Thursday, October 29, 2015

Ham Yard, London

            Image courtesy John Nassari

Amara Interior Blog Awards

Last night I went to a very congenial awards ceremony at Ham Yard, the new, luxurious, and appealingly tardis-like hotel not far from Shaftesbury Avenue on the edge of Soho in central London. The nice people at Amara had told me a while back that this blog had been nominated for one of its Interior Blog Awards and, to my great surprise, it got on to the shortlist for the Best Architecture Blog. So it was, I thought, as a shortlister that I went along to the ceremony, to admire the interior, take advantage of the fine double-height bar (I'm propping it up in the picture above, but you have to be quite sharp-eyed to spot me), and give the winners of the various categories the applause they deserve.

So after some chatting, nibbling, and vertical drinking, we were summoned into the theatre (What has this hotel not got? A bowling alley? Wrong: it has one of those as well) for the award-giving. And imagine how my ghast was flabbered when the first award to be announced was in the Architecture category, and the winner was English Buildings. I staggered to the stage to pick up my award (a bit of modern design in its own right) and returned to my seat to take pleasure in the applause and clap in genuine enthusiasm the other 12 or so category winners.

The various civilized aspects of the event included meeting other bloggers and their representatives, chatting to some of the fine people who did the judging, and giving and receiving various congratulations. Another civilized thing was that I did not have to make a speech. That meant that I couldn't make public my thanks to those involved in making this event happen and bringing us all together – the people from Amara, the judges, the award sponsors (including G P & J Baker, sponsors of my award), and... I could go on, but I won't. Thank you all. Brevity is the soul of this blog: a picture, a couple of paragraphs with some personal observation and comment, then I move on. I sometimes think of my posts as Postcards from England. This one is more like a thank-you letter. A short one, but none the worse for that.


15 comments:

marcusweeks said...

Thoroughly well deserved, Phil. One of the very few blogs I read on a regular basis. Keep up the good work!

Hels said...

Well done you!!
I often refer my students to your blog.

per apse said...

Congratulations - always interesting and eye/mind opening - horizon broadening - worth reading and + thus well earned!

David Gouldstone said...

I've been reading your blog for some years with the greatest pleasure. It's always informative and entertaining. The award is thoroughly well deserved. Congratulations!

I look forward to reading many more of your posts in years to come.

Joe Treasure said...

Great news, Phil. Recognition richly deserved.

Philip Wilkinson said...

Thank you all so much for your appreciation and congratulations. They mean a lot to me.

bazza said...

I agree with all of the above and I am happy that you got the clap that you so richly deserved Philip ;-)
CLICK HERE for Bazza’s fabulous Blog ‘To Discover Ice’

Peter Ashley said...

I can see you in the pic! You're the one in a black waistcoat fiddling with the till. Well done Phil, richly deserved.

Philip Wilkinson said...

Bazza: Sounds like Bette Midler talking there! Thanks very much!

Philip Wilkinson said...

Peter: Aha! The trouble was, there was nothing in the till, because the drinks were generously provided by Amara, the company running the awards, no doubt with the help of the generous sponsors, etc, etc. So a merry time was had by all.

Anonymous said...

You deserved it, boyo! One of the best British Arts and Arch blogs I've visited from across the pond.
Cudos for you!
Jim Olym, olympia wa on the other side of planet

Philip Wilkinson said...

Thanks Jim. I'm always pleased from readers from across the pond.

Eileen Wright said...

Overly fashionably late, I'd like to add my warm congratulations too. Well done, Philip. :)

Philip Wilkinson said...

Thank you Eileen. Congratulations from other bloggers are always welcome!

Joseph Biddulph (Publisher) said...

Yes, well deserved. Don't let a sense of importance overwhelm your choice of subject - please don't give up on the obscure and the zany!