Men at Work #34

Team work.

Men at Work #33

Adam Hart-Davis photographer, writer, broadcaster, a man passionate about his subjects. One of those subjects is James Watt. Yesterday Adam shared his passion at the opening of the "James Watt and Our World" exhibition at the Science Museum.
Watt through his invention of the condenser (amongst many things), was a huge driving force in the industrial revolution which changed our world forever.
Tomorrow I will show you more about James Watt and this exciting exhibition.

Men at Work #32

Fixing the gate on a house boat. What a super helmet.

Men at Work #31

Painting the yellow lines on the road. Actually its not so much painting as moulding a resin to the road. Very hot and noisy work.

Men at Work #30

The dressing room of a Covent Garden performer.
The history of street performers in Covent Garden goes back to the 1600's. It is now one of the most prized spots in the world to perform. To get a spot on this patch you must pass an audition, pay a heft licence fee and be good at pulling the crowds in. Your time slot is generally only 40 minutes.

Men at Work #29

Catch.

Men at Work # 28

Possibly the oldest meat market in the world. For nearly a thousand years this was London's livestock market. Now Smithfiled's still processes meat but it arrives as carcasses rather than a live animal.

Men at Work # 27

Directing from above.

Men at Work # 26

After the parade.

Men at Work #25

Davidstar Royal King wants to spend his time educating kids about the dangers of guns and knifes.
Formerly David Fergus a promising light-middleweight boxer with ambitions to become professional. In 1994 a group of youths looking for a fight confronted him as he left a disco. He didn't see the one who crept up behind him and shot him in the head with a sawn-off shotgun.

David spent months in hospital followed by several years learning to walk and talk again. Now he wants to talk to kids and show them the other side of gang violence.

Men at Work # 24

Major works are taking place at BlackFriars underground station. When completed in 2011 the station will be accessible from both sides of the Thames, with a walk way under the Thames.

Much of the building materials, including huge steel girders, arrive via the river on equally huge barge. The barges need to be anchored into place for unloading and this needs two anchors per barge. One anchor in the river and one on the riverbank when the tide allows. As you can see when an anchor is on the riverbank it makes an excellent seat for a quick phone call.

Men at Work # 23 - The Clock Repairers

The Foundling Museum has an incredible collection of old clocks, some dating back to the 1700's. Clocks like these require the skills of some pretty special people to maintain and repair them. These experts are from West Dean with decades of experience between them.

The clock being taken apart here is an 1850's mahogany table clock with a silver dial signed by J R Losada of Regent St. (Clocks of this era would usually have the name of the retailer on them).
It needed a fine tune to ensure its strike was regular and perfect. Dust and heat can cause problems. However this one should be fine for several more years after being put back together.

Men at Work #22

It's hard work selling ice-cream

Men at Work #20

A blacksmith in action!
Shrinking, bending, upsetting, punching, sounds like you are a tad upset with some-one doesn't it, but actually these are blacksmith's techniques.
A craft dating back to the iron age is alive and well in 21st century London.

Here you are seeing Will creating pieces that will feature in a Soho restaurant.

Not only does he create quality decorative ironwork, he also teaches you how to do it. Fancy your own hand forged coat hook? Will's your man.
Check him out at Will Barker Design.

Men at Work # 19 - Cool Britannia

Meet Phil. He and his collegues are a friendly bunch at 'Cool Britannia' souvenir store in Piccadilly. This is just one of the oh so British getups you'll find him in.
Can't wait to see his 60's look.
He'll help you take this look back to the folks at home. The hostee on the plane is bound to give you an upgrade. Then again you may just need a redbus money box to save up for your next trip back.

Men at Work #18

A radio presenter in 1997 describing rude reckless drivers of white transit vans, called them the White Van Man.
Although a recent report has dispelled the myth and actually found these men to be polite and respectful, the label has stuck.