Capturing the unremitingly normal

I suspect that these pictures say quite a lot and reveal a huge amount about the hum drum of tube travel in London.

But I quite like the slightly surreptitious nature of taking the picture - that is unwitting subjects, but not intrusive pictures (I hope).

It also reveals to the sharp observer which tube lines I frequent the most...

But crucially I notice now just how quickly observational photographs of the world today date - many of the pictures I have taken over the last 6 years of shops and people in Hampstead, West Hampstead and Kilburn have already changed and dated incredibly quickly.

Sure, shops and businesses change, but the speed with which images, fashion and styles change and the extent to which colour shifts too is fascinating. In this respect is the tube system in London with it's iconic colour and style one of the few timeless feature of life today.

I'm not sure but I guess time will tell...

Until then, I'll leave you with the unremitting notmality of life on the tube in the mid-morning of a weekday.

Is this art?

All I really know is that I saw this on the back wall of Boradhurst Gardens, from West Hampstead Tube station and thought wow!

It stands out and is impressive and colourful - I was also interested to be joined by three other travellers who were admiring it...

The reality is railway graffiti is the norm now but with some basic imagination it could be developed... some of the graffiti is abusive and incredibly tatty and undermines a building and the area.

So perhaps as part of the London elections next year there could be an intelligent engagement on the issue and the tat cleared away and the space yielded up for better, more artistic features - such as this one?

There's no good excuse really... Enlightenment

The West End is dead expensive in relative terms
There's no parking in the west end
The Northern Line is pretty grim

In contrast fans and officianado's of Hampstead Theatre will tell you about the great value, the ease of access and the Met and Jubilee Lines... and that's before you have seen any performance.

Enlightenment has had great reviews and being directed by Edward Hall that's not really a huge surprise.

I for one will be there tonight, a good and trusted friend was there last week and raved on the phone about it over the weekend - it's the place to be it would seem.

Now I may be a bit slow but I cannna deny I'm a touch impressed with having Youtube previews and clips of the show - I'd not noticed it before but it works for me...

Don't close our community off at the weekends, please

Okay - I featured the building of the West Hampstead Thameslink rail-bridge the other day and that progresses along quite visibly.

http://474towin.blogspot.com/2009/08/heres-access-weve-been-waiting-for.html

However, whilst the massive investment in the transport network in London continues (much of it driven by a desire to get the service up to scratch ready for the 2012 Olympics) there is a series of knock-on effects.

One of these has been to cut off transport access to the North London Overground Line and also the Jubilee Line virtually every weekend in this part of north west London.

It has become something of a regular feature with vast legions of rail replacement buses being laid on and no station services. The consequence has been that for where I live in West hampstead and Kilburn we have been increasingly cut off. Well, there has been a lot of unhappiness and chuntering and last night local traders decided to act. They called a meeting and resolved to try and get some attention for the effect these sustained closures are having.

Now I can't help but think there are a range of issues here:
- the communications from TfL about what is happening is dreadful: up goes the notice and across come the gates.
- the staff placed there at weekend and the bus drivers included often don't have a full brief in quite difficult circumstances
- more and more the extent to which West hampstead and Kilburn in particular have been hit businesses and shops are seeing a very real drop in trade and they are very very worried for their livelihood.

So here's the petition http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/jubilee-overground-closures/index.html

And I thought I would start the conversation on here:

1. could some of the closures move into the week rather than being all forced to the weekend?It's having the effect of cutting us off from the rest of London.
2. Do we as Oyster Card holders have rights as shareholders to quiz and questions and get some answers to our concerns and make sure our voices are heard. Does TfL have the capacity to hear what we are saying?
3. Are the closure entirely necessary? More and more we are all hearing stories that in fact the whole of the line is being shut when in fact work is only happening on a small stretch and that semi-permanent closure at weekend has become the operational norm. This was part illustrated by the fact that the Jubilee was miraculously opened for the U2 concert last weekend...
4. is there another way of this work being handled, are the councillors and Council fully in the loop, and what is the consequence for all of the other developments - Iverson Road, West End Lane and the constant talk of development and housing...

Last year I brought Lib Dem campaigner and MP, Transport Spokesman, Norman Baker to West Hampstead and we had a very good meeting with the incredibly constructive Peter Field from TfL - picture above right - Norman, myself and Peter). Now we hope to turn to Peter again for some help, answers and movement... watch this space.

Ed

The Fleet river floweth by...

A brilliantly useful comment from a reader brings this map: http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2008/06/05/284-londons-lost-rivers/

and comes at a time when I'm told that the now Jubilee Line Underground was going to be the Fleet Line on the basis that it was going to go through Fleet Street and reflected something of the line of the Fleet River...

Sounds convincing, but any confirmations out there?

Ed Fordham

Swiss Cottage - formerly The Swiss Tavern

Swiss Cottage is one of the significant landmarks of London - not least because it is the traffic landmark for many people arriving in London. Certainly when travelling down to see aunts and grandparents as a young boy, we knew we were close when we got to Swiss Cottage.

Now the main landmark is the pub and the tube station - I was discussing yesterday with a friend whether anyone actually lives in 'swiss cottage'. It's also an administrative district for elections - Swiss Cottage Ward in Camden - but as a residential area...

In the Swiss Cottage ward many people consider themselves to live in West Hampstead, South Hampstead, Primrose Hill - the actually definition of Swiss Cottage as a geographic area is very small.

Now Swiss Cottage tube station is a London Underground station at Swiss Cottage. It is on the Jubilee Line, between Finchley Road and St. John's Wood. It is in Travelcard Zone 2.

This picture captures what I think is the great 20s/30s architecture of the tube station escalator... it's really stunning and has actually been well matched by the modern architecture of much of the rest of the jubilee line (esp. at Westminster Station).

Opened on November 20, 1939 on the Stanmore branch of the Bakerloo Line, Swiss Cottage station was transferred to the Jubilee Line in 1979. The station was originally called The Swiss Tavern (after the pub which is early 19th century), but was soon changed to Swiss Cottage.

Swiss Cottage has always been a major transport hub and in the early 19th century saw a couple of parliamentary bills on the Finchley Road toll road (1835).

The Victoria County History records this in full:
"Omnibuses routes were pushed farther north with the spread of building and opening of suburban railway stations after 1855. By 1880 they not only stretched along Kilburn High Road to Brondesbury but also served Kilburn and West Hampstead by way of Abbey Road and the area north of Swiss Cottage by way of Finchley Road as far as Finchley Road station. Later omnibuses were extended along Finchley Road to meet others from Edgware Road along West End Lane, continuing north to Childs Hill in Hendon."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Cottage_tube_station
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_cottage
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22632&strquery=swiss%20cottage