Primrose Hill coal hole cover plates

Out wandering about in Primrose Hill the other week I noticed quite a few unusual names and designs on the coal hole cover plates embedded in the pavements there. Most cover plates have patterns on them to stop them from being slippery underfoot. Many just have patterns on them but canny ironmongers realised it was a good way to advertise themselves.
As you see these ironmongers are not all local to the area – Abbott of Great College St, West Bros of Marchmont St, Young of Davies St, Persons of Notting Hill, Watkins of Regents Park (the most local), Philp of Fitzroy Sq (oops, I now see I have put two of those in there!), Davies of Clapham &Camberwell, Ward of Edgeware Rd and Wood & Barrets of Tottenham Ct Rd. I didn't see any company names from addresses in Chalk Farm Road or Camden High Street, which seems odd.
The one I like best is the one that reads, Charles's Safety Plate, by patent act Vic, which I assume is a ref to Queen Victoria. This needs a bit of research. And also some better pics because the light was fading by the time I reached this terrace where almost every house had one of these outside.
Also notice the second pic which shows one of the Abbott covers embedded into two lovely pieces of Yorkstone. This is not the only cover I noticed where a feint keyhole or toilet bowl shape is evident around it. Does anyone know how/why this shape was made?
Another ironmonger, not shown in this collection, was repeated a lot in various different designs. I will post about that company sometime soon once I have put them into some kind of chronological order and done a bit of research.
See also the coal holes of Warwick Square and the contemporary ones in North Audley Street.

Winter Lights at Canary Wharf until Saturday

Wrap up warm and get over to Canary Wharf to see the fabulous light installations dotted all around the area, both outdoors and in.
More info here.
Be sure to print out the map to be able to follow the route as it makes it so much simpler following the recommended trail.
Here's some pics from my visit two years ago

Wassail... Wassail... here's to 2019...!!

This basically means drink a bowl or cup of mulled wine whilst cheering in the new year.
It's an old pagan festival thing.
My friend and I were luck to happen upon a troupe, if that's the right word, of mummers near Millennium Bridge on Sunday 6th Jan and so we stuck around near The Globe to see what might evolve. And I am so glad we did that.

A screenshot of images I found within The Lions part website

The Lions part put on a fab colourful Twelfth Night show and, just like those that would have been put on in George III's reign, it was satirical referencing the past year's events with a peppering of rude and lewd extras.
We then ended up getting caught up in the throng and 'danced' a farandelle through Southwark's riverside streets to end up The George Inn on Borough High Street.
What an absolute delight. Though I am not sure that drivers of the the cars who had to stop to let a long chain of people cross Borough High Street were that amused!
My prediction for next year is to go to wassailing again, tho this time I will have to tae a flask of warm alcohol as we got nary a sip.

What we did notice when watching the play was that in all the riverside flats above there were only two people at one balcony watching the show. I am pretty sure no-one was at home in all the other apartments. Does anyone actually live there? I suspect the owners just use these places as somewhere to crash mid-week.  
Anyway...
Let's raise a warming glass to happy new year...!!

K2 and K6 phone boxes – conservation or dereliction?

Happy new year people ... here's to a marvellous 2019!
........................................................................................

Tourists love 'em but the powers that be don't seem to give a wotsit!
K2 phone boxes are still a common sight on out high streets. But these and their successor, the slightly smaller K6, are falling into disrepair.
Most of us have mobiles/cellphones these days so there is scant need to utilise theses bright red icons anymore* but if they are to remain on our streets (and they should) then why are they in such poor condition? I mean, who is supposed to be managing and maintaining them**?

This thought popped into my head yesterday as I was passing Islington Central Library on Holloway Road. Contractors have recently been working behind scaffold and plastic sheeting giving the lovely 1906 building a clean but now the work has been completed I can see that the phone box on the corner is filthy! It already had some broken or missing window panes but just look at the state of it now...

As you can see it's covered in plaster splashes, muck and dirt, as is the pavement around it which forms part of the library's curtilage.
But it's not the only one that looks so bad. For instance, in Islington, there is another one in poor condition outside St Paul's church at the top end of Essex Road, and the pair outside Tesco on Islington Green are horribly neglected.
Yet in nearby Canonbury there are some glossy red well-painted examples such as this one outside The Canonbury Tavern. Why? Because this is a 'conservation area'.
So, this begs the question: "whose responsibility is it regarding the upkeep of these phone kiosks?". And who painted or gave authority to paint, the ones in Canonbury?  And if that is the body that owns them, why haven't all others been similarly maintained too? Why only conservation areas and tourist meccas?

* apart from advertising space for 'services' or as 'conveniences'

**(8thJan) I am now in the middle of an on-going email conversation with someone at BT about this – she as good as tells me they rely on the goodwill of the public to let them know when these kiosks need attention. i.e. they expect us to act as unpaid quality controllers or maintenance managers on their behalf.  This means they only fix the kiosks when it's pointed out that there is something wrong with them thusfurther enhancing BT's irresponsibility.
I will report back when I have more. Meanwhile, go paint your local kiosk any colour you would like, as I doubt BT will notice let alone care!