Monday, September 6, 2021

Back to the Mound


Yesterday I went back to the Marble Arch Mound -- with a pre-booked ticket this time -- to check out what has been widely derided as a failed tourist attraction.

When I mentioned it the other day, some readers expressed confusion about what it even is, so let me clarify. It's a 25-meter high artificial hill, built over scaffolding right next to Marble Arch. It is planted with real grass and trees, and was envisioned as a lushly landscaped viewing platform that would bring shoppers to nearby Oxford Street, London's retail mecca, which has been suffering during the pandemic. It was supposed to cost something like £2.8 million, with some of that money recouped from ticket-buying visitors.

It opened in mid-summer but was almost immediately criticized for its patchy appearance, and when it was revealed that cost overruns brought the project's price to a stratospheric £6 million, the council officer who oversaw it resigned.

Now Westminster Council has announced that admission will be free through January, when the project is scheduled to come down. Supposedly the trees (at least the ones that survive) and other materials will be re-used or repurposed.


When I visited yesterday, there were a handful of people checking out the Mound, including some who found it an appealing backdrop for photos. The plants and flowers were looking pretty good, I thought, and there were bees buzzing and butterflies fluttering around the lobelia and sedum. I climbed the steps up to the viewing platform, and this is what I saw:


The fountains on an adjacent bit of Hyde Park...


...an aerial view of Edgware Road, an ancient Roman road that runs northward through London...


...and Marble Arch from above, which is admittedly a novel perspective. (Who knew it had skylights? Apparently there are rooms inside that were once used as a police station.)


The BT Tower was visible across nearby rooftops, and...


the Albert Memorial could be see in the distance across the park. (As you can see, long views were a bit hazy yesterday.)

The Mound also emits weird ethereal music, which I hadn't seen mentioned in any of the press accounts. So, just FYI.

I thought it was a nice enough view, and to be honest, if I'd paid a couple of quid I wouldn't have felt ripped off. But it's not a destination that lends itself to a long visit. Once you climb it and walk around the platform a couple of times, you're done. I overheard other guests lamenting that there was no cafe or beverage cart up there -- so Westminster Council, if you're listening, that might be a way to make some money!

From the Mound I dutifully walked along Oxford Street and went to John Lewis to buy some new pillows for our bed. Unfortunately, the pillows were almost completely out of stock -- something about supply-chain issues related to Covid, according to a salesperson. At least I got some idea of what I could order online.

Then I walked south toward Piccadilly, and on the way I came across this:


It appeared to be a march by Extinction Rebellion, a climate change activism group that has been staging protests across London for months, lying in intersections and closing bridges and generally causing grief for the police (who, as you can see, were monitoring quite closely from the rear). A dog in a nearby cafe was not happy with all those drummers.

My eventual destination was a cinema where I was scheduled to see a filmed version of the National Theater's performance of "Follies." Inspired by fellow blogger John Gray, who saw it a couple of days ago, I bought a ticket. I saw "Follies" on Broadway almost exactly 20 years ago, starring Judith Ivey, Blythe Danner, Gregory Harrison, Treat Williams and Polly Bergen -- but I didn't remember the plot (such as it is) in great detail so I appreciated seeing it again, even though it's long. (In this case, almost three hours, including a short introductory clip of Stephen Sondheim talking about the show.) The stars this time included Imelda Staunton, my down-the-street neighbor, who sang the show-stopper "Losing My Mind" and did a great job along with the rest of the cast.

It was the first time I'd seen a stage show in the cinema, so that was an interesting experience. Plus, who could pass up the opportunity to see a show called "Follies" right after visiting a local government folly of the highest order?

Today, back to work. The weekend went so fast!

54 comments:

  1. Wait, wait, wait. Marble Arch Mound is only temporary and comes down in January??? Unbelievable. Glad you got to see the folly.

    I like that beat, but I feel for the poor dog in the café.

    I’d love to see this latest version of Follies. I’ve been catching clips on YouTube.

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    1. Yes, it's insane, isn't it? Six million pounds for a fake hill that lasts six months.

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  2. Yours is the third review of 'The Mound'. It sounds like an ok thing, but oh, the cost at £6 million. That cost makes it a shocking folly.

    I note all the grey hairs in the march. This is good and I have seen it here too at environmental protests. Boris probably calls them old communists.

    I'd really like to see Staunton belting out Losing my Mind. Better go searching.

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    1. I think they were called an extended single, the size of a LP but with only one track on each side. The last one I probably bought was Liza Minelli's Losing My Mind, accompanied by The Pet Shop Boys. It might be my bedtime music clip tonight.

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    2. PS Your photos are great, the best I've seen of the mound and its surrounds.

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    3. Hi Andrew -- I updated the link to show Staunton's version. I loved that Liza/Pet Shop Boys rendition, but I always think of Shirley Bassey's version first! (Probably the first one I heard.)

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    4. On reruns of the old Carol Burnett show, Jean Stapleton sung "Losing my Mind". Which was pretty cool.

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    5. Dov: I'll have to look for THAT on YouTube!

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  3. As my mother used to say, "You do get around in your tea half-hour!" Two follies in one day, not to mention observing a march. Will be in London next month, but think I will give the Mound a miss. John Lewis, on the other hand, will certainly be visited. Already started a list... :)

    BTW - blogger ate one of my comments on your long walk across town the other day. Annoying.

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    1. I hate it when that happens with Blogger. I've found that if you hit the back button on your browser, the comment often reappears in the comment box. I then copy it and go back a few minutes later and try to repost, and many times it works. It's a pain, though.

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  4. I’m glad you saw it….I enjoyed it
    No wonder you didn’t remember the story as really there isn’t one lol

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    1. Well, Sondheim said that in his interview at the beginning, but there actually IS a bit of a plot, regarding the history of the showgirls and their relationships.

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  5. I saw the same Broadway show of Follies twenty years ago and fell in love with it. I play the cd all the time.
    Cheers

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    1. That was a great show! I'd just moved to NYC the previous year and I was quite star-struck by the cast.

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  6. Hmmm...
    The Mound. Well, those views are not so bad. Funny isn't it that here we have actual mounds built by native Americans but we are generally not allowed to climb them for preservation's sake.
    Strange world.
    Also not sure how I feel about the protest march. Or whatever it should be called. To be honest, everyone just looks so casual as if instead of trying to bring attention to what could be the downfall of our entire planet, they are simply out for a bit of a social stroll on a nice afternoon.

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    1. To be fair, I wouldn't call that a typical Extinction Rebellion march. Some of them have been very large and quite a bit more disruptive!

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  7. The "mound" would be a nice place to visit just to rest if there were one or two places that sold refreshments. You might drop a note to your local council and suggest it. It seems such a shame to make such a pretty place and then take it all apart. You have a super day, hugs, Edna B.

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    1. I think they do need a refreshment cart, at least, if not a full cafe at the base. It would give people something else to do there.

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  8. I don't understand building such a thing and then disassembling it. I wish that you had take some video so that we could have heard the music. The views are amazing, a different perspective.

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    1. Well, it's certainly not the first temporary structure to be built in London. The Serpentine Gallery, for example, sponsors a competition to build a new pavilion every year.

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    2. This is amazing to me. They take the old one down? Why don't they just leave it and put the new one up somewhere else? It seems like it would be a pleasant gathering place under cover, to eat take out and listen to buskers.

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  9. It's so interesting to think that someone had an idea to build an "artificial hill." I'm pretty sure real hills would last longer and even they sometimes crumble with time.
    A three-hour movie... my attention span would have given up after one.

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    1. I don't mind a three-hour movie when it's worth it. The problem is, a lot of three-hour movies aren't!

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  10. I can't believe that they're taking down the "hill" that cost six million pounds after building it. WTF? Why bother with it in the first place? Just have someone stand at the corner and give out five pound notes. They would have made 1.2 million people happy at least:)

    The photos are lovely though.

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    1. I think they would never have undertaken it had they known how much it would ultimately cost. The original cost was £2.8 million, I believe, and even THAT is pretty shocking.

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  11. It is curious that someone felt the need to build a fake hill when you have so many gorgeous, classic things to see in England!

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  12. Money spent on things like that just boggles my mind. I'll admit it provides some excellent views, though. I don't think I realized Edgeware Road was built along a Roman road.

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    1. I agree that there are so many more important things the council could have done with that money.

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  13. Thanks for the tour of the mound. I've been wondering what it looked like. The photos in the newspaper article I read weren't very good. Yours are great. I didn't realize that it was only temporary. "Folly" is right! The video of the group marching was also entertaining.
    It's Labor Day here so I don't have to go back to work until tomorrow.

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    1. Apparently the Mound was originally supposed to be built OVER the arch, which I think would have been a crime. Apparently there were concerns it would be damaged.

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  14. and so the Council paid for the Mound instead of using the money to help people in the council? £6M they spent to bring people to the shopping district? they should have just distributed that money to the damn shops. and I'm all for being against extinction but I fail to see how marching with drums changes anything. doesn't look like anyone is even paying any attention

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    1. Yeah, it was a ridiculous, obscene waste of money given the fact that there aren't enough police officers and people are waiting for housing! I guess the march gained some attention -- on this blog if nowhere else. :)

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  15. They spent that much money for something temporary?? Good heavens!

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    1. Right?! It wasn't supposed to cost this much when the project began. I will be interested to see what their internal reviews turn up in terms of inefficiencies.

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  16. They could have done a lot of good with that six million pounds--what stupidity!

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    1. I agree. It's pretty appalling. And I think it's debatable whether it will do anything for Oxford Street -- especially if the shops are out of stock because of Covid!

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  17. https://monologues.co.uk/musichall/Songs-I/If-It-Wasnt-For-The-Houses.htm

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    1. Love it! LOL!

      "Wiv a ladder and some glasses
      You could see the 'Ackney Marshes
      If it wasn't for the 'ouses in between."

      That pretty much sums up the Mound!

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  18. I do like the mound but it should be a REAL feature of the landscape, Growing things by the marble arch, which has always seemed to me such a paved, city hot corner. Oxford Street could used some nature. Paying for it is weird and the price to build it temporarily is not the smartest venture ever. Nice to see what there is to see, thank you for marching up to the top of the hill to march back down again.

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    1. I think the whole project was ill-considered, for sure!

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  19. I watched that video & at the end there is no doubt that she is in fact losing her mind - bravo!

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  20. Good lord. They spent 6 million pounds for a temporary attraction? Sigh. I thought all of the insanity was across the pond, in the states. The views are lovely and it is nice to experience greenery and pollinators in the middle of a city. Maybe it should be permanent? My sister and I enjoy experiencing the opera from the Metropolitan in NYC via cinema in a local art museum. It is almost as good as being there - without the traffic!

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    1. I was glad to see the bees on it -- I thought, "Well, at least THEY came!"

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  21. I can't stop thinking of the Grateful Dead line "What A Long Strange Trip It's Been". Sounds like you had a great, though strange weekend.

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  22. The Mound was MEANT to be temporary? So I Googled and sure enough it was. What a head-scratcher! I'm curious what the enquiry into "what went wrong" will end up finding out!

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    1. Yeah, me too! I can't wait to hear their conclusions! (Hopefully we will.)

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  23. The idea of the Mound reminds me of Little Island, a new attraction in NYC that I have yet to visit. In this time of covid, outdoor places to go are always welcome I suppose.

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