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Thursday 28th March 2024
Another last Thursday of the month after quantity not quality today. The weather looks a bit grim later but I will have to make best use of time. I worked my way through the tube network from West Ham to Canada Water in Rotherhithe. I walked down to the start of the Queen Elizabeth II Lying in Wait Queue AL series. I would pass a few of these on my way into the City. I walked down to the Albion Channel which leads from the Canada Water formed from the previous Canada Docks.
I soon found the SE14 #4 trad but failed on the SE14 #1 further up the waterway. #3 was an easy find so I headed north through Surrey Docks to the Thames. #5 proved elusive so I continued towards Tower Bridge visiting all five bases of the Historic Rotherhithe AL series on the way. I paused around The Kings Stairs but I couldn't get started on the multi of the same name due the numbers not adding up. I had more luck with the 2007 golden oldie Le Manoir mystery though.😀
I passed Tower Bridge and headed for HMS Belfast. There was a WM virtual here. I tried to get from Hay’s Galleria down to the Belfast but it was all closed off so I worked my way down to the ship another way. When I got to the entrance to HMS Belfast, the pathway was closed off there too. I tried to blag my way past the security chap but he wasn’t buying it.🥴 He said that the pathway had been closed for a week until further notice.🥴 I contacted the COs with this information and they have kindly allowed me to claim the cache.😀
There was a mystery connected to the ship - An enigmatic puzzle based on the WW2 Enigma code. I was able to finally crack the code with the help of others. I found this cache back in Bermondsey. I was heading across to the City now but managed to sort out the Bridge over Troubled Water multi on the way.
A new virtual The Rise of Tower Bridge had been published recently. It was a 4/1 and one qualification was a photo of yourself under the bridge itself. Luckily it was low tide and I joined the mudlarks. It seemed that the main find was medieval pottery today. Unfortunately I couldn't crack the practical side of the virtual so that will have to wait for another day.🤔
Over in the City, I found the 3/1 A Year Hidden Challenge but the weather was deteriorating so I jumped the tube to Victoria from Tower Hill. In the dry of Victoria Station I picked off the bases of the SideTracked Victoria AL series and then ventured out into the deluge to the former Venue club which was another base of the A West London Music Venue History AL series. I braved the rain to gather information for the Tafoni @ Grosvenor Gardens EC which I hope to find some day.🥴 However I just could not find the source of The mineral Almandine EC nearby.
I took a chance and headed down to Brixton for the Brilliant Brixton AL series. Luckily the sun was out when I emerged from the tube so at least I could dry out when visiting the delights of Brixton including another one of The Thin White Duke's London abodes.
I jumped back on the tube and headed to Vauxhall. I was after The Sky Pool trad which was hidden under a bench. When scrambling under the bench I heard the words "are you ok there buddy?" I jumped up and there was a policeman armed with a rifle.🥴🥴 I said that I was geocaching and he was happy with that and after telling me that I'd been picked up on CCTV went on his way. I soon found the well hidden cache and after doing the clerical duties I moved swiftly on. I found out a couple of days later that the U.S. Embassy was nearby. I had two more of the NEO trads to finish off nearby and then my time in Battersea was done.🤔
It was time to head for home but on route, I stopped off in the City for the Between Sixes and Sevens AL series. This was based on the Halls of the Ancient Trade Guilds of London but I only had time for four of them before I had to run for the train.
1 Multi 1 Virtual 3 Mystery 5 Traditional 24 AdLab
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