sun dappled

The last post showed us how depressing London can get. The flip side of that means that whenever we get sun, the city seems to jump to life and look even more beautiful than usual.

bleak midwinter

Winter days can be pretty bleak in London, as evidenced by this shot of Battersea Power Station.

Merry Christmas!

May all your wishes come true, large and small.

Christmas Past

Apologies for the unplanned hiatus. Time runs away from me every now and again.

It's Christmas Eve and soon Christmas will be over. Why not keep it going a little longer by visiting the charming Christmas Past exhibits at The Geffrye depicting English homes through the ages, all decked out for the holiday season.

Two Temple Place

Two Temple Place was once the home of William Waldorf Astor. It has recently opened to the public as a stunning new gallery space. There's an exhibition on William Morris at the moment. Worth the trip, and it's free!

flying horse

A flying horse!

Tories Our NHS

Bit of protesting on Embankment.

fishy

The old school of the City of London on Embankment.

LSE building

Some nice architectural details on a LSE building.

Slow Down

Make-shift road worker on Blackfriars Bridge.

kentish night scene

HAPPY THANKSGIVING. I am grateful for many things: family, friends, and London nights like these.

Occupy LSX 2

Another view of Occupy London. There were a lot more tents than I had expected and, unfortunately, the square wasn't smelling too great.

Occupy LSX

 

Finally made it to Occupy London a few days ago. Here you can see the Banksy installation in the form of a Monopoly board.

Thames in the Fog

 

We've had some rather foggy, wintery weather lately (finally got below 50 for the high yesterday). This makes for some spectacular views of the Eye and the Houses of Parliament from Waterloo Bridge.

Kenwood House

As you can see below, the rather impressive Kenwood House glistens in the sunshine on Hampstead Heath. Upon closer inspection, it could use a bit of a paint job...

steamy city

The warm sun after a couple of cold, rainy days makes for a very steamy city. Can you see the outline of the downtown business district in the distance?

kiddies on the heath

A glorious day here in the capital today. And we had a splendid one on Sunday as well. I took full advantage of it and embarked on a five hour meander from my home near Finsbury Park, through Waterlow Park and Highgate Cemetery, stopping at Kenwood House in Hampstead Heath, and finally ending up at the falafel stand on South End Road. Snapped many a photo, including this one of some children playing on the Heath.

the bookshop

Nothing like the front window of a bookshop to fill you with warmth.

Poppy Appeal

Every year in the week or two leading up to Armistice Day--that's today, the anniversary of the end of World War I--the British Legion organize the 'Poppy Appeal'. Volunteers stand outside tube stops selling little paper poppies for donations of any size and proceeds go to helping veterans. Apparently this is also a thing in Canada, but not in the States. Perhaps that's because the poppy is symbolic of WWI, a conflict which doesn't loom quite so large in the American psyche.

Anyway, this is a shot of a video / slide show that is being projected on a building opposite St Pancras International Station. I bought a paper poppy from the nearby volunteers dressed in WWI uniforms.

Tropical Medicine

I find both the art deco design and the 19th-century name of this University of London college to be quite endearing.

Hotel Russell

The grand Hotel Russell, gleaming in the sunshine.

neo-gothic

At Kim's prompting, here is a (relatively) close-up shot of a famous London monument. Probably very easy, but any guesses?

ideally...

I think I will be pursuing that store / building fronts theme for a bit. Until then, I will post some of my leftovers. Here we see a sign from the Frieze Art Fair, now long gone, but an important date in the global contemporary art scene.

Temporary Hiatus

An odd little memorial at Abney Park Cemetery.

I am moving over the weekend and then won't have internet for a week, so this blog will go on a temporary hiatus (thank goodness I reached my 1-year target before the move!). While I'm away, I shall begin musing about how I can evolve this blog into something that will challenge me and hold my interest. I'm thinking of doing themes -- I've really enjoyed shooting storefronts and might do soley that for while.

If anyone has any suggestions for great photo blog themes, let me know. The one-a-day is getting a bit tiring and repetitive: I need inspiration!

See you in a week!

Violin Shop

For all your violin, viola, cello, and upright bass needs.

Abolitionist

Carrying on the cause, even after death.

Church St Bookshop

Bookshop in Stoke Newington.

1 Year!

Hurray! This is my 366th posting! I MADE IT! Who knows if I'll keep up posting one a day for the next year, but I reckon I'll keep posting a few times a week, anyway.

crouch end houses

Gorgeous weather this past weekend. Went for a walk around my new neighborhood in Crouch End.

Theme Day: Mystery Waterfowl

I saw black swans in St. James's Park a fortnight ago. This week was this bandit duck. What is it?

This is part of the City Daily Photo Theme Day: Mystery Object.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

three styles

This is why I love London: ridiculous juxtapositions of styles.

rooftops and blue sky

This weekend is going to be SUNNY and HOT in London. Finally, we get some summer in October. And the view from my window, normally very dull and boring, is suddenly so beautiful with a clear blue sky.

union jack umbrella

A typical scene: a rainy day in Russell Square.

Adele and St. Paul's

Went to see Adele play at the Hammersmith Apollo a few nights ago. She opened the show with her hit "Hometown Glory" and this great background of St. Paul's. A lotta London love going on here.

Big Ben in the sunshine

Gorgeous evening in Westminster.

Monmouth Coffee

Best coffee I've found in London so far. Delicious cafe au lait. Always a long line.

sunny day by tower bridge

City Hall in the foreground and the City in the background.

Southwark Cathedral Lunch

Eat lunch in the courtyard at Southwark Cathedral on a nice sunny day.

Borough!

My favoritest place.

donuts!

Donuts at Old Spitalfields market! Only £2 - £2.20 each!

chipped plaster

I love the way London neighborhoods so often have these weird juxtapositions of nice buildings with deteriorating ones.

oyster card reader on construction site

A weird bit of art. This is a temporary wall hiding a construction site and the little circle on the outside has been turned into an Oyster card machine -- it's the little thing that we tap our travelcards to whenever we take the tube.

blue and green

I like a nice bright color for house facades.

stubby tree

I don't get why they do this to trees in Europe. Anyone know?

V&A

An impressive facade for an impressive museum. I've been to the V&A four or five times now and I am still nowhere near close to seeing everything I want to see.

battle of britain

A close-up from the memorial commemorating the Battle of Britain. You can find on Embankment.

important buildings

A view of some of those important government buildings that make things tick in this country.

black swan

Are those black swans I saw in St. James's Park??