This year’s London walk covered some familiar territory as we went in search of two literary greats. William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens both had links with Southwark and, although there are few visible signs of their lives left today, our leader Charles Kay managed to paint a picture of what life must have been like for them. Leading us down hidden alleys ways and courtyards he showed us where the theatres stood which Shakespeare had acted in and written for, and the places which influenced the young Dickens, firing his imaginaition to write such wonderful stories as ‘Our Mutual Friend’ and ‘Little Dorrit’. We had lunch in the George, a fantastic old galleried inn now owned by the National Trust and mentioned by Dickens in ‘Little Dorrit’. The day ended with a welcome rest in the tea rooms of Southwark Cathedral.
