Each morning during the first half of this week I'll be getting up at 5:00am, catching an early train to London followed by the tube to Hammersmith. Twenty years ago there were three things to travel to Hammersmith for:
- Hammersmith Palais (Echo and the Bunnymen '84, The Alarm '84, '85)
- Hammersmith Odeon (The Alarm '85, Iron Maiden '88, Then Jerico [twice!] '89, Omar '90, The New Jersey Gospel Choir '91)
- Fulham Greyhound (The Acolytes '89, '90, This Picture '89, Bomb Disneyland '89, Mega City Four '89, Paddy Goes To Holyhead '89, Senseless Things '89 and several other events which may well have escaped recollection)
Under the flyover, Hammersmith was a grim-looking place. We visited infrequently, so took a while to learn which exit to use from the Underground, which invariably meant walking half way round the island looking for the flyover to give us a bearing. The walk back up Fulham Palace Road from the Greyhound was never undertaken either alone or sober. If we did it quick enough, there'd be time for a kebab from the shop at the other end, before jumping on an early enough train to connect with the last Central Line train back to Essex. Sometimes the Central Line train was held so the last trains would all connect up.
Apart from a recent Straight8 event I haven't been back often, so the transformation of Hammersmith into bustling metropolitan shopping area still surprises me. Even the Underground station has been completed, with the addition of a bright new shopping centre and bus station.
I'll be catching the bus from Hammersmith to Barnes where The London Wetland Centre is the venue for the last London-based Cognitive Edge accreditation session of the year. After kicking myself for missing the previous session, I was more than happy for Ron Donaldson to twist my arm a little to attend this course. No surprise he recommended the venue. It beats staring at the side of a building while you're "composing your thoughts..."
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