EXAMPLES OF THE ART DECO style that was popular during the era between the two World Wars can be found all over London. In the newer part of Hampstead Garden Suburb (north London), there are a few examples of this style.
Kingsley Close, which leads west from Kingsley Way, contains only houses built in the Art Deco style.
WE OFTEN BUY taramosalata (taramasalata) from the Athenian Grocery in London’s Bayswater district. They sell a brand called Delphi. It comes in a small plastic tub surrounded by a cardboard sleeve. Within the sleeve, there is a brief history of the company. The story begins as follows:
“It all started when our dad Tony started working in his family fruit and veg store on Goodge Street, London…”
Reading this brought back memories of shopping with my mother in the early 1960s. Being keen on Mediterranean dishes, we used to visit the shop in Goodge Street, mentioned above. Round the corner from this store, there was another Greek food shop, Hellenic Stores, in Charlotte Street. My mother preferred this shop, and only went to the one in Goodge Street if what she wanted was unavailable in Charlotte Street. It was close to the now long-since closed Schmidt’s German restaurant. Neither of these shops exists anymore.
Back in the 1960s and while I was at University College (until 1982), there were several Greek restaurants in Charlotte Street. These included Anemos, which was famous for its lively party atmosphere; Andreas, which I never visited, and is now called Ousia; the White Tower, which opened in 1938, and was highly regarded for its food, but is now closed; and Venus. My uncle, who worked in Bloomsbury, was fond of lunching there, and invited me to join him ther occasionally. It was less frenetic than Anemos, but pleasanter.
The reason that there were, and still are, many Greek or Greek Cypriot restaurants in and around Charlotte Street is more likely related to the huge demand for eateries in the busy area than to where Greek communities live in London. In London, the highest concentrations of Greeks (not Cypriots) is in Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, Chelsea and Kensington census districts. As for Greek Cypriots in London, some of whom run Greek restaurants, they are mostly living in Enfield, Haringey, Barnet and Hackney. In particular, they often live in Southgate, Palmers Green, Upper Edmonton, Cockfosters, Lower Edmonton, Tottenham North and Tottenham South. The Greek restaurants in the Charlotte Street area cater for the large numbers of students and office workers in the districr.
Returning to the story of the Taramosalata maker, Delphi, Tony decided to manufacture Greek food products. So, in 1984, he founded Delphi, which (according to the cardboard sleeve):
“Delphi is proud to be among the first UK producers of authentic houmous, taramosalata and many flavourful dips and salads …”
And the taramosalata they make is truly delicious.
I ENJOY VIEWING sculptures displayed in the open air. Every autumn, there is an exhibition of sculptures in London’s Regents Park. It is part of the annual Frieze art fair. Sculptures by various artists are provided by the commercial galleries who deal with them.
This year’s exhibition was small and somewhat disappointing. It seemed to me that the galleries had not exhibited their better works or works by their better-known artists. Maybe they are worried about them being vandalised or stolen. Whatever the reason, the 2025 outdoor show is not nearly as exciting as similar shows in previous years.
THE COUNTY OF Wiltshire contains some remarkable souvenirs of Neolithic times (c10000BC- c2000BC).
The most famous of these is Stonehenge And because of its justly deserved fame, it has become one of the most popular tourist sites in the UK. It can be seen easily from the A303 road that passes it, but if you wish to see it more closely, you need to pay an entry fee, which for adults is currently (October 2025) more than £23. This allows visitors to circumnavigate the ring of standing stones, without getting close to them, without being able to touch them. Visitors are kept well away from the stones to prevent damaging them or the ground in which they stand.
If you wish to touch Neolithic stones, get close to them, and avoid crowds and the feeling of being herded, then head to Avebury, which is in Wiltshire, about 20 miles north of Stonehenge. The area around Avebury is full of standing stones. Some of them seem randomly placed, and others are more orderly: some are arranged in circles, and others are arranged in parallel lines, rather like trees along an avenue. Although the stones at Avebury are not as uniformly carved as those at Stonehenge, they look like superb examples of modern sculpture. Many of them contain features that, with a little imagination, resemble human faces. Whether these were carved to resemble faces or it is just my imagining that, I cannot say. The best thing about them is that, unlike at Stonehenge, you can walk right up to them, and touch them. As you feel their texture, you become very much in touch with stones placed in position by our ancestors many, many centuries ago.
DURING A RECENT visit to Cornwall, we looked at many of the county’s churches.
Altarnun, Cornwall
They are mostly surrounded by churchyards filled with gravestones. It was my impression that many of these funerary stones were much thinner than those I have seen in cemeteries in other parts of England. Am I imagining this, or are these stones made with a material that is stronger in cross-section than other substances commonly used to to construct these memorials?
In most churches, one can light candles when saying prayers.
At St Winnow in Cornwall, we noticed something quite different. A bowl filled with water was standing on a table next to a bowl filled with pebbles. Those wishing to make a prayer, are invited to take one of the stones and place it into the water, instead of lighting a candle. We were told by someone working in the church that the stone dropping is a Celtic Christian tradition. I have since read that it might also have been a pagan tradition.
RECENTLY I SPOTTED two old, disused petrol pumps in the Cornish seaport of St Mawes. Somebody, had written on them that the price of petrol as 2/3 (two shillings and three pennies) per British gallon (that is about 11.2 pence per 4.55 litres). I passed my driving test in the summer of 1982, and can remember that even then, the price of a gallon of petrol was less that £1 Sterling. I can recall being surprised when the price reached £1 per gallon.
Yesterday, 31st September 2025, I was pleased to have found really cheap petrol in Penzance, Cornwall. It was £1.28 per litre, whereas at most other filling stations, it was at least £1.38 per litre. Well, £1.28 per litre equates to £5.82 (5 pounds and 16 shillings and 5 pennies) per gallon. Thus, the price of petrol now is at least 52 times what it was when those pumps at St Mawes were last used.
yamey 