60th anniversary of Festival of Britain

Today design is everything. Housing developments are described as “design led,” kitchens and clothes are “designer” and even gardens are designed or in Dermot Gavin’s case welded! Design led industries from fashion to cars are huge money earners and the valuations on “design brands” are enormous with Prada di Milano valued at euro 12 Billion. But how different it was so long ago in austerity Britain coming out of a World War and its aftermath preceded by a long depression in the 30’s. The event which introduced “Design” to modern Britain was the Festival of Britain in 1951 which itself was to commemorate the Great Exhibition of 1851.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2011/03/happy-birthday-dear-albert_29.html

Now design is everywhere with designer coffins, energy-generating paving stones and the so-called "Boris bike" are among the shortlisted entries for the fourth annual Brit Insurance Design Awards, on display at the Design Museum in London.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/01/great-british-design-quest.html

The Southbank Centre is to mark the 60th anniversary of the 1951 Festival with a summer of celebrations. Tracey Emin will provide the art, Ray Davies will come up with the music and Heston Blumenthal will be on hand to serve a 1950s-inspired afternoon tea. Back in 1951, the festival was devised by Labour deputy leader Herbert Morrison as "a tonic for the nation". A newsreel of the time described it as giving an "inexplicable lift to the heart", recreating the feel of a trip to the seaside.


An aerial view of the Festival site at the South Bank, London


The Skylon

Devised by the Labour government of the day as a "tonic" for a nation still recovering from the austerity of the war years, the festival was a showcase for modernist architecture and contemporary design. The Royal Festival Hall, the only permanent building erected for the Festival, was one of Britain's earliest post-war public buildings. Some 10 million Britons flocked to see it, the temporary pavilions and the 296ft high Skylon, which towered above it.



The idea of a Festival to commemorate the centenary of The Great Exhibition of 1851 first appeared in 1943 at a time when the country had a great deal of other things to ponder upon. In 1945 it raised its head again when a letter from contemporary designer, John Gloag, appeared in the Times, an event that inspired the editor of the News Chronicle, Gerald Barry, to write an open letter in his paper addressed to Sir Stafford Cripps. As President of the Board of Trade, Cripps would be the one that Barry needed to progress his suggestion of a trade and cultural exhibition which would repeat the success of Prince Albert's Great Exhibition and promote and advertise Britain's design and manufacturing skills to the world in the immediate post-war era.


Dome of Discovery and Skylon, 1951


The Queen meeting workers on the South Bank site

The Exhibition on the South Bank was housed in a futuristic series of pavilions designed by some of the finest designers and architects of the time. Between May and September 1951 the nation celebrated the Festival of Britain. After the devastation of war and years of austerity the Festival aimed to raise the nation’s spirits whilst promoting the very best in British art, design and industry. The London based centrepieces of the Festival, the South Bank Exhibition and the Festival Pleasure Gardens in Battersea were the most visible elements of a Festival which was celebrated in cities, towns and villages all over Britain.




Wearing 3D glasses at a movie at the Festival

Ten million people - one-quarter of the population - visited the London festival and its sister sites across the country. The Conservatives came into power in late 1951 and they could not see the back of the Festival and its buildings fast enough.
Ralph Tubbs pleaded for his dome but got nowhere. Lord Eccles showed some interest but eventually told Tubbs that he felt 'the dome had served its purpose and, anyway, how could he be sure that it would not leak in future if it was preserved.' Tubbs with "Freeman Fox" sought alternative locations and uses. Negotiations began for its transportation to Sao Paulo for use as a sports arena, to Montevideo, to Coventry, whose City Architect declared its proposed demolition as 'a shocking waste of public funds', and to Sydenham - the former site of the Crystal Palace (the re-built 1851 Great Exhibition building).


Inside the Dome of Discovery - This inspired the ill fated 2000 Millennium Dome in Greenwich which was originally spearheaded by Peter Mandelson, Herbert Morrison's grandson


Transport of the dome to this London suburb was costed by "Freeman Fox": total expenditure would have been £55,000, including repairs and new bolts and rivets. But all efforts were to no avail. In March 1952 the demolition contract was advertised for the dome along with most of the Festival buildings. Eventually the dome's aluminium was sold back to its original suppliers, ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries), for £24,000. It had cost £300,000 to purchase.


Festival Piazza 1951


Festival building on Waterloo Road

The 1951 festival which cost £8m - or £200m in today's money, a huge amount in Post-War Britain still subject to rationing, but to Churchill and the Conservatives it reeked of Labour propaganda and a modernism and egalitarianism which the Squirearchy who provide the backbone of the Tories despised. Not for the first (or last time) had a Tory Government come to power with a slash and burn agenda. So the South Bank was laid to waste and an important part of the patrimony of Britain and London was lost.


Festival site

But its spirit cheered the nation, as was intended, and was the catalyst for many developments in art, architecture and design. Profits from the Festival were retained by the London County Council and were used to convert the Royal Festival Hall into a concert hall and to establish The South Bank. The 221B Baker Street exhibit of Sherlock Holmes apartment is still displayed in a pub near Charing Cross railway station. The Guide Book to the Festival described its legacy in these words: "It will leave behind not just a record of what we have thought of ourselves in the year 1951 but, in a fair community founded where once there was a slum, in an avenue of trees or in some work of art, a reminder of what we have done to write this single, adventurous year into our national and local history."

So it is right that all summer long in London we will be celebrating 60 years of arts and culture since the original Festival of Britain in 1951. The Festival of Britain anniversary events take over the whole of the Southbank Centre complex with artist led performances, talks, themed weekends, outdoor attractions and much more. The first of three annual summer festivals to be sponsored by MasterCard, the festival also pays homage to the South Bank Exhibition of 1951, which took place on the site of what is now the celebrated Southbank Centre. See you there!

60th anniversary of Festival of Britain

Today design is everything. Housing developments are described as “design led,” kitchens and clothes are “designer” and even gardens are designed or in Dermot Gavin’s case welded! Design led industries from fashion to cars are huge money earners and the valuations on “design brands” are enormous with Prada di Milano valued at euro 12 Billion. But how different it was so long ago in austerity Britain coming out of a World War and its aftermath preceded by a long depression in the 30’s. The event which introduced “Design” to modern Britain was the Festival of Britain in 1951 which itself was to commemorate the Great Exhibition of 1851.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2011/03/happy-birthday-dear-albert_29.html

Now design is everywhere with designer coffins, energy-generating paving stones and the so-called "Boris bike" are among the shortlisted entries for the fourth annual Brit Insurance Design Awards, on display at the Design Museum in London.

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/01/great-british-design-quest.html

The Southbank Centre is to mark the 60th anniversary of the 1951 Festival with a summer of celebrations. Tracey Emin will provide the art, Ray Davies will come up with the music and Heston Blumenthal will be on hand to serve a 1950s-inspired afternoon tea. Back in 1951, the festival was devised by Labour deputy leader Herbert Morrison as "a tonic for the nation". A newsreel of the time described it as giving an "inexplicable lift to the heart", recreating the feel of a trip to the seaside.


An aerial view of the Festival site at the South Bank, London


The Skylon

Devised by the Labour government of the day as a "tonic" for a nation still recovering from the austerity of the war years, the festival was a showcase for modernist architecture and contemporary design. The Royal Festival Hall, the only permanent building erected for the Festival, was one of Britain's earliest post-war public buildings. Some 10 million Britons flocked to see it, the temporary pavilions and the 296ft high Skylon, which towered above it.



The idea of a Festival to commemorate the centenary of The Great Exhibition of 1851 first appeared in 1943 at a time when the country had a great deal of other things to ponder upon. In 1945 it raised its head again when a letter from contemporary designer, John Gloag, appeared in the Times, an event that inspired the editor of the News Chronicle, Gerald Barry, to write an open letter in his paper addressed to Sir Stafford Cripps. As President of the Board of Trade, Cripps would be the one that Barry needed to progress his suggestion of a trade and cultural exhibition which would repeat the success of Prince Albert's Great Exhibition and promote and advertise Britain's design and manufacturing skills to the world in the immediate post-war era.


Dome of Discovery and Skylon, 1951


The Queen meeting workers on the South Bank site

The Exhibition on the South Bank was housed in a futuristic series of pavilions designed by some of the finest designers and architects of the time. Between May and September 1951 the nation celebrated the Festival of Britain. After the devastation of war and years of austerity the Festival aimed to raise the nation’s spirits whilst promoting the very best in British art, design and industry. The London based centrepieces of the Festival, the South Bank Exhibition and the Festival Pleasure Gardens in Battersea were the most visible elements of a Festival which was celebrated in cities, towns and villages all over Britain.




Wearing 3D glasses at a movie at the Festival

Ten million people - one-quarter of the population - visited the London festival and its sister sites across the country. The Conservatives came into power in late 1951 and they could not see the back of the Festival and its buildings fast enough.
Ralph Tubbs pleaded for his dome but got nowhere. Lord Eccles showed some interest but eventually told Tubbs that he felt 'the dome had served its purpose and, anyway, how could he be sure that it would not leak in future if it was preserved.' Tubbs with "Freeman Fox" sought alternative locations and uses. Negotiations began for its transportation to Sao Paulo for use as a sports arena, to Montevideo, to Coventry, whose City Architect declared its proposed demolition as 'a shocking waste of public funds', and to Sydenham - the former site of the Crystal Palace (the re-built 1851 Great Exhibition building).


Inside the Dome of Discovery - This inspired the ill fated 2000 Millennium Dome in Greenwich which was originally spearheaded by Peter Mandelson, Herbert Morrison's grandson


Transport of the dome to this London suburb was costed by "Freeman Fox": total expenditure would have been £55,000, including repairs and new bolts and rivets. But all efforts were to no avail. In March 1952 the demolition contract was advertised for the dome along with most of the Festival buildings. Eventually the dome's aluminium was sold back to its original suppliers, ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries), for £24,000. It had cost £300,000 to purchase.


Festival Piazza 1951


Festival building on Waterloo Road

The 1951 festival which cost £8m - or £200m in today's money, a huge amount in Post-War Britain still subject to rationing, but to Churchill and the Conservatives it reeked of Labour propaganda and a modernism and egalitarianism which the Squirearchy who provide the backbone of the Tories despised. Not for the first (or last time) had a Tory Government come to power with a slash and burn agenda. So the South Bank was laid to waste and an important part of the patrimony of Britain and London was lost.


Festival site

But its spirit cheered the nation, as was intended, and was the catalyst for many developments in art, architecture and design. Profits from the Festival were retained by the London County Council and were used to convert the Royal Festival Hall into a concert hall and to establish The South Bank. The 221B Baker Street exhibit of Sherlock Holmes apartment is still displayed in a pub near Charing Cross railway station. The Guide Book to the Festival described its legacy in these words: "It will leave behind not just a record of what we have thought of ourselves in the year 1951 but, in a fair community founded where once there was a slum, in an avenue of trees or in some work of art, a reminder of what we have done to write this single, adventurous year into our national and local history."

So it is right that all summer long in London we will be celebrating 60 years of arts and culture since the original Festival of Britain in 1951. The Festival of Britain anniversary events take over the whole of the Southbank Centre complex with artist led performances, talks, themed weekends, outdoor attractions and much more. The first of three annual summer festivals to be sponsored by MasterCard, the festival also pays homage to the South Bank Exhibition of 1951, which took place on the site of what is now the celebrated Southbank Centre. See you there!

The Few

The Mark 1 Spitfire replica outside the Cabinet War Rooms, St. James Park, Westminster

It was on 20th August 1940 when Winston Churchill, the famous British war-time leader made his famous speech in Parliament to praise the RAF aircrews in defending Britain from Germany’s Luftwaffe.



Under a slate grey sky, the words of Winston Churchill rang defiantly around Westminster: 'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.' It may be 70 years old, but the resounding call to arms during the Battle of Britain still stiffened the sinew bringing pride and not a few tears last Friday 20th August 2010. To mark the anniversary, the speech was replayed outside Churchill's war-time bunker in Whitehall, at 1552 BST - precisely 70 years since Churchill stood up to give the address in Parliament. It was followed shortly afterwards by a Spitfire and Hurricane fly-past over Whitehall.


Sir Winston Churchill

Former fighter pilots, Churchill's daughter Lady Soames and Dame Vera Lynn were among hundreds of people, many waving Union Flags, who crammed into the street outside the Churchill War Rooms in central London to mark the emotional occasion. Overhead, the world's oldest Spitfire and a Hurricane - the two fighter planes that saw off the German Luftwaffe - performed a fly-past.






Click on photos for a larger image

For the veterans, the day brought back vivid memories of the battle which lasted from July 10 1940 to October 31 that year. Their appearance marked the RAF’s heroic victory against larger Luftwaffe forces over the skies of southern England between July and the end of October 1940, involving 71 Fighter Command squadrons and allies from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and across Europe. Some of the bravest pilots were the Pole and Czech flyers who had fled the German onslaught on their countries and were the most battle hardened pilots who enlisted with the RAF. In one of the most shameful episodes of WW11 Poles were excluded from the London Victory Parade of 1946 even though over 200,000 of them had fought in the Allied forces, particularly Britain’s which had declared war on Germany in 1939 when it invaded Poland.



Churchill’s old war rooms are around the corner from the office in St. James Park and Robert Hardy’s reading of his speech was in front of a replica Mark 1 Spitfire which will be there as part of the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain Commemorations.

To see more about St. James Park see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/04/st-jamess-park-london.html

As David Cameron wants people to holiday in Britain he could do worse than walk 2 minutes from 10 Downing Street and ask the War Rooms how they justify the truly disgraceful £14.75 adult admission charge. He could then walk onto Westminster Abbey and ask them how they justify the audacious £15.00 admission charge to visit a Church? Or he could take an open bus tour around London and ask them how they justify the rip-off £24.00 fare? He could get off the Bus Tour at Baker Street and be amazed a how they have the brass neck to charge £28.00 admission? Maybe we need the ghost of Sir Winston to come back and summarise the state of London Tourism – “Never have so many been ripped off by so few!”

To spend a rip off free Day in London see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/09/day-in-london.html


WINSTON CHURCHILL'S SPEECH



The Battle of Britain took place between August and September 1940. After the success of Blitzkrieg, the evacuation of Dunkirk and the surrender of France, Britain was by herself. The Battle of Britain remains one of the most famous battles of World War Two. The Germans needed to control the English Channel to launch her invasion of Britain (which the Germans code-named Operation Sealion). They needed this control of the Channel so that the British Navy would not be able to attack her invasion barges which were scheduled to land on the Kent and Sussex beaches.



To control the Channel the Germans needed control of the air. This meant that they had to take on Fighter Command, led by Sir Hugh Dowding, of the Royal Air Force. The main fighter planes of the RAF were the Spitfire and the Hurricane. The Germans relied primarily on their Messcherschmitt fighters and their Junkers dive bombers - the famed Stukas.

The Few

The Mark 1 Spitfire replica outside the Cabinet War Rooms, St. James Park, Westminster

It was on 20th August 1940 when Winston Churchill, the famous British war-time leader made his famous speech in Parliament to praise the RAF aircrews in defending Britain from Germany’s Luftwaffe.



Under a slate grey sky, the words of Winston Churchill rang defiantly around Westminster: 'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.' It may be 70 years old, but the resounding call to arms during the Battle of Britain still stiffened the sinew bringing pride and not a few tears last Friday 20th August 2010. To mark the anniversary, the speech was replayed outside Churchill's war-time bunker in Whitehall, at 1552 BST - precisely 70 years since Churchill stood up to give the address in Parliament. It was followed shortly afterwards by a Spitfire and Hurricane fly-past over Whitehall.


Sir Winston Churchill

Former fighter pilots, Churchill's daughter Lady Soames and Dame Vera Lynn were among hundreds of people, many waving Union Flags, who crammed into the street outside the Churchill War Rooms in central London to mark the emotional occasion. Overhead, the world's oldest Spitfire and a Hurricane - the two fighter planes that saw off the German Luftwaffe - performed a fly-past.






Click on photos for a larger image

For the veterans, the day brought back vivid memories of the battle which lasted from July 10 1940 to October 31 that year. Their appearance marked the RAF’s heroic victory against larger Luftwaffe forces over the skies of southern England between July and the end of October 1940, involving 71 Fighter Command squadrons and allies from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and across Europe. Some of the bravest pilots were the Pole and Czech flyers who had fled the German onslaught on their countries and were the most battle hardened pilots who enlisted with the RAF. In one of the most shameful episodes of WW11 Poles were excluded from the London Victory Parade of 1946 even though over 200,000 of them had fought in the Allied forces, particularly Britain’s which had declared war on Germany in 1939 when it invaded Poland.



Churchill’s old war rooms are around the corner from the office in St. James Park and Robert Hardy’s reading of his speech was in front of a replica Mark 1 Spitfire which will be there as part of the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain Commemorations.

To see more about St. James Park see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2009/04/st-jamess-park-london.html

As David Cameron wants people to holiday in Britain he could do worse than walk 2 minutes from 10 Downing Street and ask the War Rooms how they justify the truly disgraceful £14.75 adult admission charge. He could then walk onto Westminster Abbey and ask them how they justify the audacious £15.00 admission charge to visit a Church? Or he could take an open bus tour around London and ask them how they justify the rip-off £24.00 fare? He could get off the Bus Tour at Baker Street and be amazed a how they have the brass neck to charge £28.00 admission? Maybe we need the ghost of Sir Winston to come back and summarise the state of London Tourism – “Never have so many been ripped off by so few!”

To spend a rip off free Day in London see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/09/day-in-london.html


WINSTON CHURCHILL'S SPEECH



The Battle of Britain took place between August and September 1940. After the success of Blitzkrieg, the evacuation of Dunkirk and the surrender of France, Britain was by herself. The Battle of Britain remains one of the most famous battles of World War Two. The Germans needed to control the English Channel to launch her invasion of Britain (which the Germans code-named Operation Sealion). They needed this control of the Channel so that the British Navy would not be able to attack her invasion barges which were scheduled to land on the Kent and Sussex beaches.



To control the Channel the Germans needed control of the air. This meant that they had to take on Fighter Command, led by Sir Hugh Dowding, of the Royal Air Force. The main fighter planes of the RAF were the Spitfire and the Hurricane. The Germans relied primarily on their Messcherschmitt fighters and their Junkers dive bombers - the famed Stukas.

Churchill Arms

Few publicans in London can compare with Gerry O’Brien, colourful landlord of The Churchill Arms, who this weekend celebrates 25 years at the award-winning Kensington Church Street pub. I’ve a soft spot for Gerry as he hails from the County Clare and if I described him as a Mad Irishman he would take it as a compliment for he is a true eccentric and has made the Churchill Arms into something rare in London a brewery owned tenanted boozer with real character where people literally come from miles around to visit.


Churchill memorabilia in the bar

Now generally I am of the illiberal opinion that a brewery owned pub should be a capital offence negating a right to trial before execution. However the Brewery in question Fuller, Smith and Turner is one of the last traditional brewers based at the famous Chiswick Brewery in West London with family members still involved in running it and producing a proper range of real ales for which the name of their flagship ale, “London Pride” speaks for itself. Since taking over this typical London boozer 25 years ago Gerry has infused it with both his wacky contents and his unique personality and gained something of a cult following in the process.



On the outside, the Churchill is festooned with hanging baskets and window boxes, which regularly scoop up any flower awards going. On the inside, the pub is crammed full of dangling chamber pots, a collection of exotic butterflies, mementos of Winston Churchill and more hanging baskets. Oh and I forgot to mention Gerry’s collection of old radios “wirelesses” which I gave up counting after twenty.
On the significant days in Gerry’s calendar — sporting events, St Patrick’s Day, any anniversary remotely connected to Churchill — the interior is further enlivened with all the balloons available in London in the appropriate colours. In case that was not enough, the host regularly makes his way tirelessly around the premises, sometimes with a fake Guinness glass to tip over the unwary. Favoured guests are tooted from the premises with an old car horn.


The irrepressible Gerry O'Brien, Landlord of the Churchill Arms



Now Gerry is having a big party at the Churchill to celebrate his 25 years, having turned what was a dull old boozer into a cornucopia of nutty passions. Not the least of these is his devotion to Thai food, of which his pub was the first purveyor in London. “We can shift some beer with this stuff,” he remembers thinking. There are few regrets but the smoking ban saddened him: “I miss the time of smoking — not cigarettes, but giving a light to a lady or seeing someone light up a pipe.”


The conservatory eating area

The Churchill Arms is, without doubt, one of the best and most famous pubs in the UK. You won't find a warmer welcome anywhere else. 'London in Bloom' winner two years in a row and from spring it is easy to see why - the flowers and baskets literally tumble off the outside of the pub. The food on offer is Thai but you can also enjoy a selection of English classics, the Sunday roasts are also very popular. Events are the speciality here - 'Churchill Night' (30th Nov) is a must, as are the patron saint days. Indeed Gerry must be the only Irishman to throw a birthday party for Churchill and patrons return the compliment by turning up on the day in boiler suits and ARP helmets. St George’s day, uniquely in London, gets the full Paddy’s Day treatment for Gerry is nothing if not inclusive. This is one London pub you will want to come back to again and again.


St George being saluted by the Churchill arms on the 23rd April, St George's Day

Many years ago Gerry roofed over the back courtyard of the Churchill Arms and franchised out the catering to a Thai family and introduced Thai food to London Pubs. For over 15 years, the highly skilled chefs at the Churchill Arms Thai Kitchen have been preparing authentic regional dishes. From the soft and mild tasting noodles "Pad Siew" to the very hot jungle paste curry of "Kaeng Par". Family recipes handed down through generations are served in the wonderful butterfly-themed conservatory. So come and meet Gerry, Powe, Tai and Po for a real taste of Thailand. This is not the Thai banquet food you get served in restaurants but hearty Thai country food served in an ample portion with an equally ample portion of perfect Thai sticky rice. It is for people who enjoy strong flavours and are hungry – not using food as a fashion statement!


Real Thai food!

Kensington Church Street where the Churchill Arms is situated meanders from High Street Kensington to Notting Hill which is the end where you’ll find the Churchill Arms. It is one of London’s more interesting streets being lined with antique shops and with the block of flats where TS Elliot lived and where his widow, Valerie, still does. Even in such august surroundings the Churchill Arms stands out in every way and either with friends or groups I’ve never failed to enjoy being there for good food and drink but above all for that something you can’t easily define real atmosphere. On a more practical note there is no where else in Kensington you can buy a pint of real ale to wash down real food and still have change from a tenner. So here’s wishing Gerry O’Brien from the County Clare slán agus beannacht leat for the next 25 years.

Churchill Arms
119 Kensington Church Street
London W8 7LN

Tel: 020 7727 4242

Email: churchillarms@fullers.co.uk

Licensee: Gerry O'Brien

Churchill Arms

Few publicans in London can compare with Gerry O’Brien, colourful landlord of The Churchill Arms, who this weekend celebrates 25 years at the award-winning Kensington Church Street pub. I’ve a soft spot for Gerry as he hails from the County Clare and if I described him as a Mad Irishman he would take it as a compliment for he is a true eccentric and has made the Churchill Arms into something rare in London a brewery owned tenanted boozer with real character where people literally come from miles around to visit.


Churchill memorabilia in the bar

Now generally I am of the illiberal opinion that a brewery owned pub should be a capital offence negating a right to trial before execution. However the Brewery in question Fuller, Smith and Turner is one of the last traditional brewers based at the famous Chiswick Brewery in West London with family members still involved in running it and producing a proper range of real ales for which the name of their flagship ale, “London Pride” speaks for itself. Since taking over this typical London boozer 25 years ago Gerry has infused it with both his wacky contents and his unique personality and gained something of a cult following in the process.



On the outside, the Churchill is festooned with hanging baskets and window boxes, which regularly scoop up any flower awards going. On the inside, the pub is crammed full of dangling chamber pots, a collection of exotic butterflies, mementos of Winston Churchill and more hanging baskets. Oh and I forgot to mention Gerry’s collection of old radios “wirelesses” which I gave up counting after twenty.
On the significant days in Gerry’s calendar — sporting events, St Patrick’s Day, any anniversary remotely connected to Churchill — the interior is further enlivened with all the balloons available in London in the appropriate colours. In case that was not enough, the host regularly makes his way tirelessly around the premises, sometimes with a fake Guinness glass to tip over the unwary. Favoured guests are tooted from the premises with an old car horn.


The irrepressible Gerry O'Brien, Landlord of the Churchill Arms



Now Gerry is having a big party at the Churchill to celebrate his 25 years, having turned what was a dull old boozer into a cornucopia of nutty passions. Not the least of these is his devotion to Thai food, of which his pub was the first purveyor in London. “We can shift some beer with this stuff,” he remembers thinking. There are few regrets but the smoking ban saddened him: “I miss the time of smoking — not cigarettes, but giving a light to a lady or seeing someone light up a pipe.”


The conservatory eating area

The Churchill Arms is, without doubt, one of the best and most famous pubs in the UK. You won't find a warmer welcome anywhere else. 'London in Bloom' winner two years in a row and from spring it is easy to see why - the flowers and baskets literally tumble off the outside of the pub. The food on offer is Thai but you can also enjoy a selection of English classics, the Sunday roasts are also very popular. Events are the speciality here - 'Churchill Night' (30th Nov) is a must, as are the patron saint days. Indeed Gerry must be the only Irishman to throw a birthday party for Churchill and patrons return the compliment by turning up on the day in boiler suits and ARP helmets. St George’s day, uniquely in London, gets the full Paddy’s Day treatment for Gerry is nothing if not inclusive. This is one London pub you will want to come back to again and again.


St George being saluted by the Churchill arms on the 23rd April, St George's Day

Many years ago Gerry roofed over the back courtyard of the Churchill Arms and franchised out the catering to a Thai family and introduced Thai food to London Pubs. For over 15 years, the highly skilled chefs at the Churchill Arms Thai Kitchen have been preparing authentic regional dishes. From the soft and mild tasting noodles "Pad Siew" to the very hot jungle paste curry of "Kaeng Par". Family recipes handed down through generations are served in the wonderful butterfly-themed conservatory. So come and meet Gerry, Powe, Tai and Po for a real taste of Thailand. This is not the Thai banquet food you get served in restaurants but hearty Thai country food served in an ample portion with an equally ample portion of perfect Thai sticky rice. It is for people who enjoy strong flavours and are hungry – not using food as a fashion statement!


Real Thai food!

Kensington Church Street where the Churchill Arms is situated meanders from High Street Kensington to Notting Hill which is the end where you’ll find the Churchill Arms. It is one of London’s more interesting streets being lined with antique shops and with the block of flats where TS Elliot lived and where his widow, Valerie, still does. Even in such august surroundings the Churchill Arms stands out in every way and either with friends or groups I’ve never failed to enjoy being there for good food and drink but above all for that something you can’t easily define real atmosphere. On a more practical note there is no where else in Kensington you can buy a pint of real ale to wash down real food and still have change from a tenner. So here’s wishing Gerry O’Brien from the County Clare slán agus beannacht leat for the next 25 years.

Churchill Arms
119 Kensington Church Street
London W8 7LN

Tel: 020 7727 4242

Email: churchillarms@fullers.co.uk

Licensee: Gerry O'Brien