We’re going to be a bit of a mish mash today. There are a number of images collected during the time Oceanology was ongoing. Some, here, some there, a few odds and ends:
ExCel Center:
Oceanology is held at the ExCel Center every other year, except for 2020. You know all about that by now. Typically I stay somewhere mid-London and then take the appropriate tube line to meet up with the DLR (Docklands Light Rail) system, which heads East from London.
ExCel Center is at the Custom House stop, which puts you literally at the main entrance. You can go one stop further, which I did the first time there this trip, which puts you at the rear entrance. This time a graduation of some sort was full swing and there was a gaggle of young people in flowing robes flittering about.
In any event, I normally bring my camera, as there is a lot of interesting stuff in the area. Once upon a time this was an area busy with the loading and unloading of ships in the quay. Those days are long gone, but some of the equipment, some replica some genuine, are scattered about. There is a pedestrian walkway across the conduit which is accessed via a fairly sketchy elevator on both ends.
So when I had the chance, I would go outside and grab a shot or two:
This is the aforementioned bridge. You can see the elevator structure on the right hand side of the second image. As you can see, there are some kids up on the bridge milling about.
I rode the elevator up, and was walking around, and this group of teenagers, approached and asked if I would take a picture of them. They were very polite and respectful and I could not say no. I gave one of them my card and told him to e-mail me and I would send him a couple of shots.
Walking across the bridge gave a fantastic view of the area. The red boat below has been here every time I’ve visited, so I think it’s a replica. The barge with the ship was not there last time, and I guess is just docked waiting for construction.
Here we have some of the replica dock cranes.
The bridge itself,
Hayes Ships brings this schooner to the show every year as a place to congregate after the show.
Descending the elevator, I was struck by the elegance of the bridge design.
Walking toward the center, there were a bevy of vessels at the dock.
Across the marina,
Emirate Air-Line:
One day, on leaving, I decided to try the “Emirates Air Line”. This is a cable car system across the Themes sponsored of course by Emirates Air Lines.
The weather was dreadful so there was no one around as I entered the facility. You pay for it just like a tube journey, only quite a bit more expensive. 9 Pounds if I remember correctly.
I was the only one in the car and had great views on the way across, albeit with the rain.
The exit on the south side of the river is very near the O2, where you can catch a tube back to London. Except for this day. Evidently some poor soul had decided to commit suicide by throwing themselves in front of the train on the track one stop up.
So, the system was shut down. After standing there for a while, I just decided to go back across on the Air Line. I wasn’t the only one with this idea, and this time it was chock-a-block. The car was full, and I’m pretty certain that this is where I picked up COVID.
In any event, the weather had cleared a bit and the view was better, but I definitely did not have the freedom to move about the car and grab pictures.
Next time we will visit The Abbey. Stay tuned!