Crouching Lion, Hidden Snake

It’s Chinese New Year’s Eve today and I ventured into the most obvious place in the city to see if I could photograph some festivities relating to the welcoming of the Snake year, London’s Chinatown. Not a slither. No Snake paper dolls, no cheap and nasty rubber toy Snakes, no Snake-shaped balloons, not even a Snakes and Ladders board game in sight. I guess, realistically speaking, the Chinese hate snakes as do most people. However, there were lots of Dragon symbols and toys selling like hotcakes in the gift stores. I guess a Dragon is a sort of snake with legs, both belonging to the reptile world. And Lions strutting to the beat.

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What a difference a day makes

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Yesterday was a frosty morning, and I made the above photograph at Wimbledon Common with dog walkers and golfers enjoying a chilly outing. The air was crisp and the sky clear but very, very cold. This morning, a huge snow front blanketed the entire UK, and dropped over 4 to 5 inches of snow in blizzard conditions. The British Isles is known for it’s wet weather, so it was a respite from the rain, but when the snow thaws, that will cause another bout of flooding.