Sounds rather glamorous doesn’t it? (Like, say, Rockerfeller Plaza.)
Well - this is the name given to a parade of a few shops next to a southbound Route 79 bus stop on Ealing Road, just around the corner turning left from Wembley High Road.
Bus Stop at Ealing Plaza | 
Ealing Plaza itself |
And this is the view further down Ealing Road - from right at the front of the upper-deck of a 79 as I make the first part of my journey to work in the morning.
Ealing Road, Wembley - in the rush hour
These pictures were taken in June, earlier this year. I found the pictures lurking in a temporary folder on my hard drive - and since I had nothing better to do today than try to recover from a nasty cold and cough - I thought I’d put them up here.
According to my unpublished notes for this day in June (the 24th) - there was a young Asian girl sitting on the seat just behind me - and she was whispering something for the entire journey. I had no idea why she was whispering to herself. Continuously. I had no idea why - or what - she was whispering - as it wasn’t loud enough for me to hear.
And I suppose I’ll never know - because I doubt I’ll ever knowingly bump into her again - as I didn’t even get to see her face. But since then, every time I’ve gotten on the bus on the way to work - if I ever find myself going for a seat in front of a Asian girl in her early twenties - I always wonder if it will be her - and will I hear that whispering again. And on days when I’ve had my walkman on - I’ve even switched it off for a few seconds - just in case she’s whispering behind me. But so far - this hasn’t happened. Either that - or I have sat in front of her subsequently - but she hasn’t been whispering. (I have ruled out the possibility of the latter - because it would spoil the quest.)
One day (I don’t know when) she will whisper. And when that happens - I will pluck up some courage, turn right around and ask her why.
Posted by jag at October 15, 2003 09:28 PM“As the music dies
Something in your eyes
Calls to mind a silver screen
And all it’s sad goodbye“
By George Michael
I love this story. It reminds me of one of the main reasons I love London so much - london’s just full of people with interesting stories, and you never know whose story you’ll get to hear next, and where your encounters with people will lead.
I hope you get to see her again, and, if you do, I hope the encounter lives up to your expectations.
Thanks for visiting here Sue! Yes - life is extremely varied - and variable. I’m sure I’ll bump into her again. She’ll probably tell me to “f”-off and mind my own business - but that won’t matter one bit. :-)
Posted by: Jag on October 16, 2003 11:08 AMAh…being abused by total strangers…isn’t that what living in London is all about?.….
Hey…I’ve just noticed from your ‘shooting from the hip’ link that you’ve got a Lomo - cool! I’ve been using a Photoshop plugin which replicates the effects of a Lomo. Not as cool as the real thing though :-)
Your cold getting better?
Posted by: Sue on October 16, 2003 03:16 PMHiya Sue - Indeed!
Yes - I fell for that Lomo cult thing some time back - but more out of intrigue than total marketing hype besottism. When I decided to get into Lomo - it was with full knowledge that the camera prob isn’t worth more than 30 Euro. But now that I have one - I actually like it. Why? Well I can snap the action much quicker with my Lomo - i.e. no taking the camera out of it’s faux leather pouch, then switching it on - waiting for it to boot up - and then pressing the button. By the time you get to that point the action is gone! With my Lomo - I literally just point and shoot. Also - the Lomo is built to take some seriously brutal handling - something you can’t do with “delicate” titanium computerised digital camera gadgets. So - I’m pleased with my Lomo. However, I do get an awful lot of crap frames - which I have pay for since I have to develop the negatives!
You can read my “Lomo Arrival” story at:
http://www.jag.me.uk/misc/lomo/
And you can see some of my Lomo pics at:
It makes me laugh that there is a “Lomo” filter available for Photoshop - I bet all it does is create a “vignette”, apply some blurring options and also ramp up the colour saturation!
Yeah - my cold is getting better thanks. I have OD‘ed on Sudafed in last 2 days - so now I am not “streaming” as much - but simply trying to shake off a cough. Went to office today - was glad to have done so - I needed a bus and tube fix so desperately.
Posted by: Jag on October 16, 2003 07:52 PMGlad to hear you’re feeling better Jag. I had something similarly nasty myself not long ago (still a bit sniffly now in fact, after weaning myself off the Sudafed). I can reccommend Echinacea capsules (available at most health stores). [link:http://www.kcweb.com/herb/echin.htm]
I enjoyed the “Lomo Arrival” page! ;-)
Posted by: Stu on October 17, 2003 12:13 AMI have had a sore throat for over three weeks now and fortunately not developed into a cold.
Whispering women on public transport seems to be a common theme this week. check out my blog entry:
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2003_10_01_london-underground_archive.html#106617772820862427
Posted by: Annie Mole on October 17, 2003 02:49 AMStu: Thanks for the ref to echinacea - there was a “mad” girl in the office a few years ago (1997) who used to tell me that she used to sprinkle a few drops of echinacea over her dinner with a pipette in order to fend off colds and flu. I didn’d used to take her seriously at all - thinking she was a bit loopy. Well all these years later - and several people have referred me to this strange herb/plant. So - one day soon I might give it a try - I mean: you can’t all be loopy can you?
Posted by: Jag on October 17, 2003 08:54 AMAnnie: like everyone in my office has been saying the last couple of weeks: “There’s something particularly nasty going round at the moment”.
Yes - I read your story about the strange lady. Isn’t it funny how people do the strangest things on the tube? This makes me wonder whether I in fact might appear strange to other people?
Posted by: Jag on October 17, 2003 08:56 AMAfter my Rageh Omaar encounter today I almost squeaked with pleasure at being so near to The Scud Stud on the tube, so that must have looked strange, particularly with the way I was surrepticiously trying to take a picture of him
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2003_10_01_london-underground_archive.html#106638246035460224
Posted by: Annie Mole on October 17, 2003 12:49 PMAnd he passed through Hammersmith too! It’s not very often we get celebs in Ham. Nice one Annie!
Posted by: Jag on October 17, 2003 12:56 PM