Thames walk

The sun's back in the UK, and we've been taking advantage by going for little walks around our new 'hood. Last weekend we walked north around the river, past the BFI and NFT, past the Globe theatre, the Clink and the Golden Hinde, and enjoyed some good food and drink at the Borough Markets.

This weekend we headed south, past the Florence Nightingale museum and Lambeth Palace, crossed the Vauxhall bridge, and came back by the Tate Britain and the Houses of Parliament. A lovely little circuit indeed, made curiously interesting by the tide being somewhat out - revealing the assorted flotsam, jetsam and general detritus of the Thames.

I did a little beach-combing at the London Duck launch site (a land and Thames tour on a converted DUKW amphibious vehicle), and found a piece of patterned pottery. No idea whether its modern or old. Apparently the London Walks do a special beach-combing trip, turning up Victorian roof tiles and occasional Roman-era objects. Cool huh? How's that for living history...

Incidentally, here's a video of the duck coming ashore:



Kayaking on the Thames sounds like fun, but I wouldn't want to get wet and contract ebola, Hep C or whatever the hell lurks in the brown waters...

Battersea power station from Vauxhall Bridge:

Tate Britain:

The Buxton Memorial Fountain at Victoria Tower gardens, commemorating the emancipation of slaves in 1834:

Houses of Parliament:

The Cans Festival

The other weekend there was a big hullaballoo across the street from our new apartment. Turns out that crummy Leake Street - an underpass running through Waterloo Station - was being turned into a showcase for graffiti art of the stencil variety, as part of The Cans Festival.

Brainchild of famed graffiti artist Banksy, it was pretty much an open invitation to anyone with a can of spraypaint. I took the video camera over and shot some footage, and went back with a stills camera the next weekend. Initial queues were HUGE, with a wait of up to a couple hours to get in...

Britney and Madonna kissing (from their notorious MTV performance):

This one is a Banksy:

Brilliant two-tone work, where one of the shades is achieved by physically cutting away the brick wall:

My personal favourite. "All your chip are belong to us."

Banksy said: "Graffiti doesn't always spoil buildings, in fact it's the only way to improve a lot of them. In the space of a few hours with a couple of hundred cans of paint I'm hoping we can transform a dark forgotten filth pit into an oasis of beautiful art."

Delerium feat. Kristy Thirsk (Carling Academy, Islington) 08/05/08

Anna and I went to a very rare gig by Canadian band Delerium, in fact - their first ever in London! Sadly, this conflicted with a Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds gig for which I already had tickets. But it was worth the sacrifice, as the band effortlessly recreated a number of their most powerful songs from a diverse back catalogue including dark ethereal ambient, voiceless industrial soundscapes, and electronic pop music.

Delerium have worked with a wide range of guest vocalists, so I was curious to know how they'd handle this on stage. Long-time collaborator Kristy Thirsk was front and center, and did a terrific job of adapting these other songs to her own style. She was also a commanding presence, stomping around the stage in some kind of sexy Wonder Woman-inspired costume.



As usual, our camera is performing under par when it comes to concert photos, but here's a few all the same. Unfortunately I don't have any decent photos of Bill Leeb, the brains behind Delerium, as he was kind of hidden behind the bassist. What can you do?

Setlist:
Angelicus
Love
After All
Terra Firma
Innocente
Forgotten Worlds
Self Saboteur
The Way You Want It To Be
Twilight
Flowers become Screens
Silence

Encore:
Lost And Found
Incantation

As if an awesome set wasn't enough, Kristy came out to the merchandising area after the gig and did some signings. What a legend!

London Mayoral Elections 2008

Who will you vote for? The giant Boris Johnson head or the giant Ken Livingstone head?

Update: Boris Johnson won, and the BNP came fourth! Crazy times ahead...

Moving house

Another big move for us, this time from Camden to Waterloo - swapping the canals for the south bank of the Thames. We're in a smaller apartment, but the bedroom is much more user-friendly, plus we're ideally situated for all the touristy sights, not to mention I'm only a short walk from work, plus we have a gym with a pool!

The view from our window:

I had to do carry all our stuff to and from the van, and woke up the next day with scary eyes!

Bus security camera

Hollie Smith (12 Acklam Road) 15/04/08

Daniel Craig and Mike Leigh at the BFI

Went to a special preview of Daniel Craig's new movie, Flashbacks of a Fool, at the BFI. He was there with the director and producer to introduce it, before rushing off to the premiere-proper at Leicester Square:

Also saw a preview of Mike Leigh's new movie, Happy-Go-Lucky, followed by a Q&A with the irascible old sod himself. It was half-funny, half-uncomfortable as he first shot down the BFI interviewer, and then members of the audience who asked questions. I managed to corner him afterwards for a couple of seconds and he signed my copy of Vera Drake, but (although I was grateful) he wasn't very gracious about it. Oh well, they do say you shouldn't meet your idols!

Sunday stroll sights Scientology sanctioning

Anna and I had a nice day out on Sunday. We walked to the Royal Institute of British Architects (based in a 1930s Grade II listed building designed by architect George Grey Wornum) so that Anna could visit their bookshop. Owing to the horrendous downpour that appeared while we were in the shop, we also opted to stay for lunch in the wonderfully open-spaced exhibition hall.

Afterwards we went furniture browsing for our new flat, and I stumbled on an anti-Scientology protest that I couldn't help but join for a half hour or so. "Ron is gone but the con goes on!"

Portishead (Hammersmith Apollo) 10/04/08

Reclusive Bristol-band Portishead returned after a 10 year hiatus with an absolutely ripping (but thoroughly uncompromising) new album, which they gave a note perfect airing at this single London gig. It was a great peformance, but pretty unusual. Frontwoman Beth Gibbons barely moved the whole time (her silhouette, pictured below, was more interesting to look at), and there were unfortunate technical hitches that saw the band leave the stage for several minutes. Still, it was a rare opportunity to catch one of the truly great bands of my generation.

Setlist:
Silence
Hunter
Mysterons
The Rip
Glory Box
Numb
Magic Doors
Wandering Star
Machine Gun
Over
Sour Times
Nylon Smile
Cowboys

Encore:
Threads
Roads
We Carry On

Sci-Fi-London 48 Hour Film Challenge

Entered the Sci-Fi-London 48 Hour Film Challenge with a short film called Exit Strategy (a rather odd little creature, due to the randomly drawn elements that had to be incorporated into the script.

Made with the assistance of a talented cast/crew (often filling both roles) comprising James Uren, Zoe Lee, Ivana Jackson, Laura Paulett, Natasha Higham, Laura Kell and Warren Prasek.

137 teams registered - 87 turned up to enter - 68 entries were handed in. Ours was one of them!

Late spring in London!

Can you believe it? Summer is almost here :)

Dalek in Soho

New York - Day 4

It was our last day, and we were hoping to find a nice spa and relax with a massage after our punishing few days, but none of them were free. So, it was back to the streets, to wander a little aimlessly, having covered all the big ticket items.

We gravitated back toward Central Park to see the horse carriages and to enjoy a little bit of wintery sunlight.

Horse-riding at Central Park!

Lion-riding at New York Public Library!

Times Square:

The M&Ms shop, where you can get any colour you like...