Thursday, December 31, 2009

London Architecture

Shot with Olympus E510
It's often the names you don't know that have most significance. Treadwell & Martin were architects around the turn of the 20th Century who won prizes but never any big commissions. Their buildings, clearly inspired by but different from those on the continent add a lot to the character of London, especially around Mayfair. I like this particularly because of the plainess of the nest door buildings.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 1

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Hats off to you

Shot with Olympus E510
If you really want a hat, Stephen Jones and London is one of the only places to come.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 0

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Guy's Gates

Shot with Olympus E500
This coat of arms sits on top of the gates to Guy's Hospital, and as such dates back three hundred years. After some investigation, it turns out that what I thought were the faces of three grumpy old men are actually leopards. That's heraldry for you, I prefer my version.

Still away for a couple of days.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 0

Monday, December 28, 2009

Innocent Times

Shot with Olympus E500
When I first visited this cafe in the late 80's I had no idea that it was a gay and lesbian cafe (possibly the first in the UK?). The coffee was good, though, and the bloke behind the counter was very friendly .....

(Back from skiing but off for a couple of days. Hope you all had a good holiday, my skiing was great but the event wasn't without some fun and games as I was one of those booked on the Eurotunnel that Friday night)

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 0

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Passing Times

Shot with Olympus E500
Apart from the fading Ghost Sign, the piece of history inthis photo is the old Adana shop in Grays Inn Road. I'm pretty sure there are quite a few out there who will remember running off magazines and handouts off one of these little beauties. Desktop Publishing just doesn't have that same intimiate contact (OK, with ink, mostly)


Away skiing, back after Christmas, pictures should continue if Blogger keeps working.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 0

Saturday, December 26, 2009

London's Imax

Shot with Olympus E620
The Imax Cinema in Waterloo is a singularly unlovely building (IMO) and I've never featured it for that reason. But the other night I was walking past, and thought this view with the snakey bench and shard like lights wasn't too bad.

Away skiing, back after Christmas, pictures should continue if Blogger keeps working.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 0

Friday, December 25, 2009

Happy Christmas!



Happy Christmas to everyone, from me and Mrs Ham!


Away skiing, back after Christmas, pictures should continue if Blogger keeps working.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 1

Thursday, December 24, 2009

REAL Chips



It's always good to know where you can get real chips, instead of those frozen things they fry up and try to pass off as chips. The Pembury Tavern is an excellent place for these.


Away skiing, back after Christmas, pictures should continue if Blogger keeps working.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 0

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Elegance In All Things



This push button on a water fountain in the City dates back to a time when even things that were functional were allowed to be beautiful. From the amount of wear, it was certainly funtional for a long while.

Away skiing, back after Christmas, pictures should continue if Blogger keeps working.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 0

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Where Are You Going?

Shot with Olympus E500
To one of the finest restaurants in London, that has remained at the top of its game all these years. Actually, I'm not, but I would be if I went to Quo Vadis, always a good choice if you would like to impress. (And yes, Quo Vadis does mean, "where are you going?" - nev er understood its choice as restaurant name.)


Away skiing, back after Christmas, pictures should continue if Blogger keeps working.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 0

Monday, December 21, 2009

More Steam! Or What?

Shot with Olympus E500
Do you know, I've never found out the real purpose of this contraption near the Excel in Docklands? I assume it must be some sort of pumping station, or to do with the tube. I't's been there while buildings have popped up around it - this photo dates back to a time when they were being built - I prefer it to a later version where they are built. Anyone know what it really is?

Away skiing, back after Christmas, pictures should continue if Blogger keeps working.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 0

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Shiny Happy Building

Shot with Olympus E500
You can find this building in Langham Street, as you can imagine it really stands out. Built in 1901, it used to be a Nurses Home, now it is a hotel. Full view here. More background here.

Away skiing, back after Christmas, pictures should continue if Blogger keeps working.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 0

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Fish Tales

Shot with Olympus E500
This grill above the door to what used to be Billingsgate Fish Market in Lower Thames Street harks back to a time when people were proud of their trades. "What shall we put on our door?" "Why, fish of course!" But why do they have crowns on their mouths and on their heads?

Away skiing, back after Christmas, pictures should continue if Blogger keeps working.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 0

Friday, December 18, 2009

Hit the Slopes!



I'm off skiing in Les Arcs over Christmas, so I'll wish you all a very happy holiday wherever you are. This photo is from the Pullman Gallery window, an antique shop in St James who have the very best collection of skiing related antiques I've ever seen (the only?)

Daily photos should continue, technology permitting. See you all after Christmas.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 0

Thursday, December 17, 2009

They've Landed!!



Well, the 02 does look like a spaceship from here, doesn't it?

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 1

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Royal Opera House

Shot with Olympus E500
Surprisingly, I've never featured the Royal Opera House. Never too sure about Opera, and what makes it worth £800 a seat but that sort of money does at least pay for a rather wizzy website that lets you choose your seat before you buy.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 0

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Everything Must Change

Shot with Olympus E620
On the left hand side, our local telephone directory (dependent on advertising) from 2008. On the right hand side, the new version that plopped through my door today, fully three quarters smaller and, on the spine a slightly desperate reference to thomsonlocal.com - another entrant in the crowded Internet listing melee. Whilst ruminating on the subject I enjoyed watching a fresh faced Paul Young (the only white soul singer, ever?), hard to think it is now over nine years since he died(Not this Paul Young! Doh). Everything must change.

And speaking of change, I apologise for the change in the comments system, forced on my by the people who took over Haloscan, which they are in the process of burying. Everything must change.

posted by Ham at 01:08 -- Comments here: 0

Monday, December 14, 2009

Monday Morning Blues?



Subtitled: Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here. Squeezed onto a London bus on a Monday morning. Doesn't this just say it all? It's (part of) why I cycle in London.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 1

Sunday, December 13, 2009

How To Get Into Movies



On London's unmanned stations (and, I think, all underground stations), there are always intercoms to contact a control room. Given the state of them, I often wonder if they work. But it was the instructions that amused me.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 0

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Model Upstairs

Shot with Olympus E500
I don't know, should I be pleased or worried that I don't find these establishments at all alluring? Still they are a fact of life in all cities, this was in Mayfair. Now, if it turned out to be a model car, that would be different.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 0

Friday, December 11, 2009

The Festival Of The Cash Register



The Festival Of The Cash Register (copyright Blue Witch) is fast approaching, I quite enjoy it. I like buying presents for those I love, and I don't buy for people I don't want to. It's always refreshing to find small, local shops with a sense of style and no Internet presen(t)ce. This is The Orange Tree in Wanstead, showing a remarkably appropriate cushion for this blog. So, do you have more on your wish list, or your give list?

posted by Ham at 00:18 -- Comments here: 0

Thursday, December 10, 2009

London By Night

Shot with Olympus E620
Why waste a good walk across the Thames? I always find it fascinating how mood can change, depending on the direction you are looking.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 0

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Blues In The Night

Shot with Olympus E620
The Hungerford Bridge, late at night.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 1

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Nature Doesn't Do Bail-Outs

Shot with Olympus E620
While the climate change conference is going on in Copenhagen, a group of activists are camping out in Trafalgar Square to draw attention to what they see is the most urgent question of the times: How do we leave our children a world fit for them to live in?

posted by Ham at 00:56 -- Comments here: 0

Monday, December 07, 2009

Remember The Outcast Dead

Shot with Olympus E620
If you walk down Redcross Street near Borough Market, you may be startled to come across gates covered in mementoes marking people remembering all maner of things. This marks the site Crossbones Graveyard, where the Southbank prostitutes were buried , later a pauper's graveyard. Now, it has become something of a phenomenon. Read about the site here or here, see a video here or a more general view of the gates here.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 0

Sunday, December 06, 2009

Pub Names

Shot with Olympus E500
It used to be that all establishments hung a sign outside - after all, most people couldn't read. That tradition is still retained for the pub, and their sometimes curious names have fascinating backgrounds. The Nag's Head possibly dates back to a time when smugglers and pirats would lead a horse with a lantern on a high point to show their seabound colleagues it was safe to dock. Or maybe, it's a reference to a nagging wife, who knows.

posted by Ham at 00:28 -- Comments here: 1

Saturday, December 05, 2009

Pipe Down

Shot with Olympus E500
Even though I dislike cigarette smoke intensely, there's soemthing very evocative about pipe smoke. Maybe it's because we hardly ever encounter it these days. This display of pipes in G Smith, an old fashioned tobacconist in Charing Cross Road.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 0

Friday, December 04, 2009

Come on Dobbin!

Shot with Olympus E500
I am continually astonished by the number of riding schools in London. I've shown the most central one in Hyde Park before, this is my local one in Aldersbrook, Wanstead.At a rough guess, I'd say there was upwards of forty riding stables in London.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 0

Thursday, December 03, 2009

A Cathedral to Sewage

Shot with Olympus E500
This grand building was a fundamental part of Joseph Bazalgette's plan to move the sewerage out of London the Abbey Mills Pumping Station.

posted by Ham at 00:02 -- Comments here: 0

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