Regent's Park

While I admit it was a bit of a windy day today, wind alone still doesn't explain this sad sight:

Regent's Park was quite a bit more pristine, however:

For some reason we've wandered through the east half of the park's 410 acres quite a few times, but hadn't really explored the western part, so today we headed over that way.

There were many different birds out today,

including these new-to-us yellow-billed swans, which I found out are Whooper swans.

Even with dark clouds hanging over the park,

there was plenty of boat paddling and bird feeding going on. We were also happy to spot a heron on the shore,

since we have a soft spot for herons, who maintain several large colonies near our old Vancouver apartment. The heron's colony wasn't far off, and we could just spot the birds perched in their nests.

Just outside the park, Hanover Terrace is an imposing sight; built in 1822 and consisting of 20 large homes (several of which bear blue plaques, including one commemorating the home where H.G. Wells lived and died), a quick Google search revealed that you too can own a four-bedroom home here for the low, low price of £12,500,000. For that price, you get separate staff quarters and a two-bedroom mews house as well, so clearly it's a deal for six bedrooms, right?!

The distinctive dome of the London Central Mosque is nearby, with space for 5,000 worshippers.

On our way to the tube, Bob noticed these two faces peeking out from a construction site:

Although we've been through Baker Street station many times, I didn't notice this sign until today:

Part of a row of signs restored in the 1980s that designate long-gone services in the station, the signs seemed full of longing for the vanished businesses. Now, to steer this post kind of back to where it began, a recent advertising campaign on various modes of public transportation in London highlights an issue that occupies our minds on a daily basis: can't people care a bit more about their fellow Londoners?

Consisting of cute cartoon characters (although not exactly the most representative of the full scope of people who use public transportation), other slogans in the Together for London campaign include "And I won't eat smelly food, "I'll say thank you" (in response to being offered a seat), "And I'll remember what it was like being 14," and my personal favourite, "I'll keep my temper down." (Yes, Bob and I live in a city where people have to be reminded to keep their tempers down.) There's even a Mike Figgis video that brings the campaign to life, although I'd have to say that it underplays the full range of "joys" that a crowded bus or tube ride can bring (and come on: that bus is empty by London standards!). Sometimes we get off the tube or bus in disbelief at what we've just witnessed. So, while I see that such an advertising campaign may have the best of intentions, I'm a bit sceptical about how much good it will do. In some cases, it may just make it more difficult to keep one's temper down when the person playing his music out loud (loud enough to be heard the length of the bus) is doing so sitting right under one of the Together for London adverts, as happened on a recent bus ride that Bob and I took.