Posts Tagged London
Fantastic Mr Fox
I visited my cousin last Monday and there was a fox, bold as brass, sitting in her garden. For her it’s an ordinary occurrence, but we’ve only ever had one fox in ours and that was at night. It was happy to sit there as I took the above two photos. I love both, the first is a brooding shot while the second makes it look so happy as it scratches.
Great Tits
Yes, completely sensationalist and misleading, but then again, I do work in PR… These little guys were in some bushes outside our living room window. It was taken early morning, so a fair bit of light enhancing has been done. Couldn’t avoid the darkness around the beak area without it looking unnatural.
I’m going to upping the photography sizes from 500 – 640 pixels now. The showcases will stay 500 due to loading times.
Grumpy Families
Fridays are never a good day for One A Day. The above was taken on Valentine’s Day. It’ll appear with some other shots on Faces of London soon.
West Side Story
Courtesy of Fashion & Modesty
Last night I trawled through my favourite parts of West Side Story (1961) on YouTube. Originally touted as a failure, this Broadway classic has since been classed as one of the best Musicals ever made. It tells the age old story of forbidden love (a not so subtle relook at Romeo & Juliet) in a NYC1950s envisioning. This means racial tensions, disillusioned youth and gang warfare that looks more quaint than menacing to audiences in 2011.
What this (regular) ritual did bring up was the thought of how the majority of Hollywood today is dreadful. Stagnant, overly glossy, no creativity – 85% (I made that percentage up) of films nowerdays are remakes devoid of any character or simplistic cash cows that exist to add nothing in terms of artistic merit. Take a look at the video before – it’s a wonderfully choreographed scene that brings the above issues to life. Combat between gangs through the medium of dance – a literal dancing with death.
Throughout the film, you’ll notice that there doesn’t have to be violence, swearing, grit and yet it’s a cultural snapshot. Immigration in New York was a pressing issue for the Baby Boomers and you can see that throughout the film. Menacing adolescents terrorising the streets – sounds familiar? There’s no Sky News in West Side Story (WST) – no fear to be peddled. Stealing fruit, mindless graffiti, going toe-to-toe with each other with pirouettes. That’s not to say that it’s all harmless fun – anyone who’s a fan will already know the outcome of the film.
Still, skulduggery aside, WST manages to stay relevant for audiences today. This is thanks to the craft that is Leonard Bernstein’s fantastic score – a sweeping mix of delicate love songs and bombastic Latino numbers. Take the lyrics of the playful Officer Krupke as an example. It’s a witty song that not only deals with the issues of abandoned youth, but at the same time is full of humour and drama.
If you’ve never seen it, go out and and catch it on DVD. It’s a shame it’s not on at the West End any more – it’s very good in the flesh.
In Celebration To The Tube
3.4 billion. That’s right; you read correctly, that’s billion not million. That’s how many yearly journeys take place on the London Underground and bus network. 4 million people get the tube a day. The amount yearly is equivalent to the entire UK overland rail network. It’s proof that while the rest of the country continues to struggle to pull itself out of recession, the capital still remains the powerhouse it’s always been.
You might hate the Tube, there are plenty reasons why you should, but negativity is counterproductive. This is a rail network built in the 1830s and it’s the lifeline of so many Londoners. Chugging away, despite the best efforts of strikes, signal failures and broken trains, it marches on.
Investment, which is on its way, is crucial as its capacity is already at maximum and numbers are continuing to rise. It’s the busiest network in the world by a mile – an astonishing achievement for such a small country. New York lags behinds while Paris’ figures are pitiful.
So here’s to London Underground and its continued success. The fun has only begun, especially with the Olympics on the way in 2012. Regular commuters may be used to the daily pain, but showcasing London’s prowess to the world means the network upgrades have to be completed by then.
TFL may have already won the silver, now they just need to go for the gold.
