Latest in the monthly series of photos of The Shard as seen from my flat.

At the end of June the concrete core had just surpassed Guys Hospital, but at the end of July was quite noticeably higher. Also of note is the rise of the flooring structure around the base of the core, and the emergence of a “mini-core” to the left of the main building.

The Shard at the end of June

The Shard at the end of July

A combination of the photos to show the height difference

The full photo set with a photo taken (roughly) each weekend.

Previous Reports:

June | April/May | March | February

Latest in the monthly series of photos of The Shard as seen from my flat. After a couple of months of idleness, the building has really started to rocket upwards and this month, the concrete core overtook the Guys Hospital building next door in height.

Also noticeable now though are the floor structures being built around the core as they rose up above the horizon – probably the floors that TfL were planning to move into, until the owners decided they wanted to avoid the sight of Bob Crow being seen in the building and brought them out (or something suspiciously like that).

Also note the seeming completion of the demolition of the building next to the tower, which was covered in white wrapping last month and has vanished over the past few weeks.

The Shard on 21st May 2010

The Shard on 25th June 2010

The full photo set with a photo taken (roughly) each weekend.

Previous Reports:

April/May | March | February

My route to the shopping centre can sometimes take me over the bridge at West India Docks, and occasionally the scenery is added to by the presence of a visiting ship or two.

This weekend, there are in fact four NATO affiliated war ships based in the docks – although quite why they are here seems to difficult to find out.

The four ships, part of a joint force, are ITS Granatiere, an Italian frigate, which hosts the Group’s command staff and three mine hunter vessels, ESPS SEGURA (Spain), TCG AMASRA (Turkey), and ITS RIMINI (Italy).

The will be here until Tuesday (1st June), so there is a chance to get down and see them on Bank Holiday Monday. I am guessing from the tidal times, that they’ll leave at either at 4am or 4pm via the dock gates at Preston’s Road.

Fluff piece from British Waterways

Sadly, the public are not allowed on board. Sulks!

Some photos

TCG Amasra

ITS Granatiere

ITS Granatiere

Three aircraft shot down?

Gun aimed at the DLR trains

After a bit of a hiatus, a resumption of my (supposedly) monthly updates about The Shard tower being built by London Bridge.

After doing almost nothing during April, the Shard has over the past couple of weeks finally started rising up again. More noticeable though was that a neighbouring building has been going down over the past few months – maybe the whole thing is hydraulic?

The Shard on 4th April 2010

The Shard on 21st May 2010

The full photo set with a photo taken (roughly) each weekend.

Previous Reports:

March | February

Heading down to Maidstone, and what did I see when glancing out of the window as the train zoomed toward Shoreham – but a large Christian Cross cut out of the chalk hills.

Christian Crosses of that scale and visibility are not the sort of thing I would expect to see in the English countryside – we are more a country that prefers naked men and weird looking horses.

Getting home and Wikipedia explains all (as usual).

There is a white memorial cross in the hillside opposite the village church. It was dug in 1920 as a memorial to local men killed in action.

Shoreham was also the birthplace and home of Private Thomas Highgate, who, aged 19, became the first British soldier to be shot for desertion after the First World War Battle of Mons on 8 September 1914. However, there is no sufficient evidence to suggest that he was deserting his post; Pte Highgate was undefended at his court martial because all his regimental comrades had been killed, injured or captured.

In 2000, Shoreham Parish Council voted not to include his name on its war memorial. However, after a posthumous pardon in 2006, it was considered that his name might be added.

You can also see the cross from above on Google Maps.