... in which lay hidden, for many years, ...

... a magic beach

the artesian well on wandsworth road

maurice lambert, sculptor of the barbaric edifice at 33 grosvenor place

born in france, lived in england, son of george, a rarther distinguished painter from australia, see first two paintings of maurice

... the question is, how did Maurice get from A to Z ?

to me, his work makes him seem like a character out of hitchcock
















































































































http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=basildon&w=13385968%40N00

henry vii chapel pinnacles and weather vanes

reading challenge ... a little primer for the larger picture

a new series of reasonably accessible lectures to whet our appetites for attempting to read marx's capital


http://davidharvey.org/



... and an interesting update on commodities from today's paper, from which the AP/Monty Davis photo is borrowed



http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jun/16/food.biofuels

iconography class ...

once upon a time in the cathedral at strasbourg, the figure on the left represented the church and the figure on the right, blindfolded and carrying a broken spear, represented the synagogue

... and when the moon is full, they slip silently from their plinth and steal away to give chase until dawn upon putney heath ...

the V&A courtyard transformed

oliver's army ... the jury's still out

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Cromwell

oh, please please please, buy me a new ironing board ? ... i've nothing to wear !

simplistic, moi ?

the forty-two days detention issue takes our society right back to the origins of habeus corpus, because we even had bad rulers in the good old days !



for me it isn't what the papers have been describing as a FREEDOM issue, because i doubt that freedom is ever absolute in any society


for me it is a JUSTICE issue, because, no matter what the crime, justice must always be done, and must always be seen to be done without hindrance ... gordon brown & his supporters should know that showing the prisoner of the state to the court regularly is a fit and necessary test of the state's own necessary sense of national shame and honour ... and therefore, by implication, of it's leader's true patriotism


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habeas_corpus

we don't own a tv yet tv licensing have sent me an intimidatory ultimatum, but why should i even purchase a stamp for a tax on my honesty ?

powel and pressburger's black narcissus

and at that moment, the silence in the cinema was shattered as the loved one gasped,

"WHERE CAN I BUY THAT LIPSTICK ?"

i've hung out the washing .... and i promise i'll plug in the vacuum cleaner ... as soon as i've finished this article ...

but ... one hour later ...

a favourite front door, usually concealed by a parked car when i drive through lindfield

bletchingley churchyard

no title

when an irresistable force such as me ... meets an im-movable object like you ... why didn't it break ?

1 Corinthians 13:11 ... but not yet

noisy neighbours breakfasting on the green berries of the holly tree

ref: barbaric ...

i went back to grosvenor place this morning to satisfy my curiosity about number 33

... a curious building in that it bears no exterior signage that would give the passer-by any clue about its original purpose, or the origin of these masterly but quite obscene carvings

... maybe the rooftop pinnacles at either end of the building might jog someone's memory

... but not mine






























































nb ( 18th july 2008 ) just found from pevsner that the carvings are by maurice lambert, a rich if limited subject, so more about him in a new blog as soon as i've done some research

Pevsner describes the subject matter as angels "trampling down" devils ... mmm ! sort of ...

pevsner doesn't attribute the gigantic pinnacles/finials

our new neighbour has welcomed us with a pot of freshly home-made strawberry jam

love and marriage went together like a horse and carriage in cedars road, clapham