See Rivelino's Nuestros Silencios

Yesterday, a new art exhibit was opened in Victoria Tower Gardens, just south of the Houses of Parliament, in Westminster. Designed by Mexican artist Rivelino, Nuestros Silencios consists of a circle of ten bronze five metre-tall sculptures, which represent the need for freedom of expression.


The sculptures were created in celebration of the bicentenary of Mexico’s independence and the centennial of the Mexican Revolution, and have already been shown in Lisbon, Madrid, Brussels and Berlin and have now arrived in London for about a month.

The sculptures will be in the Gardens until 16th February, when they move to Paris. For more information, see here, or here

Infiltrate the Stafford's Wine Cellars

Your author has written about the Stafford Hotel in Mayfair before, when he visited their famous American Bar, but the hotel has another special secret. Below an old stable yard lies their 350-year-old stone wine cellar, created by Lord Francis Godolphin and, the hotel claims, home to between 18,000 and 20,000 bottles, making it one of the most complete wine collections in London.


The wines include Château Lafite Rothschild 1961 and 1976, a Château Leoville Poyferre 1978, and 'approximately 800 labels', all watched over by Master Sommelier Gino Nardella. If you are lucky, you might be able to persuade him to take you on a tour of the hotel's $1m collection, and very special guests might even get invited to dine down here.

The cellars were, your author understands, also used during the Second World War to shelter during air raids, and a collection of memorabilia from that period is also held in the cellar, as a memorial of that time.

For more information on the cellars, click here.

Remember the 20th century Martyrs

A more recent addition than you might expect on such an ancient building, new statues of ten 20th century Christian martyrs were added the niches above the above the west gate at Westminster Abbey in 1998.


The statues, placed in spaces that had remained empty since the middle ages, commemorate some fascinating stories of figures who were killed before their time; by the Nazis, by religious fundamentalists, by the Bolsheviks, during the Chinese cultural revolution, and during the rule of Idi Amin, amongst others.

One of the most iconic statues commemorates Martin Luther King, Jr, who was assassinated in 1969, but they cover a range of figures, including the 16 year old South African schoolgirl Manche Masemola.

For more, and full details of all those commemorated by the statues, click here.

_{^Picture © gadgetdude used under Creative Commons^}

Drink at the Windsor Castle, Marylebone

If you're a royalist, or a fan of British eccentricities, the Windsor Castle, on Crawford Place in Marylebone, is everything you can hope for in a pub. There are trinkets and photos everywhere in the pub, all commemorating something or other, and it's a lovely spot to spend an evening.


A celebration of everything British, from the Queen Mother wall, to the handlebar moustache club photographs, the door is even guarded by a model Welsh Guard, in a sentry box. It's so British they even do genuine British Thai food - none of that American muck here.

If you want to thoroughly examine all the walls, it is probably best to arrive a bit earlier in the day, to give yourself time, and space, to take it all in, but you will probably drive yourself crazy trying to see it all. Probably best to just get a drink. You deserve it.

For more information, head over to the fantastic fancyapint.com

Take a walk around Woldingham

The area around Woldingham, in the Surrey Hills, is designated an 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty', and is a beautiful spot for a walk, surrounded by steep hills and sweeping valleys, and just half an hour from Victoria by train.


Your author generally sets an arbitrary boundary for articles at the M25, and to demonstrate that he also caters for those in outer London, he took a very pleasant walk in the vicinity of Woldingham back in October.

It's a lovely spot to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life in Central London, to wander along past Woldingham School and wonder who on earth can afford to send their children to such a school, where some girls bring their own polo ponies, but others just use the trained polo school ponies provided. The only problem with the walk is that - horror of horrors - Woldingham doesn't appear to have a pub.

For more information on a walk in the area, visit http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/northdowns/uploads/Woldinghamleaflet.pdf

Pop into church.co.uk

As the church struggles to keep up with the modern world, it was inevitable really, and in 2003, Christ Church & Upton Chapel in Lambeth decided to rename itself church.co.uk.


Though the original Christ Church was largely destroyed during the Second World War, and Upton Chapel was completely wiped off the map, the current modern building was rebuilt in 1960, and the original spire of Christ Church remains.

Following the Second World War, the church operated without a base for some time. Because of this, the decision was taken to unite the two churches, and today, they operate as a normal church, also offering a home to the Hub Coffee House which serves decent soups and other snacks from 8am to 4pm on weekdays.

The remaining spire itself has an interesting story having been donated by the family of Abraham Lincoln in recognition of the support given by the church in the battle for the emancipation of the slaves in North America. For it was here, a short walk from the Houses of Parliament, that William Wilberforce and friends held many of their anti-slavery meetings.

For more information, visit http://church.co.uk/

Learn about the Naval & Military Club ghost

Almost every old building in London seems to have a ghost, and the old home of the Naval & Military Club, at 94 Piccadilly, is no different. In the mid-1990s, an apparition was seen by one of the club staff, notable for its swept-back hair and a Second World War ankle-length brown trench coat.


The ghost was identified as Major William Henry Braddell, who had been a member until his death. Legend has it that, on his last visit to the club in May 1940, he had been set to dine with two friends, and left the room fleetingly, to return and find it bombed out, and his friends dead. Around a week later, the Major himself was killed in an air raid. It is thought he came back to haunt the club because he felt so at home there.

According to Steve Roud in London Lore, which your author received for Christmas, when The Sun covered the story in 1994, it reported that the club would not be calling in an exorcist, as Major Braddell was still a member.

For more on the story, see here.

***Edit - A reader more knowledgable than your author points out that the ghost was at the club's former premises (pictured) in Cambridge House, Piccadilly, and the club purchased a new premises at St James's Square in 1996, to which it moved in 1999. The ghost was, therefore, at the club's old premises. Sorry!***


_{^Picture © Herry Lawford used under Creative Commons^}

Watch the flood forecasting lions

The lions who keep watch along the Thames in Central London, holding mooring rings in their mouths, play an interesting role as a flood warning system for superstitious Londoners, keen to keep an eye on water levels in the Thames.


A rhyme helps to remember how to keep watch on the lions. It is said that...

"When the lions drink, London will sink"
"When it’s up to their manes, we’ll go down the drains"
"When the water is sucked, you can be sure we’re all ... in trouble"

So if the level of the Thames reaches their mouths, we are at risk of a flood. Thankfully, it hasn't yet. The rings were, we are told, designed by Timothy Butler and installed as part of Sir Joseph Bazalgette's Victorian sewage works programme in 1868-70.

For more on superstitious flood-watching, see here.

_{^Picture © Elliott Brown used under Creative Commons^}

Marvel at the British Museum Totem Poles

The towering Haida totem pole below, at the British Museum, is a certainly one of the most striking features in the Great Court at the centre of the building. It stands 39 feet high and was carved from a single cedar trunk.


Made by the native American Haida people of Kayang, near Masset, on Queen Charlotte Island in Canada, when Charles Frederick Newcombe acquired it for the Museum in 1903, it was already around fifty years old.

The pole, we are told, tells the story of the lazy son-in-law, and is topped off with a representation of the Haida house chief, holding his club. For more information see here or here.

Discover your future at Mysteries

At the Mysteries shop in Covent Garden, they've been indulging in all sorts of new age nonsense since 1982, and they're still going strong, offering psychic readings, classes in creative mediumship, reiki and tarot and a range of books and other things.


Though your author isn't really a fan of the cult of celebrity, their list of famous customers is intriguing, covering people as diverse as Donna Air, Billy Bragg, Naomi Campbell, Jimmy Cliff, Alanis Morrisette, Jimmy Nail and 'Harry Potter', though your author was sure the latter was fictional.

The shop is situated at 9-11 Monmouth Street, Covent Garden, and is open daily, with rather odd opening hours (Mondays, 10.02 - 18.55 etc). A half hour psychic reading costs £35. For more information, visit http://www.mysteries.co.uk/.

Dine at the Wallace Restaurant

Set in a glass atrium that is also home to the Wallace Collection's sculpture garden, the Wallace Restaurant is a French brasserie, which promises seasonal dishes with imported French ingredients.


Part of Peyton & Byrne's extensive museum and gallery cafe arsenal, the Wallace Restaurant is undoubtedly an atmospheric place, even if the main menu is a bit beyond your author's means.

The restaurant is open daily from for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, and also for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights. For more information, visit http://www.thewallacerestaurant.co.uk/.

See the Soho Square Gardener's Hut

Though Soho Square was laid out in 1681, it wasn't until the end of the 19th century that a distinctive half-timbered Gardener's Hut was placed at the centre, which according to local legend contained the entrance to a secret tunnel that links to Buckingham Palace.


The most recent hut was, it is thought, built by the Charing Cross Electricity Company in the 1920s, to hide an electricity substation. Today, the two-storey hut is a Grade II listed structure, and is maintained by Westminster City Council. Architecturally, the shed is, we are told, an octagonal market cross building in the Tudorbethan style.

For more information, visit http://westminster.gov.uk/myparks/parks/soho-square/

Watch for Hawks in Trafalgar Square

Patrolling the area to keep the pigeons at bay since 2003, a pair of Harris Hawks are generally on out and about each day in Trafalgar Square.


They are rather attractive birds, and seem to do the job well, but considering that they have cost up to £78,241 a year, you would expect them to be helpful.

The tourists seem to like them, too, and if they are keeping the sky rats at bay, then this is presumably good, though when your author was younger he always thought that the Square was famed for its pigeons.

For more background, click here or here.

_{^Picture © Tony Hisgett used under Creative Commons^}

Visit the Harcourt, London's Swedish pub

London is blessed with many cultural communities, and the Swedish are no different. One notable example of life in Swedish London is the Harcourt, a short distance from the Swedish Embassy, in the same road as a Swedish Church. For a few years now, the Harcourt has been London's Swedish Pub.


Many their bar staff are Swedish, and they sell Swedish Cider, show Swedish sports, host Swedish events and serve up Swedish food. It's all rather Swedish, and it's also a nice pub on a quiet street with decent prices.

For more click here or visit http://www.theharcourt.com/.

Reflect on TOLTOL's 2010

It has been another busy year here at Tired of London Towers. Your author has been doing his best to continue to think of things to do in London, and thankfully you have all kept popping by to read it, with the number of unique visits this year having nearly trebled on last year.


The most popular posts in 2010 were Sohos Secret Tea Room, which your author discovered whilst talking to strangers in the Coach and Horses in Soho, the Wibbley Wobbley in Greenland Dock, the Mayfield Lavender Farm and the Battersea Car Boot sale.

Following on from the establishment of Bored of Brighton in 2009, 2010 saw the concept go antipodean, with the start of Perthect Day, in the Western Australian capital, giving your author even more time to think about how he should have franchised this idea, and also the rather late launch of the Tired of London Facebook page.

Tired of London, Tired of Life's Second Birthday took place in October, and was lovely evening, allowing your author to meet readers, friends and other bloggers in the flesh and listen to some excellent music from Alexandra Carter & Tiramisu with the fantastic support of the Gallery Cafe in Bethnal Green. Your author also did a podcast interview for Londonist Out Loud, and was featured in the Times, which would have been brilliant if it wasn't for their new traffic-dulling paywall.

Your author spent time with some excellent London bloggers over the year, including everyone from Londonist and Twitter.com/LDN, Jane from Jane's London, Ian from Ian Visits, Mecca from Annie Mole's London Underground Blog and others, and thoroughly enjoyed the work of illusive bloggers he has never met, including Diamond Geezer, the Shady Old Lady and the Greenwich Phantom.

2011 will hopefully be just as productive, and your author will do his utmost to continue to suggest one thing a day to do in London, and hopefully even launch some other stupid boy projects...

Thank you all for reading this year. It has been fun.