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MONTHLY CHALLENGE|TRAVEL|WRITING
Feeling the London Blues
But with no traces of sadness in it
When I landed in London almost thirty years ago I was confronted by a sea of red. From the iconic double-deckers, to people’s cars, red was the dominant colour. Even my ex-wife had a little, old, ruby-hued, three-door banger that blended in nicely with similarly coloured vehicles.
Fast forward more than two and a half decades and the colour scene has changed in the British capital. As the photos both above and below will show, we’ve become a more colour-accommodating society. Even double-deckers have gone green, in a more environmentally friendly approach.
As soon as the ‘Trotters editorial team announced this month’s challenge, I knew I had to muck in. Blue is one of my two favourite colours (the other one being black. Both dark grey and white come in third at a distance, like two Olympians struggling to keep up with the rest of the runners in a 10,000 metres race).
A walk, a bus ride, a cycle jaunt, and a trip down memory lane are the best descriptors for the images to follow.
First up is the sign for Moorgate Tube Station. We were doing our usual Saturday walk when I stopped outside Moorgate. Interesting that the tube is a means of transport I use regularly when I’m working far and have to carry my Brompton with me on the Underground. Yet, it was only when I started looking around for signs of blue in London that my jaw hit the floor. Tube stations signs are blue, you silly sausage! I told myself (You can see that there’s plenty of love between my alter ego and me).
So are both the Victoria Line (light blue) and the Piccadilly Line (dark blue) on London’s tube map.
Later on when I got off the bus on my way to collect my bicycle, I came across the sign below. It’s a common sight nowadays because London has become more cycling-friendly and more bicycle-focused infrastructure has been created. Luckily, we’ve moved away from the days when a network of quiet roads and both off- and on-road cycle lanes was deemed to be a “cycle superhighway”. The word “C” stands for “cycle route” or “cycle way”. Simpler and to the point.
