London Daily Photo: The Pirate Ship Adventure

The Pirate Ship Adventure
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

Low crime London

London crime at an eight-year low
Crime in London has dropped to its lowest level for eight years, according to Metropolitan Police figures.
BBC News
Last Updated: Thursday, 19 April 2007, 11:00 GMT 12:00 UK

It said crime in the capital fell by 6.3% in the 12 months to the end of March, to 921,779 offences.

Click here for complete article.

Sex theme park in London's West End

Sex theme park to open in London
A £7m sex theme park, which has no rides, is to open in London's West End later this year.
BBC News
Last Updated: Wednesday, 24 May 2006, 12:26 GMT 13:26 UK

"This academy does push boundaries back and whatever your prowess when you come in we will give you all the information you need to become a fantastic lover."

Click here for complete article.

London Daily Photo - Passing Alley (aka Assing Alley aka Pissing Alley)

Passing Alley (aka Assing Alley aka Pissing Alley)
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

London Daily Photo: Circle and District Lines

Circle and District Lines
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

London Daily Photo: Untitled

Untitled
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

London Daily Photo: Aki

Aki
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

London Daily Photo: Lampshade

Lampshade
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

London Daily Photo: At the Hookah Lounge

At the Hookah Lounge
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

London Daily Photo: Insane Dog

Insane Dog
Photography by Michael Murphy © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

London Daily Photo: Squeegee

Squeegee
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

Daily London Photo: Belly of the Beast

Belly of the Beast
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

Interview with London street artist, SWEET TOOF

Chris Osburn interviews SWEET TOOF
by Chris Osburn
whitehot magazine of contemporary art
April 2007















I got into it after watching a film called “Style Wars” by Henry Chalfant, also “Beat Street” and the book Subway Art are to blame. When I started I was into letter forms and characters. Years ago it would be skinny cap tags; today, it’s fat cap. When I started, the paint was thinner and today the paint can cover most surfaces. I still do the odd letter form piece, but now I’m more interested in what I can get my teeth into … also working with cut outs and paste-ups.

Click here for complete interview.

London Daily Photo: Lunch on Leather Lane

Lunch on Leather Lane
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

London Daily Photo: DFace(d)

DFace(d)
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

London Daily Photo: Phoenix Place

Phoenix Place
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

London Daily Photo: Just Fry It

Just Fry It
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

London Daily Photo - So Easy to be Rude

So Easy to be Rude
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

London Daily Photo - Polka

Polka
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

Record number of herons at Battersea Park

Park tracks record heron numbers
Conservationists are celebrating a record number of grey herons breeding in a south London park.
BBC News
Last Updated: Sunday, 1 April 2007, 11:12 GMT 12:12 UK

This year 32 pairs of herons have nested in Battersea Park, which was established as a nesting site in 1990.

Click here for complete article.

Chocolate billboard at Covent Garden

Shoppers eat chocolate billboard
An edible billboard made from 390kg (860lb) of pure chocolate has been eaten in just three hours.
BBC News
Last Updated: Tuesday, 3 April 2007, 16:26 GMT 17:26 UK

Thorntons invited passers-by to tuck into the 14.5ft by 9.5ft (4.4m by 2.9m) sign in Covent Garden, London.

Click here for complete article.

London Daily Photo - Dedicated to the Public

Dedicated to the Public
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

London Daily Photo - Not Dedicated to the Public

Not Dedicated to the Public
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

Surreal Things at the V&A

Surreal Things
Surrealism and Design

March 29 - July 22, 2007

Daily 10:00-17:45 (last ticket sold 16:45, last entry 17:00)
Fridays 10:00-22:00 (last ticket sold 20:45, last entry 21:00)

Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
London SW7
020 7942 2000
Nearest Tube: South Kensington Station
Buses: C1, 14 and 74 stop outside the Cromwell Road entrance








Surreal Things is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see 300 of the most extraordinary objects ever created, in a spectacular theatrical setting. This exhibition is the first to explore the influence of Surrealism on the worlds of fashion, design, theatre, interiors, film, architecture and advertising. It shows how artists engaged with design and how designers were inspired by Surrealism.

Click here for more details.

Orwell rolling over in his grave?

George Orwell, Big Brother is watching your house
This is London
31.03.07









On the wall outside his former residence - flat number 27B - where Orwell lived until his death in 1950, an historical plaque commemorates the anti-authoritarian author. And within 200 yards of the flat, there are 32 CCTV cameras, scanning every move.

Click here for complete article.

London Daily Photo - Smithfield

Smithfield
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

London Daily Photo - Priviledged

Privileged
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

Free Tube rides for the kids

Free Tube travel scheme extended
Children aged under 11 will be able to take advantage of travel free on the Underground at any time on any day of the week from Sunday.
BBC News
Last Updated: Saturday, 31 March 2007, 09:18 GMT 10:18 UK

Now up to four children under 11 will be able to accompany an adult paying a full fare at peak times.

Click here for complete article.

London Daily Photo - I wonder if they sell Viagra?

I wonder if they sell Viagra?
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

London Daily Photo - He insisted that I take his picture

He insisted that I take his picture
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

Green Light Pharmacy in Clerkenwell

I just wanted to say that the folks at the Green Light Pharmacy at Exmouth Market in Clerkenwell are super nice. I've had to go there a couple of times recently and have found them to be really helpful. I'm sure there are plenty of other good pharmacies in the area, but I just wanted to mention that Green Light runs a friendly business.

Overheard: bitter prognosis for 2012 Olympics

The other day at a local sandwich shop, I received the following bitter prognosis for 2012 at no extra charge with my lunch:

Ken's putting all these pounds into an area where people don't visit and doing nothing here in central London and then when the Olympics are gone that whole area will just sit there vacant and unused ... just like that Dome.

Image by Tiki Chris © 2007

Spooky silence at the Barbican

Here are some screenings coming up in the Barbican's Silent Film and Live Music series:

The Phantom of the Opera (U), accompanied by a recording of Carl Davis’ epic score
Part of Lon Chaney: Man of a Thousand Faces, introduced by Kevin Brownlow
1 Apr 07
16:00
Cinema 1
info

The Unknown (PG) + live accompaniment by DJ Nacho Martin
Part of Lon Chaney: Man of a Thousand Faces
15 Apr 07
15:00
Cinema 1
info

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (U) + live piano accompaniment by Stephen Horne
Part of Lon Chaney: Man of a Thousand Faces
22 Apr 07
16:00
Cinema 1
info

Haxan: Witchcraft through the Ages (15) + new score by Geoff Smith on the hammered dulcimer
A legendary and infamous film
6 May 07
15:00
Cinema 1
info

London Daily Photo - Neon Pearl

Neon Pearl
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

Queuing up for pie and mash at Clark's

The following photo is certainly not among my best, but it does illustrate the almost regular scene outside Clark's around lunchtime. Since January, Clark's has been buzzing with patrons eager for some pie and mash on their lunch break. It's a yummy lunch option; I can't blame them for waiting.

Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007

Hugh Mendes at Sartorial Contemporary Art

Hugh Mendes - Death from Above





































April 18 - May 5
Tues to Sat 1:30 - 6:30pm

Sartorial Contemporary Art
101A Kensington Church St
London W8 7LN

Sartorial Contemporary Art is delighted to announce a new exhibition of paintings by Hugh Mendes. Over the past few years, Mendes has become known for a singular vision based on the mundane and never-ending procession of text and pictures he finds in newspaper clippings, and especially obituaries.

Click here for more details.

London hotel rooms are second most expensive in UK/Europe

Bath hotel rooms 'most expensive'
Hotel rooms in Bath have beaten London as the most expensive in the UK, a new survey suggests.
BBC News
Last Updated: Tuesday, 27 March 2007, 15:27 GMT 16:27 UK

The cost of a hotel room in the UK now averages £98 a night - the highest in Europe, the survey says.

Click here for complete article.

DON'T DO THAT! at Elms Lesters Painting Rooms

DON'T DO THAT!
Friday May 4th - Saturday May 26th 2007

Elms Lesters Painting Rooms
Opening hours Tuesday - Saturday 12.00 - 6.00 pm
Late nights Thursdays until 9.00 pm
Flintcroft St
nearest tube: Tottenham Court Road
Admission FREE

This exhibition will feature works by the following international artists:

Delta ...
















Ron English ...






Dalek ...






Mark Dean Veca ...










... Andrew McAttee and Stash ...

Click here for more details.

Margarita Gluzberg at Paradise Row

Margarita Gluzberg
Funk of Terror into Psychic Bricks
14.4.07 - 13.5.07


Paradise Row presents 'Funk of Terror into Psychic Bricks’, a solo show by Margarita Gluzberg comprising of a series of large-scale, coloured pencil drawings in which fictions and ideologies are gently confused in territories dominated by desire, memory and romance.

Paradise Row
St Matthew's Hall
17 Hereford St
E2 London
M:+44(0)7939 150 774
T: +44(0)20 7613 3311
Email: info@paradiserow.com

Click here for more details.

London Daily Photo - Tripe Dressers, Meat & Offal Salesmen

Tripe Dressers, Meat & Offal Salesmen
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

Banksy work stolen piece by piece
A wall mural in east London by well-known graffiti artist Banksy has been all but stolen piece by piece.
BBC News
Last Updated: Monday, 26 March 2007, 13:11 GMT 14:11 UK



















The artwork in Brick Lane, which consisted of black letters stencilled onto a white background, spelled out 'to advertise here call 0800 Banksy'.

Click here for complete article.

London Daily Photo - Food Area

Food Area
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

London Daily Photo - Busy Market Area

Busy Market Area
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

Denying the Nineties with Fascination

Thanks to the recommendation of a close friend (you know who you are), I found myself this past Thursday at the Betsey Trotwood listening to a band's debut performance. The show was about an hour. Every song delivery solid. The audience of mostly mid-thirties Londoners bopped about with glee, with everybody appearing to be really glad to relive some very fun memories.

Free one inch badges were on hand too.

The band, called Fascination, is a two-piece: a vocalist and a chap behind a synth with a laptop. The sound? Pure Eighties (on their MySpace profile, they list "The B-52's, Madonna, Blondie, Tom Tom Club, Duran Duran, and Roxy Music" among their influences). The influence of Duran Duran and Roxy Music was especially evident to my ears. However, Fascination has a much heavier synth/electro-pop sound (Human League and Missing Persons come to mind). Lyrics are refreshingly vapid and fun. For example, according to the song Topshop Radio, here is Fascination's take on success:

I'd never dream that we made it until some teenage girl is trying on clothes to our sound ... taking off clothes to our sound.

Click here to visit Fascination's MySpace profile, where future gig dates will be listed and four songs are available for your listening pleasure.

London Daily Photo - Port of London Authority

Port of London Authority
Photography by Tiki Chris © 2007
Interested in contributing a photograph of London to this blog? Click here for details.

Mark Jenkins at Lazarides Gallery

Outcasts
featuring Mark Jenkins' tape sculptures




















Lazarides Gallery
No 8 Greek Street
London
W1D 4DG
Tel: + 44 (0)203 214 0055
http://www.lazinc.com/

April 13 – May 5, 2007

Washington DC-based installation artist Mark Jenkins has over the past four years experimented with clear packing tape (sellotape) to create cast-based sculpture that he installs in cities as a form of non-permission based street art, a sort of “off-wall” graffiti. For his first solo show at the Lazarides gallery he will present an assemblage of sculptures and documentary street installation photographs.

Click here for visit Lazarides Gallery online.

Latest ish of NUDE Magazine

NUDE Magazine is a pretty good read. I'm especially enjoying the just released Spring 2007 Issue 10 for two reasons: it features a cover article with photos of Space Invader as well as a great, in depth interview with London-based illustrator/architect Michael Murphy of DESIGNinBLUE.

Back to the Future
by Ryan Crabbe
NUDE Magazine, Issue 10
Spring 2007

I still believe that great architecture has the ability to feed people's senses in a very positive way, and by saying 'great' I don't necessarily mean big. Great architecture to me is thoughtful and intriguing and has an effect on the subconscious through its regulation and manipulation of spaces.











Space Invader: all out art attack
by Anne Bowles
NUDE Magazine, Issue 10
Spring 2007

Forget bird flu: there's another much more benign virus being spread through the streets of the world's major cities, by a Parisian street artist who goes by the name of Space Invader.













Click here to purchase the latest copy of NUDE Magazine.

South London Pacific's Vintage 'n' Retro market

Although I'm not a regular reader of All Women's Talk, I thought it worth mentioning this post about South London Pacific and retro fashion:

Retro clothes and cocktails at South London Pacific
Posted by Abi
All Women's Talk
March 23, 2007

[The] Hawaiian-themed Tiki bar ... has recently started to play host to some of the UK's most talented retro designers and vintage sellers, and they'll be holding their next vintage and retro fair on 1st April.

Click here for complete post.