When There's Something Strange........

...........in your neighbourhood.

As any rational person knows, the whole horoscope thing is complete nonsense (although other views on this subject are available!) but just as long as it is not taken too seriously it can't do any harm.........can it?

The entrance to 107 Cheapside is surrounded by the signs of the zodiac. Carved by John Skeaping in around 1955. I have no idea why they are there. I'd like to think that there is some mystery to them but I suspect that they are purely decorative. Anyway, nonsense or not, I quite like them and they are a slightly surprising thing to find on an office building in the City.

As well as recording this slightly quirky architectural detail, I took this photograph to illustrate a moan about one of the blights on the 21st Century cityscape. I mean, of course the warning sign. I accept that in this less than enlightened age we all need to be warned that it is advisable to look right (or left) before crossing the road, that it is not a good thing to drop your litter on the pavement, that it is only reasonable to clean up after your dog, that poisonous substances are not good for your health and that there is the "danger of death" should you chose to poke around in an electrical sub station. However, these signs are deeply unattractive, largely unread and, I suspect, are really there simply to prevent the "victims" from sueing the the "authorities". A sort of "I told you so" clause.

The ban on smoking in public and commercial premises has led to the unhappy sight of clusters of smokers gathering in the street to get their nicotine fix. This issue is dealt with in various ways. Some chose to corral their smokers in draughty and secluded shelters, like latter day lepers. Others hang those ugly, and usually overflowing, butt boxes outside their premises in the hope that their decorative and expensive planters won't be used as giant ash trays and then there are those that just put up no smoking signs in the hope that their smokers will move away and gather in front of someone else's property!

The management of 107 Cheapside have apparently chosen the latter method. I'm sure that it will help to keep the front of the building (and the planters) free of dog ends, but the signs are obtrusive and ugly.................and just as offensive as a carpet of ash and soggy filter tips.

It wasn't until I got home that I noticed what appear to be demonic eyes, like burning coals, deep within 107 Cheapside, glaring across the road at the church of St Mary-le-Bow. So, perhaps the original creators of this building did have a serious reason for the zodiac carvings. Maybe, just maybe, they knew that something malevolent lurked in the bowels of the building and were trying to warn us in a backhanded sort of way to look to the future. Of course, it could simply be a trick of the light and  slightly over active imagination but where's the fun in that?

Anyway, just in case there is somethin' weird an' it don't look good, it may well be worth giving some thought to who you gonna call!

The Lavender Hill Mob

The Ealing Comedies are amongst the best loved products of the British film industry. One of these is currently showing here in London, at the Odeon, Panton St. giving us the rare opportunity to see it on a (relatively) big screen.  After handing over an eye watering £11.45, I settled down to wait. Screen 2 at Panton St is typical of  any multi screen cinema and as such is comfortable enough but adds nothing to the cinema going experience.

As the lights dimmed we slipped into the seemingly endless series of trailers of “now showing” and “coming soon” films. These were a serious assault on the senses. Designed, as they were, to show off the power of digital technology. The sound, in particular, left me with the sense that there was blood trickling from my ears. I have no idea what any of those films were, except that one included rapping penguins and another featured Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher!

Eventually this madness stopped and the old familiar certification appeared on screen, assuring us that The Lavender Hill Mob was highly unlikely to offend anyone……….bliss!

Released in 1951, written by T.E.B. Clarke and directed by Charles Crichton, it is a beautifully crafted heist movie. Henry Holland (Alec Guinness) is a clerk in the Bullion Office  at “The Bank” who for twenty years has been responsible for the transportation of gold. His devotion to his job and his utter reliability make him appear to be the ideal man  for this position, but he has a secret. He has developed the perfect plan to steal a consignment and escape from the tedium of his life. The only fly in the ointment is how to dispose of the gold. Selling it on the post war British black market is far too risky but getting it out of the country seems like an impossible task.

Enter Alfred Pendlebury (the wonderful Stanley Holloway), the new lodger at the boarding house in Lavender Hill where Henry Holland lives. A frustrated artist, Pendlebury owns a small foundry producing cheap souvenirs for the British and European holiday trade. Put two and two together and you have the basis for a very entertaining 80 minutes.

Everything works in this film. The set pieces, the robbery, the wild run down the spiral staircase of the Eiffel Tower and the car chase are wonderfully handled. It is both funny and tense and all of the characters are likeable, how often can you say that!

The cast is brilliant, the two principles are well supported by Alfie Bass and Sidney James as professional thieves recruited to assist in the caper. There are many other well known names in the cast, such as John Gregson, Sidney Taffler and Michael Trubshawe and even more of those shamefully anonymous character actors from the period such as Marjorie Fielding, Clive Morton and Meredith Edwards. Blue Peter’s Valerie Singleton apparently has an  uncredited part although I think that I must have blinked while she was on screen, because I didn’t see her. There is even an early and quite brief appearance by Audrey Hepburn. But there is one star that hasn’t been mentioned yet.

London. This film is as old as I am and provides some wonderful footage of the Capital in the post war years. Surprisingly, Lavender Hill makes little or no contribution but there are some nice shots of Notting Hill/Dale. However, the real interest is in the City. The Bank, The Royal  Exchange  and most importantly the area around St Paul’s are very well portrayed. The amount of open space around the Cathedral, the result of wartime bomb damage, may well astonish some younger viewers.

So, this is not a slick, high tech, modern heist caper. There are plenty of those around and many of them are very entertaining, but this is something special. Seemingly old fashioned now, it was cutting edge in its day.

Go and see it.

From left to right - the former Bramley Arms, the site of the Old MacDonald police car crash - Lavender, you have to use you imagination for the rest of the title - St Paul's, not as depicted in the film!

Is the Westway Sexy?

In 1964 a monster came to London. It clawed and chewed its way  from White City to Paddington leaving a broad ribbon of grey behind it like an elongated concrete worm cast. The Westway  was making its presence known. The background story to the Westway is really quite simple. Even in those far off days, the problem of increasing traffic was an issue. The A40 was, and indeed still is, one of the major roads into London from the West, carrying traffic from the Thames Valley and beyond.  It thundered Eastwards, squeezing past White City Stadium,  before finally emptying into Wood Lane and that is where the problems really began.

 

 It should be pointed out that the A40 wasn’t the road that it is today. There were none of the underpasses and flyovers that we are now familiar with. All of the major junctions were roundabouts and congestion was already a problem, but all of this paled into insignificance compared to that final junction at Wood Lane.

This was a T junction leading South towards Shepherd’s Bush and North, ultimately, towards the Great North Rd. The real problem was the railway. Running parallel and to the East  of Wood Lane are both mainline and underground tracks, effectively blocking any easy way through to Central London and the East.

None of the existing routes from there were suitable to carry the ever increasing weight of  traffic so it seemed that the only way was up!

To be honest the plans were much more ambitious than this. London was to become a network of ring roads with links to the motorways and trunk roads radiating from it. Ultimately, very little of this was actually built but the Westway and its companion the West Cross Route did eventually make it off of the drawing board and into reality.

Construction began in 1964, working its way Eastwards until it linked up with the, independently planned,  Marylebone Flyover which was opened in 1967. The 2.5 mile (4 km) Westway itself was formally opened by Michael Heseltine in July 1970.

Like most locals, I suppose, I have mixed feelings about the Westway. Despite the protests of  the residents,  a great swathe of  North Kensington, Notting Dale and Paddington was cleared, homes and businesses were lost and communities were destroyed. I regret what was lost, despite the fact that  much of it was considered to be slum housing. On the other hand, many residents found themselves living in the new tower blocks that sprung up adjacent to the new road, which at that time were a vast improvement on their former living conditions. The irony is that the lost housing would now be considered highly desirable though, in all probability, way beyond the means of its former inhabitants.

To a large extent, the Westway has done what it was supposed to do, but it’s doubtful that anyone back then could have conceived just how many vehicles would be on the road by this point in the 21^st century. We still suffer from traffic congestion and it’s likely we always will. I am a driver and, almost by definition, that makes me a hypocrite. I complain about traffic  congestion, whilst simultaneously being part of the cause of that congestion………I am not alone! The simple fact is that there are just too many cars on the road.

Today, the Westway is home to a whole range of activities. Lurking in its vast shadow are all manner of things from garages to naughty knicker shops. From health clubs to skateboard parks and from pop up galleries, restaurants and bars to riding stables. So it seems that the communities of the past have been replaced by those of a different sort.

Anyway, that’s the background out of the way. I return to my original question. Is the Westway sexy?

For the pedestrian, the central section is a little boring and, to a large extent, inaccessible (with the exception of the wonderful sweep out over the Grand Union canal). The Eastern section, close to Little Venice and Bishop’s Bridge Rd, if not sexy, is at least alluring. With its roundabout and its proximity to Paddington Basin, it certainly holds the attention.

However, it is really at its best at the Western end. Take a walk under the Northern Roundabout, where the Westway links with the West Cross Route. Here, among other things, you will find a sports centre and the riding stables but ignore these and just look up. The main road itself and the various access roads sweep and swoop around over your head. Thrusting out from the roundabout  are the spurs of the unbuilt section of road which was intended to force its way Northwards and the roadway at this point has a deep central spine which adds to the sinuous nature of the construction. Ignore the raw concrete and just enjoy the shapes.

So, is the Westway sexy……………hell yes…………but then again, maybe I should just get out more!

Check it out for yourself.

I Spy.....

Yesterday I heard an advertisement on the radio (Heart, not my choice!) not so unusual you may say, after all we are constantly bombarded by ads, in all forms of media, these days, but this one was just a little surreal. It was from MI5, yes that MI5, attempting to recruit what they describe as “Mobile Surveillance Officers”. That would be spies to you and me!

Thames House - MI5 HQ

I must admit that I thought I’d dozed off and awoken in some kind of alternative universe, after all , we all know that recruitment is very hush hush. Usually carried out through the old boy network and almost exclusively aimed at graduates of certain OxBridge Colleges.

This clearly needed further investigation. After some extensive research (I Googled MI5!) I found their, quite comprehensive, web site, and sure enough they have a recruitment section giving details of their requirements for a variety of jobs within the service.

Thames House

 All very well but I think a little caution wouldn‘t go amiss. This shadowy world thrives on misdirection, slight of hand, smoke and mirrors etc. So it would be wise not to accept anything at face value. There is great deal about extended working hours, multitasking, thinking on your feet and the need not to have facial tattoos (they make you too noticeable, apparently|), but nothing about getting shot at, being stabbed with trick umbrellas or fighting off exotic Mata Hari clones There seems to be so much they’re not telling us! 

Should MI5 not be your cup of tea,(or vodka martini) there are links to the sites of MI6 and GCHQ, so surely there is something in there for everyone.

MI6 HQ

 For those interested in becoming a spy, or even if you are just interested in what they are prepared to tell us about the service and its history why not visit the MI5 website.

I would imagine that the rejection rate among applicants is pretty high, but you never know, a new, fascinating, though potentially short, future may be there for the taking.

One New Change Revisited.............er...Revisited!

I really don’t want to go over old ground as my opinion of this developement has been covered here and here but I just wanted to round things off by commenting on the view from the building rather than the unredeemable view of it!

I think that I was particularly lucky with the timing of my visit. I had intended to get there in full daylight but best laid plans and all that………..the light was rapidly fading by the time I walked in between the legs of the building. I took the glass lift, conveniently located in the building's crotch, directly up to the terrace area.

The southern area is relatively small and disappointing It has a quite tall and steeply angled glass wall, presumably to prevent you throwing yourself off in desperation. However, the northern section is something else altogether. Angular and sloping down towards St Paul’s, it really is quite dramatic. As you walk down towards the west, the focus of your attention really is the great dome of St P’s but there is so much more. The wall on this section is of a much more manageable height and, although you do get a view to the north the thing that really grabs you is the vista to the south.

As I said, I was very lucky with the timing. It was very cold, the sky was crystal clear, deep blue and heading towards black. South London was lighting up and never looked better. It really was something to be seen.
I suppose that, at some time, I will have to go back to see what it looks like in broad daylight, but I doubt that it will have the impact of that first visit.

 My opinion of the rest of the building has not changed. There are shops and restaurants, if that is your kind of thing, but I can only recommend the terrace as being worthy of your time. If you are passing, do go up and take a look.

St Paul’s……and One New Change, Revisited

Yesterday I visited St Paul’s Cathedral, which was allowing free entry as part of the celebration of the Lord Mayors Show. In a former post, I complained about being charged for entry whilst, at the same time being denied permission to take photographs here. With the exception of the Whispering Gallery, photo denial had been suspended for the day, which made me very happy. The day was also enlivened by several recitals of Peter and the Wolf narrated by Jo Brand to a very appreciative audience.

I’m not sure what the problem was in the Whispering Gallery. Perhaps they thought we would be so overcome by the view that we would throw ourselves, or our cameras, over the guard rail, thereby spoiling the day for some, or livening it up for others. Whatever the reason, it was heavily policed by the red coated guardians, one of whom even suggested that I might like to desist from texting until I was back outside the building!

Although we were denied access to the Golden Gallery, the Cathedral’s highest viewpoint, we were allowed up to the Stone Gallery, which encircles the base of the Dome. Despite it being a generally gloomy day, the views from there are breathtaking (quite literally, for the less fit amongst us!). And well worth the effort. There is, however, a fly in the ointment. Looking to the East, you find your self gazing down on the building that calls itself One New Change.

I have said before that I do not like this building here, I can now confirm, that it looks even worse from above than it does from ground level. Uncompromisingly ugly and with no symmetry or grace. It has been suggested that it’s two pronged ground plan is an open legged gesture, flashing it’s private parts to it’s surroundings. Or perhaps it’s a cuckold gesture relating to it’s relationship with the City and the Church. To me, it just seems to be sticking up two fingers to all of us. Perhaps it's just an elaborate and very expensive joke. Whatever.  It really should not be there.

Enough of all that, I think. I was pleased to visit St Paul’s again, It is a beautiful building and, niggles aside, should be seen by everyone.

I Love Fireworks

Last night I went to see the firework display in Battersea Park. I have to admit that I still have a childlike love of fireworks. I can’t really see the point of a back garden display, unless of course you have a garden the size of Alexandra Park. I suppose that kids like to see these things in a familiar environment but there really is nothing to compare with a good organised display.

At the end of September, the closing act of the Thames Festival was an after dark carnival parade finished off with fireworks over the Thames (a brilliant event, well worth putting in your diary). Displays over water are, I think, particularly effective, you not only get the air bursts but you also get the reflections on the water surface. On our river, you can also throw in the way that the familiar buildings are lit on either bank, to me that make things pretty well perfect.

The other thing about organised displays is that they are amazing value for money). I don’t know what a box of Standard or Pains fireworks costs these days, but what ever it is you really don’t get many bangs for your bucks. Many organised displays are free, and usually with some sort of charity collection associated with them, but even if you have to pay they represent a good a return for your cash. The Battersea display had an adult entry price of £6.00 and the display lasted 20 minutes. Even with my rudimentary grasp of maths I have been able to work that out as 30p per minute. Who can complain about that?

It was a very fine display orchestrated by Pains, accompanied by good music, a very warming bonfire and in an excellent location. A splendid time was had by all!

Sadly, some excellent displays have dropped off of the calendar over the last few years. One of my lost favourites being Primrose Hill, a fantastic location. With the backdrop of our favourite city, to my mind it couldn’t be beaten. Inevitably, some more displays have been cancelled this year due to the current economic situation and this may become more of a problem as time goes on.

 Apologies for the sound quality!

On the 13^th November, the Lord Mayors Show takes place in the City of London. This will also be rounded off by a free firework display, launched from barges on the Thames between Blackfriars Bridge and Waterloo Bridge (the same location as used for the Thames Festival)

Guess where I will be next Saturday?

http://www.lordmayorsshow.org/media/releases/number-crunching 

 ............and then, end the day with a bang, always sound advice in my experience!

http://www.lordmayorsshow.org/visitors/fireworks 

One New Change

The City of London’s first large shopping centre opened today. It is situated at the eastern end of St Paul’s Cathedral and is, to my mind, an eyesore. Completely disregarding its surroundings, it squats there, a mass of uncoordinated angles and, dirty looking, brown glass. 

I have no problem with modern buildings. The blend of old and new is part of what makes the City such a wonderful place to explore, but I have watched, with dismay, this thing growing, like some kind of fungal infestation, along side one of the Worlds greatest buildings, What can the planners have been thinking?

Is a shopping centre really needed here, I’m not really qualified to comment, but I suspect not. The City is really quite well endowed with shops serving the needs of its denizens. Lumping more of them together under one roof probably isn’t going to improve their lives.

I have been told that “hate” is a word I use too freely to describe things that I really don’t like and that is a fair comment, but I am very close to hating this building. In deference to the sensibilities of my friend, I will just say that I intensely dislike One New Change.

Of course there is a ringer in the camp, isn‘t there always? It does appear to serve one useful purpose for someone like me. There is a roof terrace with, apparently, excellent views of the City and St Paul’s. Will I swallow my pride and actually visit this roof terrace. Of course I will, I can’t resist a high view point and have a very basic need to point my camera at everything and from every angle, well, almost everything, but is it likely to change my view of the whole development? I very much doubt it.

I suppose the clincher is that it’s there. I don’t wish them ill, nobody wants to see a business fail but on the whole I wish it hadn’t been built.

Turning The World Upside Down Revisited

This visit took place on a changeable day and immediately after a short, sharp rain shower. The result of this as that the character of the pieces had changed. 

On this day, the least interesting of the group was, surprisingly, the large Sky Mirror. Although still impressive in itself, the even sky tone left it looking a bit flat.

In my last post I suggested that Non Object (Spire) was the least successful of the four pieces. I was wrong. Perhaps it’s just growing on me, but I now think that it actually sits very well in it’s surroundings and that it’s complex shape throws up some very interesting reflections. It even has the ability to reflect itself.

Along with all the other pieces, C-Curve was covered with an even coating of raindrops. This had the effect of softening the reflections. The wet concrete plinth also became a reflective surface, giving another aspect to the whole thing but the most interesting result of the wet surface was that, with a bit of a squint and a lot of imagination, the convex rear surface gave an almost pointillist view of the world. Seurat would (possibly) have loved it!

C-Curve continues to be the most entertaining. We never seem to tire of seeing ourselves in a mirror, and if that mirror gives an unreal view, then so much the better. There is much fun to be had here!

Lastly there is Sky Mirror, Red. By the time we reached the Round Pond the sky had changed to a cloudless blue. This resulted in the mirror turning from a searing red to a far more subtle purple. I’m not sure why this surprised me………….but it did. It wasn’t an unpleasant surprise!

This exhibition definitely rewards multiple visits.

An Afterthought Revisited

In my original post, I complained about the Hi Viz jackets that had been issued to the security guys. I’m very pleased to say that my advice has been heeded and that they are now wearing, far more acceptable, black jackets. OK, it may not have been my advice that they were taking but who cares, the end result is a definite improvement.

After the Afterthought Revisited

The maintenance vehicles were also out of sight. Again, I suspect that this had nothing to do with my earlier comments but they were worth making anyway!