More Balls Than Boris

The architect of this building by Old Street must have looked at City Hall and said to themselves, "Testicle? you have to be kidding. I'll give you a Glass Gonad"

Urban Decay

I rather like the way the crumbling red bricks reveal their bright new interior. For a short while back in the 19th century, this whole structure would have been this colour. That, and the white glazed tiles speak of an altogether smarter and slicker area than Warner Street as it dives below Roseberry Avenue is today. Location on the London Daily Photo Map

Walk the Walk

Clerkenwell is one of the more overlooked areas of London, all the more so because in its streets you get a sense for what life in London might have been like one, two and even three hundred years ago. No much here for the tourist, but I would recommend a detour to walk about, it's not large. This is St James's Walk, I've put in on London Daily Photo Map. If you can't make it here, poke around with Google street view.

Sitting as Sport

The Clerkenwell 3-Day Week is clearly intended to showcase the design excellence found in a small, fairly undiscovered quarter of London, ordinarily I wouldn't feature the product being marketed. But, you have to admire a chair design company who market their product by setting up a badminton competition - but sat on their chairs.

The Sound of a Flower

This strange object is a sound flower, "a series of new multimedia sound sculptures across Clerkenwell .... inspired by the architecture located on St Johns Square". All part of Clerkenwell Design Week, 25th - 27th May. Hang on now, 25 - 27? That's a cut price week. A little bit more tomorrow.

Ritual

 

Does eMail form part of your daily ritual? Ritual is the name of this piece by Antanas Brazdys. It has stood here outside Woodgate House in the city since 1969. That was before eMail was about, but I couldn't resist the juxtaposition

Fast Food London Style

It used to be a universal truth in London that you needed to avoid the "Tourist Traps" to eat well; not so any more. Covent Garden at the weekend is now a Mecca for good food and good eating, with choices for every palate.

Smart Street Art

This street painting by Grant Dejonge won a street art competition sponsored by Street Smart. This is a charity with a brilliantly simple idea - participating restaurants add an optional pound to the bill which goes to the homeless. You can't see the detail too well in this shot, here is a better view. You can find this wall in Mercer Street, Covent Garden

London's Elephants - No 37 in a Series

I don't think I will have the time to hunt them all down in the Elephant Parade, but you can't begrudge me the occasional one.

The elephant series is here.

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

So here's a story. Riding to work in the morning there's a section of road with a pervasive smell of bad coffee - you know, the smell from a percolator left to stew for an hour or so. I really couldn't work out what cafe the smell came from, and I couldn't believe anyone would voluntarily walk in to a place like that. Then, the other night I rode down Nestle's Avenue and found this, the Nestle's instant coffee factory glorious Art Deco building. I say no more.

For the curious I've added it to London Daily Photo Map

Tango Fever

Free Tango lessons and dances outside in Spitalfields, each month through October. Summer is on its way.

London Motor Museum

I didn't know there was a London Motor Museum, let alone in Hayes, the god-forsaken end of the world I travel through to work. Turns out that there is, and it is all about custom cars and Americana. Can't tell you if it is worth the £10 entrance fee, but it could be.

Modern Mosaics

~If you have never taken any notice of the mosaics on the floor of the National Gallery as you go in, you have a treat in store. Even if you have seen them, have you taken time to really look at them? I know I hadn't. They were crafted by Boris Anrep and each one has a wealth of detail and relevance. This shows Lady Diana Cooper as Britannia, clutching a "Who's Who" crowning Mr Punch with a laurel wreath.

Falun Dafa Day

Over the weekend I saw these Falun Gong practitioners by Trafalgar Square, drawing attention to their cause and the oppression of their movement by the Chinese Government. When I looked into their history, I was surprised to learn that the movement only began in 1992 . Does that make it better or worse?

Blackout ?

One of the more eclectic London shops is BlackoutII - "Affordable, High-End Vintage Fashion" in Covent Garden. You can rent, too. I loved the evocative colour of this dress.

Perhaps they lost a bet.

So I'm quite pleased that kids still want to make a statement, but I am very upset the third one didn't have green hair.

London not Russia

Anyone driving into London from Heathrow and the west will catch a tantalising glimpse of the powder blue onion dome. Of course, if you are on a bike then you can stop and take a photo. This Russian Orthodox community, in London for hundreds of years, built this quite recently.

A Bit of Our Musical Past

One of the most significant organisations I pass on my commute is at the more dreary end of Hayes, famous worldwide for being the home of EMI. Most of it is knocked down or occupied by other organisations these days, like this building dating from its heyday in the 30's. (And it's just around the corner from yesterday's shot)

Faded Glory

My route home takes me along the Grand Union Canal, if I feel so inclined. On any canal, in a few feet you step away from city life and discover a different world and a different pace. Seeing this you can't help but wonder what this boat was built for and what its history is. For the hell of it I've resurrected the London Daily Photo Map for this, so you know where it is.

Will you take pickle with that?

Regular visitor Carolyn commented yesterday "what IS that monstrosity of a bullet building?" Of course, it is the Gherkin, or theSwiss Re building to give it its proper name. It is in St Mary Axe, and it replaces the Baltic Exchange that was destroyed by an IRA bomb. It's one of my favourite buildings and has appeared many times before, I love the way it changes character with how and where you see it. You can see what I was trying to do here with the reflection and the handles, not sure it works.

London's Elephants - No 36 in a Series

With all the temporary Elephant Excess in London at the moment, here is another long term resident. The Worshipful Company of Cutlers has been around since the thirteenth century, so they aren't exactly fly-by-nights. This plaque is in Cutler Street next to Devonshire Square, marking the historical function of the street.

The elephant series is here.

Devonshire Square

Devonshire Square used to be a fascinating place: traces of the past from Georgian London, traces of the war with spaces where buildnings were, traces of history and a way of life with Cutler Street jewellery market. Now, I learn, it is a retail destination and there is little else to remind you of what was there.

Going Up

The Heron Tower is on its way up, and is the tallest building in the City of London but it won't hold on to its title for long.

Palm Saturday

Looking around from St John Cass in Aldgate, you are presented with these incongruous palms. Why? Remember, what you are looking at is a traffic island, not a treasure island. Just another of London's idiosyncrasies.

Could Do Better

A first glance this is a pleasant enough London doorway, Georgian, they've even had a shot at brightening it up with flowers. But, this is the doorway of the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies. You would have thought they could do better.

London's Elephants - No 35 - 300 in the series

Did I ever think that I would suffer from there being too many elephants in London? I really dont know what to do about them, I will have to give it some consideration. In the meantime, here is one from Marble ARch, and Diamond Geezer's overview is here.

A Sign of Learning

I am frequently amazed by the umber of schools founded in the 18th century that still have carved boys and girls above the entrance. And, there are that many I suspect they date back to the foundation. For me it harks back to a time before common literacy, when a shop or institution would place a figure outside their door. These boys and girls have been been educated in the City of London since 1710

Go Fly a Kite

Monday was a Bank Holiday in the UK, Mrs Ham & I went for a walk. Not far out of London, in the Chilterns, you can see where we went on the Red Kite Walk, I thought I'd share this photo with you.

Stuff This

Just why is it that a cherub would be filling its face in this manner? I don't know. The workmanship involved, however, is truly astonishing. The carving is from 1908, on the refurbishment of an institution that dates back several hundred years - more tomorrow.

Tiptoe through the Tulips

Right now, the City of London is abloom with tulips and other flowers, which is quite ironic really. You may not have realised, but the Tulip mania in Amsterdam in the early 17th Century is probably the first ever "bubble" boom and bust. For a while, a single tulip bulb could change hands for more than ten times a skilled craftsman's annual wage.