This is how it's done.

I was walking past "Grafitti Alley" on the Southbank when I came across Shiz creating this piece. You can see the finished thing on his website, here. Lots more of his work there, including his car - he takes commissions.

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London's Elephants - No 26 in a series

It's been a while, but the elephants are on the move again. This stencil work is by OTP Collective, a bunch of artists and designers who get into tagging as well as the more interesting street art. Oh, and OTP stands for One Trick Pony.

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Scoot Along

Scooters and cites go together like, well, like cities and traffic jams. As a cyclist, I'm often forced to observe that there are quite a few young, impetuous, scooter drivers about but I have to say there are definitely one or two top rate blokes that ride scooters.

This is the Scooter Emporium,who focus on the Italian Classic end of the market and can be found in the Old Truman Brewery, off Brick Lane.

Keeping Things in Balance

Somewhere over the last 188 years, the Herbert Group must have decided that "Justice and Strength" was too pretentious a Trade Mark, which is a shame, really. They no longer occupy the building in Smithfield, and the lion lost the scales out of his paw sometime in WWII, but this is still an excellent example of how it always pays to look up.

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Mine's still a pint, thanks

London's pubs have gone through an immeasurable improvement since I last took a photograph. Then, I would have bought my drink and then moved outside. The Nightingale - great pub though it is - is rather small and before the smoking ban In July 2007, was close to unbearable inside from the smoke. Now, inside the pub is a great place to be; the outsides in summer are less than perfect but I'll choose this way every time. The relaxed atmosphere in this shot says what it's all about, for me.

Roamin' about

London dates back before the Romans, you still can't get away from them. But what have the Romans ever done for us?

Coming unstuck

The modern version of a London pea-souper - a man removing that universal carpet of chewing gum that people see have seen fit to discard. Why?? I think any individual caught discarding gum on the street should have their shoes re-soled with non-setting adhesive. Although it's quite plain, I rather like this ambiguous image.

Scrying the future: Hard times for retail

The Selfridge's building has many architectural gems that you may pass over in your rush inside. One of my favourite is this figure, one of a pair by the Oxford Street entrance. She seems to be staring into the future, maybe not the most comfortable place to be over the next year.

TH 2058 - Dominique Gonzales-Foerster

The current Tate Turbine Hall exhibit may not be as immediately engaging as some past ones, but it does improve on acquaintance.

TH.2058 looks 50 years into the future to a London of incessant rain and sculptures kept from growing like weeds. The installation itself lets you wander through, discovering as you go, you can read the full story here.

In addition, you can write a story and be part of it. You've got up to the 1st February. Some of the entries aren't bad.

Great Wall of Cheese

Just along from Taylor's of Old Bond Street in Jermyn Street, is Paxton & Whitfield, who mong the best cheese in London. The great thing about them is that, like British wine merchants, they have great products from around the world. Unlike wine, we really can make cheese in this country.

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A Close Shave

Taylor's of Old Bond Street is the quintessential London shop, walk in and you are transported back over a hundred years. Nigh on everything in the shop, you might have bought when Victoria was still on the throne. It is one of those great places for gifts for men, that little touch of luxury when shaving makes you feel good about the morning. I can recommend their brushes and their shaving cream, and of course, these days, you can buy all their stuff on the web site.

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A chip off the old block

This weekend was the first ever London Ice Sculpting Festival, and they couldn't have chosen a better day. At around -4C at 10 o'clock, there was no way it was going to melt. Not sure what the connection is for London and Ice Sculpture, but it was fun to watch the shapes appear out of the inside of a block of ice.

What a Mess

I rode up town to take photographs today (Saturday), but it was actually too cold for anything. But, I did pass by the preparations for a mass demo from Speakers Corner to the Israeli Embassy, to protest against the war in Gaza. That dreadful situation is a mess, surely not the biggest mess in the world. But, it's top of the media agenda right now. None in that corner of the world have covered themselves with glory, none are in the right. I think that at the moment, the Israelis are probably more in the wrong. But then, are they less so or more so than the US in Iraq? Less or more so than Janjaweed in Darfur? Less or more so than Mugabe in Zimbabwe? Kosovo, Rwanda, Sierra Leone?

A plague on all their houses.

Fight at the local takeaway

Well, I'm not going to win any photography prizes with this, no competition for a Birds Blog or a Nature blog, but I appear to be feeding the local starling population. Although they are always arguing, they get through large quantities of food. It is astonishing the variety of wildlife you can attract, even in London. I've started making up my own for them, mosey over here to read the whole story.

The Frost Fairs

Part 2 of frozen London rivers. The Thames frozen over must have been quite a sight. It used to happen comparatively frequently, the last major event was in 1814 - a full list is here and an account of Frost Fairs here. These slate panels commemorating the frost fairs can be found on the Southbank under Southwark bridge. Photographically uninspiring, but the concept fills me with wonder each time I see them.

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The Big Freeze

Cold and snow don't do London any favours. It's rarely cold enough for it to settle, when it does it gets churned to mucky slush in minutes and our transport infrastructure grinds to a halt. Oh yes, and the light is dreadful for photography. Cycling (carefully) into work I noticed this ordinary-ish scene, with a traffic cone on the frozen Regent's Canal, Canary Wharf in the background and thought to myself: "That's London". Second part of the story tomorrow.

The Bishopsgate Institute

Opened on New Year's Day 1895, the Bishopsgate Institute by Liverpool Street Station has provided an independent meeting place for people with shared interests to learn about a vast array of subjects. This photograph adorning the entrance hall shows a scene from a lecture at the institute in 1910 - the array of faces provides an interesting insight. At a guess, few of you will have walked through the doors, which is a shame as it is one of the few city buildings fairly much untouched by the 20th Century.

I'll be able to tell you more about it in a few weeks time as I've signed up to learn Chinese there.

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Where are you?

The Legible London project has immeasurably improved the lot of the tourist and walker in London. Three cheers for a well executed project - I can't help thinking that it was a product of the Ken era and we are unlikely to see similar initiatives from Boris. Oh well. You can read about the features of this new signage and why it is so good on Diamond Geezer, visit their website, or see a more general view.

For your Pleasure

Doesn't everyone have a soft spot for a carousel? I wouldn't want to go on it any more, but the reminder of the childhood excitement is enough. This one is right by the London Eye, I'm not certain how long for.

There is a way carousel can bring a smile to adult lips, too: here and here.

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London Photos on Parade

The parade presented an interesting photographic challenge - lots that was visually exciting but no real choice over where to stand. I'm quite pleased with some of my shots - the whole lot are here - and this study in brass is among my favourites.

That leaves me with the Rubbish Robot that's worth a mention. And just for the hell of it, this is probably my favourite (2nd fav.) - though I doubt that many will agree with me.

London End

Part of London's contribution to the New Year's Day Parade. Most of the offerings from London were unbelievably dire. This example was among the best. And - while I recognise the effort that went into creating it - our locally provided entertainment was shambolically amateur, especially when compared to the slick US bands.

Let's take a moment to consider the phenomenon. The US seem to be able to interest hundreds of teenagers in the activity sufficiently for them to put the effort into learning and practising their instruments and roles. That doesn't come easy - in the UK it is only the military cadets that seem to show that kind of dedication. I wonder why that is, and if we could possibly learn a lesson from it?

The title of this post echoes the title of 2nd volume of The Image Men, by JB Priestly - a work that presages the arrival of Peter Mandelson 30 years before the term "Spin Doctor" was coined, I recommend it to the house.

Final post looking at the photographic possibilities of the parade tomorrow, in the meantime, there are nearly 40 short video clips of the parade here.

London's New Year's Day Parade

New Year's Day Parade is a great spectacle, and thousands braved the cold to enjoy the show. I found the whole thing quite interesting, and I'll be returning to it and exploring some of the themes over the next couple of days. For today, though, lets just celebrate the pizazz, verve and enthusiasm of the cheerleaders.

January Theme Day - Best of 2008

So 2008 has been and gone. Seen quite a lot of changes here at LDP Towers, including going back to time-consuming film photography and finding I have less time overall for this photography lark. Small inherent contradiction there, but still.

The first of the month (and the year) marks a City Daily Photo theme day - in this case the best photo of 2008. It's never easy choosing your own photos, but I found myself gravitating to my film shots, and the Bronica ones in front of the rest. This shot of Canary Wharf (first seen in April) just edged it for me.

About 150 other City Daily photo sites around the world are joining in the theme day, Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Can I take this opportunity to wish you all the very happiest and - more importantly - healthiest New Year.

Fare Deal?

I would be very surprised if London bus fares weren't a bit of a mystery to anyone outside, so let me help out and explain.

If you have an Oyster card you can either buy advance credit - in which case the fare is £1 - or you can buy a season ticket - in which case the incremental cost of your journey is likely to be zero. Of course, if you have already travelled on your oyster during the day then you may not have to pay extra because the fares are capped at a maximum of £3.30 for bus. That is unless you are combining with tube journeys in which case it depends how many zones you have travelled through. Always assuming that you remember to "touch in and touch out" otherwise you may end up paying for the maximum fare possible - particularly relevant if you make journeys that include those segments of the transport system that due to privatisation are run by companies not in the Oyster system. If you pay cash you need to buy the ticket before boarding which will cost you £2 for each journey, unless you realise that the daily bus ticket is £3.80. Of course, if it is a bendy bus you could do the same as a large number of unscrupulous locals do and travel without paying.

Makes you proud to be a Londoner.

Or you could go by bike ;-)

The Passing of Woolies

There as been a lot said and blogged about Woolworth's closing, and I don't suppose that this all too visible sign of the global recession has missed the news in most corners of the world. For all sorts of reasons, it was probably inevitable, but it doesn't make it any less sad for the 27,000 employees starting the new year without a job. I can't find how many of the 814 stores were in London, but there were few areas without one nearby. Their passing will affect a lot of Londoners quite deeply.

Whitechapel Week - Day 10 - None so blind

Was there ever a pub better named? The Blind Beggar is notorious for being where Ronnie Kray shot George Cornell in cold blood. Walked in and shot him in front of everyone, and nobody saw a thing. Read the story on Diamond Geezer.


I'm away on holiday but daily posting will continue over the holiday period (you get good value weeks round here!)

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