After spending all of Tuesday and Wednesday at home, I felt yesterday like I just could not sit around the house one minute more. I had to get out and go for a walk.
I decided to revisit Golders Green and Brent River Park, where I've walked before -- but it's been several years. I took the bus up to Golders Green and was surprised to see the bank on the corner has been turned into a café.
Golders Green is a very Jewish area, and I wasn't surprised to see posters reminding us of the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel. Many of these people are still missing. I realize that Israel's retaliation against Gaza has far surpassed the initial Hamas attack in scope, but I think it's absolutely imperative to remember these hostages are still out there. According to this article, of 240 people originally taken by Hamas, more than 100 have been released, with most of the rest believed to be still alive and in captivity. I can't imagine that Israel's relentless bombardment of Gaza hasn't inadvertently killed some of them, but who knows.
This is an unusual poster display because of that central element -- "Imagine it was you," with a piece of reflective foil in which you can sort of make out me and my camera lens, beneath my blue hat.
I got to Brent River Park, where the two pavilions overlooking the waterfall near the North Circular highway are still looking pretty bedraggled. (You can see the second pavilion, in the background, through the windows of the first. Here's a 30-second video of the whole area.) This one has lost quite a bit of its roof since I first saw it in August 2020. I like how someone gave it a doormat, though. Must keep things tidy!
I walked along muddy Dollis Brook, which runs through North London and eventually joins the River Brent, which flows into the Thames near Kew Gardens. The forests along the river were thickly carpeted with wild garlic, blooming white in the sunshine.
I got warm enough at this point to remove not only my jacket but also my sweatshirt. I love that moment after a long winter when walking in just a t-shirt is once again possible. It feels so freeing!
I realized I was on a path called the Dollis Valley Greenwalk, and when I looked on the map, I saw that it follows the brook about ten miles, up to High Barnet and then over to Mill Hill. I decided to stick to that path.
I eventually passed under the Dollis Brook Viaduct, a railway bridge that carries the Northern Line of the London tube system to Mill Hill. It's the highest point above ground on the entire system, apparently. I don't think I've ever taken the tube to Mill Hill, but I should do it just to pass over this bridge!
I saw a couple of herons on my walk, wading in or near the brook. This one was standing on the footpath and flew off when I and another walker approached. I snapped some quick pictures as it passed overhead.
There's been a LOT of rain, so the paths were muddy. Traversing this spot was especially challenging -- I had to balance on the wooden path edge and the branch at the left of the puddle. And then I realized I'd inadvertently taken a wrong turn and was no longer on the Greenwalk, so I had to backtrack and cross this same spot AGAIN! Argh!
I eventually got back on the right path and continued toward Whetstone Stray, a park-like area of forests and fields.
By this time I was running out of steam, so I caught the tube in Totteridge and Whetstone, and then a bus from Finchley to get home. Altogether I walked about five miles (16,000 steps, according to my iPhone), which felt AMAZING. I'll complete the Greenwalk another day soon!
I like the two pavilions and hope one day they get repaired. Great wingspan capture.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos, especially the heron in flight!
ReplyDeleteIn Harpenden we also have a " Gail's" that used to be a bank. ( Nat West) There is also a coffee shop in the old Lloyds bank, and no doubt the presently empty HSBC and Barclays buildings will soon become coffee shops, though surely there must come a time when we are at saturation point with such places? How about someone opening a bank....we don't have any now in this town of over 30K people!
How good that you have such wonderful places to travel and you really do it. It's sad to see the faces of the abductees, we here already know their names and personal stories, the mother of the two children aged four and four months, probably won't come back anymore. Some of them are known to be no longer alive. And these are citizens who were just brutally kidnapped from their homes on Saturday morning.
ReplyDeleteI remember that pavilion from 2020. Didn’t think it would be allowed to get much worse. As always, exceptional photos. Thanks for the walk!
ReplyDeleteYour heron picture is amazing - right place, right time, right camera (or phone) ready to shoot.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there is another poster wall in Golders Green showing 11,000 Gazan children - each one with "KILLED - Our family is destroyed"?
It's a shame YP that your compassion is always only directed at one side and you choose to ignore the terrible pain of the other side, who didn't start all of this.
ReplyDeleteDear Yael,
ReplyDeleteWhat do you feel about the 11000 children of Gaza and the thousands of innocent women and the elderly who have been killed by the IDF? Have you no compassion for them?
Kind regards,
Neil
Indeed YP...plus those thousands of Palestinian people already held in Israel before last year....and the commandeering of Palestinian areas further north for "settlers".
ReplyDeleteNeither side is innocent....but....
An interesting change of walk. That viaduct is something else...think of the work that took..and it is graceful with the double legs and soaring arches.
ReplyDeleteSo many more people are walking nowadays it is a pity paths don't get the maintenance they deserve
Terrific photos of a great walk, especially the viaduct. What are those old train/tram tracks. There was an English comedy tv show in perhaps the 80s and the principle character had a stereotypical Jewish mother who would recommend chicken soup or gefilter? fish for any illness. The mother character often referred to Golders Green.
ReplyDeleteYP, of course I feel immense sorrow and pain for every innocent person who is killed anywhere in the world, unfortunately terrible things happen in war, and I wish all of this would not happen, but your comment, at least in terms of my feeling, was not in the right place, you could also think for a moment about Our pain without waving in front of us the horrific results of this war.
ReplyDeleteAmazing Heron photo!
ReplyDeleteGreat walk. Funny that coffee shops are replacing banks. Here, banks seem to be replacing everything! Odd, at a time when so much banking is done online. I can't remember the last time I entered my bank.
ReplyDeleteThat's certainly an impressive coffee shop! And those walking trails- you just see and take in so much more when you're on foot and if something catches your eye, you can stop and give it your full attention. And get some great pictures when you do!
ReplyDeleteI do not want to seem callous for not offering an opinion on the poster installation but there is nothing I could say that would contribute to any conversation at all.
I'm not getting into the middle of what the IDF and Hamas are both doing to the citizens of Gaza, it's beyond the pale.
ReplyDeleteI love it when you take photos of Golders Green and wander around there. It's where my great grandparents lived and I remember my mum talking about them.
I'm afraid that the Israeli Hamas war just sets things up for a bigger conflict later on. Who knows when others will be dragged into conflict?
ReplyDeleteI love to see buildings repurposed, but something about the name of that cafe looks out of place on that old bank!
ReplyDeleteWhose responsibility would it be to fix up those little pavilions? I really like them.
Your capture of the heron is pretty spectacular!
ReplyDeleteI so enjoy being able to go on your walks with you! You show me places I would never get to see on my own!
Looks like another very interesting walk. Those pavilions appear to be slowly dissolving. That bridge is pretty spectacular. I had to look on a tube map to see where Mill Hill is. It looks like a little offshoot on the Northern line. You got a superb shot of the heron in flight.
ReplyDeleteI love that view of the bridge from below. And your walk makes me want to find a forest to wander around in.
ReplyDeleteSTOP whatever you are doing right now and get the first book of the Rivers of London series! It is not going to be what you expect, but it will add so much to walking explorations of London. The (grey, I think) heron is a beauty!
ReplyDeleteI read a blogger who lives on the east coast of Scotland, where it has been raining daily. They're kind of tired of it, and wish it would stop now.
ReplyDeleteReally nice shot of the heron.
The men, and I mean those in power, in Gaza and israel are playing a game of ¿ Quíen Es Mas Macho ? and yet sadly, it's the people who suffer. The men in charge are just trying to boost their egos while people die.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very moving wall. I wonder how many of the hostages are still alive? I'm not optimistic. That was quite a walk! I especially love the photo of the heron. I love seeing them fly.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for coming by today. And yes -- read "Prequel." It's powerful.
Walking 5 miles on scenic pathways sounds wonderful. The photo of the heron in flight is fantastic. The rail bridge is an engineering marvel. My current understanding of the war is: BN has rejected the UN resolution calling for a ceasefire, because it is not conditional on the release of 134 hostages still held in Gaza. Hamas, has rejected a proposal for a 6-week truce, including the release of 40 hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, because it does not require Israel to withdraw its forces from Gaza. Locked in a deadly battle, both sides seem prepared to let the people of Gaza starve and the fate of the Oct. hostages remains unknown.
ReplyDeleteThat's an amazing wingspan on that heron. Good photograph!
ReplyDeleteOh my, your photo of the heron is really fabulous! You captured that large wingspan so perfectly, Steve.
ReplyDeleteLove these photos from your walk but especially the heron in flight.
ReplyDeleteRiver: I wonder about their history. I know nothing about them.
ReplyDeleteFrances: Yeah, banks have been scaling back their street presence, haven't they? Our closest bank branch is in St. John's Wood -- the ones in West Hampstead and Swiss Cottage have closed. I guess banks often occupy grand old buildings (like the one in the photo) so they make good spaces for cafés!
Yael: I looked up the young family as I was preparing to post this photo. Heartbreaking! I feel much like you do -- that it is possible to feel sorrow and pain for all sides in this conflict. It's a horrible situation and I hope Netanyahu and Hamas can agree to terms to free those hostages so rebuilding can begin.
Mitchell: I don't think anyone is keeping up those pavilions at all. I think they're just left to the weather and their own devices.
YP: I used my big camera for the heron shot. I don't know why we don't see similar posters for the Gazans, because they're very effective -- seeing names and faces drives home the tragedy, the human cost, of this war. I know you feel passionately about Gaza but please remember that Yael LIVES amid this conflict (and is not responsible for it).
GZ: I wholeheartedly agree the settler situation in Israel is out of hand. The New Yorker recently had a very powerful article about the settlers and their conflicts with the Palestinians. As the Israeli government drifts to the right the settlers have felt more empowered. They need to be reined in. That viaduct is something like 150 years old!
Andrew: Golders Green and nearby Hendon have been well-known Jewish communities for decades and decades.
Sue in Suffolk: Thank you! Right place, right time. :)
Boud: I think that trend has been reversed, hasn't it? Banks were taking over for a while but now many of them are closing their physical branches, at least here in the UK.
Ms Moon: England's public footpaths and walking culture are among the things I love most about this country!
Pixie: I actually THOUGHT of you when I was in Golders Green because I remember you saying that! Do you know their address there? Thanks for pointing out that Hamas is also responsible for the destruction in Gaza and the killing of their own people -- definitely true.
Red: This whole situation is so intractable it's hard to see how or when it will end, especially with the apparent death of the two-state solution.
Kelly: You can definitely tell that building was not originally a Gail's! I assume the council (local government) would be responsible for the pavilions, as they're in a public park, but I'm sure they're low on the council's list of priorities.
Marcia: Glad you can come along! Walking with my camera and preparing a post in my mind helps me notice more.
Sharon: Yes, Mill Hill is on a spur of the Northern Line. You have to WANT to get there!
Bug: You must have lots of great forests around you!
Wilma: I will definitely look for it! I just bought some books yesterday but alas, the shop didn't have "Rivers of London."
Allison: It's amazing how dramatically different southeastern England's weather can be compared to Wales, Scotland and northern England. I can see why London became the most heavily settled part of the country in antiquity.
Bob: Absolutely! There's a feeling that Netanyahu is prolonging the conflict for political reasons, which is unconscionable, and the Hamas leaders failed to adequately assess the risks to their own people. As usual, civilians on both sides are the ones who suffer.
Susan: THANK YOU for that synopsis of the conflict. It is a complicated war and I appreciate the detailed update! I hope both sides can reach some kind of agreement because, obviously, every day that this continues, more people die.
Catalyst: It's interesting to see the bird from underneath. It's really quite spindly.
Ellen D: Lucky timing!
Ellen: Thanks!
Jeanie: (Sorry, you were in spam!) I'm not optimistic about the hostages either. The specific cases I've read about don't sound promising, and if they had a chance of survival surely that has been diminished by Israel's relentless bombing. Still, let's be hopeful! I ordered "Prequel" yesterday!
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