The future for London’s West End and its inhabitants

Posted on 27/01/2012 by

By Ron Whelan

London’s West End has always been a satisfactory amalgam of a significant residential population, and a variety of different business interests. Arguably it has been this amalgam that has been the basis of the area’s unique charm. Recently however, this balance has been disturbed, through the encouragement of mass shopping and mass tourism into the West End. There always have been tourists and shoppers visiting the area of course, but never on the enormous scale that we now see. Continue reading →

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Slimline designer house on Tottenham Street goes on the market for £3.15 million

Posted on 26/01/2012 by

By Angela Lovely

Mid terrace house.

A fashion designer's home for sale in Tottenham Street. Picture: Fitzrovia News.

You’d be forgiven for not giving it a second glance as you walk past it on your way from Goodge Street tube station. Squeezed in between a pub and a cafe it is the narrowest house on the street but it stands out because it has the largest price tag.

In January 2008 this terraced freehold town house changed hands for £1,525,000, but this week it came on the market with an asking price of £3.15 million.

What was a fairly modest family home inside has been transformed into a “fashion designer’s contemporary oasis”, according to Hudsons who are selling it for the owners.

But it’s not just the newly renovated house they are selling, it’s also a product of its owners: Jsen Wintle, of Wintle menswear, and his partner Josh Bell. It’s a contemporary designer experience you are being offered, if you’ve got a few million quid sloshing about. But more likely it’ll attract an overseas investor looking to grow their London property portfolio. Continue reading →

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Ex-messenger delivers arresting art pictures

Posted on 23/01/2012 by

By Mike Pentelow

Man holding self-portrait cartoon.

George Skeggs with a pop self portrait of himself being arrested

From delivering art works to film and television studios George Skeggs now paints them in his own studio.

Back in the 1970s George was a messenger for West One Studios, the offset printers and commercial artists, at 15-16 Newman Street, and then at 14 Hanway Place when they moved there in 1973.

“We did a lot of work for film and television studios and I had to deliver them,” George, now aged 68, told Fitzrovia News. “I remember one particular job for advertising Star Wars, which was premiered at the Dominion in Tottenham Court Road, and I had to take the posters there.” Continue reading →

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Condor Fratello, Campagnolo Veloce 10 speed, Fulcrum Racing 7, winter road test

Posted on 22/01/2012 by

Ridden and reviewed by William Rees

Bicycle in woodland.

Condor Fratello 58cm in slate. Built for winter training and light touring.

Condor Cycles offers its Fratello model as an “all round super bike” to be used as commuter, fast tourer, audax bike or winter trainer. It’s been a popular model since its release many years ago and several of my friends ride one particularly as a winter bike. I needed a new winter training and light touring bike so is the Fratello the right one for me?

Condor has been building bikes in central London for over 60 years and has earned a solid reputation among London’s regular riders. Their glossy and well stocked shop in Holborn has also attracted the modern generation of City-suited L’Etape du Tour riders keen to get themselves over the Alps with no expense spared. Condor even have their own racing team: Condor Rapha Sharp. Continue reading →

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The world of Maisie Dobbs

Posted on 20/01/2012 by

By Brian Jarman

Woman holding book standing in Georgian Square.

Author Jacqueline Winspear created her character after imagining a woman leaving Warren Street tube station in 1920s Fitzrovia.

A young woman steps off the wooden escalator at Warren Street tube station and walks into the street.  She’s smartly dressed in the style of the late 1920s.  She looks a little stuck-up, but when she stops to talk to a news vendor, Jack, her accent is the same as his.

This was the scene that came to Jacqueline Winspear one morning when she was stuck in traffic in a downpour while driving to work south of San Francisco.

‘It was like watching a movie,’ says Jacqueline. Another half an hour down the road the first chapter of a novel was forming. Continue reading →

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Celebrating those who fought Franco’s Fascists

Posted on 19/01/2012 by

By Mike Pentelow

Wounded soldier being tended by medic.

Illustration by Clifford Harper

Local artists, nurses, and students fought against Fascism in Spain in 1936, the 75th anniversary of which is now being celebrated.

The Spanish people had just elected a Popular Front government, including socialists, by a narrow majority in February. General Franco led an armed revolt against it in July, with the support of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, which supplied troops, tanks and planes, as well as the Moroccan soldiers of the Spanish colonial army. Support for the legally elected government was denied, however, by the British and French governments with a policy of “non-intervention” that prevented the Spanish government buying arms to defend itself (although some were supplied by the Soviet Union). Continue reading →

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Sherlock – series 2: The Reichenbach Fall

Posted on 18/01/2012 by

By News Reporters

Man running down a street.

A night scene from Sherlock series 2: The Reichenbach Fall

A recent episode of the current series of Sherlock was filmed in Whitfield Street, Fitzrovia. A short sequence filmed at night during 2011 shows scenes from the rear of the Saatchi & Saatchi building and the corner of Make’s architect’s offices in Chitty Street. Part of the Whitfield Street Children’s playground and nursery can also be seen. Residents remember the street being cordoned off overnight while filming took place. Scenes from the Beatles’ film A Hard Day’s Night were also shot near this location. The Sherlock episode can be viewed on the BBC iPlayer.

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Lost in Fitzrovia: Green Streets cycling routes fail to impress

Posted on 18/01/2012 by

Reviewed by Linus Rees

A cyclist riding in heavy traffic.

Cycling south along Gower Street in the rain. Cyclists share a poor road surface with fast-moving motor traffic.

Green Streets Fitzrovia is a new initiative by Camden Council to encourage walking and cycling in Fitzrovia.

One of the things they have produced is a street map with a guide to walking and cycling routes. There is also information about places of interest and some local shops. The maps have been made available in shops all over the Camden part of Fitzrovia.

As a cyclist I was keen to explore the two cycling routes described on the map. I made three short videos to show how I got on. Continue reading →

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Fitzrovia women contribute art to Hajj exhibition at British Museum

Posted on 16/01/2012 by

By News Reporters

Hajj certificate.

Hajj certificate (detail). 17th–18th century AD. Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art (Khalili Family Trust) British Museum.

Fitzrovia Bengali Women’s Group and teachers and students from the Mary Ward Centre in Bloomsbury have created a decorated textile to be exhibited at this month’s highly anticipated Hajj: Journey to the heart of Islam, an exhibition to be held at the British Museum this spring.

The long-running Fitzrovia women’s group, a project run by the Fitzrovia Neighbourhood Association, worked with the Mary Ward Centre in making of the “Mahmal” highly decorated structure. Continue reading →

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Did Boris Johnson have a conflict of interest over Saatchi block decision?

Posted on 13/01/2012 by

By News Reporters

Pictures and story on Daily Mirror page.

The Mirror says Boris Johnson must reveal exactly what he knew about property development.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has been accused of a conflict of interest over his ruling in September 2011 to overturn a local planning decision.

Camden Council had refused planning permission for Derwent London to redevelop the Saatchi Block at 80 Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, in May 2011 after objections from individual residents, community groups and local councillors who argued that the plans amounted to an over-development, lacked affordable housing and provided insufficient public open space.

Today the Daily Mirror reports with an “exclusive” investigation into the “£125million building project linked to scandal-hit lobbyists Bell Pottinger.” Continue reading →

Posted in Derwent London, Fitzrovia, London, planning, politics | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments