OK, after the obligatory minor horse-trading, the next Voynich historical pub meet is now set for 4pm on Sunday 5th September 2010 at The Prospect of Whitby in Wapping. Philip Neal, Marke Fincher, and John Kozak are all on for this, and I hope to see several more of you other lovely Voynicheros appearing on the day as well.
Just so you know, the Prospect of Whitby sits high on most historical-London-pub lists because (a) it’s quite possibly the oldest London pub on the Thames, (b) 18th century smugglers and villains often met there (when it was called “The Devil’s Tavern”), (c) many of its fittings are made from reclaimed ships’ fittings, and most importantly (d) it opens on a Sunday. 🙂 There’s also a nice VideoJug video introduction to the pub here (though with a loud advert at the start). It’s a scant 10 minutes’ walk from the newly re-opened Wapping station, so if you put your postcode into the BeerInTheEvening page for the pub, it’ll pass you straight to the TfL journey planner (if not, remember that the Waterloo & City line doesn’t run on Sundays!) Note that Wapping also has the (just about as old) Town of Ramsgate, the Captain Kidd and the Grapes pubs just down the road, so has plenty of scope for that ancient British tradition, ye olde historicalle pubbe crawlle, shudde ye bee sadde ennoughe.
Incidentally, if I’ve read the Port of London Authority’s tide tables correctly, 5th September 2010 should see low tide at 17:00, which would be perfect for taking a beer down onto the shingle (rain permitting). So if you arrive late on a fine day and can’t see any huddled Voynicheros in the bar, upstairs, or the outside terrace, don’t forget to check beside the Thames too!
Great place! There’s some more info on the Wapping website on the Prospect of Whitby too.
http://www.whatsinwapping.co.uk/prospect-of-whitby/
Suzie: thanks for that (and so very quickly, too) – are you perhaps linked with the pub?
Will we observe the tradition of tying those with defunct Voynich Manuscript theories to mooring post whence the water of the great Thames washes them twice daily until life has left their sodden bodies or they shall repent their sins?
Marke
Marke: yeah, I’m all for tradition, me. 🙂
Drat! I am in London on Wednesday, 8th September, but not before … guess I’ll have to try and make next year’s meet instead ….
Paul: Drat! But how long are you over for? Let me/us know, and some of us might well be able to meet up with you during your stay…
A boat-dweller writes: you know that PLA tide tables are in GMT, yes?
John: nope (which is basically why I flagged my ignorance 🙂 ). So… low-tide at London Bridge on 5th Sep would be, errm, when?
18:00 BST, a slightly less louche time to be in or around a pub, anyway 😉
A warning: the Thames foreshore can be very silty, not that I’ve been onto the Wapping bit.