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!

Abolitionist

Carrying on the cause, even after death.

battle of britain

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

Memorial

My new job takes me to Westminster where I photographed this memorial to soldiers who died in the First World War. As if an afterthought, they've also etched in a bit at the bottom dedicating it to those who died in the Second World War as well.

I generally don't theme my photos to reflect anniversaries, holidays, or important dates, but this memorial made me think of the anniversary of 9/11 in a weird way and all the people in the world who have died as a result of human hatred. So there ya go, for whatever it's worth.

george orwell wuz here

You see commemorative plaques all over London but the ones dedicated to authors tend to excite me the most.

Vicky

Old Queen Vic outside Buckingham Palace.

Queen Mum and Jockey

The Queen Mother and a jockey grace a monument to the former's memory near Buckingham palace.

hey, thanks, guys

This very odd monument in Regents Park was put there by some guy in India who was just so grateful that English troops protected him during the "Mutiny."

Monument to the explorers

Lisbon's monument to the explorers and Portugal's golden age. A fortuitous passing airplane adds a bit of something extra.

Women of World War II

One of many memorials along the road in Whitehall. Not sure what I think of it. I think I like it...

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.

Edith Cavell?

A famous lady in the Trafalgar Square area.

Communist Plot

And here is the most famous resident of Highgate Cemetery, the Founder of Modern Socalism and the Author of the Communist Manifesto, the man himself. I still can't believe he didn't know the Hammers was the nickname for West Ham United.

Sanding the headstone

Quite a number of the newer graves in Highgate Cemetery are made from wood, which I thought was quite interesting -- in stark contrast to the heavy, imposing, we'll-be-here-forever stone mausolea of the late Victorian period. This one was being sanded down and cleaned up as I walked by.

Highgate

Made my first trip to Highgate Cemetery this past weekend. A lovely sunny evening in a rather beautiful spot of town. Didn't manage to see the West Cemetery which is only open to the public on weekends and only by guided tour. Another time...

America

At the Albert Memorial, statues at each of the four corners depict different regions of the world. This is the one for the Americas, which basically means North America, as far I can tell. Here we see an oddly Grecian-looking American Indian "chief" who appears to be riding a buffalo (pretty sure that never happened). There's also a Daniel Boone type frontiersman round the other side.

True love

This is a view of the Albert Memorial in South Kensington, built by Queen Victoria in honor of her husband. I mean, damn, she must've loved him. This thing is impressive!

Memorial to the Battle of Britain

The spectacular memorial to the Battle of Britain which can be found on Victoria Embankment, not far from the Houses of Parliament. As someone who studies memorials and such for a "living," I really liked it. Must remember to do more reading about the Battle of Britain as the 70th anniversary commemorations were just a couple weeks ago and it was all over the papers.