The end of an era – the last wooden escalator on the Tube

Yesterday, I saw quite a few tweets linking to articles (like this one on london24.com) announcing the wooden escalator at Greenford station’s last day of operation. The escalator was first installed in 1947, and was the last remaining wooden escalator on the Underground. Most were taken out of service after the King’s Cross fire, seeing as they pose obvious fire risks; Greenford’s presumably lasted longer as it was in the open air.

A new, temporary escalator has been installed for the time being, meaning that the tube’s oldest and newest escalators were positioned alongside each other. In the longer term, the wooden escalator is due to be replaced by an innovative glass incline lift: the introduction of step-free access is obviously great news but it’s sad to say goodbye to a piece of history.

As it happened, I had the day off work, and Greenford is close to where I live, so I had time to pop down to the station hoping to ride the wooden escalator for the last time (yes, I am a massive geek). Sadly, the escalator had already been cordoned off: apparently it stopped running several days ago. This was disappointing, but I still managed to get some pictures before it vanished completely.

Wooden escalator at Greenford station
The wooden escalator, disappointingly out of use
Wooden escalator at Greenford station
End of an era for the last wooden escalator on the tube
New escalator at Greenford tube station
Looking to the future: the newest escalator on the tube network

Shoreditch Church

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St Leonard’s Church

A couple of weeks ago I attended a rather unusual theatre performance called Sun. I have reviewed the theatrical experience, but I wanted to write something about the location, as it was rather an unusual one.

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Sign proclaiming the performance of Sun

St Leonard’s Church, Shoreditch, has a long and distinguished history. There has been a church on the site for centuries, and it has been known as the actors’ church since the twelfth century, with the first English theatre located close by in New Inn Yard. Several of Shakespeare’s plays had their first performances there, and many of his associates are buried in the medieval church under the crypt: James Burbage, who built the first English theatre; his son Cuthbert, who built the Globe; and his other son Richard, the most famous actor of his time who was the first Macbeth, Hamlet, King Richard III, Othello and Romeo. A stone inside the church records this.

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Also notable within the church is art, including this picture.

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In the entrance, while waiting to go in to the performance, I had a look around and found even more interesting things, including an Alice in Wonderland-esque door and what looked like some stocks.

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Looking out into Shoreditch from the church’s doorway

Haim at the O2 Academy Brixton

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Brixton Academy

So I went to see Haim last night and they were ace. I booked my ticket a few months back on a whim and was super glad I did. I love their album but if anything they were even better live!

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Haim rocking out on stage

I was also impressed with the venue. It’s roomy and has a kind of crumbling grandeur. The floor is spacious and if the queues at the toilets and the bar are a bit big for my liking, at least they’re not out of the way of the stage, so you can still hear what’s going on. I love how the floor slopes towards the stage so you get a really good view even if you’re right at the back.

Court and Craft: A Masterpiece from Northern Iraq – Courtauld Gallery

The Courtauld Gallery is home to a particularly fascinating exhibition at the moment: Court and Craft: A Masterpiece from Northern Iraq. It is based around one of the most incredible objects in the Gallery’s collection, which is a bag made in Iraq around 1300.

The beautiful and ornate bag has been ranked as “one of the finest pieces of Islamic metalwork in existence”. Decorated in gold and silver, and covered with a complex design of a courtly scene, it is believed to have been made for a lady connected with the Mongol Ilkhanid dynasty.

The bag has been placed in context with an exhibition of manuscripts, artworks and other items exploring the society of that place and time. I particularly loved the beautiful illustrated manuscripts.

A Dialogue with Nature: Romantic Landscapes from Britain and Germany – Courtauld Gallery

After visiting the Isabella Blow exhibition at Somerset House, I headed to the other side of the building and the Courtauld Gallery, where a new exhibition had just opened. A Dialogue with Nature: Romantic Landscapes from Britain and Germany focused on aspects of Romantic landscape drawing in both Britain and Germany, covering the period 1760-1840. This kind of art is a favourite of mine, and I enjoyed looking at the beautiful and majestic landscapes of J.M.W. Turner, Samuel Palmer, Caspar David Friedrich and more.

Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore – Embankment Galleries, Somerset House

I spent Sunday morning checking out a few of the exhibitions at Somerset House. I was just in time to catch Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore, as this was the exhibition’s last day.

Isabella Blow at Somerset House

Isabella Delves Broughton was born into aristocracy in the 1950s. However, despite her seemingly privileged family and upbringing she had in many ways a difficult childhood. Her young brother drowned at the age of two, and the cash-strapped family lived in a cottage on the family estate as they couldn’t afford to live in the house itself. After leaving school, she worked at various jobs before moving to America; she ended up working for magazines including Vogue and Tatler. She married Detmar Blow in 1989, wearing a headdress by Philip Treacy – one of the first to recognise his talent. She also discovered Alexander McQueen, as well as the models Sophie Dahl and Stella Tennant.

Blow loved fashion and had a highly individual and unusual style. This exhibition, after an initial exploration of her early life, showcased some of her unusual outfits and accessories, including several hats by Treacy and clothes by McQueen. I particularly loved the hats and hair accessories – I’m not sure how wearable they would be, but they were so amazing to look at that I didn’t care. I especially loved the castle house, and the ship headdress made of feathers. Blow wore her own clothes frequently and with love: scratches, cigarette marks and tears reveal the person behind the amazing clothes. I’ve always seen high fashion as rather out of reach, but this exhibition made it human.

The exhibition focused on Blow’s life, career and relationship to fashion, and doesn’t say much about the fact that she sadly committed suicide in 2007, aged only 48. On the one hand, it seems to gloss over the truth of her life; on the other, I would imagine her friends and loved ones would rather focus on the happy times of her life than on her death. I’d never heard of Isabella Blow before seeing this exhibition advertised, but I wish I had – she sounds like she was an amazing lady.

Pink lobster necklace from Tatty Devine

On my way out, I purchased this little beauty from the gift shop. I had my eye on the large, crystal-studded version, but that was £180. This was only £40 and it was the last one left – clearly, it was fate! I am something of a Tatty Devine obsessive and this pink lobster is exclusive to this exhibition so I was very happy to snap it up (pun not intended).

The Cheapside Hoard – Museum of London

The Museum of London‘s exhibition on the Cheapside Hoard has been open for a few months now, and I got the chance to visit with my friend on Saturday morning. Security is tight: you aren’t allowed to take bags or coats with you into the exhibition area, which I can understand – but you have to pay for the privilege of storing your stuff in a locker, which I feel is a bit cheeky.

The Cheapside Hoard: London’s Lost Jewels is a major exhibition, and looks at the collection of jewellery from the late 16th and early 17th centuries that was discovered in 1912, buried under a Cheapside cellar. The reason why this amazing collection was left here is as yet undiscovered; the mystery surrounding the treasure is part of what makes it so fascinating.

On entering the exhibition we were able to grab magnifying glasses to help us take a closer look at the jewellery: this proved very handy, although we didn’t need them for the first part of the exhibition, which was about the history and context behind Tudor and Stuart London and the jewellery trade. We learned about the importance of jewellery in society, and how it was used to indicate status: a portrait of Elizabeth I showed her dripping in gems – perhaps, as Francis Bacon rather harshly suggested, to detract attention from her ageing person. We also took a look at the inside of a goldsmith’s shop, and viewed a number of jewellery chests and boxes, many of them almost as beautiful and ornate as the jewellery they once contained.

Afterwards it was on to the Hoard itself, displayed within glass cases, with similar items grouped together. So the first section was filled with chains, enamelled, bejewelled and worked in gold, designed to be worn around the neck or the wrist. Another case contained pearls, another displayed rings, and yet another concentrated on the different kinds of gemstones found among the treasure, ranging from rubies and emeralds to amethysts and garnets. There was even a handy guide to where the various stones came from.

Many of the items could be worn today: necklaces, bracelets and rings are all common items of jewellery. However, others would be less common in the twenty-first century. Small scented bags would have undoubtedly helped to combat the stench of sixteenth and seventeenth century London, and the examples here are beautiful and ornate, particularly the little frog. It’s also unusual nowadays to carry a watch (except for a wristwatch), but the emerald pocket watch is undoubtedly one of the highlights of this collection.

Some of the items follow similar designs and patterns, but a few stand out as individual gems among a collection of treasures. A parrot cameo, a ship hairpin and a butterfly necklace are particularly beautiful, as is the tiny salamander brooch complete with little feet. Photography is not allowed in the exhibition, but this brooch’s design has been expanded and placed on the Museum of London wall for the duration.

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Extremely large version of the salamander brooch adorning the wall of the MoL

Visit the Cheapside Hoard exhibition. Marvel at how such a beautiful collection managed to survive underground for three hundred years, and wonder how on earth it got there. You have until the 27th of April. It’s worth it.