Sunday, June 16, 2013

Animals


I had a chance to go for a photo walk yesterday, starting in Islington, north London, and heading northward along Green Lanes to Wood Green (about 4.5 miles). Animals seemed to be the theme of the day.

First, I saw this heavyset little staffie sitting outside on a windowsill in Islington, watching the world go by. I got the impression this is a favorite perch.


Then I found this amazing fox art by Irony & Boe, who also painted a pigeon that Sally and I photographed in Hackney back in April.

So it was a good walk, and I got a few other shots I like, too. For the first time in months and months I am pretty much caught up on posting my photos -- everything is on Flickr (except yesterday's shots). I usually run a backlog of a couple of weeks. I need to get out more!

Last night we went to tea with Sally and Liz and their families. I must say, I'm not sure I understand tea, especially fancy tea. We all got suited up, went to the exceedingly posh Ritz Hotel in Mayfair, and had pots and pots of aromatic tea beneath the gilding and mirrors and an ornate skylight. There were tiny cucumber (or salmon, or ham, or cheese) sandwiches. There were scones with clotted cream and jam. There were cakes. But at the end of the day, you're still paying £45 for white bread and sugar and water. I suppose it's the experience that counts, but frankly, I'd rather go to a pub.

And actually, when tea was over, we did go to a pub, where we ran into a bevy of young women out for a night on the town. They were tottering about on towering high heels, squeezed into brightly-colored dresses as tight as sausage casings, with their hair piled in a carefully careless way. Young men were circling them like fruit flies. They were far more entertaining than anything we saw at the Ritz.

8 comments:

Nancy said...

That last paragraph is the bees knees. Cute little chunker in the first photo... even though I was given over to fantasizing about the melted stairs.

ellen abbott said...

what a great description of both the tea and the young women at the pub.

e said...

You really should be writing something besides a blog. I

Elizabeth said...

That last paragraph was gold.

Linda Sue said...

street art in London - wow! incredible! Love the little sausage guarding the hood from his perch, such a rolly polly pooch.The ripe plump tottering fruit in uncomfortable dresses- hormones racing!

Steve Reed said...

Nancy: Aren't those stairs weird? I think they're coated with some kind of slip-proof surface that seems to have, well, slipped.

Ellen: Thanks! They were very vivid!

E & Elizabeth: Thanks! :)

Linda Sue: Isn't that an incredible piece? I think I actually gasped when I saw it. This is why I love street art. You're walking along, minding your own business, you turn a corner and you're confronted with some astonishing, unexpected piece. Wow, indeed!

Ms. Moon said...

Ah, man. You gave us picture-pictures AND word-pictures. I like them all.

DAJ said...

What a wild fuzzy cutie. And the fox is nice too...