Photography – One Chance to See the World

Sky Garden, best free views in London

Sky Garden sits atop 20 Fenchurch Street. Known locally as the ‘Walkie Talkie’, it boasts two decks of lush plant life, bars, restaurants and stunning 360-degree views of London. Best of all, Sky Garden London is completely free.

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The Building

This isn’t an ordinary skyscraper. The building gets wider as it rises, the highest floors literally hang over the streets below it. Like a wave ready to crash it looms over you in intimidating fashion, yet draws your attention completely.

From here you can see the shape changing as it reaches it’s peak, a height of 525ft. A quick show of the ticket and a scan of my bag and I am on the 35th floor in just a few minutes.

A short walk from London Bridge and Bank/Monument Underground, it is easily accessible on foot and well connected by train and bus routes. Tickets are free on their website (linked below) and easier to book two to three weeks in advance. Last minute bookings can be made but I would avoid if at all possible. Tickets go fast and it is hardly surprising.

The Views

The 360-degree views of the city make Sky Garden one of the best views in London.

Classic landmarks such as St Paul’s Cathedral, Tower Bridge and The Shard draw your attention immediately, and signs on the windows help to spot the sights further away. London’s Olympic Stadium can be seen, as can the Wembley Stadium arch on a clear day.

Looking down to Tower of London — Looking down to the Tower of London… notice the vans inside the walls that are only visible from this height!

When should you visit?

I visited twice on two very different days in the city. First with Ju, my Brazilian friend living in London. The second time was during the recent heatwave with clear blue skies. Interesting to note that despite the clouds, the overcast day helped make many buildings more visible. The bright sunshine was beautiful but created a haze. When booking, you really don’t need to wait for a less cloudy day. Just avoid fog!

In summer the sun sets outside of the free ticket hours, so it is recommended to book one of the bars or restaurants to catch this. Also as tickets are required for the free trip, you don’t need to worry about it being overly packed during your visit.

It is important to note that the areas are ventilated, so even whilst indoors wear clothes appropriate for the outside temperatures.

My friend looking out to Canary Wharf — Looking out to Canary Wharf- facing east

Steps run up the east and west of the building, taking you even higher. It is possible to walk up clockwise or anti clockwise and then back down to the 35th floor.

Tower Bridge taken from the steps up — Tower Bridge- one of the most photographed landmarks up here

The Garden

The plant life really stands out in the middle of London’s concrete jungle. A lush oasis that gives you a sense of calm and tranquility, with seating areas hidden within the greenery. Signposts prevent us from getting lost, although getting lost is what this kind of escape is all about surely?

Couple taking selfie outside bar — Visitors looking out from the upper deck

Sky Garden outside deck

Two revolving doors allow access to the outdoor section of the building, the Shard is the first thing to be seen and looks incredible from here. Squint and you will see the tiny double-decker buses crossing London Bridge, along with the commuters that look more like ants. The deck is secured with a giant glass barrier that you have to look through, but being outside feels great at such a height.

Tourists taking photos from outside deck — A scramble for cameras!

Looking south west, the London Eye is visible behind neighboring buildings, along with Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Tate Modern and Millennium (the Harry Potter) Bridge. Can you spot them all?

Bars and Restaurants

The easiest bar to find is the Sky Pod Bar, situated right in the heart of Sky Garden. With huge windows and an open plan, it is the perfect place to relax with a bottle of wine and watch the world go by. With your friends or your partner, on a date or even alone (like I did on this day!), it really is perfect for all occasions.

Prices seem to be slightly more than what is expected in London. A bottle of beer will cost £6, although it will hardly come as a shock in such a place. Full menus are available on their website, and the venues available are:

-Darwin Brasserie

-Sky Pod Bar

-Fenchurch Restaurant

-City Garden Bar

-Fenchurch Terrace

Although causal wear is accepted in Sky Garden, smart-casual is recommended if booking any of the above.

Pssst… if you head up on an evening from Wednesday to Saturday, a resident DJ plays live music as you wander the gardens and catch the sunset. From 7pm on weekdays and 9pm on weekends, what better way to end the day in London?!

Let me know if you have been, and add it to the list if not!

Sky Garden London- Official Site

Sky Garden venues and menus

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The desperate need for conversation

‘We have never been so connected, yet feel so disconnected’.

It is a quote that has been repeating in my head every day since I heard it. And it couldn’t be more true. At least in the city I currently call home, London. This was the scene a few days back when a right-wing protester found himself over no mans land and into what he considers enemy territory.

The man carrying him, Patrick Hutchinson, noticed that he was in serious trouble and hurt, and carried him to police. He didn’t want to add fuel to the fire of the far right group and give an excuse for them to protest further. I am sure the white man respects this move, even if reluctantly so. Sometimes actions speak louder than words, and I am sure this moment will be remembered by both.

We humans don’t give conversation a chance all too often. The chances are if we disagree on something, we walk a very thin tightrope of discourse. We are emotional beings and show our emotion very easily. And the other person reads this emotion and bam, gets emotional as a result. A snowballing of emotions and a lack of willingness to listen kicks in, and before we know it our aim isn’t to understand the opposition, but to defend our position. A shouting contest. An ego trip. Sometimes, violence. We see this everywhere, from the streets to our parliamentary debates. If our leaders are susceptible to losing composure and even the odd fistfight, what standard are we expected to live by?

I am not sure if social media has ruined conversation, but it isn’t promoting it. Everything about a post is designed to boost our ego. There is a reason we are unable to dislike a Facebook status…. who is going to dislike it? We surround ourselves with people that think like us and if someone was to keep disliking our posts? Delete. Goodbye, friend.

Who needs that kind of negativity anyway? Not me.

But it is pretty vital. The more we surround ourselves with like minded people the less prepared we are socially for disagreement. At the same time, trolls and the very nature of being behind a username means we can be even more cruel to those that disagree with us. So now we are being more harsh than usual to a group we hardly engage with anyway… so if these groups find a day to meet in the street, why would we expect anything less than violence?

Saying that, most protests have been peaceful. However unfortunately as I type this, news is breaking that three people have been stabbed to death in a park in Reading, UK. More people have been injured in the incident. Living in an online world, word got out fast. And with that, assumptions were made fast. Especially with it taking place in a park hours after a BLM protest took place.

And this to me showed how much of a mess we are in.

-Racists blaming black people for the attack.

-Black people worried that right wing protesters carried it out.

-Media breaking news with ‘Stabbing at Black Lives Matter protest’ despite the earlier protest being peaceful and already finished

-Tweets from angry white people believing this headline is assuming white people went to carry out an attack without waiting for more information

-Tweets from angry black people feeling this headline suggests BLM protesters turned violent

I also read a tweet from a black Twitter user accusing the BBC of racism for the ‘Stabbing at BLM protest’ headline, despite the journalist in the article being black himself, and possibly worried that this ‘stabbing at BLM protest’ may have been carried out by a white protester.

The thing is, when we feel our beliefs are being targeted, any headline can seem like it is against us. ‘Stabbing at BLM Protest’ can sound both pro-BLM or anti-BLM. The perspective that hits us the hardest is the one we tend to stick with.

I refreshed the article as the evening went on (Saturday, 20th June, yesterday when this post is published), to see the headline edited from ‘Stabbing at BLM protest’ to ‘Stabbing at BLM protest site’ to ‘Reading stabbing attack.’ However those initial few hours of very little information had some people incredibly convinced they knew exactly what happened, by who and why. We can’t even wait for the information to come out before we need to tell everyone how we feel, and this is worrying in a world that seems more unstable as the months go by. We need conversation more than ever.

Protests aren’t conversation. They might be good at making governments act when tensions are highest, but the opposition in the general population aren’t really affected. Not in an educational sense at least.

Lets picture an angry mob of fifty white men, all in their 20’s-60’s marching down the street to confront BLM protesters, as seen recently in British cities. Do we really think the guy three rows from the front is reading the ‘No to Racism!‘ sign 50 meters away behind a line of police and a cloud of tear gas… with an aim of being educated? Are they really listening to the protesters as they try to drown out the chants with football songs that they haven’t been able to sing in the past few months without football? Maybe one or two protesters, if I am being optimistic. Away from a protest being used as an uprising against a government (which can be effective and caused the Minneapolis City Council to consider dismantling the Minneapolis Police Department), it is merely a shouting contest to boost ones ego. I cannot imagine too many people on both sides of a protest going home feeling they have learned something new like it was a walk to a college lecture. And not much changes when we go home and online to give further thoughts on how we feel.

Instagram Stories. Facebook Statuses. Twitter comments. They are all methods we use to tell everyone how we feel, and what’s right. They are all ways for us to tell everyone we are right, and that you should listen. And it isn’t working. The less time spent having conversation is more time the gap between the left and right has to widen. The differences become bigger. The hatred becomes more fierce. And the internet is not helping.

We need a way to promote conversation and be willing to engage with the opposition without being seen as the opposition. Sticking with our tribe is great for strength in numbers, but terrible for education. Being in a group of like minded individuals, what do we learn? Absolutely nothing. As a leftist (that is becoming ever more frustrated with the supposed left) we should be wanting to engage with those that have a difference of opinion if we are to find some common ground to build on. Understand the reasoning behind thoughts, engaging in conversation and educating. But I am seeing it less and less, the right and the left are becoming harder to differentiate.

The right needs to stop using violence as communication, and the left needs to have more patience in conversation.

That’s my thoughts on what is going on right now, and I would love to hear how you agree or disagree on this.

Featured Photo by George Pagan III on Unsplash

Hogwarts is closed?!

I was on the Millennium Bridge the other day during sunset. It is a great place to walk, between St Paul’s and the Tate Modern, and to stop and think for a moment whilst overlooking the Thames. Lots of time to think however not enough energy to do so. That’s how I feel at this moment.

I am putting together a post regarding everything that’s happening right now, but admittedly I have been putting it off. I hope to have it up this week though. It isn’t that I don’t want to talk about it, more finding where to start. And I am mentally drained by this year as well. Typing feels like walking through thick mud at the minute but I am easing back into it.

So here is a short post about a recent wander. Something I have always enjoyed talking about and walking is really helping keep me sane right now. It is also very interesting to see how the city has changed and is evolving over time, now more lively than it has been for months.

…

Kings Cross is a short walk from me with a movie connection to the Millennium Bridge. Can you guess the connection?

That’s right, Harry Potter. Brownie Points if you can name the movies they both appear in!

During the lockdown the powers that be have decided to take down the Platform 9 3/4 attraction and replace it with a bench. Not much of a surprise, but I was intrigued to know what it would look like today. Would they have boxed it up or fenced it off??

Neither, just taken it off the wall completely.

For anyone unfamiliar, this is what it looks like normally. I am hoping it returns soon.

I would love to know how many train stations around the world have cool little features like this one. Airports such as Singapore Airport have made the waiting game cool, offering something new and exciting to look at whilst waiting for a flight. More train stations should do the same in my opinion!

(Click the arrow for more images)

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A post shared by Sam | London (@onechancetoseetheworld)

Have you seen the Platform 9 3/4 attraction in London Kings Cross? Do you think they will reinstall it?

Let me know what you think of it’s fate… and I hope you are all having a great week, whatever Hogwarts House you’re in 😉

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 safe and happy blogging!

Sam

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The lone violinist

It was a walk on the 18th May to Piccadilly Circus, a difficult time in a difficult year. Now I look back, it was an easier time in an increasingly more difficult year. The quiet walk absent of footsteps other than my own, very few cars and birdsong heard above anything else.

Then, the sound of music slowly getting louder, a busker playing without an audience to hear it.

She played between the boarded up doors of the businesses behind her, all around her in fact. The only life coming from the huge advertisement boards Piccadilly Circus is known for, advertising to an empty square. For the rare photo opportunity I put some money in her collection case, probably a quid or two, whatever spare change I had on me. Being a professional she hardly acknowledged it as I did, as if I was the hundredth person to do it that day.

Come to think of it, I probably should have counted the coins in there. I wonder how much interaction she had seen that afternoon.

The only interaction I had seen was this deliveryman standing beside her. Giving her encouragement or asking for her number? Waiting for his next collection or waiting for a song request? I am not sure, but she hardly gave him a look. Whatever it was the attendance doubled in that moment.

A couple days later I was taking photos close to Westminster, when the streets were a little quieter and before the barbaric murder of George Floyd. It’s crazy how bad we think 2020 is, until we give it another month. Now, protests have marched through these streets and the statues that I saw couldn’t be more fitting.

Nelson Mandela, and Millicent Fawcett, individuals pursuing the goal of equality and freedom, immortalized as statues not far from the Houses of Parliament. Other statues have been vandalized or even taken down due to connections with slavery.

After all these years we still need to fight for such freedoms. Even if we are slowly chiseling away at the rock of inequality there is still a long way to go. And every day there is evidence of this around the world. The buildings are nice but it isn’t just buildings that need to be worked on over time, human rights need to move along with it.

It makes me wonder how far into the future we will have to look to find a humanity confident that it is being treated fairly across the board. Will we have to wait for the inevitable merge of ethnicities in the coming centuries? Or will it be before then? What we do know is that it isn’t now, clearly what we have isn’t working.

What we need more than ever is conversation. It isn’t necessarily the difference of opinion that is causing problems, but our way of managing it. Our inability to sit and talk about topics we have different stances on, and our lack of ability to want to change our opinions also. From the left to the right, the problem seems consistent across the board. We won’t get anywhere without conversation, and this has to be promoted on social media, in the workplace, in our governments.

I just hope that this conversation begins before we get too disconnected with each other.

‘We have never been so connected, whilst being so disconnected’

Stay safe and happy blogging!

Sam

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Graduating in lockdown: A story of a student in India

I am delighted to introduce Vaishnavi, bringing an insight from India on the current lockdown situation for herself and her life as a student.

Vaishnavi has a great blog of art, photography, food and travel (safe to say it is four of my favourite things!) and I appreciate being able to share her story on my blog for the WordPress community.

I hope you all enjoy the read and this insight all the way from India!

Namaste! I am Vaishnavi Karnam, a 22-year old Communication Designer who just graduated from college during this worldwide lockdown. I am originally from Hyderabad and Bengaluru, two of the many state capitals of India, though I have been born and brought up in New Delhi, which is India’s capital. Coming from a rich cultural background from Southern India, my parents made sure my brother and I know our lineage, roots and our native language. Having said this, I am multi-lingual.

Being an elder child, I have always been given a lot of responsibility. But I have had my moments of being a brat and trying to do what I wanted to do. Also, making sure that I did things that I was expected to. I am not only my dad’s little girl, but I am close to my mom as well. My puppy dog eyes are irresistible and always works for me when it comes to my parents. Even though I was pampered a little bit, but I was also made to learn the hardships of life.

Since I was a kid, I have tried my hand at whatever was available to me. Starting from art, craft to music, dance and even sports. Oh, baking and reading too! You can say I am the jack of all trades and master of some. Not ‘none’! I have always had multiple interests, and I made sure to keep trying out new things as and when possible. One such thing that caught my attention and stuck with me amongst a few others is travelling. I have grown up looking at pictures and listening to my dad’s stories from when he used to travel for work. Listening to those stories kept me at the edge of the seat no matter how many times I heard them. It made me want to have some of my own stories like that, to feel that adrenaline rush every single time. That’s how my love for travelling started and, during one of my internships, I discovered my inclination to write. This gave birth, more like helped me to begin my blog. I write about food, travel experiences and sometimes life lessons as well.

When it came to choosing a career path, I was sure that I wanted to do something different from what anyone’s done in my family. A lot of parents in India pre-decide what course their child should pursue in school or college, mine never forced me into anything I didn’t want to do. From planning to study psychology when I started high school to then changing my mind and finally graduating as a Communication Designer, it has been quite a journey. All throughout college, one thing that my friends and I were looking forward to was an extraordinary graduation showcase and a memorable farewell. After all, we were going to start a new phase of our lives. I definitely didn’t expect 2020 to go like this. Like everyone else, I also thought 2020 was going to be my year. I was supposed to start the next phase of my life. I still would be taking the next step, but in a much different way than expected.

Never had I thought for COVID-19 to spread and become a pandemic leading to a lockdown almost everywhere in the world. Considering that I graduated not too long ago, I had about 2-3 months left for my college life to get over. I was hoping to have fun with my friends, peers and faculty in the college, having the most wonderful last few days of college that was left. Every plan I had went down the drain. I was sitting at home, either working on my graduation project, giving presentations online, which is nowhere near to the actual experience. I was usually found dancing and singing at celebrations in college, hanging out with friends, lounging in our studios, travelling and making memories that would last a lifetime. I was never a social butterfly, but I have had my fair share of memories from my college life. Now, I can only imagine what I would have been doing in the past few months if we weren’t confined to our homes due to the pandemic. At this moment, we are planning what we can do once all of this is over, but we can only hope that it actually happens.

A week before the lockdown was announced, I was travelling for my graduation project in the mountains in northern India. This trip I took was preponed at the last moment; otherwise, there was quite a lot of chances that I would have got stuck at an unknown destination with hardly 3-4 pairs of clothes. I was lucky enough for my plans changing at the last minute. Though I am happy that I was back home right on time, unlike my friend who is stuck in an unknown town in Rajasthan (I feel so bad for him). Being a restless soul and staying at home 24/7 wasn’t really turning out the best for me. I was used to staying out of my house for at least 10-11 hours a day, and suddenly it went down to zero. Coping up to this change was tricky, trying to adjust to the new routine all of a sudden. We are a family of four, and I can say for sure that this is the first time that all of us have to stay under one roof for so long without stepping out at all. We had to adjust to each other’s new routine as a family. It was quite hilarious actually. Initially, it was challenging for me to keep sane, but then I tried small activities to help me adjust to this new routine. The first few days, I used to go to the terrace to look at the sunset and walk around a bit. Never had I seen so many people on their terraces. With nowhere else to go, that was the only escape.

Though when I am talking about what I used to do before COVID-19 struck, I feel like I am talking about a different life altogether. A life before taking multiple precautions to step out of the house and terrible news reaching us every day. There are some things that I used to do daily and miss doing it now. I miss the peak hour rush in the metros, booking a cab or bargaining with auto drivers, chilling at my favourite cafes and exploring Delhi even after staying in this city all my life. One thing I miss the most is eating out, especially Indian street food. It’s to die for.

I had a plan, to graduate college, travel and explore a new destination with my brother, get a job at a different city, move there and start fresh. I have always lived with my parents, except for a few years in between where I moved out to be closer to college. I was excited and hoping for a change. With the pandemic hitting us all, there have been so many changes all of a sudden. With employees being laid off left and right, hiring has definitely come to a freeze. The dream of getting the ideal job I had hoped for has been crushed. Sort of. The chances are quite low, considering the numerous people who are now in the market trying to look for new jobs. Though I am not giving up hope to find the perfect job for me, it is still scary when I think about it.

Now that I am free, I am trying to catch up on writing, reading, helping my mum with household chores and cooking. What I do whenever I have the time mostly depends on my mood. There are days when I only feel like binge-watching a show, texting my friends or just chilling in our house cribbing about when I’d get to go out. Video calls, virtual collaborations, Instagram stories of our routine, Tik Toks are now the latest trend.

I sometimes wonder what if Covid-19 hadn’t become such a vital matter, what if things were different, but it’s just left to what if. We can only dream or imagine what the scenario would be but cannot actually know. I know that with a nationwide lockdown in India, there have been positive implications. Pollution levels have really gone down, natural habitat is getting better, less traffic on the roads and we are spending more time with family. But did we really need something severe to affect us to make out lives slow down? Life has given us time to make things better, take time out for things we stopped doing because we never had the time, but did it have to be after putting so many lives at stake? I am trying to think positive, hoping that we all get out of this safe and sound, but I sometimes fear what else could happen, which might make things worse.

Well, that’s just me. I hope all of you are keeping safe and are doing well. I just hope one day, things will get back to normal and life will be better again. Until then, let’s hope for the best and stay healthy!

**Thank you to Vaishnavi for providing this insight for my ‘Life in Lockdown’ series, aiming to provide a glimpse into the lives of people around the world during this pandemic.**

All words are Vaishnavi’s own and for more great stories, art, photography, food and travel, please visit The Vaish Saga, and @thevaishsaga on Instagram.

Have a great week everyone!

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

Stay home, stay safe and happy blogging!

Sam

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Caged in

How is everyone feeling? It is strange how this world is full of nations handling all of this so differently. Some still on lockdown, some more relaxed and without any more deaths… the UK seems to have handled this a lot worse than a lot of countries. I hope you are all keeping well, wherever you are reading this from.

Times like these make me realise how strange life is. The past few decades- which isn’t very long in the grand scheme of things I know- have been relatively comfortable for most of us. This really makes me take a stable life for granted. And how crazy it would feel to have a spanner thrown in the works like so many have witnessed in the past.

War, famine, plagues, volcanoes, tsunamis, meteor strikes, genocide, holocausts… there are so many ways the world and it’s people can f*ck us up. In my 30 years of existence, a virus has been the biggest threat so far. And a virus that isn’t anywhere near as devastating as it could be, even if we could have handled it better. Although many have lost their lives to it, we have still been very lucky that this isn’t as devastating as so many events have been throughout our recent history.

And with this, I keep reminding myself not to be annoyed that the UK is still on lockdown, despite our screw ups that have cost the lives of so many which is tragic. We are still so much better off than so many of our ancestors.

I feel caged right now, but at the same time so very fortunate.

Stay home, stay safe and happy blogging!

Sam

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This is where Stormzy ‘Vossi-Bop’ed

Some of you will know this building as the Royal Exchange. The area above Bank Underground and the home of the Bank of England.

Others will know this area as the one Stormzy recently filmed a music video in, being surrounded by dancers wearing Boris wigs. The moment happens at 30 seconds, although it is fun to watch him rap on a closed Westminster Bridge in front of a half restored Big Ben.

This was before the lockdown, he is just rich and powerful enough to get Westminster Bridge closed I guess.

skynews-stormzy-vossi-bop-boris-johnson_4650997 — Picture: Stormzy/YouTube

It’s interesting to see the setting of a music video. I know this area is much, much more than that but the song has probably introduced it to a lot of people. After all it has been seen over 88 million times. And here it is when it isn’t closed for rap.

I got the same beautiful weather though!

Not sure if rap is your cup of tea, but I had to share once I remembered where I had seen it recently. I do like that Stormzy is happy to show off certain parts of London though to the masses, and that British rap has come a long way.

Vossi Bop is a dance for anyone wondering. A good way to get that daily exercise in during isolation!

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Happy VE Day!

Okay, this was yesterday. But I was working and when I got home celebrated with a couple drinks with the flatmate.

And when I have a couple, any motivation I had to do anything plummets.

So today I went for a walk to blow away the cobwebs, down towards St Paul’s Cathedral and through the quiet streets.

I found this pub on my walk today, just a quick shot from my gander. I will post more when my head isn’t hurting so much.

And I wanted to use this post to show my appreciation for not just the NHS and care/key workers, but also to everyone that had to fight in WW2 and contributed to the freedoms we have today. It would have been a horrible time to live through, and it really wasn’t that long ago. I feel incredibly grateful to not have had to endure that kind of suffering.

The Red Arrows did a flyby down the Thames and over Buckingham Palace, however I couldn’t see it at work sadly. On the live broadcast it flies over the city, past the skyscrapers I have posted about recently. You can see below which ones and where I am currently working/living.

Not that the picture is the most clear! Here is the video to go along with it. St Paul’s Cathedral can be seen just after this too.

How is everyone’s weekend? I hope you have great weather and do what you can to keep healthy and happy.

Have a great Saturday and I will speak to you all soon.

Stay home, stay safe and happy blogging!

Sam

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Imagine waking up to a new world…

Just imagine, you have been asleep for the past two months. You awaken from the deep sleep. You put on your shoes and open the front door, the sound of traffic hitting your ears is for whatever reason not heard. You look down the street, everything just seems a little odd.

The neighbour that you stop to chat with on route to the shops, he crosses the road the moment he sees you. Anyone you pass tends to keep a few feet away, looking concerned. They wear gloves and masks. Further down the road, the train station often too crowded is now worryingly empty. Commuters look up to the timetable with less urgency and more confusion.

Lost.

You check the board to see the date. It must be a Sunday right?!

‘Monday’ you learn.

An announcement over the speakers thanks the population for staying home and saving lives. Advising to travel only if absolutely necessary. To do what you can to stop the ‘spread of infection’.

Infection??

Shops are shut. Adverts thank care workers for their hard work on bus stops and electric billboards. It’s apparent something major has happened. But is it all of London? The UK? The world??

You hear radio coming from a nearby house, broadcasting the words of world leaders. It is clearly further than my neighbourhood.

Only some people take to the streets. The odd police car goes by, looking as if they are keeping an eye out for groups or people that shouldn’t be out. Some people look like they are out for exercise. Some to keep everything tidy. Some because they don’t know what else to do.

Imagine if this is the world we woke up to without any prior knowledge.

If you had no signal, no family in the area, no wifi…

How would you react?

Stay home, stay safe and happy blogging!

Sam

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