today

today, i went somewhere i've never been before : the victoria miro gallery. it's really close to where i used to live.

this is the walthamstow tapestry by grayson perry. obviously it is very commanding and hugely detailed, but his other works (drawings, pottery) are equally captivating.

saturday, again

a sunny day in old london town. i spent it at work. this is the view south on pitfield street as i was walking home again.

the market was packed today, full of over-dressed hipsters and mums with prams. looked like a lot of fun though! some interesting stuff happened to me though. kat came in with an apple for me which made my day it was very tasty and much appreciated. also this australian woman has been coming in every saturday and she was so familiar to me but i couldn't place her. so i served her today and asked where she was from and how i couldn't place her. we whittled it down (she's from perth, she's a muso, she used to teach...) and it turns out she's gen wilkins, my very first and absolute favourite drum teacher and band leader from year seven! we were so busy that we didn't get to talk but, mum, dad and ellie will remember how much i loved her and what a great teacher she was. working in the cafe is pretty good.

creep

this is my pool.

if it wasn't so creepy for me to take a photo inside i would. it's really nice.

there's this really amazing adventure playground down the road from it too. again, kind of creepy, especially on a sunday morning when it's full of kids. but it's a real adventure playground made out of wood. it's got everything except... ah, visual puns.

carry on

soph and i went back in time last night. this is the blitz party and this is the only half decent photo that i took. i hate my stupid flash.

i was also told off by an history buff who looked like james mcavoy in atonement for wearing a german military jacket but being styled french. in my own defense when i bought said jacket i was told that it was french. there was a lot of winking, pipe smoking, snuff snorting, swing dancing, red lipstick and saluting and a great band that performed a very rousing milord. good fun but i was simply too tired.

 

snow day(s)

monday, out my window (i didn't end up going swimming, i found out today that the pool was closed anyway).

that's a lot of snow.

my new white patent leather converse, yet to be worn, though i thought kind of fitting (and the only semi-practical snow bound shoes i have.)

this was about 9am and hoxton square was already full of snow-fighters.

less pretty on hackney road on my way to work. (called in early because one girl didn't turn up. it was mental. nobody went to work so everybody came into the cafe. we were not prepared, nor were we impressed by everyone having such marvelous old-timey fun in london fields. many hot chocolates to be had.)

this is soph's house. i went and stayed the night because nights like this really should be shared.

and in the morning, on my way to work again.

a very rugged-up sophie. we had a mini-frolic in the park. the snow was so deep and fluffy it was great!

frozen canal.

the ducks, like the rest of london, were at a loss as to what to do.

these are quite amusing, the one with tea-bags for eyes especially. 

bits and bobs

a very social week...

on my way to soph's for dinner on tuesday

hippy nic is in town with his girlfriend, anna, who is/was a vivien's girl and is doing quite well for herself. met up with nic on wednesday and wandered around looking for food and ended up on the vegan bus in a carpark near brick lane. really, really good food.

i am my father's daughter. (thanks dad!)

victoria park again on friday. they don't call it Picturesque for nothing, i must have taken this same photo 20 times every time i'm in the park.  a very cold and grey day.

young sophie in my living room on friday night. we devoured a very posh cheese platter and a bottle of wine before brooke even arrived. and then dinner,  out to yang's briefly and potentially out on the town, though it was too cold and way too hard!

hood

a building in the process of being demolished. it's around the corner from my flat and across the road from the post box.

walking down pitfield street towards old street there are a lot of off licenses and fried chicken places, and this, an independent art-book store that has many many wonderful hand-made stamps.

and back to rivington place to pay a proper visit. they have an exhibition of photographs by a south african by the name of santu mofokeng. beautiful black and white documents of southern africa and auschwitz that are surprisingly apolitical.  they also have a young man working there that has, at first glance, the same spectacles as me. i of course mentioned this and we then discovered that in fact they were quite different - his weren't made of plastic and also had wire ear-hooks. so much cooler than mine. he mentioned that the ear-hooks were essential for dancing; i guess his glasses used to fall off a lot, he didn't seem like much of a head-banger.

inside. the deal with this place is that it is mostly funded from charity, like the lottery commission, and barclay's bank. it cost eight million pounds apparently. i mention this because while it's quite nicely finished from a design point of view, the material finishes don't feel very expensive (for want of a better term). i myself don't mind this so much, and i think it will age beautifully.

this is the junction of pitfield and old streets. i encountered this as i was on my way home (via brick lane and various other places) and i thought to myself 'how urban and grimy' in an only semi-serious manner. you must admit, it is quite a departure from young perth. 

hanoi to brooklyn

i was supposed to cook for ellie and kat this evening, a kind of thanks for letting me stay so long / check out my new place thing but when i finished work the last thing i wanted to do was cook. so, we went out for more vietnamese! this is 'cay tre' on old street, very legit in the sense that they didn't seem to use any msg.

we moved on to 'the diner' for dessert. this is ellie and kat trying to vegan the very americano menu. i think they would end up with a table full of side orders.

my hipster-friendly local american apparel. 

i had banoffee pie. it's weird. ellie decided that it tastes like banana choc-chip muesli bars.

ps : soph, i know! i'm totally taking over your life. sorry about that!!

a room of one's own

at last, a place to live.

a parting gift from the previous inhabitant, papers and all.

the view from my window out to the stairs that lead to the communal garden.

what a mess. more info later, i have to find some coat hangers.

note : again with the quality, it's the ISO, i always forget the ISO.

ps : the hint from the 'rose bakery' post is that as kitchen simply isn't a kitchen without a delightful cookbook to get you started. in other words, i knew i had this place and that justified buying the cookbook.

it's a big wad of cash

had to pay my deposit and first month's rent in cash. this is what 1100 pounds in twenties looks like. pretty.