The old Spitalfields market

They are always trying to sell something new at Spitalfields. here is the latest- just mustard and some nights they had some french music playing into the late evening

July is the month of pianos in London

In July pianos are scattered around London for anyone to play. I was with Una as we saw this chap playing, along with a fellow musician who aims to play all the pianos in London. he had just performed on the one on the Millennium Bridge.  I love this part of living in London- it cheers the place up so much and makes the place very joyful.

'The Tree of Life'

We saw this at 'Rich Mix' which is getting yet another make over. It tries to be anything but a council funded place, yet whatever it does it seems to smack of a committee at work.  nevertheless films are £5 on Mondays and Tuesdays with an IDEA store library card or proof you live in the borough.  The film is beautifully filmed tosh

The relaunch of the Bishopsgate Institute

The most popular part of the week's relaunch was probably a talk by Dan Cruikshank- a local resident and a well known architect and historian. His talk to a packed hall was on the changing face of the east End and in particular Spitalfields. He described the assault on the area by the City and stated his opposition to the demolition of the Fruit Exchange building In Brushfield  Street and Commercial street.  Apparently English Heritage does not really put up any opposition. 

It seems that Spitalfields is going to change drastically in the next few years unless we go into a deeper recession

The Bishopsgate singers

A great free concert as part of the relaunch of the Institute.  Singing is upbeat and fun- nothing heavy. Loads of singing in round.  You can join and sing at lunchtime and there seemed to be a great mix of people

The launch of the Bishopsgate Institute

After renovations lasting two years, it is now fully opened. the new cafe at the side is lovely, pricey but the daily specials are more affordable

Air Force concert

This was a free concert- as part of National Forces Day

The New London Hospital

This is due to be open next year- first patients in January 2012.
This is going t be the largest hospital in Europe

The Finnish Church

Invited by friends to this very modern church right near the Rotherhithe tunnel

The whole day was filled with choirs, jazz bands and soloists. the food was of a very high standard- no dried up sausage rolls or stale sandwiches but was very expensive- tea was £1,50- very steep for a church. the food was actually smoked salmon and herrings and the most delicious salads.
 I shot a snatch of a song and a back view of part of the choir. The church was very Scandinavian in character- IKEA look throughout and a sauna upstairs

Alison Beck- Jazz singer

http://www.alisonbeck.co.uk/

I am very proud to know Alison who graduated from London Guildhall at the Barbican last week. She now has her masters as a jazz singer

All singers perform for about an hour in one of the theatres there.  Alison was backed by double bass, piano, violin and drums- her programme was eclectic and exciting.  The best thing about this is that anyone can come and listen to graduate's final performances- it is free.  Next year we will definitely go -

'Music for a Summer's Night'

St Helen's is a very evangelical church with a huge, mostly young congregation.  As the rain lashed down  we sat down to a fabulous concert and even better meal in this grand setting. It's a yearly event, costs less than £10 for a very full evening.  They always have a talk about christianity with a performer and this one was shorter than usual and more persuasive but not too heavy if you know what I mean.   The music was very cultured- a bit more sing along would have pleased me more- but a lovely evening and one I shared with John and some new friends

Our short holiday at £19 Travelodge

What a fabulous cheap holiday. We were in a travel lodge but opposite The Grand where we sat for a while

The photo is of John in Whitby.  The ruins of the Abbey are fabulous- if seen from
 a distance
!http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/whitby-abbey/history/

The start of the Spitalfields Festival 2011

And it has been raining nearly all day!!And it's Pentecost

Free Art Gallery visit

This was a Times offer- The Saatchi gallery is free anyway but we were given a glass of champagne and a guided tour in an evening visit.  The guide was inaudible and short like me, so we could not see or hear her. We decided to just wander off and look at the art- much of it very interesting but reminded me of the sort of thing you used to see at fairgrounds or Guinness World of Records shows- or Ripley's 'I don't believe it'.  Most of it wa shocking or sad or puzzling.
The top photo is inspired by Brick Lane!

Another Times offer

This was a freebie and in a lovely comfortable cinema at 10.30 we saw this film- made of amateur footage on July 24th 2010.  I found some of the footage moving of different people all over the world living their lives.  The birth of a giraffe was a highlight for me, but otherwise I found it all less than the sum of its parts.
the background music was lovely though

Quiz League of London Summer Event

The most fun for a quizzing day. In the City of London and some very lively quizzes and a chance to meet lots of different people. The picture shows the great Kevin Ashman on the left and I was on his team twice!  I felt very star struck and found him to be a very gracious person.  Joan, Kiki and Mark were fellow flutterers and I will spare Mark his photo on this posting.  But he scored very highly- it is going to be very exciting waiting for the new season

Late evening in June

The church was brilliantly lit as I walked down Brushfield street last night.  In the same street a van had pulled up and out came maybe ten people-distributing bags of food to the twenty or so people who literally seemed to come out of the shadows of the market. many spoke eastern european languages and all seemed delighted to get the food. It was a very quiet, subdued scene. Very odd this going on in the shadow of Christ Church where a corporate event was going on.  The irony of this is that that years ago Christ Church Spitalfields used to help the destitute and addicted.  Now it is left to others

Mother Teresa SSM

A not very good glimpse of a pretty remarkable woman. Mother Theresa SSM of Walsingham- on her way back from a mass at the village church. The buggy is now vital so that she can leave the priory She remains a source of strength and inspiration to the many people who come to the Shrine. In constant pain herself she continues her ministry

The National Pilgrimage

Robert lives in the village of Walsingham and is an old friend.  he was busy at The National taking pictures and John came in useful to help him with his tripod. The Mass itself was not as well attended as usual - probably the weather forecast and then the numbers joining the Roman church. As usual we stayed at the Anglican shrine- (it was there first and is in the heart of the village) but we wondered how long before this is a footnote in the history of anglo-Catholicism

http://www.walsinghamanglican.org.uk/welcome/the_national_pilgrimage.htm

A brilliant article about Tower Hamlets from Graem Archer

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8543014/The-East-End-villains-who-thrive-behind-a-veil-of-multiculturalism.html

This is a must read- seriously.  Never mind all the lovey dovey stuff that is written about east London.
This is a great place to live but a lot of ugliness beneath the buzz

The Meridian Hotel

. http://www.groupon.co.uk/sites/www.groupon.co.uk/lp/lp/002/index.php?CID=UK_SEM_1_1_0_0&keyw=groupon&matc=e&crea=5696952653&gclid=CNu_voDOiKkCFYFB4QodFGL9iQ  Courtesy of a Groupon voucher we had this champagne tea, with scones, cake, jelly, and sandwiches for £12 each. The setting and service was brilliant- the cakes and scones mean and the sandwiches were stale and filled in the meanest way.

But we enjoyed the occasion and became 'ladies who lunch' for a while.  

The Great Hall and the Guild of St Bartholomew Fair

We went to this great event- fabulous hall and pianists playing - it was a great day. These Fairs are quite historic and were run by the quite posh ladies of the city to help the poor and sick of the hospital. Today many of the ladies who ran the Fair were still the quite refined and good hearted people who ran this event with very good taste.  The stalls were very interesting and we tried hard to buy things that we could give as gifts.  Myself and friends seem to be fighting an endless battle against 'stuff' but it's horrible to be mean at such an event- especially as I have stalls myself

 The painting is of 'The good Samaritan' by Hogarth.  The hospital was founded by the monk Rahere and is one of the first hospitals in the world.  I had my first transplant  here and have been twice in intensive care- it is a wonderful spot in the City and now I am not sick, I love coming here

The Wenlock Arms

The scene of a a triumph by The Flutterers at the quiz held weekly at this very old, traditional pub. 

My first tote bag

 http://www.thecreateplace.co.uk/p=176  

 It's the sort of thing kids make it an infants school.  But I was inordinately proud of this creation. made with the help of Jenny at 'The Create Place'. Its a workshop near York Hall in bethnal Green- runs short courses in crafts- beautifully taught and earnestly taken up by the new East enders- fashionable, affluent and generally friendly- who have displaced quite quickly most of the scowling, pretty depressed locals who used to live around here and would no more have made a hand made card then bought a vegan breakfast and smoothie at the nearby 'Cherry Orchard'- the Buddhist cafe a few yards away. 

The Match Girls of Bow

There was a talk about the girls at The Women's Library.  The photos are of the girls- and some were as young as 12 and the photos is of the factory as it is now - housing mostly the new east enders who work in the offices around Canary Wharf and the City.  In one hundred years this area has changed completely

A quick visit after a long gap to the Tower

It's only £1 for residents of Tower Hamlets so we decided to look in for the morning.  This was one of my first jobs- serving teas here at age 15. It has changed enormously and is now very slick and I think more fun.  Then people used to wander around rather gloomily; Now the Beefeaters give very interesting and fun tours and we know what we are looking at.  I particularly liked the exhibits showing how the animals were housed at the Tower.  John likes the armour -  the photo is of that fitted for Henry 8th.  There is a mock up animation of Henry putting on his suit- including cod piece which attracted the biggest crowds.

The parish church of All Saints

The church is a new one to me- in spite of knowing the area very well.  It is very beautiful and like a Suffolk country church- 15th century.  Not a bit gran, a lovely light coming in and toilets squashed into a corner.  The church is open a great deal and struggles to make much needed repairs.  It is in an unfashionable area and its congregation not rich or famous.  It deserves to have a rich patron to restore the bridal path outside and enrich  this rather drab part of London.

The Vicar showed a small group of us around- rev Stennet Kirby and the ladies of the church were very hospitable.  It was a gorgoeus place to be and made up for the rush back home to see poor Stoke had lost the cup final.  In my mind, Stoke FC is far more beautiful than the vulgar, rich Manchester City.  Like The Parish Church of West ham compared to the big, brash Christ Church Spitalfields.  So much money has been poured into that.. 

Quiz night

The spirit of the Flutterers descended upon the hall of Westminster Cathedral for their rather odd quiz.  We would have won by miles if not for the silly picture round.  We had Ross, Richard and Mark as guests from the QLL and   Kiki rejoined after her spell abroad.  Collette helped our team - she is a regular at the cathedral and will keep us informed of any more quizzes....um...  Our captain Mark came along but I dare not post any more pictures.  As is traditional the chaps decanted to the local pub - it was a shame 'The Cardinal', nearest to the Hall, was closed for refurbishments

NB Highlight of the night was Richard's answer to the question;

In what sport did Scotland win the world champonship in 2004?

The answer was Elephant Polo!

The Bell Ringers

I managed to take this photo of the ringers as they waited on the porch of Christ Church for the wedding to finish. Then the bride will come out and the church bells ring out. I asked how long they ring for- the chap on the left, who comes in from Orpington, said about thirty minutes which sound like very hard work.  I love the sound which deafens the locals and has John either rushing to get up or putting his head under the blankets.  The sound makes me feel happy and as is the church is looking after us and God is lurking in there somewhere and shaking the bells to tell me 'I'm here!'.

The induction of the new priest

Father Christopher Smith became the tenth parish priest of St Alban Holborn- probably the most famous church associated with anglo-catholocism. The service was lavish with wonderful music and a great sermon from Bishop Wheatley. The reception afterwards was less than lavish- I always find the richer the church then the poorer the food.  But all the energies go into the feast of the service.   I tried to capture some of the drama and theatre of the Mass but only dared to record the entry of the Bishop into the main church.

The East End Film Festival

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbFN9txT1AI&feature=player_detailpage

This was part of the festival and all about the jewish east end. the best thing was Vivi Lachs of the Klezmer Club.  I wanted to take a picture or film but left the camera at home so this clip of Vivi singing 'My Whitechapel' will have to do.
The programme went on for over three hours.  It included Bernard Kops- very over rated I think who overplays his hand of coming from poverty- who didn't when you were born in 1926? Then we had the obligatory lecture about Moseley which most of us know off by heart. Why is it we have to sit through lectures when the afternoon was supposed to be entertaining?  If you go to a concert in the west end they do not preface it with a lecture on Wagner and Nazism so why we have to put up with this I have no idea- well I suppose I have but .....
Anyway the Klezmer Club were brilliant and Vivi is a great teacher and speaker!
And I keep forgetting this blog's objective- most of the events are free!  This one even included free tea and pastries

Mary and Brian's garden

The weather was so unseasonably warm. We watched the RoyalWedding and loved the wonderful music.  The anglican wedding service must be the finest ever written.  I so wish I had been able to say those words and even more important- that John had said them to me.  But I know actions speak louder than words.  Mary's garden is a picture and Brian has worked very hard on it.  It has been a superb weekend

the Market in E17

I love Walthamstow now!  Joe and Leila live there and the place makes me think of them now but there was a time I hated it- as soon as the green doors of the Warner estate came into view I would shudder.  Now the connotations are wonderful. I love this market and come here often. It's the real thing, not like poncey Spitalfields- and in my  mind instead of an older woman dragging a trolley I transform into s sturdy russian peasant, shopping for my huge family living in a remote Siberian village!