To the cheese

Last week, back to London Bridge to stock up on cheese.

We decided on the NCP car park on Station Approach, and were surprised to find that it was nearly full, this being at around 11:00 on a weekday. I suppose we usually use it at weekends. Then my phone told me that I needed to update my app - which we managed without, but I suppose I should get around to it today.

A clutch of trolleys in the Kokoro Passage and I passed on another, from M&S on Station Approach proper. A Light 100 from Wanzl made in July 2024.

A posse of cheerful people on revenue protection on the barriers at the station, wearing uniforms from Ontrak. They told me that they were on contract to Southern, presumably with very little training, but I did not ask about that. But why do they have to contract out this sort of thing at all? And hopefully, the UK operation has detached itself from the problems reported at reference 2.

I was pleased that Southern did not feel the need to advertise for the supplier of their train sets in the way of Southwestern Railways.

Out at London Bridge to find this modest bit of public art, from the enterprising people at reference 3. I have ordered up a sample from them, which looks to be quite reasonably priced on the screen.

Crossed over to Borough Market where I was intrigued by all the stalls staffed from who knows where, selling French and Italian cheese to tourists, a lot of them from parts far east. While my cheese shop, around the corner, selling good English cheese was quiet, at least when we were there. Why is that English people are prepared to pay good money for foreign cheese, while mostly not bothering with our own, at least not outside of supermarkets? Never mind all the foreign people coming to England to buy foreign cheese.

On to buy my usual couple of chunks of Lincolnshire Poacher, double wrapped for the journey home by the cheerful young lady in Neal's Yard Dairy.Perhaps she was impressed by my remembering to take in one of their heritage plastic bags, discontinued for a year or more now.

Out to pass the Barrowboy & Banker, which looked very shut this weekday lunchtime. A place I have visited from time to time in the past, despite the inappropriate description. Ale and Pie indeed. A last visit which reference 4 reveals to have been near four years ago.

It was open again when we went past the other way, a bit later on. Was it a staff training day? A plumbing emergency?

A flashy PWC building on the south eastern corner of London Bridge, lately the office-hours home of a correspondent.

The view to the west. At one point there was a large black helicopter overhead, the same sort of thing that is used by the Surrey Police, but not the same livery.

Some interesting looking plant on a site at the northwestern corner.

A new to me pile driver.

A little early for the Wolesley, the converted perfume department first visited last October and noticed at reference 5, so we opted for an apéritif at the Monument, a new build Greene King house quite near the actual Monument. A house which appeared to be modelled on a Wetherspoon's, perhaps with slightly fancier décor and probably with slightly higher prices. Plenty of sport on offer, including some from what looked like a huge German stadium. Luckily the sound was off.

The décor included a new to me glass for my warm beer, which was entirely proper for a company which brewed quite decent beer: IPA for afternoon drinking and Abbot for the odd pint. And we found a quiet side room to me to drink it in, away from the noise of the busy main bar area.

From there to the Wolseley, where we were recognised from our first visit - perhaps because it had been a quiet Saturday evening and we were doing the trolley festival. On this occasion the place was more or less full, mostly with people of working age, unlike a lot of the places which we use, which mostly seem to cater to pensioners like ourselves at lunch time.

The head waiter, from Portugal, still found a bit of time to come over and ask how trolley collecting was getting on. He also knew about bifanas, about the regional variations - this despite seeming to be more interested in trolleys. See reference 7 for the most recent notice of the bifana.

Wine, bread and crab as good as before. Followed in my case by a choucroute, with an escalope for BH. Choucroute being a dish which I suspect Simenon of having been fond of, the number of times he gets Maigret to take one. A lot more sausage than I was expecting and rather less cabbage.- which last was softer than I was expecting. Perhaps it had been keeping warm for a while. And one of the sausages looked and tasted rather English - so perhaps the Germans make sausages of bread and meat too. But good stuff and I would take it again should occasion arise.

Rounded off by a fine strudel and a spot of Calva. I expect BH took most of the sauce (below right) as I only need a touch. And we probably left most of the sugar topping, perhaps a little overdone.

On this occasion we got the hang of the elaborate tea strainer. 

All good stuff, very reasonably priced, and I expect to be back before too long. Unless we get back to the Colbert first, in the margins of a visit to the Cadogan Hall.

I have wondered before about the H-beams holding up the sides of the Shard. On this occasion, I measured them - a bit less than one walking stick by one and a half - say 18 inches by 48. Rather heavier than might at first appear.

Serious bit of steel close-up. Made in China, owned by Abu Dubai? Buying our buildings on HP? Another stream of income leaving the country for the foreseeable future?

I thought that the way the architect had worked the stairways into the divide between the two parts of the station was rather clever.

Tickets checked on the train, the first time for ages. And it had to be the time when BH had forgotten to bring her Senior Railcard with her - but the young lady Revenue Protector did not have the brass to push it.

Home to find that the blue BMW had reclaimed its electricity company slot on Station Approach, having been displaced last time I noticed by a white car. Finding previous notice is left as an exercise for the reader. Hint:probably not in this volume.

PS 1: a correspondent has just sent in this snap of a Waymo driverless car, probably with a driver on this occasion, spotted from a bus somewhere near Trafalgar Square. They must be getting close to offering a service. A service which I do not approve of: why spend all that money on technology when we will soon be struggling to find employment for all our undertrained young men? Something else for Mayor Khan to get a grip on? Along with all those motorbikes masquerading as bicycles. See references 8 and 9 - which I shall be getting to myself later today.

PS 2: Gemini confirms my thought that the two Wolseley restaurants and the Colbert are owned by the same people. With the added twist that he adds maps to his mix, presumably thinking that I want to know where these places are. Mistakenly, as it happens. But I have learned of some more of these restaurants. And I have been reminded of the Regent Palace Hotel, to which subject I dare say I will return. See references 10, 11 and 12.

References

Reference 1: https://www.ontrakrecruitment.co.uk/.

Reference 2: https://www.panabee.com/news/ontrak-ceases-operations-terminates-all-employees-after-critical-prospect-falls-through.

Reference 3: https://idrewthis.co.uk/.

Reference 4: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/04/tate-trimmed-cheese.html.

Reference 5: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2025/10/trolleyfest.html.

Reference 6: https://thewolseleycity.com/.

Reference 7: https://psmv6.blogspot.com/2026/02/bifana.html.

Reference 8: https://waymo.com/.

Reference 9: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czej9n578k9o.

Reference 10: https://www.minorhotels.com/en.

Reference 11: https://www.minorhotels.com/en/brands/restaurants-bars.

Reference 12: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_Hotels. Gemini tells me that the parent company at least is publicly listed on the Thai stock exchange.

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