Staple Inn, High Holborn

Standing on High Holborn is this rather interesting old building - Staple Inn. It's a timber-framed building and built in 1585 and stands on High Holborn in the City of London. Although it survived the Great Fire of London (1666), it was damaged in WW2 but restored. Staple Inn is the last surviving Inn of Chancery. I am no law expert, but from what I understand, Chancery Inns were used by people who worked in the "field" of law.




Get there: Chancery Lane LU

Happy 10,000 km, Duke!

A few weeks ago, Duke hit 10,000 km on the speedo.. (technically incorrect as this is a 2nd speedo as I ran him into a ginormous pothole in the countryside and we both went sliding. His forks were mangled and his speedo stopped working and I had to ride him back to Bristol for a replacement (they only had KM ones and not Mile ones) before repeating the first (of many) London trips.)


Duke is actually the second Duke -a bunch of no-lifes stole the old Duke, so this is the new Duke.


Anyways, I like Duke a lot, and will always speak fondly of him. Duke has changed my life (silly as it sounds!): I've been many a place with him, had a few accidents here and there, and I've been fortunate enough to visit many places as a result. He rarely fails to start (he struggles a bit when his heart is a bit cold) but he is cheap to maintain, easy to fix if anything goes wrong, and costs little to run! So here is my tribute: Long live Duke! Bring on the summer and those twistys!

Duke's stats:
Current Miles/KM: 10,808km+ (on this speedo)
Motorbike type: Learner/commuter
Engine: 125cc, I think it's air cooled and is CDI
Top speed: 55mph (passenger/fully loaded), 62mph (just me, down the motorway)
When he's happiest: In pretty countryside or after a wash!
When he's unhappiest: Me stressing him out through gaps in rush hour London traffic =(
His home is: the Cardiff Valleys
Furthest travelled: Harlow, Essex.
Special features: His big topbox, phone charger, halogen lamp (a luxury!), being Welsh =D

Old London Underground map

Apologies for the suck-tastic picture (it was cold and I was miserable and my camera was feeling the same...) - Whilst walking along the Victoria Embankment, I came across this old LU map. Notice how it doesn't have some of the newer stuff on it (as well as the fact that it's in an older style, and more geographically correct), such as the fact that the Northern Line goes much further than in the map.


(Get there: Temple (LU))

Carey Street motorcycle bays

I always smile a bit when I see innovative solutions for bikers in cities or means of parking for motorbikes - such as the parking bay on the right in this picture =)


(Carey Street, WC2)