Not a very interesting post but:
I walked past Garden Lodge the other day when I was in London (I went for a Chinese on Earl's Court Road and on the way home I decided to drop past which I never usually do).
It looks normal. There was no tribute to Freddie, the doors in the wall had perspex over them, there was clear anti-climb paint on the wall as far as I could see. Some of the bricks look like they've been replaced but that could have been done years ago or the wall was increased in height.
The mews house just to the left of the lodge had a bouquet of flowers stuck in the letter box, I don't know if that was a tribute to Freddie or something else, and there were some young people gathered around a big kitchen table - I didn't peer in, but I glanced in from about 10 feet away as I walked past. I did walk up to the wall at Garden Lodge and I could see that despite cleaning, the bricks are still in a mess, all that graffiti caused quite a bit of damage to the wall.
To be honest I was glad it was back to normal because although the graffiti was a well-intended tribute and even featured in Queen videos, it's not good for anyone to have their house written on for any reason when they don't want it to happen.
I did notice there was more security on it compared to the last time I walked past which was back in 2007 or 2008, there are now two cameras pinned to the wall.
I probably won't walk past again unless I actually have cause to go down that street, and I'm not exactly in the market to buy or rent a property there.
I don't understand why you would go vandalize a place he loved so much.
I've heard Mary doesn't live there anymore, but maybe her sons were in the Mews house?
I didn't go to write anything on it, I walked past it, stopped, looked at the wall, and moved on. I don't know if Mary lives there anymore, I have no idea. The house did look empty.
I have read several books and various postings about Garden Lodge and the Mews and can't seem to grasp the size of either. What is the approx square footage of each?
[QUOTE] [b]miraclesteinway wrote:[/b]
To be honest I was glad it was back to normal because although the graffiti was a well-intended tribute and even featured in Queen videos, it's not good for anyone to have their house written on for any reason when they don't want it to happen.
[/QUOTE]
I agree with you, I'm glad the house is back to normal with no graffitis on its walls.
bump
bumping again because QZ has just been spammed....
I was there a few weeks ago too. The only other time I'd been there was the first time I ever went to London as a teenager. I remember being terrified trying to find it and have no real recollection of what it even looked like then (though it was already some time in the '00's by then). Those flowers in the door of the near(-ish)-by mews were there then too. It's not so close to Garden Lodge and them still being there in the same way a few weeks later, makes me think there is no connection to Freddie and it is probably something connected with their location.
People had left messages on pieces of paper: cards and flowers though at the Garden Lodge gate when I was there. I don't see anything wrong in this myself. It isn't vandalising the property to do that in my view. You couldn't do that now even if anyone wanted to as the paint on the wall prevents it and the signs on Garden Lodge's door say graffiti is a crime, highlight the cctv and state it is a private property. It all likely just goes straight in a bin, but who knows.
As for the size, I mean, it's big but not silly-size. You can't really tell the size of the house. I haven't a clue in terms of square footage. But I live in a semi-detached house. I'm gonna guess from the size of the garden that it's at least 4X the size of a semidetached house and obviously there is the garden too. That's a total guess though. But it's definitely larger than a usual detached house. But that's unclear as it is as for example there are huuuuuuugggggggeeeee terraced houses in London, so! It's a peaceful street given it is in central London. Lots of birdsong and a calmness there. Did Freddie own those Mews houses too? They're separate to Garden Lodge, outside its walls and have no obvious connection.
Post above made me wonder about the size so I went to Google Maps. I also tried streetview and this is how it looks:
http://goo.gl/maps/xGwa9zGX4692
I didn't realize that it is possible to pay Google to block a view? I am assuming that Mary was able to do that. A larger house here in the States would be approx 4-5,000 square feet in size so I was just curious and mentally trying to get perspective. Looking at the street though, I was surprised at how close the house is to the street.
[QUOTE] [b]miraclesteinway wrote:[/b]
. . . . The house did look empty. [/QUOTE]
The only part of the house that's visible from the Mews is a gable end section of the roof and part of a window below, how were you able to conclude the house is empty.
Queenbuzz compared to houses in the US Garden Lodge is not large! Probably not even average in terms of size? At least I have family who live in Allentown & their house is huuuuuuugggeee & has acres of land. No one has that, especially not in London!
I mean I say this: you can only see the top bit of the house, so you can’t tell how big it is, but you can assume it’s above a certain size given it’s height & belowa certain size given there’s presumably a fair sized a garden behind the walls too.
[QUOTE] [b]spiralstatic wrote:[/b]
Queenbuzz compared to houses in the US Garden Lodge is not large! Probably not even average in terms of size? At least I have family who live in Allentown & their house is huuuuuuugggeee & has acres of land. No one has that, especially not in London![/QUOTE]
The Queen has :D
