Having lunch just now in the garden with a local cat who’s adopted us, a fox thought he’d come and join in. Bobby the cat was unimpressed.
This came through the door today.
Nice to know that our Council has its priorities straight – things that go bang in the sky and give you pleasure for about half-an-hour are more important than providing books and learning resources in the most under-privileged part of Leytonstone.
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With the sun finally out I set off walking West and got sidetracked by the Hackney Cut/ Lee Navigation.
Part of the Olympic legacy seems to be to get rid of every trace of graffiti they can reach. The walls are now being coated with a paint resistant chemical that looks like hardened slime.
I chatted to some engineers who said they are building a tunnel under the Cut for a new tube line running into Pudding Mill Lane. I think he meant Cross Rail.
The swan at the entrance to the Hertford Union canal makes me think of Andrew Kötting riding his swan-shaped pedalo as he arrived at the end of the journey he’d made with Iain Sinclair from Hastings in the film Swandown.
It’s difficult to tell if this is part of the new ‘sanctioned’ graffiti or not – but it looked nice reflected in the water.
During the Olympics the Fringe at Swan Wharf was a £90/day pop-up private members club – looked very quiet today.
Well it’s definitely Fish Island, the Riviera needs a bit of work. According to wikipedia it’s “home to one of Europe’s largest growing creative communities”.
At the Bow Flyover I looped back to the Wick and had a lovely pint of Citra Ale brewed on-site at the Crate Brewery. That was a bit more like a Riviera.
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Author Iain Sinclair talking to Stephen Smith about his new book, Edge of the Orison on BBC Newsnight 30th September 2005. The book retraces the footsteps of the poet John Clare on his epic walk from an asylum at High Beach in Epping Forest to his home village near Peterborough.
Fantastic clip of the Jesus and Mary Chain playing at North London Poly with backstage interviews and footage of the supposed riot at the end of the gig.
I lament the demise of the word Polytechnic – I went to City of London Poly – a brilliant institution. Bring ’em back!
West Library on Thornhill Square, Islington. One of the libraries built for the borough by Scottish-American Industrialist Andrew Carnegie. But what does this stone pattern mean?
Is it some sort of Masonic guff? A Cathar Labyrinth pointing the way to the Holy Grail. Or perhaps just a nice pattern.
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This bright chap(ess) swooped into my garden the other day, scattering the blue tits
and pigeons.
Around the size of a pigeon it seemed so exotic.
I rushed to grab a few pictures from the bathroom window before he/she flew away.
Turns out that it’s a Jay.
According the the RSPB website they’re difficult to catch a glimpse of, being “shy woodland birds, rarely moving far from cover”.
Must have come over from Epping Forest where we walked ourselves later that day.
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