re-reviewed and re-recommended

i've been waiting for the chance to photograph battersea reference library in this light

a stuffed shirt in whitehall

... and by golly there woz light ! ... antique gas guzzler by horse guards parade

turkish gun ... on a posh english gun carriage

i'm not fond of guns, but this one has some charm, and illustrates the peculiar vanity of those who bear arms ... made in 1524, "captured" ( does that mean looted ? ) by the british in egypt in 1801 .... when it was already two hundred and seventy something years old ...

the gun itself is said to have been made by murad, son of abdullah, chief gunner in 1524 for "the Solomon of the Age, the great Sultan Commander" ...

the carriage which supports the gun was "executed by mr. ponsonby" c.1804 and constructed in the royal carriage department, founded by J & E Hall, Dartford.

captain scott ... of the antarctic

http://pratie.blogspot.com/2005/04/scotts-fatal-antarctic-expedition.html

and sterna suggested this link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rvKD2PDeik

which is exquisitely appropriate ... thanx

life's little ironies ... sooner or later, what goes around, comes around

an ukrainian restaurant has opened in one of the buildings that face the crimean war memorial

a walk along the embankment, starting from aldwych and walking towards westminster

sir joseph bazalgette

w.s.gilbert

sir walter besant

trickle-down theory vindicated ... at last !

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/reaganomics_finally_trickles_down

i was surprised to learn that ... when they built the first iron bridge across the river severn ...

... that they built the frame first ...

... and then they built the abutments

look in to my eyes and obey me ... you will go to the dulwich picture gallery !

interrred on this spot ... the founders of the dulwich picture gallery

the new coen brothers' film no country for old men ...

( picture of mccarthy and the coens reproduced without permission from time magazine )

you couldn't ask for better evocations of the western landscape than cormac macarthy's

he is a writers' writer

blood meridian and no country for old men are beautifully written stories which i regret having read because they are so disturbingly violent

for many people the depiction of violence in any art form tends to have a kind of pornographic fascination ... many of the cinema's customers could best be described as "users" ... so i've always tended to avoid films that are remarked for their violence & i can't justify going to see this one ... i'm not sure that the tradition of the violent western is needed any longer although i'm willing to accept that the arts must always be free to respond to whatever is fundamental in human existence

however ... despite these gripes, i did enjoy this article about the actor tommy lee jones in yesterday's guardian

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,2242229,00.html

bought flowers

cast iron at the V&A ... the worshipful company of salters

a relic of the salters' guild ... i think their motto translates as "salt flavours everything"

http://www.heraldicmedia.com/site/info/livery/livcomps/salters.html