Category Archives: Around the UK

My last London bus trip for the year

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“The most important reason for going from one place to another is to see what’s in between.” Norton Juster, The Phantom Tolbooth

This bus ride was not long one. It took me from Shoreditch back to St Paul’s. We wound our way past the big-atriumed office blocks, and the pavements filling up with City workers as the light faded into dark.

On this trip it was the vast and sparsely occupied ground floors – the atria – that caught my attention. The reason for these huge, apparently under utilised spaces, has never been clear to me, unless their real purpose is just to let everyone know how important they are.

Anyway, I had a window seat on the top floor of the bus, and was able to admire these entrances from above. In one I saw an Aston Martin racing car looking a little nonplussed at being there, and then, a few doors down, I saw the enormous aquarium in the photograph above. The scale of the aquarium, the blue of it, and the sight of the fish swimming to and fro, took me completely by surprise. It also took the shine off some of the Christmas trees that came next. Some were gleaming in baubles and lights, others were more restrained, and a few even deigned to step outside their buildings to cheer up the passers by. But … however hard the trees tried, they never quite achieved the same splash as the fish, at least not in my list of favourites.

As for any of them noticing us, I don’t think they did. We passed by unremarked. Just another red bus, windows bright and steamy, rumbling on its way.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023

The Tree of Kindness – London

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“We are a charity and social business providing homes, jobs, food and support to empower people to transform their own lives.
Our vision is a society where no one should have to be homeless. We challenge the status quo by pioneering solutions that create lasting change.” Social Bite

The tree in the photograph above was standing in the same spot last year – vivid and demanding to be noticed. This year I tried to catch the amazing light displays while passing on a bus, but they changed as fast as we moved, and the best result was this.

My first impression of the tree was that it was an eye-catching design statement, and I assumed that Charing Cross Station had decided that the season was right for some dramatic decoration. However, a little research soon ended that theory. The tree in the photograph is in fact the Tree of Kindness, put in this spot by Social Bite who describe themselves as “a movement to end homelessness”. Their foundations lie in a coffee shop in Edinburgh, where a young, homeless man came to look for a job in 2012. Out of that first contact grew Social Bite.

Their website shows an impressive list of projects, as well as providing more information about the tree in London. The hope is that the public will donate to support the charity either delivering presents to the tree which will be passed on to those experiencing homelessness, (there are guidelines as to what and how to give on Social Bite’s website), or else that people might donate online (information about that too is on the website). I also read, in case you’re interested in taking something to the London Tree of Kindness, that it will be accepting donations until 8pm on Friday 22 December.

And if you’re not in London there are another four of these vibrant trees in Scotland – Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Dundee.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023

Symbol of London – the Underground roundel

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These ’roundels’ are such a part of London. Their colours make them easy to spot, and the simple lettering means that they can be read even through rain, and often from quite a distance.

This one is outside Charing Cross Station, and was photographed from the top of a bus. The pigeons flew off just as the camera clicked.

Apparently there is no one person’s name on the clear branding of the Underground signs, but it seems that the creative vision of two men in particular resulted in the symbol rooting its way through the city.

The man who designed the lettering on the roundel was Edward Johnston CBE (1872 – 1944). He was already well-known as a calligrapher when Frank Pick (1878 – 1941), the Chief Executive of London Transport, asked him to design the lettering for the capital’s transport system. The typeface – Johnston sans serif – was ready by 1916. The style, which must have looked different to most typefaces of its time, is now over a hundred years old and still doing well. It is clear and easy to read, especially when surrounded in the bold eye-catcher colours of the roundel. The design and lettering of the signs have been tweaked over the years, but they are still like beacons, whether you’re on foot or looking at a map, there they are, flagging up the transport options, and belonging always to London.

Edward Johnston loved good lettering for its ‘readableness, beauty and character’, and Frank Pick loved design for the harmony it could bring. At Frank Pick’s old school, St Peter’s in York, there is a memorial to him which reads:

“In tribute to Frank Pick 1878 – 1941 a scholar of this school. He served his fellow-men, made transport an art and sought beauty and good design in all things.”

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023