A walking man who has approaching Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery since 2021 but never arriving will remain stuck in place as the digital artwork has been bought by the gallery to go on permanent display. (c) Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery Julian Opie’s LED sculpture, Curly Hair, 2021 was first shown at Pitzhanger in 2021 as part of Julian Opie’s solo exhibition, coinciding with the reopening of the gallery post-COVID lockdown. The acquisition of Curly Hair was made possible by the generosity of the artist Julian Opie and support from a diverse group of contributors. Clare Gough, Director of ..read more

An important cycle and pedestrian route over the London Overground in Dalston has reopened after Network Rail completed bridge replacement works. The reopened Kingsbury Road bridge (c) Network Rail The bridge, originally built in 1913, closed late last year as it need to be replaced as the iron girders that supported it were becoming corroded. Engineers demolished the old bridge over Christmas 2023 and then lifted in the replacement with a crane over the last weekend of January 2024. Now that it’s open again, Cycleway 1, which links Tottenham and Waltham Cross with the City, has returned to ..read more

Hidden underneath a mundane office block is one of London’s largest Roman remains, which has reopened for tours. The Bath House and associated town house would have been by the riverside – as it was in those times – and the layout is unusual with the bathhouse in the centre courtyard with the main building around it. It was possibly an inn or praetorium for traders and visitors to Londinium. Squatters and other occupants are thought to have lived in the building for some decades after the Romans left England, and around 450AD, it is presumed that a Saxon woman dropped a broach by the ruins, w ..read more

Down a goods delivery ramp and past the bins is an unexpected location for an exhibition about football shirts — but that’s what you can find underneath a Marylebone building at the moment. The exhibition marks the centenary of the British sportswear brand Umbro, which was founded in 1924 by brothers Harold and Wallace Humphreys. The company’s name is a portmanteau of um, from Humphreys, and bro, from brothers. However, it’s not entirely a look back at the history of the company and more a look back at how the firm has collaborated with fashion designers and the slow transition from pure spor ..read more

This is a narrow winding alley close to Liverpool Street station that’s been here in some shape or form since Tudor times. This part of London is just on the outskirts of the old Roman Wall around the City of London. The name of the road the alley leads off on the western side, Houndsditch, comes from the “moat” that ran around the outside of the Roman wall, where it’s suggested feral dogs scavenged from rubbish dumped in the ditch. The land was fairly undeveloped and used as fields until the Dissolution of the Monasteries saw the nearby Bethlem hospital closed and the land sold off. The buye ..read more

The music group, Vieon recently released a single as an ode to the venerable Intercity 125 train with a ton of retro film footage set to rather soothing electronic music. It reminds me of how Kraftwerk wrote a hymn to the Trans Europ Express service, which, for a while, ran trains across the mainland, linking far-flung cities in comfort and speed. In the UK of course, the Intercity 125 was the future once, and it still manages to evoke a certain sense that somehow rail travel had a golden age (it didn’t) and that rail travel was so much better in the past (it often wasn’t). Still, this was on ..read more

Once a month, it’s possible to go on a guided tour of the City of London’s ancient and impressive Guildhall building. The Guildhall Great Hall is England’s third largest civic hall, and was constructed in 1411, making it over 600 years old. Having survived both the Great Fire of London and the Blitz, it is the only secular stone structure dating from before 1666 still standing in the City. It has been the setting for famous state trials, including that of Lady Jane Grey in 1553. The imposing medieval hall has stained glass windows and several monuments to national heroes, including Admiral Lo ..read more

This is a weekly round-up of London’s rail transport news… The image is from a April 2019 article: It’s the 40th anniversary of the Jubilee line opening London Underground Replacement services for the Northern line due to repeated closures this year have been blasted as “chaotic” as nearly 200 people were left waiting for buses. Local Times A Tube driver who opened the doors on the wrong side of the station was unfairly dismissed but will not receive compensation. Personnel Today Woman who was harassed on Victoria Line calls for staffed platforms Waltham Forest Echo Elizabeth line The Govern ..read more

The Barbican Art Centre has been covered in a gigantic bright pink wrapper providing a sharp contrast to the rest of the Brutalist estate. This is Purple Hibiscus, a monumental site-specific artwork by the Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama created from some 2,000 square metres of bespoke woven cloth created by women weavers and sewing collectives in Ghana. It’ll probably remind many of the works by Christo artistic duo, where the two partnered to cover buildings in sheets of fabric. The difference is that Christo used to accentuate the architecture by using plain fabrics, whereas Mahama is more ..read more

Jools Holland will be headlining the National Gallery’s Friday Lates next month as the gallery celebrates its 200th anniversary, with music inside and a light show outside. Lightshow render (c) Visual Edge Media / nVisible Productions On Friday 10th May 2024, Jools Holland will perform in the Rausing Room as part of a curated programme with musical friends Ruby Turner MBE, Louise Marshall, and Sumudu. Across the rest of the Gallery, there will be DJ sets, music from London Contemporary Voices, soundscapes by Anna Phoebe and poetry from Ben Okri. The Future Room will celebrate musical collabo ..read more