THE SHARD

Okay, so when I moved into the London Bridge area the first thing I noticed was The Shard, an ambitious-looking but partially-completed construction project that appeared to be about 80% of the way towards becoming a decent-sized skyscraper. I have since learned that The Shard is going to be the tallest building in Europe when it's completed in 20Never and that the current structure is a little under half of its total height. I have also learned that it is the Construction Site that Never Sleeps. Brutal.

However, I am obsessed with this thing. It is gauchely large and so ridiculous and, well, LOOK AT IT:

All the pictures of what it will look like in the future are swathed in the kind of softly emanating, holy glow usually reserved for saint's heads or Barbara Walters specials. The 'vision statements' that are printed on the side of the construction site are also really amazing:


"City. Light. River. Glass. ... The Shard will be a small vertical city... rising into the air as a 306-metre glass spire..."

"The river of magnificence, used as a golden highway by princes and diplomats." - some guy named Peter Ackroyd

I'm presuming this last one's about the Thames but there's just a huge picture of the Shard with the quote, so...

I won't even get into how many shart jokes I make on a daily basis. (It's lots.) I have more fun with the Shard than with Cockfoster station or Tooting Broadway station. This is a good place.