On the streets

Hi there, on this very peaceful Sunday morning. Well, Friday night I went out with the team of Street Pastors and we had a really good night. It was the best night I've had by far with this team. We had great conversations with many people. My sister was asking if we were planning to go out every week. On reflection I think we do need more of a regular presence in Brixton. So many people there really just want someone to talk to; some of the stories people shared with us were really touching and very sad. There needs to be a continuous presence there of some kind.

Am still trying to figure out how to work my camera so pardon me if the shots aren't that clear.

London At Night

Shots of iconic London landmarks taken yesterday:


Tower Bridge


The London Mayor's Building


The Gherkin


London Bridge

Vauxhall at night

Went out for a bite to eat and to test out my camera again last night. The zoom lens is incredible; it can make out images clearly from quite a distance. Very James Bond!


Ok, so it looks like slop, but it was actually quite a nice meal!! It was egg fried rice and ribs in curry sauce at Noodle Noodle in Victoria.


Swanky Riverside apartments right on Vauxhall Bridge. Very expensive!!




The other side of the River


Showing the shops and eateries under the plush apartments using the zoom lens. I'm several hundred feet away taking this shot using the zoom lens. Impressive!

The London Eye at night

Pricey Apartments

These apartments in Marylebone Road go for a few million pounds each!!

Playing with my new toy!

Hey guys! Two days after I wrote saying that I hadn't received my camera, it arrived!! Typical! I seriously thought of sending it back on principle as it had not arrived when Amazon had promised it would and I was therefore entitled to a full refund. But I reasoned that I would need a camera at some point anyway and there was no point in cutting off my nose to spite my face.

I was surprised at how tiny the camera was; it for sure will fit into all of my handbags!

So, I took it out today for a test drive. I went to my favourite park, Regent's Park, and took some snaps. Not bad, though I say so myself!



A map showing how huge this park is! It isn't as big as Hyde Park, but it is still one of the biggest in London.

What happens in London when it snows?

Greetings on this snowy morning! What a difference a few hours make! On my way home from church yesterday, there was a very light dusting of snow crystals on the ground that were blowing around like fine dust in the strong wind. I've woken up this morning to discover that the whole of London is paralysed because we are totally snowed under. There must be at least eight inches of snow outside our front door. No trains or buses are running AT ALL so I am unable to go to work today (which I'm really sad about even though I'm smiling, lol!!). There are only a handful of cars on the road. Central London is shut, nothing can go in or out. I've just checked the website for my nephew's school and discovered it is closed due to the severe weather so he is staying home. After some persuasion my sister had decided not to go to work, as the conditions really are hazardous. The news reports have said that this is the heaviest snow we have had since 1991. I wish I had my camera so that I could show you. But I've attached a couple of pictures to show you what London looks like, but they really don't do justice to the scenes in the city. I have a feeling that delivery service won't be venturing out to deliver my brand new toy today, boo hoo!! :-(

It tends to be worse outside London, so they are probably buried, almost literally, under a few feet of snow. I don't know if it is going to get worse or better but I will keep you posted! Enjoy your day today!

Here we go again!

Well good morning folks! This morning I took the train to work; as I was approaching my platform I saw a familiar sign on schedule board that I hadn't seen for a long time: train delayed.

I chuckled to myself as I recalled the days of travelling on the Silverlink Rail service 2 years ago, quite possibly the worst train line in the whole of England. I've lost count of how many times the train was cancelled or delayed, in some instances the train was delayed by as much as 50 minutes.

One particular journey was so bad that I vowed to never use the service again. The train pulled into the station late, as per usual, and by this time the platform was thronging with people. We all fought, shoved and squeezed our way on the train and after about two minutes the doors shut. I was holding onto one of the bars that was at eye level for support and some unfortunate soul was wedged in my armpit. Fortunately for them my armpits were deodorised....as they are every morning I hasten to add!!

I could feel a variety of body parts squashed firmly into mine. I tried not to think about which parts they were as the train pulled away from the station. As far as the eye could see on my carriage there were people crammed into every available space. There were more people standing up than there were seated; I think I stopped counting after 100. You could hardly breathe. It was so bad that if the train had crashed we would all have died standing up! If I could have manoeuvred my hands to my phone I would have taken a picture of the sight and sent it to a national paper.

If animals were transported that way there would have been a national outcry with immediate remedies being drafted up in Parliament. But for Silverlink passengers, pfffffft, forget about it. Although that episode was the worst case of overcrowding I'd experienced on that line, it was pretty much standard fare.

As I waited on the platform today wondering what would happen, the train rolled up. It only had three carriages with possibly 200 people to get on. Yep, it was pretty similar to my experience 2 years ago; it all came flooding back to me. After one stop the congestion eased a bit. When I got to my stop I chuckled to myself and shook my head. Some things never change! I'd better steel myself as this is the way I will be travelling to work for the next few months or so!

SNOW!!!!

When I woke up this morning I discovered that snow had fallen. It had pretty much disappeared from around here by lunch time. I'm so glad I'm not working today!!!