Conscientious objectors memorial

Tavistock Square, Bloomsbury.

When I drew the bathroom curtains this morning I was greeted by a glorious red sunrise. I resisted the temptation to fetch the camera as a) I’ve taken a lot of photos of sunrises out of the bathroom window already and b)I needed to get on to be ready for the arrival of the decorator who was coming to put the final coat on the woodwork.

I was put in mind of the saying “Red sky in morning, shepherds’ warning” when I heard the weather forecast. It predicted rain, wind and even sleet but none of that has materialised so far. Maybe the forecasters have decided to err on the side of pessimism in order that we won’t be disappointed. It did cloud over a bit later on in the afternoon but the morning was glorious with blue sky. I made the most of the fine weather by taking a quick blip walk at lunchtime.

Bloomsbury, where I work, is renowned for its garden squares and the best thing is that the majority of them are open to the public – unlike areas like Belgravia which also has fabulous squares but only residents have access to the gardens.
Tavistock Square, where I took this photo, is very much a square dedicated to peace. In addition to this memorial to conscientious objectors, it has a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the centre and also a tree planted in memory of the victims of Hiroshima. In view of that, it’s always seemed to me ironic that it was here that the bus was blown up in the 2005 London bombings.