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London, summer 2015

Our biggest London year: the Tower, Kew Gardens, Hampton Court, the first Formula E ePrix, Notting Hill Carnival and a summer we didn't stop going out.

2015 was our first big London year, and the camera barely got a day off. Between May and September we worked through the palaces, the gardens, the West End and one very wet carnival, and we didn't turn down a single invitation. Here's the whole summer, by chapter.

The Tower and Tower Bridge, July 2015

The twin Gothic towers and pale blue walkways of Tower Bridge under a summer sky, a Union Jack flying between them — Tower Bridge in July sunshine, flags up, doing its best postcard impression.

A Queen's Guard soldier in red tunic and bearskin standing at his sentry box against the brick wall at the Tower of London, red geraniums to one side — On sentry at the Tower of London. We watched for a blink. Nothing. The geraniums moved more than he did.

Selfie of Inga and Dileep in sunglasses in front of the walls and White Tower of the Tower of London — Windblown outside the Tower of London. A thousand years of history behind us, sunblock on.

Kew Gardens, July 2015

The red brick Dutch-gabled front of Kew Palace with white sash windows and a lawn in front — Kew Palace, the small red brick royal residence hiding inside the gardens.

Inga standing in a Georgian drawing room in Kew Palace with powder blue walls, a card table and gilt framed portraits — Trying the Georgian drawing room on for size. The blue walls got a firm yes.

Dileep grinning in a white powdered Georgian wig in a dim room at Kew Palace — The dressing-up basket claimed a volunteer. His Lordship regrets nothing.

Beds of tall columnar cacti and prickly pears inside the Princess of Wales Conservatory at Kew Gardens — A desert filed neatly under glass in the Princess of Wales Conservatory.

A pond of giant round waterlily pads with upturned rims inside a glasshouse at Kew Gardens, visitors watching from the walkway — The giant waterlilies, like a fleet of pie dishes at anchor. Everyone quietly wonders if one would take their weight.

Inga in a denim jacket photographing the giant waterlily pond at Kew with a long Canon lens — Inga and the long lens, hunting waterlilies. This blog doesn't photograph itself.

Inga on a white spiral staircase winding up between palm fronds inside the Palm House at Kew Gardens — Up the white spiral stair into the palm canopy, where the air is pure greenhouse.

A carved terracotta urn on a stone plinth at Kew Gardens planted with red geraniums, purple lobelia and a young fan palm, a brick building blurred behind — Outside the glasshouses, the planting is just as deliberate: red geraniums, purple lobelia and a small fan palm sharing one carved urn.

Hampton Court Palace, August 2015

This one was a return visit. We'd walked the gardens on a cold October weekend in 2011, which you'll find in London, 2011 to 2014. In August we came back and did the inside properly.

Inga beside the golden wine fountain in the Tudor brick Base Court of Hampton Court Palace, costumed figures nearby — The wine fountain in Base Court, inscribed with an invitation to make good cheer. A palace that opens with a wine fountain has its priorities straight.

Costumed Tudor courtiers walking through a cobbled courtyard at Hampton Court Palace led by a fiddler — Court in session: costumed Tudors sweeping through the courtyard with a fiddler in tow. You just fall in behind.

A gilded ceiling at Hampton Court Palace, deep gold coffers studded with painted heraldic bosses — One of the gilded ceilings. Necks ache; worth it.

A vast historic tapestry hanging floor to ceiling in a state room at Hampton Court Palace — Tapestries by the acre. Each one took a workshop years; we gave each about ninety seconds and still ran out of day.

A painted royal coat of arms at Hampton Court Palace with angels above a scroll reading Dieu et mon droit — Dieu et mon droit, in full colour with a supporting cast of angels.

Inga sitting on the lawn in front of the baroque east front of Hampton Court Palace, pink flower beds and clipped topiary behind — The baroque side of the palace, with flower beds in full August form.

Inga and Dileep together on the gravel walk in front of the long garden front of Hampton Court Palace — Both of us on the Broad Walk. Tudor in front, baroque behind, tourists everywhere: the full Hampton Court sandwich.

The sunken Pond Garden at Hampton Court Palace, tiered beds of white and red planting leading to a white garden building — The sunken Pond Garden, trimmed to the millimetre since the 1500s.

Inga and Dileep at the doorway of the glasshouse of the Great Vine at Hampton Court Palace — Paying respects to the Great Vine, planted in 1768 and still filling its own greenhouse.

Inga sitting in a golden carriage prop in front of the turreted Tudor west front of Hampton Court Palace — The golden carriage out front. When in a palace, travel accordingly.

Theatre nights, summer 2015

That same summer we worked through the West End at a rate of roughly a show a fortnight, and when we ran out of theatres we found a tent.

Selfie of Inga and Dileep under The Importance of Being Earnest marquee outside the theatre, crowds behind — July 2015: The Importance of Being Earnest. We were, briefly.

Collage from a War Horse theatre night in London: the poster, the horse puppet on stage, and a selfie of Inga and Dileep — War Horse in August. You forget the horse is a puppet inside about four minutes.

A performer on a spiegeltent stage sending a fountain of sparks from an angle grinder under blue and green stage lights — August 2015, a big-top cabaret on the South Bank. Somewhere between theatre and metalwork.

The lit facade of the Victoria Palace Theatre at night showing Billy Elliot The Musical — Billy Elliot lighting up the Victoria Palace on an August night.

Inga beside the Phantom of the Opera poster with its white mask outside the theatre at night — September, and the Phantom's mask gets a companion portrait before curtain up.

Notting Hill Carnival, August 2015

August bank holiday, we joined the crowds and rain ponchos at Notting Hill Carnival. The weather did its worst; the costumes won anyway.

A carnival dancer in a towering red feathered headdress and gold costume leading the parade past spectators in rain ponchos at Notting Hill Carnival — Red feathers versus grey drizzle: no contest.

A dancer in a jewelled pink and gold costume and teardrop headdress mid-step in the Notting Hill Carnival parade — Every costume a year of sequins, every dancer completely unbothered by the rain.

A dancer in a black top hat with red roses and a huge fan of red pheasant feathers smiling in the parade at Notting Hill Carnival — Top hat, roses, and a tail of pheasant feathers wider than the road.

A carnival troupe in silver and red tattered costumes posing around a giant black winged creature float on a wet Notting Hill street — A giant winged thing and its very committed handlers, mid-roar on the wet tarmac.

More from the 2015 archive

At the end of June 2015 Formula E brought its first London ePrix to Battersea Park, and through the rest of that summer and autumn the city kept handing us reasons to stay out.

A purple and red Virgin-liveried Formula E car at speed behind catch fencing lined with Formula E app banners — June 2015: electric single-seaters whispering past the catch fencing at the first London ePrix.

Inga and Dileep posing with race helmets on a fan podium in front of a Formula E and Visa branded wall — The fan-zone podium. We both claimed the top step and the stewards let it slide.

Dileep crouching and Inga standing beside a Formula E show car on a white display plinth inside the fan village tent — Close inspection of the show car. No, they wouldn't let us keep it.

Four men lifting trophies on a podium under a banner reading 2015 FIA Formula E Visa London ePrix — Trophies up under the London ePrix banner.

Alain Prost raising a trophy beside Richard Branson with his arms spread wide on the Formula E podium — Alain Prost with the silverware, Richard Branson conducting the applause. Decent supporting cast for a park in Battersea.

Three drivers in race suits spraying champagne on the podium in front of a Visa and FIA branded wall — Champagne physics: as mandatory in Battersea as anywhere else in motorsport.

Inga beside a poster for the National Theatre production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, with a bust of John Gielgud on a shelf nearby — July 2015 at the Gielgud Theatre, with the man himself in bronze approving our ticket choice.

A wooden board of sliced steaks with gravy boats, grilled vegetables and wine glasses on a dark restaurant table — September 2015: a steak board that required strategy, and got it.

View from high up across the Thames to the Shard, with HMS Belfast moored on the river below — London from above: the Shard across the water and HMS Belfast holding its spot on the Thames.

Inga and Dileep in the Covent Garden market hall beneath a huge cloud of white balloons filling the glass roof — Covent Garden in September 2015, when a cloud of white balloons filled the market roof and everyone forgot to look at the shops.

Plates of pastel macarons, a large pink macaron topped with fresh raspberries, and silver teapots on a wooden table at Laduree — Tea at Laduree: macarons arranged by diplomacy, eaten by force.

Inga and Dileep at The Lion King official souvenir stand inside a theatre foyer — Interval economics at The Lion King. We escaped with our wallets, mostly.

A dark auditorium lit red from above, the stage bare except for two chairs and a table, and a big screen showing a stylised portrait of comedian Jimmy Carr in a purple jacket — May 2015: a comedy night, red lights up, two chairs on an otherwise empty stage and the headliner watching us from the screen. Warm-up material only from here.

Nothing since has matched that run of months. If you want the years that led up to it, they're in London, 2011 to 2014; for the London we came back to a decade later, there's London, February 2026.