Thanx to imageshack.us

This is the London not so apparent from the usual picture postcards and surprisingly rarely photographed- the streetlife, the people, the human stories away from the visitor beaten paths, the real city away from the usual tourist wonders and blunders. Here are a handful of curio places not usually on the itinerary; my pics from a few random trips last July:

- so no Canary Wharf/skyline pics, no palaces or cathedrals, horseguards or red phoneboxes:(, but enjoy anyway, hope you like them:):

summer in the city:
http://img6.exs.cx/img6/7195/millbridgecrowd200408190154ac.jpg



http://img114.exs.cx/img114/9461/erosbiker2004_0810137.jpg



everywhere you look you catch those 'London moments':
http://img24.exs.cx/img24/9923/highgaterestaurantintimate2004_0905_180900.jpg



http://img120.exs.cx/img120/9374/offspring200408102297qg.jpg

http://img203.exs.cx/img203/2931/offspringclearpic5pu.jpg



an alleyway kiss (didn't notice them till after)
http://img201.exs.cx/img201/4685/20040810074churchkiss0rb.jpg



http://img209.exs.cx/img209/6303/bugbug200408102888fd.jpg



http://img222.exs.cx/img222/5007/20040810005piccadonispensive6r.jpg



http://img203.exs.cx/img203/9275/20040810170paternostercolumn7d.jpg


weirdly empty city centre street (b'cos newly built)
http://img131.exs.cx/img131/2142/paternosterme3wr.jpg



symmetry
http://img203.exs.cx/img203/7586/20040810197symmetry5vg.jpg



more people who need to get a room:
http://img201.exs.cx/img201/4986/20040810043nikekiss6pu.jpg



first off, Soho, the sex district also doubling as the gay/media/restaurant district with Chinatown on the side, bars, restaurants, cafes, theatres and clubs - over a million people pass through this district each night:
http://img127.exs.cx/img127/4697/bugbug22004_0810289.jpg



http://img86.exs.cx/img86/2593/20040810226comptoncrowd4mm.jpg



http://img110.exs.cx/img110/6773/20040810276comptonblur7hi.jpg



http://img212.exs.cx/img212/8535/tonysoho200408100969qn.jpg



http://img127.exs.cx/img127/3002/soho2004_0810081.jpg



http://img209.exs.cx/img209/1808/20040810262comptonawareunderwe.jpg



http://img40.exs.cx/img40/2020/nerocoke200408100019ki.jpg


I caught these Brazilian-esque revellers going to a bar opening:
http://img55.exs.cx/img55/9247/20040915213232carnivalhood0lj.jpg


http://img114.exs.cx/img114/2416/sohocarnivalewhitewalls6av.jpg



http://img206.exs.cx/img206/7879/capitalcafenight5jt.jpg


Chinatown, the nearest London gets to a single community 'ghetto'. Even then it's actually only a few streets and 180,000 other Chinese are spread out through the capital:
http://img215.exs.cx/img215/2566/chinabigstroller2gx.jpg



http://img51.exs.cx/img51/8933/chinawave8by.jpg



http://img159.exs.cx/img159/5273/20040915200616kingscrosschines.jpg


floating fish
http://img200.exs.cx/img200/3200/20040905191119chinacrowd8ht.jpg



check out the tattoo:
http://img81.exs.cx/img81/135/chinatownvendor200409051917146.jpg



http://img205.exs.cx/img205/5549/20040905184427chinamesideview0.jpg



http://img202.exs.cx/img202/9079/20040905184410chinagateadoni2y.jpg



http://img202.exs.cx/img202/9967/20040905191513chinatemple5ok.jpg

my truly fave part of london, the sex district, just like any other part of the city, just the backdrop's different:
http://img212.exs.cx/img212/2597/20040810098sohoalley1ry.jpg



http://img9.exs.cx/img9/6643/adonisseated200408102618de.jpg



http://img219.exs.cx/img219/1149/20040810094colt6lw.jpg



spot the pimp
http://img221.exs.cx/img221/8468/sohooriginalbkshop200408102177.jpg



http://img71.exs.cx/img71/9426/bargainbooks200408102532gr.jpg



http://img226.exs.cx/img226/5770/20040810224comptonstart6gf.jpg



with the famous record stores on every corner:
http://img233.exs.cx/img233/2302/20040810093dive2fi.jpg



http://img233.exs.cx/img233/2051/soho20040810077foot8fy.jpg



http://img221.exs.cx/img221/2033/20040810090sohoflowermarket8oy.jpg



and one of 350 streetmarkets:
http://img222.exs.cx/img222/3280/soho20040810087market3wi.jpg



more area cafe culture and pub crawls,
getting an outside seat in this cafe is golddust to watch the worlds most interesting streetlife pass you by on a Friday evening, and trying to distinguish the media whores from the whores, rich from poor, male from female:
http://img75.exs.cx/img75/4129/neroblur2004_0810306.jpg



life on the main drag:
http://img108.exs.cx/img108/5031/comptons200408102282qb.jpg


spot the couple
http://img180.exs.cx/img180/6105/20040810265nerolookers6od.jpg



http://img203.exs.cx/img203/9420/20040810254pulcinellanotice7vq.jpg



http://img233.exs.cx/img233/2879/stargarterpub0bd.jpg



West End shopping, a retail wonderland or inhuman nightmare depending on your wallet:
http://img219.exs.cx/img219/5300/20040810151piccadillybus4sm.jpg



BBC Braodcasting House rebuild and All Souls
http://img178.exs.cx/img178/1816/oxford200408100443ku.jpg




Piccadilly Circus, once the neon and advertising covered every inch of the facades from the Nineteenth Century till the Sixties - from which the council gradually took down to reveal these beautiful buildings:
http://img210.exs.cx/img210/6117/20040810135erosexpanse3ny.jpg


usual bunch of naked golden women divers
http://img114.exs.cx/img114/42/20040810153goldendivers4vv.jpg


although one last facade remains, by er, 'tradition':
http://img11.exs.cx/img11/736/picccokesign6kd.jpg



(and by night)
http://img146.exs.cx/img146/8219/towerrecordsnight0hv.jpg



more shop till you drop, an Oxford St palce to consumerism
http://img61.exs.cx/img61/3566/20040810060oxfordpalace8wo.jpg


liberty's
http://img171.exs.cx/img171/1989/libertys2ov.jpg


Centrepoint Tower, demarcation of the tacky end of Oxford St
http://img22.exs.cx/img22/2518/20040810069centrepoint0rc.jpg



http://img177.exs.cx/img177/3108/oxford200408100413qy.jpg



Late workers heading home and depopulating The City (financial district)- density 400,000 per sq mile by day, 1400 by night and weekend:
http://img117.exs.cx/img117/2275/fleet200408102158sg.jpg



http://img11.exs.cx/img11/6209/cityworkersbuildings9wl.jpg


before night falls
http://img193.exs.cx/img193/9352/citysilhouettedwoman6ce.jpg



http://img138.exs.cx/img138/8993/20040819002underground8sh.jpg



tat-land, Leicester Sq:
http://img134.exs.cx/img134/7015/leicestershine200408101682xl.jpg



http://img148.exs.cx/img148/4725/picchorses5vt.jpg



Millennium Bridge - three groups of people chance meeting on the same spot
http://img142.exs.cx/img142/3884/millbridge200408101813ix.jpg



modern art (apparently)
http://img228.exs.cx/img228/2003/tatespider200408190221af.jpg



http://img209.exs.cx/img209/4324/tateroom200408190306vp.jpg



Surreal but cute
http://img118.exs.cx/img118/9656/tatelight8gj.jpg
these people are actually in a light installation in a huge coccoon- the walls change colour and allow you to practice your snow-blindness in shades of mauve, pink, white, green etc.


http://img222.exs.cx/img222/8080/20040819050millenniumreflectio.jpg


welcome to the Barbican, in The City, a total sixties timewarp of deeply unpopular luxury brutalism:
the first stairwell:
http://img210.exs.cx/img210/7229/barbicanstairwell4ly.jpg


leading up:
http://img99.exs.cx/img99/8586/barbicanstairwoman5pm.jpg



and into the open, brown concrete, walkways, laundrettes and rubber piping suppliers in all their glory (I kid you not):
http://img217.exs.cx/img217/2429/barbicantunnelview7fu.jpg



a flat here still sells for a £1million ($2 million/ 1.5 million Euros)
http://img207.exs.cx/img207/6253/barbdarkview2wz.jpg



a few abstracts:
http://img217.exs.cx/img217/5023/20040915150600barbabstract6qt.jpg



http://img203.exs.cx/img203/5057/barbtowerreflected9qg.jpg



postmodernism ventured outside
http://img217.exs.cx/img217/513/barbwindowrrogers5gs.jpg



and the bridge between the Barbican and the outside world:
http://img217.exs.cx/img217/8008/barbbridgewomen7mq.jpg



Harringey, a community recently in the news for violence between Turkish, Kurdish and Greek organised gangs:

one of the main streets, full of mediterranean delis and caffs:
http://img184.exs.cx/img184/5089/haringeyhighst1fn.jpg

the sidestreets to the main blew me away, each marching uphill:
http://img77.exs.cx/img77/1931/haringeysilhouette7ng.jpg

http://img138.exs.cx/img138/1824/20040915180616lineofcars6yt.jpg

peace and quiet contrary to the scaremongering:
http://img63.exs.cx/img63/7386/20040915175222treelightpark3jk.jpg

more 'village' london, follow the hat through Hampstead:
http://img219.exs.cx/img219/9945/20040905153840highgateadonibal.jpg



http://img227.exs.cx/img227/582/20040905153514highgatevanparki.jpg



http://img222.exs.cx/img222/1828/20040905180722highgateoverview.jpg


breakfast with a view
http://img132.exs.cx/img132/5746/highgatecorner8cq.jpg



http://img27.exs.cx/img27/8913/20040905153814uphillst1cy.jpg



http://img202.exs.cx/img202/9097/20040905154008highgatebikeshop.jpg



http://img156.exs.cx/img156/5568/20040905180815highgatecinema5h.jpg



http://img27.exs.cx/img27/938/20040905154150highgateadonigre.jpg



http://img19.exs.cx/img19/8194/20040905154339highgatebricksta.jpg


posh suburb
http://img215.exs.cx/img215/1411/20040905154454highgateposhsubu.jpg



with posh trappings:
http://img114.exs.cx/img114/1024/highgaterolls1jr.jpg


the heath
http://img232.exs.cx/img232/5397/20040905155234highgatepath5em.jpg


deeper into the woods
http://img143.exs.cx/img143/7337/20040905155747hampsteadwood1et.jpg


and discovering a ruined folly
http://img114.exs.cx/img114/9436/highgatevineryoverview2me.jpg

http://img204.exs.cx/img204/1193/20040905161042hampsteadvines1g.jpg


200 year old vines
http://img222.exs.cx/img222/8518/20040905161236vinery0dq.jpg


lookout over a secret garden - met a long lost schoolmate down there just after this photo was taken (and one of the people sunning themselves)
http://img224.exs.cx/img224/2145/20040905161150hampsteadviewpic.jpg


journey's end:
http://img233.exs.cx/img233/6549/20040905161326adoniheathlookou.jpg

Is this some kind of Anti-American (Don't invade Iraq) statement?

"It works the same in every country. All you have to do is tell the people they are being attacked, and denounce the balkers for lack of patriotism.

The broad masses of a population are more amenable to the appeal of rhetoric than to any other force. "

-Hermann Goerring

*by quoting a crazy Nazi Air Marshall, you kind of use their credibility and risk your own.

** Try quoting Churchill if you want to make a politically sane move.


Nice pictures by the way, London is great.

Wow, you cant beat that

ytf

If you don't get why Im quoting Goerring you'll never get why...

but thanks for the comment, really. :ohno:
...Hope you liked them...

Wow, people in UK must be very friendly... You show us some very nice pics of London's street life. Thanks really for this thread :cool:

I'd want to go in London for 2 weeks :) So a very popular city.

OMG those are the pictures that make me wanna visit the city!!

beautiful! and i see a lot of racial variety

Great series! Soho's my favourite recordshopping district. Shame Mr Bongo's closed. Next a little more of South London, please?

Awesome Pix!! This thread made me want two things:
1- to go to London
2- want warm summer days

Thanks for the pix!!

Is this some kind of Anti-American (Don't invade Iraq) statement?

"It works the same in every country. All you have to do is tell the people they are being attacked, and denounce the balkers for lack of patriotism.

The broad masses of a population are more amenable to the appeal of rhetoric than to any other force. "

-Hermann Goerring

*by quoting a crazy Nazi Air Marshall, you kind of use their credibility and risk your own.

** Try quoting Churchill if you want to make a politically sane move.


As someone from the states, I find that quote disturbing true, not anti-American...

Oh man, what an amazing photo tour! Must be the best London thread in a long time, I LOVE this king of pictures showing the street life with all the stuff happening around. Great job! :applause:

Piccadilly Circus, once the neon and advertising covered every inch of the facades from the Nineteenth Century till the Sixties - from which the council gradually took down to reveal these beautiful buildings:
http://img210.exs.cx/img210/6117/20040810135erosexpanse3ny.jpg


I never knew that. Do ya know where I could find a picture of Picadilly all neoned up to the max?

Great photography, lots of the places I love to stroll.

Oh, and like the hat. :)

thanks so much for the comments guys, youve made me very chuffed:cheers: all that work was worth it

great pics. reminds me of the threads i did last fall from my trips to London last summer. i want to go back...hell, i want to move there. (there or Glasgow.)

as far as Goehring goes, well, there's a lot of be learned on how to do persuasive communication from the Nazi regime. "Keep it simple and repeat." - Goebbels. i'd say that the GOP's media people have learned these lessons well, which IMO, yields undesired results.

-

You should head out to Greenwich not for the historical stuff but some of the streets are amazing, very pretty.

But I love London in the summer. Shame its like a thousand degrees below with a wind chill of 100'000 degrees below today.

:okay:

Great photos, I love London in the summer, you just need a good seat to watch the world go by and a nice cool pint of lager :)

They are bloody great pictures. Off out now but I'll come back to these.

absolutely stunning, you captured the essence of London life perfectly, just see the people and all the colourful life!!!!

Keep it up, people need a reminder from time to time!!!

Best picture tour of london I've seen so far. I especially like the first and last picture. Well done Spliff Fairy.

Excellent pictures. London is dazzling.

this has inspired me to go hunt my London threads now that the search feature's disappeared.

if anyone wants more London:

one (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=130824)

two (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=133592)

three (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=136845)

four, at night (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=138146)

-

Great pics! And it proves that London is still the metropolis Nr. 1 in the world! A city I've known very well in teh 80s and 90s. But haven't visitied it for many years. The people I know there all complain that the city got horribly boring, busy, violent and expensive or they left England already :( Did it really change so much, are there any older forumers from this city who can tell me more about the change?

As it seems the city got extremly clean, but in a negative way - sterile in the center. A pity. First time I went to Carnaby Street 20 years ago it was still a hangout with great underground shops you could find the freekiest clothes and stuff. Not even 10 years later it turned into a souvenir street for tourists looking out for Princess Di mugs and Prince Charles T-shirts :( :( Seems to be really even worse now...

Well I don't know how old you have to be to be "older" but I can tell you that it is NEVER boring, it's VERY busy, not violent for a big city (although stuff does go on of course), and it IS expensive.

It's also very cold today and those photos make me long for a nice hot summer, a nice cold beer and an aimless afternoon wandering the South Bank and the West End.

As it seems the city got extremly clean, but in a negative way - sterile in the center. A pity. First time I went to Carnaby Street 20 years ago it was still a hangout with great underground shops you could find the freekiest clothes and stuff. Not even 10 years later it turned into a souvenir street for tourists looking out for Princess Di mugs and Prince Charles T-shirts :( :( Seems to be really even worse now...

I would disagree. There tends to a natural focus on this forum on shiny new parts of London that while plentiful aren't necessarily a true picture of day to day life here. The city's been prosperous for a LONG time now but that hasn't made it sterile at all. What is true is that wherever was hot 10 or more years almost certainly isn't now or at least has moved on. Carnaby Street, whilst it does have some cool shops now (and was terrible about 5 years ago), is a 60s thing... why anyone expects it to be anything other than a curio today is beyond me. The place that's 'cool' in London changes monthly or even weekly, but the thing is, you better believe that there is an endless supply of creative options whatever you're into.

Thing to do is if you're visiting London again after a long absence is to go with an open mind and visit the London that's there, not try and revisit the London that was when you there last time round.... does that make sense at all?

These pics are so awesome!!! :applause:

Its so colourful!

I really love the London street-life, the sheer diversity of it with so many things to see. Even if you've got nothing to do, you can just pig out on the streets the whole day.

Your candid shots are very good too. Who is that person you seem to be following? :lol:

I've been a couple of times in London and I always it left with the impression that this is the most exciting city in the world. The photos prove it once again. Thanx!

great tour, i walked that entire area in a day...interesting indeed. did you walk by ronnie scotts?

oh yeah, this thread reminds me of when me and a friend got solicited in Soho on a sunday morning by some working lasses.

-

Kuesel, it is simply a natural cycle, concerning Carnaby street.

A place becomes hip, cool, and popular....... hits the media...... land prices soar....... corporations pay big to move in and capitalize........ the cool, hip, underground culture simply moves on to somewhere new..........

In my opinion the hippest area has to be the Brick Lane, Shoreditch, Old Street area.... that is where the cool, uber trendy, independent fashion and music can be found as well as the cool independent shops, cafes, and bars.

Nice pics man I love them. God I love summer London I can't wait until we get out of this miserable freezing cold spell.

Really nice pics. :)

But when I was in London for a few days last may, I was a bit disappointed of the city because I didn't like the mix of old and new buildings. As a tourist I didn't like the city, but after seeing these pics I think I would feel different as a guest (in sense of having a buddy who shows you his hometown).

Soho may be interesting for many tourists, but not for me (and surely also not for amsterdamers, if you understand. ;) )

I wish I knew the various areas of London better, because I would of enjoyed this photographic stroll through London. Lot of good pics, some were ok, but you definitely captured a day (not saying they were all photographed on the same day) walking the busy streets of London. The pics had a nice casualness about them, as though you were just snapping away one after another and just happened to catch what you caught.

great streets...cool people...cool shops....Amazing city:)

lots of pic, and they all are awesome !

I would disagree. There tends to a natural focus on this forum on shiny new parts of London that while plentiful aren't necessarily a true picture of day to day life here. The city's been prosperous for a LONG time now but that hasn't made it sterile at all. What is true is that wherever was hot 10 or more years almost certainly isn't now or at least has moved on. Carnaby Street, whilst it does have some cool shops now (and was terrible about 5 years ago), is a 60s thing... why anyone expects it to be anything other than a curio today is beyond me. The place that's 'cool' in London changes monthly or even weekly, but the thing is, you better believe that there is an endless supply of creative options whatever you're into.

Thing to do is if you're visiting London again after a long absence is to go with an open mind and visit the London that's there, not try and revisit the London that was when you there last time round.... does that make sense at all?

Thanks a lot for the statements! It's time to visit the city again (it was always my favourite - except for my hometown and recently Sao Paulo ;)) - I am planning to do it next April or May :)

You seriously managed to get across the obscene joy that is London in Summer. All those miserable months spent in the dark and cold and then bang: everyones outside the whole time, smiling and making the streets come to life. Thanks so much for those!
And you were right next to where I live when you were walking around Hampstead... Im realy lucky to be able to cross the road and be in that little garden by the mansion where I lie down and read in the sun. That pergola was under renovation when I was young and I used to brake in as a kid with my friend and we used to pretend that we had our very own Roman ruin which only we knew about: silly but fun.
PS, if thats you in the shot in China Town, you are one sexy man ;)

You seriously managed to get across the obscene joy that is London in Summer. All those miserable months spent in the dark and cold and then bang: everyones outside the whole time, smiling and making the streets come to life.

Yeah, Londoner's have a kinda schizophrenic quality on the first long summer days. Try getting a conversation out of anyone in the winter and you're on a hiding to nothing but yeah, first warm day and you're tripping over more young lovers and joie de vivre than you get in Paris (sweeping generalisation).

Great photos by the way - after ten straight days of snow... come on summer! :cheers:

yes, summer... P L E A S E
This winter has been a long one... bring on the sun and all the beautiful people in the streets!

LSyd post your pics, theyre great. This one...

http://www.pbase.com/image/33220128.jpg
^I know this guy... as far as I can remember he's been on Oxford St day and night for about 3 years now with his voice-of-God loudspeaker and weird doomcult kiddies. He called me a 'naughty boy' last year in a strange tone - clever bloke, could tell just from looking apparently... but i suspect since then hes buggering his little followers (in devil-sent bouts of temptation of course).

Nukey youre very lucky to be living there, I wish I had a childhood playground like that, and pretty rare in the urban city. Is it the same place youre living now as then?

oh, and thanx ;)

You should head out to Greenwich not for the historical stuff but some of the streets are amazing, very pretty.

But I love London in the summer. Shame its like a thousand degrees below with a wind chill of 100'000 degrees below today.
Yeah, and you might bump into me once or twice a week. You wouldn't recognise me though; I don't wear clogs and don't sell vegetables. I like the juxtaposition of the new art buildings with The Cutty Sark, RM, the Green, the lot.
Squeeze said so ages ago: Deptford Fun City!

LSyd post your pics, theyre great. This one...

http://www.pbase.com/image/33220128.jpg
^I know this guy... as far as I can remember he's been on Oxford St day and night for about 3 years now with his voice-of-God loudspeaker and weird doomcult kiddies. He called me a 'naughty boy' last year in a strange tone - clever bloke, could tell just from looking apparently... but i suspect since then hes buggering his little followers (in devil-sent bouts of temptation of course).

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: , fuck, i know him too. ha ha ha. He's always at Oxford Circus, preaching away come rain or shine. :)

thanks spliff. i like how everyone in my pic, like everyone else on the street, seemed to just ignore him.

is this one of his kiddies? he was saying something about homosexuality being wrong and stuff, and these two guys looked up at him while going down into the Tube and one was like, "i guess you wouldn't like me then." and the other goes, "me too."

http://www.pbase.com/image/33220137.jpg

-

^...buggering his little followers... or NOT

it wouldn't suprise me if he was buggering 'em. hmm, now that i notice it, he's got white socks on...something i didn't see much of in the UK, and something tried to avoid doing so i wouldn't look American. (the end result being, i think, that a lot of people thought i was Canadian.)

-

Class pics - I can't wait to get back into London this Summer with my camera - a few shots of a few days at Wimbledon also hopefully!

I always see that guy at Oxford Circus. I can't imagine how he actually generates an income. But I've seen him up at the Natural History and Victoria & Albert also. I haven't seen the guy with the glasses who looks freakily a bit like Matt Damon.

I myself have just come back from a few days working in the territory of the Corporation of London. Took a few piccies earlier today (back at uni now), so thought I'd just pop up a teaser ;)


A chocolate bar to anyone who can name both the name of the station and the line this disorientating descending travelator "serves" :laugh:
http://img210.exs.cx:81/img210/3502/teaser8pz.jpg

can't wait till summer comes....

brilliant. that gave me a whole new appreciation of London.

Spliffy, Im still living in Hampstead, as I always have. I moved out of my family house four years ago when I was nineteen and moved into the 'Lady Cottage' in Oak Hill Park, but have since moved into a flat I designed on Redington Road, which is next to West Heath where you took those pics. Its such a nice part of the heath... if only the cruisers didnt leave so much unpleasant litter it would be a little arcadia.
Me and my unit recently spent 2days there messing around with some things we made at school... we got very muddy but it was so much fun, and all the people walking their dogs were so inquisitive and friendly!
http://www.madam-studio.com/unitheath2.jpg

youre 23 and youve designed your own flat? wow... unless its that treehouse (snug but where would the aga go?)

I always wanted to grow up somewhere I could 'mess around' in (sod it I still would if given the chance now), it looks fun.

But yeah, count the condoms and tissue roll can get boring too...

Im not 23 yet... quite a while to go, thank god!
Im realy lucky to have grown up around here. I had so much fun as a kid just spending the weekend in the Heath with my best friend (sadly she left to San Fran when I was 13). We made parts of it our own... especially the Pergola, a big tree nearby, and a pond with a big bridge over it near parliament hill where we had a place we called the 'Ent House'. Strangely I never remember the condoms and general grossness from when I was young... maybe I just didnt know what it was so ignored it as general rubbish. I wish I could still do that!
My family bought the flat as an investment and I live in it, and they let me design it cos I had already designed some stuff in my family house when I was younger so they trusted me. Luckey bugger that I am ;)
That thing (you called it a treehouse) was part of my project that we just decided it would be fun to shove into a tree. It actually turned out to be realy comfortable and as you can see I was kinda enjoying being in it. :)

A chocolate bar to anyone who can name both the name of the station and the line this disorientating descending travelator "serves" :laugh:
http://img210.exs.cx:81/img210/3502/teaser8pz.jpg

bank station, waterloo and city?

That guy in Oxford street... The preacher guy. He makes me laugh franatically when he says "Why be a sinner? When you can be a WINNER!!"

My mate wanted to deck him recently... but she was passified by a jacket she bought at Top Shop :)

I dont like that guy... he scares me a little. Hes the kinda guy who might one day decide to blow up another pub in Old Compton Street...

But don't you love the fact that everyone in London knows him. Thats the kind of thing I love about London. One small individual whack job in a city of 7 million people, everyone knows.

But don't you love the fact that everyone in London knows him. Thats the kind of thing I love about London. One small individual whack job in a city of 7 million people, everyone knows.I'd go further than that - I don't live in London, so he affects at least the 18mn in the metro area :laugh:



johnnypd - A Cadbury's bar is on its way in the post ;)

But don't you love the fact that everyone in London knows him. Thats the kind of thing I love about London. One small individual whack job in a city of 7 million people, everyone knows.

there used to be a naked cowboy in New York's Times Square all the time. I dunno what happened to him or if he is still there.

Very nice pics. You made a great city even greater with your pics to me.
I saw many movies and pictures about London, but i never know that in this city is so much life. Don`t think i thought that London is a dead city, but the stuff you showed us surprised me.

Thanks.

incredible pictures, subject matter, angles, etc, possibly my favorite london thread ever!

johnnypd - A Cadbury's bar is on its way in the post ;)

lol actually if you sent one to "johnnypd, blaydon-on-tyne" , it would probably get here lol

very nice photoes,thanks

Stunning pics! thanks!! it makes me want to visit London ASAP!

http://img233.exs.cx/img233/2051/soho20040810077foot8fy.jpg

Is that bubble looking hemisphere a chair? If so, where can I buy one? :)

Great pictures. They are great representation of London's status as a world city.

Yep, it's a chair and you can buy them anywhere really. best bet is on the net as the delivery will be easier and cheaper :)

Can you provide a link to a site that sells one? Thanks! :)

How deep underground is the Tube? That travelator tunnel looks quite deep, assuming the camera is not strangely tilted.

I love the pictures. Congratulations!

Can you provide a link to a site that sells one? Thanks! :)

How deep underground is the Tube? That travelator tunnel looks quite deep, assuming the camera is not strangely tilted.

Up to 70m in places... Parts are even 20m below Sea Level

I said this on the UK forum, but this is the best collection of urban photos of any city I have ever seen on ssc... Utterly Stunning Spliffy old chap!

Please take loads more and publish a book, because I'd buy it.

Very evocative of London on a balmy Summer's day (roll on Summer!)... I'm often stood outside Compton's with my Stella in a Plastic cup on a Summer's evening. Soho has a zest and vibrancy that I am yet to see in any other City area anywhere.

You cant beat London in the summer, with a Pint sitting outside one of the thousands of pubs while watching colourful street scenes like these.

I remember theres a nice little pub right next to I think its paddington station where we went last July, it was about 9 o'clock still about 30c and had a few games of pool with the windows open just taking in the noise of the city. it was amazing.

Wow, you cant beat that

Yes you can, go to Miami.

Yes you can, go to Miami.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Yeah mate, dream on. ha ha ha.

Yes you can, go to Miami.

Jealousy ...

Newquay is more endearing then Miami :hahaha:

Wow, many Brits of all races still love the punk(ish) movement...

lol, nice pics thought i still prefer my St-Catherine street in montreal ;) :D

lol, nice pics thought i still prefer my St-Catherine street in montreal ;) :D

Maybe, but this isnt just one street dude.

london streets look chic and full of life.

Yes you can, go to Miami.

:lol:

Arr now wouldnt the Olympics fit right into this city. Im sure people would rather have a nice cold pint and a plate of chips then a cup of coffee and some snails ;) :cheers:

http://img108.exs.cx/img108/5031/comptons200408102282qb.jpg

I have to admit when it comes to great street life and culture, nothing beats London (from all the cities I've been to in the Western World).

Thanks again guys :)


and imageshack.us

some more of the same that didnt get the final cut/forgotten:

http://img168.exs.cx/img168/7110/cedchinatownstall1rz.jpg



http://img240.exs.cx/img240/8486/chinatowngirl4gl.jpg



lovin it
http://img240.exs.cx/img240/6248/cedimlovinit8eb.jpg



http://img217.exs.cx/img217/6148/cedtateescalator3ct.jpg



http://img45.exs.cx/img45/4674/topshop0sz.jpg



(moi)
http://img40.exs.cx/img40/1440/cedroundblob3bn.jpg



http://img103.exs.cx/img103/4448/cedmeanstreets9kx.jpg




http://img200.exs.cx/img200/1333/cedgirlmobile3ks.jpg




http://img122.exs.cx/img122/7742/cedbalans0mt.jpg



big hair
http://img195.exs.cx/img195/5228/cedfunkyhair9rs.jpg



waitresses
http://img217.exs.cx/img217/2322/cedsohowaitresses2wb.jpg



http://img189.exs.cx/img189/6649/cedholdinghands8cp.jpg
big gay world
http://img28.exs.cx/img28/6174/cedholdinghandsstreet7zu.jpg



http://img205.exs.cx/img205/5297/tatebridge3ax.jpg


spot the office party
http://img231.exs.cx/img231/1394/cedstpaulsroofparty2jg.jpg



some architecture
area around the Globe Theatre
http://img121.exs.cx/img121/2056/cedglobeonion9hh.jpghttp://img131.exs.cx/img131/1070/cedglobe5qy.jpg



http://img45.exs.cx/img45/6376/cedpiccwaterstones7hl.jpg



the curve of Regent St
http://img89.exs.cx/img89/6914/cedregentsst7na.jpg



http://img45.exs.cx/img45/5774/20040810037bbccrossing9vr.jpg



http://img45.exs.cx/img45/3908/cedpicccorner0pr.jpg



http://img210.exs.cx/img210/4864/cedpicccrowd0xw.jpg



ok I said no doubledeckers but sod it,
http://img102.exs.cx/img102/5052/oxfordwheelchair2cu.jpg



http://img195.exs.cx/img195/9688/cedbuses8qs.jpg



http://img167.exs.cx/img167/2627/cedlinebuses1qs.jpg


nukey, this ones for you, near here?:hi::

http://img223.exs.cx/img223/5294/cednukeypark7fk.jpg

I can't see them.

Áwesome!

Wow! These pictures are awesome -- the best London photos I've seen because they really capture life in the city.

Thanks for posting!

Amazing, anyone who bashes this city only do say because thier jealous. Summer in London ... YES PLEASE

I can't see them.

second lot pg 4 fixed :)

nukey, this ones for you, near here?
http://img223.exs.cx/img223/5294/cednukeypark7fk.jpg

Yay!! Just to the left there, at the top of the lawn is where I lye with my book reading and sunbathing! Thats my 2nd favourite spot in the heath. I'l take piccies in the spring of the other places I spend my time in, and post them on the forum. Seriously spliffy... this is the best thread EVER!
Next time you're in hampstead we should meet up. I live five mins walk from that garden!

WOW. You have a great eye. Your last pic and the "sureal but cute" one are amazing.

Wonderful. Looks exactly like summer in the city should! Refreshing pedestrian to car quotient as well.

Inspirational photos, thanks.

ok other than an excuse to bump this thread...

anyone know where to 'store' these pics on the web, imageshack deletes them if theyre not viewed after a certain time?

Is this some kind of Anti-American (Don't invade Iraq) statement?

"It works the same in every country. All you have to do is tell the people they are being attacked, and denounce the balkers for lack of patriotism.

The broad masses of a population are more amenable to the appeal of rhetoric than to any other force. "

-Hermann Goerring

*by quoting a crazy Nazi Air Marshall, you kind of use their credibility and risk your own.

** Try quoting Churchill if you want to make a politically sane move.


Nice pictures by the way, London is great.

A fantastic thread of London at street level... the real London, and the best you can do is bitch and moan about the man's politics? Suck it up, please, or at least shut your piehole and enjoy the pictures. Beautiful stuff... I've never explored the not-oft-explored parts of London.

By the way... what is a "heath"???... I've always wondered that...

By the way... what is a "heath"???... I've always wondered that...

It's a type of vegetation, usually very dry and sandy with plants such as gorse and heather. Usually mixed with dry grassland. There is a lot of it in SE England, and it looks quite similar to savannah type vegetation.

This is typical Heathland/Grassland
http://www.suffolkcc.gov.uk/e-and-t/countryside/countryparks/knettishall/images/heathland.jpg

http://www.sonoma.edu/org/preserve/Images/Virtual%20Tour%20Images/MarshGrassland/grassland1.JPG

WAHHHH! All those pics make me miss London.. and i've only been away from it since Wednesday.. :'(
"Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner,
That I love London so.
Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner
That I think of her wherever I go.
blablabablabalbalbalab
blabalbalbalabla?????
blabalbalbala ???
That I love London Town.
" < thats all the lyrics i can remember!!.. last time i sung that was @ Primary: something like 12 years ago! :lol:
oh well.. i guess i'm gonna have to ifnd more reasons to love Oxford ;)

:lol:

Great Pics!

bump
need this to be accessed and to stay online

Yes this is an amazing thread. The streetlife and 5 story street walls really look great. Fantastic photos spliff, hopefully I will get out to London one day.

spliff fairy - When you going on another outing may I enquire ;)

I aim to get to get to London myself for pure drinking and photo taking (if I can get a day off from work). This is probably one of the top 3 photo threads on SSC.

^^^^^^^^

Needs a bump no doubt.

Bes Thread on this site - Shows the vibrancy of the city and the real London. This just proves why so many people set up home there. London is the regaining its cool 70's hip feel - its really is the place to be.

^^^

;)

Very unique perspective, looks even more lively than the real London I visited, lol. Great pics.

When I was scrolling down, I was like, the photographer must be stalking the guy in the black hat haha..Now I realize what the thing is. Either way, gotta love the Londoners..so fashionable.

Still my favourite ever thread on these forums :applause:

I have to admit when it comes to great street life and culture, nothing beats London (from all the cities I've been to in the Western World).

Could use more people like you on this site ;)



But still, im not sure about you lot...but im gonna keep bumping this thread...if it gets to far back.

Best London sery I've ever seen!

Oh aye.

Woow, great thread, you really show the best of london.

so many "interesting" memories...great town

Awesome Pix!! This thread made me want two things:
1- to go to London
2- want warm summer days

Thanks for the pix!!

I thought exactly the same! Amasng shots, London looks really gorgeous!

do you mean that? You are usually the first to criticise London.

DAMN IT!! This is the city life I wanted when I decided to move to Chicago.

Crowded pedestrian streets, open air markets (bazzars), etc, etc. I have none of this!#$@)(

pricemazda, if you´re talking to me, i have said it many times, London looks like a superb city, the city i´m looking forward to visit the most, and because i like it, i like to critisise it too :)

do you mean that? You are usually the first to criticise London.

Why do people think this about Suomi? I've said it before, he is one of the most pro-London foreign forumers I have seen!

Thanks for the support mate :cheers:

Great pics.

Someone here asked for pics of the "old" picadilly circus, this is what i found:

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/2295/picadcrc6bi.jpg (http://img294.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picadcrc6bi.jpg)

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/9953/piccadilly8da.jpg (http://img210.imageshack.us/my.php?image=piccadilly8da.jpg)

Although the buildings are very nice, it´s a shame they took down all the neon signs, the place could have rival times square by now.

very nice pix. :)

When would have been the last year it was possible to find a car park, for free next to Piccadilly Circus. Always wondered that. Maybe when you still needed to carry a lantern in front of your horseless carriage.

I thoroughly enjoyed that!! Thanks! Fun to see the underbelly of cities photographed.
Last time I was in London, I remember "sex shops" (porno shops) were licenced and strictly controlled by the government- there was a surprisingly small number of licences for all of Britain. Is it still the same way over there now?

I can't believe I missed this thread the first time around. Absolutely amazing, and one of the best London photo threads ever.

Summer is such an amazing time to be in London. The city has such an amazing feel in the summer months, it's impossible to describe, but those photo's brought back so many memory's.

I maybe in London in again in a couple of weeks, but I should try and get back there also this summer. Usually I'm in London in the colder months.

I thoroughly enjoyed that!! Thanks! Fun to see the underbelly of cities photographed.
Last time I was in London, I remember "sex shops" (porno shops) were licenced and strictly controlled by the government- there was a surprisingly small number of licences for all of Britain. Is it still the same way over there now?

Cool, in the 1960s/70s there was a huge market with about 2000 sex businesses in Soho alone. The 80s saw in the big 'cleanup' and the there was much less of the flesh, the police turning a blind eye to many of the remaining law-breaking establishments involved in prostitution, scams and drugs. Only in the late 90s did proper licensing start to takeover the shady shops, and literally a year later did changes in the licensing laws did they allow porno shops to sell hard porn legally - as had always been done but without the consent of written law.
The sex shops remain fewer in number but are starting to grow again despite the area taken over by bars and clubs and media types, a recent council attempt at evicting the brothels resulted in a popular overturning of policy, even long suffering locals felt that prostitutes added to the atmosphere of the district and that it wouldnt be the same without at least a few of them... its all about the edge in Soho.

thanx so much guys, im over the moon to see this again.

this is a real blast from the past for me, I thought these pics long lost, that was the summer of 2004 and I'll always have memories of. Im so glad this has come up again, I was searching a while back for it but thought it dead, I only get 45 minutes freebees at the library and couldnt get through 100 pages of skyscrapercity. My observations today in red:

http://img127.exs.cx/img127/4697/bugbug22004_0810289.jpg



http://img86.exs.cx/img86/2593/20040810226comptoncrowd4mm.jpg
The Westminster council banned all rainbow flags ( I mean come on!) later that year:


I caught these Brazilian-esque revellers going to a bar opening:
http://img55.exs.cx/img55/9247/20040915213232carnivalhood0lj.jpg


http://img114.exs.cx/img114/2416/sohocarnivalewhitewalls6av.jpg
the bar closed not so long after opening, a matter of months:


check out the tattoo:
http://img81.exs.cx/img81/135/chinatownvendor200409051917146.jpg
The Save Chinatown campaign has failed so far, this stall is now gone but the guy with the tattoo and his equally pierced girl have set up in an abandoned bookstore on CharingX Rd:

http://img202.exs.cx/img202/9967/20040905191513chinatemple5ok.jpg
while this is scheduled for demolition, the block behind is now empty:

http://img205.exs.cx/img205/5549/20040905184427chinamesideview0.jpg
Ive grown my hair now:

http://img219.exs.cx/img219/5300/20040810151piccadillybus4sm.jpg
the red routemasters have all gone as of 2005 and are replaced by 'bendy buses' argh!

BBC Braodcasting House rebuild and All Souls
http://img178.exs.cx/img178/1816/oxford200408100443ku.jpg
this is nearing completion, doubling the size of the present building and taking up the background behind the church. Its an art deco-ish more-than-postmodern extension, tres cool.:

http://img209.exs.cx/img209/4324/tateroom200408190306vp.jpg

Surreal but cute
http://img118.exs.cx/img118/9656/tatelight8gj.jpg
these people are actually in a light installation in a huge coccoon- the walls change colour and allow you to practice your snow-blindness in shades of mauve, pink, white, green etc.
these two installations have gone too


...
and alas, the hat is no longer with us, he's now living in outer London with these pics stored forever on his busted hard drive. I'll miss him.
more 'village' london, follow the hat through Hampstead:
http://img219.exs.cx/img219/9945/20040905153840highgateadonibal.jpg


http://img27.exs.cx/img27/938/20040905154150highgateadonigre.jpg

lookout over a secret garden - met a long lost schoolmate down there just after this photo was taken (and one of the people sunning themselves)
http://img224.exs.cx/img224/2145/20040905161150hampsteadviewpic.jpg
i never saw the bloke again, he's been on the missing list before:


Bye Adoni,

journey's end:
http://img233.exs.cx/img233/6549/20040905161326adoniheathlookou.jpg

Thanks, that clears up a lot! Actually, I had remembered Britain's censorship laws
as being very tough in the old days, and I didn't realise they had hard core porn
available til this decade. I thought it was all just soft core stuff. I think last time
I visited there were something like 30 or maybe 50 'sex shop' licences for the entire
country, which seemed very little.
I wish everyone would take pictures of the tenderloin districts of their cities...we
focus so much on the postcard shots that we rarely see the dodgy areas of town.
I, for one, like the dodgy areas!

BE-OO-TEE-FULLLL!

Once again I am amazed by London and I always will be.

BTW, for all of you who praise London in summer, try it in mid-September. The strong winds, the reddish light, the low hanging fluffy white clouds beings forcefully blown across a steel blue sky above the red leaves along the river make it [does not have words for it.]

I so want to move there... soon I will. :)

It's been said a million times already, but really: these are terrific pictures. Not the standard big high buildings-kind of thing, but pictures of how people live in a city. You really have a great eye for these things.

What the name of the street in the 8th pic? it looks amasing!

I suspect it is Piccadilly.

These photos are amazing! I loved them.

thanks:D check out more on pg 4

Heiva Suomi, that street (i think youre meaning the one with the column?) is the new development that replaced the Brutalist stuff next to St Paul's - Paternoster Square.

thanks:D check out more on pg 4

Heiva Suomi, that street (i think youre meaning the one with the column?) is the new development that replaced the Brutalist stuff next to St Paul's - Paternoster Square.


I thought he meant pic 8 on this page,but u may be right...

yeah....the 8th pic, the one with the doubledecker bus and the blue taxi.
The pic under it is nice as well, the same street?

yeah....the 8th pic, the one with the doubledecker bus and the blue taxi.
The pic under it is nice as well, the same street?

That street is the northern end of Regent Street.

ok, thanks.

oh right I geddit, you mean the one on this page! Its Piccadilly itself (the street called Piccadilly), or anyway the one that leads to Green Park tube. If you alight at that station and head up away from the park towards the circus you'll see luxury car showrooms in those buildings, Ferraris, Lamborghinis and er, Volvos etc. In the sidestreets you'll find some of the poshest and most peaceful oases in the city.

Are all pics taken in the West End?

I love London

Fantastic stuff spliff fairy.

amazing pictures!!!!!!!!