Well, here is one I have found so far.

1) The Penny Farthing at Leytonstone Station and there is also another in the High Street

2) The Garden Museum ‘Flower Pot’ bicycle racks (Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7LB Tel 0207-401 8865). http://www.london-se1.co.uk/blog/2009/10/05/clever-new-bike-racks-at-garden-museum/

+44(0) 20 7242 3844

“The world famous London Silver Vaults, in the heart of London’s legal district, is home to the world’s largest collection of fine antique silver, and also to a wealth of knowledge on the subject from the owners of the 37 shops, many of whom are 2nd and 3rd generation dealers.”,  says the blurb.

Opening times:
Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.30pm
Saturday 9.00am to 1.00pm

Though they said they are ‘world famous’, I thought I put regard it has ‘hidden’, as to me I would never in a million years go and buy any jewellery from here. However, from a historical point of view, it looks interesting and well worth a visit.

But as you will see, it closes early at 1pm on a Saturday and I tend to have a lie in and tend to do my exploring in the afternoon so I missed it this weekend.  I may like to go there during the week perhaps if I have a day off, so watch this space!

Ram at Brooks Farm, Leyton. This farm is now run by the Council and the admission is free.

This little farm was found behind some alleyways in Leyton. There were no signs directing to it, which was a shame.

It was quite a cold day but the animals were all outside watching the passers by. There were only a few visitors, probably because it was cold.They seemed pretty happy and the bedding was clean and the animals looked well fed, some more than others!

They had chickens, unusual ducks, about three pigs, rabbits, guinea pigs and a llama.  Huge ancient geese roamed the area.

Some of the cages didn’t have any labels on and some chickens were in cages marked guinea fowl. I thought that would be a bit confusing for the kids, and urban adults.

There were a lot of goats, and one tried to headbutt us! Though it was Sunday, the cafe wasn’t open. It was a small and quiet place.

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Duck Pond, Brooks Farm, Leyton

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Spitalfields City Farm, Burton Road

This was nice City Farm, behind Brick Lane. Spitalfields Farm Association Ltd, makes a £300,000 a year according to the Charities Commission. There were a few fields round it.   There was a small nursery and lots of sheep.  The staff seem enthusiastic and friendly.  One of their chickens had gone missing at the end of the day and I don’t know whether they found it.  There were plenty of cycle racks.

A lot of these city farms are great for the community.

They help people with mental illness, youth offenders, the Bengali community and disadvantage children. Some children in local hospices

I have put up a link on the right so you can visit City Farms, you’d be surprised how many there are!

I also took my sketch pad with me and drew it. It is quite an easy piece to do even if I didn’t know too much about it.

An article I read a little about it later:-

“Buckingham Palace recently announced that Her Majesty the Queen, accompanied by HRH, the Duke of Edinburgh, has graciously agreed to unveil the memorial sculpture for a young Mohegan chieftain (Sachem) Mohamet Weyonomon who died in 1763. The service and unveiling will take place on Wednesday 22 November 2006.

Apparently he helped the New England settlers although they took his land and refused to give it back.

Here’s more from CBS:-

“American Indians on Wednesday in paying tribute to a Mohegan chief who traveled to England centuries ago to complain directly to the king about British settlers encroaching on tribal lands.

Three tribesmen in turkey-feather headdresses lit a pipe filled with sweet grass and sage for a traditional burial ceremony for Mahomet Weyonomon, a sachem or leader, who died of smallpox in 1736 while waiting to see King George II. The tribal chief was buried in an unmarked grave in a south London churchyard.

“He didn’t have a proper funeral in our tribal tradition,” said Bruce “Two Dogs” Bozsum of Uncasville, Connecticut. “This is what we want to give him now.”

Weyonomon crossed the Atlantic in 1735 with a letter that painted a stark picture of life for a tribe whose land was “reduced to less than 2 miles square out of the large territories for their hunting and planting.”

Weyonomon wrote that, without the king’s help, his tribe would be “reduced to the miserable necessity of leaving their native lands.”

The story was all very intriguing so I will look out for more sculptures ‘hidden away’. I am quite interested in Native American history so it was a nice surprise to still see them stand up for themselves.

Date and Time: Sunday 1 February 2009 at 3pm. Address: Holy Trinity Church Beechwood Road Dalston Hackney London E8 3DY

I can’t wait to go there! Of course, I will just have to link to it.

Here is a pic just to give you an idea of what to expect. More photos on Velochick.

Let  me know if you see it and what you thought of it.

Here’s a little more about it:-

Few places are so steeped in folklore as London, a city with almost as many ancient legends and deep-rooted customs as it has streets and landmarks, and in London Lore leading folklorist Steve Roud brings together an astonishingly rich selection of them: tales of ghosts and witches, stories about fabled events, heroes and villains, and accounts of local superstitions and beliefs. His range extends right across the capital, from Hampstead in the north, where wild beasts were once thought to roam the sewers, to Anerley Wood in the south, haunt of the much feared Norwood Gypsies, and from Hounslow Heath with its notorious highwaymen to Bethnal Green, long associated with Earl Henry de Montfort, better known as the Blind Beggar.But London Lore does more than simply retell these stories and traditions; it also delves through layers of hearsay and speculation to investigate how and why they arose in the first place. In the process, it shows how the familiar story of Dick Whittington and his cat has connections with the ancient Middle East. It explains why lions rather than ravens at the Tower of London were once felt to be inextricably bound up with the city’s fate.It pinpoints precisely where the story of Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street, was first recorded. And it explores the origins of the once widespread custom of handing out ‘farthing bundles’ of ribbons, buttons and beads to poor children in the East End. Some of these stories and beliefs are shown to have their origins in actual historical events; others to have stemmed from contemporary preoccupations and fears. What they all reveal is the powerful hold that London has exerted on the popular imagination over the centuries, as each successive generation has reshaped existing tales and added new ones of its own.

The Hardback is £20 (but Tesco sell it for £13) and the paperback is about £8.99 from Amazon, although it hasn’t come out yet. I think having a copy of the book would make a cycle ride round London even more exciting.  I think I will get the paperback, as it is something that looks like it should be in my Permanent Collection in my bookshelf.