Luvvly Ladies!!

Only in London would you witness this bevvy of beauties braving the fri88ing freezing January wind whipping across Westminster Bridge - and up their fishnets!

There was a bit of rubbish that I cloned out from under the leg on the far right - I do hope and trust that the photographer did the same! A bit of extra colour saturation and sharpening and that's about that. Look in LARGE

My aim for this London trip was street photography and so my very old manual focus battered Nikkor 135mm f2 managed to stay on my D7000 (giving the equivalent of 202mm f2) until 7.30pm. My destination was the night-life, OK, evening, of Chinatown and Soho, hence the fast lens. I also took my Sigma EX 24-70mm f2.8 (giving equivalent of 36-105mm f2.8) and of course the obligatory (I was in London, with architecture!) 10-24mm. This ultrawide zoom got used from 7.30 on.

I did get a few people pics, including during the monsoon of a vast downpour and thunderstorm, but frankly, they were poor and I was getting wet, cold and uncomfortable. So, it is ironic that my Blip was taken within a few minutes of my arrival, as I battled my way over the Thames after landing at Waterloo.

So many lovely people, namely the two (real) lovely ladies from Coventry who I got "talking" to in a gay pub (the only hostelry I could physically get into). They had just seen The Commitments musical and it was one of their birthdays. Yes, I would dearly have loved to wine and dine them and taken them dancing, but I did suspect that my humour (as well as my non-existent cash) would soon dry up. OK, describing the green nuts she had purchased as 'bits of squashed snot' was amusing at the time and had least got the chatting going - and however corny it seems, asking why she didn't have a balloon with '21' written on it (she was 40) did find favours.... and the lovely couple from Cor Blimey Essex (they really sounded Cockney) and actually asked for their photo to be taken...

Anyway, I have a love/hate relationship with London and it has worn me out, totally, physically and mentally. So, I will say Goodnight Fellow Blippers and see you in the morning.

ps - Was there any point in South West Trains having a trolley service on the train home - if they don't have hot water for coffee and tea? We don't all want cans of lager and peanuts!