She said yes to this proposal played out publicly on the Shoreditch Art Wall.
I adore stuff like this, it reminds me of Andre’s Parisian love graffiti.
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east london
Yesterday, on a sunny Saturday afternoon, Jo and I had brunch at the Market Cafe on Broadway Market. The weekly market was in full swing, and we had a great view of people merrily making their way up from the canal. While sipping on grapefruit mimosas, we started playing a game of bingo… So I decided to whip up a little card for next time.
If you get BINGO, treat yourself to a taco from Off Broadway, and a high-five from a drunk at the Cat & Mutton. Look, you even get a free square to start!
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Photos from last night: wandering on a Monday evening to buy a saucepan from Bangla Town (an awesome cash-n-carry on Brick Lane), and to eat some sweets. I don’t know the name, but my favourite is a dense squiggle of fried dough, soaked in a sugary syrup. Oh, and guess who finally upgraded from a Nokia brick?
A familiar face – Tame Iti. (See my photo of a similar stencil in 2008!)
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The last week in three words was busy, nerdy and cold. It even snowed again on Thursday evening. So I haven’t left the house too much, except to cycle to work. Here are some photos from the times I did venture outside the house:
A) A fox on Brick Lane. Thom sees lots of foxes wandering the streets late at night on his way home from work, but I have to make do…
B) Shoreditch Grind. We go here a lot for coffee every weekend. The interior is very raw – I love the factory look.
C) Arnold Circus, with a smattering of snow still on the pavilion’s roof.
B) Savoy cabbage braised with garlic butter is delicious! My new role involves a lot of writing for two food brands (perfect, right?) so I am learning a lot about new-to-me vegetables and techniques.
D) Virgina – a school’s ironwork gate in the middle of Shoreditch.
E) Yinka Shonibare’s HMS Victory at Trafalgar Square. If you look closely you’ll see the sails are made of African patterned textiles!
F) Lovely typography at Milkbar in Soho.
G) The Alexandra Trust Dining Rooms. A beautiful building near my house… I wonder what it is used for now?
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While we’re waiting to move into our new flat, Thom and I have a sublet in Hackney. (Or Crackney, as I’d heard it called before I came to the UK, but I have only seen evidence of that once – late at night outside the Buddhist Centre.)
It’s not the most glamorous of areas, but what it’s got is pretty beaut. Lots of little cafes, pubs, galleries, and places to grab a classic East London fry-up. While there is a tiny glimpse of sun in the winter gloom, I love to be outdoors. My favourite places to walk include the Hackney City Farm, and the canal.
Y’know, it was the usual Saturday. Get up, make breakfast, visit a farm. Babes, pigs in the city. I love the cycle-take of a steer skull at the ranch. Next, meet the chubbiest squirrel in all of London. He was all puffed up, the size of a small cat!
Not far from the farm, Regents Canal winds through south Hackney. It’ so peaceful there, you forget you’re in the middle of a city. Until you hit Broadway Market, and the flotilla of canal boats. Lots of them have been converted into sweet little floating shops – a vintage store , a café, a bookshop. Lovely.
Right, off to go deal with Christmas madness. Only a week to go!
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Some bonus photos from November. Things I learned: East London can be a vampire. Brussels is naught as boring as people say. But you need to wrap up warm. November felt like a really busy, stressful month, but compared to December so far, it was a doddle.
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East London, walking to the DLR train in the morning. Every day it’s getting darker and colder. To beat the gloom I’ve planned my first mini jaunt to the continent. Two nights in Brussels, in a couple of weeks. I’m looking forward to the famous chocolate and beer!
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On Saturday Liss, Thom & I headed to Stoke Newington to check out the weekly car-boot sale at the Princess May. It was my first time in Dalston and I loved it! We picked up some breakfast at the street market – hot naan bread wrapped in newspaper, priced at 2 for a pound, then coffee at a Turkish cafe. Then it was off to the school yard to do some serious fossicking.
We came home with some good booty – a 35mm camera of Russian origin for £10 , a Patricia Highsmith book for £1, that bold red bird-printed dress for £5, and a set of mint-condition fondue forks for £5. The forks were a most fortuitous find because next week I’m holding a little fondue get-together to celebrate my birthday.
Perfect!
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London – September/October 2011. Roll number 3 with the Diana Mini captured the last of the summer light. I love shooting film, but I’m not sure how committed I am to the Diana Mini. It might be time to pull out the Canon AE-1, and get a sturdier satchel (I have my eye on a Cambridge batchel) to carry all my crapola round with me.
A majestic building in Bloomsbury.
An alternate view of Marble Arch. (I always get the sublime Jeff Buckley in my head when I hear those words.)
A flat white at Flat White, Soho. Good coffee is hard to come by in this city (country?). All the best places are run by Aussies & Kiwis, which is not that surprising.
A day trip to Oxford feat. The Queen.
I adore Hyde Park’s deck chairs in the summer… But goodbye to all of that for now!
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