Category Archives: London

Down by the river: Last days of the old Woolwich ferries – September 2018

02 Tuesday Oct 2018

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The Woolwich Free Ferry has been taking people across the Thames for centuries, most latterly as a key route for lorries to avoid the Blackwall tunnel. The current roll-on, roll-off boats, built in 1963, are to be taken out of service this week to be replaced by new vessels which promise hybrid diesel-electric power (check out the exhaust fumes in the picture above to see what the current boats produce), and magnetic berthing. One striking feature of the soon-to-be-redundant ferries is the large space for foot passengers under the car deck, not barely used, but a reminder of the ferry’s past role in getting dock and factory workers back and forth before containerisation and deindustrialisation arrived.

I thought I should get some pictures before these boats bow out, and went down for a trip to North Woolwich and back on a bazlingly bright late September day. See the full album ‘Last days of the old Woolwich Ferry here’.



Open House London 2018: the Quaker Meeting House in Blackheath (and more)

22 Saturday Sep 2018

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It’s been a few years since we’ve managed to go to any of the Open House London properties, but today we made it all the way over the heath to see Britain’s only Brutalist Quaker Meeting House, tucked away down a side road near the station in Blackheath. Designed by architect Trevor Dannatt OBE and opened in 1972, it’s a clever building, split over two levels and making good use of a small corner. I particularly like the way light is let in around the corners of the main meeting room’s ceiling, as well as through the wooden window structure in the centre. The mood in the building was as serene as you might expect. You can see more of my photos of Blackheath’s Quaker Meeting House here.

After that, we walked over to Boone’s Chapel on Lee High Road; I’d never heard of this until it was mentioned when I went to visit Charlton House’s Summer House on Thursday to take some photos of the restoration works in advance of Open House Weekend for The Charlton Champion. It turns out that the architect responsible for the restoration work had done similar work at Boone’s Chapel and is now based there, and part of the display explained the history and importance of Charlton House’s Summer House in a much better way than I’d seen previously. I failed to get any photos, though: too many people in the way – hopefully I’ll get back to an open day there at some point soon.

Also on the subject of heritage open days, I have some photos on the Charlton Champion today of the Grade II-listed structures you can visit night or day, any day of the week, namely two K2 telephone boxes…

Gruff Rhys at the Barbican, London – September 2018

16 Sunday Sep 2018

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Gruff Rhys and the LCO at the Barbican September 2018

An excellent night with good friends at the Barbican Centre, watching Gruff Rhys perform his latest album, Babelsberg, with the London Contemporary Orchestra. I’ve seen Gruff Rhys a few times with the Super Furry Animals and solo (the American Interior show at the Southbank being a highlight), and he always brings something new and special to the show. This time the orchestration really brought the new songs to life and shone extra light on his melodies; I hope I can catch him again soon and look forward to seeing whatever he does next.Gruff Rhys and the LCO at the Barbican September 2018Gruff Rhys and the LCO at the Barbican September 2018 Gruff Rhys and the LCO at the Barbican September 2018

11 Views of East Greenwich Gasholder – September 2018

15 Saturday Sep 2018

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East Greenwich Gasholder-12-3
A walk around the south-western end of Greenwich Peninsula to take some pictures of the under-threat-of-demolition gasholder. There seems to be a growing realisation in the area that this will be missed when it’s gone, but the chances of saving it via the planning process seem slim, unless owners SGN (a gas distribution network) have a change of heart and decide to develop along similar lines to the King’s Cross gasholder.

Eight more photos of the East Greenwich gasholder taken on my walk here.
East Greenwich Gasholder-13-2East Greenwich Gasholder-20-1

The Queen’s House, Greenwich Park, and Canary Wharf – August 2018

20 Monday Aug 2018

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The view from Greenwich Park, Queen's House, Canary Wharf skyline
A Sunday afternoon walk to Greenwich Park, through the flower garden, past the bandstand to say hello to my uncle playing piano with a Big Band on the bandstand, then on to the Wolfe statue for the classic view over the park looking north.

One day – one day – I’ll pull together some proper then-and-now photos taken from this spot over the last 15 years. But this is how it looks now: the grass in the park very slightly greened up and recovered after weeks without rain; the Isle of Dogs and Canary Wharf stopped at this particular moment of development, a brief pause before the glass and steel buildings spread further out from Canada Square. I’ll no doubt be back there in the coming weeks – maybe I’ll try a then-and-now then.

Orange cars of south-east London: Bond Bugs

06 Monday Aug 2018

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I’ve never been too bothered about photographing vintage cars, bar the odd snapshot, on the (possibly flawed) basis that someone else is bound to be doing it much better, but a little while ago I noticed that there was a collection of photos of orange cars building up on my iPhone camera roll. And once I’d noticed that, I realised that there aren’t many orange cars out there (a shame – some of today’s blander car designs would be improved by an orange paint job), and so I started ‘collecting’ them.

These pics are of two Bond Bugs, caught at the July meet of Park It The Market, the monthly vintage car and bike event that has turned into one of Greenwich’s best (and free) social occasions.

More orange cars of south-east London here.

PS. Got an orange car, live in south-east London, and want some nice photos of your car? Get in touch!


Down by the river: Viking Sky, Strong Currents

03 Friday Aug 2018

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A dad joke at dusk. Spotted on the Thames path, between the Anchor & Hope pub and the Thames Barrier, while out on a Sunday evening admiring the sunset and the sailing skills of the Thames tug captains piloting the Viking Sky cruise ship out of Greenwich.

‘Save Jumbo’: petition against the demolition of East Greenwich’s last remaining gasholder

13 Sunday May 2018

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The most visible remaining symbol of Greenwich peninsula’s industrial past is moving closer to demolition. As I understand it, the owners wish (and have permission) to demolish it for future development, Historic England have refused to list it, national government backs the developers, and Greenwich council has taken its eye off the ball by approving plans for demolition rather than upholding its own Planning Policy brief, which says “Proposals should respect and respond to the industrial character of the area as a means of relating new development to the local context. In particular, development should build on the heritage value of the gas holder to enhance the character and distinctiveness of the area”.

In my view its a hugely wasted opportunity to maintain an historic feature of the local skyline.

There’s a petition to save it from demolition here: https://www.change.org/p/royal-borough-of-greenwich-southern-gas-networks-save-the-nationally-important-east-greenwich-gas-holder-from-demolition.