I spotted this one Saturday on the way out of central London, parked by the side of the A40 at Acton. What more can one say?
A long overdue instalment in my occasional series documenting some of the underbelly of Britain. Britain which we wouldn’t like visitors to see and which we wish wasn’t there. The trash, abused, decaying, destitute and otherwise buggered parts of our environment. Those parts which symbolise the current economic malaise; parts which, were the country flourishing, wouldn’t be there, would be better cared for, or made less inconvenient.
These delightful properties are in the parade of shops next to Greenford underground station. Apparently the boarded up shop has been acquired by Tesco and will be opening as a Tesco Express store — although it’s anyone’s guess as to when this might be as it has already been in this state for most of this year.
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Buggered Britain 16
Greenford; 18 June 2013
One of my photographic interests is just sitting somewhere and quietly photography the people who go by.
Yes, before you ask, this is perfectly legal in the UK — you may legally photograph anything or anybody in public or on a railway station (and this includes children) without asking permission — the only exception is if a police officer considers you are photographing something pursuant to an act of terrorism. Moreover no-one except a police officer with a search warrant has the right to confiscate images or equipment or demand you delete images.
Surprisingly in all the years I’ve been quite openly taking photographs in the street and on stations I have only twice been harangued by a member of the public (both of whom thought I was doing something illegal — I wasn’t) and twice approached by a police officer. Both officers agreed that I was doing nothing illegal, although one (who was armed) wasn’t very happy as I was taking photographs near (but not of) some Arab embassies.
A few days ago I was sitting drinking coffee on London’s Paddington Station and was close to the YO! Sushi bar so I couldn’t resist photographing the chefs …
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Sushi Girl (left) and Sushi Boy
Paddingtom Station, London; June 2013
This week’s photo is a new one … A young House Sparrow sitting in our front hedge one day last week. Sensibly it was sitting dozing in the sun, probably waiting for its parents to return with food — typical teenager really!
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Baby House Sparrow
Greenford, June 2013
This week’s photo should appeal to some of my more geeky friends. It was taken at New Romney station on the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. The RH&DR is a 15 inch gauge light railway running along the Kent coast. The 13½ mile line runs from the Cinque Port of Hythe via Dymchurch, St Mary’s Bay and New Romney all the way south to Dungeness, close to Dungeness nuclear power station and Dungeness lighthouse. Constructed during the 1920s the RH&DR was the dream of millionaire racing drivers Captain JEP Howey and Count Louis Zborowski. It now provides a valuable service to the otherwise relatively isolated communities, especially south of New Romney, as well as being a tourist attraction.
In the photo we see a gleaming 4-6-2 Pacific, No. 8, Hurricane, receiving loving attention from her driver while simmering between duties at New Romney station, the line’s HQ.
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Hurricane
New Romney, Kent; August 2010
There’s lots more information on the RH&DR on their website, www.rhdr.org.uk, and on Wikipedia. If you’re in that bit of the UK it is well worth a visit for a really fun ride and some great photo opportunities.
This week’s photo is a demonstration of just what one can do with an unpromising subject. This was taken one evening while sitting in traffic in central London (actually on the approach to Hyde Park Corner). The combination of the dusk sky, the lights, the shapes and then the ability to skew the photo in the processing make this (for me, anyway) an interesting shot.
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Concrete Truck
Central London, February 2008
Each week when I choose my weekly photograph I try to do it at random from those I’ve posted over the years on Flickr. This week the dice fell on a crazy self-portrait I did some years ago when I was doing a self-portrait a week project.
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Hockneylated & 13 Artists
Self-portrait; January 2009
The 13 artists referred to are given in the original caption:
This week’s self-portrait: 52 Weeks 46/52 (2009 week 02).
I think the time has come to do another 13 things, so here are 13 painters I admire:
1. David Hockney
2. Nicolas Poussin
3. MC Escher
4. Leonardo da Vinci
5. Hans Holbein
6. Albrecht Durer
7. Eric Gill
8. Willem van de Velde the Younger
9. My mother
10. Rembrandt
11. Mark Boxer
12. Osbert Lancaster
13. Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Actually this week we’re actually going to have more than one photo. One morning last week we went for a little tour round some of our local old churches, mainly because I had promised to take a few record shots of them for the local family history society. It was a blustery, intermittently sunny, morning which kept threatening rain — and I think we all felt more like a duvet day than going out taking photographs. But we gritted out teeth and carried on.
One of the churches on the list was St Mary the Virgin, Perivale. I quite see why it was championed by Sir John Betjeman. It is a tiny gem, right on my doorstep, and I’ve never been to it before.
The church itself has long been decommissioned, although I think not de-consecrated. It is now leased and tended by its Friends organisation and used for small concerts etc.
Most of this I knew, so we didn’t really expect to get access beyond being able to walk down the cycleway that runs alongside.
As we arrived, the sun came out; there were several people tending the churchyard and the church itself was open. Not wishing to impose too much on everyone’s good will we had only a brief look inside and a longer stroll round the graveyard.
Except for those horrible red chairs the church interior reminded me very much of the small churches of the Romney Marsh, especially Fairfield; and also of Greenstead-juxta-Ongar in Essex. Although not really that similar to either architecturally it was the intimacy which was the key. Apart from the tiny chancel the inside is not especially ornate; it would be too much if it were.
But as you see from the photos the setting is a delight. It is surrounded by trees and Ealing Golf Course. And again, although small, the churchyard is a lovely peaceful oasis, just a couple of hundred yards off the busy A40.
Everything was fresh and green, the sun was shining and the birds were singing. You could easily have been in the middle of nowhere. What more could one ask?!
Suitably for a Bank Holiday weekend this week we have a photograph of the English seaside. This is a montage of shots taken almost 5 years ago (eeekkkkk!!!) of Lowestoft South Beach, looking south towards Kirkley from near the Central Pier. As you can see it was a miserable day, with heavy, squally showers blown onshore by a stiff breeze. Typical of England really!
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Lowestoft Seafront
6 September 2008
This week’s photograph is another from our 2010 break in Rye. This is a clump of Sea Kale (Crambe maritima) which grows everywhere across the shingle at Rye Harbour and on Dungeness. It is native to Europe growing along the coasts from the Atlantic as far east as the Black Sea. As you’ll guess from the name it’s related to cabbage and sometimes grown as a vegetable as well as an ornamental plant.
Sea Kale
Rye Harbour, August 2010