Christmas Cards

It was a real pleasure to see a ‘Real London’ Christmas Card on Crap Waltham Forest’s website (see Cycling in London link). Real London is also Tower Hamlets where there are no Christmas Decs. It is a wonderful Christmasfree Zone.

When I was in Covent Garden, at the weekend, I saw the old fashioned ‘Angel’ Christmas decorations by Seven Dials which were quite nice. Just along there, we popped into a card shop and bought a badge ‘I am Satan’s Little Helper’ and ‘I hate Xmas’. I didn’t have any money to buy the ‘I hate Christmas Wrapping Paper’ though but it was nice to rebel ‘against the norm’!

Taking about that, many years ago, when I was stuck in some boring insurance job, one of my colleagues and I agreed to send ‘really naff cards’. It was a lot of fun. I remember giving her a ‘bell’ card from Woolies and she gave me an Evil Looking Santa (it wasn’t supposed to be Evil though). If I remember, I will try and upload it.

When I was in the card shop I saw a great Christmas Card with two naked cyclists (a couple) on a tandem wearing Santa hats. Though I cannot remember the name of the card shop, I know that ‘Scribble’ in Covent Garden have that. They stock great cards which make you laugh out loud.

I missed the Frost Fair which was a shame, maybe another year.

And another delight of Cycling – Photography

As ever I am not the type of cyclist who will cycle from A to B without anything interesting happening on the way. I do like to stop, draw and take photographs.. good and bad!

Here is an article I came across today and it was something I could agree with. As cyclists we can photograph some amazing scenes, like sunsets, something that motorists miss as they have to hunt for a multi-storey car park:-

From the BBC:-

“Cycling and photography may appear to be an unusual combination but one blogger claims that it’s the best way of seeing London.

I love London, I love taking photographs of London, and I love cycling in London. And cycling, cameras and London is a particularly fine combination.

It was the American photographer Ansel Adams who said “A good photograph is knowing where to stand.” On a bike you don’t have to think about going up and down a few hundred yards to find that right place, it helps you get to stand in places you would not otherwise have found.

http://www.londondailyphoto.com

I’ve been running my blog, London Daily Photo, for almost three years – over 1,000 different London photos – a new picture each and every day. Even though the “Quick London Hit” factor is the most important, I still try to make the photo interesting and appealing. I could never have managed combining that with my day job and a normal life, it were it not for my bike.

Some of my favourite shots are those taken when I was riding along, saw an image, stopped, unslung my camera and snapped.

Variety is what makes London the great city it is, and it is on a bike with a camera’s eye that you can experience that to its full. Grand architecture and shabby alleys, stylish cafes and greasy spoons, bustling centres and empty vistas, they are all there for you if you look”

http://www.londondailyphoto

Sexism & Cycling: Women Cyclists in North Korea – are banned

According to the http://www.dailynk.com

“North Korea, since the mid-1990s, has prohibited women from riding bicycles. This was due to an edict handed down after Kim Jong Il himself took exception to seeing a female cyclist while he was conducting an inspection. Subsequent enforcement has differed from region to region but, if caught by the officers of the PSA, 20,000-30,000 North Korean won in fines has to be paid.

The People’s Safety Agency tends to only control women who are moving on bicycles. If the women are walking alongside their bicycles, they will not be punished. Inevitably, the women end up getting off their bicycles and walking alongside them when an officer appears.”