Attend the Peninsula Festival

With central London getting rather busy as visitors and those with days off enjoy the party, it can be difficult to find a peaceful corner to get some peace and quiet for a few hours. If it is all getting a bit much, help is at hand in the form of your own deserted piece of South East London wasteland, calling itself the "Peninsula Festival".


Found in a sleepy corner of the Greenwich Peninsula, beyond acres of coach parks and people holding glowing adverts for credit cards, the festival was almost deserted except for staff as your author wandered past yesterday evening, and friends who live overlooking the site confirm it hasn't exactly been oversubscribed, even though local residents have been bombarded with mailshots and even free VIP wristbands to encourage them to attend.

For more, see http://www.peninsula-festival.eu or http://853blog.com/tag/peninsula-festival/

Walk the North Downs Way

For those keen to get a sense of the English countryside without straying outside the M25, the North Downs Way is a fantastic long distance National Trail which covers 153 miles of English Countryside, including a beautiful stretch just inside the London Orbital.


From where the path crosses the motorway near Merstham, it passes through around 15 miles of stunning countryside passing along the ridge of the North Downs along ancient trackways where once pilgrims walked on their way to pay tribute at the shrines of Canterbury. Though the path remains close to the motorway, it is very much an unseen and unheard presence, before the path dips back over and sets off into the English countryside towards Canterbury and Dover.

For more, see http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/Northdowns/

Watch the road race

Your author promises that it won't all be Olympics this fortnight, but has got rather caught up in the excitement and hasn't had time to write. Today's event, however, is worthy of a mention as it is free to watch and is actually observable by ordinary people, which is great.


The Men's Road Race is bashing its way around South West London this weekend, with plenty of spectators expected to line the route. Expect disruption but also expect the chance of a genuine Olympic athlete in the flesh to make all your frustrations fade as you get as excited as a schoolchild on the last day of term.

For a map, see http://www.london2012.com/cycling-road/event/men-road-race/coursemap/

_{^Picture © By Carlbob.com used under a Creative Commons license^}

Watch the Olympic Opening Ceremony

Today, the Olympic Ceremony is the big ticket event, and whilst only 80,000 odd bods can get into the stadium, it's hard not to get a little excited about the attentions of the world being directed to our great city. It's time to put aside the cynicism, for a little while at least, and enjoy the spectacle.


We don't know quite what Danny Boyle has in store for us, but we are almost certain there will be countryside, Glastonbury Tor, the Thames, nurses, and various other iconic English scenes. Now we've invested bags of money, this is one of our key opportunities to show the world how amazing modern London and Great Britain are, and your author hopes it is amazing.

For more, see http://www.london2012.com/spectators/ceremonies/opening-ceremony/

_{^Picture © jeffowenphotos used under a Creative Commons license^}

Drink at the Cock Tavern

A Grade II listed Victorian pub, the Cock Tavern on Fleet Street was built in 1887 to replace a notorious 17th century inn frequented by famous Londoners Samuel Pepys, Alfred Tennyson and Charles Dickens across the road.


We are told that a disembodied head is said to have haunted the original pub, belonging to the Irish poet, physician and writer, Oliver Goldsmith, who was buried at Temple Church which is located nearby. It seems about as unlikely that he would have transferred to the new premises as it does that ghosts actually exist, but nevertheless it is a good story.

Your author has a special interest in the pub as this evening the latest in his regular Talking to Strangers events, which encourage you and other Londoners to have interesting conversations, takes place in a room upstairs for £3.

For more on Talking to Strangers - to which you are formally invited - click here, or for more on the pub see http://www.taylor-walker.co.uk/pub-food/ye-olde-cock-tavern-holborn/pid-C1188

_{^Picture © Christopher Hilton used under a Creative Commons license^}

Eat at the Seagrass

Housed in a 19th century Manze's pie shop on Chapel Market in North London, the Seagrass is a lovely little restaurant opening Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings only & serving fresh and interesting set meals from an open kitchen for a reasonable value. The interior of the restaurant is true to its roots, and has been changed little since the closure of Manze's, with pleasant results.


Your author visited last week for dinner, and had a set three course meal for £30, which sounds like quite a lot, but the results were well worth it, especially given the bring-your-own-drink policy, and the policy of not charging for corkage. The group were especially impressed that when the dietary requirements of one of those present were not catered for, the chef went out to the shops to buy ingredients and made something off menu.

Be warned, however, that for those of questionable self-control, the BYO policy can lead to overindulgence. And if you visit with the same group, come armed with the ability to say no to amaretto.

For more, see http://www.theseagrassrestaurant.com/

Wander in Coldfall Wood

A 14 hectare area of ancient wood in Muswell Hill, Coldfall Wood was once part of a much larger wooded area, and as it was finding itself increasingly encroached upon, it was eventually purchased by Hornsey Council in 1930.


Your author grew up on the edge of a large wood some way away, and has always had an affinity for woodland, so it is always pleasing when these pockets of ancient woodland are protected in the city and Coldfall Wood remains so.

Owned by the London Borough of Harringey, the wood is also loved by the Friends of Coldfall Wood who are keen to monitor its flora, fauna and wildlife and even have plans to "regenerate" it, and whilst in your author's experience woodland tends to do that itself, it is still admirable that they care.

For more, see http://www.coldfallwoods.co.uk/

_{^Picture © Martin Addison used under a Creative Commons license^}

See the Spitalfields Dioramas

Last week, we looked at the excellent library at the Bishopsgate Institute, and if any readers remain unconvinced and in need of a reason to drop in, they are in luck. As highlighted by the amazing Spitalfields Life blog, a set of dioramas, originally created for the Bell Public House, Middlesex Street, in the 1970s, are currently on show in the main reading room.


A few weeks ago, your author dropped into the unveiling of the dioramas, originally created by model maker Howard Karslake, and was pleasantly surprised, finding very well observed details in models depicting Petticoat Lane Market, the Truman Brewery and the Bell at the end of the nineteenth century.

For more, see http://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/content/1690/The-Dioramas-of-Spitalfields and for more from Spitalfields Life why not buy the excellent book.

See Stonehenge in London

The Olympic Games throw up all sorts of things you wouldn't expect to see, and as part of it an inflatable model of Stonehenge has been travelling around the country. It may sound awful, but it's not as bad as some of the things they've been spending the money on.


This weekend it pitches up on the Greenwich Peninsula, for free, to allow members of the public to bounce around and get close to the stones. Just don't take any sharp objects with you.

For more, see http://sacrilege2012.co.uk

_{^Picture © john bristow used under a Creative Commons license^}

Welcome a flame

Amongst literally hundreds of events taking place this summer in London, next week a sporting tournament is being held near Stratford in East London, and everyone's getting terribly excited. Seemingly most excitable of all are the people at Hackney Council, who are today organising a huge event to mark not the start of the Games themeselves, but the passing of a symbolic torch which is touring the country in the lead up to the event.


We are told to expect carnival floats, Rio samba, a village fete and a festival along the route, though sadly it seems that an event scheduled for Clissold Park has been cancelled due to all the recent rain. The events are all part of the One Festival, an annual event that has been taking place in Hackney since at least 2008.

For more, see http://www.hackney.gov.uk/one-festival.htm

_{^Picture © Emmanuel Eragne used under a Creative Commons license^}

Wonder at Lobb's boots

Started by lame Cornish farmboy John Lobb in 1849, today the headquarters of John Lobb Bootmakers are found in a very attractive store at 9 St James's Street, but that is really all you need to know as you and your author are never likely to use their services.


This is a shop for the super-rich, with a pair of simple shoes costing nearly £3,500 and representatives willing to travel anywhere in the world to measure your feet. The existence of such a shop defies rationale, but there they are, making shoes for some people somewhere who you will never meet, with past customers including down-to-earth types such as George Bernard Shaw, Lord Olivier, Harold MacMillan and Frank Sinatra.

For more, see http://www.johnlobbltd.co.uk

Pay tribute to Johnson outside St Clement Dane's

Given that Dr Samuel Johnson only spent eleven of his many years in London at his most famous address - 17 Gough Square - and otherwise lived at around 17 different places in London, many of which were in the vicinity of Fleet Street, it seems fitting that a statue outside St Clement Dane's commemorates him, erected by the Rev'd S. Pennington, Rector of the church in 1910.


Your author owes more than most to Johnson, the great eighteenth century writer and lexicographer who put together one of the first widely recognised English language dictionaries. It was Johnson whose love of London inspired this website, and the book that followed it, and many happy hours have been whiled away volunteering at Johnson's house in Gough Square off Fleet Street, and seeing this statue of Johnson reading aloud up on his plinth to the rear of the church always brings causes, for he was a great man.

For more, http://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/johnson-statue

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

Do some sport at the Hub

Though it may not feel like it, now we are in the summer, a time at which we traditionally did many sports. If you can remember how, the Hub, in Regent's Park, is a great little sports venue and cafe which provides a centre point for many of the sporting activities which take place there.


At the Hub, it is possible to book cricket, football and softball pitches, and even a boules piste, and there are also regular exercise classes including Pilates, yoga and other such nonsense. You can even do astronomy when the clouds clear.

For more, see http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/the-regents-park/sport-in-the-park-the-hub

_{^Picture © Nigel Chadwick, used under a Creative Commons license^}

See the BAPS Mandir Haveli

Your author has written about the Neasden Mandir in various places, but the temple complex isn't limited only to Indian marble, and alongside the traditional temple sits a stunning intricately-carved wooden Haveli, which would certainly be worth a visit in its own right.


We are told that the Haveli is a remarkable revival of wooden craftmanship, and that the wooden carvings are unique in that such a structure has not been created anywhere in the world for a century. Your author has no way of knowing whether of not this is true, but except for one more than a hundred years old on the South Coast, this is certainly the only such construction he has seen.

For more, see http://www.mandir.org/haveli/index.htm

_{^Picture © David Sky, used under a Creative Commons License^}

Browse Bishopsgate Library

Though the Bishopsgate Institute - established in 1895 - is very close to one of the financial centres of the modern City of London, it prides itself on being home to world-renowned collections on London history, labour and socialist history, and its library remains open to all, with no need to make an appointment or to bring proof of address to access a wealth of information.


Though its special collections must be consulted in a special Researchers' Area there is open access to general reference books and information, which can be used for private study. The library is open Monday - Saturday from 10am.

For more, see http://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/content/1078/About-the-Library