Autumn in Holland Park and by bus to Queensway

How pleasant it was to walk across Holland Park in the sun this morning!

I quickly got off Central Line train, crossed Holland Park Avenue and entered the park from the north.

According to Wikipedia, quite recently there was a period when 'pork was grown here'. Just behold:

' In 2010, the park set aside a part which is home to pigs, their job over the next 12 months is to reclaim the area from nettles etc., in order to create another meadow area for wild flowers and fauna.'

 Set in the pond, Lord Holland Statue (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Vassall-Fox,_3rd_Baron_Holland) was basking in the sun in the company of two pigeons sat just behind his shoulders:

 The view in front of Lord Holland:

And here looking back at the statue:

 I looked to the right:

 I looked back again:

 and to the right:

 and back for the last time:

 Then I went on, only to stop briefly to look at the little pond by Lord Holland's House, or the little bit which survived and houses a hostel in these splendid settings. The stone hippo was still there, by the fountain, just as I remembered it from the times when I lived nearby.

This time I didn't take any pictures of or near the former Commonwealth Institute, I wanted to escape the noise of the demolition  quickly. Leaving the park I turned right and soon found myself at an Octavia Housing shop in High Street Kensington.That's the pictiure I spotted immediately:

 I recognised it straightaway, I saw it a few years ago at an exhibition at The Ice House Gallery in Holland Park. It was held by a Japanese American artist, Sharon Yamamoto. We chatted not but once there, as I used to pass the gallery almost daily, and I even looked after the exhibition on its last day when Sharon had some important things to do elsewhere. I truly liked the experience and still treasure a special gift from her: a tile with one of her pictures. What I find really charming about Sharon's work is that each of her pictures is accompanied by a little comment consisting of her observations on life.

 Having looked up at the picture, my eyes focused on the floor to meet this cute doggie:

 And ... another one on the hook:

 Only in London things like that happen, don't they? :-)

A few of next pictures were taken from the front seat on the top deck of Bus 27 which took me to Queensway. It's a great seat for the view, but the legs feel pretty claustrophobic there.

High St Ken

 Notting Hill

 Westbourne Grove

 That shop window bit I snapped in the dark at the other end of Queensway before descending to catch the crowded subterranean train:

And now it's getting late, but let me just add a few pictures to my Tuesday 'jewellery post'!