…thanks to Travels and Trifles for hosting this Weekly Photo Challenge
Most of my photos are of the neighbourhood. It’s not the nicest time of year so some of my photos for this post are from various times throughout the year.
….take a trip to a greenhouse, Botanical Garden Centre or take in the Canada Blooms Show
On Sunday, it had warmed up slightly but the sky was grey and dreary and it rained off and on. Not a nice day to walk outside but it was warm and fragrant in the Enercare Centre at the CNE where the Canada Blooms show was up and running. Going on the weekend is probably not the best time to go (parking is more expensive and I had to park in one of the satellite lots). It certainly wasn’t a cheap outing, even with the senior’s rate but being able to walk around and see all those beautiful blooms and get some ideas for landscaping my backyard was well worth the money.
…thanks to Cee for hosting the Black and White Challenge
All these photos were taken in London, England: a sculpture from the Whitechapel Gallery, the iron gate at the Natural History Museum, the tower from the Imperial College of London, a plane at the Science Museum, an outdoor sculpture and a dress from the Design Museum, a guitar from Canada House in Trafalgar Square, a statue in the V&A and the gate at Holland Park.
…..the weather that is
I’m not talking about the weather that we’re experiencing today but the weather that we had when we were in London, England back in October. Most people think of England as being foggy, cloudy and teaming with rain with a bit of sunshine here and there. Fortunately for us that was not the case. Out of the 14 days in London we only had one rainy day. That happened on Day 8.
Originally we planned to take the train to Brighton and enjoy the seaside. The relentless downpour that day changed our plans. Instead we took a bus to Brick Lane. Brick Lane is in the East End of London and is famous for its curry houses. Having said that I found it unusual that our son wanted us to try a deli where they serve salt beef sandwiches. I guess they’re pretty popular because there was a huge line-up to order one of these massive buns. The weather certainly didn’t keep people away. Unfortunately I didn’t take any photos of the area because the rain was really lashing down.
After sampling the salt beef we ventured back outside and maneuvered our way down the street with umbrellas overhead. We made our way to the Whitechapel Gallery to see the Elmgreen and Dragset show. It was to say the least, a most unusual show. On the ground floor gallery they present the ghost of the Whitechapel Pool. 
Throughout the exhibition there are more sculptures, such as, a cash machine, in front of which a baby has been abandoned. This supposedly acts as an emotional precursor to sculptures in the rest of the galleries. These include a rifle on the wall, a judge’s wig, a pregnant maid and a frightened schoolboy.
Later that evening, closer to our accommodations, we all went out for dinner together. It would be our last night together with all six of us. Andrea and Josie were heading for Scotland and my husband and I were moving to a hotel in South Kensington the following day. Our son picked his favourite Ramen restaurant, Kanada-Ya, Ramen Bar on Upper Street.
Not only did the good weather come to an end but so did our time with our daughter and daughter-in-law. Luckily for us the good weather did return for the rest of our trip but Andrea and Josie had quite different weather farther north in Scotland.
…..thanks to Amanda from Something to Ponder About for hosting the Friendly Friday Photo Challenge
The pathways here are from the neighbourhood, at Highgate Cemetery in London, Kensington Gardens in London, an autumn path along the Lakeshore, a path through the garden at Montgomery’s Inn, a path to a neighbour’s house on Hallowe’en and a path through the woods when we were ‘hunting’ for the perfect Christmas tree.
….next to the Christmas Tree Farm we visited last week
When we were tying our tree to the roof of our car I walked around the parking lot looking for interesting scenes to photograph. There was a man standing close by and he told me I was welcome to walk further onto the airstrip. Airstrip?
I had no idea that the open field that I had been photographing was an aerodrome (term used for a grass runway). I guess the wind sox should have given it away.
I’m not sure of the name of the Aerodrome but I think it might be the Flamboro Air Strip. Behind the man stood a large out building and he invited us to come inside and see the planes. It housed about five replica planes that were 7/8th of the actual size of the originals.
It was a fascinating place. I only wish I knew more about planes.
There was one other light aircraft that I found very interesting. It was built and owned by the kind gentleman who invited us in. It has an open cockpit and single seat. It looks like fun to fly but I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to go up in it.
….day six continues along the River Thames
After leaving the Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey we continued walking towards the River Thames. Right behind the Abbey lies the Palace of Westminster which holds both houses of Parliament for the United Kingdom. It was originally built in the eleventh century and rebuild in the 1800s after it burned down.
As you can see from the photos the structure was under quite a bit of construction. The one big disappointment was that Big Ben was also under construction but we knew this before we arrived in London. What I didn’t know was that the entire tower would be covered in scaffolding. The refurbishing is scheduled to take three years to complete and during the renovation the clock bells have been turned off.
From many parts of London one of the sites that stands out above many of the building is the giant Ferris wheel called the London Eye. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames in London and is Europe’s tallest Ferris wheel and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom with over 3.75 million visitors annually.
As we continued along the River Thames we came across the Golden Jubilee bridge built in 2000. It is a steel truss bridge located in Lambeth borough.
From here we headed over to Gordon’s Wine Bar but on the way we passed through the Courtauld Institute of Art. At the time we had no idea what we were looking at but we liked the sculptures and the architecture.
Gordon’s Wine Bar is located on the Strand. It is thought to be the oldest wine bar in London having been established in 1890. The bar is very much a family affair, owned by Wendy Gordon who is the wife of the late much loved Luis Gordon, and now overseen by Luis’ eldest son Simon. The building itself was a warehouse built in 1790 and in 1880 it was converted to accommodations.
We entered through the cellar doors. You need to stoop to get to your rickety candlelit table – anonymity is guaranteed! If the sun is out you can also sit outside in Watergate Walk and enjoy watching the world go by. The bar is loved by many and seems to be a place where time has stood still. It serves only wine, sherries and port and simple food, ranging from homemade pies to mature cheese. If you’re in London you should definitely check this place out. You can find more information here.
A word of warning. If you do go into the cellar watch your head because the ceilings are low and it takes awhile for your eyes to adjust to the dark. I hit my head three times in the space of a minute making my way to our table.
….thanks to Pic and a Word Challenge for this week’s theme – Steps
Every day I walk
Ten thousand steps, sometimes more
Sometimes less – feels good
…..Diana’s Memorial Fountain, Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens, the V & A and happy birthday to my sweetie
While walking along the Serpentine we came across Princess Diana’s Memorial Fountain. It was officially opened in 2004 by Queen Elizabeth and the opening was attended by Prince Charles, her two sons and her brother Charles Spencer. It was the first time in seven years that the Spencers and the Windsors came together to honour Diana.
The fountain itself was designed by an American, Kathryn Gustafson. She had wanted the fountain, which was built to the south of the Serpentine, to be accessible and to reflect Diana’s “inclusive” personality.
From the fountain we walked further west towards Kensington Gardens where we came across the Albert Memorial. From the size of the memorial you would have thought that Albert had been a king but it was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband Prince Albert, who died in 1861. The memorial was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott.
After Kensington Gardens we headed south to meet up with my husband Kevin and our son, Brendan. Brendan is a curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The V&A is the world’s leading museum of art and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.3 million objects that span over 5,000 years of human creativity. The Museum holds many of the UK’s national collections and houses some of the greatest resources for the study of architecture, furniture, fashion, textiles, photography, sculpture, painting, jewellery, glass, ceramics, book arts, Asian art and design, theatre and performance. (copied from the V&A website – www.vam.ac.uk)
Brendan gave us a wonderful personal tour of some of his favourite rooms at the museum.
The last five photos were taken in the casting room. The gold leaf that you see here was used to cover the private parts of the statue, David, whenever Queen Victoria would come to visit the museum.
Opened in 1873, the Cast Courts display copies of some of the world’s most significant works of art reproduced in plaster, electrotype, photography, and digital media. The cast collection is famous for including reproductions of Michelangelo’s David, Trajan’s Column, and Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise, amongst many others.(copied from the V&A website).
Brendan explained to us that the whole idea of making these copies was to bring the world to the people at a time when most people couldn’t afford to travel to exotic places. Over the years these copies have become invaluable reproductions because many of the original pieces have been damaged or disappeared because of environmental factors or conflict.
It’s impossible to see everything in this museum in one visit. I went back a couple more times I was in London.
After an exhausting day of walking we went back to our apartment to rest and freshen up. October 2nd is Kevin’s birthday so Brendan and Azadeh booked a reservation at a restaurant in Central London called Polpo Smithfield. We had a wonderful time sharing numerous plates of delicious Venetian food. 
Mama Cormier 