Battersea – we must rebuild it

Continuing from my from my previous post about a tour I attended around the around Nine Elms area.

Battersea riverside is changing apace. I wrote a while back here about how I am none too happy with the large ugly glass buildings that will be built to wrap around and obscure what is left of Battersea Power Station. All artist impressions or computer-generated images of how the site will look after the project is finished mostly show the area from the air or from the river, but I have not seen any views depicting how it will look from street level.

As we followed our guide westwards along Nine Elms Lane I took some photos, shown in the top row above (the bottom four pics were taken in February 2009). These views of the power station will not be possible once the new construction is in place. I noted how the brickwork of the building is in really poor condition. 

There is a hoarding that runs along the street with a quote on it. I now wish I'd made a note of whole thing. From my photos I can make out: "...have seen me before, but you don't know me. I stand here bold and strong. My proud heritage, combined with the future world, I will be like nothing you have seen..".

Eh?
Further along near Battersea Park station, in Prince of Wales Drive, behind a lovely old wall made from London stocks are Battersea's gas holders and other buildings including an impressive 3-storey detached Victorian house called 'The Field'.

The lower floor of the house is at the moment being turned into a pop-up gallery for an exhibition of large framed photographs taken on a dull day with an expensive camera. It strikes me that if you care about a building and want to take some good shots of something you choose a good day for it as I did for my photos above.
The house itself is far more interesting than the framed prints. With a bit of elbow grease and tlc this sturdy brick structure that has stood there for approx 150 years would make a fantastic home or business space(s) as it contains most of its original features; hand-painted stained glass in the doors and windows, architectural mouldings, intricate Pugin-esque hallway floor tiles, and wooden stairs with curved wood and metal bannisters. I'd have included some pics of it here but we weren't allowed to take photos, though I couldn't really fathom why not.

Sadly this 2-acre site, including the unusual 80-year old pale blue gas holder, and probably the surrounding wall as well, is going to be demolished to make way for – yes, you've guessed it – a development of metal and glass containing homes, shops and businesses – as if that hideous complex next door isn't bad enough.
It was all too much for me to take in and attempt to make sense of – too big, too much and too fast.
After seeing what was going to become of the Nine Elms area earlier that day, then walking past what's left of the power station, this was the final straw for me and it moved me to tears. Really, it did (sorry, this is 2014; I mean 'literally').

Ian Nairn used to get emotional about this kind of thing decades ago. He must be rolling in his grave. We are learning nothing – I doubt these glass replacements will last 50 years, let alone 150.
Sigh.
Soon there may be no historical details left for me to photograph and this blog will be all rants and sadness.
Sigh again.

New Covent Garden Flower Market and the Promenade of Curiosities

Last Wednesday I went on a tour of the Nine Elms area. I have written about the some of the bad bits so here's the nice stuff.

I had never been inside New Covent Garden Flower Market before and really enjoyed listening to Helen Evans, director of business development and support as she told us all about imported plants, sundries, plant buying, problems with the existing building and the plans to relocate to the other side of the road near the fruit market. 

Flower prices are, of course cheaper and fresher at NCGFM  than from your local supermarket where they sit just inside the entrance doors batting to stay alive as the temperature changes by the minute. Anyone can shop at the market – you buy by wraps (bunches) and pay by the stem +VAT. It's option anxiety. I was really impressed by how many other things are available, not just plants – there are pots, planters, lights, ribbons, driftwood, fake flowers, architectural elements galore – anything you might need to make a display.

From there we wandered eastwards and heard about the The Promenade of Curiosities which will create a pedestrian walk linking Nine Elms through The Pleasure Gardens and all the way east to Lower Marsh. We stopped off half way for tea and scrummy cakes at the beautifully renovated Tea House Theatre, formerly the rather down market Queen Anne pub. Then along Vauxhall Walk and across Black Prince Road to look at the construction of Damien Hirst's new art gallery in Newport Street (bottom right) which I will probably write something scathing about when it opens (!).

The Dubaiification of Nine Elms

Earlier this week, as part of a promotional walking tour around the Nine Elms, Battersea and Vauxhall area I got to see a the scale model of the plans.
My jaw dropped – I knew there was a lot of building work going on but I had no real concept how bullying and oppressive the scale would really be.
At the moment there is one very tall boring glass tube near Vauxhall station – you may recall that a helicopter crashed into it last year. Well, hold on to your hat – there are going to be plenty more tall buildings like that – pilots; take note!

The local councillors who were there, outlined the regeneration scheme and talked about iconic buildings and creating community (note: iconic buildings are not created; they become so, and community is not created; it evolves).
A skinny little grassy space will meander through the area intended to create environments for outdoor events, markets, fairs etc which will "link the town centres".

Towns? As far as I am aware 'Vauxhall town centre' is a train, tube and bus station. Where is the library, town hall, butchers and post office? It's got a nightlife though – there are over 20,000 people going there every weekend for the clubs and bars in the arches area. It's really 'Club Town', I suspect, due to the demise of the nightclub scene that used to be at Kings Cross.

I was not surprised to learn that retail spaces are planned for the ground floor of these new buildings, so expect to find all the same things you see everywhere else such as large coffee chains and express supermarkets with those annoying self-service check-outs. I doubt there will be any shops there selling normal things like groceries, haberdashery, hardware etc. Or pound shops for that matter.
I asked how much of this huge scheme had been sold already and got a woolly politician-style response. When I asked if the local community been involved in the plans, again, I got no real answer, just that there will be schools and health centres. Oh, so that's OK then.

The build is already underway, using glass from the US. I find it scary how so many enormous structures can be erected in one swathe. Nothing is allowed to evolve these days. What they are building here is, I think bigger than the City of London – a pop-up, slot-together 'Meccano' world.
But there are plenty of empty office spaces available in London, even in the pointy thing... so why build more? Just because there is a large piece of land that doesn't mean something big has to be built on it to fill the available space. It is beyond me how they can start with a blank canvas and yet still end up with a spider's web of outdoor areas that not that much different from high-rise housing estates of the 1970s.
And, regarding 'community', do the developers ever think to revisit the areas they have 'regenerated' 5, 10 or 15 years after to see if a community vibe has indeed taken hold? Has anyone been to the Isle of dogs lately?
It's so depressing.

If Ian Nairn was still alive today he would be as agitated by this as I am. Everything will end up looking like Dubai – a sea of glass and metal. Soon there won't be any details for me to find at all and the only things I will write about here will be rants about glass and loss.
For balance, here's Nine Elms' official site so you can hear their side.
Next week I'll write about plans for Battersea...

Actually, speaking of Ian Nairn... His series of programmes and his books about how he cared so much about the buildings around him just show that you don't have to be an architect to be interested in or have a view on or a love of architecture and how it makes us feel. 
If the BBC would like to make a similar series of programmes with a caring, opinionated, woman driving around the UK in an old Morris Minor... then look no further... I am here.  

For more of my posts in this vein London's please enter 'architecture' the search box top left.

Mosaic musings at the National Gallery

I expect most people think all the interesting arty stuff at the National Gallery is hanging on the walls in the galleries.

But slow down as you climb the stairs in the vestibule (what a great word!) and look below your feet – the landings are covered in the most amazing mosaics created by Boris Anrep in the 1920-30s depicting the labours and pleasures of life.

It's a bizarre range of illustrated topics that features many famous people of the time and Anrep's arty friends in place of muses/mythological characters. These include Winston Churchill, Margot Fonteyn and Greta Garbo.

I am at a loss how some of the images tie up with the words but, that aside, they are fabulous. 

See the National Gallery's site for more.

And find more pics here.

Lucidity, Astronomy, Compromise, Delectation,

Humour, Folly, Dance, Sixth Sense,

Pursuit, Art, Football, Defiance.

A lack of movement in Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square is full of statues including Nelson, George IV, some lions and a big blue cockerel that are made of stone, bronze and other strong arty substances, but there are also some other statues to be found there.
I am referring to the street entertainers who stand motionless like a statue but then move slightly or suddenly to scare or amaze passers-by.

I have seen some very clever ones in Barcelona, Prague, even Covent Garden, and marvelled at their strength and ability to stand still for so long, possibly just moving their eyes, but what we have here in Trafalgar Square these days are people making no real attempt at all – they don't even paint their bodies to look like statues any more. Instead they dress up head to toe in purchased outfits complete with rubber masks and then most of them wobble about on platform constructions intended to make it look like they are levitating. On the day I took these photos, back in November, there were four Star Wars characters including two Yodas and a girl in a Stormtrooper outfit who just made five minute attempts to hold poses but mostly stood around holding her helmet.
And the really annoying thing about this? People actually give them money!!!

David Hockney's prints at Dulwich Picture Gallery

Blimey he's talented and prolific, as these snaps I took there clearly show.
The show is almost a how-to of print-making techniques and really inspirational.
More here – on until 11th May and well worth a visit.

Sensing Spaces: Architecture Reimagined

This fabulous show at the Royal Academy is really worth a visit and great for all ages; it's not just for people interested in architecture.
The seven exhibits have been cleverly built to interact with the RA's gallery spaces and are designed to inspire you to consider how architecture makes you feel, both mentally and physically.
Climb, make, smell, sit, engage, ponder...
Go... take the kids... they'll love it too.
On until April 6th. More info here.

Tate Modern update

You may have read here before that I am not that keen on the Tate Modern.
I am delighted to share with you The London Column's thoughts on this building, entitled 'Sugary Fun' (AKA Turbine Hall Blues) – I particularly like his phrase "a sort of Battersea Funfair for the Boden Set.

I was going to put together 12 pics as usual, but it seems these are the only ones I have; three taken in May 2010 and a sign offering pens and paper that aren't going anywhere.
It appears I have no pics of the outside of the building at all – just goes to show to that I must just charge in and out of there on a mission. I really thought I'd taken some shots looking up at the chimney, and of patterns in the brick walls, but I must've imagined that, or just thought about it, or took them and deleted them as being the same as everyone else's.

The changing face of Tottenham Lane

The Broadway and Clock Tower area still has a few hints here and there of it's Edwardian hey day (actually, that's a thought: is it busier/ more popular now?!) and at some point soon I need to put together another Crouch End collection.
I was out for a walk last weekend when I spotted a pair of shops signs I hadn't seen before just north of Crouch End Broadway. They've probably been visible for a while, but I hadn't been in that stretch of Tottenham Lane for more than a year.
The signs show how the shop used to be split into two complete with lovely signs and panelled bubble-glass windows. I am really pleased to see that the latest owners have seen fit to leave these lovely old examples of hand-lettering on show, although those spot lights did rather ruin the composition of my photographs(!). We can now see that there was Margaretta, a high class dress maker at No.46a, and Rickard's shoe repairs at No.40.
I continued my walk north along Tottenham Lane towards Hornsey Station. On the right hand side of the road I stopped to take a snap of Broad Lane (pic 2). It's an evocative little thoroughfare but not that broad at all. But probably back in the day everywhere else was just footpaths and alleys? Or did broads hang out there (!).
Close by is a doorway that retains an element of Edwardian wooden door structure and some floor tiles (pic 3), albeit partially obscured where the wall has been moved perpendicular to the street at some point. The hardware shop further along shows how the doorway used to look, complete with curved entrance and tessellated tiles (pic 4, image squished vertically to fit box!).

The pics on the middle row show some changing facsias. Back in June 2008 the curved row of shops at the junction of Tottenham Lane and Church Lane had been emptied out. Pic 5 shows how the arched Edwardian shop fronts on Church Lane where more or less intact at that point. Pic 6 is a google streetview pic which shows how the two doorways along that side have been removed to, I assume, create a larger space for rent. As I write this the space is still empty. See the full 2008 image here and the rest of the terrace to the right.
But I am more upset about the loss of the old sign for A. J. Bicknell, boot & shoe repairer, which used to sit facing/adjacent to the curved terrace at No. 43 (pic 7). As you can see by pic 8, taken last week, it has been covered up by Tuckers CRIMINAL solicitors. Oh the irony. I am hoping that it's still under because the new sign looks to be quite thick. And, what would be the point in destroying the old one? But hey, stranger, more annoying things have happened – see here.
Next door is George's Fish Bar (pic 9) which has an interesting interior. I will be writing about that in a subsequent post.
The hand-painted sign for Highgate Optical Manufacturing Co., along with its lovely little manicule pointing towards the goods entrance, has also bitten the dust. Pic 11 is a snap from google streetview which shows the wall has been given a lick of paint (the wall has since been painted white).
So now I am keeping my eye on that cute little hut directly over the road currently used by Cyrpus Car Service. I suspect this originally used to be a shop or kiosk connected to Hornsey Station. A new awning wouldn't go amiss there!
As usual... watch this space...

Black Cat Cabaret revisted

Last year I reported that I'd had a fabulous evening at one of the Black Cat Cabaret evenings at The Café de Paris on Leicester Square.
Well, I am glad to report that the Black Cat has spread its wings and can now be found at two more venues.
I went along to the Camden Centre last Friday and had another great evening – it was the best night out I'd had in a long time.
The show is fabulous, fascinating, frisky, faux-french and fun. After the main show there's dancing to some truly great sounds all put together by a clever DJ who mixes all sorts of genres. I found it almost impossible to leave the floor. I only paused to watch the other balancing and acrobatic acts that came on intermittently throughout the DJ set.
Find out more about Black Cat Cabaret evenings here.
I'm going again soon.... hope to see you there.

Above is a collection of my London images featuring dancers, acrobats and black cats, including two boot scrapers, Dick's Whittington's cat and Dr Johnson's cat, plus an old pained wall ad for Black Cat Cigarettes (top right) and two pics of the the actual Carreras cigarette factory at Mornington Crescent (bottom left x2).

New header and slight redesign for Jane's London

As you can see, I have been busy making a Jane's London header for the site using images of lettering, mosaics, coal holes and doorbells.
Below is one of my usual montages showing the same images, plus another doorbell.

All change at Chambers Wharf

Chambers Wharf, on Bermondsey Wall, SE1, has stood derelict for many decades. Last year the blue boards went up and renovation process started along the road.
An artist's impression on the hoardings shows how shiny new boxes of glass are being built to contain living apartments. To me they look like the kind of boring office blocks you see on city ring roads.
Fair enough, the Old Chambers Wharf cold storage building was rather large but couldn't they have designed something a little more inspiring rather than these huge enormous glass lumps?
Peeking through the fences it's evident that the riverside area has yet to be built on, but, as you can see from a banner around the corner; the locals aren't happy.
Watch this space.

P.S. How much is 'affordable rent' these days?

Tottenham's Army Club ghost sign RIP

Travelling back from that big blue and yellow shop last week I was dismayed to see that the old Army Club cigarettes advertisement adjacent to the Tottenham Village's High Cross, was no longer visible. I took a snap from the bus and when I got home I checked against my old photos.  

I can now confirm that it's gone. 

A new building has been constructed next door which echoes sympathetically the style of the old building, but for some inexplicable reason, even though the Army Club sign would not have been visible even if you were stood in the narrow alley, the whole side wall has been completely whitewashed, therefore obliterating the painted ad. 

Here is the progression over the last six years:

In 2008 it was covered by a modern advertising panel, then in 2010 the old sign was revealed complete with part of a lovely rendition of the smirking officer who was the Army Club's motif and appeared on most of the brand's ads and tins. The third pic is the one I took from the bus last week.

What a shame. 

So it got me thinking about all the other old painted advertisements with life-like images on them that can be found in the London area. 

Below is a montage of the best ones I have found. They include ads for well-known brands such as Gillette, Brymay, Redferns and Black Cat cigarettes. Perhaps some of these have since been covered up too. Please do let me know if you have updates.

Find these images in my Ghostsigns of London folder on Flickr.

Great Titchfield Street – there's a lot to see

No explanation needed...

Find all the pics here.

A Rotherhithe Forage

Last Sunday I met up with a group of like-minded friends for what I call 'A Forage On The Foreshore'.
This is the second of these gatherings I have organised – I check the tides for the best day with a late morning low tide so that we can end up in a nearby pub for drinks and food.
Last November we met in Wapping. This time the start point was on the opposite side of the river at Cumberland Wharf, Rotherhithe. We made our way slowly west along the foreshore, ending up quaffing pints of Sam Smith's and eating lunch in The Angel on Bermondsey Wall.
I now plan to do this approximately every month, visiting a different stretch of the Thames each time. If you'd like to come along for the next one on February 5th then please email me and I will and send you meet-up details in due course.

Kew Gardens Illuminated Trail – only 2 days left

As above, there's only 2 days left to see this and tickets still available.

I really liked the colours on the uplit trees, the lanterns in the trees, the light patterns (gobos) on the paths and the Lotus Flower reflected in the pool below it. The finale with the Palm House lit up from inside changing to music is mesmerising.

Along the route there are these Gilliam-esque horn-shaped speakers emitting sounds, words and information about the plants and trees.
Just one criticism regarding the Fibonacci circle of flames (not shown here)... the spirals couldn't really be fully appreciated from the path around the edges. They ought to have constructed a mirror at 45 degrees to clearly show the pattern created by nature's numbers, as can be easily seen on broccoli, cauliflower and pineapples.
If you go, dress up warm and be aware that the paths are a bit muddy and puddly so be sure to wear sturdy waterproof shoes. A torch is handy, though not necessary.
Enjoy!

New places for 2014

Here are some news

(a sentence that would normally be grammatically incorrect; but, in this instance it's OK):

Top row: Newman Street, New Cross, Camberwell New Road, Great Newport Street.

Middle row: Highbury New Park, New Oxford Street, Newcomen Street , Stoke Newington.

Bottom row: New Square, Newgate Street, Newell Street, New Kings Road

Ding dong merrily on high

In heaven the bells are ringing

An advent calendar and an alternative Christmas recommendation

I have been quoted on this online advent calender recommending the Museum Mile – see 22nd December.
But I can't see anything there right now. Perhaps it will only appear on the 22nd*.
And I also make an appearance on the Time Out site recommending Peter and his fascinating and informative walks. See number 17 here.

Oxford Street, 12.30pm Christmas Day 2011 (at 10am is was less 'busy')

*If nothing appears, I wrote: 
"The area around The British Museum is littered with small and interesting specialist museums, known as Museum Mile. Find out all about Charles Dickens, medicine, anatomy, architecture, natural history, London history, art and much more. The area also boasts plenty of independent cafés, restaurants, quirky old pubs, book, comic and shops, all linked by some lovely tree-filled squares."

The O2, confectionery and tube signage

I went to the O2 on Thursday to take some things in preparation for my stall at Handmade Christmas. I am still there today.

Amelia, not Amilia!

I hadn't entered the venue since October 2000 when it was called the Millennium Dome and packed full of fantastic and interesting things that, for some reason, the press panned. I loved it on the day I went there and I wish I'd gone back again for a 2nd and 3rd visit to be able to see all the zones I hadn't managed to get into on that exhausting but enjoyable day. 

Anyway, it's now called the O2 because a phone company owns it and it has been refitted as a live events arena and exhibition space. But, of course, you knew that.

So I was surprised that on entering the building this week that my immediate reaction was favourable. I liked the way they'd used the space. But I didn't really study what was on offer in the shops to my left and right cos I was in a hurry to dump off my stuff. Let's just say it was better than Westfield Stratford.
On the way back I carefully scanned to shops because with all that exertion I was in need of a Picnic, my chocolate bar of choice.
But, I'd walked past what turned out to be the only convenience store and, with just one exception (a South American place I didn't recognise), I could only see big brand chain restaurants all the way along the street from the market area to the exit that leads to Greenwich North tube station. No shops selling useful everyday stuff; just sit down food places and bars. (Yesterday, I was amazed to see there a long queue outside the Harvester. Go figure!)
I asked a security man near the exit where I might buy a bottle of water, some fags, a choc bar, some safety pins and a key ring (I didn't really need all of that, but I was making a point!). He obviously didn't know about the shop inside because he suggested I go to the nearby Tesco's outside the venue. Aaargh!
I gave up and went into the tube station where I found a WHS. Hurrah, I thought; this is the kind of shop I was looking for, and much closer than Tesco's. But I found that a Picnic, usually 69p everywhere else (and I should know, cos I eat enough of the things) was 89p. Eighty-nine pence!!! That's 20p over RRP; a mark up of approx 30 per cent. Who is to blame here? WHS, the O2 or LRT? (I have since discoverd that the convenience store also sells them at this price, though if you buy two it's cheaper.)
I got onto the tube and had to change from Jubilee Line to Northern Line at London Bridge but, having not made this connection in this direction before, I got in a tizzy because I couldn't work out which way to turn. Getting off the train I couldn't see the directional on the wall in front of me because it was blocked by all the other 'customers' so I joined the flow of up a flight of stairs.

At the top of the landing is a backlit BLUE sign that reads "Northern Line". But it's in Piccadilly blue not Northern black. Along the connecting tunnel the signs are on-brand with black lines, so it's not like LRT hadn't half-thought about this. Then, at the end of the tunnel there is a T-junction... Is there a sign ahead to say whether to turn left or right? Nah! But there are lots of people stopping and bumping into each other with other regular commuters who know where they are going, tutting and harrumphing. I chose to turn right and it was correct.
Ah the joys of underground travel. I now fully understand when out-of-towners say hate the tube and find it confusing.
That'll enough!!
I am off back to the O2 now... hope to see you there later.. Find my stall at 292 by turning right as you enter the market – I am on the end of the third row to the right ahead of you. Wrap up warm cos it's an inside/outside space and bring lots of cash!!!

Stumped in North London

I have been noticing a lot of cut-down trees around here since the storm earlier this year.
It would be a really nice idea if they could be carved into nice sculptural pieces as per this one just off Essex Rd*

Above are some of the tree stumps in N7 and N19 – note the one bottom left which not only has been painted, but sports some strange drilled holes. I checked on Google Streetview and it seems these holes were there before, so perhaps someone was already trying to kill the tree and the storm finished it off...?
The pic bottom right is a large pre-storm stump at a bus stop in Holloway Road. The bin men must have just been there 5 minutes earlier because there's usually a load of rubbish bags leaning against it.

Finally, here are two trees that help me to understand where the term "Mother Nature" comes from; the one on the left is in N19 and the other in Russell Square. 

* I happened to recognise TWRJ in the street a few weeks ago. I introduced myself and we walked and talked – what a nice bloke.

Southwark Cathedral

Last week I made reference to a sculpture that was installed in this beautiful Cathedral.
Now I am plugging Southwark Cathedral itself.

Some of my Southwark photos

Located next to The River Thames and adjacent to London Bridge, the cathedral gardens have always been one of my favourite places to meet friends rather than, say, the hustle and bustle of Borough Market or London Bridge Station.

This Saturday 7th December, there will be a Christmas market in the gardens organised and curated by The Friends of Southwark Cathedral.
More here.
Hope to see you there...!

A non-skating reindeer

In Primrose Street, just off Bishopsgate, at the foot of the steps that lead up to Exchange Square, there is a very big reindeer made out of Christmas lights.
He is rather impressive.
But his feet are protected by squares of barriers covered with banners advertising 'Skate In The City' at Broadgate Square.
Poor reindeer – looks like Santa gave him the worst ice skates ever – they are even concrete-lined.

The Barbican

Is anyone else still getting lost in the Barbican? Or is it just me?

I find it hard to get in and out of the complex (ha ha!), or from one side of the lake terrace to the other side without going ever so slightly mad. Where are the signs?! In many cases you have to up and over rather than down and across, and this is just not made clear. The only thing to "help" are those 50mm colour coded lines on the pavement that you are intended to follow. It's like a human game of Super Mario. 

(The general area – info re pics at the bottom) 

Even inside the arts centre itself I can go missing for hours trying to find the toilets, an event space or a cinema. 

But it's always worth the frustration in the end. 

A few years ago I went to an seminar on an upper floor and discovered a fantastic garden adjacent an exhibition space. I had no idea until that day that those spaces existed. 

There's always a lot going on at the Barbican, especially this month, so it's worth unearthing your compass and other orienteering paraphernalia to make the assault on the building – be sure to plan ahead and consult the latest OS maps or Google Satelitte. 

It's a fabulous environment to see a theatre production, or a film, and there are usually interesting exhibitions on the various levels. It's also a lovely place to meet friends for a drink, or make use of the wonderful spaces that are perfect for just sitting, reading, working or relaxing. 

Also, on at the Barbican at the moment – the foyers are being turned into a pop-up designer-makers market selling all sorts of gorgeous hand-made products. Wednesday–Sunday every week until 22nd December. More information here.

The bottom row of photos includes CLE,1969, a pre-1966 telephone code. This is one of two still visible on shops in Goswell Road (CLE was the old code for Clerkenwell). The third photo in that row shows a section of the Blitz-flattened (now Barbican) site in 1942 (taken from a building in Little Moorfields by Police Constables Arthur Cross and Fred Tibbs – more of their photos from this period can be found at The London Metropolitan Archives.)

Diggin' Design at The Garden Museum

The Garden Museum's Winter Fayre 'Diggin' Design' takes place this year on Sunday 1st December.

The lovely converted church of St Mary's, Lambeth, home to The Garden Museum, is situated between Lambeth Bridge and Lambeth Palace, close to some architecturally interesting, but now defunct, buildings such as the old fire Brigade HQ and The Doulton factory (shown above 2nd middle and 3rd bottom respectively). It's well worth a visit, even if you aren't a gardener yourself as the café there is just lovely, as is the knot garden.

You've guessed it... now comes the self promotion...
After the success of the Garden Museum's summer event, shown in some of the images above, yours truly will be there again on Sunday touting her Amelia Parker wares. The range has expanded... there are now colourful beaded necklaces and elasticated unisex bracelets, plus leather wallets in three sizes, many of which have touch screen windows for smart phones.

Christmas cards and the new range of Clay Pipe Pete and textural pattern greeting cards will also be for sale from the stall. If you are interested but cannot make it to Diggin' Design please see the website for other dates.
(promo ends!)