Ugly Beautiful

I can't believe I haven't put photos like these on here already; I started this all this photo-archiving stuff in the first place because I wanted to put together a booklet of images of the Holloway Road for my friends to prove to them that there was more to the area than an A road and some shops and pubs (I never did get around to doing that... I got distracted, as you can tell). So, on a gloriously beautiful February morning in 2007 I set out to take photos of all the things I knew were there, such as the ghost signs, the Odeon, Islington Central Library, old pub names and other bits of architectural interest. But in the process I noticed that many buildings I'd chosen to ignore before, that, on a dull day, look like they ought to be consigned to the wrecking ball, can look great when viewed from the right angle when the sun comes out.

Here's a selection taken all over London, more of which can be found on Flickr.

Polythene growth

Most plastic is grown outside of London these days but occasionally you can spot a parasitic polythene variety blossoming on a tree in a built-up area.

The main and bottom left hand images here clearly show healthy buds forming in the Holloway area.

Harvesting season begins in spring when young birds peck at the buds causing them to burst open. A particularly fruitful tree in Brick Lane is shown bottom right.

Top right shows a delightful picture of a rare polythene tree monkey. These animals usually live in dark vertical tunnels or cuddle together in large groups on wasteland. Often, when they are hungry or as in this case, extremely empty, they are known to climb up into the trees in search of food. Sometimes, weak and shivery, they may get stuck in the tree for months having become too scared to let go. Sometimes they wither and die as shown by the distressing picture middle right.

I am a Londonist

I have just had my first posting on Londonist on the subject of gasometers. Many thanks to Matt Brown* for contacting me and talking me through the process (*no, that's not a shade of paint, and I am sure he's heard that one before!).

I've got plenty more ideas for future posts, so keep checking in. I just knew 2009 was going to a good year!

Click here to see all my Urban Sightseeing posts

Out with the old and in with the new

Here's hoping 2009's going to be a good year, no matter what Gordon throws at us.

These images illustrate how the process of construction and demolition can sometimes produce some wonderful patterns and textures. To see more of these please go to my Flickr set.