please empty your brain below

Thanks. Interesting stuff, not least for the indirect reference to the Cevennes. I passed through the region a few summers ago, en route to Spain, and - if it hadn't been for being with friends - I'd have been quite content to have called it journey's end and not gone any farther.

As regards the public conveniences I recognised them straight away. Before I'd even read the text I was thinking, yup, just near the Woolwich Ferry and just around the corner from that pub which got pulled down. [I bet it was The California. (There's a photo of it, pre-demolition, on my Flickr page)]
A never to be missed opportunity to combine bus stop M with a thought provoking exhibition of wonderful and relevant art.
Saw the BBC news article earlier in the week, on my must visit list.
I am not the sort of person who would normally visit an Art gallery. But Doreen's paintings are fabulous. Her choice of local landmarks, which have usually seen better days, are well spotted. But her care at creating the patina of old buildings is, to me, exceptional.

I was wow-ed by the brickwork in Commercial Road and the colours of Plaistow Station. All so lifelike. IMHO she is a legend in the making, on a par with Lowry and other giants of the past.

Three cheers. Just a pity that distance prevents me from visiting the gallery, so thanks DG for bringing the exhibition to our attention.
She was interviewed on the Robert Elms show about 1-2 weeks ago, should still be on-line. Lovely character. Thanks for the reminder to visit this.
Doreen's 13 minute interview with Robert Elms is here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06w4pzl (starting at 1hr 37m)

She's amazing.
Finally, a proper reason to visit Bow!
Genuine thanks for the recommendation, which I would otherwise have missed.
I have to admit that I persisted quite a long time this morning in believing that this article was one of DG's elaborate hoaxes. I have to now concede that enough evidence is available to convince me that this is not the case, and every word is true.
Unusually I didn't check in till this afternoon...after visiting this very exhibition!
Saw bus stop M up close, the house we nearly bought 24 years ago and speculated on the whereabouts of DG.
Thank you DG for settling where I went this afternoon. The gallery was quite crowded, making me wonder if others may have acted on your recommendation. The art shows beautiful observation and skill, produced with great heart and soul, bringing out a similar love for these unsung corners of our city in many of the visitors, judging by their delight and comments. As well as being reminded of how thoroughly places that vanish out of sight also disappear out of mind, it conjured back a world populated by concrete lamp posts with curvy tops.

I like how the buildings or scenes are depicted as somewhat ‘out of time’, but I spotted one major piece of artistic license in terms of being out of time: The Albion Public House is dated 1992, but depicts an Electrostar train in c2c livery crossing the bridge 10 years before it could have. Spooky!

As for an afternoon in E3, being into architecture and history, I find much to enjoy and intrigue here, even starting with the un-sung engineering marvel of steel and brick vaulting that is the Underground station.
@NickW: The Albion Pub features a poster for Big Brother which only started on UK TV in 2000.
Curious - I didn't notice any such things in the other paintings. Of course, the Albion site is now a block of flats
The Canning Town painting looks like the corner of Oban Street and Leven Rd E14, looking west.
At the next building up the alley, beyond the A board, and past the overhead sign saying Nunnery, is a sign "Unit DG"
Spooky!
Finally got over to see this, yesterday. After noticing an unusual feature about the way she signs her pictures (the arrow instead of an initial) I tried asking for an explanation... but couldn't get one.

There was another surprise that also came from the visit, which was the discovery of the small park just out the back. The crocuses looked great... the daffodils still to come.
We went to visit the Doreen Fletcher exhibition on Saturday and thoroughly enjoyed all those pictures of places and buildings you assume will always be there. Thanks for the recommendation,DG.

Interestingly there is a sign on the building to the back of the alleyway, near the park, which said- UNIT DG. Anything to do with you? 😉 Also,a bonus,I was able to get a photo of 'imself at Bus Stop M, although I was nearly run down by a cyclist! No,not on their super highway, I was on the footpath! 😠










TridentScan | Privacy Policy