Irony, Harmood Street, Camden Town, London, April 2025
On 8 April this year, I took a trip to London to watch the mighty Arsenal swat away Real Madrid in what was without doubt the best football match I have ever been to – and I have been to a fair few. The kick-off was a late one, so rather than catch a very late train home to Bristol I decided to stay over in London with my sister, and then visit my uncle and aunt the next morning. After my visit, I had a few hours to kill and decided to walk to Camden Town and snap up a few doors and some street art. This outstanding portrait piece from Irony was one of the first I saw on my ten-mile walk.
Irony, Harmood Street, Camden Town, London, April 2025
Irony, who is one of the most talented street artists ever in my view, is known for his portraits of young women, and this one has been plastered all over social media recently, so it was a genuine surprise and pleasure to come across it.
Irony, Harmood Street, Camden Town, London, April 2025
The artist has captured a mood so perfectly in this piece and the slight downward tilt of the subject’s head conveys some kind of body language that the viewer can pick up on. Obviously, the most striking part of the piece is the stunning blue hair, perfectly presented. This is a great piece from a great artist.
Northbanksy, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024
More from our friend Northbanksy in the railway tunnel adjacent to the Emirates Stadium, home of the mighty Arsenal football club. The tunnel has become a hall of fame for Arsenal players, and a but of a gallery for the artist, with phenomenal footfall on match days. The first piece if of Kai Havertz (not a great likeness), a player who didn’t do too well at Chelsea, but has improved greatly since joining Arsenal. The words ‘waka waka, eh eh’ are a reference to ‘his’ song which reverberates around the stadium when he scores or performs well, as follows:
“Tsamina, eh, eh, Waka waka, eh, eh, £60 million down the drain, Kai Havertz scores again”
The lyrics are a corruption of Shakira’s hit record ‘Waka waka’.
Northbanksy, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024
The second player featured in Northbanksy’s faux stencil style, is Leandro Trossard, who is a bit of a super-sub, and scores a lot of goals considering the amount of game time he gets. This picture captures Trossard’s binocular goal celebration. The picture is accompanied by a typical football fan pre-match. More to come from Northbanksy.
Perspicere, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024
This piece by Perspicere is opposite the Banksy tree on Hornsey Road, London, and was photographed while walking to a Football match with my son a couple of weeks back. Not only was I not expecting the Banksy piece, but this thread installation by Perspicere was a superb bonus.
Perspicere, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024
It was a dark and foggy evening when we were passing by, and I dare say that this piece is probably best viewed in daylight. The threads, suspended from the edges of the board, combine to make out a mature oak tree in a field, casting a long shadow. It is a wonderful composition and another beauty from the artist who uses this specialist technique. Another unexpected joy.
It feels odd posting this Banksy piece from the comfort of a Marrakesh hotel room only a couple of weeks after photographing it. I took the pictures in the dark on a cold night walking to a football match with my son after seven hours of driving. It was my son who spotted the famous piece painted last year, and in the spirit of taking pictures, no matter what the conditions, I managed to get these unusual snaps.
Banksy, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024
I had wondered where this piece was, but love the fact that we accidentally walked past it rather than sought it out. The misty night scene adds a different perspective on the piece, which was a clever work by Banksy, who replaced the foliage of a tree on the wall behind it, after it had been heavily cut back.
Banksy, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024
In the bottom left of the piece is a stencil figure with a spray gun in his hands who presumably had been spraying the foliage on the walls. The figure is now behind Perspex. Last year was a good year for the Bristol born artist, and maybe on future trips to the old smoke I’ll find some of his animals from 2024. Arsenal won a tricky match against Ipswich 1-0, so overall a good day out.
Northbanksy, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024
Good morning folks, a really quick couple of posts today, there is lots of sightseeing to be done. Two more Arsenal characters from Northbanksy in the railway tunnel for you, starting with a fan’s favourite, Gabriel Martinelli, one of three Gabriels in the current Arsenal squad. We could do with a few more goals from him, but he loves the club, and that can be enough.
Northbanksy, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024
The second piece portrays an unlikely hero at Arsenal, but one who is proving to be invaluable. It is Nicolas Jover, the set-piece coach, whose tactical genius is the envy of teams all over the world. There is a little plaque, which I failed to photograph, in the style of a street sign just above this piece which reads Jover’s Corner, which is a fun play on words. Northbanksy doing the faithful proud.
Northbanksy, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024
The road tunnel under the railway on Hornsey Road has become a gallery for the work of Northbanksy and his tribute portraits to a plethora of Arsenal players past and present, and here are a couple more of his stencil-style pieces.
Northbanksy, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024
Thounsands of Arsenal fans shuffle along the pavement on match days and stop to admire and enjoy these, if I am perfectly honest, quite crude pieces. The portrait of Ian Wright is a particular favourite, as he embodies the spirit of Arsenal, and his love for the club is so infectious. This piece is also the only one in the tunnel that includes any colour, so it stands out.
Northbanksy, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024
The portrait of Mohamed Elneny, until recently a loyal and long-serving Arsenal player, reminds us of the good natured and team player, who although not the best footballer in the world, did a magnificent job for the club over many years. I absolutely love this gallery by Northbanksy… more to come.
Doors 282 – Doors of Central London – Part III – March 2024
This is the last selection of doors from a visit to Central London back in March this year. It is an especially poignant and nostalgic collection for me because it takes me to the front door of my home where I lived with my parents in the early 1980s. I was the last of my siblings to leave home and when my parents moved to the fashionable address of 1A Montague Place, WC1E, I was starting at Newcastle University, but this was my home out of term-time, and for a little while after I left University, before I moved out properly. To be living in the heart of Bloomsbury and a heartbeat away from Soho and the West End was pure heaven for a twentysomething.
Breaking from tradition, I will write a little bit of commentary beneath some of these doors.
British Museum back door, Montague Place, London, March 2024
Our immediate next door neighbour was the British Museum, where my father would visit on a very regular basis, I only wish I had made more of the opportunity, but as is always the case when something is so readily available, my mind was elsewhere. My father had a ‘dinner party’ joke, which was to say that “on a clear day we can see the Elgin Marbles” – I can hear him saying it now, and chuckling.
My old home, 1A Montague Place, London, March 2024
Our little maisonette was dwarfed by the surrounding buildings, but it was rather cosy. The large and rather imposing gates were the delivery entrance for the museum, and I guess exhibits would come and go through these gates.
My old home, 1A Montague Place, London, March 2024
So here it is, a place where I have some very happy memories spending time with my parents (without having to share them with my siblings – an advantage of being the youngest). It feels a little strange looking at it now… it was a lifetime ago.
Black front door of my old home, 1A Montague Place, London, March 2024
The front door was nothing to write home about, but it was a decent black front door, and I don’t think it has changed at all except perhaps for a lick of paint.
Bedford Square Gardens gate, London, March 2024
As residents of the immediate area, we had the keys to the private Bedford Square Gardens, much to the envy of locals and visitors alike. It was a fabulous place to picnic and drink in the heart of the city without the gathering crowds.
Senate House, University of London, London, March 2024
Nearby is the famous London University Senate House, built in the Art Deco style of a New York high-rise. It is a stunning building which looks much taller than it is by clever positioning of smaller windows the higher the building goes, and the stepped ‘wedding-cake’ arrangement. I never made it into the Senate House, but I’ll bet it has some wicked doors, fixtures and fittings of the period.
Art Deco doors of the Senate House, University of London, London, March 2024
It also has some glorious Art Deco doors
The wine bars and coffee houses of Soho were my ‘go to’ watering holes, and my friends, most of whom lived in North London, would come in to town on our evenings out. I discovered where all the late night drinking places were, such as the Beaujolais wine bar, The 100 Club, and a funny little basement flamenco club just off Tottenham Court Road.
Underwhelming door on a beautiful shopfront, Soho, London, March 2024
Beautiful sculpture above the doors of The Resident Hotel, Soho, London, March 2024
Gardener’s hut (1925) and black door, Soho Square, London, March 2024
In Soho Square itself, there is a funny little hut, which I always thought was ancient, but was actually built in 1925 (so I found out today) as an access portal for an electricity sub-station. Who knew?
I hope you enjoyed this little tour of a part of London that will forever be very special to me, and I feel privileged to be able to share it with you via Thursday Doors.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s Thursday Doors post.
Northbanksy, (Mikel Arteta), Hornsey Road, North London (Forever), September 2024
A short while ago I went up to London for my first football match of the season, to watch the mighty Arsenal play at home to Leicester City. I had arranged to meet a friend in a pub before the match and passed by a wall of black and white stencil pieces by the brilliantly named artist Northbanksy. The North Bank was the north stand at Highbury, the former home of Arsenal FC, where the nosiest home fans would congregate. You can see what Northbanksy has done with his name. This first piece features the Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, and the quote is from his song, which is as follows:
We’ve got Super Mik Arteta,
He knows exactly what we need,
Kieran at the back, Gabi in attack,
Arsenal on the way to Champions League.
I have seen better stencils if I am honest, but I can’t help loving this.
Northbanksy, (Emile Smith-Rowe and Bukayo Saka), Hornsey Road, North London (Forever), September 2024
There are about a dozen or so stencils and this one features two of Arsenal’s home grown players, starboy Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe, who moved to Fulham at the start of this season. Northbanksy has selected a shot of the two that epitomises their friendship and reproduced it for all fans to admire. More to come from Northbanksy soon.
Natural adventures 