Schnee
Snow falling on ye olde Dickensian bendybus
So I was out in town today, and dropped in to see my fine showbiz pal Geoff to anorak for a while and conduct a little bit of business. (I just realise that makes me sound like I'm dealing or buying drugs. I'm not. Honest. I'm too much of a scaredy cat.) I exited into the cold and rain, and headed underground as any sane individual would. Upon arrival at Kings Cross, I was intending to change from the dark blue to the black, as I had business to attend to in Angel. (Pick up photos from Boots.) Incidentally, since the new northern ticket hall opened at KX, you now have to walk about half a mile to change from the Piccadilly to the Northern, through labyrinthine new tunnels, three escalators and one flight of steps. However, to change from the Northern to the Piccadilly requires one short bendy corridor and a flight of steps. Why is this? Surely people heading home from the West End to the north of London are more likely to be carrying bags, or just grumpy after a long day's work. It should be the other way around. Or there should be a contraflow. Or I should be running bloody TfL.
An unusual destination for an international railway station.
Anyway. I was on this long trek in a circle to get to the Northern Line, when my eyes alighted on this sign, illustrated here on the right. (Incidentally, I'm still getting my head around the formatting on this site, so this bit of text may be ridiculously squeezed, depending on your screen resolution. Sorry if it looks daft.) Not just one, either. At every turn of the corridor, at every escalator, there was the sign again. Why, I pondered to myself, would one need directions to the Regent's Canal? I internally applauded the use of the apostrophe, but even so - what new delights had been added that warranted a sign directing the mass hoards using Kings Cross interchange towards the Canal? "Blow the Northern Line!" I thought to myself, and followed the sign to Regent's Canal.
Well, the escalator finally tipped me out opposite the SouthEastern trains ticket gate line in St Pancras Station, and there were no further signs pointing me towards Regent's Canal. To be honest, thinking about it, the only way from there was down along the taxi queue in Pancras Road to the bottom of the hill, then right up Goodsway, then perhaps into the Camley Street Wildlife Sanctuary, which would get you to the canal. Otherwise, you've got to walk all the way back up the hill to York Way, cross over the road and then drop down to the canal. Quite a long way, up a steep hill and certainly not warranting signs in Kings Cross Underground Station. Anyway. As I pondered all this, I noticed that it was snowing. Not just snowing, but big fat whopping snowflakes that were settling nicely and making London look that rare thing that one only normally experiences towards the end of an alcohol-assisted evening in the West End - sparkly and magical. I slid my way down the side of St Pancras station before I finally succumbed to taking a photo, knowing as I do the bad results when you combine cameraphone with darkness and snow.
Does this need a caption?
So, this is the best I could come up with.
But London was fab as a result, and so I decided to walk home, if only for the entertainment value of watching bad driving skills coming to the fore as people tried to get up Pentonville Road to the Angel summit. I wasn't disappointed. What did disappoint me was that after my visit to Boots in Angel (where I had a very nice conversation with the girl behind the counter about various things including commuting from Chingford and how her collegue was useless because he didn't know what eye shadow was even though he has three sisters and works for Boots. I couldn't disagree with her) it had stopped snowing. This didn't stop the sliding however, and I was a little peturbed walking down Essex Road to see a 476 heading towards me at approximately 20% skew. I stood to one side until it had passed. Anyway. I had a point but it escapes me at the moment.
London. Snow. Good.
I’m boring you now
New River Hall. Posh, isn't it.
I'm beginning to wonder if I'm boring myself, to be honest - but it's 4.30 in the morning and the firstborn won't sleep quite yet, so here we are.
I have my grubby mitts on the proposals for the Carlton Cinema site, thanks to the nice chap at 'Four Communications'.
On the face of it, it looks impressive. And very expensive. The plan is to keep the front, restore the insides (keeping the original colour schemes) but then build on top, and I assume excavate underneath, unless there's already a massive basement. There'll also be a massive glass edifice to the back, not troubling Essex Road but completely changing the face of River Walk - and an entrance on River Place to the conference centre, plus entrance to the flats from Astey's Row.
I'm not sure I'd be interested in living in a flat that's built above a church/cinema - so the soundproofing would have to be very good. I expect that'll be one of the things the council will examine when they consider these plans. Obviously it represents a significant improvement to what's there now, and retains the listed front.
A couple of things that may also affect the plans - the protected alignment for Crossrail 2 runs straight underneath the site - although I'm sure that nothing will come of it until at least 2025, it'll involve significant work around River Place to get Essex Road station up to scratch, and there were plans at one stage for a ventilation shaft in River Place. I can imagine all that having a serious effect on 44 flats.
I'm also concerned about where the money is coming from - for a church with no congregation (according to the Islington Gazette) this is an ambitious project. Personally, I would have thought encouraging people to go to St Stephens would be a better use of time and energy and only represents a 50 yard walk along the New River Path, but I suppose Christianity doesn't work like that any more.
Open House Weekend
Keeping me home since 2009
Because of this little blighter to the left and his interesting sleeping and feeding habits (I know most people only come here to see pictures of him) I doubt I'm going to be able to get out to see much of the Open House weekend. But in case I do, I'll be eschewing the grander locations this time around and heading to some of the local addresses.
30 Thornhill Road - someone's house that's been modernized nicely, by the looks of things.
Almeida Theatre - backstage tours are always exciting
Charterhouse Chapel - because I worked almost next door for a year and never got to go in
Conisbee - might skip this one - I get the feeling it's probably just an estate agent trying to flog some flats
85 Mildmay Park - Was this the one on 'Grand Designs'? I shall have to go and find out.
Finsbury Town Hall - Go past it on the 38 regularly, and have often wondered what's inside.
W Plumb Family Butchers - I guess this is open every day in any case, but worth a look.
Carlton Cinema Again
Sadly, due to circumstances beyond my control (arriving home from hospital with baby and wife in tow) I wasn't able to get to the exhibition about the plans for the Carlton Cinema on Essex Road. It now appears that flats are to be built at the back, along with a basement conference centre. There's a lightweight article in the Islington Gazette (no surprises there) - I've been in touch with the PR company dealing with it so hopefully I'll be able to write again with a bit more detail. What made me laugh about the article was the comment that 44 flats would be built - none of them affordable. Then I remembered this picture from a book about Tramways of Holborn and Finsbury - any excuse to put up a picture of a tram - even if the purpose of the picture is to highlight the cinema in the background.
Route 77 circa 1939 on Essex Road
Television For London
Now Showing Jack Lemmon in Days Of Wine And Roses
(Anyone that gets the above reference is, like me, a saddo.) Much hand-wringing over the abandonment of the Carlton Cinema on Essex Road several years ago when the smoking ban came in and the people at Mecca claimed it would put them out of business. This somehow meant closing the bingo hall even before the ban came into force and they had time to measure the effect - but the suspicion always was that maintaining such a staggeringly beautiful (in my eyes, at least) building was always going to be a financial drain. And it was only a few weeks ago that I emailed a few of my local friends expressing concern that since it's purchase by a religious group of uncertain covenance, it had lain empty and boarded up. I was reminded of its plight when I stumbled on this fabulous photoset on Flickr. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised when this came through the door this morning. Basically, it's an invitation to an exhibition in the former cinema by 'Resurrection Manifestations', on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th, where they'll outline their plans. I'm hoping it's not an opportunity to show off how run down the insides are, and explaining that they can't possibly restore it but will have to rip it all out and start again. Something in the pit of my stomach tells me that's what'll happen. But at the very least it'll be the first time we've been allowed in for almost three years, so it'll be an interesting comparison. If you have strong opinions, please turn up. Incidentally, I had a quick noodle around the Resurrection Manifestations website, and while they look fairly benign and it's all about Jesus and the power of God to save lives, they don't seem to have a large number of events planned, and I was quite surprised to see the events arranged under the headings 'Men's Fellowship', 'Men of Vision' and then 'Women's Fellowship' and 'Ladie's (sic) of Excellence' which hints at a somewhat segregated approach to life. They operate out of 'The Sanctuary' in Amhurst Park, and scratching the surface of that leads you to a man called 'Prince David'. This is a man who, according to princedavid.org "People around the globe know [..] as a noted evangelist, prophet, teacher, father and remarkable man of God. His long awaited ministry had been foretold by God through prominent prophets." He also seems quite keen on establishing christianity in the Middle East. Let me tell you, it's been tried. Anyway, there's an opportunity on their website to apply for a prayer, with a box where you can fill in all the details, so I shall ask God not to allow the interior of the former Carlton Cinema on Essex Road to be ripped out. And also to shine His light to give meaning to the scripture, in particular "extension" and "residential accommodation to the rear of the site".
Italian Vogue’s Coolest Place In London
Hard Evidence that Italians like Dalston
With a nod of thanks to Mwmbwls at London Reconnections, he (or she, but it's such a geeky site I'm guessing he) draws our attention to an article in Construction News, which references an Italian edition of Vogue magazine, which allegedly claims that Dalson is the coolest place in London. So let's recap. I'm telling you that London Reconnections tells us that Construction News tells us about an article in Italian Vogue. Clear? Good. Because I didn't believe a word of it and went in search of hard evidence, and it took a lot of furious Googling before I found it here.
Anyway. I'm excited about the arrival of Haggerston station, as it'll be within stumbling distance of my house, and will take me direct to somewhere within stumbling distance of my studio, which will shave my morning and evening journey times by a half. To be honest, looking at it, I can't really see who else is going to benefit from the East London Line extension, but I for one can't wait.
But the whole vogue connection set me wondering. Can a place retain its cool once it's properly connected to the transport network? Are the floods of vogue-reading Italians going to take the place downhill? I already exclaimed in horror to my wife as we passed an Art Gallery on Kingsland Road the other day - an Art Gallery! Kingsland Road! It can only be a matter of time before Matalan is replaced by Heals. What if Kingsland Waste gets all antiquey?
And combine that with the claims of the New York Times that Deptford is the hippest place in London, and we're going to find the East London Line is one to be avoided because of the rapid shuttling of the in-crowd backwards and forwards between Dalston and New Cross.
I'm going to have to take the rough with the smooth, I suppose. Or start shopping in Archway. Or maybe Upper Street will be overtaken by Deptford High Street and Kingsland Road, and we can all have a relaxed quiet value-for-money Friday evening again.
I'm turning into a grumpy old man, aren't I? Just in time for fatherhood. Marvellous.
The day the TV died
Armstrong TV & Video. Very Good.
It's not the purpose of this website to advertise anything. But I have a tale to tell, from which you might conclude that there's a particular brand of TV that is worth considering for the quality of service that they provide. The TV you see to the left of this babble went wrong a couple of weeks ago. It was 2 weeks outside of its guarantee period. That was annoying, to say the least. So I called their service department to see if they could recommend anyone to fix it. They answered immediately, and gave me the number of a local dealer, who I called. They called back, and arranged with me to pick up the TV. After a week and a bit, they returned it. Free of charge. Collect, repair and deliver. The manufacturer would pay for the repair, apparently, because it was so soon after the guarantee period ended.
This is the sort of service one expects, but never gets. Apart from on this occasion. So despite my annoyance at the TV breaking down after just a year, I am very happy with the service you get from this company. They also have a really interesting local history. So I'd recommend them. Yes.