As regular readers of this or my wife’s blogs will know, we spend weekends looking for things just off the beaten track. What I refer to as “little pieces of Wonderland”, often where you least expect them. We’re rarely unsuccessful in our endeavours with Gaynor, especially, having an eye for detail.
Well, a few months ago, we were looking at an old building just by St Giles’ Church in Central London. What stood out were its, 3 storey high, doors. Situated on the edge of London’s theatre land, it had obviously been designed for making scenery. As is our wont, we then followed an alleyway to one side of the building to see where it led to discover Phoenix Community Garden. This, within just 400 metres of the hustle and bustle of the junction of Tottenham Court Road, Charing Cross Road and Oxford and New Oxford Streets and, currently, the site of the major construction work that is Crossrail. There could hardly be more of a contrast, literally, “just off the beaten track”.
At the time, however, it was closed for renovation and we determined to return later in the year. Well, looking for somewhere to visit last weekend, we noticed that the garden had an open day along with the adjoining church. We weren’t disappointed, as you can see from the photographs on Gaynor’s website https://justoffthebeatentrackblog.wordpress.com/. You could also look at the project’s own website http://www.thephoenixgarden.org/.
The project also has a new building which is available for hire. So, if you want somewhere in Central London as a beautiful venue or just to eat your sandwiches in peace and quiet, you could do worse than visit (and support) this “little piece of Wonderland”.