#berkeley square

[sparklejamesysparkle]

Eartha Kitt takes a taxi cab through London to pay a visit to Berkeley Square garden, photos by Frank Pocklington, January 24th, 1957.

[squishylittlebear]

In London today and happened to be by Tavistock Square Gardens. I'm glad someone else likes this bench too <3

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

No Nightingales is a 1944 comedy novel by Caryl Brahms and S.J. Simon, a regular writing team between 1937 and 1950. The title is a reference to the popular wartime song A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square. The novel is loosely inspired by the legend of the supposedly haunted townhouse 50 Berkeley Square. The story is set in a house in Berkeley Square, haunted by two benevolent ghosts coping with new occupants between the reigns of Queen Anne and George V. 

You can read the book for free online at the archive.org :) <3 (free registration needed)

[ktkellart]

Good Omens London Trip 🐍💞🪽

It's my Birthday today and I treated myself to a trip to London last weekend to see my favourite actor Michael Sheen in Nye at the National Theatre. I made the most of my weekend by combining it with a Good Omens filming location self-tour and I'd love to share it with you all. So, are you ready for the tour?

Here we go!

Starting off with Soho, and the inspiration for Whickber Street, where Aziraphale's bookshop, Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death, The Small Back Room, and the Dirty Donkey are located.

It’s Berwick Street and a record shop that is very similar in shape to A.Z Fell & Co. Bonus points for spotting Duck Lane!

Next is Berkeley Square, a short walk from Soho. The first two photos are of the real Berkeley Square gardens in Mayfair, and the last two photos were taken in the filming location of Tavistock Square across the other side of central London near Kings Cross. I’m sitting on their ‘body swap’ bench in the last photo!

As you can see, the benches are turned around facing inwards now but are the other way, facing outwards in Good Omens.

Oh, and I can confirm that there were no nightingales singing in either location 😭

Heading up the road a few minutes from Tavistock Square to The Enterprise pub where I met a fellow fan who kindly took photos of me posing (I bet the staff thought we were off our rockers!). This is where Crowley drowns his sorrows in Talisker Whisky whilst waiting for the world to end after thinking he'd lost Aziraphale. Omg that poor poor demon, he was really just gonna die along with the world.

Also, one of my favourite moments of season 1 is Crolwey's line: "I heard that. It was the wiggle-on..." then shrugs. 😆 So many emotions in such short a time.

Onto the Ritz. The first two photos are of the real Ritz (a stone's throw from Berkeley Square) and the last one is inside Masala Zone in Piccadilly Circus where the ‘Quite extraordinary amounts of alcohol’ and ‘To the World’ scenes were filmed.

I ate in here alone to get the photo and was so lucky with the table I was given! Perfect discreet snap whilst eating my curry! Haha!

Next up is Battersea Park and the Bandstand. It was a bit of a faff to get there, it's an 8-minute walk from the Battersea Power Station underground and we walked the full length of the park to find the Bandstand, but it was so worth it.

Also filmed here was Gabriel and Aziraphale’s run/jog. Poor Angel is soft scene.

The trees were a little leafier with it being mid-May and the park was very busy because the weather was glorious. They also have a beautiful lake here with herons!

The Heaven & Hell staircase escalators are right over the east side of London in Broadgate Tower, Bishopsgate. I got the overground to Liverpool Street station to get there. It is in a private business building so I politely/awkwardly asked the receptionist if I could take a photo and had to explain about the scene from Good Omens… eek! But he kindly let me snap a photo anyway! (Phew)

The Windmill Theatre was three minutes away from my hotel in Piccadilly Circus, so I wandered up the road to take a photo of where Aziraphale ‘performed on the West End stage’ as Fell the Marvelous. And wasn’t he just?

The scenes weren't filmed here but it was fun to find it anyway.

St James’s Park is up next! I sat on their bench and got my friend to take photos of me posing and had fun editing the first photo. Haha! We enjoyed walking through the park, watching the ducks on the lake and had a nosey at Buckingham Palace while we were there.

The Duke of York Statue steps are at the other end of St James's Park and were fun to walk up. I smiled to myself as I thought of the scene where Crowley says ‘Well let's have lunch? Hmm,’ and Aziraphale turns around, as it was the first time I realised that these two were more than just friends.

Heaven’s top floor, the Sky Garden in Fenchurch Street near Monument is a very tall building with a botanical garden on the top floor. You can visit the sky garden for free, but you do need to book in advance so it’s best to plan ahead for this one. The views of London are breathtaking from the 35th floor and the tropical plants are fun.

My last stop for this visit was Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. I booked a tour on the morning I was due to go home. The first tour is 10 am and lasts an hour, so I dashed off as soon as the tour guide was uttering his last words about the gift shop, across London back to Kings Cross to pick up my suitcase from luggage storage and get the 11:48 am train home!

One I missed and could have easily gone to is St Margaret Street where Newton and Shadwell meet, and Shadwell fleeces Newton for a cup of tea with nine sugars and pockets the change. A bit gutted I missed it to be honest – I love Jack Whitehall (I’m back in London with the family in June so I’ll swing by and update then!)

There are also some other locations a little further afield that I might try to visit on a later date, such as Shadwell's and Madam Tracy's flat down Hornsey Road in Islington, Crowley's Flat exterior in Eastfields Avenue, Best Cafe on Garratt Lane where Crowley meets Shadwell, Crystal Palace Dinosaur Park where the ineffable husbands watch Warlock defacing a dinosaur sign and Antonella's Cafe and Bistro where Crowley and Aziraphale are thinking of ideas to track down the antichrist whist Aziraphale eats cake.

Okay, I’m gonna finish up with the man himself. The very kind, very charming, and VERY patient Michael Sheen The reason for my London visit in the first place. Nye was spectacular OBviOUsLy, but he was super generous with his time at stage door for us all. I got a hug and asked him to pass it on to Aziraphale (that angel really needs a hug) and it made him laugh, which made my night!

Check out my reblog for extra locations when I visited London again a month later, and for a hilarious bonus photo of.... Gabriel??!

Here’s the wonderful map I used -

Check out this interactive Proxi map; made just for you!

from this website:

19 Epic Good Omens London Locations for the Ineffable Explorer

A masterlist of all the Good Omens London locations you can visit today. See the real places where this iconic show was shot!

[2bookworm]

I'm in London and I had to stop by P. G. Wodehouse's house and Berkeley Square!

[greendayauthority]

Berkeley Square | Berkeley, CA | 19 December 1992

[hate5sixofficial]

Operation Ivy 1988-12-19 Berkeley Square Berkeley, CA

[wistfulnightingale]

The Nightingale DID Sing! (Hope & Reassurance)

Part 7 of 8 in The Chess Moves Theory Set by @wistfulnightingale.

Crowley broke our hearts when he said, "No Nightingales." And then The Kiss did us in. But moments later, the nightingale DOES sing. We're distracted, emotionally and visually, and we're meant to miss that moment. It's part of a series of complicated chess moves that are happening between Our Ineffables and the Metatron. (See The Chess Moves Theory Set for the full explanation on that.)

The singing nightingale was discovered by others long before I found it. It's not my idea, and I'm not claiming it. But I don't think it's well known or well circulated, at least not recently, so I thought it was important to talk about it again and include it here. (My search attempts couldn't find anyone who thought the birdsong was a nightingale. I'd love to give proper credit, so if you've run across this before and can let me know where, I'd be grateful!)

It always struck me that Crowley specifically mentioned Nightingales. If they are not actually a couple, if they don't have an "Our Song", why does he even think to say that? We were told (by God as narrator) about the nightingale singing in Berkeley Square, but Our Ineffables weren't! I believe it's because they've been a romantic couple since the bus stop (see An Old Married Couple for more thoughts on this). "A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square" is Their Song. It has been since they dined at the Ritz, with that song being played on the Grand Piano. (I have a headcannon about 1941, but that's another story!)

Under the street noise, as Crowley goes out the door in the Final 15, the Nightingale is singing for them again!

I think Crowley miracled the nightingale song there, as a reassuring message for Aziraphale. Not only as an affirmation of their Love, but as a quiet battle cry. When he said "No Nightingale's," Crowley was saying, "Pay attention, Angel. Listen for when I remind you that it's gonna be okay. We'll fool the bastard yet."

And the audio of a nightingale song is there... Hidden under layers of distraction, but actually there.

When a nightingale sings, there is a combination of melody and clicking sounds. Sometimes it is melody followed by a distinct series of rapid clicks that resembles buzzing or whirring. This buzzing sounds so mechanical that it may remind a person of a typewriter, or a street sound. You can listen to it here, in this YouTube video: Singing NIGHTINGALE-the best BIRD SONG.

Even with earbuds or headphones on, it is difficult to focus on the birdsong in the scene, especially the buzzing part that distinguishes a nightingale from other birds.. It can be heard at regular volume, though. I'm sorry I don't know how to make an audio clip for you!

"I Forgive You." "Don't Bother." We're still emotionally reeling, focused on the pain in their faces. Crowley strides towards the door, pulls it open, the familiar bell on the door tinkles. The camara cuts to Aziraphale, his stammering lips. As we are focusing on his sounds, trying to make out barely-breathed words, the Nightingale sings, a sweet twittering chirp, starting at 47:30. At around 47:32, the buzzing part of the call is heard. By 47:33, the sound ends, the door slams shut, and we're sobbing and trying to pull ourselves together, right along with Aziraphale.

The entire thing goes by in 3 seconds.

In the recent YouTube video by MyWorldIsSpinning, BirgitPa talks about "Nightingale" as possibly being a code word between Our Ineffables:

Did Crowley and Aziraphale fool The Metatron? | Scene Reflection

I'm completely on board that SOMETHING happened during The Kiss, and I love their theory that "No nightingales" was a pre-determined code that helped Azi know what was about to happen.

........

There's also a fascinating discovery/analysis by @sendarya on her Youtube channel about the nightingale song.

Good Omens || End Credit SECRET || A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square

She demonstrates how, if you overlay the song to match with its brief play in the Bentley, "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" perfectly corresponds with the timing of the ending sequence as if made for it! Another (hopefully hopeful?) Clue?

Look for the rest of the Chess Moves Theory Set at @wistfulnightingale to see how I think it all might fit together, in a step by step breakdown. (Added, 6/10/25: I'm not sure if these will fit with the 90 minute finale, even if I was on the right track-- but they're fun to consider!)

Thanks for joining me on this crazy ride!

The 8 Chess Moves MetaTheory Set:

1 - The Metatron Misdirection

2 - The Metatron's Second Coming

3 - Ineffables in Check

4 - A Hefty Jigger of Death

5 - Nothing Lasts Forever

6 - The Circle Kiss Theory

7 - The Nightingale DID Sing

8 - Aziraphale's Jubilant Smile (Not the crazy elevator grin)

Also: The Chess Moves Theory Set, Why Chess & Magic?