Ah, London!

What's better than London, asked nobody.

London at Christmas!

When Southbank fills up with tourists from all over the world, street food vendors fall over themselves to hawk barely disguised e-coli in a lightly toasted pitta, and the icy chill blowing off the Thames is matched only by the cool, steely nerve of the pick-pockets making the most of the opportunity to lift wallets and small consumer electronics from the clueless cattle-class slowly meandering their way through the crowd like farm animals towards financial slaughter.

In among the chaos and thievery that makes one glad to be back on the underground and away from all that malarkey was a colourful carousel. A reminder from another time when children would see the fairground ride from afar and tug excitedly at their mother's sleeve, pleading with her to let them have a ride.

I'm sure the opposite is true in the modern times we live - it'll be the mother pleading with the children to "put that bloody iPhone down and go have some fun!"

"Meh, whatever, mum!"

Anyway, yours truly did not have a ride as yours truly is well into middle age now and didn't want to put his back out. Plus, yours truly may or may not have had a belly full of sick after buying barely disguised e-coli in a lightly toasted pitta from a street food vendor and didn't want to chunder all over the toddlers.

But it did make for one of the more interesting photographs of the day. Taken on my Fuji X100VI hipster-light-box at 1/3 second, f5.6 and ISO 125, and secured with both a Black Rapid* cross-body strap and Peak Design* wrist strap should one of those pesky opportunistic thieves in the crowd attempt to relieve me of my small consumer electronics!

Now, where did I put my wallet?

* Not sponsored, straps from other brands are available.