did i mention the...

SNOW? Ok, it's quite old by now - last week Tuesday was the day I had that view out of my window in the morning. But I didn't get round to downloading pictures from the camera earlier.

Today was a great day. Lost my keys in the morning. Luckily in the hallway. Unluckily I didn't notice that before arriving at college. Without being able to open my locker I couldn't change and had to do everything in waterproof trousers and a smelly jumper. Including the chat with the senior tutor that I should have had for more than a week now. Oh well, never mind.

The next snowfall for London will happen during a unusually cold winter in 2034. Before that we won't see any white, thanks to global warming. Oh well, let's drive to work anyway.

hole in the wall

This is a picture taken through the "Hole in the Wall". This hole in the wall cuts the journey time between Imperial College and Harrods down to about 10 minutes (walking). If it wasn't there would - guess what - only be a wall and no hole. Therefore the hole was a very useful idea. The above mentioned walk is, by the way, also very scenic (in terms of the living rooms you can have a look at) and highly recommended.

(boring) big ben

Big Ben in the dawn. Not much to say really. Could mention that the tower is not actually called Big Ben but only the clock. Everyone knows that already though...

ud 419

Some people watch birds in Norfolk, others go fox hunting, some fishing. And some have strange cars in their garage.

hampsted heath (2)

Entering "Do not enter the water from the banks" into Google gives you no results. Unfortunately, this will change soon. Sorry Google.

hampsted heath (1)

Not much to say here. I went to Hampsted Heath on my bike. And yes, I was speeding. According to that policeman who stopped Owen one night last December we (the cyclist) will all kill someone one day. Interesting theory...

london pigeons

Two London Pigeons looking out of the window in Camden Town.

Which of the following statements is true:

a) Don't ever kill a pigeon in London! They belong to the Queen - if you kill one you could be prosecuted.

b) It is forbidden to climb trees in Hyde Park. They belong to the Queen and you need her permission before climbing any of them.

(Yes, one of them is true.)

london eye (3)

This is looking from the (British Airways) London Eye down to that building which might be called City Hall or not, I am not sure. The London Eye might be on the River but technically it is based on the South Bank (that's also the place where little skate board kiddies fall on their noses). When the London Eye was build (and then called Milennium Wheel) the rent for that spot of South Bank was a symbolic one pound a year or so. Last year South Bank people decided they want to become rich and started charging about one million times that amount. Some newspapers wrote articles on the London Eye closing down at the river last Tuesday and it was still there. Oh well.

By the way: Don't ask me why there is trampolines down there. I don't know.

london eye (2)

To continue my blabla from yesterday: Basically everyone wanted a ride on the Millennium Wheel while the Millennium Dome went bankrupt a thousand and one times. So the plan was to keep the Wheel running and one sold it to British Airways who called it London Eye and the ride was a flight from then on. You also need a boarding pass, but that's beside the point.

london eye (1)

In case you didn't know: The "British Airways London Eye", before it's re-branding better known as "Millennium Wheel", was only built to be there for a few months around the Millennium change. The Millennium Dome, now re-branded to "O2 arena" was built for eternity. Funnily people liked the Millennium Wheel much more than the Millennium Dome.

[And the story continues tomorrow...]

don't go anywhere

On the one hand it's quite useful that at each traffic light you have the instructions of where not to go due to thousands of on-way streets. On the other hand this can be quite confusion at times. As seen near Victoria Station.

frazer nash bmw

wrong door

Science Museum (again).

lecture theatre

Had my first class in project management today. Is taking a photo of a Tanaka Business School lecture slide breaking copyright law? I hope not...

who am i?

Good question actually.

This refers to an exhibition in the Wellcome wing of the Science Museum. You have to walk all the way thorugh to the other end of the building passing lots of moon landers and rockets and cars and stuff to get there.

blue cube

Faculty Building at Imperial, better known as Blue Cube.

speaker's corner (3)

As I said - Speaker's Corner can be great fun. But remember: "IT'S GOING TO GET WORSE!"

speaker's corner (2)

Speaker's Corner. No comment.

speaker's corner (1)

This Sir is talking pro communism every Sunday at speaker's corner. Being there at the wrong time can be very disappointing, but at the right time speaker's corner can be lots of fun! Highly recommended for a chilled Sunday afternoon.

last supper

The last supper. Painted on the streets near Trafalgar Square.

natural history museum (2)

The Natural Hisotry Museum again. This time: dark.

natiural history museum

The Natural History Museum. Very bright.

bike

Three layer transport picture today:
Back: London bendy bus.
Middle: Block London cab.
Front: London bike.

paddington

Could be East London, but isn't... The Paddington basin redevelopment just behind St. Mary's hospital.

lamp

Little break from the East London tour. This is in Hyde Park.

millenium dome

Popping out of an empty Underground station which is designed with inspiration by a ship (and also has a name that I cannot remember right now) you see a huge empty parking area in front of what is now known as the O2 arena.

shiny new house

To continue on the Greenwich and East London trail: today a photo of one of the many fancy looking new houses somewhere near Canary Wharf.

what are you looking at?

empty flats

Continuing the East London trip after going through the foot tunnel underneath the Thames you get this very nice view over to Canary Wharf. Very quiet residential area. Apparently many of the flats are empty because the landlords fear that tenants might damage their expensive porperty...

greenwich tunnel

Foot tunnel from Greenwich over to the Isle of Dogs. In the lifts on either side of tunnel there's a lift boy - impressive.

cutty sark

Next part of the little Greenwich series: Cutty Sark.

queen's oak

Digging out that picture of the Greenwich Meridian the other day I found all these pictures of a lovely morning in Greenwich and East London which I will put here over the next years.

This is the Queen's Oak which, unfortunately, was hit by lightning or so a couple of years back. But because it's the Queen's Oak it isn't just removed but left there in Greenwich Park which has an amazing atmosphere on foggy mornings. There is a new one next to the "broken" one, a Mini Queen's Oak...

1101

I can turn it whatever way round I want, it doesn't give me a binary 2007. Happy new year to everyone who deserves it anyway ;)

(The picture is taken on the banks of the Thames opposite the London Eye. Thanks to CNN I had a look at the fireworks in London yesterday and was quite amazed...)