KP or Kensington Palace, situated within Kensington Gardens, is one of its most precious gems. It is restrained yet exuberant and well worth visiting if you are addicted, like I am, to Lucy Worsley’s BBC4 series on The First Georgians – all geared to celebrate 300 years since the Hanoverians were invited to take over…
Category: London
Singular statues: Flying into Neverland with Peter Pan
My photo-walk around Kensington Gardens led me to a statue I had wanted to see since childhood – Peter Pan. It was commissioned by the author Sir James Barrie from artist Gerge Frampton RA so surely, this depiction must be an accurate representation of Peter himself. Part of me still believes in Peter Pan, he…
Amazing Grace: Henry Moore’s Arch, Kensington Gardens
During a photo walk of Kensington Gardens, London, I chanced upon a stunningly positioned sculpture by Henry Moore hewn from Roman Travertine Marble. It is located at the end of one of the longest uninterrupted avenue vistas in London. The Arch was inspired by life – in this instance, a fragment of bone – and…
Singular Statues: #11 Sir John Betjeman
It was only when reading coverage of Martin Jennings’ recent statue of Charles Dickens, just unveiled, that I recalled that I have seen his work – and admired it – before. It’s at St Pancras International and it’s a statue dedicated to Sir John Betjeman who was instrumental in the fight to save Sir John…
A Londoner’s tip
If you are in old London town, wandering around the Trafalgar Square / Strand area, then why not check out The Cafe in The Crypt at St Martin-in-the-Fields for a quick cuppa or something a little more substantial? With the entrance next door to the venerable church itself, beneath a contemporary structure, I watch people walk…
Shard-View – Western Europe’s tallest skyscraper
It seems that The Shard London is a Marmite skyscraper – do you know that expression? Very strangely in my opinion, people either seem to like it or loathe it, with equal passion. For those of you familiar with this blog, you will immediately know that I love both Marmite and I am a definite…
Singular Statues: #2 Sherlock Holmes
I loved this statue of Sherlock Holmes from the moment I set eyes on it. It was Laura Porter of About London (the Queen of all things London) who took me on a Sherlock Holmes hunt with the statue as our first stopping place. Research shows that John Doubleday is the artist behind this three…
Lamppost series – 3: Westminster
For the third entry for this seminal lamppost series (*cough*), I turn to the seat of power in the land and to Westminster, or perhaps more accurately, Westminster Bridge. There are two different lampposts that interest me here – and both feature a diadem, quite appropriate in this Diamond Jubilee Year of course. I read…
Lamppost series – 2: The London Eye
For the second in my lamppost series, I couldn’t help but link lamppost two with one of my favourite London attractions, The London Eye on the Victoria Embankment. Continuing the regal theme, this lamppost is crowned! Look at the detailing of this cast iron dolphin at the lamppost’s base, designed, I believe, by G Vulliamy….
Photo of the Month: Blossom
I don’t think there is anything on earth I love more than the sight of cherry blossom in the Spring. I can fully understand how the Japanese venerate these fragile blooms as I feel exactly the same. They raise your spirits with their beauty whilst reminding you of the fragility of life – here for…
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