The Spirit of London Day & Night

 

How history,architecture,arts and culture have shaped London into one of the greatest cities in the world.

Samuel Johnson ventured to say that there is more learning within the circumference of ten miles from where we now sit,than in all the rest of the world.Certainly,there is no time to waste in London,no time at all to be bored.

Monumental statues bring history out in open space.Gods,ancient kings and queens,and warriors who glorify military action,remain accessible to people all times.Public art records and celebrates important events in the history of a city,it lifts up humanity and challenges the audiences.

“Boadicea and Her Daughters”- Victoria Embankmen,Westminster.

They were mounted on a war chariot drawn by two rearing horses.She was queen of a Celtic tribe who led an uprising in Roman Britain.

 

“Boadicea and Her Daughters” sculptured by Thomas Thornycroft.

The War Memorial at Euston railway Station,designed by Reginald Wynn Owen

Commemoration WW I (1914-1918) – WW II (1939-1945) – Camden Town,Greater London

The inscription reads : Remember the Men and Women of the London Midland and Scottish.

 

Elephant art sculpture outside Newcombe House,Notting Hill Gate W11.

In 2010 some 260 elephants appeared all over London.They were decorated by all sorts of famous people.After parading for several months and reminding us of their place in the history of the Empire,they were auctioned off with success and the proceeds donated to a charity that supports the conservation of Asian elephants.

This iron elephant is still working hard and remains loyal to its position.

 

Brutalist Architecture fans won’t be disappointed in London and in the heart of The City.Ambitious structures,skyscrapers and Towers pop up every time you look up,they dramatically change London’s skyline.Only Spider Man,the iconic web-slinger on an art installation,can conquer such heights.

 

City Hall,a bulbous-shaped building near the Tower Bridge,has a startling new design.Those who dislike modern architecture compare it to a misshapen egg.British architect Norman Foster,who designed it,says that they chose this particular shape for the glass and steel structure because it reduces surface area and makes the building more energy efficient.

It’s comforting though to see some old historical mansions with grand architectural style still standing alongside the modern giants.

London and fog always go together,towers are shrouded in mist and mercurial clouds are persistently hovering above Big Ben,which will remain silent until 2021.

A Pub or an Urban Garden … ?

The Churchill Arms -Notting Hill, Kensington

The Fuller’s colourful pub was built in 1750 and given its name after the Second World War.It’s one of the oldest and more historic pubs.Landlord Gerry O’Brien,a genial Irishman,decided that what the Churchill Arms was lacking was a garden sitting on its head.It all started with a couple of hanging baskets and now it has some 100 flower tubs,42 baskets and 48 window boxes.

Dripping in flowers outside and crammed with Churchill memorabilia and other eclectic decorations inside.It was once Evening Standard pub of the year because it is within walking distance of the Evening Standard and its co-tenant the Daily Mail.

The pub wasn’t named after Winston Churchill,but there’s a nice family link as Churchill’s grandparents — the 7th Duke of Marlborough and Lady Frances Anne Emily Vane — drank here regularly in the 1800s.It had and still has a mixed clientele.

Well,come on in and have a drink at The Churchill Arms.Fuller’s pubs are renowned for outstanding cask conditioned ale.Have a pint of London Pride,or Olivers Island,or a glass of wine to accompany steaming plates of spiced meats,traditional food or even Thai food.You might meet some very,very friendly natives and have a chat too or talk history.

Cheers to you all ♥

 

The evening was cold but dry,the colours of the city still vibrant on the facades of the mansions,in the streets and bridges.

 

Oh,those scaffolds,hoardings,containers and cranes,they go almost everywhere in big cities,they have marked their own era and have made the photographer’s life difficult … I find them all quite an eyesore.

 

At least,they are not included in LEGO constructions at the moment … as seen at the world’s largest LEGO artwork store in London’s Leicester Square.It is the subtle yet stunning details that make LEGO so appealing to all ages and all levels of ability.

 

Covent Garden had its own colours.”That’s the Way to Do it !”

Punch & Judy Balcony Bar on a historic building in Covent Garden Market in the West End of London.This “listed building” retains much of the original brick and stonework and is one of very few properties in Covent Garden that escaped damage in World War II.

Having an after dinner drink at Punch & Judy pub while watching people watching the world from a balcony.As I was looking at old buildings from a different angle,I  brought to my mind Mr Punch’s famous phrase with the characteristic sense of gleeful self-satisfaction …”That’s the Way to Do it !”

A brief history of Punch and Judy associated with traditional British Culture.

Punch arrived in England in the 17th century and was first recorded by the diarist Samuel Pepys.” Thence to see an Italian puppet play that is within the rails there,which is very pretty,the best that ever I saw, and a great resort of gallants.” Samuel Pepys Diary, 9 May 1662.

Covent Garden’s Punch & Judy pub was built in 1787 and was named after the famous Punch and Judy puppet performances that used to take place in Covent Garden’s Piazza for the children of flower-sellers.The shows were not just for children though.Aspects of the comedy such as the marital strife between Punch and Judy,obviously struck a chord with many adult members of the audience.

Pulcinella went down particularly well with Restoration British audiences (1660- 1710),who were fun-starved after years of Puritanism.In October 1662 Signor Bologna,the Italian puppet showman, was honoured with a royal command performance by Charles II at Whitehall.The king rewarded him with a gold chain and medal,a gift worth £25 then,or about £3,000 today.

He became a spirit of Britain,a subversive maverick who defies authority.

Punchinello who Pepys saw in Covent Garden in 1662 can be seen there every May,flouting political correctness and entertaining audiences in the same spirit that he has done for over 355 years.

And,a couple of nights out in London,enjoying theatre going,having a drink on The Heron Milton Court Tower and dinner in Chinatown.

Having a talk with “the Bard” at Leicester Square Gardens before heading for the Lyseum Theatre.William Shakespeare’s Statue sculpted by Giovanni Fontana after an original by Peter Scheemakers’ 18th-century monument to Shakespeare in Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey.It’s the only outdoor statue of “the Bard” in central London.

The evening light set up the “stage” with colourful shades and reflective shapes around his statue and its pedestal,which is flanked by dolphins at the centre of a fountain.

The scroll held by Shakespeare is inscribed with a quotation from the Twelfth Night

“There is no Darkness but Ignorance”

He was a master of figurative language;his lessons still resonate today,and characters from his plays continue to appeal to our humanity.He punctuated big moments with heroic couplets and ended powerful scenes with tidy rhymes.This is Poetry,I thought to myself …

“Good, my lord, will you see the players well bestowed at Lyseum ?
Do you hear, let them be well used; for they are the abstract and brief chronicles of the time.Suit the action to the word, the word to the action, with this special observance,that you o’erstep not the modesty of nature … “Hamlet (1600-1602)

Ben Jonson contributed a long poem in praise of Shakespeare,a formal panegyric.

He mentions in his verses that he must be put with the greatest classical tragedians (Euripides, Sophocles, Seneca); and in comedy, Jonson says, he stands alone, above even Aristophanes,Terence and Plautus.

To the Memory of My Beloved Author,Mr. William Shakespeare – By Ben Jonson

“He was not of an age,but for all time!And all the Muses still were in their prime, when, like Apollo, he came forth to warm our ears,or like a Mercury to charm!

I confess thy writings to be such as neither man nor muse can praise too much.The applause,delight,the wonder of our stage!My Shakespeare,rise!I will not lodge thee by Chaucer,or Spenser;a little further,to make thee a room: Thou art a monument without a tomb.Nature herself was proud of your designs and joy’d to wear the dressing of his lines,which were so richly spun,and woven so fit …

Sweet Swan of Avon!What a sight it were to see thee in our waters yet appear,and make those flights upon the banks of Thames,but stay,I see thee in the hemisphere advanc’d,and made a constellation there!Shine forth,thou star of poets … “

 

Performing Arts at the Lyceum Theatre – “The Lion King” – a retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

The Theatre opened in July 1834,hosted a circus,doubled up as a chapel,and was also home to the first Madame Tussaud’s waxworks exhibition,before becoming a licensed house in 1809.Between 1816-1834,it operated as The English Opera House.

The Spitit of Life

“The Lion King” opened in West End in October 1999 and is currently in its 19th year of production.It is among the top ten longest running shows at West End and has received love and adulation across generations.It has been watched by over 14 million people.Also,it has received 8 nominations for the Laurence Olivier Awards and won 2 of them – for Best Theatre Choreographer and Best Costume Design.With its impeccable set,brilliant costumes,and a talented cast, the play transports you to a completely different world in the heart of the African Savannah.

“Everywhere the Light Touches is our Kingdom … “

“All the World’s a Stage and Life a Play … “

Enduring the appeal of “The Lion King”,inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet.If you find yourself crying,it’s out of joy and wonderment.

The story centres on courage,loyalty,and love of home and family values.

A lyrical,dramatic and epic musical show that dazzles all ages with its most rousing music and the evocative rhythms of Africa set against the majesty of the Serengeti Plains.A real feast to the senses that endears to young patrons and old alike.Such emotion in this performance.They sing from the heart.The Score is written by Elton John with lyrics by Time Rice,additional music by Hanns Zimmer and choral arrangements by Lebo M.

“ The Circle of Life ” ♪♫♬ “ & Can You Feel the Love Tonight ” ♪♫♬ …

It has echoes of Shakespeare bringing to mind the plots of both Richard III and Hamlet.

Good, my lord,you suited the action to the word,the word to the action,with this special observance,that you o’erstepped not the modesty of nature.I saw the players well bestowed and used ; for they are the abstract and brief chronicles of the time.
Hamlet (1600-02)

Life’s but a Walking Shadow … Everywhere the Light Touches is our Kingdom …

Time to get high in the West End to stay up in the clouds.We headed for London’s best rooftop bars,roof terraces,open-air bars and sky-high drinking dens.The Heron Tower,the tallest building in the City of London,was abuzz with the sounds of love.

The magic of night lights was plouwing the dark,the widescreen views from the thirty-eighth floor of the Heron Tower were sensational.

If we could say everything in words,we wouldn’t need to photograph …

A couple near the “flame” at Sushisamba Bar and under the quirky orange-lit tree was taking advantage of the beautiful external terrace as they could still hear “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”  ♪♫♬ echoing in the night sky.

Can You Feel the Love Tonight  ♪♫♬ … ?

” There’s a calm surrender to the rush of day;when the heat of the rolling world can be turned away,an enchanted moment and it sees me through.It is where we are.

There’s a time for everyone, if they only learn that the twisting kaleidoscope moves us all in turn.There’s a rhyme and reason to the wild outdoors,when the heart of this star-crossed voyager beats in time with yours … ♪♫♬ ” Elton John / Tim Rice …

The very next night we decided to paint the town red.

out for Happy Hour

Mr Blue Sky turned Bluer after the Nightfall

– Why Mr Blue Sky you turned bluer after the nightfall?
– Ask Lord Rayleigh & the whiter energy-saving Lights,Ms … ☼

* The Spririt & Soul of Ethnic Enclaves *
The distinct character of Chinatown in the City of Westminster,a small yet incredibly vibrant part in the big city to get a true taste of the Orient …

* A night out painting the Town Red when the Sky turned Bluer and painted more Blue on Blue …

Inside a bar for a glass of Huangjiu wine and an illusionary sense that you are somewhere far away to get the true taste of the East …

Goethe said that “A joy shared is a joy doubled … “

 

The very next day the only photo I took was Jellicle,a latchkey fur-kid …

She looked like a character from the Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats T.S.ELIOT

Jellicle Cats are black and white,
Jellicle Cats have moonlit eyes,
Jellicle Cats are rather small;
Jellicle Cats are merry and bright,
And pleasant to hear when they “sing” .♩♪♫♬

I caught her awaiting spring and her parents;she stirred up sweet memories from the performace of Cats I attended years ago at the New London Theatre.It was directed by Trevor Nunn and the music was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber,who in March 2018 renamed the theatre as the Gillian Lynne Theatre to honour Gillian,the choreographer of Cats.It is the first West End theatre named after a woman.

I excerpt a few lines from “The Diary of Virginia Woolf” to add to my own journal and end my exploration …

 

 “London thou Art a jewel of jewels,and jasper of jocunditie – Music,city views, something central and inexplicable.As a cloud crosses the sun,silence falls on London.Effort ceases.There we Stop;there we Stand.”

 

” Your own exploration therefore has to be personalized;you’re doing it for yourself, increasing your own store of particular knowledge,walking your own eccentric version of the city. “G.Nicholson