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The walk back to the west end from Liverpool Street Station was a nice enough stroll. There was a little sun but, it's still January, and it was cold.
I walked west from the station and then doglegged to the left so that I could walk through Finsbury Circus. Many years ago I would have lunch here when I worked locally in the late 70's and the sight of grass was welcome. I continued west walking through the Barbican Centre (an oasis of calm in the city). Then it was onto Charterhouse Street passing Smithfield meat market and stealing a glimpse of Bart's hospital (where I ran the doctors bar in the Robin Brook centre in the early 80's). I continued up to Holborn and just kept walking west, through New Oxford Street and then Oxford Street and finally to Marble Arch and the start of Park Lane to the south. I decided to walk down the central reservation of Park Lane. The street is like a 6 lane super-highway with houses and hotels on the east and Hyde Park to the west. It's busy, but by walking down the central reservation I got many good views and took a lot of pictures. I was going to focus on the Animals in war memorial as it was a moving tribute. However, further south I came across the "Moving Forward" sculpture by Jill Berelowitz, a collection of nine beautiful figures mounted on low stone plinths. The reflections from these were just my cup of tea and I hope you like them too. I recommend that you go and see them yourself, or visit her on the web. On one of the plinths is a poem by Jody Isaacs. I have been unable to find a link to her, or the poem, so have been unable to publish a link here.     

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There have been plenty of opportunities to take a chance on this project. Looking back at the image I have I thought these three were good illustrations.
The first was of the Playboy Club Casino where I think there could be a large chance of making a big loss on the roulette wheel if I were to play. The second is of a lottery ticket, where I guess there is a small chance of winning big. This particular one was in a news agents in Bond Street tube station and as it was Monopoly branded I just had to take the picture! Sadly I didn't win. The final image is of a picture being hung at the John Currin exhibition at Sadie Coles gallery in Mayfair.
I think there is little chance of the guy dropping this (as Jarvis Cocker looks on). 

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My walk from Bond Street to Liverpool Street Station was a long one. I chose the scenic route from the Piccadilly end of Bond Street through Piccadilly Circus to Leicester Square then down to the Strand. It was then a pretty straight walk down the Strand, along Fleet Street (I feel I have done this a few too many times now!) then past St. Pauls Cathedral onto Cannon Street and up to Bank on Queen Victoria Street. From Bank it's a short(ish) hike up Threadneedle Street, past the Bank of England, then cut north onto Old Broad Street and keep going until you hit Liverpool Street Station.
It was late by the time I got there and most of the commuters gone home, so I ended up shooting two lost souls and a single found couple.
The first two images were of individuals, just waiting and watching (the trains and their phone). These images felt a little sad, but the final image of the couple (locked in an embrace) raised my spirits.
My next location (after Chance) will be Park Lane, that's another long walk from here, so I will save that for another day, when I hope the weather may be a little less dull! 

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Even after Christmas, Bond Street was buzzing! My last shoots had been taken at Soho Square, so it was a pleasant evening walk down through Soho to Piccadilly Circus and the back along Piccadilly to the beginning of (Old) Bond Street. The two streets, Old and New Bond Street, run from Piccadilly up to Oxford Street and have some of the glitziest shops in the West End (and more security guards than you want to be dealing with). At first you don't notice them, but then as you get out your camera and start shooting it becomes very obvious how many there are. The ones in the shops start looking out at you and using their radios and then you become aware of large men (with hearing aids?) out on the street taking a subtle interest in you. So, I took their pictures too and was happy to let them know that I realised who they were. I guess they have a job to do too and as they didn't didn't want to engage directly with me, I was happy to continue shooting. A little further up the street I saw two full size tanks driving down Old Bond Street. It was just a tourist activity, but one I feel sure the West End of London could do without! In the end the images I chose this week were of shop fronts without any obvious security... A busy street with rubbish put out for collection, a silhouette of a lady walking past a great shop front and a man looking at a picture in another shop window. I must admit that I liked Bond Street. It had some odd people and some expensive shops but it was vibrent and lively, even on a cold January evening.  

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