The Brits who Built the Modern World

My Sunday morning viewing has been catching up on the splendid BBC Four show "The Brits who Built the Modern World".

Famous to everybody Richard Rogers and Norman Foster, famous to the better informed and those in construction; Nicholas Grimshaw, Terry Farrell and Michael Hopkins.

You'd be surprised how many of their buildings you've met... famous and less famous. I've picked a few in London; but there are many, many more across the UK and the world.

Norman Foster - amongst others the famous Gherkin (30 St Mary Axe, headquarters of Swiss Re) and  London's shell-like City Hall.

Richard Rogers - amongst others, The O2 Arena (formerly known as the Millennium Dome). Not just a huge space for exhibition and events, but also symbolic. The diameter is 360 degrees (for almost the days in the year); there are 12 uprights (one for each month) - and the yellow pylons reach skywards in celebration. 

The big hole in the Dome is for the only structure (apart from the gasometer) which was on the derelict peninsula.

Terry Farrell - in connection with the above the now listed ventilation shafts from the Blackwall Tunnel making the distinctive hole in the Dome. Perhaps more famously the MI6 building on the north bank of the Thames out towards Vauxhall (sorry, no photo).

Nicholas Grimshaw - in London the now defunct Eurostar terminal at Waterloo Station; built with an amazing glass system to meet the shape and design needs.

Michael Hopkins - most controversially Portcullis House. Providing administrative space for the Houses of Parliament (hence the portcullis the symbol used by Parliament). Controversial as a modern building sandwiched amongst historic buildings. More impressive is the fact that it is built of the extended Westminster underground station, serving the Jubilee Line (one of the deeper lines in the centre of town); the amazing columns and architecture of the extended station are supporting Portcullis House above.

Do visit the BBC link to find out more if you are interested or visit the exhibition currently running at the RIBA in Portland Place (nearest tubes Great Portland Street or Regent's Park).

Calling time

If you were going to go to the expense of buying tickets for a concert, if you were going to go to the trouble of travelling to the venue, the least that you would want is to see the entire show.

This would, by all accounts, be quite difficult if you were going to see Guns 'n' Roses at the O2 this week. The band is famous for arriving late for performances - making your way from the inside of the main arena at the O2 back to North Greenwich underground station would probably leave you with no way back to Central London as the last tube going west leaves just after quarter past midnight. Granted you can still go East until gone 1am - and provided that the Blackwall Tunnel is open you can still get the 108 to East London - failing that there are always a reasonable amount of licensed taxis on the taxi rank.

However, I cannot take any venue seriously that has to warn customers to leave early in case they get stranded.

Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of Pharaohs

Today we were back at the O2 again (after our brief passage through from pier to bus station yesterday). This time we were off to the 'O2 Bubble' to see the Tutankamun exhibition. The tickets cost £15 each (they are more expensive on Friday through Sunday) and it was actually particularly good value for money.

We arrived and made our way through the queueing area and up the escalators to the entrance. From here we were shepherded into a viewing area (no seats!) to see a short introductory film. From here you could make your way through the various exhibit halls which make up the exhibition.

The exhibition was beautifully imagined and realised. The displays were perfectly lit, each room with just the right amount of exhibits. The information was located at several locations on each display (above and below the case as well as within the case). There were some amazing bits, such as the room with life sized replica columns and the room with replicas of the murals from burial chambers. The whole experience was extremely 'cinematic' in that it was 'moodily' lit and quite dark for most of the time - to the extent that I got lost on several occasions. It was informative and beautifully presented. These were the good things.

Of course there were some not so good points. The whole system for traversing the exhibition was extremely flawed. Far too many people were allowed in one 'sitting' and every room was over-crowded. It is unfortunate that we decided to go in the first week of the school holidays. Whilst there are undoubtedly many youngsters who are interested in the history of Ancient Egypt there are also a lot who are not, many of whom seemed to be visiting the same time as us today!

The biggest disappointment was the fact that the famous death mask of Tutankhamun was not included in the exhibit. Despite the fact that this features prominently on posters, the website and a lot of the souvenirs you will not see it at the O2 (apparently it is no longer allowed to leave Egypt). I did know this in advance of my visit today (I remembered reading about it before the exibit opened) and if you read the FAQs on the website it does confirm this. However, I'm sure that most people didn't read the FAQs or remember the news from the time and were extremely dissapointed at the end of the tour instead of seeing the death mask to find themselves in the gift shop!

After this we had lunch in McDonalds. It amused me deeply whilst having my lunch to find the 'nutrional advice' on the side of my fries and burger. Not only was I informed of the percentages of my RDA of various things (calories, fat, salt, etc.) but there was a dotted line to indicate 1/3 of the RDA to enable me to plan my balanced diet (that is what my burger said, anyway!). I know that McDonalds have tried to shed their fast food image over the last few years and do now sell some healthier options - but I can't think that anyone could possibly claim that a burger and fries in anyway could be seen as part of a balanced diet... after all, the only vegetable in evidence was the pickle!

Telectroscope

Tonight Rich and I visited the Telectroscope. This amazing exhibit allows you to stand on the South Bank in London (close to Tower Bridge) and wave at people standing in New York (near I think, the Brooklyn Bridge). Although open since the end of May the exhibit closes Sunday so we thought we'd better go and see it before it was too late.

We arrived from London Bridge, so from the rear of the Telectroscope (which is located just by City Hall). We were pleased to see that there didn't appear to be a queue. So we got our £1 entry fee ready and waited at the booth. It seemed to be taking quite a while for the people in front of us to pay, and I assumed that they were having a conversation with the ticket seller. Not so. The delay was due to the unique nature of the ticket booth. It was a mechanical booth with a pair of hands coming out from behind a curtain. At the deposit of your pound the hands 'wrote' your ticket and it shot down a hatch for collection, a new ticket appearing under the pen ready to be despatched. Cute. You walk around the side of the exhibit to the tunnel mouth where you look down at the screen.

The actual device is more impressive than standing waving at people in New York (which unless you have arranged to 'meet' a friend gets old pretty fast).

We walked back through a shopping arcade which appeared to be modelled on the late 19th Century railway stations (past, bizarrely and exhibition about the wonder of the potato!) and hopped back on the tube to North Greenwich.








Once there we 'popped' into the O2 for a drink. The square outside the O2 (which is still divided by hoardings, and therefore is still hard to imagine the claim that it is bigger than Leicester Square) has sprouted pavement fountains, which proved far too much temptation for a group of small children! To go into the O2 you have to pass through airport type security, and I felt quite cheated that I wasn't actually going anywhere other than the Slug and Lettuce!


Oh, and finally I discovered what the construction works that I've been seeing every morning are all about. I've watched as piling rigs came and went, several cranes and a fairly major steel superstructure has been erected. It is, apparently, some sort of educational establishment.

Oh Dear, O2

The Jubilee Line was beyond packed this evening. At first I thought this was because our train was 'regulating it's service' and spending at least 5 minutes at every station between Waterloo and Canary Wharf. When there was a mass exodus at North Greenwich I quickly changed my mind and surmised that the O2 must be to blame.

The crowd control barriers were up on platform 3. They finally seem to have learnt that a single tensile barrier just encourages people to duck under, so tonight there were two tapes between every post, and a very complex arrangement right by the escalator just to make sure.

I like to amuse myself by trying to gauge from the crowds what entertainment is on offer at the venue. I was puzzled tonight as there seemed to me a large amount of young (ish) boys and a good dose of kids. I forgot that the O2 doesn't just do music. A quick visit to the website satisfied my curiosity. World Wrestling Entertainment. All is explained.

Green Park station, incidentally, continues in it's transformation. Even more tiles have been stripped away in the ticket hall and the rough remains have been covered with heavy duty plastic-paper. Very attractive. The station deserves better. It is the first/last station before hitting the new stretch of the Jubilee Line (which has some frankly amazing stations) and as it is the station recommended to alight for Buckingham Palace (and other tourist attractions) it really needs to be more inviting. I can't wait to see what it looks like when it is finished!

Ugg boots and other things

I'm never one to be up with the latest fashions. I don't buy any womens magazines... and usually I only find out things when I read about them in a book! The other day I was reading one of those 'chick lit' novels (popular fiction written for women, often with a romantic focus). The outfit of the main character was described (presumably to help you get a feel for what sort of person she was, didn't work for me!) and the outfit was topped off with Ugg boots. Ugg boots. How strange I thought, and then as I wasn't anywhere near Google to look it up completely forgot about it! The other day at the bus stop I saw a woman wearing some beige boots. To me they looked like a pair of slippers I own... I probably wouldn't even have wondered but she was wearing them at the bottom of a business suit! Luckily I had my glasses on... and lo, Ugg was written on the back.

Now, maybe they look very nice with a pair of jeans or a pair of combats (although I'm unconvinced until I see it)... but definitely not with a suit! Definitely looked like she'd gone out wearing slippers! Ugg boots? In this case more like Ugg-ly!

I met a friend last night for drinks. We decided to go to the Dome (sorry the O2) as it is quite equidistant from our respective homes. We chose the Slug and Lettuce as we had liked it a lot the last time round. It was still pleasant and uncrowded... weather this is because nobody knows it is there yet... or it is too much of a trek in the week... at one point the bar staff started up table service though! I was a bit perplexed when we had to teach the barman how to make a white wine spritzer! I felt that should have earned us a discount.

The newspapers seemed surprised this morning that the grainy blurry photo of the small child which the tourist who took it was "certain" was the missing little girl who was snatched in Portugal turned out to be a completely different child. I was not. My colleagues insisted it looked 'just like' her yesterday - but as I pointed out... if you do not know a child well one small blonde girl looks pretty much like another... especially in a photo of that poor quality!

Busy night at the O2 again!

I am beginning to hate the O2!

I have been taking the same journey home from work pretty much continuously for the last six or seven years (with a few exceptions when I've been seconded to other sites etc.). I know where to stand on the platform at Green Park to make sure I get on the right doors, to make sure I am in the right bit of the carriage, to make sure I get off at the right spot when I get to North Greenwich... exactly opposite the up escalator. This even works when the train terminates at North Greenwich now, ever since they changed the polarity of the escalators on platforms 1 & 2!

However, recently I have discovered that there is an optimum time NOT to arrive at North Greenwich. This used to be at the peak rush hour which lasts until about 6:30. No longer. Not since the Dome. 7pm used to be pretty safe... quite quiet even. Not anymore. Now on platform three at the bottom of the escalator there are two platform staff and a length of tensa barrier... you now have to walk all the way to the end of the platform and round the tensa barrier to get to the escalator. I see what they are trying to do. I applaud their logic. What happens is that there is always a scrum at the bottom of the escalator as people try and filter into two lines. Well, one and a half really as most people prefer not to walk up. This leads to massive congestion. When it is busy, directing people along and back gives enough space for them to naturally filter into single file. However... not always are there TWO platform guards, sometimes only one. He then has to try and prevent people from ducking under the barrier and saving the walk... which he can't do as there is probably a good 20ft of barrier! This makes even worse chaos than the congestion which would have ensued at the bottom of the escalator!

In the long term I think it would be more cost effective to save the wages of the platform staff (and the cost of the barriers, which must need replacing quite often given the treatment they get) to put a more permanent solid solution in place. If a balustrade were erected with solid panels there would be no more ducking under, and everyone would soon get used to it and the exit from the platform would be as slick as ever!

I still hate the O2 though. All these concert goers are as bad as tourists on Piccadilly. My problem with both? They dawdle. They stop suddenly (so you walk into them). They hover in inappropriate places so that you can't get past them... and increasingly at North Greenwich they are loud and chaotic and everywhere! At that time of night all I want to do is get home after a long day... and I can't be doing with anything that makes that harder!

Talking of anti-social behaviour. The neighbours with the drums are still drumming. Pretty lucky that the weather has been so miserable so that neither our house or theirs needs the windows open. I can still hear them though sitting in my living room or bedroom with the windows shut! I feel that very soon I am going to have to write to them and ask them to soundproof their practice room or similar. When I get home after a 14 hour day the last thing that I want to hear is thud thud thud thud.

Trains, Busses and Taxis at the 02

Last night my journey home took me to North Greenwich later than usual. Considerably later than usual. Heading towards the end of the evening later than usual. I think it was probably sometime after 11pm, heading towards the last tubes etc. And, boy, was North Greenwich busy!

I quite often get a taxi back from North Greenwich if it is after 10pm. It gets a bit lonely and empty, and a girl on her own doesn't want to be standing around too much. Not so anymore. Chucking out time at the Dome (sorry, 02) leads to another wave of rush hour. Dissapointingly the licensed cab rank had a queue back to the station - probably around 30 people waiting. Fortunately I found a bus (even if it was the 422 rather than the 486) pretty quickly. So I saved myself a tenner and took the bus. For speed and comfort I'd rather have had the cab though!

O2

Last night the O2 opened it doors to the public. There was a free event for the residents of the London Borough of Greenwich (which is where the O2 is).

Once upon a time.... a VERY long time ago some politicians decided to build a dome. The project was conceived to celebrate the start of the third millennium way back in 1994. The whole thing has always been subject to large amounts of mockery from press and public alike. Nowhere near the expected amount of visitors ever came... and the whole thing (unsurprisingly) cost a lot more than originally anticipated. On the plus side, the Dome was at the centre of the re-generation of the Greenwich Peninsula and the extension of the Jubilee line - both good things, finally the London Underground came to South East London! When the original exhibition closed in 2001 everyone wondered what would happen to the Dome. The answer turned out to be, for a very long time, not a lot. It sat empty, costing money to maintain and occasionally being used for one off events (a 'Winter Wonderland' and 'Crisis at Christmas' spring to mind).

The whole thing was eventually sold off to Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) who in turn sold the rights of the name to O2 plc. The Millennium Dome became the O2 - officially at least... most of us who live round here still simply refer to it as 'the Dome'.

So. Back to last night. We drove down and left our car in one of the newly refurbished car parks... paying just a couple of quid (apparently it will normally cost £20). And wandered over to the Dome. The new square was buzzing with people... and as we made our way inside we were given food vouchers for the concessions (which we never got round to using). Upstairs and into the arena. A band played, the chief executive of AEG Europe (I think) spoke, some local school children sang, another band played, a council guy spoke, we left. The entertainment was so-so... but that wasn't really the point. We went to see what was there... the arena is good. Big! Excellent acoustics, lighting, etc. The concourse is quite utilitarian... although there seems to be a lot of choice with concessions. The 'Blue Room' (exclusive to O2 customers apparently) was beyond unimpressive... although certainly very blue! I like the entertainment district best. An 'avenue' with plasterboard façades and fake trees... longer than Bond Street they said... not all open last night. Walked as far as the Cinema entrance, and saw Pizza Express, Slug and Lettuce and Nandos to name a few. That is the other thing inside an 11 (?) screen multiplex being run by Vue. Odeon over on Bugsbys Way must be gutted!

As evenings out go it wasn't really up there... but it was good to see what they've been up to, and what is inside. Given the programme of events announced so far, am not likely to be paying to go there anytime soon!

Father's Day

So - to all the Dads out there... Happy Father's Day. I shall be driving down to see my pops later this morning. I had a terrible time trying to find a gift... you know how hard men are to buy for! In the end I decided to pop into Fortnum and Mason... which is just along Piccadilly from my office. I'd never been inside before - although I've often admired their window displays! It's quite a store. Very genteel... and such a gorgeous smell! If only it wasn't so expensive, I'd shop there more often!

Friday night saw a further quandary for me. It was time to open the new 'improved' box of Avonex (my MS DMD - that's disease modifying drug). I sat down to prepare the syringe as always, only to find that the replacement on the syringe for the small rubber cap was a large plastic scary looking thing... with no indication of what to do next! Luckily the good people of Biogen Idec run a 24 hour support line... so I had to have the embarrassing conversation starting with "I can't work out how to get the top off the syringe". In my defence... you wouldn't have guessed. You had to snap it off at a 90 degree angle... which you wouldn't guess, you'd never dream of taking such extreme action with a glass syringe! It was, as promised, easier to attach the needle - it did stay more firmly in place. Now I know what to do I'm sure it will make my life easier!

Saturday night is movie night. We started with "Hard Times"... I'm afraid I got bored after about half an hour of the Lovely Christian Bale and Freddy Rodriguez calling each other "dude" and "dog" and "homie" and generally behaving like reprobates. It may or may not have developed a plot after this point! I really have to stop choosing movies because I like the lead actor (same thing last weekend with the Charming Hugh Jackman and "The Fountain"). Not learning from my mistake, next up was "Deja Vu" with Denzel Washington (I like Denzel Washington). Not a bad movie (I suppose)... but I think it could have been so much more. The science part of the fiction was a bit questionable in it's logic... but then anything dealing with time and/or time travel always is. I actually gave up trying to work out the logic of it all - but I'm pretty certain that something somewhere didn't make sense! Probably worth watching though... as I enjoyed it well enough. Final movie up was "The Magnificent Seven" (quote Rich, I can't believe you've never seen "The Magnificent Seven"). Somehow it had permeated my consciousness as I instantly recognized the theme music! Again - I liked it well enough, although I'm not sure I'd ever watch it again. Spent a great deal of time trying to tie down the famous actors who I'd either never seen before or not seen looking so young. It was weird to see Robert Vaughan who I've been watching in "Hustle" looking so young, and yet, hardly changed (lucky man)! So - now I can name all the actors in "The Magnificent Seven" - you'll just have to take my word that I've not popped off to IMDB to look them up! Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Brad Dexter, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, Charles Bronson and Horst Buckholst. Apparently it is as essential as being able to name the seven dwarfs (Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Doc, Bashful and Sleepy) - although I read somewhere that those names were totally random and chosen from a short-list of about 50!!!

On my way home on Thursday night I stopped off to have a quick nose around Pensinsula Square. On my way into work (after going to site) I'd noticed some suits and cameras through the doors at the back of the tube station - the hoarding finally having been taken down. I vaguely wondered what was going on and though no more about it. However, on my way home in the Lite I read about the new square, bigger than Leicester Square (so they say), and thought I'd have a quick look. Very nice. It has a green wall down one side with water features (little waterfalls) built in... a great big sculpture made from stainless steel or similar... when I say sculpture, it is a long twisty post! Set into the paving are little quotes, all to do with time and stuff. I thought at first the line with the quotes was the meridian line (they are big on that in Greenwich) but then I noticed that there were loads, and decided that it was just art!