Ian: Here is the last instalment of our trip to London . . .

There's a fan club for all tastes here !

28% of the UK population are employed standing on footpaths and in malls holding signs.

Rising DisneyLand like behind the sunny forecourt of the British Library is St.Pancreas station.

Michael: With my lovely cousin Sav and her equally lovely husband Richard, wandering the streets of London. There is actually a Sri Lankan-style portrait of Sav and me, complete with severe faces, but Ian thinks it's too esoteric (read embarrassing) to post.

Do I look ill in this photo? I think I look a touch cyanosed. No, I'm not a hypochondriac. Really..

I found some more of the fabulous ceilings in the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Some of the intricate carving of ivory is amazing ...

In the Soho district we caught up with our friend Mark (and Lotti) at one of the 'cheap & cheerful' cafes.

With Kumi and Aliki in the shadow of the big bike wheel.

For Tim : )

The magnificent Natural History Museum

Covent Garden is where they send Buskers when they've graduated from tube stations.

Monument to Prince Albert

* Comments, questions, suggestions - we welcome them all !! Dont be shy !

NEWS FLASH !
Fame & fortune at last ! (well, a bit of fame)
Total Film magazine covered the Monty Python Day at Doune Castle
(see our Sep 5th blog) and we now appear in the latest issue !

We are available for special occasions and can be booked thru our agent.

Ian: This time, it's more of the V&A - and in a tribute to our dear friend 'Buny' in Melbourne who beavers away creating wind and organ instruments with the finest of craftmanship, we highlite the instruments on display. Love ya work Buny !

The 'tiger eating colonialist' organ

and get an eyefull of this cd holder ! . . .

and finally, this amazing bit of musical embellishment . . .

Ian: ok ! . . . part 2 of our time in London ...

( oh, and I've just put a link to my photography website with the other links to the right. )



Tavistock square, apart from being where that bus was blown up on 7/7, is ironically where you'll find monuments to conscientious objectors (above), Ghandi and Virginia Wolf. Also a lovely and peaceful plot of land.

Being arty at a tube station.

Peter pan statue in Hyde Park.

When we're back in London, I'd love to spend a whole day in Hyde Park. There are some quite wild parts.

We spent a very rainy morning in Portobello Road in Notting Hill to have a peek at the market, but we settled for a coffee in a cafe, keeping dry.

Michael: I didn't have a good time at Portobello Road Market - just a few tired stalls with antiques and bric-a-brac. There were also a few food stalls, but nothing special.

Our lodgings in the Reem Hotel, Bayswater. Adequate.

Michael: I guess the accommodation was cheap-ish, but really nothing much. Just barely adequte

Michael: Now this definitely is something special. The Borough Markets are a fine food market. I dragged myself out of bed early on Saturday morning to visit and was definitely not disappointed. There would have been at least 100 stalls, all selling local and international food and produce. I have a new favourite food: Gravlax (salmon, of course) - the Noilly Prat version is particularly good... a kind of Swedish/Finnish/French fusion.




Michael: This is where the Tower Bridge (over the Thames - often erroneously called the London Bridge) splits and the two halves rise to let ships through. However, large ships very rarely go that far up the Thames these days and need to provide something like two weeks notice! Anyway, the engineer in me was very interested and intrigued that everyone else just walked over this gap like it didn't exist. Sorry about the scuffed shoes - I had been walking for miles before I got to the bridge.

Westminster Cathederal

We went to the Victoria and Albert Museum - extraordinary. We spent 5 hours there and still only saw about one fifth of the collection !

and this is just the stairwell !

... and the most amazing attention to detail in their carved antiquities !

* more V&A to come !