A to Z

 

This was my weekend find, an A to Z of London with delightful linocut illustrations by one of my favourite British artists Edward Bawden. It is very entertaining and packed full of information about London in 1953 including D for debutantes, S for spiv and where to purchase the correct bowler hat (Locks of St James's). The list of restaurants ran to five pages and when my dad looked through it he had happy memories of many, some involving dancing!

Edward Bawden taught at the Royal College of Art in the '60s where he mentored and inspired Christopher Brown. His influence is clearly evident in Christopher Brown's Alphabet of London where he brings the A to Z up to date with his quirky linocut illustrations of contemporary London life.

out of chaos

Well, I put half of it back and it looks a lot better, the catherineholm pot stays (sorry lou!) but the green paint may go. It's London Design Week and there is an overwhelming amount to see in a very short space of time, so today I am getting my dose of cool and heading off to lurk around Brick Lane for a bit and take a look at Tent London.

london

There's no escaping the big event in London tomorrow and I have to say it has suddenly become quite exiting! There are lots of flags and bunting and plenty of guardsman action. Any excuse to dig out my vintage london books. Seeing London - I love the red elephant bus, the classic This is London, and a schools broadcasting book from the fifties showing Westminster Abbey decked out for the coronation in 1953. I am now off to polish my tiara!

city mermaid

I was up in town early this weekend to start a course in web design, it's the time to see London at its best, before the crowds. I have walked across Trafalgar Square hundreds of times but never really noticed the mermaids - and very lovely they are too. With the giant ship in the bottle on the 4th plinth its all very maritime. I also walked through Cecil Court off St Martins's Lane. It's the place to go for antiquarian bookshops including Marchpanes which specialises in children's books. None of them open as it was too early but there was lovely stuff in the windows. They won't be charity shop prices but I shall go back next week.

roddy&ginger go to market

This week I delivered an order to Family Tree. This tiny shop in Exmouth Market EC1 is run by Takako Tsutsui and sells a cheery collection of lovingly made products. Exmouth Market is a busy little corner of Clerkenwell with an eclectic mix of local shops, restaurants and open air food stalls.