Linden House

The Sons Of The Thames is a rowing club stationed by the River in Chiswick. Linden House is their very grand building, which looks as if it will be full of stuffed shirts. Which makes it all the more pleasant to find that the Sons of the Thames have daughters as members (and rowers) too.

The Thames at Richmond

The upper reaches of the Thames have a different character from the central section. Still a mighty river, there is a lot more peace around here. Technically, London is on the seaside as the coast is defined by those parts that have a tidal flow. As London has around 5m, and it is still present here, it certainly qualifies for being on the coast.

Happy Anniversay from Her Maj.

We interrupt this broadcast to bring you a message of congratulations to Mrs Ham's parents who have just celebrated their Diamond Wedding Anniversary, and were very surprised and pleased to receive a personal message from the Queen of England. So, although they will never likely read this (Internet? what's that?) congratulations and very best wishes to Derek & Eileen.

You may also like to know that you can request a card for 100 & 105th birthdays and 60th Anniversaries from the Queen's Office. The request is acknowledged in a very sensitive manner - "please advise us of any changes, such as change of address...."

Twickers

Twickenham in the west of London is the heart of Rugby, which in turn sums up all that's best baout British sport. I would recommend anyone to got to a match in Twickenham, even if you know nothing about rugby, just to soak up the atmosphere.

October Theme Day - Graffiti

Choosing a piece of graffiti for the theme day was very difficult, as London's wall are host so so much, often bordering on the verges of fine art. I decided to show an image from the Cans Festival - a riot of spray paint organised during 2008 by Banksy in Leak Street just behind Waterloo Station.

To see how this photogenic subject has been dealt with around the world, click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Fruity Clothing

I applaud the re-use of old shop signage.

The Calder Bookshop

Just opposite the Young Vic is the Calder Bookshop, one of the independent bookshops that London supports. As ever, the independent bookshop has to provide more to survive, and the Calder has poetry readings, books signings and its own theatre. As I have just bought myself an eBook reader, I think the future of bookshops will be interesting; I'd like to think that rediscovering the joy of reading - especially classics which are free - may well start a resurgence in book buying. Who knows.

What IS your darkest desire?

Passing by the Young Vic (up the road from the Old Vic) I saw this poster for Faust, music by Nick Cave. What could be bad? sounds like real fun, I'm going to try to get to see it.

The Iron Man

You might not need to be told this is an Anthony Gormley scupture, although it is substantially different from a lot of his work. From a distance it looks like a man, close up it looks like a city. The man's a genius. It's in Shoe Lane, in the city.


See where on the London Daily Photo Map
For the first 200 Map places, click here.

A bit of Royal London

Homoeopathy has always aroused strong feelings, for and against. In England there has been the extra dimension of royal approval - the old Queen Mum was a Homoeopath, and all her family since, hence the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital in Queens Square. However, given all the fuss around homoeopathy they have just announced they are changing their name to the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine. I'll leave you to make up your own minds on the subject, chances are whichever side of the fence you are on, your mind is already made up.

Close to Clerkenwell

Clerkenwell Close has a long history, the more recent part in the 19th Century included being a department store. Doesn't the idea of carving "Stationery Department" in stone say something about the expectations of the people who built this? It's trendy workshops now.

How many pennies in 50p?

Very quietly, a revolution has taken place in the City. It used to be the case that the City Public Lavatories were all free, clean and free, and I think that was something to be proud of. Not so any more. They have introduced charges to the busiest ones (=the ones they can get away with stiffing the tourists, around St Pauls and the Tower of London) and it is not clear if they will introduce them to the rest, such as this one in Smithfield. So now, it costs 50p to spend a penny. The expression comes from the old Public Lavatories that used to be coin operated, they cost 1d - old penny - or less than 0.5p now.

Meeting Place

Back in the seventies, BT went around ripping out loads of telephone boxes. However, in Smithfield Meat Market in the heart of the City I assume that the noise and bustle of the market meant that the boxes were still needed. Whatever the reason, there are rather more in here than you might expect.

Charterhouse

Charterhouse is an amazingly well hidden corner of London that few venture into, especially considering how stuffed it is with history. Charterhouse (from the Chartreuse monks) history stretches back to the 14th century, and this site saw the birth of one of England's oldest Public Schools (those are the private ones) and the deaths of thousands - it was the largest plague pit in London. There are other Tudor houses in London, but I'd venture few in such a secluded spot.

See where on the London Daily Photo Map
For the first 200 Map places, click here.

Victorian Values

The Grade II Listed Art Nouveau Fox & Anchor in Charterhouse Street in the City could be considered the archetypal Victorian pub. Recently restored to a state where it might get George Orwell's approbation (in The Moon Under Water), I like that you can stay there, too, making it seem more like a real Inn.

Care Free Day

One of the interesting developments of recent years is the revival of local fêtes and festivals in London districts, often accompanied and marked by a "Car-Free Day" when people can roam happily and safely on streets otherwise occupied by traffic. This photo of an elegant Triumph Mayflower was taken at my local festival.

It's funny how wedded people are to the car as personal transport, and yet how much they enjoy the occasional day they leave them behind. Now I'd agree that there are times when you have to use the car, but so often it is quicker, easier and better for all if you hop on a bike, or walk, or take public transport.

Takeoff

I was outside London today, fulfilling a lifetime ambition to fly in a glider. Considering that I've been thinking about this for over 40 years, I'm very happy to report it lived up to expectations.

Courtesy of a birthday present from Mrs Ham, I spent the day at the club flying. From the height of 2,500 feet I could see London, that's my excuse for posting this. I will be back, but probably not until I have the time to devote to it.

(For those interested, this is the moment of takeoff. While it looks calm, the winch is pulling the plane with a 0-60 acceleration of about 2 seconds, and it is just about to head up into the skies at a 45 degree angle)

The Old Sessions House

The Old Sessions House in Clerkenwell Green is a magnificent building. Now a conference centre. from when it was built in 1780 until 1920 it was the busiest court in the country - The Middlesex Sessions.

London's Elephants - No 37 38 in a series

Today's pachyderm present comes courtesy of Andreas, a gonna-be-cabbie, LDP visitor, contributor and all round good guy. This pub is in Highgate, and I wondered at first when I saw the name if they were confused with their animals. But then, I read a review and decided that they were just being honest.

Cheers, Andreas!!

The elephants series is here.

The Dogs of Alcibiades

This is one of a pair of dogs donated to Victoria Park 1912 by Lady Aignarth. Local children were told by their parents that they commemorated a dog who drowned saving a little girl from drowning in the boating lake. You can read more reminiscences on Barryoneoff's site.