Paddington Station's Sculptures and Secrets

 

Sculpture on the corner of Praed Street. Sculpture Called The Wild Table Of Love. 

The |Elephant on The Wild Table Of Love Sculpture. Outside Paddington Station. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

The Wild Table of Love sculpture by Gillie and Marc. Praed Street. Outside Paddington Station

. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

The Wild Table of Love

The sculpture is nothing to do with Alice in Wonderland. It was created by two Australian artists, concerned about animals facing extinction , including the elephant. The idea is that we human are at the same table as the animals and share our world. There are two empty chairs where you can sit and be photographed with the sculpture.

Wikipedia article on Paddington station has a picture of the Paddington Bear sculpture on Platform 1.

Paddington station's official name is London Paddington which is how it is listed in Wikipedia.

The overground section built by Brunel was in his time on the west of London and ran west to Wales. 

The Paddington underground station has exits adjacent and within a complex. The station occupies the whole of a block on Praed Street, including the old station hotel.

The Big Hotel

The old railway hotel was built in grand style. It is now, in 2026, a Hilton.

 They were charging about £400 for a walk-in rate which was the price quoted to me on reception in October. But you might find it cheaper off-peak and booked through booking.com.

Toilets and Shops

The toilets are on ground floor, on platform 1 of the mainline overground station.

Upstairs, above the underground, are branches of Mango and Accessorize. Somewhere to go whilst waiting to meet a friend, or for a break before catching a second train.

Useful Websites on Paddington Station

London Museum

https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/collections/london-stories/paddington-station-bears-westward-travel/

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Paddington_station

TFL (Transport For London)

https://tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/

I have several more blog posts on Paddington, Paddington Bear sculpture, the Paddington Clock.

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2022/09/paddington-bears-in-england-and-south.html

https://tfl.gov.uk/tube/stop/940GZZLUPAC/paddington-underground-station/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_public_art_in_Paddington

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Wild_Table_of_Love_by_Gillie_and_Marc_21.jpg

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Paddington Station, London

 

Morning outside Paddington Station, Angela Lansbury by the sculpture of what looks like Alice in Wonderland's tea party, called The Wild Table of Love. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Wikipedia article on Paddington station has a picture of the Paddington Bear sculpture on Platform 1.

Paddington station's official name is London Paddington which is how it is listed in Wikipedia.

The overground section built by Brunel was in his time on the west of London and ran west to Wales. 

The Paddington underground station has exits adjacent and within a complex. The station occupies the whole of a block on Praed Street, including the old station hotel.

The Big Hotel

The old railway hotel was built in grand style. It is now, in 2026, a Hilton. They were charging about £400 for a walk-in rate which was the price quoted to me on reception in October. But you might find it cheaper off-peak and booked through booking.com.

Useful Websites on Paddington Station

London Museum

https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/collections/london-stories/paddington-station-bears-westward-travel/

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Paddington_station

TFL (Transport For London)

https://tfl.gov.uk/tube/stop/940GZZLUPAC/paddington-underground-station/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_public_art_in_Paddington

Toastmasters International Contests Worldwide

 

I won first place in the Table Topics contest (impromptu 2 minute speech answering a question) at both my London clubs, HOD and Harrovians. At the Area Contest I was placed second.

Angela, second place in the Table Topics impromptu speaking Area contest at Watford

I wrote a poem to sum up the situation.

Toastmasters International

Holds contests twice a year

Clubs send best speakers to compete

At one location, very near

It's for fun, skill, not for money

One contest is impromptu

Four speakers try to be funny

Perform with props. Then interview

Judges have given in their vote

Ballot counters are counting

Interviewed speakers say things of note

While the tension's mounting

I had my moment on the night

When they asked me to recite

That welcome invitation heard

Alas, I can't recall one word!

But improvise, just like a rap

Suddenly some rhymes come back 

I've just one minute left to speak

To be remembered half a week

'Here I stand upon the stage

Helping you to turn life's page

I hope that I shall be a winner -

Then I can go home to dinner!'

I've done the best that I can do

Impromptu, though my rhymes aren't new

Rhymes climb and wave, I've not used half

At least my punchline got a laugh.

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Italian Fruit Desserts - Presented in Fruit, or Flag Colours

The Italian flag colours of green, white and red. 

If you don't want sugary desserts in an Italian restaurant what could you look for or ask for?

 In a Portuguese restaurant a fellow diner asked for a piece of fruit. I thought, that sounds dull. I could buy a piece of fruit from a supermarket. However, the presentation was impressive. The waitress began by deftly cutting off the skin in a spiral which was placed on once side of the desert plate. The core of the fruit was removed. Then the rest of it was cut into neat matching slices which were laid out in a fan shape. 

Fruit-friendly desserts in Italy in the days of the dessert trolley included fresh fruit salad, fresh sliced peaches in syrup, and whole oranges in syrup.

I would suggest

1 Fruit salad presented in a hollowed out half pineapple.

2 Or fruit salad in a hollowed out orange with or without the top half as a cap

3 Three colours of fruit on top of plain yogurt.

4 A tart with concentric circles of different colours of fruit.

5 A platter of discs of kiwi fruit, oranges, and crisp biscuits on a flat, slightly curved platter with a scattering of nuts or seeds or grapes and maybe pyramids of fruit puree or sugar free sorbet.

5 Italian flag or three colours (like tricolour starter) red white and green. For example, strawberries or raspberries or red cherries or a mixture, kiwi fruit or gooseberries or green grapes with mint, and white yogurt, or cream, or white coconut sponge cake or biscuit or white lychees or white almonds or white apple or pear added at the last moment - using lemon juice to stop it going brown, or Jersey milk

6 Three colours of ice cream, red, white, green, could be strawberry, vanilla, pistacchio.

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Italian Fruit Desserts - Classic Dishes

In the good old days of 1950-1990 Italian restaurants and hotels had dessert trolleys which contained fruit as well as sugary desserts. You often were offered a piece of fresh fruit such as a peach, or a choice from a pyramid of fresh fruit, washed but unpeeled, in a bowl.

What else could a restaurant do for somebody who asks for no sugar, diabetic, on an anti-cancer or cancer cure diet, or simply health-conscious?

Nowadays, in 2026, if I want an Italian dessert in a restaurant with fruit rather than sugar, what should I be looking for?  Gemini tells me:

Which fruit desserts are Italian?

Italy has a rich tradition of fruit-forward desserts, ranging from rustic baked fruit tarts to refreshing frozen treats.

Fruit Cakes & Tarts

• Crostata di Frutta / Crostata di Visciole: A classic shortcrust pastry (pasta frolla) tart filled either with fruit jam (like apricot, sour cherry, or plum) or pastry cream topped with a arrangement of fresh seasonal fruits.

• Cassata Siciliana: A traditional Sicilian cake featuring sponge cake soaked in liqueur, layered with sweetened ricotta, and encased in marzipan, lavishly decorated with colorful candied fruits (frutta candita).

• Delizia al Limone: Hailing from the Amalfi Coast, this dessert features light sponge cakes filled and coated with a silky lemon-infused pastry cream and limoncello syrup.

• Torta di Mele: A humble, home-style Italian apple cake spiced with lemon zest and cinnamon, baked until tender and light.

• Crostate di Pere e Ricotta: A regional tart pairing fresh sliced pears with sweetened ricotta cheese, often seasoned with a hint of dark chocolate or cinnamon.

Frozen & Chilled Fruit Treats

• Granita: A semi-frozen dessert made from water, sugar, and fruit juices or purees. Originating in Sicily, classic fruit flavors include lemon, strawberry, mulberry (gelsi), and fig.

• Fruit Sorbetto: A dairy-free, smooth frozen treat highlighting fresh fruit purees like lemon, peach, melon, or forest berries. In Italy, it is often served served directly inside the hollowed-out fruit shell (frutti ripieni).

• Macedonia di Frutta: An Italian fruit salad tossed with fresh lemon juice, sugar, and sometimes a splash of sweet liqueur like Marsala, Maraschino, or Limoncello.

Baked & Poached Fruit

• Pesche Ripiene (Piemontese Stuffed Peaches): A Piedmontese summer staple where peach halves are hollowed out, stuffed with crushed amaretti cookies, cocoa powder, and peach pulp, then baked with sweet white wine.

• Pere al Barolo (Poached Pears): Whole pears gently poached in red wine (typically Barolo or Nebbiolo), sugar, and warm spices like cinnamon and cloves, served chilled or warm with cream or gelato.

• Here are some magic words in alphabetical order:

• Italian - English

• amaretti - almond biscuits, hard

• candita - candied (in sugar, like the American word candy)

• di - of

• e - and

• frutta - fruit

• frutti - fruit (plural, some would say fruits)

• limone - lemon

• pere - pear

• pesche - peach

• Siciliana - Sicilian style

• sorbetto - sorbet

English - Italian

fruit - frutta

lemon - limone

peach - pesche

sorbet - sorbetto

Sicilian style - Siciliano

pear - pere

Where Do The Olive Trees In Restaurants Come From? Are They Real?

 

Decorative Tree In Zaza restaurant, Pinner, Middlesex, NW London. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Decorative Trees In Restaurants

The decorative olive trees used inside restaurants are not real. Why? Real trees need sunlight and drained soil. In a restaurant they need watering, could attract insects and could be a fire risk.

The artificial one look real because thev might use real dead preserved tree trunks, or copies of real trees.

The leaves might be fire retardant silk. Ask Gemini gave me a list of suppliers. I thought there might be one company which provided decorative trees. But a search had found three.  

I saw one in central London.

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Commercial Suppliers for Restaurant Trees

When restaurants and commercial interiors install large canopy olive trees or custom olive branches overhead, they typically source or commission them from specialized UK commercial artificial plant and interior design suppliers, including:

• Evergreen Direct: Creates custom, hand-built artificial olive trees with real natural stems tailored for commercial dining environments.

• Just Artificial: Supplies bespoke, large-scale artificial olive trees with natural trunks built to order in the UK.

• Jas Boutique: Specializes in large-scale luxury faux trees specifically designed as statement architectural pieces for commercial restaurants and hospitality spaces.

• Botanik UK: Offers large fire-retardant artificial trees with natural wood trunks built for public venue compliance.

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Evergreen Direct

I thought about it. I had wondered, why an olive tree? I have seen mock vines along the roof of a conservatory style extension to a restaurant in Hatch End. 

The popular kinds of trees are olives with knotty trunks, and figs for Italian and Mediterranean restaurants, vine leaves and hanging grape bunches for bars. In Asian or Asian style restaurants and venues, 

Cherry blossom with white, pink or purple flowers, bamboo, groves and stems for modern and minimalist style. 

For the tropics and coast, beach bars, beach theme, or rooftop bars, palms and banana palms, jungle effect. 

Singapore

In Singapore a jungle theme restaurant popular with families who had small children was kiddie style, like amusement park theme park restaurants, with monkeys and amusing jungle animals. 

For upmarket hotels, shopping malls, concert halls and complexes, single topiary trees, pairs either side of a doorway. In a line along a straight corridor. 

Corridor and Restaurant in Tenerife, Canary Island

In the El Mirador Hotel in Tenerife there were artificial plants in the curved corridor in the hotel leading to a dining room, where artificial trees are indoors, and an open air area is surrounded by real trees. 

Qualities of Artificial Trees

More factors go into creating the display than you might at first think. You can place a mirror on a wall and half a tree looks like a whole tree. The fire retardant has to be inside and throughout the leaves, not just sprayed on, otherwise cleaners could wash off the fire retardant spray. Canopies in conservatory areas open to the sky or through glass need to be UV resistant so they don't fade.

Overhead Panels Hospitals and Dentists

I first saw an overhead panel in a London hospital, the Ealing branch radiography department.

I then saw another in a dental surgery, overhead illuminated, backlit panels which make it look as if a canopy of trees is seen though a skylight with blue sky showing through the branches. These are welcoming for the nervous, take your eyes of the scary equipment. The panels keep the immobile patient relaxed, not bored or impatient, but lying still during an x-ray, or waiting, before and after. 

Home Installation Of Illuminated Ceiling Tree & Sky Panels

I was surprised and delighted to see that these are relatively inexpensive if you just want one tiny panel to see if  they fit and you like them. I was considering adding one in a small room, toilet, bathroom, bedroom, or kitchen. Even a garage! Or a conservatory to add a light feel in winter when it gets dark in London by 5 pm.

They are designed to that the sides match up to look like one huge tree or canopy. To cover a whole ceiling, you would need several and of course greater expense. But you could install one in a tiny room, or a corridor, eliminating the claustrophobic feel and adding a touch of luxury, the outdoors, space, and amusement.

You can buy ceiling panels from Alibaba, Amazon, Etsy, and many other general suppliers, or specialists.

Useful Websites On Artificial Trees For Restaurants, Hotels, Homes

https://www.artificialgreen.co.uk/pages/commercial-artificial-plants-trees-and-planter

https://replicaplants.co.uk/artificial-plant-installations-for-hospitality

https://www.ceilingtilesuk.co.uk/product-category/lighting/sky-panels/

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Zaza Italian Restaurant, Pinner, For a Family Birthday Meal

We asked AI, Gemini, to find us a restaurant open Sunday night which provided sparklers for a birthday party. We also asked for a restaurant with vegetarian options. I wanted to go to the Argentinian steak house in Whetstone, all you can eat. My son said you have to give them 24 hours notice for the fish option. Besides we wanted to try somewhere new to us.

AI gave us about ten choices. Top of our shortlist was Zaza restaurant in Pinner.

We compared all the reviews on Tripadvisor and Google maps. Zaza seemed to please most people and stay within budget. So we booked.

A Good Start

Zaza Restaurant, Pinner. Photo by Angela Lansbury.  Copyright. 

The restaurant has a double front, easy to find, near the corner. You know the famous promise, 'you can't miss it ' - but you do. We missed it. We drove down the long high street of shops and pubs from the church down to the Park - ending with the lake and Heath Robinson Museum and Pinner station to your left. It's not there. It's in the short run of shops in the road running parallel. In a moment we were there.

Delightful Decor

Lovely lights on the decorative tree. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

I liked the imitation tree branching across the ceiling in both of the two rooms. At night it is attractively lit with white fairy lights.

We were in the less busy second room. Our reserved table was a circular table with a bench alcove. A bench is convenient for spreading your bags around you, off the floor, safely away from thieves. Those on the bench are away from clumsy passers-by who might trip over your bags, or bump into your chair. We could sandwich the 5 year old between two adults on the circular bench so she could not get lost or annoy others and we could attempt to make her eat. 

Music

Music was playing as we arrived but it soon diminished and was never so loud that we could not talk.

Drinks

Prosecco served in a Champagne flute kept me happy. The menu offered lots of drinks available by the glass. Good for the drivers - we had two drivers, two families in separate cars. Also non-alcoholic drinks.

We went without starters as we were saving ourselves for dessert.

The restaurant has a child's menu.

Spaghetti bolognaise was served up with no meat and tomato sauces on the side for a child, at our request.

Main Courses

The salad we ordered as a side dish with one of the main courses contained small green olives.

Lamb in sauce, cheaper than the steak, excellent for a meat eater.

Salad. Potatoes. Zaza Restaurant in Pinner. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Seafood - a good selection of three kinds of seafood.

Chicken with potatoes. I prefer to have chicken in white sauce with mushrooms. I settled for breaded chicken and it surprised me by being acceptable. I liked the small potatoes in herbs.

Desserts

The high point of the meal for me was desserts. 

First, most important, the dessert for the birthday girl. It arrived with happy birthday written on the plate, in chocolate sauce, and a candle. 

She had not ordered dessert, and was not asked to order a dessert so that they had something to put the candle on, which had happened to us once at another restaurant.

It was not just a small round dessert plate but a big oblong plate to take the writing. \Looking at the picture I took, I notice they have gone to the trouble to add a red heart drizzled in a brown chocolate outline. The dessert is on a square surround which looks good - and makes it look larger whilst not overwhelming the diner with sugar.

For health reasons, I would rather have fruit dessert, without sugar. In the old days, back in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, Italian restaurants and hotels, in both England and Italy, would have a dessert trolley and one of the options would be a fresh peach, one of any piece of fruit from a fruit bowl, a fruit salad, or an orange, or pieces of peach or other fruit in a syrup.

I had lemon tart, the nearest I could get to something which sounded as though it contained one drop of fruit. It was attractively presented, with an impressive decorative swirl of red sauce. The sauce was tasty. It tasted of sweet strawberries and sugar.

The bar is by the door and we had been greeted on arrival by somebody who asked if we had booked and showed us to our table. Somebody at the bar said goodbye as we left.

Toilets

Two cubicles, one for men, one for women. Conveniently on the ground floor. Like all the restaurant.

Service

Service was obliging and fast. 

Verdict

Not haute cuisine. We would not rush to go back. But very pleasant once in a while.

Not Michelin standard but good enough and a good price. 

Parking

On Sunday night parking was easy, in the road outside for free. Also in the car park opposite.

What did they not do? What could they add? No flowers on the table. In lieu of a bouquet I had cut a four or five rose heads off my garden roses, and the waitress, at my request for a bowl, brought a drinking glass which I filled with water to act as a small vase.

No chocolates with the bill. But I did not miss them at the time, only in analyzing the whole place with a fine tooth comb, in retrospect. We were quite happy. We had had chocolate dessert.

The Name Zaza

After I got home, I wondered why the restaurant was called Zaza. First, Za or Zaza is an abbreviation or slang term for pizza. Yes, they have pizza on the menu. 

Secondly Zaza is a character in Italian pop culture, and was famous in the 1944 Napolitan song Where is Zaza (Dove sta Zaza).

Thirdly, Zaza is a popular name for friendly family restaurants. The Trattoria Zaza is famous in Florence, Italy. 

If you are wondering where you have heard the name Zaza before in English, it is the name of a biblical character in the Book of Chronicles, an Italian footballer, in rap songs it stands for potent weed (marijuana), and the zebra Zaza is a character in the children's TV series Peppa Pig.

You might also be thinking of the fashion brand Zara. Or the actress Zsa Zsa Gabor. But now you know it is a restaurant in Pinner. 

The Zaza Italian Restaurant group has seven branches. The other six are in Berkhamsted, Bushey, Enfield, Harpenden, Old Amersham, and Ruislip. You can book a private dining room for a fee at Old Amersham, Ruislip and Berkhamsted.

Zaza Italian Restaurant, 

8 Love Lane, Pinner, HA5 3EF.

Tel:020 8866 3883

Useful Websites

www.zaza.co.uk

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