Letters From London

The Present Sound of London

A big city creates a unique din and racket as recognizable as its skyline. Presenting a day in the sounds of London, with GILES TURNBULL and his recording device. (Letters From London | July 8, 2009)

When the Going Was Good

British elites have been caught using public money to clean their moats, and a nation seethes. GILES TURNBULL offers a primer on Parliament and the latest controversy sweeping Great Britain. (Letters From London | May 14, 2009)

Attending the NME Awards With Pete Doherty and a Whole Bunch of Actual Musicians, Feeling Nostalgic

When you’re young and you love music, you can’t imagine losing touch with the new sound. And then it happens. JONATHAN BELL attends an award show with a much younger crowd. (Letters From London | March 3, 2009)

Dense Photography

Snapshots from a trip can seal a memory forever, yet boxes of vacation photos dilute what really happened. MATTHEW SUMMERS-SPARKS learns how to take a picture with a thousand meanings. (Letters From London | January 29, 2009)

Hours Away

Even five time zones removed, last week’s election returns carried an electricity felt by locals and expats alike. Absentee voter MATTHEW SUMMERS-SPARKS watches an ocean shrink to a pond. (Letters From London | November 14, 2008)

The Stratus Sphere

For a city that’s constantly grey, why is London so obsessed with the weather? Our man in Britannia JONATHAN BELL takes a look at the capital’s skies, which are more colorful than you might think. (Letters From London | October 3, 2007)

A Mystery of Violence

Terrorism fills the British papers this week, but over the winter a different sort of violence kept London on its toes. Our correspondent JONATHAN BELL reports on the personal impact of a season of murders. (Letters From London | May 2, 2007)

Live at the Isle of Wight

Home to past rock festivals, model villages, and other dinosaurs, this wedge in the English Channel makes for an inviting family vacation. JONATHAN BELL takes his brood island hopping. (Letters From London | November 8, 2006)

London Sprawling

The British capital is never empty, and only major television events can clear the streets. So why do movies and science fiction teem with vacant blocks? Does urbanism have room for emptiness anymore? JONATHAN BELL looks for answers. (Letters From London | June 6, 2006)

Days of Grind and Poses

The modern city anticipates our moods—start off jolly and you’ll find a dozen happy sights. Start the day day rotten, though, and everything’s squalid. JONATHAN BELL asks: How can you maintain sanity when the city changes as often as you do? (Letters From London | February 15, 2006)

Vexed in The City

London is constantly changing—surviving bombs, rebuilding flats—so what’s there to hold onto when even the subway map’s an abstraction? Our longtime Londoner may notice only what’s missing, but his son sees the city for the very first time. (Letters From London | November 29, 2005)

Big Brother Nation

The London bombers were identified by the city’s vast camera system, recording footage of them humping their deadly backpacks, so did Orwell get it wrong? Are these spies more helpful than sinister? Our man in the U.K. explains how the capital keeps tabs on its citizens. (Letters From London | August 23, 2005)

London Underground

Terror strikes twice in as many weeks. A major city is disrupted, and discomfort is widespread. Our London correspondent sends us three days’ dispatches about life on the tube. (Letters From London | July 28, 2005)

New Fidelities

Our perceptions age with the cities around us—old thoughts are razed, new theories go up, the subway seems less confusing. But what about that band we loved as teenagers? What happened to them? Jonathan Bell revisits Whitehouse 13 years later, now wearing earplugs. (Letters From London | March 11, 2004)

Friday, November 20, 2009

Archives