ministry of agriculture food and fisheries in old scotland yard, whitehall ... again

easter sunday ... the bells of saint martin's in the fields were chiming in an expression of purest joy

ministry of agriculture food & fisheries ... carvings by james woodford

hop factors ... opposite the borough market

welsh congregational chapel in the borough, southwark, not far from quilp street

... not to mention marshalsea road, scenes of dickens' childhood miseries

insomniac photographer tiptoes to tripod

3bt

Yesterday morning, tiptoeing out to work at three forty-five, I forgot to take my camera. Naturally, I was assailed by beauty.

Driving west along the Chelsea embankment at six, in a clear still morning, the gold of the Battersea peace pagoda was reflected in a vertical yellow band upon the high surface of the smooth river, and beside it was the pale orange reflection of the setting moon, & as I drove further, so the two reflections gently swapped places as the moon's orange reflection, in pursuing me, overtook that of the pagoda.

Later, during a delivery in the precincts of the Chelsea football stadium, I found a long rough wall was being clad in a vinyl poster ... a massive team photo, the players at the centre, their bodies then repeatedly “photoshopped” ad infinitum to right and left, superimposed with the heads of hundreds of their supporters. In front of this larger than life-sized and perpetually silent audience, two coach loads of schoolchildren from France had just arrived, adolescent girls & boys, they had poured out of their confinement with a football & were playing their own beautiful impromptu game of soccer in the sunshine.

As I was going home on the bus, drained of energy after a difficult day, a lively teenage girl got on with a brand new push chair and a brand new baby. Sitting in the next seat, sharply profiled in the late low sunlight, she lifted him in her arms and kissed his tiny face, smaller than my fist, about twenty times, alternately on one cheek and then the other. He accepted the compliment with good grace.

whitehall 1212

legitimizing empire ... more imperialist clichés

male ? sphinx

royal tank regiment memorial

sometimes, if you twist the cap just so, you can make the bubbles hiss like receding waves

i dreamed about my parents ...

i think our dreams only take a few seconds to happen, even when they seem long & complicated

in this one, i was walking in a sunlit park with an unseen friend, besides a large level expanse of lawn backed by dark trees

i caught sight of my parents walking side-by-side across the grass & looking very happy & relaxed

surprisingly, they looked younger, perhaps in their early forties, and rather prosperous ... well-dressed & well groomed

and i said to my invisible friend something like ...

"i know they are only ghosts, but would you mind if we just stop and watch them until they fade away ?"

i'm rarther fond of signal boxes ... bollo lane junction & level crossing

advanced diagnosis exercises

Q At what point might the patient first have questioned his own sanity ?

A The patient, X, was seen cooking some expensive pork sausages on a Friday evening.

He was then observed searching his fridge for HP Sauce.

Finding none, he was heard speaking in a re-assuring tone, although no one else was present, uttering the words,

"I suppose a little Branston Pickle never did any one any harm !"

fading mural in elspeth road by lavender hill

does garlic have an extensive psychopharmacological literature, major tom ?

passing battersea power station on the way to work ... a thought occurred ...

might it be possible, if the developers aren't in any hurry, for wandsworth to compulsorily re-possess this site at the ridiculous price they sold it for and to devote it to public housing ?

the price of fish

waiting in the line at john's mobile fish stall in the village of horsted keynes last friday morning

sez little old well-heeled lady, a poor imitation of the queen's lady-in-waiting ... "i'll have blah blah blah, please ... er, um, is it expensive ?"

sez wheezy old cockney john, voice deeper than the northern line, a sweet man who should have retired fifteen years ago ... "all my fish is expensive madam, because i only buy the best !"

and he does !

sussex before sunrise

sparrers carnt sing

a couple of weeks ago we were driving around the north terminal at gatwick and we were late for check-in

avis had forgotten to say that their north terminal car rental base no longer exists

trying not to panic after three fruitless circuits, we were back in a lengthening queue at a manic roundabout

from the corner of my eye & through the open window, i saw, on the verge, in a tiny triangle of verdure, a little brown bird that crouched and glared at me, almost close enough to touch, whilst pure & penetrating music gushed from his throat

not a sparrow, but a skylark !

what better omen for the start of a memorable holiday ?

remnants of the magnificent bromley by bow gas works

bromley by bow gas works ... plates and rivets

bromley by bow gas holders are grade two listed buildings

bromley by bow gas works memorial garden

sir corbet woodall also built the "siamese twin" gas holders at kennington

river lea and bow lock ... looking south towards canary wharf

foxhill near wanborough ... once, i perceived a line of trees such as these as if they were a long complicated joke painted by a japanese calligrapher

the gates of benham park in berkshire

eddy fry, the old soldier, and his medal from the great adventure

betty fry, camera shy

tintern abbey again

from saint mary le strand to somerset house to waterloo bridge ... on an annoyingly grey and cold afternoon