London Peculiars – a book by Peter Ashley

I have recently been flicking though a fab new book ticking off the contents in my head, inwardly saying "been there, seen that, ooh... must go find that".
Actually, I must confess here that I am a little bit annoyed with myself, envious even, because I have been threatening for years to put together a book of my observations and due to being distracted by even more intriguing things my book has still not evolved. It's hard to know when to stop 'collecting'!

Some randomly-chosen pages from London Peculiars published by ACC Art Books

As you can see from my dodgy snaps above, Peter's book is a collection of photos and info about details and hidden spaces in our great metropolis – tiles and stone reliefs, gardens and monuments, alleys and ghostsigns. Actually I am wondering if Mr Ashley might be getting some of his idea from this blog... hmmm... ha ha.
Perhaps I should contact him and go on a wander with him some time...?

Guided walks – local history, literary themes and commemoration

The weather at this time of year is perfect for going on a guided tour and learning more about the area you live in. Or, perhaps, you'd like to find out about places further afield?
Well, you are in luck, because there are lots of walk ideas coming up, starting this weekend.
Tomorrow, Saturday 29th, Jen and I will be leading short walks around Archway.

Then, from Monday October 1st, Footprints of London's Literary festival kicks in for the whole month with literary-themed tours every day. I've got two Holloway walks in the programme – one tour about Mr Pooter and his Diary Of A Nobody, the other tour is about all the writers and poets who have lived and worked in the area.
On Saturday 13th there are free walks available in The City, Westminster, Camden and Islington, all on the theme of commemoration.
Find out more about all of the above here.

Footprints Of London Literary Festival 2017 – at least one guided walk every day in October

Get your diary out; this is going to take some planning...

Footprints of London are offering more than 50 literary-themed guided walks throughout October.
It's sort of like a walking book club – Footprints' qualified and experienced guides lead you through the pages of London’s literary history to see the places you might only have visited in your imagination; where some of the nation’s best beloved novels and poems are set, where the authors’ inspiration was born.

A you can by the calendar above, you can meet George Orwell in Soho, Wilkie Collins in Marylebone and Samuel Pepys in the City. You'll be able to hear from William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens and T S Eliot and follow in the footsteps of fictional characters such as Mrs Dalloway and Sherlock Holmes. Or explore the literary connections of districts like Covent Garden, Bloomsbury and Chelsea.
For full details and how to book, please visit the Footprints website.

“I love walking in London,” said Mrs. Dalloway. “Really it’s better than walking in the country.”  

Leaflet design and artwork by Yours Truly

The London Library – a lovely literary labyrinth

The London Library sits in the North West corner of St James's Square.
It's an absolute delight; a labyrinth of rooms jam-packed with books, level upon level of lovely old books. I could live happily in there.

The books are filed in categories A-Z and you'll Chemistry next to Cheese. The open metal floors are both sturdy and space-saving. Editions of The Times are stored in red binders.

Some of the books are over 400 years old have been previously owned by historical figures and bear their annotations and/or signatures – it amazes me that members can freely flick through these treasures, let alone take home.
I was lost for words when I was there, which is odd for me, but I was the right place for that to happen.
Membership comes at a price; it's not expensive, but it's not cheap either.
However a guided tour is free.

Reformation – an exhibition at Senate House Library

If you are in Bloomsbury between now and 15th December do make a detour into the 1937 Art Deco magnificence of Senate House on Malet street to see this small but marvellous exhibition about The Reformation hosted by Senate House Library.

The two pics at the centre show a marvellous book about the library and a tote bag, both available there. The middle two pics on the bottom row show library rooms and the the one bottom left is of the stairwell (see more below).

The exhibition is not advertised outside but is well signposted once you enter the main building by following the motifs designed to resemble smashed stained glass and cracked stone which lead up to the 4th floor.
I was lucky when I visited for a preview of this exhibition to gain access to the roof of the tallest part and the pic at bottom right (above) shows a view from the top of the stairwell looking down approx 60metres and would have been quite dangerous for the maintenance men changing the lightbulbs etc – a potentially deadly drop. Luckily the stairs are caged on all sides now. I will post some views from the roof next week.
Anyway... where was I?
Yes, the exhibition – it's free!

A wonderful choice of exhibits are on view – fascinating old books, drawings and manuscripts, plus a very good interactive touch screen

Charles Holden's Art Deco Senate House was London's first skyscraper and is worth a visit in itself. This is where George Orwell found his inspiration for Nineteen Eighty-Four and Room 101.
I'd also recommend Yannick's Bloomsbury Art Deco walk which includes Senate House

Archway Market – a colourful gem on Holloway Road every Saturday

Archway Market comes alive every Saturday on the wide pavement at the corner of St John's Grove and Holloway Road, two minutes' walk from Upper Holloway Station. Market hours are 10-5pm [approx].
For a small market the choice is wonderfully varied – organic vegetables, hand-crafted cheeses, meats, pastries and cakes, a hog roast, plus a great second hand book stall and greeting cards & prints.

A diversity of delights

the wonderful colours of nature

Yummy!  But by the time I thought to take these photos, at approx 3.45pm on Saturday 8th Oct, most of the cakes had gone and the hog roast was almost a carcass (see bottom right).

I would also recommend the grocer/convenience store on the corner where you can get good cheap proper coffee.

And now for the personal promo bit...
Find me selling my cards and prints of local images and montages every first and third Saturday (plus more dates if possible).
This weekend (Saturday 22nd) sees the launch of my locally-themed Christmas cards – nine options to choose from – come and place an order (free local delivery).

Ideals in Industry – a book about Burton's

Delivering my cards to Oxfam bookshops is a dangerous process – shelves of delicious old antiquarian titles are always beckoning me. Keep away from the books Jane; keep away from the books!!

Last month I was in the Crouch End shop and found a wonderful little book 'Ideals In Industry' by and about Montague Burton and Company telling us how bloody marvellous they are/were.

It's a fabulous bit of self promotion:

That's Monty on the top row. Next to him is an aerial shot of the Workshops Estate at Hudson Road Mills, Leeds, showing how large some of the Burton's factories were.

Benefits of being a Burton's employee included; sing-songs while during work hours at the factory, dentists, doctors and nurses on site, morale-boosting visits by VIPs and royalty, plus social events, outings, theatre and dramatic associations, indoor sports facilities at work, a variety of external sports clubs, and much more.
The clothes were then distributed to Burton's distinctive and imposing shops. Their store at 118-132 New Oxford Street (end of Tott Ct Rd) was, in its day, the largest tailoring establishment in the world. Oh yes; this was a big company, make no mistake.
The back section of the book shows page after page of illustrations of all the Burton stores. I can see this is going to keep me quite absorbed for some time yet.... :-)

Gone but not forgotten – G. Smith & Sons, tobacconist and purveyor of snuff

The first of a new series remembering shops and businesses I have known or used myself that have closed down or been demolished in the last few years.

Today I'm rembering a shop in Charing Cross Road. It sat within a long line of antiquarian bookshops, that used to run from Cambridge Circus down to Leicester Square Station.  

G.F Smith & Sons at No.74, was a beautiful old tobacconist's shop with a lovely old mirrored frontage and hand-painted gilt lettering showing they were purveyors of fine cigars and smoking paraphernalia. The shop was established in 1879 and used to be able to claim that it was one of the oldest/longest-trading shops in the Soho area. It was also the meeting place for the The London Snuff Club

I took these pics in 2008 when the shop was a garish orange (it was soonafter repainted royal blue – you can just make out the scaffolding in the mirror).

But, sadly, the shop closed in 2012 or 2013. I can't seem to find a definitive date or what exactly caused the shop's demise but I suspect the revised smoking laws of 2006 had a huge effect on sales – see above for their adaption of My Way that was in the shops' window in August 2008 – the pink highlights are mine (grr!). And I suspect that the humidor at the rear of the shop fell foul of the regulations against indoor smoking within work premises. Some products and reference can be found on Google here.

As you can see by this screenshot, from Google Streetview (July 2015), the shop can be seen with original woodwork painted a soft beige colour, but I wonder what became of Smith's lovely hand-painted glass, the tobacco stock and and all the advertising ephemera?

Charing Cross Road used to be lined with bookshops of all kinds and has been the inspiration for novels and films etc. The larger shops were at the northern end (Foyles, Waterstones, Blackwells etc) and smaller independents specialising in certain fields especially, art, maps, second-hand and rare antique books could be found south of Cambridge Circus.
At the time of writing, this specific section of the road mentioned above has only about three bookshops remaining, the others having been replaced with cafés and coffee houses, souvenir and clothes shops; crushed under the wheels of high rent and homogenisation. It's called progress.
More antiquarian shops can be found a few minutes' walk away along St Giles Court and St Martin's Court, (both further down Charing Cross on the left just after Leicester Square station) where you can still while away the hours amongst books, prints, maps, coins, stamps, medals and more.

Hmmm... thinks... Smith the stationer, Smith the umbrella maker, Smith & Nephew the chemists and Smith the tobacconist and snuff seller... any more?  

In and out the dusty bluebells

Sitting on my back step admiring the lovely bluebells in my garden I was reminded of a game I used to play in the Infants' school playground back in the 1960s.

First of all we had to find a few friends who wanted to play so this necessitated skipping around the playground holding hands calling out "who wants to play... [insert game name here].... join in" (with the word 'join' really extended/emphasised).

Once we had a group of say eight, then seven stood in a circle holding hands with arms raised like gothic arches and one person (let's call her the leader) wove in and out of the ring whilst those of us in the ring sang:

     In and out the dusty bluebells

     In and out the dusty bluebells

     In and out the dusty bluebells

     Who will be my partner?

Then the leader would stop behind that child and rhythmically pat on her shoulders (mostly a girls' game though I do recall boys sometimes joined in) whilst we sang:

     Pitter patter pitter patter on my shoulder 

     Pitter patter pitter patter on my shoulder 

     Pitter patter pitter patter on my shoulder 

     You will be my master!

This child then joined behind the leader and held onto her hips, the circle got smaller and the whole thing repeated until there was just one child left who got banged on the head by everyone. I haven't a clue what the point of it was, or what it all meant, but I liked it.

Over the years I have been asking people if they remember this game and, apart from one friend who grew up in Kennington but can't recall the words to the song, I have drawn a blank.

Recently I found the game mentioned in My East End by Gilda O'Neill (I urge you to read this book; it's wonderful). As seen below, the words are slightly different: 

The reference to a dog is logical as regards use of words like master, follow and even the inclusion of patting*, but how this links in with bluebells is beyond me.

Does anyone else remember or know anything about this game?

* I am now singing words from another song;

"We all pat the dog, we all pat the dog.. e, i, adio, we all pat the dog"

What was that from?!!

Mount London – Ascents in the Vertical City

There are some great views across this fair city from high points such as Crystal Palace, Ally Pally and Richmond Park. Plus some fantastic vantage points from man-made constructions which include Hornsey Road's 'Suicide Bridge', BT Tower, The Wheel and the The Pointy Thing.
But on a smaller scale, London exists on a series of hills and mounds and this can be seen in the names of the streets, such as Saffron Hill, which to us today seems like a little blip and not worth mentioning.
Mount London is a collection of thoughts and observations by twenty-five different writers about these geographical ups and downs.
Published this Wednesday 28th May – more info here.
Below are some of my own observations on London's hills.

Corn, Denmark, Lavender, Rosslyn.

Stamford, Notting, Highgate, Crouch End.

Muswell, Haverstock, Primrose, Tower.

A London Country Diary by Tim Bradford

I just got this great book containing the musings, observations and illustrations of Tim Harding.
Subtitled Mundane Happenings from the Secret Streets of the Capital, each one- or two-page entry concerns something Tim has spotted in the area of North London where he lives, bounded by Finsbury Park, Stoke Newington, Highbury and Holloway.

Read about pubs, parrots, charity shops, dogs, frogs, football, prams, and plants he doesn't know the name of.
It's amusing, heart-warming and thought-provoking and, living within the same area, I can identify with a lot he writes.

More info here
See Tim's website here.

Tired of London, Tired of Life

The very lovely and lively Tom Jones has been suggesting a different thing to do in London every day on his site.
The book of the site is now available to buy. It's stuffed full of ideas so there'll be no more "what shall we do today?" moments.
Tom's been on The Robert Elms Show and on BBC London News promoting it (and, I am sure, many other promo opportunities that I missed).
I am chuffed to report that I am mentioned on the acknowledgements page within the same sentence as Samuel Johnson... praise indeed.
Well done Tom.

Charles Dickens 200th anniversary

Charles Dickens was born on 7th February 1812. Which mean next year is his 200th 'birthday'.

The wonderful Museum of London has put on a special exhibition to commemorate this much-loved story-teller. As well as lots of Dickens' personal items and effects, including manuscripts and paintings, the museum has recreated Victorian London using sound projections.

The exhibition runs from 9th December until 10th June. More info here.

Dickens and some of his characters and places. All are fairly self-explanatory excluding The Lord Clyde which is in Clennam Street.

Tom's Tired of London

No, he's not. At least I don't think he is. Especially when he is pedalling about all over London finding things to mention on his site.

Every day Tom posts a suggestion of something to do, see or visit in this fair city. He might be a bit worn out, but he's certainly not jaded.

I can't keep up with him – one day last month Tom and Ian took Boris bikes to Paris and back in a day.

I hear Tom's site is in the process of being turned into a book. Well done Tom. And happy birthday!

London Buildings – An Architectural Tour

You've seen the plates, now look at the book.
And see how lovely it is!

The book covers a range of London buildings and architectural styles, including Barbican, Battersea Power Station and Sir Christopher Wren’s 1675 Greenwich Royal Observatory. Also are included are 20th century masterpieces such as the Isokon Building, Trellick Tower and the Royal National Theatre.

I like it a lot; the line drawings, the illustration, the design and layout, plus it's square (I love square format!) and the colours are gorgeous and so well chosen.

Thanks to Anova Books for sending it to me.

More info on how to get your copy of the book at People Will Always Need Plates (which isn't really true is it?!).

Walk The Lines by Mark Mason

There are lots of book about London. You'd think there couldn't be any more to write but every now and then someone comes up with a new idea; a new take on things...

Mark Mason has walked the entire London Underground overground, by which I mean he has followed the tube lines at street level. His book 'Walk The Lines' tells the stories of his journeys, covering hundreds of miles. It's a great read... full of wonderful London facts, amusing trivia and meetings some odd and interesting people. I like it a lot. Here's M@'s review.

I am now singing that Wombles' song, which reminds me of Steven Smith's wonderful Underground London. I keep saying I won't buy any more books and will instead just borrow from friends or the library, but every now and then another one comes along that I just have to have. I need to put up some more shelves. These are nice.

Top: Mason in Battersea, Victoria in Victoria, Baker[loo] in Tottenham, Central in Holloway

Middle: Hammersmith in Holloway, District at Gloucester Rd, Northern in Hornsey, Circle in Bloomsbury

Bottom: Piccadilly in Piccadilly (but no more; RIP), Waterloo in Waterloo, Jubilee at Hungerford Bridge, Metropolitan at Farringdon.

Pavement Poetry

It seems I am not alone in my fascination for coal hole covers.

I was recently contacted by Maria Vlotides regarding a book about a public art project she has put together in conjunction with the Notting Hill Improvements Group.

Seven new coal hole covers have been designed, created and embedded into the pavements of W11 showing relevant quotes and poems by writers who live in the area including Sebastian Faulks and P.D. James. The project is backed by the Royal Society of Literature.

My copy of the book arrived this week. It's lovely. And full of great info. Plus, in the 'other sources' section at the back she has very kindly included the link to my set of coal hole photos on Flickr.

A similar project can be found in and around Brick Lane.