On Revisiting the gentle London strolls of my Youth . . .
-
HYDE PARK
On foot from Gloucester Road
I step out briskly and with soaring expectation along Cromwell Road.
Striding forcefully then up Queens Gate,
I shortly find myself, almost trotting now, beside the Royal Albert Hall.
Soon afterwards, I am jauntily following Kensington Gore.
Slowing a little, I meander now, across the width of Hyde Park.
Pausing frequently and sauntering to take in the scenery,
I haltingly cross over the Serpentine.
Slackening my pace again, I keep heading North to Lancaster Gate.
Then, at a relaxed pace, I drift into Sussex Square,
from where, slowing even further,
I tread the hot pavements along Sussex Gardens.
Working my way sluggishly along Westbourne Terrace
I then trudge the length of Praed Street
to reach Paddington Station.
Thence, struggling increasingly, I head to Edgware Road.
Continuing south to Oxford St and Marble Arch,
I move, almost idling, and with the occasional stumble,
along the exacting side-walks of Monopoly Land.
Then through Mayfair, plodding now,
down Park Lane.
Slowing even more, (Is that possible without actually stopping?)
I traipse across Piccadilly and round Hyde Park Corner.
I turn, unsteadily, into Grosvenor Place,
heading towards Buckingham Palace,
but, after taking a breather,
and deciding to simplify my intended route,
I make a right turn through Belgravia.
Treading heavily, I work my way through Embassy Land.
I stumble across Sloane Street
to Cromwell Road and the V&A Museum.
Thus, at last, weary and definitely plodding now,
my failing feet drag my exhausted body
back to Gloucester Road, to relaxation and
the sought after assuagement of the aches in my trembling limbs
Roland's Ragbag 
I used to live near Hyde Park and rather regarded it as my garden
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What an exciting garden to have on your doorstep, Sheree.
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More regular runs and walks for me. I, too, once lived near the park; before then I would run through it on my way from Streatham to Queens Park
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I lived north of the park in Sussex Square for a year, and then south of the park in Gloucester Rd for another year. I remember participating, whilst at college, in the annual Hyde Park Road Relay for 3 successive years. Don’t think that takes place any longer. I do remember your photographs, Derrick, of the nearby area around Edgware Rd.
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I was in Sutherland Place for 3 years
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Where is that near?
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Westbourne Grove
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I worked in Little Venice for 30 years
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You will know Central London better than I do/did. I lived there for 4 years – a longtime ago – in the late fifties.
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It has changed so much since then. In the mid-sixties I ran out of petrol on Piccadilly Circus, trotted off with a can, and came back to an unmolested car 🙂
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50 years earlier the great worry was that Picadilly Circus would soon be overcome by the huge amount of horse manure being deposited there daily. Alvin Toffler describes the predicament in his book ‘Future Shock’. But then … along came the combustion engine and we now concern ourselves with its emissions.
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Nice point
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