what the commuter saw

JULY, AUGUST

Let's walk together today
and enjoy the summer sunshine.

Set off from Waterloo,
down the steps, under the arches,
past the Royal Festival Hall
and across the Jubilee Bridge.

Look downriver to the City
gleaming in silvery morning light.
Is this my favourite view?

Trafalgar Square is silent, empty and clean.
It is so early that the fountains
have not yet been switched on.

Nelson leans nobly
on the neatly coiled pile of rope
and all is right with the world.

Pause to watch the sunlight
slicing through the water.
How could you not feel joyful?

Here we are at Carlton House Terrace.
They are painting the facade
which means more scaffolders
than you can shake a pole at.

And at the end of the day
let's go back again, over the bridge,
looking upstream to Westminster.

Now we are back at Waterloo
and it is time to go home.

Which is the favourite view of every commuter.

This is for the erudite MasterW
who was kind enough to say
that he enjoyed these posts.

what the commuter saw

Guerilla Gardening

A micro garden squeezed between concrete cobbles
in the chaotically busy entry to Waterloo Station.
I wondered if the guerilla gardeners wait and watch
to see how much pleasure their intervention gives
in the grime, noise and rush of commuter land.
I hope that my squeak of excitement made them smile.

what the commuter saw

APRIL, MAY, JUNE

A selection of photos for you
from my walks to and from work.

London at the start of summer.

10 June
Hawk patrol, Trafalgar Square

28 April
Trafalgar Square (before the crowds arrive)

30 April
Queue for the bus, Trafalgar Square, Tube Strike day

22 May
Piccadilly Arcade, early morning

22 May
Athenaeum Club, Waterloo Place

(Linnet in Oriel - this one is for you!)

22 May
Platform 20, Waterloo Station

4 June
Piccadilly Circus

12 June
Orange capsule, London Eye

19 May
Waterloo Bridge

MrM tells me that 'enjoy' is a transitive verb
and that I must not use it as an imperative.
Whatever.

what the commuter saw

APRIL

Early spring in London is over.

9 April
The Mall Galleries
(looking forward to meeting Gina here!)

The trees on The Mall are densely leaved now
and the tulips are finished.

10 April
The Mall

People leave their offices at lunchtime
to lie on the grass and soak up the sunshine,

9 April
St. James's Square

the flower seller behind St. James's, Piccadilly
shelters in the shade of an awning,

10 April
Jermyn Street

the cherry blossom has vanished
in a blizzard of pink and white petals

10 April
Memorials to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth

and the flags for the London Marathon
have been taken down for another year.

14 April
The Mall from Admiralty Arch

Here we are on the brink
of summer in the city.

14 April
The City from the Golden Jubilee Bridge

This is my favourite photo from April:
The Tidiest Convenience Store in London.

7 April
Pall Mall

When I asked permission to take the picture
I said it was for 'a friend'.
That's you, by the way.

what the commuter saw

MARCH

I bring you London in springtime.
Enjoy.

24 March
Waterloo Station

5 March
Charing Cross from Embankment

20 March
Waterloo Gardens

3 March
St. James's Park

10 March
Charing Cross from the South Bank

6 March
Coliseum, St. Martin's Lane

10 March
Carlton House Terrace

27 March
St. Paul's from Villiers Street

[ p.s it did rain occasionally...]

26 March
White Horse, British Council

what the commuter saw

FEBRUARY

It rained. And rained.

3 February
The man who sweeps Trafalgar Square

I tried to embrace the grey.
I really tried.

20 February
London Eye, South Bank

I looked for light,

6 February
Odeon, Leicester Square : Tube Strike day

waited for action,

10 February
Westminster from the Jubilee Bridge

searched for quirky signs,

19 February
Great Scotland Yard
Thanks to @Silverpebble for her tweet
"The sign warns of Mr Darcys in the road"

enjoyed unexpected angles,

20 February
Nelson's Column from St. Martin in the Fields

but a camera craves light.
Even a humble phone camera.

12 February
Horse Guards, after the storm

When clouds break, just for a moment,
it is the familiar scenes
which I enjoy the most.

5 February
National Gallery, Trafalgar Square

And I fall in love all over again
with the drama and energy of London
in the early morning.

26 February
City of London from Embankment Pier

what the commuter saw

JANUARY

It is midwinter in the city
and the trees are bare.

2 January
Royal Festival Hall, South Bank

Commuters are muffled in hats and scarves,
attempting to face down the rain.

29 January
Waterloo Bus Station

Every coffee shop is a temptation
promising hot drinks and comfort food.

16 January
Le Pain Quotidien, South Bank

There is a spare, angular beauty
in the urban landscapes of winter

13 January
Westminster from the South Bank

but when the sky and the river are grey
I long for a jolt of colour

27 January
Waterloo Station

and I seek shelter from the wind
in the arcades and interior spaces.

30 January
Royal Opera Arcade, Pall Mall

Despite the weather I feel the energy
of the city preparing for another day

15 January
Cyclists at the IMAX

and I am always delighted
by unexpected glimpses of the Eye.

13 January
London Eye, South Bank

And there are those mornings
when London looks drop-dead gorgeous.

And they are worth waiting for.

2 January
City of London from Waterloo Bridge