urban foxes

Thanks to my brother for snapping this shot while he was visiting a couple weeks ago. These foxes are all over the city.

sunny heath

Seriously. Who can resist the Heath in the sunshine? No, really. Anyone?

"Happy memories with his dad"

There is something really beautiful about the fervor with which the English celebrate their love for football. It's vaguely comparable to the fanaticism around baseball in the States. But what I find most endearing is the obviously very strong bonds formed between English fathers and sons when they support the same team. Here we see dedication stones at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, and I was immediately drawn to the dedications from sons to fathers. Quite poignant and, for me at least, it makes up for a lot of the horror stories you hear about football hooliganism.

books and sun

We have been having some fabulous sunny days this week. These photos are from a little while back, but they capture the glory that is London in the sun. Above is the South Bank book market looking to the west...and below is the same scene, taken minutes later, looking to the east.

Somebody to leeeaaaan on

Sometimes we all need someone to lean on, including this bent old tree on Victoria Embankment.

O2

Visited the O2 a few days ago, formerly known as the Millenium Dome. It's atrociously ugly inside and out and pretty much just feels like being in a cheaper version of a Vegas casino, all fake storefronts and "main streets." I went to check out the British Music Experience -- not really worth the trip, to be honest, but I was impressed with this funky-looking building just outside the arena.

A. Davey, Builder

Bit o' signage in Notting Hill.

Memorabilia

I want everything in this shop window.

Shard from below

Up, up it goes!

Bobby Belting the Ball

England have only won the World Cup once, in 1966. Bobby Moore was the captain of the winning team that year and so his likeness graces the entrance to Wembley Stadium, England's national football pitch.

Wembley

My brother came to visit for a week and I accompanied him on some visits to football pitches around London. I am actually quite a footie fan, but mostly international competitions because I don't support any particular league team. So our tour of Wembley was quite exciting.

Edith Cavell?

A famous lady in the Trafalgar Square area.

Cleopatra's Needle

A bit of good old-fashioned imperialism along the Victoria Embankment.

Monmouth

I'm a huge coffee snob, thanks to Dunn Brothers coffee in my hometown of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Monmouth Coffee, just opposite Borough Market, is about the best I've found around so far. Killer cafe au lait, lemme tell ya.

St. Paul's at Blackfriars

While I always appreciated the symbolic power of St. Paul's Catherdral, it's only since living here that I've come to really love its permanence on the London skyline. I find it oddly comforting that you can see it from so many places around the city, often popping up unexpectedly, reminding you it's still there. Here we see it over the chaos of the Blackfriars Station construction.

Gabriel's Wharf

A sunny day along the South Bank.

City Hall

Relatively classic shot of City Hall and Tower Bridge. I really like City Hall -- looks a bit like a ship with it's sails puffed out by the wind.

spring cleaning

Even public art needs a bit of spring cleaning now and again.

Beigel Bake

A local institution on Brick Lane. And, no, it's not that warm in London yet. This was taken in the summer of 2006.

Empty gallery

Nothing sadder than an empty art gallery...unless it's some kind of installation. This one is the gallery @ oxo on the South Bank.

Street Where the Riches of Ages are Stowed

As that catchy tune from Bedknobs and Broomsticks promises, Portobello Road is the "street where the riches of ages are stowed." And here are some of them. Antiquities for a few bob apiece.

At the risk of sounding preachy, if you go in for this kind of thing, please make sure that you know exactly where the pieces are coming from. Many of them are illegally dug up or looted and smuggled into the country; important artifacts and works of art ripped from their contexts and shipped over to adorn some middle-class Brit's living room. The illicit trade in antiquities is disturbing and disgusting and alive and well. So there's my tuppence.

George Orwell Lived Here

The blue plaque you can see marks a house where George Orwell once lived. I have been finding these all over London -- Orwell apparently lived everywhere. As did Charles Dickens.

These pastel beauties sit along Portobello Road, home to the famous Portobello Road Market. Come back tomorrow to see some of the things you can buy there. Now that's a hook.

Made You Look

Sure did.

Arty house

I think students live here now...

I Kiss You

The Zabludowicz Collection recently installed this art exhibit at an out-of-business dry cleaner's near my flat.

This is I Kiss You by Tracey Emin (2004). There's a full exhibition from 10 March to 12 June just around the corner at 176 Prince of Wales Rd. Neat advertising strategy.

Another Fine Day

More evidence of the glorious day we had on Friday. Not a cloud in the sky. Not a single one. I thought I'd never live to see the day.

One Fine Day

Had a rare cloudless day in the city today. Shirked my duties and went for a walk along the Thames. Snapped these fellows similarly taking advantage of the fine weather.

Behold the Liquid Thames...

Really hard to capture how cool these are.

These huge slabs can be found in a little tunnel near the Millennium Bridge. The etchings depict a famous winter in the 1600s (or thereabouts) when the Thames froze over and people set up market stalls on the ice.

MEAT

Old school butcher's shop in Hampstead. They had some great displays around Thanksgiving time, but didn't manage to take a photo...maybe around Easter.

Tilin'

Bit o' signage.

Hampstead

If you'd asked me a month or so ago what my favorite part of London was, I would've said, without question, that it was Hampstead. This is probably still true (hence the photo above), but my allegiance has been shifting recently to Shoreditch and the City. They're farther away, so I hadn't spent so much time there at the beginning of my year in London, but they have a tremendous array of architecture, history, people, little winding back alleys, and (most importantly) pubs. Still, I'm sticking to Hampstead for the moment.

I have posted this picture before, but it also happens to be my best (or, rather, most representative) picture the Hampstead / Gospel Oak area. The Brits seem to have some real hang-ups about class, so the ones I know tend to turn their noses up when I talk about how much I love pricey Hampstead, but nothing will ruin my enjoyment of those Victorian terraced houses. And the Heath! Oh, the Heath!

This is part of the March Theme Day over at City Daily Photo. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants