Jukebox at St Pancras International

The St Pancras free-to-play jukebox.

If you enter St Pancras International station, from Pancras Road, and head to your right, you will see a jukebox tucked away below platforms 11 to 13.

It was installed in 2017 and is free-to-play and has over 50,000 tunes to play. These cover Top 40 hits from the last 50 years from over 18.000 artists. 

These include: The Beatles, David Bowie, Ed Sheeran, Elvis Presley, Iron Maiden, Rag'n'Bone Man and many more.

'Dock Life Renewed': A talk by photographer Niki Gorick

'Dock Life Renewed' by Niki Gorick.

Thursday March 21, 2024.

It was a little bit of rush to leave work, head home, get changed and walk to Watford Metropolitan station, to catch the train to London. My mum, who had made her way to Croxley station, was waiting on the platform as my train pulled in.

Once aboard we settled down and enjoyed the ride to Finchley Road, where we switched to a Jubilee line train for the rest of our journey to the Isle of Dogs.

Arriving at Canary Wharf station we made our way along Bank Street and on to the South Dock, crossing the South Quay Footbridge to look for somewhere to buy a bite to eat.

Just along South Quay Walk, near Admirals Way, we found a collection of street food vendors. There was Burrito, Chinese, Greek, Indian and Lebanese. We opted for Lebanese, which was tasty and filling. The owner was friendly and obviously took a liking to the two of us, as he gave us a free drink and extra meat on our dishes. 

The Burrito Bro and Steam Momo vans. 

Lebanese street food van.

With our hunger now satisfied, we made our way along South Quay Walk towards the Millwall Cutting and our destination... the Theatreship.

The venue.

After taking the obligatory photos of the surrounding buildings and the Theatreship we boarded the vessel, and made our way downstairs to the bar area. 

'Theatreship', South Quay, Isle of Dogs

Theatreship open for entertainment.

The Theatreship is a new, as of 2024, world-class performing arts space on a historic ship, moored on the Millwall Cutting on the Isle of Dogs. It is the Millwall Cutting that links the South Dock with the Millwall Inner Dock and, until the 1950s, continued to the River Thames via the Millwall Slipway.

I visited the ship just weeks after it opened to hear a talk by Niki Gorick, about her book 'Dock Life Renewed', for which the Theatreship was the perfect venue.

Lovingly restored and fitted with a new spacious interior bar area and an events space, with tiered seating, it is a remarkable piece of renovation and foresight.

A new name for a historic ship.

Brief History

The ship was built in 1913 and weighs 300-tonnes. She began life as a sailing cargo barge, that transported cargo like coal and grain from Europe to London. She would continue in service for over 100 years serving the ports of Northern Europe, before she was retired.

Battersea Park

Looking down on Battersea Park, from Lift 109.

One of London's parks, that I have started to visit a lot more, is Battersea Park in Wandsworth. 

This sprawling park is full of walking routes, a bandstand, boating lake, cafes, a children's playground, children's zoo, cricket pitches, a gallery, an Old English Garden, Sub-Tropical Gardens and so much more, so there is something for everyone.

With the new Battersea Power Station tube station, Queenstown and Battersea Park railway stations all within easy walking distance, exploring this expansive park has never been easier.

Sub-Tropical Gardens.

Even during the winter months, when the trees are bare and the Rosary Gardens are pruned. the Sub-Tropical Gardens are still colourful enough to brighten my day. 

The paths that meander around the park and boating lake are usually under tree cover, unless it is one of the paths that crosses the large green spaces, for which little cover is available.

During the warmer months the whole park becomes an oasis that becomes home to myriad animal species, with non-native birds roosting in the trees.

This tranquil space is used by many joggers, dog walkers, fitness fanatics and the like, all trying to find their own little piece of the park, while cyclists stick to their routes while parents dawdle along the paths, while their children explore the wide open spaces and the bushes along the paths.

Flowers in the Sub-Tropical gardens.

Plus, sitting by the Peace Pagoda I can take in the views along the River Thames towards Fulham, Chelsea and Westminster. It is fast becoming my favourite park to visit, as it is unlike, in my opinion, any of the other parks within London.

'Robert' the Steam Locomotive, Stratford

Keilyn and Erin with Robert, 2013.

Should you ever find yourself in Stratford, either for shopping, to wander around the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, to see the Cart & Horses (birthplace of Iron Maiden) or just to visit, then make sure to look out for 'Robert', the steam locomotive.

Set on a plinth, just outside Stratford station, on Station Street, he is a great photo opportunity, as it is not often you can get this close to a steam locomotive, these days.

We first saw 'Robert', back in 2013, when we took Erin and Keilyn for a wander around the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It was quite a surprise to walk out of the station to then come face-to-face with a massive steam locomotive.