we're moving to Bayswater, land of ever receding facades. The drama today was meeting some of the new neighbors, hoping they would share their internet access with us. That would spare us an 18 month contract with a provider, when we only need 4 to 6 months. Over here on Back Church Lane, where the youngsters and those with not as much cash live ( Read more... )

den Haag, on a sunny afternoon in early spring, the Dutch ride the streets on their bicycles, women in high heels, men in trenchcoats (the air is still cool), talking on cellphones, steering with one hand. Thin bricks make up both the building walls and the street paving. Gleaming window shutters shine of bright Dutch enamel, multipane leaded ( Read more... )

So, in all my recent recital of wanderings, I neglected to talk about the stuff of London. Cobbles, ironwork, reamy seedy glass, raw quartersawn oak floors of Kenwood House, chimneypots, canalboats, rubblewalls,crests, stonecarving, stuff and stuff, made in centuries past and still working and evoking the makers for me, who does care. I love it.

Walked over Tower Bridge Friday morn to Bermondsey Market. It huddles now in a much smaller space as new construction goes up over it, when finished the market will huddle under the new building which is to be built on the site. It will be on posts, leaving a sort of square within and underneath it. Not much to delight in there. But the good old ( Read more... )

Visited Colin today. Upstairs on the doubledecker, Bishopsgate, Thames Street, Southwark Bridge, Elephant & Castle, Lambeth Castle, Battersea Power Station, off the bus and then lost...for a moment, and then down the street to his place. He looks great. We're all a little grayer. In the small work niche I inhabit in this world, he's the only ( Read more... )

The loft is grand, but we needed some amenities so we walked and trained and walked to Ikea, away to the east from our start in East London. I haven't been to Ikea in years. It was great to see the way they've held to their original goals of good-looking & cheap, as every other retailer races upmarket after bigger profits. We bought two reading ( Read more... )

Much delayed but inevitable, our arrival Saturday into Heathrow. The coffee shops have changed, I'd rather Costa than Starbucks, but I needed the caffeine. I don't delight in flying. Still exhausted but now coffee-fueled we dragged our bags to the curb (kerb ( Read more... )

First time out, hope the wind is at my back.