Old, new, war and peace

So after a whistle stop tour of central London on Friday we head to the Imperial War museum close to our travelodge in Waterloo.

Four stories crammed full of machines, planes, tanks, and other weapons of war. A truely saddening experience that shows how proficent mankind is at killing each other.Ranging from ancient conflicts to upto date war fare such as Afganistan.

Here Neil is in front of the museum with some of the long range guns that can fire upto 16 miles. Frightening.

The only aspect of the museum I enjoyed was the old war time propaganda posters, such as the one above. The Loose Talk costs Lives posters featuring cartoon Hitlers popping out of phone boxes and other places, and are still an amusing yet effective marketing campaign.

But on a darker note is this warning that still has as much resonance now, if not more, than when it was first uttered.

Moving quickly away from the horrors of the past we head to the more vibrant and lively setting of Camden Town, one of my favourite bits of London.

From the bustling markets, tempting food stalls and piles of tat for sale to the oversized shoes and other items that adorn lots of the shop fronts, its a fun, colourful and hectic experience.

Grabbing a tasty slice of pizza and a disgracefully, fattening, wonderful cream and apple doughnut from one of the food stalls we browse The Stables market, an Aladdins cave of retro, vintage goodies housed in old catacombs complete with huge bronze statues of horses .

We then head to Camden Lock Village for a browse. Here's Neil perching on one of the moped seats.

Next we head to Portabello Lane for a meander down the markets, check out some more graffiti and then head for the tower! More pics to follow . . ..

Alternative tour of London

So we've returned to the green hills of Derbyshire from the urban sprawl of the capital city which we have explored / endured for four days over Easter.

As mentioned previously we have done a far bit of London but we still managed a few firsts - Tower of London, Tate Modern and the War Museum.

Plus an impromptu graffiti photo tour of some of the seedier parts of the tourist trail.

Staying in Waterloo Travelodge we found a brilliant graffiti tunnel where artists have free reign with their spray cans and garish colours, here's a few snaps.

 

Next up, a quick stroll to the Eye (London's most prominant tourist sight, owned by a French energy company!!!)

And a stroll / dash along Festival Walk to look at / fear the living statue people. Here's just one of them (from behind as I didn't want to have to give him any money . . )

 

Then a mooch along to view the houses of Parliment, Big Ben and the big ole River. Here's a panaromic view of the Thames complete with a boat that later stacked itself into the bridge and seemed to get stuck for quite a while!!!

Next up, Camden Town and the Imperial War museum. Plus the collossal waste of taxpayer's money known as the Olympic Stadium . .. . . . .  .

Off to London for Easter break

Hello reader (s)!!

Not had much time to spend on the old blog recently as I am all tied up doing DIY on the house.

However I am off to London for the four day Easter break so on my return expect tales of my frustrations with city living, the tube, other people and anything else that grabs my cantankerous attention!

I was hoping for the unseasonably warm weather to continue till then, but alas, it has turned back into good old British gloom now . . .

Oh well, I keep my spirits up looking at what my desktop weather widget tells me the temperature is doing in my future holiday destination Italy (warming up nicely) and potential future wish list holiday Russia (cold / brass monkeys)