I passed this place on my walk to Camden Market last weekend. I knew this unusual-looking building had to have some kind of history, and after some Googling I learned that it's the Belsize Park Deep Shelter, built during World War II to shelter Londoners during bombing raids. Photos of the interior and a diagram of the whole facility can be seen here. Most of it's underground, obviously. You never know what's beneath your feet in this town.
More recently it has been used by a company that specializes in secure storage of business records.
And speaking of business records, my blog came in handy yesterday at work. We were trying to figure out why a certain missing book was checked out to one of our library accounts back in early March. I looked at my blog to see what was happening then, and realized it was the day of our Drop Everything and Read promotion. We finally figured out that the book had been put on a cart and taken up to the high school for student use during that event -- and it never came back.
This is one of the reasons I keep a blog. I have a terrible memory, but if I record the little incidents of my days, it helps me figure things out when questions arise. (It's also part of the reason I've kept a journal since childhood, though the blog is much easier to search.)
This mystery plant has appeared in our garden. We didn't intentionally grow it. I thought it was a foxglove, but then it sent up this long stalk with a weird, fibrous-looking flowerhead. It turns out I was right -- it is a foxglove, and in fact I think it's the only one we've got this year. But who knew their early flowers look so strange?
22 comments:
I had forgotten about my foxgloves...just been out to look and can't see any coming up anywhere! I have lost so much in the garden this last winter.
My son used to live in a flat over shops opposite Belsize Park tube, but we only ever walked UP the road, so didn't see the shelter building.
London has so much hidden history.
I keep a hand written appointment diary and keep them for years so I can go back and see when things happened.
I wonder if the company you referred to - that "company that specializes in secure storage of business records" could possibly be Abbott Datastore? They are my favourite datastore company.
The foxglove looks otherworldly. I regularly use my blog for reference. When did we first go to Córdoba. I'll check the blog. When did you hve your hernia? The blog. What a resource. And you're so right about the ease of searching.
There may be such a service and I'm unaware, but I've always hoped that some sort of script reading app would allow you to take pictures of old journals and automatically convert them into digital text, much the way the can do old newspapers now. There might need to be some sort of A.I. learning for them to recognize personal script but should be doable.
My blog comes in handy in that way too, helping me recall when certain events occurred. And a city at risk of air raids during time of war, how fortunate I’m feeling never to have experienced that. I’m thinking of the people of Ukraine, as well as films that portray that era of bombed out blocks in London. My closest sense of how it feels to have the world turned upside down such that one feels in constant jeopardy are Covid—and Trump.
Even my kids use my blog to see what happened and when. It can be very helpful.
Oh my god- those pictures of the underground shelter make my stomach hurt. I think I would panic more from the closeness of the space than the bombs. But probably not. I am just so grateful I've never had to experience anything that terrifying.
I was amazed at the size of the underground shelter. Imagine having to dwell down there for any length of time!?! I think it would even be a bit creepy to have to work down there everyday.
Gosh, I sure learn a lot from your blog, Steve! Thanks!
are you sure that's a foxglove and not Audrey?
That underground shelter is interesting and a little scary. I can't imagine having to spend much time in a place like that. But I guess if it kept people safe from bombings, it must have been a relief.
I have searched the blog for so many answers to our "historical" questions. I am so glad we've kept it going for so many years.
Yesterday I took a look at the foxglove in our front yard and had the same thought about the bud. It looked so different.
We must keep an eye on our foxgloves here as they emerge!
I wrote a journal for 10 years. It's one of the best things I did. I wish I'd kept it up.
I learned about Belsize deep shelter from Joolz Guides, highly recommend all of his tours on you tube. The post from the link here in your blog is fascinating, great shots!
Way to go, documenting things that happen at the library- never know when Blog will come in handy!
I've checked my blog several times to figure out what was going on at a certain time. It does come in handy.
Interesting about the deep shelter. Life in London during WWII was pretty scary.
I'm always glad to know I'm not alone with memory problems. My short term memory has been poor my entire life. I've warned my children to never let them lock me away based on that factor alone!
Totally Strange - Olga Girl And I Got So Worked Up Over That Bomb Shelter That She Needs A Just Because Treat - Under Her Pink Blanket Of Course
Have A Stellar Weekend ,
Cheers
Alas I remember those days as a small child. I don't think I'll unpack those memories just now, though. Many cities were bombarded, mine because it was a munitions manufacturing center and a deep water port, a hub of iron and steel production.
Took the tour of the bomb shelter. Oy, I'd feel very claustrophobic if stuck in there for any length of time!
I can often find photos easier on my blog (or Facebook) than I can on my phone. The search functions of my photos and Google photos are terrible most of the time. Glad you figured out where the book was; that would have bugged me until I found the answer!
How amazing! Do they do tours do you know?
Eight thousand is a lot of people, and the part that fascinated me most was how they fit the bunks in EVERYWHERE. I've read many novels that talk about war shelters but I don't remember reading about one like this, with bunks. Fascinating. And the reason the photos were available is kind of weird, too - the photographer snuck in, illegally I'm guessing ... but the pictures are great.
I had another look at the "farm" picture in your post yesterday and this time I enlarged it -- and saw the barn I had missed! So yeah, we guessed right :)
I can't count the number of times I've gone back to the blog to find some detail. That bomb shelter is fascinating. I never heard of any of those-- just things like the Andersons or going to the tube. I need to check that link.
Post a Comment