Canary Wharf

A typical -in and out of London City- working day. Men in pinstripe suits gather early in the morning at Schiphol airport's D-pier. Always a gate with a terribly high number, like 46 or 48, hence a long walk from the passport checkpoint. Enter a KLM cityhopper wait half an hour, enjoy the safety procedure during taxying and then off she goes from Kaagbaan. One hour to check all the newspapers aboard. Steep landing at LCY, 5.5 degrees or more. Wait for the "Doors may be opened", say "Bye!" to the air hostesses and captain, hurry down to the DLR. Change at Canning Town to the Jubilee Line to Canary Wharf. For some of us on the plane this is a weekly trip or bi-weekly trip, go figure. For me it was a first to Canary Wharf, but probably the tenth time to LCY. It was a nice day, with an informative meeting in one of the large buildings out there.
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Parsnip Chips

Parsnips
Originally uploaded by ranjit

Next to Turnip Chips, there also appear to be Parsnip Chips. Parsnip is a root type vegetable that looks like a white carrot. Carrots and parsnip are actually closely related, though parsnip tastes quite stronger.

Parsnips were eaten like potatoes nowadays, before the potato was discovered as food.

Turnip Chips

Turnips
Originally uploaded by Captain Suresh

On Gatwick Airport I found a shop selling chips made from all kind of vegetables, including turnips. What are turnips I wondered...

They appear to be cultivated both as root and leaf vegetable. The picture shows the root vegetable. To be specific the italian red head type.

Top tip: the smaller the turnip, the sweeter the taste.

Golden Hinde

Golden Hinde
Originally uploaded by eelandco

A colleague and I visited the London office of DNV to work on a project with aviation safety specialists based over there. For some reason DNV London had a ship dry docked in their front yard.

It's an authentic replica of the galleon in which Sir Francis Drake sailed around the world in 1577 – 1580.

DNV and Maritime go back a long way, so it's not that strange after all.

Deep down below

Deep down below
Originally uploaded by Maya Newman

Yesterday I found myself in these tube tunnels somewhere between London Bridge and Gatwick Airport, humid, warm, like sardines in a tin can, ... way outside of any comfort zone.

Work in London