Friday, October 11, 2024

A Canal Walk


Well, I'm happy to report that all my peeps in Tampa seem to have come through Milton OK. My stepsister said a large limb fell across their road, temporarily blocking access, but it was being removed as she told me about it.

You may have seen that a massive crane collapsed in downtown St. Petersburg and crashed into the building that houses the Tampa Bay Times. I've been in that building several times, including once almost a quarter of a century ago (!) to interview for a job I didn't get. (It was actually better that I didn't get it, because the opportunity arose to move to New York a few months later.) I still have friends who work there. The building looks pretty badly damaged.

Things in London are fortunately much calmer than Florida, weather-wise. I took a walk yesterday along the Grand Union Canal, from Lisson Grove through Little Venice and Ladbroke Grove to Willesden Junction -- about four and a half miles, according to Google Maps. It was a good day for photography, with light rain eventually making way for intermittent sunshine, so I got some decent photos.


I tried to pay attention to the changing seasons. We haven't hit "peak leaf" yet but there's some color out there.


The leaves combined with the quirkiness of the canal boats made for fun picture-taking.


I don't know what's happened in this area under the Westway. There are three or four derelict, burned-out boats in the water, including that one in the foreground that is little more than a pile of floating plywood, and there's loads of rubbish piled against the wall along the path. It looks like there was a fire, or series of fires, and people are perhaps rebuilding -- but I couldn't find anything about it in the news. It's a mystery.


I stopped at Trellick Tower to check out all the street art. I used to come here with Olga all the time when we lived in Notting Hill. It makes for good graffiti photos, but I only took a few this time around. I guess I'm not as into graffiti as I once was.


This area between two bridges was hard to photograph because it was just a little too wide for my camera lens -- and I couldn't back up anymore without the bridge intruding into the picture overhead. So I took a pano shot with my iPhone. It's nice to have a couple of camera options!

It was a little strange to make this walk without Olga, but she can't go that kind of distance anymore. Hopefully she was content to go to Hampstead Heath in her dog-walker's van!

44 comments:

  1. Those houses along the canal look strangely thin, and I wonder how the rear extensions were built. Must have been a wet job!

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    1. Yeah, I can't imagine they're not pretty damp in all weather!

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  2. The second picture is striking with the light, the colours of the leaves and the radiating splashes. Beautiful in its ordinariness.

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    1. Thank you! I was attracted by that yellow striped leaf, and then the composition came together with the raindrops hitting at just the right time.

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  3. So many beautiful and interesting views. What stories they tell.

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    1. It's a fun walk, especially with all the interesting boats and the lives they contain.

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  4. Those burned out boats may be the result of someone taking the saying too seriously. Or the beginning of an underworld suspense novel. But there needs to be a body.

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  5. The crane falling onto the newsroom was reported here. Who would have thought you had a connection.
    What luscious photos you've posted.

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    1. The world really is very small in a lot of ways.

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  6. I'm always surprised by all the canals; I never thought of London as having canals. But they make for a pretty walk.

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    1. England is criss-crossed by lots of canals, used for transport in the days before the railroads.

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  7. It's a treat to see the colorful leaves when out for a walk!

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  8. What a lovely post! Thanks for the walk along the canal.

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  9. Since learning that Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones grew up on a canal boat, I have come to appreciate the fact that people do live on them far more. It's romantic and yet- how do they do that? I think that some people's spirits are best suited to living on a boat. Luscious photos, as Andrew said. Indeed!

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    1. I wouldn't want to live on a boat along such a public towpath. It must be very weird having people constantly walking past your windows.

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  10. I have asked a blogging boater artist if she knows anything about the derelict boats....

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    1. Let me know if she does! I'm very curious. I've never seen so many derelict boats along the Grand Union Canal before -- three in this location and one more, also sunken, farther west.

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  11. This is a great place for an urban walk.

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    1. It really is! I love walking the canal towpaths.

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  12. Seeing these sorts of pictures are always a shock to my system with all the graffiti and trash everywhere. We just don't see these sorts of things in small town rural America. I guess people living in such places eventually get numb to it all.

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    1. You even get to appreciate the graffiti -- at least, I have -- but the trash remains frustrating. London has a real problem keeping up with solid waste. It's been true as long as I've lived here and probably long before that.

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  13. I'm surprised the city doesn't require those destroyed boats to be removed. love the picture of the leaves on the water.

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    1. I am too! Maybe they can't tell who owns them?

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  14. sunshine and color- beautiful day! Wonderful shots! I could park myself in this post for days!!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it -- a virtual trip back to London. :)

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  15. Great set of photos. I especially like the first one with those narrow buildings lining the canal. I do feel a bit sorry for Kermit (I think that's Kermit) having to be chained to the side of the boat. It also looks like a perfect day for a walk.

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    1. Even if it's not Kermit, he or she needs our sympathy. :)

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  16. Each photo tells a story. Lovely.
    More recently, there was a large condo/apartment building in FL that collapsed, and I believe it was condemned. People died. It was reported that building maintenance was lacking for many years. Two MA friends have recently bought property in FL; one bought a condo the other a beach house. Both are dealing with hurricane damage and now question their investment.
    Narrow boats are nice for a day or two exploring canals but living in tight spaces can be hard.

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    1. Oh yeah, I remember that condo collapse a couple of years ago. Such a crazy story. Ours was very well-maintained, at least while I lived there.

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  17. The crane company will probably have the snot sued out of them. They had four days of warning to get that crane down and they didn't do it. The articles I read said the building is a complete loss. That sort of negligence is just awful.

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    1. Yeah, I don't get why that couldn't have been prevented. They SHOULD get the snot sued out of them.

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  18. That photo of the leaves and the raindrops in the puddle is a keeper! They're all good, though.

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  19. I love the canal reflection photo and am always a fan of colorful leaves. I hope those states get a reprieve from storms for a while so they can dig out and repair.

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    1. Seriously, this needs to be the end of the 2024 hurricane season in Florida. Enough already.

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  20. I love the canal shots with the boats best. And the widening ripples from raindrops in that puddle.

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    1. Thanks! The boats are endlessly fascinating, all colorfully painted and with curious names.

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  21. Your photographs are perfect compositions of everyday life in an urban setting. The last one has everything. Autumn colours, tower blocks, reflections, and you caught the red bus.

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    1. Thanks! Yeah, the bus was a bit of luck. I had to wait for a really ugly truck to get off the bridge before I took it. :)

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  22. What Allison said about that crane in Tampa St Pete! Really good photos today, Steve, especially the first one, it's really good!!

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    1. Glad you like it! I walked past all those houses and only happened to turn around to see them from the other direction, with that stunning reflection. Pure luck!

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