Lately I’ve become fascinated with the Barbican area at dusk and have been wandering around catching images on my smartphone.
See what you think of them.
This made me think of a giant cruise ship …
Watch out tonight for Vibrance at Salters’ Garden. I watched them setting up yesterday evening and the experience will also include the old church tower of St Elsyng Spital on London Wall. Lights at a rehearsal yesterday evening …
Some illuminations being tested in Salters’ Garden …
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Happy New Year everyone – my best wishes for 2026!
I’ve been looking over the images I took last year and just want to share again some of the ones I think were interesting/fun along with some that I didn’t get around to posting that I hope you might like.
An office-working time traveller from the 1960s and early ’70s would wonder why all these people like him had television sets on their desks ,,,
Migraine inducing loo cubicle in the Leydi Restaurant, Holborn …
Lovely brass instruments in Whitecross Street …
The Silk Street flower bed exactly one year ago …
And yesterday …
I came across this notice one morning at 9:00 am and half an hour later it was gone …
Four of the brave ladies commemorated on the Watts Memorial in Postman’s Park …
A show we sadly didn’t get to see whilst on holiday …
Moon and Venus plus late night office worker …
Duck collection …
Eating some of her five-a-day?
Taking a deep breath before making the plunge?
I don’t think these guys are local …
Shakespeare in Shoreditch …
Spring …
Barbican Conservatory visit …
Long term resident …
The Lord Mayor’s Roller at Guildhall …
One of these days I will not be able to resist pushing this door!
Roof alligator and friend …
Me in silhouette …
Great painting …
I wonder if Fred liked a flutter on the gee gees …
The King’s Birthday flypast …
Moon and modern architecture …
A favourite War Memorial at Paddington. A soldier reads a letter from home – and surely that’s a home-made scarf …
Cute Welsh doggies …
Cute Waitrose doggy …
At the Gilbert and George Gallery …
Ivy Restaurant Chocolate Bomb before the hot chocolate is poured …
Going, going, gone …
The new City looms over the old Billinggate Market …
The new City also dwarfs the old Royal Exchange and the Bank of England …
St Lawrence Jewry with 22 Bishopsgate and The Scalpel in the background …
Interesting combibination – 22 Bishopsgate, The Cheesegrater, the spires of St Mary-le-Bow and St Martin Ludgate plus the magnificent dome of St Paul’s Cathedral …
The Barbican Conservatory glows at night …
Clever marketing …
Spectacular Hogarth mural at St Bartholomew’s Hospital …
Latest Bidfood truck design to add to my collection …
Harry the Heron looks a bit windblown …
Chilling out in the sun …
Mona Hatoum’s Hot Spot at dusk …
Around here at Christmas, even boring road signs get decorated …
No end of opportunities to improve your skills at the Barbican …
‘Winter drawers on!’ as they used to say …
Christmas gift books I’ve been reading in the Christmas/New Year space, somewhat eclectic I know. Both are excellent – expect to see excerpts from the one on the right in future blogs!
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Have a very happy New Year!
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I had a great time last week visiting the Secret Maps exhibition at the British Library.
The introductory message tells us that maps have always been more than just tools for navigation – in the hands of governments, groups and individuals, maps create and control knowledge. In Secret Maps, exhibits trace the levels of power, coercion and secrecy that lie behind maps from the 14th century to the present day, and uncover the invisible forces that draw and distort the world around us. There is plenty to see, so the blog today will only give you a brief sample of the extraordinary items on display.
This bra and knickers set was made for Lady Mountbatten. They consist of Second World War escape maps – classified tools for evading enemy capture …
Printed on silk for durability, these maps became surplus when secrecy was no longer critical.
The Secret Book of Secrets, from around 1326, a copy made for the future Edward III …
Rulers with access to this ‘secret knowledge’ would be able to navigate the impact of the planets and predict events.
Liber Secretorum Fidelium Crusis, around 1325 …
The ‘Book of Secrets for Faithful Crusaders on the Recovery and Retention of the Holy Land’ was produced by Venetian nobleman Marino Sanudo to persuade the Pope to sanction a crusade.
Scotland 1457. This map was drawn in an attempt to convince the English king to invade Scotland. It was the work of English chronicler John Hardyng, who had spent three years as a spy in Scotland …
The map is drawn with west at the top and is rich with information on rivers, forests, and strongholds (including Edinburgh, the large red castle, lower left).
Africa, 1558 …
Le Maire Strait, 1621 …
Spy letter, 1683 …
The map of Huningue referred to in the label …
Northern France, 1916. During the First World War, millions of maps were produced of Belgium and France on the Western Front, often omitting trench systems for security …
This British map, however, produced for the Somme offensive of 1 July 1916, includes British trenches in blue. Such maps were only available to commanders well behind the front line.
London, 1940, The German Luftwaffe produced this bombing target map of central London during the Blitz campaign of the Second World War. They marked it ‘Geheim’ (secret). The targets, numbered in red, included key sites such as the War Office, the Admiralty and other government buildings …
In the top left corner of the map, the area labelled ‘Neutrale Botschaften’ (neutral embassies etc.) acts as a warning to pilots not to bomb these locations.
Normandy 1944. ‘Bogus’ maps featuring false place names allowed troops to familiarise themselves with planned invasion areas without revealing their true locations …
As a result, this bogus map needed no security classification. ‘Rugger’ is in fact Pegasus Bridge, an iconic structure over the Caen Canal captured early on D-Day by British forces after a daring night-time glider assault.
British India, 1946 …
The above are just a few examples of the wonderful, fascinating exhibits on display. You can book a ticket here.
