Hidden London: THE LAST SEWER GAS LAMP

I wanted to leave this story for some other day and write about another Hindu temple that I planned to visit today. But the weather is terrible so I guess I'll stay home.. 

The weather is the only flaw of this country definitely. 

The same day I took a walk and saw "The Lion Heads" I was actually on the way to find the last gas lamp of London. 

Embankment tube stop, hot latte in my hand, an umbrella, camera.. I was walking towards "Temple", next to the river trying to find "Savoy" hotel. Just behind the hotel I should find the lamp. It was easy. I found it imminently. 

Location of the Lamp (Gmap source)

Location of The Lamp

Many of these lamps were installed in the UK in towns and cities such as Sheffield and Blyth, and they are still there,  but only one remain in the capital.
The main purpose of sewer gas destructor lamps is to remove sewer gases and their hazards.
Joseph Edmund Webb of Birmingham patented a sewer gas destructor lamp in the late 19th century.
Due to a traffic accident the original lamp was damaged and has been replaced with a replica. This lamp is currently in use and can be found burning day and night down the side street of the "Savoy" hotel in London. The story of this lamp has given rise to locals referring to Carting Lane as 'Farting Lane'. :)

Location:  Carting Lane (leading from The Strand to Savoy Place), Westminster, WC2R. 
Tube station: Charing Cross, Embankment or Temple.

Hidden London: THE THAMES LIONS

“When the lions drink, London will sink”
“When it’s up to their manes, we’ll go down the drains”
“When the water is sucked, you can be sure we’re all … in trouble”

Whenever you're in London no matter if you are tourist or just passer, you will come to Embankment or South Bank. It's just so relaxing walking next to the river although in the winter might be a bit chilly. This is one of my favorite central London part.  

As I was walking and enjoying my warm latte on a cold and cloudy winter morning I saw pretty "ornamental features" - a lion heads. I took a few pictures just randomly. Later on when I came home I discovered that those heads are not just nice wall ornaments, they serve a vital purpose. 

These lion heads line both sides of the Embankment, staring out over the River Thames. Their mouths hold mooring rings and it is said that if the lions drink, London will flood. They were sculpted by Timothy Butler for Bazalgette’s great sewage works in 1868-1870.

So if the water reaches the steel rings that are in the lions mouth this would be classed as a flood warning. But the possibilities for that to happen are not big thanks to Thames Barrier. 

Location: Albert & Victoria Embankments
Tube: Westminster

After so many hidden spots I discovered here in London in such a short time I can loudly say - this town has many more to offer, you just need to open your eyes and see around. I bet you'll find something hidden that it is worth to admire it. 

So, go out and explore! 

Hidden London: WORLD'S SMALLEST POLICE STATION

  

Secret of Trafalgar Square 

How many people daily pass through the square? Many. No matter if they are tourists, real Londoners, students, British, Americans, German... But just few of them knows that the World's smallest police station stands there.
First time I visited London, after all "must see" attractions (and there are many!) I started looking for some un-commercial spots. I had plenty of time 'cause I've stayed one month here. I dono how many articles I  red about hidden places in London, how many posts and pictures I saw... I started writing them all down in my notebook, and pining them on my paper map. Back then I did not have iPhone or gmap.. It was just me and my papers :) But it was real happiness once I finally find them. :) 

So, this smallest UK police box stands on south-east corner of Trafalgar Square. Sometimes is routinely ignored by the masses 'cause it does not look so representative like all sculptures and monuments on the square. And tourists that comes here don't know about it, 'cause honestly, it does not look like police station at all but more like lamp. The truth is it was originally an ornamental light fitting, built in 1826.
Scotland Yard had it hollowed out and adapted for police purposes in 1926, with the addition of electric lighting and a telephone. This was the year of the general strike in Britain and Trafalgar Square was and still is, the place for disenfranchised citizens to congregate and have a grumble.
Equipped with a telephone (connected to a main police station) and just enough space to swing a truncheon, it had room for one officer to watch over marches, demonstrations and riots in the square.
Today, it's used to store street cleaning equipment.

So, next time you come here, make sure you don't miss it.

Location:  Smallest Police Station, Trafalgar Square, Opposite South Africa House, post code: WC2N 5DP.

Tube (metro/underground) stop: Charing Cross

Is this the World's Smallest Police Station?? Still unclear to me. Later on, after many online "researches" I found that there is another one in USA (Carrabelle, Florida).

photo source: MV "Help me Rhonda" blog

Hidden London : SHRI SANATAN HINDU MANDIR

 

 

A piece of Asia here in London...

 

 

 I remember one month ago, I was waiting a bus at Wembley central station and googling where is the closest ticket office while on my map suddenly saw pin of Hindu temple. Immediately I opened the picture of the temple and lost my breath for a second. What I saw was beyond beauty. And it was just 500meters of bus stop, in the area of Alperton. I was already in the bus, half way home and the day was turning into dusk so I said to myself what would be the best is to visit the temple some other day.

To be honest, I was not surprised at all why the temple is built here, in London knowing that many Indian - Asian people live here, specially in Wembley. 

Next several days was really bad weather, rainy and cold so I was not into sight seeing. The weekend was promising. Early morning that Saturday I went to see Vintage clothes market and I was so disappointed and at the same time shocked what people were buying. The clothes was so old, not in good condition and oversized, not even vintage. I returned home. The day was amazingly sunny so Pyrros and I went to see the temple since it's not far away and we needed a vitamin D cause here in England is very rare :) 

 

 

Interesting facts:

*Sanatan means - Eternal.

*The temple welcomes visitors of all faiths and none, although certain Hindu customs - such as removal of the shoes upon entry are expected to be adhered to during your visit. 

*Famous spiritual leaders and forms of Gods from other religions are also featured in the carvings, such as Mother Teresa, Meerabai, Guru Nanakdevji and many more showing the respect, love and compassion for all religions. 

 

 

 

About the temple:

The architecture of Shri Vallabh Nidhi UK presents an epitome of mystical scales and proportions along with the heavenly carving which turns the structure into a magnificent celestial body.
Being located on 2.4 acres of land in the centre of the well known shopping area on the Ealing Road, Wembley; the temple plays the role of a place of deep relaxation and is visited by thousands each year.
The temple exhibits intricate forms of carving and moulds which are made up of various types of stones. The royal range of stones involve the ochre coloured stone from Jaisalmair which imparts a traditional Indian touch to the spaces, Bansipahad and Makrana marble turns the space into a home of peace and vitality, while the majestic facade is decorated by Jaisalmer lime stone, all of which have been imported from India.

The construction of the temple is based on the ancient Hindu Scriptures of the Shilpa Shastras that give guidance in dealing with buildings and sculpture techniques that have been followed in order to form a perfect masterpiece. The secrets stored in the age old scriptures are unfolded and the different spaces of the temple are imbibed with the perfect ambience, thus giving due respect to the different aspects of climatology and form, space and order.
Intricate and detailed hand carved patterns on the stones have been developed from famous mythological incidences of Hindu scriptures, giving importance to legendary Hindu tales such as the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Shrimad Bhagvatam and many more. The vibrant aura reflected through the architecture of the temple takes the human being into a world of deep relaxation and introspection, where the person is drenched with positive and spiritual feelings and thoughts.

The spaces are well appointed with beautiful murtis of deitie and wall shrined deities. Thus, showcasing the importance of respect, love and compassion for all religions and sampradays, making the temple dynamic and universal as well as promoting the message of Vasudev Kutumbakaum, a Hindu term to describe the world as one big family.
The new Mandir was opened to the public on Monday 31st May 2010 . A ceremony called Pran Prathistha was held to “infuse the spirit of God into the statues” as part of the temple opening.

 

 Our walk felt like walking in urban streets of Sri Lanka or India. And Shri Sanatan temple is not the only Hindu temple in London. Keep following my posts to find out about the others. 

Love. 

Yelena.

LITTLE VENICE

I've heard many times random people commenting about London with a same conclusion:"London's got everything". Oh yeah, they are so right I am admiring without having any second thought.
Today I went to see the beauty of  Thames canal called "Little Venice" in Maida Vale district, north Paddington.
Currently I live in Wembley so I choose no rush and easy long bus ride (bus number 18) from here to Paddington. Faster way is of course tube (metro) but I love London's buses.
The canal area is a home of many pubs and bars on and around the Little Venice. There is puppet theater and Canal Cafe Theater. From here you can take a "boat taxi" to the ZOO or Camden.
Later on, I also found out that the famous Greek (Zakynthian) poet Andreas Kalvos lived here. He was teaching Italian and Greek language here in London back in 1817.

The area I did not like much is the one where is Paddington tube station. Looks too cold with all that new buildings around so I decided to get back to the main "pond" area close to the Puppet theater.

Paddington station area

I was sitting there for a while watching the sun fighting with a clouds. Just after few minutes couple of ducks and two swans came close to me probably hopping I will give them some food. I did not have any but the old couple showed up and started feeding them. They said they are doing this 12 years so far and the old lady made a joke how lucky those birds are having them. I said they (old couple) are lucky to live here. We all laughed :)

The chance for the weather to get better was little as the clouds once again colored the sky gray, my walk ended here.
I left this place with a promise that I will come back for the Canal Festival on 2nd of May. 

following "wedding" sign :)

..finding little Buddha:)

 

 

 winter flower

Hidden London: TRAFFIC LIGHT TREE

A Valentines day... Rise and shine...
First thing I usually do in the morning before I get up from the bed is that I always move curtains to check the weather, if it's sunny or not. I am addicted to the sun. Cloudy wet and chilly picture showed up on this Saturday morning. I will quote what one of my cousin said and she is so right: "I was born in August for a reason. Not meant for this cold weather!". And by coincidence she was born same day as I.
I woke up my husband early and even now still feeling guilty 'cause he was djing till late last night.
After the shower and breakfast we took a Piccadilly line to Green Park and from there Jubilee to Canary Wharf.
I promised that from today you will be meeting London's hidden jewels. So lets start randomly..


Canary Wharf is London's business and financial districts. All big banks, professional services and media organizations are here. Around 100 000 people works there. It's like Shanghai in Europe.
But this is not something I will write about. :)
This is a story about tree. Not any tree but artistic, unique traffic light tree we discover today here.

We found it on a center of one small ring road just across the entrance of Billingsgate market.
The Traffic Light Tree was created by French artist Pierre Vivant. It is eight meters tall and containing 75 sets of lights, each controlled by computer.
"The sculpture imitates the natural landscape of the adjacent London Plane Trees, while the changing pattern of the lights reveals and reflects the never ending rhythm of the surrounding domestic, financial and commercial activities." Viviant said.
It was installed in 1998 on the other location and changed location few more time till 2013 where it is now.
Amazing, isn't it??

We enjoyed our day at busy urban area. It was not sunny but this piece of art colored our day with all 75 shinnig lights that was flashing constantly reminding us that London has its own colors.

Happy Valentines day!!

MOVING TO ENGLAND

Start of December 2014 I spent in rush. Applying for UK visa once again, sorting out all details, booking flights and packing up. Moving to UK was not how I really imagined my future.. But, my husband is there and the opportunities are bigger and lighter than they are in Greece at the moment.

Sun did not take me to some nice Mediterranean destination this time neither to some tropical coast of Asia. It took me to the capital of Europe if I can feel free to say.

I am about to change my life completely.  

16th December (2014) my dear friend Milosh came and took me to the airport. Flying to London, moving to London...

So here I am. Stuck in a city that slowly I am falling in love with. Every inch, very corner I simply adore and I will try, with all my heart to describe everything that this amazing city has to offer.

In a further posts you can expect to meet some hidden, beautiful spots that this city hides. 

So, enjoy this ride and "mind the gap, please".

  

when in London..

DIVING IN THE RED SEA

Season on Zante passed so quick and I have only best memories of summer 2014. . .

End of the season I planned to do my 2nd scuba diving course with my Greek friends from "Euro Divers". By the circonstances, bad weather condition and organization from both sides I left the island without finishing the course. Was a bit disappointed 'cause I had such a big wish to do it. I said: "What a hell, I'll do it next year or somewhere else". Although the guys from "Euro Divers" are good instructors and I have only positive words for all crew.

Just after Athens, when I got back to Belgrade I was looking for some cheap holiday trip that I might have before I move to UK. Usually as you all know me, I am not using offers from tour operators and I manage all my travels on my own way but I, by accident, saw such a great package offer for 12days in Hurghada - Egypt that I should not miss it. It was 10th October and flight was on 12th. Just 2 days to go. Immediately I called my summer flatmate (and now one of my closest friend) Branka. Ones I remembered, we spoke about hitting some trip after the working summer season. It was 9am and I knew I am gonna wake her up. 

"Whats the rush baby?", she answered with dreamy voice.

"Listen me carefully, only 2 places left for the flight on 12th, I checked with the company, plus if we pay today which we have to, we'll have minus 50e each on a price of a package. What do you say? Get your tiny ass out of bed, check the hotel, offer and let me know asap so I can book it.", I was so hectic and pushy. 

She was a bit confused by the morning call and all my tension but she said: "Fuck it, we GO!"

Some people need more time for planning their holiday, packing etc. We? We just need less than 30min. 

So very second morning we met each other on Nikola Tesla airport in Belgrade.
We flew with Air Cairo, 3 hours from Belgrade to Hurghada, charter. Cabin crew was not polite either. Landing very unpleasant.
After we finished paper work (buying visa 25dollars fee), passed police checking and took our languages we saw our rep - Mohamed. Not that I was disappointed but I was expecting Yelena, as in the company they told me she'll wait for the group. Why I was so excited? Well, this was a 1st time for me being a typical tourist and I was doing the same job as Mohamed or Yelena for almost a decade in Greece. My shock was bigger when I heard Mohamed speaking Serbian language fluently. Wait, what?? It would be the same hearing Greeks speaking English without that funny dialect and accent (no offense my Greeks, Serbians are not better either). Later, Mohamed told us he was studding Serbian language in Serbia and that Yelena has stopped working.
Bus transfer from the airport to our hotel (also 1st stop) was less than 20minutes. Main Sheraton road, or lets say center, and smooth African wind. Welcome to well deserved holiday!

We had to wait for about an hour to check in. Our hotel "Royal Regina" was nice one with a beautiful garden full of palm trees, nice beach and we got a very large room in the middle of that amazing yard.
In Hurghada almost all beaches are private (belongs to hotels) and those public ones aren't so beautiful.
Last time I was in Egypt was 2005th and not many things has changed till now. On the same place there is that "mango" shop selling fresh mango juice, "Abu Ashara" market still there, "Papas" beach club etc... All this brought me some great memories from the past.
But here we are, sunny Egypt and amazing Red Sea.
1st few days we did not go out of the hotel. More-less, beach, book, room, restaurant, beach and in the night long walk to Marina Bay. We absolutely had everything in our hotel as "all inclusive" package.
I really have to mention our hotel animation team (Egyptians, Russians and Ukrainian). They are adorably funny. Although we join them just few times at the end of our holiday 'cause we did not used to the animation fun on the beach as all those Russians.
Oh, I love Red Sea!!! So colorful and full of life. Pity I had both of my underwater cameras in service and no lucky to buy one there as they were old models and overpriced.
The 5th day I decided to go around, visit few diving centers and see what can I do with my course.
A hotel just next to us was my1st stop. "Deep Dreams" diving center.  The guy I met, Zizo, was one of instructors there. Had a really nice chat with him. The only problem was that they are not PADI school but SSI. He mentioned one guy that speaks Serbian and he is PADI instructor - Zsolt. He also invited me for a drink today after 4:30pm to meet his crew and my potential scuba teacher. I accepted. This conversation makes me stop seeking further. So, I got back to the hotel beach and enjoyed my day with Branka.
4:30pm same day I was in "4 You" bar and I saw Zizo. Joined him for a beer and waited to meet my instructor Zsolt. Branka also joined us and we spent a night there with beer and such a great commutation with Zsolt. I was so excited to start my course and we arrange everything. As I did part of my course in Greece (Fish ID and Boat dive) he explained that for my next lever I have to do 2 specialty: 1st navigation and 2nd deep dive. Those two are must for advanced curse and if i want i can do some others. I also choose "wreck dive", "drift dive" and "peak performance buoyancy" - 2 boat dives a day, full equipment, meals and drink for amazingly decent price. I did not have to purchase book, cause I have one.
After the "business" chat finished we continued with beer and fun chats.
My 1st 2 dives started very next morning 8am at "Deep dreams" diving center and tat day on the boat was amazing. Did 2 fun dives (1st 18 meters depth and 2nd 11,4m). In Red sea you really don't have to go deep to see things and fishes. Red sea is soooo alive.. I felt like little mermaid in cartoon with all those corals and fishes.
Boat was big, well equipped with 2 platforms and plenty of place to relax, lay and enjoying this African sun and wind. Divers I met on board - all from Hungry very friendly. Only few of them spoke English but all of them with a smile.   
First stop was Small Gitun island (police station) name of diving site. I was in a group of five divers (open water) and my instructor as a guide and my buddy.