It Ony Takes A Half A Day…… — Steve Chivers Photography

In the words of the Carmen Jones Lyric, “it only takes a half a day to be a thousand miles away” or in our case approximately 240 miles by train. So we booked two first class returns and headed off for a week in the big city. Actually I was quite desperate for a trip to London to spend time with the kids and to attend a few special events.

During June we had a similar trip cancelled as I once again caught the dreaded Covid. I know, you thought it was all over. However, I can tell you it is still rife out there and when you have it, it is still not pleasant. Fortunately I am super-inoculated and so it lasted about a week with the usual flu-like symptoms along with a seven day headache. Anyways, enough of the C word and let us move on to things more pleasant.

The beauty about visiting the kids in London is that they all enjoy good food and a libation or three, especially when the bank of mum and dad blows in to town.

I tend not to take photos of our family dinners as I generally find that red wine and manual focus are not necessarily kindred spirits.

As always we hit the ground running with a fabulous Japanese dinner at Stiks N Sushi Greenwich. Being the Patriarch and to help my bank manager retain his sanity I had taken control of ordering the food and if I say so myself all was going pretty “Genki” until I was distracted for just a moment, during which time Anna was let loose on the Yuzu Saki! Ah well, no point being the wealthiest guy in the cemetery.

Next morning we were all together again for a fabulous brunch at Grind Greenwich and “sin alcohol” my focus skills were back in order.

Each day we travelled in to central London on the DLR followed by either the Jubilee or Elizabeth lines. I have found the initial journey through the Canary Wharf district to be a target rich environment from a photographic standpoint. I love the modern architecture and the way it interacts with light and shadows. Here are a selection of my Canary Wharf images.

The motto of this Image is “always look behind you”.

This particular visit to London was going to be quite hectic as we had Many things planned. The first was a visit to Wimbledon to have lunch with Shelagh, one or our oldest and dearest friends. No matter how long it has been since we last got together, we immediately pick-up where we left off. Shelagh is a fantastic cook and as usually produced a wonderful meal accompanied by more than a few bottles of wine. Some say I might have over-participated on the wine front and fallen asleep in the chair. There is, allegedly, an image doing the rounds showing me in the process of “resting my eyes”. I am claiming the 5th Amendment on that front although the next morning I did have one of my heads. Must have been the onions!

The next day also involved food and wine as the young people had treated Mrs. C and me to afternoon tea at the Ritz. Let me assure you tea at the Ritz is everything you would expect to be and more. As we took our seats a charming waiter asked if we would mind starting with a glass of chilled champagne followed by some exquisite finger sandwiches, (of which there were many top-ups), after which the fresh-baked scones arrived with jam and the obligatory clotted cream.

At this point I must digress as there is some debate among the young people as to how to build the perfect scone. Whilst we live in Devon, I hate to admit that we actually prefer the Cornish approach:

Cut the Scone in to two halves. Never eat the Scone like a sandwich.
Spread copious amounts of jam on to each piece as if it were butter. Above all, be generous!
Then you have the perfect platform to add as much clotted cream as possible. If you are concerned that you have not added sufficient clotted cream, then you most certainly haven’t, so keep piling it on.
Finally eat the end result with a large smile while making soothing noises.

The surroundings were sublime, the service was top notch, the food was delightful and Mrs. C was looking radiant. It is fair to say that we were both very much in our happy places.

After this wonderful lunch we left the Ritz, turned right towards Piccadilly and headed to nearby Fortnum & Masons to purchase some loose-leaf tea (their breakfast blend is simply the best) and a few extra goodies, just in case we were unable to maintain our calorie levels.

The next day involved a further treat. Cousin John, a member of the venerable M.C.C. had invited us to Lords to watch the first day of the Test Match between England and the West Indies.

For those lovers of what we cricket fans term as “The Summer Game”, a visit to H.Q. (Lords) is the highlight of the cricketing year. This was to be an extra special visit as it marked the final match for England’s greatest ever fast bowler, James “Jimmy” Anderson. The cricketing glitterati were all there and the powers that be were ensuring that this occasion and Jimmy’s achievements were to be suitably celebrated. His family were there to ring the 5 minute bell, the teams performed a guard of honour and our famous gladiator took to the pitch for the final time to a standing ovation from a crowd of 30,000.

There was a hush in the crowd as Jimmy started his run-up to deliver his last ever “first ball”. As he increased the pace of his run-up the expectation of the crowd reached fever pitch and I was reminded of the opening line of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s famous poem, “Half a league, half a league, half a league onward” although in this case it was not in to the Valley of Death but to deliver a rapier-like delivery straight down the “corridor of uncertainty” almost turning the batsman inside out. The crowd were on their feet as they let out a thunderous roar of appreciation. For certain, there will never be another quite like our Jimmy.

The remainder of the day was a joy, a couple of pints of Pedigree Bitter to wash down some delicious sandwiches and all topped off with a couple of bottles of champagne in the Harris Garden. England Glorious England! Oh and our brave lads also performed well as we skittled-out the West Indies for a modest total.

As always John was the perfect host and we are looking forward to more adventures with him as we darken his door at Great Shoddesden later in the year.

Meantime here are a few memories of this wonderful day:

The Field of Dreams - The atmosphere is building.

As I have said many times to be a tourist for a day in London is such fun and there is so much to do.

Mrs C and I always enjoy a visit to the Victoria & Albert Museum in South Kensington. My advice is to always start the day in their wonderful café and then go straight to the top floor and work your way down. There is so much to see but as a photographer I am always seeking out light and shadows:

Another wonderful place to spend a morning is the Royal Acadamy. I always like to start out at their café (regular readers will have already spotted a theme in my approach to culture) and order a steaming americano accompanied by their sumptuous breakfast bap.

Our specific reason for visiting was to view a picture called “Flaming June” by the artist Frederic, Lord Leighton. Now I am a man that sees the world in monochrome but even to me, this picture was so vibrant that I am breaking my no color rule for the very first time. My image does not do it justice but if I were to ever hang just one color picture on the wall of my living room, this would be it.

We then took the underground to Gloucester Road and after a 30 minute walk through leafy Chelsea we arrived at the wonderful Physic Gardens. This oasis in the heart of London borders the Thames and is an homage to the various uses of plants. Once again on arrival, which conveniently coincided with lunch, we enjoyed a most delicious endive salad with blue-cheese dressing accompanied by roasted honey-glazed carrots. Now, although my natural environment is somewhat protein rich, this no carb vegetarian interlude was a complete delight.

Suitably replete, we spent a wonderful couple of hours roaming through the various flowerbeds. It was such a restful environment and many people had come simply to sit and reflect or perhaps read a book. The image I have chosen to reflect our visit is also my choice for the “Bench of Contemplation”. A finely dressed gent is sitting alone on a bench, enjoying an immaculate packed lunch whilst reading a novel. After all, what does a gentleman do in Chelsea on a quiet Thursday?

We were both very much at peace as we headed towards Sloane Square to catch our train back to Greenwich. En-route I managed to capture an image of the Royal Chelsea Hospital, home to the iconic Chelsea Pensioners, who are all retired soldiers of the British Army.

We always like to spend our final day in London by taking a visit to Covent Garden. We grabbed a modest breakfast of coffee and croissant from Paul’s and whilst Mrs. C swept off on her retail therapy mission to boost the U.K’s flagging GDP, I was left to wander the streets and grab a few images.

Avoiding Eye Contact - The London Underground.

What a fabulous week in our glorious capital. Precious time spent with loved ones while enjoying the sights like a tourist and we still don’t believe we have scratched the surface of what London has to offer.

I do hope you have enjoyed joining us on our London adventure. So Carpe Diem and remember, “It only Takes A Half A Day”!

We have so much planned for the rest of the year so stay tuned and warmest regards from a sunny Plymouth U.K.