Brightest Brighton

I just realised all the pictures on my last post are really small, I'm not going to re-post them, I'll just add some brand spanking new one, move on swiftly and don't stop thinking about tomorrow!

I went to Brighton last weekend and it was AMAZING!! I know strictly speaking in doesn't necessarily fit in with the 'Down & Out in London' concept of this blog but to be fair Brighton is only an hour away on the train, so we can see it as 'the outskirts'

I seriously recommend going to Brighton for a weekend, there is so much going on, especially last weekend as it was fringe festival! It is meant to be the gay capital, maybe the meant gay as in happy when it was called that?! or maybe not!

I'm going to start with an inevitable classic Brighton Pier, there's not that much on the pier itself apart from arcades. Which admittedly were a distraction from the hangover on sunday morning! It's cool to walk all the way out to the end of the pier, especially if it's a nice day

I got so excited when I saw this! Come on, a cool looking bike, frames and Velazquez's Meninas all in one shot! EPIC!

There were loads of little market stalls all around the centre of Brighton selling all sorts of random stuff. This street in particular I'm sure held a lot of hidden gems and stories

I kind of got into a bit of trouble when taking this picture... It's all sorted now, I told the guy I'd e-mail him a copy, He did forget to give me his address however....

Flyers for all the different events happening that weekend... FUCK RECYCLING, LET'S PARTY!

'I want all you skinheads to get up on your feet
Put your braces together and your boots on your feet
And give me some of that old moonstomping'

I was going to stop here but this next bit is unmissable:

'Get ready, we got three million miles to reach the moon

So let's start getting happy now'

Makes me want to go back!!

I saw an article in the metro today talking about how the weather has been amazing this weekend and everyone has flocked to Brighton to pretend they are on holiday abroad somewhere!! This is like the before picture!!

Aaaah! I found it!! I am still wowed by the wonders of the internet:

AFTER

If you really really want to you can read the article here...

But you must be pretty bored!

Not much to say really

Sunday morning - miserable day + bright colours

Was so jealous of these girls!! What better way to enjoy the sun than on a Brighton Rooftop?!

So I thought I'd take a picture up their skirts to get them back!!

Not entirely sure about this picture, sometimes things just look better in real life, but I'm still learning!!

And to finish the post off nicely...

...These two witty little pictures!

Hahahaha!

Not that anyone will read this but if anyone know how to get rid of the annoying underlining from the intro PLEASE TELL ME!! I've not quite got the hang of blogspot, or it simply hasn't got the hang of me!!

Out & About round regent's canal

Regent's canal goes on for miles!! I just found out you can actually get all the way to London Zoo on Regent's Park via the canal (how amazing!) Although it would be a pretty long walk, but hey if the weather and time are on your side these is NOTHING to stop one!!

I took these pictures on a minute stretch of the canal, as neither the weather or time were on my side unfortunately, but still managed to see a quite a few pretty cool thing to take pictures of....

...And so it begins. I've heard of little Venice but don't really know that much about it. Is it actually like a small Venice or is it just not, at all??

I cropped this picture down because I really like all the different levels in one shot. This lock is close to Victoria Park. I find lock really fascinating, great fun to play on too!

Awww... I think this looks really sad. I mean, if you were a bike you couldn't really be in much worse shape... Although I guess the paintwork is in pretty good nick

Living on a barge would actually be awesome!! At least for a year, experience all the seasons then move back into a house! They are sooo good to photograph too!

*note to self - do a barge post

And this is EXACTLY what I'd have on my barge a hand painted watering can and kettle in the top to use as flower pots, genius!

JOKER!! I always wonder how people manage to get to such random places to do graffiti, bearing in mind this is a train line on a bridge above the canal

Isn't it awesome how you can be in a really grotty place in East London whilst being able to see the stunning and modern looking Canary Wharf in the background

Beasts of England

These pictures were taken during a walk along the Thames, where I went with the clear mission of photographing the London Eye so I could use it in on my blog title (see above!). I had never noticed how many animals there are EVERYWHERE, maybe if we were to keep an extra eye out we'd come across many other things around us that we are simply oblivious of.

Beasts of England, Beasts of Ireland,
Beasts of every land and clime,
Hearken to my joyful tidings
Of the Golden future time.

Soon or late the day is coming,
Tyrant Man shall be o'er thrown,
And the fruitful fields of England
Shall be trod by beasts alone.

Rings shall vanish from our noses,
And the harness from our back,
Bit and spur shall rust forever,
Cruel whips no more shall crack.

Riches more than mind can picture,
Wheat and barley, oats and hay,
Clover, beans and mangel-wurzels
Shall be ours upon that day.

Bright will shine the fields of England,
Purer shall its waters be,
Sweeter yet shall blow its breezes
On the day that sets us free.

For that day we all must labour,
Though we die before it break;
Cows and horses, geese and turkeys,
All must toil for freedom's sake.

Beasts of England, Beasts of Ireland,
Beasts of every land and clime,
Hearken well, and spread my tidings
Of the Golden future time

Glorified pigeon on a column

I really like how he seems to have just been plonked on a random ledge! this is near Trafalgar Sq. close to a Wetherspoon's pub if I remember correctly, which in the past has proved to be a cheap stop off place after hours of walking round.

This is the Hero of the hour! He is on the bottom of lamp posts along the river, on the North bank, pretty much opposite the London Eye. As IF i hadn't ever seen them before!

This is just a door handle to a shop or something but by this point I'd already got carried away and was seeing animals everywhere!!

Opposite the National Gallery

Can't remember... but I like the colours on this one

If you look closely you can see the dome on the top of the National Gallery reflected on the metal

...........

You might recognise this little fellow?!

And back to where we started, on the banks of the river (stood running bear... sorry couldn't help it! you know when you hear something and then a song just plays in your head??)

I'm aware that my blog is slowly yet surely becoming a bit of an Orwell fan site, especially with some of the ideas I have in mind. I'm not even a massive fan really it's all happening by accident so I'm just going to go with the flow, see what happens and all that!

Tomorrow, today will be yesterday

So, time is going fast, too fast and it is hard to keep up with what happens and when! You know when you are aware of doing something but are utterly unable to place who, when, what and where to the point of discarding it as a possible dream?

The pictures from this day I remember very well however, I headed to Sloane Square early in the morning (too early for my liking! ) and was delighted by the fact that it really doesn't take long to get there at all!

Despite having work later that evening I justified a quick trip to the Saatchi Gallery, of contemporary art. The main exhibition was 'The Empire Strikes back' with work by Indian modern artists which I had already seen a few months ago, and wasn't a massive fan of (apart from the camel in a suitcase, how could you NOT love that?!) When I'd been before, however, I was camera-less and there were a few pieces that even a few months after my initial visit still crept up in my mind. So, to summarise thing up nicely, I went to the Saatchi Gallery and took some pictures..... :

20:50 - A piece by London artist Richard Wilson that looks like a really clean, polished and immaculate room but is in actual fact filled with oil. The smooth surface of the oil gives an amazing feeling of calmness, I would recommend checking it out, definitely!!

I'm not going to copy out all the info about the piece so if you'd like some further info:

Click

This is my reflection in the oil - the whole place is an illusion of reflections

I have loads more pictures from the gallery and I had made a couple of montages, but being new to this whole 'blogger.com' I'm afraid to say I failed at making them work... So if one day in the future I manage to sort it out (or run out of new pictures) I will 100% upload them

I always walk about central London looking up rather than forward (which proves to be dangerous at times) but I do find the buildings fascinating, especially how they change depending where you are in London. And there's always the question 'who lives there?'

Won't you look at this little trooper?! Right out of a brick wall!

I'm allowed to take a massively touristy picture once in a while, I decided so, and this is it!

Post about the elections... before the trend's over

Quiiiiick!!

It's the election tomorrow, best blog about it today before the trend has passed and everyone loses interest in everything until 2014.... No, I don't class moaning about the 'system' as having a political discussion!

These photos are of a very quick 30minute journey to work so there aren't very many of them, these photos aren't a reflection of my views , they are just what I came across

First picture, nothing at all to do with the election!

It just made me wonder who had written that there, why and when

'Let me do it again' sounds a bit like 'Please Sir, can I have some more....?'

Don't know if it is very visible with the picture being so small but someone has written underneath (I quote) 'LIES'

These actually look like they have been well arranged on the floor for my to photograph, simply discarded

(feel free to swap the words well and simply with each other)

Considering I was on the look out for political propaganda these were quite possibly the funniest thing I could have come across!

I assume that at the time of being printed they didn't feel Clegg's face necessary... Nick who?

So, who is it you're voting for again?

Annual or every four years

The good thing about going to Oxford St. is the bus ride home!

I always seem to have a slight uneasy feeling whilst walking up the steps at the tube of Oxford Circus, quite likely caused by the anticipation of the sheer amount of people that I know I will be finding at the top! I find Oxford St. to be either reeeeally busy or not at all... We need to restore the balance, the consumerism balance.... hmmm, good luck!

My experience however was an enjoyable one, especially as I was on a mission, it gave me a reason to power my way through the crowds! I suggest when going to Oxford St. area to use the back streets on either side of the inferno, your walk will be far more peaceful and you might even discover a cool new shop or two!

As suggested on the title I treated myself to the hour journey it takes to get back to mine from Oxford St.

'It's hard not to sense some elements of Nineteen Eighty-Fout style dystopia becoming a hard fact'

The best place to sit on a but is undoubtably on the top floor and right at the front! Yes, I WILL still sit there even if it means I have to sit next to someone and there and the rest of the places are empty, I'm one of 'them'.

And this is why!! How cool to be able to look straight down a tube entrance from the 'above' and what about seeing into people's window on the second floor?

'I was too young to understand that Nineteen Eighty-Four was a novel rather than a prophecy'

The second self indulgent picture, best stop for a while now...!

I do like the reflection of the platform though, and the colours

Go East, Life is peaceful there
Go East, In the open air

Go East, Baby you and me
Go East, This is our destiny

(I believe some DIY Indian/Chinese food company thought of this before me, but hey, it works!)

I'm afraid that after the awesomely witty last little caption I am lost for words for this one...