Clapton planes
Planes across the London sky.
The best thing about the sky in London.
Up in the sky above London there are planes, always.
For 72 hours after the twin towers came down there were no planes in the sky over London. That was the most frightening thing about 9/11. The silent skies.
A plane comes from top right of the window pane and travels diagonally across the underside of the glass into the crest of the poplar tree before falling into the dark blue rim of the industrial unit opposite.
A plane emerges from the centre of the window pane to my far right. It moves towards the tip of the crane which is upright at an angle of 85 degrees. Fifteen geese in V formation rise up from the straight edge of the industrial unit roof opposite and bisect the plane just before it cuts into the roof edge some 10 cms to the left. The geese formation flies at an obtuse diagonal angle over the crane to my extreme right and into the vertical edge of the window pane.
A plane travels horizontally in the centre of the upper window, parallel to the horizontal bar of the window pane. It moves slowly. A pigeon flies beneath it, faster. The 393 bus has stopped below. The soft suction signals its doors opening. The plane is still in view. Its angle has tilted downwards. It passes between the wires of the pylon on the left. Another plane whines to my right and another is visible between the two new blocks of flats to my far right. This one is at a slight upward tilt and passes into the left hand building to re-emerge now from the top edge of the sloping roofs of the housing development.