Street Art in Walthamstow...

Ironically, I had already planned for us to go to Walthamstow on August 10, 2024, when I learned that there was a new Banksy in this northeastern part of London. After walking through the extremely underwhelming Walthamstow Market, which is Europe’s longest outdoor market, we headed to Bonners Fish Bar.

We weren’t the only ones visiting this fish bar on a random neighborhood street corner. 

Any idea of having a fish lunch was quickly shattered as the shop was shuttered for the summer. What a lost opportunity for the owners, who later learned that their chippie had made international news. 

Love how Banksy incorporated the sign so it looks like the pelican is grabbing a fish from it. 

Our long walk around the Walthamstow Wetlands and to a unique gallery also passed by some other cool street art...

…and this Mini Food Bank Project where people could leave canned food for others.

Since most of Walthamstow is full of modern suburban homes and apartment buildings, this Tudor building really stood out.

 

Highs and Lows of 20th Year - Part 2

We are happy that once again our list of highs is much longer than our list of lows. Much of this list again focuses around traveling, our favorite thing to do:

• 20 years of living in Europe!
• 20 years of living car-free
• Jimmy/Melissa Travel: Belgium - Belgian Nash Hash in Ardennes, back to Brussels for BMPH3 Xmas Party Weekend; Denmark - Melissa tagged along on Jimmy’s business trip to Odense, weekend in Copenhagen with hashers, great Copenhagen H3 trail through a beautiful cemetery; England - weekend in Penzance to see Veronica off from Land’s End, day trip down the Thames on the Waverly Steam Ship, night on Camilla + Tristram’s farm, City H3 Away Weekend in Bournemouth with great trails; Germany- dancing on bench at beer festival in Munich, great trails at German Nash Hash in Bad Tolz; Netherlands - Panorama Mesdag; Naturalis; going on Bootjuh with Reinhardt + Inga; great FILTH trail; Paris - 5 wonderful nights in a studio in Montmarte courtesy of a kind harriette, Notre Dame, introduced to searching for Invaders (mosaic street art), great Paris H3 trail, lots of wandering; Scotland - Burns Night Hash Weekend with Glasgow H3 in Dunoon, 2 nights with Mirka in Stonehaven with nice long walks and a hash with Mearns H3, 2 nights with Marianne + John in Aboyne with cycling and hiking; Shetland - Simmer Dim Hash Weekend on summer solstice with amazing trails and fun party
• Jimmy Travel: Aix en Provence - train across France, fun with colleagues after business trip; Brussels - finding another spa; The Hague - snuck into NCIA Christmas Party and managed to remember most names; Wales - new festival tent for Lovetrails (music and running festival), 27k trail much better than last year
• Melissa Travel: England - visiting Veronica in Exeter, hashing with Isca H3 in Exmouth, Totnes Christmas Market, spending 2 nights at Sally + John’s; Netherlands - spending quality time with Georgia, Johanna + Terri, special tour at Mauritshuis; Scotland - visiting Ashlynn in Glasgow and seeing her perform twice with water; staying with her in Bonnybridge for dogsitting; another fun visit to Gillian’s in Edinburgh
• Family Travel: England - met Veronica at the Scottish border at the end of her ride and spent 1 night in Carlisle for celebration dinner; Scotland - 3 nights in cabin at Glen Tanar Estate for David + Tamsin’s wedding, hike around Loch Kinord and Falls at Burn O’Fat, family photography team
• Veronica Travel: England - camping under apple orchard trees in blossom, cycling in the Yorkshire Dales, girls trip to the Cotswolds, backpacking and photography trip on Dartmoor, week at Dreda’s farm, visiting Fiona in Nottingham with Ellie, gave seminar at UEA, RGS Conference in Birmingham; France - Food + Communication Conference in Lille; Scotland - Lois’ wedding, seeing Sam in Edinburgh
• Ashlynn Travel: Berlin - visiting Soso and Nick; DJ on Tour - Berlin, Italy; Italy - 3 nights in Tuscany after festival; Scotland - Glencoe with Maya and Til; Loch Tae with Fletch; free accommodation in Skye for one week
• Melissa/Veronica Travel: England - met up in Lincoln for 2 nights, Extreme Rock ‘n Roll Circus
• Veronica/Ashlynn Travel: Scotland - backpacking in the Cairngorms 
• Family: together again for Christmas in London; fun shows including naughty panto; Boxing Day breakfast on 40th floor; birthday high tea on 38th floor of The Gherkin; climbing up and over the 02 Arena (pictured); Jimmy being dragged on stage at Shitfaced Shakespeare and dressed as a Ghostbuster
• Jimmy/Melissa: cool art exhibits; tour of Big Ben; thrilled that our rental agreement has been extended two more years; discovering Hackney Wick; seeing more of the girls
• Jimmy: exciting things happening at work with DIANA OS; reaching Eurostar Club Level unlocks making travel nicer; having the time to add new features to Harrier Central; organizing London Marathon Beer Stop; cycling into London with Veronica; pulled off organizing a great away weekend despite only a small group of helpers
• Melissa: finding a partner in crime (Liesl); great day hikes with AWC London; seeing Veronica speak at the RGS; new TV
• Veronica: surviving her fieldwork 2,014-mile cycle ride, meeting lots of cool people along the way, and the kindness of strangers; family at beginning and end of the ride including a surprise by Ashlynn; 5 years of Coves to Cliffs; book club; Rugby World Cup with Annabel; speaking on main stage of Royal Geographic Society (RGS); conferences; Wicked double feature; fun dating with new confidence; another year with zero flights; nice not having to move; enjoying English cheese; Swiftageddon; spending lots of time with friends; skinny dipping in the Serpentine; introducing Andrew and Hannah to the hash
• Ashlynn: getting her Master’s degree; starting a label with new best friend; lots of DJ gigs; releasing first compilation; playing after all-time favorite producer and watching her dance to Ashlynn’s set; DJing at festival with 100,000+ attendees; DJing at festival with Veronica watching; full expense paid trip to play at festival in mountains of Italy; releasing first track and hearing it on NTS Radio; live performances including with water and singing; Stranger Things Live; dogsitting; teaching biology online; first play in Glasgow
• Visitor count up since moving to London: Ashlynn; Carolyn + Zach; Fenella + Matthew; Kelly, David + Madeline; Phil; Veronica; Vivynne + Tony

 

Highs and Lows of 20th Year - Part 1

Hard to believe that we’ve lived in Europe for 20 years as of November 22, 2025. Once again, the four of us weren’t together then, but were reunited for another Christmas in London. We reflected on our year on December 29 at a Vietnamese restaurant called Sprigs. As usual, here are our lows first:

• Political situations
• Climate change
• Ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine
• Immigration rhetoric from Labour Party
• Missing Kati
• Jimmy: drama at work distracts from the mission; manager leaving; spending six months of coding to rebuild  Harrier Central due to tech changes; running injuries at end of year
• Melissa: continued lack of discipline to update this blog; Georgia passing away; missing a Eurostar journey due to own stupidity; receiving call from a crying Veronica; missing King’s Day festivities in Holland due to catching Covid 
• Jimmy + Melissa: finding mice in our flat; lack of communication from Brett
• Veronica + Ashlynn: too long since visiting Holland
• Veronica: having her heart broken; Leah leaving Exeter; endless transcription of interviews with farmers; feeling a bit lost about food post her epic cycle ride; UK higher education system in decline
• Ashlynn: drama from middle-aged white men in the music scene; having to move from her nice flat in Glasgow; ongoing Ciaran drama; visa stresses; ongoing health issues with medications not working; tour in Japan cancelled; jobs in her field requiring a driver’s license; data hiccups for thesis; bickering of new roommates

Final Day with Johanna...

Today was another big walking day as we made our way across town towards St Paul’s Cathedral. 

I’d read that there was a free viewing platform overlooking the cathedral, but it was closed that day. Instead we went to the rooftop bar next door so we could enjoy a drink with a view instead.

On our walk home, we passed by Infinite Accumulation, a newly installed sculpture by Yayoi Kusama in front of the Elizabeth Line at Liverpool Street Station. Known for artworks with repeated polka dots, with a height of 33 feet (10 meters), width of 39 feet (12 meters) and length of 328 feet (100 meters), this sculpture really takes dots to the next level. Such a fun visit!

Three days later, Jimmy and I were in the area so I’ve included these photos to show how it looked with a blue sky...

…and our attempt at a selfie.

 

Sir John Soane’s Museum...

On Johanna’s final full day in town, we opted to see one London’s quirkiest museums: Sir John Soane’s Museum.

What was originally the home of one of England’s greatest neo-classical architects, it became a museum upon his death in 1837. 

A Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy, Sir Soanes was a dedicated collector of paintings... 

…sculptures...

…and architectural fragments.

While much of the museum may have appeared crowded and chaotic, we really enjoyed it.

 

The Queen’s House...

Since Johanna had already been to London several times, I tried to fill the rest of her visit with less traditional places to visit. Next up was Greenwich. Built in 1635, the Queen’s House was a royal residence for just seven years on the grounds of what was once Greenwich Palace. From 1806 it was the center of the Royal Hospital School for the sons of seaman and in 1937 it became part of the National Maritime Museum. This painting from approximately 1690 celebrates the remodeling of Greenwich Park.

The Sea Maidens

This painting from 1886 by Evelyn de Morgan might have been inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid where the brokenhearted doesn’t necessarily live happily ever after. 

Transport

By painting a bar code on such a large scale over a cargo ship, this artwork from 2006 draws attention to mass consumerism and its impact on the world. 

There was art everywhere you turned, including on the ceiling. 

This portrait of Elizabeth I was painted around 1588 just after England defeated the Spanish Armada.

The coolest architectural feature was the Tulip Staircase. Made of ornate wrought iron, it was Britain’s first geometric and unsupported staircase. As I stood there it wasn’t its history that impressed me, but rather its beauty.

 

Seeing Art with Johanna...

On August 4, 2024, just as Jimmy was at the Eurostar terminal catching a train to Brussels, I was at City Airport meeting Johanna who had come from The Hague for a four-night stay. The following day was full of art and sightseeing. We started with an eclectic exhibition at Saatchi Gallery.

If you look closely, you can spot Johanna in Chelsea on They Were on a Wild Ride to a Safer Place with Rabbitwoman and Dogman, which we had encountered earlier in the year near Tower Bridge.

Next we went to see Chihuly at Chelsea Barracks, featuring colorful blown glass displayed in fountains...

…and flower beds.

Our next stop was Battersea Power Station. 

We enjoyed a late lunch at Tattershall Castle with its great view of the London Eye.

We continued the theme of bars with iconic views as we took a break from our long walk along the Thames to enjoy a drink at The Bar in front of the HMS Belfast.