Find the International Brigade Statue

Between 1936 and 1939, around 2,100 British people travelled to Spain to fight with the anti-fascist for the Republic volunteers in the Spanish Civil War. A small monument, inscribed with the words "They went because their eyes could see no other way", sits on on the South Bank to remember them.


Opinion differs on whether they were freedom fighters or communist stooges, doing the work of the USSR's Comintern, but they believed in what they were doing, and around 500 gave their lives in pursuit of what they believed in.

You can find the statue in Jubilee Gardens beside County Hall and the London Eye.

Visit Rotherhithe Picture Research Library

Rotherhithe Picture Research Library, in Rotherhithe, is an educational charity, opened in 1976 as part of Sands Studios, and situated in the same Grade II listed building. The library is home to thousands of old photographs, postcards and magazines.


Pictures are classified by themes, countries and historical periods, to enable researchers to find what they are looking for, and the library is open to the public every weekday from 10am until 4pm for free (though there is a charge for photocopies).

The building at 119 Rotherhithe Street, in Rotherhithe. For more information, visit http://www.sandsfilms.co.uk/Rprl.html, or see this fantastic article on Londonist.

Find Winchester Palace

Built in the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, Winchester Palace, in Bankside near the old Clink Prison, was the London residence of the Bishops of Winchester until the 17th century. At the time it was one of the largest and most important buildings in London.


After the Bishops moved out, the Palace was divided into tenements and warehouses, and it wasn't until the area was badly damaged by fire in 1814 that aspects of the original stonework re-emerged.

What remains was restored as part of the redevelopment of Bankside in the 1980s, and remains exposed with the help of English Heritage, as a memorial to the great palace which once dominated the area. You can still see the Rose Window, which was part of the Palace's Great Hall, and the three doors to the buttery, pantry and kitchen, pictured above, from a viewing point on Clink Street.

For more information, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Palace

Go sailing at the Docklands Sailing and Watersports Centre

Opened in 1989, at a cost of £1.2 million, the Docklands Sailing and Watersports Centre aims to provide recreational water activities for all sections of the community living and working in Docklands.


Owned by the Docklands Sailing & Watersports Centre Trust, and maintained by full time staff and volunteers, the centre offers a range of adult and youth courses, open sessions and powerboat courses throughout the year.

Unfortunately, the programme of Wednesday night twilight sails, where sailing is cunningly mixed with long evenings and beer, have finished for the season, but be sure to pop them in your diary for next year. Other sessions, however, are still running.

The centre is situated in Westferry Road on the Isle of Dogs. For more information, visit http://www.dswc.org/

Shop in Hoxton Street Market

There has been a market in Hoxton since 1687, and today it's still going strong. The Saturday market is a particular gem, with scores stalls selling everything from eels and fresh vegetables to sweets and clothes.


Unlike other more gentrified markets in the area, Hoxton Street Market has retained its East End charm, and still offers up a range of food, fruit and veg, clothes and footwear, alongside a range of things including household goods and toiletries.

The market, and its distinctive arch, are a short distance from Old Street Tube, and it runs from Monday to Saturday, with Saturdays being busiest. It is held on Hoxton Street, N1 and runs from 7.30am to 6pm.

For more, visit http://www.realhoxton.co.uk/ or for a breakdown of technicalities and logistics, see http://www.hackney.gov.uk/hoxton-market.htm

Wander in Bunhill Fields

London is so densely packed that often some of the wildest spaces, especially in the centre, are graveyards, and Bunhill Fields on City Road underlines this.


The name is supposedly derived from 'bone-hill' and, though the area was originally much larger, only four acres of the remain, containing the graves of many nonconformists who died between the late seventeenth century and the middle of the nineteenth century, though it was probably used for burials from Saxon times onwards.

The graves of many notable people are here, including John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's Progress, poet and painter William Blake and Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe.

The 1852 the Burial Act allowed for the closure of burial grounds such as Bunhill when they became full, and the final burial took place in January 1854. By this time around 120,000 people had been laid to rest on the site.

The future of the site looked uncertain, but following much campaigning an Act of Parliament was passed in 1867 "for the Preservation of Bunhill Fields Burial Ground... as an open space", and it remains open as a community garden today.

For more information, visit the page on the City of London Website.

Drink at the pub where America began

A little bit of a stretch of the truth in this post title, but the Mayflower in Rotherhithe is only a stone's throw from the quay where the ship the Mayflower docked in London before its departure with the Pilgrim Fathers for the New World.


In reality, the current pub wasn't even there at the time the Mayflower docked in 1620, and it visited a number of other places including Southampton, Dartmouth and Plymouth before making its final voyage, but there was a pub on this site at the time, and the connection is enough to draw in a fair number of American tourists.

The pub is a bit overpriced, and a bit of a tourist trap, but it does offer the opportunity to dine on a jetty overlooking the Thames (except for a few minutes either side of high tide), and is a pleasant enough spot. Bike riders beware, however, as part of your author's bike was stolen last weekend when he locked it up right outside the door.

The website is down, so for more information, why not try the Standard Website.

Drink coffee in the Scooterworks Cafe

The Scootercaffe, which everyone knows as Scooterworks, on Lower Marsh in Waterloo, is an accidental cafe with a considerable amount of charm.


The cafe is owned by Craig O'Dwyer, a New Zealand Scooter specialist and coffee machine collector, who began Scooterworks Ltd after arriving from New Zealand 16 years ago as a scooter and parts shop. When staff began serving occasional cups of coffee to customers from an Italian 1957 Faema espresso machine, the coffee was so good that soon people were coming from miles around.

Nowadays, the actual Scooterworks workshop itself has moved to Bermondsey, leaving a lovely little bar and cafe with a mixed clientelle, and a very pleasant atmosphere you rarely find in somewhere so central. It even has a nice little yard at the back for sunny days, and a basement bar with live music every Tuesday and Wednesday night. Whilst they don't serve food, customers are welcome to bring their own food and have a picnic, as long as they take their rubbish with them.

Scooterworks is open Monday to Thursday 8:30-11pm, Friday 8:30am-midnight, and Saturday 10:00am-midnight. It's closed on Sundays.

Bombay Sapphire Dusk Bar

Your author is a fan of pop up bars, even if they are covered in branding. So when he was invited along for an evening of learning about gin at the Bombay Sapphire Dusk Bar last week he was more than happy to oblige.


The bar sits on the terrace at Somerset House, and all the features are designed by celebrated industrial designer, Tom Dixon. The drinks are firmly gin-based, with a cocktail menu developed in association with some of London's top bartenders, and a new one every 3 weeks.

It's very pleasant, especially at dusk, though your author must warn that he was entertained courtesy of the kind people at the aforementioned gin company, so he can never remain truly objective. However, if all this sounds like your sort of thing, be sure to pop along soon, as the bar is only open until 18th October.

For more information, visit http://www.bombaysapphiredusk.com.

Visit the Painted Hall

The Old Royal Naval College, in Greenwich, is a fantastic site, and one of its most celebrated features is the Painted Hall. Planned as the hospital's dining hall, the hall was designed by Wren in 1698, and the roof and the dome above were completed by 1703. The hall was decorated by Sir James Thornhill with the theme of the triumph of Peace and Liberty over Tyrany.


Whilst Wren's building was completed relatively swiftly, Thornhill's paintings took a lot longer, and he ended up spending nineteen years completing the work.

Legend has it that he was so confident of his abilities that he said he should only be paid what his paymasters thought his work was worth, and they consequently held back from any form of payment for a considerable amount of time. Eventually, however, Thornhill secured a payment of £1 a yard, and he went on to become George I's court painter, a fellow of the Royal Society, and eventually was elected to Parliament and knighted. Clearly, therefore, it was worth the risk!

It was in the Painted Hall that the body of Admiral Lord Nelson was brought in January 1806, following his death in the Battle of Trafalgar, after which it became an art gallery, and eventually returned to use as a dining hall, remaining in daily use until the Royal Navy's departure in 1998.

The Painted Hall is open daily and is free. For more information, visit http://www.oldroyalnavalcollege.org/the-painted-hall/

Christ Church Spitalfields

Christ Church Spitalfields, on Commercial Street close to Brick Lane and Spitalfields Market, was designed by Hawksmoor and built between 1714 and 1729.


In 1711, an Act of Parliament was passed which required the building of fifty new churches to serve new populations on what were then the fringes of London, and this church was one of the results. Christ Church served the East End for many years, but by 1957 it was basically derelict. It was saved from demolition by the Hawksmoor Committee, and by 1966 funds had been raised for the roof to be rebuilt, partially through money raised by the sale of St John’s Smith Square.

In 1976, the Friends of Christ Church Spitalfields was formed to restore the church, and services resumed in 1987. The portico at the west end was repaired and cleaned in 1986, and the tower and spire were restored by 1997. The south façade was cleaned in 1999, revealing the whiteness of the Portland stone. The north and east façades were repaired and cleaned in 1999–2000, and the interior was restored by 2004. So now, it's all back in working order.

It's a beautiful church, with a lot of character, and has attracted many admirers. In fact, your author once heard a lovely tale about a scruffy looking artist type approaching church staff to ask if they could organise a special tour her friend Dave, as he was a big Hawksmoor fan. Rumour has it that the artist in question was local resident Tracey Emin and her friend Dave was none other than David Bowie.

For more information, see the Friends of Christ Church Spitalfields website at http://www.christchurchspitalfields.org.

_{^Picture by Mike Roberts NYC^}

See what's going on at Cecil Sharp House

Cecil Sharp House, just North of Regents Park, is the home of the English Folk Dance and Song Society. The Society formed in 1932 when the Folk-Song Society and the English Folk Dance Society merged.


Today, the society holds regular dances, concerts and other events at the House, and there are also regular music, song and dancing classes.

These include Celidhs, barn dances and folk clubs, many suitable for all abilities from absolute beginners to the advanced, and all for a reasonable fee.

And if you don't want to dance but still fancy seeing the building it's even open today for Open House.

For more information, visit http://www.efdss.org/.

_{^Picture of the mural at Cecil Sharp House by <<graham>>^}

Explore London's architectural gems

You must have been asleep if you've missed the upcoming Open House London weekend. Now in its 17th year, the weekend is a 'celebration of design excellence', opening more than 700 buildings of all sizes and shapes around the capital this Saturday and Sunday for free.


Some of the not-normally-open-to-the-public gems which caught your author's eye include 23 Brook Street, Jimi Hendrix's former pad, HM Treasury, Channel 4, the Argentine Ambassador's Residence, BBC Bush House, the Houses of Parliament, City Hall and the Reform Club, but there are hundreds on offer.

Your author has plans this weekend, and a bit of history with London Open House, so as it stands he'll probably just try and see what he can, though he understands that queues and early bookings for some of the best buildings can be an issue.

For more information, and a full list of the buildings open, visit http://www.londonopenhouse.org/public/london/find/

_{^Picture of the stairs at City Hall by James Cridland^}

Wonder at a slice of ship

Richard Wilson's Slice of Reality sculpture, beside the Millennium Dome in Greenwich, is a slice straight through a ship which was commissioned for the Millennium and remains in place, mounted on the river bed.


The front and back portions of the ship have been removed, and only the 15% which makes up the 'bridge' section now remains in a piece of installation art

Quite what it can be used for now, your author is unsure but the Greenwich Phantom seems to recall seeing furniture and instruments in it in 2000, and your author is sure he has seen it referred to somewhere as the Slice of Reality Youth Centre.

_{^Picture by LoopZilla^}

See the Whitechapel Gallery

Your author hasn't covered the Whitechapel Gallery since it properly reopened in April, but he has been and it is a welcome improvement to what was already an excellent gallery.


Founded in 1901 with the aim of bringing great art to East London, the gallery is Grade II* listed and was designed by architect Charles Harrison Townsend. The two year £13.5m expansion project has doubled the size of the Gallery by incorporating the building next door, which has significantly increased the options the gallery has for exhibitions and events.

The Whitechapel Gallery prides itself on its education and outreach programmes and as a result there are always a number of films, talks, courses, concerts and events on offer, so have a look at the website if you're looking for more than just art. If you're hungry, there is also a decent-looking restaurant (a bit beyond your author's means) on the ground floor and a nice cafe upstairs. Or if you're looking for an event space, that is also an option.

Sure, there's not a lot of point in your author going over this five months after it reopened, but you might have forgotten it had, and miss the chance to see a tapestry copy of Guernica. For more on all the aspects of the new Whitechapel Gallery visit http://www.whitechapelgallery.org

_{^Picture by Mister-E^}