Bob the Brit

Archive for the ‘London’ Category

The Proms, or to give them their full name ‘The Promenade Concerts’ are a season of classical music concerts that take place each summer from mid-July to mid-September at the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington, west London.

The first ‘prom’ was held in August 1895 under the auspices of the theatrical empressario Robert Newman with the intention of popularising classical music for the masses. He engaged the conductor Henry Wood and it is Wood’s name that is most associated with the proms.

The BBC became involved in 1926 and the proms are now known as the ‘BBC Proms’.

The origin of the word ‘Promenade’ is the practice that continues to this day of reserving a thousand tickets for sale on the day of the performance to ‘promenaders’ (or ‘prommers’). These tickets, as the name suggests, are standing only and are very popular.

In the 2009 season the concert run exceeds one hundred performances for the first time, and alongside more traditional classical composers the music of Bollywood movies and MGM Musicals will be featured. The 2008 proms included a special Doctor Who concert that included appearances by characters from the BBC TV Series.

By far the best known and most popular of the proms is the last night. ‘The Last Night of the Proms’ is a patriotic celebration that culminates with much waving of union flags and raucous singing of ‘Jerusalem’, ‘Rule Britannia’ and ‘Land of Hope and Glory’.

 The performances are so popular that the BBC holds open air concerts around the country with video links back to the Albert Hall for the climax of the concert.

The South Bank of the Thames has a distinct character, much like the ‘left bank’ of the River Seine in Paris. although in recent years ‘the South Bank’ has grown somewhat.

Traditionally the South Bank described the area south of the River Thames between Blackfriars and Waterloo bridges, it was the site of the ‘Festival of Britain’ on reclaimed marshland in 1951, Britain’s post-war celebration. 

Of that festival, now only the Royal Festival Hall remains (it’s a prestigious concert venue). The site now additionally houses the National Theatre and the National Film Theatre.

Despite its lofty intentions, it’s not terribly popular, the ‘brutalist’ concrete slab architecture is uninviting and the subways towards Waterloo station are a haven for vagrants and feel unsafe after dark.

In recent years, however,  the regeneration of the land’ south of the river’ and the opening of a riverside walk has meant that effectively the ‘South Bank’ now stretches from Tower Bridge to Westminster.

This means the ‘South Bank’ now encompasses the Design Museum (slightly east of Tower Bridge), Hays Galleria (between Tower Bridge and London Bridge), Borough Market (south of Southwark Cathedral), the recreation of Shakespeare’s ‘Globe’ Theatre, the Tate Modern art gallery, and the London Eye (adjacent to Westminster Bridge).

London,  is one of twenty three cities in England to have a Lord Mayor but, to my knowledge is the only city to be ‘blessed’ with two mayors; the City of London has a Lord Mayor – a role created in 1189 and elected each year by the Aldermen of the City, while the role of Mayor of London was introduced in the year 2000.

Lord Mayor

By far the most famous of the Lord Mayors of London is Dick Whittington who was Lord Mayor on four separate occasions between 1398 and 1420, hence the rhyme in the famous pantomime of Dick Whittington and his Cat:

Turn again, Whittington,
Once Mayor of London!
Turn again, Whittington,
Twice Mayor of London!
Turn again, Whittington,
Thrice Mayor of London!

The cat, incidentally was not of the feline variety, but rather a small sailing vessel, as Whittington was a prosperous trader before entering politics. But we Brits never let the facts interfere with a good pantomime.

The Lord Mayor is elected each November, and his (or her – there have been over seven hundred Lord Mayors, and thus far only one woman has served – Dame Mary Donaldson, elected in 1983) election is followed by the ‘Lord Mayor’s Show’ which is a ceremonial parade through the City of London. The great Livery Companies are represented along with various privileged military regiments. On occasions in 18th and 19th centuries the parade took place on barges on the River Thames, giving rise to the term ‘float’ beaing used for canival vehicles.

Mayor of London

In contrast the Mayor of London is head of the London Assembly and is elected by the population of Greater London.

The first Mayor of London was Ken Livingstone (Socialist) a former leader of the Greater London Council and long time thorn in the side of both Labour and Conservative governments.

 Ken Livingstone was elected in both 2000 and 2004, but unexpectedly beaten in 2008 by the eccentric Conservative Boris Johnson.

At the western end of Piccadilly stands the traffic intersection known as ‘Hyde Park Corner’ – in the central island (or roundabout as we Brits call them) stands a massive triumphal arch – ‘Wellington Arch’ – topped with a statue of the goddess Nike and built to commemorate the Duke of Wellington’s victory over Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815.

Standing on the northern side of the intersection stands Apsley House, originally built  in the 1770′s by the renowned architect Robert Adam for the then Lord Chancellor Lord Apsley. 1807 the house was purchased by Richard Wellesley – the 1st Marquess Wellesley – but he sold it in 1817 to his younger brother – Sir Arthur Wellesley – who was by then known as the Duke of Wellington. Wellington was progressing his political career, and the house is a short walk from the Palace of Westminster.

Apsley House was also known as Number One, London, as it was the first house encountered by travellers entering London through the turnpike at Knightsbridge. It was originally the first of an unbroken row of buildings along Piccadilly, but several were demolished to make way for Park Lane.

The current Duke of Wellington retains an apartment in the building, but the rest of the building forms the Wellington Museum, administered by English Heritage and is open to the public.

The nearest underground station is Hyde Park Corner on the Piccadilly Line, and the official address is 149 Piccadilly, but somehow ‘Number One, London’ is more befitting the memory of the great Duke of Wellington.

Covent Garden, in London’s West End, is one of London’s most popular tourist areas, the large open piazza and covered market stalls are a great place to spend a few hours on a summer’s day.

The name Covent Garden is derived from ‘Convent Garden’ as the area was the garden attached to the  Abbey (or Convent) of St. Peter, Westminster. The gardens covered around 40 acres of what is now the West End and were a major source of foodstuffs for the growing metropolis.  Following the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII in 1540 it was granted briefly to the Duke of Bedford, who bequeathed it to the Duke of Somerset, but it reverted to the Bedford household after the Duke of Somerset was beheaded for treason.

The 4th Earl of Bedford commissioned the design and construction of the Piazzas as we know them in the early 17th century, commissioning the architect Inigo Jones to design in the European style. As well as the market halls and the piazza, in 1633 Jones designed the church of St Paul in the south west corner of the piazza. Known as ‘the actors church’ it is on the steps of the church of St Paul that Henry Higgins first encounters Eliza Doolittle- the flower seller – in Pygmalion and My Fair Lady (the musical version of Pygmalion). The portico of the church also featured in the famous video of ‘Vienna’ by the 80′s band Ultravox.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves, the Covent Garden area remained a fruit and vegetable market until the 1970′s when the pressures of traffic to and from the market forced a relocation to ‘Nine Elms’ near Battersea in south west London.  Following the relocation of the flower market the site was redeveloped, reopening as a tourist desination in 1980. The area is the only part of central London licensed for street performers and any prospective performers must audition before they are allowed to perform. 

The area has a long history of performance though, Samuel Pepys recorded (on May 9th 1662) seeing a performance of ‘Punch and Judy’ – the first record of such. The event is commemorated by the name of the pub on site – the Punch and Judy.

Around the main Piazza there are a number of well regarded shopping streets, including Long Acre (which heads north-east towards Holborn and south-west towards Leicester Square), Neal Street (which heads north-west towards Bloomsbury), which is famous for its shoe shops.  

Some other places of note in Covent Garden are, of course, the Royal Opera House in the north-east corner, and the London Transport Museum in the south-east corner.