Posted by Alan on November 21, 2010
Oxo Tower, originally uploaded by Alan Perryman.
Before I went for cocktails at Cafe Kick yesterday, I aimlessly wandered EC1 with my SLR looking for things to shoot.
I’m rather pleased with this one, taken using Blackfriars Bridge as a tripod…
The full set is at http://www.flickr.com/photos/grimnorth/sets/72157625438184008/with/5195519338/ but I’ll be picking out a few more to show off during the course of this week.
Posted in Buildings and Places, Photography | Tagged: 50mm, EOS 500D, London, London Eye, Night, Oxo Tower, south bank | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Alan on October 19, 2010
Speeding cyclists, originally uploaded by Alan Perryman.
I’ve wanted to try taking panning shots for a while – the idea of inverting the speed and freezing the moving object really appeals for some reason.
I reckon this photo might be better cropped – the tour bus and pedestrian are slightly ugly intrusions into the image.
For the camera geeks, this was taken in Av mode – with the aparture opened as wide as it will go on my kit lens, the standard 18-55mm canon.
Maybe I just need to lie in way on a busy cycling thoroughfare with the 50mm fixed and see what I can do. Might have to learn a bit of patience though 
Posted in Cycling, Photography | Tagged: bike, child, cycle, Cycling, cyclist, EOS 500D, London, panning, shot, south bank, Tooley St | 4 Comments »
Posted by Alan on April 2, 2010
If you’ve been in London this week you may have been asked for some loose change by people with buckets. The Easter week sees Meningitis Research Foundation descend into the city with a few students and a lot of enthusiasm. This year they managed an awesome £50K but still had some energy to expend with a conga.
St Pauls and the Millennium Bridge on a typically grey day
Sometime after 12 we form up ready to start. And off… mid bridge we stop and time warp for just a few seconds…
Time Warp
And so 40 or so made it to the north bank without any sway of the bridge and another year was done. With thanks to Ragabonds for organising the conga again.
Full flickr set of photos is now online…
Posted in Buildings and Places, Charity starts at home | Tagged: conga, London, PowerShot A470, rag, silliness, south bank, St Pauls, time warp | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Alan on November 27, 2009
Last night I got the chance to queue for Have I Got News For You. It’s the kind of stuff London dreams are made of (well, a few of them) and a great reason for living in the city… Having queued and been disappointed before we headed off early arriving about 1h30 before doors! 1½ hours of cold didn’t matter too much when we got into the studio.
It was widely reported beforehand that one guest would be Bob Crow, leader of the RMT so perhaps it could be a great setup.
Alas, as another blog notes (http://www.ianvisits.co.uk/blog/2009/11/27/bob-crowe-on-have-i-got-news-for-you/) it was not to be. Pitted against Bob and Paul were Ian and Jimmy Carr.
Bob came on to a chorus of boo’s. There were the inevitable late and strike jokes. Bob hit back with some assumptions about Ian’s upbringing. There were awkward silences many “moving on” moments.
Nevertheless, if you get the chance to go – do it. Be prepared to queue for ages, it is worth it.
Posted in Culture | Tagged: Bob Crow, Have I Got News For You, London Studios, RMT, south bank, Television, Tube, tv | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Alan on April 12, 2009
Mmm. Lazy Easter Sunday. In fact, pretty lazy Easter break.
It’s all been a bit quiet after the hubbub of applying for a proper job at TfL instead of just being a graduate. The good news is… aside a little red tape, I’ve got the position. Just need to sign the paperwork (currently in the custody of Royal Mail) and its sorted.
The last week of lent brought LOOT to London and I was around on the Wednesday to swap buckets. The clever chaps and chapesses managed to bag Meningitis Research a very cool £29K on the Wednesday alone. And who says we are in a recession?
Of course, LOOT means the Millennium Bridge conga. 36 people over this year – see the photos above. Much Bambi burger was then consumed by all and sundry to recover from the strenuous exercise.
Tomorrow brings a bank holiday. Just in time to finish off the ironing and get ready for another quiet week. Maybe I’ll even tackle the multimedia overload which constitutes my CD collection.
Posted in Charity starts at home, General Meh | Tagged: conga, London, Millennium Bridge, music, n95, PowerShot A470, rag, south bank, Thames | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Alan on March 14, 2009
On Friday we went to King Lear, at the Young Vic, Southwark.
It was pretty awesome. Very good use of props and the stage space. During the storm monologues, it rained. There’s about 15-20 minutes of storm and it rained the whole time. Infact, it rained so much that during the interval between Act 2 and 3, some stage hands appeared with mops.
However the most disturbing bit for me was the gory bit. I’m good with gore. At all. So when the earl of Gloucester had his eyes gouged out by Regen and the Earl of Cornwall I didn’t feel so good! Before I turned away “blood” had shot across the stage floor (falling just short of the audience). I missed the most gory bit, though Ruth did delight in telling me on the tube on the way home.
If you are booked to see it – enjoy! If not… I think it is sold out now 😦
Posted in Culture | Tagged: architecture, London, n95, Shakespeare, south bank, theatre | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Alan on February 6, 2009
Today I took my lil’ sister to the tate. I’m not really an arty-type in the sense of paintings so this could have been dreadful. Thankfully, it wasn’t.
The main hall is a fantastic space. Currently a large Ikea-coloured bunkbed, spider and film filled place. Some of the smaller galleries I could take or leave, but there was a few where you could spend ages just absorbing. Definately worth a visit if you happen to be on the south bank….
Posted in Culture | Tagged: art, n95, PowerShot A470, south bank, tate | Leave a Comment »
A Grim North 