I took my first shot of Piccadilly Circus before this one. Again I had to make it fast; the bus was moving and the opportunity was measured in seconds so the alignment was less than perfect.

We are looking straight toward the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain and the statue of Anteros (not Eros) which was described in the previous shot. Beyond is Shaftesbury Avenue.

The building that we can see on the left was originally the London Pavilion Theatre, constructed in 1885. In 1986, it was gutted and converted into a shopping arcade and since then it has been home to a series of bizarre exhibitions such as a Madame Tussauds display, Ripley's Believe It or Not, and now, as we can see from the garish sign that is in no way sympathetic to the building architecture, it is home to an exhibition called "Body Worlds". At first I thought that this was simply a tacky gym chain that had no sense of culture or taste, but in fact it is an exhibition of over 200 real human bodies and organ specimens preserved through plastination. That's a process where the fats and liquids are replaced by plastics. I shall leave reading up on the potential provenance of those bodies - and the question of whether the former owners actually consented to them being used by the Body Worlds promoters to make a buck - as an exercise for the viewer. But here's a thought; in 2019 one would think it would be possible to get a better understanding of human anatomy via 3D virtual technology that it would be to see the plasticised remains of one poor sod's spleen. Maybe that's just me.

On the right we can see Lillywhites, a 5 story sporting goods store which was apparently founded by a cricketing family. (Yes, once upon a time cricketers actually wore white clothing. Lilly white clothing, even.) The only issue is that the company is run by Sports Direct International, which has been accused of running sweatshops. Next door is the Criterion theatre, marking the beginning of the West End theatre district which runs down Shaftesbury Avenue. It's a pity that we didn't have time to explore this area in more detail, and even more of a pity that we had no opportunity to take in a show down here.