Tavistock Square...London's Peace Park

London is renowned for its gardens and parks but some are rarely seen due to their location being well away from the normal tourist tracks. Within the streets away from the main thoroughfares are large numbers of these green areas offering relaxing refuge from the daily hustle and bustle that a large city of this kind thrives on.

It was during a recent trip to London that I came across Tavistock Square in the Bloomsbury area of the capital. With time on my hands I entered and sat on one of the many benches there and just watched the world go by.

It was extremely peaceful, a quietness in the air despite the heavy traffic on the four roads surrounding the small park. It was obviously a popular spot for rest and reflection judging by the number of people quietly sitting there with the benches all around the park being occupied.


The atmosphere reminded me of a library, a hushed and respectful silence being observed by all visitors, quite fitting considering the Bloomsbury areas role in literacy history. For part of the Mid Nineteenth century Charles Dickens lived in Tavistock House facing the park and it was here that classics such as Bleak House and A Tale of Two Cities were wrote. Although the house is no longer there, a blue plague signifying the fact can be found on the front of the British Medical Associations building.



The "Bloomsbury Set", a group of Cambridge intellectuals, artists and writers, also played a part in the establishing the areas literacy heritage. Virginia Woolf was considered one of the most eccentric members of the group and wrote most of her best works whilst living at 52 Tavistock Square. Within the park itself there is a bust of the infamous authoress albeit perhaps not the most flattering example of her beauty.




The centre piece of the park is a magnificent statue of Mahatma Gandhi, the legendary leader of the Indian Independence movement. Gandhi's successful policy of peaceful protest is emphasised in the statue with his seated posture giving off a calming influence. This is enhanced further by the burning candles, messages of love and offerings beneath. It is more than correct to say this is a "Brilliant" statue...being the work of artist Fredda Brilliant, unveiled in 1968.

The parks message of  "Peace" is further evidenced by a large stone serving as a memorial to Conscientious Objectors who have given their lives over the years by refusing to be forced to participate in wars they do not believe in. A relatively recent memorial, being placed there in 1994, the plague carries the following message "to all those who established and maintaining the right to refuse to kill, their foresight and courage give us hope". A powerful statement demonstrating how the peace and anti-war movement has developed during the late twentieth century.


Also within the park is a Cherry Tree planted in 1967 to commemorate the victims of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. A memorial plaque provides a place for people to visit and pay their respects, an activity evidenced by the messages left round the trunk of the tree. The park is the site of a annual gathering by the CND movement on the anniversary of the bombing to promote their message of peace around the world.

Ironically, despite all the signs of peace promoted here, the park bore witness to the horrific 7/7 terrorist attacks back in 2005 when an explosion on a double decker bus passing the site killed 13 innocent victims. A commemorative plague on the railings facing the park lists the names of those who lost their lives.

Many of these public squares are missed by the everyday tourist but each one will have it's own stories to be told, they are certainly worth including on any visits to London.  Tavistock Square in particular provides a peaceful environment to stop and reflect and although it may not have the prettiest gardens in the world it's serenity can make the world look a lot nicer place.

Lanzarote.....The Macabre garden of Teguise

The convoy stretched out both in front and behind of us, a long line of rental cars all crawling along the seemingly never ending straight road with Lanzarotes barren but yet beautiful landscape either side of us. Like a posse of explorers searching for gold, all heading for the promised land where they had heard of the treasures that the tourist guides had promised there. The pot at the end of this rainbow was the tourist orientated market (Mercadillo) held weekly in the town of Teguise in the north of the island. Billed as one of the biggest events on the island, the market held every Sunday morning attracted thousands of visitors and is a big part of the excursion trips running from the major coastal resorts.

As we approached the town itself, an array of locals were frantically waving, as if they were signalmen guiding a taxiing plane into its gate. Some were waving to the left, others to the right all offering you a precious parking space as the market took over their town. Our space meant we had quite a long uphill walk up towards the quaint streets and town square which housed the stalls, however it led us to find a surreal visual experience that I'm glad we didn't miss. As we trudged up the steep hill past one of the houses we had to double take at the sights in front of us, others stopping too with mouths dropping open at the extraordinary exhibits in the large garden area.

There was so much to take in, a total visionary overload that i dread to think what would happen to your mind if you had just taken drugs before coming across it. In the garden were an array of stone sculptures of various sizes, most showing body parts of the kind we normally cover up. It's fair to say these sculptures would not be in line to win any awards for their artistic content but they were intriguing none the less.






For me the strange and macabre element of the gardens occupants were the weather beaten cuddly toys together with broken mannequins and baby dolls strategically placed around the area. Some sitting at broken computer monitors, others riding rusting bikes and some chained to trees amongst other
things.

To add to the scenario the owner of the property was sat on his porch with a big grin on his face taking in all the commotion of the tourists at the edge of his garden perimeter clicking merrily away with their cameras. He undoubtedly sees this as a totally innocent fun visual experience put on for the Tegusie visitors, however there was something unnerving about the place for me. Probably the result of watching too many American horror movies where the fun loving car load of college students breakdown and the only property in the area would contain strange elements such as those on show here.

Despite my reservations it is definitely worth stopping off here for some great unusual photo opportunity's however perhaps its best on a bright sun drenched market day rather than a deserted moonlit night when I'm sure it could be a more disconcerting experience.   




As for the market itself, it is certainly worth taking in a visit if you want to escape the beach for a day and is extremely popular as the large crowds roaming round the the stalls demonstrates. There are a massive number of vendors selling local handmade crafts,locally sourced produce such as wine and the obligatory stalls on tourist markets of this kind selling "designer" goods. Comically I saw one African stall holder selling items such as Chanel bags, Tag Heuer watches and Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses telling a potential customer with all sincerity "look sir, they are genuine copies".

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