New thinking for new year's day - Clerkenwell history

This blog is about family travel around the world without leaving the UK in order to reduce our impact on climate change. All is quiet on New Year's Day, so it was fun to go on a rebel footprint tour around Clerkenwell and see the exact spots that social justice was challenged and changed thanks to people from Italy, India, German, Soviet Union etc. Words by Nicola Baird (see www.nicolabaird.com for more info about my books and blogs).

Walking a chapter in Rebel Footprints by David Rosenberg was an interesting way to spend New Year’s Day. When the big blockbuster shows are on in London covering revolutionary art and ideas there’s a tendency to focus on the Soviet Union and France. But Rebel Footprints offers a guide to “uncovering London’s radical history”. Turns out London is packed with historic incident plus the places – often coffee houses, but pubs too – where these events were planned.

As I live in Islington it’s always fun to learn more about the area (see the 260+ interviews on https://islingtonfacesblog.com ) so instead of a cobweb-blowing New Year’s Day walk along a cliff edge we picked a guided tour (reachable by local bus) of the trailblazers for democracy who lived, worked and plotted around Clerkenwell, EC1. This is a short walk – 7,000 paces for those of you living by fitbits. For me it was very familiar so a chance to look again at places and consider the power of politics. Here’s what I found most interesting:

Spa Fields (a paved green space) looks a bit sad in winter, but it was a huge area bordering Exmouth Market and ideal for rallies. It was the centrepoint for bread riots that broke out in London in 1800-01 which the authorities blamed on Newcastle-born Thomas Spence who was a shoemaker and radical teacher who wanted egalitarianism, land nationalisation and universal suffrage. His followers were known as Spenceans.

Plaque marks the UK's first black MP - who won his seat in 1982.

The Old Town Hall on Rosebery Avenue, opened in 1895, used to be where Islingtonians registered births, marriages and deaths in ink. I have two millennial daughters – one was registered with an ink pen, the other in a more high-tech environment using new technology. The Old Town Hall is now a dance studio for 16-21 year olds, Urdang Academy. Here we spotted a plaque commemorating the first black (and first Asian) MP, Dadabhai Naoroji, who was elected as a liberal MP for Finsbury Central in 1892. He won by just three votes! This is a good place to people watch: in just five minutes we jam-packed history and spotted a policeman on a skittish horse; a woman dressed as a suffragette and an ambulance responder on a bike. Often you can see queues for Urdang auditions which makes me think of the 1983 movie set in the thriving industrial steel town of Philadelphia, Flashdance – best songs What a feeling and Maniac.

Italian family and home of Joey Grimaldi, London's most famous clown

Exmouth Market was the home of Joey Grimaldi, the famous clown. He was the son of Italian immigrants and went to work as a dancer, on stage at Sadler’s Wells from just three years old.

On the site of a prison...

Mount Pleasant – now a reduced Royal Mail operation although it does have a postal museum and underground postal train to try – was the Middlesex House of Correction, also known as Coldbath Fields Prison. 

The Italian church is still busy.

Clerkenwell Road is where you can find St Peter’s Italian church, built in 1863. It still holds joint Italian and English Sunday mass and is the place to go for an Italian experience in London (especially if you go for coffee or pasta before or afterwards). Back in the mid 19^th century the church doubled as a labour exchange and the area was dubbed ‘Little Italy”. Since the 1880s there’s been an annual Italian parade around Clerkenwell – known as Our Lady of Mount Carmel. In 2018 the parade and carnival will probably be Sunday 22 July (please check date before you go!).

From this building, now the Marx Memorial Library, the first red
flag was flown during a rally

Clerkenwell Green is the hotspot for radical explorers. Here you can find the Marx Memorial Library, which is in the building where the first red flag was flown in London, hoisted at a rally in 1871 in sympathy with the Paris Communards. It used to be a radical printing workshops where Lenin worked... Here's a fascinating film about the building's history.

short MML film3 from Christopher Reeves on Vimeo.

Under the clock

The Crown Tavern, 43 Clerkenwell Green. At the table under the clock
is where Lenin drank (possibly coffee and not just beer) and planned.

Just over the road, also in Clerkenwell Green, is the pub where Lenin drank – The Crown. Head to the back room and you’ll find the conspirators clock, which is helpfully marked by a plaque.

There are plenty more radical history exploring possibilities – I’d recommend borrowing or buying the book. Do you have any guide books that get you outside and learning about other places or times that you think other readers of this blog would enjoy? If so please let me know. Thanks.

• Rebel Footprints by David Rosenberg (Pluto Press, 2015)

Many hands make light work & powerful statements

Can art ever say anything important about the political issues of the day? This blog looks at ways of learning about the world without having to get on a plane (because this blog is all about travelling without racking up a mega carbon footprint). Words from Nicola Baird.

Inspiring piece by Lorenzo Quinn, Support, 2017 (c) Lorenzo Quinn

Today my hallway is a clutter of boxes filled with Green party leaflets. The idea is that I contact keen local Greens and get them to take a clutch and deliver to nearby households. It's a slog contacting people (there is a politico or SPUD term which calls this something like 'phone banking'). Admittedly it is a thrill when you match a genuinely keen Green with a really useful job.

But can art do the work of politicians? Apart from Picasso's La Guernica and other war pictures I wasn't sure if art could be used effectively in a campaigning way.

But I love this new sculpture by Lorenzo Quinn which shows two huge hands emerging from the Grand Canal as if they are propping up the five star Ca' Sagredo Hotel. Admittedly I know very little about the buildings in Venice - other than climate change is putting them at risk of collapse. But the artist is quite clear about his intent:

"I wanted to sculpt what is considered the hardest and most technically challenging part of the human body. The hand holds so much power – the power to love, to hate, to create, to destroy. Venice is a floating art city that has inspired cultures for centuries, but to continue to do so it needs the support of our generation and future ones, because it is threatened by climate change and time decay," says Lorenzo Quinn who calls his sculpture Support.

This sculpture is on show for the Venice Biennale from May to November 2017.

This is the second fantastic artwork about climate change that has really impressed me. The other was of four 3m high horsemen emerging with the low tide along the banks of the Thames by Jason de Caires Taylor visible near the Houses of Parliament in September 2015. I still have a picture of it, cut from the Guardian, pinned up on my fridge. But I daren't add it to this blog as it is a Getty image. But hope to the Guardian site and have a look.

So what?
Both artworks make powerful points about the need to pay attention to climate change in the most witty and thoughtful ways. And that gives me energy to keep on making those calls encouraging people to deliver another run of leaflets... A perfect example of how thinking global can re-energise you to act local.

Over to you

What art work have you seen that helps raise attention to problems like climate change?

• More info about Lorenzo Quinn @LorenzoQuinnArtist via @HalcyonGallery Halcyon Gallery website (or visit 144-146 New Bond Street, W1) which specialises in "inspirational art". Nearest Tube: Bond Street
  FREE Entry. Visitor Information: 020 7100 7144. Exhibition opening times: Monday to Saturday 10am–6pm, Sunday 11am–5pm

Paddleboarding - the modern way to try out Venetian gondola life

This blog is about family travel around the world without leaving the UK. We do this in a bid to be less polluting and tackle climate change while at the same time keeping a global outlook. Just enjoyed a new activity - stand up paddleboarding - and combined it with a couple of hours picking up rubbish from a canal! Words from Nicola Baird (see www.nicolabaird.com for more info about my books and blogs).

I only collected one of these rubbish tubs. Have to admit that I was so proud I forgot
to ask #Trash4Treats organiser Kiko how she got rid of them. Notice I'm holding a cake 
(rhubarb and coconut, yum) which was my treat for being a SUP litter picker.

What is it about the very end of August?  It seems to be a time I need adventure, ideally on the water...

Lola, then 13, with Patrick from
  Kayak Sydney taking us out in sea
kayaks under Sydney Harbour's
famous bridge.

Five years ago I took up an invite from Patrick at www.kayaksydney.com to paddle with then 13 year old Lola around Sydney Harbour under the famous bridge. It was fantastic - we went past amazing houses, rode the wake of the ferry and enjoyed Australia's bluest skies. (In a bid to avoid adding to climate change the family plan is to avoid flying, or to make a trip every 10 years).

Roll on 2016 and I'm trying to stand on a paddleboard on the quiet waters of the River Lee Navigation (the canal) which runs past Olympic Park in Stratford. There's a great stand up paddleboarding organisation, run by Kiko, called SUPkiko which combines two hours of learning to paddleboard with collecting rubbish from the canal.

There are five of us on today's #Trash4Treats outing. None of us have ever stood on a board before - but 30something Kiko, who learnt how to paddleboard while working in Uganda, explains clearly what we have to do. She reckons only 1 per cent of people fall in (and they possibly want to do so!).

Canals are notoriously dirty thanks to the lack of tide. Even with Kiko's regular #Trash4Treats scheme - where paddleboarders go out rubbish picking for two hours and when they return are rewarded with an ice cream or a nice piece of cake - there is plenty of litter. In fact Kiko dreamed up the idea while paddleboarding here because she didn't like her "office" (ie the canal) to be so grubby.

Everyone is meant to collect at least 10 pieces of rubbish but quite soon the five new paddleboarders have hoiked enough trash to fill their rubbish bucket. Kiko's got two!

Back on land it's clear that we've all got the same sort of stuff - polystyrene chunks, empty beer and drinks cans/bottles, condom wrappers and plastic bags. I've also found drinking straws, a large chunk of foam and a yellow plastic bowl.

Kiko says her scariest find was a doll's face with long flowing blonde hair. Guess what that looked like at first?

Learning to standup paddleboard via #Trash4Treats run by SUPkiko at Hackney Wick
(there's Kiko bottom right). With treats provided by the Milk Float Cafe

Hunting for litter is a good way to forget any standing up nerves. You start the session on your knees, just to get the hang of the paddle. After 10 minutes (or however long you need), you lay the paddle across the board and stand.

My legs were shaking at first but by repeating the mantra "your paddle is your friend" (hopefully silently) I began to enjoy the sensation. When I felt like I was about to fall (eg, as a result of my poor steering, another paddleboard heading towards me or getting tangled in the thick green weed that coats part of the canal, or me rubbernecking the hipster bars in this area) I just went forward on to my knees.

To be truthful I loved paddling on my knees. But this is stand up paddleboarding so I stood up and went for it.

SUP (stand up paddleboarding) is an all body work out. It's not too hard to learn, and as a bonus the muscle workout is amazing - I woke the next day feeling as if my chest/back was actually barrel shaped as clearly every one of the muscles/ligaments around my ribs had been worked equally.  They definitely don't function like this when I'm on the laptop.

When conditions are right (ie I'm on land or on water, but not on the high seas thinking I'm about to drown) water is often calming, but Kiko claims SUP can be meditatively good for you too.

Kiko's friend Charlie Head, who has paddleboarded the Amazon, is currently going round the UK on a SUP talking about mental health issues (and travel) #TheBigStand.  Follow Charlie's facebook page and you can see a much shared video about how mental health effects us all (and donate £3 for his next meal, #thehungrySUPper!). I've also linked to his 2min video from Blackpool Pier here:



And even if paddleboarding wasn't making your mind relax (I keep imagining I'm in Venice), it's extremely cheering having so many passersby congratulate the paddleboarders when they see them chasing a bit of litter, Kiko is a brilliant ambassador for cleaning up the canals. While supervising her newbies, she also chats with all sorts along the canalside including the drinkers at Crate and Grow, the boats that come past and lots of kids (she used to be a teacher).

Ahhhh London, so beautiful, and now a little bit cleaner in the Venetian light.

"It's brilliant what you are doing!" "Is it easy to stand up?" are the things the people we pass keep on saying as we paddle up towards Hackney Marshes and back. What a fantastic way to spend the afternoon.

My husband, Pete, was definitely impressed, claiming I'd passed my "hipster proficiency test" as we had a cheeky lager at Tank (one of the many super cool bars near the super coolest of all the canalside bars, Crate, in Hackney Wick). Perhaps one day after a West Ham match at their new stadium some Hammers fans (like Pete even) will avoid the crowds at Stratford and instead just hop on to a SUP and paddle back to their homes? It's a nice thought, but for now if you take a paddle with Kiko you can enjoy crowd-free canals with only a little bit of dodging young coots, swans and the occasional passing barge. Bliss.

VERDICT: Go and try SUP paddleboarding with Kiko. It's really fun, and definitely will reward you with a set of photos that seem nothing short of miraculous - you (well me) standing on a paddleboard on the water. Kiko also runs corporate (team bonding) paddleboarding sessions and has a base at Richmond for those Londoners who don't do north east. 
website: SUPKiko  @SUP_Kiko Insta: SIPKiko F: SUPKiko

Hadrian's Wall Path - following Roman footsteps

This blog is about family travel around the world without leaving the UK. We do this in a bid to be less polluting and tackle climate change while at the same time keeping a global outlook. Instead of lazing on family holidays guest poster Pete May took his family for a very long walk along Hadrian's Wall. It not only gave his family a taste of life as a Roman, it even got his young daughters walking the whole way across England (the secret is don't rush!).

Pete and daughters Nell and Lola had different views about cows
on the footpath at the early and late parts of the 84 mile long walk.

The Hadrian’s Wall Path is one of the most thrilling long-distance walks anywhere in the world and now there's a new booklet to help you conquer it. The route is only 84 miles long  - a lot easier to walk than to make - and you won’t have any problem remembering when it was built, as the accompanying walkers’ bus is the AD122.

Hadrian’s Wall Path by Mark Richards is a comprehensive guide to the path, with full directions, maps, and information about all the towns and places to stay on the route.

Real Roman remains. Some can even be clambered over.

We started our walk at Arbeia fort at South Shields, where the foundations of the Roman fort can still be traced and several rooms have been reconstructed. There’s no wall left in Newcastle, but the thrill of seeing your first section of wall at Heddon-on-the-Wall and then the angular Brunton Turret is unforgettable. Some superb Roman forts can be seen on the walk, including Chesters with its well-preserved bathhouse with alcoves for robes, and the foundations of a Roman bridge across the Tyne. The museum there has many excellent statues and gravestones too.

History, wildlife, fresh air, geography... looking at how little the girls are
it's amazing to think they walked the 84 miles. We broke it into several mini
holidays (yes, we call walks holidays) and rewarded walkers with hearty pub meals
of chips at the end of the day.

You soon realise what a massive project the wall was, with regular mile castles and turrets designed to control the border between Roman England and Scotland. In places it is still taller than an adult, though it would once have been three times bigger. There are massive earthworks too, with the Vallum ditch visible on the south side and a ditch to the north. It’s hard to believe, but many of the conscripts manning the windswept wall would have been from places as far afield as modern-day Iraq.

Nearing the end - the Solway Firth.

The most stunning section is the central section over remote crags, where the famous Sycamore Gap (used for filming Robin Hood) is situated.

• At Housesteads fort there are intact communal Roman toilets, which will certainly stimulate some family lavatory humour. 
• The fort at Vindolanda was unforgettable as we saw archaeologists digging up a Roman sandal and a cow’s skull used for target practice. It’s here that old Roman messages on papyrus have been found in the waste ditches referring to “Brittunculi” (wretched little Brits). 
• It’s worth trying the Twice Brewed Inn too for good beer and rooms. 

The fort at Birdoswald was another highlight. After going through Carlisle the walk ended with the beautiful sweeping estuary of the Solway Firth and for the adults, a well-deserved pint.

Blog guest poster Pete May on the Hadrian's Wall path - he liked to make
detours to wherever football was being played!

One very useful aspect of the book is that it covers Hadrian’s Wall Path from both west to east and east to west, so that you can start at either South Shields or Bowness-on-Solway. It can be completed in one week or a more leisurely fortnight - but whatever your pace those 84 miles will feel like you’re walking with the Romans in Britain.

• Hadrian’s Wall Pathby Mark Richards is published by Cicerone, price £14.95.
• Pete May blogs at hammersintheheart.blogspot.com

A trip to Italy, crossing Umbria

This blog is about family travel around the world without leaving the UK. We do this in a bid to be less polluting and tackle climate change while at the same time keeping a global outlook. Sometimes talking and reading about a long walk can inspire a family adventure. For example tracing the route of St Francis of Assisi via a new trekking book inspires guest poster Pete May to ponder the joys of long, slow walks  & tasty Italian treats.

Long-distance walking has long been a love of Around BritainNo Plane and the Italian equivalent of our slow walking can be found in the Rev Sandy Brown’s new guidebook The Way of St Francis — a pilgrimage through the green heart of Italy, taking in Umbria, Tuscany and Lazio.

During winter evenings I like to read travel stories – a recent discovery was Tim Moore’s cycling adventures on a wooden bike with the most rudimentary brakes (!) around super-mountainous Italy on the route of the Giro D'Italia 1914, Gironimo. Now here’s another way to discover Italy - by reading The Way of St Francis. The book covers the full 550km pilgrimage, known as the Via di Francesco, visiting key sites from the life of St Francis of Assisi. It starts in Florence, famous for art, leather bags and the Duomo (as seen in the film A Room With A View), goes through St Francis’ home town of Assisi and finally ends in Rome with a tour of the seven pilgrimage churches.

It has 28 stages and takes a month to walk – working on a budget of just over 50 euros a day.

Spiritual nourishment
Seattle-based author and ordained minister Sandy Brown described the pilgrimage as, “being about a state of mind” at the guide’s launch at Foyle’s new(ish) bookshop at 107 Charing Cross Road,  London.

“It’s about turning your back on your old life and focusing on the beyond, the past and the future,” Rev Sandy Brown, The Way of St Francis

Brown showed pictures of stunning gorges, forests, sunflower fields, olive groves, a Roman waterfall and villages clinging to mountainsides. Sandy said he felt much closer to the spirit of St Francis through seeing the chapel where he received his stigmata and the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi where he was buried.

Lentil stew, mushrooms, wine and hazelnut chocolates - Umbrian-style treats
perfect for eating after a long walk, wherever you are walking. www.lenticchiacastelluccio.it
is an Umbrian agricultural cooperative with beautiful pictures of flower-drenched Italian fields.

Feasting too
Another great attraction of the walk is the superb food and drink Umbria has to offer over slow evening meals, such as Umbrian wine, chocolate, bread, pasta, lentils and cured meats.

The Way of St Francis is a very practical guidebook, with full directions, maps, altitude profiles and information about all the shrines, churches, towns and places to stay on the route. It’s more than a physical trek though. Brown remembers coming to the upper gate of Assisi: ”When I looked down at the Basilica of San Francesco my eyes filled with tears. It was a powerful moment of joy of accomplishment and an overwhelming spiritual connection with the simple beauty and meaning of this place.”

• The Way of St Francis by Rev Sandy Brown is published by Cicerone, price £16.95.
• Pete May is part of the Around Britain No Plane family. His latest UK travel book is The Joy of Essex, or see his Joy of Essex blog.

Over to you
What slow walks and slow food make you dream up travel adventures? And where - or what - do you recommend?