Back In Leicester Again Part 1 — Arrival

6 min read6 days ago

The train arrived on time, and I’m the last person who got off it to make it out of the station as I’m taking photos of all the surrounding area before leaving the platforms.

I then have a wander around the outside of the station, getting all the information boards in the station

and some of the detailing on the building itself

before saying hello to Thomas Cook and heading into the city centre along Granby Street with its array of architectural styles, listed buildings, and information boards.

I have written a separate piece all about Granby Street which is at the link below.

Back In Leicester Again Part 2 — Granby Street

My Leicester trip pieces continue

onetruekev.medium.com

At the top of Gallowtree Gate I head into what was Leicester Market. The wrought iron arch is still there but the old market isn’t. It was going to be rebuilt, but the city’s chief lying weasel is now wanting it to be an open square in the Italianate style, and as the chief lying weasel usually gets what he wants, over 900 years of history will go the way of so many other things under his control.

I start the walking down the side of the old market by the wooden fence that has been put up whilst noting the buildings and arcades on the other side of me.

I resist the allure of Rossa’s donuts and go up Cank Street passing the empty shell of what was Paper Tiger and go into the first record shop of the trip.

It took me over an hour to go through all the racks, shelves, and boxes of seven-inch singles. I only find two of the targeted list, though there are lots of near misses with the right artist but wrong single. And I ignore the little voice in my head which kept nagging, ‘ooh look at that, haven’t seen that before, that’s on x label, that’s by y artist’ and I stick the plan and don’t leave the store with over two hundred singles instead of the two.

Then it was into the Malcolm Arcade (always seemed a strange surname to me) and past another recently dearly departed Leicester stalwart. And there are two more record shops in here. Neither had a vast array of seven-inch singles and nothing I was looking for.

Out the other side of the arcade I walked along Silver Street, turning at the Globe to end up on the High Street where there are lots of look up buildings to see.

And information boards to check out before getting to Highcross Street.

Upon which there is a blue plaque on the wall of the Highcross pub,

And on the ground in the road is a marker to the original location of the Highcross.

It isn’t far from its current location, and as usual trying to take a photo involves finding the right angle to not get people in it as they sit on the steps of it.

And it has its own, uniquely shaped information board.

There was time to pass the fourth recently dearly departed Leicester stalwart, this one being Alfred Lenton. Less than a year ago I wrote this place would still be here after the rest of the city was long gone. Four places I mentioned in a single piece celebrating these stalwarts now no longer exist, and I’ve walked past them all today. I’m not mentioning anywhere else as being a Leicester institution going forward. (Apart from the chief lying weasel I suppose.)

I cross over and head to the hotel. I’m staying at the Holiday Inn on St Nicholas’ Circle. I’m a bit early to check in, and ask the receptionist if it’s OK to check in early. She asks my name and when I say it there is an unexpected response of,

“Ooh, I know who you are, but you don’t know me.”

This is true, I’ve never met her before, but I can make the educated guess that it is my friend Karl’s other half Claire. And I’m right. It’s the follow up line which is one you don’t really want to hear.

“I’ve heard all about you.”

To which you can only really reply,

“All bad of course.”

But I have an upgraded room on a high floor, and the perfect view down over the site of the Jewry Wall and the Roman bathhouse remains. Which is good as you can’t get to see it from ground level as it is still closed as it has been for the last four times I’ve been back to Leicester. At least they are expecting to have it finished and back open by the time I am back in October.