Get up close to the Painted Hall ceiling at Greenwich ORNC – plus a tip for good cheap food

I can't recommend this enough.
The marvellous Painted Hall ceiling with the Old Royal Naval College buildings is being cleaned and conserved. Miles and miles of scaffolding have been erected within and guided tours are available so we can climb to the top and see the artwork up close.
The guided tour I went on last week was excellent – our guide explained so much about the history of the building and the meanings behind the imagery.
Absolutely fascinating and gorgeous too. It's a must-see.

See top right for some of the damage – it's hoped that the conservation work will last another 100 years before the next clean up

The quality of the wood carving is also amazing – see the hand bottom left and the head of a pollaxe at the centre 

My friend in the pics has written a much better account of this place. Click here.
Check out the availability for future tours here plus how to sponsor a section of the work.

And here's a good tip for where to eat in Greenwich – very close to the Painted Hall, at the far end of the Chapel building, there is a very good, and I mean very good, cafe/student refectory which is open to all and serves excellent choice of hot and cold food, yummy cakes and drinks all at normal prices. Being part of the university they aren't allowed to advertise so I told the friendly staff there that I'd give them a mention.
The unobtrusive entrance to the cafe is almost hidden at the at the eastern end of the ORNC complex opposite Park Row gate facing a building that has a strange frieze at the top depicting amongst many things a lion with a serpent's tail – see below (needs more research).
Map of the area

The Great Fire Of London – started 350 years ago today

On September 2nd 1666 a fire started at a bakery in Pudding Lane and spread rapidly, blazing away through the neighbouring streets and eliminating away a great swathe of the city.
The event was commemorated in the 1670s by the erection of The Monument on the site of St Margaret’s, the first church to succumb to the flames. The doric column with a golden urn of fire at the top. It's height of 62 metres echoes its distance from the source of the fire.  
Commemorative events and activities throughout the city this weekend. Find out more here.

Greeting cards featuring some of my photos above and many other London landmarks and observations can be found here.

Kensington Palace – what a revelation

Why oh why had I never been in here before. What a lovely surprise.
It's always the way, isn't it? you live in a city and take it for granted saying that next week you'll go and see what these bloody tourists are all looking at, and the day never comes.
Well, I finally went inside and it's bloody marvellous.
Kensington palace is sort of split into three historical periods. And, by chance we viewed it in, what we now believe in hindsight to be, the right order...
Actually this is a bit silly me posting about this and showing you pictures because I think the reason I loved it there so much is because I had no preconceptions whatsoever.
Oh well... sorry... here goes...

First we admired some of Queen Elizabeth II's frocks. She was tiny!!
The simple elegance of these dresses compared to the ones particularly worn by Diana Princess of Wales on display in another room was quite a shock. The 80s has a lot to answer for fashionwise; padded shoulders, puffball skirts, off the shoulder asymmetric concoctions, dropped waistlines, electric blue, gaudy green, hideous fabrics etc. 

Next to the Queens apartments. Simple and functional and homely.
Then... crash bang wallop!!! into the Kings Apartments – trompe l'oeil agogo!!!
Shown here is the famed staircase (the Queen's one has plain wooden panelling on the walls).  

Almost every room had a splendiferous ceiling and faux columns on the walls.
I caught Malcolm sitting on the throne.  

I was impressed that the information was given not on the standard boards but could be found subtly placed on relevant items within each room such as on fire screens, or on the excellent clothing recreated by the palace's design department sewn using a waterproof paper that beautifully imitates soft material.
Also, there was interactive lighting, sounds and music which occurred intermittently. In one room some dancers could be heard tapping the floorboards as their 'shadows' appeared on the wall. Delightful.

And lots of paintings, some large and fruity and others pocket-sixed and exquisite.
We played tried out some old dice and card games.  

Getting dressed back then wasn't a quick lick and a promise and sling on a onesie to pop out for a pint of milk. Those enormous dresses were as wide as a double bed and took hours to put on and take off, requiring helpers in order to be tied into the things. The second pic shows the uncomfortable under-structure that must have caused all sorts of wear and tear to the hips. What a painful palaver.
The third and fourth pic were taken in the Kings Gallery which is the only one of his rooms that bears any resemblance to the Queen's equivalent (see above left) – though, note the ceiling. 

We spotted a beautifully carved bust of a black slave. Wrong. Totally wrong. But how can you not admire the workmanship using different stones for different elements?
Time was running out and the palace staff (all absolutely lovely by the way and obviously happy to be working there) were ushering us out of the building closing doors behind us. So we whizzed through the Victorian wing vowing to come back soon so I only managed to snap a couple of pics of the The Great Exhibition Hall before exiting through the gift shop.
In the gardens outside I was a bit upset by the message being sent out by the topiary.
How jolly rude!

The Royal Menagerie animals at The Tower of London

Did you know they used to keep animals at The Tower of London?
As you queue to pay at the kiosks you will notice animal stickers on the glass.
Then as you go toward the entrance gate there are three lions made from chicken wire by Kendra Haste. There are more or her animals inside, all cleverly located.

Over the centuries, lions, an elephant, a polar bear and apes have been kept at the zoo.
An exhibition about the animals at the Royal Menagerie includes an image of Pompey the lion who looks like a pussy cat, and a clay pipe-smoking Dog-Faced Baboon.

More animals... On the lower floor of the White Tower there is a room containing cannons. In there I spotted a few crazy lions.  

Birthday fun at London Zoo (ZSL)

I share my birthday with many people including Princess Anne, Ben Affleck, Oscar Peterson and Napoloeon Bonaparte but, best of all, with my friends' lovely daughter Dorothy.
This year she turned six and I began another in my prime and we spent the afternoon with Dot's parents at London Zoo (ZSL).
What a great day – giraffes, reptiles, penguins, lemurs, gorillas, pigmy hippos, hunting dogs and more.

I always thought Peter Gabriel sang "Dotty plays with Jane". But having just checked, it's Lotte. The song then goes on to say that Jane played with someone else and is happy again. Fnar.

Centrepoint

I have always liked Centrepoint. In comparison to all the plain sheets of glass to be found everywhere else (or Renzo Piano's hideous hi-rise Toytown just around the corner), this tall tower is distinctive and, therefore a true icon of its age (just like me cos we were both born in the early 1960s!).
The 33-floor tower was a controversial topic from the day it was built. At 385 ft high it was tallest building for miles. For many decades it stood mostly empty.
The fountains stopped gushing in about the 90's, I think, and their mosaic'd pool sat empty and unloved until Crossrail came in and bulldozed the area around the tower, along with a lot of other much-missed buildings (in particular The Astoria boo hoo), to make way for a new modern Tottenham Court station and piazza. For this we can assume bland and flat with and square corners  – faster to build, see.

At I write this Centrepoint is being converted into 'luxury' apartments costing approx £3million a pop. It is clothed in a kind of trompe l'oeil rain mac.
This all seems a bit at odds with this other Centrepoint.

CityShowcase Market at Embankment Gardens

Warning!!!  This is a blatant plug!!!

Those of you who have followed my clay pipe creations will be aware that I have been promising to produce a range of London landmarks to complement the Pete and Joe cards.

Well... (drum roll please) ... I can announce that they are hot off the press this week and will available to buy from Yours Truly this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Embankment Summer Market.

Also see the #CityShowcase website.

If you can't get to the Embankment Gardens please see my online store.

Customs House foreshore

Every now and then I like to go on an organised foreshore forage led by an archaeologist. Last month I visited the Customs House section with a group from London Cultureseekers.

Our guide Nathalie, from the Thames Discovery Programme, was a mine of information. She told us about all sorts of things, including boat wrecks, Medieval pottery and Elizabethan pins.
And I found out something else... if you look at the middle pic in the top row, above, you will notice the chains on the river walls. These continue all along the Thames and I have photographed them in the locks at St Katharine Docks. I'd always assumed that these were for boat docking purposes. But no, it transpires they were attached in the 90s as a safety measure after the Marchioness disaster.
After Nathalie had assessed everyone's finds we needed to go somewhere warm as it was particularly cold that day. I'd hoped we were heading to All Hallows By The Tower but our group leader took us to one of those Starf*cks places. Having never been in one I was not about to break my duck so I immediately turned tail and left before I got sucked in.
Phew... that was close!
Instead, I took a brisk walk around the Tower. Nice.
What a good morning.

Greenwich Foot Tunnel

On Saturday 23rd August I needed to go to the Old Royal Naval College to supplement my stock at the shop and, because I'd arrange that month's forage for later on that day in Wapping, I thought I'd walk there via the foot tunnel and the Thames Path.

I sat with an ice cream near the flower beds of soft grasses and watched the world go by for a while before setting off.

Sir Alexander Binnie's 1217ft foot tunnel was constructed in 1902 so that people living on the south side could get to work in the docks on the north side. It runs 50ft under the Thames and is accessed by a circular staircases around lifts (that's elevators to you guys across the pond!) within distinctive domed shafts.

And it's free.

Considering it was a Saturday and how busy Greenwich was that day (it was tourists a go go!) I'd assumed the tunnel would be rather busy. But as you can see by these pics it was fairly empty. I walked briskly through it, narrowly dodging a lunatic cyclist who either was unable to read all the No Cycling signs or was intent on flaunting the rules.

At the north side I met my friend Jen in Island Gardens and we admired the view as we waited for some other foragers to join us for the walk to Wapping.

The pic below is the view looking back at Greenwich just to the east of Island Gardens at the most southern point of the Isle of Dogs where the Thames Path  restarts along the wall at the river's edge. I've just about managed to get all the key Greenwich landmarks into the shot...

L-R: The Old Royal Naval College, University of Greenwich, Naval College Gardens, the National Maritime Museum (hidden by trees), the entrance to the foot tunnel, The Cutty Sark, Greenwich Park and the Royal Observatory and Planetarium

Coming soon... another way to sub-navigate the Thames on foot...

Update on Battersea Power Station

I read in The Times that work had started on the "regeneration" of Battersea Power Station and the land that surrounds it.

The phone snapshot above is from that article (dated 27th October 2013) and illustrates that, with the help of some well-respected UK architects, the Malaysian owners are spending billions to turn the area into yet another sea of boxy apartments and shopping malls full of [I suspect] designer brands for rich people. Oh and they need spaces to put on lavish events – see the clipping, right, also from the same article. Need I say more?
As you can see the old Art Deco building is going to be swamped by the modern buildings. The four reconstructed chimneys, one of which I hear will have a viewing platform or something on the top (how much will that view cost?!) will probably be the only part of the building visible from the South.

Here's a link to a post I wrote  almost 3 years ago to the day about on here about my concerns for this site (and my suggested solution!).
I just recalled the film Sympathy For The Devil where in some scenes the old derelict site can be seen full of scrap car merchants etc. And, I may be going mad but I pretty sure the site was also used as a location in a Bob Hoskins film; either Mona Lisa or Long Good Friday, both excellent films, and worth revisiting for a bit of late-70s/early-80s old London-spotting.

More about Battersea Power Station here:
BBC report
Battersea Power Station's official site

That pointy thing called the Shard

Those of you who have read some of my previous posts will be aware that I am not a fan of that monstrous glass building at London Bridge. I think it's bullying "look at me; I'm really big!" architecture with no flair or design.
With all the empty office space available in Central London I am concerned about all the new build. The Dubaiification of London. And I am fed up with all the unnecessary competition between cities around the world to have the tallest "iconic" building. In most cases the measured height is, to me rather daft as it includes the aerials on the top. If I wear a stovepipe hat does that mean I am 6ft 2?!
A couple of weeks ago there was an article in The Times (Saturday July 6th) reporting that the Shard is failing in its attempt to sell the space within it. The Times reports that the 25 floors of office space are as empty as they were 12 months ago with only 10% being leased. The location is being cited as a reason; London Bridge is not The City, where other big buildings with silly names situtaed in the Square Mile are managing to sell their space.
The article goes on to quote Irvine Sellar, the Shard's developer, who seems to be cherry-picking his tenants. He cites this as a reason for the empty floors and rationalises, "...we are taking our time... we don't want to fill the Shard up with accountants or lawyers". He goes on, "...we are going to have asset managers, energy companies, lawyers and many more. We want a broad mix".
I very much doubt that is the reason at all. Location probably does play a part, but I think the lack of uptake is mostly down to the fantastically high maintenance charges; the window cleaning alone is estimated at £150,000 a year, plus rates on the empty offices need to be paid for before they are leased, and electricity has to be block-purchased in advance. Cleaning and security for the building could cost as much as £9million a year once it is fully let.
So, they must have thought long and hard about how to bring in big dosh for  little outlay.... hmmm... let's think... Yes! viewing platforms. Incidentally, I don't like the word "platforms" in this instance. Bad word. Why not galleries, floors or levels?
They call it "The View" and on Saturday 13th July I went to see it for myself. My very generous friend paid £24.99 each for four of us. TWENTY FIVE QUID!!! That's the pre-booking price. If you buy your ticket on the day it goes up to £29.99.
OK here goes... hold on to your hat... this is what you get for £25...

• On arriving we were informed that there are no toilets on the viewing levels and were directed to the ones adjacent to the booking hall; an area that is awash with CGI on large screens and colourful technology. Opening the door to the Ladies we entered a service corridor with whitewashed breeze block walls. There were loose wires and duct-taped pipes. Inside it was obvious that this was usually used by staff or gym users as we saw lockers in there. A temporary sign on A4 copy paper apologised, explaining that new toilets are currently being built for Guest use. This building has been open to the public for almost a year now and they haven't made the toilets? Is £25 a reduced rate due to this? Or, will the price go up when the toilets are finally open? 
• So, why are there no toilets on or near the viewing levels? What happens if someone is taken short or feels dizzy/sick? Are people expected to get in the lift again, go all the way through the gift shop, past the booking desks and relieve themselves only to find that they (probably) aren't allowed back up again? I am sure there must be toilet facilities on the restaurant floors but viewing-only plebs aren't allowed to mix with high-paying foodies. 
• There is nowhere to sit on the viewing platforms. Not everyone is happy standing, or sitting on the floor. Many people, especially those who are tired, dizzy, disabled, old or infirm would benefit from some simple benches where they can rest for 5 minutes as in art galleries. There is ample space all around the inner wood-panelled wall where these could be added. I believe there are two reasons for their non-existence: 1) it stops people staying up there too long, and, 2) the Shard was never designed to have viewing platforms in the first instance or they would have designed it better. 
• So it ought to go without saying that there are no refreshment opportunities up there either.
• Why no glass floors? A huge opportunity has been missed here. Especially as the building is clad in glass. There are perfect places in recessed areas where glass-floored panels could have been included (such as in Auckland's Sky Tower in and many others). But, again, I think this is for the same reasons as the lack of seating.
• Don't look up because the ceilings of the viewing platforms are an ugly mess. There are hanging wires and pipes clad in silver foil with stickers on them, plus metal fixings and plates that I think ought not to be seen. It looks so out of place with the simplicity of the wooden floors and walls. 
• When we were there we commented how daft it was that the only way to identify the buildings in the distance was to use one of the computerised viewing machines. We wondered why they hadn't put information about the major landmarks onto the windows or on a rail in front of us. It wasn't until I got home and looked at my photos that I noticed that there is a legend there, but it is situated above everyone's heads!! How utterly daft. You have to step back from the glass to see it. Another afterthought?
• On the ground floor, on the way in between security checks and the lift you can have your photo taken against a simulated image of the Shard. As per The London DUNG-eon and all other rip-off tourist attractions of this kind, the prints are an extra charge. Did I mention the tickets for The View at Shard are £25?
• The lifts are rather disappointing. Considering they are being touted for their high speed you don't get a visual sense of this at all. You stand there in a dark blue box looking up at some computer generated whizzy lines on the ceiling. Couldn't they have filmed the journey to the top of the Shard from the roof of the lift and put that up on the ceiling so we had the feeling of heading skyward? This seems too obvious a trick to have missed.

To conclude, I believe due to their lack of facilities, the viewing platforms are an afterthought to the conceived design of the building. I think the developers really thought companies would have been snapping up the office space off-plan before the building was completed.
The exorbitant minimum ticket price of £24.99 for what is just a trip in two lifts with a view at the top and not a lot else, is to help with those cleaning bills.
Mind you, I suppose comparing time:money it does work out cheaper than a trip on the London Eye (£17.28 for half an hour) because you can stay up in the Shard as long as you want. I am not sure if you can take your own food and drink up there, but don't take too much because the toilets are 69/72 floors away (they include the landings on the stairs as two floors!)
Oh, one more thing that nags at me; the location is called London Bridge Quarter. A quarter of what? Does the Shard take up 25% of the whole of the whole London Bridge area? What are the other three quarters called? Answers here please.

"This article has been written to recognise the author's contribution to travel and tourism by Avis Car Hire on the A-List Awards 2013".