Dont keep calm, get angry

Approximately 15,000 to 20,000 people marched through South London today in protest against proposed closures to Lewisham hospital. Protesters included nurses that appeared in the opening ceremony of last year’s Olympic Games when Danny Boyle showed how proud this country is of the NHS

The A&E, maternity and other services are planned to close due to the debts incurred by other hospitals, not Lewisham. The closures will therefore put more pressure on nearby hospitals that are already in financial difficulty.

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The Royal Albert Hall

The Royal Albert Hall complete with red London buses and flag waving visitors.

At the suggestion of Prince Albert proceeds from the Great Exhibition of 1851 were used to purchase land in south Kensington. The intention was to create museums, libraries and a hall. In 1863 money to build the hall was raised by selling 999 year leaseholds on seats costing £100 each. This proved very popular and 1,300 were sold.

The building was designed by Captain Francis Fowke and Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Darracott. Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone on 20 May 1867 and surprised everyone present when she decided to call it the Royal Albert Hall.

The hall holds 8,000 seats and had the reputation as the only auditorium were a musician could hear his music twice as the acoustics were so bad. This was finally resolved in 1968 when large saucers were hung from the ceiling. Many famous composers have performed in the Albert hall, such as Richard Wagner (1877) and since 1941 have held the annual Sir Henry Wood Promenade Concerts.

Construction of the Canary Wharf Crossrail Station

Billingsgate Fish Market

Since the early ninth century fish has been sold from this site as Billingsgate Quay was used by fisherman to land and sell their catch in the nearby streets.  For almost 1,000 years the fish market remained at Billingsgate. In 1327 Edward III granted a charter prohibiting any rival markets setting up within 6.6 miles of Billingsgte, this being the distance a trader could be expected to travel, set up, sell and return home in one day.

In 1699 an Act of Parliament was passed allowing a 'free and open market' and all types of fish to be sold in Billinsgate except eels. This was restricted only to Dutch fisherman in recognition of their help in feeding Londoners during the Great Fire of 1666.

The current building was reconstructed by City Architect Horace Jones, who also created the design for Tower Bridge, and built by John Mowlem. It was opened by the Corporation of London in 1877 and is now a listed building.

The market finally moved to a larger site at Poplar in 1982 and the site was developed as a trading hall for the banking sector. There were fears that the building would collapse once the refrigerated arcades of brick and cast iron, permanently frozen for hundreds of years, were de-frosted. Fortunately the building survived unlike the fortunes of the developers as the building has remained empty and never used as a financial trading hall due to one economic crisis or another.

Sir Walter Raleigh

"There are two things scarce matched in the universe the sun in heaven and the Thames on earth" Sir Walter Raleigh

A normal London corner shop

Just a normal corner shop in East London. Eat your heart out Apu.

Let it rain

An alleyway at the Borough Market

New Years Day

New years day in Greenwich Park. New bikes, new skates and new footballs.