Ceridwenscauldron

I see that after wasting about a billion quid on its stupid ID Card scheme the government looks like its going to bin the idea. Proposals to make the stupid things compulsory for airport workers (who will already have security clearance) have been dropped in what is hopefully a big climbdown over this latest infringement of our hard won civil liberties.

Former postie Alan Johnson has said that ID cards would be welcomed by over 18s wanting to buy booze, I suppose it must have sunk in that anyone who wants to blow themselves up won't be too bothered about having a plastic card in their wallet and that people who employ illegals won't be put off by the lack of an Id document. I think that just shows the depths this lot have sunk to in their efforts to make us all think that ID Cards are a good idea.

I see the government are taking the National Express East Coast service back into public ownership along with possibly other National Express franchises. Apparently Boredom Groan's lot will be forming a new public company to run the railway which is not as profitable as the poor darlings would like. Given the chronic overcrowding on those trains up to Scotland and fares of over a ton I can't begin to imagine how that is so, but then I guess privatising the railways was a triumph of dogma over common sense in the first place.

Now here's an idea combine the new public owned railways with the public owned track operator that replaced Railtrack and call the new company British Rail.

Headed north from the office today into Fitzrovia. I needed a paint scraper.

One of the landmarks of Charlotte street is this boozer

this is the Fitzroy Tavern from whence Fitzrovia is said to derive its name. The pub's name comes from Fitzroy the family name of the Dukes of Grafton who used to own much of what is now Fitzrovia. The first Duke of Grafton was the illegitimate son of Charles II and Barbara Villiers, I love a bit of Restoration Royal scandal.

This boozer has a great literary heritage, Dylan Thomas and George Orwell drank there together with the artist Augustus John, Michael Bentine and even the Great Beast Alistair Crowley. Sadly its been taken over by Samuel Smiths who despite doing a great job preserving the interior only sell their own keg beers so I won't be joining them.

As I was snapping the pub a cab pulled up right in front of me and out popped Justin Lee Collins on his way to lunch in Bertorelli's. He's not a natural blond you know! Anyhow there are lots of good restaurants in Charlotte Street making a wander a mouth watering experience.

I like this one

where you can get a reasonable Thai set meal for about £8 and Nabarros

which does excellent tapas, but is a bit more expensive and Il Pescatori

which is bloody expensive!

As you get to the top of Charlotte Street you get a great view of the the old Post Office Tower

before you get into Fitzroy Street and then Fitzroy Square. Fitzroy Square is quite lovely being designed by Robert Adam in 1792 and completed by his brothers James and William in 1798

Fitzroy Square has been home to the Pre-Rhaphaelite painter Ford Maddox Brown and the author Ian McEwan and George Bernard Shaw and Virginia Woolf who both lived at no.29 though not at the same time. You can see Woolf's blue plaque here

On the corner of the Square is this statue

This is Francisco de Miranda, a liberator of Venezuela. After supporting the French Revolution and traveling round Europe, Miranda lived in London for a number of years before heading back to Venezuela, overthrowing the Spanish governor, then surrendering to Spanish forces after a catastrophic earthquake hit Caracas. He ended his days in a Spanish jail after Simon Bolivar decided he had been a traitor to surrender and handed him over to the Spaniards.

However while he was in London he lived here with his housekeeper and their children between 1803 and 1810

in Grafton Street just off Fitzroy Square, where amongst others he received Simon Bolivar and Andres Bello who persuaded him to head back to Venezuela. Appropriately its now the Venezuelan Embassy.