Aref-Adib

April's snow

Frozen daffodils in snowy London yesterday morning

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Mind the gap look-alike

A Piet Mondrian's painting and the door of a London underground train.

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God's Entrance Only

The entrance to a church on Crouch Hill, North London.

Neon Lights

London's neon lights and signs

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Crack in Modern Art

Views of Shibboleth, a giant crack in the floor of the Turbine Hall in Tate Modern.

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Word of the Day: Shibboleth
1 a : a catchword or slogan used by members of a group but regarded by others as empty of real meaning
b : a commonly held belief
2 : a behavior or use of language that identifies a person as belonging to a group

City of Lights

The City of London by night

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Emin's meerkat look-alike

A meerkat family is one of the six shortlisted proposals that could occupy one of London's most popular tourist spots, Trafalgar Square.

The six shortlisted proposals for the next commission for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square were unveiled at the National Gallery. The exhibiting artists are Jeremy Deller, Tracey Emin, Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor, Yinka Shonibare and Bob & Roberta Smith. Each artist has produced a maquette of their proposed artwork for the empty plinth. The models are on public display in the National Gallery until 30 March 2008.

>> View the proposed artworks here

The Monument

The 311 spiral steps of The Monument.

We went up to the top of The Monument. An observation deck at the top has a great view over London. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren to mark the Great Fire of London in 1666. It is the tallest freestanding stone column in the world.

>> View the photos here

One Year On

Yesterday I was passing by Tavistock Square so I took these photos.

Wheel

London Eye & wheel of a stolen bicycle
The front wheel is locked with a U-lock but the rest of the bicycle has been stolen. Locking the front wheel is obviously not a sufficient security measure in London.

>> View The Stolen Bicycle Memorial image

Ken speaks for London

Within hours of the London bombings, London Mayor Ken Livingstone delivered a memorable speech.

"I want to say one thing specifically to the world today. This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty and the powerful. It was not aimed at Presidents or Prime Ministers. It was aimed at ordinary, working-class Londoners, black and white, Muslim and Christian, Hindu and Jew, young and old. It was an indiscriminate attempt to slaughter, irrespective of any considerations for age, for class, for religion, or whatever."

"That isn't an ideology, it isn't even a perverted faith - it is just an indiscriminate attempt at mass murder and we know what the objective is. They seek to divide Londoners. They seek to turn Londoners against each other. "

>> Read full text of his statement.
>> Watch the video of the Mayor's statement. (Windows Media)

Bomb blasts in London

Bomb blasts plunge London into chaos. There are no news yet of the number of casualties, although BBC says that there are a number of deaths in several locations in the city.

>> Guardian news update
>> A Wikipedia entry on today's blasts has been started.
>> BBC's in Depth Report

Aref-Adibs are all fine.

Cockney rhyming slang

Uncle Fred, the friendly Cockney translator can translate anything into Cockney rhyming slang. Can you recognise this?

Lawd above! To be, awer not ter be- what is da quesshun:
Whether 'tis nobler in da Chinese Blind ter suffer
da slings an' arrows ov outrageous fortune
awer ter take emerdale farms against a Housemaid's Knee ov troubles
an' by opposin' end 'em. Ter die- ter Bo Peep-
No mawer; an' by a Bo Peep ter say we end, innit?

To be, or not to be- that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them. To die- to sleep-
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
William Shakespeare's Hamlet