Sunday Best

I spied this lady in her Sunday finery on my way to catch a train. She is obviously off to her church, I suppose she sings (maybe they all do in her church?) and that bag in her right hand is full of food. I could be converted ....

That's The One!

This is by way of being a public service announcement:If you see anyone winning money in a street game of "Find The Lady" or any variant, they are confederates of the shysters looking to take your money. It amazes me that they manage to find some poor sap just about every time, but I suppose that at least they provide an education for the money. These con-artists were on the Southbank by City Hall, and I'm pleased to say that they were foreigners.

Rising from a flame

This phoenix is onthe south face of St Paul's Cathedral. While Wren was building the cathedral, he used the stone from the old St Paul's and inscribed on one of them was the Latin you see here - "Resurgum" - "I Shall Rise Again" which was the inspiration behind this. I find the layers of meaning, with this church rising from the old one destroyed in the Fire of London and the theist vision somewhat warming. Oh, and as an aside, the Latin name was used for one of the early Victorian experimental submarines. I like that, too.

An Old Flame

This gas light is outside Dennis Sever's House in Spitalfields, which is an interesting simulacrum of a relic from a different age. Created by Dennis Severs, an American storyteller who loved London, the rooms are re-creations of the different ages and times of the house, made up as if the people had just left a moment before. Read more about the house here and read his obituary here.

An Orderly Picture

Well, I had to look up and find out what a Street Orderly (such as this child) was. As it was a Victorian profession, this statue from the 1940's suggests more than a hint of romanticism. You can read more about what their job was like, here.

Rock The Casbah

Strangely enough this eastern scene is still in Curzon Street, proof it were needed of how cosmopolitan London is at every level. And if you want to see that video with the armadillo, here.

A Snuff Picture

The houses in Curzon Street, Mayfair, have been there for quite some time, some still have their street lighter snuffers in their doorways. I can't ever pass these by without remembering the I-Spy books, one of which contained the requirement to spot one of these snuffers. Gosh, I can even remember some of the codes...."Ohud Nutingo" was "Good Hunting". A couple of moments searching turns up the fact that they are still about: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-Spy

Nowhere Else

I think there is something very London about this shot, and I don't know quite what. By rights, it ought to look foreign - French or Spanish, maybe - perhaps it is the pub in the background?

Bye Bye Christmas!

As Twelfth Night approaches and we say goodbye to the Christmas season for another year, it is probably best that we don't dwell on the past too much. Prorsum!

Atrium Shopping

In the absence of any hard information, I'd like to lay claim for the invention of atrium stores for London and Terrence Conran. As far as I know, he was the first to make the bold step of carving huge chunks out of store space, replacing the old storerooms with display space, stacking all the stock together with the items to be sold. It is part of our vocabulary of shops these days, but it was hugely innovative when it first started.

I'm on the top of the world....

Holiday snap time, I'm back. So this is at least half of why I enjoy skiing so much - the idea of climbing to the top of the world and throwing yourself off is somewhat strange, and the way that skis and snow give you the ability to range the mountains in ways you could never dream of otherwise is truly fantastic.

And, while I'm up there this song often plays through my mind, I can never escape the poignancy of the contrast between Karen Carpenter's amazing voice, the lyrics and the reality of her life. (For those unaware, the Wikipedia link)

Thanks all for dropping by while I was away, and thanks for all the messages. A very happy and healthy New Year to you all.

The Runner Up

This was my runner up for best photo of 2010, and being so touristy I thought it deserved a re-run.

Off skiing for a week, pictures will continue. Back soon!

New Year Theme Day - Best Photo of the Year

Happy New Year to all, and it is a Worldwide City Daily Photo theme day again - this time best photo of 2010. I'm useless at choosing my own pictures, but I thought I should try to choose one that epitomises this blog: to be both a reasonable photo, and something very much of London. Using that criteria, I ended up with this one of City Hall.

To see what other around the world chose, Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Off skiing for a week, pictures will continue. Back very soon!

Lincoln's Inn Fields

Possibly the last snow shot, I did rather like Lincoln's Inn Fields in the snow.

Off skiing for a week, pictures will continue.

One New Change

This shot is from inside One New Change, a new shopping centre just by St Paul's. Attractive enough as a building, and good enough shops, but did we need another shopping centre?

Off skiing for a week, pictures will continue.

The North Wind Doth Blow....

Watching the open water freeze up and the water birds being forced together is strange. These birds are lucky, they are regularly fed by park visitors. I wonder how others manage to survive?

Off skiing for a week, pictures will continue.

Let's build a snowman or two

Lots to like about this, especially the way that you can build a story about what has happened here, with the rather artistic snow caryatids on the left, and what appears to be one by the younger children on the car bonnet.

Off skiing for a week, pictures will continue.

To Absent Friends

At this time of festivity, let's take a moment to remember absent friends. Cemetery photos can be quite bleak, but I think this one is a little warmer, as it is still remembered.

Off skiing for a week, pictures will continue.

A Very Fine Cat

This is Hodge, Samuel Johnson's cat immortalised in Gough Square and in festive mood, albeit a trifle cold. The bronze is complete with oysters, which Johnson used to feed his cat; at the time they were plentiful and the food of the poor.


Off skiing for a week, pictures will continue.

Ho Ho Ho, Happy Christmas

A very Happy Christmas to you all, may Santa bring you everything you wish for and the next year be a year of health, happiness and peace for all.

Off skiing for a week, pictures will continue.

London Undersnow

Due to the shortness of time and photos, the snow theme continues.

Light Entertainment

Coming up to Christmas there seems to be increasing competition for houses splashing lights all over, ending up with some rather tawdry displays. I quite like this one, though, from down my street.

Come in out the cold

The Princess Louise Pub in Holborn has to be high on the list of anyone looking for a decent place to partake of an ale or two. With a fabulous original Victorian interior, it has been recently restored to incorporate small wood and glass cubicles. What's more, the beer (Sam Smith's) is very cheap - £1.99 a pint.

St Brides in the Snow

The spire for St Brides was supposedly the inspiration for the first tiered wedding cake, it is one of those strange items of synchronicity that the church is called St Brides. It is a fascinating place, a triumph of Wren's artistry and (another?) one that can lay reasonable claim to being one of the earliest places of worship in London, quite a bit of info on their website. I would have liked to have returned to see it draped with snow like royal icing, but it wasn't to be.

It's Heavy, Man

Maybe you thought I was exaggerating yesterday, when I spoke of how heavy the snowfall was. This shot demonstrates it quite well, and lends an unearthly air to the statue for the Royal Fusiliers in High Holborn (Just outside the Prudential building.

The News From London

The news from London is that we are once again in the grip of icy cold weather and a more intense snowfall than most can remember. Rather Dickensian, I would say. Of course, it did have to happen on the first day for months I was out to take photos, so the haul is very limited.

A lesson for the learning

It is VERY cold and icy on the streets at the moment in London. This is what happens when you discover that too late, and the fire brigade have to cut you and your wife out of your car to get you to hospital. Please take care out there.

Hyde Park

There are bits of Hyde Park that don't feel like London at all. Here at the top end of the Serpentine at Long Water it is one of those.

A Gated Community

Holly Village in Highgate is an extraordinary gem. Built in 1865 for Baroness Angela Burdett-Coutts, the eight dwellings inside are all set around their own private green, and very nice it looks, too.If you examine the gargoyles and crenellations you will see more than the ordinary number of little critters; this reflected Baroness Coutts fondness for animals. before you get all sniffy, she went on to found the RSPCA amongst other things. Again with a name like Coutts, the banking family, you might be surprised to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Burdett-Coutts,_1st_Baroness_Burdett-Coutts her life.Unusually, I read there are two for sale, so you could indulge yourself should it take your fancy. And, at under £1M must be a bargain for London.

Scooting up the Mile End Road

It's always nice to see old scooters on the road, these guys are heading out east, possibly to Epping Forest, a common haunt. Also interesting is the Ferodo bridge, one of many up and down the country. It would be interesting to know if they still pay for the privilege or they are kept on for old times' sake (or maybe nobody can be bothered to take them off)

Power Politics

The bridge and chess shop in Baker Street, is another of those interesting shops that London does so well. This is their Political Chess Set, in hand painted porcelain, details are here. So if you've always wanted to thrash George Dubya, or clasp Angela Merkel or Condoleezza Rice this may be just the Christmas present for you.

Street Art

In amongst the graffiti overload, there are little things that make me wonder, "What made you create this?" or even just, "what's the story?" But it's not important, you just move on.

Why don't we stay here a while?

A Greenfinch and two Goldfinch enjoying the catering chez Ham. The nice thing about the recent cold spell is that our garden comes alive with wildlife. Although it's London, regular visitors include these finches, blue, coal and great tits, chaffinch, wren, robin, goldcrest,starlings, wood pigeons, squirrels and my favourites, a pair of great spotted woodpeckers.

The Hungerford Footbridge

When all else fails, there is always the Thames. Plus an aeon ago I promised a photo to show how the Hungerford Bridge is asymmetric, like this.

Street Scene

And from just outside the museum, a street scene that feels like London (and may also feel as if I'm getting a bit desperate for new photos)

The British Museum

The British Museum is a fantastic building, but I appear never to have shown the front of it. Fixed.

Set in Ice

Skating rinks proliferate in London around now, one of the first and probably still one of the best is at Somerset House. Don't suppose their electric bill is very high at the moment.

Shiver me timbers

Crossing Waterloo Bridge today, I thought it LOOKED cold, that's quite rare in London.

Shelling out

Hotels always need to give the illusion of luxury to justify the cost of their rooms (which in London is an awful lot). All I can say is that I'm glad I don't have to shell out for a hotel in London. This, the Hilton in Great Marlborough Street charges a couple £500 per night. I'd need more than a couple of snazzy pieces of furniture in the reception to make me think that was good value.

Sit on it and spin

The Connaught Bridge in London is a swing bridge, pivoting around the centre. This was my attempt to use the sun to inject some dramatic quality; it has been one of my (lesser) lifetime ambition to watch it open. To date, I have failed.

Snow Joke

So it appears that Londoners are suffering from Bigfreezeitus. This is a medical complaint leading to mass hysteria and hyperbole, and can be easily diagnosed by listening for the typical vocalisation that is a groan that can be mistaken for sounding like "It never snows like that in London" and "can't they do something to keep the trains running". Oh, this is a picture from last year.

So you want a snow joke? OK, What's an ig? It's an eskimo house with an outside loo.

St Mary Abbott

This grandly Gothic church by High Street Kensington and Kensington Church Street looks very old at first glance. But, St Mary Abbott is one of George Gilbert Scott's late Victorian buildings. He's the one that did St Pancras Station and the Albert Memorial. Now you know, you can see it.

An Odd Photo for 127 Hours

I was invited to a bloggers screening of 127 Hours, Danny Boyle's new film. As his credits include Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire, I had to see it, whether I blog about something like this depends on how good I think it is, this turned out to be very good but a photo of the bloggers gathering beforehand was the best I could do for an image. The film is the true story of Aron Ralston who ended up having to amputate his own arm with a blunt knife to escape being trapped, after a freak accident while canyoning in Utah.

Given that you pretty much know the story from the outset, the film must have something special to capture your attention for one and a half hours, and this certainly does. The photography, the editing, the narrative drag you into Aron's world and let you understand why he is there. The inevitable accident happens surprisingly early, Danny Boyle draws you down with him, so you understand a little of what it must be like to be there using humour, pathos, bathos and irony - a very British film. The inevitable scene is gruesomely realistic - if that worries you, this film may not be for you - and the fusion of art and reality at the end draws the film to a natural close.

I enjoyed it very much.If nothing else it is a story of soaring human determination. I wrote this without reading other's reactions, you can see other news from the film facebook site

(PS - if you do see this film, you will appreciate how difficult it was for me watching one scene NOT to shout out in the screening "That's one for the blog". You'll know which one.)

December Theme Day - Time

This Month's worldwide City Daily Photo theme is "Time", so there was really only ever one subject I could choose. The only question was, which photo, this I think is a favourite.

To see how others have interpreted the theme, click here to view thumbnails for all participants