Passing Time in James’s World

I was in Docklands a week or two ago and took a few photos of the sort of corporate world that James escapes from in my novel. Here’s Canary Wharf with a Waitrose he’d certainly approve of.

Canada Square
Canada Square

And here’s a photo I used in a pub quiz I set last night. It’s the symbol of Thatcherite regeneration — number one Canada Square or what everyone calls the Canary Wharf tower.

Canary Wharf Tower
Canary Wharf Towers

I travelled back from Canary Wharf to the London Eye by boat, which was surprisingly quick. I’ve just written something that mentions rabies and I was wondering if it’s such a big issue these days so I was pleased to see the sign below at the pier at Southwark which shows that it’s something that anyone arriving in this country will be aware of.

Rabies
Port of London Rabies Notice

The skyline of the City is going through a period of rapid change. When my novel starts the Heron Tower was still half built (it’s now the tallest building in the City) and the Shard was just a hole in the ground. It’s now (I think) the tallest structure in London — it definitely will be when completed. I’m going to have a reasonable period of time elapse between the sections I set in London and reference to the Shard and others might be quite a nice way of showing passed time.

The City from Canary Wharf Pier
The City from Canary Wharf Pier

The height of the Shard can be seen on this photo. I think the Heron Tower is the tall building on the right and the Gherkin is standing immediately in front of Tower 42, the old Nat West building.

2 Replies to “Passing Time in James’s World”

  1. Loving that you’re literally walking through your character’s world and with pictures. It’s heartening to actually see something that corroborates the truth in your writing. TGW

  2. Thanks for the comment TGW.

    There are quite a few other photos on the blog of the world the characters inhabit — if you scroll right down to the bottom of the home page there are few nice snowy ones but these will disappear when I post something new.

    This is a pretty one: http://www.macnovel.org.uk/?p=701

    I’ve also taken my research very seriously by posting some photos of the inside of IKEA.

    I’m hoping that setting will play an important role in the novel — Shoreditch to the Chilterns.

    I’m very much enjoying your blog and tweets. Will your novel be similarly epistolary?

    Good luck with the Lumie too.

    Mike

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