Bird's eye views

I know I am breaking a cardinal rule of photography here by taking a picture with a window in the background, but so be it. Squint. A friend gave me the mint plant on the windowsill. It is in a pot given to me by a cousin. I bought the white orchid on Great Suffolk Street and the violet one in Borough Market. The plate I bought in Hollywood. The lamp I bought on The Cut. The beer tankard is a leaving gift from my colleagues in Toronto.


Here is a longer view of it all.


Kitchen table with picture taken from train of mountains and lake in Alberta.


A shot of the shelving unit I built. The vase is from Mum's friend Marie. She bought it for me when I went to visit her in Grayshott.

Secret garden

These pictures below are of the Tate Modern Community Garden, where nearby residents can go if they become members. There is no charge to join.


Often there is no one else in the garden when I visit except for the cat pictured above, the duck, the doves and the fish.





Looks like Mr MacGregor was in the garden today because his wheelbarrow is out.

Elastic animals

Felt very lucky to have found the animal elastic bands in the bottom of my wool container.

Cafe supremo

A colleague gave me this espresso maker, which is fantastic because otherwise I would have had to pay a minimum of 50 pounds at John Lewis to buy one.

Getting organized

For those of you who've been wondering, I've been getting my flat in London organized. Yes, I am still coping with many British "terms & conditions", but I have made lots of progress. The major remaining hurdle is to deal with the taxes.

Here are some pictures of things in my flat.

The picture above shows some of the toys I have knit.

Cloisters clearout

Bid farewell to the room with a view at Chelsea Cloisters at the end of February after four months.

Just before I left I spoke with some of the staff. When I said I had to lower my standards (sarcastically) and move out of Chelsea now that my employer was no longer paying my rent, one staffer said:

"You could pitch a tent out in the middle of the road and live in it and you wouldn't be lowering your standards."

A damning indictment.

Great area to live and I ended up in a fabulous room with a great view after a month of complaints about the lack of hot water, thanks to the night manager.

Bard's birthplace

William Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford-Upon-Avon in December.





Was told off for taking the picture of the inside. Wished I had chosen something else to take a picture of afterwards.


Thought about working at the Stratford Festival in Ontario while I was there.

Cinnamon crunch

My friend Jennifer who works at Cadbury sent me this cinnamon gum. The flavour is not available in England, so she was trying to help me sate my addiction.

A new year blows in

Almost 10 minutes of Fireworks at the London Eye as seen and heard from a window in Chelsea . . . and a little Christmas music . . . followed by Auld Lang Syne.

Sticky situation

Came upon this man cleaning gum off the pavement one morning outside the South Kensington Tube station on my way to work.


I liked it that the machine is called "Mr Gummy."