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Sunday, 21 February 2016
Three ladies on one bus at a time!
These three ladies have already seen John Dee exhibition and I haven't yet. Let's read their report here.
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Saturday, 20 February 2016
Churchfield Road, of dead and living
My exploration of the living space continues... There is a small burial ground a short walk from St Mary's Church near the Market Place in Acton.
Snowdrops are in full bloom there at the moment:
This little cemetery is a small oasis of peace between Churchfield Road and Acton High Street. Some people go through the cemetery avoiding the narrow streets full of parked cars.
Churchfield Rd witnessed filming several Monty Python sketches, according to Dear Wiki, which will also tell you about important people who have lived there. You may not have heard of them, especially being a foreigner. Let's find out about one of them, shall we?
If you are a 1960s music fan, the name Adam Faith will definitely ring the bell. He was born at 4 Churchfield Road on 23 June 1940 and lived there until 1960. 'Known as Terry Nelhams, he was unaware his surname was Nelhams-Wright until he applied for a passport and obtained his birth certificate.The third in a family of five children, Nelhams grew up in a council house in this working class area of London, where he attended John Perryn Junior School. He started work at 12, delivering and selling newspapers while still at school. His first full-time job was odd-job boy for a silk screen printer.'
Well, I don't know of many children in the 1960s Poland that would work at such a young age. They had to go to school. Definitely, some of them would have to help their parents, especially on a farm or with household chores. Hang on a moment... Actually, I've met a successful Polish businessman here in London, who has been working hard since he was a little boy in rural Poland due to very difficult family circumstances. This probably made him a successful person, mind you.
Back to Adam Faith, of course you can read about him yourself clicking here, but I cannot resist quoting one more sentence: 'Still 20 and living with his parents, he bought a house in Hampton Court for £6,000, where he moved with his family from their house in Acton.' Yes, it was £6,000, in old money though. How many people in their twenties could afford to buy a house either in the 1960s or now, when the equvalent price of a house would be more than half a million pounds? Well, Adam Faith was not an ordinary man!
The same can be said about Lionel Bart, a child prodigy and significant personality in the British pop and rock music, despite never learning to read or write musical notation! He lived a busy and varied life, and died at 33/35a Churchfield Road
Eric Ravilious was a talented artist famous for his printmaking and illustrations, design, watercolours and for depicting World War II scenes since he was accepted as a full-time salaried artist by the War Artists' Advisory Committee in December 1939 till his death. On 28 August 1942 Ravilious flew to Reykjavík and then travelled on to RAF Kaldadarnes. The day he arrived there, 1 September, a Lockheed Hudson aircraft had failed to return from a patrol. The next morning three planes were despatched at dawn to search for the missing plane and Ravilious opted to join one of the crews. The plane he was on also failed to return and after four days of further searching, the RAF declared Ravilious and the four-man crew lost in action. His body was not recovered and he is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial. You can read much more about this remarkable artist here. That's where I found out about having missed his first big exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery not so long ago. I wonder if Lord Ant B managed to see it as it's almost on his doorstep.:-)
Orchard Road, not Churchfield Rd, was how Leo Sayer actually referred to it in his hit 'Orchard Road' after his ex-wife moved out there when they split up. The singer's name rang the bell, the voice sounded familiar, but this song I didn't know or didn't remember. However, Youtube prompted my memory by suggested some other Leo's songs including the big hit of my childhood days: 'More Than I Can Say'! :-)
Do you do your shopping at Waitrose like Svietlana who I met in Sheen a year or so ago? (It would be nice to see her again. I enjoyed talking to her and planning a holiday in her villa in Egypt.:-)) Whether you do or not, you may be interested to find out that they opened their second branch at 65 Churchfield Road in 1913. The original small grocery store, Waite, Rose & Taylor, in nearby Acton High Street was founded in 1904 by Wallace Waite, Arthur Rose and David Taylor. Yes, Waitrose began as a small grocery store. In 1908, two years after David Taylor had left the business, the name "Waitrose", from the remaining founders' names, was adopted. In 1937, the company, consisting of ten stores and 160 employees, was taken over by the John Lewis Partnership.
As of February 2015, Waitrose had 344 branches across the United Kingdom, including 30 "little Waitrose" convenience stores, and a 5.1% share of the market, making it the sixth-largest grocery retailer in the UK. This chain of British supermarkets is considered 'upmarket' and has a Royal warrant to supply groceries, wine and spirits to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles.
If you are a 1960s music fan, the name Adam Faith will definitely ring the bell. He was born at 4 Churchfield Road on 23 June 1940 and lived there until 1960. 'Known as Terry Nelhams, he was unaware his surname was Nelhams-Wright until he applied for a passport and obtained his birth certificate.The third in a family of five children, Nelhams grew up in a council house in this working class area of London, where he attended John Perryn Junior School. He started work at 12, delivering and selling newspapers while still at school. His first full-time job was odd-job boy for a silk screen printer.'
Well, I don't know of many children in the 1960s Poland that would work at such a young age. They had to go to school. Definitely, some of them would have to help their parents, especially on a farm or with household chores. Hang on a moment... Actually, I've met a successful Polish businessman here in London, who has been working hard since he was a little boy in rural Poland due to very difficult family circumstances. This probably made him a successful person, mind you.
Back to Adam Faith, of course you can read about him yourself clicking here, but I cannot resist quoting one more sentence: 'Still 20 and living with his parents, he bought a house in Hampton Court for £6,000, where he moved with his family from their house in Acton.' Yes, it was £6,000, in old money though. How many people in their twenties could afford to buy a house either in the 1960s or now, when the equvalent price of a house would be more than half a million pounds? Well, Adam Faith was not an ordinary man!
The same can be said about Lionel Bart, a child prodigy and significant personality in the British pop and rock music, despite never learning to read or write musical notation! He lived a busy and varied life, and died at 33/35a Churchfield Road
Eric Ravilious was a talented artist famous for his printmaking and illustrations, design, watercolours and for depicting World War II scenes since he was accepted as a full-time salaried artist by the War Artists' Advisory Committee in December 1939 till his death. On 28 August 1942 Ravilious flew to Reykjavík and then travelled on to RAF Kaldadarnes. The day he arrived there, 1 September, a Lockheed Hudson aircraft had failed to return from a patrol. The next morning three planes were despatched at dawn to search for the missing plane and Ravilious opted to join one of the crews. The plane he was on also failed to return and after four days of further searching, the RAF declared Ravilious and the four-man crew lost in action. His body was not recovered and he is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial. You can read much more about this remarkable artist here. That's where I found out about having missed his first big exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery not so long ago. I wonder if Lord Ant B managed to see it as it's almost on his doorstep.:-)
Orchard Road, not Churchfield Rd, was how Leo Sayer actually referred to it in his hit 'Orchard Road' after his ex-wife moved out there when they split up. The singer's name rang the bell, the voice sounded familiar, but this song I didn't know or didn't remember. However, Youtube prompted my memory by suggested some other Leo's songs including the big hit of my childhood days: 'More Than I Can Say'! :-)
Do you do your shopping at Waitrose like Svietlana who I met in Sheen a year or so ago? (It would be nice to see her again. I enjoyed talking to her and planning a holiday in her villa in Egypt.:-)) Whether you do or not, you may be interested to find out that they opened their second branch at 65 Churchfield Road in 1913. The original small grocery store, Waite, Rose & Taylor, in nearby Acton High Street was founded in 1904 by Wallace Waite, Arthur Rose and David Taylor. Yes, Waitrose began as a small grocery store. In 1908, two years after David Taylor had left the business, the name "Waitrose", from the remaining founders' names, was adopted. In 1937, the company, consisting of ten stores and 160 employees, was taken over by the John Lewis Partnership.
As of February 2015, Waitrose had 344 branches across the United Kingdom, including 30 "little Waitrose" convenience stores, and a 5.1% share of the market, making it the sixth-largest grocery retailer in the UK. This chain of British supermarkets is considered 'upmarket' and has a Royal warrant to supply groceries, wine and spirits to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles.
Thursday, 18 February 2016
A very different exterior!
There is a whole story written on the big sea creature and I read it. I examined other texts as well.
Tuesday, 16 February 2016
Library for Iranian Studies in Acton
'When you come to my house, bring me a light and a small window. From this window I could see the lucky people in the street.' - I could not read the original words of the famous poem by Forough Farokhzad at The Library for Iranian Studies in Acton. The Iranian man who works there translated them for me. The Persian poetess died in a car crash in 1967. She was only 34 years old... Her face looks at the library bookcases along with faces of other eminent Persian poets sculpted by their compatriot artist who took a year to make them for the library.
As you enter the place, you first notice a noble head of a bearded man in an old-style headgear.
The head in question is of Abdual Quasem Ferdawsi, the greatest Persian epic poet of all time, and author of 'Shahnameh',
a poem of the myths, legends and history of ancient Iran. He lived
between 935 and 1020/25 AD, at the times when Poland, my home country,
was coming into existence adopting Christianity from those who had
already joined the Christian world.
Here are a few more pictures from the Persian Library in London! You can go there too!
There was a man at the library who kindly answered many of my questions, also about this detailed poster which shows the Persian image of Paradise. He even wanted to find a copy of this poster for me to take, but he couldn't. I wish I had the time to tell you more about my visit...
As you enter the place, you first notice a noble head of a bearded man in an old-style headgear.
Here are a few more pictures from the Persian Library in London! You can go there too!
Sunday, 14 February 2016
Is it in the genes?
Cycling home on a cold February afternoon I stopped to take a picture of a blue plaque on one of nearly identical houses in Twyford Road or Twyford Avenue, can't remember the street name precisely, but I can lead you there, here and now if you wish, Dear Reader.
It took some time before I found a moment to ask Mr Google what exactly Mr Richard Titmuss did to be celebrated in this way. Now I know (you can look it up yourself should you want or need to), and also that he had a very happy marriage plus that his daughter is a very successful scientist and writer as well as a mother and grandmother. 'Man and Wife' is a book Ann Oakley wrote about her parents.
'Digging deeper', I've just read an extract from this book. Please let me quote a few sentences which may interest you, my Dear Reader:
'it wasn't as an ordinary housewife that my mother primarily wished to be remembered in the leavings of the brown suitcase. She did go to a garden party at Buckingham Palace once, in 1970.(...)
The gloves were specially for the Queen. And so they stand together there, in the neatly paved front garden, which used to be grassed over and home to a variety of shrubs, but with time Kay had pruned all this to make it the kind of tidy place she felt comfortable in.
You can imagine Mr and Mrs Titmus posing for a picture outside their house before going to a garden party at Buckingham Palace...
'Digging deeper', I've just read an extract from this book. Please let me quote a few sentences which may interest you, my Dear Reader:
'it wasn't as an ordinary housewife that my mother primarily wished to be remembered in the leavings of the brown suitcase. She did go to a garden party at Buckingham Palace once, in 1970.(...)
The gloves were specially for the Queen. And so they stand together there, in the neatly paved front garden, which used to be grassed over and home to a variety of shrubs, but with time Kay had pruned all this to make it the kind of tidy place she felt comfortable in.
My
mother treasured this day, just as she treasured all Richard's claims
to fame. One of the most poignant insignia of this is the envelope in
the brown suitcase which she kept because it found its way to the house
in Acton despite its being addressed only to 'Professor Richard Titmuss,
British expert on the welfare state, c/o Lord Mayor's Office, London'.
His fame was her fame. They were one being, united in his effort to make
the world a better place.'
...
I'm adding a link for an article about this first official London blue plaque in Acton - click here.
I'm adding a link for an article about this first official London blue plaque in Acton - click here.
Carol's paintings, Polish Hearth and South Ken by night
It's not that nothing is happening or there is nothing to write about. Quite on the contrary, I'm busy.
However, I took some time off to enjoy paintings of my new acquaintance, Carol Hosking-Smith which you can also see if you click here.
Of my recent snaps, you may like to see these:
However, I took some time off to enjoy paintings of my new acquaintance, Carol Hosking-Smith which you can also see if you click here.
Of my recent snaps, you may like to see these:
Friday, 5 February 2016
Space ship discovered!
It's been a busy day for me and now it's late so let me just add a few pictures I took coming home this afternoon.
Thursday, 4 February 2016
Windmill Park and a musical Iranian dentist
This morning I cycled around Windmill Park Conservation Area south of Acton High Street. The encounter I would like to tell you about was with a man who came to England from Iran over 20 years ago and the first place he lived in was owned by a Polish woman. She arrived in England fleeing WWII Poland and has had a successful life as a landlady. The man was on the way to his dental practice where he emplys six Polish women. He asked me what I do to relax as he plays a string instrument from his country. He often does so at social occasions like parties and family gatherings. What if he met Amar who plays the saxophone, and David from Acton Arts Forum, and the man from the Ark who plays the oud plus... Lu Pradere, the master of ethnic African drums and they all improvised together? Oh, and Kristof could play the piano! Wouldn't it be fun?
Why did the man stop and we started talking? Because that's probably what we both do. And because he saw me take pictures so he wanted to tell me where else to go that's interesting in the area. Why not?
My phone battery is getting weaker and weaker... / Behold, Dear Friday Time and Tenses Students: Present Continuous for processes, remember?;-) / Therefore, the London Transport Museum Depot was the last picture I took on this outing and I need to go back so as to show you more of it, especially a special bench and mini-railway plus the Ice House, but the last one will depend on the friendliness of the guys who gather near it!
Why did the man stop and we started talking? Because that's probably what we both do. And because he saw me take pictures so he wanted to tell me where else to go that's interesting in the area. Why not?
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