Hidden London

Can you imagine walking by the Thames and not seeing the London Eye or not taking some pictures with Big Ben behind? Or not trying the shopping madness in Oxford Street? Missing posing with celebrities at the Museum of Madame Tussauds? Forgetting to rest in Hyde Park? Impossible! As well as avoiding crowds, endless queues for the tickets, crying children and their nervous parents, and waiting for hours to get a bottle of water or to use a toilet. Famous and popular tourist attractions are beautiful and you look great smiling in front of them, but they may make you scream for quiet, smaller places where you can read your papers, drink your coffee, where you actually can hear what it is your friend is so interested in, where you have a chance to get to the explanatory text while visiting a museum. Even big, noisy, lively and fast London has its quite nooks. Wondering where? Get your maps ready. We are about to hunt for the best album pictures ever.

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Hasn’t grown up yet?
“If you love art, folly or the bright eyes of children, speed to Pollock’s” – the motto of this magnificent museum says it all. Named after Benjamin Pollock, the last of the Victorian Toy Theatre printers, the museum occupies two houses joined together in Fitzrovia, the heart of London, since 1956. Small, cosy rooms with winding staircases create the unique atmosphere and bring back emotions from childhood. Corners are filed with visual delights and no matter which direction you turn, there is always a surprise.

This is a fascinating exhibition of toy theatres, teddy bears, wax and china dolls, board games, optical toys, folk toys, nursery furniture, mechanical toys and doll’s houses. Nearly every kind of toy imaginable turns up here from all over the world and from all different time periods.

The museum is open from Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. Closest tube: Goodge Street, Warren Street.

Childhood forever
Want to have a look at more modern toys and get your childhood memories going? The Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood is the right place to go. The museum was first opened in 1872 by the Prince and Princess of Wales as a part of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Its first aims were to introduce disadvantaged East Enders to cultural riches of the nation’s heritage. During the 1920s, Curator Arthur Sabin encouraged local schools to visit and gave lectures focused on children. The museum became dedicated to the subject of childhood in 1974. V&A’s collection of children’s costumes, books, nursery items, art and furniture were relocated to Bethnal Green complete with the museum’s existing toy collection.

The museum is still evolving today and continues to adapt itself to its new focus on a daily basis. Exhibitions include the evolution of toys through the ages and a Beatrix Potter Garden. The museum co-operates with schools and communities by organising workshops, courses and many activities for free time.

It is open everyday from 10am to 5.45pm. Address: Cambridge Heath Road, E2 9PA. The closest station: Bethnal Green Tube Station.

Old London is lying at your feet
Every day thousands of people making their way to and from work in the City of London pass the remarkable set of steps. Some of them might glance upwards at a pile of old stones that seem to be laid out in the manner of a ruined chapel, but few of them take the time to explore further and so do not realise that on an ugly concrete platform, one of the most popular cults in the Roman Empire was once worshipped.

This amazing ancient te mple was accidentally unearthed as a part of reconstruction work undertaken on Walbrook Street in the City of London after World War II. It was built in mid-3rd century and dedicated to the Mithras, Persian cult of light and sun. As the reconstruction work continued the site was excavated, and artefacts such as the head of Mithras were placed in the Museum of London. The temple itself was moved and placed on public view at its current location in Temple Court, Queen Victoria Street, however it is planned to be moved back to its original location beside the Walbrook River. The closest tube station: St Paul’s.

By Veronika Leštáková
Photo: Fotolia, iStockphoto, Slovak Centre

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