"Look at it this way"

  I've been interested in the practice of Mudlarking for some time, down on the Thames foreshore.  Tom Chivers, author of 'London Clay' was a speaker at the conference and read from his book and talked about his PhD that he is completing at Queen Mary University of London. There was plenty of interest here on these new geographies. He described a space which changes as the tide ebbs and flows, which is both private and public, safe and unsafe... he read from his book and current writing linked with his academic research into the practice, including the historical development of the practice. This is a landscape which is temporary and contested, and one which many visitors to London will never experience. If you attended the event you can see a recording of the session. You can also download a copy of Tom's slides. I own a copy of the Field guide to Larking which was written by Lara Maiklem. The session ended with Tom blowing a hawker's whistle that he had unearthed,...

This was the title of my KS3 Landscapes Toolkit book on Landscapes. A few copies are still left, and you can buy one from the GA website. A view is something which can add so much to a person's well being, and also add value to a property: a view of the sea adds tens of thousands to the value of a house for example. This article describes the potential damaging of a view of London that has been in existence for hundreds of years, and which was thought to be protected: a view of St. Paul's Cathedral. If one goes to the top of the new Tate Modern extension , one can see a wonderful view across to the Cathedral. But you can also see the proliferation of tall buildings, some of which are not to everyone's taste. There are some views of St. Pauls Cathedral, the Monument, Tower of London and other buildings which can't be blocked as they are protected. The views and directions can be seen on this map, and there's also an interactive version on the link above....

Yesterday, I visited the Tower of London , after a meeting in London earlier in the day. I wanted to see  'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red' , the installation of poppies which is slowly filling the dry 'moat' at the Tower of London... Each poppy represents a casualty of the First World War, and when it is finally finished, there will be 888,246 of them. I have already pre-ordered mine, as a momento of an amazing artwork... and to support the related charities and the work that they do. This is an example of a place that is being 're-made' with the addition of a (temporary) art work. I've also been to other places that have been (re)presented in this way, such as the beach at Crosby, where Anthony Gormley's 'Another Place ' was installed (originally for a short time, but now permanently...) Where else is art changing the landscape, or the way that people view a building ? There are some obvious places of course... Images: Al...

A new time-lapse video from Dan Ellison which is quite hard to watch, but makes a point about the nature and density of tree coverage in London.

“Our aim is to provide unbiased information about London's social, environmental and economic issues. “These maps are like fancy pie charts, and if something is twice the size of something else it is obvious. We just want to spark a debate about the differences in one big city.” Professor Danny Dorling London called me on Thursday this week, and I went down to the RGS to meet with Ben Hennig. Ben and I are working on some educational materials for a project called LondonMapper - a website which officially launched today , funded by the Trust for London. The educational materials are being funded by an Innovative Geography Teaching grant that we have been awarded by the Royal Geographical Society. Ben's maps will be familiar to many from his work on WorldMapper with Danny Dorling and others from Sheffield University. Ben now works at the University of Oxford , still with Danny Dorling , and LondonMapper is one of several exciting projects that he is workin...

A nice piece by Dan Raven Ellison on his blog. We have plenty of rural  national parks, so why not an urban one ? One to discuss with students perhaps. What if London were a National Park

What better way to view the urban landscape... What evidence of the countryside surrounding London can be viewed from the viewing platform ? Thanks to John Lyon via Fred Martin for the tipoff to this excellent 360 PANORAMA created by Will Pearson , who is a professional panorama photographer (another job that wouldn't have existed a few years ago...) It's taken from the top of the shard (or presumably near the top...) and provides an amazing view of London at dusk. It's a good ad for the viewing platform which will shortly open in the Shard (which I have blogged about before) - article here about it and the high cost of entry More here on the VIEW FROM THE SHARD website. Check the PORTFOLIO on the website for plenty more from around the world too... View FULL SCREEN ... I reckon the Shard could do with an experienced geography writer to create some materials to help visitors, particularly school groups. interpret what they are looking at, and how it relates...

Image copyright Stephen Walter Part of the British Library's " Magnificent Maps " exhibition, which I shall be visiting next week... The ISLAND by Stephen Walter This page now has an interactive zoomable map which allows you to see the neighbourhood detail which forms part of the whole map. These are stories and personal geographies... The Island satirises the London-centric view of the English capital and its commuter towns as independent from the rest of the country. The artist, a Londoner with a love of his native city, offers up a huge range of local and personal information in words and symbols. Walter speaks in the dialect of today, focusing on what he deems interesting or mundane. Could you and your students create other "islands" of your home town or city ??