More Colour From New Charlton: I think all of these pictures were taken in May 1995, the panoramic examples being made using a swing lens panoramic camera, probably the Horizon 202 from the Krasnogorsky Mechanicheskiy Zavod (KMZ) factory in Krasnogorsk near Moscow. This uses clockwork to rotate a 28mm f2.8 lens around a little over 120 degrees, keeping the lens to film distance constant by having the film in a curve around the axis of rotation. The camera made negatives 58mm long and 24mm tall on normal 35mm film, giving around 20 exposures from a normal ’36 exposure’ cassette.
Willoughby Way, New Charlton, Greenwich, 1995, 95p5-671
The film was exposed though a rotating slit behind the lens and different shutter speeds were obtained by altering the slit width. There were only two rotation speeds and for the faster speeds – 1/60 s, 1/125 s, and 1/250 s – the rotation took around a thirtieth of a second, enabling me to use the camera without a tripod.
Thames Path, Lombard Wall, New Charlton, Greenwich, 1995, 95p5-662
The lens focus was fixed and I think I usually worked at f8 which meant everything from a few metres away to infinity was sharp. The camera had a spirit level as by keeping the camera level vertical lines were rendered straight in the image. Horizontal lines away from the centre of the image become curved as you can see in some of these images, and care in composition was needed to stop these effects dominating the pictures.
Mudlarks Way, New Charlton, Greenwich, 1995, 95p7-161
The image quality was much the same as that from my several times more expensive Japanese Widelux f8 swing lens camera, but the Horizon had a useable viewfinder and was easier to use handheld. Though I think for most of my walks back in 1995 I was still carrying a rather large, heavy and solid Manfrotto tripod. I liked it because it could hold the camera absolutely steady at my eye level – and unless there was good reason not to do so I always preferred to view from that height.
Andrews Sykes, New Charlton, Greenwich, 1995, 95c5-832
But I was also photographing with more conventional cameras, and usually had two Olympus OM4 bodies, one with black and white and the other with colour negative film. Although I had a fairly full range of lenses, the great majority of the pictures were made using an Olympus 35mm shift lens.
Bugsby’s Way, New Charlton, Greenwich, 1995, 95-5o-66, 1995, 95c5-825
In particular this allowed me to place the horizon in the images below or above the centre of the frame without tilting the camera which would have resulted in converging or diverging verticals. As well as shifting the optical elements up and down the lens mount allowed the lens to move to either side which also gave more control over framing.
Works, Mudlarks Way, New Charlton, Greenwich, 1995, 95c5-823
This area beside the Thames was then almost entirely industrial with aggregate wharves and some commercial premises. On other occasions I took more pictures along the riverside path which in the following year became a part of the Thames Path.
Rathmore Benches & Greyladies – New Charlton 1995: You can still see these mosaic decorated concrete benches on Troughton Rd and around the corner in Rathmore Rd. A short walk from Charlton Station, the building they are outside has for some years been the New Covenant Church Charlton.
Rathmore Community Centre & Rathmore Benches (Former Good Shepherd Mission Hall), 61a, Troughton Road, New Charlton, Greenwich, 1995, 95c5-714
The mosaic covered benches were installed here together with a mural on the walls behind in 1980. By 1995 the mural had been painted over but the benches remained, still in fairly good condition.
Rathmore Community Centre & Rathmore Benches (Former Good Shepherd Mission Hall), 61a, Troughton Road, New Charlton, Greenwich, 1995, 95c5-713
The benches were created as a part of a ‘Past, Present and Future of Charlton‘ project with the help of adults and children from the community centre by Greenwich Mural Workshop, who got funding to restore them in 2019 as they had suffered from wear and tear and some vandalism.
Rathmore Community Centre & Rathmore Benches (Former Good Shepherd Mission Hall), 61a, Troughton Road, New Charlton, Greenwich, 1995, 95c5-835
On the For Walls With Tongues web site of Greenwich Mural Workshop you can see pictures of the missing mural as well as the benches and learn more about their creation.
Rathmore Community Centre & Rathmore Benches (Former Good Shepherd Mission Hall), 61a, Troughton Road, New Charlton, Greenwich, 1995, 95c5-834
The centre had been built as the Good Shepherd Mission Hall and the Greenwich Local Heritage List states it is a 200-seater mission hall built 1900 to designs of architect J Rowland and was developed from Holy Trinity Mission run by Greyladies College.
Rathmore Community Centre & Rathmore Benches (Former Good Shepherd Mission Hall), 61a, Troughton Road, New Charlton, Greenwich, 1995, 95c5-833
Greyladies College for Women Workers was based in Dartmouth Row , in “a delightful country house, once the mansion of Lord Dartmouth, and stands on the breezy heights of Blackheath, in the midst of its own beautiful grounds, and with far-stretching views over the surrounding country to the Crystal Palace.“
“The great aim of the Greyladies’ College is to bring together lonely women working in isolation without a definite plan, and also women who are possibly daughters in a large family and find it difficult to separate themselves from social distraction in order to follow religious and philanthropic work.“
The Greyladies worked in 22 parishes in South London “helping in the work of the Church of England under the incumbents of the diocese.” The description of them in Volume 1 of Every Woman’s Encylclopaedia published in 1910-12 is fascinatingly and charmingly dated.
Deptford & Greenwich: Some pictures from two bike rides in April 2005, the second cut rather short by a puncture, around one of my favourite areas of London, mainly along the southern bank of the River Thames. The area has changed fairly dramatically in recent years with new blocks of riverside flats replacing riverside industry, much of which had already ceased work by 2005. I first photographed here around 1980 and it still now makes an interesting walk (or ride) and I’ve done most or all of it a few times since 2005.
River Thames and Drydock, North Greenwich.
As usual I’ll post a slightly amended version of what I wrote at the time on My London Diary together with links to that site which has some more pictures. But I didn’t write anything about the actual pictures except the captions.
Reflection of the Laban building in Deptford Creek, London.
It was a fine sunny day on Thursday 21 April 2005 and I put my Brompton folding bike on the train to Waterloo, then cycled east from there to Deptford and Geenwich, taking another trip along one of my favourite riverside paths around the Greenwich Peninsula.
Trinity Square, Southwark, London SE1. Church is now a rehearsal studio
North Greenwich is still interesting, although the area by the Dome is now rather bleak. Time went surprisingly quickly, and I had only got just past the Dome when it was time to make my way back.
Dry Dock, North Greenwich, London.
Just over a week later I tried to take up the ride from where I left off, but only made it as far as the footbridge over Deptford Creek, when I heard a loud bang as my rear tyre punctured. I should have stopped, mended the puncture and gone on, but I couldn’t face it.
Deptford Creek close to its junction with RIver Thames, Deptford, London.
I wheeled the bike to Greenwich station, got on the train and came home. One of my few gripes about the Brompton is that mending punctures is a bit of a pain; the small tyres are hard to take off and even harder to replace, and if you want to take the rear wheel off, it is a rather tricky business that I’ve yet to master. I have tyres with kevlar inserts that are supposed to be puncture-resistant, but they don’t seem very effective.
Canary Wharf and River Thames from North Greenwich, London
After I’d arrived home and had a cup of coffee, the puncture turned out to be a straightforward job.
Ship breaker’s yard, North Greenwich, London, April 2005Doorway, Albury St, Deptford,St Pauls, Deptford, London built by Thomas Archer in 1713Laban dance centreDeptford Creek
New Charlton in Colour – 1995. New Charlton has now been given the new and more descriptive name of Charlton Riverside and is the area between the River Thames and the main road from Greenwich to Woolwich, Woolwich Road. The major feature of the area other than the river is the Thames Barrier, but although I photographed this in black and white it does not appear in my selection of colour pictures. I had photographed it in black and white and colour on several occasions since 1984 from both sides of the river and so felt no need to visit it again in 1995.
Eastmoor St, New Charlton, Greenwich, 1995, 95c5-743
I did find a very different barrier on Eastmoor Street, with this monumental slab apparently cut out to leave a gateway through this reflective red wall. Whatever its original purpose – I think perhaps an art work – it seemed to have served for target practice probably for bricks thrown by local youths.
Classic Car Restorations, New Charlton, Greenwich, 1995, 95c5-733
And I did photograph Thames Barrier Classic Car Restoration with its texts and pictures of cars on its wall.
Carpet Kingdom, New Charlton, Greenwich, 1995, 95c5-732
The redevelopment of the area had begun when the Thames Barrier was opened, but much was still industrial or derelict but large parts are now occupied by large retail units. Carpet Kingdom was one of the first to open, though I don’t remember exactly where. There is now a rather larger Carpet Giant in the area,
You can still see this giant mural, details from which are in my two pictures. It was painted on the wall of this house in 1976 by the Greenwich Mural Workshop in 1976 and has now faded considerably.
Mural, Charlton, Greenwich, 1995, 95c5-725
Just south of the railway line close to Charlton’s ground at The Valley and so in Charlton rather than New Chalton, I had glimpsed it in my journeys past on the train and so went to photograph it.
Annette, Hair Stylist, Valley Grove,Charlton, Greenwich, 1995, 95c5-724
Annette Hair Styling was just around the corner from the mural in Valley Grove, so also in Charlton rather than New Charlton.
Woolwich to New Charlton Panoramas: Continuing my occasional series of colour images from 1995 – I think this is the eleventh post – with some colour panoramas made in May 1995 on a walk from Woolwich to New Charlton.
River Thames, Church Hill, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1995, 95p5-342
My walk had begun when I got off the train at Woolwich Arsenal on my way back from Dartford on May 7th and I think these pictures were made that afternoon as I walked from there to another station keeping close to the River Thames. But I did but return to Woolwich the following Sunday, May 14th and some of these pictures could have been made then.
A path leads up from the roundabout at the start of Woolwich Church Street to Church Hill and St Mary Magdalene Church, built on a spur of high ground leading out towards the river. Originally this ground went rather closer to the Thames, but much of it was quarried for sand though the digging had to stop at the church. Although the present church dates only from 1727-39 there had been a church on this site since the 9th century if not earlier and it was probably a much earlier site of settlement.
The road in front of the church, Church Hill, gives a splendid panoramic view of the Thames. In 1995 you could still see the remains of Woolwich’s riverside industry, but by the time I photographed here again in 2000 all had gone and the area was empty and derilect. Now it is filled with four tall blocks of flats and some other housing.
Former Woolwich Dockyard Dry Docks, Europe Rd, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1995, 95p5-343
Woolwich Dockyard was the Navy’s most important dockyard for many years and ships were built here from 1512 to the Victorian era. By then it had become too small for the new ships and the Royal Dockyard closed in 1869. Parts remained in industrial use and a large area was bought by Greenwich Council in the 1960s where they built the Woolwich Dockyard Estate in the 1970s – part at the left of this picture. I think this is the Grade II listed Graving Dock.
Ernest Bevin, Ferry Boat, River Thames, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1995, 95p5-332
Taken on the Woolwich Dockyard Estate this shows one of the old dry docks and at a mooring in the Thames the Woolwich Ferry Ernest Bevin. You can just see part of the south ferry terminal in the centre of the image.
The ferry across the Thames became a free ferry run by the LCC in 1889 – two days after they had replaced the Metropolitan Board of Works who had organised and funded it. A number of public bridges had been built to make crossing the river in West London easy and free and it had been decided that there must also be a free crossing in East London. The Ernest Bevin was one of three ferries in the third generation of ships which came into operation in 1963 and it was replaced in 2019. All have been named after local figues and Bevin was elected as MP for Woolwich East in 1950.
These point blocks, close to Woolwich Dockyard Station were built for Greenwich Council are St Mary’s Towers, one of the more successful housing schemes of the late 50s and early 60s, opened by Princess Margaret in 1961. They remain now still in good condition and popular.
River Thames, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1995, 95p5-472
Back to the River Thames and another cleared area of the former Dockyard with a view across the river to Tate & Lyle’s Silvertown works.
River Thames, Warspite Rd, Woolwich, Greenwich, 1995, 95p5-433
Another former dockyard area still in industrial use. I think this is Thameside Wharf on Harrington Way. Some of the buildings here were once part of the Siemens Brothers Telegraph Works factory established in 1863 and became Thameside studios for artists around 1990.
Bugsby’s Way, New Charlton, Greenwich, 1995, 95p5-521
Bugsby’s Way took its name from this part of the River Thames known from around 1830 as Bugsby’s Hole or Bugsby’s Reach which probably got its name from this once “marshy area to the south of Blackwall Point where executed criminals were formerly hung in chains.” As E.W.Green suggested in 1948, ‘bug‘ was the old British (ancient Welsh) word for ‘spook’ or ghost, and what could be a better place to meet with ghouls. Bugsby’s Way was built across this marshy area by the London Borough of Greenwich in 1984.
Beatle Line Ltd, Bugsby’s Way, New Charlton, Greenwich, 1995, 95p5-511
Another picture from Bugsby’s Way. The Beatle Line perhaps got its name from the later meaning of ‘bug’, perhaps from a different Anglo-Saxon root, at first simply meaning beatle, though later coming into popular use for a wider range of species – including the famous moth found by Grace Hopper and colleagues in the Mark II computer at Harvard University in 1947.
Lewisham Hospital, Greenwich Peninsula, Syria & Mali: As often when I had a long break between two events I took the opportunity to take an extensive walk in one of my favourite areas of London and on Friday 15th February I went to the Thames Path at Greenwich after a lunchtime protest at Lewisham Hospital. Then I went to Whitehall for a small protest against Western military intervention in Mali and Syria and a possible attack on Iran.
Fight to Save Lewisham Hospital Continues
A lunchtime rally at the war memorial opposite the Hospital made clear that the fight by the entire local community to save services at their hospital was continuing.
As well as a legal challenge there were to be further mass demonstrations including a ‘Born in Lewisham Hospital’ protest the following month.
Lewisham Mayor Sir Steve Bullock
People in the area and all concerned with the future of the NHS were appalled by Jeremy Hunt’s decision to accept to the proposals for closure, which are medically unsound and would lead to more patients dying, but they would result in a huge waste of public funds.
The financial problem that led to the proposal was caused not by Lewisham but by a disastrous PFI (private finance initiative) agreement to build a hospital a few miles away.
As I wroteL “Lewisham is a successful and financially sound hospital which has received sensible public investment to provide up to date services, and the services that will be cut there will have to be set up again and provided elsewhere by other hospitals. Closing Lewisham will not only incur high costs, but will result in the waste of the previous investment in its facilities.”
Louise Irvine, the Chair of Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign
In making his decision Hunt deliberately set out to mislead the public by describing the replacement of A&E as only a small reduction in A&E services. The proposed urgent care centre could only deal with around 30% of the cases currently being covered. Similar the replacement of the current maternity service by a midwife only unit could only deal with around 10% of current births – and life-threatening transfers would be necessary if complications rose in these.
I took a bus to North Greenwich and tried to walk along the Thames Path, parts of which had reopened after a long closure. It was a warm day for February and started off sunny, though later the weather changed giving some dramatic skies.
The path from Delta Wharf and north to Drawdock Road was still vlosed but beyond that in both directions the path was open. I’m not sure what all the work taking place was about, but in part it was to provide a new section of the path, and to put in new breakwaters. Some time later of course there will be new riverside flats here, but for the moment these were being built closer to Greenwich.
One fairly recent addition to the path was the Greenwich meridian marker at the bottom centre of this picture, the line going along in the gap between two metal beams and pointing north across the river.
And a little further to the east is the sculpture A Slice of Reality by Richard Wilson. In the following year this was to become part of London’s first public art walk, The Line. It is a 30ft slice of the former sand dredger Arco Trent – Google’s AI gets it badly wrong by describing it as “an eighth-scale replica“. As the name suggests it is a slice of the actual ship.
As I turned back and walked towards Greenwich there were some dramatic skies and lighting, but also some slightly boring road walking where the path was diverted away from the river.
Soon I was able to return to the riverside path and walk through the surreal landscape of an aggregate wharf.
The final section of the walk on my way into Greenwich had been targeted by guerilla knitters.
I was getting short of time, and could only stop to make one panorama although the weather was perfect for it.
This view shows the riverside path at left going south at the left and north at the right – a view of over 180 degrees. The shoreline here highly curved was in reality straight. I think the image digitally combines half a dozen overlapping frames.
By then I was having to hurry to catch the train back into central London – and the light was falling.
Stop Western Intervention in Syria & Mali – Downing St
This protest had been called by Stop the War on the 10th anniversary of the march by 2 million against the Iraq war in 2003, the largest protest march ever seen in the UK (and with many others around the world also marching.)
On this occasion they were calling for a stop to Western intervention in Mali and Syria and against the possible attack on Iran but the numbers taking part were very much smaller, with only around a hundred turning up.
Among them were supporters of Syria’s President Assad and Stop the War had lost a great deal of support by opposing the help being given to groups against his regime, with many on the left calling for an end to his regime.
More around the Meridian – It’s seldom possible to actually walk for more than a few yards actually on the Greenwich Meridian in London and while planning my Meridian Walk I often wandered around considerably, having to make detours and also looking for the more interesting routes. So not all these images are exactly on the Meridian, but most were taken within a short distance from it.
When I began this project the Meridian was not marked on the Ordnance Survey or Street maps, and one of may first tasks was to get a ruler and pencil it on to them. In 1999 it was added to the OS maps of the area, but does not seem to be on the latest versions. In 1995 there were no smart phones with online maps and GPS which would have made things so much easier.
The Greenway was the recently rebranded path above the Northern Outfall Sewer which rans across East London from Hackney Wick to the sewage treatment plant at Beckton, going under the road here close the the bridge over Abbey Creek on the Channelsea River, where Abbey Lane becomes Abbey Road. You can see the bridge at the left of the picture.
Greenway, Channelsea River, Stratford, Newham, 1995, 95p4-1153
The Greenway is a great traffic-free cycle route for pedestrians and cyclists, running straight and level and this picture gives some evidence of that.
Channelsea River, Long Wall, Stratford, Newham, 1995, 95p4-1111
I’m not sure what this pipe was for, perhaps for taking gas across the river. Not far away on the other side of this tidal creek was one of the largest gas works in London – and you can still see its listed gasholders, though the view is likely to change soon with the site being redeveloped.
But behind me when I made this picture was the Abbey Mills sewage pumping station and on the edge of the creek below were the storm outfalls where sewage would be released after heavy rains. With the changing tides it would flow downstream a little and then could be taken miles upriver along the Prescott channel and the River Lea.
Flats, East India Dock Rd, South Bromley, Tower Hamlets, 1995, 95p4-1321
I think the Meridian went through the centre of the taller gas holder at Poplar Gas works.
Flats, East India Dock Rd, South Bromley, Tower Hamlets, 1995, 95p4-1321
Another view with the gasholders in the background.
Clove Crescent, East India, DLR, South Bromley, Tower Hamlets, 1995, 95p4-1273
My pencilled line for the Meridian shows it going through both the water in the dock and the brick building at left which was the former Blackwall Power Station in both of these pictures.
Clove Crescent, East India DLR, South Bromley, Tower Hamlets, 1995, 95p4-1263
South of the East India Docks the line crosses the River Thames above and between the two bores of the Blackwall Tunnel, closer to the original western tunnel now used by northbound traffic. I couldn’t take photographs in the tunnel – though it was possible for those on foot to take a bus across, but these would have been rather boring in any case.
This picture shows the southern entrance to the tunnel with its 1897 Grade II listed gatehouse by the London County Council’s Superintending Architect Thomas Blashill. In front of it a less ornate red and white striped arch with heigh and weight restriction signs and hangers to hit any overtall vehicles and hopefully prevent damage to the gatehouse.
One picture not I think actually on the Meridian but not far from it, taken from the long footbridge over the Blackwall Tunnel Southern Approach.
Riverside Path, Greenwich, 1995, 95p4-1762
My path continued south along the riverside path, with the Meridian going into the River Thames on the extreme left of this picture.
Riverside Path, Greenwich, 1995, 95p4-1742
I kept to the land continuing along a path I’ve walked many times and making a few more pictures.
Riverside Path, Greenwich, 1995, 95p4-1743
Like much of London’s riverside almost all of the industry has now gone, but some relics remain, though most of this part of my route is now lined by rather boring flats.
1995 Colour – Greenwich Meridian: The second of a series of posts on my colour work, mainly in London, from 1995, 35 years ago and when I’d been working extensively with colour negative film for ten years, though still continuing to work with black and white.
Obelisk, Trig Point, Pole Hill, Chingford, Waltham Forest, 1995, 95p03-841
In 1992 I began making colour panoramas using a Japanese Widelux F8 swing lens panoramic camera – and later I used a Russian Horizon which gave similar results. Both worked with normal 35mm film but produced negatives that were a little under 60mm wide rather than the 36mm of normal cameras. Both use clockwork to swing the taking lens around a third of a circle exposing the film through a narrow slit behind the lens. The film was held in a curved path – again around a third of a circle – with the lens at the centre of the circle so that the lens to film distance remained constant.
Peacham Hall, King’s Head Hill, Woodberry Way, Chingford, Waltham Forest, 1995, 95p03-411
This arrangement avoided the change in distance from the lens to film that gives some stretching of the subject towards the edges of the frame – and begins to become very noticeable in ultra-wide lenses, particularly wider than around 18mm focal length on a 35mm camera.
Level Crossing, Highams Park, Waltham Forest, 95p03-552
Using the curved film plane avoids this distortion and enables a much wider field of view, while using a fairly moderate focal length – the Widelux has a 26mm f2.8 lens and gives negatives 24x56mm with a horizontal angle of view of 123 degrees.
Bridges, North Circular, Hale End Rd, Hale End, Waltham Forest, 1995, 95p03-463
But there is a downside. Creating the image in this way gives a curvature to objects which is unlike our normal vision which is particularly noticeable on any straight lines, though lines parallel to the axis the lens rotates around remain straight – so if you hold the camera level, verticals will remain straight. But other lines become curved with the effect increasing away from the image centre, giving what is often called a “cigar effect“.
This is a constraint which makes composition far more difficult using a swing lens camera, and was not helped by a rather poor viewfinder on the Widelux. Usually for landscape work I tried to visualise the effect of the curvature and chose a suitable camera position, levelled the camera on a heavy Manfrotto tripod using the spirit level on the camera top plate, lining the camera up using two arrows on the top plate to show the extent of the view (more accurately than the viewfinder) and then pressing the cable release to make the picture.
Stratford Bus Station, Great Eastern Rd, Stratford, Newham, 1995, 95p4-922
For photographing events and some creative effects this is a camera you can use handheld, but you have to remember that even when using its fastest speed of 1/250 second the camera actually takes quite a lot longer to scan around the curved film.
Crowley’s Wharf, River Thames, Greenwich, 1995, 95p4-672
These pictures are from a project I began in 1995 with the approaching Millennium in mind. It seemed to me to make sense to carry out a project based on the Greenwich Meridian.
Greenwich Boating Pond, Park Vista, Greenwich, 1995, 95p4-1431
So I set about walking the Meridian, photographing it at various points in London and used some of these pictures in an attempt to get public funding for a Meridian Walk with some markers in pavements and a web site and publication. Panoramic images seemed a very appropriate format for illustrating the line.
Greenwich Meridian, Royal Observatory, Greenwich, 1995, 95p4-1242
Unfortunately my grant application as usual was unsuccessful, but I did go on to take some more photographs. In 2009 others produced a Greenwich Meridian Long Distance Path covering all of the Meridian in England from Peacehaven to Sand La Mere which of course goes through London and we also have The Line Sculpture Trail. Quite a few more Meridian markers were also added in London since I made this walk.
Many more panoramas from my Meridian project and other colour images from 1995 in the album 1995 London Colour.
This the third page of a selection of my work in 2024. Not my “best pictures” but some of my better images, all I think pictures that worked well and told the story I was trying to tell. Captions are those I wrote in haste on the day they were taken.
London, UK. 25 May.A large crowd marched slowly from the Greenwich Islamic Centre to a rally in central Woolwich in one of many local protests across the country calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza and UK arms sales to Israel and for Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions – BDS against Israeli apartheid. They demanded a huge increase in humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza to avoid famine, and called for an end to Israeli apartheid, and freedom and justice for Palestine.London, UK. 1 June 2024. Hundreds meet outside Redbridge Town Hall for a rally before marching to Barking Town Hall, demanding an immediate end to the genocide in Gaza and arms sales to Israel and for international sanctions against Israel and freedom for Palestine. Among speakers were Leanne Mohamad, standing against Wes Streeting in Ilford North and Fiona Lally who ‘destroyed’ Suella Braverman in a TV interview. London, UK. 8 June 2024. Jewish Bloc anti-Zionist Jews. 150,000 march through London to a rally in Parliament Square demanding an end to the genocide in Gaza and for UK political parties to pledge to end to arms sales to Israel. They call for the opening of crossings for urgent humanitarian aid to Gaza, and for the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners in Israel and for negotiations to bring freedom to Palestine and peace to the area.London, UK. 15 June 2024. People met in Gillett Square, Dalston in heavy rain for speeches before marching to the Divest Camp outside Hackney Town Hall. They called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and international action to overcome problems in getting urgently needed humanitarian aid to the people and for divestment by corporations and financial institutions around the world. They demand Hackney end its twinning with Haifa which they say Israel uses for propaganda reasons. London, UK. 6 July 2024. A health worker holds a white smoke flare. Many thousands marched through London to call on the Labour Government to end its support for Israel’s continuing genocide in Gaza and the UK arms sales which support it and to call for an immediate ceasefire and a huge increase in humanitarian aid. They called for a political solution based on international law to with freedom for Palestine. A few counter protesters on Waterloo Bridge were met with angry shouts and derisive gestures. London, UK. 18 July 2024. John McDonnell was among those at the rally Disability rights campaigners came to Parliament Square for ‘Disabled People Demand’, presenting the new Labour government solutions to the many crises faced by disabled people across the UK caused by cuts in resources and services under previous administrations and celebrating the the music, art and poetry of disabled people. London, UK. 20 July 2024. Local protests around the country including this march from Edmonton Green to Silver Street call for the UK to halt arms supplies to Israel which are being used in the genocidal assault on Palestinians which have so far killed over 39,000 people. Yesterday the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s presence in the Palestinian occupied territories is “unlawful” and called on it to end as rapidly as possible. London, UK. 27 July 2024. People met at the Cuban Embassy before marching to Oxford Street to protest against collaboration by British banks with the attacks on the Palestinian and Cuban peoples. UK banks such as the HSBC have implemented the US blockade of Cuba for 62 years since the revolution and back the occupation of Palestine by investing in the arms trade and Israeli business deals with the UK. London, UK. 27 July 2024. Thousands met outside the BBC at Langham Place to march to Hyde Park Corner in the sixth Trans Pride March, taking place after a year of increasing anti-trans media campaigns, hate attacks and the Cass report which raised questions about the future of trans healthcare. They called for trans rights and proper healthcare including ending the ban on puberty blockers. London, UK, 3 Aug 2024. A Trans Strike Back rally and march in Parliament Square called for an end to the ban on prescribing puberty blockers to trans kids. Proven safe for kids over many years the ban only applies to trans kids and appears to be the result of an ill-informed transphobic campaign and it will endanger the lives of trans kids. They also call for the rejection of the Cass Report and demand a trans led structure of their healthcare.London, UK, 3 Aug 2024. A rally in Parliament Square by Extinction Rebellion, Defend Our Juries, Just Stop Oil and Fossil Free London called for an end to the jailing of non-violent protesters and an end to the gagging by judges of those who try to argue that the climate crisis is a “lawful excuse” in our courts. Jurors should hear the whole truth of the cases. Around 200 people have been jailed for peaceful protests since 2019 and widely criticised draconian sentences were given to the ‘Whole Truth Five’.London, UK. 3 Aug 2024. Thousands march through London to Downing St calling on Starmer to end arms sales to Israel and for a ceasefire to end the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Schools, hospitals and homes are continually being bombed and people are dying from starvation and a lack of clean water. A Lancet study suggests that by now 180,000 Palestinians may have died in Gaza, far more than the official figures. London, UK. 3 Aug 2024. Thousands march through London to Downing St calling on Starmer to end arms sales to Israel and for a ceasefire to end the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Schools, hospitals and homes are continually being bombed and people are dying from starvation and a lack of clean water. A Lancet study suggests that by now 180,000 Palestinians may have died in Gaza, far more than the official figures. London, UK. 10 Aug 2024. Several thousand crowded the area opposite the Reform Party address in Westminster for a lively rally against the extreme right following the thuggery encouraged and promoted by Nigel Farage and Tommy Robinson. Speakers included Weyman Bennett and Louise Raw. They called on everyone to take a stand against racism in workplaces and elsewhere and for politicians to end scapegoating immigrants and their racist anti-migrant speeches and policies which have emboldened the extreme right.
Part 4 follows tomorrow. You can see many more pictures from these and other events in my albums on Facebook.
Guns & Knives, Pineapple, Orange & Thames: On Saturday 20th September 2008 after photographing a protest over gun and knife crime, a festival in Stockwell and being assaulted at an Orange March I went to Open House Day at Trinity Buoy Wharf and then crossed the river to walk along the riverside path from North Greenwich to Greenwich.
The Peoples March – Kennington Park
The Peoples March’ against gun and knife crime from Kennington Park was organised by the Damilola Taylor Trust and other organisations and supported by the Daily Mirror and Choice FM and came at the end of London Peace Week.
In 2007 there were 26 teenagers killed on the streets of London, and many of those on the march “were the families and friends of young people whose lives were ended prematurely by violent death, and the grief felt by many of those I photographed was impossible to miss. They were stricken and angry and demanding that something was done to stop the killing.”
These deaths continue. They peaked in 2021 when 30 were killed, but most years there have been around 20 such tragic deaths. Despite many marches such as this and projects such as the Violence Reduction Unit set up in 2019 by London Mayor Sadiq Khan these deaths continue.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with victims’ families just a few days after the election and earlier this month held a knife crime summit at Downing Street aimed at halving it over the next decade. Earlier in the year King Charles and actor Idris Elba hosted a mini-summit on knife crime at St James’s Palace in July. A ban on the sale and possession of zombie-style knives and machetes will come into force in 4 days time.
It remains to be seen if these initiatives will have any effect. Back in 2008 I commented that “Effective action would involve huge cultural shifts and a direction of change that would reverse much of what we have seen over the past 50 or so years” and unfortunately there still seems little chance of this happening.
My spirits were lifted by seeing so many people taking part in the Pineapple Parade, part of the Stockwell Festival, clearly enjoying themselves taking part with others in the event. As I commented, “Community festivals such as this have an important role in building the kind of relationships that lead to healthy communities.”
John Tradescant the Elder (1577-1638) and his son John Tradescant the Younger (1608-1662) had their extensive nurseries a little up the road from where I was taking pictures and brought many exotic species to this country in the seventeenth century, and possibly pineapples were among them, although sources differ on this. Some pineapples were imported here in that era but apparently they were only cultivated here in heated greenhouses in the nineteenth century.
But as I wrote in 2008 “among the dancing and fancy dress I also found a reminder of violent death, Stockwell is probably best known for the brutal shooting by police of an innocent unarmed Brazilian man who had just boarded an underground train at Stockwell Station in 2005.”
I shivered a little as I went down the escalator and boarded the tube on my way to Temple to photograph the Apprentice Boys of Derry March in which various Orange Order associations were taking part.
As you can see from my pictures, most of those taking part were proud to be there and happy to be photographed.
“But at one point I found myself being pushed backwards by a large man in dark glasses and instructed very fimly to leave. This kind of intimidation certainly isn’t acceptable and of course I continued to take pictures of the event. But it was a reminder of the darker side of Loyalist Ulster, which I hadn’t expected to see on the streets of London.”
Open House at Container City – Trinity Buoy Wharf, Leamouth
I took the tube to Canning Town and then walked down the long way to Trinity Buoy Wharf, cursing that the path beside Bow Creek and long-promised bridge had not been built. Part of the walkway is now open and an new bridge to the redeveloped Pura Foods site now provides more convenient access.
It was Open House Day in London and I took advantage of this to visit Trinity Buoy Wharf and the Container City there, a set of artists studios built using containers. Begun on the site in 2001, this had by then expanded considerably.
Trinity Buoy Wharf is open every day of the year except Christmas Day, but in 2008 as this year there were many extra activities for Open House. And at the end of 2023 the only complete Victorian steam ship in existence, the SS Robin has joined the collection of Heritage Vessels there, though tours for Open House on Sat 21st & Sun 22nd September 2024 are fully booked.
The containers were interesting but I think it was other aspects of the site and the view from it that interested me most, as well as the chance to take the specially laid-on ferry across the Thames to North Greenwich.
North Greenwich to Greenwich – Thames Path, Greenwich
The riverside walk is one I’ve done many times and its always of interest although the section at North Greenwich was only opened up in the 1990s and in more recent times parts of the walk have been blocked during the construction of some of the new blocks of riverside flats.
A large aggregate wharf remains although most of the riverside industry has gone, including the silos and the rest of the works at Morden Wharf. And only Enderby House remains of the site from which ships left to lay undersea cables across the world.
Greenwich of course retains its grand buildings, now a part of Greenwich University.
On My London Diary there are also some views across the river, both to buildings Canning Town, Leamouth, Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs. It’s a walk I’ve done several times since and might well do again, probably starting from North Greenwich Station. You can see pictures from a walk in 2018 on My London Diary. And there are still some good pubs when you reach Greenwich on your way to the buses or stations there.
