Saturday, January 03, 2009
One of the pleasures of having my nephew over from Switzerland for Christmas was a pretty rare opportunity to see London from a special vantage point. As I've said here, I have been no great fan of the visually intrusive Gherkin, but I do admit its charisma. Its virtue, in this instance, was that of of being extremely tall - the old saw holding true that "It's better to be on the inside looking out etc.".
Mark obtained some passes through Swiss contacts and so the family met at 3 p.m. on a lovely January afternoon and was ushered through security, into high speed lifts to the very top of the building. There at our feet lay the whole vista of London, the river curling past, tops of erstwhile giant buildings dwarfed, huge cranes reduced to toys.
Walking the cirle of the viewing gallery gave a dizzying panorama; far below, strings of barges moved up river, tiny skaters whirled on a rink by the Tower of London, helicopters passed by in King Kong perspective. Gradually, a blurry red sun began its setting. The light effects were magic for mood, but tough on photography, what had been a clear day of sunshine had slipped into mist. I took about forty shots all less than sharp, but there were a few I liked - which you may care to see over at flickr. It was a fabulous experience that will replay in my head often and always when I see that distinctive outline - with slightly less hostility.