Urban Life
The creeping Starbuckifiction of Sussex
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The new Starbucks in worthing town centre[/caption]
This part of Sussex has long been a bit of a Starbucks dead zone. You had to either head along the coast to Brighton, or up to the out-of-town-ish Holmbush Centre for the Starbucks in the Next branch up there.
Well, the creeping Starbuckification of every high street continues, as Starbucks has now arrived in Worthing town centre. It was approved late last year, and opened last week:
One evening in New York City
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I’m in New York again, doing some training. It’s another 48 hour quick jaunt - so this evening was my only proper evening in the city. I grabbed my camera, and took a more scenic walk back to my hotel.
God, this is a lovely city…
Capturing a Summer's moment by the Thames
I'm having one of those days, looking forward to a free hour or so, sandwiched between a day's working on a report for work, and an evening raiding with my Warcraft guild.
However, I grabbed a little time over lunch to edit and upload a little video I shot while walking along the Thames on Friday evening, on the way to meeting friends in a pub. It was a glorious, sunny, summer's evening, and it felt just wonderful to be meandering along the river amongst the rush of Friday night humanity. Here's my attempt to capture it:
[vimeo [www.vimeo.com/26864855](http://www.vimeo.com/26864855) w=500&h=281]
I'm really enjoying creating these little "video photographs" of an experience, a moment in time, even if no-one else cares. :)
Covent Garden after the rain
Shot last week, after sheltering from a sudeen downpour in the Apple Store. I managed not to buy anything. Does this mean that I'm finally an adult?
[vimeo [www.vimeo.com/24426633](http://www.vimeo.com/24426633) w=525&h=295]
Back Garden Beauty
I spent much of this afternoon back in the Lewisham flat, straightening out the garden and generally making it ship shape and Bristol fashion, ready to catch a buyer’s eye. And, actually, it’s looking in rather good shape right now. I caught some of the lovelier bits for posterity as this will be my last spring there…
It's baaaaaack....
Yesterday, somebody confidently announced to me that the snow in London we'd seen for the last couple of years was a rare event, and it wouldn't happen again.
You know what's coming next, don't you?
Could be an interesting journey home this evening.
Covent Garden Candids
I used to do a lot of wandering around, just snapping pictures of life. I'm trying to get back into the swing of it:
Foragers' Harvest
We've been foraging for fruit in the trees that grow adjacent to the flat in Lewisham:
Elderberries for jam…
Work from home? The office? The coffee shop?
Although working from home is convenient, sometimes it pays to go to the office.
That's what Sheryl Crow discovered when she jettisoned her Nashville home studio for a Los Angeles one to record her latest album, "100 Miles From Memphis." The L.A. location led a few famous friends to stop by, including Justin Timberlake.
"I dragged him into the studio and said, 'I want you to hear something,'" she recalled. She played him her cover of Terence Trent D'Arby's "Sign Your Name," redone with a Memphis sound.
"He looked at me and said, 'You know I'm from Memphis ... I've got the backgrounds on this.' And he came in and he sang on this," she said. "That sort of thing doesn't happen when you're working from home."
I'm a huge fan of working from home, but only as part of a mix of locations. And the quote above illustrates exactly why an "office" in the widest sense can be hugely useful. I work from two different offices, home and coffee shops. Each give me a different working experience, and each are suited to different tasks.
A New Traffic Light Feature?
Interesting new road safety feature at the crossing near Holborn station:
It counts down the number fo seconds until the traffic starts flowing again.
I must admit, my first reaction to these, as I headed in search of a sandwich, was disbelief - do we actually need these countdowns? And then, I remembered the number of rather horrible accidents I've seen from the EG office, including watching the police setting up a tent over, presumably, a mangled body, while I was in a meeting in the publisher's office.
Maybe we do need them.
Soho Sticker Escapee
I associate prostitute adverts with Soho phone boxes, not the post box outside the flat.
This is not a change to the neighbourhood that delights me.
Holborn's Burning (Briefly)
OK, I admit it. the title's a bit of an exaggeration. But we had the excitement of a small fire here at EG towers this afternoon. As best I can tell, a pile of bags of shredded paper somehow caught fire just outside our Holborn office, leading to smoke, fire extinguishing and the arrival of the fire brigade:
The building security guard actually tried to stop me taking the last photo. Apparently photos of burnt paper in the foyer are a security risk…
The Named Famous Face
Well, after my ruminations on the last Scarlett Johansson bus advert not being immediately recognisable as her, the winter campaign has her name in big old letters on the bus.
A Comparison
I am annoyed.
Holborn Freebies
One of the nice things about working in Holborn again is fun urban moments like this: