The Little Ben

The main places that come to one’s mind when they hear/read about London are Trafalgar Square, Tower Bridge…well…..don’t we all know it as the London Bridge, The houses of parliament, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben amongst a lot of other significant ones.

There are however numerous other sights, locations, places and Monuments…..not so famous, not so significant, and not so known to all…. The nice book called 1000 things to do in London gives a lot of ideas on such small avenues in this magnificent city….

This way I came across the not so big, the not so grand … Little Ben… unlike it’s big brother, this one’s left in the junction of 3 main roads right opposite the busy Victoria station. It can be easily missed by anyone and you can see the many office goers run past it to get to work or home.

For those who get a chance to be here and have the time after having done all the main things…..can just pop out of Victoria Station and take a peek…

The Girl Can't Help It!

My usual routine on Saturday mornings is a walk along the Church street market to get fresh vegetables, and essentials for the week ahead. It has always been nice to stroll along open markets with people trying to sell fancy footwear, discounted clothes, varieties of cheese, chocolates, oils, pungent perfumes, colourfully laid out vegetables & fruits, grand though economical carpets, day-to-day stuff like cleaning liquids to shower gels to bin liners to tissues. One can also pick plants & flowers from these street shops or any other decorative items for the living room. There is a complete buzz about this place as you can see vendors calling out for
passers-by to pick the big deals they have to offer...for those whose taste buds go active on the smell of food can have a bite at the burritos & kebab stall.

The street would routinely turn into a pedestrian zone and one can see the vendors coming in vans, carts to build their make-shift shop for the day. Then, they would meticulously lay out their goods for display and start their day. The steps are reversed at pack-up time..... Imagine doing this everyday - I would not be successful even for a week. Kudos!!! to these guys who do it day in and day out.


Another important characteristic of this place are the antique shops here selling furniture, mirrors, clocks, vases, jewellery, clothes, rugs, carpets, decorative items and so on... The Alfie's Antique market is a world of its own. One of the shops which really caught my eyes was the store called 'The Girl Can't Help it' - wow! What a name and it stood for what it had….. there were hats, dresses, footwear, glasses, jewellery all from ages long ago....I couldn't relate to any of the clothes there but well... it took me back in time…...it definitely gives you the idea of the
styles that existed and a piece of the glamour world back then....

All this put together..... Starting from shopping for essentials, for day-to-day living, to the fancy side of things like antiques...it shows direct proportionality about the girl, the lady, the woman who really can't help it!!! - can't help but shop!!!!

A lazy afternoon at Regent's Park

One of the positive things about living in Central London is it's proximity to some of the very well known attractions of the world. The place steeps in History and one can notice the architecture, the design of ages long ago.

Apart from the many buildings, the palaces, the riverside, cathedrals, the city boasts of having almost 30% (not sure of the exact percentage) of green spaces.
One of the Royal Parks - the Regent's Park is just about a 10minute walk from home and on a sunny afternoon one weekend, I decided to stroll along with my camera and capture a few shots of the boating lake, the greenery around, the relaxed lifestyle of the people here - see them on.