Not only did Tom avail himself of the aforementioned pie-and-mash, but in the scant three days he was there he also scoffed meals of fish and chips and chicken tikka masala. Surprisingly, he still came home a good kilo lighter than he left. This must in part have been due to the amount of walking he did, and descending the 100 odd steps into the Greenwich foot tunnel under the Thames.
He also went on the Docklands Light Railway, which I never have done, and pointed the camera at things around him.
I've cropped some of these, obviously, but haven't done much other editing, as I rather like the haphazard, sometimes blurry quality of them and the filmy overlay of reflections on glass inside and water out, and the rather hazy, desaturated colours of a London day.
12 comments:
that reminds me of a weekend back in England with my then-partner. We ate two curries, one Chinese dinner and a fish and chips supper. All of the food that we couldn't find in Brittany, not easily anyway. It's funny how one pines for that which is not available, now I want lobster, langoustines and Breton biscuits. Fickle?
I love the picture of the Thames, with the warehouses by the water and the tall modern buildings behind. It seems to sum up the ever changing nature of London, with the constant presence of the river, the reason the city is there at all! Lovely.
No wonder Londoners feel at home in Boston, they look very alike.
Ooh, I didn't know there was a foot tunnel under the Thames!
Well, I realise I'm prejudiced but despite the interesting nature of the photos, they just remind me why I really really don't like London. Much too big and cityish.
Oh! I hear music in these scenes! Thank you thank you for the tour.
Interesting but, no thanks, to a promenade through the tunnel.
Thanks all.
The tunnel is one of two foot tunnels under the Thames, the other being downriver at Woolwich. The Greenwich one was built in 1902, the Woolwich one ten years later.
I remember using this one frequently years ago when I lived in London and had friends who lived the other side of Greenwich. It was eerie, in a way, but well lit and well used, though it's open 24 hours and I'm not sure I'd like to use it late at night. Tom said there was a palpable level of tension because cyclists who carry their bikes down in the lift but aren't supposed to ride them in the tunnel, persistently do so and annoy the pedestrians.
It features in the book and TV version of PD James 'Original Sin', where one of the characters has a childhood horror of the tunnel and a convictione she will die there by drowning.
Please thank Tom for taking the London photos which show reaches of the city we don't normally get over here across the pond as they say. And thank you for posting them. From all that I hear, I am not fond of British cuisine, but perhaps if I was there I might change my mind.
Tunnel: do women alone feel okay using it? Some very striking pictures among these--like best the one with the red arching at the top.
Used the DLR for the first time when we were last in London. A marvellous opportunity for Schadenfreude; most of the office windows were sealed off or rendered opaque in some way but just occasionally I was able to see someone in shirt sleeves and a tie, doing something with paper. Working, in fact. I liked that.
Thanks again.
Christopher, very nice to see you. British cuisine is these days in fact very respectable and quite respected among people who know about such things, despite the negative propaganda still put about mostly by the French, much of whose amour propre seems to rest on the now precarious basis of their being better at food, if not than the rest of the world at least than the British! However, I'm not sure pie and mash is quite the acme of British culinary achievement! It was always rather heavy and very plain food for working people, but well done it can surely be very satisfying and enjoyable, and it's appeal for Tom was very much one of nostalgia.
Marly - I don't know about the tunnel, doubtless it's well policed and covered by cctv, so in reality it's probably about as safe as anywhere and safer than many open streets, even at night, but the feel of it is still uncomfortable. My friend who used it regularly said she often simply felt claustrophobic and crowded by other people down there, and thus threatened, and Tom's noticing of the tension produced by the cyclists reflects the same kind of thing (though the cyclists are being inconsiderate too!). In the PD James story it forms the focus of all the timid and unhappy woman's fears and insecurities, and when she's forced to confront her terror of it, she is able to seize life and make positive decisions at last. Glad you liked the photos!
RR - Yes, sometimes it's a fine thing to be on the outside looking in. I was surprised how long the DLR has been around, though may of the extensions of it are more recent.
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