Pedal to the Medal

I recently received a press release giving details of a promotion for Pringles to take place in London on Tuesday 27^th September. If you happen to be in the West End on that day and you happen to see a bright red rickshaw emblazoned with the Pringles logo, just hail it and you will be transported to your chosen destination free of charge and they’ll even throw in some free samples!

All of the journeys must be within the West End area and will last a maximum of half an hour.

Why a rickshaw ride? Well, it all seems to be tied in with the UK Track Cycling Championships and the fact that the new Olympic Velodrome has been nicknamed the Pringle, due to the shape of the roof. Although, how all of this sporting connection equates to sitting back in a rickshaw and letting someone else do all the work is slightly beyond me.

To be honest, I’m probably the least likely person to be passing this information on. I’m not sporty, I don’t cycle, I didn't support our Olympic bid and most importantly I don’t favour the use of rickshaws in Central London. However, if any of these things really do it for you, or even if you just want a free ride, remember this is a one day only offer.

I do like a Pringle though!

A Commonwealth Institution

Last week I took advantage of the wonderful London Open House weekend to visit the Commonwealth Institute for the first time in over 40 years.Long closed and gently decaying, it was revealing its interior to the World for one last time before extensive changes are made in order that it can become the new home of the Design Museum in 2014.

 

 I have always loved this building, perched, as it is, on the edge of Holland Park (which also happens to be one of my favourite places in our City). My first visit to the Institute was as part of a school group, unsurprising really as my school was only about 10 minutes walk away, but I went several times after, either on my own or with friends.

In many ways, it was a dry and dusty place, full of the sort of  stuff that, if it were in the Science Museum or the Natural History Museum, you would hurry  past on the way to something more exciting. The production of cocoa or sugar cane not being the most interesting thing to a teenage boy! I think, perhaps, that I would get more from the exhibits now than I did then. However, although I probably didn’t understand why at the time, the building was fascinating. Details of its design and construction have been well covered elsewhere, so I will just say that it seemed to be more like the set of a James Bond film than a museum……and that roof was just something else! 

 Opened by the Queen on the 6^th November 1962, it gave sterling service promoting the Commonwealth and providing educational services to thousands of school children. It was closed, suddenly and controversially in 2002. Since then the building has had a very rocky ride, with a whole string of proposals and objections and all the time deteriorating year by year.

 Now, it has a future, it’s not a future that pleases everyone but then what would. The exterior is Grade 11* listed and is regarded by English Heritage as the second most important modern building in London (after the Royal Festival Hall) but the listing does not follow through to the interior. Design Museum representatives were a little cagey about the planned changes to the inside but I’m pretty sure that we can assume they’ll be extensive.  

 I think that we have to be practical here. It is currently a wonderful space and it will be a great shame to lose it, but it was originally designed for a specific purpose and that purpose has now passed.  To make it useable, and the future of the building is entirely dependant on it being useable, change has to be accepted. We can only hope that those changes are as sympathetic as possible.

Did I mention the flagpoles? They’ve been a feature of that part of Kensington High Street for so long. Visible even when the Institute is largely hidden by the trees. Whatever happens to the rest of the building, I hope they keep the flagpoles. They look fantastic…….even without the flags!

There are more of my pics here but, as I am unable to fly, there is an excellant photograph of the complex hyperbolic paraboloid copper roof here. The Evening Standard article itself is no longer relevant, except to show just part of the complex and troublesome history of this wonderful building.

It’s September!

So August has come and gone and with it my first year of blogging. At 3750 odd views in that year, I’m not much of a player in the blogosphere but that’s about 3700 more views than I would have expected so I am well pleased.

A year ago, I kicked things off by posting about my local street party, the Notting Hill Carnival and we have just seen this years event pass without major incident. August in London was a strange month, starting with riots on the streets and ending with Europe’s largest street event. Numbers at Carnival were certainly down this year, probably due to the combination of a dull weekend and the nagging suspicion that something unpleasant may just happen. With the exception of one serious assault and a lower than usual number of arrests for minor offences, all went well and the changes in timing, brought about by the earlier disturbances, meant that peace (and quiet)  settled over the area fairly soon after the sun went down.

For anyone who missed the Notting Hill Carnival, for whatever reason, but still like a parade, then consider going to the final evening of the Thames Festival. Less crowded than Notting Hill and taking place after dark it has a completely different, but no less enjoyable, atmosphere. As an added bonus, the Festival ends with a fantastic firework display, over the river, between Waterloo and  Blackfriars Bridges.

The Night Carnival and firework display  are just the culmination of a whole weekend of events taking place between Westminster in the west and The St Katharine Docks in the east. Look out especially for the Feast on the Bridge on Saturday. Southwark Bridge will be closed to traffic and transformed into a large, al fresco, dining area. Plenty of good food and entertainment and a lot of fun…………..even for kids as old as me!

The Festival Market runs for the whole of the weekend and whilst you are there seek out Amelia Parker, whose stall will be in front of the Royal Festival Hall. Her clay pipe jewellery is not only beautiful and unique but are probably the only truly Thames related items that you will find in the entire market. OK, this is a blatant plug for a friend, but do take a look, I'm confident that you will be impressed!

 Finally, if you missed both the Notting Hill Carnival and the Thames Festival, there is the chance to see a different kind of parade and another firework display on Saturday 12^th November. With nearly 800 years of history behind it, the annual Lord Mayors Show is a visual, though usually somewhat chilly, treat.