Well, the research trip had its good bits and its not so good bits. I unfortunately wasn’t all that well in London so I managed to do less than I had hoped. Also, a remarkable amount of 18th century London just isn’t there any more. (Not surprising I guess. They had to put 19th and 20th century London somewhere).

I did manage to spend some time around Spitalfields, the district where a lot of Huguenots lived and the site of a thriving cloth industry. Christ Church Spitalfields is one of Nicholas Hawksmoor’s constructions and is pretty impressive (although bits of it got monstered during the 19th century). Spitalfields market is still in the same place but is covered over now and has no sense of history about it.

The same can be said for West Smithfield. This was once the site of a huge meat market and a hangout for thieves and rogues of all descriptions. As at Spitalfields the markets are still there (at least in part) but covered over. I didn’t spot any thieves or rogues either. In fact, it was raining and I barely saw anybody. The smart people were all inside.

Actually, that’s not completely true. I got approached by a homeless man asking for money. Thinking that any other fool out in that rain deserved support I pulled out a few coins and handed them over. It turned out to be three pounds. He was gobsmacked and told me he’d be lucky to get that much in a day normally.

We both agreed that some days you got luckier than others. But it seems to me to be pretty hard yakka when you have to spend the whole day parting people from less than three quid. It seems the streets of London still have their vagabonds and they aren’t doing it all that easy. Not that Sydneysiders have any reason to be proud in that regard but at least the weather is warmer.

We did a trip out to Framlingham Castle in East Anglia. This is an interesting place. Only the curtain walls remain of the medieval castle but inside is a poorhouse built in the late 17th century and expanded considerably in the early 18th. It was quite interesting seeing how they had to live.

It would have been hard work but on the whole a hell of a lot better than trying to stay alive in London. At least you got enough to eat, some clothes (rough but adequate) and a roof over your head. The East Anglian winds would have been chilly but you’d be indoors much of the time. Better than being homeless in London, that’s for sure.

Hopefully the next time I head over I’ll be in better nick.