Divide And Rule – Inspired by Mr Trump

This side is mine mine MINE!

To trump: to expel noxious hot air from an orifice

Winter Lights at Canary Wharf until Friday 27th January

There are still three evenings left to see this (including today).

Some of my pics from last night. 

Some of the light installations are wonderful including many of those in Crossrail Place Level –3 (a pain to find, but worth the effort), the mesmerising musical balls on sticks which I loved at Kew last month, the gorgeous ova, the clever water word drop.
We didn't manage to see everything. And, as a friend said some of it is "underwhelming", but I think that's what makes the good things even better.
One of my favourite stops was the simple and very effective horizontal fence created by joining about eight trees in a zig zag using different widths of tape which was then highlighted by ultraviolet lights:

Other people were doing the selfie thing so I joined in and found that if I stood directly in front of the lights I could make myself look very attractive indeed.

Check the site for the actual names, creators and info

Misinformation at Camden Lock Stables Market

Whilst wandering around Camden a few weeks back I stopped to read an informative hoarding along the site that is being developed immediately south of Hawley Road in Chalk Farm Road. It was all about Camden's history and contained some interesting little snippets with web addresses for further info.
I crossed the road and entered the market building, wandering around assessing how things have changed so much in the past 30 years since I used to go there on a regular basis in the 1990s. I stopped for a while near the steps that lead down to the underground old stables markets and I watched people posing with that dreadful statue of Amy Winehouse. It was then I noticed the words above the tunnel: "STABLES MARKET SINCE1854"
Whaaaaat?!  No no no!!!

Pics from this year, left (above tunnels, near Amy) and right (above northern exit to Roundhouse), plus an older pic in the centre

Dear reader, there have been stables for the railways' horses, and a hospital for them since 1854 but the market didn't arrive for another 120 years. Yes, 120 years later.
Back at home I started searching for further ref thinking I must have mis-read or mis-understood something.
It gets worse...

I found that not only are the current signs misleading, they are replacements of old signs (see above, top left and centre and compare them with the first three pics) and so a chance to clarify the meaning of the date as referring only to the site and not the market had been missed.
Further to that, in many cases the date has obviously been squeezed in as an add-on/afterthought as if the marketing team decided that a bit of Victorian would somehow boost sales (more about this at the end).

So let's get this straight... Pay attention please...
Pre-1972 the area that is now called "Camden Lock" was a ramshackle collection of old warehouses with a timber wharf. Some of those buildings were renovated to create workshops and. In 1973 the tenants opened their doors to the public and these included five Hornsey College of Art students who made jewellery. In 1974 they started a small crafts market on the bare ground next to the road immediately to the north of the canal bridge. The success of that venture attracted more designer-makers to the area turning Camden into a haven for artisans and artists.

The hoarding in Chalk Farm Road gives the correct date ...  and another mistake – notice that the figure 8 is the wrong way round – we are seeing its underside!  

With its rapid success, what started out as a small Saturday market quickly expanded to cover a wider area spreading into other adjacent spaces, such as empty railway arches and offices. The old horse hospital alongside Chalk Farm Road became the home of the antique and bric-a-brac trade. However, the labyrinth of subterranean tunnels and stables remained mostly unused until the turn of the century.
In fact you can get most of this info from Camden Market's official website. Though there are a few tenuous things in there including calling a AmyW a 'Camdonite'. Er? Where is Camdon?
for reference I have been checking through my two editions of "The Markets Of London", first printed 1983. The 1989 revised version reads of Camden Lock: "... making things and selling them is back in fashion; 'small is beautiful' seems to be here to stay... it is all very relaxed and pleasantly informal..." Not much of that is relevant now. Sad.
Camden Market is one big street food dispensary now. And Chalk Farm road is one big shoe shop). Most of the independent designer-maker, vintage or specialised stalls have moved on or given up.
Camden is now a market for the tourists now who, once they have taken that Amy Wine house pic and a couple of selfies to tick off the London experience from 'to do' list as they truffle down their stir fry at one of the picnic tables that have replaced the stalls.
The oldest market in Camden is in Inverness Street which probably started in 1860 when it was moved from the main road into the side street.

A Waterloo Walk – marvellous mosaics and classic cars

On a recent walking tour of the Southbank led by the very informative Peter Bertoud he showed us the doorway to Southbank Mosaics in the crypt St John's. I had no idea about this. Neither did I know about the marvellous sculpture garden that surrounds the church. Of course, I will be investigating this further on a personal creative level.

A fabulous community project – check here for how to make some mosaics of your own

In nearby Roupell Street, one of the roads in the small conservation area nearby that I notice is being used as a location in the excellent second series of Unforgotten on ITV at the moment, I spotted some lovely old cars:

Classic cars in a great location – Three Citroëns and a Morris Minor

Nice eh?
Check out Peter's excellent walks and blog here.

London Art Fair 2017, Business Design Centre, 18-22 January

Later this week Islington's old Agricultural Hall will again be the location for the London Art Fair, crammed full of all sorts of inspirational work, both old and new.

I make sure to visit at least once each year because there is so much to take in – this is not a nip in for one hour event as it is so varied.
My friend and I like to walk around slowly, taking it all in, spending imaginary vast sums of money on works of art for our imaginary reception rooms, guest wings and conservatories, though I have actually spent real money there – it's hard not to be tempted and, after all, a thing of beauty is a joy forever.

Kings Cross ghostsigns and Pentonville Road

Last year I wrote about the Daily Express sign at Willesden and within that I alluded to signs for the Daily News.... Well, I believe I have found another one near The Poor School at Kings Cross.

Pentonville Road, Kings Cross

Shown above are three pics of what remains of a sign that would have had letters about 10ft tall. The first word is definitely 'DAILY'. The word underneath starts with an 'N' and I am pretty sure it would have been 'NEWS'. I'd be keen to find additional archive history and images about this area.
The fourth picture shows an attractive building on the end of a two-storey terrace between Penton Street and Hermes Street on Pentonville Road (this stretch features in the link above) – I have been watching this site to see what happens to these lovely two-storey because other swathes of nearby land are being developed as I write this.

Kings Cross Quarter with two artist impressions of the view and gardens 

For instance Regal Homes are in the process of creating "Kings Cross Quarter" (which quarter? top left/bottom right? What does this MEAN?!) between Cynthia Street and Rodney Street.
The fancy hoardings around the exterior of this development feature swanky letters and images that show views that will be available from probably only a quarter (ha ha, see what I did there?!) of the 118 properties within, a concierge reception area and an "exquisite private landscaped garden" (their words, not mine – check the pic above – so exquisite!). On the developer's selling site it says the apartments will be "created with luxury and functionality... highest quality finishes... Sumptuous and welcoming... perfectly designed". It's beyond me how an empty room devoid of furniture and furnishings can be luxurious or sumptuous. And the exterior will beige and bland. It looks like a clip-together child's toy to me. Beige. What's with all this beige when so many other colours are available?
And whilst I am on the subject of new build, what's going on with all this clip-on fake faded bricks that's appearing like some kind of disease? OK, so they are trying to keep the old brick 'feel' but couldn't they have manufactured them with interlocking 'teeth' edges so that they don't end up with all those straight vertical joins where the panels abut?
Anyway, enough of that... back to ghostsigns... to Kings Cross proper, by which I mean the junction in front of the station and, specifically, the end of Gray's Inn Road.

Gray's Inn Road, Kings Cross

We all know the sign for Scales, Weights & Weighing Machines above 319-321 (formerly 37 Chichester Place), but next time you are passing do stop and look closer at the rest of the terrace to the right of that and see that there are hints of letters peeping through here and there. After all, why would all those places be covered in paint if not to cover up something?
It's only a matter of time before more is revealed. Fingers crossed this happens before the decorators get twitchy.   Part of the painted sign on the 323 is visible here. I need to find some more reference on this to confirm my hunch. The Ladykillers original film features this junction and might throw some light on the matter.

The Fabric of Smithfield

The area has changed so much and so quickly. I recall going to a venue on Charterhouse Street for a friend's birthday party one Saturday evening in 1996. I can't remember the name of the place – I went there quite a few times – it had a restaurant and bar on ground floor and a dance floor in the basement. We used to enjoy being in an area of London so close to so many things yet quiet and unknown by so many – it felt like we were in on something only the locals and the market traders knew anything about. But that soon changed with the arrival of Fabric in 1999 and very quickly the buildings around the market changed to cater for the change in clientele and the shift in the meat market trade.
There are still some lovely old buildings in the area. Look up and around you – there's lots to see.

Charterhouse Street – Top: Cold Storage, a Fabric lion and a ram at 79-83 with more from that building on the second row. 

Just along from the Italianate Cold Storage building on Charterhouse Street and next door to Fabric is the 1930s Meat Inspector's Office built in Portland stone with lovely reliefs of cattle and sheep with rams heads at street level.

Lindsey Street and Long Lane. Both buildings demolished for Crossrail.

Crossrail has demolished all the buildings in Lindsey Street along the Western side of the market. Nothing Crossrail erects here will ever compare to the charm of the exterior of Edmund Martin's tripe shop or the Art Deco exuberance of Saville House that used to sit on the corner of Long Lane. It's criminal that this could not have been incorporated into Crossrail's designs.
Moving round into Long Lane itself, the deco building at 51-52 (first pic below) is still there but at the time of writing is covered in scaffold and nettings.

Evans & Witt are still trade at No.58 (phew!). The Barley Mow at No.50 ceased trading as a pub in 2006 though the building and the old pub name at the top still remains.

The pics above were taken in Sept2016 of the Farringdon end of Charterhouse Street. The poultry market looking as if it's actually being used, though the caging/fencing belies that. Hart's still had it sign up for last Christmas' auction. I had assumed that this had been the last one and the sign had just been there ever since as a sad reminder. However, I just checked and can report they had the auction as usual last month. So all is not lost. The PLA building still stands as imposing as the day it was built there to keep an eye on imports and exports to/from the market.
For info on Smithfield Market and the immediate area click here.

I wrote a few months ago about the closure of two pubs in the Smithfield area. I also noticed that in a fond piece written by Giles Coren about A. A. Gill in the Saturday Times magazine a week after Gill died he was pictured in The Hope, one of the pubs mentioned above. It seemed a strange ironic choice of image to me.

Bosworth and Naseby join Harold in Highbury

Three houses in Elwood Street, near Arsenal's old Highbury ground, have some intriguing embellishments on them.

They have shields and faces of knights around the doors. And above the square bay windows are the names NASEBY, BOSWORTH and HAROLD.

The cartouche between the doors reads FCH which may be the initials of the developer who constructed these three properties

Note the castellations along the roof edges (pic from Google streeview)

I can only assume that the developer at the time (late Victorian?) was a history buff. Perhaps he was trying to commemorate some of England's most famous battles, but why show the locations of Naseby and Bosworth yet not have  Hastings/Battle on the last one rather than the name of the king who died there?
Or, perhaps, considering the house on the left has access to the rear, this could have been a builders' merchant where you could buy fancy add-ons and this was the company's visual catalogue...? This might suggest that you could commission something bespoke. 
Any ideas anyone? 

Stop! Don't Forgotten the Hustler Soap – a ghostsign in Harrow & Wealdstone

Nice eh?
Apart from the re-pointing that is.
The ad looks to be Edwardian and shows the shopkeeper on the left calling the customer on the right to come back. This was beautifully painted as per some of the old Gillette ads and Army Club and other figurative signs.
Here ia a leaflet from iside one of the soap packets that I found here :

Soap packet leaflet

In the mid-1920s the company was including collectors' cards into the packets featuring animals, transport, soldiers, regiments, birds etc.
I can find almost nothing about this product or the manufacturer. It seems that the company was affiliated or bought out in the 20s as the name then changed to Knight (Hustler Soap) which I assume to be John Knight of the Primrose Soap Works in Newham, London, maker of Royal Primrose Soap and Knight's Castile soap.
If you have any more info, do let me know.

Follow the Light Trail at Kew Gardens 2016

Colourful loveliness.

Kew Gardens Christmas Lights Trail 2016

I especially loved the fields of colour-changing musical little balls on sticks, the large white lilies and some of the older trees such as Turner's Oak benefitting from some good lighting (second pic bottom row).
We went there on 29th Dec which if you recall was a really cold evening. Though a bonus was that the sprinkling of frost on the grass made another reflective panel for the colourful lights. See more pics here.
Here's a link to my last visit in 2013 which on reflection I think was a  more magical experience – I don't recall there being a small funfair or so many booths along the trail selling things such mulled wine, honey mead, marshmallows and gingerbread. Oh well, that's progress for you.
Nevertheless; it's a joy.
There are only two days left to see this though it looks to be fully booked so make a note in your diary for next year.
As we walked back towards the station we noticed Jack Frost had been busy making some amazing patterns on some of the cars. I haven't seen the like of that since the on my bedroom windows when I was a child.

Jack Frost woz ere

A ghostsign above The Old Dairy

Here we go again... how come I have only recently been spotting ghostsigns that must have been there for decades?!
Considering I usually stop to admire the Old Dairy building, you think I would have noticed before last month that there is a faded sign above it to the right on Crouch Hill (originally part of Stroud Green Road).

The big name at the top looks to end in ROW and the word AGENTS is evident.
As usual, any ideas and information always welcome

It's Christmas Time – There's no need to be afraid

Ding dong merrily.

Christmas in North London

Yellow foam people – street art in Hornsey Road – by Kit (?)

Updated 27th Dec 2016 – see last paragraph

Over the past few weeks a community of devilish little foam men has been appearing around the junction of Grenville Road and Hornsey Road, London N19.

I first noticed these characterful people made from pipe lagging two weeks ago but it wasn't until yesterday that I had a chance to take some photos.
I think they are marvellous – they have so much personality. When I was taking these pics no one else in the busy street was paying them any attention. What is wrong with people?!
A couple of the original ones have already gone and others have been damaged such as the second one on the bottom row which in the first week was walking down the post and then last week he was doing some kind of circus pose (one limb having become unattached. Now he's legless and looks like he is clinging on for dear life!
Some have a Christmas theme – note the santa hats. One is hanging from a scaffold firing what looks like a ray gun or it might be spray paint – he has two canisters on his back and more in his thigh pockets. Another little foam fella is sat above the burned out shop lighting a cigarette with his face covered in soot.  The group of three angels/sprites is amazing and reminds me of the sprites in Midsummer Night's Dream.
I have no idea who made these artworks. Someone is evidently busy  at night time scaling ladders armed with cable ties. I have googled and come up with nothing. I went into the upholsterer's on the corner of Grenville Road but the girl at the desk didn't have a clue about the artworks and neither did she seem to care much and those three fabulous angels are right outside her window! I am now wondering if Deti's Deli Cafe might be involved seeing as one of the yellow fellas is walking down the wall following arrows to there.
Hmmm... This needs more investigation. I will keep returning to this junction to see if more little yellow men appear and will post pics and updates here.
Whoever is doing this, I salute you. Thanks for brightening up the world with street art that does not deface or damage anything.

Update:
On Christmas Eve I noticed the name Kit at the foot of the smoking man – see pic to the right. Perhaps this has been there for ages and I missed it before. 
I asked the man who runs the convenience store below if he knew who Kit was and he says he thinks it's a customer who uses the shop.
I have an idea that Kit the creator lives above the shops near the carpet store... am I right?  Do tell.... ;-)

Beans Express Carriers Ghostsign on City Road

This post has been updated
How long have I been walking and bussing past this and not noticed it?! I only spotted it in November when hunting for signs to use for my Angel Islington card. Has it been covered up or has it been there hidden in plain sight all this time?

I doubt the wording "BEANS EXPRESS CARRIERS" is about beans in the green or baked sense; perhaps this was a company called Beans who were offering an efficient courier/delivery service.
Look closely and see that EXPRESS is written twice here hinting that the sign has been repainted at least once. Also the smaller EXPRESS wording and CARRIERS are rendered in a different style to the larger BEANS EXPRESS; thay have drop shadows on a darker panel which may suggest that this part of the sign is a later addition, perhaps for a different company whose name has faded away over time.
Any further ideas and feedback welcome.

Lots more cards here

Ideas about a tiled doorway at The Hot Wok, 265 Caledonian Road, N1

You are probably already aware that I like to find nice old tiles or mosaics especially with the original company name embedded within them. Here is a link to a particularly good collection I put together earlier this year.
This post is about a tiled doorway in Caledonian Road

The lovely green and cream tiles in this particular entrance are approx 100 years old and are in stark contrast to the fast food outlet that these days occupies the ground floor here.
The mosaic doorway has been as good as vandalised by subsequent owners; the first word having been obliterated, but in a half-arsed way. Surely it would have been easier just to have covered the whole thing?!
I know that a while back this shop was a butcher's but I am pretty sure this was not the primary owner.
I have been looking at this today trying to work out what name could have been on the top line. It's clearly a short name of only four or five letters ending in "ts".... but where is the possessive apostrophe? Surely a family name as in Evan's Stores or similar would make better sense?
But hold the front page!  I may be onto something here!!
I was just about to ask for ideas but just as I wrote the above and studied the shape of the first letter I had a "Eureka!" moment...
I believe it starts with a "B" and so it's very possible that this could be an old Boot's the Chemist Store.
See below for ref of Boots old logo and signage; it's a strong possibility. But I was wrong. That's not a B, it's an F – I subsequently looked further into this and found out it was a Frost's grocery store

As well as photos of old ghostsigns I also old tins which include the ones shown here illustrating how Boots changed adapted their logo using 'Chemists' or 'Drug Co Ltd' within the underscore.

Hmmm... I'm now thinking the shop doorway name doesn't have an underscore under the first word and I might be totally wrong here.
What do you think? Could it be a Boots Store? Do you have other ideas or, better still, some facts... please do get in touch.

I have a collection of other mosaic obliterations. I will collect them together and save them for another day. UPDATE: It's a Frosts store... Frosts was a small chain of grocery shops

A Wooden Cover Plate in Tollington Park

Strolling along Tollington Park, a lovely road in N4, last week I happened across a large rectangular cover plate within the pavement that was, and still is, wooden on its uppermost face. I have never seen such a thing before.
I thought at first this was the secondary layer; the metal and concrete lid having been removed but, no, on close inspection it can be seen that the wood is flush with the pavement.
Walking further along the pavement, that's sidewalk to my readers in the States ;-), I noticed that it was the same dimensions at the old BT ones that have the pebble-dashed tops, see above bottom right.
So, this means underneath that eroded wooden top with holes in it there are wires and all sorts of circuit doobreys for telephones.
Is this OK?
I assume so, seeing as the wood appears to have been exposed to the elements for quite some time already.
Hmmm... pondering...

Christmas Lights Switch On – Fonthill Road, Finsbury Park – Thursday 1st December

I hope this event will be as colourful as the poster. This area just behind Finsbury Park Station has been gradually upping its game these past few years with lots of yummy food places, funky second hand clothes, art galleries and, of course those great wig shops in Stroud Green Road.
This one-day event will take place in Fonthill Road starting at 2.30pm and ending at 7pm. I will have a stall there selling my cards and prints and these will include Islington, Haringey, Arsenal and Hornsey Baths images, plus my Christmas adaptations.  
More info here.

Three samples from the Arsenal range

Many more stripey collections available

On the following day, Friday 2nd December, there will be a small lighting-up event aimed mainly at children up at Archway Mall, 3.30–5.15pm (no stalls) followed next weekend by Caledonian Road's event on Saturday 10th Dec from 11am–5pm – another colourful street festival organised by #TheCallyMarket  (I will be trading at this one too).
Despite living just around the corner from the Hags Head Shopping Centre and junction in Holloway, I am not aware if Islington Council will be organising their yearly Christmas Extravaganza – an overblown name for a rather low-key and under-publicised event. Your guess is as good as mine.

Read about my cards and prints in today's Islington Tribune

#IslingtonTribune – Available free from many Islington outlets.

Click here for the online version of this article

For info of other ways to buy from me please see "Cards and Prints" at top right of this blog.

Funny Shaped Jugs – a fund-rasing exhibition to highlight Breast Cancer Awareness at Coexistence, Islington, Dec 2nd and 3rd

Jugs.
Ceramic jugs, all size 36C, handmade by Vicky Thornton,
Sales from this unusual two day exhibition at 288 Upper Street will go to Maggie's Centre's for cancer support.
Read more here.

Some bare-breasted ladies on London buildings – can you identify them?

An update on Blackstock Road shop

In August I posted some pics of an old burnt shop front at the Finsbury Park end of Blackstock Road.
A couple of weeks ago I spotted that the renovation is almost complete.

It turns out to be very sympathetic to the original design, although I am not too keen on the colour; perhaps they think that strange spicy brown shade goes well with the bright red...?
I notice it's looking a bit faceless at the moment and I hope they are not planning to add some nasty back-lit perspex signs.... Watch out for a second update...

St Mary's Church, Hornsey Rise / Ashley Road, N19

Whilst sorting out a backlog of photos last week I found a few I took back in May of the stone faces around the doors and windows of St Mary's church, just off Hornsey Rise in N19.
The faces are set at shoulder level and this has tempted some creative soul(s) to add some colourful enhancements:

The faces might have all been scrubbed been clean by now; I will check next time I am passing as I am sure you will be asking for updates (yeah, right).

The pavement signs of Borough

Here are two examples of what were originally intended to be informative signs embedded into manhole covers on and around Borough High street.

But alas, as you can see, some of the letters have magically lifted off or just flown away.
I have yet to find one that doesn't have some letters missing so I will make a fairly educated guess that some mischievous folk are having a whale of a time prising off individual letters to hilarious effect.
Ooh my sides have split.

The London Apprentice / 333 Mother Bar, Old Street, Hoxton

I was just having a tidy up and found this pic I snapped a few months ago of the original tiled entrance of this Hoxton venue.

The sinuous organic feel of the letterform dates it to the Art Nouveau era (approx 1890-1910). A bit of sleuthing confirms that the building was completed in 1895, however, I am finding it hard to marry up any of the external architectural features within these images – perhaps at some point it was rebuilt and only the floor was retained...?!  Doubt it.

Lots more wordy doorway mosaics here. Or just click on the relevant tags below or to the left

Everybody reads the Daily Express

Last month I was in the Willesden area and so went to check on one of my favourite ghostsigns.

I was glad to see that apart from a bit of graffiti at the bottom nothing much has changed since I was there in 2009. Phew!
This old hand-painted sign for Express newspapers is rather impressive, though it's really difficult to get a better pic of it than the the one shown here because nearby buildings, walls and street furniture conspire to obscure the view.
I have attempted a bit of half-arsed research but cannot find any info about the company being at this location so I would assume this was just an advertising site. But, as you can see, it's quite a sight at this site because this sign is enormous – probably the largest one I know of – it covers the whole side of a house.
On close inspection it can be seen that there have been two ads here; one painted directly over the other.
'DAILY' can be just made out covering almost all of the upper third and there are remnants of blue and yellow paint visible at shoulder level, so I wonder if the latter sign was for Daily News who I have noticed implemented a bold heavy sans face on yellow backgrounds on their ads at other locations, such as on Seven Sisters Road near St Anne's Road in Tottenham.
The earlier sign shows the ad for Express newspapers with the titles rendered in the same style as their mast heads:
   EVERYBODY READS
   Daily Express
   Sunday Express
   THE PAPER FOR PEOPLE WHO THINK
(So that's not everybody is it? Ha ha!)

That same weekend I was delighted to find some new [to me] ghostsigns in north west London which I will post about next month.

Archway Market – a colourful gem on Holloway Road every Saturday

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

A diversity of delights

the wonderful colours of nature

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

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

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