Commuted to life

The new place

2009-01-10T13:01:00.004Z

Hello there - it's been a while, hasn't it? Keeping well? And the missus? Junior must be coming up to...what, four now? Time flies...

Greetings from my new home in Wollstonecraft, NSW, part of Sydney's quite swanky Lower North Shore. I'm not actually doing any commuting at the moment, but fingers crossed I will be soon.

I've not been entirely idle since I've been over here, oh no. I have been immersing myself in the beer culture and calling it research. Witness my new blog, The Six O'Clock Swill. Bookmark and check often.

Sunsets, new dawns, etc.

2008-05-11T16:09:00.003+01:00

While I was away in Belgium my camera's screen decided to stop working. I took this as a sign. It's been really tough keeping this blog going with being ill recently, and the mechanical failure of my camera felt like a physical manifestation of my difficulty in keeping up with my usually high standards*.

So it's time to take a break. I'll get a new camera in due course, but I can't guarantee I'll start this blog up again. I have an idea for the future which I'll share here first, so check back every now and then for an announcement some time this summer.

Thanks to everyone who has visited since last June. I hope you've enjoyed some of the pictures and understood my (I've been told) rather dry wit. Thanks especially to those who have commented: proof that someone was actually looking in. And thanks of course to Robert, whose photo of the week was my original inspiration.

While you're here, check out some of the categories that I've just put up on the right hand side. I do find it rather telling that diversions is the post leader...

* actual standards may not be high.

May Bank Holiday

2008-05-05T23:59:00.000+01:00

Day One Hundred and Sixty-Six - The New Vortex, Gillett Square, N16

2008-04-30T23:59:00.001+01:00

Dave came down today and we met after work to go and see Tim Berne's Science Friction group (Tim Berne - alto sax, Marc "groovy trousers" Ducret - guitar, Craig Taborn - keyboards, Tom Rainey - drums) at The Vortex in Dalston. I hate the area and am still in mourning for the old Vortex (where you could get a good meal and didn't feel like you were in a community centre) but they keep on putting on the last few people in "jazz" that I'm interested in seeing. And some stuff I'd rather eat glass than see, but there you go.

Good gig, plenty of beer, and a nice prelude to my stag weekend in Belgium. Yes, Belgium.

Day One Hundred and Sixty-Five - just outside Streatham Hill Station, SW2

2008-04-29T23:59:00.001+01:00

The housing boom is over.

Out-takes 7: Day Eight (a) - Crystal Palace Station, SE19

2008-04-28T23:59:00.003+01:00

And one from the Crystal Palace Station car park. Can you tell I had time to kill before my train on Day Eight (a)? If you're wondering what it is, it's a Nissan Figaro, a retro-look car that was actually made in 1991 and only sold in Japan. If you fancy what Quentin Willson called "a suburban Noddymobile", these people might be able to help you. Or your local mental health specialist.

Out-takes 6: Day Eight (a) - Crystal Palace Park, SE19

2008-04-25T23:59:00.005+01:00

More nice signage, at ninety degrees from the picture I took for the Day Eight (a) master shot.

Out-takes 5: Day Six - St James's Park tube, SW1

2008-04-24T21:59:00.004+01:00

Nice signage from Day Six.

Out-takes 4: Day Five - Petty France, SW1

2008-04-23T23:59:00.002+01:00

Is there any finer sight? Pre-Wells/Youngs merger (well, after the announcement but before the brewery was closed) Special being delivered to The Buckingham Arms (currently closed for refurbishment) on Day Five of the blog.

Out-takes 3: Day Three - Crystal Palace Station, SE19

2008-04-22T23:59:00.001+01:00

Back to the doctor's, more antibiotics, signed off work for a week. Time for more out-takes, then.

This was taken hanging over a walkway at Crystal Palace station on the way to work on Day Three of this blog. I like how nature takes over man-made structures, slowly but surely.

Day One Hundred and Sixty-Four - Victoria Station, SW1

2008-04-21T23:59:00.003+01:00

Gentlemen, start your engines (it's thirty points for a couple).

Out-takes 2: Day One - Anerley Road, SE19

2008-04-18T23:59:00.002+01:00

Still ill, so another out-take, this time from 5 June 2007, Day One of this blog.

A close-up of Unwins, which is still empty. Someone's cleared out the posters and other assorted debris and whitewashed the windows, but that's it. When I'm up and running again I might document it's current state.

Out-takes 1: Day Zero - Maberley Road, SE19

2008-04-17T23:59:00.000+01:00

Went to the doctor's this morning and she told me I have a chest infection, sort of an "additional extra" from my 'flu. Antibiotics were prescribed and not going to work was "strongly advised".

With holidays and illness I feel I've been producing fewer pictures recently than I should, so I thought now was the time to share some of those pictures that didn't make the cut the first time. So here's one from 4 June, 2007 - Day Zero of this blog. This is the other side of the Christmas Tree/Bed urban sculpture and is a lovely example of the oft-spotted Maberley Road Mattress.

Day One Hundred and Sixty-Three - Victoria Station, SW1

2008-04-16T23:59:00.002+01:00

The view from outside HMV just after 4pm. Going home early as I feel pretty rough.

Day One Hundred and Sixty-Two - Victoria Station, SW1

2008-04-15T22:20:00.004+01:00

It's competition time! This is a detail of the front over of the book I was reading on the way home tonight. There's an exciting Commuted To Life prize on offer to the first person* who can tell me what book it was. As David Frost used to say, the clues are there.

*People who live with me are not permitted to enter as they can just look in my bag and find out.

Day One Hundred and Sixty-One - Anerley Road, SE19

2008-04-14T21:15:00.003+01:00

Hooray! Make Me A Princess has been, erm, kissed by a frog and is to become 4 Paws'n'Claws!

Mind you, given that someone in the US has beaten them to the name and with their rather cavalier attitude to spelling (see closeup of their "coming soon" sign here) I give them about as long as the previous tenants.

Which is a pity, as a pet grooming salon is exactly what we need around here. Perhaps they can also pick up all the dog shit that is almost a daily hazard on this stretch of Anerley Road.

Day One Hundred and Sixty - Victoria Station, SW1

2008-04-11T23:59:00.001+01:00

A question I've often asked myself when pondering the great directory inquiries sell off.

Back after five days (plus a weekend) of the real flu. I was sick as a dog, and not much use in work today either. At least this nagging feel of being slightly under the weather I have for a couple of weeks after a virus should be good for some bitingly sarcastic posts for a while.

Day One Hundred and Fifty-Nine - Spenser Street, SW1

2008-04-03T23:59:00.001+01:00

Westminster doing their bit for the environment by putting in recharging points for electric cars behind the town hall. I didn't notice when I was taking the picture, but on closer inspection (click on the image) I see that the pole "contains electricity". Well, duh. I was going to try and get an OJ out of it...

Update: Both mattresses disappeared overnight! Maberley Road is now in a state of mattresslessness! (thanks Dave, I never forget)

Day One Hundred and Fifty-Eight - Brigstock Road, SE19

2008-04-02T21:34:00.003+01:00

On visiting Thornton Heath to have my medical for my Australian visa, what should I see in someone's front garden?

The Maberley Road mattresses were still there this morning, if you were wondering.

Day One Hundred and Fifty-Seven - Maberley Road, SE19

2008-04-01T21:43:00.002+01:00

I swear I didn't move them.

Day One Hundred and Fifty-Six - Maberley Road, SE19

2008-03-31T23:11:00.002+01:00

New week, new mattress. The old one is still there, by the way, just a bit further along and frustratingly round a slight curve in the hedge which means I can't get one shot of both of them.

Day One Hundred and Fifty-Five - Maberley Road, SE19

2008-03-27T23:59:00.000Z

Mattress by night.

(with echoes of this)

Day One Hundred and Fifty-Four - Maberley Road, SE19

2008-03-26T20:43:00.003Z

More mattress madness by the allotments. A dog (I hope it was a dog) has made his feeling quite clear on this growing urban problem.

Not to be confused with Irving Nattrass, a footballer ("the Fishburn Flyer", apparently) I was mildly obsessed with in the mid-seventies as a combination of his odd name and me having a Topps football card (this one) with him on.

Day One Hundred and Fifty-Three - Gypsy Hill, SE19

2008-03-25T23:59:00.002Z

A different route to work this morning so that I could pick up a parcel from the Royal Mail sorting office. Said parcel contained CD-rs from Phantomhead Recordings and I recommend the two 3" CD-rs (especially the Ian Watson/Mark Jolliffe one) very highly. Get them while you can.

That's the City of London you can see.

Day One Hundred and Fifty-Two - Crystal Palace Station, SE19

2008-03-20T23:59:00.002Z

Day One Hundred and Fifty-One - Joiner Street, SE1

2008-03-19T23:59:00.002Z

Another weird night at Shunt. More details (and pics) here.

Day One Hundred and Fifty - Crystal Palace Station, SE19

2008-03-18T23:59:00.002Z

Basic Skills in literacy not required to work for Network Rail, obviously.

Day One Hundred and Forty-Nine - Victoria Station, SW1

2008-03-17T21:56:00.003Z

This shop has been a few different things over the years I've been commuting through Victoria. For a year or two it was Cinnabon, an American chain which never quite took hold over here. I never bought any of their produce but the smell from the place used to make me feel as hungry as hell every morning as I passed by. The smell of pasties doesn't have the same effect. Which is probably a good thing. Not really a morning food, yer pasty.

Day One Hundred and Forty-Eight - just outside Balham Station, SW12

2008-03-14T23:59:00.001Z

That train-cleaning apparatus in full. Acid? Blimey.

Day One Hundred and Forty-Seven - Maberley Road, SE19

2008-03-11T22:08:00.002Z

Storm damage at the allotments.

Day One Hundred and Forty-Six - Anerley Road, SE19

2008-03-10T21:57:00.003Z

Stormy weather.

Day One Hundred and Forty-Five - Buckingham Gate, SW1

2008-03-07T22:15:00.004Z

Blimey. I'd pay to hear that sermon.

Day One Hundred and Forty-Four - Anerley Road, SE19

2008-03-06T23:59:00.003Z

Towards the end of February/beginning of March every year the roads suddenly become a minefield of works. For years I assumed that it was just that companies waited until the better weather to dig, but then Feb/March is often worse than the month that precedes it, certainly for rain and wind, so that doesn't make much sense. Then it struck me: it's the end of the financial year! Cue all the water, electricity and other concerns using up their budget so they don't lose it for the next year. Meanwhile, traffic slows down and pedestrians have to dodge holes.

Day One Hundred and Forty-Three - Maberley Road, SE19

2008-03-05T21:30:00.003Z

They've been putting it up since Monday, you'd think it'd be complete by now.

Day One Hundred and Forty-Two - Grosvenor Bridge, River Thames

2008-03-04T22:26:00.002Z

Pig optional.

Day One Hundred and Forty-One - Belvedere Road, SE19

2008-03-03T21:48:00.002Z

Amazing how much better a week drinking beer and catching trains from Munich to UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Franconia and Austria can make you feel. Let's shred!

Day One Hundred and Forty - Wilton Road, SW1

2008-02-22T21:42:00.000Z

I need a holiday.

Day One Hundred and Thirty-Nine - Vandon Passage, SW1

2008-02-21T23:59:00.000Z

Smoker's alley by the side of our office is now reduced to half its width while building works go on.

Day One Hundred and Thirty-Eight - Bennett's Hill, Birmingham B5

2008-02-20T23:59:00.003Z

Another meeting in Birmingham, another chance to sample the beers in The Wellington. And this time I had pig snacks, too.

Temporary Fault - Do Not Adjust Your Set

2008-02-19T21:25:00.000Z

Day One Hundred and Thirty-Seven - Wilton Road, SW1

2008-02-18T21:54:00.002Z

Came out of the station via Boots and so passed the front of the Apollo Victoria Theatre before crossing the road towards work. In the ten years I've been working around here there haven't been many productions on at this place: Wicked, a short-lived Bollywood musical (Bombay Dreams, I just looked it up), some ghastly Saturday Night Fever thing, Starlight Express, and Movin' Out, the Billy Joel musical. Will took a Joel-loving friend to that as a birthday present. Apparently they were hoping for a We Will Rock You-style romp through Billy's biggest hits, but they didn't count on Mr Joel's huge sense of self importance leading to him getting Twyla Tharp in to make it a modern dance extravaganza. How I laughed when I was told about it.

I'm not a musicals fan (although I was dragged along to Les Miserables and thought it mah-vellous) but Sheila-who-must-be-obeyed certainly is, to the extent that she's seen Wicked three times. I would have liked to see the place in it's original incarnation, a huge art deco cinema.

Day One Hundred and Thirty-Six - just outside Crystal Palace Station, SE19

2008-02-15T21:59:00.004Z

Self Portrait III.

Day One Hundred and Thirty-Five - Crystal Palace Station, SE19

2008-02-14T23:59:00.001Z

It's Valentine's Day. I have more important things to do than craft a beautiful picture for a blog.

Day One Hundred and Thirty-Four - Leicester Square, WC2

2008-02-13T23:59:00.003Z

"Up West" (as they say) to see Sweeney Todd (very slow getting going, nicely gory later on) I get caught up in the crowds waiting to gawp at the stars of The Accidental Husband, a film which I predict that no-one who has the misfortune to see will remember for more than half an hour afterwards.

Day One Hundred and Thirty-Three - Crystal Palace Station, SE19

2008-02-12T21:55:00.000Z

Misty this morning.

Day One Hundred and Thirty-Two - Victoria Street, SW1

2008-02-11T22:40:00.000Z

The five o'clock trudge to Victoria Station, with the nice (take my word for it) red-headed lady running against the stream.

Day One Hundred and Thirty-One - Anerley Road, SE19

2008-02-08T23:59:00.000Z

I've gone in to "Simply Food and Wines" at least once a week for six years, supporting my local shopkeepers and not going to the Tesco Local up the road, and they've spoken to me twice:

once to ask me if the plaster cast that'd been on my arm for two weeks was as a result of the tube bombings that had happened the day before; and
once to compliment me on my beard.

Cheery bunch.

Day One Hundred and Thirty - Campden Hill Road, W8

2008-02-07T23:59:00.000Z

In the "here be dragons" (as far as I'm concerned) environs of Notting Hill for a bit of a crawl with the legend that is Lorkin, we stumble upon Mr Jeff Lynne's wheels. Nice.

Day One Hundred and Twenty-Nine - Mowbray Road, SE19

2008-02-06T23:59:00.000Z

A lavatory cistern joins the christmas tree and mattress as stuff people just chuck in the road round here.

Day One Hundred and Twenty-Eight - Maberley Road, SE19

2008-02-05T21:54:00.000Z

Moody.

Day One Hundred and Twenty-Seven - Victoria Station, SW1

2008-02-04T22:25:00.001Z

Where'd her leg go?

Day One Hundred and Twenty-Six - Chelmsford Winter Beer Festival, CM1

2008-02-01T23:59:00.000Z

Will chooses the dark side.

Day One Hundred and Twenty-Five - Maberley Road, SE19

2008-01-31T22:19:00.001Z

Cultural stereotypes, part 684.

Day One Hundred and Twenty-Four - Victoria Station, SW1

2008-01-30T23:59:00.000Z

"Attention all customers on Platform 19. An attachment or detachment is about to take place and the carriages will move."

Attachment in this case.

Day One Hundred and Twenty-Three - Bennett's Hill, Birmingham B5

2008-01-29T21:36:00.000Z

Stopped in for a cheeky one at The Wellington (mentioned previously) on my way home from a meeting at one of our Birmingham offices and was greeted by this sign at the door. How can I swing a meeting in Birmingham on Thursday (or early Friday) next week so I can take advantage of this? Bostin!

Day One Hundred and Twenty-Two - Crystal Palace Station, SE19

2008-01-28T22:15:00.001Z

Self Portrait II.

(I was ill Thursday and Friday last week, hence no commuting and no pictures)

Day One Hundred and Twenty-One - Anerley Road, SE19

2008-01-23T23:59:00.001Z

The dreaded flash again, so that you can (just about) read this. Maybe I'm turning into my Dad, but I'm not sure I agree with half-price fares for those on income support. Like giving kids free travel, which happened two years ago, it sounds like a good idea, but there were at least two downsides to that particular initiative:

(a) kids get the bus instead of walking, meaning they get fatter, e.g. the kids from the school behind where I live now get the bus two stops to the main road at lunchtime, pick up fried chicken and chips, and then get the bus back. If it cost them 90p each way they wouldn't. Surely this goes against all government health policies? Get the kids walking!

(b) kids now hang out on buses more than they ever did, contributing to a 55% increase in youth bus crime in the first year since free travel was introduced.

But the thing which baffles me most about the half-price bus fares for job-dodgers initiative is that it is funded by an oil deal with Venezuela - you can see their flag at the bottom of the picture. Socialist solidarity or propping up a virtual dictator? Hmm.

Day One Hundred and Twenty - Anerley Road, SE19

2008-01-22T21:28:00.001Z

The bathroom shop gets a refit and a new sign. Their website is similarly not-quite-ready.

Day One Hundred and Nineteen - Maberley Road, SE19

2008-01-21T19:12:00.001Z

Scarily human-looking tree. It's Lord of the Rings all over again.

Day One Hundred and Eighteen - Maberley Road, SE19

2008-01-18T22:54:00.001Z

Still there.

Day One Hundred and Seventeen - Outside Streatham Hill Station, SW16

2008-01-17T23:59:00.000Z

I put "outside Streatham Hill station" as that's where I took the picture, but if I'd taken it anywhere else from Victoria to Crystal Palace it'd have looked the same as he didn't move a muscle all the way, just snored lightly from time to time. Who'd have thought the 2105 London Victoria - London Bridge (via Crystal Palace) could be so peaceful?

Day One Hundred and Sixteen - Cardinal Walk, SW1

2008-01-16T23:59:00.000Z

Amidst all the crazy 21st century glass curves of Cardinal Place, I have a real soft spot for the brutal lines of this outbuilding, an electricity generator or boiler room or some such thing. It should be on the Thamesmead Estate.

Day One Hundred and Fifteen - Maberley Road, SE19

2008-01-15T21:52:00.001Z

Rain, rain, rain. So much that the drains can't cope and Maberley Road is flooded again. I love the effect the light, rain and high ASA have had on this picture - looks even better bigger (click on the photo to enlarge).

More abstract tomfoolery from the same spot (this time with a bus, just after the driver stopped to ask me if I was alright, taking pictures of a puddle in the pouring rain as I was) here.

Day One Hundred and Thirteen - Cardinal Place, SW1

2008-01-14T21:48:00.000Z

Hang on, Christmas has only just finished...and since when has Valentine's Day become just "Valentine's"?

(possibly the first use of flash here. Don't like to but it's the only way I could make it readable)

Day One Hundred and Twelve - Highgate Station, N6

2008-01-11T21:33:00.000Z

A diversion on the way home to spend money (and have a chat) at Sound 323, my favourite record shop in the world. Back down in the tube they've taken all the adverts off the walls, leaving a series of nice framed plaster works of art.

Day One Hundred and Eleven - Crystal Palace Station, SE19

2008-01-10T22:01:00.000Z

The cheap alternative to actually having staff on the station.

Day One Hundred and Ten - Holborn Viaduct, EC1

2008-01-09T20:28:00.001Z

On the way to Haberdasher's Hall (which may be "a twenty-first century venue of the finest quality and highest standards" but was bloody freezing all day) this morning for a very tedious event I passed this, the oldest drinking fountain in London, set up by The Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association.

Day One Hundred and Nine - New Street, Birmingham B5

2008-01-08T20:51:00.000Z

21st century nannying from "Bullring", or the Bull Ring as it used to be called before they demolished it and started again. Blimey, it used to make the Elephant and Castle shopping centre look good, didn't it?

Ooh, Adnams' Tally Ho - good job I only had one of those last night.

Day One Hundred and Eight - Upper Dean Street, Birmingham B5

2008-01-07T23:59:00.000Z

The view from my window at Premier Apartments, my Birmingham pied a terre. I'm here for an early meeting tomorrow morning, so that makes this the last stage of today's commute in my little rule book.

I like coming to Birmingham as it means I can have a couple of pints in The Wellington, the only pub I know that has its beer selection on a TV screen and invites you to order them by number.

Day One Hundred and Seven - Victoria Street, SW1

2008-01-04T23:59:00.000Z

Part of the outside of Westminster Cathedral, commemorating the first Archbishop of Canterbury, St Augustine. Wonder what he'd have made of the pigeon spikes below his plaque.

More Archbishops commemorated here.

Day One Hundred and Six - Petty France, SW1

2008-01-03T19:25:00.001Z

The very start of my commute home - the shopping list for tonight's dinner. After the excesses of Christmas I'm making this. Although I'm making it with haddock, as Sainsbury's didn't have any cod. Or lemons, amazingly enough, but I managed to get one of those nearer to home.

Day One Hundred and Five - Maberley Road, SE19

2008-01-02T21:43:00.000Z

A Happy New Year to all our readers!

In the last year or two they've put these new timetable boards on lots of the darker, more secluded bus stops around here which, when it gets dark, glow slightly and can be illuminated by the touch of a button. On drunken evenings I've been known to press the buttons recklessly, with no thought of catching a bus. Ah, late-thirties rebellion!

Day One Hundred and Four - Hamlet Road, SE19

2007-12-21T18:49:00.000Z

St Paul's Church, originally built in the 1860s, rebuilt (by the looks of it) in the 1960s.

Merry Christmas everyone and see you on 2nd January.

Day One Hundred and Three - London Bridge Station, SE1

2007-12-20T19:59:00.000Z

My train was cancelled this morning so I took the opportunity to take an alternative route to work, via London Bridge (and then onto the Jubilee Line to Westminster and the District Line to St James' Park), so that I could take a picture of my favourite billboard ad ever. It's been there years and I laugh every time I see it. I think they both wish he had a bigger package.

Day One Hundred and Two - Victoria Station, SW1

2007-12-19T22:36:00.001Z

Self Portrait.

Day One Hundred and One - Brewer's Green, SW1

2007-12-18T23:59:00.000Z

More boozery ('tis the season), this time in Tapsters, a (shudder) wine bar near work. We were saying goodbye to my boss of the last two and three-quarter years. He's a very nice chap and I will miss him, especially as there's still no news about who we'll get in his place. Grrr.

Day One Hundred - Charterhouse Street, EC1

2007-12-17T23:59:00.000Z

An unofficial one-hundredth-post celebration in The Fox and Anchor, near Smithfield Market with Will. There's a review from the very same night by my new beer hero, Stonch, here. I pretty much agree with him, but I'm still not sure about the pewter mugs and wonder if they're just an excuse to give you short measures. There's a pint line on the outside of the mugs but the barman seemed rather cavalier with the froth and it's not like you can see inside, is it? Very nice beer though.

Those cubey things you can see are the pork scratchings, which are the meatiest "scratchings" I've ever had. Nice.

Day Ninety-Nine - Hamlet Road, SE19

2007-12-14T23:59:00.000Z

Never noticed this plaque before, but then the area in front of this house has only recently been given a bit of a makeover so it may have been obscured previously . Ira Aldridge was an African-American actor who came to Britain in 1824 and apparently caused quite a stir. It looks like he lived in England for about thirty years, but the plaque is silent over exactly which of those years he spent in Upper Norwood. More info here and (better) here about someone I'd never heard of before. See, those plaques are worth putting up.

Day Ninety-Eight - Victoria Station, SW1

2007-12-13T23:59:00.000Z

The first signs that they're starting work on the total refit of Victoria Underground Station - the ticket office is now above ground, confusing tourists on a regular basis. Which I'm all for.

Day Ninety-Seven - Victoria Station, SW1

2007-12-12T21:39:00.001Z

First seasonal sighting of the Salvation Army band. Ding dong merrily on high, etc.

Day Ninety-Six - The Red Rose Club, Seven Sisters Road N7

2007-12-11T21:12:00.000Z

Went to No Signal at the Red Rose tonight. Beforehand I ate excellent Japanese/Korean food with Dave and Richard at Hana, which is just across the road from the venue and has become a bit of a must-do before gigs there.

The gig was full of fans of Sunn O))), and therefore not yer usual Red Rose crowd. They were there to see Stephen O'Malley of that group play with Oren Ambarchi, who often collaborates with the band. Their set was ok, nothing special, but made better by the application of dry ice at regular intervals. Of the other acts on the bill, Herve Boghossian and Tetuzi Akiyama played a pretty acoustic guitar duet, Mark Wastell (tamtam, pictured above) and Joachim Nordvall (laptop) conjured dark satanic wastelands, and Z'Ev (percussion) and the unspeakably bad Osso Exotico (shit keyboards and electronics) made a bloody awful racket. Nicely put together night though. How do No Signal manage it? Tiny venue, a good mix of big names and names that should be big, and sold out. Well done chaps.

Day Ninety-Five - Cardinal Place, SW1

2007-12-10T21:12:00.000Z

It's Christmas! Well, nearly. And I'm back with another Finepix f440.

If you want to see what Cardinal Place looks like in daylight (and without a Christmas Tree), watch the new advert for Thorntons, as it was filmed there. The green sculpture in the last shot is the giveaway.

Oh, and the double double double decker bus.

Intermission

2007-12-02T15:07:00.000Z

You'll be pleased to know that I have a new (to me) camera on the way. With any luck it'll be here by the end of next week.

Meanwhile, here's something to keep you occupied while you (and I) wait for the picture-taking to resume. Foreign readers please note: London still looks exactly like this.

Highway Robbery

2007-11-13T21:58:00.000Z

Went to Jessops this lunchtime to see if they could fix my camera. They could, but they'd have to send it to Fuji (the company, not the mountain), and their standard repair rate is...

£114.95.

I only paid £129.95 for the camera in the first place. I said no, and the charming German youngster (with great muttons) behind the counter referred me to an independent camera repair shop around the corner. I went along there and they said that they could open it up and check what was wrong with it. It'd take two-three days, cost £10 and not be deductible from any subsequent repair bill. I told the woman that I know what's wrong with it, the zoom mechanism is broken, can you let me know a ballpark figure for fixing that? No. Well then, you're not getting my custom either.

So, alas, it's goodbye to my Fujifilm Finepix f440. I've had the little blighter just over two years and we've been everywhere together - New York, Old York, Paris, Prestatyn, Brighton (twice), Bedford Beer Festival, Berlin, Birmingham, Bolton, Brussels, Bristol, Clacton, Colchester, Chelmsford, Canberra, Dublin, Southend, Los Angeles, Sydney, Rarotonga, Tenerife, Edinburgh, Skye and, errr, Gateshead, and a few other places too. Not to mention 94 consecutive commutes to work. And I was looking forward to adding Portsmouth and Manchester to both of those lists over the next week and a half as I have to go to both of them on business and am staying overnight a couple of times.

But I suppose I can learn to love another camera. I have a few irons in the fire and will let you know of any progress in finding a replacement. It's too late to stop now!

Catastrophe!

2007-11-12T21:01:00.000Z

Bugger bugger bugger.

I dropped my camera on the pier at Brighton on Saturday and instead of it falling on the solid metal casing it fell on the extended zoom lens, thus breaking it. I'm not sure whether it's worth getting it fixed but I shall see what Jessops say tomorrow.

I don't have a camera phone (I know, I'm so 2003) so I have no alternative source of pictures until either my main camera is fixed or I have to bite the bullet and buy a new one. I'll keep you posted, so keep checking back here for updates.

Day Ninety-Four - Anerley Road, SE19

2007-11-09T23:59:00.000Z

Well, blow me down with a feather - Make Me A Princess has closed down, barely three months after it opened. That's pretty amazing. Could it have been that it wasn't, as I originally thought, an outpost of the bridal accessories shop I linked to in that post, but just a dodgy hairdresser stealing a name and a logo, with dire consequences? Or does the fact that that link to said bridal site no longer works have anything to do with it? The clot thickens.

For a close up of that repossession sign (how can any business not be able to afford rent after three months? Did they have no capital at all?) cliquez ici.

Day Ninety-Three - Great Russell Street, WC1

2007-11-08T23:59:00.000Z

After work diversion to Gosh!, my favourite comics shop. Calvin always makes me happy when I see him outside.

Pity their website, other than the front page, is so out of date.

Day Ninety-Two - Victoria Station, SW1

2007-11-07T23:59:00.000Z

The view from the Wetherspoons pub as commuters wait for trains delayed by a broken rail in the Sutton area. I find a pint often helps to relax the tension.

Day Ninety-One - Anerley Hill, SE19

2007-11-06T23:59:00.000Z

Aftermath of a motorbike-meets-van collision. Louise left for work about twenty minutes before me and heard the crash happening behind her. We both hope the motorcyclist makes a full recovery.

Day Ninety - Crystal Palace Park, SE19

2007-11-05T23:59:00.000Z

An odd sign to see at the entrance to a firework display. Mind you, given the poor quality of the display we could have done with bringing our own.

Day Eighty-Nine - Crystal Palace Station, SE19

2007-11-02T22:18:00.001Z

The way Southern are "making London safer" is by putting more CCTV cameras on trains and stations. Just when you think they can't put more CCTV cameras in public places they go and put some more...

On the discman today: AM - My Bloody Valentine You Made Me Realise EP, Feed Me With Your Kiss EP, Glider EP PM - My Bloody Valentine Tremolo EP, Glider (remix) 12" Seefeel Time To Find Me Afx remix 12"

Day Eighty-Eight - Spenser Street, SW1

2007-11-01T23:59:00.000Z

I'll bet you do.

On the discman today: AM - My Bloody Valentine Loveless PM - R/S One (Snow/Mud/Rain)

Day Eighty-Seven - Wood Lane, W12

2007-10-31T23:59:00.000Z

As the nine-to-five shift at BBC TV Centre go home, I'm going in to meet my chum Julian for a farewell drink in the BBC Club before he goes off travelling for three months. We were joined by several other beer-drinking friends and I only just made the last train home. Hic.

On the discman today: AM - Fond Of Tigers Release The Saviours

Day Eighty-Six - Castle Lane, SW1

2007-10-30T20:32:00.000Z

The clocks went back at the weekend, so my journey home will be dark for the next few months. Time to really check out what changing the ASA setting on my camera will do...this is the best of a dozen pictures I took of the tree/lamppost combo at different settings and from slightly different angles. It's a learning process.

On the discman today: AM - John Lennon, Yoko Ono and The Plastic Ono Band with Elephant's Memory Sometime in New York City PM - Unrest Perfect Teeth

Day Eighty-Five - Crystal Palace Station, SE19

2007-10-29T23:59:00.000Z

The wind and rain which put the kibosh on my trip to Brighton yesterday has covered platform one with leaves and stems (insert drug joke here). Everywhere had a slightly bedraggled look today, but by lunchtime the sun was out and it was a lovely autumnal day. Why couldn't it have been like that yesterday? Grr.

On the discman today: AM and PM - Various Monterey International Pop Festival 1967 Discs 3 & 4

Day Eighty-Four - London Bridge Street, SE1

2007-10-26T23:59:00.000+01:00

Final day of the I Ching Fortnight here at Commuted to Life and I threw 24, Returning, with transforming lines at 1, 3 and 4. "This is a time of re-birth and returning energy after a difficult time. Go back to meet this returning energy in order to begin anew".

Very appropriate for the end of the fortnight and spookily accurate as, before I asked the I Ching the question (the same one I have asked it every day, "how should I approach my journey to work/home") I had decided to go to Borough Market to get some nice beer for the weekend, the very same thing I did two Fridays ago, the last working day before I started this I Ching thing. By minute twenty-four of this journey I'd got to Utobeer, made my selection (a couple of beers from Bamberg and a Czech dark lager) and was on my way back to the station. I've always liked this air vent for the Jubilee Line tube - it looks like a ocean liner has been buried underground.

Just before I finish with I Ching Fortnight, I'd like to recommend to you Philip K Dick's The Man In The High Castle as both an excellent work of dystopian science fiction but also for its use of the I Ching as a captivating plot device. It's available from Amazon and all good book shops. Probably from a few bad ones too.

On the discman today: AM and PM - Various Monterey International Pop Festival 1967 Disc 2

Day Eighty-Three - Somewhere between Streatham Hill and West Norwood Stations, SE27

2007-10-25T21:40:00.001+01:00

Today's hexagram was 35, Prospering with transforming lines at 1 and 3. 'twas a successful journey as I had four seats to myself (very unusual at this time of day) and caught the bus without having to wait at Crystal Palace station so that I could go up to the triangle and pick up some chorizo for dinner. Sergio's had the one I wanted and I only had to wait about 30 seconds to get the bus back to my door. Nice.

On the discman today: AM - Van Der Graaf Generator The Box Disc 4 PM - Various Monterey International Pop Festival 1967 Disc 1

Day Eighty-Two - Crystal Palace Station, SE19

2007-10-24T23:59:00.000+01:00

Today's hexagram was 50, The Vessel, with transforming lines at 2 and 4. Today's picture sees the ghosts of Crystal Palace's Victorian past ascending the stairs from platform 4.

On the discman today: AM and PM - Van Der Graaf Generator The Box Disc 2

Day Eighty-One - Petty France, SW1

2007-10-23T23:59:00.000+01:00

More spooky mirror-imaging bought about by I Ching indeterminacy.

This afternoon I threw 12, Obstruction, with a transforming 5th line. So what was I doing in my office 12 minutes into my commute? Well, I left my overcoat there. By the time I realised (first day of the winter that I'd needed to wear it) I was three-quarters of my way to the library so I went in, returned my book, and then headed back to the office. As you can see, I was on my way back to my desk during that twelfth minute.

The transforming line changes the hexagram into 35, Prospering. so after the initial obstruction of forgetting my coat, "the obstruction is disappearing. That is the right place for you. it will correct the whole situation".

On the discman today: AM and PM - Van Der Graaf Generator The Box Disc 1

Day Eighty - Clapham Junction, SW11

2007-10-22T21:02:00.001+01:00

It's week two of I Ching Fortnight and, like last Monday, we find ourselves at Clapham Junction station, only this time it's on the way home. It's getting dark and the reflection on the window causes a nice "double exposure" effect.

This evening I threw 34, Great Invigorating. "Great drive and great power manifest themselves. Focus this strength through a central idea...you are not allowed to completely retire. Accepting this lets you use Great Invigorating".

On the discman today: AM and PM - Various Love Is The Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970 Disc 4