What is the purpose of street art? I found myself occupied by this question while sat on the train to Shoreditch (the unofficial capital of London street art culture) with Herself this Saturday. Over the last several years, I have photographed thousands of works of street art around the UK and abroad. I’ve stumbled across…
Category: London
West London under the Siberian Blast European Super-Freeze
London – I’ll tell you what. It’s been snowing quite heavily for a couple of days now, and I can’t get enough of this weather. As soon as I got to work, I was the first – and I’d say only ever – one out on the third floor terrace, pushing prints into the thick…
A visit back to Camden Town
I was of a mood to visit my old haunt of Camden Town yesterday morning and after a swift Italian coffee and a train across the city, I was once again reunited with this grubby (but infinitely curious and somewhat endearing) corner of North London. To argue that everything is just as I left it…
Good to be back in the old neighbourhood
Putting a pin through the past. The welcoming scene to greet me as I arrived at Camden Road Overground Station last night was that of a drunken old tramp relieving himself against a tree. It was good to be back in the old neighbourhood and to see that so little had changed since I finished working here almost six months ago….
The gift that keeps on giving
You know how it is, you’re in a second-hand bookshop on a Saturday afternoon, indifferently leafing through anything that comes to hand and, for whatever reason, you suddenly fix on something that catches you’re attention. I picked up a copy of Content Provider: Selected Short Prose Pieces 2011-2016(2016, Faber & Faber) by the comedian Stewart Lee and noticed…
The Greatest One Man Band in the World
It’s been a miserable few weeks of rain and wind in London this last month, but herself and I have no plans to let any of that get in the way of us enjoying the city. On Sunday we went to Brick Lane in the East End and in addition to taking a stack of photos…
Ask David Attenborough a question
I was only going to post once today (a satirical notion I’ve had kicking around my head for a while), however, I just remembered that I will be attending a presentation on the highly successful BBC nature documentary series Planet Earth II tomorrow and Sir David Attenborough is set to appear as a special guest and speaker. As far as I know, there…
The Plan
I happened upon this sign in my office kitchen this afternoon. I did a bit of snooping online and found that some have referred to this document as the Genesis of Shit. I thought it was mildly amusing so took a photo. Enjoy: You can now follow my adventures on Instagram here.
Art reflecting life
I caught this impressive new mural by the 40HK CREW in Stucley Place late on Monday afternoon. As always, I immediately took a photo of the piece, however, the angle of the sun at that time of day resulted in a flare on my lens which I think somewhat marred the picture. Not one to…
Should we stay or should we go?
Since I now have somewhat of a healthy number of followers, I’m interested to find out what you all think about the referendum in the UK. Voting will take place tomorrow and while I know which way I’m going, I am always open to what others might have to say. So, I’ll put it to…
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
When I first started photographing the street art around London two years ago, I had no idea that I would amass such a huge collection of pictures and artifacts – If I was one for overblown hyperbole, I’d almost describe it as pantagruelian (but I’m not, so I won’t). I have nearly used three quarters…
Best of London Pavement Signs
John Cleese once said that his Three Laws of Comedy were 1. No puns, 2. No puns, and 3. No puns. This nugget of wisdom, however, has not been adopted by the shop owners of the Greater London area. Their signs almost invariably contain a pun in some form or other and I don’t see…
I am Ayman and I am a refugee from Syria
Ayman Hirh was a successful marble and granite trader in the Jobar district of Syria’s capital, Damascus, before the escalating political situation in his country drove him and his family into exile. Because of his involvement as an activist in the 2011 uprising and President Al-Assad’s subsequent crackdown on any and all dissent, Ayman was…
Freedom for expression
While on my way to lunch this afternoon, I happened upon this striking mural on Castlehaven Road, Camden. The piece, by London based artist Dale Grimshaw, was created to raise awareness toward the occupation of West Papua by the Indonesian military. Indonesia’s occupation of West Papua has been described by various human rights bodies as…
Some Big Tunes For a Big Monday
I have been posting quite a bit of music lately, and so, I ask myself, why stop now? We went to see the Moderately Optimistic Jazz Orchestra (MOJO) at the Vortex Club in Dalston Kingsland yesterday. We had a few drinks and met with some good friends, it was an excellent way to spend a…