Brixton railway Bridge

This bridge at Brixton always used to give me the feeling that I was entering London proper when coming from the South on the A23. To me it was the gateway to the capital. London seems to have grown, and even Purley and Croydon a few miles south with their red zones and London Corporation crests feel more like part of the capital now.

Abinger Hammer

This cyclist was with me for a long stretch of the A25. I kept stopping and he caught up and overtook, then I drove past him...

Abinger Hammer is one of those places that made a strong impression when I was young. Thats the famous Clock struck with a Hammer, jutting across the road, and the Abinger Arms behind.

The Silent Pool

Last time I went to the Silent Pool, near Shere in Surrey, it had dried out and all I could see was its muddy bottom. That was about fifteen years ago and a great disappointment. But today it was full of water but looking a bit overgrown with pond weed. Not quite the tree lined eerily quiet lake, of my imagination. There is a story that a brother and sister drowned here, and she is sometimes seen floating on the surface.

Over Cumnor Churchyard

Brick Lane artwork

When I found him, he was in one of his favourite haunts - Brick Lane in London

Monsters everywhere

Not There...

They had released him from the hospital. But to where? At Paddington Station The Great Western Staff Band played for the people waiting for trains. But he wasn't there...

Huge crowds near the embankment celebrated TFI Friday. But he wasn't there.

He was not there near Nelson Mandela beside Festival Hall ...

Two London Hospitals

St Mary's, Paddington

University College London Hospital

But he wasn't to be found at either. Where is he gone?

Out of picture

The picture shows his brothers and sisters. I presume as the oldest he took this picture. The narrative is his...

"After our evening meal we children took turns doing the washing up. Mother joined us in the kitchen to cook a fresh supply of soda bread. Baker's yeast was scarce but the recipe for soda bread also caused the dough to rise in the oven. She brewed regular supplies of ginger beer and dandelion and burdock drinks. She made the drinks from a 'starter yeast' that had been kept alive with sugar for as long as I can remember. It was still necessary, five years after the war, to obtain a child's green ration book to be able to obtain two eggs, double the weekly ration for adults...."

Just very everyday stuff.

"...On my first contact with other soldiers I was put off by some of their less attractive behaviour, such as drunken brawls, bad language, and boasts of promiscuity. However, after joining in their sports and writing letters for them we became good friends. They were also respectfully quiet when I knelt to pray by my bed..."

Then

"I'm just listening to the football commentary (Malawi vs Cameroon) and he's just said, "The clouds are looking heavy but we know God is with us so it won't rain. But if it does rain we'll accept it as one of God's blessings..."

Finally

He is not in the picture. Where is he?

Not the Lord Mayor's Parade

The Lord Mayor's Parade was making its way down a rainy High Street, but I've seen that just too many times. Instead I went to see the Oxford Castle Mound getting remade.

and Bonn Square getting a massive makeover. These events will not be repeated in my lifetime.

Oxfordshire Artweeks - Oxford

Some understated art at the Oxford Saïd Business School. Images in CD cases. The sheep was my favourite.

Meanwhile at St Marys University Church the back pulpit was decorated with tree etchings.