Marble Arch

Another beautiful spring day yesterday! Olga and I took a long walk up to Paddington in the morning, and then I returned in the afternoon to try to photograph the windows in Paddington Station. They're huge, arched windows with an attractive, ornate grillwork -- but ultimately I wasn't happy with any of my photos, and I was a little afraid that trying to take pictures in the train station would bring an unfavorable response from the security people. So instead I wandered down Edgware Road toward Marble Arch.

There I met Robert, who was collecting coins on the sidewalk and who was happy to have me take his photo. The woman just happened to wander into the frame at the last minute.

Marble Arch can be a bit down-at-heel. It's essentially a big traffic island in the middle of a swirling river of buses and cars. The park seems to attract those who are down on their luck, many with piles of baggage and apparently nowhere else to go. But as you can see from the photo at the top, that forlorn atmosphere was tempered yesterday by many Londoners out enjoying the day. The huge horse head sculpture is called "Still Water," by Nic Fiddian-Green.

Of course, there is an arch at Marble Arch -- designed in 1825 as an entrance to the courtyard at Buckingham Palace. It was moved in 1850 to its current location at the northeast corner of Hyde Park to make room for a palace expansion. I photographed it just as one of those kids lost a balloon!