Jazz and the Westbourne Grove

I've not been able to get out and about as much as I'd have liked to in London over the past few weeks because of the awful weather. However, I did manage a couple of walks around the Westbourne Park area at lunchtime. I generally go from near Paddington towards Portobello Market, deviating from what would be quite a direct route along Westbourne Grove, to take in some of the smaller side roads. The first photo is of Wysteria growing against a mews house. The picture did not come out quite as I'd hoped but as the day was grey and dull, it's not a bad shot I guess.

Colville Mews, W11

I cannot remember whether the alley featured in the second photo had a name. I can't find it on google maps so will have to go back and have a look, although if I'm completely honest then I must admit that I'm not 100% sure exactly where it was. I know I walked north to south along a cobbled street (or perhaps a mews) and then found a couple of small alleyways off to the left, but other than that a bit blank.

Unknown alley, W11

Anyone who has read this blog before will probably know that I also have a passion for vintage, and I have a vintage magazines and a vintage postcards blog. I have been updating the former quite a bit over the past few weeks having found a collection of early 1960's Jazz Journal magazines. To compliment this I have also been listening to some jazz on lastfm. I can't say I am the world's biggest jazz fan, although some of what I've heard is hitting the spot. Memphis Slim is one of these artists and below is a link to some of his music ...

 

     

The Albert Bridge, London

I was fortunate enough last week to be able to find some time to escape in London after work. Instead of my usual haunts I took a walk from Kensington down through Chelsea and as far as the River Thames, where as it was just getting dark I was treated to these spectacular views of the Albert Bridge. I always say that the Golden Gate Bridge is my favourite, but this has to be a close second.

 Albert Bridge, London, looking east

 Albert Bridge, London, looking across the Thames from the south

 Albert Bridge, London, looking north across the bridge

    

More tales from the saddle, plus some more London mews

Wow! This year is racing by. I can't quite believe that we're almost at the end of April already. As expected, but not as hoped, my postings in this blog are not quite as regular as I'd have liked. Nevertheless I have some musings to share from events over the past few weeks.

The weather has been all over the place in recent weeks. Following the fantastic hot spell we had in March, we have definitely returned to having all seasons in the same day, with snow, hail, rain and sunshine. This has to some extent prevented my continued exploration of London mews, although I was fortunate enough to capture this one in the sun on my walk into the office. Just to the left of the covered entrance to the mews is a two storey building with the remains of a painted sign on the wall. If you look closely you can just make out the words coal, coke and wood, so I'm guessing this was some sort of coal merchant.

Chilworth Mews, London W2

Chilworth Mews, London W2

In other news, I've been able to get out and about on the mountain bike, in between hail storms. The picture below was taken yesterday morning on a bridleway between Boxford and Donnington, just outside Newbury, Berkshire.

Brideleway between Boxford and Donnington, near Newbury

On the music front, I went to see Wilko Johnson a couple of weeks back and it was great to see the local venue completely packed. The music was pretty good but I have to say the interaction with the crowd was pretty non-existent. In comparison to The Pretty Things who I saw at the same venue a couple of weeks earlier, Wilko was definitely a runner up.

As I have alluded to in previous blog posts, I am the world's most easily distracted reader. I have however now finished 11 Minutes Late and am now just starting to read On the Slow Train Again. Both these books are fantastic reads about the nostalgic days of Britain's golden railway age, its demise through neglect and the Beeching cuts, and a celebration of what's left and what has been preserved.

    

Early morning London views

I seem to have caught some sort of bug and have not been 100% this week. I did think my sore throat had been caused by traffic fumes in Mumbai, or perhaps from being in air-conditioned locations pretty much 24x7 for a whole week, but whatever I have caught has now moved down on to my chest and I am feeling very sorry for myself. I managed to work from home a couple of days this week to avoid spreading my germs but did have to go into the office on Thursday/Friday. I stayed over so didn't have to suffer the train journey too many times, and just as well as work is crazy at the moment as we near the end of the financial year.

Hazy dawn view from my Kensington hotel window, looking South towards the Albert Hall

Morning walk through Hyde Park to the office

I also managed to find a few minutes to stop off at Notting Hill Gate to visit the records shops there. I didn't find anything massively inspiring but was pleased to pick up a copy of Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children. This is on the periphery of my top-10 albums but I sold my original copy a while back so was glad to have been able to replace it.

The weather this weekend looks fantastic. Not sure I'm up to doing a bike ride though as I still feel a bit weak, so perhaps just some gentle digging over of the vegetable patch, a trip to Marlborough in the afternoon, and a barbecue later.

    

Sunset over docklands, and a bit of India

Having had to work at Canary Wharf yesterday, I had planned to leave at a reasonable time so my trip back to West Berkshire wouldn't mean that I got back too late. Unfortunately though I did end up leaving later thna planned, but my reward was a fantastic sunset, which thre an incredible light over docklands.

Clifford Chance Building, Canary Wharf, London Docklands

Since my last update I've also been to India. This was a much better trip than the last time I visited back in 2007 during monsoon season. Although the majority of the trip was business, and involved taking an air-conditioned taxi from one air-conditioned building to another, I did get out and about a bit, and had some fantastic food. I don't have any pictures of the food, but do have some of the air conditioned buildings.

View from the Westin Hotel, Pune

Artwoek in the Westin Hotel lobby, Pune

Stonewater Grill, Pune

    

London mews, SW7

I managed to get some "space" time again this week in London. Travelling back from a meeting at Canary Wharf, I got off the tube early and walked from Westminster to Kensington. It's a route that I've done most of before, but as luck would have it there were construction works forcing me to take a detour through Knightsbridge backstreets, and you guessed it, some more London mews. I caught these ones just as the sun was setting. A beautiful area, very quiet, away from all the hustle and bustle of the main roads.

Ennismore Gardens Mews, London SW7

Ennismore Gardens Mews, London SW7

Unnamed mews, London SW7

Princes Gate Mews, London SW7

Holy Trinity, Brompton

    

More London Mews

For the handful of people who read this regularly, or whenever I manage to get around to posting, you'll know that I have a slight penchant for mews. The picture below is of Elnathan Mews, just off Warwick Avenue, not far from where I work when I'm in the London office. I thought it looked pretty spectacular on this sunny day and, unusually, no cars in view at all.

Elnathan Mews, London W9

The more time I spend in London, the more I like it. The great thing is that the possibilities for finding new places are almost endless. I've also started looking back at lost London, finding out about long lost railways, rivers and buildings. There are hundreds of books on the subject, a few of which are below.