Farewell Arthur Beale Chandler

Sad news that Covid has another victim in the shape of the ship's chandler Arthur Beale. This shop has been a spiritual home for sailors in the heart of London for literally hundreds of years.

I remember wandering over in 2014 when it had just been taken over by Alasdair Flint and having a tour including seeing the impressive basement (above) where there were tools of all sorts, just the thing that should be in a chandler.

This was clearly more than just a shop. It also had pedigree, links for famous expeditions that either fitted out there or requested gear to be shipped out to exotic locations.

Having just got back from Greenland and read Dancing on Ice (full book review here), an account of the Watkins Expedition, I was totally impressed by this telegram from Watkins himself to Arthur Beale asking for "100 foot Alpine lines" to be sent to Angmagssalik, Greenland.

They also arranged a number of really interesting talks, including:

• Alasdair's trip to Jan Mayen and climbing the mighty Beerenberg
• A high latitude forum
• Jane Maufe and the background to her book The Frozen Frontier
• Paul Heiney and the background to his book One Wild Story

It's loss has been noted by many, including Time Out and the BBC.

It will be much missed!