Today marked the second day of three spent in London - and this time I remembered the camera!
Don’t expect this quality of posting to continue indefinitely… today’s post could probably be described as a photo journal, from which the photos can be retrieved from Flickr by following this link - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonbeckett73.
The morning started for me when the alarm went off at 5:45am. I seem to be getting into the swing of things now - by 6:30 I was more or less ready to leave the house - which gave me time to sit, relax, and have a cup of tea.
I finally gathered the courage to brave the inevitable cold outside and walked out to a wonderful sky. Of course it was sods law that my route to the station didn’t give me a good view of it for 90% of the journey.
I have no idea what the temperature was this morning, but even wrapped in my thick duffel coat, woolly hat, and with hands deep in pockets I was still feeling it.
The journey into London was pretty undramatic - the advantages of getting on at the start of the line are that you guarantee yourself a seat on the train - which unfortunately cannot be said of the return journey (more on that later).
After about an hour, I arrived at Paddington and joined the throngs of people pouring in all directions throughout the various platforms, coffee bars, and shops. While walking through the station, I am always reminded of the journey I made this summer to meet my friend from Oklahoma - she was stood with a beaming smile at the right side of the display boards.
If you have never been to a big railway station, it’s probably difficult to explain the size of somewhere like Paddington. There are something like 15 platforms, all leading out in the same direction - to the west, and out across britain from the western side of London. While wandering past the platforms, camera in hand, I decided I had to take this…
Isn’t the early morning light wonderful. By now it was 8am, and the “London Underground” beckoned.
I climbed the steps into London’s under-belly, bought my return ticket, and continued on to find most of the major routes through London sealed off. A judicious bit of ear-wigging revealed some kind of fire alert had occurred, shutting down two entire lines.
Okay. Time for a bit of creative problem solving. I wandered over to a map of the rail network, and figured out that if I went to opposite direction for a couple of stops, I could then join an entirely different railway line - one that was not shut down - right to my destination - Liverpool Street.
The photo to the right is of Bishopsgate - on exit from Liverpool Street Station. I don’t really know this area of London very well at all - but I do like all the little side-streets full of cafs, pubs and restaurants. The various establishments are obviously there to cater for the office workers. It’s interesting actually, aside from the famous areas - such as Oxford Street, Nightsbridge, or Leicester Square - there aren’t really that many commercial places in central London - most of it is there for the people at work (and god there are millions of them).
After a day spent pouring over increasingly complex programming, I finally wandered back through the streets towards Liverpool Street at about 6pm, and thought it only fitting that I should take one more shot of the cold, frosty night air…
It’s almost the same scene as the first picture, but of course it’s dark. Isn’t it amazing how cities transform in the night. The grey concrete and glass gives way to vibrant colours, swarms of people, and a sense of energy.
Well - here ends the photo journey. I hope you enjoyed it, and if you want to see the bigger versions of the photos, feel free to head on to Flickr!