Sunday, January 25, 2015

Very Nearly Finished


I walked pretty much all day yesterday through the NW10 postcode, photographing 77 streets I'd missed in earlier passes. I'm still not quite finished, because I was separated from five remaining streets by a railroad yard and I just didn't have the energy to figure out how to get around it. I'll have to go back for those. And I haven't yet entered everything onto my spreadsheets, so it's possible I've missed one or two more. But I consider myself basically done.

That is a huge freaking postcode.

I stopped for lunch at a sad little sandwich shop near the Willesden Junction station. It didn't look sad from the outside, but when I went in, I found just four wrapped sandwiches in a glass display case, and some random pastries, and a coffee machine, and a fridge of chilled drinks. Oh, and a bored-looking attendant who charged me twice for my tuna melt. (It was an honest mistake. I didn't pay twice.) There were a few other customers, so I figured the place wouldn't kill me, and it didn't.

The weather was perfect, thank goodness. Not too cold, with a clear sunny sky and hence lots of interesting shadows. I've said it before and I'll say it again -- shooting pictures is so much easier and more interesting on a sunny day.

I got home last night to find that Dave had taken Olga to Hampstead Heath, bathed her, and gone shopping for groceries. Now that is a good husband! He made chicken pot pies last night and we watched a movie called "Filth," with James McAvoy. Let me just say, the title does not lie. It was a mad scramble of sex and violence -- kind of Pulp Fiction-ish, but not as good. McAvoy was interesting, but I'm still confused about the ending. The impenetrable Scottish accents didn't help.

(Photo: A carpet shop in Harlesden, yesterday.)

3 comments:

Reya Mellicker said...

That is definitely a good husband!

I love the bees and dragonflies. Wow. And oh yeah, sunshine makes everything more photogenic. You don't have to work so hard to compose a good picture. I think you're a far finer artist since moving to London. Part of that is: you get out and take pictures! You've worked on it. But I also think the fact of London's weather has helped you sharpen your eye. As you know, I'm a big fan of your pictures.

I love the pic of the man walking up the stairs. Beautiful.

I appreciate your words about Islamaphobic Fox news. I reread the chapter on Islam in Huston Smith's EXCELLENT The World's Religions. I think Islam has not changed much over time while Christianity and Judaism have changed drastically. I wonder if there's something about that fact that magnifies the culture clash.

Also it is such a huge religion at the moment. Who knows? It's complicated, way beyond my ability to work out!

Hope you're having a lovely Sunday. xx

Ms. Moon said...

Dave is a lovely husband! And so are you.
What in the world are you going to do in your spare time when this huge project is over?

The Bug said...

Mmm pot pie! One of my very favorite foods. If I didn't like my husband so much I might want to borrow yours!