What a great atmosphere there was in London that weekend. It did get a bit wet on the Sunday as HM took to the river and the poor duke came down with a dicky bladder but quite a show. We are rather good at a bit of pomp in this country. It really shouldnt make sense but I think at least in the current incarnation of the monarchy its worked quite well for us, and even rebuplicans have a respect for the Queen.
The inspiration for the pageant was Canaletto's painting of a Georgian event almost 300 years ago. You can see that the vessel Gloriana in this years event is a wonderful replica of some of the ones here. Gloriana of course a reference to the first Elizabeth.
Our offices overlook the river at Millbank, so we went in for wonderful view, crowd free and a party atmoshpere.
Saturday 2 Jun, the day before the River Pageant, and it was actually sunny! ...briefly.
Lots of happy Londoners getting into the spirit, hoisting bunting and checking out the boats in the Avenue of Sail between London Bridge and Wapping. These were the ones too big to take part in the flottilla. Tower bridge, opened its drawbridges on the Sunday in a Royal Salute, and the Royal Barge moored near St Katherines dock to review the rest of the river borne craft. You may remember, the wonderful rain sodden choir belting out Land of Hope and Glory. This was that bit of the river.
Pleasant Company, Stylish Interiors and meals with a view
To kick off the Diamond Jubilee weekend and as a bit of a pre-birthday celebration outing for myself on Friday night, a few off us went off to the
1901 Restaurant at the Andaz hotel by Liverpool street station (which used to be the Great Eastern Hotel dating from 1884. What a wonderful setting for a refined dinner with friends. The interiors I am imagining date from, well...1901. At least it does appear to be from something early Nouveau with its huge stained glass domed ceiling, reminding you of the Galleries Lafayette in Paris.
It would be a tad on the pricey side but for one of the wonderful 'Stardeals' from Bookatable. Three courses and 2 glasses of wine for 30 quid. I did quite a bit of research on how to get something fancy and not get stung for too many extras. Last year i had a meal deal for The Criterion, another place with amazing period interiors (as well as Russian Oligarch diners). That one ended up setting us back 60 quid each when you factored in drinks. So word to the wise...look out for the offers including a couple at least one drink, and go and have a couple of pre-dinner beverages somewhere where mere mortals drink beforehand.
My lovely friend Cat, over at Catnipping, trotted of the following day on another deal to the Ivy, a well known celebrity dining spot. Tip number 2 - a lunch deal as opposed to dinner is often another way to mix with the toffs but come out relatively unscathed wallet-wise.
All in all this ended up being very good value for a special meal out. Not everyone was bowled over by their meals, though I was happy with mine, and had a very pleasant evening lording it up for a change
Needless to say I had my camera with me
For lunch for the Jubilee Saturday, I caught up with another friend (could it be the Queen?), for Dim Sum at DimT at the More London Complex
The Views from here are stunning, day or night. Right by Tower Bridge.
The Dim Sum was pretty tasty too, though service slow. I do miss Sydney Yum cha, where the dumplings come past on trolleys for you to pick at till you are full to bursting. The pork buns here though were just as good as Marigolds in Market City, Sydney. My favourite!
The great thing about night photography is how the colours come alive. In the daylight you struggle to reproduce what the naked eye can see. In the dark the intensity of of the light in the images seems to be more vivid than in real life.
Bless me mighty Interweb for it has been 10 weeks or more since my last blog post.
Meanwhile I have been in South Africa (again), Austraia and Singapore, so plenty to catch up on, as well as some 2011 African adventures to write about
Today though, I'm feeling like Mr Fitness after 2 hours cycling from Mile End along to Bow, and up along the Lea River, past Hackney and Walthamstow Marshes nature reserves, and back through Hackney downs and a latte at 'Elbows' in Victoria Park Village.
On Saturday I cycled from Warren Street in the West End to Islington and popped down onto the towpath, cycling all the way home to Falcon Works along the regents canal.
These green corridors are wonderful escapes. Its great that Im a 15 min tube ride from Londons west end but can walk or ride along the canal.
Im not overly fond of Boris (Johnson...the recently re-elected Mayor) but I do like his Bikes (even though it was Red Kens idea to have them in London apparently). Actually on the Mayoral front, being such an amusing baffoon does mean he is one of the few conservatives who dont make my stomach churn, so if were going to have one of his lot in City Hall, may as well be this one. Ken came over just a tad desperate to get back in and the bickering was atrocious.
But I digress... Bikes.... here they are..
Marvelous they are.. The Stations have become much more frequent. You can either sign up to the scheme, or get one ad hoc. Its a pound for 24hrs access. Then first half hour of use is free, after that its not much more than a pound an hour so the cost is negligible. The great thing is you dont really have to plan, you can do it on a whim. Which is mostly when i do.
I did discover rather unfortunately, last week that they dont have stops very far along the
South Bank. I had a wonderful night ride all along the gorgeously lit up South Side of the Thames last Monday night. I got a but carried away with myself and after Tower Bridge (amazingly lit at the moment pre-Olympics), I ran out of bridges to get back over to the other side. I thought I'd drop the bike and train it but alas...no bike parks over there!. Had to cycle through the car exhaust filled Rotherhide bleedin tunnel!.
Well as is traditional, here are some pics.. The first being Home Sweet Home, Falcon Works on Spring Afternoon. Then a random shot of a bike stand (acually in Marleybone), and journey along the Regents Canal and the Lea River, before a Vicky park village cafe
One of London's tucked away gems, best known for its Winter skating rink, it also houses the Courthould Gallery. I love the buildings, there a few such grand pieces of coherent period architecture in the city. This version of the complex dates from 1770, but the site has historical significance from a considerable time before that. It was named after the Duke of Somerset who was the protector of England while King Henry VIIIs son Edward VI was in his minority.
Its cold and miserable February in London, its just snowed ..which actually does make everyting temporarily a bit less gloomy. To combat the winter inner city blues Ive been taking myself out on a little whirlwind of culutural activities.
Last week, I went on a spontaneous trip to the Lion King on the way home from work. Cheap seat in the very back row but those theatres are designed so well you could still see everything. Felt very pleased with myself and was quite moved as all the marvellous puppety animals paraded on stage to Circle of Life. I think thst was actually the highlight, perhaps that should have done it at the end. The rest was good but didnt quite grab me in the same way. Still was v pleased to have gone.
Last weekend I went with my mum to the new Two Temple Place gallery. In the wonderful extravagent town house of the Astors, they had a William Morris exhibiton. This vibrant wall hanging was the highlight.
This was the exterior of the gallery.
Following this we went off to see Joanna Lumley and Robert Lindsay in the Lion in Winter. Really good. I always loved the Katherine Hepburn film and the script is stunningly clever. Plots and Inrigues, it really keeps you on the edge of your seat. Very witty and acerbic. The Play delivered just as well. Small shades of Patsy Stone in Joanna Lumleys interpretation of Eleanor of Aquitane. The English Queen kept locked up in a tower for many years but let out for Christmas for a battle of wits with her husband Henry II and sons the future King John of Magna Carter fame and Richard the Lionheart. Eleanor was the richest woman in the world at that time. She had previously been Queen of France and went to the crusades.
Today I went to Dennis Severs house, a wonderful little place just off Spitalfields market. They have it all set out as it would have been in 18th Century London, as if the occupants have momentarily left the room. Candles burning, fires crackling, and unmade bed, a half drunk cup of tea. If you sit for a while in one of the rooms you here the clip clop of hooves outside and church bells. What a great idea.
Afterwards I took some shots in a perfectly preserved Georgian street close by. What a wonderful address, so close to everything yet tucked away in its own little world..
I bought myself a new camera for Christmas, and feeling slighlty cheese and chocolate heavy following the festive binge, I thought I would take myself for a walk and try out the new camera at the same time.
As ive said before, there is a lot of rubbish housing and ugliness in the area to go past, but there are also redeeming features tucked away. St Dunstans church Stepney and its avenue of trees and graveyard. Inside there are Elizibethan monuments. Walking through the back streets of Georgian bomb survivors over canals to Limehouse there are historic wharf buildings and a Hawksmoor church, and finaly West India Quay and Carary Wharf. Some say Souless, my flatmate wouldnt move there despite getting a more swanky flat for less money, I think she is fonder of the gritty innner london multicultural vibrancy than I am. I dont know what its like to spend all your time there, but I quite like Canary Wharfs modernity and proximity to the water.
Back on the DLR, East London line and tube to Stepney with neon lit, Halal chicken shops, Asian veg markets and barbers. Chicken shops and barbers, how they all survive together, goodness only knows . Ive to ban myself from bargain priced Donners and Biyrianis since moving here.
what a wonderful part of London, eerily quiet, tucked away and cut off from the world yet a 20 minute walk from my door. An old docks area, with wonderful brick warehouses, coverted into designer flats in the 80's that somehow the Germans managed to miss in the war, piling their bombs down further north in Stepney, Whitechapel, Mile End and Bethnal Green - it does seem odd that this lot is still standing largely untouched. You can just picture it thronging with 19th century coming and goings.
Going a bit further back in time, here was the site of execution dock, where pirates were hanged, and left there until 3 tides washed over them....arrrrrrrrrrrrr. Captain Kidd was amongst them, now he has a jolly nice pub to commemorate him, where one can have a nice lunch overlooking the river.
Hidden steps lead down to bits of beach with old bricks sucked like lollies by the tides in a variety of hues and vibrant green algae climbs the timber joists supporting the buildings above.
To complement my previous post, here is a small selection of London's modern architecture - principally Lloyds, designed by the chap that did the Pompidou centre - hence the inside out look, and the Gherkin, which I cant quite make my mind up on. Its an odd shaped beastie but at the same time I do think all those curved windows are quite a feat. The great court at the British museum is always stunning. I think we can rival the louvre's pyramid with that. And the millenium bridge, i'm a fan of too, esp being pedestrian only.
So this post might reveal a little about how slack I am at blogging, as it rather obviously dates the photos to a very well known day. The Royal Wedding. Whatever your Monarchist or Republican tendencies it was inescapable and well We do do it well, don't we? put on a show, roll out the royals (sometimes in minivans if you've slipped down the rankings with all the new additions). We watched on the telly, then popped on the tube and soaked up the aftermath atmosphere with the Westminster wedding chimes still ringing.
Ah...Period England, can you beat it. Oh miss Honeyhives I do declare...
Selections from Apsley House, Blenheim Palace, Kensal Green Cemetary (tucked away gem of Victorian funerary architecture), 2 Hampton Courts - the famous one and the other one in the Country, a splash of Leadenhall Market (or the place to buy a wand in Harry Potter), and a couple of other spots.
I took these a few weeks ago on my usual walk from work to the tube, inspired by Spring in the air and the fact that I see this stuff every day of the week twice a day.. The Houses of Parliament, mostly a Victorian creation, although Westminster Hall is the largest Mediaeval Hammerbeamed Hall in England and was the scene of Anne Boyleyns trial. The back of Westminster Abbey shows its Gothic splendour and I rather like the statue of George V looking across the road towards Parliament. Westminster Tube, like the rest of the Jubliee line extension designed by Michael Hopkins and partners and v impressive.
Last sunday i took myself for a wander on a rather wet Sunday afternoon to Spitalfieds and through Brick lane. The catalyst for this meander was the announcement of a new Italian run cafe in Time out just off Petticoat lane market. Ive been pining for decent coffee and the sort of cafe culture establishment you can just hang out in for half an afternoon with a friend or a book. I find this sadly lacking in London - we do pubs well it has to be said, but not cafes. I think once you have lived in a cafe-centric place its hard to get out of your system. Anyway..said cafe was smallish and full but its takeaway latte was lovely and I took it on with me through the aforementioned environs taking some snaps. Brick lane on a Sunday has relatively ordinary markets but top notch multicultural snackage! There are scores of yummy looking stalls serving all manor of foods not to mention the bagel shop at the top of the road if you can actually get in. At night time the Bengali Restaurant touts come out and try to entice passers by into their neon lit curry houses like Kings cross pimps advertising a strip club. Each restaurant claiming to have won an award. Apparently those in the know wouldnt be seen eating dead here (hmm something wrong with that analogy!) but Sharon and I had a lovely if somewhat slow meal at Bengal Cuisine the other week. Regardless, its a very interesting neck of the woods. There was even an exhibition on the early years of Queen in a converted brewery - complete with white lycra catsuit. Freddy R.I.P
Which side of the street to do you choose to look at...
This is my latest outlook on life, along the lines of is the glass half full or empty. In my quest to not get sucked into the English doom and gloom machine, and living in what can be a gloomy wintery East end with horrific 60's council flats, I choose to focus on the historic Georgian terraces that many people pass by. Often facing an estate, like many interesting London buildings you could easily pass them by if you didnt take time to stop and look. Much of Stepney was unfortunately bombed quite badly, such as the street my Dad grew up on, but many fine buildings remain.
On my way to the tube from home and just round the corner I pass Stepney Green, the street after which the tube was named and the most desirable one in the area, fronted by a cobbled lane and gardens Also a Peabody Trust late Victorian housing estate building. The Peabody trust was set up in the area and there are many housing estates in London from this period that have loads of character and are lovely places to live if you are lucky enough to get on the list and get mega cheap period living. Sadly in later decades architects almost seemed to out do each other for the sheer ugliness of their mass housing projects.
On the Mile End road itself you have another couple of fantastic buildings that im sure most people walk past without giving a thought. Peering through the foliage clad gates of one to its tumble down steps, reminds one of the house in Great Expectations. Actually if you squint at some of the streets you could picture Dickensian London quite easily. Also on the Mile End / Whitechapel road you have Trinity Square - Alms houses from the late 1600's. The proposed demolition of which in the 1800's caused the start of the listed building program in England. Just next door is a memorial to William Booth, this was where the Salvation army started.
In the other direction towards Limehouse, across the park, you have Arbour Square, which could easilly have been used in period dramas, still retaining gas lamp style street lighting and build round a beautiful square. Again on one side the orginal buildings didnt make it, but in this case at least the Estate is 30's deco rather than 60's mass ugliness. Across the other side of Commercial road is yet another beautiful Georgian square.
So what do you choose to focus on when you wander around your area - the good, the bad or the ugly? Sometimes even the Ugly has a certain charm. Ive chucked in a crumbly down East end pub on the end of this slideshow. I think it has a certain character even if theres a good chance it had a Kray twin or two in it at some point!.
So Christmas is over and its back to work tomorrow, albeit just for 3 days and it should be pretty quiet. Heres a shot of the inside of my lovely offices with a bit of a sunset happening outside.
The Christmas season never seemed quite right in the sunshine for me, I took a wander along the Thames and took some night time shots the other week with everything feeling very festive
I did take a small dent in my determination not to be sucked into the English doom and gloom machine when the cold and snow was at its worst, and when i took a cheapy flight to Faro in Portugal and managed to spend the whole time in a hotel room with a nasty stomach bug and flu all at once, but a Christmas weekend with Sharon in front of the telly with lots of food has set me back on track again!
My first morning heading up to Central London to report for work (one day late due to Anti government protesters!) was atmoshpericaly foggy - like a sherlock holmes novel.I could barely see the other side of the river as I walked across Vauxhall bridge.
My building is where that big tower is peeking out tof the mist in the pic to the right. Its Shared with the Conservatives on level 3 (I enjoy spotting toffee nosed Tory types as they get in the lift and guessing which floor they will disembark..somtimes i feel like waving a placard at em!)
Ive been loving the location, once i emerge like a canned sardine from my train..if i can position myself tactically close enough to the exit so i can get to it before the train leaves... then i have the River to cross, views of London that just get better as i get into my office. Its easy to be distracted when you can see the Union Jack flying off the top of the Houses of Parliament as your being trained!.
Lunchtimes have seen forays into the Tate gallery a few doors down, a lovely leafy square close by for sandwiches.albeit in the cold. And a lovely church square surrounded by Georgian terraces. (Remember you can click on any of the pics for close ups)
This morning i emerged from the house to be greeted by virgin snow on the driveway which caused a flurry of excitement! I saw snowflakes falling throughout most of the day from my offices and trudged through some mini drifts of it to get home. Chilly but fun!
It certainly feels like the right place for a Christmas Market by the riverside complete with chestnuts! Now Nat and I just have to find our dream home...
