When seeking images for Advent+2022 this snowy image appeared. I was not really certain how I could weave it into a ponder. Yesterday @theoldmortuary went out for our works ‘do’ and a ponder was born. The Kings Head, Westmoreland Street, Marylebone was opposite The Heart Hospital where I worked for quite a while. On occasions, if a patient ‘got lost’ between the wards and various clinics they could be found propping up the bar or having a fag by an outside table. The Kings Head is like a country pub that has become rehomed in the city. Although not a regular occurrence it was not intimidating to have to cross the road in scrubs and go and find a patient. Sometimes they were obvious because they were there with their drip stand. The Kings Head was once the home of John Wesley.

He is the glue that sticks this ponder together.

Earlier this week when the weather was brutally cold and icy we decided on a very local pub as the location for our ‘works do for two’. Our journey would be easily manageable in the cold snap. A five minute walk to the Cremyl Ferry and a ten minute crossing on the Edgecumbe Belle to reach The Edgecumbe Arms on the Cornish bank of the Tamar.

Note below taken from Plymouth History Festival 2020

Cremyll Ferry

This ancient crossing is thought to have originated in Saxon times and was first documented in 1204. It was worked by rowing boat, then steam boat and now motor boat.

This postcard features a coloured photo of the landing stage at Cremyll Point, with the quay, Edgcumbe Arms and cottages in the background. The HMS Impregnable training ship in the Hamoaze can be seen in the distance. Bystanders and passengers are waiting on the quay and there’s also a horse-drawn carriage. It’s postmarked 1907.

This postcard also dates from the early 1900s and shows the other side of the Cremyll Ferry’s journey at ‘Admiral’s Hard, Stonehouse’. It features the landing stage and quay just off Durnford Street. The ‘Armadillo’ ferry is approaching. A horse and cart is waiting in the water at the end of the slipway, and several men can be seen in small boats alongside the jetty.

Yesterday the weather changed. South westerly winds blew the cold away and brought rain and stormy seas. The ferry crossing was rougher and longer than we have ever experienced. Longer because there are absolutely treacherous currents that run on this particular stretch of the river. The tides and weather of yesterday meant the ferry had to head out towards the sea to find a safe place to cross.

Waves were crashing over the boat and we rolled and dipped alarmingly. Alarmingly for a journey that most times we don’t notice. We were, of course in expert hands. Waiting for our return journey I discovered that John Wesley of Marylebone had made the same journey in difficult circumstances.

Wesley also uses the old name of this stretch of water. Crimble Passage which in itself is a useful addition to Advent+2022.