Once a month, the Science Museum has a late night, until 9.00 p.m. I arrived at the main door about a quarter of an hour before it was due to open and found a queue which stretched the length of the block, although I must say it moved very quickly once the doors opened.
The museum was packed, and on the ground floor by the entrance, there was a sort of mini disco, with loud music and lots of young people dancing.
I had a look around various sections, includingone on steam engines and another of medicine, and also went to a couple of lectures, which were extremely interesting. One was on Conan Doyle and the very famous two sisters who claimed to have seen and photographed some fairies. Another was on mental illness and the third was on chemistry and bangs. All were very informal, with the audience largely sitting on the floor - I think they were aimed at children rather than adults, although the lecturers didn't talk down to anyone. And they were all quite short.
If I get chance, it would be nice to go again to a late night there.
Wednesday, 25 September 2013
Sunday, 22 September 2013
St. Benet Fink Church
I noticed this had the lights on while I was going back to Turnpike Lane station to get the tube, so decided to have a look.
The lights were in fact on because there was a service, with a small number of people scattered around the church.
It is an interesting place, although I don't think it is very old. There are no hymn books, and everything is displayed on a large screen, including things like the prayers. They have a very strict baptism policy - parents have to attend the church every week for six months and attend the preparation classes before their babies are baptised, and it is made quite clear that if they aren;t prepared to do it, then they should go somewhere else.
I only stayed a few minutes to glance around - they seem to have quite a lot of concerts there, but it's quite a way to go.
The lights were in fact on because there was a service, with a small number of people scattered around the church.
It is an interesting place, although I don't think it is very old. There are no hymn books, and everything is displayed on a large screen, including things like the prayers. They have a very strict baptism policy - parents have to attend the church every week for six months and attend the preparation classes before their babies are baptised, and it is made quite clear that if they aren;t prepared to do it, then they should go somewhere else.
I only stayed a few minutes to glance around - they seem to have quite a lot of concerts there, but it's quite a way to go.
All Hallowes Church
Jus a few minutes' walk from Tower Gardens Garden Suburb is All Hallowes Church, bits of which date back to AD 1150, when the area was even more rural that when the Garden Suburb was built.
After another cup of tea and another piece of Victoria sponge, I had a good look the church, whilst entertained by some delightful music in the background.
It's quite an interesting church, with a number of statues and memorials to former residents of the parish, going back to the 1600s.
It would be nice to say that the whole church dates back to the twelvth century, but it wouldn't be true; over the centures there have been major alterations and developments, so that the present church is far larger than the original, of which little remains.
The stained glass windows above the high altar are beautiful, although cost prevented them from being repeated all round the building.
After another cup of tea and another piece of Victoria sponge, I had a good look the church, whilst entertained by some delightful music in the background.
It's quite an interesting church, with a number of statues and memorials to former residents of the parish, going back to the 1600s.
It would be nice to say that the whole church dates back to the twelvth century, but it wouldn't be true; over the centures there have been major alterations and developments, so that the present church is far larger than the original, of which little remains.
The stained glass windows above the high altar are beautiful, although cost prevented them from being repeated all round the building.
Tower Gardens Garden Suburb
On Sunday afternoon I went to see some more of the places that were taking part in Open House weekend, and got the tube to Wood Green to go and see the Tower Gardens Garden Suburb, which is one fo the first garden suburbs in the world, being much older than the more famous Hampstead Garden Suburb.
It arose out of an 1885 Act of Parliament, which gave the London County Council the right to puchase land to build houses for the poor. At the time the land was purchased, it was farmland, and outside London, although the tube had reached it.
Started in 1901, and finished in 1904, the Tower Gardens Garden Suburb is laid out as a series of small streets of terrace houses, with an enclosed park at one end, and their own rather ornate primary school.
The hosues are two up two down, with small gardens at the front and larger ones at the back - the sort of little cottages that most of us would love to live in, although they're not really big enough for a family with children today. Each street is different, where it is in the shape of the roofs, or the arches at the entrance, or the windows, or the doors - and this was deliberate.
No. 5 Tower Gardens Road was organising the open day, and their living room was being used to hand out leaflets for the self-guided tour of the estate, and also to serve tea or coffee and a cake to raise money for a thalassemia charity.
Having mis-read the address as Tower Gardens, I wandered all along Tower Gardens Road as far as Tower Gardens, which is a delightful little square located behind iron gates. Having failed to find any No. 5, I asked the young gentleman who was sitting on one of the benches and obviously had a copy of the guide, where it was, and he directed me back where I had come from. Having done quite a bit of walking, I decided to have my cup of tea and a cake before I started the tour and learned quite a bit about the estate from the host - such things as the fact that if you didn't pay your rent on time, they just put your possessions out on the pavement. Also, if a tenant married, they had to pay ten shillings extra for their wife, as she was regarded as a lodger. While I was enjoying my cup of teac, who should come in but the young gentleman I had spoken to earlier, who it turned out lives only a few minutes' walk away from me - it's an awfully small world!
The tour took about an hour or so, and the notes provided were quite informative. It was originally built to provide good quality healthy accommodation for the poor from East London - the working poor, that is. You had to have a job and be able to pay the rent to get a house there. The rent office was next to Tower Gardens, and I assume the rent officer knew personally every person who lived on the estate.
Now, many of the houses have been sold off, others have been taken over by housing associations and others still remain as Council property.
It is a very peaceful place to live, with very little traffic, and no sound of loud music, despite the very mixed population.
It arose out of an 1885 Act of Parliament, which gave the London County Council the right to puchase land to build houses for the poor. At the time the land was purchased, it was farmland, and outside London, although the tube had reached it.
Started in 1901, and finished in 1904, the Tower Gardens Garden Suburb is laid out as a series of small streets of terrace houses, with an enclosed park at one end, and their own rather ornate primary school.
The hosues are two up two down, with small gardens at the front and larger ones at the back - the sort of little cottages that most of us would love to live in, although they're not really big enough for a family with children today. Each street is different, where it is in the shape of the roofs, or the arches at the entrance, or the windows, or the doors - and this was deliberate.
No. 5 Tower Gardens Road was organising the open day, and their living room was being used to hand out leaflets for the self-guided tour of the estate, and also to serve tea or coffee and a cake to raise money for a thalassemia charity.
Having mis-read the address as Tower Gardens, I wandered all along Tower Gardens Road as far as Tower Gardens, which is a delightful little square located behind iron gates. Having failed to find any No. 5, I asked the young gentleman who was sitting on one of the benches and obviously had a copy of the guide, where it was, and he directed me back where I had come from. Having done quite a bit of walking, I decided to have my cup of tea and a cake before I started the tour and learned quite a bit about the estate from the host - such things as the fact that if you didn't pay your rent on time, they just put your possessions out on the pavement. Also, if a tenant married, they had to pay ten shillings extra for their wife, as she was regarded as a lodger. While I was enjoying my cup of teac, who should come in but the young gentleman I had spoken to earlier, who it turned out lives only a few minutes' walk away from me - it's an awfully small world!
The tour took about an hour or so, and the notes provided were quite informative. It was originally built to provide good quality healthy accommodation for the poor from East London - the working poor, that is. You had to have a job and be able to pay the rent to get a house there. The rent office was next to Tower Gardens, and I assume the rent officer knew personally every person who lived on the estate.
Now, many of the houses have been sold off, others have been taken over by housing associations and others still remain as Council property.
It is a very peaceful place to live, with very little traffic, and no sound of loud music, despite the very mixed population.
Saturday, 21 September 2013
London Fire Brigade Museum
After the tour of the Southwark Recycling Facility, I caught a bus up the Old Kent Road, and went to visit the London Fire Brigade Museum, which is based in Southwark Bridge Road and was also taking part in the Open House weekend.
At first I walked past it, as what appeared to be a fire station was very firmly shut. However, when I started checking the street numbers, I realised that the museum was behind the fire station Built in 1820, it was formerly two houses, but was converted into one in 1878, to provide a home for the Chief Offficer of the London Fire Brigade, who demanded that he have a residence suitable for his status - he obviously had quite a high opinion of his status!
The Museum is based over three floors, and is open to the public, but today additional rooms on the ground floorcould be viewed, such as the dining room, the Chief Officer's room, and the living room - all quite grand and definitely designed to impress.
The Museum itself was very interesting, with stories of various major fires that the London Fire Brigade had been involved in, including the one in Tooley Street, which had highlighted the need to have boats on the river capable of delivering water to fires along the river bank.
There was a talk about the river boats, and how following the Tooley Street fire, where the Chief officer died and a very young Irishmanwith little experience but bags of enthusiasm and indeas, came to replace him, they became an important part of the service.
There was also an unusual display of hats hanging on a corridor wall - firemen's hats from all over the world, not only in a variety of colours, but of shapes as well.
As I was leaving, just before 4 o.clock when it was due to close, a whole party arrived - I don't know if they kept it open for a little while longer to enable them to see at last a bit of all the museum has to offer.
At first I walked past it, as what appeared to be a fire station was very firmly shut. However, when I started checking the street numbers, I realised that the museum was behind the fire station Built in 1820, it was formerly two houses, but was converted into one in 1878, to provide a home for the Chief Offficer of the London Fire Brigade, who demanded that he have a residence suitable for his status - he obviously had quite a high opinion of his status!
The Museum is based over three floors, and is open to the public, but today additional rooms on the ground floorcould be viewed, such as the dining room, the Chief Officer's room, and the living room - all quite grand and definitely designed to impress.
The Museum itself was very interesting, with stories of various major fires that the London Fire Brigade had been involved in, including the one in Tooley Street, which had highlighted the need to have boats on the river capable of delivering water to fires along the river bank.
There was a talk about the river boats, and how following the Tooley Street fire, where the Chief officer died and a very young Irishmanwith little experience but bags of enthusiasm and indeas, came to replace him, they became an important part of the service.
There was also an unusual display of hats hanging on a corridor wall - firemen's hats from all over the world, not only in a variety of colours, but of shapes as well.
As I was leaving, just before 4 o.clock when it was due to close, a whole party arrived - I don't know if they kept it open for a little while longer to enable them to see at last a bit of all the museum has to offer.
Southwark IntegratedWaste Management Facility
It's Open House Weekend, and I've just spent a day seeing things that aren't normally open to the public.
First stop was the Southwark Waste Recycling Facility in South London - it was quite easy to get to, as I jsut got the Overground from Olympia to Clapham Junction and then the other Overground, from the same platform, to Queens Road, Peckham. From there it was a fairly short walk to the Facility
First stop was the Southwark Waste Recycling Facility in South London - it was quite easy to get to, as I jsut got the Overground from Olympia to Clapham Junction and then the other Overground, from the same platform, to Queens Road, Peckham. From there it was a fairly short walk to the Facility
Saturday, 14 September 2013
Fair on Brook Green
On the way home from the Reading Group at the Library, where we nearly all agreed that "The Liars' Gospel" was a rather strange book that didn't have a great deal to recommend it, I stopped off at Brook Green to have a look at the Fair.
The weather wasn't ideal for an outdoor event - although it wasn't actually raining, the ground underfoot was wet and squelchy, and it was impossible to walk on the paths unless you were wearing boots, as they were so muddy.
The organisers had evidently put in a lot of effort, but there was rather a lot of empty space, and I wondered how many stall-holders had decided that the weather was really too uncertain to set up their stalls.
But the funfair was there, although at that time not doing much business, and there were several food stalls from which emanated delicious smells of hot food - had I not had something waiting at home, I would have been tempted to have lunch there.
There was the usual face painting, some craft stalls, and a local estate agent giving away books - donation for a local literacy charity optional. I came away with a book on the shortcomings of the BBC, and the charity was £1 richer.
I also added my email address to the form at the Chinese Church stall, to be notified of the date of their carol service. They are based on Brook Green, and the previous carol service I went to theire featured a girls pipe band from Melbourne - and also mince pies in the hall afterwards. Everything was In English, and I imagine most of the congregation are very settled here.
The weather wasn't ideal for an outdoor event - although it wasn't actually raining, the ground underfoot was wet and squelchy, and it was impossible to walk on the paths unless you were wearing boots, as they were so muddy.
The organisers had evidently put in a lot of effort, but there was rather a lot of empty space, and I wondered how many stall-holders had decided that the weather was really too uncertain to set up their stalls.
But the funfair was there, although at that time not doing much business, and there were several food stalls from which emanated delicious smells of hot food - had I not had something waiting at home, I would have been tempted to have lunch there.
There was the usual face painting, some craft stalls, and a local estate agent giving away books - donation for a local literacy charity optional. I came away with a book on the shortcomings of the BBC, and the charity was £1 richer.
I also added my email address to the form at the Chinese Church stall, to be notified of the date of their carol service. They are based on Brook Green, and the previous carol service I went to theire featured a girls pipe band from Melbourne - and also mince pies in the hall afterwards. Everything was In English, and I imagine most of the congregation are very settled here.
Saturday, 7 September 2013
Vermeer and Music
The Vermeer and Music Exhibition has been on at the National Gallery for a while, and tomorrow is the last day - it had been on my list of "Things to Do" ever since it opened, but I just hadn't got round to going.
It was well worth the effort. In an age when there was no means of recording anything, music was very effemeral - it existed only in the moment of time when it was being played. So if you wanted music, then you needed musicians to play it at the time, and those who could afford to spent a lot of time playing ad singing in their own homes.
As well as Vermeer's paintings, the exhibition also featured musical instruments from the period, and a further treat was a live performance by two talented young musicians.
A further treat was the film about the exhibition - most exhibitions seem to include a film, and they are usually very well-made and informative. This one was no exception.
It was well worth the effort. In an age when there was no means of recording anything, music was very effemeral - it existed only in the moment of time when it was being played. So if you wanted music, then you needed musicians to play it at the time, and those who could afford to spent a lot of time playing ad singing in their own homes.
As well as Vermeer's paintings, the exhibition also featured musical instruments from the period, and a further treat was a live performance by two talented young musicians.
A further treat was the film about the exhibition - most exhibitions seem to include a film, and they are usually very well-made and informative. This one was no exception.
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
Cosmetics, Chemicals and the Truth
A fascinating evening at the Chemistry Society, where there was a panel of experts discussing cosmetics, chemicals and the truth and answerign questiosn from the audience.
Even if you weren't terribly interested in cosmetics - and I can't say I am, except for their practical uses - it was still a very interesting evening, as the four experts discussed the latest advance and they way cosmetics havge changed over the ages.
Even if you weren't terribly interested in cosmetics - and I can't say I am, except for their practical uses - it was still a very interesting evening, as the four experts discussed the latest advance and they way cosmetics havge changed over the ages.
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