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Top Floor Imperial War Museum, London

The top floor is odd, more of a gangway than a floor. The yellow stone octagon you can see out of the window dominates the entrance. And the other floors are strange too with no way to get to the upper floors without walking the length of the building. Or rather, there are two entrances and the one I entered by is a long way from the staircases. And there didn’t seem to be that many exhibits and…

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Zig-Zag Tree

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Sunflowers

So there’s the sunflowers on the wall, the sunflowers on her phone, and the two sunflowers on my phone that took this photo. How many sunflowers is that?

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Between Performances: Trafalgar Square Today

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Everyone Calls Him Charlie

He is one of the Covent Garden street performers and from what I heard from his fellow performers, he is from Iran and has been in the UK for years. He told me it was getting more difficult to connect with audiences because a twenty-five year old doesn’t know who Charlie Chaplin is. In the 1980s and 90s Charlie Chaplin films were on TV, and they knew the character he was playing, but now they…

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Statue of Ronald Wilson Reagan

Statue of RONALD WILSON REAGAN on a plinth outside the former US Embassy in Grosvenor Square, London. Statue bound in plastic sacking, black tape, and red cord. The US Embassy moved from Grosvenor Square near Hyde Park to Nine Elms on the South Bank of the Thames. This is the Embassy at Nine Elms, and I assume the curved covering is designed to block electronic eavesdropping. And presumably…

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What Your DNA Knows About You

Wooden facade covering the stone arches at the eastern end of St James’s Park in London This is a painted wooden facade covering the stone arches at the eastern end of St James’s Park in London while the arches are being cleaned up. We all try to make a habit of not copying other people’s work wholesale – except maybe the people running the LLMs that underpin the various AI offerings. If you…

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Fiat Outside The Italian Embassy

Is it chance that the quintessential Italian car is parked outside the Italian Embassy? The Embassy of Italy in London is the diplomatic mission of Italy in the United Kingdom, located at 4 Grosvenor Square, Mayfair. If you were on the street and if you were to turn your head to look to the right you would see what was the U.S. Embassy that is now located out of the centre of the city.

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Mount Street, W1

Going to meet a friend yesterday, and still exploring London, I walked from Baker Street station to Green Park, and on the way I came across Mount Street, W1, which has the most beautiful architecture. It even has a curve in the road and a church set back so that the whole is more than just a street. it is an area, a place with an identity. I will take a video when I can.

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False Acacia

False acacia, or Black locust – Latin name Robinia pseudoacacia. Resembles a true acacia but is not. Leaves are much brighter yellow than anything else growing around here – so they are easy to spot. It’s in the pea family and it is native to the United States. Because it is in the pea family it can do what other peas can, which is to fix nitrogen in the soil, which enriches it. The ‘Robinia’…

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Colour Match A Photograph

Actually it is Color Match – American English spelling – and it is a tool made by Retouch4me. I came across it in a tutorial by Robin Whalley, who explains how to use it, either the free or the paid version. So far so good. But in the comments to Robin’s article, someone queried why one would bother with Color Match because a ‘match color’ capability is built right into Photoshop. Robin…

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It's A Greeting Card, Google!

Today I finally got around to asking for a review of one of the products on our greeting card shop at Flying Twigs. The product is the only one not approved by Google because of the following: Local legal requirements and safety standards (live animals) – Promotions of live animals or services for the transportation of live animals (e.g. live fishing bait, selling of live animals as pets) It is…

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The Hidden Door At Marble Arch

On a recent walk I noticed a door within the arch of Marble Arch and idly wondered what it was used for. Serendipity Now, because of a small article in The Week about the disbanding of the Royal Parks Constabulary, that led to further articles, I know the answer. However, when I went today to photograph the door, the Arch was surrounded by a hoarding and scaffolding. So a photo of the door…

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Looking

Across from this bench, across the path, was a similar bench upon which I sat. The moment seemed to good to let pass.

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Looking

Across from this bench, across the path, was a similar bench upon which I sat. The moment seemed to good to let pass.

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Chelsea Pensioner At The Chelsea Flower Show

The Chelsea Flower Show is held in the ground of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, and Chelsea Pensioners are about during the show days. Chelsea Pensioners are retired British Army soldiers who live at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, a retirement and nursing home for veterans in London, founded in 1682 by King Charles II. I forgot to ask his name. He told us he saw active service with the Royal…

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The Correct Display Of The Union Jack

Brick wall, drink containers and block of flats with Union Jack on the balcony of a flat. The flag of the United Kingdom is called the Union Flag, or Union Jack. It combines the heraldic crosses of England (St. George’s Cross), Scotland (St. Andrew’s Saltire), and Northern Ireland (St. Patrick’s Saltire) on a blue background. The flag is a symbol of the union of these countries under one…