Here's the second part of our walk last weekend. Trinity Buoy Wharf is a great place to visit, and the diner was ace too!











More pics:
Trinity Bouy Wharf
Container City

Labels: docks, london

We went for a walk around East India DLR station on Saturday and had an unexpectedly pleasant walk.

Parts of it feel very Brooklyn-esque: wide open spaces, industrial decay and hoity toity apartments all rubbing together.

Here's a few pics:






East India basin.


None more 'LA' looking!|

More pics:
East India Docks and Basin walk photos
More East India Docks and Basin pics

Labels: docks, london, millennium dome

I've never seen London this cold and snow before, with both the Trafalgar Square fountains and the entire Serpentine lake frozen solid. And I love it!

Here's some pics:













More photos:
http://www.urban75.org/london/hyde-park-snow-2010.html
http://www.urban75.org/london/london...uary-2010.html

Labels: london, parks, snow

I didn't even know this was going on, but came across it while we were taking in a winter's walk across Hyde Park.

I didn't expect a lot, but it was actually really rather lovely. It's on till the 3rd January and it's free.











More pics

Labels: christmas, funfair, london, park

The whole Borders UK operation is winding up this week, dumping over 1,100 people on the dole on Christmas Eve.

Here's the last days of the Charing Cross Road branch.

 





More photos

Labels: london

Situated slap bang in the middle of Trafalgar Square, one of London's most famous landmarks and tourist attractions, the Climate Camp picked a perfect place to publicise their cause.

Pitching up after the Wave march on the previous Saturday, the camp was set up to protest against the 'elitist and undemocratic' UN climate summit in Copenhagen.

After the famously heavy handed policing at this year's G20 protests in the City of London, the cops seem to have adopted a 'softly softly' approach, with the camp remaining in place on the following Wednesday.









More Climate Camp photos

Labels: london, protest

Some pics from today's demo at Parliament Square:

More pics: here

Labels: london, protest

Standing in Trafalgar Square for one week only was an unusual art exhibition featuring the large tree stumps from nine different species sourced from Suhuma forest reserve, a commercially logged tropical forest in Western Ghana.

The fully grown trees would have reached around 50 metres - the same height as Nelson's Column.


The hefty stumps distributed around the square were designed to raise questions about the future of the world's vulnerable forests, although we found ourselves wondering how much of a carbon footprint was created by lugging the things here.

The Ghost Forest installation finished on Sunday Nov 22 2009 and headed off to a public square in Copenhagen, to be seen during the UN Climate Change Conference.

 

 

 

 

More pics here.

Labels: art, london, trafalgar square

I love Autumn!

Labels: autumn, london

I've been wanting to visit this disused tram station for ever, so was well chuffed to get the opportunity to take a wander around on Saturday.

Here's some pics:

Loads more:

Kingsway Tram Tunnel

Labels: london, tram

Today, I spent the day employed on a film set near Smithfield Market, central London.

My day mainly involved me standing in street, drinking coffee, chatting to other extras and watching the film crew milling about.



Some hours later I was assigned a 'walking down the street' part, which involved being a silhouetted blob moving in front of a couple who were eating in a restaurant.

 

I shuffled around in front of the camera a few times more. At one point my role was reduced to being just a reflection in the window, but things were livened up by the director having a fabulous headphone throwing hissy fit.

The film is called 'Blitz' and it features Jason Statham playing an "aggro cop." I doubt if I can be arsed to see it when it comes out, but look out for a be-dreaded reflection in the window of the restaurant scene.

That'll be me!

Labels: london, movie

The Actionettes put on a fabulous show last night at Duckie ? and the crowd went seriously wild for them!

A few pics:

 

 

Labels: act, actionettes, club, london

Had a terrific time at Reclaim the Beach last night, dancing on the sandy shores of the River Thames before the incoming tide took the dancefloor away!

Here's a few photos:

Reclaim the Beach Party on the Thames

Labels: london, party, thames

I've seen some great gigs at the Astoria in central London, but the end came on 14th Jan, 2009 when the venue was closed to make way for the construction of a new station for the Crossrail project.



The building, which was  opened as a cinema on 1927, is now being flattened.

Here's a few photos documenting its sad demise.


Looking up, January 2009 view.


Similar view, September 2009.

Around the back of the venue, Jan 2009.


Similar view from September 2009, showing just the ground floor of the building left.

Full article: Goodbye to the London Astoria

Labels: london, music, venue

A few photos taken during my wander around town yesterday.

 

Checking out the excellent 'Londoners Through a Lens' exhibition at the Getty Gallery in Fitzrovia.

 

Regent's Park fountain.

 

Empty deckchairs, Regent's Park.

 

Curious sign by Warren Street and Euston Road.

More photos: A walk around Fitzrovia and Regent's Park

Labels: london, photos

Billed as "an innovative public project featuring a free daily program of events, arts, discussions, musicology and activities," the Treehouse Gallery in Regent's Park tasked itself with acting, " as a catalyst to ignite the collective imagination, encouraging adults and children alike to explore a variety of creative responses to nature."

We're not entirely sure what all that means, but we definitely enjoyed our visit and found it a pleasant place to hang out for a while.

Looking like a road protest site transported into a central London Park, the Treehouse Gallery put on daily activities, talks and workshops, focussed around two large treehouses.

More photos here: The Tree House Gallery, regent's Park, London

Labels: london, park, photos

One & Other is a live artwork by sculptor Antony Gormley, giving 2,400 participants the chance to spend an hour alone on the empty plinth in Trafalgar Square for 100 days and nights.

Urban75 regular Mation bagged herself a slot at the ungodly time of 2am to 3am on a chilly Friday morning, and a big turn out of Urbanites were in attendance to join in the party. And what a party it was!

Through some cunning technological wizardry, the music being played on the plinth was piped through this mobile sound system, getting the square resonating to techno.

The security guard jobsworths kicked off, so the sound system was moved out of their jurisdiction to the north of the plinth.

It felt like a proper old school rave, bringing back a little bit of the flavour of the fabulous Reclaim the Streets event in 1997.

 
urban75 rocking around the fourth plinth at Trafalgar Square

Labels: dance, london

It's been a while since I've been along to the famous free Beach Parties on the River Thames, but last night's party was a hoot.

It's a bizarre thing to find the dancefloor rapidly decreasing in size as the tide comes in, but the atmosphere was fantastic ? big respect to the crew who put it on.

Annoyingly I didn't take my camera along, so I had to use the fairly rubbish one on my phone. Here's two snaps:

Labels: london, party, thames

Although we prefer to frequent independent bookstores, Borders on Oxford Street was always a handy place for a quick free read of the music mags, and there was always a good selection of books in store.
When it first opened, we used to quite like the cafe too - it was a handy place for meetings - but after it turned into a ruddy Starbucks franchise, we went elsewhere.



Here's some photos of what could be the last day of the store, with everything marked at half price.

Borders have said that the lease has now been sold to a 'fashion retailer.'

More: Borders closes

Labels: london

This was fun: a bash dishing out free gin all night with the Actionettes dancing and a great exhibition upstairs. Win!

Labels: actionettes, london

Apart from some positively psychotically incandescent cabbies (and, to be honest, one or two testosterone-overcharged cyclists), this was a fabulous ride, with hundreds of cyclists enjoying a leisurely, car-free saunter around the streets of central London.

More photos here: Critical Mass, London

Labels: critical mass, cycling, london, protest

Mass scenes of wobbling bottoms spotted in the heart of London!

Here's what it's all about:

"A peaceful, imaginative and fun protest against oil dependency and car culture. A celebration of the bicycle and also a celebration of the power and individuality of the human body. A symbol of the vulnerability of the cyclist in traffic. The world's biggest naked protest: 50+ cities and thousands of riders ..."















See more photos here: Naked Bike Ride, London

Labels: cycling, london

It's the Queen's birthday, so out come the planes. Whoosh!

Labels: london

A march from Trafalgar Square leading to a rally outside Scotland Yard to 'remember Ian Tomlinson, demand no more deaths in police custody and defend civil liberties and the freedom to protest.'

More pics here

Labels: london, protest

More photos and feature here: Westminster Day of Dance 2009
and here: Westminster Day of Dance 2009 (part 2).

Labels: dance, london, photos

Morris troupes from all over the country mobbed Trafalgar Square for a mass Morris-off this afternoon - and it was a hoot!
Anyone else go along to watch a bit of bell-clanging, hanky-waving, stick bashing fun?








More pics soon!

Labels: london

Here's a few snaps from Friday's Offline  Club at the Brixton Albert with Sanjuro and Sergeant Buzfuz. Both bands were *fab!*

The dulcimer sounded amazing!

More pics: Offline Club, Brixton

Labels: bands, brixton, london, offline

It's been slowly falling apart for years but the landmark building adjacent to Kings Cross railway station is set for a ?13 million internal reconstruction.

There's been some debate as to what the 1880s tower was originally for. Some say that it was built to advertise an Oyster House below, while slightly madder people have suggested that it was once a helter-skelter tower.

Whatever it was, it's great to see the old building set to get a new lease of life.

Read more here: The Oysterhouse Lighthouse

Labels: kings cross, london

Here's some more photos from the mob-handed urban75 walk on Saturday:

More photos here: Hampstead Heath photos

Labels: london, walk, walks

Just got back from an urban75 walk around Hampstead Heath. The weather was fantastic, the company delightful, the stroll relaxing, the pubs welcoming, the ale tasty and just about everything was perfect....apart from the Cardiff City scoreline. 6-0? Eeek! WTF!

The eggs are released!

More pics coming soon.

Labels: london, photos, walk, walks

What happened at the Climate Camp after these photos were taken was an outrage, with riot police using shields and batons in a violent,  unprovoked attack on peaceful protesters.

The protesters are chanting, "This is not a riot" as the hard plastic shields are smashed into their faces. It's fucking outrageous.

Discuss it here: Weds 1st April: G20 protests - discussion, reaction and chat

Labels: london, protest

Today I attended the G20 protests in the City of London.

Just like Mayday 2001, the police employed their borderline-legal tactic of forcing protesters into a cordon for many hours and depriving them of food, water or toilet facilities.

Throughout the day, the policing was aggressive, disproportionate and needlessly provocative. We were lucky to get away around 3pm, dodging an advancing baton charge by riot police and dashing up an alleyway to escape.

We walked over to the Climate Camp demo, which was probably the fluffiest protest I've ever seen, with a rows of tents filling the streets, a canteen, compost loo and drummers. It was delightfully relaxed and mellow.

Sadly, this didn't stop the bonehead riot cops steaming in tonight.

Today was some of the worst policing I've ever seen at a UK demo.

Here's some photos from the day:

Loads more photos here: G20 and Climate Camp protests, London

Chat about the issues on the board: urban75 G20 thread

Labels: london, protest

There was a huge turn out for this march today - here's some hastily slapped up photos:

Loads more here: Put People First G20 Demonstration: 'Jobs, Justice, Climate

Labels: london, protest

We pay homage to one of London's finest clubs, which closed a few years ago.

WARNING: this feature includes some seriously shocking hairstyles and yours truly clad in vast amounts of leather and PVC.

Here's a few examples:







See the full horror here: Gossips Club, Dean Street, London W1

Labels: clubs, london

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We've always been fans of this venue under the Tavistock Hotel on Bedford Way by Russell Square, so when we were invited by some lovely friends to come down on a Saturday night, we made it a date.

Unfortunately, they'd hired out one of the private karaoke rooms and were all squashed into a little room with a flickering LCD screen screen displaying the lyrics. The sound was truly dreadful even before the drunken singing started up, so we discretely shuffled our way out to the busy dance floor and bar.

There was an excellent rock and roll band playing onstage as well as some performance.

Here's a few camera phone snaps from the evening. We had a ball!

Labels: bowling, london, photos

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This morning, photographers and filmmakers - and the political activist and comedian Mark Thomas - gathered in their hundreds outside New Scotland Yard to exercise their democratic right to take a photograph in a public place.

The event was in defiance of Section 76 of the Counter Terrorism Act 2008 which became law today.

The new legislation gives the police powers to arrest photographers for taking and publishing a picture of a cop if the police decide that it is 'likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.'

I'll have a full report and more photos up later.

Labels: london, photography, protest

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The legend of the London Stone has attracted tourists from all over the world, most of who we'd imagine must be a little disappointed when they get to see the thing.



Said to be the spot from which the Romans measured all distances in Britannia, the London Stone can be found shoved into the side of a disused sports shop on Cannon Street, in the City of London.

Set within a carved stone surround and decorative iron grill (a Grade II listed structure), the London Stone has played a big part in London's history, being recognised as the symbolic authority and heart of the City of London for hundreds of years.



For centuries, the Stone was the place to be if you were in the mood to forge deals, swear a few oaths or make an official proclamation or two.

Jack Cade, leader of the 1450 revolt against Henry VI, followed tradition by banging his sword against the Stone after his forces entered London, declaring himself the 'Lord of the City' straight after.

Queen Elizabeth I's adviser and occultist, John Dee, went ever further, believing that it had magic powers, while William Blake reckoned that the stone had been part of a druid altar.



The Stone is now somewhat diminished in size - it's barely more than a shapeless lump of stone, to be honest - and was originally sited in the middle of Cannon Street.

Before that it was set into the wall of St Swithin's Church, managing to survive the church's bombing in the Second World War intact.



According to folklore, London's safety is linked to the Stone, with a myth saying that the stone was part of an altar built by Brutus of Troy, the legendary founder of London: "So long as the stone of Brutus is safe, so long shall London flourish".

With the store that houses the stone due to be demolished, the Stone will make its final journey to the London Museum.

Labels: london, stone

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A Saturday walk around a sunny, but freezing cold, central London:











Get the full story behind these pics here: London street and river scenes

Labels: london, photos

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I embarked on a chilly seven mile walk around central London today (photos coming soon!), and managed to grab a few more photos of gas lamps still in use.









Expect more soon!

Feature here: London's gas lamps

Labels: gas lamps, london

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On the 28th January, 1807, the gas lamps on Pall Mall were lit, making it the first street in the world to be illuminated by the warm glow of gas light.



Incredibly, several areas of London are still lit by gas, including a large part of Covent Garden, the Royal Parks and the exterior of Buckingham Palace.



Gas lamp man, Green Park
There's a small workforce kept to maintain London's gas lamps with duties including checking the mantles and giving the lamps a weekly wind-up (the timer is controlled by a clockwork mechanism).

I got chatting to this Gas lamp man in Green Park and he told me that it's such a popular job that workers rarely leave.

Labels: gas, gas lamps, london

One of London's finest music venues is set to be demolished by the summer, thanks to the long-delayed CrossRail project which needs the land.

I've seen some great gigs at the Astoria and it also used to be a bit of a regular haunt in my RAWWWCKKK! phase, where I hung out with hard drinking, poodle-haired chums in the upstairs club getting on down to Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Guns and Roses and other fist in the air head-shaking types...

So now the Astoria joins the Hammersmith Palais as another great lost London gig. Bummer.









Some great gigs at the Astoria:



Amy Winehouse, Feb 2007


Le Tigre, April 2004.

Labels: astoria, clubs, london

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Some photos from my rainy walk around central London and Brixton yesterday...


Beheaded Belisha beacon, Atlantic Road, Brixton.

Named after Leslie Hore-Belisha (1895-1957), who was Minister of Transport responsible for introducing them in 1934, they can be seen all over the UK, Ireland and in the former British crown colonies of Singapore and Hong Kong.


Oxford Street.


Oxford Street trader.


Brixton Station Road.

Labels: brixton, london, photos

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Formerly located on Great Newport Street (by Leicester Square), the Photographers' Gallery moved to a new four storey site by Oxford Circus in December 2008.

We went along to take a look - and liked the new site a lot, and it makes much more sense to have all the galleries under one roof.

Although the food was up to the usual excellent standard (the home made cakes are sensational!), the cafe seemed a little short of seating space - so get there early to bagsy a space.

Labels: london

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A few photos from Soho...







Few more here.

Labels: christmas, london, photos

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There's a fascinating exhibition at the British Library revealing Britain's "1,000-year struggle for our freedoms and rights."




A tour of historic struggles for freedom, there's over 200 iconic documents and objects on display including the well known - like the Magna Carta of 1215, and the 1649 death warrant of King Charles I - and lesser known documents like the hand-written minutes of the Putney debates, recording  the arguments between Cromwell's New Model Army and the radical Levellers.









It's free and well worth a visit. Finishes March 1st 2009.

Labels: london, photos

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Here's a few swifty snaps I took on my new Lumix X3 camera while wandering around London yesterday.

The light was grey, the weather damp and I had a thumping hangover, but the camera did a grand job!

Labels: london, photos

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A few photographs taken from a very wet walk around Soho and Oxford Street on Saturday. It was a miserable day!


Great Newport Street, Leicester Square


Foyles bookstore, Charing Cross Road


Wet and windy on Oxford Street


Red brolly and puddles


Umbrellas by Oxford Circus tube

More London photos

Labels: london, photos

Following on from my photo feature in September last year, I grabbed a few more photos today of the Grade II listed gasometer.

You can clearly see the parts of the other dismantled gasometers stacked up for storage in some of the pics.

 


 

Gasometer, Kings Cross

Labels: london, photos

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Wandering past Soho, we were surprised to see the buildings along the short stretch of Manette Street (off Charing Cross in Central London) having giant photocopies of people's faces slapped all over them.

The work is by paste-up supremo JR and features photos of women from Morro da Providencia, Rio de Janeiro, "for whom crime, violent loss of loved ones and arbitrary repression are part of everyday life."

Labels: london, photos

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Born in Swardeston in Norfolk in 1865, Cavell served as a matron in the Berkendael Institute in Brussels, Belgium, which was taken over by the Germans in WW1.

In violation of military law, Cavell was accused of helping hundreds of Allied soldiers to escape to the neutral Netherlands, and was executed by firing squad on October 12, 1915.

The night before her execution she said the words now inscribed on her statue, "Patriotism is not enough, I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone."

The statue in her honour stands opposite the National Portrait Gallery, St. Martin's Place, near Trafalgar Square, London.



Read her story here: Edith Cavell - celebrated WW1 nurse and humanitarian

Labels: london

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Three more photos from today's event.

Labels: apple, london

So I had to cover this event in a conference hall in Islington, London, and sit though an hour of watching a live feed of a horde of Apple fanboys in San Francisco whooping and hollering at Steve Jobs' every iProclamation.

The new Nano looks very dinky, and the superslim Touch a wonder of technology, but forcing us to sit through two long, long, looong songs by Jack "dull" Johnson was sheer torture. And were we rewarded for our suffering with some free iPods? Like fuck we were.

So here's some pics instead. The Touch was very smudgy, by the way.

Labels: apple, london

I love this place. It's one of the very last old school live gigs left in central London and every time I've been there I've had a great night.

Tonight was exceptional fun: a mad, drunken, happy, cheery sing-along with a massively varied crowd and some absolutely nutbar bands. It was wild.  Do go.

Labels: gigs, london

Labels: london, photos

We went along to a rare open day at Battersea Power Station where ambitious new development plans were being shown off.

Expect a  full photo report soon, but here's a photo of the fabulous old building:

Labels: battersea power station, london, photos

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I'm not normally an opera-going sort of chap, but we popped along to see a production of Candide by the English National Opera at The London Coliseum.



Voltaire's story of a young bloke hell-bent on follow his tutor’s philosophy of cheery and perpetual optimism in the face of endless personal disasters is an entertaining tale, and the performance and stage sets were spectacular and exquisite.



Unfortunately, pre-show photography is completely banned in the beautiful theatre on some fuzzy grounds of "copyright,"  so here's a few snatched shots at the beginning and end.
.
 



Read review from The Stage
 

Labels: london, opera

Here's some more pics from  our wander along the Thameside path from the Millennium Dome into Greenwich. More photos soon!











It was nice to find what felt like a piece of 'old' London - it reminded me of when I walked along the old docks before Canary Wharf sprung up.



More photos here

Labels: dome, london, photos

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There's a little-used but really interesting walk that runs from the Millennium Dome (or 'The O2' or whatever it's now called) along a riverside path into Greenwich.

The walk breezes past acres of empty, deserted land and disused quays that will, no doubt, soon be sprouting ghastly developments galore.

Here's some pics from part one of the walk:









More pics here

Labels: dome, london, walk

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Millennium Dome main arena, 2000.

Now rebranded as The O2 and part of the 'O2 entertainment district' (you what?!), I've always rather liked the structure and even enjoyed visiting it back in 2000.

We took a stroll around the area yesterday as part of a lovely walk into Greenwich - here's some photos of the redeveloped O2 site.





More pics and feature

Labels: dome, london, photos

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Some snaps from my wander around central London yesterday:



Street artist in Leicester Square.



The half-demolished 1962 Swiss Centre in Leicester Square. The building was originally designed to provide a showcase for Switzerland and hosted a Swiss bank and the Swiss National Tourist Board.



The original Empire Theatre opened with a production of 'Chilperic' which was a 'Grand Musical Spectacular' by Florimund Herve in 1884.
Just three years later it had been become 'The Empire Theatre of Varieties,' reverting back to The Empire Theatre in 1898 before finally closing and being demolished in January 1927.

The second Empire Theatre opened as a cinema in November 1928, although it still put on occasional ballet and dancing shows before closing in May 1961 after a 76 week run of 'Ben Hur.'

After a major reconstruction, the third incarnation of the Empire Theatre opened in December 1962, and now hosts a cinema and casino.



The 20 feet tall tower of the art deco Odeon Leicester Square, once the 'flagship' cinema of Oscar Deutsch's Odeon Theatres Ltd.

Built on the site of the Alhambra Theatre (1883-1936), the Odeon opened for business on 2nd November 1937, offering 2,116 seats - and all of them covered in mock leopard-skin!



Trafalgar Square at night.




More photos

Labels: leicester square, london, photos, trafalgar square

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I went along to what was billed as 'London's Largest Living Room' in the courtyard of Somerset House on Saturday and have to say as I was a little underwhelmed.







Somerset House is till a great place to visit and a lovely peaceful retreat in the heart of central London. It's even better in the summer when the fountains are working.



Echoing its naval heritage, there's some elaborate and rather bonkers nautical stone carvings on the exterior walls of Somerset House.

More photos.

Labels: london, photos, somerset house

Some more photos from my Saturday stroll:



This elaborate piece of punctuation-untroubled stone lettering informs passers by that:

"In this court in the 18th century stood the Fountain Tavern where the political opponents of Sir Robert Walpole met using the title of the Fountain Club, also the Coal Hole the meeting place of the Wolf Club of which about 1826 Edmund Kean was a leading member".

In case you didn't know (and I certainly didn't) external link Edmund Kean (1789- 1833) was an English actor, regarded in his time as the greatest ever.

I'd heard of external link Sir Robert Walpole (1676 - 1745) of course - he was a bigshot statesman in Georgian times.



The 'Armchair Theatre' space outside the National Theatre.



I continue to be baffled by the growing collection of bizarre 'human statues' that line the South Bank between Hungerford and Westminster bridges. Why do people do it? And why do people give them money?



There's no sign of the sun, but that didn't stop these folks in Victoria Embankment Gardens.

More

Labels: london, photos, southbank

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On Saturday, I popped along to what was billed as a "national demonstration and carnival parade against fascism and racism" in Trafalgar Square put on by Love Music Hate Racism (LMHR) and Unite Against Fascism (UAF).



It wasn't exactly packed...

Labels: london, photos, protest

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I love London, me. :)

Labels: london

So the clueless buffoon got in and immediately banned one of life's harmless little pleasures with a piece of spectacularly ill-thought out, knee jerk legislation.

This ridiculous law not only infringes on people's right to peacefully enjoy a drink on the tube - perhaps after work or on their way out for a night - but it will be expensive to enforce and achieve precisely nothing.

Drunken behaviour on tubes has got precious little to do with people actually drinking on the tube train - the problems are almost always caused by people who are already drunk. Therefore this law will make zero difference and trying to enforce it will just cause friction with passengers and cause problems for LT staff.

There are already laws in place to punish anti social behaviour on London's public transport, and we welcome further investment to protect the travelling public, but the time, money and resources needed to enforce Johnson's plans could be far better employed elsewhere.

It's a hot topic on the urban75 bulletin boards - join in!

Labels: london, tube

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Some snapshots from a month in the Metropolis. 'Scure the quality - they were all taken on my itty bitty Palm Centro phone.


30th April Illicitly sneaking into the May listing is the Alabama3 anti-racism gig at the Brixton Academy - one of very favourite London venues.






Plastic glasses litter the dance floor at the end of the evening. The after-party beckons!


May 9th The fabulously lavish interior of the Shepherds Bush Empire, where we'd come to see Jonathan Richman.


It's a lovely looking venue, but the sightlines are shocking - it's the only standing venue I know where the floor appears to slope up to the stage.


After a lot of elbowing, shimmying and 'scuse me-ing, we finally bagged a half decent view.

Mind you, once we'd managed to grab a position with a view, there was no way we'd dare move to get a drink or - woe betide - try to pop off to the loo.

Jonathon Richman was fantastic, but the venue royally sucked.


15th May. The Left Outsides open up at the launch party for the debut album by Hayman, Watkins, Trout & Lee at the Gladstone in Borough.


The new album boys do their stuff. The Gladstone is a ruddy fantastic pub - warm, cosy, friendly and with some top real ale (I got stuck into the Hooky ale from Hook Norton).






16th May Cavendish Arms, Stockwell.

We loved how this little known boozer had been tarted up and the band room looked great, but the booking policy was so erratic that the place was empty and there was little empathy between the acts.

The venue has great potential though so we'll give it another go soon.


22nd May Launch party of Ivan's Retreat, Brixton Road.

This big, central Brixton boozer has struggled for ages under several names, but we went along to its latest relaunch, with the folks behind Camden's successful Lock Tavern pub now at the helm.

There was a lot of brown furniture going on, the music was indescribably bland (a bored looking DJ standing behind the decks with his arms closed hardly raised party spirits either) and the whole place felt like it should be shunted two miles up the road into Clapham.

The food looked like it might be pretty good, and the selection of the beers wasn't too shabby either, so we'll check it out again in a month or two.


22nd May Helen McCookeryBook at the Railway, Tulse Hill.

Now this is a mighty fine boozer, and well worth a visit. There's a small venue upstairs, a huge garden at the back (well, a sea of concrete mainly), good food and a lively downstairs bar.


There was some kind of super folky night going on at the Railway, and although some of the acts were quite enjoyable, when we being implored to clap along to some hippy tosh, we made our excuses.


22nd May The final gig of the night - The Amaylas at the Windmill.

The Windmill is rightly regarded as one of the finest small venues in London, and I was asked to DJ to a rather intimate crowd at an Oxfam benefit. Here's the view from the DJ decks.

I'm still not finished with the gigs yet - Friday night is Offline at the Brixton Albert, and Saturday I'm DJing at the Railway and then checking out the fabulous Actionettes at the Buffalo Bar.

Labels: brixton, gigs, london

To celebrate the reissue of PG Wodehouse's books by Arrow Books, a picnic was held in Russell Square on a delightfully warm spring Sunday afternoon.



I popped along for a nibble before heading off to take the photos at a friend's wedding in Marylebone.

Labels: london, photos, wodehouse

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Latest reports have that toff fop buffoon Boris ahead in the London mayoral election.

He might be a right laugh as a dinner guest, but having that clown in charge of London would be no fucking joke.

Labels: london

Me: Hello Ken. I run the urban75 website where Paddick used to post
Livingstone: Is that the Anarchist website?
Me: No. The press made that up in an attempt to discredit Paddick - it's never claimed to be an 'anarchist website'
Livingstone: That should teach me not to believe what I read in the press!

Labels: brixton, ken livingstone, london, politics

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A few snaps from around London town, taken with my trusty Ricoh GX100 camera.


Man with a hat, Bedford Square.


Penguin and passer by.


Bins, Ogle Street.

More London photos

Labels: london, photos

Link

Woot! It was great to see urban75 being listed in Time Out's "Top 50 London Websites," especially as were number one in the 'communities' section. Nice!



Elsewhere on the site, I've been obsessively updating the Brixton History features, posting up old billboards and adverts and taking a modern day look:
2-4 Atlantic Road, Brixton
58 Atlantic Road, Brixton
80 Atlantic Road, Brixton
Walton Lodge, Brixton



There's also a big feature on Quin & Axtens, a long-gone grand department store in Brixton Road.



If proof were needed that perhaps my obsession is going a little too far, my recent feature on the Public Toilets in Tate Library Gardens could be it!



Sadly the Lost Pubs section keeps on growing, with new features on the Loughborough Hotel and the Hammerton Brewery.

Still to post up are pictures from the fabulous Actionettes night at the 100 Club, Oxford Street. I'll sort them soon - honest!

Labels: brixton, london, photos, pubs

I've just finished a photo feature on this quiet little street in the centre of London.



Rumoured to be named after Jonas Hanway - the man who introduced the umbrella to the streets of London and faced of a ton of grief from hackney cab drivers for his troubles - it's a fascinating little backstreet.

See: Hanway Street feature



On a sadder note, I've had to add another entry to my growing list of Lost Pubs Of Brixton.



The beautiful Loughborough Hotel at 39 Loughborough Road, Brixton, SW9 7TB had already lost its famous ballroom to developers, but it now looks like the pub has gone too.

Read the full story here: Loughborough Hotel, Brixton closes

Labels: brixton, london, photos, pubs

Well, not exactly a pipeline, but there sure was a lot of champagne flowing my way on Thursday as I attended the launch of the Nokia Store on Regent Street, London W1.



With Apple having their own equally shiny and chrome/glass-laden store opposite, the rivals will be able to take part in staring competitions across the road. Or maybe slug it out in the street if things turn nasty.



I've never understood or been interested in the dire schleb culture, but it was amusing to see well known musicians like Dizee Rascal and Goldie being hired in to presumably add 'showbiz glamour' while Z List blonde women flapped around the cameras, almost begging to be snapped.

Still, you won't hear me complaining when the free champagne is slopping around in such quantities, and I got to meet some interesting folks amongst all the swivel-action suits, PR backslappers and attention seeking pap-clingers.



We later retired to a restaurant bar called Cocoon near Piccadilly Circus where the onslaught of champagne continued until, in the words of the fabulous Elbow, "my speech was just a gas leak."

Sadly, there were no free phones to be had, and I hadn't brought my proper camera, so you'll have to make do with these super low-res shots from my much loved Palm Treo 650 phone (the onboard camera is not its strong point).

Labels: london, nokia

I've always loved the High Victorian folly of St Pancras station and the adjacent Midland Grand Hotel, and after an uncertain future, it's great to see the place thriving.



I popped in today to take some photos (and managed to resist the strong urge to impulsively jump on a train and head for Europe!) and it's barely recognisable from the station I visited a few years ago.


St Pancras 2001.



Check out more photos here: Return to St Pancras, and browse hundreds of St Pancras photos here: St Pancras and Midland Hotel homepage.

Labels: london, railways

Two (overdue) updates to the photo gallery, with pictures from a summer and an autumn walk around Crystal Palace park and nearby Sydenham.



I went along on the Sydenham walk (called the 'Fungi Forage'), wooed by the prospect of a walk through the old railway tunnel, but it was not to be.



But I learnt a bit about picking wild mushrooms: don't, because I'm too stupid to work out the difference between tasty 'shrooms and poison-laden instant-death dealers.





I love Crystal Palace Park - all over the huge park there's remnants of its glorious Victorian past and bonkers things like Egyptians sphinxes, concrete dinosaurs and grand stairs going nowhere.



I discovered a pedalo half stuck in a tree, a considerable distance from any water, and there's headless statues scattered all over the park.



More photos here:
Palace photos
Sydenham to Crystal Palace park
An autumnal walk around Crystal Palace Park

Labels: crystal palace, london, photos

A rare day of winter sunshine sent us scuttling out of the house on Saturday afternoon, heading off to the hitherto unexplored lands of darkest Morden and Colliers Wood.



The walk took us around the attractive Morden Hall Park, past some lovely scenery before we headed north along the River Wandle.



Next stop was Deen City Farm, which packed a load of pretty budgies, squawking turkeys, and pocket-sniffing goats - and this fella above.



In the last stretch we grabbed a snack in a nice cafe at Merton Abbey Mills, checked out the waterwheel action and then headed into Colliers Wood, which can proudly boast one of the ugliest buildings in London.

More photos:
Morden Hall Park
Deen City Farm
Merton Abbey Mills and Colliers Wood

Labels: london, walk

The weather wasn't great, but we shook off some of the festive lard and lingering hangover with a short (4.3m) walk around town yesterday.

Here's some of the pics:


Christmas swing ride in Leicester Square.


Georgian terraced houses of Northumberland Street.


Walking along the south bank of the Thames


Houses of Parliament.

Central London and River Thames walk -photos

Labels: london, photos

A much loved London cafe lost forever.


April 2006


December 2007

The New Piccadilly Café, 8 Denman Street, Piccadilly, London

Labels: london, photos

It's taken me ages to get around to posting these pics up but here's some shots of the very last days of this much loved music venue.

My own band headlined there once, although it's fair to see it probably wasn't a stand-out moment in the venue's prestigious rollcall of bands.



Hammersmith Palais

Labels: london, photos

I love this old building right by Kings Cross station.



The story is that the building originally served as an oyster house - oysters being the fast food of the day - with eateries often being marked by a lighthouses, much like McDonalds (spit!) uses the familiar Golden Arches to catch the eye of hungry punters.

More photos: Oysterhouse Lighthouse, Kings Cross

Labels: london, photos

I spent a lovely hour walking around Regent's Park on Saturday afternoon, grabbing a couple of autumnal scenes on my trusty Ricoh GX100 camera (long term test review coming soon!) as I kicked through the leaves:





Couple more pics here

Labels: brockwell park, london, photos

Had a nice walk around W1 and Fitzrovia on Saturday - interesting to see so many buildings closed and the huge development taking place by Great Portland Street.



Photos of Fitzrovia

Labels: london, photos

Blimey, the place is gentrifying so fast you can almost feel your accent changing while you stand there.

Here's a few pics:







More photos here: Brick lane, East London

Labels: london, photos

By chance we stumbled across the Rose Theatre 'open weekend' last week and took a look inside.



There's not really a great deal to see, but it is kind of 'umbling to know that you're stood where people once saw some of Shakespeare's plays for the first time.

Rose Theatre

Labels: london, theatres

This is a great area of London to wander about in. The park is London's biggest public square and there's some fascinating architecture all around.

See more pics here: Lincoln's Inn Fields




The surrounding area is fascinating too, with lots of quirky buildings and interesting sights. Well worth a visit!

Holborn, the Strand and Fleet Street

Labels: london, photos

Welcome to Tottenham Hale. All cars, roads, railings, roundabouts and concrete. Easily one of the ugliest places in London.

This was taken on my route from the tube, a walk that involved trudging over a large concrete bus station concourse (busily transporting people to the Ikea in Edmonton), passing a hideous block of corporate food chains and then walking along a busy one-way road.

Just before this scene, the ever decreasing pavement was eventually pushed completely off the road, making me walk through a run down council estate before I rejoined the road at this charming spot.

Nice, huh?

Labels: london, photos

Blimey. What a week. Last Saturday I went to the Windmill, Brixton for the leaving bash of two of my friends, Scott and Jo. It was a fabulous night that involved a lot of drinking, although it's always a bit bitter sweet when your chums are leaving the country for good.

I'd prepared a special set of old time country bootstompers for Scott, but he spent most of the time lying on the floor drunk in front of the DJ booth.

His boots may not have stomped, but I'm sure I saw a few twitches...



The next afternoon I was DJing at the excellent Stumbleworthy event at the Duke of Sutherland Pub, Lorrimore Road, SE17.

I was still nursing a king size hangover, so all those buttons on the mixer confused me for quite a while, but I stayed on for a drink with some urbanites.

The Sutherland is a great, old-school boozer with cheap beer, pool table, Caribbean Soul food, board-games and a beer-garden. Well worth a visit.


On my beer-exuding walk over to the venue, I noticed this unusual sign, and posted up a page about it.

Thanks to the folks on the urban75 boards, I discovered the background to its unusual name:

"It's called the Onion Shed because until the early 1980's it was used by a group of Breton Onion sellers. You used to see them cycling round south London with their bicycles heavily laden with strings of onions and garlic. If I missed them in the street I would call round and buy my onions from the shed, where they would be stringing then together. I always suspected that they slept in the loft, although it was all fairly derelict."



Wandering around town today, I came across this lovely old Welsh chapel, Capel Bedyddwyr Cymreig. Find out more here.

I've finally made a start on the Brixton section and have posted up an all-new homepage which I think looks loads better.


I've posted up a piece about Brixton Water Lane which has some beautiful Regency and early Victorian villas, as well as a dark secret: MYSTERIOUS MURDER IN BRIXTON, May 1900

Other new features and updates on the site include:
Goodbye to the Hobgoblin boozer
Adam and Eve Court, London W1
London's narrowest alley
Vauxhall Cross Transport Interchange
Camberwell Submarine

Labels: brixton, london, photos

This was a good blag because I:

(a) love the BT Telecom Tower
(b) love wintery things and
(c) love freebies

...and all three were on offer today as I'd been invited to the launch of BT's winter range of tech goodies.



It was a tad odd to be looking out over London from a mock up of Santa's grotto, but I was happy as could be scoffing strawberry champagne jelly sat next to a Christmas tree looking over the mighty metropolis.

I was given a press pack as I left containing a very strange DECT phone which I'll review later.

BT Telecom Tower photos

Labels: london, photos

It's just a short bus ride from downtown Brixton, but it feels like a universe away with its quiet village atmosphere, posh houses, well tended verges and lack of shouting street nutters.



Dulwich Green Fair
Dukwich Village

Labels: dulwich, london, photos

Some more pics from my London ambles...


A visit to the Tate Britain


Hyde Park, the Strand and Borough Market photos


Steam train at Victoria station


Covent Garden, Bloomsbury, the Strand and Liverpool Street

Labels: london, photos brixton

This was a whole heap of fun, with the skies around Streatham Common Kite Day being peppered with kites of every shape, size, design and colour.



I flew this triplane kite for a while (but I wasn't very good!).

Streatham Common Kite Day

Labels: london, photos

Went to a friend's birthday at the Charterhouse Bar last night (oh, all right, he owns the place) and first impressions weren't good: the upstairs bar was jammed with extraordinarily drunk people grooving to some horrible funk groove thing, so we thought we'd have the one pint and make our excuses.

But then Dexys came on as the DJ switched to let's "play anything that makes people smile" mode, and we began to warm to the joint.

A few beers later and we were drunkenly getting down to the Psychedelic Furs, Billy Idol, Michael Jackson and all manner of cheesy tunes from the Great Vault of Stilton like the rest of them.

It was fantastic fun: no burly doormen, no attitude, a good mix of people and a really, really friendly crowd with no one taking it too seriously - a bit like a really good PROD on full tilt. It's well worth a visit if you're in the area.

Oh, and the DJs call themselves Rubbish which was a bit worrying because they looked to be far more in control of the decks than me at an average Offline.

But, eeeugh. My 'ead today. Biiiig hangover.


PS Expect an Offline club there soon - and don't forget our big night on Thursday this week. We've got great bands galore!

Labels: club, london

So, I'm walking along Avemaria Lane (near St Pauls) minding my own business. It's a quiet afternoon and there's barely anyone around. I've got my little Ricoh GR digital compact around my neck.

Passing the entrance to an empty car park that interested me (well, I like these kind of shots!), I take a snap from the pavement and am about to walk on when I hear a loud, aggressive voice shouting:

"Oy! Oy! You! You with the camera! "

"'Scuse me?"

"Yes you - you can't take pictures here"

"Err, yes, I can actually"

"No you can't"

"Yes, I can. I'm on a public highway"

"Don't give me attitude. If I say you can't take pictures you can't"

"You're wrong, actually. I'm on a public highway and I am perfectly entitled to take pictures of anything I like, thanks. That's UK law."

"Go on then. Try and take another picture, Go on!"

"I've already got the picture I want, thanks"

(aggressively pointing his walkie talkie aerial close to my face)

"Go on. Take another picture"

"are you threatening me?"

(louder and more aggressively)

"Go on. Try and take a picture again. Go on"

"OK, if you insist." (takes another picture).

<pause>

(security man conspicuously puts walkie talkie to mouth)

"Get me the flying squad"

"You're calling the...(chuckle)...Flying Squad?!!!!!"

"They're on the way"

...bursts into laughter and leaves.

CHECK OUT YOUR RIGHTS

Here's a really handy guide for photographers - make sure you read it before you go out street shooting so you know your rights!
Photographers Rights In The UK (PDF)

Labels: london, photos

Some photos from my walk yesterday:


ow turnout for the Biblical Gospel Ministries' in Trafalgar Square


Photographer's Gallery, Leicester Square


A statue of Fenner Brockway, an activist who I'd never heard of but now realise he was dead cool!

See all the photos

Labels: london, photos

Here's the final part of my photo series from my west-east walk across London on Saturday.



I hadn't really explored the streets around Brick Lane and quite liked the 'Williamsburg' vibe there.

Mind you, some of the new shops looked well posh, so I guess it'll all be changing soon.



Spitalfields and Brick Lane photos

Labels: london, photos, walk

Slammed down in the middle of the Royal Academy's Annenberg Courtyard, these two huge concrete towers provide a stark contrast to the Palladian architecture of Burlington House. I think they look great.



Jericho sculpture, Royal Academy

Labels: london, photos

Battersea Arts Centre

It's been a luvvy month for us as we've been to no less than three theatre productions in a single month!


Spamalot at the Palace Theatre

Check out more photos and a bit of history here

Labels: london, photos, theatres

Ace historian Chris Roberts kindly agreed to take a gaggle of urbanites on a short walk of the Thames, with a focus on ghost tales and mysterious happenings.



More photos here

Labels: london, photos, walk

Armed with my camera, I went for a lone amble around London on Saturday, starting off at Borough market, and then walking along the Southbank to the Tate Modern and then across the river to Victoria Embankment, up Charing Cross Road, along Oxford Street, down Regent Street, into Mayfair and then headed home to Green Park tube.


Borough Market, London


Tate Modern, Bankside, London


Southbank, London


York Watergate


Brydges Place - London's narrowest alley


The Singing Handyman, London

Labels: london, photos

Save Smithfield!



Pictured above is the old General Market at Smithfields Market, part of a complex of fine Victorian buildings scheduled for demolition.



Despite much local campaigning and appeals from English Heritage, developers want to smash it down and replace it with a bland 7-storey office block.

» General Market, Smithfields Market photos

A walk around Clerkenwell



Clerkenwell's a great area to walk about (even if it is pissing down), full of nooks and crannies and quirky old buildings. I'll be doing another walk soon.

» A walk around Clerkenwell

The Mystery of Red Cow Yard



There's not a lot to look at here, but what is the red cow that this Clerkenwell street is named after?

» Red Cow Yard, Clerkenwell, EC1

Secret St Pancras



Urban explorer extraordinaire Paul Holmes has managed to sneak his camera into sealed off areas of the marvellous St Pancras/Midland Hotel, which is currently undergoing restoration.

Check out the photos and story here: Mission #17: 'Meet me at St Pancras'

Return of the Penny Dreadful



Chris Roberts leads the revival of these damned Victorian novels!

Return of the Penny Dreadful

Labels: london, photos