Next weekend, the flagship of the Royal Navy –the huge HMS Bulwark will be in London for a few days — and there will be a chance for the public to go on board.
If you missed out on the chance to visit the Royal Navy’s largest warship, currently doing Olympian security duties in Greenwich, then it has been announced that it will be open to the public again during the August Bank Holiday.
HMS Ocean will be arriving in London this evening — an event I expect to photograph, of course — and will be based at Greenwich for the Olympics as part of the ongoing militarisation of sporting events. However, the general…
Regular users of Millwall Park at the bottom end of the Isle of Dogs may have been surprised to see a tall lattice tower suddenly arrive over the past few days and spring upwards.
A warning message to ships on the Thames, that three cables are be carried across the river to link Greenwich to the Isle of Dogs in a manner very similar to that used for the Dangleway by the Millenium Dome…
Today, the Baron Greenwich and his wife will visit his namesake town and let her announce the opening of the restored Cutty Sark sailing ship after its lengthy, expensive, and very controversial refurbishment. Yesterday, practically every journalist and blogger in…
With the Royal Pageant taking place in a couple of months, it is opportune to learn a bit about the history of such grand events which were often the closest the great unwashed would get to see their Regal masters…
For the past year or so, the foot tunnel that runs under the Thames between the Isle of Dog and Greenwich has had the lifts out of action, and the staircase covered up in so much cladding that it is…
Despite Greenwich council’s notorious antipathy to fireworks for Guy Fawkes Night, they laid on a decent enough spectacle last night with a river based display next to the Old Royal Naval College. I am still indifferent to the seemingly recent…
If you like taking photos of fireworks, and have a camera that is at all larger than a mobile phone, then the evening of Sun 5th Feb will be right up your street. Well, right up a hill more accurately.…
A note from the Royal Navy press office that the Royal Navy amphibious warship HMS Bulwark is taking a break from a busy training schedule to visit London and show off her helicopter and boats in action. The warship arrives…
As noticed by the Greenwich Phantom, whose spectral representative stands next to the Greenwich Observatory, the Observatory will start charging a fee to go inside the museum complex from the beginning of March. A full £10 no less. While many…
Another snippet from my collection of the Illustrated London News – this time from 8th March 1845, detailing a conflagration that nearly destroyed a major factory in what we would probably today more commonly refer to as the Greenwich Peninsula.…
The dominant concrete grain silos in North Greenwich are shortly to be demolished to make way for human silos in the form of modern blocks of flats. While the associated factory stank rather badly, it provided jobs and added character…
No long rambling thoughts, just a long ramble through South London to stop me sitting at the computer and doing the work I should be doing. Herewith – some photos: Greenwich foot tunnel – photos of which are officially not…
This is probably more the remit of The Greenwich Phantom, but as part of the Greenwich foot tunnel lies on MY side of the river, and this concerns a particular bugbear of mine, I shall talk about it. The tunnel,…
The second report on my tour of HMS Illustrious, this time with more words and fewer pictures. I was joined by four other fellow London Bloggers, and after meeting up and trying to watch the helicopter demonstration that was happening…
Thanks to an awesome invitation from the Royal Navy, I had the pleasure of of an hour on board HMS Illustrious this afternoon. I’ll do a proper write-up tomorrow as I am quite tired this evening – but if you…
Wandered down towards Greenwich at lunchtime to watch the flyover of 20 helicopters over HMS Illustrious as part of the week’s celebrations. I actually stayed on the north side by Island Gardens as I hoped to get shots of helicopters…
After seeing photos of HMS Illustrious at Greenwich once before with fireworks, on a whim I just checked the PLA website, and they have a navigation warning that advises that there will be fireworks tonight (Thur 7th May). The barge…
A few months ago it was announced to those who track such things, that the aircraft carrier, HMS Illustrious would be spending a week in London in May as part of the 100th anniversary of the Navy’s air division. They…
An old leather chair, Morris Men and Easter eggs – that is what I saw this afternoon as the Blackheath Morris Men continued their 20-year long tradition of Easter Chair Heaving. It is thought to be an old tradition which…
A few months ago, when collecting leaflets in the (now closed) tourist board centre in Greenwich, I purchased a book of Docklands history, published by The Island History Trust – mainly as it had two maps which really caught my…
In the early part of the 20th century, domestic clocks were still not hugely reliable and regular resetting was generally needed. People who owned a telegraph line or one of the modern radio could listen for the time pips, but…
