It's our weekly London roundup starting with a few headlines that caught the eye in London over the last week or so, click the links for the full stories…
PHOTOGRAPHY: I loved this post on Creative Boom about shooting London with a fish eye lens…
Full story at Creative Boom… www.creativeboom.com
LONDON TAXIS: Mayoral hopeful George Galloway promised this week to "run Uber out of London". But his presence at the cab drivers' protest this week wasn't to everyone's liking…
Despite his promise of support for the taxi cause, Galloway's presence was not welcomed by the organisers of the demonstration. "We did not invite Mr Galloway," Trevor Merralls, campaign manager of the United Cabbies Group, told me after giving his own speech to the assembled cabbies. "We're politically neutral...this is not about who's the next mayor."
"He's like all politicians," said Merralls of what he saw as Galloway's political opportunism. "He's prostituting himself and he's prostituting on our issues...he's making cabbies into political footballs."
Full story at C Net: www.cnet.com/news
SAVE NORTON FOLGATE: The next step to save Norton Folgate from Boris's wrecking ball is underway. This letter was printed in The Times on Thursday…
To the Editor of The Times
We urge the Secretary of State, Greg Clark, to call in for his own determination – and hold a planning inquiry into – the British Land planning applications that are threatening the future of Norton Folgate in historic Spitalfields. This precious Conservation Area on the fringes of the City of London is under threat from plans by developer British Land to demolish a swathe of buildings for a banal office-led scheme. The plans were rejected by the democratically elected local Council, but this decision has been shamefully overruled by the Mayor of London, one of a string of permissions he has handed to developers against the will of local people and the mandate of local democracy.
Only a thorough public inquiry can determine the best outcome for this sensitive historic area. The Spitalfields Trust has commissioned its own scheme for the site from Burrell, Foley, Fischer Architects. This repairs and reuses the historic fabric, provides sensitive in-fill in keeping with the scale and character of the area as well as serving the interests of local businesses, particularly SMEs and micro enterprises, and the need for housing in the Borough. It has been independently costed, is viable, and could be delivered immediately and speedily, for a fraction of the development cost.
Signed
David Bailey CBE, Photographer, Alan Bennett, Writer, Clem Cecil, Director of SAVE Britain’s Heritage, Julie Christie, Actress, Dan Cruickshank, Architectural Historian, Ralph Fiennes, Actor, Mark Girouard, Architectural Historian, Tim Knox, Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Todd Longstaffe-Gowan, Garden Designer, Miriam Margolyes OBE, Actress, Suggs McPherson, Madness, John Nicolson MP, SNP spokesman on Culture, Media & Sport, Dame Sian Phillips, Actress, Jonathan Pryce, Actor, Charles Saumarez Smith, Chief Executive of the Royal Academy, Rohan Silva, Second Home, Rupert Thomas, Editor of World of Interiors, Jeanette Winterson, Writer
Keep up with this important campaign at spitalfieldslife.com, on Facebook and on Twitter …
A Letter To The Times https://t.co/VBkHhhWXhg via @thegentleauthor pic.twitter.com/6Nb89D83CF — Spitalfields Trust (@SpitalfieldsT) February 11, 2016
In Brief…
PUBS: The Man Who Launched Wetherspoons – Londonist
TRANSPORT: London Cabbies Lose Legal Challenge to Cycle Superhighway – The Guardian
EXHIBITIONS 1: Diana's Dresses at Kensington Palace – ABC
EXHIBITIONS 2: British Vogue Marks 100 Years at The NPG – Reuters
CRIME: Pensioner Arrested For Brandishing Sword At Coppers – Evening Standard
MUSIC: Squeeze, Primal Scream, Belle & Sebastian Confirmed for SE London MusicFest – South London Press
VALENTINE'S DAY: London's Most Romantic Places – Forbes
•••
DC Catch-Up
Stories you may have missed on The Daily Constitutional this past week…
• It's half term in London this week and we've been blogging about London Walks that are perfect for all the family… there's Street Art, Harry Potter & Ghosts for starters!
• Our regular Monday photoblog slot zeroed in on Bloomsbury and UCL
• On Wednesday we got up close and personal with Trafalgar Square
• Also on Wednesday we featured the ONLY theater in London that can boast a built-in depiction of Shakespeare.
• And our Walk of the Week recommendation was for tomorrow's Doctor Who on Thames trip!
If You Do One
OTHER Thing In London…
Our weekly slot in which we point you in the direction of other happenings and events in our great city. A new exhibition, a gig, a museum, a pop-up-shop – the best of London within a few minutes of aLondon Walkswalking tour.
Comix Creatrix – 100 Women Making Comics
Comix Creatrix at The House of Illustration is one of those revelatory exhibitions where you find yourself standing there wondering: why didn't I know this already?
The role of women in illustration and cartooning is the theme of the exhibit – and there is a lot of fun to be had browsing the work. The bulk of the show focuses on the recent history of graphic storytelling as it has grown in the aftermath of 60's counterculture.
But the scope of the show – it reaches right back to the 18th century – places its theme powerfully in the broader context of historic gender equality issues. For what it's worth, in my time at the exhibition I heard THREE different couples say the same thing as they read about 18th Century caricaturist Mary Darly – "I had never heard of her".
This story of storytelling features beautiful artwork and great writing, but Comix Creatrix also packs a punch – a valuable salvo against the persistent Only-Princesses-And-Nurses presentation of cultural heritage.
www.houseofillustration.org.uk
Comix Creatrix runs to 15th May 2016
Walking & Footwear News
A Tall Order Just Got EVEN Taller
Good luck to Jai Darra Latto and her sponsored walk in high heels…
A transgender woman from the Borders is aiming to raise £20,000 by completing a 32-mile walk wearing four inch high heels.
Jai Darra Latto, 22, is walking from her home village of Walkerburn, to Edinburgh Castle on Saturday, April 30.
She wants to raise the money for three lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) charities.
Her cross-country walk - exactly 31.94 miles - will take her more than 10 hours to complete and she is planning three costume changes along the route.
Full story at www.itv.com/news
Seen In London This Week 1…
Look how high the Thames rose in central London last Tuesday! Thanks to London Walks guide Steph for sending the pic, taken on her Somewhere Else London walk last Tuesday…
Seen In London This Week 2…
Super (anti-) Hero Deadpool hit the big screen. We covered him last year in our Cartoon & Comic Book Tour of London blog series…
Seen #Deadpool yet? We blogged him last year on our Cartoon & Comic Book Tour Of #London: https://t.co/djs07Mvo4h pic.twitter.com/0ObgQoQtjJ — London Walks (@londonwalks) February 11, 2016
Catch up with the entire Cartoon & Comic Book Tour of London on its own dedicated blog at cartoonandcomicbooklondon.blogspot.co.uk
Seen in London This Week 3…
On the day that The Independent, the newspaper of the liberal intelligentsia in the UK, announced that it was ceasing print after 30 years to go digital, David captured this shot in South Hampstead…
The generation game. On he day it's rumoured the #Independent's paper version is dying https://t.co/5ooFBUGF3J pic.twitter.com/LOcmjtT46m — London Walks (@londonwalks) February 12, 2016
And Finally…
Don't forget that under 15's accompanied by parents go FREE on London Walks. It's Half Term in London this week and here's a special trailer for our London Walks ghost tours…
London Spy will return next Saturday, have a great London week!
A London Walk costs £10 – £8 concession. To join a London Walk, simply meet your guide at the designated tube station at the appointed time. Details of all London Walks can be found at www.walks.com.
