The RIBA Stirling Prize 2014 - The London Aquatics Centre

Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects for the Olympic Delivery Authority this building has been constructed and then partially deconstructed over the last nine years and this week saw it's finished beauty make the RIBA Stirling Prize Shortlist 2014. The winner will be chosen on 16th October 2014 from a list that contains two other London candidates the LSE Saw Swee Hock Student Centre and The Shard.

I have visited The London Aquatics Centre often since it opened it's doors to the public, even attending a World Series Diving event and it is a very special place. Looking around you see concrete shaped into extraordinary curves and the metal fittings up in the spectator gallery mirroring those used in and around the pools...the pool steps and diving board handrails.  I particularly like the diving platforms, again shaped in concrete and the stunning ceiling.  When it was first opened you could look out of the windows on both sides however, those to the right looking towards the City have now been obscured.

Now that the side wings have been removed the building looks perfect and definitely worthy of being on the shortlist.  The building is now in the hands of GLL and open to the public for swimming, diving and swimming lessons.  If you don't fancy going for a swim and just want to have a look around the inside you can wander for as long as you'd like for £1.00! There is also a cafe area at entrance level.

I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that this space is crowned overall winner for 2014!

Fine Cell Work

A few weeks ago I visited Danson House, Bexley and the Things We Do in Bed Exhibition curated by Tracy Chevalier and was blown away by a modern quilt by Fine Cell Work. A friend had alerted me to them a few years ago and I was also aware that big businesses such as Firmdale hotels were great supporters of theirs using cushions in their public spaces. This however was the first time I had seen such a large item by them.

Fine Cell Work is a social enterprise that teaches prisoners sewing techniques allowing them to make beautiful soft furnishings which are then sold. These skills can then be used on release from prison and assist their re-entry into society.

The work they do is exquisite and anyone purchasing an item is encouraged to write a note to the person who made it without any personal details for obvious reasons.

 

They only have the one quilt on display at Danson House although several of their cushions are available in the shop.  The quilt is the work of many prisoners and each square tells a story....some of those are in printed form in a book in the room.

A very worthwhile enterprise and also fantastic needlework.

The exhibition runs until 31st October 2014 and is well worth a visit.

Museums at Night 2014 - The British Postal Museum Archive

I wrote this last year after a visit to the British Postal Museum Archive about how postcodes originated....

The British Postal Museum Archive has been a favourite place of mine for several years now...  I'm not sure whether it was a visit to their Store in Debden which started it or an evening talk at the archive itself.  The Store holds tours each month and events throughout the year and is well worth a visit.

A few weeks ago I attended a talk by Helen Kearney at the archive Search Room about the evolution of the postal map and it's importance in history.  The original postal map was drawn up by cartographer Edward Stanford in 1856 at the request of Rowland Hill and contained 10 postal districts which all bar two are still used today for the first part of your postcode.  Originally we had Northern, North Eastern, Eastern, South Eastern, Southern, South West, Western and North Western Districts.  The two that were lost were the North Eastern District and the Southern District in 1865 and 1866 respectively.

This meant that there could be daily deliveries between each District Office rather than mail coming into the centre of London and then having to be delivered out again once sorted!

The map has a radius of almost 12 miles measured from the original Central Post Office of St Martin's Le Grand very close to St Paul's Cathedral and has only slightly changed to this day.  The numbering of postal areas was a few more years in coming despite repeated attempts since 1911.  It was WW1 and the inexperienced temporary sorters that eventually meant that the District plus number system was introduced.

We learnt from Helen that the area containing the District office was always linked to number 1…N1, SW1 etc and then areas within a district were put in alphabetical order and numbered consecutively after that.  This means that two adjacent areas in a postal district could be numbered N1 and N10!

A reminder of these now disappeared postal districts can be found on a few unchanged streets signs, such as Stamford Grove West in Stamford Hill which still has NE displayed on the sign.

It was an interesting talk and a previous version can be listened to on the BPMA website.

Tower Hamlets..Introduction to Guiding Course

We are now 2 weeks or so into the Walkie Talkie.. Introduction to Guiding in Tower Hamlets course although it does seem much longer...in a good way that is!  I'm one of a group of 18 very different people all with a love of London and a thirst to find out more.

Tower Hamlets is vast and the areas it covers are diverse in nature from Docklands to Whitechapel and the new to me...Globe Town and Ratcliff.

So far we have had one classroom session learning how to put a stop together and getting to know each other and I've now been on three linked walks.

The Saturday before last it was Stepney and Limehouse with Judy Stephenson

Last Wednesday 13 of us turned up at Stepney Green Station on a tube strike day for a walk around Bethnal Green with course leader David Charnick 

Yesterday I went on another David Charnick walk around Bethnal Green but saw totally different places.  

We are all researching a different place or area within Tower Hamlets to put together a presentation at the last session....just three weeks away!

This Wednesday it's back to the classroom at the Shadwell Centre and thankfully the tube strike has been postponed this week.

I've met some great people and as you probably realise I'm really enjoying it so far!!

Walks I have Walked!

Several years ago now I went to a weekend festival at The Guildhall and booked a space on one of the many free walks that they offered. This was to be the start of my many guided walks around the City of London in particular and London in general.

This post is about those walks and the splendid guides who takes them in all weathers.  They are in no order of preference....


Westminster Walks - Joanna Moncrieff

Jo and I live in the same town and although we meet mainly in London I have been to several local events with her. Westminster Walks are usually based around food and drink and are always entertaining. I have been on the Chingford Walk, Walthamstow Walk and The Gentlemen's Clubs of Pall Mall Walk. Jo is a Westminster Guide and her walks can also be booked through Footprints of London. @wwalks

Miss B Takes A Walk - Tina Baxter

I met Tina at an event at the Guildhall Library event and since then we have been on many adventures together. Tina is a City of London Guide and also a Freeman of the City of London. The walks can be booked through Miss B Takes a Walk or Footprints of London as before.

I have been on her City Gardens Walk and her Women Through Time Walk and both were full of  fascinating insights into the City. @MissBTakesAWalk

Guided Walks in London

I met this lovely lady at a talk in a library in Westminster when we were both tweeting about the same thing, looked around the room and we were sitting a few seats from each other! Her walks can be booked through the Guided Walks in London website.  I went on a charity walk last Summer....Sinister Secrets which was around Smithfield and very good. This year the Sinister Walk moves to  Covent Garden, I may have to book that! @GWinLondon

Yannick Pucci

Yannick Pucci and Guided Walks in London are never far apart, therefore he comes next... Yannick is guiding walks in Holland Park and Bloomsbury. I went on his Art Deco walk around Bloomsbury in the pouring rain and it was entertaining, informative and fun. He can also be found at the British Museum some weekends.  @ypldn

Mark Mason - Walk the Lines

In 2011 Mark's book about walking each of the Underground lines overground hit the shops.  He then devised a series of walks based around a section of a few of them.  I have been on his Central Line Walk and his Piccadilly Line Walk.....one I will always remember as it was the day Andy Murray won Wimbledon  in 2013!  The walks are great but he doesn't do them often.  Mark has a website titled The Importance of Being Trivial which shows the many and varied things that he does. @walkthelinesLDN

Mark Rowland - Marks London Rambles

Mark  is a Westminster as well as a City of London Guide and runs several walks which can be booked directly or through Footprints of London.  Mark is great fun and the first walk I went on was his Dickens Walk around Borough and The City with a group of Rock Choir ladies including his wife.  More recently I went on his World in One City: Migration and the Making of Modern London Walk, a very interesting few hours which told the story of different settlers into the City. @marksldnrambles

Rob Smith - Clerkenwell and Islington 

Rob is a qualified Clerkenwell and Islington guide and has several walks that can be booked through his Eventbrite page.  I went on Rob's Up The Cally Walk as part of Callyfest last year.  A fabulous walk along and around the Caledonian Road. @rob_s_smith

Anthony M R Lewis - The Lost Valley of London

The walk Anthony did  was slightly different in that it was mainly for other guides and/or Twitter friends...the other difference was that he was dressed as an explorer and wearing a pith helmet! This was a Tweetup with a fun walk before in the dark of Winter around Southwark. The Lost Valley of London website shows all of the exciting projects Anthony is involved in. @The_lost_valley

Sean Patterson - Charles Booth Walks

I've now been on all three of Sean's walks based on the Charles Booth Poverty Map of London from the end of the 1800's. They are in Clerkenwell, Whitechapel and Deptford and really give you a real sense of the streets as they were through excerpts of Booth's own account as well as other readings.

Charles Booth Walks can be booked through the website or through Footprints of London.  Sean is a City of London and Clerkenwell and Islington Guide and his currently studying to be a Westminster Guide. @BoothWalk

Geoff Marshall - Secrets of the Underground Tour

Geoff Marshall is the Guinness World Record Holder for covering all of the London Underground stations in the shortest time. His is not a walk but a tour and you need your Oystercard as you cover a fair amount of London...by Tube!  There is some walking obviously inside and outside of the network and you learn so many secrets along the way. A very enjoyable afternoon that can be booked by mailing....... geoff@geofftech.co.uk .  @geofftech

Colin Davey

I went on a private walk with Colin for London Historians around the Royal Courts of Justice.  We had a fantastic tour of the building seeing some of the 78 courts and hearing stories of cases of the past.  Colin a lawyer as well as a guide was able to give a very personal account of this grand building. You can see his range of walks at his website. He is a City of London and Westminster Guide. @ColinWalkLondon

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This week I am starting a short course called Walkie Talkie: An Introduction to Guiding in Tower Hamlets and can only thank everyone above for giving me the confidence to give it a go.

City of London Epping Forest - The View

This morning after a leisurely breakfast with a friend we decided to visit The View Visitor Centre for Epping Forest located just beyond the mainline railway station in Chingford. I spent a great amount of time there a few months ago with an art and craft group that I used to run and what prompted me to write this post were two differing exhibitions that are on there at the moment.

In the upstairs exhibition space an art exhibition by artist and illustrator Simon Pemberton which was absolutely brilliant.  The friend I visited with is visually impaired and was blown away by this lovely exhibition.  A lot of the works are based around local Epping Forest landmarks as well as some using bike gears with woodland themes attached. My particular favourite was a work called Winter Snow which caught your eye as soon as you entered the room. I particularly like the silhouetted people in most of the works on display.

The exhibition continues until Sunday April 27th and is free to attend during the opening hours of the Visitor Centre 10.00am until 5.00pm daily.

In the outside space there are some new arrivals as well...deer! Or chain saw carved deer made from oak from Epping Forest.  These works by Denius Parsons were commissioned by The City of London and financed by The City Bridge Trust and make a visually stunning impact in their new habitat.

It really is only a 10 minute walk from the station and the rest of Epping Forest lies beyond....which is always well worth a visit.