St Andrew's Square II - # 09/38

I just wanted to show the fine impression made by the whole length of the Square in general.

For the unaware; Richard's comment yesterday referred to the missing iron railings.....all removed in the Second World War in a misguided effort to provide scrap metal for weapons. (You will see many "railing-less" terraces in Britain). I understand that the scrap was useless because the metal was unsuitable. The scars of this patriotic endeavour remain.

Tomorrow we'll take a trip back in time and accompany the British Army up the Khyber Pass.

Sub-urban-burbiton - # 09/36

First: a compliment to Freefalling who caught the sense of what I was trying to capture in the previous post # 09/35. The derelict catchment pools of Seething Wells have a degree of "sinisterosity" that is remarkably strong. It's nice to know that sometimes a photgraph "works" like you want it to.

While Seething Wells has a kind of presence that overawes, the post # 09/34 tried to capture a sort of "magical non-event"..............No. 1 Electric Parade is a garage housing a woodworking outfit: and No! it is not the secret laboratory of either Batman or even Flash Gordon, although I wish it were.

So what's this # 09/36 (a co-incidence of number, for I'm now talking 1930 or thereabouts).........It's an exciting Art Deco icon of suburban blandness. Kingston.....once the Capital City of Saxon England of the 10th Century....is now the ultimate Suburbia; a suburban town that actually has its own suburbs! Hence "sub-urban-burbiton" or to put it blandly Surbiton, the ultimate suburb of the England of the 1930s - Oh, Brave New World!

The mini-series "Suburban Sundown" tried to capture some of it. But here we go again. A magical non-event if ever there was one.

No. 1 Electric Parade! - # 09/34

Now wouldn't you just love to have an address like that? 1 Electric Parade: an address to conjure with.

'roony's been lost and casting around for an anchor point. You've all felt his deep psychological malaise. He thinks he's at last found a strong stable point where he can attach himself. What can it be? What is it about Electric Parade that inspires him and renews his strength?

Do yourself a favour and enlarge the picture with a simple click.

An Event in Suburbia - # 09/16

We no longer have "severe weather". We now have "Severe Weather Events". And so the unnecessary inclusion of extra words, and pseudo-scientific-speak goes ever onward.

Will this "event" include all kinds of extra side-shows and spontaneous "happenings" in addition to the pure and simple unusually high snow fall - the worst for 18 years? So much so that I discovered that my wellingtons had perished as they lay unused in the cupboard under the stairs, and the rubber sole of my bad-weather shoes had come unstuck and was letting in the damp.

Anyway, I'm starting to betray my age by such common-sensical griping. And "NO, I do not go along with the moaning about Not Being Prepared For The Snow..........it's so rare that the investment in necessary equipment is not worth it." That's not precisely what I think, but it will do for now.

Here is my beloved London Suburbia looking unusually pretty at 07.00 hrs this morning.

Suburban sundown - Modernism! - # 09/13

Suddenly I understand what cubeism, and the 1920s were all about. Why has it taken me so long? These two were put up in the '60s. I did not like them then, and I still don't, because I always felt they are out of context for what they are, where they are. But after snapping them carefully with my new super-wideangle lens, just before sundown, I suddenly appreciate them - but a only a little bit .

Suburban sundown - the Tower of Babel and Satan's Pit! - # 09/10

The Tolworth Tower, overlooks the thundering Kingston Bypass. It's typical of suburban London.

I was amused to compare it with this estate agent's blurb discovered recently, attempting to encourage people to buy property in Dubai......................

..........."Welcome to Al Barari, the most perfect place on earth. Those lucky enough to belong in this wonderland can expect a life filled with enchantment and beauty, each day more fulfilling than the last. Whether you lie by your pool listening to the fountains and the birds or spend each day at one of the world's finest spas. Whether you explore the dreamlike parklands or wander the specialist craft stores, hobby shops or other niche retail outlets. Even a day at the office is a surreal experience - it's a life of endless wonder.Not since the legendary gardens of the Moors has there been a place that so celebrates the human intrinsic love of nature and beauty. As though surrounding the palace of a great sultan, Al Barari is a delight to the senses and a tribute to the wonders of the planet.Set like a magnificent emerald within the golden desert sands, Al Barari is a sanctuary where man and nature live in harmony, where the flora and bird life of the Arabian Peninsula intertwine with luxurious residences. Cobbled paths and shimmering waterways wind amongst vast Botanical Gardens, past Islamic Perfumed Gardens, Music Parks, open-air theatres and fine organic restaurants. It is a place so tranquil that the silence is only broken by the symphony of life, a soothing melody of birdsong and cascading waterfalls, laughter and age old breezes whispering through the foliage. In this same lavish style, a unique Arabian Boutique Hotel welcomes travelers.If you would like more information on the above property please contact us on the form below and one of our sales consultants shall contact you shortly with the answers to all your questions regarding the property....................."

How long will it be before the sound that is "the symphony of life" becomes the thundering roar of the Al Barari Bypass? I wonder if a day at the office in the Tolworth Tower is "a surreal experience - it's a life of endless wonder" ? By the way: you can "Google" Tolworth and find out everything you want to know about its origins and the tower.

Suburban sundown - as the sun sinks it also rises.

Camera: Olympus E3 Lens 9mm 1:4 (18mm equivalent) Time: Sundown. This is one of the first test photos I took with this new Olympus super-wideangle lens. So far I'm very pleased with it.

Suburban sundown - Camp Malden Manor! - # 09/07

The 1937 utilitarian, poured-concrete equipment tower of Malden Manor suburban railway station unwittingly looks forward to the unpleasantness of the imminent WW 2. The tower has not aged elegantly, although the station is still rugged, clean, and fit for purpose.

Below it another shock awaits us! The unexpected, and very much enjoyed, echo of Britain's colonial past - the Indian Take-Away: strategically placed to catch home-bound commuters, and all tooled up with a little VHF transceiver antenna to communicate urgently with all patrolling Honda delivery mopeds.

Suburban sundown - sometimes it gets you down. (Lessons in English vernacular cost extra!)

Suburban sundown - Tolworth Station! - # 09/06

I'm not sure where this is going to end up, or where it will pass through on the way. It's about London's "suburbia" and how the great boom of the 1930's has morphed it's way into the 21st century. I suspect that occasionally it might be a bit "dark", sometimes rather bland (what suburbia isn't?) but I will attempt to make it photographically palatable. I might even become so depressed that I can't bear to continue it. Then again, I might become inspired and find the strength to go on for a week or two. We'll see.

Tolworth railway station is a concrete Bauhaus/Art Deco-ish creation thrown up alongside the new Kingston bypass to serve a vaste new suburbia that mushroomed from zero in the 1930s. When new it probably looked quite stylish. It was simple and relatively cheap to build. It probably had in mind the same future vision of the Autobahn age that was also dawning in Germany. Today......it's definitely "sundown style". Too much Auto and not enough Bahn.