Tag: Banksy

Mostly Around Notting Hill

For this post I have reverted to the tried, tested, and trusted editorial facility.
I have almost come to the end of my Streets of London series of colour slides produced in the first decade of this century. Today I scanned a few from May 2008.

Crossing the Hammersmith & City Underground Railway line near Westbourne Park, Golborne Road W11 runs east from Portobello Road to Kensal Road. Situated at the northern end of Portobello Market It has a plethora of restaurants and antique shops.

‘This area of Notting Hill‘s northern corner has changed dramatically over its history. The area was part of the Great Forest of Middlesex; in 1543 the land was seized by Henry VIII and by the 18th century Golborne was farmland.

Golborne Road was named after Dean Golbourne, at one time vicar of St. John’s Church in Paddington. Until the middle of the 19th century it was no more than a country footpath crossing the fields of Portobello Farm, but in 1870 the road was widened, shops were built and the road was extended over the railway.
The Golborne Road area is sometimes known as “Little Morocco” due to the number of Moroccan restaurants and shops selling Maghrebian products located along the road.[1] The road also has renown in the Portuguese community for the two Portuguese pâtisseries at one end, Cafe d’Oporto and Lisboa Patisserie.’ (Wikipedia)

The story of the appearance of this sample of the work of Banksy on a wall in Acklam Road W10 is related in ‘Walls’.

Yeah Man in Lancaster Road W11 now appears to be Jay Dee’s. The spicy Caribbean takeaway remains highly acclaimed.

Also in this area of Notting Hill, St Luke’s Mews is where TV presenter Paula Yates lived and died of an accidental drug overdose in September 2000.

I have to rely almost entirely on my memory for the next two locations because the street names are somewhat indistinct. I can say that they were all photographed at the top end of Highgate High Street during one of my trips to Highgate Cemetery to make the illustrations to ‘The Magnificent Seven’. Perhaps my next archived series could be the pictures for that book.

The Angel Inn stands on the corner of that High Street and a square I cannot identify. Clearly the owners are somewhat biased, but their website boasts:

‘Discreetly stylish, authentically British – comfort and elegance combined
Perched above Highgate Village, one of London’s most distinguished suburbs, and just a stone’s throw from Hampstead Heath, The Angel Inn is an iconic London pub, ahead of the game in providing the perfect setting for a truly memorable drinking and dining experience.
Whether it’s a relaxed lunch, sumptuous Sunday roast, indulgent dinner or lazy brunch you’re looking for, we offer an enticing range of flavoursome dishes incorporating classic British ingredients with a creative twist, all accompanied by our exceptional range of cask ales, craft beers, fine wines and artisan spirits.
Classic with a bohemian edge, The Angel Inn combines traditional wood-panelling, period features and contemporary touches, boasting an open fire for those chillier months. Fostering a relaxed yet refined atmosphere, this convivial pub has the spirit of the great British local at heart; our dedicated team are committed to first class service and look forward to welcoming you and helping you unwind…’

This elegant little square is around there somewhere.

Also close to Highgate High Street, Castle Yard N6, with its intriguing little terrace, links North Road with Southwood Lane.

I can neither pinpoint this section of Marylebone’s York St W1, nor identify the church tower in the background. Perhaps a reader will be able to.

Baker Street and Gloucester Place (shown on this corner) are linked by Bickenhall Street W1.

Bartholomew Malthus, a character in Robert Louis Stevenson’s story ‘The Suicide Club’ resided at 16 Chepstow Place, W2.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s splendid savoury egg fried rice; spare ribs in barbecue sauce; mini spring rolls and prawn toasts with which I drank more of the Madiran.
P.S. Please refer to Lwbut’s comments below, for the answers to all my questions

Walls

At 10 a.m. this morning we began work on clearing Bev and John’s wall that abuts our back drive. Knowing that I would not have the energy to tackle it after all the other shrubs and trees that threatened our neighbours’ foundations, I began with the fairly mature beech tree which was the worst offender. I need both an axe and a saw to cut it down to a stump that will be left for Jackie’s lethal application. Flora and fauna alike, except for the unfortunate prey of the spider

becoming more engorged as I watched it at its feast, basked in the morning sunshine.

We have stunning clumps of Japanese anemones of various colours, and the recently planted winter pansies, some in the chimney pots, perk up cheeky faces.

Gladioli, one of which provided the canvas for a portrait of a fly that would have done justice to Whistler in his white period,

looked almost translucent against the light.

Bees seem to enjoy the orange dahlias.

A woodlouse, climbing up our neighbours’ wall in an effort to escape my attentions, was soon overhauled by a baby spider.

Hidden beneath a hebe, which we have reduced in size and will retain, was a hart’s tongue fern that seems to be the only one we have. Jackie rapidly transplanted it.

‘Where there’s smoke there’s hope’, was a mantra we, as children in Raynes Park, invoked when trying to breathe life into illicit bonfires we enjoyed on the then much wider patch of railway land at the back of 29a Stanton Road where we grew up. I thought of this as I watched weak wisps of smoke struggling through the fire this morning. It was almost three hours before the first welcome crackle of flame was heard, but, by 1.30 our neighbours had

a wall that Banksy would no doubt find enticing.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with his work, Banksy is a pseudonymous U.K. based graffiti artist who stencils his work on vacant walls. Whatever you think of the idea of defacing other people’s property, you would have to agree that this man is an artist who, overnight, can enhance its value. Collectors like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie will spend thousands of dollars or pounds on a piece. In October 2007 they acquired a number of works at auction for a total outlay of £1,000,000.

An earlier project of mine, which, so far has not seen any kind of publication, was called ‘Streets of London’, consisted of (more than 1,000) photographs of London streets with the constraint that the name should appear in the frame. In May 2008, because it in itself seemed an interesting scene, I photographed a corner of Acklam Road, W10, just off Portobello Road.

Three days later, I passed the same corner, to find a white wall embellished by a Banksy. Interestingly, this artwork already bore a protective perspex covering. Now, at least one of my street pictures has been published.

We dined this evening on slow roasted, tangy smoked gammon, cauliflower cheese in a mustard sauce, new potatoes and carrots, followed by egg custard dessert. I finished the rioja and Jackie drank the last of the weissbier.