It was BLTP that won it!!!!

The power of the internet is rising day by day and look 6 comments on this blog and the PO tower is to re-open!

Warming to a cold front

Nostalgia for the Future pt12:

To the V&A with S &R. I’m only a recent convert to the V&A, Tudor wall hangings and vases not really my thing and I’ve never seen the point at looking at clothes in glass cases. But their late night openings are nice and they have been putting on some interesting design expos lately oh and when it’s open the Casting rooms are just ace, I can’t wait for them to reopen next year they are just so wonderfully odd.

We were at the museum for the Cold War design show. It’s a varied and interesting event. Looking at how design developed in the east and west in the post war years, using lots of drawings and models and in the case of bubble cars and hifis examples of the real thing.
There are examples of commercial design but also avant garde cutting edge stuff from students and design teams with numbers instead of names (cool!).
We enjoyed the show but it was a little bitty at times and some of the themed rooms seemed a bit strained. One of the rooms that worked best for me was the space room which had a 1/3 model of a Vostock space capsule, original space suits, wacky chairs and several wonderful telecom towers (hurrah!). I would like to have seen more UK examples of cold war design to put local ideas in a global context.

I got caught taking a snap of the model of the Moscow Telecom tower at the top, I don’t really see why you can’t take pictures in galleries particularly of sculptures etc. I know the arguments about the flash effecting old paper and pigments, so no flash but aside from the odd copyright issue which is frankly nonsense in public galleries. Anyway I got one snap. Victor Keegan in the paper talks about this more.

So the show is worth a visit, the evening opening was pleasingly uncrowned, so give it a go.
The V&A gift shop did have this wonderful item of neckwear: I fear our campaign group may have to adopt them as our uniform.

On the subject of the POT is this the smuggest group on Flickr?

The only downside of the V&A is that it’s in west London and so there’s nowhere to get a drink or something to eat without a trek how does anyone live round here?

Sky High Art

Tower update:

Here at last top secret plans of the GPO tower! Firstly can I explain the secret part, the plans come from a rather wonderful book the “Eagle annual of cutaways”.

It goes like this one of our family stories was that my Dad use to read Eagle in 50’s and had collected a number of these centre page cutaway pictures. A rare splash of colour in the black and white world of rationing Britain. Sadly as parents do his mum chucked them out which is slightly ironic as my Nan's house was full of dusty useless old tut in later years.

Anyway I found this reprint book (the Eagle Annual of Cutaways)in a comic shop a while ago and bought it for my Dad’s Birthday. On getting it how you can imagine my delight on opening it last week to find on the first page was this marvellous plan of the GPO Tower but I couldn’t post it in case me Dad wandered past here and the surprise was spoilt, hence the secret.

So anyway enjoy the pic sorry for the blurry edge but I couldn’t break the spine of a present to scan it better.

I know most of the world isn’t turned on by cutaway diagrams of 1950’s cargo planes etc but I would heartily recommend you at least open the book in Foyle’s as its a marvel for anyone interested in drawing, design, history, culture, graphics etc.
It's a 100 pages of incredibly detailed technical drawing mostly in colour. It’s dripping with the sensibility of 1950-60’s Britain and even though everywhere is smoky chimneys and meat and 2 veg there’s refreshing optimism of the choice subject. The enthusiasm for science and for a better world is pleasing. It’s also refreshingly un-patronising towards children as the artists assumed that they’ll be interested in more things than football and trainers. They perhaps naively assume that not only racing cars and jet fighters might spark interest but also dustbin Lorries and spectacularly oddly a potato harvester might pique some interest in young minds.

Jonathon Glancey writes an entertaining introduction revelling in a world were we still made stuff and even where even the most glamorous of motor boat is piloted by men in car coats and trilbies. So have a look you never know what you’ll learn.

In a similar vein whilst searching for Tower relate stuff I came upon this site which seems to about old telephone exchanges etc it’s even named after the colour (light straw) the metal shelves were painted in the post office. It’s worth a trawl for the old pics of holiday camps etc alone.
I’ll be back soon with new stuff honest.

Ps. there’ll be rocket cutaway on my out of this world site as a Brucie bonus
Yours space cadet Bltp second class

Go here for the more details of Eagles Cutaway

Take back the Tower

Take back the Tower
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

The Petition:

It started off as a mild interest and then became a mini obsession and now it’s time to take action.

I posted about the so called BT tower the other day. I promised some top secret plans see later post. But having done some light research into it I find that the Tower isn’t totally closed to the public no it is available for BT corporate functions and junkets.

Now I’ve nothing against the people in these pictures but hang on shouldn’t this be something more people have access to. Too much of this country is paid for by one lot of people and enjoyed by a smaller luckier bunch. I say all this as someone with chronic vertigo who would be clinging to the inner walls of the viewing deck if my journey up and round the Eye and the World Trade Centre is any thing to go by.

But do you know what I think we should take back the tower preferably at 1981 prices and open it up to everyone.

I looked into one of those Downing street petition but firstly I didn’t fancy giving Gordon Brown my personal details he’d only accidentally send them to some sky writing firm and have them fly over the opening ceremony of London Olympics showing them to the entire world or such like..
And secondly they warn you that fanciful petitions “however witty“ will be taken down so whether any of the below is the least bit funny I thought I wouldn’t waste my time. So we’ll start here and see what happens.

If you support the campaign add your agreement below you don’t have to give any names other than what you’d use round here already. I really don’t need to know where you live.

Anyway here’s the petition

The Take Back the Tower Petition
WE the undersigned earnestly request that the so-called BT tower be taken back into the bosom of public ownership and it’s doors flung open to the people* who paid for it and their off spring in perpetuity or until they bring back TOTP which is ever is first.
We petition that:
What with this sort of thing being in fashion again it’s time we spent some of our money buying back the BT tower. Once back in public ownership we would rename it the “Post Office Tower” or even better the “GPO Tower” and open up the viewing decks and get the restaurant going again.

It would probably turn a shilling or two and there should be a gift shop that must sell snow storms and GPO Tower sticks of rock; the money generated could be used to rebuild the Skylon on the South Bank and to get the British space programme out of moth balls.

The tower would once again become a hub of culture in this often overlooked area of London. There could be anniversary concerts for Joe Meek and Delia Derbyshire, Earl Brutus and whoever designed the stylophone. There could be poetry readings and tea dances and other events that local people fancy (it may be too small for majorettes or speedway). There is no reason why the public shouldn’t once again throng it’s viewing decks and nibble orange flavoured Club biscuits in it’s café.

So let’s take action now and Take Back the Tower.

*There are only 2 caveats for public funding firstly Noel Edmonds isn’t allowed anywhere near the place and neither are any rampaging giant kittens

This weekend I have been mostly

....Standing at the bottom of the Post Office Tower.

On Sunday after getting shorn and having several annoying conversations with the gizmo sellers of TCR (as no one calls it) “look mate they do make them, I saw them on the internet, no they were 14 quid not 120, well if you are sure don’t want my money, no I don’t want a usb dongle my last dose has only just cleared up…."

Anyway after being ignored by the high priests of geekdom in Maplin et al I decided to get some air and a thought struck me. I have recently been privy to some secret plans of the post office tower (I can’t divulge anything yet but soon very soon I promise).

I decided to go and stand at the bottom of it and crick my neck, anyway after some wandering around with the tower doing its white rabbit thing; disappearing and reappearing I found it. Cleveland Muse is the nearest you’ll get to it and there it is. I’ll avoid too many penile similes but the Muse is the only place you can see it base to tip, it’s on a nice dramatic sixties plinth.

Sadly after Billy Butlins made a hash of the revolving restaurant (and not the tasty sort with a fried egg on the top) and some local difficulties with the boys from across the water and a bomb, it’s been closed for ages which is a shame. The views would be as good as the eye, almost as good as Greenwich Park!

Now that we renationalising stuff can’t we nick the tower back off boring rip off BT and let the discerning public back in.

I thought about posting some tunes thinking the new tower should have house band, I thought Stereo Lab and Broadcast could have residences and Burial could do club sets for da kids early Monday morning or when ever proper clubbers go out.

I think we should have a proper singer but which would you have?

Anyway the music on this film from 1960’s (did we really need the “swinging” bit added Ms V& A curator.) is marvelous.

My fave bit apart from the diagrams is where the technician goes on his break and eats his egg mayonnaise in a stark empty canteen.

London calling indeed.

If you want to hear some tunes why not try .

http://www.myspace.com/stereolab

http://www.myspace.com/broadcastuk