Parkland Walk – railway to pathway

More images from my recent Parkland Walk stroll.
I remember discovering Parkland Walk by accident when I moved to the Holloway area in 1988 and walndered up the hill to Crouch End. I investigated further and it was like uncovering something that no-one else knew about. My neighbours seemed to be oblivious to it when I questioned them for more info.  It reminded me of when I used to go on bike rides when I was a 10 and think that I was the only person who was aware of all those little alleys that join up the roads in Hornchurch, or the empty wartime (hospital?) buildings near the swimming pool. (Any info re this most welcome.)
Whenever I went to Parkland Walk with my sister in the early 90s we felt it was our own secret place, especially if we accessed from the little path at the top of Hillrise Rd that ran around the edge of an unloved old sports club.
Back then the trail was a bit unkept as it had been neglected for decades and we'd hardly see anyone along the whole length of the path except a few kids practicing their skateboarding skills in the half pipe at the youth centre near Crouch Hill.
A team of intrepid volunteers has managed over the years to tidy up the tangled undergrowth, remove the dead wood and really make Parkland Walk a pleasant place to pass a few hours – as they say, 'a piece of countryside in the heart of London'. Shame on me for not joining in.

There are well-maintained paths, not only along the old track, but also the little ones that lead you up and down into the trees and shrubs. Attractive stairways have been made from old railway sleepers, and information boards explain the flora and fauna. I was impressed to read about acid grassland having never even heard of it before that day (see centre images). This type of grass lives on low-nutrient acidic soils, so it's well-named!
Elements of the old Stroud Green station platforms and buildings at Stapleton Hall Rd are still in place. I looked down from the northern platform and imagined how the scene below would have looked in Edwardian times. And on the bridge at Mount View Rd I wondered why Thames Water don't let people access the lovely grass that covers the reservoir? It must be lovely on there.
The old Crouch Hill Station still retains its long platforms – there s a lovely old photo on an information board showing how it looked 100 years ago.
Enough info from me... you'll find much more here.
Please scroll down to see my previous posts about this lovely stretch of greenery.

Parkland Walk graffiti

Continuing on from my post the other week, this one is not about nature so much as the colourful graffiti, mainly to be found in the stretch between Crouch Hill and Crouch End Hill.
For many years now kids who practiced their skateboarding skills on the half pipe at the adventure playground (now removed) would also practice their graffiti skills on the arches under the road and along the sides of the old railway tracks.
As I walked along I stopped here and there and took a few snaps of the patchwork of graffiti styles crashing into each other. The mix of nature and paint actually works quite well, especially contrasted by the vibrant grassy greens and the dark arches.

As I approached Crouch Hill Road Bridge I could see some hooded artists in action. I commented to them, in a jolly way, that the aerosol smell was quite heady. They half looked at me but ignored me. These men, for they were over 30, not kids, obviously didn't like me invading their play space.
I walked on and overheard them bitching about me and my type (something like): "who do these people think they are?", "how would they like to be photographed when they are working", "it's theft man".
I stood staring at them about 15 metres away hoping one of them might have the balls to come and speak to me but no.
What I would have said was, "you paint all over public property, yet, as a fellow member of the public, I can't take pictures of you doing that?"... "if you don't want people to see your work then don't do it public places at 5pm on a Sunday afternoon".
Nothing they were doing appeared to be very accomplished or new. I wanted to ask these untalented idiots "don't you have a wall on your own house you could practice on?!"
As you can see from the photos, I don't think Parkland Walk will be taking over from Shoreditch as the graffiti centre of London any time soon...

Find green spaces with Parklife London

I have posting a lot recently about green things in London; living walls, paths and walks etc and I have just found a site that specifically helps Londonders find and get involved with all the lovely green spaces in the capital.
Parklife London covers all 12 inner London boroughs with interactive links on an easy to view map. The site includes events, community projects and voluntary opportunities.
Rather good eh?!

Above are some non-natural green things I have spotted in London. Find them and more here.

An urban forest at the Seven Dials

Tomorrow, for one day only the junction of Earlham, Shelton, Monmouth roads, more commonly known as The Seven Dials, will be transformed into an urban forest.
As part of International Car Free Day the Seven Dials and immediate area will be closed to traffic and sixty 5 metre trees will be placed around the monument creating a leafy quiet area to sit and think about greener modes of transport such as walking and cycling.
In amongst the trees there will be lots to do and see including an Air Quality Bubble Map, an interactive cycling experience pod, and help with your bike and bike related injuries. Drinks will be available from the Orchard Juice Bar.
After the event Camden Council will be replanting all the trees at various permanent locations throughout Camden.

All a stone's through from the Seven Dials

Review of this year's Thames' Festival – a washout in many respects

This year The Mayor's Thames Festival took place over 10 days, rather than one glorious fun-packed weekend as in the past. The rationale was to spread out the events along the river to include places further up- and down-stream.
But I think this backfired. The event (I can't really use the word 'festival') was, to my mind a wash out, and not just because of the weather.
I can understand that many attractions at the Thames Festival have, in the past  had little to do with the River, but they get people out and animated and interested in places and things they might never have noticed or engaged with before. 

Happier times pre-2013

This year there was no fireworks and no parade. I believe that cutting these two key events may be the main reason for the poor turnout. To make it worse, if you visited the event site for information one of the first things you would have seen, high up on the home page, was that there would be no fireworks or parade, and the admission that funds were tight. 

How very stupid!  The home page should be bigging up the good things not enhancing the negatives!! Why advertise what you don't have? Who is really going to scroll down further after reading that?! 
There is a quote on the site from Adrian Evans, the Festival Director, and he says, 
"By shedding the restriction of a weekend and broadening its geographical horizons, combined with a fantastic and wide-ranging programme of events, the festival will inspire people to re-connect with London’s greatest natural asset in new and surprising ways".
Inspire? how? Surprising?  Well yes. Surprising in the sense that there was nothing to see.

Because to remove practically everything that had been attracting people year on year was a really REALLY silly move. 
Huge leaps in marketing and promo in the past 4 years meant that the festival had become something to mark in your diary. The parade and fireworks were spectacular and kept people at the other attractions long into the final day. A win-win for all. 

This year there were walks and talks about the Thames. A great idea, but most of these were pre-book events. But there was barely anything that you could just show up and take part in as in previous years, such as the feast on Southwark Bridge, or the fire garden outside the Tate, nor were there any dancers or colourful characters walking about. 

I was in London for both weekends this year trading at the We Make London Markets, first at Bernie Spain's Gardens and then More London Riverside. Only a handful of visitors to my stall at either location had any notion that there was a festival on at all. 

Compared to previous years (I have going for 15 years now; 12 as a visitor and 3 as a trader) the event was a shadow of its former self. There were no signage or banners along the Southbank so people who wandered into the zone had no idea that the market and the music stage at Bernie Spain's Gardens were for the event and not just  an every-weekend occurrence. Festival? Where? Last year there were site-specific information points and tents where you could pickup colourful information-packed programmes. 

It was meant to be more about the river this year. I understand that there were a few boaty things happening in and around St Katharine Docks, but as regards the Central London stretch of river I saw nothing happening on the river over the first weekend and I was there from 10am until 10pm both days. 
On the evening of Saturday 14th at approx 8pm night, after a very quiet day at the Scoop with no music or entertainment at all, all day, we were suddenly blasted by a honking cacophony coming from some boats circling about in the Pool of London. Billed as a Ships' Opera, his deafening art-fart went on for much too long. It certainly wasn't singing. 

On Sunday 15th there was some lovely proper singing from choirs in the Scoop. There were lots of people enjoying the music. But they evaporated when the singing stopped. I am pretty sure the crowd was made up of the choirs' friends and family. By 5pm on Sunday afternoon there was barely anyone around at all and the market packed up at 6pm. The festival finished with a whimper rather than a bang.  

I noticed some some volunteers canvassing feedback about the event on badly designed A4 sheets. Half of the questions were about age, ethnic group, where you came from, why you were there etc. One question asked how much you expected to spend during the day and what proportion of that you would have spent had you not come to the festival. What a dippy question. I wrote 57%. 

Another asked "How did you hear about the event?" and followed that with "would you come again?". I would be interested to see the feedback on that last question alone. Because if I was a tourist visiting London and it was my first time at the Thames Festival I certainly wouldn't be going home and telling my friends what a must-see event it was!
So, I urge you... if you went there this year and you were as disappointed as I was, then please please write to the organisers and let them know what you think... because if we all sit tight and say nothing it won't be improved upon for next year.

No Junk Mail

Our front doors and gardens are a mess these days – our gardens are littered with ugly plastic bins and containers meant for household rubbish and recyclable items.
A lot of paper in the recycling bins consists of take-away menus which seem to stick to the bottom of the bins hanging on for dear life.  
Many of us have added stickers to our letterboxes stating "No Junk Mail". To illustrate my point, the photos below were all taken in the space of a 5 minute walk in Barnsbury, Islington.
What these homeowners are basically saying is, "that leaflet in your hand that you are being paid to deliver to my home... is it really a quality item that I need to see, or is it rubbish? Please decide for me. And make the right decision!".
I read a while ago that a London man kept all of his junk food leaflets in a pile by the door and in just 12 months it had reached a metre high.
A pedantic friend had a 'No Junk Mail' sign on his door and, if a flyer landed inside the house, he would write on it that he didn't want it and post it back to the company in an unstamped envelope. Ooh that's harsh!

Mudlarking along the Thames

One evening last week I joined a group of wellie-clad history geeks and fellow London Historians for a short walk along the Thames at low tide led by a Thames Discovery Programme guide.
As you are probably aware I am a frequent visitor to stretches of the Thames' foreshores but I wanted to learn some more snippets of historical info to pass on to customers who visit my stall and website.
Walking into the sunset from Cannon Street Station to The Millennium Bridge taking care not to trip over the vertical markers placed by proper mudlarkers (these are posts placed into the mud to alert people that there is soft ground caused by their excavations) we learned about what's left of the Walbrook River, Roman settlements, barge loading platforms, slipways, iron pipes and Mother-of-Pearl buttons.

Why not go for a wander there yourself? The Thames foreshores can be accessed at many points by steps and staircases, but please do remember that the tide is not at the same time every day – check the tide tables.
Please note that you can pick up things (except in some restricted areas) but you are not allowed to dig or disturb the surface at all. Only about 50 licensed mudlarkers have permits to do that and even they are limited to a metre's depth.
If you find anything you think is of archaeological interest then you should contact the Museum of London who keep a mapped archive. They have a sort of clinic where you can pop in glean info about your finds.
Finally, if you do go down to the foreshore, be sure to plan your exit route because the tide comes in really fast!

Blackberry picking on the Parkland Walk

It's blackberry season and all along the Parkland Walk people are out collecting bowls of the lovely sweet fruit from the many bushes that line the old railway track. I didn't have a bowl with me on the day I was there so I just grazed as I walked along.
It's really lush along there at the moment as the trees and bushes are all in full leaf. The paths and woodland areas are well maintained by a sterling group of volunteers (see above link) and are accessed at many points from the adjoining roads by stairs made form old railway sleepers. There are also information points along the way explaining the various flora and fauna to be found there.
Parkland Walk is frequented by joggers, dog walkers and people just out for a stroll enjoying the greenery. And, just like London's canal paths (well, apart from the Camden stretch of the Regent's Canal), this walk makes you feel as you have left the concrete city when really it is only just a few metres above or below you.
The pictures below are all from the stretch between Finsbury Park and Crouch Hill. More posts and pictures about this thin stretch of nature to follow.

Walking along the New River Path

I often take a lunch break in the lovely park along the New River in the Islington section between The Marquess Tavern and St Paul's Road, (see pics below).
The river isn't new. It isn't even a river. It was a channel dug in the early 1600s to bring clean water into the City from natural springs in Hertfordshire, and then channeled into homes through pipes made of elm.

Note that the 'river' in the parks at Islington is merely cosmetic, using the old watercourse as sites for two long narrow ponds. Today the water from Herts joins the ring main at Clissold Park, Stoke Newington.

This year is the New River's 400th anniversary and to commemorate this Islington Council have organised a series of events (23–29 September) which include three free lunchtime guided walks led by the wonderfully informative Peter Bertoud, a fully qualified Westminster Guide.
Spaces for his New River walking tours are limited so if you do not manage to secure a space don't panic because the whole 45km route can be walked at your own leisure all the way from its source in New Gauge, Herts, to The New River Head near Sadlers Wells. The paths are well-maintained and there are information boards along the way.
Ooh look... I just found this interesting commemorative edition Canonbury newsletter which has even more information about the area.
And The Dugdale Centre within Enfield Museum has a free exhibition about the New River that is on until 5th January 2014. (Thinks... a walk north along the river to Enfield one day soon would be nice.)

Peter has lots more interesting tours.

Dinosaurs and devils and angels and dragons

The latest fabulously entertaining video adventure from The Lost Valley of London is about dinosaurs. It's packed full of information.
Watch it here.
I haven't any pictures of dinosaurs myself but I do have plenty of pics of mythical and mythological creatures in and around London – yeah yeah dinosaurs are/were real, but they are/were pretty weird.

Top: Nat History Museum, West Hampstead, City of London, St Giles
Middle: Bermondsey, W1, Blackfriars, Highgate
Bottom: Soho, Paddington, Kensington, Vauxhall

The Mayor's Thames Festival – bigger, longer, and hopefully better than ever!!

It doesn't seem a year since last year's Thames Festival...
In past years this has been a jam-packed weekend, but this year the event is being stretched out over 10 days, from 6th until 15th September, which means it will be less of a crush and a rush to see all the good things that are on offer.
See here for information and a full programme of events.
I will be checking out some of the weekday events at a leisurely pace and at the weekends I will be selling my Thames-related wares alongside the other designer-makers of We Make London at Bernie Spain's Gardens on 7th & 8th and at More London on 14th & 15th. I was going to say that I wish it was the other way around because last year the fireworks were set off right in front of my stall at BSgdns and, being as there weren't so many people around (the Paralympic closing ceremony was also happening that night), I had the most amazing view of the display, but I have just discovered that for the first time in more than a decade there will be no night carnival or fireworks this year... boo hoo :-(
Instead I will be enjoying the singing at the Scoop on the afternoon Sunday 15th when a 600-voice kids choir will be in full song. I love all that! ;-)
Lots to see and do – I hope to see you there!!!

Jack the Ripper – 125 years unsolved

Today 31st August 2013 marks the 125th anniversary of the first of Jack the Ripper's murders in 1888.
A series of eight real-time documentaries about these unsolved crimes entitled Unmasking Jack the Ripper has been produced in conjunction with London Discovery Tours, and each one will go live on the anniversary of the day it happened.
These free to view online 'tours' include evidence, authentic police accounts, original photos and lots of historical info. Find them here.
Already online is an introduction with expert on the subject, Richard Jones, and today you can view information about the [first] murder of Mary Nichols.
There are six more documentaries to follow, spread out between now and November 20th when the main suspects will be assessed.
More info here.
Info about Jack The Ripper walking tours can also be found on the above links.
My montage of pics today shows a few specific Jack the Ripper places from the Whitechapel area, plus some Victorian street furniture and 1888 date markings from various other London locations.

London's largest Living Wall at Rubens hotel

London is getting greener by the day...
Continuing on from my last post about the gardens at the Southbank, this one is about a living wall that has been created on the side of The Rubens At The Palace Hotel, a stone's throw from Victoria Station.
Designer Gary Grant has covered the whole side wall with "one of the most diverse collections of plants on a living wall in Europe". 350 square metres –10,000 ferns and herbaceous plants in 16 tons of soil.
I went along on the launch night which included a ride on the hoist so we could get up close, hear about the plants and see the watering system which recycles rainwater and helps to reduce the amount of flood water falling to street level.
Living walls don't just look good; they attract birds and insects, although I can't help but think if all the trees hadn't been pulled up and the earth concreted over there wouldn't be a problem with lack of flora and fauna and over flowing sewers in the first instance!
Anyway, well done Rubens for making such a brilliant effort to pretty up an ugly end wall. It really does look good and I am sure will be well-received.
It could look even better if a suggestion I made to the Rubens manager is taken on... it would be a good idea to paint the unplanted street level section of the wall, a dark natural green or brown to look like part of the plating. When I was there it was a nasty grey/magnolia colour. I wonder if this absolutely brilliant idea of mine was taken on... I must pop back and check... watch this space.

As someone who has been up a lot of tall buildings these days the hoist experience was a little disappointing as I has been hoping to go all the way to the top, not just the first floor... but hey, beggars, choosers, free drinks and canapés etc!
The area between the Rubens and Victoria has been flattened and it undergoing renovation. All that's left of real interest at the moment is the Victoria Palace, the old station arcade and a few of its adjacent buildings. From the vantage point of the hoist's cradle this architectural hole was as interesting to me as the plants and I took a few snaps.
It was quite an eventful evening, actually. On the way to the Rubens I had bumped into a friend; the very inspirational Deborah Henry-Pollard. As I left the Rubens and headed for the station I stopped to take some pictures of a particularly nasty cake in a cafe window (see bottom left) which was at least 3mm thick with dust – yeurch. Then I stood bemused and amused as really long lorry carrying a caterpillar thing did what I guess was a 137-point turn, moving back and forth in 20cm 1 degree increments, to get into the building site. When I got home half an hour later it turns out some bird called Kate had given birth and people were amassing near that big house round the corner from the Rubens. Had I turned the other way when exiting the Rubens and gone home via St James's Park I have been caught up in something surreal... Phew! That was close! 

Discover Our Neighbourhood at the Southbank Centre

You may recall that earlier this summer I went on a tour around the attractions of The Southbank including The London Eye and The National Theatre.
Part of that day included a guided walk around the Southbank complex's garden-themed 'Discover Our Neighbourhood'. We walked through the lovely roof gardens above the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the individually curated  freestanding allotments along the river and had a quick peek in at the Beano's 75th birthday exhibition.
I have yet to revisit all of these (preferably on a sunny day so that I can make use of the beer garden!) and I hope to do so later this week or next. I am also keen to check out a lot of the interesting free exhibitions, especially Lambeth Treasures, plus many other things, too numerous to mention here.
See here for all there is to offer.... but hurry... most of these events end on 8th September.

Live By The Lake – outdoor concerts at Kenwood

I must admit when I first read about this I misunderstood the word 'live' to be about living, rather than something that is in the moment. I expected to scroll down and see some nice wooden cabins situated in forests next to a lake.
But no... 'Live By The Lake' is the serious of outdoor concerts taking place over two weekends in front of Kenwood House (well worth a visit in itself, and it's free!) and it kicks off this Friday with Suede (see you there too?).
I also quite fancy 'Singing In The Rain' which will be even better if it really does rain on the night.
See the full event listings here.
Below is a montage of pics that mix live- and music-related things in London with shots of Kenwood.

No no no...

No spitting in Enfield!!!!
It's disgusting.
I have been accidentally phlobbed on too many times, mostly by idiots not looking as they exited shops.   They seem to have some idea that it's better out than in. Spreading germs doesn't even cross these people's minds.
Can we please now extend this to no violent expectoration of a single nostril (particularly gross), no chewing gum and fag butt throwing and no dog poo bag disposal?  I really don't get this dog poo in plastic bag thing. Biodegradable waste matter is being preserved in plastic for our ancestors to deal with. Not nice. And what about cat poo? No one is coming round to my garden to clear up the stinky shit left behind by felines. It it not pleasant when gardening to happen upon something soft and pungent.

Which reminds me that there are lots more things I would like to outlaw...


As per the pic bottom left "Commit No Nuisances". Specifically...
No heavy perfume wearers on public transport.
No non-collapsible pushchairs on buses – recently I witnessed a lady, obviously just returning form a holiday with two suitcases and 3 bags of supermarket shopping, moving them all when a woman got on the bus with an EMPTY collapsible pushchair and commadeered the space. Grr.
No standing on toilets. That means the seats too. Also, if you really do have to hover, no dripping on the seats – if you do drip, clear it up.
No carrying of umbrellas without being in possession of a BPB (Brolly Proficiency Badge) where you will be taught the many aspects of brolly etiquette such as learning to judge width restrictions and the eye height of other pavement users.
No walking out of shops without looking to see if there is anyone coming along. Do these people drive cars?!
No ranting on and on.

Pub colours

I pinched this idea from the very talented Mr Paul Bommer.
He calls them, "Coloured Inns".
Wish I'd thought of that.
This is the first of two collections on this theme.
Here are the animals.

The idea here was to come up with 12 different animals in 12 different colours. But I just can't make it work when restricting myself to London. 

There are lions in various hues all over London; red ones aplenty, plus blue, white, black and golden. And a lot of them are very comically rendered. 

And are lots of interesting black and white animals and birds out there, such as horses, harts, bulls, bears and unicorns. But I am struggling to find beige, yellow, pink, orange and even green animals, however, I have managed a cheeky purple!

Yeah, I know gold isn't really a colour; the purists say black and white aren't either, but without those "colours" I'd be stuck with a collection of Red Lions and I've done that before.

Sam Roberts, King of the Ghostsigns

One of things that first got me into all these London details were the ghostsigns I noticed on my walks – faded remnants of old hand-painted signs and advertisements on walls. These were the predecessors of the back lit posters we see around us today.
Sometimes tantalising glimpses of these old ads can be seen peeking out from behind the modern ones:

Every now and then one of these is uncovered as in the case of the Redferns sign in Battersea and the Army Club ad in Tottenham but keeping a tag on these changes is hard for me when they are scattered all over London.
So, hurrah for Sam and his Ghostsigns site which is packed with info and updates not only about London signs but similar ones from all over UK, along with interesting items about other signs worldwide.
Sam has returned to London after two years in Cambodia. Whilst there he collected lots of photos of the hand-painted signs he saw there and, via email and Skype, I helped him to turn them into a book.
Welcome back Sam – I've missed your boundless energy and enthusiasm!!

A house in Holloway

Sometimes the details are inside a building.
Last month I was lucky enough to peek inside a house owned by an elderly neighbour.
Layers of history. Contrasting wallpapers. Mis-matched everything. Colourful paint. Peeling wallpaper. Personal effects.
I only had my Blackberry with me to take these snaps and although much of the house has fallen into disrepair I found it wonderfully evocative and uplifting.
The house and its contents have seen a lot of happy times.

The view from the London Eye

As mentioned a few weeks ago, I recently went on the London Eye.
For me, July was a month of elevated viewing experiences as I had already been up the BT Tower and The Shard. They say [good] things always happen in threes!
On the day I went on the London Eye the weather was not too good; it was the first rainy day of the July heatwave and I missed out on the blue skies and clear horizons. But never mind, I can't complain when the ride was free, thanks to those lovely promo people from the Southbank.
I could still see for miles but, seeing as it was rather grey in the distance, I concentrated on looking down on the buildings and bridges that were closer; the Treasury and the Houses of Westminster, the roofs of Waterloo Station and the internal buildings of County Hall. And there were still lots of people outside Queenie's House because Kate had sprogged the day before.

So what high buildings are next? Tower 42? Millbank Tower? That thing at the Olympic Park?
Watch this space...

Incidentally, I just put "London Eye" into my photostream's search engine on Flickr and found some pics of a different kind of London Cityscape from Eat London 2006.

The RA (Really Awful) Summer Show 2013

There are three weeks left to see this year's Summer Show at the Royal Academy. But don't panic... it's not worth the effort.
Last year's show (2012) was disappointing enough and my friend and I agreed that it was so bad that we should enter something ourselves seeing as the standard was so low. The walls were festooned with splodges and half-baked ideas that at aged eight I would have been embarrassed to show my junior school teacher. Many of these, because they were created by established artists with RA after their name had huge price tags, in the tens of thousands.
But the year passed and we forgot to create or submit anything.
Had we done so and not been selected for this year's show we would have been even more appalled because this year has to be the worse Summer Show I have ever been to.
There's even more of the same over-sized over-priced seen-it-before churnings from RA members, pus way too much of what looks like art-as-therapy.
Add to that, some rooms don't look like they have been curated at all as the random hanging/grouping is a mess with a few competent pieces hidden in amongst all the rubbish.
I was distracted by the patterns my beaded bag was making on my arm. I looked like a plucked bird. So I took some pics and got told off for using my camera in there. (I wasn't even allowed to take pictures of the lovely metal floor grilles, which were also far more interesting that the wall art.)
Here is a montage of my beady body art pics. I might enter it for selection next year; it will be titled "RA – Rather Absorbing / Real Art":

It was cold in there due to the aircon. In these pics you can see the hairs standing up on my gooseflesh skin.
There are couple of good things on show there including Grayson Perry's lovely tapestries, a homage to Hogarth's "The Rake's Progress"  but I advise you to save your pennies... instead, go and take a look at the 'conveyer belt' art for sale further along Piccadilly on the railings of Green Park.

Foxed by the foxes

From the Holloway Road to my house is approx a 3 minute walk. I was coming home at 11.30pm the other night and counted six foxes; two trotting together, 3 others as loners seemingly out on foraging or fighting missions, and another one just sat there in the middle of the road looking at me. Six is a lot in that short timeframe, even for my area.
I once read that in the wild foxes tend to be just one to each half mile square territory. But the urban foxes here in London have had to adapt. These beautiful scavengers just watch us until we get too close and they skulk off to take cover in a front garden or under a car. Often, after dark, I hear them playing or fighting in my back garden or screeching in the street.

Two years ago a vixen raised her cubs under the decking at the end of my back garden and until the little cubs had the strength to jump the garden wall they chased each other around my garden like it was a racetrack, flattening all the low-growing plants the process. I didn't mind too much. It was like I had my own private Naturewatch – they were so much fun to watch. The vixen often stood there staring directly at me looking jaded and tired, almost sighing as the cubs suckled, though they always calmed down immediately when she started grooming them.
There are decimated zones out there again this year where the foxes have selected areas as comfy beds or dining areas. I am forever clearing up their discarded chicken bones and ripped plastic bags. My once lush and colourful crocosmia is now a flattened mat of dead grass. Ah well. I often find one asleep on the roof of my garden shed roof when I get up in the morning. he/she just looks at me and dozes off again.
But here's odd... earlier this week my friend found something very strange involving dead foxes near his home in Notting Hill.
We are perplexed. Can anyone explain this?

That pointy thing called the Shard

Those of you who have read some of my previous posts will be aware that I am not a fan of that monstrous glass building at London Bridge. I think it's bullying "look at me; I'm really big!" architecture with no flair or design.
With all the empty office space available in Central London I am concerned about all the new build. The Dubaiification of London. And I am fed up with all the unnecessary competition between cities around the world to have the tallest "iconic" building. In most cases the measured height is, to me rather daft as it includes the aerials on the top. If I wear a stovepipe hat does that mean I am 6ft 2?!
A couple of weeks ago there was an article in The Times (Saturday July 6th) reporting that the Shard is failing in its attempt to sell the space within it. The Times reports that the 25 floors of office space are as empty as they were 12 months ago with only 10% being leased. The location is being cited as a reason; London Bridge is not The City, where other big buildings with silly names situtaed in the Square Mile are managing to sell their space.
The article goes on to quote Irvine Sellar, the Shard's developer, who seems to be cherry-picking his tenants. He cites this as a reason for the empty floors and rationalises, "...we are taking our time... we don't want to fill the Shard up with accountants or lawyers". He goes on, "...we are going to have asset managers, energy companies, lawyers and many more. We want a broad mix".
I very much doubt that is the reason at all. Location probably does play a part, but I think the lack of uptake is mostly down to the fantastically high maintenance charges; the window cleaning alone is estimated at £150,000 a year, plus rates on the empty offices need to be paid for before they are leased, and electricity has to be block-purchased in advance. Cleaning and security for the building could cost as much as £9million a year once it is fully let.
So, they must have thought long and hard about how to bring in big dosh for  little outlay.... hmmm... let's think... Yes! viewing platforms. Incidentally, I don't like the word "platforms" in this instance. Bad word. Why not galleries, floors or levels?
They call it "The View" and on Saturday 13th July I went to see it for myself. My very generous friend paid £24.99 each for four of us. TWENTY FIVE QUID!!! That's the pre-booking price. If you buy your ticket on the day it goes up to £29.99.
OK here goes... hold on to your hat... this is what you get for £25...

• On arriving we were informed that there are no toilets on the viewing levels and were directed to the ones adjacent to the booking hall; an area that is awash with CGI on large screens and colourful technology. Opening the door to the Ladies we entered a service corridor with whitewashed breeze block walls. There were loose wires and duct-taped pipes. Inside it was obvious that this was usually used by staff or gym users as we saw lockers in there. A temporary sign on A4 copy paper apologised, explaining that new toilets are currently being built for Guest use. This building has been open to the public for almost a year now and they haven't made the toilets? Is £25 a reduced rate due to this? Or, will the price go up when the toilets are finally open? 
• So, why are there no toilets on or near the viewing levels? What happens if someone is taken short or feels dizzy/sick? Are people expected to get in the lift again, go all the way through the gift shop, past the booking desks and relieve themselves only to find that they (probably) aren't allowed back up again? I am sure there must be toilet facilities on the restaurant floors but viewing-only plebs aren't allowed to mix with high-paying foodies. 
• There is nowhere to sit on the viewing platforms. Not everyone is happy standing, or sitting on the floor. Many people, especially those who are tired, dizzy, disabled, old or infirm would benefit from some simple benches where they can rest for 5 minutes as in art galleries. There is ample space all around the inner wood-panelled wall where these could be added. I believe there are two reasons for their non-existence: 1) it stops people staying up there too long, and, 2) the Shard was never designed to have viewing platforms in the first instance or they would have designed it better. 
• So it ought to go without saying that there are no refreshment opportunities up there either.
• Why no glass floors? A huge opportunity has been missed here. Especially as the building is clad in glass. There are perfect places in recessed areas where glass-floored panels could have been included (such as in Auckland's Sky Tower in and many others). But, again, I think this is for the same reasons as the lack of seating.
• Don't look up because the ceilings of the viewing platforms are an ugly mess. There are hanging wires and pipes clad in silver foil with stickers on them, plus metal fixings and plates that I think ought not to be seen. It looks so out of place with the simplicity of the wooden floors and walls. 
• When we were there we commented how daft it was that the only way to identify the buildings in the distance was to use one of the computerised viewing machines. We wondered why they hadn't put information about the major landmarks onto the windows or on a rail in front of us. It wasn't until I got home and looked at my photos that I noticed that there is a legend there, but it is situated above everyone's heads!! How utterly daft. You have to step back from the glass to see it. Another afterthought?
• On the ground floor, on the way in between security checks and the lift you can have your photo taken against a simulated image of the Shard. As per The London DUNG-eon and all other rip-off tourist attractions of this kind, the prints are an extra charge. Did I mention the tickets for The View at Shard are £25?
• The lifts are rather disappointing. Considering they are being touted for their high speed you don't get a visual sense of this at all. You stand there in a dark blue box looking up at some computer generated whizzy lines on the ceiling. Couldn't they have filmed the journey to the top of the Shard from the roof of the lift and put that up on the ceiling so we had the feeling of heading skyward? This seems too obvious a trick to have missed.

To conclude, I believe due to their lack of facilities, the viewing platforms are an afterthought to the conceived design of the building. I think the developers really thought companies would have been snapping up the office space off-plan before the building was completed.
The exorbitant minimum ticket price of £24.99 for what is just a trip in two lifts with a view at the top and not a lot else, is to help with those cleaning bills.
Mind you, I suppose comparing time:money it does work out cheaper than a trip on the London Eye (£17.28 for half an hour) because you can stay up in the Shard as long as you want. I am not sure if you can take your own food and drink up there, but don't take too much because the toilets are 69/72 floors away (they include the landings on the stairs as two floors!)
Oh, one more thing that nags at me; the location is called London Bridge Quarter. A quarter of what? Does the Shard take up 25% of the whole of the whole London Bridge area? What are the other three quarters called? Answers here please.

"This article has been written to recognise the author's contribution to travel and tourism by Avis Car Hire on the A-List Awards 2013".

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park open this weekend

It's one year since the Olympic Games 2102 started and it only seems, to me, like months ago.
The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has been renovated and many of the sports facilities and gardens are now ready for public use.
The first of many events, at this rejuvenated area of London, is this weekend's Open East Festival in the north of the park. It includes theatre, live music, art and of, course, food and drink. I will be there myself in The Eco Design Fair section.
From Monday the park will be open free of charge.

Some images taken in London featuring tenuous links to various Olympic sports – archery, fencing, weightlifting, sailing, diving, boxing etc.

Top: N7, W14, WC2, WC1

Middle: WC1, W1, EC2, EC1

Bottom: N1, NW1, W1, N7

A tour of the Southbank

Earlier this week I was one of a group of people invited onto a promo tour of the wonderfully various and mostly free events, exhibitions and attractions along the Southbank.
I will cover these in more detail in later posts, but here's a whistle-stop tour...

Top row
1. A tour of The National Theatre including a peek backstage to learn all about the new renovations taking place this year – the entrance door will be re-sited, a glass area will be added at the back near the Haywood Gallery and a walkway will be installed so that visitors can look down into the props department.
2+3.  A spin on the London Eye hearing about all the optional extras available (mostly in conjunction with champagne and other alcoholic drinks!). But what a view – the rotation just doesn't last long enough for me.
4. Then for a guided tour of the free events and attractions in and around the Southbank complex.
Middle Row
5. A colourful exhibition underneath the Queen Elizabeth Hall celebrating 75 years of the Beano
6. Up into the fabulous gardens on the roof of the same building. I had no idea the gardens were so extensive and so damn good – there's a bar up there too!
7. The 'Festival of Neighbourhood', encompasses all the events, bringing together our gardens, our homes and various London boroughs and explains all those disjointed words and phrases that are on flags and banners in the vicinity.
(It's worth mentioning here that there is a great exhibition on at the Haywood at the moment – Nek Chand's wonderful mosaic people made from broken crockery and other found items are on show until August 26th – this is not free)
8. Along the river's edge are a series of free-standing allotments each managed by a different group/borough.
Bottom row
9. Large 'topiary' sculpture of the lady who started clearing up after the riots on 2011. Look out also for a similar one of neighbours chatting over a fence.
10. Once a hired feature, the popular fountains are now secured as a permanent feature.
11. The tour finished with lunchtime drinks and nibbles in the Park Plaza Hotel at the end of Westminster Bridge. The glass building is not to my to my taste... 12, ...but the view is wonderful.
What a great morning... thanks guys!