Car Service, Toy Town Railway and a fun job

Car had it's service. The drive towards docklands isn't too bad. Tend to be stationary near traffic lights on roundabouts, rest of the time the traffic flows.

Drop off the car and walk to the nearest DLR station. Look at the indicator board. Next train Stratford, 2 mins. 2 mins later a train appears, it says Bank on it. Makes no difference can't get on. Look at board, trains have all moved backwards. 15 minutes later a train finally arrives that it's possible to get on. I'm told the DLR is reliable.

No major work needed on the car so £700 less than last year. Trouble is I get the car at 5:15. Evening rush hour. Traffic not too bad for start of the drive. I go through the stations to find the Oz-Sri Lanka match. Then the traffic grinds to a halt. Move forward a few yards and then stop. It's like this for a few miles. Not enjoying this, wonder how people do this every day. then I see a central line train. People jammed against the doors. It's a warm day so I know what it's like on there. So I think again. In my car I have a nice comfortable seat, air con and my own music. I don't have to put up with 'personal' stereos, inane conversations on mobiles, BO or, on the off chance of having a seat, someone trying to take up two seats. The traffic seems much nicer now.

The other day I had a job photographing make-up. So the interest isn't the model, the clothes or the props just how she is mad-up. It was quite fun. The traffic going there wasn't though. The AA route planner gave a time of 30 minutes. So gave myself an hour. 30 minutes after setting out I had travelled a few miles, traffic was solid in both directions. Made worse by people sitting across junctions - buses are good for this. Got to the clients with a few minutes to spare. I can't put any of these pictures on here. However, I did stick a camera to the dashboard after the car service and was able to trigger it.

So here's a picture of a traffic jam!

Slow bus through a building site

Went to get change from mainline to the Central Line at Stratford and noticed the tube passengers where all standing by the doors. Decided to get back on the overground, then heard announcement that Central Line wasn't running. At Liverpool Street I went for a bit of a walk, had a look at the old Stock Exchange Tower where I used to work. It's being refurbished and the ugly concrete is being covered with glass. Do not know if it's possible to make a coffin shaped building attractive but you never know.

Having checked out the old building I caught a bus to get to the west end. Watching the news we're led to believe the congestion charge has reduced traffic. Can't say I noticed. The traffic was moving at less than walking speed, same as it did when I worked in the area in the 80's and 90's. The City is a building site once more. There's always some building going on but it seems to be in one of it's busy times at the moment. Cheapside has scaffolding most of it's length on both sides. Don't know what new buildigs are being put up but I hope there's some inetersting ones going up. Cheapside was the only place in the City with shops a few years back and had some of the most non-descript buildings in the area. It was always a bit of an architectural desert.

Eventually I gave up on the bus. it was a nice day so I couldn't see the point of going slower than walking speed, different if it was snowing or raining (though I like rain and snow).

I did take a picture out of the back of the bus using the old Ixus. it sums up the journey, a traffic queue and a building crane.

Motorcycle Orchestra

Interesting past week or so. My laptop packed in. Kept rebooting itself and wouldn't start in safe mode. Warranty expired about three weeks back. Worked out it was the memory by taking bits out and re-starting until it worked. Amazing how slow it is just running on 512, bought a replacement 512 so back up to a gig and working at decent speed.

A couple of days later I broke my sunglasses. Don't know why I'm surprised, every year I break a pair. Then my season ticket got mangled so I spent a day having to get LU staff let me through the barriers. Then today I went to add the copyright sign to some photos and the Photoshop action decided it couldn't add it. Had a closer look and three steps had vanished from the action. So I've just recorded the process again.

A photo I sent to a customer seems to have gone astray in the post. No sign of it on the tracking system. Took two weeks to get the cheque from them now I've got to say the order has got lost in the post, sounds lame. Ah well good news today. I've been left £5.1m in someones will. I've never heard of the person and the law firm doesn't exist. Wonder if it's a scam?????(no I'm not serious I know it's a scam)

Went to Queensway Station today. It's one of those with lifts. A very bossy voice tells you to keep clear of the doors. Had a walk through Kensington Gardens. Hazy sunshine, warm enough for short sleeves, pity about the broken sunglasses. Got to the Albert Memorial and found a motorbike orchestra 'rev for a reason'. Drums, piano, brass and motorbikes. It was related to a campaign concerning accident rates for motorbikes

http://www.revforareason.net/index.php

I took some photos during the wander. I think it's easy to figure out which are of the orchestra and which are of Kensington Gardens.

High Easter

Drove to High Easter, a village in Essex, today. Drive took the usual form. Tail back from the Redbridge roundabout, today drivers on the A12 let me out rather than just roll across the junction. Usual stuff on M11, people sitting in the middle lane or wandering into outside lane at 60, protected by the magic indicator if you're lucky. Going along, a sensible gap to the car in front and on comes an indicator on a car going slower than you and they just move straight over into your braking space.

Went trough some roadworks on the way out. I waited at the temporary lights for a minute or so. The queue from the other direction was over a mile long, got to wonder about the light sequencing. Remembered not to go that way on the way home, the SatNav took a few minutes to figure out a new route.

High Easter is a quiet place. I had a walk along the lanes, not much traffic. Nice sunny day. Took a few photos.

Congestion? Whats that?

Drove to a job on Friday morning, had to drive through the local town centre. I was lucky enough to time it after school run but before shoppers turn out in numbers. Drive home was just as empty. Nice clear run, rare event.

Later travelled up west for a drink. Central line was running OK. No strange people or oboe players.

Can't post any pictures I took on Friday. Two reasons - one somebodies paid for them, two they're of accident injuries so aren't very pleasant. So here's a couple from Thursday instead.

One of the Tower of London. It includes one of the typical Evening Standards placards 'someone famous dies'. The other is the entrance to Tower Hill tube station. Unusually nobody is coming out of the entrance. Concepts such as 'exit' and 'no entry' seem to be beyond a lot of tube travellers.

Oboe players on the train?

After yesterdays peaceful trip today's tube ride was a bit odd. In the carriage on the District line there was a man playing an oboe, badly. Competing with this was a man doing Skippy impersonations into his mobile. There were also two people wearing sunglasses, one of whom was an unconvincing transvestite. I've never understood why people wear sunglasses underground, it's fairly dark and sunglasses aren't going to help visibility.

At least the journey home was OK.

Took a few photos today. I haven't processed them though. I'm watching a C4 programme about global warming instead. It's presenting the "it's not co2" side of the argument.

A civilised day on the tube

I travelled to Covent Garden, Soho and Liverpool Street today. Disturbingly there were no weirdos on any of the three tube trips today. No extra loud 'personal' stereos or silly ring tones on the above ground bits. No delays, no long waits, no crowds. The tube was very civilised and good to use today. Wonderful when that happens.

Took some photos of Liverpool Street Station. The modernisation of this station was very good. When I started commuting in was a dark, dingy, cramped place with a leaky roof. It's now light and more open, but they kept some of old Victorian engineering.

inside - out

Not much photography going on

Not much chance to go out yesterday or today. Meeting someone from a marketing co. today.

Yesterday went shopping. As ever I park away from other cars. Yet when I get back to my car I have a car parked on each side of me. Car parks less than a quarter full, I'm not close to the shops. Why do people decide that parking so close to my car it's difficult to open the doors is such a good idea? Is it the colour, a pearlescent Audi blue? Do some drivers have a bird like flocking instinct?

Waiting for the eclipse

No photographs on Friday, too busy drinking. Got home and had an e-mail from from my old office. Another one leaving, two e-mails in one week with the same type of news. Two leaving drinks!

Went out to Epping Forest today, the northern bit, not the southern end I live next to. Journey got off to a good start. Driving towards the Redbridge Roundabout I noticed there was no massive tailback. The I saw the traffic lights weren't working. This is good news as since the lights were put there the tailbacks are permanent and the roundabout is very dangerous to drive on. Lights off, traffic flows and it's much safer as people use the correct lanes. Anyway, only four cars ahead of me, but the driver of the front one seemed to be waiting for a written invitation before pulling out. Eventually he spotted a gap large enough for the QEII and QMII to pull out and he went. After that no waiting, straight round to the M11.

As ever on a motorway I found myself having to go from the left hand-lane to the right to overtake some idiot poodling along the middle lane at 60. On to the country roads to experience another type of odd driving. I find myself sitting behind someone doing 30/40 on the 60mph roads. Get to a village with a 'Slow 30' sign and these people go scampering off. Get through the village, I start building up speed get to 50 and catch up with the same car now doing 30 having gone through the village at 50. Do these people think speed limit signs are inverted? Sometimes I have the pleasure of these people driving behind me. 60MPH road no-one behind me. I slow down for built up area (aren't I law abiding) and suddenly there's someone almost in my boot. Get through the town/village and accelerate. Car that was in my boot vanishes into the distance behind me as they slow down and I go faster.

Park in one of the forest car parks, thankful that I keep my wellies in the boot, and head off with camera round my neck. I like photographing trees. The shapes and pattern of the bark and roots or the forms made by the branches. I look for images that will work in black and white as well as colour, this time of year there's not exactly a lot of colour around. Great thing about wandering around forests is going to bits of it I've never seen before. I came across a small stream, complete with tiny waterfalls; probably helped by all the rain we've had.

Having wandered around for a while it crossed my mind that I've never seen a deer in Epping Forest. Five minutes in the New Forest and I saw three, twenty odd years of wandering around Epping and not one. Then, suddenly, I spotted a rabbit. Then another, then another. Rabbits running round all over the place. I was in bunny central. Didn't take any photos of them, not only were they very fast but I also had the 24-70 lens on. Didn't see the point of putting a 300 on as I wouldn't be able to catch a rabbit belting through the undergrowth.

I turned back towards the the car park and managed to find a boggy part of the forest. Mud up to my ankles.

Drove back home, lights still not working on the roundabout so no tailback again. Hope they're still off tomorrow. Run the photos through Lightshop, converted a few to BW.

I've been nipping in and out tonight checking for the lunar eclipse. Yes it is red.
Here's a couple of pics from Epping. Both fallen trees, I said I like the patterns.

Much more succesful this time

After yesterdays aborted attempt things worked out a lot better today. One hour to Sloane Square, not bad. I didn't have anything to read so I thought I'd look around and see what my fellow travellers were doing, can't look out of the window on the underground! As ever some odd things going on amongst commuters. Bloke opposite was reading the 'Metro' of the woman next to him, even though he had exactly the same paper. She glanced at his paper at which point he moves his paper so close to his face his virtually wearing it. Later two women get on the train. Plenty of empty seats but they choose to stand. Two stops later all seats are taken. Then when someone stands up one of these two women shouts "ooh there's a seat. Sit down you need it". The other replies, equally loudly, "But what about your poor knees? You need it more than me." Why'd they not sit down in the first place? Maybe they had a hidden camera and were trying to prove how people don't give up their seats for women. Could be they just like trying to make people feel guilty.

Later, walking through St. James's Park I came across a pelican sitting on the foot path. This pelican was surrounded by people staring at it. The pelican stands up, takes a step and all these people run around screaming. Have I missed the 'Killer Pelican' headlines that warranted this reaction?

On to Soho and a quick pint, then home. Load the pictures on to the laptop and run them through Lightroom. Adobe have got Lightroom working nicely now it's live. Was so slow in Beta, but the live version is brilliant and it was free!

Got some photos today - Horse Guards,

Sloane Square Station and the "pelican that terrorised St James's Park" - how brave of me.

Start with a failure.

I was going to start this blog off with images from a visit to west London. Unfortunately I got stuck on the edge of London by a fire brigade inspection at Bethnal Green station. So after two hours I had got no-where. So no pictures. Carrying all the weight of the camera gear for no result is a pain, as was walking back home having managed to travel two stops. So I'll put up an oldish photo of part of London I enjoy photographing.

I'll try again tomorrow. I might also start to get the hang of the Blog.