Don't fret! - # 08/154

Thanks to all who rushed to my rescue over my tendency to make the Thames flow uphill. And yes, I do have "tilt adjusting" software, which I frequently have to use!!!!!!

So what does this picture say and what does it show? (It's worth clicking on it to enlarge and see the quality).

1. It shows (and says) that now and then I can take pictures that are properly levelled.

2. It shows the delightful fretwork, tiling and detailing put into the typical late Victorian/Edwardian villa built at the turn of the 19th century. And it shows that a lot of original features remain. Many iron railings were ripped out during wartime to provide scrap metal for weapons production. Were these replaced, or did the original railings somehow escape ? Very few escaped; much was lost. Look at Post # 08/151 and you will see that the funny curved metal clip thing is the same as the footing of the railing in this picture # 08/154 i.e. evidence of railings cut off to go for scrap.

3. It says something about quality standards and about the difficulty of caring for elegance and graceful material structure as it decays (even our own human form). It comments on the cost of maintenance and the provision of resources to meet it. It asks a lot of questions about passing time and the move into the future, especially in a country like Britain.

The world's most fabulous guitar shop.... - # 08/148

........is in Sandycombe Road, Kew. www.chandlerguitars.co.uk check it out!

Go on! Enjoy yourself! - # 08/147

Relax and enjoy the sunshine along Kew Station Parade. (Trouble is, it's gone a bit dull and cloudy again......are well, that's England).

A nice touch of quality - # 08/145

The open-air bakery stall outside Kew Gardens Station is an asset to the area.

Heavy stuff - # 08/144

This is my somewhat dramatic vision of the fortress like "National Archive Office" of the nation, at Kew. It is here that year by year the scandals and dilemmas of the recent past are revealed as the secrecy wrappings are removed, and of course "over 1,000 years of history" are carefully maintained.

"Plainly" elegant - # 08/143

The elegance of the Parade around Kew Gardens Station is expressed by these magnificent apartments built at the turn of the 19th century around 1897. I admired the Chinese motif on the window frames. Most of all I admired the way that the dappled shadows echoed the dappled bark pattern of the plane trees.

St. Anne's Church, Kew Green, date 1714 - # 08/140

In many ways England in 1714 was not a very nice place to live, but then again, it seems to have been absolutely magnificent. Strange.

A clutter of cars - # 08/139

After the damp "countrified" walk along the Crane Valley we're back with a bump to the delights of urban civilisation. The elegant late Victorian/Edwardian parade around Kew Gardens railway station is a delightful urban spot. This photo of the parked cars and the general "techno-clutter" of modern urban life sums it up. It's not a nightmare........but some may have mixed feelings. It's a great gathering spot for locals and tourists enjoying the famous Kew Gardens, near by.

Towards evening we arrived at Richmond - # 145

........actually, City Daily Photo readers arrive at "the very steps" where, I firmly believe, thanks to exhaustive research, that Karl Moritz crossed the river. He crossed it on this very same day, 21st June, 225 years ago! These are the steps at the end of Ferry Lane, Kew. The crossing went from Brentford to Kew close to the site of the current Kew Bridge.

Tonight I will go in search of the inn where he might have stayed, and I will drink his health. (Well actually I have spent several nights already searching for his inn, but it is hard and needs a lot of work to check them all out!).

In the coming days we will try to look through his eyes at things as they are now. We will also follow him out of Richmond (another search for another ferry!) and make an astounding discovery about a certain tree (if I can find it and actually get a photo).