Following

Do you begin and end your day with the world framed by a window or windscreen? Maybe it’s your own or perhaps it is the fingerprint smeared one of the bus or train. Do you run? Or cycle? Do you stare ahead, focussed on the point of horizon, enjoying the sensation of the landmarks flying past you? Or do you walk? Head dead ahead. Music sounding. Telephone chattering. Daydreaming.

Have you walked or driven the same route for as long as you can remember? Have you one day, for whatever reason, looked up and seen something that surprised you? A building above a shop perhaps? A blue plaque? A piece of graffiti impossibly high up? A flag. This blog is about what you can see when you tilt your chin and see a different view of your everyday world.

Look up.

You might enjoy it.

You might see something good.

@lookupblog

Saturday 30 July 2011

Manufactory mosaic



I saw this beautiful mosaicked (sp?) sign whilst frantically lost somewhere between Russell Square and Oxford Street. The notion of just walking in a straight line till you hit a tube stop is not always effective! Anyway, I loved the colours in this old school sign and I'm loving the word 'manufactory'. Whoever lives in this block of flats will have a great way of giving directions to their house...'the one with the big, green, mosaic thing!' There is also a smaller sign above the door which is slightly obscured by a lesser attractive one. All I can read in 'electrical' but I'm not sure that's all of it. Think I'll have to go back for another look later on...

Friday 29 July 2011

Not far from the madding crowd....



Whilst battling against shoppers, much like swimming upstream, this afternoon on Oxford Street I noticed this above one of the shops.Why I still go to Oxford Street I have no idea- It only ever drives me crazy and makes me look for the nearest escape route- but I was pretty pleased I saw this.Not sure how I'd describe it but I think it aptly mirrors the chaos of what is going on on the streets below.

Turreted Hotel


Like a mix between stoic architecture and fairytale castle, the Hotel Russell (yeah you guessed it, by Russell Square!) makes for a very striking building. As almost a nod to the other coppery domes around the capital-this hotel boasts copper turrets. A one-up on the other contenders I reckon!

Thursday 28 July 2011

Cat in the hedge

The 'neighbours' who live above me have a cat who has recently had kittens. Much to my delight they have spent the last few weeks playing on the flat roof of our kitchen, where the upstairs living room opens out onto. They are super cute and particularly fun to watch as they are forever trying to get up onto things then down off of them but too tiny to do either properly. The mum cat just looks on lazily in some sort of amusement (well I like to think). The other day I was pinning up the washing and heard a scrabbling sound and noticed this little one checking out the hedge...

Wednesday 27 July 2011

Double domes



Back in Shoreditch I spied these two dome topped buildings. There seems to be a theme of these around London and walking around the capital is starting to turn into a 'dome spotting' version of eye-spy. I wonder how many more are scattered around the city and why they are there. I shall endeavour to find out.

Magical mushroom


Not sure what it's doing here or even what it's made of but I like it.

Tuesday 26 July 2011

A way fit for a queen



This is the fantastic view you get when you look up the spiral staircase at Queensway tube station in London. I have never been a huge fan of lifts- I'll get in one if I really have to but if given the option I will always take the stairs. Because of this, all around London I get to see a lot of views similar to this one. As pretty as a spiralling shell but still one of the sturdiest ways to build a stair. 

Wednesday 20 July 2011

Wood, slate and foliage



This is possibly my favourite lofty find so far. I spotted these bright blue shutters from a distance, looked up and noticed the slate tiling and then finally the roof terrace. All above a pretty boring looking restaurant. I love how Swiss/ Dutch the shutters make the building seem. We don't use shutters enough in this country I don't think and they certainly add an amount of charm.

Monday 18 July 2011

Got my eye on you...




Anyone who's spent any time travelling on the trains will know that public transport is a hotspot for security. Lack of bins, sniffer dogs and CCTV, probably being the top three ways the transport police are keeping tabs on you and apparently making things safer. I have little to hide, and so am not really that bothered by CCTV. There have been countless articles and papers written on how it encroaches on our human rights but in my eyes, if it helps solve a crime or track down a missing runaway, I'm not all that phased by it. It is sort of strange though when you look up and see reams of camera lenses staring at you. I always feel like I should wave- just to give the person watching something to smile at.

Saturday 16 July 2011

Porthole to the world



Round the corner from St Paul's Cathedral I spied this nautical shaped window from what I am guessing is a loft conversion. I bet you get pretty great view from up there. 

Friday 15 July 2011

Bread and Butter


It seems that next to the Old Dairy pub in Stroud Green there used to be a bakers. Long before the days of the  all encompassing supermarkets, you would go shop to shop buying your milk, bread and meat separately. In my head every shop used to have a big painted sign such as this. Big, bold and now decidedly retro.

Monday 11 July 2011

Super boy to the rescue!


This week I spotted a slightly fuzzy looking super boy in mid flight above a mini cab garage. He caught my eye as I wandered along Old Street and my initial reaction was of how striking the colours were. Why his direction of flight is into a wall I don't know but from now I am on the lookout for more super heros.

Thursday 7 July 2011

Time for Tea


Atop the Tea building 


Shutter Up



An interesting way of keeping the sun off the front of a cafe, these yellow shutters add a little more interest than an everyday awning.

Missing an E


Above a seemingly normal block of flats in Shoreditch sits a sign missing a vital vowel. (Unless it is really referring to Douglas Adams Meaning of Liff. Who knows?) Either way I wonder who is responsible for it and what its purpose is.

Sunday 3 July 2011

St Michael's church, Lewes, East Sussex
Lewes is easily one of my favourite places to visit. Only a short train or bus ride from Brighton it is a small town steeped in ancient history, tradition and superstition in equal measure. Someone's misplaced glove had been left in front of the church at the top of the hight street, I love how the angle of the glove mimics that of the winged St Michael.

Saturday 2 July 2011

Decorative dome



Whilst admiring this pretty funky looking pub I noticed that it was topped with a very smart marble dome. I'm not sure what it is all about, but ever a fan of outdoor marble tiling, I quite like it.

Friday 1 July 2011

Sundown over sussex shoreline



The time when the sun begins its slow descent is what my friend affectionately calls ‘the beautiful hour’. Everything is bathed in a golden light, shadows smudge the angles of buildings, light reflects softly off water and everything really does look more beautiful.

Signs of the times

Walking along Clapham Junction high street revelling in the sunshine I looked up and saw this collection of signs; one old, one hand painted and two new. I loved the mis-match of them all, though my favourite would have to be the fading paintwork of the old baker and confectioner's shop. Much more charming than its contemporaries.