This is how the Tower of London’s moat looked when I visited back in August 2014, a sea of poppies to mark the centenary of the start of the First World War.
The installation was called ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ and it remained in place between July and November 2014. Paul Cummins was the artist and Tom Piper designed the concept behind it, which was a magnificent sight in the Tower’s moat.
I’ve never seen one of these machines, but it appears that the company operates around 75 of them, primarily in London, but also at some transport hubs. They’re a way for customers to place in foreign coins and notes and get back out UK pounds, or another currency. They even accept pre-Euro currency, so an opportunity to get rid of some old French francs.
The rates aren’t though the best. 1,000 Polish zloty are currently worth just over £200 (which is good, as they were lower a few weeks ago and I’m off there next), but this machine would pay £175 (or just £120 if coins were paid in). Looking at companies who provide buy-back, they give back from £195 at best (currency on-line group to £181 at worst (RBS). However, for convenience, the rates aren’t too bad in the scale of things and the banks don’t generally accept coins at all.
It’s a marvellous idea though and I might look at my little currency reserves, which are very small, as there doesn’t seem to be a minimum transaction size. A very good idea and the transparency of having the rates on their web-site is also useful.
I walked down this street whilst following the Jack the Ripper Ramblers Route, otherwise I’m not sure that I would have ever found this street.
It’s hard to imagine this quaint street is actually in the heart of Spitalfields. The street was formerly known as Red Lion Court and the Red Lion Court Chapel which was once on the street has long since been demolished.
The text of this tablet reads:
“These almshouses were erected in the year 1860 for poor inhabitants of the liberty of Norton Folgate in place of those taken down for the new street”.
The original almshouses were in Blossom Street, but a road widening was needed there, so compensation and new land was provided to the charity.
I’m off to Luxembourg tomorrow and got the train today to my hotel at Heathrow. Inspired by the Hike Norfolk London trip on Saturday, I decided to follow one of the Ramblers routes which are available to members of the organisation via the national web-site. It’s a handy resource and the walks come with a .gpx file to follow, as well as the route description.
This one is the ‘Jack the Ripper’ walk which is a 3.3 mile walk around the area in which the murders took place. There’s not a great deal to see of the murders, as obviously the areas aren’t what they wanted to preserve, but the walk does visit some of the parts of the city which the murderer and victims would have known.
More of the walk itself in separate posts….
I don’t usually use this entrance into Liverpool Street Station, so have missed just how much of a wonderful statue this is. It’s a commemoration of the 10,000 Jewish children who were able to escape from Nazi Germany just before the outbreak of the Second World War and who arrived at the station.
The statue was designed by Frank Meisler who as a child was evacuated from Gdansk (or what was then the Free City of Danzig) to London Liverpool Street station.
There’s a parallel statue at Gdańsk Główny railway station (above photo which I took in 2016) by the same sculptor.
This sculpture at Spitalfields is entitled Frame Break, and was designed by Jack West and installed here in 1988. Personally I thought it looked confused, but I really like the premise behind it which is that it’s a reference to the Frame Breaking Act of 1812. This was introduced by the Government to increase penalties for those who damaged industrial machinery, mainly people known as Luddites. It became a capital crime to try and deter vandals from destroying equipment and along with other measures the action was generally successful in quelling the growing rebellion.
I think I’d have liked something that looked less like a smashed up guitar and something which more resembled the looms from the period. It’s a really nice concept though, another reminder of the history of the area as it makes reference to the migrant Huguenot weavers who worked and lived in Spitalfields.
There was a brewing industry at this site, at Brick Lane, in London in the sixteenth century and it continued until 1989 when this enormous brewery was closed down. For a period in the nineteenth century this was the largest brewery in the world, taking its name from the nearby Black Eagle Street.
This map from the turn of the twentieth century shows just how big this brewery had become.
Today the area has been repurposed with numerous restaurants, residential units and offices around the site. There’s something of a creative edge to it, with numerous art events and performances taking place.
This is the former Head Office of the brewery, a sadly once grand site now looking a little forlorn. FWIW, which isn’t much, I think the site is seriously underused, there is no museum of the brewery or area, no explanation to its history and it seems primarily used for commercialised events which have a tenuous link to the local community.
I’m sure that there are some marvellous businesses in the area which have taken the opportunity of being in one of the most vibrant parts of London, but I felt that this area was all rather underwhelming in terms of the brewery buildings themselves.
When Steve mentioned that there was no particular pub planned for the Hike Norfolk day out in London, I felt compelled to offer assistance. This was one of the pubs listed in the Good Beer Guide, so it was here that eight of us came to.
There was no dark beer, although the barman told me that there was but it had sold out as it was popular. For reasons unknown to me, since I didn’t ask, I was unsure why the pub hadn’t found another alternative. Nothing on the beer list was particularly interesting to me, but I like Redemption Brewery, so I opted for that one.
The prices were surprisingly reasonable given the relatively central location in London. All of the real ales were £4.80 a pint, and I was pleased that my half cost exactly £2.40, I like it when pubs charge equitably. As for the beer, it was well kept, at the appropriate temperature and there was a pleasant taste to the whole thing with a taste of honey.
The pub’s beer garden, which was all rather comfortable.
Brewing tanks on the bar.
The pub interior. CAMRA notes that this pub was closed and left derelict for 12 years, before reopening in 2013. They did a good job of the restoration, it feels on-trend and contemporary. My one little complaint (other than the lack of dark beer) is that the pub doesn’t seem to make much of its history, either at the venue or on-line.
The former back wall of the pub, which has been brought back out to increase the amount of space available.
The service in the pub was always friendly and helpful, so the whole environment was comfortable. We didn’t need to eat at the time, but the food options looked tempting and the prices were reasonable. I’d certainly return again and thanks to CAMRA for recommending it….
Principal Place is a new residential building in Shoreditch which was managing to attract the attention of many passer-bys because of their astroturf bear.
And an astroturf chair. Although living here isn’t really a cheap lifestyle choice, as there’s currently a one-bedroom flat to rent here for the bargain price of just £3,700 per month.
The church is St. Andrew Undershaft, with the current building dating to 1532, although there has been a church here since the twelfth century. It takes its name from when its maypole was taller than its tower and it’s quite remarkable that this church has survived at all given the blitz and IRA bombings it endured.
