January 6....

A rare sight in these days of mega stores and large food suppliers. Not only a local butcher but a profitable local butcher supplying the very freshest of cuts and a large variety to boot.

Armstrongs Butchers. St Margarets Village. 4.06pm. Yes...4.06 pm. Have to love the darkness of a mid winters afternoon.

January 5.....

It is difficult living in a city as great as this to select the photo of the day so today I decide to give you a snapshot of what I walked past...this is a truly remarkable city...

''London Eye'' with 'Big'Ben' in the background...Waterloo station en route to Embankment station...11.27am

London City sky scape from Waterloo pedestrian bridge. 11.36 am

The conflict of new versus old. The Tower of London with "The Shard'' (soon to be Europe's tallest building) in the background. 11.47am

Tower Bridge. 11.54am

January 4...

England does several things very very well. Mail service and Pubs are just two. On a cold blustery London winters day there can be hardly a better place to spend lunch than in an English Pub. And as far as pubs go ''The Victoria'' in North Sheen is about as good as they get. Top service. Top food, and a wine list that impresses. The Argentinian Cabernet Sauvignon from Perez Cruz was particularly warming.

''The Victoira'' pub. North Sheen. 2.32pm

January 3...

The loneliness of the trudge to work on a blustery, cold, dark and wet London winter's morning.

Richmond Bridge.River Thames.  8.02am. 

January 2...

A walk alongside the Thames River on a clear and crisp London winter's morning to retrieve the car from  previous evening's dinner party. Surely the end of the festive season is upon us! I think I have written a cheque too many that the body can cash.

River Thames. Twickenham. 11.15 am

January 1 , 2012

The first day of the new year. A cold and wet afternoon spent on the couch nursing a hangover watching old western musical classics such as the 1954 production of ''Seven brides for seven brothers '' followed by a 2 hour special on ''Morecambe and Wise''. 

Napoleon St. 1.45pm 

p.s. 

Who the f*** invented Jagermiester ? Let alone who thought it a great drink to imbibe at dinners end.

The purity of winter

There is something almost poetically pure about the crispness of a winters morning. Perhaps it's the lack of foliage on tree's that strips nature bare, leaving nothing to be hidden. Or is it the stillness and ensuing fog that evokes a sense of calm amidst the din of a major city? Whatever it is there are very few more beautiful and simplistic ways to start the day than a brisk walk in December through the parklands of London.

River Thames shrouded in mist

Richmond Bridge over the River Thames

The morning chore of walking the dog goes on regardless of the weather

The sun begins its short journey for the day