London: Tea Time in Wonderland

The Proud Gallery, a private gallery specialising in rock star photographies, is in nostalgic mode with snaps of the Who at the beginning of their career. On stage, of course, but also their daily life, waking up, shaving, chosing clothes. And oh, the fashion at the time, the tweed suits! Budweiser is sponsoring the event and you can even grab a beer from the fridge near te entrance while remembering long gone years, but weren’t they wild, eh?

The sub-level also proposes other prints on sale, including two wonderful prints of the Rolling Stone (one is an incredible cricket party with a broken paino in the background). Their other branch in Camden, doubled as a bar and regularly playing live music, actually has an exhibition on Woodstock

Proud Gallery
The Who
32 John Adam Street
London WC2N 6BP
Until November 15, 2009
Tube: Embankment or Charing Cross

If you dream in black & white and did not get a chance to see Londoners through a lens @ the Getty Images, you’ll love the book released with these extraordinary pics of a long gone London. A great gift for this coming Xmas (or just to yourself!)
A few below:
- a Doubledecker en route for a trip to Oslo for an exhibition celebrating England
- Covent Garden in 1910
- One of the many celebrations for Georges VI’s coronation: the to be on TV!
- Chain working and producing toy cars…
- A rat catcher – WWII saw a terrible increase in rat population and this was a very well paid job based on the risks on being bitten and infected.

Seduced? The get the book from the previous exhibition too, London through a lens.

Whatever I do, my steps always seem to bring me back to Southbank. From the London Eye to the Golden Hind. From Westminster Bridge to the Garden Museum. From temple to the Millenium Bridge. From London Bridge to Tower Bridge, pausing at the Scoop. A patchwork of mini-strolls, a different kind of puzzles, always finding a new details along the way.

I have my favourite stops, of course. I never tire of the Borough Market. The Tate on a Saturday evening, towards 20.00, when it is deserted by tourists and I have rooms all to myself. A chocolate ale. Gabriel’s wharf beach when the tide is low. The view on St Paul from the Millenium Bridge.

I always pause @ Cardinal Wharf, hidden between the Tate and the Globe Theater. A few precious houses, trying to eb as discreet as possible amidst the Thames buzz. #49 always has intrigued me – an old style bell, a grid hiding a more modern contact system…

…and this plaque adding to the mystey, the prestige… Christopher Wren, who built St Paul on which you have a great view from here, has lived here. Catherine of Arragon, Henry VIII’s first wife (do read Philippa Gregory’s fab novel on her life to learn more. I guarantee you’ll be hooked) is to have stayed here on her arrival from Spain.

But at Foyles, paging through The House by the Thames and the People who Lived There, I discover a different story. Gillian Tindall wves all this away. Christopher Wren lived a few houses away. The owner of #49 got the plaque from another building after the war when most houses were in ruins. Whole neighborhoods had been bombed and were now beiig destroyed to build new. In doubt, the authorities decided to leave these few ones intact thanks to the possible historical heritage…! What about Catherine? Ah, surely Spanish princessed do not stay in such basic lodging , especially when they’re about to become Queen of England.

And so Tindall digs through 300 years of history. Before this house was a pub, the Cardinal Hat, one of the most important along the Thames. These were not rich neighborhoods. They were know for their brothels, called stews at the time. The book then switches to the area through various eras, mentioning the construction of Westminster then Blackfriar bridge, their economical impact, the richness emerging from the new markets it allowed such as coal transport. You forget instantly the icecream vans, the souvenir shops, the herds of tourists and jump into a different world. A great travel in time: give it a try!

Vous pensez bien connaitre Londres? Vous n’avez certes pas tout visite encore mais avez avale tellement de guides…

Ce petit livre, mine de rien, va vous apprendre une foule de details supplementaires, de petites histoires, de citations dont:

- L’existence d’un tunnel secret sous Sloane Square…

- Comment le Brompton Oratory a ete utilisee comme cache pour lettres et microfilms par le KGB…

- que Londres comptait jusqu’en 1920 une douzaine de moulins…

- Que l’Imperial War Museum etait auparavant un hopital, St Mary of Bethlehem mieux connu sous le nom de Bedlam Insane Asylum (mentionne dans le film Sweeney Todd de Tim burton. Pensez aussi au dernier album de James Blunt, Back to Bedlam, doublement ironique pusiqu’il etait militaire avant d’etre chanteur)

- Que Thierry Marx a exprime ses vues au Speakers’ corner…

- Que le Royal London Hospital a abrite Elephant Man… Que vous y trouverez un musee ouvert au oublic (et gratuit) avec collection de materiel chirurgical, des elements de l’enquete sur Jack l’eventreur et le modele utilise pour… le dentier de Georges Washington…

- ou trouver Little Egypt…

- Qu’un tunnel a l’epoque passer sous le London Bridge. Le premier metro, qui pouvait transporter 12 passagers!

Et bien d’autres! Historique, satirique, drole, ce bouquin capture les differentes facettes de la capitale au lieu du cote glossy et glamour toujours presente dans les guides. Des secrets a decouvrir, l’origine de legendes urbaines, l’explication d’expressions cockneys…

Les pages sont tres concentrees en information (pas de photos dans ce livre-la!) et se savoure mieux par petites doses, accompagne d’une petite tasse de cafe, d’un carre de chocolat pour le plaisir…

The London Collection

£9.99 en librairie

£7.49 sur Amazon.co.uk

Recommande plutot pour les lecteurs habitant Londres.

More for readers living in London, you need a little inside knowledge.

So you think you know London? You haven’t visited everything, of course, but you’ve been, like me, through so many guides…

Think again.

This little book is full of surprises, anecdotes, quotes… You’ll get to know…

- the existence of a secret tunnel under Sloane Square…

- how the Brompton Oratory was used as a cache for messages by the KGB….

- that London still had a dozen windmills up to 1920…

- that the Imperial war Museum used to be the St Mary of Bethlehem hospital, best know as… the Bedlam Insane Asylum (mentioned in Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd. Think also of James’s Blunt album Back to Bedlam, doubly ironic as the singer used to be in the army)

- that the Royal London Hospital sheltered Elephant Man…. but also offers a (free!) museum open to the public, with a collection of surgical tools, Jack the Ripper and even..Washington’s denture model…

- where to find Little Egypt…

- that there used to be a tunnel going right under Tower Bridge… The first subway system that could carry 12 passengers!

And much much more! The notes can be historical, satirical, funny, intriguing… So many secrets to unveil! Finally, a varied description of London with its dark sides rather than the glossy version of the travel books.

No photos here and a page is filled with much information – better enjoyed a little at time with a real coffee and a truffle or two..

Root-master est ma meilleure adresse du moment.

Tombee dessus pas hasard, sans aucune fringale, je n’ai pas resiste longtemps a diner dans un double-decker bus – how sooooo London! L’ambiance de l’etage est fantastique, tabouret sur le cote, tout un coin installe de banquettes ideal pour les celebrations… Quelques bougies le soir, une sculpture de D*Face a l’exterieur, une vraie atmosphere. D’autant plus que ce bus a sillone les rues de la capital de 1967 a 1994.

Root-master is definitely my best address at the moment. I am going to bring all my visiting friends there!

I came accross it completely hasardly. I wasn’t hungry either but c’m'on, this is so iconic: I just couldn’t resist having dinner in a double decker bus! This one actually drove through the capital from 1967 to 1994 and is very atmospheric. Of course, you have to be on the first floor. Candles in the evening, stools on the side, a few tables, a whole corner turned into little sofas and just perfect for celebrations.

Je n’ai pas ete decue. L’accueil a ete formidable, chaleureux, drole: j’ai ete soignee aux petits oignons.

La carte est vegetarienne. Intimides? Vraiment pas de quoi.  Je suis egalement bonne carnivore et ne resiste jamais a un appetissant steak saignant. Mais le root-master burger est une pure merveille, un fondant qui vous fait oublier qu’il ne contient pas un gramme de viande. Vous ne vous arreterz d’ailleurs pas un instant pour y reflechir! J’en ai pourtant goutes, des burgers. Des basiques, des delicieux, des chics, des graisseux, des fusion foods. Mais celui-la est hors-categorie. les potatoe wedges qui l’accompagnent sont d’un moelleux incomparable, salees juste ce qu’il faut. La sauce tomate a une texture formidable qui vous ferait presque lecher l’assiette. Accompagnez donc d’une limonade au gingembre, c’est le nirvana.

Mon seul regret? De n’avoir vraiment plus eu faim pour la carte des desserts. Les filles a cote de moi vantaient les merites du Banana Cream Pie et je m’avoue intriguee par les Sweet Mumbai carrots – des carottes cuites lentement jusqu’a etre caramelisees et servies avec une creme a l’orange sanguine, des quartiers d’orange sanguines et des raisins secs imbibes de rhum. Je m’en leche deja les babines.

I wasn’t disappointed. Rarely have I had such a warm, funny, splendid welcome. They treated me as if I was a favoured regular.

The menu is entireley vegetarian. Intimidates? Don’t be. I’m a carnivore. I never resist a nice a steak. But the root-master burger is just out of this world, it litterally melts in your mouth. It’s so good you don’t even pause to wonder at the fact that there is not a gram of meat in it. And believe me, I have tested my share of burgers, basic, greasy, market ones to food fusion, quality, experimental, delicious, juicy ones. No, for me, this one is the best ever. And the potato wedges are splended too, lightly salted, tender. I wonder if they do extra servings of these? And do try the home made tomato sauce too -  what a lovely texture! I hesitated to lick it off the plate. With a ginger lemonade this was nirvana-like.

My only regret? I really, really wasn’t hungry enouh for a desert. The girls at the next table mentionned the Banana Cream pie as being amazing and I am truly intrigued by the Sweet Mumbai carrots -  slow cooked carrots with caramel served in a sangunello orange cream sauce,  with sanguinello oranges and rum soaked raisins. Sounds finger licking good!

D’autant plus que les prix sont raisonnables: £6.5 pour le burger qui cale vraiment l’estomac. Les desserts sont entre £5 et £6.5.

Tout est cuisine a bord du bus -  l’equipe est d’ailleurs francaise! L’accent est mis sur l’ecologie – produits locaux, recyclage au maximum. Les plats a emporter sont d’ailleurs a base de mais et d’amidon de pomme de terre et se biodegradent en 180 jours tout rond.

Un seul mot: bravo!

Parents: l’etage n’est pas pense poussettes (ah, les transports en commun!) ni bebes. Vous pouvez par contre profiter des tables exterieures pour vous regaler. Un jour de soleil, c’est ideal, d’autant plus que les enfants peuvent jouer sur la place. Avec un enfant de 2-3 ans et +, n’hesitez pas a profiter de l’etage!Vous etes ici a quelques pas de Brick Lane et 5mn de la Spitafield City Farm. Et si les enfants sont fascines par ce bus, reprenez le metro et emmenez-les a Covent Garden decouvrir le London Transport Museum et sa collection de bus d’epoque…

Prices are very reasonable: £6.5 for a burger that is a real meal. Deserts are £5 et £6.5.

Everything is cooked on the ground floor of the bus -  and the team is French! That makes me real proud. They focus on being green too – local products, recycling, limiting waste. Take-out dinnerware is made of corn and potato starch and is biodegradable in 180 days.

An easy conclusion: bravo! Keep going!

Parents: the first floor is not for pushchairs (ah! Public transports!) not a baby. However, this is perfectly manageable with a 2-3 year old and +. You can also settle for th outside tables – sounds wonderful on a sunny day especially as the kids can run around on that place safely. You’re only a minute from Brick Lane and a 5 mn walk to the Spitafield City Farm. And if your kids prove fascinated by the bus, get the tube to Covent Garden and take them to the London Transport Museum with its collection of historic buses…

Root-master
Old Truman Brewery car park
Off Dray Walk,
London, E1 6QL

The first thing you need to know is that this guide is in French. Entirely in French. If you are not confident reading French, read no further or your frustration will be endless…

Ready? Here we go.

Once upon time was a very magical blog promising to make you see wonders in London.

Once back in Paris, the authors took their best magic wand ans shazam! Jeux de piste et enigmes a Londres was born.

At first, I wasn’t convinced. Looking at the pictures, it seemed I already knew… quite a lot already…?

But the whole secret of the book is elsewhere.

The walks proposed -even in those streets you’ve walked through a million times- have this sparkle I so love in geocaching. they make you stop. Really look at this statue you’ve passed 10 times before. Really enjoy a moment, a detail. Discover there were plenty little details you had seen but not aborbed before.

For each neighborhood, you are to find and collect clues, words, numbers that will help you fill tables, crosswords, etc… These will help solve the end of chapter enigma or game. So do keep your eyes open.

Is the book for you, then?

You do not often have the opportunity to come to London but love the place? You have lived there and are nostalgic? Then yes. Just go for it. Marjolaine and Fabien know exactely, with simple words, how to make you visualise a street, a place. You will sometimes almost smell and taste a memory (I particularly thing of their mention of the roasted caramelised nuts on Westminter bridge). Plenty of anecdotes too -  you end up going through it as if it were a book rather than a travelguide!

It has been extremely well thought. Walks are easy. Maps are available. Pics (often original one of a classical place) illustrate each part.

Maybe not your first guide for London. Not that you cannot do it – on the contrary. Everything is so very well explained that you have very little chance of getting lost! Sans doute pas le premier guide a acheter pour decouvrir Londres. Les promenades sont particulierement bien expliquees et je doute que vous risquiez de vous perdre.  But you may benefit more from it if you’ve already been through the wole “classic tourist experience” and have breathed in London first, the atmosphere, the mixture of it.

Are you a London expert already? Well, do give it a try like I did. I exclaimed regularly Oh, that’s right, I wanted to go and see that and forgot it existed! Plenty of great anecdotes too in there. And let’s be frank: when you know a city sooo well, any guide that can make you discover even one or two new secrets is worth having.

What about parents? Can they handle it? Thanks to the riddles, statues and places to find, this is your lifesaver book. it will transform any child who hates to walk into the perfect Sherlock Holmes (and don’t forget to go to the museum

From there to here,
from here to there,
funny things are everywhere.

But surely that’s a possible follow-up for the authors? Same themes but adapted to 3-5s? With that many statues, fab playgrounds, kids activities in (free) museums in London, there’s plenty for them to cover!

Haven’t you ordered the book yet?

Jeux de piste et enigme à Londres
Marjolaine Koch & Fabien Benoit
8€