a london diary

2000 04 08 saturday

Shining Jubilee line then bright, empty Blackfriar's Road. Sudden glimpse of the London Eye. Broad streets of almost village houses, not what you'd expect of an area only 15 minutes walk from the city.

Then more glimpses of landmarks - Bankside's tower, the NatWest building, then the Old Vic and Waterloo itself. Past www.kcl.ac.uk to the JLE photos at the NT. www.paphotos.com

Spotting security looking over me looking over the promonaders on the Queen's Walk. It seems everyone is out.

Someone left footsteps in the sandy shores of the Thames by Festival Pier. It's still low tide and the steps are barred but inviting.

Extracted Eliot on the walkway. Gleaming new Jubilee station. Tourists (but am I one?). Then Green Park and it's old style again.

West Hampstead. Strange rhthym from a train you can hear but not see. Heat haze in April - the same week as snow. T-shirt weather.

Parliament Hill. Big silver military van. Trees -> sawdust. Shark-shaped kite. "No wind at all." Rotating stunt kites too. Hazy city, no sign of the Eye or Canary Wharf.

Lazy walk through the Heath; Lego from an obscure basement; overcrowded cafes + pubs; Belsize Park, Mornington Crescent!