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By David, October 13, 2009

Yesterday was our 7th wedding anniversary and to celebrate we went to the Criterion Restaurant for an early dinner before seeing The 39 Steps at the Criterion Theatre.

Opened in 1873, the restaurant is an amazing building. A long shoebox shaped hall that stretches back from Piccadilly Circus. Marble pillars flank huge mirrors that reflect the gold mosaic tiled ceiling. It looks more like some kind of opulent Turkish bath than a restaurant.

It was at the Criterion Long Bar, on January 1 1881, that Dr Watson mentioned to his friend Stamford that he was looking for someone to share lodgings with.

From A Study in Scarlet:

I was standing at the Criterion Bar, when some one tapped me on the shoulder, and turning round I recognized young Stamford, who had been a dresser under me at Barts. The sight of a friendly face in the great wilderness of London is a pleasant thing indeed to a lonely man. In old days Stamford had never been a particular crony of mine, but now I hailed him with enthusiasm, and he, in his turn, appeared to be delighted to see me. In the exuberance of my joy, I asked him to lunch with me at the Holborn, and we started off together in a hansom.

“Whatever have you been doing with yourself, Watson?” he asked in undisguised wonder, as we rattled through the crowded London streets. “You are as thin as a lath and as brown as a nut.”

I gave him a short sketch of my adventures, and had hardly concluded it by the time that we reached our destination.

“Poor devil!” he said, commiseratingly, after he had listened to my misfortunes. “What are you up to now?”

“Looking for lodgings,” I answered. “Trying to solve the problem as to whether it is possible to get comfortable rooms at a reasonable price.”

After lunch they walked to St Bartholemew’s Hospital where Stamford introduced Watson to Sherlock Holmes…

We, on the other hand, walked next door to the Criterion Theatre.

The Criterion is a lovely little theatre. Built on the site of an old coaching inn called the White Bear it was originally intended to be a concert hall but after building work had begun it was turned into a theatre instead.

The theatre is unusual in that it is built underground. In 1882 the Metropolitan Board of Works condemned it on the grounds that it was unsafe in the event of a fire and, as it was lit by gas, there was a risk of toxic fumes so a number of alterations were made including installing electric lights and an air conditioning system. In WWII the BBC took over the underground theatre to use for broadcasts.

The 39 Steps was great. The story follows the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film (with lots of Hitchcock references and, of course, a cameo) but somehow manages to combine the original spy thriller with a comedy. And it works really well. With nothing but a change of coat, hat and accent, the energetic cast of four manage to portray a hilarious array of characters as Richard Hannay is pursued from his flat in Portland Place to the Scottish Highlands and back again for the thrilling climax at the London Palladium.

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By David, September 13, 2009

Love London? I love this ad.

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By David, March 17, 2009

Riding through Hyde Park on a clear spring morning when the sun is rising above Wellington Arch, the daffodils are a bright flash of yellow on the ground and the Household Cavalry are riding past, their drawn swords glinting in the sun.

Horse Guards in Hyde Park

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By David, February 15, 2009

The Boston Globe has an amazing set of aerial photographs of London at night by British photographer Jason Hawkes.

Taken from a helicopter using gyro-stabilized mounts, the pictures provide a new perspective on the city I live in; from 100ft up, the O2 looks like some kind of bio-luminescent deep-sea jellyfish, the Christmas lights on Regent Street are a procession of star-fishes and training at Stamford Bridge looks like a table-top football game.  The street lamps turn the roads into a spider-web of electric arteries joining the Albert Hall to the London Eye and Canary Wharf to Waterloo Station.

In big cities we spend so much time looking up at the buildings it’s nice to be able to look down for a while.

There’s more of Jason’s work here.

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By David, February 2, 2009

It started snowing yesterday and by the time we left to drive Matt to Heathrow it was coming down heavily.  It didn’t stop all night and in the morning London woke to a thick covering of snow.

It snowed all day today, too and thanks to the heaviest snow fall in two decades there was almost a foot of snow in parts of London.

The buses weren’t running and I wasn’t about to ride my bike through the snow so while Kathryn was able to walk to work I worked from home.

This was good because it meant I could wander over to Battersea Park at lunch time and see it transformed into a kind of Winter Wonderland.  There were people having snow fights, small dogs getting lost in deep snow drifts, and snow men of all shapes and sizes.

Of course we took loads of pictures.  Check them out in the gallery.

While the Prime Minister said “We are doing everything in our power to ensure services, road, rail and airports are open as quickly as possible”, I preferred Boris Johnson’s response.  Speaking from the wind-blown rooftop of the GLA, Boris showed the typical Londoner’s fortitude and ‘Blitz Spirit’ by cycling to work, congratulating “hardy drivers” who were braving the conditions and saying that heavy snow was not an excuse for a “mass skive”.

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By David, December 23, 2008

Like most Londoners, I was sorry to see the much loved Routemasters phased out a few years ago in favour of the much hated bendy buses. But all is not lost! In July our Mayor, Boris Johnson, launched a competition to design a new bus for London inspired by the Routemaster and a design by Foster + Partners and Aston Martin has just won first prize. How cool is that?

I like the design. It incorporates two of the great things about the original Routemasters: the open platform at the rear and conductors. And look. It’s a number 19!

It’s hi-tech too.  Apparently, “the new bus is zero emissions ready, accessible for all and will set new standards for sustainable public service vehicles. Passengers benefit from views from the top of the deck through a glazed roof which incorporates solar cells to generate energy and filter daylight to control the temperature inside.”

So when can we expect to be leaping onto the rear platform of these Astons? According to TFL, a competitive tendering process will determine to which company the final contract to build the new bus is awarded. This should be decided by the end of next year. The first prototype of the new bus will be on the streets of London by 2011.

I can’t wait!

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By David, April 15, 2008

Over the weekend a new work by Banksy appeared on a wall outside the Post Office sorting building in Newman Street near my work.

There’s no tag, so it’s possible it’s not by him but it certainly looks like a Banksy and the fact that, according to the Mail, it required three stories of scaffolding to be erected makes it audacious enough to be his. After all, this is the guy who hung a smiley faced version of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre.

More pictures in the gallery.

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By David, January 21, 2008

Last Wednesday we had lunch at 30 St Mary Axe, otherwise known as the Gherkin. Designed by Foster and Partners, it is the second tallest building in the City and one of my favourite London buildings. For years I’ve been meaning to see inside on one of the London Open House days so I was excited when Kathryn managed to book a table for lunch at the exclusive restaurant at the top of the building. The restaurant is a private dining club and so is not open to the public.

The very top of the building houses a bar with an incredible view. The effect is so stunning it is hard to describe. It really is at the top with nothing but a cone of glass above. This means that unlike most skyscrapers, the building cannot house the lift equipment at the top so a standard lift goes to the 34th floor and then you have to change to another lift that pushes you up to the 39th. This is the restaurant floor and then a marble staircase leads up to the 40th floor bar.

Unlike the day before the sun was shining and we could see all the way from Canary Wharf to Battersea Power Station and beyond. Check out the pictures in my new SmugMug gallery.

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By David, January 3, 2008

Wilma stayed with us on New Year’s eve and she was a very well behaved little monkey. In the morning we went for a walk along the river before Jonathan and Louise collected her.

In the afternoon we had our traditional Afternoon Tea on New Year’s Day, although this year it was at the Lanesborough as the Savoy is closed for a year for refurbishment.

The Lanesborough turned out to be excellent. We had a table by the fire and the scones were particularly good. There is simply no more civilised way to see in the New Year.

Here’s to an exciting 2008!

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By David, November 8, 2007

On the weekend we went to a CCO party at Hywel’s place and, it being (nearly) the 5th November, fireworks were involved.

Alan had originally planned to bring just a few sparklers along but once he got to the firework shop he couldn’t resist purchasing a small arsenal of rockets, roman candles and something that looked like an anti-tank mine. Sanchia also brought some rockets along so there was no shortage of things that go bang.

We were a little nervous about setting off these things in Hywel’s fairly small decking at the back of his house, especially the ones with directions to light the fuse and then retire at least twenty-five metres away. But the ghost of Guy Fawkes was smiling on us and it turned out that Dylan was a qualified fireworks technician so everyone sat back and let him run the show. He assured us that they only say twenty-five metres in case the thing tips over and starts strafing the onlookers with white-hot pyrotechnic stars but it was ok because we were putting them in a big pot filled with cat litter.

It was awesome. Especially the anti-tank mine. And by awesome I mean, you know, terrifying.