Art and religion have always been closely linked. Most Renaissance paintings were of religious scenes and many were commissioned by the church, often for church altars. Angels were a common subject for paintings and contemporary artist Celia Kilner has created a set of 60 life-sized paintings of angels based on the works of masters such as Raphael, Fra Angelico, Murillo and Poussin, among others.

And where better to display them than in a church? As part of the Sydenham Arts Festival, St Bartholomew’s Church will be populated with these angels in a contemporary twist on a classical layout.  The festival runs from 29 June to 14 July; on every weekend during this period, there’s an artist’s trail to take in all the local art in Sydenham, including this angelic church.

The artworks are part of a wider programme at the church including craft workshops, theatre performances and lectures about the role of angels in art. Click here for a full list of associated events.

Heavens Above: The Angels Are Coming! is on at St. Bartholomew’s Church, Westwood Hill, SE26 6QR from 22 June to 28 July. Admission is free.

Find out about a trio of South London festivals, including Sydenham, here. 

Could you countenance a world without knowledge? A world where books and recordings have been wiped out? A world where remembering is banned? Hari Kunzru’s new novel does just that, imagining a future London hundreds of years after the world’s information infrastructure has been wiped out by an immense magnetic storm.

Technology and knowledge have been lost, and a dark age prevails. Nature has taken over the ruins of the old city and power has been seized by a group who enforce a life of extreme simplicity on all citizens. Recording, writing, collecting and art are outlawed.

The V&A’s new exhibition, Sky Arts Ignition: Memory Palace transforms Kunzru’s fiction into a walk-in story. Twenty international visual art practitioners have created work responding to passages from the dystopian book, creating a multi-dimensional, immersive experience in which to ponder the significance of memory for civilisation.

So what can you expect? Firstly, architect C.J. Lim has designed the structure of the exhibition, quite literally, as a palace of memories. The central space contains the narrative spine of the story, while a series of individual rooms leading off it visualise the world of the text’s imprisoned protagonist and the memory fragments he cannot let go.

Pieces you’ll encounter on your journey range from a detailed illustration of the prisoner’s cell by Frank Laws, to Tel-Aviv based Oded Ezer, an experimental typographer who has interpreted a series of the character’s misremembered definitions. Drawings by Paris-based illustrator Nemo Tral reflect on growing up in the ruins of the Olympic Park, while large-scale installations by Erik Kessels ruminate on advertising and recycling.

Finally, Irish graphic designer Johnny Kelly takes Memory Palace beyond the museum space, by capturing visitors’ memories and allowing anyone to contribute to a growing Memory Bank.

Which brings us to the question: if you could keep only one memory, what would it be?

Join in the discussion and tell the V&A which memory you would keep via @V_and_A on Twitter using the hashtag #MemoryPalace. 

Sky Arts Ignition: Memory Palace runs from 18 June-20 October 2013 at V&A, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL, in partnership with Sky Arts. Tickets cost £6, please check the website for more details and bookings. 

A Chinese investor has stumped up the cash to build One Nine Elms, a twin-tower development in Vauxhall which, when completed in 2017, will be the UK’s tallest residential skyscraper, swiping the title from its near neighbour, St George’s Tower.

The two towers, the taller of which reaches a height of 200m, are on the site of a pair of unlovely 1970s buildings, and will in total comprise 481 flats. Of those, 51 are earmarked as “affordable”, though it won’t do much to dampen the growing concern that overseas buyers are creating a property bubble and leaving some areas deserted (the recent sale of apartments at Battersea Power Station were snapped up within hours, mostly to foreign investors).

Designed by KPF, who have designed several City ‘scrapers including Heron Tower, the two buildings will also house offices, retail units at ground level and a hotel. There will also be a public plaza between the towers. Expect to see the Pickfords removal vans arriving in 2017 when the building completes, though residents will have to wait until 2020 for a Tube station when the Northern line extension finally arrives.

The development is one of a growing number of new towers dotting the area, which some marketing whizz has snappily branded the Vauxhall, Nine Elms and Battersea Opportunity Area. Handily, there’s an interactive map showing where all the new buildings are going to be, and sketching out the ‘linear park’ that will weave through the area and try to bring some sort of cohesion to what is likely to be a heterodox collection of buildings.

In other residential skyscraper news, over in east London plans for an even larger tower, the 239m Squire & Partners project at Canary Wharf, were dealt a blow by Tower Hamlets this week after a planning application was rejected.

Kicking off the proceedings was an amiable exchange between the mayor and Green Party AM Jenny Jones over Johnson’s recently-announced 2020 Vision for London. Jones highlighted the Zero Hunger City campaign and pointed out that it had been left out of the 2020 document. Perhaps for form’s sake, Boris put up a bit of an argument that ‘it’s just a phrase that was left out’ but agreed to pursue it separately.

The day’s first argument was left to Labour AM Len Duvall who, after pointing out the dramatic rise in use of London’s food banks (400 in 2009/2010 and a staggering 42,000 by April 2013) and a brief spat over whether Ken or Boris has spent more taxpayers’ money on advisors, wanted to know why food poverty wasn’t in the 2020 document. Another spat over Europe followed: why had Johnson’s advisors chosen to brief the Sunday Times on exiting the EU rather than the London Assembly? Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Mayor chose to interpret this as a complaint about procedure. We also got a handy translation of the phrase ‘working time directive’ into French.

Then the action really started. Lib Dem AM Stephen Knight raised concerns over the contentious cuts to fire services in London, using the rather apt example of Clapham nightclub Infernos which could see response times doubled should it be so unfortunate as to live up to its name. The subject clearly exercised the public gallery who responded to the mayor’s assurances that safety is paramount with boos and heckling which led to a mini-rant about the Lib Dems. Jones and Labour AM Navin Shah weighed in on the fire debate and accused Johnson of ‘ducking and diving’ which won a round of applause from the public gallery.

Despite proffering a sarcastic rejoinder to Shah over comparatively fewer cuts in his area of Brent and Harrow, when Labour AM for Hackney, Islington and Waltham Forest Jennette Arnold suggested that Johnson’s home borough would suffer less with the cuts, the mayor took great exception. We think Arnold won that round after she stood up, brandishing a ream of 5,000 petitions against the closures and beat the mayor at his own game of talking over opponents to brand the cuts ‘totally unfair and unacceptable’.

Repeated calls for quiet from chair Darren Johnson didn’t quell the hecklers for long and MQT had to be suspended when campaigners against the closure of Bow and Silvertown fire stations started chanting ‘no ifs, no buts, no fire service cuts’ before staging a walkout. At that point, Johnson adjourned the meeting and we were treated to a kind of City Hall test card for a bit.

On a side note, for anyone who’s ended up with an earworm of the late Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire recently, you could blame a fire engine that’s doing the rounds of central London playing the song through loudspeakers in a bid to win support against the cuts.

Also on the agenda was the GLA Conservatives’ call for a minimum wage holiday for small businesses (which the Mayor wasn’t too keen on); not giving far-right groups needless publicity in the aftermath of Woolwich; and the troublesome issue of the fine line between free speech in the form of protests and public disorder.

You can watch the webcast of MQT here or find out how to go and watch all the action in person here.

Photo by Simon Wicks in the Londonist Flickr pool.

On Solid Ground photographic exhibition opens today at the Courtyard of St Martin in the Fields. Details below.

BLOOD: Today’s opportunities to donate blood are at the Emirates Stadium and Bishopsgate Institute. Free, see site for terms and conditions

PAINTED PARIS: A new summer exhibition at the Wallace Collection focuses on 19th century paintings of Paris. Free, just turn up, until 15 September

SOLID GROUND: International Rescue Committee UK sent seven award-winning photographers to seven communities across the globe and asked refugees of disaster what home means to them. On Solid Ground: building a picture of home tells the stories of those starting afresh, rebuilding homes and embracing new means of survival. At the Courtyard of St Martin in the Fields, Trafalgar Square. Free, just turn up, until 31 July

OPEN CITY DOCS: Check out the brightest and best new documentaries from around the world, and meet their makers at Open City Docs Festival. Check website for full listings, until 23 June

COMMUNITY: The Space Between, a week long photographic exhibition to mark Refugee Week, is accompanied by a series of lunch-time talks by different female refugees who detail their particular experiences as refugees in the UK. Today Cynthia Masiyiwa, an award winning young community leader who fled her native Zimbabwe at 15 years old, discusses education, community work, and her experience as an asylum seeker. Free, RSVP to info.cara@isbu.ac.uk, 1pm

Please contact matt@londonist.com with any suggestions, solutions or contributions for the following sections.

Good Cause of the Day
Two good causes for you:

A night of authentic Arabian live music and bellydance performances takes place tonight at Babble Jar in Stoke Newington, all proceeds going towards Macmillan Cancer Support. £10, prebook, 8pm

A fashion fundraiser at The Fold Showroom in London also takes place tonight, where designer names such as Alexander McQueen, Diane Von Furstenberg and Dolce & Gabbana will be showcasing their exclusive items. The Fold collection will also be on show and available for purchase and all proceeds will go to Dress for Success London — a charity that helps women on low incomes get back to work. £35/£30, prebook, 6.30pm

London Connection Puzzle
Your clue-words so far are WINNIE and GOLDIE. Today’s is GUY. Got the connection yet? Three people have mailed in with the correct solution from just the first two names.

London Weather, by Inclement Atlee
Heavy downpours and thunderstorms are the order of the day. Indeed, this is the perfect weather for any 1980′s period costume enthusiasts who were looking for such an occasion to recreate the climax to Back to the Future. Spare a thought for Londonist editor Matt, who’s supposed to be climbing up Wren’s tallest steeple this afternoon. #idiot

Jete by Enzo Plazzotta, depicting the dancer David Wall

• At a bruising Mayor’s Question Time, Boris Johnson vowed to press ahead with fire station closures.
• Julian Assange really doesn’t want to leave the Ecuadorian embassy.
• A proposed tower at Waterloo has been called in for judicial review.
• Palace vs. Spurs is the opening day London derby as the football fixtures are announced.
• David Wall, former male principle at the Royal Ballet, has died. His statue stands on Millbank.

In spite of predictions to the contrary, the paperless world has yet to be realised. This is nowhere more apparent than the at the Saatchi Gallery’s latest exhibition, Paper, which opens today.

In this exhibition, paper is presented in many forms, from more traditional drawings and collage, to large sculptural forms mimicking poured concrete, a swirling, gyrating conglomeration of paper kites and a suspended, floating cityscape. Paper is a reflection on the world manifested through paper, an everyday object often mindlessly crumpled and discarded.

The highly detailed yet gigantic ink drawings of Dawn Clements open the tour of this paper world, evoking the interiors of rooms complete with packed library bookshelves, armchairs and fireplaces, to a collage of an outdoor terrace and garden. Her work, Untitled (Colour Kitchen) provides a glimpse into an interior of times past with its floral wallpaper, drawings of framed photographs and, incongruously, a nuclear power station, which provides a jarring note in this otherwise tranquil and nostalgic scene.

Paper is politicized, with the typographical explosions of Dominic McGill, whose drawings utilise texts drawn from sources as diverse as Karl Marx and Christian theology. Yuken Teruya’s shadow-box sculptures of trees inside paper shopping bags are a clear illustration of rampant consumerism, yet a consumerism in reverse, with the trees seemingly growing from the paper substance of the bags themselves. Zak Smith’s Girls in the Naked Girl Business: Mandy Morbid (II), with their comic-strip frankness, are intimate portraits of pornographic artists, while Ann Toebe’s two-dimensional room interiors resemble doll’s houses or board games, commenting on gender roles and definitions.

Paper is also surreal and transformative, as in Rebecca Turner’s Dumbstruck, a paper mache boulder seeming to roll up the gallery wall. The Daily Mail is transformed into baroque, funereal flower arrangements by Jodie Carey, and returned to tree form in Miler Lagos’ work, Fragmentos del Tiempo.

The architectural and sculptural properties of paper are also not neglected. Rachel Adam’s series of crumpled paper forms, mounted on marble pedestals, mimic the properties of bronze, stone and poured concrete, and an entire gallery space is overtaken by the vibrant flow of a twisting river of colourful paper kites.

Through this exhibition, paper, a seemingly simple, disposable material, clearly provides a complex, multi-faceted commentary on the world.

Paper runs at the Saatchi Gallery from 18 June to 29 September. Free Admission.

By Sarah Stewart

An international cast of dancers and musicians from the UK, Iran, Italy, Spain and India bring the story of Italian traveller Marco Polo to life in an enchanting dance theatre production with live music at artsdepot this weekend. Along the Silk Road – Marco Polo’s travels through music and dance follows the 13th-century trader, who started his global travels at the age of seventeen, along the 5,000-mile long Silk Road that connected China to Italy and North Africa for over 1,000 years.

Presented by the Toos Foundation,  Along the Silk Road shows Polo narrating his experiences at the court of the Mongol leader Kublai Khan to the writer Rustichello da Pisa while in prison. da Pisa’s biography ‘The Travels of Marco Polo’ introduced readers of the day to the cultures and religions of the East. the story is told through music, dance and texts from places including Persia, Afghanistan, China and India. TV fans might recognise Arabic dancer Julia Naidenko from the third season of  Britain’s Got Talent; other performers include actors Saman Khalaveh as Marco Polo and Darioush Alvand as Rostichello da Pisa, and musicians Andrea Mundy, Nasser Kondazi and Somaye Zadeh.

“We’re really looking forward to performing at artsdepot on Sunday,” says Jamileh Kharrazi, head of the Toos Foundation. “It’s a wonderful venue with great sightlines for the audience and a terrific sound system. There is also a nearby vibrant Iranian community, so we’re actually putting on two shows – one will be in English and the second show will be in Persian so we’re catering for everyone!”

The 5.30pm performance will be in English, and the 7.30pm performance is in Persian; the show is suitable for all ages. Tickets are £20 (£10 concs) and can be booked on  020 8369 5454 or at www.artsdepot.co.uk

One of the capital’s most inventive free festivals begins this weekend with a beached whale, an epic arial disaster movie, and fairs full of fun on both sides of the Thames.

Greenwich and Docklands International Festival is on a mission to rekindle the wonder of Olympic London with an outpouring of free outdoor theatre, dance, circus and arial performance to surprise and amaze.

On opening night — Friday — you can see three of the big shows in quick succession:

• 7.45pm: The Limbless Night, A Tale of Rights Reignighted by Graea at Island Gardens in Tower Hamlets, an immersive theatre experience inspired by Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and featuring arial choreography and performers swaying on poles.
• 9pm: Bad Taste Company’s Faust reimagined in a 1920′s speakeasy at the Royal Naval College.
• 10pm: Wired Arial Theatre’s epic, live arial performance of As The World Tipped – on a big screen suspended in the sky.

Over the whole weekend at either end of the foot tunnel, Greenwich Fair and Island Fair offer a bewildering number of distractions. There’s also stuff happening in Woolwich town centre (see below) and a wind-powered sound installation at the top of Greenwich Park Hill.

Dancing City usually sees Canary Wharf transformed for a Saturday afternoon by outdoor dance events, but this year it’s been extended, with performances throughout next week at lunchtime (so the office workers don’t miss out). The main event takes place on Saturday 29 June, from 1-5pm and features dancers from English National Ballet, a whirling dervish, contemporary from Candoco, duets, street jams and people in the water.

In Woolwich on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 June you can take a High Street Odyssey with Inspector Sands and be at Royal Artillery Square for the festival’s climactic finale: Tangled Feet’s arial spectacular One Million, both days at 10pm.

To get you in the mood for all things strange and wonderful, look out for a whale beaching on the Thames by Cutty Sark on Thursday afternoon.

Greenwich and Docklands International Festival (GDIF 2013) runs 21-29 June. All events are free to attend. Check out the full programme online. 

Alfresco foodie festival Taste of London, now it its 10th year, comes to Regent’s Park tomorrow, running from Thursday 20 June to Sunday 23 June. The much-feted gastronome’s paradise boasts a host of collaborations, demonstrations and, of course, loads of irresistible food.

The Electrolux Taste Theatre is the Mecca of the long weekend, showcasing the vast experience and creativity of renowned chefs from across the globe. In keeping with this year’s theme of ‘collaboration and reunion’, we’ll be seeing a celebration of both old-school and upcoming talent, and international chef pairings.

Topping the ‘must see’ list is ‘In the Kitchen with Three Generations of the Roux Family’ – Albert, Michel (Jr) and his daughter Emily – making their cooking debut as a trio. The wider series will feature Nordic chef Magnus Nilsson from Faviken in Northern Sweden, brothers Chris and Jeff Galvin whipping up some French delights, ZUMA founder Rainer Becker, and Gennaro Contaldo and Antonio Carluccio AKA the ‘Two Greedy Italians’.

The Michelin-starred godfathers of Taste, Gary Rhodes, Michel Roux Jr and Alfred Prasad, who helped launch the event in 2004, will be collaborating on-stage in honour of the 10th anniversary. Other appetite-whetting pairings include Pierre Koffmann and protégé Tom Kitchin, Francesco Mazzei and Alfred Prasad, and an intriguing Franco-Indo combo when Vivek Singh and Eric Chavot combine culinary forces.

Throw into the mix Ashley Palmer-Watts (Dinner by Heston Blumenthal), Raymond Blanc, Eric Lanlard and the Baker Brothers — and too many more to mention – and you’ve got a enough to keep you going till Christmas.

There are plenty of chomping opportunities, from Babbo (Italian), Gordon Ramsey’s Maze (European), Spice Market (Asian fusion), Cinnamon Club (modern Indian) and Roka (Japanese), bringing the fruits of the world to this central London location.

A milestone is worth throwing a party for. So, for the first time, there’s a bandstand with musical entertainment, courtesy of Sadie and the Hotheads and Josh Osho, two name a couple.

Food, music and a chance to learn a thing or two in the kitchen. If the weather holds out, we won’t be standing the heat, we’ll be enjoying it.

Tickets are available to purchase via the website or by calling 0871 230 7132

Standard (entry only) £24.00
Child (entry only) £12.00
Premium (entry + £20 of Crowns) £40.00
VIP (fast track entry + VIP area, glass of champagne & £20 of Crowns) £60.00
Laurent-Perrier Masterclass (VIP benefits plus entry to one LP Masterclass) £80.00 

A showcase of contemporary Italian culture comes to the capital this summer, as The House of Peroni opens its doors in 41 Portland Place on 3 July. The House brings together leading names from Italian design, art, fashion, photography, film, music and food to celebrate the spirit of creativity and you’re invited. But what will you find inside?

Throughout the month, the Michelin-starred Costardi brothers will serve up a bespoke menu allowing diners to taste the evolution of Italian cuisine and renowned mixologist Gerry Calabrese serves up a specially created drinks menu, distilled from the very essence of Peroni Nastro Azzurro. You’ll be able to browse the work of contemporary Italian artists, designers, makers and photographers, all accompanied by bespoke sound creations. 

A Creative Council have curated an exclusive events programme, which includes fine dining experiences, interactive workshops and debates. Take a masterclass in Italian design from kitchen design powerhouse Giovanni Alessi Anghini, discuss the influence of Italy on London’s iconic skyline with architect Andrea Morgante, or get hands-on creating an edible piece of art with Costardi-trained chefs. Writer Colin McDowell talks about the influence of Italian fashion on the Oscars’ red carpet and the current king of Fashion Fringe, Haizhen Wang – whose Italian fabric collection wowed at London Fashion Week – will share some of his innovative techniques in a fashion masterclass session. 

The House of Peroni will take place 3-31 July at 41 Portland Place, London, W1B 1QH. The House is free and open to the public (18+ only), but special events are charged and must be booked in advance. Further details and bookings for all events can be found on the website www.TheHouseofPeroni.com, which along with event information will be updated daily with editorial content. You can also keep up to date on Twitter via @peroniUK and with the hashtag #TheHouseofPeroni. 

At the tail end of World War 2, Hitler unleashed a terrifying new weapon on London and other cities: the V2 rocket. This was the world’s first modern ballistic missile, and the first manmade object to reach the edge of space. Hundreds struck the capital, destroying whole blocks and killing many.

Four years ago, we started a project to map these strikes. The response has been truly tremendous. Readers have supplied many new locations and, most importantly, shared eye-witness accounts. All have been added to the map, which now contains hundreds of personal memories. We even had two long-lost relatives rediscover each other in the comments section.

Google Maps turns out to be an excellent way of documenting this period in the capital’s history. Not only can we pin memories to specific locations, but the satellite view readily shows how many of the strike locations still bear visible craters or mismatched housing.

The map has just been updated to include the past year’s worth of reader memories. We’ve also added the locations of every strike in the former borough of West Ham, using an official war map kindly provided by reader Andy Halford. The project is still a work in progress, however, and we still have something like 100 locations to track down. If you have any information or memories you wish to share, either add them as comments to the original article, or email matt@londonist.com

Author appearances, poetry and spoken word events in London this week

Thursday 20 June: Actual Jesse Armstrong of actual Peep Show is the headliner at Invisible Dot’s Stories spoken word night, along with Tim Clare, Jessie Cave and Adrian Crowley (7.45pm, £8).

Grab the remaining tickets for this fundraiser for Josie Long’s Arts Emergency Service with comedians and writers like Joe Dunthorne, Kate Tempest and Tim Key, at Hackney Empire (8pm, £20 / £10).

Hadley Freeman’s talking about Be Awesome at Foyles (6.30pm, £5).

How can we resist an event whose blurb quotes us? Mark Mason and Andrew Martin talk about their tube-related books at Belgravia Books (6.30pm, free).

Luke Wright and GREEdS are the invited poets for Bang Said the Gun at The Roebuck (8pm, £7 / £5).

Litro brings Polish writers and musicians to The Betjemen Arms in St Pancras (6pm, free).

Readers from South Bank Poetry’s new London and Urban Ireland issue include Benedict Newbery, Richard Purnell, Jasmine Ann Cooray and Joe Duggan, at the Poetry Cafe (8pm, £5.50 / £4.50).

Crime writers Christina James, Laura Ellen Joyce and Matthew Pritchard read from and talk about their books at Waterstones Gower Street (6.30pm, £5 / £3).

Friday 21 June: Brent’s poet laureate Simon Mole and guests Inua Ellams, John Agard and Warsan Shire perform at Brent Civic Centre for Wembley Wordfest (7pm, free but book ahead).

Jeffrey Deaver is signing copies of his latest Lincoln Rhyme thriller at Waterstones Leadenhall Market from 12.30pm, and later talking about the book at Waterstones Piccadilly (7pm, £5 / £3).

Farrago‘s summer solstice SLAM features Anna Chen, Greta Bellamacina, Anna Kahn, Sean Wai Keung, Dudley Sutton, Oli Forsyth and Matthew Cuban, at the RADA Foyer Bar (7.30pm, £6 / £5).

Saturday 22 June: There’s an embarrassment of literary riches down Charing Cross Road for its eponymous festival, all for free: try Laura Dockrill at 11.30am, Horrible Histories author Terry Deary at 2pm, Jazzman John Clarke at 4pm; or if you want just one recommendation you absolutely have to see Evie Wyld and Liars’ League at Foyles (4.30pm).

Proms at St Jude’s festival’s literary programme today features Tim Smit (11am), Susan Greenfield and Alok Jha (2pm), Kate Atkinson and Erica Wagner (4pm) and Michael Holroyd and Sue MacGregor (5.30pm). All tickets £8.50.

Sunday 23 June: Back in Charing Cross Road, hear Jane Peyton on Brilliant Britain (2pm) and a feminism debate at Blackwell’s (1pm).

In Hampstead Garden Suburb for Proms at St Jude’s, Antonio Carluccio talks to Giles Coren (12.30pm), Sandra Howard to Penny Smith (2pm), Simon Garfield on maps or fonts or both (3.30pm) and Edward Stourton rounds things up with Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner (5pm). Tickets £8.50.

Learn not to judge a book by its cover at Feed & Read at Bearspace Gallery, while stuffing yourself with cake (12-4pm, free).

Monday 24 June: Robert Twigger is your source (BOOM!) for all things Nile at Daunt Books in Marylebone (7pm, £8).

Daunt Books has also sorted out this event with Gillian Tindall unpicking the lives of three houses, including a London Jacobean one, at St Peter’s Church in Belsize Square (7pm, £5).

Help Foyles plan their new Charing Cross Road store (6.30pm, free but book ahead).

Acclaimed Persian poets Azita Ghahreman (translated by Maura Dooley), Reza Mohammadi (translated by Nick Laird) and Shakila Azizzada (translated by Mimi Khalvati, who can’t be at the event but Sarah Maguire will ably take her place) will read alongside their UK poet-translators at Foyles (7pm, free but book ahead).

Wendy Shutler has songs for the summer solstice at the Poetry Cafe (8pm, £5 / £4).

Tuesday 25 June: Katerina Cosgrove launches her novel Bone Ash Sky at Belgravia Books (6.30pm, free).

Glen Peters launches Lucknow Ransom at Asia House; there’ll be curry involved (6.30pm, free).

Niall O’Sullivan hosts the weekly open mic night at the Poetry Cafe (7.30pm, £5 / £4).

Wednesday 26 June: Sarah Pinborough and Alison Littlewood are guests at the Big Green Bookshop‘s Bookswap at the Great Northern Railway Tavern (7.30pm, £5).

William Dalrymple talks about Return of a King, his account of the First Afghan War, at the Bloomsbury Institute (6pm, £30 with book, £10 ticket only).

GREEdS hosts Jawdance at Rich Mix, plus Dominique Chestand, Paloma Heindorff, and Scratchcard & Readymeal (7.30pm, free).

Book ahead: Superb Scandicrime novelist Henning Mankell talks to Mark Lawson about his work at the London Review Bookshop on 28 June (7pm, £7).

Follow @LondonistLit for our pick of that day’s literary events.

Imagine a building in London almost twice the height of the Shard. Imagine it had towered over the capital for more than a century. Instead of lifts, a steam train spirals round the outside. Somewhere in a parallel universe, such a wonder now stands in place of Wembley Stadium.

Towards the close of the 19th century, rail magnate Sir Edward Watkin was intent on all manner of ambitious schemes, including a tunnel under the Channel (it’ll never work). He also dreamt of a gigantic tower, to rival the wonder of Paris and draw tourists to his rail network. Gustave Eiffel was himself unsuccessfully approached to design the behemoth, before the commission was eventually opened out to competition. Some of the entries are presented above.

The winning design, by Stewart, MacLaren and Dunn, was a slender version of the Eiffel Tower, but with eight legs and a height of 366 metres (beating Paris by 42m). It was indeed partly constructed, and photographs exist. But lack of funding stalled the project. The abandoned structure was eventually demolished in 1907, and later replaced as local focus by Wembley Stadium. The deleted tower is now usually known as ‘Watkin’s Folly’, and we featured it in a recent Time Travel London article.

Thanks to the wonderful Public Domain Review, it’s possible to pore over the various alternative proposals, and dream about what might have been at Wembley. Many are rip-offs of the Eiffel Tower, but others are truly novel. In nearly every case, the design would have resulted in by far the tallest structure in the world. One or two would still make it into the top 5.

Flick through the gallery above to see some of the more outre suggestions, or check through the Public Domain Review scans to see all 68 of them, with accompanying notes. The campaign starts here for a steam-powered funicular up the side of the Shard.

See also:

Unbuilt London: Tall Towers and Strange Skyscrapers

But the capital has many other chromatic associations. To capture a few, and to jump on the back of a meme bandwagon, we’ve put together this don’t-cut-out-and-keep colour chart, to help you spot those subtle London hues and shades.

]]> Back in 2006, we mused on what colour best represents London. Our choice back then was purple, subsequently confirmed by the London Olympics team who selected fetching shades of mauve for the signage and uniforms.

But the capital has many other chromatic associations. To capture a few, and to jump on the back of a meme bandwagon, we’ve put together this don’t-cut-out-and-keep colour chart, to help you spot those subtle London hues and shades.

]]> http://londonist.com/2013/06/a-colour-chart-for-london.php/feed 2 http://londonist.com/2013/06/a-colour-chart-for-london.php http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/londonist/sBMe/~3/ni2f2IfAvb0/sculpture-in-the-city-2013.php http://londonist.com/2013/06/sculpture-in-the-city-2013.php#comments Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:30:19 +0000 Jose Farinha http://londonist.com/?p=293991

While you’re busy ogling the topped-out Cheesegrater building, a sculpture park is being readied at its base. From tomorrow (20 June), all will be in place, and you can wander among works by Antony Gormley, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Richard Wentworth and others. All of the works are positioned with some element of site-specificness (if you’ll allow such a word). For example, Robert Indiana’s famous ‘Love’ sculpture adorns the corner of 99 Bishopsgate, on the site of the 1993 IRA bomb. What to make of the positioning of the Chapman brothers’ three dinosaurs, dubbed ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ — which lurk in the shadows of the Gherkin, Aviva Tower and Cheesegrater — we’ll leave to your imagination.

Sculpture in the City, now in its third year, is backed by the City of London and businesses in the area. The current crop will remain in situ until May 2014.

Words by M@, Images by José Farinha.

Yamaha DTX400 Electronic Drum Kit

To celebrate Silent June Yamaha Music London – Chappell’s are giving away one Yamaha DTX400 silent electronic drum kit to a lucky Londonist reader.

If you’ve always wanted a drum kit at home but are loathe to disturb your neighbours or immediate family and friends, here is an opportunity to unleash your inner Animal!

Drop by Yamaha Music London – Chappell’s on Wardour Street this Saturday and you can marvel at a whole range of silent instruments in action as the Street-Nelms Jazz Quintet and the Abraxas classical ensemble play simultaneous sessions in the same room silently, on the hour, every hour, from 12-4pm.

On the ground floor, Yamaha Electronic Drum expert Mikey Sorbello will be showcasing the latest DTX Electronic & Silent drum kit throughout the day so hang around and have a go.

To be in with a chance of winning the drum kit, simply enter your name and email address in the form below and hit submit.

We’ll pick a winner at random after 5pm on Tuesday 2 July. Terms and conditions at the bottom of this post. Good luck!

Earlier this year Yamaha silent instruments were awarded the coveted and highly prestigious Quiet Mark, the international mark of approval from the Noise Abatement Society for quiet design technology. This award covers Yamaha silent pianos, DTX electronic drums, silentstrings, brass and guitars. The Yamaha Quiet Mark award followed extensive testing and assessment of the silent range by a team of leading UK acousticians.

Silent Saturday takes place at Yamaha Music London – Chappell’s at 152-160 Wardour Street between 12-4pm. Free entry, just drop in.

T&Cs: Entrants must be aged 16 or over. Entry is restricted to one entry per person; duplicate entries will be removed.

The prize will consist of a Yamaha DTX400 Digital Drum Kit which will be delivered free of charge to an address within the Greater London area. The prize will be delivered boxed and setup is the responsibility of the prize-winner. No alternative prizes will be offered. Delivery to an address outside the Greater London area will incur a charge payable by the prize-winner to Yamaha Music London – Chappell.

A few days ago the Cheesegrater, aka the Leadenhall Building, reached its maximum height. Yesterday we were invited to take a tour around the building.

Though it won’t open until the latter stages of 2014, the 225m skyscraper, the tallest in the Square Mile (discounting the Heron Tower’s spire) is already a dominant profile on the skyline. While it’s easy to dismiss the Cheesegrater’s distinctive, tapering form as yet another exercise in architectural gimmickry, there’s a strong rationale behind it: to protect the views of St Paul’s Cathedral from Fleet Street. To this writer’s eye the building’s profile, and the combination of bold criss-cross steel lattice with the skeletal yellow ‘mega frame’ that rests behind it and the exposed bits of infrastructure that has long been Rogers’ stock in trade, has resulted in one of the most graceful skyscrapers in recent years.

It’s sited at an increasingly busy section of the Square Mile, with several much-loved buildings close by, not least the Lloyds Building across Leadenhall Street, also designed by Richard Rogers’ firm some 30 years ago; the same principle architect, Graham Stirk, was the lead for both. That sense of being in a classy neighbourhood is amplified at our first stop on the 31st floor, which we ascend to via a rickety ride in the hoist. The Gherkin looks close enough to taste, and the Lloyds atrium is some way below us, while the workmen building the sky garden at nearby 20 Fenchurch Street can be seen.

Another ride up to the 46th floor and suddenly we’re clear of almost every other building. Disconcertingly, we’re at the same level as a helicopter that appears to be circling the Shard. The views of London are incredible, although an understandably wary security guard keeps us from getting too close to the edge for those vertiginous downward-looking shots.

Nestled within the few streets that house London’s insurance firms, the Leadenhall Building has fared well in pre-lets: 51% has already been snapped up, most of it by Aon (best known to Brits as Manchester United’s shirt sponsor), who are relocating their global HQ from Chicago, and by underwriting firm Amlin.

While the inhabitants may be of little interest to most Londoners, and the views we saw are unattainable to anyone not plying the insurance trade, the Cheesegrater does have one significant concession: the ground floor will consist of a capacious seven-storey atrium, open to the public although actually managed as yet another of London’s multiplying privately owned ‘public’ spaces. Will it be enough for the ‘scraper naysayers?

Here’s a time-lapse video showing the construction of the tower. For further, and much better, analysis, read Olly Wainwright’s excellent piece in the Guardian.

Many thanks to Ben Craig of FTI Consulting for arranging the visit.

See also:

Walkie Talkie: A visit to 20 Fenchurch Street

The Cheesegrater and Walkie-Talkie seen from around London

London Bridge, in Arizona. Image by Travis Elborough, details of his talk on the subject below.

BLOOD: Today’s opportunity to donate blood is at Islington Town Hall. Free, see site for terms and conditions

SUMMER GARDEN: Making sure that Pimm’s O’Clock keeps ticking over, the indoor Pimm’s Summer Garden opens its doors today. Reserve a blanket, try your hand at cucumber whittling or challenge your friends to a round of Pimmbledon. Entrance is free but blanket reservations cost £20 (including a can of Pimm’s, a picnic hamper and a takeaway blanket), reserve a blanket via pimmsblanket@grayling.com, until 29 June

TIMEWAVE: Fusing technology with theatre, Timewave Festival puts on various plays that push the boundaries of storytelling. Festival pass £35, single tickets £10, concessions £8 (all +bkg fee), prebook, until 23 June

LONDON WELLBEING: It is London Creativity and Wellbeing Week and a range of events are happening for anyone with an interest in the arts, health and wellbeing. Today there is a lunchtime concert, art exhibitions and meditation, yoga and portrait photography workshops. See website for full listings, until 22 June

LONDON BRIDGE IN AMERICA: The story of London Bridge being uprooted and moved to Arizona is a bizarre one. Tonight at the British Library author Travis Elborough speaks about his book on the subject and tells the tale of this extraordinary event. Free, prebook, 12.30pm

ASYLUM: The Space Between, a week long photographic exhibition to mark Refugee Week, is accompanied by a series of lunch-time talks by different female refugees detailing their particular experiences as refugees in the UK. Today, Prossy Kakooza, a Ugandan activist and LGBT campaigner, talks about her work to educate people on the plight of LGBT refugees. Free, RSVP to info.cara@isbu.ac.uk, 1pm

RACE RELATIONS: In the 20th anniversary year of the murder of Stephen Lawrence, the Royal Society of Medicine hosts an evening’s discussion on race relations in the UK. Speakers include Doreen Lawrence and the BBC’s Razia Iqbal. Free, prebook, 6pm

FOLK TALES: Discover utopian visions found in folk tales down the ages, at Housmans. £3, just turn up, 7pm

CRIMINAL LONDON: Kris Hollington and Nina Hollington take you on a tour of criminal London from the safety of Woolfson & Tay. We raved about their recent book, and can highly recommend popping along to this. Free, prebook, 7pm

COMEDY: Our Joel nearly had an aneurysm after seeing Max and Ivan last year, they were that good. Find out what’s in store this year at the Pleasance. £5, prebook, 8pm

GIG: The Gloaming are a group of musicians who joined together to blend the rich Irish folk tradition with the New York contemporary art scene. The result is a unique live music experience that is at once innovative and traditional, and tonight they perform at the Barbican Centre. £20, prebook, 8pm

Photo: London Reigning by Alberto D Prieto in the Londonist Flickr pool.

• Two people die in a house fire in Plumstead.
• Charles Saatchi gets a caution for assault.
• Emeli Sande and Ed Sheeran to headline the charity concert marking 20 years since Stephen Lawrence’s death.
• Raiders take axe to Regent Street Apple Store.
• Planning a wedding ceremony? Take it up the ArcelorMittal Orbit on the Olympic Park.
• Jean Genie lyrics up for auction in London. Or get the budget version by listening to the song and noting the lyrics down with the assistance of a pen.
• Is this Sydenham tandoori really the best takeaway in Britain?
• A neat website rounding up vanished buildings of London.
• UCL’s got its own Boxpark shop, with alternative tube maps and other graphic stuff.
• London’s top 10 shit tattoos, including a 20-year-old with a tat of Boris Johnson’s face on his thigh. What a champion.

Kiss Me First by Lottie Moggach

Lottie Moggach’s first novel is an intense one. Tess wants to kill herself, but doesn’t want to cause her friends and family much suffering. Leila is her way out: she will take over Tess’s online life once Tess “checks out”, answering her emails, updating her social media profiles, gradually distancing Tess from everyone she knows until she just fades away. At least, that was the plan.

It’s a fascinating notion and one that nudges up against something we’re all going to have to deal with at some point. When we die, what happens to our online selves? Are our online selves really us, anyway? Throw in a shadowy internet entrepreneur and the semi-comedic, semi-tragic Leila, who is good with computers but has precious little idea how the real world works, and it becomes a clever concept with a truly human side.

There’s also a hilarious (and perhaps cautionary) thread running through the book about the way Leila knows every minute detail of the Canadian island she sends ‘Tess’ to live on but has no clue what’s around the corner from her Rotherhithe flat. And make sure you watch the clever immersive trailer that’s not a little creepy. Out 4 July

Ten Things I’ve Learnt About Love by Sarah Butler

This book has been out for several months, but the fabric of London is so integral to the story we had to include it. Alice has come back to her father’s Hampstead bedside for his final days; elsewhere, a man called Daniel wanders the city’s streets searching for someone – searching for Alice.

This is a nicely paced tale of how lives get broken and partially mended. It’s not one for fans of gripping plot twists, more of a delicate burrowing into the deep dark places that we keep inside. There are some patches of highly literary description to accompany Daniel’s synaesthesia and compulsive collecting which can start to grate if you’re not in the right frame of mind (we recommend: sofa, no distractions) but generally the words melt in your mouth. Out now

Invitation to Die by Helen Smith

The first two Emily Castles mysteries (Showstoppers and Three Sisters) were novellas; Invitation to Die is Emily’s first full-length outing. The 26 year old is offered a couple of days work helping out at a romance writers’ conference at the ‘Coram Hotel’ in Bloomsbury but one of the invited bloggers – yep, the internet plays a starring role in this book, too – is swiftly offed and the whole event is tipped upside down.

It’s a fun, easy read with larger than life characters to giggle at (fans of fluffy romance novels may not take kindly to the knowing, raised eyebrow portrayal of their favourite genre. The rest of us can just enjoy it). Currently less than £3.50 on Kindle, this is an excellent read to race through on the way to work. Hotel staff may beg to differ. Out now

Elijah’s Mermaid by Essie Fox

While the three others novels in this roundup deal with contemporary London, Essie Fox’s latest is firmly planted in the Victorian capital. Orphaned siblings Elijah and Lily Lamb are rescued from Coram’s Foundling Hospital, and raised in luxury by a famous author. Meanwhile, a third child, Pearl, is plucked from the Thames, to grow up in a Chelsea brothel. Worlds collide when Pearl and Elijah are brought together, as muse and assistant, by sinister painter Osborne Black. The plot is full of double-turns, vile characters and abusive relationships, like a hardcore Wilkie Collins. But Fox also writes with a pen of Mesmer, and this poisoned tale of hidden identity and bleak fates rattles along like a freshly oiled Hansom. Informative appendices provide notes on the real-world inspirations behind the characters and locations. Those intrigued by the life and work of Richard Dadd will be particularly gratified.

You can buy these books from Amazon or how about paying your local bookshop a visit?

Read more London book reviews.

Images above from Curious 2012.

Tiptoe through one of London’s most picturesque cemeteries, looking out for works of art. From this weekend the Curious art trail can be explored in West Norwood Cemetery. 21 artists will position site-responsive works around the burial ground, one of London’s ‘Magnificent Seven’. The installations use various media, including ceramics, sound, textiles, photography and even poetry, and are curated by Jane Millar. To give you a flavour, we’ve appended a few shots from last year’s trail, which included a bus stop in the middle of a plot, a coffin-shaped rocking horse and ghostly outlines of graves. What sepulchral curiosities can we expect this year? We’re dying to find out. 

The trail opens this Saturday (22 June) and will remain in place until 28 July, and watch out for events on 6, 7 and 21 July, and the private view (all welcome) on 21 June, 6-9pm. Entrance is free.

This summer three festivals will grace the streets of South London within three weeks of one another. What’s more, they’re mostly free.

Treat yourself to a healthy dose of community spirit with four days of performing arts, live music, art and craft, and family fun at Crystal Palace Overground Festival (27-30 June). Venues across the area open their doors for activities including comedy nights, salsa, bingo, dances, food festivals and even a Pirate Party. Come Saturday 29 June, a live music stage will set up in Westow Park alongside a food tasting tent, holistic zone, sporty area and storytelling tent.

Those wanting to find out more about Crystal Palace can explore it through the eyes of its residents as locally sourced photography, arts and words related to the area will be placed in various sites throughout the festival.

Sydenham Arts Festival (SAF) is two whole weeks of musical, literary, family, comedy, film-y goodness. Over 90 events will take place between 29 June and 14 July. Arts in the Park kicks things off on 30 June, a free event showcasing young talent from the area. Other highlights include the annual SAF Street Celebration, where the world comes to Sydenham High Street, free Arts Workshops (VFX filmmaking, Taiko drumming, playwriting and salsa dancing all on offer), and a Wacky-Races-inspired competition complete with old-fashioned jalopies.

Chronologically last but by no means least is Streatham Festival (11-14 July), which celebrates the area’s rich heritage of architecture, arts, people and culture (ya boo sucks to you, Jo Brand). Craft workshops, film screenings and live art installations are all on the cards, but Streatham UnCommon on Saturday 13 July is the festival’s flagship event, with a dancehall-era dance show, community tea dance, an aerial theatre show, activity trails, and a carnival parade along the adjacent streets.

This week, TimeWave Festival fuses theatre and technology, exploring the theme of transformation.

Performances in London will include interactions with artists and audiences from all over the world, pushing the boundaries of storytelling by mixing live performance, telepresence and social media.

New plays by Neil LaBute, Gary Duggan, Jonathan Lewis and many others sit alongside an improvised black comedy, a mirror poem, multimedia dance, film and a roving spy caper around New York and London. Makers have been encouraged to experiment with technology in their work, so expect to see robotics, motion capture data, live video editing and 3-D projection mapping.

TimeWave takes place at digital hub Innovation Warehouse in an old Smithfield Market building over five days, with daily two-hour events populated by a wave of short pieces from playwrights and new-media creators. Some of the action takes place live in London, some is streamed from countries all over the world. Some requires audience interaction to make it happen. Everything will be available to watch online as it happens.

On Saturday 22 June, a panel will discuss how new technology is impacting on creativity, communication and identity, and several after-show soirees and a picnic give artists and audience members an opportunity to mingle in real life.

TimeWave Festival runs Wednesday 19 to Sunday 23 June at Innovation Warehouse, 1 East Poultry Avenue, EC1A 9PT. Check out the full schedule online.

Tickets: Festival pass £35, single tickets £10, concessions £8 (all +bkg fee).

Over the past year, Londonist video maker Geoff Marshall and developer Matthew Frost have been quietly working away on a rather special project. Their Station Master app is already one of the best guides for getting around the capital, drilling down to such detail that it even tells you which train doors to use for the quickest interchange at any tube station. But it’s just been updated with a unique feature: three-dimensional maps of the tunnels, escalators, tracks, exits, lifts and concourses of every Zone 1 station, and some beyond.

The plans are not only fascinating in their own right, but also a helpful means to finding underground shortcuts, or a cunning lift or stairwell that can get you to the concourse quicker than the escalators. The maps are particularly helpful for those with special accessibility needs — you can check in advance which routes through the station have fewest steps, or where the lifts are.

Station Master takes tube geekery to a new level, maps that level, and shows you where the exits are.

Available now for Apple devices for just £1.99. Go get it now.

Note: all station maps are available in high resolution within the app, higher than shown here.

Londonist videos by Geoff Marshall

• Secrets of the Northern Line
• Secrets of the Victoria Line
• Secrets of the District Line
• LEGO tube maps unveiled

It’s a symptom of how long we spend online that when we first saw Open City Docs advertised, we assumed it was some kind of event for people who use cloud-based word-processing software. But no. This four day festival, mostly in Bloomsbury, is a chance to check out the brightest and best new documentaries from around the world, and meet their makers.

But this is no mere screening of documentaries. The emphasis is on interaction, learning and chatting, and most events having some ‘live’ component. For instance, the screening of Lost Rivers on 21 June (which features London’s buried River Tyburn) also includes a panel discussion with the director, a representative of the environment agency, an urban explorer and Secret London’s Kieran Meeke. Or take a walking tour of the city where you’ll see films projected onto walls. (Just to parochially pick two London-themed events from an otherwise very international selection.)

Do hunt around on the site. We almost missed large chunks of the 105-event programme, at first not spotting the ‘strands’ menu bar on the front page. Here’s a list of everything happening, on one page.

Open City Docs runs 20-23 June, mostly at Bloomsbury Theatre, at varying ticket price. 

Rather than focus on thematically linked artists or a particular art movement, the Dulwich Picture Gallery’s latest exhibition explores a set time and place — specifically the Slade School of Art in London between 1908 and 1922. All seven artists featured here studied together yet had contrasting styles. Placing varied works together is often a risky approach but in this exhibition it never gets too jarring.

These artists were clearly influenced by the art movements occurring around them, such as Post-Impressionism, the Pre-Raphaelites and Futurism. But despite the change in what constitutes popular art, this exhibition is about how each of them evolved as an artist — in particular how their work changed in the face of World War I.

We start off with the artists’ early works. It’s evident that the ones to watch are Christopher Nevinson for his angular self-portrait and Paul Nash for his William Blake-esque human-eagle hybrid attacking an angel. The others appear less confident in their experimentation and it’s only Stanley Spencer who would later come into his own, as witnessed in his ghostly ‘Christ carrying the cross’.

As the artists were embroiled in the Great War, many reluctantly, the horrors they witnessed caused their work to change tack. Gone were the rural idylls and in came the rubble-strewn battlefield captured by Nash. However, the most emotionally charged war piece is Nevinson’s ‘La Patrie’, depicting injured soldiers writhing in pain in a dark field hospital.

The exhibition closes by informing us that only Spencer gained full recognition for his talents while he was alive, and that many of the other artists remained marginalised. The quality of the works varies throughout the exhibition, with only Nash and Nevinson truly shining, but it’s an interesting journey of seven artists and how their fortunes ebbed and flowed in a world in artistic and political flux.

Nash, Nevinson, Spencer, Gerlter, Carrington, Bomberg: A Crisis of Brilliance, 1908-1922 is on at Dulwich Picture Gallery, Gallery Road, SE21 7AD until 22 September. Tickets are £11 and includes admission to the permanent collection, concessions available. 

Sky Arts Ignition: Memory Palace at V&A. Untitled, 2013 ©Henning Wagenbreth

BLOOD: Today’s opportunity to donate blood is at Friends House in Euston. Free, see site for terms and conditions

MEMORY PALACE: If you could keep only one memory what would it be? The V&A presents Sky Arts Ignition: Memory Palace this summer, a walk-in story that brings to life a dramatic look at the future as penned by the author Hari Kunzru. £6, prebook, until 20 October

CONCERT: A lunchtime concert at Heath Street Baptist Church in Hampstead takes place today. Featuring duo works by Haydn, Martinu and Arensky, it is a peaceful and informal way to spend your lunchtime. Free, just turn up, from 12.45pm

REFUGEE: The Space Between, a week long photographic exhibition to mark Refugee Week, is accompanied by a series of lunch-time talks by different female refugees detailing their particular experiences as refugees in the UK. Today is Female and Foreign: Experiences of Being a Refugee Woman, by Marjorie Nshemere Ojule. Free, RSVP to info.cara@isbu.ac.uk, 1pm

DISEASE OUTBREAKS: Carole Reeves is at Museum of London to discuss how modern science is revealing new insights into historic disease outbreaks such as plague and marsh fever. Free, just turn up, 1.15pm

DISSECTION AND MAGIC: A lecture from The Last Tuesday Society examines images of human corpses in Early Modern European art in relation to two specific themes: the practice of ‘witchcraft’ or ‘magic’, and the emergent medical profession. £7, prebook, 7pm

SEA STORIES: Join Passengerfilms for an evening of film and discussion devoted to exploring the question: is it possible to tell a narrative about the ocean, or is a ‘sea story’ about seeing something else? Go along and you might find out. £5, just turn up, 7.30pm

MEMOIR: Meet Nick Coleman, author of music and hearing loss memoir The Train in the Night, at West End Lane Books. Free, prebook, 7.30pm

BRIGHT CLUB: The thinking person’s variety show, Bright Club, focuses on all things broken tonight. £5, prebook, 7.30pm

COMEDY: One of our favourite sketch groups, Sheeps, are at the Invisible Dot with an Edinburgh preview. £6, prebook, 7.45pm

THEATRE: Laura Simms tells fantastic tales of South Africa, the Caucasus and New York City at the Soho Theatre. £9/£7, prebook, 8pm

TFL: A new six-part documentary series about how Transport for London keeps London’s roads moving begins tonight on BBC Two at 9pm

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READER OFFER: Get special £10 tickets for tonight’s performance of Address Unknown, “a timeless tale of friendship and betrayal” at Soho Theatre (full price £17.50). Use promo code LONDONISTAU online or call the box office on 020 7478 0100. Subject to availability. Starts 8.30pm

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Please contact matt@londonist.com with any suggestions, solutions or contributions for the following sections.

Good Cause of the Day
Two fantastic charity events which you can sign up to take part in today:

Join in a sponsored walk through the streets of London in aid of Action for Children, a charity committed to making a real difference to the lives of vulnerable children, young people and families. On 6 July you can spend a summer’s day exploring the city on this five mile self-guided London walk. The route will take you past London landmarks such as Buckingham Palace and St Paul’s Cathedral, there will be clues and riddles to solve along the way, and all walkers will receive an Action for Children goody bag. £5 to register and £50 minimum sponsorship, email Beth.Simons@actionforchildren.org.uk to register, Saturday 6 July at 10.30am

Or you could help raise money for the NSPCC this weekend by becoming a ‘Gherkineer’ and racing up the 38 floors to the top of the Gherkin. Once there, make the most of a rare opportunity to enjoy stunning panoramic views from the building’s exclusive 40/30 bar, normally only accessible to private members. For anyone who doesn’t fancy running up the 38 floors to the top, there is the option to purchase a Prestige Lift Pass for £75 which will give you the chance to enjoy the views from the top without the aching thighs. £20 registration fee, Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 June (registration closes 20 June)

London Connection Puzzle
Each day this week, we’ll give you one new word, until on Friday you have four. All you have to do is work out the London connection. Today’s word is: WINNIE

The first person to spot the connection between the words (and email matt@londonist.com) wins, and gets to set next week’s puzzle. This week’s was set by Neil Paterson, last week’s winner.

London Weather, by Inclement Atlee
It’s going to remain cloudy throughout the day, more’s the pity. Nevertheless, the temperature will climb to brilliant shades of orange. In fact, so cantaloupean is the temperature that we’ve added an extra row to the BBC’s weather report, showing the Dickinson-Kilroy scale of orangeness.

• Pavement explosions are on the increase in London.
• Ofcom is investigating the broadcasting of footage from the scene of Lee Rigby’s murder.
• Charles Saatchi photographed with his hand around Nigella Lawson’s throat. Scotland Yard are carrying out preliminary enquiries.
• Mayor’s takeover of Southeastern rail is stopped in its tracks, as we predicted.
• US spooks tapped into the Russian President’s communications while he was in London in 2009. British spies were in on it too.
• Think Tank suggests closing six London prisons in favour of ‘super-jails’.
• Inner London’s largest mansion will come onto the market next year. It’s so large, it has seven separate addresses. Yours for £200 million.
• Yoga for dogs.
• Than and now photos of Spitalfields.
• Did you know that Ruislip has its own private railway, (probably) London’s biggest sandy beach, and the largest block of ancient woodland in Greater London? 

Image: new street art on Grimsby Street, Brick Lane by Eoin, courtesy of Global Street Art.

The Royal Borough of Greenwich certainly hasn’t been shy when it comes to naming streets after notable residents of the past few centuries. Here we take a look at a few of the people so honoured, plus a few interlopers who don’t seem to have a local connection but have still found their way onto the borough’s streets. Many you won’t have heard of, and a couple you probably will have (if you know your Greenwich). We’ve skipped royalty and high nobility because, well, they’re frankly a bit dull.

Given that Greenwich returned three Labour MPs at the last election, and has voted in a Conservative majority council just once since the Second World War (in 1968), it’s no surprise to see a few politicians of the red hue honoured around the borough. Bill Hamling Close and and Guy Barnett Grove are both named for post-war Labour MPs, while local Labour councillor William Barefoot is remembered for his improvements to Woolwich’s park and gardens. Socialism gets a further nod with streets named after Will Crooks and Edith Nesbit, notable members of the Fabian Society in their time.

Talking of left-wingers, Sam Bartram wasn’t one but a player as loyal to Charlton Athletic as this unusually diminutive goalkeeper (just 5 foot 10) would no doubt have filled in on the flank if asked. Bartram made well over 500 appearances for the Addicks either side of the Second World War, and although he never earned a full England cap he should have, in the mind of every Charlton fan you will ever meet. He has his own Close in the borough, and a statue at The Valley that is taller than the man himself.

Another sportsman is honoured, with Tom Cribb Road at the former Royal Arsenal. One of the most famous bare-knuckle boxers of the sport’s golden age, Cribb fought 11 impossibly tough fights and ended his career undefeated. He is remembered mostly for his fights against the American former slave Tom Molineaux, one of which Cribb won in 34 gruelling rounds. His second fight against Molineaux in 1811 drew 25,000 spectators, and Cribb’s victory ensured his status as the great celebrity of his time. You’ll also find a pub named after him near Haymarket in the West End.

Equality and family issues have been an important concern for Greenwich. Both Leila Parnell and Maud Cashmore are remembered for their efforts in setting up hospitals for women and children in the area, while Mary Lawrenson Place is named for the founder of the Co-operative Women’s Guild in Woolwich in 1883. Edith Cavell Way, half way up Shooters Hill on an old hospital site, is named for one of the more famous former residents of the borough – a committed nurse during the First World War, she saved the lives of countless Allied forces in Belgium before being executed by the German army, to international outcry. As the picture shows, her street leads to Elizabeth Fry Place, commemorating the social reformer currently featuring on the £5 note.

Others namesakes in the borough include Phineas Pett Road, named for a shipbuilder to the stars during the 17th century, Inigo Jones Road for the famous architect who designed Covent Garden piazza, and Bernard Ashley Drive, after a children’s author (he still writes today).

Greenwich clearly knows how to honour its famous residents. A Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen Avenue cannot be far away.

Did we miss any? Should any existing Greenwich residents get their own street names? Should we do this in other boroughs? Let us know in the comments.

See also:

• London’s rudest street names
• London’s single-named streets mapped
• Why there’s not a single road in the City of London

By Chris Lockie

Kate Boy

Meet Australian singer Kate Akhurst and her Swedish partners in rhyme, Hampus Nordgren Hemlin, Oskar Sikow Engström and Markus Dextegen. The fourtet, bundling themselves under the name Kate Boy, are about to play their first London show this Wednesday at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, having already sold out numerous gigs around the world. In advance of their debut here, we chucked some questions at Kate and she was courteous enough to chuck some answers back. Below you can also watch the band’s recent video for new single, The Way We Are, which cannot be described otherwise than as very high-quality pop music.

G’day, Kate. What took you from Australia to Sweden?
Music took me to Los Angeles, which led me to London which magnetised me to Stockholm. I had always been a huge fan of the darker pop music that comes from Sweden and it wasn’t until I was geographically close enough that I had the thought of actually flying there to see what I could muster up.

With the band called Kate Boy, how did you manage to triumph over the other options of Hampus Boy, Oskar Boy and Markus Boy?
Equality wins. We liked the mix of male and female.

But seriously, how did this name come about?
The boys used to call themselves Rocket Boy when they’d DJ in Stockholm and then I came along and we started calling ourselves Kate Boy. At first we just laughed about it because it was so stupidly simple, but somehow it encapsulated exactly what we wanted to be and how we saw ourselves. Like an ambiguous and androgynous character. The 5th member of the band. Kate Boy.

What was your first studio session together as a foursome like?
We had only known each other for about an hour or two before we started writing together so it was “instantaneous” to say the least. It was easy. It was the way it should be.

And was your first single, Northern Lights, fairly straightforward to make or did it take a while to form?
It was the most straightforward it can get as far a composing a song is concerned, we finished the song in one night. What took time was the mix, the tweaking of sounds til it was exactly what we wanted.

Did you all immediately and unanimously think: Northern Lights has to be our calling card as a band?
There was something that we captured in that first night when we wrote Northern Lights that was ultimately “us” in a song. But since we were all separated the next day, we just started planning when we could all be in the same city again. It was definitely our calling card for continuing the journey.

On that track you sing: “Everything we touch turns to gold”. What sort of measure of success would you use to evaluate how well this project is turning out?
It’s gone better than we could ever have imagined. And that lyric was not some attempt at a self fulfilling prophecy! We honestly put the video out late last year just for our own joy of having something “out there”. Just to release a song and video that we had made ourselves was a success for us… Now it’s just taken it even further and we’re so happy for that.

Do you have any Do and Don’t rules when you’re in the studio together?
[laughs] Not really. But we do like to use limitation as a creative tool. Not to be able to use everything at once, so we to try to have rules like “no more than 3 sounds are allowed in this part” or “use only black and white for this” etc. Other than that, we like to let everyone do their thing… The rule is to only let people in the studio who don’t need rules.

You recently performed at Razzmatazz in Barcelona. What was that experience like?
They definitely know how to party! We love playing club nights like that because it feels like one huge dance floor, you lose track of time and you’re all in it together. We wish we could’ve stayed longer!

Are the songs you’ve released so far a good indicator as to what your debut album will sound like? 
We will definitely stay true to our sound, but take everything further in all directions. Some songs might be even more pop and some will take it to the more experimental side of us. Our live show is a huge part of our exploring our own sound and these coming months of playing live will hopefully make us evolve our way of making music even more.

Which of your contemporaries do you enjoy listening to at the moment?
We love powerful, strong girls like Planningtorock and iamamiwhoami. They have a very unique way of expressing themselves within the “electropop” genre. We also listen to interesting rock bands like Grizzly Bear, Tame Impala and Bear In Heaven. It’s amazing to hear the 70′s sounds and way of thinking kicked up a notch.

Finally, which of the following are you most likely to do when you’re in London this week: (i) go for afternoon tea; (ii) catch a West End show; or (iii) be sick on the Tube?
Hopefully all three. In that order. But if we have to pick one, afternoon tea sounds lovely.

Fire fighters tackle a blaze in Bayswater, Westminster earlier this year

On the day the consultation closes on proposed cuts to fire services, a Westminster Councillor has claimed that the Buckingham Palace fire of 2002 could have been ‘on the scale of Windsor Castle’ had it not been for the number of fire engines quickly sent to tackle the blaze.

A fire broke out at the Queen’s central London residence in 2002 as Buckingham Palace prepared to host a pop concert. Over 20 fire engines were sent to the Palace and were able to quickly bring the fire under control – limiting the damage to the building and its priceless contents. Many people will remember that Windsor Castle was not as fortunate when it caught light back in 1992, prompting a repair bill of over £32m.

The Westminster Council’s Cabinet member for public protection Cllr Nickie Aiken, made the comments in a letter to the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA). In it, she also sets out that Westminster should be seen as a special case due to abundance of high-rise buildings, number of museums and galleries and its potential as a target for terrorism.

Under the planned cuts, 12 of London’s fire stations will be closed, 18 fire engines will go out of service and there’ll be around 520 fewer fire fighters – including Greycoat Place fire station, spitting distance from Buckingham Palace.

Speaking of the cuts, Cllr Aiken said:

“Even by their own figures it could take up to 15 minutes for fire officers to arrive at the scene of a fire and even longer to actually start tackling it.

“And you only have to go back to 2002 when Buckingham Palace had a fire. More than 20 appliances were needed to tackle it and rescue valuable artworks.

“There was a very real chance that without that level of attendance we could have been looking at a blaze on the scale of Windsor Castle.”

Today is the last chance that Londoners can add their voice to the plans to cut services. To respond to the consultation, visit: http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/lsp5.asp#.Ub71QOfbPp8

Image by yorkshirestacked_uk from the Londonist Flickr Pool.

Bored, beautiful and rich: flatmates in 'Hard Feelings' (credit Simon Annand)

The scene is an average flat in 1980′s Brixton, but the inhabitants are anything but products of their rough and real surroundings. Elegant, slim limbs peer from under a duvet slung on the floor, belonging to one of the six beautiful inmates, young graduates from Oxford, simply dying for their morning cigarettes and coffee.

Doug Lucie’s revival of Hard Feelings, set right in the heart of a seminal point in the Thatcher era, the 1981 Brixton riots, sometimes stretches our belief at whether these are living, breathing people. But no matter, for the most part, we enjoy snooping into their decadent, hedonistic world, which the small space of the Finborough theatre gets us right up close and personal with.

It is an apt moment to stage the play, as the forward notes, when Thatcher’s death has sparked renewed interest in these times. Brixton’s riots sparked off following the alleged failure of police to help a black victim, an echo with the start of London’s racial tension fuelled 2011 riots. But although there is excitement and interest in the headlines being created right outside the dilettantes’ window — car sirens go off as they settle in for cocktails and karaoke — most of the play is concerned with their petty squabbles. We’re not quite sure what we get out of it. Viv says she’s been given ‘freedom to rot’ with handouts from her parents. Privileges have made them no better than the sponges living off State benefits that Thatcher so despised, but possibly didn’t imagine they’d be her fellow alumni.

But it’s hard to care for this self-important, selfish group’s problem. Although there are solid performances, the rich middle class characters seem to be identical — powerful, unembarrassed and acid tongued. Tone, a tough-talking east-ender journalist, and Jewish lawyer Jane are the only different ones as the outsiders, easy targets for their intolerant flatmates. But Margaret Clunie’s Annie is hard not to find funny. Like Maureen Lipman’s Trish in Educating Rita, she is all theatricality and mock seriousness with some great put downs. Isabella Laughland veers on the sadistic and despotic as Viv and Jesse Fox’s Rusty is endearingly little boy lost.

We quite wished our post-student days looked like this, as they seemed to be having a ball, with all the drinking and not bothering to look for work. Although this can be infectious, it didn’t live up to its promise of offering a window on this interesting and relevant moment in London in the 1980s.

Hard Feelings is at The Finborough Theatre until 6 July. Tickets £14 (£10 Concessions)
Londonist saw the play on a complimentary press pass

With news that the next Star Wars film is to be shot in the UK, probably in one or more of the studios surrounding London, we thought it’d be fun to look at parts of the capital that might already be familiar to sci-fi fans.

Feel free to suggest further examples in the comments and we might add them to the picture gallery. We’re saving locations that are more ‘fantasy’, such as Shard/Eye of Sauron, for a future piece.

Image of Ewok Village by Ian Visits and light sabre by MurphyZ, both in the Londonist Flickr pool.

Even though it’s been an annual fixture for 245 years, the Summer Exhibition is hard to categorise — falling somewhere between an art fair and a curated show, with works for sale next to massive installations that would be more suited to a blockbuster exhibition. The open submission policy means that virtually unknown artists are offered the chance of getting their work displayed next to that of Royal Academicians.

It’s the well-known artists who’ve understandably been given the chance to dominate this show, which opens with Anthony Caro’s monumental rusting sculpture and ends with Grayson Perry’s humorous tapestries exploring Britain’s class divides.

Despite taking centre stage, the works by many Royal Academicians are disappointing with even the usually dependable David Mach failing to shine. The one exception is Bill Jacklin, whose subtle paintings of people exposed to the elements stand out among the wall-to-wall works, despite their small size.

Normally in such a crowded setting it’s the bold and bright works that catch the eye, but in this year’s show the subtler works earned our admiration. These included Hen Cotman’s all-black etching of the moon, which is full of intricacies, and John Duffin’s atmospheric monochrome views of London at night.

The two major highlights for us are both photographic works. Petros Chrisostomou’s wig made to look huge through its placement in a small-scale replica of a room, transforms an everyday item into something disturbing. And there’s a breathtaking shot of a woman lying abed by the talented emerging artist Juno Calypso.

However, these excellent works are in the minority, even the room dedicated to architecture felt mundane despite being one of our favourite galleries at the last two summer exhibitions. There are over 1,250 works on display, almost guaranteeing that the visitor will find works to like, but the hit to miss ratio was far too low for us.

Summer Exhibition is on at The Royal Academy Of Arts until 18 August. Tickets are £10 for adults, concessions available. If you want to see works that didn’t make the cut, visit Not The Royal Academy at Llewelyn Alexander Gallery, 124-126 The Cut, SE1 8LN. Closes 22 August, admission is free.

If you love your Yamazaki and hanker for some Hibiki then you might want to make Mizuwari your new favourite haunt. Located beneath the bustle of Soho’s Bincho, a grilled ‘meat on sticks’ joint modelled on the yakitori bars of Nippon, it’s a very recent addition to the trend of bars that are hidden in the nooks and crannies of London eateries, and it’s very good at what it does – plenty of divine Japanese whisky.

The setting and ambiance is a stylish take on Japan’s ‘Tory Bars’. It’s a dark, intimate wood-panelled space with cosy benches, and sultry low lighting emanating from candles and strategically placed lamps.

In keeping with the Japanese bar theme, there is a ‘bottle keep’ option, which is also growing in popularity in small speakeasies and dive bars in the capital. You can purchase whichever whisky tickles your fancy, ranging from the sweetly aromatic Yamazaki 10 (£84) to the very rich (in both taste and tag) Hibiki 21, which will set you back a cool £280. Your bottle is then tagged and guarded until you return on another night.

Served in a multitude of ways, you can opt to have your chosen whisky on the rocks, or have a name sake ‘mizuwari’ (literally meaning ‘mix with water’), which is topped up with Bincho-tan water — filtered through high grade Japanese Holm Oak charcoal, which absorbs the chlorine, resulting in a soft, cleaner taste.

For those who prefer to sup cocktails, there are plenty to choose from, such as the delicately floral Usui with Hakushu 12, violet, rosewater and orange blossom, and the slightly stronger Seimei containing Hibiki 12, maraschino, absinthe and zingy lemon zest — all expertly mixed by knowledgeable and friendly head barman Niya.

Mizuwari will now host whisky-tasting nights, with the first in the series taking place tomorrow, Tuesday 18 June. The evening will be led by Zoran Peric, both an acclaimed bartender and Suntory brand ambassador, who will talk about the history of Japanese whisky, before conducting a tasting of Yamazaki, Hakushu and Hibiki whiskies. You can also enjoy a cocktail upon arrival, and snacks.

Mizuwari is located downstairs at Bincho Soho, 16 Old Compton St, London W1D 4TL, 5-12pm Monday-Sunday, 020 7287 9111. To reserve a place for tomorrow’s tasting and any future events, contact Niya on niya55@live.co.uk. Tickets cost £22.50.

Get ready for a relaxed, idyllic, serene Scandi-style summer this year, with Rekorderlig’s Midsummer House.

With an ideal spot next to the lake in Victoria Park, Rekorderlig’s Midsummer House will be a real Swedish hideaway in the heart of East London. From 21 June, visitors will be able to make the most of sunny summer days and balmy nights by whiling away the hours in the authentically decorated Swedish summerhouse, or its relaxed outdoor decking area overlooking the tranquil waters of the lake.

No summer day or evening is complete without a group of friends and a BBQ, so Scandinavian chefs from The Disappearing Dining Club will set up shop at the Midsummer House, serving up a very special menu of Korv med brod – Swedish style hot dogs with freshly made toppings including wild lingonberry (made with Rekorderlig Wild Berries), cucumber relish, prawn salad and Danish Remoulade.

Drinks come courtesy of, you guessed it, Rekorderlig. But along with the  summery fruit ciders, the Midsummer bar will also be serving a range of unique cider cocktails, including the Rekorderlini. Named through a competition on Rekorderlig’s social channels, this luxurious cocktail blends Rekorderlig’s Pear and Champagne with fresh lemon juice and chocolate syrup. Yum.

Tickets are selling out fast so book yourself a slice of Scandi-summer today.

Rekorderlig’s Midsummer House runs from 21 June-5 July at Victoria Park in East London. Tickets cost £10 and includes a complimentary Rekorderlig Cider of their choice and a Swedish BBQ tasting bite. Keep up to date on Twitter via @Rekorderlig or on the Rekorderlig UK Facebook page. You must be 18 or over to attend this event, proof of age will be required on entry. Rekorderlig encourages you to drink responsibly.

Following on from its first season, showing his earlier films, BFI Southbank’s Werner Herzog retrospective continues this month, looking at his films from the 1980s through to the present day. As the season demonstrates, Herzog has always been a director unwilling to box himself in, oscillating between fiction and documentary, exploring his subjects with intelligence, humour and a clear-sightedness uniquely his own.

Fitzcarraldo is essential viewing for both newcomers and fans yet to see it on the big screen. Another collaboration with Klaus Kinski, it’s the story of one man’s obsession with bringing opera to a remote area of the Amazon. Hoping to exploit Peru’s lucrative rubber industry, he employs the locals to help him move a steamer over a hill into a nearby waterway. Production was famously fraught, but its story of one man’s epic folly remains fascinating.

Of course, Herzog’s work ethic has continued undiminished through the last decade, bringing us one of the 21st century’s key stories of man against nature in Grizzly Man, a documentary about environmentalist Timothy Treadwell, and his life and death amongst grizzly bears. His later documentaries show a similar searching quality, be they Into The Abyss, about Death Row, or his only 3-D feature, the spectacular Cave of Forgotten Dreams, in which Herzog shows us the world’s oldest known paintings in spectacular style.

His later fiction work notably includes one of the few Nicolas Cage films in recent years to come highly recommended, a remake of Abel Ferrera’s Bad Lieutenant, which utilises Cage’s particular brand of live-wire acting perfectly. Herzog also gave Oscar-nominee Michael Shannon one of his early leading roles in My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done. Produced by David Lynch, Shannon is on typically bug-eyed form as a man who kills his mother with a samurai sword, and stands as an interesting counterpoint to Herzog’s recent non-fiction work.

The second part of BFI Southbank’s Werner Herzog runs from 1-31 July and tickets can be bought from the website.

This Week In London’s History

• Monday – 17 June 1497: In the Battle of Deptford Bridge (a.k.a. the Battle of Blackheath), Henry VII’s army defeats the forces of the Cornish Rebellion, effectively ending their uprising.
• Tuesday – 18 June 1972: A British European Airways plane bound for Brussels crashes moments after taking off from Heathrow airport, killing all 118 passengers. An inquiry later concludes that the pilot had made a ‘speed error’ and stalled the plane, causing it to crash into a field in Staines.
• Wednesday – 19 June 1997: McDonald’s wins a libel case against two members of the ‘London Greenpeace’ campaigning group. Having taken seven years, the ‘McLibel’ case becomes the longest-running court action in English history, and despite the verdict, something of an embarrassment to McDonald’s.
• Thursday – 20 June 1934: Work starts on dismantling the original Waterloo Bridge, designed by John Rennie and opened in 1821, to allow for a more structurally sound replacement. The first stone is removed by Herbert Morrison, leader of the London County Council at that time.
• Friday – 21 June 1887: Queen Victoria celebrates her Golden Jubilee with a procession through London that, according to Mark Twain, “stretched to the limit of sight in both directions”.

Random London Quote Of The Week

London, thou art of townes A per se.
Soveraign of cities, seemliest in sight,
Of high renoun, riches and royaltie;
Of lordis, barons, and many a goodly knyght;
Of most delectable lusty ladies bright;
Of famous prelatis, in habitis clericall;
Of merchauntis full of substaunce and of myght:
London, thou art the flour of Cities all.

William Dunbar, ‘In Honour of the City of London’

Photo by Rob Emes via the Londonist Flickr Pool.