V&A John Madejski Garden fountains

V&A John Madejski Garden fountains, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

For more on the courtyard, see here: www.vam.ac.uk/about_va/garden/index.html

V&A John Madejski Garden fountains

V&A John Madejski Garden fountains, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

For more on the courtyard, see here: www.vam.ac.uk/about_va/garden/index.html

Vast and overdone

Vast and overdone, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

The rather bucolic Painted Hall, The Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London

Grandeur

Grandeur, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

The Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London

From Maidenstone Hill

From Maidenstone Hill, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Canary Wharf and Docklands on a grey afternoon, London

Sneaky of me

Sneaky of me, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Elizabeth and Joey, in Greenwich, before saying goodbye

His'n'hers

His'n'hers, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Macbooks glowing happily away, Greenwich, London

Grey skyscape

Grey skyscape, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Part of a tower at the Barbican, London

Alley

Alley, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

It was as colourful as this, but just in a different way. Soho, London.

The sky in the brick

The sky in the brick, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

A warehouse down a back alley off another back alley, round a corner from somewhere, Soho, London

More flat whiteness

More flat whiteness, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Another kind of flat white, in the Milk Bar, Soho, London. I really liked the chair design.

Flat white

Flat white, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

In the Milk Bar, Soho, London.

Diminutive

Diminutive, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

A photographer photographed. Taken from the London Eye

So many people

So many people, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

St Pancras Station, London, on a bleary early morning

Clock and girders

Clock and girders, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

At St Pancras Station, London

Model for a Hotel

Model for a Hotel, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

On the 4th plinth this year, Trafalgar Square, London

Well, back to Belfast

I'm back in Belfast now after nearly 2 weeks in London, and feeling predictably bereft and full of thoughts such as "This time last week, I was doing...". This has only been intensified by working on a small number of photos that I took while there, and which I will now post in order taken. Some of them will be from days already posted about below, and some of them will be from days you haven't seen yet.

Coal Merchant...?

Coal Merchant...?, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Point Hill, Greenwich. Can anyone decipher all of this?

And cut!

And cut!, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Done with Dorian Gray for now. So quite why these actors were still walking along I don't know. It must be an actor thing. The men even tipped their hats to the ladies.

Painted Hall, Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich

Painted Hall, Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Forced inside while they filmed outside. Not bad scenery though!

And action!

And action!, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Very proper.

Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich

Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

From left to right - Chapel dome, arcades, Queen's House, arcades, Painted Hall dome. Notice something strange happening in the foreground - a shoot, whether for film or TV I don't know, of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

Bastion

Bastion, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Some old bastions on the remains of the ancient London Wall, viewed from Bastion Highwalk, Barbican, London.

Sunken water garden

Sunken water garden, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

When this area was rebuilt after the war, the planners envisaged a concrete complex which would provide living space, work space, and play space, as well as water and plants. Still the same today. Barbican, London.

Routes

Settlers, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

A poem in a display on early London, The Museum of London, Londinium.

Lemon Meringue Tart

Lemon Meringue Tart, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

And a steadily busier lunchtime that you can't see around the edges. Fernandez & Wells, Soho, London.

Depths

Depths, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Just up the street from Ronnie Scott's, a famous jazz club. I have no idea where this leads. Nor do I know why they carpet the ceiling. But it's very very Soho.

Bar Italia

Bar Italia, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Amazing but expensive coffee, Frith Street, Soho.

Cakes

Cakes, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

And Old Compton Street very much in the foreground. As ever. It's more than the sum of its parts.

Intrepid Fox

Intrepid Fox, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

This Soho pub closed a while ago and is sadly boarded up and dead. But the carvings on the corner still remain.

Now, where was that album taken?

Find out.

On the London Eye

On the London Eye, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey behind on the right, and Battersea Power Station with its 4 white chimneys behind and left of centre.

On the London Eye

On the London Eye, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Right foreground: Charing Cross station with some trains poking out onto the exterior. On the left: Nelson's Column and Trafalgar Square. Behind: Soho, Covent Garden, and on the right the wooded hills are North London. The wooded area in the middle distance is Regent's Park.

On the London Eye

On the London Eye, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Right foreground: Shell Centre. Behind its white uniform bulk, the circular building with the blue Apple ad is the London IMAX cinema. Middle foreground, the Royal Festival Hall, Nation Theatre, Hayward Gallery et al. Somerset House across the river on the left background, and in the upper right corner is the Gherkin.

Kissy kissy

In St Pancras Station, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Cute couple. In St Pancras Station, London.

In St Pancras Station

In St Pancras Station, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Taken in St Pancras Station, blearily, on a Sunday morning. The sculpture is of John Betjeman, a poet who campaigned to save the building from the bulldozers. Lucky he did.

Model for a Hotel, Fourth Plinth, London

Model for a Hotel, Fourth Plinth, London, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

On the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, London - current work by Thomas Schütte.

Dead

Dead, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Strrrrange shopfront in Soho. Click it to find out more. I was surprised!

Ghosts

Ghosts, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

By the river front of the Royal Festival Hall, London. If you click it, it'll look better.

Serpentine Pavilion, by Frank Gehry

Serpentine Pavilion, by Frank Gehry, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Serpentine Pavilion, by Frank Gehry

Serpentine Pavilion, by Frank Gehry, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Serpentine Pavilion, by Frank Gehry

Serpentine Pavilion, by Frank Gehry, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Serpentine Pavilion, by Frank Gehry

Serpentine Pavilion, by Frank Gehry, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Serpentine Pavilion, by Frank Gehry

Serpentine Pavilion, by Frank Gehry, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Wandered over to see this last night, before the Prom at the Albert Hall. You have the sense while outside it that it is solid and weighty and strong, a real edifice - and when inside, that you are in a very light, open space rather than a building. Like being under a pergola in a garden.

Stilettoes

Stilettoes, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

I don't actually care about shoes, or female ankles. Or male ones, for that matter. This is just here because I like it.

Olympics photo blog

Here is a blog documenting the complete run of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing from one pro photographer's perspective - it has the photos which of course provide the instant wow factor, but also has the photography background which provides the geekery factor also. Enjoy.

On the shelves

On the shelves, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

In lieu of a proper Friday night post, because I am feeling tired and would rather like to chill, take a look at one of my many bookshelves instead. Nosey. Truffle-hunt. Enjoy.

Sunday afternoon

Sunday afternoon, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Taken in the back garden, earlier.

Why cameras were invented

Come on In, originally uploaded by Lisa McKinnon.

Yes, I know that I have never been to Japan. But perhaps one day.

The rule of thirds

The rule of thirds, originally uploaded by peripathetic.

Taken with a brand-new Canon EOS 450D. It's a sharp learning curve!

Light graffiti

IMG_8720, originally uploaded by illum.

An amazing set of photos. Again, sorry, but that is all for tonight...

Voyeurism central

One of the abandoned mansions of Mike Tyson. That is all.

Money Talks - sorry, *talks*?!

Money Talks, originally uploaded by chinese_fashion.

I suppose this all depends on how snooty / particular / loving you are about your coffee. But it isn’t just about coffee, so please do read on.

So, a guy walks into a coffeeshop in Arlington. Over the water in the United States. The coffeeshop is apparently locally renowned for being Very Serious About Coffee. Just my kind of place, really, and everything that Starbuck’s isn’t. He wanders up to the bar, and orders a triple espresso. Poured over ice.

(Here, I have to explain that pouring espresso over ice destroys the crema, that brown greamy goo that sits on the surface. Inside the brown creamy goo are many, many, many of the flavour and smell elements of your little shot of caffeinated delight. Sorry.)

The barista apologises. Explains that it’s against their store policy to ice espresso. The guy fumes, and orders a triple espresso and a cup of ice separately. Pours one over the other. Gets warned that it will lead to a less-than-enjoyable drink. Becomes insulting. Isn’t thrown out, has another drink made for him (as he says, perfectly delicious) a bit later.

Then, he leaves a tip of one dollar with “FUCK YOU AND YOUR PRECIOUS COFFEE POLICY” scrawled on it.

Many interesting questions rear their heads here. One: who’s in the right? Unanswerable. Two: who’s in the wrong? Slightly more clear — the guy, for that insult. Third: does his dollar give him the right to demand anything from a coffeeshop that advises its customers that it doesn’t serve just anything?

I think it says a lot about the wider differences between the work ethic in his country and my country. Here, receiving a paycheck does not mean that you must put up with any shit thrown your way. Indeed, you may highlight important points about your products and policies to customers using your store, or tell off your boss (and, indeed, your customers) for saying something rude to you.

In the States, I get the impression, when you cash your paycheck you sign a lot of your rights away in a very real sense, and your customers (who, I might add, are also employees themselves and should remember their own workaday miseries when about to open their mouths to others) are practically to be treated as if they are on the same level as god. No space for human interplay in a 10-hour workday. No space for you. Or me. Just the wallet and the product.

I won’t harp on the injustices here, or on my distant admiration for the barista and coffeeshop concerned. I will just say this again, though: in their unashamed dedication to an excellent cup of coffee, they appear to be everything that Starbuck’s isn’t.

(Also, lookee here!)

Update: the coffeeshop owner has commented (in a, well... very fiery manner!) on the issue here.

15,000

Geometry, originally uploaded by Denise V&A Web Team.

Well, here’s a thing. A great big thing, made of lots of little ones. 15,000 little Swarovski crystals (black), to be exact. And the work is by Zaha Hadid, who has featured on peripathetic before — as if we matter beside her wider fame!

I don’t have many thoughts on it right now because it was only yesterday that I first came across a photo! But I’m going to do my best to stand underneath it and feel exhilarated, vaguely scared, and frustrated with my camera, when I’m next in London.

Speaking of London, another exciting thing is happening — yes, happening, at Hyde Park. Be sure you don’t miss it — we certainly won’t. We might even refresh ourselves with some coffee on the train on the way home.

Sexual surrogacy. I know: it’s rather jarring after the last thing, but very compelling all the same. Also compelling, a human mirror — a real, live human mirror on a train. People get puzzled and amused, gradually realising this is some glorious mass practical joke.

Not for the squeamish: death of a pig. From a live pig to bacon and pork belly. Videos included. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! But this is where your bacon comes from.

The other day in work, I wasn’t working. Instead I was perusing the work of Ansel Adams, having heard all about him (very famous photographer who had his heyday back in the early 30s and 40s and really made people realise that photography could be art) but hadn’t seen much of his work. And the links at the bottom of the article are really worth exploring. But then, surfing around, I forget where exactly, I came across a page full of old photos of New York City. Marvellous stuff, with which I will leave you. But hopefully not for quite so long, this time.