miscellaneous – One Chance to See the World

Why you should visit this Korean house above a busy London road

Street art has made me more observant as a person. I have learned to keep my head up and look around. Even in the seemingly boring streets around the CBD, there is always an opportunity for discovery.

Wormwood Street is one of those streets. Above it a Korean house seemingly fell from the skies onto a concrete bridge, the work of Do Ho Suh, a Seoul- born installation artist.

Where to find it

Wormwood Street is within London’s CBD, the closest tube station being Liverpool Street. Moorgate, Bank and Aldgate surround it and are all within a 10 minute walk.

The art is easy to find once there, displayed directly above the main road and pavements beneath. I was lucky, stumbling upon it during my lockdown walks meaning a huge reduction in traffic. So much so in fact that I could actually walk down the road and right underneath it without disrupting traffic.

On victoria-miro.com, it states the following about the sculptor:

In exquisitely made works, Do Ho Suh explores contemporary arrangements of space and the unstable boundaries of its categorisation along lines of individuality and collectivity, physicality and immateriality, mobility and fixity. Influenced by his peripatetic existence – leaving his native South Korea to study and live in the United States, he has more recently moved between New York, Seoul and London – an enduring theme of the artist’s practice is the connection between the individual and the group across global cultures.

Like an oasis in the desert, the piece provides and escape out of highrise corporate London and into the streets of Korea. Not only does this stand out due to the architectural and cultural differences, it chooses to reside in an area almost inhabitable. Above a busy road, on a bridge, where the rent is probably unfathomable to most of us.

According to Londonist, this installation is part of Art Night and Sculpture in the City, something I have blogged about recently after making other small discoveries. I have another post on some nearby artwork for this project here.

I love this kind of thing, something so unexpected that stares you straight in the face after turning a corner. And a reminder to always keep your head up wherever you go, as every corner is an opportunity for a little escape from normality.

Thank you to Do Ho Suh for this one.

Credits:

Victoria-Miro- artist bio

Londonist

Due to the Coronavirus outbreak I am somewhat limited as to what I can do in London, but I aim to post as much as I can during this time. I promise to have some great posts coming your way once this is all over as I continue to explore London.

Stay home, stay safe and happy blogging!

Sam

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You don’t like gruesome pub names, huh?!

I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on my Normality is Temporary post published a couple days back… my featured photo showing a group of tourists outside of the Hung, Drawn and Quartered pub near the Tower of London. It seems a couple of you weren’t the biggest fans of the gruesome pub name.

Cough, cough Pat and Darnell 😉

And I don’t blame you, it’s pretty rough. However this was the only reason I took the above photo as the name just stood out. And it had me thinking of all the other funny pub names I have encountered so far, and the ones I am still yet to see for myself.

(Trigger warning for those not prepared for a little naughtiness)

My favorites so far after doing a little research (mainly courtesy of secretldn and Londonist):

Dirty Dicks

The Famous Cock

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese

The Hole in the Wall

Fanny on the Hill (apparently no longer open sadly…)

Filthy Fanny’s (This one is just a 15 minute walk from me!)

The Job Centre

John the Unicorn

Pratts and Payne

The Pyrotechnists Arms

The Defectors Weld

…

And I have to remind those in the States that fanny means something a little different here, but still makes for a very humourous pub name either side of the pond and elsewhere.

Which of these tickles your fancy?

I said ‘fancy’… 😉

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I took an even bigger walk today (lots more photos)

Today is my last day off work, and with that I wanted to make the most of it. I am only working four days and off for another four, but still. The 13 hour shifts take up the whole day and give me little to do other than have breakfast and grab a bite before bed.

So I headed to Victoria Park, a huge park east up the canal from my location. I started in the same area as I did in my previous canal post and began walking… It took me little over half an hour to get there. I took my winter coat in case of any rain, thankfully there wasn’t any.

Spotify playlist: Kerrang Rock Songs of the 00’s. I was feeling nostalgic.

And Ruled by Secrecy Matt, I thought you would like to know.

The walk is just as entertaining as the park itself, with plenty to see along the canal. And although I didn’t show you this last time, LOTS of graffiti. I like it though, it adds plenty of colour. You will see this throughout the post.

So this is where the taxi’s hibernate when they aren’t needed…

And this pub looks like it’s been closed since the last pandemic… just kidding, it could be lovely inside for all I know. I don’t want to be banned in case I ever try it out.

I made it to Victoria Park. Admittedly I didn’t know exactly how to get to it, but because of how big it is on the map I just knew I would end up close. I found this entrance with a dog statue, according to Look Up London these are replicas of 2nd Century Roman dog statues that can be found in the British Museum.

All benches were covered in tape with signs telling people not to use. These were accompanied by spray painted instructions on the ground to ‘Keep Left’ at a distance of 2 meters. I imagine Banksy was given the task of inspiring London to stick to the rules in this instance.

Now this park is huge. Not on the same scale as Hyde Park but more than enough to do one lap and get a good bit of exercise in. Here are some of my favourite shots from the walk, showing some of the parks highlights and due to the restrictions, closed off areas.

You see the hooped object just under the crane in the above shot? I didn’t know I walked that far, but this is the ArcelorMittal Orbit, a 114.5m tall sculpture in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford. As I am sure many Premier League fans are aware, London Stadium is now being used by West Ham United.

The group in the picture spent their time shouting at potential groups gathering and being too close to one another. I assume this, as I heard one use the megaphone below whilst walking in the direction of the Shard.

To give you a reference point, this is the map of London showing Victoria Park as well as London Stadium, The Shard and Canary Wharf.

One Canada Square in Canary Wharf is the second tallest building in the United Kingdom, with a distinctive pyramid roof. It can be seen (faintly) in the distance behind all the buildings in the below shot.

Police officers were present, some walking, some on bikes and some on horseback. I spotted an ambulance at one entrance too.

aaand the walk back home.

I hope you liked the shots!! Oh, and reading this post counts as your one session of daily exercise.

Just so you know 😉

Stay home, stay safe and happy blogging!

Sam

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An escape from the flat

Thank you all for the love you have shown me in my last post, I appreciate it. I have just responded to the comments there and I feel so lucky to have this amazing WP community to engage with every single day. It is a blessing right now for all of us to be able to engage in isolation. We are lucky to have technology allowing us to communicate to each other across the world, what a fortunate time to be alive.

Yesterday I went to the shops. That really is an exciting story in 2020. I had to go to four in total as each one I went to didn’t have everything I needed. I needed mouthwash (currently sold out in supermarkets, so I had to visit the pharmacy), that was store one. Store two had no chopped tomatoes, but it did have turkey mince. Store three didn’t have chopped tomatoes either, but it did have straws that my flatmate asked me to get.

Also whilst I was buying flavoured teas I wanted to share this. Did you know that the company Twinings has this message on their packaging…

‘By appointment to her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’

This is because Twinings supply goods to the Royal Family, and have done since the 1800’s. They have a shop over 300 years old in London that I will blog about when I can visit. A cool little fact I wanted to share with you all.

Store four was my little local shop that had everything. So far these smaller groceries have been the best for stock, most people emptying the supermarkets it seems. I got chopped tomatoes, passata and today made a banging chili. That will last me a few days until I have my next crazy adventure.

Just a little travel update, until the next…

Stay home, stay safe and happy blogging!

Sam

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Some more winter shots…

Here are a couple more winter shots from around London, these were taken in the Soho area, close to Piccadilly Circus in my previous post.

These were taken on my GoPro Hero 7 silver, a fairly new model when I bought it. I really wanted to get a camera that would take good video and timelapses, but I also wanted to experiment with the images I could get from it too. It has more of a fish eye lens meaning a lot can fit into the screen from close proximity.

Some decent shots can be taken on the ground (literally putting it on the floor with it being waterproof) and getting the ground, buildings and sky all in one shot for a more all round photo.

I also used this in Edinburgh, catching some nice shots of the local sights. It is a great camera for still shots, with objects appearing so close you can almost touch them despite capturing so much behind it too. My sister being the center of attention in the first shot!

If anyone is interested I have linked the Edinburgh post right here, it really is one of my favourite cities and one I never get bored of walking around. Both the architecture and landscape is stunning and I couldn’t recommend it enough. You may recognize the last picture as the one I use on my Instagram and at the bottom of my website when scrolling down. Despite the Walter Scott Monument being in Edinburgh I haven’t found a picture I want to replace with it yet in London. So it will remain for a wee while!

Just a couple more shots I wanted to share with you, more tomorrow and hopefully more time too. I have been fairly busy today, despite not leaving the house. My flatmate and I are currently watching Tiger King as well, which so far has got us both hooked. For someone that doesn’t watch much TV, I have surprised myself for sure.

Has anyone been watching it? It seems to have everyone’s attention.

No spoilers though please!!

😀

Stay home, stay safe and happy blogging!

Sam

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I just want a walk and a doughnut…

‘Dough nut’, or ‘doughnut’ are terms first recorded in the early 1800’s. These people were the first bloggers. Those writing on walls with paints and stone tools, then using new inventions called ‘pens’ to write with ink on paper.

Some of the words they came up with to describe the fancy foods they were creating, would they have had any idea they would stand the test of time?!

I was walking by this doughnut shop in February and now the cravings are hitting me again.

Getting messy with a fat doughnut as I try to dodge the oncoming rush hour commuters. Ahh, those were the days. Moments of frustration that are now memories of when life was just a little bit easier. But I can still order these snacks to my house, so life is still way, way better than it could be.

I have had a couple of conversations with fellow bloggers about what will change as we slowly get back to normal, when it is safe to of course. The foot-operated hand sanitizer in my last post being an example. Will we have a heightened awareness of where our hands are going each and everyday, and where they have been? Greeting with a handshake might give us the urge to wash our hands straight afterwards with this pandemic still fresh in our minds. And if we do have this increased urge to sanitize, how long will it last? Humans have a great track record of forgetting things as we get back to normality after a tragic event.

Do you think you will change your routine in the long term?

I’ve never really liked handshakes anyway, there are too many variations these days. The fewer ways I can make a fool of myself in public, the better.

Stay home, stay safe and happy blogging!

Sam

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Is this now classed as an adventure?

I am just reading your comments from my previous post, what I love about the WordPress community is that it is full of diversity and people with differing interests. My question was where would you like to visit post apocalypse? Reading the comments the responses varied a lot. Cities and beach resorts, hometowns, ancient wonders of the world, and even just a supermarket without the people (I hear you Pat).

Thank you for all your comments, I will be responding to them very soon.

Today I needed to pop to a specific shop. The flat I have moved into for now close to work is pretty old, it still has one of those electric meters you need to top up with a stick at a convenience store. With it being Sunday most were closed. I found online that one was open, I popped my mask on and headed to it. I strapped my GoPro to my bag as I walked to get some footage of the lockdown to show the grandkids, however looking back at it I did a bad job of walking at a reasonable pace.

Now I know that I am a fast walker, and even though I tried to slow it down it was still too fast. The camera was bouncing and I felt dizzy watching it. I also filmed in 4K and the 16 minute recording was over 3GB which is a hell of a lot so in terms of uploading I have to consider the size too. But I know for next time and if I do record my future walks when I have to leave the house, I may upload them to my blog. I don’t go out often with this pandemic, only when needed. And it feels like an adventure when I do.

I have been watching lots of these videos by a YouTuber named Watched Walker. He does a great job of filming his walks around London, at a decent pace too. I will leave you tonight with one of his videos as I feel they are not just fascinating, but something future generations can look back on with fascination as we do with black and white footage.

It is also a great way to see London for those that aren’t from here (the majority of you!) and before Corona took hold. It is so strange to see groups of people again…

I hope you enjoy, and I will speak to you all soon!

Stay home, stay safe and happy blogging!

Sam

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One positive to take from all of this

I have one bad habit every new year. Not the typical broken resolution but thinking ahead and forgetting to put the rose tinted glasses on first. Especially if everything in the past year or so has gone fairly well… I cannot help but to ask myself ‘what sh*t will go down next and when will it be?‘.

Where will it be?

You know how every December, TV stations will do an annual recap of the year? Major events that took place, new sports stars becoming household names, new political scandals. Some of these events come totally out of the blue and I find it fascinating that we cannot predict the next unpredictable event, but it’s inevitable.

I find it pretty scary in all honesty. I have always done this, and I remember in particular this being a very dark thought even as a kid. My earliest memory of this was whilst in the back seat of the car with my family, probably on the way back from my grandparents one evening. As a treat on the return journey (I would often get travel sick and they lived a good 40 minutes away) we would get a takeaway to enjoy on a Sunday evening before school the next day. I don’t know why I thought this then, or why I remember it, but we were outside of the fish and chip shop and I thought to myself ‘one day I am going to get very sick and it’s going to feel awful’ in whatever way my internal dialogue would have manifested at 10 or 11 years old. It is one of my earliest memories of self made anxiety and I tell you it hasn’t really ceased since. I like to obsess about the inevitability of something bad happening and the fear of not knowing when.

At the beginning of the year I did genuinely wonder what would be the next major catastrophe or world changing event. When would it be? Who would it affect? Is it natural or man made? Every year there is at least one huge news story. And knowing 2020 would be no different is frustrating as all we can do each and every time is get on with our lives in the hope that it stays at bay for as long as possible. Whatever it is. It is a monster that we know exists but we don’t know what to look out for.

2020 didn’t take long to become movie like. WW3 almost began as my New Years hangover was only just going away and that caused enough anxiety. For the first time in a while I had a reminder that life is fragile and realised that if something like that did kick off, there isn’t really anything we can do but experience it full on. Our individual lives are dictated by things much larger than ourselves and we have to hope that things just stay calm enough for us to live relatively stable lives. And this kind of stability that only some of us experience in the world today hasn’t always been the norm. This is the best time to have existed for so many of us. But it doesn’t mean this is how it will always be.

But WW3 didn’t happen and so far hasn’t. And as we were just calming down a virus decided to take over the world. Invasions don’t always come in the form of armies and is another reminder on top of the reminder that the ways in which our lives can be disrupted are endless. Ways we cannot predict or prepare well for. Ways that cripple businesses that have been around for hundreds of years. I swear if anyone told me that in 2020 a pandemic would spread and put the world on lock down I would be incredibly skeptical. McDonald’s would close its doors.

McDonald’s!!!

Sporting events would halt. The Premier league here in England would be postponed and stadiums would be considered as temporary hospitals. Liverpool are well on their way to winning their first title in 30 years and I wouldn’t be surprised if the virus emerged from a Manchester lab. I’m just saying…

But as this spreads, and as much as it is a killer, we have to see the positives. Hopefully this will be a warning to us all that we have to have solid plans in place for lock-downs in future. The death rate is pretty low in general, obviously it is higher the older we get and for those with other illnesses, but if it was the same danger to everyone the NHS and services around the world would struggle even more. It is bad, but could be a hell of a lot worse too. A virus that truly hits us all and wipes us out completely. As much as this is disrupting our lives it is sobering to think we have still got it good in the grand scheme of things. I remember the White Island volcanic eruption in New Zealand in December, an eruption with power we simply cannot comprehend as humans. It killed over 20 people visiting the island and a sight the survivors will not forget in a lifetime. The eruption caused an ash plume to rise 12,000 feet into the air. I mention this event because it was considered ‘a throat clearing’ in terms of volcanic activity. And I guess this virus, as dangerous as it is, is probably the same thing.

We are very lucky to witness ‘throat clearing’ events, in the sense that they could be so much more. They aren’t enjoyable, they aren’t safe but they aren’t species ending. If I had to have something positive to take from 2020 so far it would be that. It hasn’t ended us. But I hope it fuels a bigger desire to come together and be aware of the more catastrophic events that are possible, and inevitable.

I hope this is a positive post? It doesn’t really feel it now I read it back, but I was trying.

Also for anyone in the UK, at 8pm (20 minutes time!) the population will be clapping out of their windows to thank NHS workers for working hard to fight the virus. I will be doing so. Thanks mum for letting me know.

Let’s let them know they are are appreciated!

The start of a new normal

I walked by this little cafe/restaurant/bar on the way back from the shops today. I would usually walk by such a place without turning my head as London is crammed with so many places to eat and drink, it is hard for something in such a crazy busy city to catch my attention. But tonight it did, as our PM has requested bars and restaurants to close this evening and not open tomorrow. We are entering crazy times.

And when I say ‘we’ I am referring to the world, not just my little corner of it. That is the strangest thing to me. It isn’t like I am texting family and friends asking why that police helicopter is hovering above our streets or something. I have had friends in Brazil and the US reach out to me and we have talked about how we are all being affected. It really is a small world and I am feeling it more than ever right now.

For good and bad reasons. Bad as many people are being affected, the good to come from it (hopefully) is that we all ride this out together. We forget our differences and see how we are the same. I am hoping so anyway.

Will this be the last time that little cafe will be open this month? This year? Forever!? I saw people hugging inside, it could just be friends a little intoxicated, it could be the owners saying goodbye to regulars. You never know. But it made me sad thinking of how many businesses are going through trouble right now, how many lives are being affected, how our lives are being disrupted. I know it could always be worse, but it doesn’t stop me being sad when life could always be better.

Such a crazy time for all of us. We can only see what comes of it and where this virus takes us. But thankfully we can all see this through together.

Have the best weekend possible everyone.

Popping to the shops pandemic-style

London’s weather is getting mild! I am counting down the days until I can finally retire this winter coat that you have probably seen too much of already. And I think that day will be coming soon.

As much as I wanted to stay in for a second day I really couldn’t as I needed to buy some things. It is funny how fast a food stock can diminish when there is little to do but stay inside. I found the appropriate socks for the occasion and made my way.

*warning- strong but relatable language*

That same blue crane is still there from a recent post, does it really take that long to install the flowers or did they just share the same feeling as the guy on my socks?!

On my adrenaline fueled walk there didn’t seem to be too much panic and the streets weren’t as empty as I was expecting. The coffee shops had a load more take outs (the two cafes I walked by were empty, I only saw one customer sitting at a table) but the roads were busy and still a fair few pedestrians of all ages.

The picture above is a little blurrier now I look at it on my laptop screen, sorry about that. However I am situated right underneath the M by Montcalm boutique hotel, it is best known for being somewhat of an optical illusion when walking towards it. You can see it below in the shots I have taken from the roundabout (basically walking right down the road you can see above and turning 180), the first shot was a few days ago, the second taken today and you can see it is a little quieter in comparison.

Googling the optical illusion building I found a Reddit forum with a bunch of mixed reviews. What do you think of it? For me it is a little uneasy on the eye as my brain is trying to make sense of it as I walk, but I don’t mind it. And I am sure it is very nice on the inside.

Below, queues in the local pharmacy. I am in central London though so I don’t think this it too different to the norm.

The main difference being hand sanitizers are now kept behind the till and a limit of two per person is in effect, however I am sure there are similar measures around the world too.

I might keep growing my beard until this is all over, yay or nay? I wonder how long it would get. My hair might keep greying too, we shall see. The mask in the featured image was just a GIF I found on Instagram, but I’m sure you could tell anyways. I was a little more exposed to the elements in real life.

Shelves are empty though… I was trying to get the ingredients to make a chili that would last me a few days, it took me four shops to get it all.

Toilet paper was well stocked though.

I walked a fair bit between the stores. The thing I like about Old Street is that it is a mish-mash of all kinds of architecture. Some old and new, some dull and boring and others full of colour. If I had to describe this area in one word, I don’t think I could. I can’t really describe it… it’s dirty and full of construction however some areas are very bright and clean. Old buildings situated next to new ones. Thankfully street art really helps and reflects the exciting and vibrant side to it.

Below is a bar called Bounce, located right next to the local fire station. It offers food and drink, but most importantly ping pong. I have heard it is really good and seems to be very popular. I am looking forward to giving it a try.

Don’t be fooled, these bars are still open. Boris (our PM) hasn’t put us in lockdown but has urged us to stay away from bars and restaurants and avoid unnecessary travel. He is giving us daily updates live on TV with the help of experts and today announced that schools are finally closing. The hospitality industry is on it’s knees but is still operating.

I made my way to the final store, all out. On my way back I decided to fancy my chances in the small grocery store on the corner. On the same street as the two comparison photos above, a little closer to the hotel. What I have realised is that the shelves are emptying in the chain supermarkets, but the local grocery shops still seem to be fully stocked. Where the shelves were empty of tins in Sainsbury’s and Tesco, they look like they have hardly been touched here. How long will this last? Hopefully a long time!! When I thought I was going to have to try again tomorrow I struck gold. There’s me sorted for the next week.

That is all for now from me. Have a good evening, eat well and stay safe.

Bye for now!

Sam

Travel updates on social media will be delayed until further notice, but thank you to those that have followed me on Instagram and the like in the mean time. I can’t wait to be back at it!