Tag: london

The sparrow has landed….

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Clearly not an Eagle.

Gina and I tried to capture images of the eclipse without looking at the sun.
Angus is a great gardener with giant sunflowers at their house.

I’m staying with my good friends Angus and Gina in Brixton South London

Close to their house are lots of community facilities and a corner shop run by Indians that MAnjula discovered on her first visit here. In fact the whole Brixton area is a great diverse mix of people from all around the world.

I can hear people playing bingo in the community centre next to me.

…

The layout.

Woodberry Wetlands

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A great discovery close to where I’m staying on Harringay Green Lanes

A short (ish) 30 minute walk —— (the full loop will reopen in Feb 2026) from Harringay Green Lanes overground or as I’ve now discovered an even shorter walk (10 minutes) from Manor House Underground station —- gets you to the wetlands and their great cafe.

I’ve visited almost everyday of my recent visit for their sourdough melted cheese sandwich and make friends with the wildlife.

I’ve marvelled at the birds, especially the family of swans with their rapidly growing seven dusky grey cygnets

I’ve met a lovely mix of people here, including the wonderful hosts.

An added treat this week was ….

A final farewell.

Another friend demanded to be included

A pigeon with a penchant for melted cheese.

No way Jose can you have the ginger beer.

Parks, people and other things in London

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Another update for friends in India, showing similarities and differences, same and different.

Clean.
Sports
Last week a music concert here for thousands. No sign of it now.
Finsbury Park. people and no litter.
Sleeping policemen aka road bumps
Here too
Portable toilet for construction workers. No other peeing in the street
No builders waste in the street. All goes in the skip.
Mobile cycle repair.
On one back street I saw three dumped plastic bags and this sign. It a limited problem but I feel it’s cultural hence the different languages.
Dog poo is also picked up
We’re taught this as young children. It’s reinforced by parents, at school, on the TV.
Different
Bicycles
Bikes
And people
Gorillas pop up everywhere. I’m here with my sons oliver in the middle and Ben on the right.

Meet Emma and her beautiful home

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Emma is a very very good friend, we met when working for Business in the Community.

Emma and I explored Kerala together after she visited Mysore

On first impressions you might think she’s very posh. Quickly you’ll realise as I did that she is one of the most down-to-earth, warm hearted and compassionate, caring people you can meet.

They live in north London.
Alessandro her partner
Showing off his gift from India. 🤭
And the silly boys, aka old men.

Part three in The U.K. Visa

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I’ll not bore you with full details. But I have to apply for another business visa and my status in India is not secure as MAnjula died.

My mug shot for uploading. Accepted after five attempts. Just don’t ask.

Next day visa issued. Now relax!

Ok will do at the cinema. With Poppy and Alice to see the latest Indians Jones action movie.

Travel again, to SW England, to visit Jony, Ruth and Sally

Underground aka tube
Advertising what?
Alice, Ben and Poppy are wonderful hosts. The least I can do is give flowers and take them out for a meal.
Train station
Orderly waiting
Named after Paddington Bear.
Reserved seat, clean and on time.

Pictures of England Part two shopping

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Turkish Bakery

One for Kaveri. The pavement (sidewalk) is smooth enough for skating unlike in Mysore.

My favourite shop for discounted clothes, shoes lots of things.
Pizza that evening
I spent more in twenty minutes in the supermarket than in over two months at our local veg and fruit shop.
I used to take Cadburys roses chocolates back to MAnjula who would share them out to friends and their children. The cheaper bigger tins will not be available until December so there’s none to buy for Kaveri’s school. What a shame.
The cat welcomes me with a hiss.

Later that day, outside Poppy’s flat

The three police cars with flashing lights have circled a woman pedestrian who’s lying on the road, injured after an accident with a two wheeler. Three police are directing the traffic, one is interviewing the two wheeler rider and two more are giving First Aid to the injured woman.

It’s all calm.

Everyone did as asked and all went smoothly.

I didn’t take photos of the immediate situation or hang around, out of respect.

Pictures of England ….

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For friends in India.

Occasional photos to show what it’s like in England.

Step one London.

Aerial view as I arrive. There’s lots of well known places in the photo. Including the river Thames and Tower Bridge.

Ben, Alice and Poppy live in north London

The roads are busy

A cycle lane separated from the other traffic by a simple white line.
It works as the motorised vehicles stick to their lane

First impressions on arriving on Thursday. Manjula realised how diverse London is on her first visit. The local shop near our friend Gina and Angus’s house was run by Punjabs

Hire cycles are everywhere.

Here on Haringay Green lanes it’s residents include people from Poland, Turkey and Asia, including India.

The Post Office is an ordinary shop
And it’s busy just like in India
Some new drivers add these signs on their car to show other they’ve inly recently passed their test. Available in the post office.
The equivalent of 300 rupees for a plastic rule! It’s not cheap in England.

Next: Shopping locally.