In July 1990 we moved from the U.S.A. back to England. For a few weeks we lived in Northampton at 62 Friars Avenue. Then we bought an apartment in Clippers Quay, on the Isle of Dogs in London, shown in an aerial photograph at left here, taken at just about this time. (Click for a bigger version.)
At the top right of the aerial photograph you can see part of Millwall Dock. Clippers Quay leads off the main dock to the south, with a little wooden bridge across the entrance at the north. There are small houses all around. Some are actually one-family houses; others, like ours, are divided into apartments. Our address, 50 Whiteadder Way, is on the west side of the quay near the north end, marked with a cross here.
We lived in Clippers Quay for a year, going back to the U.S.A. in October 1991. Having already decided we wanted to start a family, we "camped out" at an unfurnished apartment in Elmhurst, Queens (i.e. New York City), surrounded by our belongings in mostly unopened boxes, while I went back to work for CS First Boston and Rosie house-hunted in the suburbs. After five months, in March 1992, we moved to Huntington, Long Island.
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Here are some photographs from this period, Northampton-London-Queens. Clicking on a picture brings up a bigger version.
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Rosie at our front door (which is open). The window just behind her belongs to the kitchen. |
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The back of our building. Rosie has walked out of our back door (you can just make out one of the
stone lions guarding it),
down some steps, across the pathway, to the railing that overlooks the quay. There are actually gates in the railing
so that you can step down to
your mooring. We owned one of the moorings, though we never got to use it. Here you can see the structure of the buildings. Above our back door and window is our bedroom balcony/door/window. We owned these bottom two floors. The third floor was an independent, smaller apartment, owned by someone else, accessed by an outside stair at the front. You can just see part of the stair railing in the previous picture. That third-floor apartment also has a small balcony at the back. |
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Clippers Quay after a snowfall. Rosie is standing on the wooden bridge that spans the north end of the quay. |
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Right outside the back door was a small paved patio where we used to take our breakfast in good weather. Beyond that was a garden, which … |
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… Rosie soon bent to her will. |
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The quay was often visited by swans. I caught two in a hasty photograph here through the back door. |
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One of the upstairs rooms was our bedroom. The other, seen here, I made into a study. |