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Time Out
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
The abandoned art deco hospital in west London that is getting a new lease of life with hundreds of new homes
Would you want to live an abandoned 1930s hospital? As creepy as it sounds, soon Londoners will be able to shack up in the former Ravenscourt Park Hospital that hasn't been used for nearly 20 years. The Grade II-listed art deco building, built in 1933, is going to be transformed into hundreds of homes by property developers TT Group. Don't worry, this one is less haunted, and more of a historical stunner: the then-Royal Masonic Hospital picked up the prestigious RIBA architecture prize when it was opened by King George V in the early '30s. It finally closed as a hospital in 2006 (then named the Ravenscourt Park Hospital), but has since featured in several film and TV productions, including Agatha Christie's Poirot (1989 and 1991), The Queen (2006) and Back to Black (2024). The building was on the Historic England's Heritage at Risk register for a while, but now the landmark is going to get a brand new lease of life. TT Group acquired the 3.87-acre site in 2022, and has now revealed plans to transform the old red brick building into 140 new homes, a 65-bed care home and communal spaces. Former wards, treatment blocks and administrative buildings will become flats – ranging from studios to family-sized –, communal workspaces, private gardens, and lounge areas, all designed by the same architecture studio behind the Olympia redevelopment, SPPARC. Many of the building's art deco features will remain, including welded steel semi-circular sun balconies, and two original Greek-inspired statues that are found on either side of the main entrance. However, additions to the hospital built in the '70s will be replaced with a modern purpose-built elderly care home. Plus, some parts of the grounds will be opened up to the public for the first time with new pedestrian routes and landscaped gardens. The dates for construction and completion haven't been revealed yet.
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Daily Mirror
'I climbed terrifying bridge that's 260ft high and instantly made a mistake'
The Story Bridge in Brisbane is one of a handful in the world that you can climb - there's one mistake I was warned not to make and yet instantly did it I knew I should have listened the second I did it. "Don't look down," my friend advised, having just made the same mistake on our trip to Australia. But it was too late, I was already gazing through the gaping slats 262ft (80m) down to the fast current of the river below, waves sloshing through the brown water that had me questioning why we'd opted for an activity holiday. Head slightly spinning, I raised my eyes a little to the cars whizzing across the bridge I was precariously hanging from the top of. All very disconcerting but undeniably an experience of a lifetime. (After all, I'd already survived a kayaking trip through shark-infested waters). The Story Bridge in the city centre of Brisbane is one of only a few in the world that you're able to safely climb over the top of. And while it felt precarious at the top I knew deep down I couldn't possibly fall as I was firmly attached to a steel cable. I just wish my head had been able to convince my pounding heart of the same. I'd been all bravado beforehand. Living in London I'm very used to the sight of bridges so at first I didn't worry too much - it didn't look that high… When you're standing at the bottom looking up at the 1,088 steps to the top however, it's a different kettle of fish. But, after a thorough safety briefing and freshly kitted out in a very, erm, fetching jumpsuit and harness it was time to climb. Attaching a rock-climbing style carabiner to the cable that runs the entire width of the bridge, my expert guide from the Story Bridge Adventure Climb assured us there was no chance of taking a tumble and plummeting to our deaths so, wobbly-legged, we set off up the stairs. At first it's hard not to just stare at the next step but soon the spectacular views begin to creep into your eyeline until after a few minutes you forget to worry and simply look around in awe. The Brisbane river - known locally as the brown snake due to the colour from the silt at its base - can be seen winding its way through the skyscrapers of the city. And from the gantry at the pinnacle of the bridge our guide pointed out the main sights and recounted the history of the bridge itself. Built from 1935 and originally known as the Jubilee Bridge in honour of King George V, it opened five years later to a crowd of 37,000 people. Its name was later changed to the Story Bridge in recognition of John Douglas Story who fought for it to be built to provide employment and a sense of community during the Great Depression. It's reasonably pricey at £75 for the two-hour tour but it's one of remarkably few in the world that you can climb. The Sydney Harbour Bridge started the trend in 1998 and as well as the Story Bridge, you can also now climb the Matagarup Bridge in Perth, the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Kobe, Japan, Auckland Bridge in New Zealand, Porto Bridge in Portugal and the bridge over the New River Gorge in West Virginia, USA (though that one goes under the bridge rather than over it). As we headed back to more solid ground, there was a general air of elation. We had conquered our fears and done something extraordinary that we'd always remember.
Deccan Herald
24-07-2025
- Deccan Herald
TMC demands installation of Rabindranath Tagore's statue at Jallianwala Bagh
Tagore, a Bengali polymath who was a poet, writer, composer and painter, was awarded a knighthood by King George V in 1915. Tagore renounced it after the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
Sydney Morning Herald
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Inside the splinter group that stormed an Israeli restaurant, as police make more arrests
It would be a night of disturbance for Melbourne's Jewish community. In a separate incident nearby, at almost the same time, a NSW man allegedly attempted to firebomb a synagogue while children and families were inside. Later, in the early hours of Saturday morning in Greensborough, three cars were set alight and a building spray-painted with anti-IDF graffiti at a weapons company with Israeli defence links. No one was physically injured in any of the incidents, and police say they are yet to find a formal link between the three or determine if the firebombing was an act of terror. Both WACA and the broader pro-Palestine movement have disavowed the synagogue arson as a horrifying attack. They say they stand against Israel's war in Gaza, not the Jewish community, and are frustrated by 'the conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism'. But two local Palestinian protesters who did not wish to be identified said the WACA activists at Miznon were 'dickheads' too. 'They think they are righteous and have the right to impact innocent bystanders,' said one. 'It ruins public opinion – they do it in Palestine's name, and not one Palestinian was there.' 'There are a few of these groups, and WACA people are one. They come in and take things too far. We have to step in and de-escalate,' said another source, though they also noted that the chant of 'Death to the IDF' again rang out through Melbourne during Sunday's weekly pro-Palestine march. WACA is often shadowy about its activity and membership online, reminding associates not to post evidence of actions and increasingly taking steps to avoid police surveillance through encrypted messaging and carefully planned meet-ups. The group has been on the fringes of a wider campaign to expose Israeli defence ties to local companies and institutions for more than a decade. But, with the outbreak of war in Gaza and a new influx of student activists, their membership and tactics have shifted. The group say it now stands against the police too. Some who stormed the Miznon restaurant wore masks, others shirts emblazoned with 'ACAB', short for 'all cops are bastards'. Last year, WACA members were among many anti-war protesters who clashed with police outside the Land Forces weapons expo in Melbourne. (Some of those cases are still before the courts.) Months earlier, WACA scaled 60-metre cranes, formed barricades and paddled out on canoes to partially shut down the Port of Melbourne more than once as they tried to block an Israeli shipping company from docking. A police source said they had spiked truck tyres and set debris on fire during the blockade. WACA was also the first to post footage of masked vandals spray-painting and lopping the head off the King George V statue in the city during King Charles' birthday holiday last year. For this year's holiday, the same group posted new footage of the statue's head drifting off into the sea 'back to England' in a Deliveroo bag. Among those charged over the Miznon incident so far is 50-year-old Antwany Arnold, who is accused of hurling a chair at a diner at Miznon and was already out on bail for an incident at an earlier protest – which, a court heard, put him in breach of a condition not to travel into the city when he joined the action. WACA spokeswoman Gaye Demanuele, another long-time protester, said she couldn't confirm details of the arrests that would 'make people vulnerable to police' or speak in detail about the group's operations, given recent crackdowns on protest groups in Australia and overseas. Jemima Demanuele, who was photographed sticking up her middle finger at people in the restaurant during the incident, has already been stood down from her job at St Vincent's Hospital as it investigates her conduct. WACA was the 'front facing' mouthpiece of a fluid collective of activists and 'collaborators', Gaye Demanuele said, and had posted a statement 'on behalf of community members' who staged the Miznon action. 'While politicians in so-called Australia clutch their pearls over one meal that was interrupted, we ask people to refocus their attention on Israel's genocidal reign of terror over the Palestinians,' WACA's statement read. Demanuele was also one of the protesters at Miznon, and has been criticised by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for justifying the trashing of the restaurant while appearing in an ABC broadcast this week. 'There is no justification for that,' Albanese said on Thursday. 'The idea that somehow the cause of justice for Palestinians is advanced by behaviour like that is not only delusional, it is destructive.' Asked about criticism of WACA by the broader pro-Palestine movement, Demanuele said: 'People are afraid of being associated with a more radical element because they see how the state represses protest … Because their income is threatened, their reputation is threatened, now [Premier] Jacinta Allan and Anthony Albanese are talking about terrorism.' 'They've formed a taskforce to deal with us,' Demanuele added, referring to Allan's flagged crackdown on protest and the new antisemitism taskforce set up following the synagogue arson and Miznon incident. Federally, too, the government is considering stripping funding from institutions that fail to combat what is deemed hatred against Jewish people, as well as screening visa applicants for antisemitic views. The earlier rally on Friday, railing against recent deaths in custody and alleged police violence at protests, was organised by WACA and other pro-Palestinian groups. But the rally split over WACA's plans to march to Miznon – most refused to join them. Pro-Palestine protesters have been calling for a boycott of Miznon after it emerged that one of its part-owners, Israeli entrepreneur Shahar Segal, was also serving as a spokesman for the controversial US-Israeli aid group Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Contractors guarding the foundation's aid distribution sites have opened fire on starving Palestinians scrambling for food. At least 500 people have been killed and thousands more injured while trying to access aid at the sites, according to the United Nations. Segal, whose restaurants in New York, Toronto and Paris have also drawn criticism from pro-Palestine groups overseas, has since reportedly resigned from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Gaye Demanuele insisted WACA did not instigate any violence at Miznon – it was a 'spontaneous' plan formed on Friday to 'inform diners about where they were spending their money' that spiralled into chaos. 'The restaurant was not targeted because it has Jewish owners,' she said. 'It was targeted because it is repping for the Gaza Humanitarian Fund. There's nothing humanitarian about the GHF – it's an outfit that's set up to lure people into killing fields. At no point were we anti-Jewish.' It was 'disingenuous' for politicians, police, and others to conflate the Miznon action in Melbourne with the arson attacks at the synagogue or the defence company the same night, Demanuele said. 'The fire at the synagogue we are not connected with, and we would condemn. We are not about harming people. A bit of yelling is nothing compared to potentially putting people's lives at risk by burning a synagogue. That's horrific.' Another WACA 'collaborator' Charlie, known as Charlie the Commie online, told this masthead the earlier rally was organised in the wake of recent police assaults on demonstrators, including some that he said had left his friends with lasting injuries.
Local Germany
11-07-2025
- Local Germany
Five of Germany's busiest tourist attractions and where to go instead
Popularity always comes with a price. Many of Germany's most iconic tourist attractions have become so crowded in recent years that it can be tricky to really see what you're looking at through the seas of other onlookers armed with selfie-sticks. But in a country with so much history and many rich traditions, there's nearly always an alternative to the queues and complications of visiting a guidebook heavy-weight. In many cases, an alternative destination may be even more awe-inspiring, and sometimes it's only just around the corner. Here's our list of five of the most overcrowded tourist attractions in Germany - and our recommendations for the lower profile destinations you can try instead. 1. Neuschwanstein Castle Perched atop a rugged hill in Bavaria, Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria was the original inspiration for Disney's Cinderella Castle. It's since become one of Germany's biggest tourist attractions, with visitors coming from far and wide to catch a glimpse (and many photos) of the picture perfect palace. But with over 1.3 million visitors annually, the current reality is that guests here need to secure timed entry slots that are booked out weeks in advance, and then endure slow-moving tour groups that clog the castle's halls. READ ALSO: 10 surprising facts you should know about Neuschwanstein Castle In peak season, the lines for tickets can stretch for hours, while the nearby village of Schwangau groans under the weight of busloads of tourists – and the situation might be about to get worse as the castle looks set for inclusion on UNESCO's World Heritage list. Where to go instead Germany is home to thousands of castles - perhaps as many as 25,000 according to some estimates - so you shouldn't have too much trouble finding an alternative to Neuschwanstein that is every bit as captivating. The silhouette of Braunfels castle at sunset. Germany has no shortage of perfect fairy tale castles. Photo: picture alliance / dpa / Frank Rumpenhorst Braunfels Castle in Hessen, for example, offers a similarly magical silhouette, complete with towers and ramparts, but without the crowds. Family-owned for centuries, the castle offers guided tours, art exhibits, and peaceful gardens. Other castles well worth a visit include Marienburg Castle , located 30 kilometres from Hannover on the outskirts of Hildesheim. Built between 1858 and 1867 by King George V as a gift for his wife, it's one of the best-preserved castles in Europe. Or, if you're absolutely set on the Bavarian fairy tale idea, you can check out Hohenschwangau . It's actually possible to see Hohenschwangau from Neuschwanstein (and vice versa). The two castles are only about 20 minutes apart by foot, but, as the less popular neighbour, Hohenschwangau receives just a fraction of the visitor numbers. Advertisement 2. Cologne Cathedral Cologne's gothic cathedral is Germany's most visited single attraction, with over four million annual visitors. Its soaring spires and awe-inspiring nave are breath-taking, but there's a good chance you'll spend more time queuing than contemplating if you visit these days. On weekends and holidays, the lines to enter the cathedral or climb the tower can snake around the square, and tourists are often packed shoulder-to-shoulder in the interior. Cologne Cathedral lit up at night. The Gothic-era church is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Germany. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Thomas Banneyer Where to go instead Aachen Cathedral in the nearby city is a UNESCO World Heritage site with a history every bit as grand as Cologne's. One of the oldest cathedral buildings in Europe, it was originally constructed as the royal chapel for Charlemagne's Palace of Aachen. The first Holy Roman Emperor was buried there in 814. Best of all, it's often quiet enough to actually sit and contemplate – either the Divine, or the divine design of the mosaics and the Palatine Chapel. READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about the Catholic community in Germany 3. Munich and Oktoberfest Munich is a popular tourist destination year-round, with huge numbers of visitors attracted by the historic centre, grand palaces, and legendary beer halls. But nothing compares to the crush of Oktoberfest , when millions descend on the city for the world's biggest beer festival. READ ALSO: Dirndls, tents and 'Radler' - How to do Oktoberfest like a German Hotels sell out months in advance of the event, public transport is jammed, and the festival tents are packed from morning to night. Even outside Oktoberfest, sites like Marienplatz and the English Garden swarm with tourists. Advertisement Where to go instead Kulmbach Beer Week (Kulmbacher Bierwoche) in northern Bavaria runs from July 26th to August 3rd this year and attracts about 120,000 visitors annually, rather than millions. Kulmbach, a charming, medieval town with plenty of its original buildings still intact, offers all the fun of a traditional beer festival - local brews, hearty food, and live music - but in a vastly more relaxed and welcoming setting (and without the funfair!). Also, around the same time as Munich's Oktoberfest, you can find similar folk festivals and even other smaller Oktoberfest celebrations at other German cities, particularly around the south of the country. OPINION: Why Oktoberfest is one of Germany's worst beer festivals 4. Rothenburg ob der Tauber Children perform during the Kinderzeche festival in the Bavarian town of Dinkelsbühl. Photo: picture alliance / Ingrid Wenzel/Touristik Service Dinkelsbühl/dpa-tmn | Ingrid Wenzel Rothenburg's perfectly preserved medieval walls and half-timbered houses have made it a fixture on Germany's Romantic Road, and a top-line recommendation on most tourist blogs. But with nearly two million visitors annually, the town's narrow streets can be clogged with tour groups, and finding a quiet corner is increasingly difficult during the holiday season. Advertisement Where to go instead A similarly extraordinary gem of medieval architecture, the Bavarian town of Dinkelsbühl features colourful houses, cobbled lanes, and a tranquil pace. Although a little off the beaten path, it remains largely untouched by mass tourism – unlike Rothenburg – allowing visitors to soak in its history and charm on their own terms. READ ALSO: Six of the most charming Bavarian towns to visit this summer Eight of the most beautiful German villages to visit this summer 5. Berlin Germany's capital is a must-see for history buffs and culture lovers alike, with landmarks including the Brandenburg Gate, Museum Island, and the Berlin Wall Memorial drawing tens of millions of tourists every year. But Berlin's main attractions are often packed, especially during in summer. Where to go instead Leipzig may not be as big as Berlin, and it certainly isn't as famous, but it does have a bit of everything you might hope to find in the German capital, without ever feeling like a desperate mini-me. As a major university city, Leipzig has all the bars you could wish for, and clubs like Distillery or Institute für Zukunft which are the equal of anything you can find in Berlin. Advertisement As a relatively cheap place to live, Leipzig has also attracted a substantial community of artists and other creatives who have transformed the city. A perfect example of this recent transformation is found in the Baumwollspinnerei (Cotton Mill). Formerly the largest cotton mill in Europe, the Baumwollspinnerei is currently home to 100 art studios, 14 galleries, a cinema and a theatre. Leipzig is famous as the site of the peaceful mass demonstrations in 1989 which helped trigger the fall of the communist regime in East Germany. But much of its surviving architecture, including the old town hall, dates back to the Renaissance era. For a real sense of Leipzig's history, you can have a drink in the city's second oldest pub, Auerbachs Keller , which appears in Goethe's play Faust from 1808. What have we missed? Leave a note about other lesser-known wonders you've discovered on your travels in Germany in the comments below.
