Happy Hallowe'en (whatever that means!)

Last week I wrote on here about the mythogical beasts on the columns that support the portico leading into Burlington House courtyard. Well, on the walls either side of the entrance to The Linnean Society, on the left side within that same entranceway, there are more embellishments, depicting life and death. These take the form of a bird feeding chicks on a nest and a skull.

Hmm, I thought, let's save that for Hallowe'en and add some more 'spooky' things I've seen.

Staing with skulls and bones – a hazard warning on a metal bin and a medical skeleton hanging in a window:

And then I recalled these two – an ad for a Gregg's muffin and peeling paint on the wall around Mount Pleasant Sorting Office:

Best include a couple of demons... one in Paddington and another in Cornhill, both featured on Jane's London before, such as here:

And, finally, an eyeball and a demonic bat:

That's actually a tealight holder I espied on the Thames foreshore. The bat is one the many marvellous motifs on The Blackfriars pub.

That's it.  Whooo whaaaay!

The Worshipful Company of Vintners livery hall

You may recall that earlier this year I visited two of London's livery company halls, namely The Drapers and The Cutlers.
Well here are some pics I took whilst on a tour of The Worshipful Company of Vintners' livery hall. Situated on almost on Southwark Bridge, it is a fine building with a rich history, lots to see and plenty of interesting stories to hear about.

In no particular order – paintings of the old City of London and drunken cherubs, swans, wood and stone carvings, the coat of arms in glass and some very old gilt tapestries

The downside to this tour was that, unlike the others, we weren't even given a cup of tea, let alone a glass of wine – the Cutlers had plied us with madeira!

A point of interest; the Vintners, along with the Worshipful Company of Dyers, are the keepers of the Queen's swans and hence take part in the Swan Upping Ceremony every year (see also here).

These tours were booked through London Historians

More generic info about the livery companies here

Discoveries at Temple Place

Discoveries is a small but engaging free exhibition showing at Two Temple Place. It's an intriguing collection of art and artefacts chosen from the millions of objects stored at eight University Cambridge museums and is on until 27th April.

This was my first time inside this building and I am embarrassed to admit that I had no idea about the treasures withi. Built by Lord Astor, the richest Victorian in the world, as his estate office, it's an architectural gem.
I'll say no more... go and see see for yourself. The house is only open to the public during exhibitions, but tours are available.