Milton Keynes and Vanessa Bell

                                      Milton Keynes and Vanessa Bell

 

Between late October 2024 and early January 2025 I’ve been in two cities that boast a lengthy central road or vista: Washington DC and Milton Keynes.

The juxtaposition is unfair. The National Mall in Washington is imperial: end-stopped by the Capitol and the Washington Monument, wide and green, and flanked by large and wonderful neo-classical (for the most part) buildings.

Turning ourselves away from the inn

  There’s a pub in Kentish Town called the Crash and Fail (also known as the Bull and Gate). Owned by the once estimable Young’s Brewery, it’s a large place, with a long curving bar fronting the frontage; a vast room at the back (once a music venue) and a spacious upstairs, with another bar.