Category: London

  • Twentytwo.

    Twentytwo.

    The commercial skyscraper known as Twentytwo (22 Bishopsgate), in the City of London, is so tall that it casts a long reflection of the rising sun all the way to Waterloo Bridge.

  • Behind the Lights.

    Behind the Lights.

    Image of the redevelopment and construction work that is going on behind the iconic billboard lights of Piccadilly Circus. The spaces behind the iconic illuminated signs are being converted into a new landmark building which will include a huge rooftop extension. It is the first time since the 1950s that the area within the busy…

  • George and Devonshire Chiswick.

    George and Devonshire Chiswick.

    Standing proud against the ugliness and incessant noise of the Chiswick roundabout is the pretty public house of the George and Devonshire. The pub is just a few minutes walk away from the Griffin Brewery, the home of Fuller’s beer. A pub on the site dates back to the mid-seventeenth century. Originally known as just…

  • Joe Allen restaurant.

    Joe Allen restaurant.

    The boarded-up front of the Joe Allen restaurant in London’s theatreland. The venue, popular amongst actors, was forced to shut its doors at the end of March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Covent Garden venue, which is covered with the theatre memorabilia inside, was first opened in 1977. It is a sister restaurant to…

  • Admiralty Citadel.

    Admiralty Citadel.

    The Citadel was constructed between 1940 and 1941 as a bomb-proof operations centre for the Admiralty at a time when London was being heavily bombed and there was an imminent threat of a German invasion. The Admiralty was already being hit by the Luftwaffe. During the night of 16 April 1941 three bombs landed direct…

  • Royal Academy of Arts Exhibition.
  • Former U.S. Embassy, Grosvenor Square.

    Former U.S. Embassy, Grosvenor Square.

    The United States Embassy was synonymous with Grosvenor Square until recently. The building closed in 2018 and moved to a new site in Nine Elms. I have visited the site every few months to see how work is progressing. At the moment just the front shell and side walls of the building are left as…

  • Garrick Arms.

    Garrick Arms.

    Walking from Leicester Square into the Charing Cross road and you can’t fail to notice the boarded-up pub of the Garrick Arms. The Greene King pub has been closed throughout the coronavirus pandemic, not managing to reopen during the Help to Eat scheme over the summer which tried to help the hospitality industry with discounts…

  • Six at the Lyric.

    Six at the Lyric.

    Image of the Lyric Theatre on Shaftebury Avenue as it prepares to host the first musical to be performed in the West End after coronavirus restrictions forced the closure of all theatres.

  • Sainsbury’s Fleet Street.

    Sainsbury’s Fleet Street.

    It seems even the more robust retailers have found it necessary to shut stores as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, albeit this one appears to be a temporary closure. This boarded-up Sainsbury’s is in Fleet Street in the heart of London and is usually busy with office wotkers grabbing snacks to take back to…

  • Pret, 421 Strand.

    Pret, 421 Strand.

    The stark reality of how the coronavirus pandemic is hitting business comes when you see boarded-up shops on normally very busy streets such as the Strand in the heart of London. This image is of what was the Pret-A-Manger at 421 Strand, a normally busy store serving office workers, theatre-goers, shoppers and tourists visiting the…

  • Hammersmith Police Station.

    Hammersmith Police Station.

    Image of one of two traditional police blue lamps that have recently been installed outside Hammersmith Police Station. The station closed in late 2016 to undergo a huge £59 million expansion, which will include horse stables, new custody cells, modern offices for its criminal investigation department, and underground parking. Much of the expansion has been…