Come and join the queue...

Is this the best feature of Kilburn's future?

The Good Ship on Kilburn High Road as well as offering a great pint, some sound bands and a pretty good atmosphere - courtesy of John McCooke - a great guy and champion for Kilburn - has brough back a key feature to Kilburn... Queuing...

Not since the days where there were multiple cinema's on the High Road has there been such an outbreak of people wanting to get into a venue - I happen to think that queuing is a sign of vibrant activity and a desire to be part of something.

That for my mind sums up what a modern Kilburn should be like and where it might be heading today. Loads of cafe's, great bars and a superb attitude. All pretty safe and getting safer and all we need now are some good and better clothes shops... too much to ask?

Watch more of my pitch on this:
http://www.youtube.com/474towin?gl=GB&hl=en-GB#p/a/u/1/6t5efHMmJ-8

I should add that my constituency campaign office is in Drakes Courtyard, so the Good Ship is a great landmark and stop off point.

The Good Ship are also great Facebookers - the briefest search and you will find them...

Dear Gertie, how are you getting along?

I spotted this ages ago and love the simplicity and anonymity/personality of it.

It has that air of affection, naivety and charm.

The plaque is in South End Green, just by the gates of Maryon Mews and is just tuced away at the bottom of the pedestrian gate.

Who was Gertrude and what happened in November 1897 - is this the start of a novel? Other than 1897 is of course the Jubilee of Victoria's accession to the throne...

Perhaps Getrude was a local cat who always patrolled these parts, maybe Gertrude was the oldest resident when this block was first built, was getrude the name of the youngest daughter of the builder/architect who did the topping off or foundation stone laying... answers on an electronic postcard please...

Ed

It's all in the name...

It's all in the name - and so it seems...

Camden Council has along standing commitment to the replacement of the single letter black plaques and there is some hearsay that says that they are much appreciated by all and sundry...

However, I was mulling this over and forgive me if I've mentioned this before, but was wondering about where there is a plaque sign and above or near it one of the older painted street name sighs.

They are being allowed to fade away - now I don't doubt that the work needed to restore the painted sign is different from that needed to put up a new plaque is different but to alow these to just slip away into the faded margins of history?

What do fellow readers on the electronic panel think?

I caught this one on Dynham Road, NW6 and thought it was a good example - am also referencing the previously cited Tanza Road http://474towin.blogspot.com/search?q=tanza+road

New local site

Here's a new blog that has appeared locally that I've added to the list of local sites I follow.

link on the left hand panel:
http://westhampsteadlife.blogspot.com

Enjoy and read away...

Ed

Been up and over The Hill recently?

I don't know how often lcoal residents wander up to Hampstead Heath to enjoy the natural beauty or indeed the constructed natural beauty.

This - The Hill Garden - is one of the finest pieces of constructed natural beauty around.

http://www.ukattraction.com/london/map/the-hill-garden-and-pergola.htm

Completely unknown to many locals it is overlooked by the even more stunning and amazing Pergola and is just a great location of quiet charm and solitude.

The views out across North West London are truly amazing - over to Harrow.

http://www.opensquares.org/detail/Hill.html

This was orginally/constructed to be the back garden of Lord Leverhulme's Inverforth House - the Pergola, as i think I have mentioned before, was constructed using the earth from the Hampstead Tunnel when the Northern Line was constructed in 1906/07.

If you haven't been up there you are missing a treat - of a summer evening it is breath-taking... oh and The Olde Bull and Bush and The Spaniards Pubs are also to be recommended!

Heroes and Heroines in verse

As it's national poetry day (Heroes and Heroines theme) I thought I ought to recognise the local contribution to such

http://www.nationalpoetryday.co.uk/

Here at South End Green local businessman Jonathan Bergman has organised a series of local poets to come along and recite some of their works.

It's a great little slam and attracts a really nice crown - it's been on saturday morning and it just the sort of thing that should be encouraged.

With John Keats' house so close by this sort of thing should be encouraged and having been to a recent poetry slam at hampstead school the effect of this sort of thing is really good on the pupils and young people involved...

Anyone for a poetic platform locally?

Pause, stop and dawdle on the Finchley Road...

The Finchley Road is much maligned and massively under-estimated.

Hidden away are gems and insights into the Eyre Estate (more to follow), the development of metro-land and the growth of traffic in a way that is captured in few other places. Now of course it's role as a main arterary road in and out of London and leading down to Swiss Cottage it has what i think is a strong sense of speed and movement about it...

The effect now is slightly odd and I would suggest it is under-appreciated.

So this is just one little building, tucked away with stunning marbled stucco's.

It's Canfield House and is, I think, the main stay of the old station buildings. I've tried a bit of digging on the origin of the name Canfield and not got hugely far- interestingly as we are not too far from Acol Road (a school of bridge) - Canfield is a card game but there appears to be no connection.

But for simple tastes such as myself the cherubs and the satyrs and the nature of the almost french style is realy nice. It's too easy when rushing out of the station, or dashing into Waitrose or up to the O2 Centre to miss it - pause, have a dawdle and look up - it's well worth it and as I say, slightly unlikely.

My instinct is it date to the 1930's and is a high quality frontage to what might actually be quite a cheap set piece brick construction and this is actually a faccia. Anyone out there know more?