SMITHFIELD NOCTURNE CYCLE RACE, CITY OF LONDON

SMITHFIELD IN THE CITY OF LONDON, FOR THE SMITHFIELD NOCTURNE

This is an annual cycle racing event which starts at about 4.30 on a Saturday, and ends after it is dark.

I go most years and I went along last Saturday, 11 June.

Above are photos of two oil paintings I have completed last year, inspired by the men team races.
This year the penny farthing race was very exciting, they go amazingly fast. Some of my photos are on my Flickr page and they are blurred!

At Smithfield, where the old meat market is still located, there are lots of pubs and bars, cafes and restaurants, which are all buzzing during the Nocturne.  One of them, The Hope, is where we had a brief rest and a half of Young's bitter, and I did this sketch of the very effcient bar girl.  Also I did a couple of pencil sketches of the racing, but this of course was very difficult because of the speed.