 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
urban75 blog...rainy streets, neon signs, disused stations and broken lines... | |
Wednesday, April 23, 2008A walk around Ashtead and Epsom Commons
A few photos from a short (6 mile) birthday walk around Ashtead and Epsom Commons on the borders of Surrey and London.
 Ashtead station faces right out into the countryside, so you're straight off the train and getting down with nature in seconds.  It was pretty much deserted for the walk, but the ground got very muddy later on, forcing us city slickers to delicately tip toe over deep, troublesome puddles.  Groovy stripy tree.  Cast iron London boundary markers were situated in amongst the trees. Which was a bit odd. Read the full story of the walk here: Ashtead and Epsom Commons - a short six mile, birthday walk Link Tuesday, April 08, 2008FA Cup semi final: Barnsley 0 Cardiff 1
I've just posted up my photo report of this glorious day. And there's also a short video of delirious Cardiff fans after we scored the winning goal too. Oh yes indeedy!
 Snowball fight in Brixton to start the day.  Behold! The majesty of Wembley!   Check out the full match report by our roving ace reporter Paul Davies here: Barnsley 0 Cardiff 1 Labels: cardiff city, FA cup, photos, wembley Link Tuesday, March 25, 2008New York photo updates
I'm slowly getting through the huge backlog of photos from our December 2007 trip to New York. Here's some updates - hope you like 'em!
  New York street photos part 1   New York street photos part 2   New York street photos part 3 Link London photos
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 Link Monday, March 17, 2008Fox & Goose, Hebden Bridge We've just come back from a fantastic walking weekend in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire.  Once scattered with corduroy and worsted mills, the area has retained a rugged northern beauty and now thrives as a major tourist destination with a very healthy 'alternative' community.  We loved the place and the people. Above are some photos from a lovely night in the excellent Fox & Goose boozer. Expect some more photos soon! Labels: hebden bridge, photos, yorkshire Tuesday, March 11, 2008Philadelphia photos update Thanks to the lovely Siobhan in Philly, the Philadelphia photo gallery has now updated with in-depth captions detailing the history and local quirks of this fine city.  These curious hand made tiles with weird messages could be found all around Philly - check out the link to find out more. Philly photos Labels: philadelphia, photos Link Sunday, March 09, 2008Storm ahoy! There's severe gales and heavy rain blowing in from the Atlantic tonight.  Here's the view over Brixton right now. Wednesday, March 05, 2008A train trip up the Valleys, 1989 I've scanned in a few photos from a train trip I took nearly twenty years ago.  Travelling out of Cardiff with my then girlfriend Debbie, I doubt if we knew just how quickly this scene would be transformed. Now there's barely any industry left in the Welsh Valleys, thanks to the Evil Thatch and her Tory cohorts. More pics Labels: photos, railways, wales Link Friday, February 22, 2008Time Out Top 50 Site!
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 Sunday, February 10, 2008Hanway Street, London W1 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 Friday, February 01, 2008Crystal Palace photos 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 Monday, January 28, 2008Offline club and a visit to the Marquis Despite falling foul of what seemed like a bona fide case of the lurgy on Thursday, I felt well enough on Friday to check out the Marquis Of Lorne pub with some friends.  It's definitely not a pub for thrill seekers, party heads or ravers, but it has a certain retro charm. See: Marquis of Lorne feature  Saturday night was our first Offline of the new year at the Albert and it was a fun night as usual.  The delightful Ms Feelgood DJ'd again and made the usual mess all over the decks! Offline pics Labels: brixton, offline, photos Saturday, January 19, 2008Brixton Vigil A big, mixed crowd turned out to pay their respects to Khalil Nasseri, exactly a week after his brutal murder.  Family members, customers, officials and friends gave short talks emphasising community, racial harmony and the positive aspects of Brixton. The crowd then took a short walk around the market where he worked.  It was very moving and very, very sad, but hopefully the family found some comfort in the size of the crowd who showed up. Brixton stabbing Canal Street NYC: photos Visitors keen to find a piece of untamed New York should check out Canal Street, in lower Manhattan. It's stuffed full of counterfeit handbags, suspect jewellery, fake Rolex watches, knocked off goods and other iffy merchandise, with 'nuff dodgy, suitcase-toting blokes lurking about. Here's a couple of snaps:   Canal Street shops and street traders Friday, January 18, 2008New York subway scenes
Some more photos from last month's New York trip...
    And here's how it looked when I first visited New York in 1986. Scary or what? I was terrified!  New York subway scenes Tines Square at night, NYC Here's some pics taken when we walked through the tourist-tastic neon eyestorm of Times Square.  It's bonkers but fun - like Piccadilly Circus on steroids - but it's not a place to tarry unless you're a fan of the Big Brand Corporate American Shopping Experience (TM) - with added Disney-power.   More photos here: Times Square at night - neon signs, taxi cabs and billboards Wednesday, January 16, 2008Murdered: over a 20p orange This is hopelessly, desperately tragic. Last Saturday a 24 year old man helping out in his cousin's shop in Brixton Market was stabbed to death by a gang of men in a 'revenge' attack - over a row about a 20p orange two days earlier.  The market traders are planning a vigil this Saturday (19th) on the corner of Atlantic Road and Electric Avenue at 6pm. We'll be there. Fatal stabbing in Brixton Market Monday, January 14, 2008Winter walk in NY
I've posted up a few more photos from trip to New York last month - but I've still got loads more to work though.
 Sat on top of a residential block facing on the Lower East Side is a 19-foot statue of Lenin, posing with his right arm raised victoriously towards downtown Manhattan.  Snow face and passing cyclist, E. Houston St., New York.  Snow and magazine boxes. More photos: Winter walk in NYC Wednesday, January 09, 2008Sailors' Snug Harbor, Staten Island, NYC When we were in New York last month, we took the free ferry out of Manhattan to Staten Island and braved an icy walk to visit the Sailors' Snug Harbor - an old institute for 'aged, decrepit and worn-out sailors.'  The site - which was nearly flattened in the 60s - now serves as a Culture Centre, and is a fun place to visit. We had a fantastic meal in the cafe below. Sailors' Snug Harbor Cultural Center  We also took a walk around Staten Island, which has its pretty and its not-so-pretty parts.   More photos: Richmond Terrace, Staten Island Staten Island walk Labels: new york, photos, staten island Sunday, January 06, 2008Piccadilly to Vauxhall 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 Friday, January 04, 2008Cardiff at Christmas
Just a few snaps from my brief stay in my home town over Christmas. It's getting hard to reconcile the city with my memories as it's being redeveloped so fast.
  Cardiff at Christmas - more photos Labels: cardiff, christmas, photos Thursday, January 03, 2008City Island, Bronx, New York
Amazingly, this island - with its New England architecture, wooden houses and fishing boats- is in the Bronx, New York!
    Loads more photos: City Island, Bronx, New York Labels: bronx, new york, photos Wednesday, January 02, 2008Monster party for the New Year!
Blimey. The Offline party at the Albert last night was such a big one I've spent all day recovering. Here's some pics - more to follow when my head gets vaguely back to normal (I fear that may take some time).
    Oh, and a Happy New Year to all my readers - if there are any out there! (I suspect I'm talking to myself most of the time, but what the hell!). Labels: brixton, offline, photos Monday, December 31, 2007Christmas in Wales
We had a fabulous time in Cardiff. Here's some pics:
 St Fagans National History Museum is an astonishingly good place to visit, with the open air site containing over 40 lovingly rebuilt buildings from Wales' history.  The row of workmen's cottages from Rhyd-y-car were my favourite. St Fagans National History Museum   A little less easy on the eye was Nant-y-moel and Ogmore Vale, two down-at-heel former mining villages, still struggling to find a purpose after Herr Thatcher finished off the local industry in the mid 1980s. Nant-y-moel and Ogmore Vale Monday, December 24, 2007Christmas Lights, NY/London
Putting Oxford Street's desperate offering to shame is the gloriously over-the-top display at the Rockefeller Centre, New York:
 And here's the feeble lights on London's Oxford Street.  Brixton: rubbish Xmas decorations This year's effort -both by the council and local shops - looks even worse than last years paltry offering.   Only Brixton Station Road looks in the least bit festive, while most shops haven't bothered at all (save for some Yuletide-themed, product shifting advert or another). More Brixton Christmas photos  Check out how it looked a hundred years ago: Brixton, Christmas, 1908. Sunday, December 23, 2007Goodbye New Piccadilly cafe
A much loved London cafe lost forever.
 April 2006  December 2007 The New Piccadilly Café, 8 Denman Street, Piccadilly, London Actionettes at the Tate  This was fun last week - a party with The Actionettes inside one of the Tate Britain's art galleries! Labels: actionettes, photos Tuesday, December 18, 2007Offline Club - New York and London!
There's been no less than four Offline Club nights since I last updated this blog. Here's a couple of snaps from the nights:
  Nov 29th: JAMM, Brixton. Thirty samba drummers, Freddie Stevenson and more! More club photos   Dec 8th: Boulevard Tavern, New York More photos   Dec 14th: Alma, Crystal Palace, south London More photos   Dec 15th: Punk Rock Special, Albert, Brixton, London More photos Next Offline is this Friday, 21st December at the Albert. It's our Christmas party and we've got a great punk/ska band and a nine piece ukulele orchestra! Offline club website Labels: brixton, club, new york, offline, photos New York: Central Park in the snow
We've been away in New York for the past couple of weeks, and as soon as we got back to London, I had to run two Offline nights, so things have been very, very busy.
New York was fantastic fun, but it's going to take me a while to sort out all the photos, but here's a few from a lovely morning spent crunching through the Central Park snow.     More photos here: Central Park in the snow Friday, November 16, 2007Brixton Living Bar shut down Formerly the Coach and Horses, Brixton's Living Bar was suddenly closed down yesterday.  It hasn't enjoyed the greatest of reputations with some locals, but it's a striking building and I hope it reopens as a pub soon.  Lost pubs of Brixton Sex Pistols, Fireworks, Ramones....
Been a bit slow updating my blog recently, so here's a bumper pack:
Sex Pistols at Brixton  It was fun but a bit odd. Johnny was brilliant - part pantomime dame, part Olivier's Richard III, part Norman Wisdom, part sneering punk and a total showman throughout. Steve Jones looked like an over inflated inner tube, Paul Cook was lean and committed and Glen Matlock looked like he'd just stumbled in from a pub gig somewhere.  The band were tight and it was LOUD. Johnny looked fit, tanned and healthy, sang the songs with gusto, running through a wide variety of hilarious facial expressions and movements. Viewed as a gig it was a bit strange, but as a piece of theatre it was well worth the money. And if nothing else, you can always bore people in the future by saying: "I saw the Pistols." Fireworks, Brockwell Park  With t'local yoot relentlessly bombarding the 'hood with bazooka-style fireworks over the preceding three months, I have to admit that my appetite for going up the park to watch the display had diminished somewhat.  Thankfully, we have a great view from our balcony, so I grabbed a few shots. Halloween  For Halloween, I went to a great party at a local squat/arts venue and saw a friend's Ramones tribute band.  Normally, I hate any kind of tribute band but this lot are my mates and they have a girl singer so it was fun to watch. Talking of gigs, on Saturday I'm putting on a Rock'n'Roll/Big Band special at the Albert with 4 hot rocking ladies on the decks and the fantastic Hightown Crows playing live. Come on down - its free! Saturday 17th Nov ROCK'N'ROLL SPECIAL, BRIXTON Labels: brixton, offline, photos Friday, November 02, 2007Hammersmith Palais RIP
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 Thursday, October 25, 2007A lighthouse in London 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 Monday, October 22, 2007Autumn in Regent's Park
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 Sunday, October 21, 2007A walk around Fitzrovia, London 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 Tuesday, October 16, 2007A walk around Brick Lane, East End
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 Monday, September 24, 2007Harvest It FestivalThursday, September 13, 2007A walk around Lincoln's Inn Fields & Holborn  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 Tuesday, September 11, 2007Behold! The majesty of Tottenham Hale! 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? Sunday, September 09, 2007London Rollergirls Rollerderby That was a whole heap of fun: on Saturday I braved the bleak wastelands of Tottenham Hale (surely the ugliest, most road-tastic area of London?) to check out the London Rollergirls.  More photos: The Great Rock'n'Rollerderby Swindle Labels: photos, Rollergirls Wednesday, September 05, 2007Salisbury city and cathedral Some snapshots around Salisbury in Wiltshire and its fab cathedral, taken with my trusty Ricoh GX100 and with minimal post-processing.  More: Salisbury City Salisbury cathedral  The photos were taken while we waited for the bus to take us to the madness of the fabulous Endorse-It Festival Monday, September 03, 2007Petts Wood walk, sth London Just 20 mins train ride out of Brixton is Petts Wood, a 1930s 'new town' surrounded by ancient forest.  Walking through Park Wood. See more photos here: Petts Wood Walk  By a happy coincidence, we walked past the site of the moated Tudor Scadbury Manor on the one day a year it was open.  Scadbury Manor feature Thursday, August 30, 2007Slogans on Police Plant Pots
Lined up outside Brixton Police station can be seen this strange selection of plant pots, all bearing bizarre, God-squad-tastic hand painted slogans. WTF?!!
  Full feature here DJing, drinking and photographing
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 Wednesday, August 15, 2007Festival of the year! Just got back from The Endorse it in Dorset Festival and had a fabulous time.  It's a lovely little festival with a great vibe, lovely people, top bands and a real old-school attitude which means no corporate bollocks.  And after the horrors of Glastonbury, it was great to spend a weekend free of mud and rain. The Endorse it in Dorset Festival, 2007 Sunday, August 05, 2007Brixton Splash street festival    A few early shots from the free street festival. We'll be DJing by the Albert from 5pm onwards! See more photos here: Brixton Splash 2007 Thursday, August 02, 2007Winter comes early to the BT Tower 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. | |
