The Parson's Green ghostsign – let's go to the Palace!

Way back in the dim distant past, in November 2008 (wow and ouch, that's almost 15 years ago!) I took some photos of a huge hand-painted sign on the side of Woolverstone House, 45-47 Parsons Green Lane. The sign is painted on the rear of what was originally a beer retailer/ publichhouse and faces north across the District Line railway on the other side of the road to the station. In 2008 the sign looked like this:

It was faily easy to decipher most of the words (see further down). I filed the pics, intending to return to the site another day when the light was better for photography.

But this area of Fulham sits in an area I rarely pass through, let alone stop, and it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I finally paid another visit to the sign. I was at last in the vicinity because I had been asked to lead a mudlarking group on the foreshore at nearby Broomhouse Dock. As I came out of Parson's Green station (possessive apostrophe there or not? I wish they'd make up their mind!) I crossed the street to check on my old friend and was delighted to find it's all still there, in fact more of it is visible than before being as that white panel is no longer in place. I had expected the whole wall to have been overpainted in some way or completely whitewashed, but I was pleased to see it intact. This was about 11:20am on a very sunny, hot and hazy day, and not anywhere close to the best conditions for photography. Hence why the best shot is this one taken from underneath the railway lines.

The sign is an advertisement for variety nights at The Victoria Palace Theatre, the Grade II* 1911 Frank Matcham building topped by a gilded statue of Anna Pavlova. 

I have returned to my first batch of pics and created this over-enhanced image to better illustrate the content.What is immediately evident by the patchwork effect here, is the amount of different panels that have covered this wall throughout the decades and, as such, helped to protect what still exists.

Top left, within a panel across 2/3rds of the wall:
VICTORIA
PALACE
VARIETY AT ITS BEST
(time) TWICE NIGHTLY (time

VICTORIA PALACE
OPPOSITE VICTORIA STATION
6.15 TWICE/NIGHTLY 8.50

I think what we have here is a build up of signs over time with the earliest one at the top left, its letterform is distinctly early C20th. It reminds me of the sign for the Palais de Danse that used to be visible from the Dictrict Line plaforms at Hammersmith until that marvellous music venue was demolished in May 2012. 

The repetition of the venue name at centre looks to be later addition, rendered as it is in a simpler sans serif form. And at the very bottom, partly obscured by that vertical dark stripe, is a delightful interconnection of 'Twice' and 'Nightly' where the two words are set diagonally against each other as per my pencilled example, right.

And finally, at the extreme bottom right, under the rule, it reads LONGMANS – this is probably the signwriter and, if so, could be the largest 'signature' I have ever seen on a hand-painted sign, the letters being three bricks high! There looks like there might be some other smaller letterforms to the right of that name and this could have been a telephone number, but being as the mortar between the bricks has been replaced across the whole wall, this is very hard to discern now. 

Does anyone have any better pics?

A walk along the Thames Path – Putney, Fulham Palace and Wandsworth

Nine months ago – yes – it's taken me that long to sort out a huge backlog of photos(!) – I gathered a few friends together and we went on a circular walk along the Thames starting and ending at Putney Bridge Station.
On this chilly December Sunday we walked south across Putney Bridge, turned left after St Mary's Church to follow a short section of the Thames Path in front of some nasty modern riverfront buildings, stopped to question some strange sculptures, then continued down Deodor Road and into Wandsworth Park.

The path then took us in, past and around some more new build which had some colourful carpet-esque tiles and mirrors which I think are supposed to evoke a comfy indoor environment. Then a diversion led us down some some ugly back streets full of rubbish which seemed at odds with the luxury/bespoke/exclusive (or whatever silly words the agents were employing) apartments a stone's throw away, to get to a section of almost natural habitat where Bell Lane Creek and the River Wandle meet the Thames.
Information boards were in place to tell us about the environment and how nature is being encouraged to reclaim the environment. Well, I wish nature would reclaim more than just the river banks there. The sign said that they expected "the work to be finished by by Spring 2017" so if you live around there please do send me an update. Thanks.
Nearby we noticed some other signs warning of a potential toilet/electricity accident. Ouch!
In Smugglers Way – don't get excited about the name of this road because there is no longer anything historical there let alone anything that hints at smuggling – but there was/is a big chunk of a very old olive tree from Aleppo in Syria said to date from 1600 in the forecourt of the wood reclamation flooring company, opposite Wandsworth's waste recycling centre. Again, if anyone has any more info on this, do let me know.
All this art and history was hard work so we stopped for lunch in The Ship. Sad to report that my memory of that place from when I used to go there, ooh, about 25 years ago, is far better than what I see there now. Like many places, the charm has gone. the Ship's popularity over the decades has, to my mind, changed it beyond all recognition and it's no longer that special hidden cosy historical place – I'd hate to think what it's like there on a Friday or Saturday evening as it was horribly noisy when we were there and it wasn't very busy at all at that time. Pubs these days rip out the dividing walls and the carpets and instead have bare floors and wooden chairs with no upholstery, not even any drapes at the windows and all this does is create noisy environments because there is nothing to absorb the sound.
From here we walked north across Wandsworth Bridge and left into Carnwath Road, somehow losing one of our group (who hadn't quite understood the circular route and got lost – oops) and then we headed northwards up Broomfield Lane, because The Hurlingham Club won't allow a path at the river's edge, past an old dilapidated building that evokes Evelyn Waugh novels, and then back to the start point via the park and Ranleigh Gardens.
Are you keeping up?!
And then we just about had time for a swift visit to Fulham Palace house including a peek into the chapel as it was closing (marvellous!). Phew. Oh, last pic above is an artwork there that I thought was by my friend Paul Bommer who did the wall murals at Fortnam and Mason, but no, just checked and it's not one of his.
FP needs a re-visit. There is so much to see, especially the gardens etc. It needs a lazy day. The idea was to go back in the summer time but it's September already and I doubt this will happen again any time soon.
We finished the day off with a few beers in The Eight Bells near Putney Bridge Station.

Kensington Palace – what a revelation

Why oh why had I never been in here before. What a lovely surprise.
It's always the way, isn't it? you live in a city and take it for granted saying that next week you'll go and see what these bloody tourists are all looking at, and the day never comes.
Well, I finally went inside and it's bloody marvellous.
Kensington palace is sort of split into three historical periods. And, by chance we viewed it in, what we now believe in hindsight to be, the right order...
Actually this is a bit silly me posting about this and showing you pictures because I think the reason I loved it there so much is because I had no preconceptions whatsoever.
Oh well... sorry... here goes...

First we admired some of Queen Elizabeth II's frocks. She was tiny!!
The simple elegance of these dresses compared to the ones particularly worn by Diana Princess of Wales on display in another room was quite a shock. The 80s has a lot to answer for fashionwise; padded shoulders, puffball skirts, off the shoulder asymmetric concoctions, dropped waistlines, electric blue, gaudy green, hideous fabrics etc. 

Next to the Queens apartments. Simple and functional and homely.
Then... crash bang wallop!!! into the Kings Apartments – trompe l'oeil agogo!!!
Shown here is the famed staircase (the Queen's one has plain wooden panelling on the walls).  

Almost every room had a splendiferous ceiling and faux columns on the walls.
I caught Malcolm sitting on the throne.  

I was impressed that the information was given not on the standard boards but could be found subtly placed on relevant items within each room such as on fire screens, or on the excellent clothing recreated by the palace's design department sewn using a waterproof paper that beautifully imitates soft material.
Also, there was interactive lighting, sounds and music which occurred intermittently. In one room some dancers could be heard tapping the floorboards as their 'shadows' appeared on the wall. Delightful.

And lots of paintings, some large and fruity and others pocket-sixed and exquisite.
We played tried out some old dice and card games.  

Getting dressed back then wasn't a quick lick and a promise and sling on a onesie to pop out for a pint of milk. Those enormous dresses were as wide as a double bed and took hours to put on and take off, requiring helpers in order to be tied into the things. The second pic shows the uncomfortable under-structure that must have caused all sorts of wear and tear to the hips. What a painful palaver.
The third and fourth pic were taken in the Kings Gallery which is the only one of his rooms that bears any resemblance to the Queen's equivalent (see above left) – though, note the ceiling. 

We spotted a beautifully carved bust of a black slave. Wrong. Totally wrong. But how can you not admire the workmanship using different stones for different elements?
Time was running out and the palace staff (all absolutely lovely by the way and obviously happy to be working there) were ushering us out of the building closing doors behind us. So we whizzed through the Victorian wing vowing to come back soon so I only managed to snap a couple of pics of the The Great Exhibition Hall before exiting through the gift shop.
In the gardens outside I was a bit upset by the message being sent out by the topiary.
How jolly rude!