The London Scene
(1961)
Also known as: Wildlife in London
The London Scene is an intriguing guide to the wildlife of England’s concreted metropolis. Aubrey Buxton, director of Anglia Television tours the streets in his prize Bentley revealing the surprisingly diverse flora and fauna that flourishes in our pollution-rich capital.
Wild flowers and feral pigeons colonise city bomb sites, Arctic ducks and geese roam St James Park and at night a solitary fox stalks the streets of Hampstead Heath. Set to a contemporary score by John Dankworth, Survival founder Colin Willock said a modern style was adopted to demonstrate “natural history had shaken off the greenery-gallery dust.”
Highlighting the bizarre range of life found in our largest city, where even puffins can be found waiting at the entrance to the Savoy, The London Scene gained a considerable audience and paved the way for Anglia Television's long-running Survival series.
Aubrey Buxton
