Paddington Bear

Paddington Bear statue at Paddington station.

This statue of Paddington Bear, at Paddington station, is a bronze sculpture by Marcus Cornish. Considering Paddington Bear has been around since 1958 the statue wasn't erected until 2000.

The origins of London's most famous 'fictional' bear, Paddington, began in 1958, when Michael Bond wrote 'A Bear Called Paddington'. He had been shopping and seen a lone teddy bear, in a London shop, "looking forlorn", and based Paddington on him. It took Michael Bond just 10 days to write the first story.

Michael Bond remembered watching newsreels of children being evacuated, during World War II, who had labels around their necks, carrying bags containing their possessions, which gave him the inspiration for the style.

Paddington Bear plaque at Paddington station.

The first story, 'A Bear Called Paddington', sees the Brown family arriving at Paddington station and discovering the bear, sitting on his suitcase with a note attached to his coat that read , 'Please look after this bear. Thank you'. The Browns are unable to pronounce the bear's name in its bear language, so, they call him Paddington, as that is where they found him.

Originally, Paddington was to have "travelled from darkest Africa", but, as his agent pointed out, there are no bears in Africa, so he changed it to "darkest Peru", where the spectacled bear comes from. It is Paddington's Aunt Lucy who sends Paddington to London, as a stowaway, after his uncle Pastuzo has moved to a Home for Retired Bears, in Lima. Paddington tells them, "I came in a lifeboat and ate marmalade. Bears like marmalade."

32 Windsor Gardens, from 'Paddington' (2014).

So, the Brown family, that includes the parents, Henry and Mary, and their children, Jonathan and Judy, take Paddington home to 32 Windsor Gardens.

Paddington was always polite, addressing everyone with their title, but hardly ever using their first name. He also had a capacity to innocently get himself into trouble, while trying so hard to do things right.

However, those who incurred his disapproval would be met with one of his special 'hard stares'.

Master Oak: The Oldest Tree in Middlesex

The Master Oak.

No one knows how old this ancient oak is, but it is believed to have been an acorn during the time of King Henry VIII (1491-1597).

During his reign many oaks were felled for the building of his warships, as timber for barns, barrels, furniture and for firewood. Oak smoke was also used to cure food as a way to preserve it.

It was certainly growing well in the late 17th century, when the Poet Laureate, John Dryden, rewrote a verse from Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales':

"The monarch oak, the patriarch of the trees,

Shoots rising up, and spreads by slow degrees.

Three centuries he grows, and three he stays

Supreme in state; and in three more decays."

The Master has a shape that shows that it probably had its branches and top removed to encourage growth. The pollarded wood was probably used for fuel.

'Time and Tide Bell' by Marcus Vergette

Attached to the sea wall of Trinity Buoy Wharf is this bell, designed by the sculptor Marcus Vergette.

The unique design of the bell, developed by Marcus Vergette and Dr Neil McLachlan, means the bell is rung by the river to mark each high tide. Uniquely, from just one strike the bell sounds different notes one after the other to form a melody.

"Fixed in space, rung by the power of nature, yet making ever-changing sounds, the bell symbolises the complex relationship between man and his environment. The Time and Tide Bell creates, celebrates and reinforces connections between our history and our environment. Here at Trinity Buoy Wharf Leamouth, it will serve as a powerful marker of sea level rise at the very heart of our maritime history." 

- Marcus Vergette

The Trinity Buoy Wharf Bell was launched at high tide on September 19, 2010.

Part of the 'Time and Tide Series', this 3 metre tall bell, cast in aluminium bronze, is third in a planned series of twelve bells, located throughout the United Kingdom. 

The first bell was installed at Appledore, North Devon, while the second was installed at Great Bernera, Outer Hebrides.

Walking with Keilyn: Crystal Palace Park and Wellington Arch

Sunday March 30, 2025.

The day was set to be a warm one, as Keilyn and I set off for Watford Metropolitan station, ready to begin another day in London. However, unlike our usual visits, I had yet to decide where to go. So, we sat on the train, which would be terminating at Baker Street, due to a points failure, still wondering where to go. Approaching Finchley Road, I had an idea, so we left the train and changed to a Jubilee line train, which we took to Green Park. Here we changed to a Victoria line train, heading for Brixton.

On exiting the station we had one minute to get to Bus Stop 'Q', where we hopped aboard the 432 towards Anerley Station. Roughly 30 minutes later we got off the bus, at Thicket Road, with Keilyn still having no idea where we were going.

We entered Crystal Palace Park, via Cintra Gate and found ourselves on the Lower Terrace. Once I had explained where we were we went off to explore the terraces, sphinxes, ruins and, of course, the BBC Transmitter.

Much of the structure is now protected, by metal railings, with some of the statues in a sorry state. Walking along the upper terrace you get a sense of how massive the site is. Standing at the top of the steps we were both amazed by how far we could see, so stunning was the view.

We then headed down the park towards the National Sports Centre, where people were running around the track, while others were practising Beach Volley Ball.

Following the path we descended the steps and turned south, heading around the lakes in search of the dinosaurs and other extinct animals. We spent a good forty-five minutes wandering around, spotting as many of the animals as we could, with only the Pterodactyle being obscured by the overgrowth.

We then headed towards the Crystal Palace Park Market, that we had spotted earlier, in search of some lunch. The market had food stalls from various corners of the Earth, while other traders were here to sell their unique wares: cheese. chili, wines, pastries, herbs and the like. The smells were incredible, as we made our way through the market, making us hungrier than ever. 

It was then that Keilyn noticed a Hot Dog stall. The sausages were thick and a foot long and looked amazing. Keilyn ordered a six-inch one, with ketchup, while I had the foot-long, with onions, gherkins and chili sauce. With food in hand we sat on the grass, in the shade of a tree, and tucked in. They were delicious!

Feeling like our bellies were going to burst, we headed off around the Lower Lake, making our wat back towards the Bus Stop, stopping at a local shop to buy some more drinks and an ice cream for Keilyn.

Walking with friends: Barbican to Tower Bridge... and beyond

Thursday March 27, 2025.

Having celebrated my birthday, yesterday, I was eager to use my day off to visit London. With my girls at school I roped in my friend, Gary, to join me for the walk.

I took a bus to meet Gary at Rickmansworth station, where we caught a fast Aldgate-bound Metropolitan line train to Barbican. 

Our first stop was a visit to Postman's Park and the G.F. Watt's Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice, which Gary had never seen, before we continued our walk south towards St Paul's Cathedral.

Turning on to Foster Lane I spotted the two open blue doors and, after climbing the three stone steps, we found ourselves in a secluded courtyard. This courtyard, once part of a graveyard, is a public garden that is owned by the church of St Vedast-alias-Foster.

A tree acts as a centrepiece to the slabbed and pebbled space, with various potted plants and shrubs dotted around the space. Two white walls are in juxtaposition with the brick walls, while the covered arcade adds an almost Mediterranean feel to this tranquil space. A framed display of Roman pavement pieces along with various plaques adorn the walls, while a relief sculpture of Canon Mortlock, by Jacob Epstein, is affixed to another wall.

But, I was here to see a rather obscure brick. It is a mud brick, etched with cuneiform writing, that was unearthed in Iraq and is almost 3,000 years old. Strangely, there is no plaque or marker, so I had to do some research on this piece of ancient history, on my return home.

Just metres from this 'secret' garden we saw a London Plane tree, growing in the grounds of the former St Peter West Cheap Church grounds. This platanus x acerifolia tree is said to be the oldest tree in the City of London.

From here we continued our route, by following Cannon Street, to Eastcheap, before turning down Pudding Lane, passing the Monument, before reaching Lower Thames Street, where we visited the Church of St Magnus-the-Martyr.

The Church of St Magnus-the-Martyr is a wonderful Grade I listed church, which was one of the first buildings to be destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666. Although this church dates from 1687, there has been a church here since the 11th century. 

Inside this church there is a model of the Old London Bridge, which was created by David T Aggett, a member of the Metropolitan Police who rose to the rank of Detective Superintendent in the Fraud Squad. He was also a keen model maker and this model of Old London Bridge took almost three years to complete. As he was also a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers, he donated the model to St Magnus Church, which is the Plumbers' Company church. As a little joke he placed a Metropolitan Policeman on the bridge, which people can seek to find when admiring the model.

Having found the Policeman and some of the other interesting parts of the model we explored the rest of the building, before leaving the church and continued our walk along Lower Thames Street.

We stopped at Tower Hill Market for a bite to eat, which we ate on the square outside All Hallows by the Tower. The sun, by now, had burnt away the fog and mist, causing the temperature to soar, as we made our way across Tower Bridge to the south bank.