PERSPECTIVE photos on Flickr

A trip to my dentist in Muswell Hill triggers old memories and gives a new perspective. The bus ride takes me through different and distinct parts of this huge metropolis and I'm reminded of places where I've worked and of people I have known. Off the bus and glancing down the streets to the south of Muswell Hill Broadway I see Canary Wharf, the financial and property industries loom large in the murky background. The houses in the foreground remind me of my old friend Roland and his student question; 'What are these buildings saying to me?'. I remember my own days as a 'mature student' about forty years ago. Some of my mentors and colleagues were remarkably prescient. I wonder where they are now. My own career in architecture and design started with social commitment but I was made redundant in the '91 recession; it took me four or five years to get back to work and to my surprise I found myself in the wacky world of brand development. Towards the end of my career jn the early years of this century I regained a some self respect with a journeyman tour of a variety of architectural practices. Now I'm trying to pick up the pieces and regain some sort of personal coherence.

I want to enjoy my retirement, I feel that I have earned it. Mainly this photostream is about the things I like to do (i.e. walking, observing, and taking photographs) but sometimes I feel bits of grit in my shoe and I have to shake them out. This seems to be turning into a gritty shake out. Enough of metaphors, what I'm really trying to say that even in retirement contradictions are unavoidable. I want this photostream to be about the good things in life, but I need to find an effective way of dealing with the contradictions.

I enjoy the creative buzz of my own patch (the sunny side of Dalston), and I enjoy as much as I can of London's fantastic offerings in music, art, and entertainment, but I also feel compelled to come to terms with my city's economic base and its cost to the wider world. As soon as I say this I come slap up against the big question of sustainability. Can the world continue to sustain London and its ilk? London can be a wonderful place, but I fear that it is a major drain on the well-being of our planet.

(If some of this has been said before, please think of it a regaining of balance in preparation for the winter season.)

Perspective by Kay Harpa

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Stainglass windows in the chapels of the cemetery Père Lachaise in Paris-France

Perspective by Leandro Watanabe