Duck Island cottage in St James Park

During my lunch, I and a colleague walk round London's St James Park and Green Park. It’s great to stretch your legs, moan about the office politics and enjoy the beauty of one of London's great open spaces.

On our route we pass the above cottage which reminds me of the cottage in the Hansel and Gretel story. I can almost imagine an old woman waiting for some children to tempt and later cook! When thinking about the kind of stories I used to read, its strange how the themes of those stories are probably not suited for children's entertainment! The cottage is really quaint and a strange sight to see in central London. It has a beautiful garden, filled with flowers and sits on the bank of a large lake.

While i have fantasies of it being the residence of a child killer, In fact the cottage is called Duck Island Cottage, the picturesque lodge which serves as the offices of the London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust in St James's Park, is aptly named - it occupies a site which has long been the haunt of these aquatic birds. Birds of various kinds have been kept here since 1612, when James I began converting the swampy chase of the Tudor monarchs into a formal garden.

As it is national chocolate week in the UK (why would we need a week to celebrate chocolate, when we celebrate all year round anyhow?) my fellow blogger Giles from Giles World posted a interesting article on chocolate - please check it out by clicking here!