Janeslondon

LATEST ARTICLES ( 766 )

• The Blue Tiled Laundry Shops of Sunlight, Westerns and Loud & Westerns

  

  I've written a few times about shops that used to be laundries/dry cleaners, evident by their blue tiled exteriors, often featuring and promoting Lever Bros'... Read more

  Posted on 06 January 2025 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS

• Who is Removing the Old Metal Telephone and Telegraph Signs?

  

  Last week, as I wandered along the eastern section of Lillie Road, between North End Road and the vast open space where Earls Court Exhibition Centre used to be... Read more

  Posted on 02 January 2025 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS

• Wishing You Long Life, Health and Happiness - a Celebration of Longevity

  

  A few days ago, ex-US president Jimmy Carter passed away, having only recently celebrated his 100th birthday on 1st October, and it got me thinking... Read more

  Posted on 31 December 2024 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS

• Department of National Heritage – Two Blue Plaques in Holloway, N7*

  

  (Edited from my Substack feed): At the southern end of Tufnell Park Road, N7, almost opposite the Odeon cinema, there are some of Holloway’s oldest houses. Read more

  Posted on 30 December 2024 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS

• This Wall Has Artistic Importance – Waithman Street, EC4

  

  If you venture up the stairs at the side of 100 New Bridge Street, EC4 (heading for Carter Lane) turn immdiately right at the top into Waithman Street. Read more

  Posted on 11 December 2024 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS

• Brixton Bovril to Bovril Castle

  

  In central Brixton, near the library and facing the Town Hall, there is a huge ghostsign advertising Bovril*, a beef extract product that is still available... Read more

  Posted on 26 November 2024 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS

• Mapping the Tube 1863-2023 – A Chronology of Harry Beck's (and Others') London...

  

  One for fellow map nerds and London Transport fans. There is an excellent exhibition at The Map House showing the evolution of the tube map, the like of which... Read more

  Posted on 23 November 2024 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS

• Stanley Arts, Norwood Junction... Plus an Ironmonger, a Clocktower, a Ghostsign...

  

  There are are areas of London I don't know so well including the South east corner that forms part of Croydon. A guided tour of Stanley Arts afforded me the... Read more

  Posted on 22 November 2024 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS

• Tirzah Garwood: Beyond Ravilious at Dulwich Picture Gallery – a Very Talented...

  

  Dulwich Gallery as done it again... yet another excellent exhibition .This is the first major exhibition of Tirzah Garwood's work, ever, since her death... Read more

  Posted on 21 November 2024 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS

• HMV, Oxford Street – Art Deco, Glass Bricks, Vitrolite and Curved Glass

  

  A while ago I pulled together this collection of shops that still retain horizontal curved glass. I mused that there must have been other businesses making use... Read more

  Posted on 07 November 2024 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS

• Voila! Theatre Festival – 4th–24th November 2024

  

  Whoops, I should have posted this last week. Support your local theatre and see amazing and thought-provoking innovative theatre created and performed by new... Read more

  Posted on 06 November 2024 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS

• Happy Hallowe'en (whatever That Means!)

  

  Last week I wrote on here about the mythogical beasts on the columns that support the portico leading into Burlington House courtyard. Read more

  Posted on 31 October 2024 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS

• The Elizabeth Line Wins The Stirling Prize 2024 – but How?! It's Like a Grubby...

  

  When London's newest transit line first opened back in May 2022, some of my friends were quick to travel on it and kept asking me why I hadn't used it because,... Read more

  Posted on 28 October 2024 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS

• Only a Few Days Left to These Delightful Dolls' Houses at The Guildhall Gallery ...

  

  There's a lovely a wall of miniature worlds created within shoes boxes and the like either side of Lord Tennyson 's bust at The Guildhall Art Gallery. As I say... Read more

  Posted on 26 October 2024 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS

• Mythological Beasts and Birds at Burlington House

  

  Next time you are walking through the gateway that leads from Piccadilly to The Royal Academy and many other fine societies and institutions that surround the... Read more

  Posted on 24 October 2024 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS

• Hold The Handrail – TfL's Horribly Confusing Safety Posters

  

  I can't be the only one who finds Transport for London's safety posters rather ill-conceived. Their design team seem to have overlooked that many people who... Read more

  Posted on 18 October 2024 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS

• TCSU and LBH-EP – Bold and Brassy Additions, but What Do They Mean

  

  Last Thursday, whilst leading my Notting Hill Ghostsigns walking tour, we happened upon a utility access plate near Portobello Road market, within the pavement... Read more

  Posted on 16 October 2024 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS

• What's Going on at J. Lyons & Co, Throgmorton Street?

  

  Whenever I am wandering around the City of London, I often take a detour into Throgmorton Street to check if anything is happening at the site once occupied by... Read more

  Posted on 14 October 2024 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS

• The Piccadilly Hotel (today The Dilly) and Cordings – a Glitch in the Timeline?

  

  I popped into The Dilly to see if there was anything left of what was, over 100 years ago, often described as one of the most impressive hotels in the world. Read more

  Posted on 12 October 2024 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS

• I See Stripes – Portrait Award 2024 at NPG – Ends 27th October

  

  Every year I try to see the final cut for the National Portrait Gallery's award. Find out more here. On this occasion, I visited with a friend and discovered... Read more

  Posted on 10 October 2024 CULTURE, DESTINATIONS