"Ha Kol B'Seger" - Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Street falls silent
The silence from Dizengoff now feels overwhelming. When your ears are assaulted by urban noise on a daily basis, you learn to adjust. Anyone who’s ever lived in the centre of Manhattan, London or Berlin will tell you the same. Horns blaring, buses roaring by, pedestrians chatting, neighbours yelling and bikes revving - it’s all par for the course here…
Vibrant and Vintage - Retro Images of London's famous Underground
Wandering aimlessly through Covent Garden, I walked inside the doors of the London Transport museum and found myself in its gift store. There, I found an enormous collection of vintage Underground posters - colourful, vibrant, dazzling. Having taken the tube from a young age and, now living abroad, buying a couple of prints like a fine idea. After all, there’s nothing like the Underground to make a Londoner feel warm and fuzzy!
The Lost Art of Letter-Writing - Part II
I have come to the conclusion that letters touch the soul - both when written and when received. After all, reading a letter is a completely emotional experience. Every person’s handwriting is different, just as is their DNA. A letter cannot be replicated (unlike an email). The ink smudges, the crossed out words, the creased sheets of paper, the stamp on the envelope. Every letter I have in my boxes is a one-off, never to be replicated. ..
The Grandeur of Regent Street - London Under Lockdown
I am stopping to notice things I never did before - ornate facades, beautiful stonework, the glamour of the…street and - as I’ve said before - its magnificent, sweeping curve, of which I could never tire. There are few others here and they, like me, are amazed. Some are walking in the very centre of the street (normally, this would be akin to taking your life in your hands), in search of unusual photographic opportunities…
A Woman Without an Identity - "Death in Ice Valley" podcast...
In November 1970, whilst in the valley, a young girl stumbled upon the charred remains of a woman’s body, surrounded by an array of objects (including a sweater, jewellry, burnt paper and a pair of rubber boots). The police, having initially ruled the death as suicide, soon realised there were many incongruous elements to the scene. An autopsy showed remains of sleeping pills (phenobarbital) in her stomach, as well as soot in her lungs, which led the authorities to conclude she had been alive whilst on fire…
"Say His Name - George Floyd" - Because Black Lives Really Matter
Last week, I forced myself to watch the video of George Floyd’s last minutes staring, in horror, at the screen as he gasped for breath, pleading for his life, whilst a police officer knelt on his neck (and three other officers stood by, compliantly). Enormous tears rolled down my cheeks. Tears of fury and tears of shame. Because what I witnessed was a modern-day lynching - a white man depriving a black man of his life, in public. It’s that simple…
The Curious Case of the Abandoned Pick Axe - North London's Parkland Walk Part II
And then I catch sight of - a pick axe. Yes, you read me right. A huge pick-axe, slap bang in the middle of the pavement. Steve and I both stop dead in our tracks. We stare in astonishment. This is a peaceful-tree-lined suburb where the cheapest houses go for over a million quid. This is really not what you expect in such a genteel neighbourhood!
Silence in Soho - London's Most Lively Neighourhood Has Fallen Quiet
Soho is now silent. Its streets are practically deserted. Cafes, restaurants and bars are shuttered and, in many cases, boarded up. Much like Oxford Street, Carnaby Street and Regent Street, it has an abandoned air to it. - the odd cyclist, the woman walking her dog, the guy with the camera, taking the obligatory ‘lockdown’ photos…I can count them on one hand as I walk the streets…
Exploring an Abandoned Railway Line - North London's Parkland Walk Part I
On this stretch of the walk, there’s plenty of evidence of the once-railway line - including platforms and old benches. Now, it’s incredibly green and verdant, and you can hear the birds chirping and feel how clean the air is. As you walk further along, you spy real life evidence of the old train line, in the form of benches and old platforms.
Feline companionship in lockdown...
We soon develop a routine, Larry and I (Rita loves me but she’s rather more independent). He wakes me each morning at 7,30, bumping his head against my face. After I’ve staggered up to the kitchen and made coffee, we read the headlines together. (Larry’s concerned as I am at the way the government are completely cocking up this crisis).
My Social Distancing Diary - by Steve Brookes
Starting to observe things more closely. Happened across this beautiful creature yesterday morning, basking in the sunshine and it banished my pandemic broodings for a good few minutes, until it took flight again and found somewhere else to pause. The amazing thing about London right now with no planes in the sky and so few cars on the street is that you really can almost hear the wing-beat of a Peacock butterfly.
"What a Place to Film a Horror Movie" - The Eeriness of London's Underground in Lockdown
As far as I’m concerned, anyone looking to film a few creepy scenes for a horror movie need look no further than London Underground’s Kings Cross.Empty stairs, deserted concourses, eerily quiet platforms, tubes carrying only key workers, of course, elevators that swish and whir along, but with no commuters on them. Behold the beauty of Kings Cross, devoid of people.
Deserted London - King's Cross Station in Lockdown
Usually, you’ll see here buskers, hobos, locals and commuters….not to mention the endless tourists arriving and departing. Today it is almost deserted. The streets are almost empty of cars (the roads are usually packed bumper to bumper). Occasionally, a bus drives past (they are transporting key workers to hospitals and places of work). But they have few passengers…
Passing Time - the Joy of Jigsaws Part II
The days pass. Mornings turn into afternoons, evenings into the wee hours. I sit, glasses on my nose, staring at the box and then tiny side street pieces in turn. I drink wine and groan. And more wine. It’s the most complex jigsaw puzzle I’ve ever attempted and, on a few occasions, I use bad language. I don’t know South London well and putting together huge swatches of Southwark, Elephant and Castle and Bermondsey almost kills me…
Passing Time - the Joy of Jigsaws Part I
Still, working at it painstaking...it’s forcing me to use so many of my skills. Memory (where did I see that street name before?) logic (how can that piece fit there?), attention to colour (the main ‘artery’ roads are deep yellow, and the more minor roads a pale yellow). So much patience is needed...especially when you realise (cue a groan) that you fitted a piece in the wrong place…
London Town is All Locked Down
More cyclists go by. I feel as if I’m in a parallel universe, where the majority of humans have been wiped off the face of the planet and I’m one of the few survivors, wandering through a deserted metropolis. Back on Regent Street (which, incidentally, seems more beautiful than ever, now it is devoid of people) I see someone else (with a mask) taking photographs…
"Finding my Happy Place - a Journey in Israel" - by Isabel Deufel
I left the farm quite broken-hearted and continued my trip in Egypt, which was a rather spontaneous idea. I returned to the Israeli desert where I went hiking on my own, then travelled onto Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv for me was a perfect city - the sea, beach, markets and street life. As I was exploring, , I was already thinking “this could be my new home”.
The Philosopher of the Century? Reading 'Isaiah Berlin, a life' by Michael Ignatieff
Berlin argued passionately against extremism, since (as he saw it) extreme politics (whether in the form of Hitler’s fascism or Stalin’s terror) led to political instability, terrible violence and, ultimately, destruction on a wide scale. As Berlin himself said, "We are doomed to choose and every choice may entail an irreparable loss.
An Indonesian Orchid Festival at Kew - in pictures
As if I hadn’t waxed lyrical enough in my last blog post about the extraordinary orchid festival I had the pleasure to visit this month, having taken so many pictures of the blossoms I feel compelled to show off just a few more. It’s not just the skill and care the staff possess but the love they show for the place really makes Kew unique - I’ve been to a few botanical gardens in my life, but this one still tops my list, decades after I first came here…