kimbofo

New favourite statue: Bomber Command Memorial

Place: Bomber Command Memorial, Green Park, London.
Date: November 18, 2012.
Camera: Sony DSC-HX20V.

I love this new memorial, tucked away in a quiet corner of Green Park (near Hyde Park Corner), which commemorates the 55,573 people who died while serving in Bomber Command during the Second World War. It was only opened this summer, and while I must have cycled past it dozens of times I've never stopped to check it out.

It was fairly busy when visited last Sunday afternoon. Much of the site was covered in poppies and Remembrance Day wreaths and quite touching items — letters, photographs, wooden crosses — left by loved ones.

The bronze sculptures of seven airmen look so realistic and the detail on their uniforms and clothing is amazing. Something about the expressions on their faces, and with their eyes cast to the skies, gave me goosebumps. This might have been my first visit to the memorial, but it won't be my last.

To view more photographs of the memorial, please visit the official photographic website.

The last signs of autumn

Place: Hyde Park, London.
Date: November 18, 2012.
Camera: Sony DSC-HX20V.

When I cycled into work on November 13 — the first bicycle commute I'd made in about a month — I was mesmirised by the autumnal colours of the trees in Hyde Park. In the early morning sunshine everything glimmered and glittered in an array of yellow and gold. It was truly beautiful — and an exhilarating start to the day.

I made a mental note to visit the park on the weekend, so that I could capture some of that magical colour on my camera. So, on Sunday, we bundled ourselves into warm clothes and strolled to the park, only to find that the best of the colour had gone. In just five days, most of the trees had lost their leaves, and those leaves that were clinging on were past their best — many were an ugly burnt brown.

Still, I was insistent on tracking down a few good trees that still had some colour — and here is some of what I found.  As usual, click on the images to enlarge.

Albert Memorial, 2pm

Place: Albert Memorial, London.
Date: November 18, 2012.
Camera: Sony DSC-HX20V.

A clear, crisp winter's day. We went on a 8km walk to Mayfair, via Kensington Palace Gardens and Hyde Park, hoping to photograph autumnal foliage, but most of the trees are now bare of leaves — last weekend would have been better. Never mind. It was a pleasant walk, despite the hoards of tourists and the Boris Bikes cycling in places where cycling is banned. The sun was out, the sky was blue — and it almost felt like I was on holiday in my adopted home town.

Panoramas of Brazil

We recently spent eight nights in Brazil, where my new Sony Cybershot camera got a good work out — especially the panoramic function. The photographs below were taken between October 26 and November 2. Click on the images to enlarge them.

The view over Vila Vehla, in Espírito Santo (about 400km north of Rio de Janeiro), taken from Penha Convent.

Bridge linking Vila Velha with Vitória, also taken from Penha Convent.

The beach in Vila Velha — it stretched for miles, and we walked the length of it in beautiful sunshine.

Ipanema Beach, Rio de Janeiro, looking south.

Ipanema Beach, Rio de Janeiro, looking north.

Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, also looking north.

A (hazy) view over Rio from the top of the mountain where Christ the Redeemer is located.

A view over Rio from the top of the Sugar Loaf — it was the only day of our trip that it threatened to rain.

Lord Mayor's procession

Place: Ludgate Hill, London.
Date: November 10, 2012.
Camera: Sony DSC-HX20V.

I seem to have spent a good bit of time these past few months standing on Ludgate Hill (or nearby Canon Street) to watch things whizz past — the Olympic men's marathon, Paralympic marathon and the official Olympic and Paralympic parade of champions — on different occasions.

Today it was the turn of the Lord Mayor's procession, an event that is billed as the world's oldest civic parade — in fact, it is 800 years old! (More about the history here.)

Despite having lived in London for 14 years, this was the first time I bothered to drag myself out of bed early on a Saturday morning to check it out. It was full of colour and atmosphere. The bulk of the participants were from the military or the livery companies that are based in the City of London. There were even floats from foreign countries, including Hong Kong, the Netherlands and Sweden. (The Swedish float had an Abba tribute band belting out the hits, proving that sometimes stereotypes can be a great thing.)

Sadly, I wasn't particularly dressed for the weather, and after 45 minutes standing in the cold, I was desperate to find a coffee shop so I could thaw out. This meant I didn't actually get to see the Lord Mayor parade past, but here's some of the highlights of what I did see:

You can find out more about the parade, which is known as the Lord Mayor's Show, via the official website.

Hammersmith Bridge, photograph no. 457

Place: Hammersmith Bridge, London.
Date: September 13, 2012.
Camera: Sony DSC-HX20V.

Have new camera, must take photograph of Hammersmith Bridge.

For posterity: the price of a Paralympic ticket vs the price of a small beer

This is my ticket to the Paralympics. It cost £10* for entry into the park, including a seat in the stadium for the athletics session, which ran from 10am to 1pm.



This is the receipt for the two beers I bought. It cost £4.30 for a 330ml plastic bottle of Heineken** — I reckon that works out at about 60 pence per sip.

* In effect, the ticket cost nothing, because a friend bought it and passed it on when he couldn't make the date.

** Heineken was the only beer on offer. And, despite advertising the availability of pints, I was told that bottles were the only option.

Parade of champions

Place: Ludgate Hill, London.
Date: September 10, 2012.
Camera: Sony DSC-HX20V.

I couldn't have picked a better time to invest in a new point-and-shoot camera. Today, as I stood a good 30 to 40 people back in a laneway off Ludgate Hill, I managed to snap these photographs — in the gap between buildings — as float after float sailed down the street as part of today's Team GB parade.

I don't know where all these people came from. Most were clearly office workers, but there were obviously people who had turned up especially, all dressed up in red, white and blue, and waving Union Flags and cheering and chanting and blowing whistles. As if there weren't enough people on the ground, there were people standing on balconies and rooftops...

... and hanging out of office windows. Many of the floats went by and I didn't have a clue who anyone on board was, although I clocked that each float was dedicated to a particular discipline — for example, cycling, rowing, track and field — with both Olympic and Paralympic athletes mingling on board.

Nicola Adams — the first female boxer to win a gold medal — was the first familiar face I recognised.

Closely followed by Greg Rutherford, long jump gold medallist, who turned and waved when a loud roar of recognition erupted on the other side of the street.

I was delighted to see Paralympic dressage star Lee Pearson on the equestrian float. Sadly, too many hands and heads were in the way for me to photograph any of the other horsey people, but I spied Mary King and Carl Hester.

I also spotted Sarah Storey, who won four gold medals in the Paralympic cycling, on a separate float. (She was standing next to Laura Trott.)

The highlight, however, was seeing Sir Chris Hoy (pictured right at the top of this post).

I only had an hour lunch-break, so I had to call it quits early. But later, in the office, we spied the Red Arrows zipping overhead as they left a trail of red, white and blue smoke over the Mall and Buckingham Palace, a fitting end to what has been quite a remarkable summer of sport.

London 2012 Paralympic marathon: awesome athletes — on three wheels

Place: Cannon Street, London.
Date: September 9, 2012.
Camera: Sony DSC-HX20V.

A month ago I stood on the street outside Mansion House tube station and watched the men's Olympic marathon. The crowds were 10 deep in places and there was a real palpable air of excitement — and loud cheers and clapping when the athletes, the support vehicles and the camera crews finally thundered past three times on a loop around the Square Mile.

Today I stood in a similar location to watch the Paralympics men's and women's wheelchair marathon — but there was hardly anyone around. I got there about 45 minutes early, had a coffee, read my book and watched the people opposite me setting up their Team GB support stand.



I was surprised by the low turnout — in this part of London, anyway; I'm sure it was more crowded closer to the finish line and in and around St Paul's Cathedral. This event was just as exciting — if not more so — than the equivalent able-bodied event. These athletes are simply awesome.

I took along a new camera, which I bought yesterday, and dabbled with the functions. Here's some (wonky) footage taken when the competitors were on their second loop — you could tell they were feeling a bit tired as the pace had dropped a little, but they were still impressively fast, probably because they were going downhill.

Finally, congratulations to Britain's David Weir, who won the men's T54 event, his fourth gold medal of these games — he also won the 5,000 metres, 1,500m and 800m track events — and USA's Shirley Reilly, who won the women's T54 event.

A very British solution

Place: Olympic stadium, Stratford, London.
Date: September 2, 2012.
Camera: Panasonic TZ3.

We went to the Paralympics today and spent some time in the stadium watching the athletics. I loved that miniature remote-controlled Mini Coopers were used to collect the javelin from the field and return it to the athlete after it had been thrown. What a clever — and very British — solution.