London Bimbles 2020 ~ *Finding Joseph Grimaldi*

[Pen Pusher]

Night Shoot ~ 9th January 2020

With summer on its way, and the nights are getting shorter, I need to take advantage of what darkness there is at the minute for some hand-held night photography around London. For this Bimble I started at Hyde Park Corner just after sunset and a rain front having passed through and walked back to the Travelodge Hotel in Covent Garden, where I was staying, taking in the sights along the way. In the order taken.

The Wellington Arch (built 1826-9)

The Australian War Memorial, built from rock called Laguna Green mined from quarries in South West Australia. Dedicated in 2003.

Place names of where Australian service personnel originated with battle locations Australian Forces served in during the First and Second World War picked out amongst the place names.

The Australian War Memorial, built from rock called Laguna Green mined from quarries in South West Australia. Dedicated in 2003.

Bronze sculpture of ‘Peace Descending On The Quadriga Of War’ by Adrian Jones installed in 1912 on top of the Wellington Arch.

Buckingham Palace from the top step of the Queen Victoria Memorial.

Gilded bronze ‘Winged Victory’ perched on the top of the Queen Victoria Memorial with Courage and Constancy seated at her feet.

25 meters (82ft) tall Queen Victoria Memorial.

Duck Island Cottage, St James’s Park.

Relief frieze around the main portico to the Supreme Court, overlooking Parliament Square, which is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom.

Façade to what was once the Raymond Revuebar, a theatre and strip club in the heart of London’s Soho district, which opened in 1958 and closed in January 2009. Reopened in 2011 under new management. If you screw your eyes up and tilt your head slightly to one side, you can just about make out what the out of focus video on the screen behind the grill is.

At the entrance to Leicester Square from Piccadilly Circus is the Swiss Glockenspiel, a mechanical clock with 27 bells and moving figures which ring out and move on the hour every hour.

The two centre pieces to the fountains in Trafalgar Square, replacing the originals built in 1845, were designed in the 1930’s by Edward Lutyens as memorials to Lord Jellicoe and Lord Beatty who were both Admirals of the Fleet.

The two centre pieces to the fountains in Trafalgar Square, replacing the originals built in 1845, were designed in the 1930’s by Edward Lutyens as memorials to Lord Jellicoe and Lord Beatty who were both Admirals.

Refurbished clock face on the east side of the Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) with the clock dial and hands being finished in the original Victorian blue colour scheme and not the black it was in.

Tourist shot across the Thames of County Hall, the old headquarters of the Greater London Council, and the London Eye.

The Palace of Westminster, seat of the United Kingdom Government, with complete refurbishment due to be completed in 2031.

Façade of County Hall an ideal backdrop to psychedelic light shows.

To celebrate 20 years since lesbian, gay and bisexual personnel were legally allowed to serve in the armed forces, the south side of MoD main building is lit up in rainbow colours.

Charing Cross Station with the R.S. Hispaniola restaurant/bar docked on the Thames and the supports lit in blue of the Golden Jubilee Bridge.

King Street, Covent Garden still with christmas lights up.

I arrived at the old Covent Garden just before 10pm with trucks, cherry pickers and contractors congregating outside ready to take down the last of the Christmas mistletoe lights.

Selfie in the constantly changing coloured lights in the mirrored passageway to Conduit Court, Covent Garden.

St. Martin’s Theatre, Seven Dials, opened in November 1916 and a Grade II Listed Building, has been showing a stage version of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap since March 1974.


Sony E 16-55mm f/2.8 G APS-C Wide-angle Zoom Lens
Sony a6500/24.2MP E-mount APS-C Camera.

Brian

[hedgerowops1]

Very nice Brian I enjoyed looking at those

[Georgeconna]

Excellent shots there Brian, I could not make out the out of focus bill board though, Maybe myu mind is not that inclined!

[Blackbird]

Cracking set Brian

Andy

[Fox]

Good variety Brian. Always interesting following your Bimbles

[Pen Pusher]

UPDATE 1 - Shooting Elephants @ Marble Arch ~ 19th January 2020

Shooting with a camera that is. A herd of 21 life-size bronze pachyderms, one mother and 20 babies, have taken up residence on Marble Arch lawn. This is a sculpture installation called ‘The Orphans’ by Gillie and Marc and each sculpture represents a real elephant in the care of Sheldrick Wildlife Trust based in Kenya and are on display until December 2020. I arrived early afternoon and despite the wall to wall blue sky and sunshine it was the wrong type of sunshine and a bit too crowded so I went back late afternoon with better light and less people. Only downside was with the recent rain the green, green grass had turned into soft squelchy mud.

Early Afternoon
Marble Arch, designed by John Nash in 1827, originally as a State entrance to Buckingham Palace before being moved to Hyde Park Corner.

‘Not A Banksy’ was the mantra, as he didn’t acknowledge painting it, when this artwork appeared next to Marble Arch the day after Extinction Rebellion's London protest at Marble Arch finished back in April 2019. It’s still there and protected behind a polycarbonate screen though.

‘Still Water’(2011) 33ft bronze sculpture horse’s head by Nic Fiddian-Green.

‘The Orphans’ by Gillie and Marc. Twenty-one elephant sculptures created to raise awareness for orphaned elephants in east Africa.


Late Afternoon








































Sony DSC-RX1R MII
42.4MP back-illuminated full-frame sensor/ZEISS® Sonnar T* 35mm F2 fixed lens.

Brian

[Blackbird]

The elephants look really good in that later light - thanks for posting.

Andy

[Pen Pusher]

UPDATE 2 - The Rolling Bridge of Merchant Square ~ 31st January 2020.

Paddington Basin was a dock used by barges on the Grand Union Canal to on/off load goods for Paddington Rail station which is right next door. Today it’s called Merchant Square and consists of offices, shops and residential properties with the basin still used by canal barges to moor up. There is a pedestrian footbridge called the Rolling Bridge and it does exactly what is says on the tin by rolling up into an eight sided ball.





















There is another bridge in Merchant Square called The Fan Bridge(2014) consisting of five side by side sections of varying lengths which rise independently at various angles to give a Japanese fan effect. Unfortunately the wind, and it was a very cold wind, was above limits for the sections to rise but fortunately the bridge openings are every Wednesday and Friday at 12pm and Saturday at 2pm so a return visit when it’s less windy and in the summer when it’s warmer.

Sony E 16-55mm f/2.8 G APS-C Wide-angle Zoom Lens
Sony a6500/24.2MP E-mount APS-C Camera.

Brian

[Pen Pusher]

As part of Leicester Square’s 350th Anniversary, eight bronze statues of British and Hollywood film characters have been erected in Leicester Square as a celebration of London’s film industry as Leicester Square has been home to British cinema since the 1930’s. To the west of the square, opposite McDonalds, is Bugs Bunny in his carrot patch, Gene Kelly swinging on a lamp post ‘Singing in the Rain’, and Mary Poppins floating down under her umbrella but for some reason Mary Poppins is based on the actress playing her on stage and not Julie Andrews who is the one and only Mary Poppins. In the actual square itself is Paddington Bear and Mr Bean who are sitting amongst the tourists on the park benches and Laurel and Hardy are on top of the Lodge, otherwise known as the Ticket Office. Wonder Woman is hanging off the side of the VUE Cinema in Leicester Street and Batman perched on top of the ODEON Luxe looking down on Leicester Square.

Bugs Bunny.

Bugs Bunny.

Mr Bean.

Mr Bean.

Batman.

Laurel and Hardy.

Paddington Bear.

Mary Poppins.

Gene Kelly.

Gene Kelly.

Wonder Woman.

Scenes in the Square map.


Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-RX100 M6 ~ 1-inch/20.1MP Exmor R™ CMOS back illuminated sensor/ Zeiss® Vario-Sonnar T* f1.8-2.8 - 9.0-72mm(24-200mm equivalent) lens

Brian

[AlexC]

Very good.

Me and my wife stayed at the new Novotel at Canary Wharf last weekend, spectacular views over London from the restaurant at the top of the tower, we could have stayed up there all day. I left my camera at home as the weather forecast was poor, but Sunday turned out to be sunny.

[Pen Pusher]

Odds & Sods ~ Just a few random images from my last couple of Bimbles around the big city.

View looking west towards the City from outside Aldgate East Tube Station with 20 Fenchurch Street or the ‘Walkie Talkie Tower’ in the background and the yellow/green iridescent strips, which react to sunlight, of 120 Fenchurch Street below.

View looking east from Canada Water across Harmsworth Quays and the River Thames to the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf. From L to R - Newfoundland Quay Building, One Canada Square & Landmark Pinnacle. I was waiting for the sun to come out but the clouds were rolling in from behind.

Looking up at 1 More Riverside. EY = Ernst & Young LLP, business management consultants.

The top of ‘Evergreen Tree’ sculpture by David Batchelor with the White Tower of the Tower of London, across the river, in the background.

View along More Riverside Walk with one of the towers of Tower Bridge.

Touristy shot of Tower Bridge with the rotund City Hall on the right.

RNLI E-09/’Brawn Challenge’ a Mk2 E-class fast response boat entering the shadow of HMS Belfast.

Outside seating area of the Anchor Bankside pub with St Paul's cathedral on the other side of the river.

View across the river and the Millennium Bridge to the City of London from the South Bank outside Tate Modern.

You Are Here.


Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-RX100 M3 ~ 1-inch/20.1MP Exmor R™ CMOS back illuminated sensor/ Zeiss® Vario-Sonnar T* f1.8-2.8 - 8.8-25.7mm(24-70mm equivalent) lens
Brian

[AlexC]

There's been very little building in and around Canary Wharf in recent years, but it's as if a bubble has burst and tall towers seem to be going up everywhere mostly residential as far as I could tell.

[Pen Pusher]

When it became apparent from other countries that travel restrictions could be in place in the UK soon, I got in a few quick visits to London to build up a stockpile of images to while away the hours although I didn't quite get around all I wanted to see so I’m also having a trawl through my hard drives for photos I’ve not posted before. So let's start with……………....

Canada Water

Canada Dock, part of the vast Surrey Commercial Dock complex, opened in 1876 to handle wood imported from Canada. The docks closed in 1970 and in the 1980’s most of the docks were filled in and built on. What is now Canada Water is a freshwater lake and wildlife refuge. Leading off from Canada Water is the Albion Channel, an ornamental canal through what used to be Albion Dock leading to Surrey Water and the Thames. One striking feature of Canada Water is the four-storey high bronzed anodised hexagonal shaped building that leans out across the dock and houses a library, cafe, meeting rooms and a small theatre and opened in 2011.

View looking north across the dock.

The bright lights of ‘Caff A’ at Canada Water Library.

Canada Water Library with the Shard on the left on the south bank of the river and the office blocks of the City of London, on the north side of the river, just about visible.

Canada Water Library with the 62 meter high twin tower blocks of Columbia Point on the left and Regina House on the right with over 80 flats in each and completed in 1964.

Canada Water Library with the glazed entrance to the underground directly behind it and Regina House behind that.

Main entrance to Canada Water Library.

Bascule pedestrian footbridge over the Albion Channel.

Looking west back to the Bascule footbridge and Canada Water.

In the foreground are duck islands with the bridge carrying the Surrey Quays Road over the Albion Channel. Keep walking along the footpath and you eventually reach the Thames.

25 meter wide glass drum over the opening to the entrance to the underground just below ground level and the platforms 22 meters further down.


Sony E 16-55mm f/2.8 G APS-C Wide-angle Zoom Lens & Sony a6500/24.2MP E-mount APS-C Camera.

Brian

[AlexC]

Don't think that the sculpter has got a particularly good likeness of Stan Laurel, however his Mr Bean is a lot better.

[Pen Pusher]

Turn left out of Kings Cross Station and walk for about 20 minutes along Pentonville Road and you will come to what was once the location of St. James Chapel Churchyard which opened in 1788 and was demolished in 1984. The church was once the home of the Clown’s Church and hosted an annual clown’s service until the 1950’s. It is now called the Joseph Grimaldi Park named after Joseph Grimaldi (born 18th December 1778/died 31st May 1837) actor/comedian/dancer and pantomime clown of the Regency era who lived in the area and performed at the Sadler's Wells Theatre, which is just around the corner from the church yard, and at the Theatre Royal, now the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He was buried in St. James's Churchyard, Pentonville on the 5th June 1837

Tombstone and illustrations of Joseph Grimaldi.

Grave of Joseph Grimaldi although it may not be the exact location of where Joseph Grimaldi was buried in St James's, Pentonville church yard as most of the gravestones were removed over 100 years ago.

Graveside plaque commemorating the life of Joseph Grimaldi.

The park was refurbished in 2010 and Henry Krokatsis created two coffin-lid art installations dedicated to Charles Dibdin, on the left, who was Grimaldi's mentor and Joseph Grimaldi on the right. Walk, or jump, on the bronze plates and they make musical notes. Yes I did try it but it was either broken or turned off.

56 Exmouth Market, Clerkenwell (a shop front was added in the late 1880’s) where Joseph Grimaldi lived from 1818 until his retirement in 1828 when he moved to 22 Calshot Street, formerly Southampton Street, which has since been demolished.

Blue plaque erected in 1989 by English Heritage at 56 Exmouth Market.


Sony ILCE-6500 + Sony E 16-70mm F4 ZA OSS Lens

Brian