On the South Bank of the Thames

The South Bank of the River Thames houses one of the great collections of cultural and artistic meeting- places in London. The complex consists of The National Theatre, The Royal Festival Hall, The Hayward Gallery, The Queen Elizabeth Hall, and the Purcell Room.

A trip to the South Bank Centre is best approached on foot across the Waterloo Bridge.The view from the bridge is absolutely spectacular; on one side, there is the Palace of Westminster, wherein are The Houses of Parliament, as well as the world-famous London Wheel.

The Royal Festival Hall , one of London's premier concert venues, has been in existence since 1951.Like the rest of the South Bank complex, the building is in the style of the-then-fashionable "brutalist architecture" of the post-war period.Opinions are divided as to its aesthetic worth, but I believe it is now a listed building.

During the day, it is common to see buskers and other street musicians around the concourse .Around the side of the building, there is a large bronze bust of Nelson Mandela, as well as various cafes and eating places.There are plenty of seats and benches on which to sit , and drink, and to watch people go by...In fact, it would be possible to spend an entire day in the Complex--starting at a contemporary art exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, the visitor could then go to sit and eat at one of the cafes or restaurants. Those who enjoy a spot of reading can pop into a bookshop  or the Poetry Library( Level Five of the Festival Hall)...

There are often free recitals of classical music , as well as photographic exhibitions in the foyer of the Festival Hall. During the summer, there is a great book market along the river bank, with a large number of vendors with their stalls in front of them.

After visting the art gallery, the free concerts , and other attractions, the visitor might like to end their visit by attending the National Theatre to take in one of their productions.This is the home of some of the most-acclaimed heavyweights of British theatre.

A visit to the South Bank is a" must-do" for the visitor to London.It is a family-friendly and relaxed day out, especially in view of the pedestrianised nature of the complex, and the picturesque backdrop of the River Thames.There is bound to be something there for everyone.

A Visit to Portobello Road Market.

Scenes from Portobello Road& Pembridge Road(bottom picture).

The visitor to London should pay a visit to Portobello Road Market. This is one of the capital's landmark tourist attractions.

The best way to approach it is by turning right into Pembridge Road from Notting Hill Station, and following the crowds! A few yards down the Pembridge Road, you will notice that the majority of the pedestrians turn left at the "World in Splendour" pub.

This is the beginning of the Portobello Road.

Before proceeding down the road, and rummaging through the myriad of antique and other shops, it may be worth your while to pop into the pub. It is just as pleasant to buy a drink, lounge around on one of the benches outside, as it is to sit inside this bustling meeting place.

Down the road there are stalls in front of almost all the buildings, many of them sell antiques of one kind or another, while others sell such touristy articles as t-shirts and badges.Antiqe sterling silverware jostles for space and attention with crockery, glass, and other expensive items.Prices here can not be described as cheap--after all, this area, Notting Hill, is one of the most affluent in the whole of the country.Residents here include well-heeled American bankers who feel hard-done-by if they don't receive their £200,000 -per-year bonuses on top of their salaries!

If you become hungry after shopping or browsing, go to the junction of Westbourne Grove, turn right, and you'll find an embarrassment of culinary riches.Here you will find a restaurant to suit every taste.

It is worth pointing out that at the end of every August, there is a national Bank Holiday.This is when the whole of Notting Hill becomes the backdrop for the world-famous Notting Hill Carnival.During those three days, the whole neighbourhood shuts down, and the air is filled with colourful and boisterous street dancers and their musicians.

This is, without doubt, one of the most vibrant streets in the whole of London.It is well worth a visit on any weekend!

Green And Pleasant Land

This post contains photos from  locations  outside London .If you ever fancy a day out from the husle-and-bustle of London, you could do worse than going down to the lovely South  of England, especially the county of Sussex.

Both the picture at the top---of a scene from Rye--and the picture of Beachy Head, were taken by Eddie  Anderson, an old  friend of  mine.

You can view  more  of  Eddie's photos on his page: http://domus001.googlepages.com.

The most famous zebra crossing.

Every single day of the year hundreds of tourists  flock to  a  pedestrian crossing  in North-West London to pay homage to four of the most  famous musicians of the recent past----John, Paul, George and Ringo..

   Abbey  Road  Studios  was  where  they  made  most  of  their  records,  under  the  stewardship  of  George  Martin.

     The  walls  outside  the  studios  are  the  only  spot  in  London  where  nobody  gets  arrested  for  scribbling  or  spraying  graffiti  . Indeed,  there  is  so  much  of  the  stuff  that  the  record  company  managers  send  someone  out  once  every  few  weeks  to  whitewash  the  walls....They  are  soon  covered  up  by  new  messages.

     The  zebra  crossing  outside  the  studios  was  immotalised  on  the  front  cover  of  the  eponymous  "Abbey  Road"  album,  which  was  released  shortly  before  the  four  members  of  the  Beatles  split  up  and  went  their  separate  ways.

       It  has  been  about  three  decades  since  then,  but  the   flow  of  pilgrims  keep  flocking  to  this  corner  of  St. John's  Wood.   Thanks  to  them,  the  legend  will  never  die...

Abbey  Road

Two Scenes from London's West End.

Here are two scenes from the West End, taken early in the morning.

   The  first  picture  is  a  mechanical  representation  of  a  cooper---above  a  pub.

 Below  it  is  a  picture  of  Eros,  in  Piccadilly  Circus.

Suicide Bridge

I  took  a  journey  into  the  past  early  this  evening,  up  the  hill  past  Archway  Station,  up  the    busy  Archway  Road.  Halfway  up  the  hill  you  will  see  a  century-old  bridge   which  is  notorious  throughout  London.

Suicide  Bridge.

Ever  since  I  came  to  live  in  this  part  of  town,  I  have  never  known  it  to  be  called  by  any  other  name.  Tucked  away  in  the  inner  pages  of  the  local  newspapers  , there  used  to  be  frequent  reports  of  people  who  had  jumped  to  their  death    by  scaling  the  railings...

Suicide  is  always  a  dreadful  way  to  die,  but  jumping  from  this  height  only  to  land  on  top  of ( or  in  front  of ) some  unsuspecting  motorist  on  this  busy  road  seems  such  a  public  way  of  declaring  despair  and  helplessness...

  I  lived  for  several  years  at  the  end  of  the  road  which  crosses  the  top  of  the  bridge---Hornsey  Lane.  On  a  couple of  occasions,  I  would  see  a  huddle  of  people  at  the  end  of  the    bridge,  placards  in  hand.  At  other  times,  there  would  be  a  clutch  of  bouquets---they  would  lie  there,  undisturbed  for  a  couple  of  weeks,  only  to  be  cleared  away  before  the  next  victim  decided  to  choose  the  darkness  over  the  half-light  of    life's  incessant  struggles.  Indeed,  my  elderly (late)  ex-landlady's  husband  lost  his  life  here.  It    is  rumoured  that  he  came  back  from  the  Second  World  War  a  broken  man .  He  went  out  one  night,  and  never  came  back.

    The  fence  around  the  bridge  has  been  thickened  ,  and  made  a  little  higher,  but  I  doubt  that  we  will  hear  the  last  of   Suicide  Bridge...

London's Gone Soft.

London's gone all  soft...Last  night  we  experienced    a  bit  of  wintery  weather,  the  first  snowfall  for  quite  some  time.  The  result?  Almost  all  normal  life  has  been  suspended  until  further  notice---schools  are  closed,  all  buses  are  off  the  road,  and  people  have  been  told  to  stay  at  home  unless  they  have  to    go  out.

   This  means  a  massive  loss  to  London's  economy,  since  the  snow  is  forecast  to  fall  until  Wednesday...

 I  ventured  out  after  taking  this  photo  from  my  window(picture  above )--very  picture-postcardish,  very  pretty,  but  is  this  totally  alien  to  London?  Should  this  be  enough  to  put  a  major  Northern  European  capital  out  of  business  completely?..

         

   It  is  not  as  if  London  has  not  had  snow  before--when  I  was  a  child  of  ten,  we  used  to  walk  to  school  alongside  Clapham  Common  in  snow  three  times  as  high  as  what  I  saw  when  I  went  out  of  the  house  this  morning.  Back  then,  we  coped,  and  the  country  coped,  and  got  on  with  things.

  London's  gone  soft---too  soft,  in  my  view.