The familiar red London bus with an open platform (no door) at the rear, a conductor and a charming little bell to signal the driver to go or stop is the Routemaster. Introduced to an post-war 1950s London they were the hight of modernity (automatic gears and hydraulic brakes) and, apparently, designed to be in service for only seventeen years. In 2004 they’ll have been in service for fifty years and there will be a party in Finsbury Park in July.
This picture was taken at Piccadilly Circus in London at around 13:35 today. It’s a mobile-phone picture so it isn’t great but, for some reason, even this blurry shot of a Routemaster bus makes me smile. The route listed down the side (Oxford Street, Selfridges, Marble Arch) evokes a warm and fuzzy feeling about this great city, the kind you had as a child when imaging what London was like to live in. I wonder if there were advertisements on the sides of the original buses and what they were.
On this day…
2004: Hubble Bubble
2003: 8 Mile
I am starting to feel like it is Christmas. I took this picture in Piccadilly Circus earlier to try and capture the spirit of Christmas Eve in central London – but it didn’t really work. I do love the fact that everything gets covered up in preparation for the crowds at New Year. Happy Christmas!
Great Yarmouth – where I was for some of the time on the stag do – is an interesting town. I suspect that it was grand – and deserving of the name Great – at some point in its history. There are certainly some impressive buildings. The beach seemed impressive and wasn’t crowded, even on a hot Sunday afternoon. Yet, somehow, it was a little sad. Amusement arcade and fun-pubs, clashed along the main drag with theme-pubs and entertainment centres. The side streets were blocked by tourists looking at shops selling cheap, gimmicky tourist gifts (not far removed from a Kiss Me Quick hat). It was all so-similar and without imagination. I don’t object to any of the items listed above (don’t take me for a snob) it was the sheer repetitiveness of it all that I found a little depressing.
Take the lovely looking beach. Hidden from the coast-road by a collection of buildings obscuring the view. Admittedly, the pier and the Winter Gardens weren’t ugly buildings but they still blocked the sight of the sea (and, surely, isn’t that why you go to the seaside?). The leisure centre and Sealife Centre were, however, ugly concrete buildings with little to make you stop and gasp in awe at the view. It’s such a shame we’ve done similar things with many of our great coastal resorts.
Admittedly, I was in a group of 15 lads that could have seemed threatening had we not walked in small groups and mingled in the pubs and bars we visited.
Yesterday was a lovely day in central London. If you were walking along The Mall at around 1pm, however, you might of got a shock. You see, I dropped my trousers in public. To be honest, about 50 other people did the same all in aid of Bowel Cancer awareness.
Yet again I am travelling. I have never been to Finland before and today, I am in Helsinki. This afternoon I was listening to a Jazz band in the sunshine. Honestly, this is work. I’m going to try and put some more pictures online later but for now I want to go to bed. The light kept me awake last night. Look at the figures for today – May 28, 2003: Sunrise: 4:16 AM and Sunset: 10:21 PM
