Juggling Knives in London

I love that this street entertainer is wearing such bright and distinctive clothes but I wish his knives were brightly coloured. Still, the reaction of (some) people was worth it even if the background is too busy to see the knives properly.

Knives. He’s juggling knives over the head of a tourist lying on the ground. That could have ended badly, but people who perform in Covent Square are really good.

Street performers must audition for their spots in Covent Square through a formal licensing system managed by the local authority. Performers are allocated specific time slots and locations, with the most desirable pitches going to those who demonstrate the highest skill levels and ability to manage crowds safely. The system was introduced to maintain quality and safety standards after the area’s transformation from a working market to a major tourist destination in the 1980s.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length101mm
ISO1600
Shutter speed1/500s

193 steps to Covent Garden

193 steps, but they’re all going up. We arrived in the Underground station at Covent Garden in the middle of the day when queues for the elevators up were *sooo* long. Actually, I didn’t know this at all. I had dawdled behind taking a few photos and recognised a few faces darting down a side tunnel so I followed them. As I ran after them I snapped the warning sign that read,

This stairway has 193 steps
Do not use
except in an
emergency

Filled with a resignation that it must be the only way I followed them up.

Oh my God. My knees were like jelly by the time I saw sunlight. I never want to do that again. Next time we wait patiently for the elevator.

PS. My brother and I and our future brother-in-law Mike left London yesterday, but Donal is still in the city, and last I heard, was tucking into some spicy food at a Chinese restaurant! Great weekend!

Aperture ƒ/7.1
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 1600
Shutter speed 1/100s