The Royal Parks of London (2): Regent's Park

There are eight Royal parks in central London, five of which are central : St James, Green Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens and Regent's Park. The land had formerly been owned by the Monarchy and now, as Crown Property, are open public spaces. Every one of them is superbly kept at considerable public expense and extremely popular with tourists and Londoners alike. Each has it's own unique character.

London has over 40% of green space - one of the highest percentages in the world.  Regents Park with Primrose Hill to the north is shown in orange. The black area is London Zoo, within the the park.  The map represents an area about 35 miles across!

It was laid out in the early 1800s by the architect John Nash. He had a plan to build an arc of 56 grand classical villas around the northern Outer Circle Road. Only nine were ever completed displaying a mix of classical orders. Also in the park is Winfield House built for the Woolworth's heiress Barbara Hutton in 1936. It has the second largest private garden in London (Buckingham Palace has the largest). Since 1955 it has been the official residence of the American Ambassador to the Court of St James (that is to say, the UK).

Japanese style bridge over a water feature in Regent's Park

Queen Mary's Gardens in the centre of Regent's Park

Corinthian and Tuscan Villas in the Outer Circle.

The many alluring features of Regent's Park include it's Open Air Theatre. None of the stage or auditorium are under cover and 140,000 seats are sold during it's 18 week Summer season every year, making it one of the largest theatres in London. Currently playing is a new version of On The Town and coming up this year are a dramatised version of A Tale of Two Cities and Oliver Twist.

The park also contains the the largest grass-covered sporting area in central London. Lots of football and cricket matches take place and, near to the US Ambassadors residence, is a baseball triangle.

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) houses London Zoo within the park. This is a zoo which one can approve of because their primary aim is research and the preservation of species and most animals live much longer within the zoo than they would in the wild. 

Many blockbuster cinema films have scenes shot within the park; the original Harry Potter, About a Boy, Withnail and I, Bridget Jones The Edge of Reason to name a few.

The Triton Fountain, Regent's Park

In the north of the park Regent's canal passes through the Zoo and the park itself presenting one of the best walks in London; Little Venice to Camden Town. And north of that lies Primrose Hill, actually separate but a part of the park. It slopes gently upwards giving a splendid view of central London.

Central London viewed from Primrose Hill

I'm listening to Kathryn Williams early cover of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah from her 2007 album Relations. Listen here. Her plaintive, fragile voice suits the song very well.

How Naomi Blake forged hope out of the Holocaust

Naomi Blake at her home in Muswell Hill, London

Naomi Blake is now well into her nineties. She was born in Czechoslovakia in 1924, the youngest of ten children and was an Auschwitz survivor as a child. Her original name was Zisel, which means 'sweet'. In 1948 she changed her name to Naomi. Naturally her experience of the Holocaust has been a major influence on her work as a sculptor but her output has had the recurring theme of optimism, hope for a better future and the promotion of understanding and goodwill between those of different faiths and backgrounds. Her story is remarkable. She lost most of her extended family, only eight out of 32 surviving and, during one of the Nazi death marches to the Baltic she made "a dash for it" escaping through deep snowdrifts and made her way back to  her former village only to find her home destroyed. From there she made her way, via Milan and Rome to Jerusalem in Palestine where she joined a Jewish defence group. She became a commander of 100 female soldiers and was injured by shrapnel from fighting the British, a piece of which is still in her neck. Eventually she moved to London for medical treatment where she met and married a German refugee, Asher Blake.

"The Refugee", Naomi Blake, Bramcote Memorial Garden, Nottinghamshire, England

She trained at the Hornsey School of Art and after starting with ceramic pots she moved through portrait sculpture, figurative and abstract work before moving back to introducing figurative aspects. She was largely influenced by Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth.

She began exhibiting in 1962 and has work in (or more likely outside of) many Cathedrals, universities,  galleries, Churches and Synagogues in the UK and around the world.

"View", 2002, Fitzroy Square Garden, London

Her work is consistently optimistic and forward-looking. The Prince of Wales and his late grandmother, the Queen Mother, had pieces of her work in their private collections. Her daughter, Anita, says that, unlike many survivors, she was always ready to talk about her experiences of the Holocaust. She is a remarkable person who deserves a much higher profile that she has.

The picture below is a small maquette  (a sculptor’s small-scale preliminary model) owned by your correspondent, Bazza. Much of her work, like this one, has a mother and child theme. I rotate this piece every few weeks because it appeals from all angles.

"Mother and Child" maquette, Naomi Blake, owned by Bazza

Her art is life-affirming and promotes human values. Despite her experiences, Naomi has said:

"there is something positive in the human figure – there is a lot of good in people…with my past, if I were pessimistic, somehow, it wouldn’t have been worthwhile surviving".

The Kiss by Judee Sill

Judee Sill lived and died of a drugs overdose after a tragic life in 1975 aged 35. Her father and brother died while she was young and she had an alcoholic mother, all of which scarred her for life. She turned to heroin and had a short career as a bank-robber! 

And you probably never knew that she existed.

The Kiss by Judee Sill.
Love rising from the mists,
Promise me this and only this,
Holy breath touching me, like a wind song
Sweet communion of a kiss

Sun sifting through the grey
Enter in, reach me with a ray
Silently swooping down, just to show me
How to give my heart away

Once a crystal choir
Appeared while I was sleeping
And called my name
And when they came down nearer
Saying, dying is done,
Then a new song was sung
Until somewhere we breathed as one
And still I hear their whisper

Stars bursting in the sky
Hear the sad nova's dying cry
Shimmering memory, come and hold me
While you show me how to fly

Sun sifting through the grey
Enter in, reach me with a ray
Silently swooping down, just to show me
How to give my heart away

Lately sparkling hosts
Come fill my dreams, descending
On fiery beams
I've seen 'em come clear down
Where our poor bodies lay,
Soothe us gently and say,
Gonna wipe all your tears away
And still I hear their whisper

Love, rising from the mists
Promise me this and only this,
Holy breath touching me, like a wind song
Sweet communion of a kiss

Judee Sill

She employs a lot of religious imagery and there are many Old and New Testament references in these words. For example "hosts....descending on fiery beams" and, in the opening verse, the essence of parts of Genesis 1:2 is invoked. Another commentator has said the Hebrew word ruach usually translated into English as spirit more correctly means wind or breath; "Holy breath, touching me like a wind song".
The imagery of the "crystal choir" who "came down nearer" is strongly evocative of a passage in the Book of Revelation.
If you have never come across Judee Sill before here is my 'Revelation': The Kiss is not only a poem but also a song and a wonderful song too. Lyrics and poetry are different things but this a rare example of lyrics so beautiful and emotional that they stand up as poetry. I cannot hear it without being moved and, after all the years, it still grabs me and moves me. Listen to it here. And it's worth reading the comments on You Tube as well.

Mechelen, Belgium

The Grote Markt (Town Square) of Mechelen in Belgium

I have just returned from a five day trip to Mechelen in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium (In French it's known as Malines). I have made the easy journey to Belgium dozens of times from my home in suburban London. Mechelen is a very typical Flemish town with a medieval central square and 336 protected-status beautiful buildings. St Rumbold's Cathedral, begun after 1200 and consecrated more than 100 years later, is visible in the picture above. Most of these town squares, usually known as the  Grote Markt (Great Market) are lined with buildings of Dutch-style architecture, most of which are restaurants and bars. More often than not the classy retail shops are situated in the streets leading out of the square in all directions. Although Mechelen is less of a tourist town it is still very popular with locals. I didn't hear too much English being spoken but most people are able to speak it well.

The vaulted ceiling of St Rumbolds, Mechelen

This type of ceiling is very weighty and it is not uncommon to see this style of architecture built with flying buttresses because the weight tends to push the walls outward and the buttresses transfer the load to the ground or a lower wall. The cathedral is full of superb works of art although it was stripped almost bare in the three-day Spanish Fury of 1572. It has two superb carillons of bells totalling 98 pieces, many weighing nearly a ton each!

Belgium has hundreds of different types of beers, as many as 500 at one time. They still offer genuine Trappist Beers brewed by monks since medieval times in six Belgian monasteries (there are five others in the world). The use of the term Trappist is strictly controlled but so-called 'Trappist-style' beers are marketed as Abbey Beers. Funnily enough, my friends and I managed to find some in Mechelen. Who'da thought?

As well as beer, Belgium is rightly famous for it's food having more Michelin stars pro-rata than France and Mechelen keeps up that tradition. Every restaurant we visited gave excellent quality and value even though some of them were clearly touristic places.

Belgian chips (fries)

They greatest culinary delight of Belgian cuisine is clearly fried potato chips (also known as French fries). The secret is that they are twice-fried, at least. They are firstly blanched, then stored in cold water and finally fried completely and served in paper cones with a dollop of mayonnaise. Enjoyed with a glass of Frank Boon Kriek beer (brewed with sour cherries) - that's sheer heaven!

I seem to have wondered off the original subject of Mechelen. Never mind......