London Again - Questing for a Cardy, Dinosaurs and Benches

Dino with handbag - how cool is that?

Yesterday I went to London again, in pursuit of The Perfect Cardigan.  I already have any number of cardies, but have been lusting for a leaf green number for any amount of time now.  The colour I was after is the colour of new beech leaves in Spring, with the sun shining on them.  The most beautiful colour in the world, arguably.  My efforts were finally crowned with success in the Burlington Arcade, much to the chagrin of my wallet.  I tried to photograph the cardigan, but colours are difficult to capture and the result is unsatisfactory.  Suffice it to say that it is pretty close to the colour of new leaves, the shape is the basic boyfriend cardy, and it is single ply cashmere, perfect for Spring and Summer. 

 

I wore it this morning to my favourite café while having coffee & the newspapers and received several compliments on it.  Afterwards I went to a nearby cashmere store to check out the competition, and an excited Chinese tourist pointed at me and shouted to the shop assistant, ‘This is what I want, exactly this style and colour!’  The shop assistant gave an apologetic shrug; she was surrounded by numerous items of knitwear in a state of dishevelment, it looked as though the Chinese visitor had tried and rejected a great many pulls and cardies before spotting mine.  I left swiftly; I was not going to tell her where I cornered this elusive garment, after two years of research.  Hah!

 

Lest you think all I ever do is shopping and drinking coffee, let me tell you I also walked all over central London during my quest, snapping photos whenever I discovered anything interesting.

First and foremost, it must be said, were the dinosaurs in the Louis Vuitton shop display in New Bond Street.  Absolutely amazing!  I went in and had a long chat with them about the dinosaurs, sadly they couldn’t tell me much about the cause for this sudden takeover by fossils of their flagship store.

 

Another interesting sight, and of particular interest to MDL, who loves benches, is Berkeley Square – I have never seen so many benches in one park.  There are more benches than trees, more benches almost than grass.  I stood there flabbergasted for ten minutes, mutely staring at the plethora of seating accommodation, until I finally pulled myself together and took a few pictures.  Notice the benches in the background?

 

 

 

I also came across a few interesting green spots in the area.  One day I shall do a special on window boxes, they have some absolutely stunning ones downtown London.

 

Yes they still exist!  Tradesmen's Entrance ....

 

After all these exertions I spent a good few hours drinking coffee, eating twiglets, and reading six different newspapers at my Club.  Happy days!  To finish off the day I met a friend at a Pain Quotidian and ate two different types of cake, after which feat I was completely exhausted.  In my younger days I thought nothing of eating four or five pieces of cake in one sitting, and now just two pieces leave me stuffed to the gills and feeling guiltily gluttonous.  Hic transit gloria mundi!



Green Grows the City – Flowers & Foliage in Unexpected Places

I am always pleased to find signs of Nature in unexpected places, and during my recent stay in Paris discovered two such ones.  Firstly, a private garden with huge trees and lots of shrubs and flowers right downtown.  It was overcast, so the photos aren’t as nice as one would hope, but you get the idea.  In the middle of the garden is a wide long slope, and at the bottom of the slope is an indoor swimming pool.  It is hardly noticeable from the terrace where we had coffee and cake, and one has to go to the back of the garden and turn around to see it.  Someone was sunbathing there, so I desisted from taking a picture.  Also I didn’t have much time.

 

 

Later that day I meandered over to a church nearby called Magdalenae (la Madeleine in vernacular) which is very temple-like and impressive and glorious.  What interested me most, however, is the fact that the steps leading up to it are covered with plastic troughs chock full of flowers!  I possess some of those containers, which I used to extend my garden and planted full of flowers, to provide some nectar for the bees.  Alas my garden is too dark, and the flowers all died, so the bees have to look elsewhere for support.  But the Madeleine is in full sunshine, and the flowers looked splendid!

I powdered my nose in yet another luxurious bathroom, one which has mirrors on all sides, and couldn’t resist taking another picture of myself.  It almost looks like I finally succeeded in my long-held ambition of having myself cloned 50 times so I can take over the world!

Just a little Gardening Up-date ....

The taddies are doing ducky (so to speak) and I expect them to develop legs soon.

One of their ancestors came by and sat quite close to my deckchair, so I snapped her/him.

The neighbour's cat has killed my favourate fern by frequently sitting on it while observing the pond and keeping an eue on the birdbath.

Finally a sort of summer has arrived!

Surviving Against All Odds

Courageous pioneer or foolhardy adventurer?

I admire things and creatures that manage to survive despite the odds being stacked against them!  Today I spent a happy lunch-break wandering around town eating ice-cream and taking photos of things that managed to survive where they shouldn’t have.

Long distance shot of the dandelion

Like the solitary dandelion in the lawn of the college quad!  Mown almost every day and tended by a man full-time devoted to keeping the grass free of weeds and mosses and in tip top form, and yet invaded by a single dandelion seed, undaunted by his chemicals and lawn-cutting implements.  You will notice that the dandelion is growing very low to the ground, its prouder cousins having been decapitated long ago.  I am sure there is a moral here somewhere!

 

I also like the numerous little grasses and flowers that grow in the most unpromising cracks and crevices, like in the dirt of a street or a tiny hole in a wall, or even on top of a metal manhole cover.

And there are of course The Dinosaurs!  They have been there since time immemorial, well since 1974/84.  For some unknown reason The Authorities never removed them.  The White Dinosaur was there first, and next to it is written, ‘Remember what happened to the dinosaurs!’  Ten years later, mysteriously, just a few feet to the right of the White Dinosaur, another, blue one, appeared, with the inscription, ‘I did, and look what happened to me!’  So now there are two dinosaurs graffitically straddling the outer wall of the college, and no one has tried to remove either of them.  Pretty amazing really, if you think about it.

I would have taken more photos, but cars were in the way; maybe some other time