Monday 2 November 2015

Foggy evening in London town

Flying into the UK on Sunday afternoon, I noticed the banks of fog rolling in off the English Channel, bringing to mind that old headline from the Times - "Heavy fog in Channel - continent cut off". I arrived at Luton without a hitch, ahead of time, courtesy of WizzAir, picked up a hire car (natty Tychy-built Fiat 500, good service from Avis) and drove to London. By the time I arrived in Ealing, it was cloaked in thick fog.


Below: Cleveland Road, West Ealing. A 297 bus pulls away from the stop outside Cleveland Park. Note the different colour temperature of the street lighting - white on Cleveland Road, old-style amber on the side roads running into it.


Below: the same bus stop in November, 47 years earlier. The same park, the same railings. Photo from Ealing, Hanwell & Greenford by Richard Essen.


Below: further along Cleveland Road, looking towards the roundabout and the junction with Kent Gardens, Victoria Road and Castlebar Hill. A 297 bus on its way from Ealing Broadway heads towards Willesden. Note how well marked the pedestrian crossing is - zebra with zig-zag road markings, spotlighting and Belisha beacons. Little surprise then that the number of pedestrian fatalities on British pedestrian crossings is 50 (yes, five-zero) times lower than on Polish pedestrian crossings.


The following day, the fog abated somewhat, lingering here and there as a light mist. Below: twilight on the River Brent in Pitshanger Park.


Just for the record, the Met Office reported the highest ever temperature ever recorded in the UK in November, a hot 22.4C in mid-Wales (on Sunday 1st and then again exceeding 22C on Monday 2nd).

This time last year:
Kraków - Europe's top short-break destination

This time three years ago:
Rzeczpospolita publishes infamous 'trotyl' Smolensk story

This time four years ago:
Wilanowska - south Warsaw transport hub

This time six years ago:
Powiśle on a cold, clear autumn morning

This time seven years ago:
Okęcie "to remain Warsaw's only airport"

This time eight years ago:
Searching for autumnal perfection


1 comment:

dr Marcin said...

Imagine, what a beautiful and winter-like Saturday was in London. Snapshot of some of pics, that I may e-mail you. Lodon showed all its best this Saturday.