medicinalchemistry

Whilst I was in London (Dec 2009 – Jan 2010) I met-up with my friend (and fellow Sydney Medical School student) Owen, who’d dropped by en route to his elective attachment in Tel Aviv. Over a drink in a Hammersmith pub, we made a bet about whether I’d be able to take a photo at each place on the Monopoly board during the rest of my time in London. It became clear, as I was hunting for all the places on the board, that some of the properties were chosen completely arbitrarily (e.g. Vine St, which has no significance whatsoever). And whilst it wasn’t entirely straightforward – Mayfair and The Angel aren’t streets, and Old Kent Rd was out of the way in Southwark, SE1 – I did eventually manage to get the photos and win the bet! So, without any further ado… (Photos are available at higher resolution on my Flickr photo monopoly set).

Railways set

Whilst Kings Cross and Liverpool Street are major National Rail stations, I found the choice of Marylebone and Fenchurch Street stations a little puzzling as they are two of the smallest stations in London. I think Paddington and Euston stations would’ve been better choices (even in the 1930s).

Brown set

The photo here was taken on Whitechapel Rd, Whitechapel, E1, just outside The Royal London Hospital facing towards the City (“The Gherkin” building at 30 St Mary Axe is clearly visible). This is an area of historical and continuing socioeconomic disadvantage, reflected in its selection as the cheapest property on the board. I lived here for over a month and will reserve my thoughts for another post. In contrast, A2 Old Kent Road, Southwark, SE1, was quite typical of the A-roads leading out of central London.

Getting there
Whitechapel Rd: Whitechapel tube station
Old Kent Rd: Elephant & Castle tube station then bus or ~2 km walk

Sky blue set

The Angel is a building on the northwest corner of Pentonville Rd and Islington High St, Islington, N1. Originally a coaching inn near the start of the Great North Rd (A1), the historical building lends its name to the surrounding area in Islington (e.g. Angel tube station). Pentonville Rd and Euston Rd, part of A501, are major roads in N1 and NW1 heading west from The Angel.

Getting there
The Angel, Islington: Angel tube station
Euston Rd: Kings Cross St Pancras, Euston, Euston Square or Warren Street tube stations
Pentonville Rd: Angel or Kings Cross St Pancras tube stations

Purple set

The three streets in this group radiate outwards from Charing Cross, the historical centre of London. Whitehall and Northumberland Ave are home to many British government offices, whilst Pall Mall is home to St James’s Palace and various traditional gentlemen’s clubs.

Getting there
Pall Mall: Charing Cross, Piccadilly Circus or Green Park tube stations
Whitehall: Westminster, Embankment or Charing Cross tube stations
Northumberland Ave: Embankment or Charing Cross tube stations

Orange set

This group appears to be the most arbitrarily selected on the board. Bow St is a street in the Covent Garden district, WC2, and the location of the Royal Opera House. Great Marlborough St (presumably the “Great” was dropped for formatting reasons) in the Soho district, W1, is the location of the Tudor wing of the historical Liberty & Co. department store. Vine St is in the Piccadilly Circus district, W1, and is of no apparent significance.

Getting there
Bow St: Covent Garden tube station
Great Marlborough St: Oxford Circus tube station
Vine St: Piccadilly Circus tube station

Red set

Trafalgar Square, WC2, is a famous public square adjacent to Charing Cross in the heart of London. It is the location of Nelson’s Column and the National Gallery. Strand and Fleet St, part of A4, are major streets heading east from Trafalgar Square. Important buildings on Strand include Australia House, King’s College London and the Royal Courts of Justice. Fleet St continues to be synonymous with the British press, although all major news agencies have since moved their offices elsewhere.

Getting there
Strand: Charing Cross, Leicester Square, Embankment or Temple tube stations
Fleet St: Temple or St Pauls tube station
Trafalgar Square: Charing Cross tube station

Yellow set

Coventry St is the main thoroughfare between Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square. Leicester Square is at the centre of London’s cinema and theatre district. Piccadilly, part of A4, is the home of the Fortnum & Mason department store, Ritz Hotel, Royal Academy of Arts, and Hatchard’s bookshop.

Getting there
Leicester Square: Leicester Square tube station
Coventry St: Leicester Square or Piccadilly Circus tube stations
Piccadilly: Piccadilly Circus or Green Park tube stations

Green set

This group is the heart of London’s shopping district. Regent and Oxford Streets are the major shopping streets of London, intersecting at Oxford Circus. Of note, the flagship stores of Selfridges & Co. and John Lewis on Oxford St are the second and third largest department stores in the UK respectively. New/Old Bond Street (the two streets are contiguous) is another major shopping street in the upmarket Mayfair district.

Getting there
Regent St: Oxford Circus or Piccadilly Circus tube stations
Oxford St: Marble Arch, Bond Street, Oxford Circus or Tottenham Court Road tube stations
New/Old Bond St: Bond Street, Oxford Circus or Green Park tube stations

Navy set

The upmarket Mayfair district is the home of many luxury shops and hotels. Although Park Lane no longer enjoys the prestige it had in the 1930s, as it has since become a major road on A4202, it nonetheless still features several 5-star hotels and luxury car showrooms. Marble Arch is located at the northern end of Park Lane. In choosing a landmark to represent Mayfair, I decided that The May Fair Hotel would serve as a fitting metaphor for the board game.

Getting there
Park Ln: Marble Arch or Hyde Park Corner tube stations
Mayfair: Bond Street, Green Park, Hyde Park Corner, Marble Arch or Oxford Circus tube stations

I ended up visiting Liverpool (Merseyside county) twice during my time in the United Kingdom. I decided well before I arrived in the UK that I would make a trip to Liverpool at some stage. My friend Martina described it as a “pilgrimage” (due to my football allegiance), but after the first few days of hospital accommodation austerity in crowded and polluted Whitechapel, the idea of escaping to Merseyside for a few days before starting my elective sounded rather agreeable. The second trip was the result of serendipity (see below). I came away loving the great culture of the city… even the Scouse dialect! Photo highlights available on my Flickr photostream.

Travelling Virgin

Despite the relative expense, compared to discount coach services, I decided to catch a fast train service to Liverpool on both occasions (the price of an Off-Peak Return ticket using my 16–25 Railcard was quite reasonable anyway). Virgin Trains, the franchisee for the West Coast Main Line on Britain’s privatised National Rail system, runs an hourly direct service from London Euston station to Liverpool Lime Street station (via Stafford and Runcorn). Virgin operates a modern fleet of Pendolino electric tilt trains on the route at speeds of up to 200 km/h for a typical travel time of 2 hours 8 minutes to cover the approximately 330 kilometres. This was the fastest land vehicle I’d ever travelled on and I was very impressed – there’s something very satisfying about whizzing through the beautiful English countryside at 200 km/h in relaxed comfort. Strangely though, Virgin Cola wasn’t available onboard (despite it being the only cola drink available on Virgin Atlantic services to/from Sydney).

Virgin Trains Pendolino “Virgin Warrior” at Liverpool Lime Street station

Capital of culture

Liverpool is a city full of culture, from the listed historical buildings dating from the city’s heyday during the peak of the British Empire to the ever-present reminders of its four most famous musicians (e.g. Liverpool John Lennon Airport) to its two famous football teams (Liverpool FC and Everton FC) &c. – it was no surprise to discover that the city was named 2008 European Capital of Culture.

“The Three Graces” – Royal Liver, Cunard, and Port of Liverpool buildings

Of course, the heart of Liverpool is its people and the Scousers (as they’re popularly known in Britain) I encountered were a great bunch. I even came to grips with the distinctive Scouse dialect (it’s not just an accent), however there were a number of occasions when I needed to (somewhat embarrassingly) ask people to repeat themselves. This apparently worked both ways – some of the locals had some trouble with my adopted Received Pronunciation accent. My favourite quote on this matter came from the owner of Kavanagh’s II coffee shop after I mentioned that I was Australian, “You don’t sound like an Aussie… Your accent sounds more ‘proper English’ than us!”.

Another Place

Another Place is a public art installation by British sculptor Antony Gormley. The work consists of 100 life-size cast iron figures (modelled after Gormley himself) facing out to sea, spread across 3 kilometres of coastline. After first being displayed in Germany, Norway and Belgium; its final permanent location is Crosby Beach, near Liverpool (actually in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, which is adjacent to the City of Liverpool). Although not in central Liverpool, it’s quite easy to reach Another Place – simply a matter of taking a Merseyrail train to Blundellsands & Crosby station and walking 500 metres along Blundellsands Road West to Crosby Beach. It’s a very interesting work – whilst each figure individually has quite limited artistic value, seeing dozens of them staring silently out to sea is a strangely mesmerising experience. Gormley’s official line is that the work represents “a response to the individual and universal sentiments associated with emigration, sadness at leaving but the hope of a new future in another place”.

Another Place by Antony Gormley, Crosby Beach, Merseyside

You’ll never walk alone

The more famous and successful of Liverpool’s football teams is Liverpool Football Club, based at Anfield football stadium. As a Liverpool supporter, a stadium tour was practically a requisite during my time in England. Considering the notorious difficulty of getting tickets to matches at Anfield, I also thought the tour would be my only chance to see the inside of the legendary stadium.

Anfield stadium, Liverpool

Little did I know that a few weeks later I would manage to score tickets to an FA Cup 3rd round replay match between Liverpool and Reading (and the reason I returned to Liverpool). The atmosphere at Anfield on match night was amazing. Unfortunately the Reds played rather poorly that night (and both Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres sustained injuries) and ultimately lost the match 2–1.

Liverpool v Reading, Anfield, 13 January 2010

The Baltic Fleet

I couldn’t leave Liverpool without trying some scouse, the local dish. Indeed scouse is so synonymous with Liverpool that the term came to refer to the people of Liverpool (Scousers) and their dialect (Scouse). Scouse is a meat stew containing lamb/mutton, potatoes, onions, carrots and potatoes; traditionally served with picked red cabbage and bread.

I first tried scouse at The Baltic Fleet a pub on Wapping, near Albert Dock. The Baltic Fleet is also a microbrewery, so I tried their eponymous Wapping Bitter ale. Both were excellent. There’s nothing like a good bowl of scouse washed down with ale to lift the spirits on a (literally) freezing night.

The Baltic Fleet
33 Wapping
Liverpool
L1 8DQ
United Kingdom
wappingbeers.co.uk