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Elephants in London – Quiz Results

Written on July 1, 2011 by Peter Berthoud in Architecture, Elephants, Sculpture

The deadline for entries to London’s most prestigious elephant based photo quiz has now passed. Overnight a hand-picked team has checked and re-checked all the answers provided. And the winner, with the greatest tally of correctly located elephants is ….

The Georgian Group!

So now they are pre-eminent not only as the Nation’s guardians of Georgian buildings, monuments and landscapes but they are also London’s leading pachyderm spotters! If you don’t know about the work of this excellent organisation there is a link to their website here.

Congratulations! Your prize, a copy of Jan Bondeson’s Animal Freaks, will be hand-delivered to you in Fitzroy Square in the next few days!

For everybody else who entered, thank you and commiserations. To put you out of your misery here are the locations of all 21 elephants.

I have collected many other London elephants and will publish them here on a regular basis.

1 Africa House, Kingsway

2 Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre

3 India House, Aldwych

4 Oriental Club, Stratford Place

5, South Africa House, Trafalgar Square

6 Camden High Street

7 Animals At War Memorial, Park Lane

8 Liberty, Gt. Marlborough St.

9 Albert Memorial, Kensington Gardens

10 Holland Street Chelsea

11 Allington House, Victoria St

12 South Lambeth Road Vauxhall

13 Baby Tembo LSE, Clare Market

14 Entrance to St Katherine’s Docks

15, Adelphi, John Adam St

16 Fenchurch Street, City

17, Cutlers’ Hall, Warwick Lane, City

18 Selfridges Duke St. Entrance

19 Chapel, Lincoln’s Inn

20 Outer Circle, Regent’s Park, Nr. Zoo

21, Burlington Arcade Piccadilly

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The Violette Szabó Mural 10 Years On

Written on June 26, 2011 by Peter Berthoud in Memorials, Murals

This mural in Stockwell was unveiled on the 26th June 2001, on what would have been Violette Szabo’s 80th birthday. Click to enlarge images.

The mural is part of the Stockwell War Memorial, Stockwell Road. It is painted on the side of a WWII deep level shelter.

It commemorates, Violette Szabo who lived in Stockwell and who was an undercover secret agent for the SOE (Special Operations Executive) in Occupied France during WWII. After undertaking two secret missions, she was captured, tortured and executed in 1945.

Her life was famously dramatised in the film Carve Her Name with Pride, starring Virginia McKenna and the book of the same name by R. J. Minney. As an agent in the SOE, she was issued with the haunting coded poem The Life That I Have.

The life that I have
Is all that I have
And the life that I have
Is yours

The love that I have
Of the life that I have
Is yours and yours and yours

A sleep I shall have
A rest I shall have
Yet death will be but a pause

For the peace of my years
In the long green grass
Will be yours and yours
And yours

This is not the only memorial to Violette Szabó in London but it is the only one under threat. A decade of sunshine has faded the colours and the paint has started to peel.

London Mural Preservation Society exists to “protect, preserve and celebrate murals in the communities where they were created.” There is a link to their feature on this mural here. There is also an opportunity to volunteer or to donate to their work.

For more on the remarkable life of Violette Szabó and her Stockwell connections, see this article from Stockwell News. For details of her other memorials in London see the excellent London Remembers site here.

The full text of the accompanying accompanying plaque reads:

In Memory of

Violette Szabó GC

and the

Stockwell Residents

who gave their lives in World War II

Unveiled by Virginia McKenna at a Special Remembrance Service on 26 June 2001, the 80th anniversary of Violette’s birth,. in the presence of Tania Szabó, the Mayor of Lambeth and the Brixton & Stockwell British Legion.

Mural designed & painted by Brian Barnes and Marya Harris, based on designs from pupils at Stockwell Park School.

A Stockwell Partnership project with the Clapham & Stockwell Town Centre Initiative and Transport for London Street Management

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The Tastiest Elephant in London

Written on June 18, 2011 by Peter Berthoud in Elephants, Food & Drink

>Went to Brixton Village Market today, I hadn’t been for more than two years, I’ll be going a lot more now!

I am one of those awkward veggie types, so whilst the market’s displays of Goat’s heads, Giant African Snails (sold live) and Pig Tails by the box, were always interesting to pass by, I had never really considered the market as a dining option.

Times have changed, there are now loads of really nice looking little places to eat and drink. On account of the name alone, a friend and I chose this one for lunch.

It is tiny, a two man operation specialising in authentic Pakistani street food with room for no more than 16 diners. It has been open for just over a week. One inside wall is decorated with this rather lovely wallpaper.

It won’t be the wallpaper that draws me back though, but the quality and value of the food. An absolutely delicious veggie Thali cost just £6.50, comprising Curry, Rice, Daal, Salad, Raita and Naan. Chicken and Keema are just 45p more for carnivores. They also do Samosas, Pakora, Kulfi, Masala Chai and Lassi.

The Daal was the most perfectly spiced that I have ever had. Next time I might just have Daal and Naan for a mere £4.50.

Every table was occupied during our time there and you could hear from the conversations going on around us, that everybody felt that they had just made a fantastic discovery. Nobody paid their bills without personally thanking the chef for the great food and the co-owner for his friendly service.

These guys have got a great formula and I am sure they will need bigger premises very soon.They currently occupy 55 Granville Arcade, Coldharbour Lane, Brixton SW9 8PS.

Apparently the Market has become a dining destination for foodies only relatively recently, most of the new cafes are less than 18 months old. So even if Pakistani street food isn’t your cup of chai there are loads of other new places to try out, along with art, vintage fashion etc. Still plenty of traditional stalls left too for curious veggies or determined meat eaters.

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