Skip to main content

London in lockdown


Earlier this week the prime minister announced strict new measures to tackle the spread of coronavirus in the UK. People may only leave home to exercise once a day, travel to and from work when it is "absolutely necessary", shop for essential items and fulfil any medical or care needs. Shops selling non-essential goods have been closed and gatherings in public of more than two people who do not live together are prohibited.

As we're currently still allowed to leave the house once a day in order to exercise, I was thinking about places I could go for a walk where I would not only encounter as few people as possible (I’m trying to be careful and responsible when I go outside at all) but could also take a few photos of London’s eerily deserted streets. One of my housemates and I decided to leave early in the morning when we thought there would be (even) less people around. Exercising caution and social distancing when we did (infrequently) encounter other people, we walked over Tower Bridge, passed London Bridge and Millennium Bridge, along Southbank and over Westminster Bridge and to Trafalgar Square (this walk takes about an hour). The most striking thing, lack of people aside, was the silence. At times the only noise I could hear was traffic – mainly red double decker buses with little to no passengers onboard, quietly gliding through the streets like giant, blood-red wraiths. It was difficult not to think of films such as 28 Days Later, The Quiet Earth, I Am Legend etc, and literary works like Mary Shelley's The Last Man (widely considered to be the first work of modern apocalyptic fiction), John Wyndham’s Day of the Triffids, MP Shiel’s The Purple Cloud, and Ursula K. Le Guin's Always Coming Home.

Tower Bridge

City Hall

Millennium Bridge (with St Paul's Cathedral in background)

Blackfriars Bridge

London Eye on Southbank

Westminster Bridge

Trafalgar Square

National Gallery

View of Trafalgar Square from National Gallery

While I was very careful, it's still risky to go outside, so take care if you do. That said, when you’re cooped up in a room in a shared house, taking a walk provides much needed relief (and fresh air and exercise). Interestingly, while walking this particular route, I actually encountered far less people than I would have by going for a walk around my immediate local area. Strange and worrying times. Take care. Be kind. And if you do head outside, be cautious and considerate and keep your distance from others. x 

NHS advice
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

The Ash Tree

1975 Dir. Lawrence Gordon Clark Part of the BBC’s annual series A Ghost Story for Christmas , which ran from 1971 to 1978 and featured some of the small screen’s most chilling moments, The Ash Tree was the last of several MR James adaptations directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark. Written for television by David Rudkin, It stars Edward Petherbridge in the dual role of Sir Richard, an 18th century aristocrat who inherits the vast estate of his late uncle, and of Sir Matthew, his 17th century ancestor whose role in local witch trials, and the death of Ann Mothersole (Barbara Ewing), haunts Sir Richard.  With a slim running time (just over 30 minutes) The Ash Tree is one of the shortest entries in the series, but it is also one of the densest. The amount of detail and information packed in, without compromising or diluting the impact of the source material, is admirable. Clarke manages to convey events and flashbacks by utilising an interesting narrative structure and some ...
Read more

Mandrake (2022)

Mandrake tells of probation officer Cathy Madden (Deirdre Mullins), who is assigned to help with the rehabilitation of recently released ‘Bloody’ Mary Laidlaw (Derbhle Crotty), who had been incarcerated years prior for the murder of her abusive husband. Rumours have long swirled in the local area concerning Mary’s dabbling in witchcraft and involvement in cases of missing children. No sooner has she been released, than the bodies of several local children are found in the woods near her farmhouse. As Cathy and local police delve deeper, the veil between real and imagined starts to fray and Cathy is drawn into a dark world of occult ritualism and blood sacrifice. Directed by Lynne Davison and written by Matt Harvey, Mandrake is a delicious slice of witchy, Northern Irish folk horror, dripping with atmosphere and arcane lore. While Irish horror is having a moment right now, with acclaimed titles such as Aislinn Clarke’s Fréwaka and Kate Dolan’s You Are Not My Mother mining rich and cr...
Read more

Kensal Green Cemetery

During a recent visit to London, a friend and I decided to explore Kensal Green Cemetery in the west of the city. Founded as the General Cemetery of All Souls by barrister George Frederick Carden in 1833, Kensal Green was inspired by the garden-style cemetery of Pere-Lachaises in Paris. Comprised of 72 acres of beautiful grounds, it was not only the first commercial cemetery in London, but also the first of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ garden-style cemeteries established to house the dead of an ever-increasing population. Campaigners for burial reform were in favour of “detached cemeteries for the metropolis” and in 1832 Parliament passed a bill that led to the formation of the General Cemetery Company to oversee appropriate measures and procedures concerning “the interment of the dead.” The company purchased land for the establishment of Kensal Green in 1831 and held a competition in order to select an appropriate designer. Among the prerequisites in the brief provided to entrants, we...
Read more