Amazing bowl of rich pork ramen at the Japan Centre followed by the Book of Mormon, just round the corner at the Prince of Wales Theatre.
A fantastic performance followed by a trip down Carnaby Street to see the Christmas lights.
Book of Mormon
Category: London
Scchnowing…
It snowed like hell in London last week. Inches of the stuff fell across the city.
Not a train, bus, or tube functioned on Monday. Schools closed. Tuesday wasn’t much better.
Londoners took to the parks to enjoy a spontaneous day off in the snow.
We even talked to each other.
I came across this old piano.
Abandoned and forlorn in a snowy street.
Most odd.
Bus Lane Camera
That’s me.
Craftily zipping down an empty bus lane to beat the lights.
The fine arrived a week later, complete with colour photos and timestamp.
Bastards.
It’s a simple and, no doubt lucrative, formula: £60 now or £120 later.
You shout, you scream, you howl.
You curse the council as spiteful, mean, money-grabbing, devil-worshipping fiends.
You pay.
Then, like a smacked child, you avoid bus lanes.
I loathe these cameras. Everyone does.
They are everywhere and enrage the ordinary motorist.
But they work.
Bus lanes are clear.
Speed limits obeyed.
Lives saved.
But they are still the work of the devil….!
Storm
Humungous storm hit London yesterday and I got caught right in the middle.
Took some pics as it gathered over West London.
You could see a wall of rain approaching the office over the houses.
When it hit, the downpour was intense.
But it passed over quite soon and went on to hail over South London like you wouldn’t believe.
Awesome storm.
Turned out the main signal box at Clapham Junction got hit by lightning and all the trains were cancelled.
Took me 2 hrs to get home. grrrr….
When I eventually got back, there was an amazing double rainbow.
Weird, weird weather we’re having right now.
Kew Gardens
Went to Kew Gardens yesterday.
What a special place.
I didn’t know you could have so much fun with a bunch of plants ! I
f you get the chance, go ! it’s great.
The huge palm houses were hot, humid and spectacular. Some of the big palms were stunningly beautiful, displaying amazing detail and symmetry.
The towering banana trees, giant bamboo and coconut palms were surrounded by endless varieties of smaller plants and flowers.
The Princess of Wales Conservatory is a stunning collection of wet tropical and cloud forest plants along with ferns, cacti and a whole room devoted to carnivorous beasties.
The orchids were delicate and beautiful and the aquarium and aquatic plants awesome.
I loved the underwater tanks with their rays and brightly coloured fish. One little guy seemed genuinely annoyed to be photographed through the glass !
The bonsai trees were arranged in neatly clipped, miniature perfection and the rock gardens laid out with a bewildering array of plants and flowers from literally every corner of the planet.
The Temperate house had whole trees and shrubs from Australia, New Zealand, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Some of the ferns were massive and the centre-piece was undoubtedly the world’s largest indoor plant, the great Chilean wine-palm.
We wandered down to the Evolution House which covered 3,500 million years of plant evolution (think about that for a second !). The first displays showed boiling mud pits and volcanic vents which soon turned into steaming ponds of potent bacteria and algae. Within a few steps this primordial soup gave way to mosses, ferns and damp rainforest before opening up to show a variety pollinating plants. Brilliantly conceived and put together.
I loved it.
It beautifully demonstrated how plants, and later animals, developed over millions of years. I couldn’t help wonder how those obstinate creationists would react to such a place. Imagine a family of fundamental Christians on holiday in London. They believe genesis is fact and evolution fiction. They come to Kew and are confronted with the Evolution House. Do they turn tail and run or sharply warn the kids not to go near ? How could they deny such overwhelming evidence. Surely they can see any notion that ‘God created heaven and earth’ is simply ludicrous.
In the real world evolution is obviously how it happened. Kew really is such a great place to see the wonders of evolutionary development and appreciate the sheer diversity of life.
It’s amazing how many plant species they have. All neatly collected, catalogued and nurtured for our appreciation. The biodiversity of the place is truly astounding. I never fully appreciated how amazing plant life really is…
A great day !
Eros, Piccadilly Circus, London
I’ve never been on the London Eye and thought it about time !!
We headed over to South Bank for a turn on the famous wheel.
It was a bit of a grey day, but WOW were the views fabulous.
You can see for miles in every direction – spectacular. Amazing how quickly the ride flies by. With feet firmly on the ground, we wandered over to Neds to refuel.
The afternoon was devoted to Tate Modern. The museum is fantastic – I’m a huge fan. The exhibits are thoughtful, and beautifully presented. The size and space are awesome.
We wandered through endless galleries, gazing at strangely intense paintings, sculpture and artwork. Rodin’s The Kiss was perfect; Gillian Wearing’s film In Sacha and Mum was disturbing and Michael Landy’s Scrapheap Services was eerie, but compelling. It’s a fantastic place.
We went on to Oxford Street for a spot of retail therapy and strolled through Piccadilly Circus and Soho before ending up at the Loon Fung Chinese Supermarket to stock up on essentials – rice, noodles, sesame oil, Chinese pork dumplings and sweet chilli sauce.
British Museum
Went to the British Museum yesterday.
What a truly wonderful place.
The collection is just stunning. There are exhibits devoted to almost every civilisation in history.
You can wander freely, gazing at ancient Chinese porcelain, Hindu carvings, African masks, Native American totems, Ancient Egyptian treasures, Greek statues, Persian friezes, Burmese gems, Roman jewellery. You name it, it’s there. Fantastic. The amazing thing is… it’s free. You can just walk in off the street.
The Egyptian mummies were strangely errie, The Elgin Marbles sensational and the Rosetta Stone fabulous. We must’ve spent two hours there and barely scratched the surface.
The new Great Court is a wonderful addition and the restored Reading Room a national treasure. I remember doing some research in there 12 or so years ago and it was a dusty and archaic place. Now, it’s fresh and clean.
Also, took a series of photos on Faces at the British Museum, which I think I’ll add to over time.
Notting Hill Carnival
Fab bank holiday weekend. Hung out in Camden on Saturday browsing the endless markets and people-watching.
We ended the day with a smorgasbord of delicacies, dips, snacks and nibbles. Sushi, Thai prawn spring rolls, Greek vine leaves, felafel, fassoulia, kalamata olives and fresh blueberries to top it all off. So scrummy !
Sunday was shopping, shopping, shopping and Monday was Carnival !
The Notting Hill Carnival was fantastic. I’ve never been before and really enjoyed the atmosphere, parades, floats and dancers.
The streets were lined with jerk chicken barbecues, goat curry stands and Jamaican ackee and saltfish sellers.
Massive sound systems pumped out hypnotic tunes and crowds spontaneously danced and partied. The crowds were absolutely massive too.
Took some pics and now feel like I’ve walked a marathon – great day…
snow…
It’s happened again !
We have a bit of snow and the entire country grinds to a halt.
Roads close, flights are cancelled, schools shut, trains fail and cars crash into each other.
Our Scandinavian friends have no problem getting about in FEET of snow. The Americans don’t seem to have any problems either. The Brits are just twats when it comes to snow which really winds me up !
The snow started to fall in London at about 5pm and almost immediately the radio travel news started to report rail cancellations and road closures.
It sounded like a real nightmare. I even heard that some poor woman actually gave birth in a car stuck in the snow !
It took me ages to get home from work and I even had to cancel an evening in Covent Garden because I didn’t think I’d be able to get back…
Just pisses me off when this kinda thing happens. It’s not as if snow is unexpected in winter !
So yeah... 