Palace Pier 1930's

This is how Palace Pier (later Brighton Pier) looked like in the 1930's. In 1930 a new entrance and clock tower replaced the three ironwork arches of the original entrance, an improvement which was inaugurated on 27 June 1930 by the mayor, Horace Aldrich, in conjunction with a widening of the promenade. The pier was extended slightly in 1938 when a 'big wheel' ride was added at the pier-head, but it was closed throughout the war and a gap was made near the middle to prevent its possible use as a landing stage by the enemy. The pier was also damaged by German bombs.

Brighton Pier Sunset

Brighton Pier Sunset, originally uploaded by Blogomentary.

Brighton Pier is a little slice of holiday happiness. I adore it here. In fact, I only ever come here when I'm running away from London for the day. I'm absolutely certain the all life's problems can be solved with a walk to the end with a bag of overpriced chips. .

Work began on Palace Pier, or Brighton Pier as it is now known, in 1891, and it opened in May 1899 after costing a record £137,000 to build. Two years later, a concert hall was added. This was turned into a theatre in 1911. The theatre was later removed, on the understanding it would be replaced, but this was not to be.

Yes, it's a tacky horrible tourist trap. But hello, we're at the seaside in England! What more did you expect?! I don't think that's the kind of thing that should be shunned. The penny falls machines are far too exciting for a start. I would have a very twee gambling addiction if I lived by the beach. I love those machines. They remind me of being a kid with my mum. That makes me happy. The jingly music makes me happy. The seaside wouldn't be the same without a rubbish arcade.

In fact, according to official national statistics, Brighton Pier is the second most visited leisure facility with over 4.5 million tourists coming to sample the rides and traditional English seaside scene every year. While the rest of Brighton holds itself with a certain pride, dignity and elegance…you can bet the Pier is anything but – it sure is fun though.

Best (and cheapest) chips are at the front of the Pier before you go in. Grab some and walk all the way down to the end, maybe have a go on the Helter Skelter. And enjoy the fact that you're not at work, you're at the seaside.

Mountain Water Skjervøy

Mountain Water Skjervøy, originally uploaded by Blogomentary.

Norway is not just ice and snow - this is from Skjervøy - a small island and station on the Hurtigruta route in Troms county. 70 degrees north you can experience idyllic summers thanks to the gulfstream allthough the sea is a bit too cold.

Trafalgar Square 2010

Trafalager Square 2010, originally uploaded by Blogomentary.

Standing at the base of Admiral Nelson's Column on Trafalgar Square and looking the same way as the great naval officer towards the Admiralty and Portsmouth where Nelson's & the Royal Navy Flagship HMS Victory is docked, with the Mall on his right flank, where Nelson's ships are represented on the top of each flagpole.

Trafalgar Square commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), a British naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars. The original name was to have been "King William the Fourth's Square", but George Ledwell Taylor suggested the name "Trafalgar Square".

Trafalgar Square 1844

, originally uploaded by The Photo History Timeline Collection.

Talbot's view of Trafalgar Square, with the base of Nelson’s Column still shrouded in scaffolding, can be dated from information contained in the mass of posters which plaster the fencing, in defiance of the notice forbidding them. In the background stand the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields and Morley’s Hotel, the latter on the site of the present-day South Africa House.

Talbot was an active mathematician, experimental scientist, Assyriologist, classicist and land-owner whose work encapsulates intriguing tensions between the past and the future in 19th-century science and society

El Rastro Flea Market in Madrid

El Rastro Flea Market in Madrid, originally uploaded by Blogomentary.

This picture was taken in the biggest market of Madrid taking place every Sunday called El Rastro. The El Rastro market is a series of randomly networked streets leading down south from the center of the city. Although there is a main street dedicated to Market stalls (predominately clothing) the side streets contain the real treasures. Starting at either Metro La Latina or Plaza Mayor follow the crowds heading downhill towards Puerta de Toledo (you cannot see the Puerta so follow the signs). Within 50m & 200m respectively you will find yourself shoulder to shoulder with what appears to be half of Madrid. Everyone enters for the main thoroughfare but you will quickly end up in one of the side streets as you continuously catch something from the corner of your eye that has to be "checked out".

PS! The phrase 'El Rastro means' trail and refers to the animal innards that were dragged through the streets in the days when this was the site of the main abattoir.

Bodleian Library in Oxford

Oxford, originally uploaded by Blogomentary.

Picture of Oxford's Bodleian Library was inaugurated in 1602 with a collection of 2,000 books collected by Thomas Bodley of Merton College. The new library replaced one that had been donated to the Divinity School by Duke Humphrey of Gloucester, but had dispersed in the 16th century.

In 1610, Bodley made an contract with the Stationers' Company in London to put a duplicate of every book registered with them in the library. The Bodleian compilation grew so fast that the first expansion of the building was required in 1610–1612, and another in 1634–1637. When John Selden died in 1654, he left the Bodleian his bulky collection of books and manuscripts.

In 1911 the United Kingdom Copyright Act continued the Stationers' agreement by making the Bodleian one of the five "copyright libraries" in the United Kingdom, where a copy of each book copyrighted in the country must be deposited.

In 2004, Oxford made an agreement allowing Google to digitize 1 million books owned by the Bodleian Library.

London Rain

London Rain, originally uploaded by Blogomentary.

Photo of a typical rainy day in London. Londoners are known to regularly carry both our sunglasses and an umbrella. But London weather is never so extreme as to detract from all the great things to do in the city.

The seasons change gradually, and Winter can appear to still be happening when we should be into Spring, but the weather is never so bad to stop you planning a trip to London.

Picadilly Circus Dawn

Picadilly Circus Dawn, originally uploaded by Blogomentary.

Piccadilly Circus is one of London's most famous junctions and sightseeing attractions. The junction was built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly. Today Piccadilly Circus connects five busy streets in the center of London and is dominated by huge neon advertising signs. At its heart is a bronze fountain topped by a figure of a winged archer. The statue is popularly called EROS, the pagan god of love, but it was in fact designed in the 19th century as a symbol of Christian charity - a monument to Lord Shaftesbury, a philanthropist.

PS! The word circus derives from the Latin word for "circle", meaning a round open space at a street junction.

Millennium Bridge London

Millennium Bridge London, originally uploaded by Blogomentary.

The London Millennium Footbridge is a footbridge steel suspension bridge crossing the River Thames in London, England, linking Bankside with the City

Londoners nicknamed the bridge the Wobbly Bridge after participants in a special event to open the bridge (a charity walk on behalf of Save the Children) felt an unexpected (and, for some, uncomfortable) swaying motion on the first two days after the bridge opened. The bridge was closed later that day, and after two days of limited access the bridge was closed for almost two years while modifications were made to eliminate the wobble entirely. It was reopened in 2002.

As an innovative and complex structure the Millennium Bridge has been designed to achieve what may appear a simple form. The 4m wide aluminium deck is flanked by stainless steel balustrades and is supported by cables to each side. These cables dip below the deck at midspan enabling unimpeded views of London.

The bridge is a very shallow suspension bridge where the highly tensioned cables sag 2.3m over the 144m of the central span, a span to dip ratio of 63:1. This is around 6 times shallower than a conventional suspension bridge.

The four cables on each side of the deck are anchored at each abutment and propped by two river supports. The lightweight deck passes between these cables and is supported by transverse arms which clamp onto the cables on each side at 8m intervals.

Arup, Engineers
Foster and Partners, Architects
Sir Anthony Caro, Sculptor.

Red Icons of London

Phone Boxes, originally uploaded by Blogomentary.

The colour red was chosen to make the telephone boxes easy to spot.

Brick Lane Market

Brick Lane Grafitti, originally uploaded by Blogomentary.

This big, sprawling Sunday market fills Brick Lane and the surrounding streets. Expect to find furniture, fruits, exotic spices, saris, kitsch collectables and vintage clothes. Petticoat Lane, a bustling clothes market, is a few streets to the west. Allow plenty of time as the market stretches into Cheshire Street and Sclater Street.

Part of the fun is following the side streets to see where they lead and picking the jewels out from the junk. You'll find things to wear and eat as well as lots of items that might "come in handy one day". It's easy to get side-tracked by the many stalls and boxes of collectables.

If the aroma from the beigel bakeries doesn't tempt you, the Bangladeshi restaurants probably will. Expect to find anything from furniture to fruits, kitchenware to kitsch and odd boots to bangles.

Red Family next to Court of Justice

Red Family next to Court of Justice, originally uploaded by Blogomentary.

A little family of red boxes, represented by a pillar box and two original telephone kiosks designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott introduced in 1929.

Primrose Hill

Primrose Hill, originally uploaded by Blogomentary.

BT Tower and London Eye as seen from the top of Primrose Hill in dusk rain.

Thames Riverside Junk

Thames , originally uploaded by Blogomentary.

Taking a walk along the Thames beach in London reveals a lot of hidden treasures ;-)

Eye by night

Eye by night, originally uploaded by Blogomentary.

The eye spinning through the night across Thames river opposite the Parliament.

Typical London Street

London Street, originally uploaded by Blogomentary.

Increasingly biking is becoming more popular in London, and as you can see from this picture there was a cyclist sneaking in from the left.

Fresh scones with butter, cream and strawberry jam

Primrose Hill

London seen from Primrose Hill, drizzling rain at dawn.