We recently visited a local pub, “The Bell”:https://www.belle17.com/ in Walthamstow and, having sat out in the garden, admired a large striking wall mural of a bottle of wine with the following limerick:
The bumbling figure of eight
Was stumbling home rather late
He tripped in his stride
Fell on his side
Succumbed to his infinite fate.
A few days later, we were walking past another local, “The Chequers”:http://chequerse17.com/, and spotted a poster for Angry Dan’s ‘poetic street art treasure hunt’ with a map showing the location of 9 murals dotted around Walthamstow. There was an incentive that if, during August, you found all 9 murals, took a photograph of each and sent it to Angry Dan (either as an Instagram post or by email), you’d be awarded a print of a new limerick inspired by a day out at Walthamstow Marshes.
It seemed a challenge too good to resist and we set off one rather blustery Saturday morning to the one furthest away from our home – a rather stark black and white mural opposite the “Pumphouse Museum”:https://walthamstowpumphouse.org.uk/ and an appropriate steam/mechanical ditty.
It was then onwards to find a Heinz can of baked beans near the newly created “CRATE”:https://stjamesstreet.crateuk.com/ St James Street – a set of small independent businesses based in crates.
Whilst you can choose your own route, we headed for “Gnome House”:https://gnomehouse.org.uk/, an arts centre where we found a large blue whale with an environmental themed limerick on the side of the coffee shop.
On route, we passed Angry Dan’s pop up gallery where a rather Happy Dan sat at an old-fashioned typewriter presumably writing yet more limericks. We said hello and checked out prints of some of his other limericks which were for sale.
We continued on to another of the more outlying murals at Queen’s Road Station with its Albert Einstein limerick on the nearby Mission Grove Primary School.
We finished with the murals nearest to our house and around the High Street: one about J K Starley, inventor of the modern bicycle; a bright multicoloured affair; and one said to be on the Town Square which we had trouble finding. Interestingly others obviously had similar problems, as a few days later Angry Dan’s Facebook page provided a short video describing the location, which to be fair, wasn’t really near the Town Square. Bearing in mind it was near the market with its fruit and vegetable stalls, the limerick read:
Honeydew, think I’m cute?
Of course, sugarplum, you’re a beaut!
Then let’s wed, I declare
We’d make a great pear
I’m sorry, I just cantaloupe.
The final mural took us full circle back to the garden of the Chequers pub with its limerick in the brain of a head. We celebrated our success with a glass of wine.
We thoroughly enjoyed the trail which provided us with a focus for a walk and also took us to places that were relatively unknown. We are also looking forward to receiving our limerick print.
“Angry Dan”:https://www.angrydan.com/ Angry Dan is a Walthamstow based poet and painter specialising in limericks, which he paints on canvases and walls to create public murals.
