London - Portrait Gallery - February 1970

 Unusual coloured London Taxi and a good old London Bus near Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament in 1970.

Below today from Google and there are a few changes... firstly the new building on the left... I caught the Underground from the new Westminster Station back in 2006, it's the most modern and fun Station on the whole Underground I reckon. 

Secondly... as with many of our old photos taken in London in the late 1960's... the introduction of Smokeless Fuel and a bit of a steam clean on a lot of the wonderful old buildings makes them look like new.  Makes for a much cleaner, smog free London.  I only remember being in Smog once, it stank and was quite scary, it's good to be rid of it.

And Thirdly... the protesters signs below from Google say...  'Face of the Enemy of Kabul'

 Westminster Abbey.

 Pennie on the Gypsy Moth, see below from Wiki, I remember Francis Chichester arriving into Sydney Harbour in November 1967, there was a lot of press following his trip.    
That's the Cutty Sark in the background of our photo.

(After being nursed back to health from a suspected lung abscess by his wife, Francis Chichester became inspired while writing his book Along the Clipper Way, which charts the voyage taken by 19th century wool clippers returning from Australia. The clippers took an average of 123 days to make their passage, so Chichester set himself the target of making the passage in 100 days.)

 An old postcard of the Tallest Building in London at 177 metres tall, the Post Office Tower now known as the BT Tower.   That was in 1970, now from Wiki I read...

(Shard London Bridge (previously known as London Bridge Tower, and also known as the Shard of Glass, 32 London Bridge, and The Shard) is a skyscraper under construction in  London. When completed in 2012, it will be the tallest building in the European Union and the 45th-tallest building in the world, standing 310 m (1,017 ft) tall. It will also be the second tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, after the 330 m (1,083 ft) Emley Moor transmitting station.)

 

Soho!

 This was our favourite Restaurant in Soho, good cheap Italian... and it's still there today according to Google, looking a little classier :-)

 Greek Street, Soho on the right and below today.

A visit to the National Portrait Gallery.

 One of my favourites -  Ramsay Richard Reinagle 'John Constable'  c.1799 oil on canvas  National Portrait Gallery, London.

 Here are some of the crowds flocking to see Pietro Annigoni, “Queen Elizabth II”, painted in 1956 but not shown till 1970.