Dec 2017

Derbyshire Snow

Beeley, Derbyshire. Fri 29 Dec 2017
There was an inch or two of snow on the ground around Beeley
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There was no snow on the ground at Belper, but it had settled on the hills around and my son decided to take a sledge to somewhere where our younger grand daughter could try it out.

That meant avoiding the popular slopes which would be crowded, but he thought that there would be some suitable gentle slopes on the hill above Beeley village. The main roads had been cleared, and minor roads like that to Beeley were well gritted, but we parked at the entrance to the village and walked up the village roads to a footpath, climbing through several fields to the top of the hill.

It wasn't snowing, but mist was drifiting across the landscape and the views were quite interesting. When the mist reached us we couldn't see much at all (though photographs show rather more) and it was rather cold, but it soon blew over us.

We had the hillside to ourselves and several of us tried out the sledge on the way down. By the time we came off the path onto the village road the snow was rapidly thawing.

We drove down the valley a couple of miles to Rowsley and Caudwell's Mill for some lunch and I took a few pictures of the mill and Peak Tor, a hill which was an early Celtic camp or settlement. It's an unusual hill I first saw from the railway on route to Manchester for an interview in 1962, one of Englands more scenic railway lines that Beeching soon put paid to.
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Derby City Trail

Derby. Thu 28 Dec 2017

Derby's Market Hall, built in 1866 was the country's first purpose-built indoor market
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Pictures from a long walk around the centre of Derby.

Although I've often been to Derby, it has always been on my way to somewhere else, often just changing trains, or getting a lift or a taxi from the station. Several times I've taken a short walk from the station, and back in the 1970s I cycled from there a couple of times to Paul Hill's photography workshops in Bradbourne, but never really seen the town.

So while the rest of the family and some of their friends went to the theatre to see a matinee performance of Peter Pan after a meal at a chain Italian restaurant (a good place for the children but not great for food) I took the opportunity to take a long walk around the city centre. I started just following my own route, but then decided to go to the tourist information centre and spent 50p on the 'Derby Walks' leaflet, then roughly following 'The City Circuit' with a few additions and missing a few sites. The leaflet also has a shorter Joseph Wright Walk, covering a part of the same route but concentrating on buildings that would have been there when Derby's famous painter was alive.

I was surprised by the amount of fine architecture in the city, including a great deal of late 19th and early 20th century buildings that don't get a metnion on the short guide, and my pictures show some of these as well as most of those featured in the leaflet. I had to miss a few as time got a little short and I needed ot make my way back to the station along the riverside path.
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Belper

Derbyshire. 27-30 Dec 2017

Long Row - listed mill-workers cottages from 1792-7
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Our family came together for 3 days in Belper, where my younger son lives with his family.

We stayed at the Lion Hotel, a short walk from their house, on the A6. Belper is a town which grew because of the mill built by Jedediah Strutt and expanded by later members of his family. Strutt invented an improved stocking frame and set up a silk mill in Derby, later working with Richard Arkwright to set up a mill on the Derment at Cromford in 1771. Together with his partner Samuel Need, Strutt then built cotton mills at Belper (1778) and Milford (1779).

Long Row is one of several streets built for the workers at the Strutt's mills and together with them is a part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. The Strutts also built Unitarian, Congregational and Anglican churches in Belper.

Samuel Slater, born in Belper who worked for Strutt at the Cromford Mill is credited as the 'Father of the American Industrial Revolution'. He learnt the secrets of the textile machinery in use in the mill and went to America to set up their textile industry, breaking English laws about exporting trade secrets.
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Boxing Day Walk

Staines to Old Windsor. Tue 26 Dec 2017

Boatyard at Runnymede
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As usual we walked the 5 miles or so from our house in Staines to my sister's in Old Windsor for our Boxing Day lunch, partly for exercise but also because there is no public transport.

We had my elder son and his wife with us, or we might have thought about cycling there, but it's a pleasant enough walk along by the river, and sometimes we have taken a slightly longer but more interesting route up over Coopers Hill. But this time we stayed on the level, going almost all the way along the towpath beside the Thames.

Fortunately we were not trying to tow a boat, as the growth of bushes and trees and the land-grabbing of riverside moorings by residents have long made that impossible. The path - now a part of the long-distance Thames path - runs along the south bank here, the first few yards being in Middlesex, then Surrey, and briefly in Berkshire before returning to Surrey and finally back to Berkshire, partly because the river has changed course at various ages before settling on its now well-defined route.

It was a pleasant sunny morning and there was little wind and we took things easy, pausing at the Runnymede Pleasure Grounds for some to buy hot drinks at the cafe, then at the artwork on Runnemede itself, The Jurors.

Later in the day it was dark and raining as we made our way back. Fortunately we got a lift over half the way, and the rain eased off for the rest.
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Free Ahed Tamimi

Trafalgar Square, London. Sat 23 Dec 2017

The protest continued and was more noticeable as two men tried to shout it down
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A protest in Trafalgar Square condemned the kidnap, beating up and arrest of 16-year-old Ahed Tamimi by Israeli soldiers at 4am on Tuesday 19 December, and the later arrest of her mother Nariman Tamimi and cousin Nour Tamimi, calling for their immediate release.

The two younger women had earlier slapped Israeli soldiers in their occupied village of Nabi Saleh when their 14 year old male cousin was shot in the face by Israeli soldiers. Among those taking part in the protest were some who knew Ahed and her family personally and had visited them in their village of Nabi Saleh where regular protests are brutally repressed by the Israeli army.

After a while two men arrived and attempted to shout the protesters down, claiming Ahed Tamimi was an adult who provoked the soldiers and should be locked up and that everything the protesters claimed was lies; they were joined briefly by a woman who also shouted insults, while another known Zionist came to film the protest on his phone.

One of the men made a number of clearly racist comments to one of the protesters. There were some heated arguments, responded to largely by insults and lies from the two men, but eventually police arrived and calmed down those who had come to disrupt the protest. Although the intervention of the two was disturbing and the racism of one of them sickening, it did considerably raise the profile of the protest, causing many more of those visiting the square to come and see why people were protesting, and most were clearly supportive of the protesters.

The protest was still continuing when I left to catch my train home.
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Free Palestine, Free Ahad Tamimi

M&S, Oxford St,London. Sat 23 Dec 2017

The protest invited people to "discover more" about M&S and to boycott the Israeli goods they sell
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Protesters outside Marks and Spencer on Oxford St called for freedom for Palestine and for the immediate release of 16-year-old Ahed Tamimi, beaten up and arrested by Israeli soldiers at her home in the village of Nabi Saleh in the occupied West Bank at 4am on Tuesday 19 December.

The protest was one of a series calling for a boycott of goods from Israel. They say many British companies including Marks and Spencer are collaborators with the apartheid regime in Israel and call for the release of all Palestinian political prisoners, many of whom are being held effectively indefinitely without trial or have been sentenced in unfair trials.

I only stayed briefly and people were slow to arrive at the protest, and pictures I saw later had a rather larger group present. It was one of three protests related to the arrest of Ahed Tamimi arranged at short notice which meant the three groups concerned had not had time to coordinate their efforts. Some of those I met outside Marks and Spencer managed, like me, to attend all three.
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Jerusalem, Capital of Palestine

US Embassy, London. Sat 23 Dec 2017
People with placards and Palestinian flags in front of the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square
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The Palestinian Forum in Britain protest outside the US Embassy after US President Trump's announcement that the US Embassy in Israel will move to Jerusalem.

Many hold Palestinian flags and placards with the message in English and Arabic 'Jerusalem is the Capital of Palestine'. Speakers condemned Trump for his decision to move the embassy and called for peace and freedom for Palestine. They also condemned the increase in hate crimes following Trump's announcements and the brutal repression of protests against it in Palestine, including the shooting of peaceful protesters, one in a wheelchair by Israeli forces and the beating up and detention of 16-year-old Ahed Tamimi and members of her family.
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Psychedelic Eye-Gazing Flashmob

Trafalgar Square, London. Sat 16 Dec 2017

People stand facing each other, close together and look into each other's eyes
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The call by the Psychedelic Society for a 'Psychedelic Eye-Gazing Flashmob' did not appear to have reached many outside the society, and around a dozen members turned up for today's event.

The Heritage Wardens came over and talked to the group before the vigil started, but went away and left them to it. Three drummers and a speaker on a microphone led the event, alling on those present to form two lines and giving instructions and a commentary, telling those taking part to form pairs and stare into each others eyes for a minute or two before everyone moved on to another partner.

The drumming had a certain hypnotic quality, but I was content to look at everyone through the viewfinder of a camera and politely refused the invitaiton to take part. One of the group walked around the area handing out leaflets to all of us, and a couple of times a young couple did stop and join in for a few minutes, happy to look into each other's eyes, but I think not showing much inclination to gaze into the eyes of others.
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44th 'Stay Put' Sewol silent protest

Trafalgar Square, London. Sat 16 Dec 2017

The campaigners stand in front of the National Gallery in light rain
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People stand in silence in Trafalgar Square in the 44st monthly vigil to remember the Sewol victims, mainly school children who obeyed the order to 'Stay Put' on the lower decks as the ship went down.

There were only four when I took photographs in the middle of the vigil, with numbers perhaps lower because of the weather - and perhaps because it was close to Christmas and some may be busy or away from the country.

The campaigners continue to demand the Korean government conduct a thorough inquiry into the disaster, recover all missing victims, punish those responsible and enact special anti-disaster regulations.
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Trafalgar Square Christmas

Trafalgar Square, London. Sat 16 Dec 2017

Charity Carol Singers in front of the Christmas Tree
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Trafalgar Square is in festival dress, with a crib and a tree for Christmas and the giant menorah for Chanukah, but it was a dull wet afternoon, and the things I was expecting to happen there largely failed to materialise.

Some of the things I did see there certainly had some connection with Christmas, but with others it was difficult to see. The Christmas tree is always disappointing - it's a fairly large tree, with just a few lights - and a poem on the barriers around its base. The menorah is ugly by day, though when I've seen it at night is is rather more impressive, but I left too early for that.

It was really a rather depressing place to spend over an hour in, though I did go into the National Gallery and spend some time looking at a few of our pictures, though a couple of my favourites are currently out on loan to another museum show.
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Grenfell Silent Walk - 6 months on

London, UK. Thu 14th Dec 2017

Many carried green candles and green hearts which have become a symbol of support for Grenfell's victims
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The monthly slow and silent walk to demand justice and remember those killed at Grenfell Tower from Notting Hill Methodist Church on the 6 month anniversary of the tragic fire.

The families of those who died and survivors made homeless by the fire marched at the front, together with local clergy. Many carried pictures of the victims and flowers, as well as green lights and green heart-shaped symbols. Placards and posters called for Justice for Grenfell, which many fear the official inquiry will fail to provide.

I left the procession at Ladbroke Grove station as it went on to the centres where the community provided help when the council failed to respond. Later I heard with disgust that some one had booked the Maxilla Centre where these marches usually end for a a celebrity party that evening. Just another expression of the heartlessness and contempt of some of the wealthy in London for its poorer citizens that led six months earlier to the death of at least 71 people in the burning tower.
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City cleaners strike at LHH for Living Wage

Gracechurch St, City of London. Thu 14 Dec 2017

The LHH cleaners go into work to cheers at the start of their evening shift
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The United Voices of the World union and supporters protest noisily outside the offices of Lee Hecht Harrison (LHH), a large company in the heart of London's financial district with a £2 million profit and a 32% increase in revenue this year.

The cleaners have balloted for strike action if necessary to get a rise from the national minimum hourly rate of £7.50 to the minimum needed to live on in London, the London Living wage, currently assessed at £10.20 per hour.

The cleaners who clean theLHH offices are not employed directly by LHH but by City Central Cleaning & Support Services Limited, and not only was their demand for the London Living Wage rejected without explanation but they were unlawfully threatened with potential dismissal if they strike. After an hour of protesting, four cleaners went in to clean the offices to the cheers of their supporters.
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Star Wars Strike Picket Picturehouse

Hackney Picturehouse, London. Thu 14 Dec 2017

The protest was really just starting when I had to leave, with the film starting later in the evening
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Workers and supporters at a solidarity demonstration outside Hackney Picturehouse, one of five London cinemas where workers were again striking in support of their longstanding fight for the London Living Wage, on the opening day of the 'Star Wars' film, 'Last of the Jedi'.

The strikers are members of the BECTU trade union and as well as a living wage are fighting to get their union recognised by Picturehouse, which is a part of the multinational company, Cineworld. The Hackney Picturehouse strikers were joined by those from the other cinemas, Picturehouse Central, Crouch End and East Dulwich and the Brixton Ritzy.
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PIP unfair to Mental Health claimants

Royal Courts of Justice, London. Tue 12 Dec 2017

Paula Peters of DPAC speaks at the vigil outside the court
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A lunchtime vigil by Mental Health Resistance Network, Winvisible (women with visible & invisible disabilities) and DPAC (Disabled People Against Cuts) at the High Court supported the case of RF, who contends that the way people experiencing psychological distress are treated by new Personal Independence Payment (PIP) rules is unfair and discriminatory.

Changes to the rules made in March 2017 by the Dept of Work & Pensions mean that those with serious mental health conditions who are unable to plan or undertake a journey because of overwhelming psychological distress no longer get full mobility benefit, which is now only available to those with physical mobility problems.

RF is represented by Doughty Street Chambers, the Public Law Project and written submissions from the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and mental health charity Mind is being heard today and tomorrow. The result will have implications for many with 'invisible' disabilities, with loss of the enhanced mobility payment having a huge impact on people's ability to participate in society and remain independent.
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Stand Up to Lambeth protest and vigil

Lambeth Town Hall, London. Sat 9 Dec 2017

Class War's banners point out that Labour councils are the biggest social cleansers in London
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People protest at Lambeth Town Hall in honour of all those affected by Lambeth Council's heartless policies.

The vigil also included a tribute to Cressingham Gardens resident and leading campaigner Ann Plant who died of cancer in December 2016, spending her final months still fighting to prevent the demolition of her home and her community by the council, one of a series of council estate demolitions Lambeth plan in a ruthless programme of realising the asset value of their estates despite it resulting in many local residents being forced out of the area.

As well as implementing this programme of social cleansing, the Labour council dominated by supporters of the right-wing New Labour Progress organisation has also shut down community centres, betrayed local businesses, drastically cut services for the disabled, those with mental health problems, young people and social services generally.

The council claim that they have been forced into cuts by Tory national government policies, but Councillors' expenses and allowances keeps on growing and they have spent over £150m on a new Town Hall project, already several times over the original budget and still growing in costmore pictures

National Anti-Slavery March

Belgrave Square to Libyan Embassy, London, UK

A Black Muslim stands in front of the African Lives Matter banner outside the Libyan embassy
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Thousands marched from Belgrave Square to a protest in front of the Libyan Embassy against the selling of Black Africans by Arab slave traders in Libya.

The march hosted by African Lives Matter demanded closure of the Libyan detention centres, action by African governments to rescue people detained in the camps and condemnation of the slave trade and murders of migrants by all African leaders and the UN, calling on Libya to make and enforce laws that prevent these crimes against humanity.

Many also demanded reparations for the historic slave trade and the continuing despoliation of African resources by imperialist nations including the UK. The rally outside the embassy began with an African ceremony of libation, with water being poured in memory of many who have taken part in the struggle for freedom and human rights for Africans over the years.
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ICAN Nobel Peace Prize Die-In

Ministry of Defence, London. Sat 9 Dec 2017

People lie down on the steps of the Ministry of Defence for a die-in
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Peace campaigners celebrate the award of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize to ICAN, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, for its role in pushing for a United Nations global nuclear ban treaty which has been supported by 122 countries with an awards ceremony and die-in outside the Ministry of Defence.

The prize is to be presented in Oslo tomorrow. The UK refused to take part in the treaty negotiations and is refusing to sign the treaty, but the protesters urged it so sign up and to scrap Trident replacement. The event was organised by ICAN UK and two of ICAN's partner organisations in the UK, CND and Medact, and included speakers from these and another ICAN partner, WILPF, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and a mock Nobel Prize was handed over by to ICAN UK by Bruce Kent, who also presented many small chocolate 'Nobels' to those at the event.
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Israeli 'blood diamond' Australia protest

Australia House, London. Fri 8 Dec 2017

Campaigners next to a banner outside Australia House
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Inminds human rights group protest outside the Australian High Commission on the eve of the Kimberley Process Plenary Meeting in Brisbane, Australia, chaired by Australia.

The vigil was to highlight the failure of the Kimberley Process in preventing the trade in blood diamonds that fund human rights violations around the world, in particular those by Israel in Palestine. Inminds say that the definition of blood diamonds should be widened to include cut and polished diamonds that are funding human rights violations around the world, in line with a 2015 draft proposal at the World Diamond Council which was only blocked by a last-minute intervention by the President of the Israeli Diamond Exchange, who stated "it could be disastrous for Israel".

The Israeli diamond industry contributes about $1 billion annually to the Israeli military and security industries, funding activities such as that of the Givati Brigade, responsible during the 2009 attack on Gaza for the massacre of 29 members of the Samouni family. The UN Human Rights Council have found Israel guilty of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity and Inminds say their diamond trade is a trade in blood diamonds.
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Photographers Walk

City of London. Thu 7 Dec 2017

London's rubbish is taken on board just above Cannon St Bridge
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Five of us old friends got together for a pre-Christmas walk, more a social occasion than one to take photographs, meeting up at St Paul's station. We had planned to go on a longer walk elsewhere, but several people were unable to come and we decided to do that some time after Christmas.

This walk was unusual in that we only went into two pubs, one for a quick drink and the second when those of us who completed the walk (we were down to three by then) had a meal together. We started in the Guildhall Art Gallery, going down into its depths where a few years ago the remains of the Roman Coliseum were discovered and are now rather well displayed, before looking at the City of London's art collection on display. It's a rather mixed bunch with some fine works ancient and modern along with some rather tedious municipal records of great occasions that would have looked fine in the Illustrated London News but don't really cut it as vast canvasses on the gallery wall.

Walking on past the Bank of England we walked into Adams Court and walked around in a circle before driven by thirst to the Crosse Keys, where I failed to resist the temptation of a pint of Smokestack Lightnin', a beer from the Dorking Brewery, named after my favourite Howling Wolf track - I still somewhere have the 45rpm record. It was the first time I've come across the idea of a 'smoked' beer, and while interesting I think it would be best drunk around a bonfire.

The first of our crew defected as we went into the pub, not to be seen again, and we said goodbye to the second as we left, with me boldly leading the way down to the river, where we turned upstream along the Thames path. The light was fading a little, but perhaps becoming more interesting, but when we left the river at Queenhithe it was time to make our way back to St Paul's to catch a bus and get a table for our meal together before the city workers crowded in.

All pictures taken with a Fuji X-E1 and 18mm Fuji lens.
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Grenfell protests outside council meeting

Kensington Town Hall, London. Wed 6 Dec 2017

A woman in the crowd listens to speeches at the Justice4Grenfell protest
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Protesters outside the Kensington & Chelsea council meeting at Kensington Town Hall demand answers and action from the council, almost six months after the disastrous fire at Grenfell Tower.

The protest had been approved at a public meeting at the Maxilla Centre and was publicised and supported by the Justice4Grenfell campaign and the RCG who both came with PA systems. Justice 4 Grenfell tried to persuade the RCG to move away, but they refused, though they did turn off their sound system for the J4G main speeches, including those by MPs Kate Osamor and Emma Dent Coad, but restarted when these appeared to have finished. But the J4G rally resumed after a short pause and for a short time both sound systems were in use. A small group supporting the Justice4Grenfell campaign then came to shout at and threaten the RCG and one had to be held back by friends and onlookers after trying to start a fist fight.

Also protesting were Class War, who had brought a number of posters with the picture of the disgraced Councillor Rock Feilding-Mellen, who as deputy council leader and cabinet member responsible for housing had apparently pressed the TMO for the cost reductions which resulted in the use of flammable cladding and other modifications that made Grenfell a huge fire risk, and allegedly instituted a shoddy and ineffectual sytem of fire inspections to reduce the costs of maintenance throughout the properties. Although still a local councillor, Feilding-Mellen fled the area shortly after the Grenfell fire and is said to have made only occasional fleeting appearances since, and Class War's posters showed his face with the single word 'Where?'.

The protest condemned the failure of the council to properly respond to the needs of the those affected by the fire, and in particular that so few have been rehoused, with some whole families still in a small hotel room. They demand that all survivors and those who had to move out because of the fire are rehoused in appropriate housing in the area and that those responsible in Kensington and Chelsea council, the TMO and the cladding company face criminal charges. They also want a real role for the local community in the official inquiry into the fire which they feel has already disrespected local residents and fear will be a cover up.
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Cressingham Gardens residents say Ballot Us!

Brixton, London. Sat 2 Dec 2017

People listen to speeches outside Lambeth Town Hall after the march from Cressingham Gardens
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Residents from Cressingham Gardens in Tulse Hill marched with supporters to a rally at Lambeth Town Hall taking petition calling on Lambeth Council to hold a ballot of residents over their plans to demolish the estate.

Since Labour's last conference, party policy is that no demolition of council estates should take place without consent, but Lambeth Council seem determined to ignore this and go ahead with their plans for a so-called 'regeneration' which would see all 300 homes demolished, without any plans to provide immediate council housing for the roughly 1000 residents who would be made homeless.

Residents in this and other estates across London and elsewhere want councils, particularly Labour councils, to act on behalf of their residents rather than making deals with property developers which largely serve the interests of shareholders and international investors, many of whom are laundering the proceeds of crimes. Around a hundred people marched from the estate to meet others for a rally outside the old Lambeth Town Hall in the centre of Brixton.
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Cressingham Gardens

Brixton, London. Sat 2 Dec 2017

Cars only come to the edge of the estate which has large safe pedestrian areas
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Before the protest by residents against the demolition of their estate I deliberately arrived early so I could walk around the estate and take some photographs.

The estate is described as a council garden estate and was designed by Edward Hollamby, the chief architect for Lambeth Council at a time when councils such as this had a mission to provide quality housing for working class Lambeth residents. Its 306 dwellings, a mixture of four, three and two-bedroom houses, and one-bedroom apartments acheive a feeling of spaciousness but have a high residential density of over 250 persons/hectare, and the estate had a number of innovative features. The development was praised by the council, then Conservative, with John Major (later Sir John and Prime Minister) as deputy chair of the Housing Committee as a 'bold and imaginative scheme' and was acheived at a relatively low cost per dwelling - adjusted for inflation to current prices of around £85,000.

It has remained a popular and well ordered estate to the current day, the design encouraging a strong feeling of community and a low crime rate, although as with many buildings of the era it has been poorly maintained and is in need of some remedial work. Bringing it up to contemporary standards and fixing the problems with guttering and drainage would be a relatively cheap operation at around £9.4 million for the whole site - though Lambeth council says this is unaffordable.

But this estate is in a good location on a prime site overlooking Brockwell Park, and a private development here could provide sales of around £400 million at current market prices for the area. Of course the private developer is obliged to promise some affordable or social housing, but most employ accountancy firms after the work has started to reduce that down to negligible levels - at the Heygate estate iun neighbouring Southwark over a thousand council properties were replaced by around 80. And even affordable housing - at up to 80% of market rent - is way out of reach for most current council tenants.

If redevelopment (misleadingly called regeneration) goes ahead, the current residents will lose out considerably. Those who have exercised the right to buy will get compensation that will not enable them to buy any comparable property in the area and probably be forced to move to the outer fringes of London or even further afield, away from their current jobs, schools etc. Council tenants may qualify for re-housing, but many will be have to move to insecure private tenancies and those rehoused by the council will be offered properties far inferior to those they currently live in. The only other estates built to similar standards as Cressingham are also being listed for demolition.

The estate was put forward for listing in 2013, but despite Historic England praising the way the design responds to its setting, with skill and sensitivity, “both in the scale and massing of the built elements, as well as through the integration of these elements with informal open spaces which bring a park-like character into the estate” it was surprisingly turned down. It is one of a number of decisions which clearly reflect the current political nature of the listing process.
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King's College employ your cleaners

King's College, London. Fri 1 Dec 2017

The pavement outside the college was filled with protesters and they mad a lot of noise
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Students and cleaners protest outside King's College after the college and Servest who employ the cleaners failed to make the formal offer they had promised by November 30th on the demand that the cleaners be directly employed by the college with parity of terms and conditions with other King's staff.

Cleaners who are members of Unison have been promised that they will get the new London Living Wage set in November, but complain that promises on workloads and providing proper equipment made after earlier strikes have not been kept. Students and trade unionists from some other London colleges came to show solidarity.
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London Images

December 2017

Morning Lane Hackney in early evening
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I found myself with more time on my hands in London than usual, partly becuase of protests that were cancelled at the last minute or started later than expected, and so there are more pictures than usual this month.

There are pictures from Brixton, from a walk from London Wall to the Thames at Temple, with some riverside panoramas, in Embankment Gardens, in the early evening in Hackney, in Trafalgar Square, and as usual some from my bust and train journeys, as well as some views from a tower at the Elephant & Castle shopping centre.
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my london diary

London and London events, from 1999 to now.

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Derbyshire Snow

Beeley, Derbyshire. Fri 29 Dec 2017 There was an inch or two of snow on the ground around Beeley more pictures

Derby City Trail

Derby. Thu 28 Dec 2017

Derby's Market Hall, built in 1866 was the country's first purpose-built indoor market more pictures

Belper

Derbyshire. 27-30 Dec 2017

Long Row - listed mill-workers cottages from 1792-7 more pictures

Boxing Day Walk

Staines to Old Windsor. Tue 26 Dec 2017 Boatyard at Runnymede more pictures

Free Ahed Tamimi

Trafalgar Square, London. Sat 23 Dec 2017 The protest continued and was more noticeable as two men tried to shout it down more pictures