Neighbourhood news, features, and comment
art, books, celebrations, festivals, film, theatre, music
Pollock’s Toy Museum will be re-emerging from its lockdown closure this autumn with reduced opening times but with the addition of weekly guided tours to whet the appetite of fans of historical playthings. Three men and a dog. Seth, Haggis, Eddy, and Jack prepare to re-open Pollocks Toy Museum. Since 1968 Pollock’s Toy Museum has …
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A new documentary film takes a look back to the musical movement to tackle the rise of racism in Britain in the late 1970s. White Riot tells the story of a late 1970s youth movement. Photo: Syd Shelton. White Riot is a film by Rubika Shah and takes its name from a track on The …
Continue reading "An inspiring story about the late 1970s when music really did change the world"
A history of Mortimer Street and its artistic connections will be uncovered in a talk this month given by a curator from the Museum of London. Mortimer Street in Fitzrovia has a hidden artistic history. The streets around Mortimer Street in Fitzrovia became the base for figures as diverse as Virginia Woolf, George Orwell, Karl …
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Julian and Sandy was a sketch segment in the BBC radio comedy programme Round the Horne from 1965 to 1968, the characters proved to be one of the most successful parts of the show. Local musician, Gary Yershon. Photo: Marie Lautiers. As well as being a successful comedy routine, Julian and Sandy were notable for …
The Cartoon Museum is hosting an online exhibition of prisoner of war cartoons to commemorate the 75th anniversary this month of the Victory over Japan, and which ended the Second World War. "Looting be damned! -- I've just caught it!" © The Estate of Basil Parry Akhurst, image scanned from the original albums and is …
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Graduating students from the Royal College of Art MA photography course will display their work at four Fitzrovia galleries this month in place of their usual degree show which had to be cancelled due to Covid-19. Photo: Nadja Ellinger, at Fitzrovia Chapel. The degree show would not only have been an opportunity to bring together …
Police and an ambulance attended a large and noisy "end of lockdown party" at a short-let apartment in Fitzrovia on the morning of Sunday 5 July after someone was taken ill. Police and ambulance attend after someone is taken ill at the party on Sunday morning. The party, at 64 Charlotte Street, started at around …
By Helen McMurray The impact of the coronavirus epidemic on businesses and jobs is becoming all too obvious now. Since we live so close to Theatreland, you may have already heard from people connected with the Performing Arts of the particular difficulties they are going through, and I understand that former employees across all the …
Continue reading "A large financial boost is needed to save the performing arts"
By Robert Cunning I first met Harry Jonas in the early 1980s. I was a volunteer with Islington social services, and a message came in to help an ageing artist, who thought he was the best painter in Britain. Harry Jones lived at 35 Maple Street (with arched window). Photographed in 1969. Source: London Metropolitan …
Continue reading "The artist Harry Jonas – ‘Last of the Fitzrovians’"
The Colony Room in Dean Street W1 was a living-room-sized drinking club for members only, above an Italian restaurant up a long dirty staircase. It was at the heart of a post-war Soho packed with pubs, clubs and restaurants full of people wanting to get off their heads on drink or drugs, debate, argue, and …
Continue reading "Soho’s lost post-war living room of badly behaved bohemians"
The Fitzrovia Chapel, in Pearson Square, is hosting a virtual exhibition entitled “Portraits for NHS Heroes” showcasing portraits of NHS staff, created during the current crisis. There is some very accomplished work on display, elegantly complemented by the Chapel’s extravagant interior. The Net Gallery in partnership with Tom Croft have created the virtual exhibition at …
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An early morning stroll along Whitfield Street after officers have driven away their vehicles from outside the British Transport Police central London headquarters reveals the beautiful mosaics created nearly two decades ago. Up close it is difficult to discern what they are. But cross to the other side of the road and they emerge as …
Continue reading "Public art in Fitzrovia: On Reflection, British Transport Police headquarters"
Although galleries have been closed since March, most have beefed up their online presence enabling art lovers to get their aesthetic fix from the comfort of their laptop. Where galleries used to only have a limited selection of images from the current exhibition on their website, to encourage you to visit, they now have whole …
A Fitzrovia playwright and an oboe soloist will both join a cast of the many this week to produce a tribute to Beethoven, and fundraise for the NHS and musicians affected by the Covid-19 crisis. Local playwright Sue Blundell and Fitzrovia Music Festival (FitzFest) founder Dan Bates will be joined by musical director Elliott Devivo …
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It is no substitute for social distancing and washing your hands to stop the spread of Covid-19, but wearing a washable, cloth face mask when you go shopping or have to use public transport could help stop you spreading the virus if you don't know you have it. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has now …
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Tenants of one of the smallest and most well-loved pubs in Fitzrovia are appealing for funds from its customers to enable it to re-open when social distancing measures are relaxed and London returns to some sort of normality, whenever that may be. Bradley's Spanish Bar, tucked away off Oxford Street in the tiny single-track lane …
By Stephen Heath For those struggling for a glimmer of cheer in these grim times, I do recommend a brisk walk (or two) up to Shaheen Peerbhai's Miel Bakery on Warren Street. Unlike its now boarded up neighbour, our other favourite foodie haunt, the iconic Honey & Spice, it is still open and offering a limited …
Continue reading "Mouth-wateringly good, baked comfort food to take away on Warren Street"
Camden Council has been criticised for its choice of contractor to undertake the restoration of the Fitzrovia Mural and the way it handled the competitive tendering process. Kristina O'Donnell, whose father and uncle are depicted in the mural, says she is "heartbroken by the decision" to award the contract to Global Street Art to restore …
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All Souls Primary School is holding its annual winter fair this Friday and promises lots of festive and fun activities. There will be lots of stalls to choose from with cakes, popcorn, savoury food, mulled wine and hot chocolate among the many treats on offer. There will also be a Santa grotto, crafts, games and …
A special exhibition featuring 14 artists will reflect on the unique collection of dolls, teddy bears, and toy theatres, at Pollock's Toy Museum in Fitzrovia this month. A Pollock's Gallimaufry will be a month long event showing works by contemporary artists working in a variety of crafts and media inspired by the unique, mostly Victorian, …
Continue reading "Museum is keeping the drama of toy theatre alive with a new exhibition"
