BOATSPOTTING?

Okay, a subtle reference to the classic British film TRAINSPOTTING.

Only in this case it's four young men wandering the banks of the Thames in London. 

Late afternoon on a spring day.

ICONIC STRUCTURES - TOWER BRIDGE

Frequently mistaken, name-wise, for the London Bridge (now in Lake Havasu, Arizona), London's Tower Bridge is one of the most famous and iconic bridges in the world.

Formally opened in 1894, Tower Bridge, named for its location near the Tower of London - itself an important and iconic building - spanned the Thames River while providing for passage for tall-masted sailing ships to pass unobstructed to London ports upstream of the bridge.

LONDON CALLING

“Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” 
                                                   ― Samuel Johnson





It has been a few years since we visited London. A little over twelve, in fact. Not quite a baker's dozen. To date, it's our sole trip, though had plans not gone a little awry earlier this year we would be winging our way to Londontown this August for a few days of revelry with friends and favored -- should that be favoured? -- haunts.

Oddly enough, in the last dozen years we have acquired several friends in the area who were, as much as we, disappointed that plans got changed. But they are what they are and Vancouver, our replacement destination, is hardly a slacker when it comes to good times.


But the nigh-on proximity of a return trip to the British capital found me digging through the archives for a handful of shots from our last visit. The city is a vibrant combination of the old and the new, of the classical and the avant gard. Possessing one of the most active and reputable theater districts on the planet, a multitude of world-class museums, terrific night life and a burgeoning culinary scene, London is once again a center for all things cultural in the world, a position it hasn't enjoyed since, perhaps, the 1960s Mod era when the city's fashions and entertainment led the revolution.

"First star to the right, straight on 'til morning"

The eye of The Eye

So London is a city of timeless classics with a thoroughly modern stripe -- more than stripe, make that "heart". In this gallery I have selected and edited pictures to ideally recapture the London of not too long ago, an era of chic, hipness, vibrance and excitement. London of the 1960s, of the Beatles, of Piccadilly, of the Avengers, of Bond...James Bond..., of Twiggy and Fleet Street. These are reasonably current shots, but I've edited them to echo, just a bit, those halcyon years. 

These are 21st century settings, but if you can, try to see John Steed and Ms Emma Peel emerging from his apartment on an overcast and slightly gloomy day. 

If you squint your eyes and concentrate, you might be able to do it. 

Cheers.

London Calling