London: Tea Time in Wonderland

London walks? You have tried a few, of course.

• When arriving in London, no one resists the open buses – so touristic, but hey, so much fun too. Or you can try the vintage Routemasters leaving from Trafalgar – line 9 and 15, just for the retro touch and the fab view on St Paul they offer.

• The second step often is to follow books advice. Ghost walks, walks with kids, everything will do!

• If you have children, you probably will have gone for the Duck Tour (little ones are only an excuse to join) – this amphibious vehicle is sure to make you scream of excitement when it goes into the Thames…

• There’s always the London walks too – different ones for each day of the week, full of fun anecdotes. We LOVED the pub walk along the Thames…

After all this, you feel you know London quite well. You switch to historical books insted, medieval fictions for a treat.

My friend Céline recently asked whether I had tried the Unseen Tours. I had heard about it, added it to my long list of things to do, never got round to it. What a fabulous idea! In a couple of minutes, my ticket was booked.

Why the enthusiasm? These walks are guided by homeless people and offer a different angle on the city. They were originally planned for a month only during the London Fringe but met such a success SockMob This association goes every week to see the homeless people in various parts of London, just to talk, share a coffee, not let them be invisible anymore… Why the name? Because a simple way to break the ice is to… give a pair of socks. By chatting, they realised how much these men and women knew -  and cared – about their neighborhood. They know all the streets, they chat with perfect strangers, they read newspapers to lear more about what is going on, they are curious about everything. decided to go on with the adventure.

SockMob worked as a team with the guides. Given a basic script, they really enjoyed doing their own research, or adding anecdotes. The idea became theirs, their little project, their routine. They had forgottent how rick in knowledge they were. They will mention their life in the street -  but never with pathos or bitterness. We all know they had a life before, a life like our own with a roof, an address, a job. But you still will be amazed. Sean, who took us aroud Old Street, could talk about anything from political analysis to the history of Great Britai via all kind of arts, whether the Impressionistes or Banksy…

I love Old Street – though one ahs to say it is more about the street art than the beauty of the buildings. I was extra curious of what they would say about it! Welll, without willing to sell all the secrets, you will learn more about the penny door, discover why copper coins are left on William Blake’s grave, note that Damien Hirst used to live around, finally get to see where the circus space is (I had wanted to find it for years), marval at sculptures from the Bank of England in a street you had taken a hundred times, learn that  Shakespeare opened his first theatre plays in that neighbourhood… And so much more! I had lots of little information about the neighbourhood, none complete and it just was like putting a puzzle together. Shoreditch is a trendy place at the moment, that I knew, but Sean also explained how fast it is being build up with expensive flats.

The best thing is… the human touch. Within seconds, you forget the guide is homeless. You’ll chat, laugh, talk about books, dreams, colours… So comforting after years of  cold guides who know their speech by heart, have synchronised their jokes. Here it is all about talking, exchanging thoughts. It actually is so nice that the only thing you want to do at the end of the tour is… to go for a coffee with Sean and just continue the conversation. You want to meet him again, ask how he is, get regular news. never will you think Oh, what a good deed I’m doing!  Quite the contrary, you feel like thanking the guide for how he gave you. you will not be asked for an extra coin -  that is not why he is here: he wanted to share, simply share.

A volunteer follows each tour -  easier for the admin and carrying the meet-up sign. Talking with Lidija the organizer and Carine, a volunteer, I was delighted to learn that 80% of the ticket price goes to the guide, the rest being admin, that a new tour just launched on Brick Lane, that the Londonbridge one is not to be missed and that there is one in Temple as well.

If like me, you want to go a little further and try and make a difference, even a tiny one… join the SockMobs. Come adn chat with the homeless people. There is no obligation to bring anything but if you want to, simple things such as sandwiched, socks, gloves, old clothes… will always be helpful. You will not be asked to come every week or on a regular basis, it is all up to you -  just sign up on the meet-ups, look at the calendar, indicate which ones wor for you. A smile can go a long way…

Sock Mob
The Unseen Tours – £8/person
Meet-Ups

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