Move it on over…the Thames

Our kitchen is open to the dining and living areas.

Our move is complete. We are now in Barnes and feel well settled. 

The new address is:

Idle Hour

62B Railway Side

London UK  SW13 0PQ

We live in one of two apartments in a former pub called the Idle Hour, which has historically been called The Manor Arms. That name is what shows on the outside of the building (you will see that in a photo at the bottom of this page). We are on the second floor, known in the United Kingdom as the first floor.

For more pictures than what you see here, go to:

IdleHourBarnesUK (shutterfly.com)

After you are at the photo site, click on Pictures & Videos at the top (there are no videos) or the blue hyperlink in the Welcome section. There are 29 in there now.

We already love it here. The flat feels like home and the area is beautiful. We are only a 5-minute walk to the Thames River and a small train station by it (Barnes Bridge). A larger train station, Barnes, is about an 8-minute walk. Because of them, access to Central London is easy.

We have a small deck between the bedrooms and 
the kitchen, dining and living areas. Sunny lately. 

The closest larger towns are Putney and Richmond-upon-Thames where we can get whatever we need that might not be on Barnes High Street. Putney is three minutes by train; Richmond is six. I have taken the bus to Richmond a couple of times.

Flats are not large. Ours is a 2-bedroom with a total of about 900 square feet. Our former flat in Islington was about the same size and from a connection with an AirBnB host so it was furnished to include everything you might need.  

Our new home was unfurnished except for a bed in the second bedroom so not only did we need furniture but literally everything you might need in a house.  I wanted furniture that I liked but wouldn’t mind leaving behind when we return home to California. I had to get everything needed after only seeing the flat for about 10 minutes and am happy to say that my vision for the flat was successful.  We quite like it! I've dubbed my style here as British Boho.

It is across from a primary school for children up to 11. We are directly across from where the youngsters apparently have recess or physical fitness because it is a happy noise we hear. We are perhaps 100 yards away from a massive park where we bring Reiver to play fetch.

The main bedroom. That window has a nice view
down into the tiny 'backyards' of a few neighbors

We moved in June 1, a day before the country celebrated the 70th anniversary of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. She is just the second longest-serving monarch in history. France's King Louis XIV served for 72 years! and 110 days!

We went out to dinner at a pub on the first night of a 4-day "bank holiday" weekend and dressed Reiver up in her Union Jack outfit. Matt left the next morning for a quick trip home to Massachusetts to see his Dad, who at 96 is a week older than the queen.

We met up with our London pal Bob Jung this week to see one of our favorite Outlaw Country singers, Hayes Carll. We were surprised how many Brits were into him, too. The 

venue, Amazing Grace, is a converted old church by London Bridge, and it was packed.

Our flat is on the second floor.                            

I leave Saturday for five weeks in the US. I’m going on a 3-week motorhome trip to Oregon with my brothers Ed and Tom and sister-in-law Kristy. This is followed by the annual family fishing trip to June Lake. Then back to UK for another year or more. Matt will be busy writing the entire time I'm gone and, really, the rest of the time we are here. He is due to graduate Sept. 1, 2023.