A tall order

If you’re a fan of basketball then today’s your day because basketball star John Amaechi is at Waterstones in Leadenhall Market signing his latest book at 12.30.

John grew up in the glamorous northern town of Stockport, near Manchester, before finding that his basketball skills would take him to college in America and then on to six seasons in the top-flight NBA. His career took on a different slant when he came out as being gay, not something universally accepted in the masculine world of pro-basketball, and eventually he left the NBA and is now pursuing a PhD in psychology. All that indicates that he’s not just your average sportsman so even if you’re not a basketball fan I’d recommend you get down there, buy his book and walk in his shoes for a while.

Waterstones Leadenhall Market
1-3 Whittington Avenue, Leadenhall Market, EC3V 1PJ
020 7220 7882
http://www.waterstones.com

So I worked with a murderer

A few years ago we used to have someone in our team who I will call Simon and he was, shall we say, a bit of a lad. Not a cheeky and cheerful Artful Dodger kind of lad, though there was a certain amount of that about him, but more of a Essex-boy-with-an-XR3-and-an-attiude sort of lad. He was in fact a genuine Essex lad, rather than just a metaphorical one, and his neighbours described him as “a lovely lad”…. much later… to the Police…

Simon worked in my team for a couple of years but had the habit of going AWOL and it was mostly to his girlfriend’s place in Bristol which meant that he’d have to get up at 4am to get back to London for work and then be useless all day long. I never got to speak to his girlfriend, who I’ll call Lucy, though she seemed quite normal and pleasant from the photos and what he said about her, though quite what a lovely 19-year old could see in a rotund 33-year old who was in the throes of a messy divorce I never did figure. He, however, had worked out that he was onto a good thing but was also given over to a jealous nature so if he was speaking to her on the phone and heard a man’s voice in the background that she couldn’t adequately account for without drawing breathe his response was “I’m coming down” at which point he used to go AWOL and drive down to Bristol.

Obviously this was affecting his performance at work and he was eventually persuaded to seek other opportunities and he was later replaced by someone equally useless but for different reasons.

It was a surprise therefore, some eighteen months later, for someone in our department to receive a phone call from a supplier to say “Didn’t Simon work for you? You need to check the news”. I went to the website of the local newspaper in the area where he’d lived and there was his face splashed all over the front page with the headline being that he’d murdered his girlfriend. Not the girl he’d been going out with when he’d worked with us but another 18-year old that he must have hooked up with later. It transpired that she’d moved in with him but then found him too jealous and possessive and when she said that she was going to move out it turned into an argument, he stabbed her to death and then fled but gave himself up a few days later after being persuaded by his brother. The Police were keen to speak to anyone who knew Simon to build their case so I was torn between wanting to put them in contact with his previous girlfriend, who I knew had had a similar experience, but not wanting to draw attention to where I worked as it wouldn’t be fair on them to get drawn into it.

To be continued…

Alsop’s Hotel Vision Unveiled

Ambitious plans for a new riverside hotel at Blackfriars have been unveiled by architects Alsops, and put in for planning.

The 28,000sqm redevelopment of the Number 2 Puddledock and the Mermaid Conference and Event centre would see the creation of an iconic new hotel overlooking the Thames.

The design features a distinctive “triangluated cladding” and its diamond shaped windows permit exceptional views of St Paul’s Cathedral. Included in the plans are provisions for improvements to the public realm surrounding the development, such as enhanced walkways.

The designs have been undertaken by Alsops on behalf of Heatherfield and have now been submitted for planning consent.

What do you think of the designs? Leave your comments below…

RIBA Awards 2009 Recognise City Architecture

The Royal Institute for British Architects (RIBA) have announced the results of their 2009 Awards, and the City of London is well represented amongst the winners.

The City of London Information Centre, in St Paul’s Churchyard, and the 5 Aldermanbury Square development were both singled out for recognition. Here’s how RIBA described each building:

City of London Information Centre

This small information centre, though a modest single story, is hard to miss. Which is exactly as it should be, given its function.
Approximately triangular on plan its complex form is derived from two folded plates which coalesce on its central axis, at its broadest entrance facade taking the shape of a butterfly – or a paper aeroplane as the architects describe it. This carapace is elegantly made from crisply detailed mill-finished aluminium panels.
Inside it is clad in vibrant yellow panels, resembling the lining of an expensive suit. The plan works well, with a series of information points arrayed along the fixed counter which runs the length of the building, meaning that large numbers of visitors can be attended to at one time.

5 Aldermanbury Square

The scheme evolved to allow the creation of a new public space connecting Wood Street and Aldermanbury Square to the upper level of the Barbican High Walk. The new 18-storey building sits above the public space and consists of two staggered wings divided by a receding central section that admits light into the triple-height ground floor reception space. The facades are formed in shot-peened stainless steel cladding, and are arranged in double- or triple-height bays giving a strong sense of verticality to the elevations.
The project does much to improve the urban realm particularly Aldermanbury Square itself, by creating, improving and connecting public spaces in an area of the city notoriously difficult to resolve successfully as a result of the 1960s multi-level masterplan.

The awards have been given annually since 1966 and award buildings which have “high architectural standards and make a substantial contribution to the local environment”.

What do you think? Do you think these developments were worthy of recognition? Comments, as always, are welcome below…

Leadenhall Market Diamond Hunt

After a few easy questions the Leadenhall Market Diamond Hunt is getting tougher and starting to weed out a few competitors.

Actually a few diamond hunters have fallen even before now and tried to convince the organisers that their crossword was broken rather than assuming their answers were wrong. If you’ve come here from Google then I’m afraid you’re not going to find any answers here, particularly as I don’t intend to lessen my chances of winning the nice, shiny rock but before you move along you might want to cheer yourself up with a Youtube video of dumb people firing guns. It’ll take your mind off it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3_vHUXsunE

Leadenhall Market Diamond Hunt
http://www.leadenhallmarket.co.uk/diamond/login.php

Broadgate Owner Predicts Further Losses

The falling demand for City office space, has sent revenues tumbling for landlords, and the country’s second largest property company has taken a huge hit. British Land, which includes the sprawing Broadgate Estate amongst its nationwide portfolio, recently marked down the value of its properties by £3.2 billion.

But they are predicting things will get worse before they get better. The Daily Mail quotes British Land Chief Exec, Chris Grigg, as saying ‘We are not calling the bottom of the market’.

No Plans for Cheese Grater

Bloomberg reports that Chris Grigg also revealed British Land has no plans to resume work on the huge tower at Leadenhall that was nicknamed the “Cheesegrater”. “We don’t have imminent plans to restart”, he told analysts in a conference call.

A High Tea. A Very High Tea.

You’ve heard of a high tea? Well, today a number of eye catching, very literal, high teas took place around the capital as part of the “Only In London” initiative by Visit London.

In order to high light the British love affair with a cuppa, tea was taken in some extraordinary places such as on top of the IPC Building, on the Camden Roundhouse, on Westminster Abbey, and in the City of London, on top of the Monument.

The picture below shows the Monument caretaker enjoying a brew whilst taking in the best views on London.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said, ‘There’s nothing like the great British cuppa and the tradition of taking afternoon tea – especially high tea - has to be one of the greatest pleasures in life. If you want somewhere to relax after a busy day sightseeing or shopping, or a wonderful place to go for a family treat, only in London will you get the most memorable experience of the national brew.”

Saddle-sore in the wallet department?

I’ve been tempted to cycle to work, like many others, but my lack of distance fitness and my innate risk aversion keeps me out of the saddle, from the peridiodic stories of cyclists being squashed all the way down to simple things like repairing punctures in the rain, etc. Not my thing at all. One of my hardy colleagues, however, is more confident in his cycling proficiency than I am in mine so he pedals umpteen miles into the City on a daily basis and he’s happy to cope with the elements and whatever gremlins may beset him but just last week he was struck by an event that even this cycling ninja found to be challenging.

He’d already cycled 10 out of his 13 miles from Sutton and had just reached Oval when there was a loud crack as his saddle unexpectedly dropped off. He stopped outside a shop and a friendly shop-keeper looked through his toolbox to see if he could help but to no avail and in the end our hardy hero packed the broken saddle in his rucksack and cycled the remaining three miles standing on the pedals, risking impaling his chocolate starfish on a piece of protruding bike frame should he have to suddenly stop. Thankfully for both him and his family he made it in without incident but little did he know that his woes were only just beginning.

Replacing the broken thread should, at least technically, have been an easy matter but when he went into the rather dilapidated “Pedal-It” cycle shop near Elephant & Castle but they didn’t offer to replace the bolt and instead he was told that he’d have to buy a whole new seat post at the cost of £60. SIXTY QUID??? Understandably miffed he decided to take his business elsewhere but the story was repeated at “On Your Bike” and Evans Cycles, both on Tooley Street, so in the end he decided to try his local cycle shop in Sutton as a last resort before he had to submit to the hardware section of B&Q. He went off down to Pearsons on Sutton High Street and was directed through to the repair shop where they invited him to look through a box of odds and ends and came up trumps with the prized thread in there. He asked how much that would cost and they waved him off… nothing… free… gratis!!!

Saddle fixed, problem solved. Now THAT’S what I call service!

Do leave a comment about places that have given you great service.

Big Queues at Moorgate Marks and Spencer

To mark 125 years of trading, Marks and Spencer has returned to its roots as a penny bazaar today with many bargains to be had in store for just 1p.

Hopefuly shoppers queued outside M&S in Moorgate for over an hour this morning to get their hands on bargains.

Were you one of the bargain hunters? Did you get any great buys for just a penny? Use the comments form below and let us know what you got…

Here’s Marks and Spencers latest advert, starring Twiggy, to celebrate it’s 125th anniversary.

Second Arrest Over Pudding Lane Deaths

City of London Police have made a second arrest following the incident which saw two pedestrians killed in broad daylight in the City.

An unattended van hurtled down Pudding Lane killing Dave Smith, an IT worker with Lloyd TSB, and Claudia Kauert, a 33 year old female from Germany.

A 51 year old man was arrested at the time on a charge of manslaughter, and now police have arrested a second man, aged 61, also on suspicion on manslaughter.

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