St Pauls - Remembering the Blitz

The 29th December marked the 75th anniversary of the height of the Blitz when hundreds of buildings were destroyed in the blaze across the Square Mile - but miraculously St Paul's Cathedral remained standing.

A commemoration service and exhibition of some of the original fire engines and equipment was held to honour the brave men and women of the war-time fire service.

St Pauls Cathedral stands defiant

Seventy five years ago yesterday, much of the City of London burned to the ground as it was hit by incendiary bombs dropped by the Luftwaffe.

It was the biggest blitz raid London experienced killing 160 people and injuring more than 500.

Hundreds of buildings were destroyed in the blaze across the Square Mile - but St Paul's Cathedral remained standing.

Happy Hanukah

I plan to get to my favourite donut baker later this week to stock up for the weekend.  Meanwhile, Happy Hanukah.

You wait all year for Father Christmas and then six come along!

Walking through Victoria Park yesterday and was 'engulfed' in waves of charity walkers/runners dressed as Father Christmas.

The George (as you have not seen it before)

The building next to The George in Wanstead has been demolished to make way for a new development of flats and shops.  This site was where the Wanstead Kinema stood.  It catered for more than 500 cinema goers, but closed in 1956.  The building was then used as a bingo hall, snooker club and lastly a Vietnamese restaurant.  

Christmas on the green

It's good to see the tree lit-up on Wanstead Green.

Coldest day of the year (so far)

A cold day in Clayhall Park.  The sun was low in the sky so I thought that a black & white shot would capture the raw cold day better than colour.  

I like the abstract patterns displayed by the bare branches once the cover of leaves has fallen.

Winter sky

Turned to B&W to capture the cold and bleak view across a creek of Poole harbour taken from Arne nature reserve.

I like the broken view as glimpsed through this bird hide.

All in a Spin

There are several spider webs being spun in my garden this afternoon.  I watched this one for several minutes and was amazed at how quickly it span the web.

Water-Lilly Pond

It is nearly impossible to see a lilly pond without thinking of Monet's beautiful paintings.  Although this photo was inspired by Monet …I realise it is easier to take a photo than produce an oil painting.  This pond is one of many at Arne RSPB nature reserve, near Wareham, Dorset.

Corfe Castle and the Swanage Railway

The imposing ruins of Corfe Castle looks down upon the village and railway line.

A Walk in the Arne nature reserve

A weekend walk in the RSPB nature reserve in Arne, near Wareham in Dorset.  Beautiful walking trails take you to the shores of Poole Harbour.

A walk around Chigwell

I like this view of a single tree at the end of the farm field opposite Courtland Drive.

Turning right out of Courtland Drive I continued up the High Road to the Metropolitan Police Sports Club.  Chigwell Hall stands in the middle of 42 acres of beautiful grounds.

Further up the High Road and St Mary's church can be found next to Chigwell School.

Facing the church is Sheesh restaurant.  Until 2010 this was known as Ye Olde Kings Head.  Built in 1547 it was immortalised in Charles Dicken's novel 'Barnaby Rudge' as the Maypole Inn.

Blue sky thinking

The peaks of this marquee against a blue sky caught my eye on a sunny walk around Chigwell this morning.

Rainy day blues

The garden table will not be in use until further notice;  still, the rain did provide interesting reflections and patterns for this shot.

She just keeps Roding along

The River Roding rises near Dunmow and flows through Essex and the London Borough of Redbridge before it reaches the River Thames.  Redbridge takes its name from a crossing of the river; the river then goes on to pass through Ilford and Barking.

Clipper Around the World yacht race

A particularly grey Sunday in August saw the procession along the Thames of the ten teams in the Clipper Around the World yacht race.

Syrup of figs

I can't help feeling that this window display can be improved.  Although it is fair to say that it did catch my eye.

A Hard Rain A-Gonna Fall

It's hard to believe given the last two days of torrential rain that this was taken at Bournemouth beach on Saturday.

Sunny Morning at Fairlop Waters

While cycling around the lake I spotted this sailing instructor getting dinghies ready for a training session.

Gone to the dogs

View from the Thames Path between Canary Wharf and Island Gardens.

An Hour in Greenwich

The geometric shapes of the wine rack and mirror caught my eye as I walked through Greenwich Village.

Just opposite is St Alfege, the Anglican parish church.  It is dedicated to Alfege, The Archbishop of Canterbury, who was martyred on this site in 1012.  The present church is nearly 300 years old.  It was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and is one of the churches built under the Fifty Churches act of 1711.

I like the contrast of old and new that this view of Canary Wharf affords.

Blow away dandelion

Blooming marvellous trip to Kenwood

The Rhododendrons and Azaleas were out in-force today at the gardens next to Kenwood House in Hampstead.   The bees were busy collecting pollen but I was unable to get a sharp photo of any of them on a flower.

Spring daisies

It was time to cut the lawn but I hate decapitating the daisies………..at least I got a photo of them before the mower got them.

Could not resist publishing one more photo of the bluebells.