Wordless Wednesday: Foggy Day Spiderwebs

the cold days
leave dew amongst
London's spiderwebs

Showgirls & Slayers of Harrods Swarovski Christmas Windows

This weekend while shopping for holiday gifts at Harrods, I got good look at their window display sponsored by Swarovski.

Though the name "Crystal Christmas" might bring shining bright icicles to mind, what Swarovski presents is a much darker interpretation- where the shine might just be coming from the edge of a knife.

From glittering gothic showgirls exhibited in a Ziegfeld Follies-esque tiered cake of mirrors,

to beautifully haunting scenes out of a murder-mystery.

Bejeweled birdcage songbirds appear from behind a sheer white veil,

as a python dominatrix rules the wintry forest floor.

These beautiful windows certainly stand out on the Knightsbridge storefront, seem to be themed more "The Nightmare Before..." than Holly-Jolly Christmas. In fact every child passing in front of the windows exclaimed "That woman is dead!" and "Is she killing him?! Why is she killing him!" 

So fashion slaves should flock to Swarovski's wintry windows, but those looking for more of a traditional Christmas with a jolly man dressed in all white should stick to the holiday decorations of Harrods' interior.

Present & Settled

There has been a blog-sized hole in my life the past two weeks, but now I have returned to fill it.

My absence has not been for some glamourous beach holiday, or some soul searching meditations.

Instead it was carefully counting up all the facts, figures and hopes of the past two years and slipping them into carefully color-coordinated and labeled plastic sleeves.

 

I bundled them all up and carried them sleepy-eyed across a London sunrise to sit in a grey waiting room as an immigration officer and a computer took the story of my life and stripped it down to ticks off a checklist and a few easy sums. 

An email, phone call and four cuticle-biting hours went by before "Application Number Thirty-Five please come to Window Twenty-Two" crackled over the loudspeaker, as my blue passport slipped through the extra-thick bulletproof safety drawer, complete with a shiny new crown-adorned sticker.

I am finally a permanent resident of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and one more step closer to my dreams.

Wordless Wednesday: Oxford Street Christmas Lights

 

Oxford Street was full
of twinkling holiday
cheer this past weekend

New Street Art at Portobello Market

This weekend was spent exploring Holland Park and Notting Hill. A craving for some delicious tacos at El Camino turned into a chance to see a live art show.

A collective of street artists were collaborating on a large wall.

It was amazing to see these works of art come to life in front of us...

 and to witness the techniques of the artists first hand.

Though there must have been 30 people watching them work, they didn't seem to break a sweat or make a mistake. Not something I think I could do!

I am excited to go back and see the final result!

To see the art for yourself- they sit at the entrance to Ladbroke Grove Station entrance to Portobello Market (right next to the A40).

Secrets of All Saints Church in Fulham

Shooting film photographs with my vintage Halina Paulette camera can be a fun way to explore the city.  I put the results on my flickr.

Though I took these photos a few months ago, their creepy atmosphere goes perfectly with the facts I recently unearthed about All Saints Church in Fulham.

All Saints was used in the classic horror movie The Omen. The tower is where *spoiler alert* Father Brennan gets impaled by a lightning rod.



Yes, this is the church which filled childhood nightmares that were not about Jaws.



The cemetery is also a mix of beautiful and creepy.  The foundation dates back 900 years, though the tower is from 1440 and a majority of the church was rebuilt in the 1880s.

It sits on the River Thames adjacent to Bishops Park and more than a few Bishops of London have been buried here.

Though not on the usual circuit of London churches to visit, if you love film or hauntingly beautiful places, Fulham's All Saints Church is the perfect place to visit.

Wordless Wednesday: Ghost Signs of London

across from Ladbroke Grove Underground

on Camden High St

hidden signs like ghosts
a city's past life on top
the bricks of London