A month has flown past since my Indian post, and of course a lot has happened in that time. These are the main things relating to my life as an author:
Whilst in London we visited Kentish Town and Kings Cross, both of which are in the novel. We have visited the Bull and Gate on a few occasions, but every time I see something different. One day I would love to see the accommodation upstairs, but seeing the Bologne Bar where Ngaroma and her French friend sat in my imagination, on the red chairs, was pretty satisfying. I had a brief conversation with the barman, who, as it happens, lives upstairs, and he was amused by the possibility of the ghosts of my ancestors lurking around up there! He also pointed out various things that would have existed during that time, such as the Victorian bar area. We had a pint and a pie there as usual before we left. I must say that Kentish Town is looking very tired, especially compared to Camden down the road.
After leaving the pub we walked down Greenwood Place and came across a new building called the Greenwood Centre. I felt this had to have something to do with the family, so went in and spoke to the receptionist who then called the manager. He was interested in the Joseph story and has ordered a book for the centre. He also gave us information about where the Almshouses were. So all in all a successful visit.
The third thing we did in that area, a couple of days later, was to check out the Great Northern Hotel. In the book I have Catherine and Francis having a lustful afternoon there upstairs, but of course the lines between fact and fantasy are blurred as far as that relationship goes. It was still pretty cool to go in there and have a drink and nibbles (very expensive), imagining what the rooms would have been like. In fact I briefly considered staying there for one night, until I saw the minimum room price with senior discount - in the vicinity of $800. Wtf? There’s no way Francis could have afforded to stay there on his soldier’s wages, but don’t hold that against the author!
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