The Shard

Yesterday (28 November) was a special birthday and I was treated, by Mrs B, to a very special day in London with champagne at the top of The Shard. It was a brilliant, brilliant day! Thank you so very much, Helen xx :-) Of course, that is NOT my thumb nail but it is my glass of champagne :-) The Shard rises to 309.6 metres (1,016 feet). It has 95 levels although the highest habitable floor is level 72, the upper viewing gallery, which is 244 metres (800 feet) high.The building, served by 44 lifts, is the tallest building in western Europe. This shot was taken in the Upper Viewing Gallery.

From Wikipedia - “Standing approximately 309 metres (1,014 ft) high, the Shard is currently the tallest building in western Europe. It is the second-tallest free-standing structure in the UK, after the concrete tower at the Emley Moor transmitting station.The glass-clad pyramidal tower has 72 habitable floors, with a viewing gallery and open-air observation deck on the 72nd floor, at a height of 244.3 metres (802 ft). It was designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano and replaced Southwark Towers, a 24-storey office block built on the site in Southwark in 1975. The Shard was developed by Sellar Property on behalf of LBQ Ltd and is jointly owned by Sellar Property and the State of Qatar."

Falling behind a bit at the mo :-( Anyway, back to 'The Shard' :-)

Quite pleased with how this one turned out considering it was shot thru' glass and it was a bit misty/hazy :-) p.s. sinking a bit at the mo and doing battle over copyright-free music but that's another story :-)

Back to The Shard :-) The Shard rises to 309.6 metres (1,016 feet). It has 95 levels although the highest habitable floor is level 72, the upper viewing gallery, which is 244 metres (800 feet) high.The building, served by 44 lifts, is the tallest building in western Europe. This is another shot taken in the Upper Viewing Gallery.

~ Explored! ~ Thank you very much :-))) Okay........a slightly tenuous and wayward link I know :-) But, if there is more than 50% of blue bits here I think that allows me to post my shot to 'StoL'. And, luckily, I have worked out there is actually 51% of blue bits. So, all is well :-) Added to ~ Soundtrack to Life Listen here ~ Blue Sky ~ Allman Brothers p.s. this song isn't actually about sky that is blue. It was composed by Dickey Betts and is about his Native American girlfriend, Sandy "Bluesky" Wabegijig, whom he later married.....and, then later divorced!

~ Explored! ~ Thank you very much :-))) If you look ever so closely at this shot of The Shard in London I'm sure you will see a birdy with wings :-) I am probably risking being put in the 'sin bin' for only vaguely keeping to the Rules :-) I hope it won't mean outright expulsion from the Group but rather sitting in the 'sin bin' for short time.....please :-) I found a musical link that I think is quite clever :-) Initially, I wasn't sure if it was "Birdy" by Wings or "Wings" by Birdy :-) But, I have worked out it is the latter :-) Apparently, Birdy is Jasmine Lucilla Elizabeth Jennifer van den Bogaerde. Added to ~ Sight and Sound Listen here ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ ~ Wings ~ Birdy

A slightly tenuous time for 'Sight & Sound' methinks :-) The Shard is in London Bridge Street. Last November we visited The Shard and I took a few shots in London Bridge Street including this one. So.....as this is a London street I think a musical link to "Streets of London" by Blackmore's Night from their Paris gig in 2006, would be okay :-) Added to ~ Sight and Sound Listen here ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ ~ Streets of London ~ Blackmore's Night Maybe, view on black :-)

Explored! ~ Thank you very much :-))) This shot was taken from The Shard and then I was let loose with GIMP Photo Software :-) Reminds me of "London Town" by Paul McCartney & Wings. Added to ~ Sight and Sound ♫ ♪ ♪ ♫ Listen here ~ London Town ~ Paul McCartney & Wings