Black Cap Yard, Camden

The Black Cap public house in Camden High Street now stands empty awaiting a new future since it closed in April 2015.
The pub opened in the mid-18th century as The Mother Black Cap; a reference to a local witch. A bust of her still sits at the top of the building overlooking the street.

Pre-closure, the bust on near the roof and how the pub looks like right now

In the late 1960s the pub began to put on drags acts and so it became probably the most popular gay pub in this area.
I never went inside. I always meant to. Too late now.

Remnants of the old painted sign in the alley pointing to the yard at the rear, the No.171 doorway mosaic and the handwritten note pasted in the window

twitter: WeAreTheBlackCap

Dockers' Mistresses – something to come home to

OK, so you've been at sea and there's been nary a female in sight for months, perhaps even years.
So, how nice to come back and hook up with something curvy? After all she's been standing there waiting for you on the dockside all that time in the freezing cold, headless and naked from the waist up...!
I am talking bollards here.
Due to their shape, these bollards are affectionately known as 'dockers' mistresses' which is a wonderfully evocative description. I just love them – they appeal to my puerile sense of humour 'fnarr fnarr'. 
On our walk from the O2 to Greenwich along the Olympian Way (Thames Path) I spotted a fabulous row of metal ladies and they were not all exactly the same shape and they seemed to have individual qualities:

From top left going clockwise ending at the centre: starry, beached, chained, belted, tattoed, droopy, ropey, drippy and Brenda

And look at these colourful lovelies that I spotted waiting patiently along King's Lynn dockside:

Again, they are all slightly different. Photographed December 2015.

Nerd Nite London – it's hip to be square

Rubbish pics, but you get the drift. Bottom left is the MoC shop

Last month I went to my first Nerd Nite evening at The Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green.
The premise is that there are three talks from three different 'nerds' over a limited time on totally random things, each followed by a Q&A session which, when I was there, thew up some amusing questions.
It's aa informal evening with the audience sat around moveable cafe tables drinking from a licensed bar. There are also nibbles available and I noticed people eating their own brought-in pizzas etc.
 I learned, or rather attempted to understand, about the lives of women in Nepal, quantum superpositions and 1950s video projection technology. Every subject was interesting even if I didn't understand half of what was being imparted. The last talk definitely winning my internal award for the most nerdy(!).
It was so good I will be plan to go the next one on May 18th.
If you have a nerdy subject that you think would benefit from a wider audience, just contact the organisers.

Breast screening day – a cancerous coincidence

Friday 13th May.

This morning I will be at Whittington Hospital having a breast screening.
Today is my mother's birthday. She was born on Friday 13th May 1938 and died of cancer-related illnesses aged 57 which began with a little malignant lump above her left breast and then 16 years of treatments following different cancers around her body.
It seems so strange to me that this lovely, vibrant, intelligent, active, creative woman, pictured right at age 49, would have today reached the age of 78.
Happy birthday mum. I miss you xx

Swain's Lane, Highgate West Hill, development of site

I have for many years been keeping my eye on the old garages at the corner of Swain's Lane on Highgate West Hill. It always pleased me that this sinuous low-rise 1930s building was still intact especially in the light of all the high rise apartments and modern shopping centres going up all around us.

The garages in 2008 – one expects a Bugatti to appear any minute

In August 2014 the plans for redevelopment of this site were published and businesses within the parade moved out. One lovely cafe, Forks & Corks moved to Archway but has had to close for a while during building works.
But nothing seems to have happened since then. It all looks a bit sad.
On a sunny day last month I took a few snaps for an update:

A hand car wash company was still trading at the rear of the garages. As the plans for redevelopment show, these garages will soon be converted into shops and cafes.

On the curved corner end a lovely old sign for an Ekcovision TV shop has been revealed

The Swain's Lane side of the terrace is all boarded up. I am not sure about the relevance of Liz Taylor's decorating skills; it looks like she is advertising Wall's ice cream.

The Olympian Way, Greenwich, continued

Ok, so where was I?
We'd given up on the foreshore, walked around the O2, seen some dodgy art and attempted to understand the confusing development 'plans' for the area.
And so we walked westwards to Greenwich proper along the Olympian Way which is basically The Thames Path renamed. The environment changed as we walked. It feels like a war-torn wasteland near the O2. Then there are demolition and construction sites, holding areas for building materials,  various unkempt buildings, abandoned jetties and metal structures once used by lost-gone companies.
West of the golf driving range and the concrete works trees and greenery become abundant, though I suspect that the natural world is not going to be there for much longer... modern gated developments are closing in fast.

Just some nice patterns that I noticed on various walls and fences near the cement works.

The river meets the land near Morden Wharf Road. the willow trees and mossy banks are particularly lovely. And, dotted along the water's edge, we spotted some amusing signs in a seaside-style that hint at what we have now and what's to come; shown here are 'Beauty' and 'Foreshore forearmed'.

And this is what's coming... A Cruise Port. Does this mean lots of big liners docking here spilling out customers/visitors/residents by the day? The big pic at the top is an artist's impression on the blue hoardings that create a creepy tunnel for much of this stretch of path.  And, coming soon, a "New Release of River fronting Apartments". Note either a punctuation error (I suggest a hyphen is missing to make River-fronting and that would explain why only one word starts with a lower case letter), or this is written by someone who can't speak English properly. Either way, Barratt, who are the developers should have checked the sign before it went up. Attention to detail lacking – I wonder if this an omen for the kind of sub-standard buildings we might expect to see here? As you can see from the middle bottom pic, work has started. The last pic shows the forecourt/garden area outside the development sales office. Perhaps they'll set out more of these non-indigenous spiral trees in cubes to tie in with the high-rise homogeneous Lego-like cube homes?

 My final post about this area is yet to come... expect a much lighter subject matter (phew!).

Terry O'Neill exhibition at Fiat Chrysler Motor Village

Take a detour from your shopping expedition and rather than turn into M&S near Marble Arch, instead turn down Orchard Street to the corner of Wigmore Street and check out the wonderful exhibition of large scale limited prints by Terry O'Neill on sale through The Ransom Gallery at Fiat Chrysler Motor Village until 22nd May.

And check out the cars too.  Though, when I was there I scrutinised the vehicles and couldn't fathom why so much mis-matched moulded plastic faux-chrome is being used these days. Ugh.
And don't get me started on the decal(?) black camouflage on the Fiat and the strange futuristic over-designed multi-headlamps on the Alfa. Ugh ugh. 

Brymay Safety Matches – hints of another ghostsign spotted

A few weeks ago I spotted part of an old hand-painted advertisement for Brymay Matches seeping through the paint on the North-facing corner of Archway Road.

SAFETY MATCHES

The name Brymay is a conjunction of the names of the founders William Bryant and Frances May who opened their first factory in Bow and sold a phenomenal eight million boxes of matches every year!!
There are now only a few hand-painted Brymay ads visible in London, most of having been covered over by subsequent ads (as in the Haringey example below), whitewashed completely, or obliterated by modern advertising systems or graffiti.
Here are some of them:

Haringey (over/under-painted with a John Bull ad) and Fulham

Shepherd's Bush Green and Goldhawk Road

The simple yet distinctive black Brymay logotype within a bright yellow ellipse on a plain blue background peeking out from behind modern signs in Holloway and Lambeth

Criterion Matches, however, implemented a different kind of labour-intensive pictoral advertising; a style also sometimes used by other companies such as Gillette:

Kilburn and Stoke Newington

Here's my last post about Brymay signs.
If you know of any others like these, please do let me know.

IWA Canalway Cavalcade, this Bank Holiday Weekend, 30April–02May, Little Venice

Three days of colourful boats, entertainment, food, stalls and music.
See the website for more info.
Come and find me at my stall at the far end of the row above the towpath on Warwick Crescent where I will have a broad selection of items for sale:

Greeting cards (blank inside with envelopes) featuring some of my canal and Cavalcade images. More cards here.

Clay pipe jewellery,  Thames glass pendants,  Clay Pipe Pete and Smokey Joe greeting cards,      London landmark cards,  upcycled leather accessories,  tins and small bric-a-brac

Warwick Crescent – What a lovely location!

Unrestricted View – a film festival at Hen and Chickens Theatre, 25th April – 1st May

The Hen and Chickens Theatre Pub is well-known for being the starting ground for many new productions. It's where small theatre projects have begun and comedians both new and established have honed their craft in front of a small audience. Now the H+C is showing films.
Tonight sees the start of Unrestricted View, a week of eclectic movies of varying length carefully selected from a long list of submissions. Highlights of the full programme include: Set Fire to the Stars starring Elijah Wood which will opening the Festival and Men & Chicken starring Mads Mikkelson closing the festival. High points of the festival include Bradley Walsh in The Lights, Catherine Tate & Alex McQueen in Not Sophie's Choice, Richard Glover in The John and Indira Varma in Vintage Blood.
See the full programme here. I will be there this evening so do say hello if you see me.
It's also worth mentioning that there will be special drink offers to tie in with each film and craft beers available.

The London Marathon – I can't be arsed

Every now and then I open up a little book by Richard Wilson and read one of the 63 things he "can't be arsed" to do before he dies. These include such diverse things as bungee jumping, running with bulls, drinking a yard of ale, seeing the Great Wall of China and joining The Mile High Club. I expect you too can think up good reasons for not doing most of those.
Earlier this week I happened to open the book at page 141; No.57: Run A Marathon.

This year's London Marathon is tomorrow, Sunday 24thApril. More info here. And here.
I think it was last year that I watched it on the telly jeering at the healthy nutters as I slobbed on the sofa in my dressing gown drinking black coffee and smoking fags; ooh the irony.

More from Greenwich Peninsula

This follows on my last piece 

Just re-found these pics taken in August 2015 after an afternoon at the beer festival when we thought it would  be a good idea to walk back to Greenwich town in the rain. Pff! What's a bit of sky water?!

Around the Peninsula, including a high-rise tower of my own towers

This shows why I thought re-visiting the foreshore here was a good idea; OK even more plastic and modern detritus, but a decent beach with potted plants and the remains of an old brick floor.

A mooch around the meridian – Greenwich Peninsula and the O2

The plan was, as the tide was so low last weekend, to go and investigate the foreshore around the Greenwich Peninsula. But as we came off slip way we could see it was horribly slimy and muddy.

Jen, Brian and Malcolm ventured further along the water's edge for a bit but I decided it wasn't worth the effort as did Caroline and Liliana. We three waited by the mass of tide-swept rubbish which included far too many plastic bottles and hundreds of those shiny metal cream frothing capsules that are being used for other things these days.

We then walked clockwise around the O2 along The Olympian Way (part of the Thames Path) stopping to look at some of the "art" along the path. By which I mean most of it is rather confusing. These artworks, which are part of The Line, include some large mannequin arms that looked vaguely sexual, a sign with a big number on it, a section of a boat and an upside-down electricity pylon which, because as it's behind a fence in an area that looks like a wasteland/dump, I would have walked past without a second glance had Malcolm not pointed it out to me. Perhaps that's the point. I think it would have a better effect in a green field or in the middle of a London square. Oh, and the information plaques for most of these things are already broken/tarnished. Upkeep/maintenance lacking again.

Moving on... The view down onto the foreshore was lovely – sandy beaches, birds and grasses. Just don't turn round and look O2 and its adjacent buildings which, due to the high blue wire fence, resembles an American prison camp.
Intrigued about the plans for this area we ventured into the Now Gallery to see what we'd understood was supposed to be an exhibition showing how the peninsula will be developed in the future. The strapline is "Where Pioneers Live". That'll be the kind of pioneers who live in luxury apartments and use the Tesco Express and gym on the ground floor, rather than ones who have all their belongings on their back, clean their teeth with sticks and survive on baked beans and bad coffee.
Once inside the building we spent ages trying to work out what we were looking at. The 3D architectural forms that looked like jelly, wood and colourful perspex buildings looked like fun. I doubt that will happen in the UK. You only see that kind of vision in, say, Barcelona. Another white form  depicted the whole sweep of this swathe of land all the way to the City but I couldn't understand what it was intended to mean. It looked nice in a foyer kind of way, but why was it there? What was it supposed to be telling us? And how much had it cost to make?

We entered the viewing room and spent ages trying to get the interactive CGI film thing to work on the tablet (well done Malcolm!) but it had no sound and we spent all the time in there laughing and jeering at the over-sized badly-steered boats, the 2D buildings, the unsupported red walkways, the giant birds and the enormous trampoline! It was fun, but ultimately rather confusing.
I spoke about all this to the girl on the reception desk who explained that this open-to-the-public walk-in area on the ground floor was just about concepts, but if we wanted to know what was really being planned we'd need to make an appointment to go up to the first floor. Aha! So they are keeping it all under wraps. I'd say we can expect another maze of homogeneous high rise glass with a few "iconic" tall things thrown in for good measure.
Hmmm... we then investigated the interactive exhibits to the left of the desk which were supposed to explain the different districts within the peninsula. It was like a playground for adults. And most of it wasn't working.
So we wandered back out into reality and walked the Thames Path to Greenwich.
But I'll save that for another day...

Vintage Car Boot at Kings Cross this weekend

Find me selling all sorts of bric-a-brac, tins, accessories and what-not tomorrow and Sunday at Cubitt's Yard, Kings Cross.
For more info see the website.
Here's a video of last year
And some pics:

Kev's taxi will be there on Sunday only this year

Previous events at different locations: September 2014,  March 2015

More doorway mosaics – patterns and motifs

Last month I put together a collection of mosaic floors depicting company names. This time it's a collection of patterns of mainly flora and fauna:

The thistle in the top row reminds me that this was also the logo/emblem of David Greig, the first high street grocery chain in the UK – I plan to collect all my DG images into a specific blog post sometime soon. The third image on the fourth row was on Wigmore Street near the end of Marylebone Lane but was removed/destroyed approx 2011 (sad face).

Red Brick Reliefs

High above our heads on old façades there are carved friezes, motifs, date stamps and words from the days when buildings were almost as individual as human being –  architectural embellishments as personal jewellery and tattoos. 
I have noticed that quite a few of these are made from red bricks whose rectangular forms can be seen within the images.

In no particular order: Camden, Wapping, Kensington, Borough, Crouch End, Islington, West End

That's it. Please contact me if you have spotted any more of this kind.

On the Foreshore at Limehouse

Earlier this month a few friends joined me for a forage on the foreshore at Limehouse.

The tide was particularly low that day and the sun was shining on us too. Afterwards we went to a nearby pub for food and chats. All-in-all a very nice day out.
If you'd like to come and join me sometime please do get in touch via email (see above).  The next meet up will be the morning of Sunday 10th April.
Please note that I hold an official Port Of London Authority Foreshore Permit – there are restrictions to what you are allowed to do when accessing the Thames beaches.

The shops of Fortis Green Road, Muswell Hill

Ooh I do love an old shop front, especially if it still retains its original curved window and tiled entrance. London has lost most of these beautiful old shops – only solitary examples remain here and there hinting at how the whole terrace might have looked 100 years ago.
Often the best examples of this kind are found outside London, say in seaside towns that lost favour at the end of the last century such as Leigh-On-Sea, Walton-On-Thames, Margate or Southsea, all of which have more recently become appreciated (as have their house prices).
However, some really good examples of early 20th century shopping streets can be found in Muswell Hill, London N10 and, in particular along the southern end of Fortis Green Road.

Some of the lovely old tiles are still visible. However, some of them have been painted over as shown in the middle row. Why oh why?

Walking north from the Art Deco cinema at the junction of Muswell Hill Broadway up to Queen's Avenue notice how almost every doorway on both sides of Fortis Green Road still retains its original curved window and tiled entrances leading to the upstairs apartments.
Also, be sure to stop and admire New Century Barbers on the corner of First Avenue, which also retains some fabulous period features and signs, and has a lot of archive photos of the local area.

Doorway Mosaics – shops and pubs

I am always on the look out for signs of original shop or pub names.
Often I spot these hints of the past embedded in the masonry near the top of a building or on hand-painted signs.
The ones that cheer me the most are the often intricate floor mosaics that can be found in the entrances.

Only a few of these are actually still relevant to the business that sits above them today

A Tour of Saddlers Hall – Just let your feet go clippity-clop

Another livery company tour organised by London Historians.

Saddlery is all the equestrian bits and pieces needed to deck out a horse, hence The Saddlers' Hall contains lots of beautiful and unusual leatherwork and bridleware, plus other related items such as silverware, artefacts and paintings including a lovely one of Princess Anne who, on 20th July 2015, was installed as the The Saddlers' Company's Third Perpetual Master (see more about this position below). Anne shares my birthday and therefore is my favourite Royal.
   

The Saddlers' Hall website doesn't give much info re history – it appears to be mainly about venue hire. Well, I suppose they need the money for the upkeep of the place and looks to be a great place for a posh party!

I have been singing a nursery rhyme this whilst writing this so I added a line from it into the title and put the whole thing here. I think I might be regressing!
    Horsey, horsey, don't you stop
    Just let your feet go clippity-clop
    Your tail goes swish and your wheels go round
    Giddy-up, we're homeward bound!

Also see my posts about tours of the Drapers', Cutlers', Skinners' and Vintners' halls, and the Mercers' Maiden. Or click on Livery Halls in the Labels list to the left.

Perpetual Master: An historic title specifically mentioned in the The Saddlers’ Company Royal Charter, created in 1737 for Prince Frederick, Prince of Wales. The Saddlers’ Company considers it to be the highest accolade that it can bestow. HRH Prince Arthur, The Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, filled the role between 1906 and 1942.
The Princess Royal was made an Honorary Freeman of the Saddlers’ Company on 30th November 1971 when she became a Yeoman as a 'distinguished user of the saddle' having won the Individual Gold Medal in the European Eventing Championships earlier that year.
When HRH is in the Hall on Saddlers’ business or when she represents the Company elsewhere, she is called “Master”. The role of Perpetual Master is not a day-to-day executive position. When HRH is not available the Prime Warden Saddler Mr Charles Barclay fulfills all her duties as effective head of the Company.

Masks and a Monkey – In Your Face – Nina Conti at Criterion Theatre

Ventriloquism ... it's moved on since the days of Lord Charles and Orville.

Nina Conti, Criterion Theatre, Piccadilly Circus (right next to Eros)

This week and next Nina Conti brings to us her own version of this genre. Nina has, quite justly won awards for her ingenuity in this field. You may have seen her amusing and genuinely moving BAFTA nominated film on the subject.
I saw the Criterion show last night – Nina makes everything she is doing really obvious and yet we forget she is the voice behind everything we are hearing. She uses strap-on masks (as modelled by Nina above) on members of the audience and every night is different being as it's dependent on audience participation. It's a lot of hard work for her and yet she makes it look effortless.
That's all very clever, but my favourite bits were when Monk the monkey was [literally] on-hand making his often outrageous observations.

Until 12th March. See here for more details and how to book tickets.

Below are some other monkeys and apes I have spotted on my travels:

Graffiti in Kentish Town and Shoreditch, and a skeleton in the Natural History Museum foyer

Palmers pet store in Camden Parkway (now closed), windows in Holloway, a plastic bag in a tree.
And, spotted just last weekend at Portsmouth Cathedral – a monkey is the organ, and not just the organ-grinder's friend!!

London's architectural icons

'Icon' and 'iconic' are often-repeated words these days, usually used to describe new buildings that are very tall and shouty – ooh look at me... try avoiding me! Often the word is applied before the building is completed; it will be the biggest/tallest/pointiest/greenest/glassiest/etc

Perhaps the developers are using the word in the sense of those religious icons you can buy in the backstreets of Naples; the ones you add to a shrine or put on your mantlepiece? In which case those little souvenirs of The Eiffel Tower would fit the bill if architecture was your god of choice.

In the same way as a community can't just be created by bulldozing streets of small houses and putting up tower blocks with chain restaurants and homogenous coffee bars on the ground floor, I think icons, in the sense of architecture, are made over time and thus earn their iconic label.

I wrote about Centrepoint last year and it features in the ten pics below of London landmarks I believe have become iconic – tall, sometimes inspiring, structures that have become mostly well-loved points of reference; some as landmarks, others as architectural statements. 

This doesn't need captioning; these structures ought to be easily-identified by any Londoner

Beachcombing at Blackfriars

Here are some pics from last October when I met up with a few friends under Blackfriars Bridge for what I call A Forage on the Foreshore.

I particularly liked the time-weathered large wooden stump. I thought finding a beached comb was rather ironic.

As you may be aware, I am always on the lookout for fragments of nicely eroded clay pipe stems for my jewellery – we also picked up various pipe bowls from different periods of history – note the different sizes and shapes in the pic. Malcolm found one with flowers on it – I now wonder if these are roses and it could have been from The Rose Theatre which was nearby...?

Click here for an account of previous gathering.

Holland House in The City

Continuing on from last Thursday's post...

Holland House, 1-4 Bury Street, London EC3A 5AT.
This was the first steel framed buildingto be constructed in in Europe and ooh... I love it...
One hundred years ago, who'd have known that the windows on this beautifully-designed office building would one day reflect one of The City's most iconic glass buildings...?

Holland House was built during WW1. It was designed by the Dutch architect H. P. Berlage for the Rotterdam-based William H Müller & Co; a shipping and ore-mining company working out of Spain and North Africa – this is is shown by the wonderful stylised granite sculpture by J Mendes Da Costa of a ship powering through the waves on the rear corner of the building opposite Cunard Place.

These four pics show details of the lobby/reception area at the front of the building designed in the Art Deco style by Bart Van Der Leck featuring fabulous tiles, mosaics, metalwork and lighting.
Apart from a lovely art deco staircase leading down to the basement, the entrance at the rear has not retained the original features, and looks really bland in comparison.

The whole building is clad in hand-made dark eau-de-nil coloured tiles. I love the way the windows are obliterated when one walks along the pavement; only the columns of tiles can be seen, making a wonderful geometric pattern. 

Pic2 shows a glimpse of the mahogany panelled offices on the first floor using wood reclaimed/stripped from Muller's ships.

At the rear (pic3) there are some lovely balconied tiers.

More pics and info here.

See also Summit House on Red Lion Square – built a few years later in a similar style – solid, beautiful functionality and classic no-messing design.

Art In The City, St Mary Axe and The Gherkin

Last weekend I finally found time to go and see [most of] the art installations in and around The Gherkin At St Mary Axe.

Ai Weiwei's bicycle rack and Damien Hirst's donation's box

Tomoaki Suzuki's little people and Keita Miyazaki's car parts.

I was also interested by other things that were not part of the trail; a sobbing woman near the air filters and a drain full of fag ends in Lime Street.

Near the Hirst piece a bollard made from a cannon can be found.

Every time I visit the Gherkin, love it as I do, after all, it may be the only truly beautiful and beautifully designed glass structure made in the past twenty years, I am always distracted by the rhythmic solidarity of Holland House across the road in Bury Street.
But I will save that for another day...