds very easily. the to find food that is nutritious but not heavy so mashed potatoes would not be a good idea for example.

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I had a coffee while Francoise had some lunch. The server of the latte was I think a Greek lady and she was super efficient and obviously used to dealing with large volumes of busy and impatient people. I told her in my usual outrageous way that she was the best in Richmond and she responded with a laugh and a smile. I’m not happy when I see people in shops being treated like things and abused. Having said that, most of the people in Richmond are very well behaved. Tourists do rather stand out.

Someone with an old fashioned camera doing a photo shoot.

A knitted hat for a post box.

No shortage of high end cakes. There must be a dozen such establishments.

A shop in one of the arches on the Thomas (South side). They are prone to flooding so barrier stops are in position. I had some of the purest ice cream I have ever had. They make it in a room at the back. Yum yum. £4 it was but worth every penny. No way would I buy ice cream from a van.

The interior of the shop. Francoise is in the process of buying the ice cream.

Is this a specialist service or what?

Seen in an art shop window

This is the most interesting outlet – as it happens from Denmark. The only person on duty was a security guard. No staff. There was no provision for a counter. All there was were three automated check out stations. It must be said that all the goods were how shall we say inexpensive. It was clear that this was a new style or model of selling. They reckon that the losses from pilfering were less costly than having a member of sales staff in attendance. In a posh area like Richmond, thievery is unlikely so they have done their sums and come up with the most profitable equations. If it works for them, then fine.

The average price of goods were maybe £4. Most were made in China.

Today according to my app. We had walked 11,020 steps. We were both getting tired. I stubbed my fourth toe on my left leg the morning of departure and it has not forgiven me since. I have therefore  taken to wearing a comfortable shoe with no socks. Francoise’s left leg was also suffering so we decided to call it a day.

To Richmond Station. The next train to Clapham Junction was in 8 minutes. I cannot believe this luxury of frequent service. In Somerset where we are, buses are either once an hour or once every 30 minutes. It is not really worth carrying around a time table with you because the most you would have to wait for anything is between 10 and 15 minutes.

On the return train journey I noticed a young lady of African descent doing some knitting. As it’s my policy and practice I speak to anyone who is doing anything remotely creative. It easier but it is even easier with someone else in my case a female partner otherwise women that I approach wonder what my motive is. I do not take it personally in this case because people are so traumatized and untrusting these days. I had a good chat with her and asked her what she was making and so on and I christened her the Queen of Knitting just for fun. I like to bring a smile to people’s faces if I can.

When I attended in London the last time – I think it was about nine months ago – people were still suffering from trauma of covid, looking down, not making eye contact and generally miserable. This time people are much more cheerful and communicative. We saw one or two isolated souls who continue to wear masks, because they feel safer, but as anyone should know by now masks do not prevent anyone from getting anything and are in fact a health hazard because of the accumulation of germs in the ideal environment of the damp which results when you breathe out.

It is a complete waste of time talking to these people because they are hypnotized with fear so I just send them some love and hope that one day they will realize what they are doing

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