A marvellous manicule in NW5

The Way To Church Lands

Walking along Gordon House Road a few months ago I spotted a directional panel at low level here just to the right of the protuding block. I took a couple of crude snaps:

This manicule (pointing hand) is probably the most elaborate device of this kind I have ever seen in London. It is not simply painted onto the slab but instead has been carved in low relief complete with chubby fingers and a lacy cuff hinting at wealth and prosperity. This ties in nicely with the kind of well-to-do traders and businessmen who would have moved their families to this area in the eighteenth century – a perfect location adjacent to the open spaces and clean air of Hampstead Heath with direct access into the City via St Pancras and the New Road (Euston, Pentonville and City Rds today). For an idea of this, you need only look the impressive houses along Grove Terrace, set back from Highgate Road. 

Other words are carved into the panel at either side of the ellipse – there is a large cap N on the left and what might be '15 Feet' on the left. There may well be more at the bottom under that veil of render. 

I think the sign points to the beginning of a footpath but I cannot find evidence of that and neither can I work out which church this might refer to. It's also extremely doubtful that the sign is in exactly the same position as when it was first sited because the panel is embedded in a wall that was constructed in 1965 as part of the Haddo House development.

I will update this when I find out more info

What's the point?

Really. Seriously. I often wonder what are we doing here. 

By 'we' I mean humans. What do humans actually do for the planet in a postive way (apart from trying to fix the mistakes of the past)? What other animal causes such devastation to other flora and fauna? And all in the name of progress. Sigh.

Anyway, here are some of my favourite London manicules pointing the way to who knows where. A few of them have since been lost to us, whether through renovation of demolition.

Old Street observations

Opposite St Luke's on Old Street I noticed many of the terraces have accesses to the rear once used by carts and lorries.
That's it. Just an observation.

There are plenty of other pleasing and interesting things along the stretch between Old Street roundabout and Goswell Road:

Jane's Advent Calendar – 10th December

Pointing the way to No.10 in West Hampstead

Pointing hands like these are called manicules and every time I see an old one it brings a smile to my face. See more here.

What's the point?

I mean, really, what IS the point?

More manicules here

Cally Festival, Sunday 16th September

Another bit of self promotion, but also a good excuse to put some pics on here of a neglected, and now misunderstood and much-maligned, area of north London.
Starting at Kings Cross, Caledonian Road runs due north for over a mile (I must check that!) all the way to Holloway. In the past the street was well-used by cattle-drovers taking their stock to market in the area that is now Caledonian Park. The park/market area was originally just a stop-over for the herds on their way to Smithfield Market. And in later years there was a thriving antiques and bric-a-brac market there. Only the clocktower, and the shells of former pubs are left these days to hint at the history.
The Cally is a real mix – on the east side there's the Thornhill and Barnsbury Estates with their carefully-designed terraces and managed squares and gardens, including a road once lived in by a recent PM, then on the western side council estates were erected thus creating a real mix of cultures; a "them and us" situation – almost a Regent Street 'divide' of the north. A recent BBC programme about the road only glanced upon the diverse history and, in my view, spent too much time talking about the current dodgy landlords and prostitutes at the KX end.
I travel up and down the Cally almost every week spotting old bits of history here and there and some of my observations are shown below.
But to the point... this Sunday the whole area is coming together for the Cally Festival – a pop-up street celebration of the area's diverse offerings, which will include art, craft, music, dance and more.
The stretch of the road between Offord and Bridgeman Roads will be closed to traffic for the day and, judging by last year, it should be good... I hope to see you there... come and find me at my Amelia Parker stall.

Theatre darling, theatre

I have been to the theatre two nights running this week! Blimey darling!

On Thursday I saw Yes Minister at the Gielgud Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue. Lots of words and clever political stuff. Loved it. Consider this a short and sweet favourable review.

And last night I saw the last performance of a brilliant production of Pygmalion by the Tour De Force Theatre Company in a converted industrial unit in Hackney. The cast of five was excellent.

On the bus home I thought up this collection of theatre-related images, which I think may be my best cryptic collection yet. I hope you get all the references...

Top row: Marylebone Passage, Millbank, Victoria Apollo, Chapel Market

Middle row: Old Marylebone Road, Acton, Clapton, Temple

Bottom row: Shepherd's Bush, Kings Cross, Highbury, Hoxton

Eels at Brixton Academy

Last night. Mark 'E' Everett resplendent in white, sporting a headscarf, sunglassses and a HUGE beard which reminded me of the those Mexican circus artists.

It was a good gig. Not as good as when I saw Eels as a trio dressed as if ready for Scrapheap Challenge at the much missed Astoria (boo hoo... here I go again), or a pared down gig he did at the Albert Hall, but good enough. He/they performed mostly stuff from the most recent albums including this and this. I would have liked to have seen them do a few oldies like this and this too, but having just checked my iTunes and seen I have 194 Eels tracks in there I suppose you can't please all the people all the time.

Brixton is awash with lovely architectural details and signs – everything below is within 5 mins walk of the gig.

Filthy London

This post is sparked off by an ad on TV that really niggles me; it's for a hand cleaner that comes in a soap dispenser that has a sensor so that you need "never touch a germy soap pump again".

OK... so let's think about this... if you were to directly touch the dispenser, or the bottle, or whatever, then surely this product of theirs will eradicate the 'germs' when you wash your hands!? But how are you going to turn the tap on/off after you have applied the soap?

Actually, how did you get in the kitchen/bathroom in the first place... did you open a door? With your filthy fingers? Oh ugh!

This is all getting so ridiculous.

I recently heard one mother telling her son not to hold the moving handrail on the escalator because lots of people touch it. I don't know what she would do if the thing stopped and the poor kid fell over and hurt himself. Do you think she let him hold on when he got on the tube train? Dunno. But she probably let him wipe his dirty shoes on the seats.

And I heard another woman tell her children, who were sitting in the front seat on the top deck of a bus, not to hold onto the rail in front of them for similar reasons. Yet, when getting off, she told them to hold on tight when going down the stairs.

Top row: Angel tube station, Lavender Soap in Acton, dirty beasts in Fleet Street, Pears' Soap in Highgate Village.

Middle row: Sanitary Brixton, Holloway litter, dusty windows in EC4, manicule near Lea Bridge.

Bottom row: litter in Camden, Sunlight Soap in Highbury, door knocker in Spitalfields, dusty tiles in Old Street.

Hairdressers and barbers

I was just about to put together this collection of interesting, ornate, old and decaying hairdressers' shops signs when someone emailed me about a series of events being put on by LIFT (The London International Festival of Theatre).

One of the items on the programme this year is Haircuts by Children. So if you fancy letting a 9 year old give you a free haircut then check out the site and pop along sometime between this Saturday 10th June and next Sat 18th.

Other LIFT events include 'Nevermore', a theatre production about the "Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allen Poe", 'Oxygen', a reworking of the Ten Commandments and 'We Built this City' where children can build a city from cardboard boxes (thinks, how can I make myself look like a 12 year old...?).

Anyway, check the LIFT site for the full list of events.

Top row: Dean Street, South Moulton Street, Balls Pond Road, Muswell Hill Broadway, Scotland Green.

Middle row: Newington Green, Caledonian Road, Chatsworth Road, Berwck Street, Leather Lane.

Bottom row: Holloway Road, Kings Cross Road, Pentonville Road, Seven Sisters Road (Fins Pk), Aberdeen Place.

All of the above, as far as I know, are all still in situ. But this one, on Royal College Street, uncovered whilst renovation, has vanished. Shame.

And perhaps I should have included this one!

Pointing the way to go

Every now and then I find an old sign with a strangely-shaped pointing hand on it. Some of these manicules are very odd indeed. A friend pointed out(!) to me that one of the ones below looks like a pair of long johns!