I Am Only Making One post Today,

as there are lots of photographs,

wrapped up as it was cold, we were out to London,

through the park,

and on to the train, 

to Victoria train station,

through the scaffolding,

and on to a number 44 bus to Battersea,

we were going to visit the newly opened Battersea Power Station,

we had a short walk from the bus stop,

a quick pose,

as we neared,

and went under Chelsea bridge,

well I just had too!

at the top in the distance one of the 4 chimneys of the power station,

and later that is where we will be, 

Diana had bought tickets to take the lift inside one of the chimneys,

under the railway bridge,

and I just had to have another pose!

as we walked past this restaurant,

there was something you do not see every day,

instead of having plastic signs made,

the owners had employed the services of two sign writers,

and what a neat job there were making of it,

Diana took the pose,

as we neared what was the coaling wharf or jetty,

there were signs that it was Christmas,

as Diana poses by the super huge baubles,

not far now,

we walked past some 'mental' grass,

it is a long standing joke between us, when we first arrived back in the UK we walked past a flower bed like this, and Diana asked me what the plants were, I replied "ornamental grass", but Diana misheard me, so for a couple of years whenever we saw flower beds like this Diana thought they were mental grass, well we thought it was funny!

the restaurant by the river,

below the power station a funfair,

in the distance cries and laughter,

the ice rink,

the rink was huge,

I kept asking Diana if she wanted to hire some skates,

but that did not go down well, after I said I could film her falling over!

but it did look like fun for those that could skate,

in front of the building a roundabout,

with its gayly painted horses,

this one Fleur,

we have seen another one of these at Greenwich, both looking brand new, I guess there is a factory that makes them like this one, 

we passed the fudge stall,

and made our way inside,

in the entrance some of the original building had been left exposed by the new owners, a couple of Malaysian companies, S P Setia and Sime Darby, so that visitors could see some of the original building as it was,

yes that is me in the middle!

looking up at the sides,

I could see these huge 'I' beams,

that had been cut through to make the entrance hall bigger,

we started walking through one of the generating rooms,

above us the crane gantry used for heavy lifting, 

a pose from Diana,

well I just had to have a pose as well,

a panorama of the hall,

from the walkway looking down to the left,

and to the right,

photograph © Wonders of World Engineering, this photograph shows what would have been here when the station was operating,

and on the floor below, a Citroen food van that seems to be de rigueur for events like this,

we joined the queue for our ascent in the lift,

no mistaking where we are! as an aside if you want to read more about the power station, have a look here, it is amazing to see photographs of perhaps the actual hall we are in,

the tickets are time coded so there are not too many people in the lift,

in the waiting area there are a number of displays,

like this control panel,

and a display perhaps of one of the most famous stunts that occurred concerning the power station,

when a pink pig named Algie was flown over the building by Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters to advertise the 1977 Animals album,

but what a lot of people do not know, is that the animal broke loose! 

the tour started,

with projections of sparks and flames that reacted to your movements, it looked unreal, but was a tad dark to photograph,

the colours changed,

and became a bit brighter,

and gave way to a more mechanical display,

with dials,

filling the wall,

a mass of sparks,

gave way to the projected building,

and nearby sites that can be seem from the top of the chimney,

an that is where we are going,

we are already at 55 meters, and we have not taken the lift yet!

and that is how high we will be going,

any moment now,

and here we are in the lift,

and in no time out of the chimney,

admiring the views across London,

a pose naturally,

there was only a slight problem, the reflections in the windows,

but there it is, next time maybe use materials that do not reflect,

the chimney next door,

and the two at the other end of the building,

looking along the Thames,

and looking at me,

to the left the London Eye, to the right the Shard,

trying not feel giddy looking down to the coaling warfe below,

looking past the chimneys,

lots of building work going on,

the sun already starting to set low in the sky,

the one above and the next few were all taken with Diana's telephone,

as I was snapping away,

now time for a selfie,

or,

two!

one more for the album,

and now a quick video of our decent in the lift,

we walked through more of the halls,

on this floor just starting to be occupied,

but looking down,

lots of shops are already open,

to the right a restaurant, Control Room,

and behind it some of the actual controls preserved, I was going to have a look, but it did not seem right walking through the restaurant without buying anything,

all of the famous names are here,

and a number of car dealerships,

like Bentley,

showing where the batteries are when they need replacing, this article makes interesting reading,

on this floor not one,

but two Citroen food vans,

I can feel a shopping fest coming on,

so many shoes, 

to chose from,

but not today,

maybe in here?

there is no doubt about it, 

all of the top end shops are here, I dread to think what the rents must be like! by now we were a tad hungry, we looked into a restaurant that did not seem that much out of the ordinary, but we decided we were not hungry when we looked at the prices, £22.00 for a plate of fish & chips, even going to arguably the number one fish & chip restaurant on the south coast of England, Maggie's the cost was nowhere near that, the rents must be high! so outside for a burger,

we exited at the rear of the building,

where there was an enormous Christmas tree,

it really was huge,

looking back,

we started walking towards the front of the building,

past a huge bed of ornamental grass,

the funfair came into view, so we were nearly by the river,

and ice rink,

not many people here today, I guess it is busier at the weekends,

low tide,

we stopped,

to look at the building as we made our way to the jetty,

we both just love Christmas,

I still can not get over how big the power station is, and what a great place to visit and it is free! well except the lift which as it happens is £20.20 each on the day we went, the prices vary according to the day,

we walked back to the riverside, looking to the left,

and right at the exposed foreshore,

it is that time again,

for a pose,

at the end of the jetty there were a couple of boules pitches,

I zoomed in to photograph the bridge,

looking behind me the city,

just as I was taking this photograph,

Diana entered the frame,

Ta-Da!

a couple more,

on the evergreen seat, I did mention that we were going to buy a burger, but again the price seemed a bit high at £9.50 each, so we decided to eat at O'Neil's in Beckenham, unfortunately Diana did not send me the photographs, but we had a cheesy burger with extra bacon for Diana, scampi and chips for myself, lemonade for Diana and a white wine for myself, the bill came to £18.00, less than the price of 2 burgers at Battersea, and no place near the burger van to eat them on the riverside!

when we arrived home Diana smuggled up on the sofa and open her second advent day calendar, 

to day some face foundation powered I think it is,

I left Diana having a doze as she watched television, for myself I was out to meet Steve, walking towards the green,

there were a couple of skaters on the rink,

the rest of the green illuminated with lights,

I waited for the 227 by the Italian restaurant,

and was soon outside the Moon & Stars,

with a couple of Christmas trees outside,

'Cheers!', Steve and myself chatted the night away, after our farewells a bus home and a walk to the park,

difficult to see but along the way some of the homes had really nice Christmas displays in their windows, arriving home Diana had already retired for the night, for myself a spiced rum nightcap a New Tricks and I was off to bed.