How many have you got?

The A to Z Streetmap has earned its place on just about every Londoner's bookshelf. Even in these sat-nav centered days, it is still indispensible, and it is hard to imagine any time without it. But, if it wasn't for Phyllis Pearsall, a portrait painter who got lost walking to a party, it would not have existed. Phyllis had the idea of creating a street by street map and then walked 3,000 miles to create it. Read her story here.

This post was inspired in part by seeing how many old A-Z I had lying around, and part by an A-Z amble through London's more obscure museums A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P QR S T U V

Had a good meal?

Are you like me - never entirely comfortable with the idea of lashing out large sums of money on a single meal that might represent the entire weekly budget for a family? There's no getting away from that, but The Gun have subscribed to Streetsmart, an organisation that collects an optional £1 from each diner. That's kinda cool.

What a lot of photos

It was four years ago today that I stuck my rather old digital compact out my front door and took the first photo. Since then, there has been a new photo shown here every day. That's a lot of photos.

A Camden Cat

Cool cats go to Camden Market?

Most Familiar, Least Known Place

This is my nomination for the most familiar but least known place in London. It's the Polish War Memorial, on a roundabout above the A40, commemorating all those Polish Airmen who fought in the RAF and lost their lives in WW2. Best known, becasue it appears on traffic reports each morning "There's a ten mile jam back to the Polish War Memorial". Least seen because you can't see it from the road and nobody comes here that doesn't have to.

The Last of the Old School

London, and Soho in particular, used to be full of bespoke tailors, Mr Eddie & Chris Kerr in Berwick Street are among the last. Most of the tailors had disappeared by the end of the eighties, and I can't even remeber the name of the last one I used. I can remember that the old guy that owned the place had his father (in his 90's) cutting, who was trained in Saville Row. That name is going to bug me, now. (Next morning: Got it! "Burnards" - anyone else remember them?)

Prayers to the God of Graffiti

Again, one of those shots that just offered itself up to me.

Style

It could have been a fashion shoot, but was only me passing with a camera.

St Bartholomew the Great

This is detail from above the door to St Bartholomew the Great, a place of worship since 1143, with a fascinating history that survives the Great Fire and the Blitz.

From Heaven to Hell

Just some graffiti that caught my eye.

Urban Golf

I didn't know what to expect when I ventured into Urban Golf in Smithfield. Was it a "Nineteenth Hole" (there is one, rather welcoming, too) or an old warehouse where you could pitch up and crack balls against a wall? All turned out to be a bit more high tech than all that. Not being a golf player, I can't say what it's like, but the idea of plaing an eighteen hole course in the centre of London has a certain appeal.

The End of the Line

This is Uxbridge station, end of the line for Metro-land

Child of the first war, forgotten by the second, we called you Metro-land.
We laid our schemes, lured by the lush brochure,
Down byways beckoned, to build at last the cottage of our dreams,
A city clerk turned countryman again, and linked to the Metropolis by train.
Metro-land, John Betjeman (BBC, 1973)

If you want to find out about Metro-Land, here and here is background and here is foreground (how it is today). And before anyone complains that Betjeman ended in Amersham, not Uxbridge, I was nowhere near Amersham today.

Glory is for God Alone

As you walk through the city, you often see strange heraldic symbols. This one in St Helen's Place is from the Leathersellers, a Livery Company dating back to 1444.

Ship Ahoy!!

This granite ship steams out of Holland House, Bury Street, just behind St Mary Axe. Built in 1916 for a Dutch company, it was one of the first buildings designed with flexible partitioning. I just love the bow wave in the carving. A general view is here.

The Nosh Bar (Part II)

As I said the other day I was going to, I visited the Nosh Bar in Great Windmill Street, and I am happy to report back.

Cutting to the chase, this is a good sandwich, at a fair price. If I say it is not a great sandwich, that's because it uses commercially pickled beef (you know, the sort that ends up with a texture with micro-holes) and, as a result, could be described as on the too-lean side. That said, it could not have been more tender, and you get a measured 200g+ on your £5 sandwich. On the very good side, they do have new green pickled cucumbers, which get my vote. In short, recommended.

Meow

This small but original monument can be found in Queens Square. The inscription reads

"Donated by the local community
in affectionate memory of
Patricia Penn (Penny)
1914 - 192292
Champion of local causes -
and cat lover.

Sort of thing that makes youthink she'd have been an interesting person to know, this is, after all, the heart of the Bloomsbury Set.

Living in a Bubble

London played host last weekend to the Peugeot BB1, a concept car born from the idea that toting yourself around in a box made of a ton of metal belching out smoke might not be the smartest way to get about a city. I have to say, for a car this is seriously funky. Personally, I love the way that the Youtube vid uses bikes (and bike polo) to give the car more street cred.

Look to the Sky!!!

The fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square plays host to a fibreglass Sir Keith Park for the next six months. An unsung hero sidelined by his unwillingness or inability to play politics, it was he more than any other individual who saved Great Britain in WWII. You can read about him here or here.

Christmas Lights

the Christmas lights on Oxford and Regent Streets this year are among the best I can remember despite (or maybe because of) the heavy commercialisation. Those sparkly carpets and the floaty stars provide a magical aspect. Go on, remember what it was like to be young and go and see them.

Director & Actor - Bunny and the Bull

Last Friday I was fortunate to be invited to a blogger's screening of Bunny and the Bull, with an introductory (short) talk by the Director and and actor. Most people were enthusiastic about the "Mighty Boosh" connection, but as I had only heard the original radio show, I didn't know what to expect. What was delivered was a well executed exercise in original writing, very reminiscent in its way of old style Ealing comedy. You might say it isn't subtle, but actually the direction and the photography is rather good and, for me, lifted it into a "must see" category. See a trailer here, or the website here. But there's something rather good about going to a London screening, even if you do have to sit in lime leather chairs ...

London's Elephants - No 32 in a series

If you do go to the Victoria Miro gallery, you also have the opportunity to see NS Harsha's work, including this one, "In Musth". It has always amused me that a must (or musth) is the word for an elephant on heat. When I say "always", I mean each time I hear someone say "It's a must".

The Walthamstow Tapestry

Grayson Perry won the Turner Prize (in 2003), which did little to endear his work to me. But then I felt I had to see anything called the Walthamstow Tapestry and I was surprisingly interested. I left still uncertain of his work's long term value, but fascinated with what I saw, I recommend it. Originally, the exhibition was scheduled to finish on Saturday, but it has been extended by another week. (I'll try to add some detail photos later today)

The Cenotaph

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh month the guns fell silent. The Cenotaph commemorates the event and those who died. Each year, the closest Sunday to November 11 is Rememberance Sunday.

So, wherever you are at 11 O'Clock, however you feel about war, take a moment and remember that people just like you paid with their lives for you to live your life.

X Marks the Spot

You may have heard about the re-designed Oxford Circus junction, where traffic is stopped from both directions and lets pedestrians cross diagonaly, here it is in operation. Makes sense to me.

A Load of Bollards

Some time ago, when I took this photo in Kensington, I thought I might find out what Hans Town was all about. I think it's probably more fascinating that there is a blog dedicated to London Bollards....

Remember the 5th of November

On the 5th November, Fireworks Day, I'd like to feature somewhere you probably haven't heard about or visited (although some people have), it is Gunpowder Park. Reclaimed from Royal Gunpowder Mills when it was used for the development and research of explosives, it sits just inside the M25 to the north of London. This slab of concrete basically says "Bang" in lots of different ways.

Ooooo you are a nice pair of shoes

One of the features of London City Airport - the world's best airport? - apart from checking 30 minutes before the flight, apart from free Internet, apart from a railway station 100 meters from checkin, apart from flights going on time and luggage not getting lost - is a complimentary shoeshine.

Docklands Light Railway

I don't often travel by public transport, but the Docklands Light Railway is [probably my favourite line. In fact, traveling the length and breath of it should be on everyone's recommendation for London - you get to see familiar and unfamiliar sights from a new perspective. This shot is inside London City Airport station.

What goes around, comes around

Look, I know it's not the world's best photo, but a grafitti removal van in the same frame as a grafitti artist? I couldn't resist. It's a circle of life.