The Ultimate Grey - # 08/60

All right! So you are moaning! You don't like Grey! But I have to make the best of what I've got. Grey is all I have.....this is London in winter, isn't it! The Brentford buildings on the Golden Mile have a remarkable ability to reflect the colour of the day. The GSK Building looks good under any sky.

This is the Ultimate Grey Building: ultimate means last. The Grey Series has finished.

Camera: Olympus E3

Brentford rising - the Stunner of The Great West Road - # 08/53

Stand at the southern end of the dock basin in the late afternoon and look north. The enormous grey-blue glass mass of the GSK building reflects the afternoon sun. The strange golden towers are the mirrored reflections of the modern office blocks which stand opposite this magnificent glass creation.

I've chosen to show it in the context of the remaining derelict of sheds and a touch of old canal water below, with some tree cover on the right. The very old alongside the ultra modern world-HQ of Glaxo Smith Klein.

For another impression of sky and sunlight on glass see - http://richmonduponthamesdailyphoto.blogspot.com/2007/07/hard-forms-hard-nature-soft-sentiments.html

Camera: Olympus E3

Brentford rising - #08/48

Turning away from the quaint and quirky we move towards the "urban renewal". The old canal harbour is being transformed into "luxury" apartments and in the distance is the stunning glass creation that houses the giant HQ of GlaxoSmithKline - evidence of "the Knowledge Economy" where once the Smoke Stack ruled (But even that was based on science and knowledge). For the next few days we'll explore "the up-and-coming" Brentford.

(BTW.....there are some unexpected imperfections in this image. The GSK building is a bit fuzzy. Blame me, not the camera. On closer inspection I see that it is "noise"....so do blame the camera.)

Camera: Olympus C7070 WZ

Industrial Economy meets Knowledge Economy - # 178

We are staying with the waterborne theme up at Brentford, immediately north of Richmond.

Here is the Grand Union Canal, completed in 1805, to bring industrial goods by canal from Birmingham to London. This was a very important stepping stone in the advance of the economy. Within about 40 years it was struggling to compete with the new railway. Today it makes a pleasant recreational area at the foot of the huge Glaxo Smith Kline HQ complex, but the canal is still an active and well used resource.