Urban Sightseeing for Londonist

I have just loaded up my latest Urban Sightseeing post for Londonist (see right) about how to travel the world (and the Universe!) without leaving London. Read the full article here.

A montage of the some of the photos I used are shown below.

Clockwise from top left: Greece, The Netherlands, Brazil, outer space, Italy, New Zealand, Alaska and Egypt.

Lots more Art Deco pics

Click here to see all my Urban Sightseeing posts

A beautiful day in Battersea

On a gloriously sunny Saturday a few weeks ago, I decided to go for a wander around Battersea.

As I walked across Chelsea Bridge I was confronted by a hideous carbuncle (thanks for that, Charles) masquerading as luxury living accommodation situated between the bridge and the power station. As you can see, in this snap of an illustration on the hoarding that runs around the site, the complex is ENORMOUS and really unsympathetic to everything around it. I went into the central area for a nose about and it felt like I was in a holiday complex on the Algarve, and there ought to be a golf course nearby. How does something as big and ugly as this get planning permission in London? It manages to make that QVC building look cute, and that's no mean feat.

Anyway, rant over. Thankfully I saw this at the beginning of my day and forgot about it until now.

Please enjoy the images below of the nicer things in Battersea...

LRT Scavenger Hunt

On Saturday I went the LRT Acton Museum Depot and took part in  a 'Scavenger Hunt' organised between the museum and Flickr. I was teamed up wth 3 other people and together we became Team Feltham. Questions were cryptic to say the least and I very much doubt anyone snapped the answer to Q15 about the almost beastly 667 bus.  Tallying who got what right at the end seemed a bit ramshackle to me and somehow we were declared the winners (thanks mainly to Esther and Dean). But I now wonder if there may be a stewards enquiry. Not that I will be able to give my prize back as I have eaten them all. (That's Haribo sweets for you!).

It was good fun. Here is a selection of my photos. See them all at Flickr, either in my set or in the group pool where you can vote for and/or comment on your favourite image(s)... so please get voting...

Watch where you're putting your feet!

I am always nagging friends to use their powers of observation more; to stop staring at the pavement when they are walking along the road and look up and around themselves.

OK, so they might spot and avoid the dog poo the pavement pizzas, but do they notice all the interesting they walk over on a daily basis? Things such as ironic bits of rubbish, reflections and, of course, coal holes.

I am now thinking that perhaps I could also been taking photos of the splatter patterns of discarded chewing gum at pedestrian crossings (has anyone ever seen anyone in the act throwing chewing gum on the pavement? I surely haven't). And then there are names and paw prints that were impressed into semi-dry cement, the colourful leaves in the autumn, spray painted instructions for Thames Water workmen that look like abstract art, sunlight reflecting off the broken glass from a burgled car... I could go on and on... and I usually do... so please make do with these...

Row 1: Temporary metal floor in Old Broad Street; mosaic man hole cover in Wandsworth Bridge Road; Hayward's coal hole cover designed to allow day light through; Thomas Crapper man hole cover in Knightsbridge; Donovan [Doyle] written into the cement of London Bridge.

Row 2: Thomas Pryor coal hole plate in Islington; mosaic entrance-way to an old shop in Wigmore Street; reflections in a Deptford cobbled street; directions to Tat (ha ha!) in Southwark; another Hayward's coal hole cover, this time with non-slip areas.

Row 3: Litter bag littering the street in Holloway; geometric patterns around the Gherkin; chewing gum art in Crouch End; reflection of the Astoria and Centrepoint; remnants of a tiled doorway entrance in Wandsworth.

Row 4: Square grille in Northumberland Avenue; Durey manhole cover in Stepney; rubbish washed up by the Thames at Battersea; circular grille in Bloomsbury; shadows at Islington Green