by John Rogers
We now arrived at the eastern edge of the city as a family, the boys having completed a six-and-a-half-mile pilgrimage to a park that shares its name with a place in Colorado that they heard about via a cartoon on a VHS cassette bought in a charity shop. Joe suddenly remembers that this was all his idea and laughs.
‘I like this walking, I’ll do more of this,’ says Ollie as we head for the park gates. We pass a bus stop for the No. 145 to Leytonstone. ‘Dad, can we just jump on the bus here and go home?’ Ollie asks. Joe is already sprawled across the bench. I check the 1950s Geographia Atlas to see how far we are from the site of Uphall Camp and notice that the area we’re in is called Loxford. I’d never even heard of Loxford before, a final unexpected discovery hidden beneath the fields of bricks.
Heidi checks the timetable. The 145 bus is only eight minutes away. The boys look at us imploringly, their minds already turned to pizza and ice cream. It’s time to go home. Barking and the beginnings of London at Uphall Camp will have to wait for another adventure.
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I would like to thank the Borough Archives of Waltham Forest, Greenwich and Ealing for helping with various odd enquiries. Also the Museum of London Archaeological Service, in my quest to find out if Horsa was indeed buried in Horsenden Hill. They all dealt with my naive enquiries with great diligence and professionalism. I greatly appreciated the time and input of Jan at Herne Hill Velodrome, Mandy Worsley of the South London Swimming Club, and the Hackney Tree Musketeers.
Thanks to Nick Papadimitriou who was, as ever, a great person to share the journey with, albeit over the phone with the exception of the one walk we did together, and the previous excursions mentioned. Bob and Roberta Smith for his cover painting and companionship to the Orient, and also for granting permission to reproduce the text of his William Morris painting. Ian Bourn for his endless knowledge of the untold stories of Leytonstone and permission to reproduce his poster for Housewatch. Anna Valentine and Carole Tonkinson at HarperCollins for their unwavering support and encouragement. My father, Alan Rogers, is the source not only of my love of walking but of nearly all the plant references in this book – he also gave me his nice waterproof jacket that I wore through a cold, wet winter. My mother, Barbara, is a constant source of reassurance and patience – I’m really sorry for dragging her over to Wanstead Flats in a howling gale that irritated her neuralgia. It was June. How was I to know?
My sister Cathy Rogers, aside from enduring the horrors of my student houses and early years in London, was put through hours of telephone monologues as I processed the meaning of my journey. Her dog Jimmy, however, is a pain in the arse no matter how cute he is. A huge thank you, too, to my dear friend and ally Russell Brand for his frankly flattering foreword.
The biggest thanks has to be to my wife Heidi and my two brilliant sons Oliver and Joseph – Heidi for her Buddha-like serenity and ocean of tolerance, listening to me endlessly waffle on about my most recent walk and the one I was about to embark upon. Ollie and Joe for providing not only the meaning to it all, but unquestionably the best lines in the book and teaching me how to appreciate South Park.
Copyright
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First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2013
© John Rogers 2013
A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library
All images are © the author with the following exceptions:
London Transport and Underground posters in chapter 5 © TfL from the London Transport Museum collection;
Housewatch poster in chapter 7 © Ian Bourn;
diagram of the Middlesex Filter Beds in chapter 7 © Lee Valley Regional Park Authority
Extract from East of Acre Lane in chapter 4 reprinted by permission of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd © 2006 Alex Wheatle
Jacket layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2013
Jacket illustration © Bob and Roberta Smith
Maps © Collins Bartholomew Ltd 2013
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John Rogers, This Other London