Chas Baker of Seven Sisters Road, North London

One of my birthday presents this year was a sweet little book called the A-B-C Guide To London. 

It's a modern reprint of a handbook put together in 1905 listing all sorts of places in London at that time, including some informative maps great illustrations.
The book was actually a piece of very clever marketing material made by a company called Chas Baker & Co Stores Ltd. Almost every other page has a reference to the nearest branch. And at the back there are pages of ads showing the kind of clothes and accessories one could buy at their emporiums.

The company's head office was at 271-274 High Holborn, with other large shops at Ludgate Hill, Tottenham Court Road, Edgware Road, an a North London branch at 5, 6 & 7 Seven Sisters [Holloway, N7]. Illustrations of the shops are included in the book.
Most of the Holloway building is still there as you can see in my comparison photos, below. The street level and first floor now look nothing like they used to a century ago, but the upper floors are still basically the same. I am a bit confused how the 1905 drawing shows only three windows with pointy bits above them on the third floor, yet today you can see that there are matching ones to the right, but not on the part of the building that used to be the shop! Artistic licence or a matching extension?

I feel the urge to go and take photos of the other four locations now...

Here's some pics of the old stores and the merch available

Art At the Mills, Open House Weekend & The Brunel Museum

This weekend three things come together in one place.
Art at the Mills is putting on an arts and crafts market at The Brunel Museum this Sat 22nd and Sun 23rd September coinciding with Open House Weekend.
The museum is jam-packed with info about the great IKB and his fantastic achievements. This weekend, in addition to the regular exhibits more events will available including an apothecary with cocktails, sculpture and sound installations, plus the tunnel will be floodlit.
After your visit enjoy a pint in the nearby The Mayflower pub – the "oldest pub on the River Thames"... check out the deck at the back that overhangs the river.
The whole area of Rotherhithe is steeped in history and interesting facts and I am sure I read somewhere that Rotherhithe Street is the longest continuous road in London.
I will have a stall at the market on Sunday, so I hope to see you there.

Rotherhithe

City of Glass

I recently posted about The Developing City; an excellent exhibition about the changing architecture in the City of London.
It was split into three sections; the past, present and future. The earlier panels were full of great info and wonderful photos of the City in past centuries. It was interesting to see and mentally compare the changes over time. I was especially intrigued by Cheapside, which has always been a shopping street. However, in the past it was lined with one-off shops selling all kinds of things, but of late it's become just another bland road plate glass shops selling coffee, clothes and phones. The church of St Mary-Le-Bow now looks squashed, out of place and off-scale compared to the buildings either side of it.
London, you see, is being over-run by plate glass.

Old buildings are being torn down and replaced with HUGE glass monstrosities that, despite their shapes and silly 'friendly' names, all end up looking the same. They are, in my view, just glass towers squidged and skewed into strange shapes; vertical glasshouses with no detailing or interesting features except they can reflect a grey London sky or a better better building.
Our wonderful City is going to end up looking all new and shiny and bland like Dubai; the Dubaiification of London will soon be complete.
In a few instances listed London façades have been retained; their insides have been gutted and replaced with modern offices, walkways and glass atriums. Or extensions have been added that resemble lean-tos or green houses. Perhaps the powers that be are considering growing tomatoes and runner beans in these places if one day all the computers crash? I am now also gutted, but for a different reason – that although I do like the renovated space inside Unilever House, I didn't see it prior to its re-fit.
Back to the exhib... The 'present' section showed a collection of 80 images that they called 'the best new buildings and public spaces built in the City since 1985'. Looking at these images I could only make out a few structures that were not predominately glass, including The Millennium Bridge and terracotta-clad building in Bishops Square, Spitalfields. The plans for the immediate future show the horrible intensity of tall glass buildings that will be going up during the next decade.
The last part of the exhibition showed some visions of the future that makes it look like the Thames will become some kind of water garden for Teletubbies. Another similar idea for Smithfield had to be seen to be believed.
I cannot be alone with my concerns. One only has to see the queues on Open House Weekend for all the old and preserved buildings such as The Livery Halls, churches and old banking rooms, to understand that a lot of us appreciate intricate mosaics, and hand-carved stone and wood.
Looking forward, I do not see a logical reason to build (any more of) these biggest/tallest/pointiest 'iconic' structures (for iconic, read 'bullying'). They can't simply be show-off statement pieces – there must be more to it.
It can't be that London has a dearth of office space because you only have to look up to the empty top floors around, for instance, Oxford Street and Piccadilly, or wander the streets behind Broadgate).  So, I conclude that there must a financial gain to be made constructing big glass show-off towers.
I rather suspect that a huge tax dodge, or similar, can be achieved by off-setting building costs against profits. Or something. After all these big shiny things aren't cheap you know.
Or perhaps, in addition to growing those vegetables, these megabucks businesses are just trying to keep window cleaners in employment?
The pics in the montage above come from my 'Ugly Beautiful' folder on Flickr. Here's a similar, but shorter post from three years ago on the same subject.

A happy coincidence: 
I wrote most of the above yesterday, intending to rewrite bits of it today. Last night, I sat down to watch the 4th in the series of 'The Shock of The New', a series of programmes made in 1980 by the erudite and much-missed Robert Hughes. 
This episode, entitled 'Trouble in Utopia', was about modern architecture. Robert put forward his views about the idealist attempts to turn major cities, that have endured centuries of history including World wars, into minimalist Utopias, devoid of life or stimulation. He pointed out that the "inhuman" and "absurd" towers of glass just didn't work; that "nothing dates quicker than people's visions of the future". He showed that by the 80s areas of Brasilia, built in the early 60s, were already falling to pieces. Chandigarh too, Le Corbusier's personal vision of Utopia in India, commissioned by Nehru to reflect the nation's modern, progressive outlook, was also a shadow of its former self. 
He also pointed out that none of the modern buildings of the 80s displayed any kind of ornamentation comparable to Chicago's Sullivan building, an early example of high-rise steel construction. (They still don't... they are just plain unadorned plate glass.)
He (wrongly) concluded the episode by predicting the death of the Utopian style of architecture, saying it just doesn't work. I'd love to have heard what he thinks of London now, and the plans for its future.
See the programme here.
In conclusion, I think many architects such as, for example, Le Corbusier and Renzo Piano, may occasionally have some brilliant ideas, but are unable to see further than their own noses. These bullying, narrow-minded, control freaks are being allowed (commissioned by sychophants?) to alter our cities too drastically, and too quickly. 
Stop, stop stop. Or at least, just slow down.
There! I've said it!

The Athletes' Parade

As an London Ambassador I got a ticket to The Mall on Monday for the Athletes' Parade.

I was a rebel and wore civvies, but there were plenty of other people there looking colourful in their volunteering outfits so, conversely, I actually looked quite conspicuous! 

See some of these pics and more at larger size here.

Cally Festival, Sunday 16th September

Another bit of self promotion, but also a good excuse to put some pics on here of a neglected, and now misunderstood and much-maligned, area of north London.
Starting at Kings Cross, Caledonian Road runs due north for over a mile (I must check that!) all the way to Holloway. In the past the street was well-used by cattle-drovers taking their stock to market in the area that is now Caledonian Park. The park/market area was originally just a stop-over for the herds on their way to Smithfield Market. And in later years there was a thriving antiques and bric-a-brac market there. Only the clocktower, and the shells of former pubs are left these days to hint at the history.
The Cally is a real mix – on the east side there's the Thornhill and Barnsbury Estates with their carefully-designed terraces and managed squares and gardens, including a road once lived in by a recent PM, then on the western side council estates were erected thus creating a real mix of cultures; a "them and us" situation – almost a Regent Street 'divide' of the north. A recent BBC programme about the road only glanced upon the diverse history and, in my view, spent too much time talking about the current dodgy landlords and prostitutes at the KX end.
I travel up and down the Cally almost every week spotting old bits of history here and there and some of my observations are shown below.
But to the point... this Sunday the whole area is coming together for the Cally Festival – a pop-up street celebration of the area's diverse offerings, which will include art, craft, music, dance and more.
The stretch of the road between Offord and Bridgeman Roads will be closed to traffic for the day and, judging by last year, it should be good... I hope to see you there... come and find me at my Amelia Parker stall.

'Williams Homemade Pie & Eel Shop' sign is finally revealed again on Holloway Road

I have had my eye on this particular shop sign for years...
Though it's not Edwardian, gold leaf or 3D it's still hand-painted and well worth preserving as a reminder of a more recent age when pie and eel shops could be found all over London. Only a few of these establishments are still open these days.
A while back I reported that many old shop signs along the Holloway Road are being preserved as shopkeepers/owners are being encouraged to keep hold of any signage they might find when renovating. Sadly a couple of signs in the area that did make brief appearances (see here and here) did not stay visible for long and I hope they not have just been painted over, or filled in as happened to a relief sign in Finsbury Park.

A few years ago a clever protective etched perspex/glass sign (above left) was put across the 'Williams Homemade Pie & Eel Shop' sign such that during the day the modern sign was visible with lights and in the evening the old lettering could still be seen when the shop was closed. Very clever and similar to the sign at No. 109.
Last year all of this was covered up completely when two subsequent companies moved in and just pasted their company names straight over the top.
Then some of it became visible (above middle), and finally, last week (above right) I noticed that Miss Desire had finally peeled off her layers and revealed the red underneath. As you can see the clear protective plate has now also been removed.
I will keep an eye on it and see what transpires.

This parade in which Williams sits has always been of interest to me. It's one of the oldest stretches in Holloway Road and I used to be fascinated and amused how it colourful and multi-cultural these buildings had become over time.

Then in 2009 (middle pic above) the scaffolding went up and some idiot saw fit to sand blast the No.211-3. As you can see from the right hand image the bricks are now looking way too new, having had their outer coatings removed by heavy-handed cleaning, and dodgy patches of un-matched pointing can be seen between the courses. I think the faded colours looked OK as they were. This clean up job makes it look like a pastiche of buildings further up the street where the unpainted bricks on other buildings of this kind have taken on a nice dirty grey/brown over the years.
No.215 has also been tarted up and given a coat of magnolia paint. It looks marginally better than next door but I do miss that crazy Columbian blue and red, though for some reason the yellow at the top has been retained.
See here for comparisons of the old and new:

The Mayor's Thames Festival 2012

It's that time of year again... 

This weekend September 8th and 9th will be chock full of wonderful events all happening on, in and around the River Thames. For the full programme listing see here.

I will be there again selling "probably the most Thames-related products.."(!). Find me in the We Make London zone between The Oxo Tower and Gabriel's Wharf.

It's great doing a stall at such a vibrant event but it means I miss out on seeing the wonderful night carnival and what I think is the best firework display of the whole year – it's always blinking good and bright and noisy!

This year the carnival (starting at dusk from the north side of Blackfriars Bridge) will be led by a six metre Lady Godiva puppet wearing a Zandra Rhodes dress (eh? not naked?!). 

Godiva will be arriving in London after a journey from Coventry via Rugby animated by a team of five puppeteers.  

For those of you who had planned to stay in and watch the Paralympic closing ceremony, I suggest you record it or catch up with it on replay... much better to come down to the Thames for some great live entertainment. 

Architecture in the City

I have just been made aware of what looks to be a wonderful exhibition in the City of London.
Maps, models, photos and more... ooh!
This is only running until 9th September so be sure to check it out if you are in the Cannon Street area as it's open at weekends too.
Here's Ian Visits' review.
And here are some of my pictures which illustrate the ever-changing architectural landscape of that immediate area:

Paralympics, August, London 2012.

I put a collection of relevant Paralympic pics together a while ago here.
But this post is not about anything London or sporty it's about logo design.
I have already written here about my disdain for that awful London 2012 logo with its lower case L for London and that redundant square in the middle, but enough of that... this is about the Paralympic logo; the Agitos.
For a few years now I have been collecting snaps of what I call lazy logo designs. And the Agitos fits into this mould...
It appears that there is a simple formula to creating a logo and anyone can do it – all you need to do is write the name of the company and then add a shape, reminiscent of the Nike swoosh, over, under or around the name using the negative space created by two overlapping ellipses. Genius! If you can't fathom the overlapping ellipse thing simply re-draw the shape as best you can, just like in the Agitos version.
Look around you; these things are everywhere.
Below is a screengrab of just a few of the ones I have on file.
The Agitos logo, takes this process further and just repeats the elliptical element, without words, to give, I assume, an impression of movement, agitos being the Latin for 'I move'. See how they've managed to squeeze it in beautifully with the other elements to form the Paralympic Games 2012 logo. Nice! Not.
I may have to give up my day job.

Handmade or manmade?

I need a new pair of trainers.
I used to have a really great pair of comfy leather Nikes a few years back, so last week I went into their Neal Street, Covent Garden shop.
I was dispponted to see that almost all of the wonderfully colourful stock was made from some kind of plastic mesh. I explained to the assistant that the shoe he was showing me would be no good in the rain and, anyway, I didn't like the fact that the materials were man-made.
So he picked up slightly different shoe and told me that the material was machine-made.
You just can't make this stuff up!

Nudity and royalty

Shock horror, Prince Harry's been photographed naked playing cards!

Turns out he's nude under those clothes just like the rest of us. 

Playing strip poker, in Vegas, sounds like a fairly normal thing to do, better than betting and losing his crown jewels.  

Throughout history male members of the royal family have been rogering around and siring illegitimate children hither and thither. It's a perk of the job! I consider that Harry's being fairly tame in comparison.
If you haven't seen a naked man before, here's are some to be found in London. Shocking!

My Ambassadorial week

At 5pm yesterday afternoon I finished my volunteering stint as a London Ambassador – five days from noon until 5pm in Trafalgar Square.

The word 'ambassador' is a strange choice being, as we were, walking information points handing out maps of London. I think the top three questions I was asked were; 'How do I get to Piccadilly Circus?', 'Where is Covent Garden?' and 'Is the Olympic Park open?' (no to the last one... it'll be open during the Paralympics, then closed until March 2013).

I had a good time as a London Ambassador. I am glad I stuck it it out and gritted my teeth through the useless training modules because I met and helped some lovely people in the end. And made a few new friends.

London is lovely at the moment The sun is shining and it's reasonably quiet. The streets are emptier than normal, the tube is pleasant to use, ditto the buses and the public spaces. Londoners seem to have taken heed of Boris's advice to change their working patterns vis-a-vis the Olympics and are either working remotely from home, or have gone away on holiday. It's lovely! The evening streets are not so full of after-work drinkers. Everyone is smiling and happy after such a great sporting event and visitors are getting a really good impression of our fair city. I wish it was like this all year round!  

So, how was my ambassadorial week?

Let's start with those bloody uniforms. As suspected, they were horrible to wear. Hats were supposed to be worn but when you are encased in pink and purple plastic sweating in glorious sunshine, putting a lid on the top is not a good idea. When the sun hid behind a cloud I was cold and shivery; the material being non breathable did not allow the air to dry my body. Yeuch!

I noted that the The London Transport staff at our pods, there to help people find their bus stops or plan their tube journeys, were just wearing loose pink branded sleeveless things over their normal clothes. Why oh why the powers that be couldn't have designed something similar for the Ambassadors is beyond me. The waste of money regarding our uniforms and the materials used to make them disgusts me on many levels. Will people really want to buy any of this on ebay as they suggest? 

I hated having to wear closed-in shoes. What a really silly stipulation. Surely it's better to be able to wear whatever one finds comfortable? I am sure the public only really noticed the branded tops and jackets and wouldn't have given a flying whatsit if we were sporting green sling-backs or light blue pixie boots. 

Branded umbrellas would have been useful – after all, this is England, known for the rain! In pink and purple, they would have been really visible and in the hot sun they would have been great as parasols. In contrast to the clothes, this would have been an item I would have actually wanted to keep and use again. And pens... where were the pens?  I can't recall any event I have ever been to that didn't have branded pens or pencils!

There were way too many Ambassadors. We were like a sea of bright pink dots littering the square. I was disheartened by how many had scant knowledge of London, let alone the immediate vicinity. One of the managers admitted that he didn't know the Trafalgar Square area, and in the previous week he'd been in another location he didn't know very well. This turned out the be Oxford Circus. Oh dear. 

On the plus side, some of the younger Ambassadors were knowledgeable, really keen to help and really good fun to hang out with. Others, mainly the older ones, were, how can I put it... jobsworths or competitive serial stewards, trying to be all know-all and do everything by the book. These badge collectors seemed to think Boris ought to be coming round and patting us on the back one by one. Their 'me me me' attitude was rather tedious for the core of us who felt we had volunteered to help people, not to show off or be congratulated.  

Keeping in pairs, one of the instructions we were given at the outset, was a daft idea. Perhaps they thought if we stayed in pairs we wouldn't get lost?! But if you pair up with someone you will talk to them and thus become less approachable, so I chose to stand or wander alone. A few of us made solo sorties into St Martin's Lane, Charing Cross Road, Whitehall and The Strand... ooh, so brave! But I noticed that many Ambassadors huddled in groups of four or more in the square just chatting to one another, only stopping if a brave tourist came and broke up the party. I couldn't understand why they had volunteered if they were content to be so non-proactive. 

So what's the Legacy for the Ambassadors? The feedback from people I chatted to was that having us there was really useful, and many were surprised that this service wasn't there 365 days a year. I think it would be a good idea to have this kind of personal info available all year round, especially for busy periods such as around Christmas and New Year at some major locations, such as Trafalgar Square, but with just 6-10 people manning it at any time. Surely  would be Boris should ask all the Ambassadors if they could volunteer for just a few days in a year – I am sure the uptake would be huge.

I'd do it. 

I'd also design the minimal uniform... just a tabard thing and an umbrella. Job done.

Happy birthday to me!

Today I become a golden girl. I am not sure how this came around so quickly, but I do remember thinking when London won the Olympic bid all those years ago that'd I'd be 50 when it all kicked off, but that it was too far off in the future to really be true!
But hey, here we are. The milestone has been reached.
During the day I will be in Trafalgar Square doing my Ambassador stint. Then as soon as I have peeled off the purple polyester, the plan is to go to Gaby's for food and then nip round the corner to St Martin's Place for a few quiet beers, chosen because it's not on a street.
Looking forward, drinks proper will be at The Shaftesbury Tavern on Hornsey Road on Saturday 18th from 5pm until late.
Do come along and join me on either day – the more the merrier! Contact me for further details.
It's just occurred to me that being a Leo I am now a golden lion, so perhaps I really ought to be having my celebration drinks in a pub of that name!
Oh, and in Chinese astrology I am a tiger. Another big cat.
But I prefer dogs.
And here's another thought re roman numerals: it's L being fifty!

It's closing time

Today is the last day of the London 2012 Olympics and tonight we get to watch the Closing Ceremony.
I'll leave it at that and just show a collection of images of places in London that have closed without any ceremonies at all. Some have since been demolished, and some have completely changed their identity, whilst others are still waiting to hear about their future.
You may well recognise some of them:

Meddling in gold

Gold. Olympic gold. Gold medals. Golden Girl Jessica Ennis. Fastest this. Highest that.
Athletes have medalled and then podiummed*. But when does the medalling actually take place? Is at the moment of winning, or on the actual podium when one podiums and gets to meddle with the medal?
Jessica Ennis is indeed a fabulous all-rounder; a true athlete. Give that girl a bowl of Golden Nuggets or Golden Grahams with a Golden Syrup chaser.
It should be noted that Olympic medals aren't even gold – there are usually mostly brass, ditto these golden things in London. Hurrah for yellow metals, gilding and electroplating.

Here's a thought... and I am putting my pedant's hat on here, but Usain Bolt may not actually be the fastest man in the World... he is just the fastest man over a specific distance of 100 metres who can be bothered to put the time and effort in, and has the confidence and self belief to perform in front of an audience. There could be someone with the potential to go faster watching Usain on TV from the comfort of a sofa who, many years ago, didn't take advantage of his PE teacher's advice and encouragement.
Another thing; why do the religious athletes believe their god will help them win? Does this god of theirs have favourites? Why would a god engineer a situation to make the others lose or fail? Answers on a postcard please.
And re hurdles, it occurs to me that there must be an optimum leg length in order to get the stride right between the jumps and this must affect the speed and how the athletes can run. They do say, after all, that 'all' you need to do is find the right sport for your body shape and size and you'll do well.
Back to gold... if it's so precious, how come there are vaults full of the stuff everywhere and it's available to buy in every high street?
Oh gawd, now I've got that bloody Spandau Ballet song on my brain... ooh quick... think some other golden songs ... like this or, better still, this.

*I am assuming that this new word ought to be spelled with two 'm's as in gummed, otherwise it would rhyme with consumed.

Walk The Tube

This follows on nicely from my last post... walking is London is cheaper and, in many cases, quicker and more efficient than going on the Underground.
Many people, including Londoners, are not aware that many places are closer than the tube map indicates. Two good examples are Leicester Square to Covent Garden and Queensway to Bayswater.
PruHealth, has put together a really clever infographic based on the London tube map intended to get us all walking a bit more.
See here for more.

London for less – cheap days out

People are always telling me London is expensive. Well, just like any other city, it isn't if you know where to go and can manage avoid the usual tourist attractions and recommended restaurants.
Laura, a student friend came to stay with me for a few days recently and we managed to pack so much into her short stay here...
Evening one: a filling meal in Wagamama followed by a showcase gig (five bands for the price of one!) at the o2 Academy Islington for £8. Add in a couple of beers =£25 each.
Day two: showing her the around the local delights and shops in the Holloway area with Turkish pancakes for lunch (I first met her in Turkey at a pancake stall!). Then a bus to Camden and the markets, a walk up Chalk Farm Road, yummy ice cream, up to Primrose Hill for the view, then back to Camden Road via the canal enjoying sneaky peeks of the animals in London Zoo. Another bus back and a couple of pints in my local pub. The day came to about £20 each (excluding some very good charity shop purchases).

Day three: she wanted to revisit the Natural History Museum, so, because I know she too loves all the architectural details etc in London, we got the tube to Gloucester Road so I could show here the two station entrances and some nearby buildings. From there it's just short walk to the major museums. We got snap happy taking photos of the their exteriors along Exhibition Road and then went into the NHM where we spent hours looking at different kinds of rocks and crystals and strange birds and weird fish, and got 'trapped' in the lovely wildlife garden which had, despite signs to the contrary, no direct exit.
At the main entrance to the V+A we admired the fabulous overhead 'scuplture' made using white traffic cones. This is part of the Heatherwick exhbition which is on my list of things to go and see. Laura tried one of the wobbly Spun chairs which are littered around the museum. It looked fun but I declined (I didn't want to kick off a recent back injury again!).

Laura is interested in the old oxblood tube stations designed by Leslie Green so I'd decided to walk back along the Piccadilly Line and show her some of the closed stations. Whilst admiring Brompton Road station I suggested we went into Brompton Oratory. This gorgeous Catholic church is overlooked by many visitors to London (who follow the usual pattern and go to St Pauls, Westminster Abbey etc) and it's really worth a visit. We were so lucky as, just as we walked in, the Relic Of The Cross service started. So we took a pew and tried to look like we knew what we were doing. The sound of the choir was wonderful. We didn't really understand what was going on up front and I don't think it's possible to be an asthmatic Catholic with all that aromatic smoke being waved about! But what an absolute treat for both of us. A free show!
Then a wander around the little back streets in and around Montpelier and Trevor Squares and into Harrods to show her the magnificently OTT food and perfume halls, ending with that ridiculous Diana and Dodi memorial (no link, sorry!). . . from the sublime to the ridiculous.
Into Hyde Park where we found a tree I'd never spotted before... it's like a big round leafy tent, supported in a few places by struts having collapsed on itself. We admired the flowerbeds, sneered at the Queen Mother Gates and walked through the pedestrian subway into Mayfair. It started raining but you can't get wetter than wet so we walked on and into Shepherd Market, then out onto Piccadilly passing Down Street station and some big, sad, dirty and empty buildings, and then cut into Old Bond Street and Cork St for a bit of window shopping. It was a contrast to cross over Regent Street into Soho, as by now it was gone 8.30pm on a Friday and the streets were full of so many people drinking on the pavements etc. Evidence that Nash's borderline is still working. We found a good cheap 'eat as much you like' Thai+Chinese buffet and after that, having had our fill of food and culture, got a bus back to Holloway. Total spend about £18 each.
The next day I was busy at Spitalfields so Laura purchased a One Day Travelcard for Zones 1&2 and after helping me to set up she left to go sightseeing. She was back at 4pm with photos of Shoreditch, the City, Whitehall, South Bank and more! Blimey she would put the Japanese to shame!
And then she went and caught her train to Leeds.
I have lots of ideas for her next visit...

Purple and pink, polyester and plastic

I wrote a while back that I'd applied to be a London Ambassador during the Olympics. I'd originally understood this to mean something more akin to showing small groups of people around areas of London and thought I'd be under-qualified for it. But it turns out all it's just standing around in a nasty uniform being prepared to answer people's questions.
Whilst I am more than happy to do my bit the whole 'training' process has been tiresome and badly-managed. But I bit my tongue and bided my time.
And then the uniform arrived. Oh dear... 
It's certainly not what I'd call 'sustainable'... in fact it will be definitely be more of a legacy as almost every part of it is man-made. Here we are in an age of recycling and ecology and just looking at these clothes is bringing me out in a sweat. I can't even sleep in poly-cotton sheets, so this is going to be rather a trial for me.
The pink and purple tops are made from 100% polyester with a small irritating collar. When the Ambassadors were first on the streets they were sporting simple cotton T-shirts with white lettering on them. Why couldn't we have had those, or something similar? The matching cheap, thin, easily-creased fleece is lined in silver grey polyester, as is the '100% Nylon' rainproof hooded jacket.
We have been instructed that a hat must be worn during our tours of duty but the baseball cap looks very silly on me and I run the risk of being asked if you can get fries with that. So I will instead be sporting the straw trilby, which actually isn't bad, however, that too has polyester stiffening inside it. I wore it for 10 minutes so that my friends could laugh at me, and my hair was damp when I took it off.
Then there's the stiff black trousers containing 67% polyester. I assume the skirts are made using the same material. Luckily they now say we can wear our own plain black trousers (phew!) but why they couldn't have thought of that before they wasted all so much money making and distributing thousands of the things is beyond me. After all, who hasn't got a pair of black trousers or a black skirt?!
Plain black walking-style shoes or trainers finish off the ensemble. No open toes or sandals. No shorts.
Whoever designed this should be shot. I mean, polyester and dark trousers in July and August?! D'uh! Actually, that's a point... er... 'designed'?
All of this must be carted about in a matching pink and purple rucksack that isn't waterproof. So plastic everywhere else, but not for the bag!

Then there's the issue of where these things were manufactured. There appears to have been a great opportunity missed to produce things here in the UK. I can find no 'Made In' labels in the top, trilby, fleece or jacket, but cap and the bag say they were made in China.
And the branding, which looks ironed-on, varies from item to item. The typeface under the logos is that hideous new Olympics font (ech spit!*), but 'TEAM LONDON Ambassador', which is in Futura Regular on most items, is in Helvetica/Arial on the bag, and then a strangely squished version of Futura Light has been used on the cap with the letters A and M in a smaller size. What's that all about?!.
Bizarrely you can still apply to be an Ambassador as the relevant page is still live. I think this speaks volumes.
But hey...
Please do come and find me in Trafalgar Square between noon and 5.30pm every day 13–17th August. It's my birthday on the 15th and I will be needing a few drinks after perspiration and weight loss.
*I use 'font' here, as there only appears to be one weight of this revolting "typeface". I still cannot fathom why the 'o' is a complete circle and does not follow the same angular rules as the other letters. Perhaps, once the Games start, we might see it dancing about and becoming part of the Rings...? Oh I dunno.

London Historians

I am a London Historian; a member of a fine association whereby I can meet up with other Londonphiles to exchange news etc about this great city. I do tend to feel a bit under-qualified and overwhelmed in their presence sometimes as a lot of the other members are very knowledgeable indeed... authors, Westminster guides, academics etc. I just take pictures!
This week Mike Paterson, the organiser and author of the blog, has just given me and a couple of the other creative members a plug on the site.
Thanks Mike!
Be sure to have a poke around the rest of the LH site as it's jam-packed of ideas and information.

The Hollow Crowns of London

Watching the brilliant versions of three Shakespeare plays on BBC TV these past few weeks, it occurred to me that I have a lot of images of London places and pubs with nice crowns within them. 

If you can't understand my thought process here, the BBC has brought together the plays Richard II, Henry IV (parts 1+2) and Henry V, and collectively called them The Hollow Crown. If you missed them, are really worth catching up with. 

I did Henry IV at school for 'O' Level and remember when our English teacher asked the class to learn Prince Hal's 22-line soliloquy from Part 1. The following day he went around the class asking us at random to recite it and, it was quite evident that hardly anyone had bothered to learn it. Each of us managed one more line than the last, having only just learned it. I was picked on fifth, and can still only recall the first five lines. Then Marion (the girly swot!), managed the whole thing. Ooh dear; Mr Price was not pleased with the rest of us! 

Below are some London crowns; on fire insurance markers, pub signs, a Mercers maiden, some chimneys, a stink pipe and two cheeky lions. 

Top row: Waterloo, Walthamstow, Covent Garden, Bloomsbury
Middle row: Drill Hall, Borough, Islington, Stoke Newington
Bottom row: Lambeth, Kensington, Battersea, Highgate 

The Vanity of Small Differences

You might have seen the three programmes that Grayson Perry made for Channel 4 last month, called All in the Best Possible Taste, where he gathered inspiration for six new tapestries he was making that were to be based on his observations of the British class system.

The results are on show at the Victoria Miro gallery until 11th August.

I must admit that I wasn't going to bother going to see this exhibition, despite being a big fan of the man. I was expecting it to be 'just another set of tapestries'. He is almost TOO prolific and too full of wonderfully open-minded ideas. I am always protesting that there aren't enough hours in the day, days in the week, etc, yet here's Grayson again squeezing so much in (out?). 

But I am so glad I made the effort to see the show.

The tapestries echo Hogarth's A Rake's Progress where Tom Rakewell squanders his inherited fortune and then ends up dying in a madhouse. 

Grayson's shows us a modern day version of the story – Tim Rakewell's journey starts with his working class beginnings, moves into a middle class marriage, he buys a big house in the country and ends up dying in a retail park. 

The tapestries are jam-packed with references and repeated images, and just as in Hogarth's set, there is a small dog in every one. You find yourself walking back and forth comparing elements within them. Grayson's drawings are, as ever, spot on, as are the quotes and written observations within each piece. 

You can see all the tapestries in the above link, but what you can't see is the fantastic detail – these really need to be see at actual size – as I was really impressed at the quality achieved by the mechanical tapestry process as, in many places, there are really intricate and beautiful sections; wildly patterned wallpapers, dress materials, picture frames and iPhone screens.

The show also includes a few of his lovely pots. I suppose he probably felt he couldn't put on a show without featuring Alan Measles somewhere in the room!

I have only one complaint about the exhibition and it's about information/reference material... it would have been better had they put small images next to each tapestry, or on the printed information sheet, to illustrate GP's inspiration for each piece. For instance, the paintings he has referenced here include Masaccio's Expulsion from the Garden of Eden and Grünewald's Isenheim Altarpiece – I had to look these up online when I got home, which was a shame as it would have been nice to compare and contrast them when I was at the gallery. Ooh... as I wrote that I had a better idea... an interactive screen showing these religious works would have tied in beautifully with how Tim Rakewell's made his fortune.

Go see it... it's good. And take an iPad or something googly woogly with you so that you can reference those paintings.

My images for this post are in three rows echoing the class system:

Upper : Islington, Clapton, Holloway, Ground 
Middle: Crouch End, Temple, Store St, Middlesex St
Lower: Belgrave St, Holloway, Clapton, Marsh

Great Western Studios open event

Located between Westbourne Park and Royal Oak tube stations is the creative hub of Great Western Studios, and this weekend, 7th + 8th July, they will be opening their door for the Summer Open Event where lots of talented designer-makers (including me!) will be selling a wide variety of unique and unusual products.
I was hoping to put together one of my usual photo mosaics using images from the local area but I only appear to have 3 or 4 and they aren't really suitable. Very odd; especially as I have had reason to visit that area many times over the years. Looking at my wall map of London I can see that there's a whole area that isn't coloured in with pink highlighter pen (yes I am a nerd!), with Westbourne Park tube station right slap bang in the middle of it.
So no pictures this time, but no prizes for guessing where I'm off to next time the sun is shining and I have a day off...
Hope to see you over the weekend.

InMidTown continued...

Last Tuesday evening I went to an 'event' at the British Museum about the rebranding of the area that encompasses Holborn, St Giles and Bloomsbury. Well, dear readers, you probably know what I think about this as I have written about it before here and here. So I was hoping to be enlightened and find out about the proposals for the area. 

But all we got was a teaser film and a few people telling us how great the area is (yes, yes!) followed by the full 15 minute film which consisted of endless shots of Sainsbury's and way too many references to Crossrail, complete with animated graphics showing how a train travels in a tunnel underground even though the MidTown / Midtown / inMidtown area (I am still none the wiser) will not actually contain a Crossrail station.

It threw a lot of a balls into the air but didn't give any ideas or possible solutions for discussion. 

For instance, the film was so vague, contradictory and repetitive; it attempted to promote how great the area is, yet showed a graphic of a generic dirty kerb morphing into a grassed-over pedestrianised street with new shops, but there was no real explanation where this was intended to be (High Holborn?).

There was a lot about how the roads are congested and, hence, the public transport ought to be upgraded. Anyone who has sat on a southbound bus near Russell Square will attest to this. According to the talking heads within the film, tourists are confused/lost when they exit Holborn station and don't know how to find the British Museum. Has anyone thought about erecting some decent signage? It ain't rocket science! Banners banners banners!  

When the film finished we were invited to go out into the foyer and have a discussion about what we had seen over drinks and canapés. The canapés were the best thing about the evening. The red wine was good too. Chatting to other people, most of us agreed that the presentation was clearly aimed at businesses and investors, telling the uninitiated how this area in the middle of London is indeed in the middle and a great place to live, work and socialise. If idiot businessmen do not know the (Holborn) area is there in the first place, then it's evident that they can't really see much further than their noses. Or read a map. Perhaps they can't recognise a good opportunity unless it's got a Starbucks and a phone shop next door? Do we really want these people here? Are we dumbing down for them? Will this put up rents even further and force out those few small businesses who were (sort of) featured in the film? Nothing seems to have been thought through. Sigh. 

And I am confused as to why I was invited to attend, along with a few other bloggers, London writers and non-business types. I think they may have seen my earlier posts and were hoping to prove me wrong. 

One more thing...  the shape and size of Midtown has changed since my earlier postings; it has shrunk and now resembles a gecko hovering over New Oxford Street and part of High Holborn with its legs obliterating the British Museum and that Renzo Piano monstrosity which is home to big foreign companies such as NBC the owners of this blog. 

Are we about to get another homogenous makeover? Why does everything need to be glass and plastic these days? They ought to be promoting areas like nearby Lamb's Conduit Street and its adjacent Georgian streets. 

I'll stop now. Here's a more rational report of the evening. 

Holloway Birdwatch

I was doing the washing up this morning noticing how the birds seemed to be busier than usual when I spotted a newcomer.
We get quite a variety of different birds here in our Holloway gardens including goldfinches, various tits (great, coal and blue), starlings, blackbirds, sparrows, magpies, pigeons and wood pigeons (probably the most stupid bird ever?). A few years ago a sparrowhawk flew down and nabbed himself a young blackbird, making a big noise about it too. Wow!
But today I spotted something much smaller; a little visitor I have never seen before. In fact I don't think I have ever seen one before at all anywhere... it was a teeny tiny skittish wren, hopping and hiding and flitting about the edges as if he/she didn't want to bother the other birds. Tiny thing. Lovely. What a nice start to the day.

Above are some London birds including a few cocks and peacocks, a falcon, a gull, a pair of swans and a some fanciful creations.

Bomber Command memorial unveiled today

Over 55,000 bomber pilots died during WWII and finally a fitting memorial has been erected at Hyde Park Corner to remember their loss and achievement, and a service takes place at noon today attended by the Queen.

Up until about a week ago I had no idea about today's events whatsoever until a friend mentioned it in passing, saying he would be attending the ceremony with his father. Luckily he brought it to my attention and has since written about it on his blog.

There must be many others like me, who rarely open a newspaper, and are not related to veterans or people in the services, who were equally in the dark about all this until they saw or heard a news item about it this morning. 

Had I known earlier I think I would have rearranged my diary to be able to witness the event and see these proud survivors in person. After all, these men and women put their lives on the line for us. 

At least I will be able to watch the recorded highlights on BBC TV later today.

The Bomber Command site is packed full of lots more information.

[No picture montage] 

Update: Here's Malcolm's post event post.
During the ceremony a Lancaster bomber flew over Green Park and dropped thousands of red poppies. I noticed that the wind was blowing northwards and so those poppies did not fall over the park and memorial below, but drifted all the way to the streets of East Finchley, N2.