Paul in London

Scenes from inside WC1 Thursday 06:46: Early morning cloud completely concealed the BT Tower from view.  

News: Another day, another suspect package There is no benefit in staying back working late. I found this out tonight when the high street was closed off due to a suspect package found near the tube station. It turned out to be nothing and the main street has just now reopened. Its just another day of heightened state of alert where every package and every passenger is suspect. Actually dealing with suspect passengers is easy now... You just get up and move to another carriage. I didn't think I would see this but I saw it on the Victoria line when a drunk man asleep across several seats was causing a little alarm to other passengers, so they got up and moved. Personally drunk men flailing about didn't strike me as likely terrorists. Tonight as the Victoria line was suspended due to more security alerts this meant I took to walking on foot from Brixton to Stockwell. Along the way I noticed the terrorist safe house in Blair House that was raided overnight and the impromptu memor...

Scenes from Bloomsbury St - Bloomsbury 21:39. The weather this week has been cool rainy and wet. Given the long period of dry weather the rain seems almost out of place... Now where did I leave my umbrella? 

Travel advice in London... Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Also doing the rounds today on email... A message board purportedly from Notting Hill tube station this week... It reads: Please do not run on the platforms or concourses. Especially if you are carrying a rucksack, wearing a big coat or look a bit foreign. This notice is for your own safety. Thank you. (If you don't believe it, clicking the photo will enlargen it)

Scenes from Torrington Place, Bloomsbury Sunday 15:34 - On a traffic divider a debate written in permanent felt pen takes place about the pros and cons of the Islamic faith. A tell-tale sign of ones proximity to a university campus if there ever was one... 

News Etc Ted Heath was buried today . I recall Monty Python's quiz joke about Ted, "Edward Heath is a what?". The answer was "a bachelor" which still gets laughs since it is still the euphemism bandied about. The big news today was be on the lookout for bombers with delta containers made in India . These tupperware rip-offs are only sold in 100 stores in the UK. I suggested to A he should do a stocktake of his plasticware and he advised that all containers were present and accounted for. Personally, I don't have any... And as the inquest opened today into the death of the man who was shot eight times at Stockwell tube, there are unconfirmed reports that t-shirts around London have started to appear with the slogan "Don't shoot, I'm not Brazilian"...

ATT530130 Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . London Fights Back: Picture doing the rounds on the email circuit today... I don't think it really is ER. There is something that just isn't right about her posture I think...

IM004631s Originally uploaded by Pauly_ . Scenes from Hampstead Heath 19:57. The Writer by Giancarlo Neri looking towards Parliament Hill. Just what is a giant table and chair doing in the heath? Well, it's art. And it is quite impressive...

Theatre: As You Like It Caught the Young Vic's production of As You Like It at the Wyndham's Theatre on Saturday night and it was quite good (and fun). This production has Sienna Miller as second billing, but playing Celia she hardly has the most demanding of Shakespearean roles. It is quite possible to play this role and to fret over Jude at the same time I suspect. The stars of the show really were Helen McCrory as Rosalind - who playing a man and woman gets to do all those fun Shakespearean things - and Dominic West as Orlando, who looked suitably good looking and all that. On the strength of McCrory's work in this I suggested to A that she deserves to be a bigger star. After reading her bio I realised that she already has quite a film career but surely she should be the next Catherine Zeta Jones. A suggested that CZJ was far more beautiful that HMcC so she had no chance, but I suggested that with cigarettes and plastic surgery surely anything is possible. As for the ...

The state of being alert but not alarmed... Catching the tube from Balham into central London was an interesting experience today. Passing through Stockwell and Oval tube stations did cause pause for reflection on the past 48 hours. You can't exactly get back to normality when you're reading The Times which gives you great detail about the bombs that partially exploded on the tube Thursday, and looking at CCTV footage of a man fleeing the station you are just passing through. The events of yesterday were also quite extraordinary (not to mention exhausting)... And as the police presence on the ground and in the air becomes ever more noticeable you can't help but wonder and hope if it is coming closer to endgame... Whatever the events of the next few days hold, it is now a case of be on the lookout for certain types of young men with rucksacks. They may be easier to spot if there are smart-casual trendy officers with Glock automatics drawn trailing them... Today I picked u...