Go canoeing with Kayaking London

Your author braved the drizzle yesterday afternoon to cash in a voucher bought from generic deals website in the spring, and take to the Thames in a canoe for the first time from a kayaking centre beside Cremorne Gardens in Chelsea.


After a quick bit of orientation, the group were issued with paddles and kit and set afloat for two hours on the river, and your author's closest encounter with the Thames since hitting a tree root and toppling in on a bike ride to Thames Head.

It is a really good experience, which every Londoner should try, and it was only a shame that the trip didn't stray very far, reaching only as far as Albert Bridge. Pictures of kayakers in front of Big Ben were enticing, but for a dreary Sunday afternoon a little messing about on Counters Creek, in the shadow of Lots Road power station, was more realistic.

For more information, see http://www.kayakinglondon.com/

_{^Picture © Metro Centric used under Creative Commons^}

Attend the Hampstead Affordable Art Fair

Today marks the last day of the Hampstead Affordable Art Fair, the North London cousin of a South London favourite which has been vending affordable art to willing punters since 1999.


It's been going since Thursday, with 90 galleries exhibiting art from well-known and emerging artists, with prices ranging from £40 to £4,000.

For more information, see http://www.affordableartfair.com/hampstead/

_{^Picture © Richard Moross used under Creative Commons^}

Watch snowboarders in Battersea

Over in Battersea, in the shadow of the power station, the Relentless Freeze Festival have built their now annual ski and snowboard ramp, and are displaying all sorts of tricks all day.


It costs a fair amount to attend, but for your money, you get to see a snowboard world cup and a Europe Vs The World ski and snowboard battle, and enjoy music from The Streets and others.

As always with these things, it's difficult to know whether tickets are still available, but for more information, see http://www.relentlessfreeze.com

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

See Henry Moore's Two Piece Reclining Figure No.5

Not all of London's good art is found in galleries, and one excellent piece your author stumbled across recently is Henry Moore's Two Piece Reclining Figure No.5, in the gardens of Kenwood House.


Reclining figures are a staple of Moore's work, but this one was apparently a bit of a change for him, as he had previously stuck to seated women, and this news two piece reclining figure offered unexpected perspectives. Now surrounded by fences, presumably because the Bronze in which it is cast is worth a pretty penny, the figures are still worth a look.

For more information, click here.

Visit the American International Church

Your author is a heathen, but there is something nice about how almost every cultural community in London seems to have its own church, and our American cousins are no different. The American International Church is based at Whitefield Memorial Church on Tottenham Court Road.


With a congregation made up of Americans, Brits and people from more than 20 countries around the world, it is a truly international institution, with music, community organisations, quizzes and even a soup kitchen for the homeless and marginally homeless.

For more information, see http://www.amchurch.co.uk/

*Note September 2013 - name changed at request of their marketing agency, redPepper Marketing Ltd: "...as a reflection of the diversity within the congregation and community surrounding its Tottenham Court Road location, in London"

See Eine's Change

Your author tries to keep the mentions of street art here to a minimum, not least because other websites do it much better, but an equal love of typography and Hastings have always made Ben Eine's work particularly interesting, and one newer piece is Change, found on Old Street.


Commemorating the death of Tom-Louis Easton, who was stabbed to death at the age of just 22 in September 2006, the piece was painted by Eine for The Flavasum Trust, to appeal to young people not to carry knives, a message we can surely all agree on.

For more information, see http://www.theflavasumtrust.org/projects/streetart

Admire the view from Saunders Ness

Situated at the South Eastern tip of the Isle of Dogs, formed by the curve of the Thames, Saunders Ness is a spit of sand which dates from the early history of the area, and appears on maps dating from at least the Sixteenth Century.


Now commemorated in the name of Saunders Ness Road, the sandy foreshore is still visible beneath the modern wall, reminiscent of earlier times before the path of the River was not so fixed.

An information board tells of early inhabitants building banks of earth and rocks to stave off the movement of the Thames, which here was much less fixed when the Isle of Dogs was marshy pastureland, referred to as Stebunheath Marsh. Today, the river walls are much more sturdy, and offer excellent views across to Maritime Greenwich and industrial North Greenwich.

For more information, read the information board here.

Take a walk in Ruskin Park

Named after the writer and artist John Ruskin, who lived in the area from 1823 until 1871, Ruskin Park is found on the borders between Camberwell, Brixton and Herne Hill in South London.


Officially opened to the public on 2nd February 1907, the park was designed by the famous Chief Officer of Parks at London County Council, Lt Colonel JJ Sexby, originally over 24 acres, with a further 12 acres added in 1910.

The modern park contains a bandstand, flower gardens, and ornamental and wildlife ponds, as well as a children's play area and other features.

For more information, see http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/services/environment/parksgreenspaces/parks/ruskinpark.htm

Drink at the Lamb

A fantastic pub on a quieter street in Bloomsbury, the Lamb is a gem, originally built in 1729, it is now noted for its Grade II listed Victorian exterior, and its etched glass snob screens which were designed to allow customers to order without having to look at the bar staff.


The pub is now owned by Youngs and excellent food and beer, retaining the name it took from William Lamb who improved the conduit to bring water from Holborn in 1577. It is also notable for a pub purist like your author as it doesn't have a TV or any music, allowing space to sit and have a good talk to friends and anyone else who shows up.

Another notable feature is the working polyphon on the wall, which is designed to play tunes like a music box, and is the same design as the one which once operated in your author's grandparents' pub, and still lurks in the family attic.

For more information, see http://www.youngs.co.uk/pub-detail.asp?PubID=421

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

Tour the Brunswick Centre

As part of Bloomsbury Festival, it's open house at the Brunswick Centre in Bloomsbury today and tomorrow, with free guided tours of the Grade II listed housing and shopping centre.


Designed by Patrick Hodgkinson in the 1960s, we are told that the centre aimed for a low rise, low cost, high density structure with no social segregation, and open space for each unit.

The tours will explain more about how the architect tried to achieve this, and whether or not he was successful. For more, see http://www.bloomsburyfestival.org.uk/event/id/89

_{^Picture © Matt From London used under Creative Commons^}

Visit Fenton House

A fantastic 17th-century merchant's house, occupying one of the best sites in Hampstead, if not London, Fenton House is fairly unique in that it has managed to survive almost completely intact - with a lovely garden - for more than three centuries.


Now owned by the National Trust, after being left to them by Lady Katherine Binning in 1952, it is a great place for a poke around, especially if the rooftop balcony is open as it was last Saturday, offering spectacular views to central London.

Whilst the house closes for the season on 30th October, your author understand that there are also due to be some openings at Christmas time, which sound particularly special.

For more information, see http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/fentonhouse/

Watch for birds on Mount Pond

As the seasonal autumn chill starts to kick in, a changing of the guard begins in avian circles, with some species heading off Southward for a warmer spot for the winter, and hardier species starting to fly in to replace them. One place which is regularly rich with birds is Mount Pond on Clapham Common.


Though the Pond has been closed to anglers who usually catch carp, roach, tench and bream there, for the summer due to low water levels, that won't stop geese and ducks who can regularly be seen on the pond in all seasons.

As we saw previously, Mount Pond has a long history, and it is possible that it was used for scientific experiments by Benjamin Franklin in the 1760s or 1770s. It has always been a haven for wildlife and the Environment Agency undertook work last year to ensure it remains suitable for fish, amphibians, insects and plant life, all of which play an important part in the ecosystem which brings the birds here.

For more on the pond's history, see http://www.outlines.org.uk/claphamsociety/Articles/article7.html

Drink at the Duke of Hamilton

As the last rays of sun slipped away on Saturday evening, your author headed into Hampstead for a drink at the Duke of Hamilton, and received a very warm welcome. The pub claims to be one of the oldest in London, with a history dating back 300 years, and had a great atmosphere and a friendly crowd.


Three times a winner of CAMRA North London’s Pub of the Year competition, the Duke of Hamilton has a good range of ales which were well cared for and also a very reasonably priced food menu, which undercuts other pubs in the area by a considerable margin.

The pub was apparently threatened with closure last year, after the company that owned it submitted a proposal to turn it into flats, but thankfully the application was withdrawn after the Council made its views on the matter clear, and for now it remains an excellent local, just off the Hampstead tourist trail.

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

_{^Picture © Jim Linwood used under Creative Commons^}

Eat at Xinjiang Style Chinese Cuisine

Found at number 49 Camberwell Church Street, Xinjiang Style Chinese Cuisine is an unassuming Chinese canteen which specialises in food from the autonomous Xinjiang region of North West China.


Your author doesn't pretend to be a restaurant critic, and doesn't usually like to approach these things with a broad brush style review, but the results were thoroughly appetising, and reasonably priced, with enough flavour and spice to mark them out from your typical local takeaway.

For a more detailed review, head over to the Randomness Guide to London.

Go for a walk in Brockley and Ladywell Cemetery

Until a few weeks ago, your author had only been aware of Brockwell and Ladywell Cemetery as an empty space on a map. A dark space which loomed in peripheral vision during late cycle rides across South East London, but during the daytime it is a beautiful place to get away from it all, and immerse yourself in a mixture of death and nature.


Opened in 1858, originally as two cemeteries serving the parishes of Lewisham & Deptford, we are told that the total area is 37 acres. The cemeteries are rich with wildlife, including sycamore, horse-chestnut, hybrid black poplar and lime trees, which are now showing a lot of autumnal colour, and inevitable squirrels dart to and fro.

For specific information from the Friends of Brockley and Ladywell Cemeteries, click here, of for a great overview, see click here.