On the night of the 12th September 1940 the bomb doors of a Heinkel 111 opened over London. A 1000kg ‘delayed explosion’ device whistled through the hatch. Seconds later it lay embedded in the pavement of Deans Yard, St Paul’s Cathedral. Fortunately for the cathedral, the explosion remained delayed. The bomb’s deadly potential now...
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Almost immediately I realised this was not London anymore. Max and I were on a towpath. Narrow-boats lined the canal, bedecked with pot plants and armchairs. Smoke puffed from their tiny chimneys. A man sawed through a stack of wood. Geese bobbed on the...
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In his Greater London Plan of 1944 Sir Patrick Abercrombie was the first to suggest that the Lee Valley should become a regional park. It wasn’t until 1961 that the Mayor of Hackney, Alderman Lou Sherman took action. He invited what was then known...
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There is a hole in London which swallows up the city’s time. You can stroll into this hole and observe fragments of culture which have been pulled in and shattered to pieces by its centripetal force. Cows drink from a World War II bomb...
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i. Imagine a whirlpool in time In its centre a hole A black emptiness Around it the spinning ages Ripple with change But the core is still Here time falls into An irresistible void You follow...
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I first wrote about the Ghost Factory in February 2011 after I watched the wrecking balls smash Lesney Industries Ltd to pieces. Until that time the factory had stood at the corner of Hackney Marshes, overlooking the Lee Canal, making Matchbox toy cars. Even...
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