It seemed a good idea to go out with my sketch book last Friday night, and draw at some of the many bars in the City of London. An especially warm evening meant that there would be plenty of people about, I thought.
We started off at Tower Bridge tube station and walked up to the Crutched Friars, presumably a very old street, but now comprising modern boxes of buidings, mostly hideous and without charm. Immediately there are people talking and drinking, standing in friendly groups on the pavements. Then further on, we came to the pub also called the Crutched Friars, where I did this pencil sketch.
The good thing about this pub, which I liked very much, was the small garden at the back, where you can sit under green umbrellas, and also the fact you can get a "double" of spirits, for only £1 extra on the price of a single. So I was on the gin!
Inside the pub I liked observing the groups, mainly men, doing the male bonding thing I suppose, and talking shop.
The rest of the evening we spent wandering from bar to bar (not getting pissed I hasten to add), and I made some more sketches. The buildings were closed and dark, the shops closed too, but every so often by the bars, of which there seemed to be very many, crowds in their white, blue, striped shirts, collected with their drinks, mainly beers. They piled their jackets sometimes on the pavement, in a little pile with their briefcases and computer cases. Of course there were girls drinking too, but not as many as I had expected. As the evening progressed, the chat got louder, the laughs more frequent.
The most animated scene was by The Monument, where there is a large bar with a balcony inside, called The Fine Line. The noise from all the chatter spread all round the neighbourhood. I intend to go back there and do some more drawing.
