London in Lockdown

St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, July 10th 2020

As lockdown is easing I decided to it was time to venture into London for the morning with my camera. What I found really shocked me. London is a total ghost town.

I haven’t been into town for 5 months and having spent 15 years working there I know the streets pretty well, I know what to expect at the different times of day and usually at 9am on a Friday morning it’s packed with commuters in the city as tourists gather around the sites. Instead of this I was met with the odd cyclist and pedestrian. There was hardly any traffic on the road, shops and cafes remained closed, even the busses were scarce. It was pretty cool to see St. Paul’s with no one around though and I was quite excited to get to photograph it looking like this.

St. Paul’s Cathedral, 9am Friday 10th July

After St. Pauls I headed down to the river to walk towards the West End. It was a hot sunny day with a light breeze which was great for capturing the motion of the clouds as they drifted through the sky. I fully expected that when I got over to that side of town I’d see a bit more life.

The London Eye, River Thames 10th July 2020

Big Issue seller, July 10th 2020, London

Standing on the bridge I was met with the odd masked person strolling by but certainly no tourists and workers like usual. The only person I ended up chatting to was this cheerful Big Issue seller who was delighted to see a friendly face. He was very grateful to be back working again and also very happy for me to take a photo of him too.

I then headed towards Trafalgar Square to behold the National Gallery. It was nearing lunchtime now, so I was sure it would start to get busier . . .

Trafalgar Square, London, July 10th 2020

Still no one other than the homeless queuing for their lunch truck were here at this point and a small queue for the gallery which had reopened.

I took the time now to walk towards the theatres. Also I noticed on the pavement there were signs either stuck or sprayed on the slabs encouraging people to keep a safe distance. I wonder how long they will remain on the streets?

It was at this point in my walk I began to feel more and more shocked and sad, even the sky changed to reflect the mood. This was now a Friday afternoon in the West End of London in the heart of theatre land and it was completely dead. In the summer here its usually never peaceful! You can’t move for tourists who are always in the way taking photos. I thought of the many times I had cursed them and wished for them all to go away so I could go about my day in peace. The truth is that those people are the reason the city is so vibrant and full of life all the time. To see it like this, without them, was so very sad.

Piccadilly Circus, London. Friday July 10th 2020 Midday

The theatres of London are my second home. Having worked in so many of them for so many years they are as familiar to me as my own house. When I am in London I can walk by any one of them and see someone I know outside the stage door having a break, it really made me miss them all. Seeing the theatres all closed and boarded up with no real idea of when they might open again was truly gut wrenching. These historic buildings have stood the test of time though so many iconic moments, they’ve survived The Blitz, recessions, great fires and now they must survive the complete shut down of the world. Something we never could have imagined.

The Prince Edward Theatre, July 10th 2020

And so finally to Covent Garden where a single masked shopper braved the cobbles from the station. A few diners I’m glad to say where eating in the Piazza. Hopefully in the coming weeks the restaurants and shops will pick up some more trade but without the workers and tourists and with the theatre doors still shut, it will be quite some time before things are back to busy normal.

Covent Garden Piazza, London, July 10th 2020

If you’d like to see more of the images I took on my walk head on over to the whole album here:

https://eamesphotography.picfair.com/albums/63356-covid-london

Hopefully my next blog will be more chipper!