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27 February 2012

Today's news – the bloody Oscars

Here we are in a recession/depression and millions of people on the bread line, yet a disgusting amount of money is thrown at an event (and other similar events) to give awards to people who spend their lives pretending to be other people.
Actors. Hardly saving lives and planets are they?
Ooh darling... I am an actor you know.
Really? Like I give a...
And before anyone starts ranting back at me... I like films. I love films. I just don't see why all this lavish patting on the back is necessary. There may be awards ceremonies for bakers, nurses, charity workers, bomb disposal men etc. But these events are not on the news.
Go figure. Gold figure.
Clockwise from top left: Bank of England, Cockspur Street, Grays Inn Road, Haymarket, Victoria Palace, Oxford Street.

21 February 2012

Tuesday day is Pancake Day – let's dance our cares away

So went the song we used to sing at school...
"...first you [something] your pancakes
then you toss your pancakes
Tuesday day is Pancake Day
Let's dance our cares away
Hop-sa Leisela
Hop-sa Marion
Dance our cares away
And a second verse finished with 'Dance-a Leisela, Danse-a Marion..."
But I can't find any reference of it anywhere.
To make basic pancakes you'll need eggs, flour and milk:
Top row: Stroud Green, Warren Street, New Cross, Stoke Newington
Middle row: Hampstead, Spitalfields, W1, Brixton
Bottom row: Brick Lane, Amwell St, De Beauvoir, Bloomsbury

16 February 2012

Crouch End – Imagined and Observed

That's the name of a photographic exhibition now on at the Original Gallery within Hornsey Library. It brings together a group of local photographers who have taken on the wide-ranging theme of "Crouch End". My friend's photo has been used on the promotional material and features his oft-used big blue sky style.
The free exhibition on until 26th February. It's well worth a look.
Last year I put together a collection of my own Crouch End observations, so below are some more taken with my phone camera one afternoon last October:

13 February 2012

The Pink Pound

No, I am not referring to our gay friends or a rose-coloured pig enclosure... I am talking about this.
Almost every other shop window is festooned with pink and red things which are supposed to entice you in to buy some sexy underwear or chocolate cake.
No thanks. I will be spending tomorrow evening taxing my brain with friends at a pub quiz at the lovely Shaftesbury Tavern in Hornsey Rise.
If you haven't been there before, do look in; it's recently changed hands and looks really good. The original curved bar has wood and glass fittings and there's a great room at the back complete with open fire and some great framed photos on the wall showing how the area looked in its Edwardian heyday.
Below are some pink things in London.

10 February 2012

Grayson Perry: The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman

I finally got to see this earlier this week.
The exhibition is a mix of Grayson's own work married with items he has chosen from the British Museum's vast collection.
What can I say? Wonderful, interesting, inspiring, thought-provoking, beautiful etc etc...
No photos allowed inside the exhibition, but the bike he travelled through German is outside, complete with an Alan Measles stunt double. If you can't get get a ticket before it finishes on February 19th then the bike is well worth the climb up the stairs. It's a great example of craftsmanship in itself; covered in wonderful details, and words including Patience, Doubt and Chastity.
Sublime.
Love the man.
Here's some of his older work.

6 February 2012

Gun salutes to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee

Today is Accession Day and marks 60 years since Liz succeeded the throne after her father, George VI, died in 1952.
The main celebrations will take place in June but today there will be lots of noise at noon... there will be a 41 gun salute in Hyde Park followed by a 62 gun salute at the Tower of London... 
Blimey! That's a lot of noise.
She's 85 you know. Eighty-five!
Here are some gun- and cannon-related things in London.
(I will save my diamond collection for June)

2 February 2012

Merhaba, I've been in Turkey...

And I had a lovely time; I always do.
Snow-covered roads, water parks, mountain views and gorgeous textures.
Coincidentally, here in Holloway, a lot of my local shops are turkish. But the weather's not the same.
A thought just occured... why is the large bird eaten at Thanksgiving so called?
I don't have any London pics with turkeys in them so here are some chickens and cocks: