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Monday, January 31, 2011

Today we walked a different way into Putney.

This is just paint which has been thrown against this green, metal post but with the sun shinning on it.....beautiful.
 The light when l took this image was very strange and l think it makes the image look quite creepy!
This container has four mirrored sides and a wooden top and bottom and appears to have been abandoned here at the Underpass. Why here l wonder? It is not near houses or shops and it is quite solid and heavy. The mind boggles! Ha!
 A company or sign writer with a sense of humour. Look at the first sentence!
 How do l know this is a Manx cat........?
It has no tail! It was a very friendly cat and no matter how much l tried to take an image of it's beautiful face.....it kept curling itself around my feet and purring.
This makes me SO cross. How difficult is it to put it in a bin?
When we lived in Papua New Guinea, we often saw cars,vans and buses covered with white mud handprints. This was the way certain tribes showed they were in mourning for some one. To see this on a tree in Putney....!!!!


Sunday, January 30, 2011

Photo Scavenger Hunt, A day out and a wonderful blue sky!

January 2011.
I had a hard time this month due to illness, weather and a faulty camera but l have done some of the list! I will try harder next time..Promise!!
I managed to do the following words:-
Bubbles.

2. Reflection Surface but not in a mirror.

3. Abondoned building ( modern version of an abondon building l think!)...please note sign on building!


4. My front door but from the in side!

5. Nature. A male Manderin Duck.
Sorry didn' get them all!

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For the first time for days, l went outside this afternoon. It was not as cold as it has been but it was NOT warm. I walk past this bush everytime l go outside my flats and it was the first time l had noticed it  has a round branch!

Before going shopping we had some rubbish to take to the Council Tip in Wandsworth. They do not like you taking photographs but l just had to sneek this one in. It is waste paper compressed down to squares. All l could think of when l was looking at them , was what great dice they would make! Weird or what!
One of the reasons l was quite happy to go out today, was the sky was blue for about the first time in weeks. Having a blue sky seems to make everything right again in the world. It was so nice today...remember l didn't say it was warm!...we decided to take the roof down on the Mini! We were VERY well wrapped up but we did get some very funny looks from people!
I love these structures for containing gas and l think their shapes are fantastic. I particulary liked the shadows on them today.

This next image was one l found outside the supermarket. The children who own these bikes have been very artist in the way they have locked their bikes!
I still cannot get used to Supermarkets and Town Centres being so busy on a Sunday, as if it was a normal weekday. Although it can at times be very useful to have almost everything open on a Sunday, l sometimes miss the quiet of an old fashioned Sunday!

Today in Putney there was Football match going on, so the place was heaving. The "cafe" you see in the next image, where the people are queuing up for Hotdogs is normally a very nice Italian Resturant. Now that owner is is an Entrepreneur !

The last image is of a reflection in a shop window of "us" and our Mini. If you look carefully you will be able to see Tony and then me taking the image! Hope you notice the hats!!

Saturday, January 29, 2011

A look round The Barbican in london

I am going to be staying indoors for the next couple of days for various reasons. The main ones being: getting a silk painting order completed; it is getting VERY cold outside; and, we are laying a new wood floor in my studio. So l thought l would show you some images l have taken around London and may not have shown on this site before.
On one day out, we went to see the buildings around The Barbican Estate. This estate contains The Barbican Centre which is an Arts, Drama and business Venue. There is also The Barbican Library, The City of London's Girl's School. The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, The YMCA and The London Museum.
Most of it seems to be Grade II listed buildings, built in 1949 by Architects Chamberlin, Powell and Bon in the  Brutalist style. It was once voted the ugliest London building in a poll in 2003. The building has a complex, multi-level layout with numerous entrances. Lines painted on the ground to help would-be audience members avoid getting lost on the walkways of the Barbican Housing Estate en route to the Centre. If you would like more information about this building and the area surrounding it, there is alot of information on the Internet.
The next few images are of the area around the flats, cafés and other bits of the Centre. In the Summer, this place is packed as you can imagine. There are the people who live in the flats, people from the schools, the business people, (remembering this in the City of London), theatre going people and visitors.
The pond and waterfall area, l think, are very attractive and can be very peaceful at times. You can often people feeding the ducks, sitting just thinking or reading a daily newspaper.




All around this area of London there seem to be many building that are amazing shapes and also seem to consist of just glass. They are beautiful to look at but, the thought of keeping them clean...!!



And, last but not least, because those who follow this blog know l love cranes... I decided to finish this one off with a white and yellow crane...how pretty! Ha!












































Wednesday, January 26, 2011

BBC Trip

On Tuesday, we went to see a show being pre-recorded at The BBC Television Centre, at White City. We travelled by a No.220 bus from Putney Bridge all the way. I love travelling on the top of a double-decker bus because you can see so much more than from a car. Often when we have come this way by car, we have seen this small child's bike chained to a bike stand. It has been here for ages and it seems such a shame. Wonder why it has been abandoned and who it belonged too.
I have often wondered how people are able to fall asleep on a bus or train? I would feel vulnerable and worried that someone may steal my bag or l would miss my stop. I saw the other day a person on the train with a badge on his coat. It was an offical badge that said.." Please wake me at Angel Station". What a good idea.
One of the places we passed travelling to The BBC Television Centre is The Westfield Shopping Centre. This was taken from the bus, so it is a bit frosty. What l wanted to show you was all the glass the building is made of. Inside the centre it is very light, has broad walkways and contains most of the world's top shops, many restaurants and a few champagne bars.
Isn't this purple railway bridge great?
The image below is the front of the Television Centre. The reason we went there was to see a recording of the television game show called "Pointless". It was episodes 2 and 3 of series 4. We had never seen the show but it is hosted by "Xander" Armstrong, a comedian we admire. The Quiz master was a guy called Richard Osman who so reminded us of Stephen Fry and in our view was the star of the show. Another reason we went was to see what actually happens in a stuidio and how it all works. Oh my goodness...there were hundreds of lights hanging from the ceiling in Studio B. Hadn't realised that audience shouting, laughing, clapping etc. are all acted out by the audience during breaks in the game play rather than live responses. How about BAFTAs for audience participants then? All very interesting. Would go to see another show but not another recording of this particular format. 
For those of you who don't know how all this works, the shows are free but you apply to audience promotion companies such as Applausestore.com to access tickets. Sometimes you are lucky, clearly there is heavier demand for some shows than for others. (NB - Having been awarded a ticket is more of an invitation to queue than a guarantee of access! The companies invite you to subscribe to Priority Clubs to get 'accelerated' once at the venue...)
While we were standing in the queue, l noticed two buildings opposite the Centre. The first one had this sign on it, "lovelyinside.com" and believe me l reckon it would have to be!
The next building had this very funny sign on it......see below. Isn't it great?
Took the oppurtunity to take some "Street Images" while l was waiting in the queue. Normally l feel alright taking close up shots of people while out on the street but today felt different. I think it was because l was in a queue and couldn't walk away easily, or quickly! Ha! No one complained though.









These were some of the people in the queue, who had priority tickets and so went a head of us. The queue was very long and not everyone got in.
It was very cold and had started to rain when this young woman and her friends joined the queue. Boots and shorts...is it Summer or Winter in this young woman's world?
This last image was on the back pocket of a guy's jeans.. love the skeleton image but don't like the spiders web, spoils the effect l think...