Walking the City of London

Category: Special Exhibitions Page 6 of 21

Snoopy Snaps, Street Food and Winter wildlife.

On a very, very cold day last weekend I visited some of the installations on the Festive Fleet Street Quarter Sculpture Trail. This year there is a special guest, Snoopy, the famous dog from the Peanuts cartoons which are celebrating 75 years since they were first published. You can read more about the cartoon and its famous characters here.

There are twelve sculptures in all and I visited four of them. The trail is in place until January 16 and here are the images I took along with details of the artists.

Just in front of the St Paul’s Visitor Centre is Laura-Kate Draws’ work Snoopy’s Winter Chorus …

This festive birdhouse is alive with colourful robins, blue tits, and seasonal plants found in the UK. These small but resilient birds bring brightness and song to the darkest months, reminding us of nature’s beauty even in the coldest seasons.

Laura-Kate Draws’ work is inspired by the connections between nature, creativity, and community. Through public art, she hopes to create moments of curiosity and wonder that invites people of all ages to pause, reflect, and feel more connected to their environment.

In St Bride’s Passage is Plant Dreams, Harvest Joy by Kim Thompson …

The design parallels the act of cultivation and being in nature with Snoopy, a beloved character who has come to symbolise creativity, imagination and optimism.

Kim Thompson is an award-winning Illustrator and Contemporary Painter. A love letter to retro-kitsch, her bold and engaging work often centres visual narrative, aiming to unify and empower audiences via shared experience.

In Playhouse Yard is Simon Randall’s Penguin Parade …

This design features a happy, wintery scene with playful penguins all wrapped up in cuddly jumpers enjoying the snow. Joyful Christmas lights are entwined across the sculpture.

Simon is a painter, illustrator, graphic designer and arts educator, living with his young family in rural Yorkshire. Working in hospital and PRU settings for much of his career, Simon finds every opportunity to expressive himself creatively, but also to share his passion with young people.

At Ludgate Circus is Amanda Quellin’s Home for Christmas (my favourite) …

Christmas is all about traditions, those passed down and those we create to pass down in turn. This sculpture of Snoopy is based on the iconic tradition of decorating your house, or in this case Snoopy’s iconic red Doghouse, with Christmas lights.

Amanda Quellin is a professional scenic artist who has completed over 65 sculptures for Wild in Art trails. She is currently about to collaborate with scientists who are raising money from the sale of artworks to fund scientific research into environmental issues.

You can download a map and listen to an audio trail here.

I’ve always loved Snoopy and his friends! You can see and read more about them here.

The aromas as I walk down Whitecross Street on weekdays remind me of the street foods we encountered Asian countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia – absolutely delicious. Here they do a great trade with office workers but I took these images as they were setting up and before the queues started forming. There weren’t as many stalls as usual, probably because it was just after the holiday.

Finally, some wildlife in Winter.

A seagull contemplates the frozen lake …

Then, to make matters worse, a disorientated pigeon lands on top of him …

Uneasy neighbours …

Then he joined a friend for a stroll on the ice …

Pigeons sunbathing on my balcony (they didn’t take kindly to me disturbing them, I’m definitely getting the ‘evil eye’) …

Oh, and here are the first dumped Christmas trees of 2026 …

If you would like to follow me on Instagram here is the link …

https://www.instagram.com/london_city_gent

Delights of the London Canal Museum.

Last week I promised to write more about the charming London Canal Museum so here we go.

The ground floor is an atmospheric gallery of large exhibits on the two themes of the museum, the canals and the ice trade …

The 1960 Wickham tractor is a rare survivor of a what was a common sight in the 1960s in London. Miniature tractors like this took over from horses to tow unpowered barges around the capital …

The narrowboat Coronis dominates the ground floor …

You can go inside and imagine what it must have been like living in a tiny cabin with the whole family …

The cupboards open up to make a bed and a table …

An extraordinarily successful entrepreneur, Carlo Gatti built a large ice warehouse capable of storing tons of ice in two large ice wells, and this is the building that is now the museum. He began importing ice from Norway from around 1860, shipping the ice from that country up the Thames then transferring it to canal barges at the Regent’s Canal Dock and then via the canal to here. Starting with a single ice well in 1857, he built a second ice well around 1862 and became the largest ice importer in London. He is credited with being the first to make ice cream available to the general public.

The ice well today (show people a well and they can’t resist throwing coins into it!) …

‘Stop me and buy one’ …

The man himself …

… and the lovely little glass cups that the ice cream was sold in along with some pretty moulds …

Going upstairs to what was once the stable for ice cart horses …

The horse ramp …

… and Dobbin in his stall ..

Horsey paraphernalia …

Lots of really informative panels …

My favourite notice, prohibiting ‘THROWING LIVE OR DEAD ANIMALS INTO THE CANAL’ …

I was absolutely fascinated by the films being shown upstairs detailing life on the canals in 1924 and 1947. Here are a few stills, the moving images on the screen are much clearer and sharper so my pictures don’t really do them justice …

Note the advertisement for ‘cheapest and best funeral furnisher’ and the lock-keeper with the cottage that came with the job.

Here the bargee’s wife is in charge …

The commentary does tend to be a bit patronising!

It’s a wonderful little museum – in my view worth visiting just to watch the films. You’ll find more about it here.

If you would like to follow me on Instagram here is the link …

https://www.instagram.com/london_city_gent

‘Secret Maps’ at the British Library.

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.

A couple of lighthearted examples to start with.

Where’s Wally at the seige of Troy …

From Where’s Wally in Hollywood (1993).

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.

Within about 15 minutes walk is the charming London Canal Museum

An absolute delight! I’ll cover my visit in more detail in a later blog.

If you would like to follow me on Instagram here is the link …

https://www.instagram.com/london_city_gent

Page 6 of 21

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén

Symbols & Secrets
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.