Janice

16th January 202226th January 2022

Time Warps in London – A Singularity

Sunday, 16 January, 2022

I suppose this happens in lots of urban areas, but walking in London can feel like you have a portable time machine or a holodeck. The mass of new and even futuristic, or otherworldly, buildings have replaced old London, but only in patches. Peeking out here and there and taking over in other patches buildings from older times stubbornly remain. I recently saw a photo called Layers of London and I understood that concept. I’ve also become aware of the layers that are underneath the layers we now live in, so while buildings are now reaching towards the sky, I also think of how below me it must reach. It all seems to live in harmony. On this Sunday I was very conscious of the harmonious contrast, then on the following day it came home to me once more. But I won’t jump ahead yet.

Krish had seen a structure from the bus that seemed worth a visit. At first we thought it was permanent, but then discovered it wouldn’t be staying so we set out to take a closer look. What he’d seen was an orb which cycles through an LED coloured sequence, called Singularity by Squidsoup – the name alone was intriguing enough. It sits in the front courtyard of a new complex called Principal Place in between Shoreditch High Street Station and Liverpool Street Station.

Map of Worship Street walk — We started at the bottom of the map – and worked our way up to the top, small turns with big results

It was a clear, cold evening and the night before the wolf moon – the full moon of January. It already looked quite full and very bright. Here in London’s financial district, a wolf moon seemed appropriate.

Principal Tower is tall for London, at 50 storeys. It’s residential, not commercial, and was completed in 2019. Principal Place office block is lower, with only 15 storeys. Both buildings were designed by the architects Foster and Partners. We’ve been hearing a lot about Richard Rogers lately so Foster’s name is top of mind. So there’s more Star Trek going on here – Singularity. ‘8m geodesic sphere with volumetric real time LED lighting’ – so there you go. My camera didn’t do it justice, so there’s a website here where you can see what it looks like. The video there shows the depth and detail of the lovely piece. It’s hard to capture a 3D object in a 2D format. and my own photos and videos are shallow by comparison so do take a look.

We wanted to drag a chair over but the security guard said no, so we sat in one of the large wooden chairs they’re kind enough to have over to the side of the building. The sphere, the almost-wolf moon, the clarity everywhere, and the fact we were mostly alone there made everything feel calm and reassuring. Cities have their own beauty.

The photo that didn’t work (I’m sure I took it but #fail) is the one that showed the moon framed within Singularity – that one would have been lovely, so you’ll have to imagine the contrast and harmony of that one.

In the same courtyard is another art installation of a person – like a sketch or outline for a drawing. James Burke did this giant blue steel work, which weighs 1.2 tonnes. It’s called In Anticipation since the character is stepping forward from its plinth (all difficult to see in that dark night so worth a daytime look – ‘the waiting figure appears to have descended from its plinth and is perched against it. Leaning forward expectantly with its head looking back towards the high street.

This wouldn’t be the end of the art, unsurprisingly in London and this area in particular, but there were hidden gems ahead. Once more we stepped away from the familiar and found ourselves in new territory with that mixed feeling that is surprise and ‘well, of course’ that comes with discovering streets we’ve somehow never walked down. The density is overwhelming. So I looked up the meaning of Singularity. It’s bandied about often on Star Trek but I’ve not thought much about what it meant – ‘a point at which a function takes an infinite value, especially in space–time when matter is infinitely dense, such as at the centre of a black hole.’

We thought at first we’d walk down just one street to see what was there and I was distracted by the thought that I’d never actually gone into the courtyard of Broadgate Tower. It was right in front of me now so up the stairs we went to look a bit more closely. I’ve always loved the geometric structure. It has very tall (functional) steel girders that reach diagonally – a very interesting design which was created to ‘reflect shadows and produce light that would change throughout the day.’) At night it’s dramatic.

And the old refrain of I must come back when it’s daytime. Both buildings have green credentials and I hear there’s an area for bees, birds, insects and butterflies on one tower roof, and a peregrine falcon bird box on the other. I wonder if they are open to the public.

We thought we would walk down the street towards Moorgate. We were on Worship Street. In the 1700s this was all fields apparently and was called Hog Lane. Today it’s a commercial area with warehouses, clubs and offices but also a very cool strip of listed Victorian workshops, artisan these days. Having just come from two monumentally modern and stylish steel and glass blocks, it was definitely a time warp. There was a film crew about so the buildings were obscured. Are you tired yet of me saying I must come back? We passed lots of clubs on the ground floor of converted warehouses and there was enough of a trickle of people heading towards them to keep them open.

We were still heading towards Moorgate, but to our right we saw a forked road and suddenly the thought of seeing something we hadn’t seen before was more appealing. We decided to take the left one, Clifton Street, with more warehouses.

Shine Your Light mural — ‘Shine Your Light’ mural outside Zetland House by Luke Smile. Aptly named. His artwork always gives positive messages

Zetland House was once a printing house for the Bank of England. The wall is painted by David Shillinglaw

As we passed the wall mural we thought we’d hit a dead end, but straight ahead of us was a gate. It felt a little dangerous to go through but we’d done well so far and went ahead. It wasn’t so scary once we were in there. In fact, there was a bit of a garden beside us, with another wall mural by Noir. What did seem a bit spooky was a large, gothic-looking church in a yard right ahead of us. We were both a bit surprised by it – a church that we’d never known was there before.

We walked beside Mark Street Gardens, apparently one of the youngest parks in London, created in the early 1980s. And once through, we found ourselves on Leonard Street. So many restaurants here and there, mostly closed, with an occasional pair of partyers wandering by. This was an area that we should know better but actually don’t.

When we hit Great Eastern Street, I thought about going down New Inn Yard again to get the bus home on Shoreditch High Street but instead we chose a small road ahead of us. I was totally surprised to find myself beside Blacklock on Rivington Street, which is really close to Old Street. This was accidentally a better choice and a good reminder that the density of London means my mind can place something much further away than it actually is. It was just one bus home from Old Street, a perfect accidental discovery.

And homeward it was!

6th January 202210th January 2022

Regaining my feet in 2022 – Rooftops and Lloyds on Fenchurch Street

Thursday, 6 January, 2022 – Twelfth Night

Writing things down is happening in my head again on an intangible surface, rarely making it into anyone else’s head. Sometimes there’s a narrative of what I’m seeing and how I feel about it, but it stays in there. It’s not that that isn’t valuable and even contributes to my sense of self and, therefore, my outward self. But inside it stays for the time being. If I post photos, most of those thoughts and feelings are just for the time I’m sharing them and just with myself. In December, two people close to me died. I suppose that such words come to me more often at times like this, when I ponder the fragility of life and all the questions that are unasked and unanswered.

So it was a bittersweet Christmas time and a bit hard to pull myself out of that heavy mood and get out there. By twelfth night I’d put away almost every Christmas item – a bit ahead of my usual schedule. The Museum of the Home had closed over Christmas for longer than expected and there would be no twelfth night burning of the holly and ivy, something I’d loved in the past. This year many public buildings and restaurants opted for a long break while Omicron kept people at home and staff numbers dwindled due to illness. It was a cold and grey day but it wasn’t raining and we decided to go out.

We took a bus to Fenchurch Street. The original plan was to go to Bow Lane and I confess to being motivated by an advertised cake at Konditor. From there we could walk over to 120 Fenchurch Street where they have a rooftop viewing garden. It didn’t go according to plan but it went well, anyway.

We got off the bus and decided that, since it was still light, we’d go to 120 first. I’d been there before without Krish but he’d never been so we wandered along the strangely quiet street. There was quite a queue to get into Skygarden, though, and I was glad that wasn’t our choice for the day.

The Garden at 120 isn’t very far from Skygarden. It’s also not as high, at 15 floors, but I’d liked it when I went. It’s the City of London’s largest roof top public space, is fully open air, quiet and the view is more intimate when you’re closer to everything. We were the only people heading for it. Even going through Security was quiet and fun. The person scanning our bags had a good chat with Krish comparing beard experiences. It felt friendly and personal.

I’ve not been in the warmer months but I’ve read it has wisteria trees, fruit trees and a 200ft-long water feature. None were apparent on this cold January day.

You can walk around the perimeter – the full 360 degrees of view. There are many seats to relax on and just enjoy the air and the surrounding buildings. There’s no space to stick a camera through for clear photos so all of them are taken through the thick safety glass. I’ve decided not to caption them. There are some iconic landmarks, but I’m not sure it matters. You can ask me in the comments if you need to know more. You may notice, however — St Paul’s, Hays Galleria, the Tower of London, and the Shard.

And up here you’re close to the cranes and construction. It fills the entire South side.

While we were there, two other people came up – only two. Note to ourselves to come back when it’s warm, to see the flowers and plants in bloom and the water feature flowing. I have a feeling it might still be quiet and peaceful.

We left the building and started to walk westward, through Star Alley, when we found this church – St Olave’s, which I’d heard of.

St Olave Hart Street is one of the few mediaeval churches to survive the Great Fire of London. Samuel Pepys and his wife are buried there.
Charles Dickens who lived close by, called St Olave’s ‘St Ghastly Grim’, referring to the gargoyles on the churchyard gate – if they’re still there, I didn’t notice them. St Olave’s has been a place of Christian worship and sanctuary for almost 1000 years, the first church dating from 1050, a simple timber structure. It was rebuilt in stone in the 13th century, and rebuilt again in 1450. The crypt dates from this period.
357 victims of the 1665 Plague were buried in the churchyard. Their names were marked with a ‘p’ in the church register. The church was heavily damaged during the Blitz of 1941, leaving just the arches and the tower and was restored in 1954. After looking around outside this surprisingly small building, we realised there was a lot to see if we stayed right where we were.

Along London Street we found Fenchurch Street Station, which had looked very small and interesting through the modern building maze below. I wanted to go inside as I’d never been. Immediately inside the station you’re faced with an up and a down escalator and one flight of stairs. So up we went.

At the top of the escalator I expected to see a station hall, but instead we saw gates right in front of us leading to only four platforms – quite the smallest train terminal I’d ever seen in London, every train heading through East London, and South Essex.

We headed back to Fenchurch Street and at the corner we came across a lovely old pub, the East India Arms. It’s been serving beer since 1829. The British East India Trading Company’s old premises are right next door. It traded until 1834 and in 1873 Lloyds took over the building.

Just beyond the pub was a gate and we could see a very modern building through it. The building had a look similar to the Lloyds so-called Inside Out building on Lime Street. Looking more closely, there was a good reason for that. It’s also designed by Richard Rogers. It was quite a lovely courtyard with a light-wrapped tree and some lovely benches where I could take a break.

Lloyds owned the land on which it had buildings and in the early 1990s, two unlisted ones were demolished to create a space to build something new. Work began in 1996 and was finished in 2000. Richard Rogers stamp is very clear.

On Fenchurch Street itself (71) is the original Lloyds Register building, called the Collcutt building. It is described as a classical stone palazzo in the 16th century Italian manner.

I hadn’t known a lot about Lloyds and its holdings and businesses before and I don’t know much know either. My wanderings are usually just that and I don’t do much research before I set out. I really can’t when I don’t have a specific target. When researching later, the details can feel overwhelming and make me want to go straight back to fill in the gaps. In this case I found out that the Richard Rogers Register building excavations uncovered Roman remains and reminders of other centuries. It’s a toss-up whether I’d like to reinvent myself as an archaeologist or a London guide!

Briefly, though, Lloyds Register was the world’s first marine classification society, created more than 260 years ago to improve the safety of ships. It began in 1760 in Edward Lloyd’s Coffee House in Lombard Street. While looking at the buildings and perhaps while you’ve been looking at them, there’s an assumption that this is part of Lloyds Bank. The fact that Richard Rogers designed both new buildings cements this assumption. In fact, Lloyd’s Register has no affiliation with Lloyd’s of London. And so I learned something new…again. And again, a half-promise to come back and see the Colcutt building and St Olave’s church gate some other time.

Talking of time, it was marching on and my knees told me to head home. We wanted to come home by Whitechapel and fix Krish’s samosa craving, so we continued along Fenchurch Street to find a bus. That’s when I discovered that Fenchurch Street becomes Aldgate and we were right at a familiar bus stop to take us the rest of the way. Before that though, and perhaps to compensate for missing Dickens’ ghastly gargoyle gate, I found the gate to St Botolph without Aldgate. I love a bit of gild. Of course, I’ve now discovered that the church has its own set of grisly and fascinating histories. Another time then… On the other hand, there are 48 churches in the square mile of the City of London and each one has a story. This is usually a multi-levelled story passing through centuries, often from Roman times, and it really would be a full-time job. For now, it’s samosas, kebabs, dhal with aubergine, naan, and Indian sweets to see us through more than a few post-Christmas meals.

28th December 202113th January 2022

Christmas in London 2021

Monday, 27 December, 2021

There are just so many photos. This year I thought I could get into town and look at things and I suppose I did better than I thought, but not as well as I hoped. But at least I did get out a bit, worried every time about being in the bus and then encountering crowds.

In the interest of having something to look back on, I’m creating this blog. Last year we went into the west end at Christmas time and there was no one there. We had the streets mostly to ourselves, the buses were quiet, the shops were closed. This year things were quite different. I don’t think the numbers with Covid were smaller, but there was no lockdown, no real restrictions, and people were seemingly unworried as they crowded together on the buses, the trains, in the shops, and in the streets. It was all a bit mindboggling.

There was a cool light display at Guildhall. I’d never actually been there so it was a good excuse to go along. At first I saw that there were no booking slots left, but then Krish found out that they accepted walk-ins, so we decided to chance it one fine evening.

The show was called Borealis. It was inspired by the Northern Lights and achieved by laser lights and vapour over the Guildhall yard. We enjoyed the fact it was outside and something different and entertaining.

We also did a trip to Covent Garden one day We looked around Seven Dials, Neal’s Yard – which was lacklustre compared to other years – and went into the Piazza to check out the Frozen display. It promised ‘snow’ once an hour so we timed it as best we could and caught the very nice smelling scene there.

;

From Covent Garden we walked along the Strand and past the Savoy, where they were queuing for Pretty Woman. We headed straight towards Somerset House to see the skating.

Although we’ve had a laugh over the rink at Somerset House, somehow it’s become a Christmas tradition to go along and take a look. I remember the years of watching the skaters slosh through the water that collected on top of the ice. We’d have a giggle wondering how they were doing that. We still had a giggle this time watching how many people simply can’t skate and thinking back to the rinks in Toronto where everybody was confident on the ice and some even managing some fancy jumps and other moves. This year people were doing a bit better and the ice was quite solid. I smiled at the people with the funny little pushy things they were using as new skaters, but then I can’t skate at all, so can’t really be too smug. All in all, Somerset House at Christmas with its colourful lights on the rink is quite pretty.

I also did manage to get to the Museum of the Home Christmas Past exhibition. The rooms were slightly different this year with some additional ones. I’m not including those here but this is their lovely atrium Christmas tree.

Thinking about last year’s peaceful Boxing Day, we went into the West End on the 27th. What a difference. See for yourself! There were people everywhere. We started on Oxford Street, headed over to Liberty to see their nice but not very Christmassy display, checked out the Lavazza store, headed down Carnaby Street, walked around and across Piccadilly Circus, back up to Shaftesbury Avenue and through Soho to our bus home on Oxford Street again.

It was a somewhat quieter day when we headed over to Leadenhall Market to see their tree. The rest of the walk was also very quiet, through to Broadgate and home on the train.

Hackney isn’t a very illuminated borough. The only decorations and light are by the Town Hall. The tree this year was very full and made a lovely sight after dark.

As for our Christmas at home, I made six little gingerbread houses and this year’s wreath wasn’t bad. On the day we had a couple of grazing plates at lunch time with a steak and mushrooms for dinner. We had a house theme in gifting, which was fun. Then on Boxing Day I made a pork tenderloin, apple and mushroom stuffing, mashed potato and cranberry sauce – not the most photogenic meal but delicious nonetheless.

There really are more photos but let’s leave it at these. Happy 2022!

28th October 202121st November 2021

Leicester – All’s well that ends well

28 to 30 October, 2021

I wanted to go to Leicester to see the Diwali lights and to meet up with our friends, Avi and Farrah. It’s about halfway between London and Sheffield and on the same route so that was handy. The lights were being turned on for 24^th October and the crazy Diwali day was 4^th November, so we were nicely in the middle.

When we arrived in Leicester, I was immediately struck with how much more genteel it felt than Sheffield. Sort of like Bristol but a bit grittier. A first it also seemed busier, at least at the station. I got on my cab app and a taxi arrived quickly to take us to the Holiday Inn. It was a nice big room with a car park view. The hotel in Sheffield had a view onto the next building. One day I’ll have a nice hotel view!

After a rest we opted to not have any dinner but to go straight to Belgrave Road, which is also known as the Royal Mile or Curry Mile. It’s a big Asian community. Belgrave Roa hadn’t changed since we were last there. There’s a big, illuminated Ferris wheel and there are Diwali lights strung along the road with some illuminated decorations on the lamp posts. It looks very festive. Last time we were there for Diwali night and there were big crowds and fireworks. It was manic! This time it was deserted apart from some busy restaurants.

I’d said that maybe we could find a simple bowl of dhal and skip anything fancy, but most of the places had bigger meals or were fast food outlets. Apart from Bobby’s. Bobby’s is the best-known Indian restaurant in the area. It’s a vegetarian hotspot. I didn’t really want to go there so we walked on. I tried to go into a shop or two that were selling Diwali trinkets but, despite their open doors, they were closed – or so I was told as soon as I put my foot in. We walked along to the end of the road.

Right down where it started to thin out was a Chaiwala and I thought we could at least have a cup of masala chai, but again I was ushered out – more kindly this time. They were apparently setting up for their grand opening the next day. And so back we went to Bobby’s and miraculously got a table immediately. Then we waited. We probably waited longer than we’d ever waited, since Krish is notoriously impatient, but there wasn’t anywhere else to go, and it was wet and chilly outside. Finally, they came for our order. I wanted dhal and a puri, and true to form Krish (who always over-orders) wanted dhokla and chaat and naan. And we waited again – a long time. We weren’t alone in our impatience. At every table people were looking around wondering where their food was.

The dhokla came first, then some naan, then some puri – I forget how long afterwards. We ate the dhokla, which is a spongey type of pancake. It was slightly spicy. Not bad but not as good as our friend, Rakhee’s. I had two pieces. Krish ordered a lassi to cool us down from the spice. I ate two more teaspoons of dhal. Krish ate everything else. The chaat never came, nor the lassi. Finally losing patience, Krish asked for the bill – the chaat was on there so he told them to take that off, and the lassi had never made it to our order. The verdict was – slowest and most unfriendly service ever, but the food had been very nicely made. We took a look around the street for something else (I’d barely eaten) but there was nothing and everything was dark – so we ordered another cab and went back to our room, settling for a cup of tea and sharing a pack of hotel biscuits.

Overnight my stomach was so sour, and by morning I felt truly ill. I could barely move from the pain in my abdomen and lower back. Krish lingered in the hotel with me, we fashioned a hot water bottle from my drinking bottle, and he went out for an hour or two at a time, while I stayed in bed hoping to recover by evening so I could see our friends later that day.

Krish found this plaque. Attenborough was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys!

Krish also found a Timmie's in town — Krish also found a Timmie’s in town

Butt Close Lane, Leicester — And he got giggly over this street name (It has to do with archery!)

Krish picked me up a sandwich – an omelet on white bread, I told him. Only they didn’t know how to make an omelet so gave him a fried egg one instead. I got brown sauce on it, said Krish, I know you like that. Oh well, I couldn’t eat anyway. I drank though, whatever I could stomach – some very weak tea, some ginger beer, some coconut water. It was clear I wasn’t going anywhere with our friends. I told Krish, please go anyway. I’ll feel less guilty. he said no, so I told him to call and explain and maybe during the chat he’d change his mind. He did. I was glad for that.[/caption]

He was out for three or four hours. They had fun. I’m so glad. In retrospect, I’m pleased I didn’t go. If my response to spice had been that bad from Thursday, how much worse would it have been if it had happened on Friday night with the journey ahead! Ah well, spice or not – DONE!

I took an extra dose of my meds in the evening, having actually managed to eat TWO CRACKERS! Yay.

Rainy in Leicester — It was rainy in Leicester. This was the view from the hotel room and you can see the water streaming down after collecting on the flat roof of the car park

The next morning, I planned to stay in bed and ignore the jibes from Krish about going to seek breakfast. Instead, I took another pill, ate some crackers – AND A COOKIE, yay. I didn’t feel quite right but at least able to move about and talk without sounding like someone had strangled me. Avi and Farrah had said if I was feeling well enough, let them know and they’d pick us up to go over. I messaged them that I was OK and to get back to us.
We then had a lazy morning with Krish packing and me just resting and praying. Just before we checked out, Avi phoned to say he would come by at 1pm. So, for one hour we explored around the old centre, and I was able to get some photos. Leicester has a small but interesting medieval quarter. There’s a big Richard III connection in Leicester.

Wygston's House timber-framed facade — (Is this Wygston’s House? I think so) 15th-century timber-framed merchant’s house thought to be the oldest dwelling in Leicester. Wygston’s House is a beautiful example of a medieval wool merchant’s residence.

Wyggeston Hospital and Boys School 1877 — Wyggeston Hospital in Leicester was founded by William Wyggeston the Younger in 1513. This building went up in 1877 as a hospital boys grammar school

From Applegate towards the Guildhall and the cathedral

Cathedral and Guildhall — Leicester Guildhall started life in 1390 when its Great Hall was built as a meeting place and banquet hall for the Guild of Corpus Christi. It’s believed that Shakespeare performed here

RIchard III statue — King Richard III was killed in the battle of Bosworth Field (Leicestershire) and his body was crudely buried near the present day cathedral. In 2012 his skeleton was found and when it was confirmed to be him in 2013 it was reburied in the cathedral

We bought gifts for Avi and Farrah – a lovely scented candle (winter scent) and some halal chocolate (harder to find than I would have imagined, considering the Moslem population. and we went into the visitor centre and I bought two Diwali items – a bird with a bell, and a string of birds with a bell. They’re both very pretty and seeing the price now, I should have bought many more. Then we heard from Avi that he would leave in ten minutes so we headed back to the hotel to collect the case. That is, Krish headed back and I sat across the road where Avi would be pulling up. The following photos are of the fancier shopping area, Loseby Lane.

It was really nice to see him. He took us to his place by the scenic route (I now surmise) and picked up somewhere from ‘our favourite place’ which was grilled marinated chicken on a bun and some chips. He ordered mine plain. They live in a small community with suburban housing and their place is traditional and neat. it was my first meeting with Farrah, who was wearing a hijab (she wore it for dinner the day before so obviously that’s a normal thing, although I’ve seen Instagram photos of her with her hair showing) and was very chatty. She’s a Computer Sciences teacher and very articulate and interesting. So nice to meet her, two years after the marriage, and already chatting a little through our Instagram pages. I managed to eat half the burger which, despite being ‘plain,’ had been marinated and I tasted it for ages, I also managed a handful of chips.

Avi showed us around the house and then suddenly realised we had fifteen minutes to get our train. Panic! We raced along with us telling Avi, get us there but alive, we’d rather pay the fare again. in fact, our train was 3:32 and we arrived at the station at 3:31! (This is when I discovered getting to the station was probably a THIRD of the distance we’d travelled coming from the hotel to his house – so yeah, scenic route.) We raced through the barrier, up the stairs to the footbridge, all the way along, and saw that the train was on the platform. I tucked my cane under my arm, got down the stairs as quickly as I could, grateful for someone who was holding up the boarding process a bit, jumped in the closest door to me and we took off. This is the second time we have absolutely rushed to Leicester station and just made it. I hope it’s not a trend.

The train back was packed, mostly with football fans – definitely Arsenal at an away game, definitely drunk, and definitely super noisy and boring. Every five seconds or so someone – usually the same person – started an awful fan song which the others joined in or not. The second song seemed to need some clanging and banging of the train seats and overhead railings. Joy! Facing us across the table sat a man with his young daughter. She was watching a video on her tablet the whole time so wasn’t subjected to the swearing that was part of the whole thing. Anyway, no ticket inspectors, no hassle, straight through to London in an hour. And here’s the song:

F*ck em all!
F*ck em all!
United, West Ham, Liverpool
Cos we are the Arsenal!
We are the best!
We are the Arsenal!
F*ck all the rest!

At St Pancras, my taxi app was painfully slow and eventually it told me no drivers. I tried once more, and we settled for a bus and ended up taking two buses after seeing the best bus was 19 mins away (what???). We arrived home 90 mins after our actual arrival in London. A bowl of soup and a small slice of bread and off to bed with a hot water bottle. So, all in all, a bit of a blip here and there but a good trip.

28th October 202117th November 2021

Sheffield (part four) – all of the street art I saw

26-28 October, 2021

I already knew that Sheffield is a mecca for street art. One of the foremost street artists, Phlegm, is based there. He once did a huge mural in Toronto and I went by a few times, once seeing him at work and, when he came to get a coffee (black) at the bar where I was sitting, I uncharacteristically lost my nerve to say hello and ask him some questions. Well, I’m not always that person. To be honest, I don’t really like the St Clair mural he did then and I don’t understand why he diverted somewhat from his usual style. Whatever that is, I’ve seen it elsewhere in the world because it’s unique and unmistakable.

But…back to Sheffield. I had a street art map and some notes from my friend, Susanne. I also knew that I couldn’t walk that much so I would see what I’d see, not look for anything specific, and I was sure to come across things in the centre of town. This page is a landing space for the art I did see.

I have almost definitely put some things in twice (you may not even notice, but tell me if you do) and I will caption only the ones I have something to say about.