The roads, especially the freeways. They were built in the 50s and intended to be used in case there was a need to evacuate the population in the event of a nuclear war. When I found this little know ( to me ) fact, it occurred to me when being driven down one of these roads: “ Why did they build them both ways then?” It also illustrated the paranoia around the 50s about the likelihood of such an event. If they intended to evacuate everyone, where to? All very odd. The photograph above from the Runyon Canyon summit was … Continue reading It’s all so big.

So to celebrate a couple of weeks in La La Land I’m just going to post a few of the images that will stay with me from the recent trip. Big thanks for all those who’ve been liking this stuff and giving me undeserved encouragement. It’s a little like encouraging that bloke in the pub to “Tell us more about your holidays then Sid”. I’ll just go on and on, and my dislike of flying will rapidly surface like Jaws on a hungry day. Security was tight at the Airport, and the Americans seem to be perfecting the art of … Continue reading Airline food and a return to rain. Lots of rain, so here’s some sunny moments.

Driving a few blocks across the city to take the children to nursery school. Gives a flavour of the place. Continue reading Car photos, the morning/afternoon drive

I love art galleries but can only really take them in small doses. Two hours is about as much as I can realistically look at the framed stuff before I get the itch for a cup of tea and a cake. The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena was today’s cake trip. Pasadena is rich in these places and had the benefit of our company on a few days. I was attracted to this place by the promise of works from La Belle Époque. It did not disappoint. Here are a few of my favourites from the show. It has the … Continue reading Choose your favourites before you reach saturation point.

I’d heard of Trader Joe’s before I came here. I follow a blog called Become Betty, where Betty, who’s not called Betty, reviews their products all the time. I like the blog, it gave me a taste of what the Americans like to eat and the strange things they do to their food. Now I’ve experienced the place for real, and came out unrealistically excited about their re-usable bags. You get three re-usable bags in a Mystery Pack, and you get each bag with a unique design representing a particular place. Here you can see one for Atlanta, and one … Continue reading Trader Joe and their brilliant bags.

No thanks, like a badly built skyscraper that’s just wrong on so many levels. I’m keen on coffee shops and they are here too in Los Angleles, so we tried one out on Sunset Boulevard. Intelligentsia was the rather pseudo name for the place and I was sent there while others had other things to do. They thought rightly that I’d be amused by a good coffee and a sticky cake, and I was. The guy making the coffee was smiley and pleasant and the one taking the money was the opposite, looking at me as if he could just … Continue reading Coffee shop speak: “Would you care for the cayenne garnish?”

It’s a massive sprawl, with street after street of houses and offices. It ranges from the seedy, the very seedy to the rich and the very rich. Possibly there are areas where some people live that just about manage, there are certainly areas, generally near to freeway bridges were people are not even doing that. All their belongings in a small area, a tent if they are lucky and a shopping trolley. They just about exist. There’s no net for those in these areas. These are definitely the “have nots”. I suppose that some of the “just abouts” might also … Continue reading Someone’s got to live there, perhaps?

Continue reading Yet more culture?

As I recall these golden words were spoken by Shirley Conrad, who many years ago, was a doyenne of home making. It’s a phrase that came to mind on today’s visit to the Arts District of Los Angeles to the Hauser and Wirth Galleries. These first painting were all of a palm tree with Perspex screen in front and these screens as you can see have what looks like a colour blindness test with numbers. The galleries are really brilliant. A wonderful place to exhibit art and photography. I loved these images and there was someone there to explain that … Continue reading “Life’s too short to stuff a mushroom”

Huntingdon Park. Pasadena. Very hot day, in the 90s. This place is big, loads of brilliant gardens and plants to feast the eyes on and in a variety of styles, even a bonsai area if you like that sort of thing. The light yesterday was to me as bright as you can get it. The colours and the deep blue sky in particular made it feel like technicolour with all the buttons turned full on. This is a well organised place to take a day or even a few days to explore. And after the gardens there are art galleries … Continue reading Bright? It’s almost day-glo.

Continue reading Skateboarders:Venice Beach,Los Angeles.