Down by the Lost River Effra
Kennington's Gorgeous Bats It's been a glorious week in London, just as late spring 'should' be. By contrast, there are ghastly things looming large in the world, and a fair percentage rock up in my courtroom. The lunch break is my sanity check, and I head to Kennington Park bearing salad box and writer's notebook. Stress falls away - thank the Lord for riotous flower beds, sculpted lawns and centuries-old London Plane trees. The Sculpted Lawns and Ancient Trees Photo by Jennifer Pittam Kennington Park was common land for hundreds of years. It's first recorded officially in the 1600s. There were village settlements, semi-wild forest and the River Effra, a proud Celtic tributary of the River Thames. The first Queen Elizabeth sailed her barge down the River Effra to Sir Walter Raleigh's Brixton home, but now, like both of them, the River Effra's six feet under the ground. The Lost River Effra I wonder whether Sarah Elston walked on ...