A walk through Poplar – Brutalism and Beyond

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Last week Sunday at this time, I was in the middle of sunny Poplar to take another guided walk. Poplar, you might ask- why? It’s easy. I have been to the area on two occasions in “interactive games” – one time at a treasure hunt with A Door In a  Wall in the Lansbury Estate and one time at an immersive Macbeth Theatre event in the Balfron Tower. In both occasions, i had become curious on what is behind these (on the first view) so grim masses of concrete.

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Balfron Tower is part of the Brownfield estate and one of Poplar’s most popular buildings.

Luckily for me, Andrew Parnell of Footprints of London is offering an architectural Walk through the social housing estates of Poplar, called “Stock Bricks to Brutalism: Housing Design History in Poplar” – so this was the perfect opportunity to learn more. Not that I am any expert in Architecture – far from it. But I am interested in seeing the design of housing, see patterns and ideas behind the planning and – how it has turned out in reality (and as Poplar Shows, the planned effects have not always been reached).  Continue reading →

#365DaysofLondonBaby – Day 21 – Sonos Studios

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Its almost weekend! In case you find yourself in Shoreditch or simply need an injection of creativity or hipsterism, check out the Sonos Studio in Club Row.

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During a recent stroll through Shoreditch, I had the urge for a good cup of coffee. I was in Redchurch street at that time, so the first place that came into my mind was Allpress (58 Redchurch Street). But the lines were long as usual, so I spotted a small sign just a corner further, pointing to a place that I had not noticed before – 21 Club Row, just off Redchurch street.

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#365DaysofLondonBaby – Day 20- Walk the Circle Line on Sunday!

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Good morning! The weekend is almost here and the lovely folk from Walk London (the organisers of the great free walk weekends a few times a year!) have contacted me to share their next walking event with you. Its a walk along the Circle Line (or for non-Londoners, the yellow tube line) and its taking place This Sunday, 13th March, from 10:00 am.

I think you can’t just walk around London enough and this is a perfect opportunity to start (no time this weekend, here are some other tips to start walking in London!). The walk suits all abilities, as there are 4 starting points on the route (see map below in red), so you can choose the section nearest to your house or your favourite section and since its a circular walk, you can either go for the full 14.5 miles or just drop out at any point in time. And, the route is a “highlights of London” walk- it will pass through many of London’s historical landmarks such as Westminster, Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge as well as many hidden gems, beautiful parks and charming neighbourhoods.

Circle Line map

You can find an interactive version of the map here (as soon as its public access, I’ll embed it into this post but for now we need to do with the static version :))

The starting times for the four sections are 10am, 12pm, 2pm and 4pm  in: Fitzroy Square Gardens, St Botolph-without-Bishopgate Gardens, Christchurch Gardens and Kensington Gardens.

The Walk is for free, but you need to register – click here!

At the same time, the walk is a charity event for Sport Relief, so if you feel like supporting to this worthwhile cause, feel free to raise funds or donate. Any donation will help a young person, living with a disability in the UK to take part in sporting activities – so the money you fundraise can make a significant difference to someone’s life.

Happy Walking!!

 

 

 

 

 

#365DaysofLondonBaby Day 19- Get your Goat Race Tickets

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Wow, time is flying, London Baby is getting almost a year old, and one of the first posts was on the “Boat Race vs. Goat Race”, two annual institutions in London (one very old and one new institution :))

Now, tickets for the Goat race 2016 have been released and they are going fast! The event takes place on Sunday, 27th March (at the same time as the Oxford vs. Cambridge Boat Race on the Thames). But, let me refresh you on the Goat race….(picture credit http://www.demotix.com)

 

The Goat race

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#365DaysofLondonBaby – Day 17- The Doodle Man Exhibition – back again!

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Great news! The Doodle Man is back in Hoxton Gallery this Weekend (4th March-6th March) – come back again or see it if you haven’t…..

This year’s art season is in full swing, with many great exhibitions around town. If you are in the mood for something different, you have until Wednesday 24th of February to head down to Old…

Source: #365DaysofLondonBaby – Day 17- The Doodle Man Exhibition

Thats London Baby on Instagram!

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After almost a year of London Baby (wow, time flies!), I am happy to announce the LondonBaby Social Media Family has welcomed another member: @thatslondonbabyblog on Instagram! Check it out (and follow, if you like) here! 

Also, feel free to share great pictures – I am sure they might be better than mine 🙂

 

#365DaysofLondonBaby – Day 18-Raw Food Workshop

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Good morning! Spring is coming closer, an not only our (tiny London) flats need a spring clean, but our body will be thankful for one too! Luckily, Londoners have been jumping on the healthy eating bandwagon and you’ll hear talks about the latest superfoods, smoothies, and the likes all around you. There are great places to get your fix on healthy eating (e.g. the lovely MAE Deli in Marylebone) and drinking (Press London is one of the pioneers in cold-press juices). In short- it’s very much part of London’s “Zeitgeist” nowadays.

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#365DaysofLondonBaby – Day 17- The Doodle Man Exhibition

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This year’s art season is in full swing, with many great exhibitions around town. If you are in the mood for something different, you have until Wednesday 24th of February to head down to Old Street for a fine, little and fun exhibition.

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During a recent stroll through Shoreditch, I saw a street artist in Great Eastern Street taking on the Herculean task of covering (at least) one massive wall in tiny doodles. He was so focussed on the task at hand, that I didn’t dare to interrupt him.

Today, I saw him back quite unexpectedly – in his very own art Exhibition at the Hoxton Gallery in Old Street.

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Here, The Doodle Man, as he is known, presents his very own version of the last supper.  Continue reading →

Free Walks This Weekend – That’s London Baby’s recommendations!

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If you are still wondering what to do this weekend, or if you finally wanted to go on a guided walk and you have put it off for whatever reason, this weekend offers a great opportunity to get walking!

Walk London is having their annual winter weekend of free walks (there are further weekends in Spring and Fall). That’s more than 40 guided walks through all areas of London, all funded and paid for by TfL. Many of those are normally paid walks. They come in all sizes and interests – short walks, touristy walks, special topics (e.g. literary or spy walks), central location, outside, long walks….there is even one section of the Capital Ring covered!

They even created a map, showing the starting points of all walks:

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#365DaysofLondonBaby – Day 16 – Acton Trampoline Park

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London in Pre-christmas time can be great, but its often a bit stressful. If you are looking to get away from the Christmas stress or for a fun way to get moving and burn all the calories from your Christmas party, take the Central or Piccadilly line (the red and the dark blue line…) and head to Acton to bounce it all off.

wp-1450045295670.jpg Specifically, visit London’s first Trampoline Park, Oxygen Freejumping. Make sure you book your tickets online beforehand though, as Oxygen have been buzzing and busy since the first day they opened earlier this year. The park provides over 100 trampolines (we did not count them all, but there are so many!) across different trampoline fields (see above) on 27,000 square feet. You can even bounce across the walls ! They also have a trampoline academy, with 4 professional sports trampolines and an aircushion where you can practice all crazy moves without hurting yourself.

wp-1450045295687.jpgIf you ever wanted to compete in American Gladiators, Takeshi’s Castle or the like TV shows from the 1980s and 1990s, there is also an obstacle course with foam cubes underneath.

There is also a Pizza restaurant and coffee on site where you can overlook your friends bouncing up and down or cool off after your session (1 hours per session sounds short but you’ll be tired after that!).

What is also nice is that they try to use the site in many more ways, offering children’s parties (bouncing and food), but also trampoline fitness, free running classes, a trampoline academy, proper adult evening events and others.

Freestyle bouncing sessions cost £12.50 per person, plus £2 for special bouncing socks (good quality, you can re-use them). Its absolutely essential to book in advance, you don’t want to make the trip to an Acton industrial area without a good reason!

The adres is

Unit 15, Vision Industrial Park, Kendal Avenue, London W3 0AF

and the opening times are from 9am-10pm every day, except for Sunday, where the closing time is 9pm.

Happy jumping!