Flowers - New Year - New Begining

Here are some pictures that I have taken of flowers.


Now that Christmas has passed and the New Year is nearly hear, it makes you think of a fresh start and beginning. I guess flowers represent growth and change and the beauty that is is within us all.


Below are mainly from my garden, although some are from Spain and another is from Florida.


Hope you like them...

Taken from my garden

Taken in Orlando Florida

Taken in Miami (my grandma's garden)

taken from my garden

taken in Spain

New York City - USA

NEW YORK CITY 2002

View of downtown New York City from the Empire Statebuilding Rooftop

New York City is one of my most favourite cities in the world. I have been there several times, my last visit was three years ago. I hope to visit again soon.

The C Train in New York City

These pictures are of my second visit (2002) when i went for a long weekend with my best friend. We visited the major sites, Grand Central station, Empire state building, Times Square and yes we shopped till we dropped.

The top the Empire State Building

New York's Night life is everything you have heard of and then add a little more... we was out three of the four nights we where there.We aimed not to waste a minute sleeping as we can do that on the plane back to London.

The Legendary Apollo Theatre in Harlem

It Elle's first visit and my second and we loved every second of it. New York City is just like you see it on TV, loud, big, hectic and highly energetic.

A View New York City from the Empire State building

New York was still recovering from the 9/11 attacks of the previous year and this could be seen by the number of missing persons posters left on walls all around Manhattan. It was truly sad to see and feel the sense of loss the city was still feeling.

A street in Manhatten - Notices of missing people after the 9/11 attacks

I wish i took my photo's during my visit, but these picture do bring a smile to my face as it was a weekend i discovered a life long friend.

Downtown New York

Watch the below video - from Sally's World Video blog talking about favourite holiday destinations.... watch and enjoy!

Sirius Black also Known as Cee (the black cat)

Sirius Better known as Cee is my cat. He is six years old and is named after a character in the Harry Potter films.

Cee his a laid back cat, smooth and loves to look good. His favourite food is prawns, tuna and spicy chicken slices from the supermarket.

The Many faces of Trojan

Atlanta - Olympic Park - 2008

No comment!

Afro Man

what am i thinking?

Carnival With Kele le Roc - great first album

Preston Park - Brighton - July 2008

Just a few pictures of me.....just a taste of the many looks....

London - My home town

Today, I thought I would show off my home city London. London is where I was born and raised and a city that I truly love.

Trafalgar Square

Tower Bridge

London has a great mixture of history, culture and people not really seen in many anywhere else in the world. I think for many years i didn't appreciate the diversity and tolerance London has to offer. It continues to evolve and embrace difference will retaining its past.

View of the Thames from Tate Modern

Post Box

London will be hosting the 2012 Olympics. At present the east part of London is undergoing a regeneration programme in preparations for the games. I am looking forward to the forthcoming games as I love watching the Olympic games and was a big fan of the recent Beijing Games in the summer of 2008.

Traditional Telephone Box

Big Ben

I would urge people to visit London during the summer and soak up what London has to offer. London has some greatest and iconic architecture in the world. Some are hundreds of years old, while others are relatively new. There are great restaurants, theatres, night life for all tastes and budgets. Plus its the people that make London what its is, this is reflected and embraced throughout the city.

St Martins Church

The London Eye

Here are some pictures of London that I have taken over the years.... some places you may recognise and others you may not have.... I have taken most of these pictures on route to my work or during a charity walk I was involved in a few years ago. I do however do intend to exhibit a more complete collection in the future. In the meantime I hope you enjoy them all the same..

Pictures from Notting Hill Carnival

Me with two of London's Finest!

Street Dancer - Lady in Red!

Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event which takes place on the streets of Notting Hill, London, UK each August, over two days (Sunday and the following bank holiday), since 1965. It is led by members of the Caribbean population, many of whom have lived in the area since the 1950s. The carnival has attracted up to 2 million people in the past, making it the second largest street festival in the world after Rio.

Flash of color

It attracted press attention in 1976 for clashes with the police, which continued for several years. More recently however Carnival has been portyrayed as a peaceful event despite the continuing violence and drug offences, and attracts press attention for the attendance figures.

Flag of Dominica

It attracted press attention in 1976 for clashes with the police, which continued for several years. More recently however Carnival has been portyrayed as a peaceful event despite the continuing violence and drug offences, and attracts press attention for the attendance figures.

Fire Starter

It attracted press attention in 1976 for clashes with the police, which continued for several years. More recently however Carnival has been portyrayed as a peaceful event despite the continuing violence and drug offences, and attracts press attention for the attendance figures. 

In recent years, the event has been much freer from serious trouble and is generally viewed very positively by the authorities as a dynamic celebration of London's multi-cultural diversity, though dominated by the Caribbean culture in the best traditions of Rio. However, there has been controversy over the public safety aspects of holding such a well-attended event in narrow streets in a small area of London.

A copper on the beat!

Concerns about the size of the event resulted in London's former Mayor, Ken Livingstone, setting up a Carnival Review Group to look into "formulating guidelines to safeguard the future of the Carnival". An interim report by the review resulted in a change to the route in 2002. When the full report was published in 2004, it recommended that Hyde Park be used as a "savannah"; though this move has attracted some concern that the Hyde Park event may overshadow the original street carnival.

In 2003, Carnival was run by a limited company, the Notting Hill Carnival Trust Ltd. A report by the London Development Agency on the 2002 Carnival estimated that the event contributes around £93 million to the London and UK economy.

Waving the flag

In 2005, entrants from Notting Hill Carnival participated in the Bridgwater, Somerset, carnival - Europe's largest lighted carnival and part of the West Country Carnival circuit.

Since 2007 Notting Hill Carnival and the Summer Carnaval in Rotterdam work together in a coalition in which they exchange brass bands and steel bands.

History

Carnival began in January 1959 in St Pancras Town Hall as a response to the depressing state of race relations at the time; the UK's first widespread racial attacks (the Notting Hill race riots) had occurred the previous year. It was a huge success, despite being held indoors.

It first moved outside and was rescheduled to August in 1965. The prime movers were Rhaune Laslett, who was not aware of the indoor events when she first raised the idea, and Claudia Jones, who is widely recognised as 'the Mother of Notting Hill Carnival'. At this point, it was more a Notting Hill event than an African-Caribbean event, and only around a thousand people attended.

Shake that thing!

By 1976, the event had become definitely Caribbean in flavour, with around 150,000 people attending. However, in that year and several subsequent years, Carnival was marred by riots, in which predominantly Caribbean youths fought with police — a target due to the continuous harassment the population felt they were under. During this period, there was considerable coverage of the disorder in the press, which some felt took an unfairly negative and one-sided view of Carnival. For a while it looked as if the event would be banned. Prince Charles was one of the few establishment figures who supported the event.

The carnival welcomes all cutures