Montage of Miscellany

The headline above could describe almost any of my posts, because my brain is full of miscellany and I inflict it on you here every morning, but today's post is especially miscellaneous because it's yet another collection of random iPhone photos.

First, a very autumnal scene on my walk to work. This section of Abbey Road, just north of Belsize Road, is always good for shadows on sunny mornings at this time of year. Something about the angle of the light.

Here's a look through the window of a new shop opening in St. John's Wood, specializing in antique textiles. Seems like a very specialized line of commerce! I wonder what they'd make of my great-grandmother's quilt?

Another view of the tall construction crane down the hill from our flat. I took this through a tiny gap in the plywood wall (or "hoarding," as the British say) surrounding the site. I'm always intrigued by what's going on behind walls and fences at construction sites. In New York there's often a hole in the wall so passers-by can look through and indulge their curiosity, but here in London we're apparently expected to mind our own business.

A curious and rather abstract figure in someone's front garden in Hampstead. A Frankenthaler Frankenstein?

I found this sign on the ground and couldn't help wondering what it used to be stuck to. And what a curious smiley face! Took me a while to work it out -- I've never seen one with a neck.

Another autumnal shot -- Olga putting her olfactory skills to use on her morning walk.

When I was over near Paddington on our recent trivia night, I decided for old times' sake to walk past the Shakespeare Hotel, where I stayed when I first came to London on a trip in 2000. I stayed there again on a second visit in 2003. It was a perfectly good budget hotel with a view over Norfolk Square and I remember I enjoyed their breakfasts. I haven't been inside for almost 20 years so I have no idea what it's like now, but the front door looks the same!

The coffee machine at work was displaying this error screen a few days ago. I've never seen this before and it amused me. It seems so emphatic, with the exclamation point, and yet the green check mark seems to suggest that everything is fine. It can't make up its own mind. (Oh, that's right, it doesn't have one.)