1 Feb 07 Urban Love
Recently I’ve been receiving emails from friends asking me, “So do you like it there?”
It has been over a year since we arrived here, and perhaps my “End of Year” summary didn’t quite get to the poetry of what’s going on.
Living in London has so many negative aspects, you could summarize a few of them if you skim the last couple of posts here. Just like New York City there are far too many tourists here, more than 20 million each year, which causes difficulty when you want to go about doing normal things like buying an iron, or clothing, or even groceries.
Living in any major urban center means you live in a chaotic universe that’s organic, always changing. Some days you want to vanish, while other days you want to give up the safety of your home and live in the buzz of the streets. That could just be me…
A day like today in London is a Royal Treat! It’s sunny and warm, but the days still begin to end around 3:00pm. The sun just doesn’t ride high enough.
But today I took a break from flat hunting to do some shopping in Covent Garden then decided against traveling home underground as I usually would. Weekends we would normally walk home (last weekend we walked the entirety of Zone 1), but today I rode home in the bottom of a double decker bus and enjoyed what is one of the best tourist rides going - from Trafalgar Square down the Strand and Fleet Street past St Pauls church, Tower of London, Tower Bridge and jumped out at home. The ride took 20 mins.
I didn’t have my camera today unfortunately, but enjoyed watching Londoners be, watching the city go.
Not many places in the western world can you ride past thousand-year old buildings to your doorstep in a jiffy.
I love London.
31 Jan 07 One offer down
Last week we made an offer for a flat in Bethnel Green.
The Good:
- Located a 5-minute walk to two excellent tube lines, Central and District
- Quiet residential street lined with Victorian brick buildings
- Large 2-bed flat with eat-in kitchen, big sash windows
- Real wood flooring in some rooms covered by the carpet (apparently)
- Still within our East London ‘preferred living zone’
The Bad:
- Signs on lamp posts out front warning of ‘high-crime area’
- Entire innards need ripping out - kitchen, bathroom, carpet, etc
- Not insignificant labour and expense to rebuild & renovate
- 2nd bedroom quite small
- Questionable plumbing throughout building
- Much of the building occupied by renters not owners
The Nasty:
The real problem is the premium asking price, which we know is high from researching previous properties sold in the same buildings (at this useful website, the UK Land Registry database of House Prices). So we offered over 10% less than the asking price, what we thought the property is really worth considering all the work that needs doing. The offer was rejected, and rather unprofessionally I’d say. Sellers here are in the fortunate position of asking inflated prices and are likely to get it from desperate buyers willing to overpay. Reality is nonexistent.
I discussed this problem with one estate agent who said her agency positions itself as one that prices for fair value. She complained that certain dominant agencies inflate their list prices and buyers (for example with city bonuses) overspend, which in turn forces her agency to list properties for higher prices… it’s a vicious cycle that hurts first-time buyers, especially.
We still may get a callback on that offer though, as I find it hard to believe anybody in their right mind will pay top pound for that place.
Then again yesterday I viewed what I would call an absolute shithole 2-bedroom listed for £289,000. Yikes!
We were scheduled to view a place this past weekend in the lovely converted dock/warehouse area of Wapping, in a building called Vancouver House - Vancouver! Its a sign, right? Unfortunately that wasn’t meant to be, as our appointment was cancelled last-minute and the property taken off the market next day.
Onward then.. It’s been six weeks so far that I’ve been scouring listings and I think I/we have viewed only six or seven flats. It’s tempting to look only another mile and a half east where we could get a two or three bed house in the Olympic redevelopment area of Stratford for the same price as a 1-bed flat over here. Stratford’s got some stigma at the moment though, hence cheap prices, and we don’t really want a whole house. But who knows what will happen.
18 Jan 07 First round
So far I have viewed three flats and spent countless hours scanning listings on the internet. Properties are selling faster than they are listed, so I’ll see something new and call in to be told offers higher than the listed price have already been received.
What did I view?
250k 1-Bed Flat
Approx. 475 square feet
Somewhat near a tube station (Bethnal Green) and amenities
Partial first floor of a small terraced house
Kitchen with no appliances
Unoccupied and finished in rundown hospital aesthetic
249k 1-Bed Flat
Approx. 550 square feet
Over a mile walk north from Mile End tube
“Split Level” meaning internal stairs to top floor of Victorian House
Small with expected old-house slopey floors
Occupied with offers higer than list price likely to be accepted
280k 2-Bed Flat
Approx. 550 square feet
No tube in vicinity, 50 mins commute from Hackney Downs to Matt’s work
Victorian conversion, top floor of house
Beautiful bathroom, nice floors, kitchen in a closet (a long, narrow one)
Two websites are quite useful for general searches - Findaproperty.com and rightmove.co.uk - but otherwise you need to keep up with individual sales agencies. Depending on the area you want to buy there’s a dozen or so useful ones, so property hunting is a time-consuming process unless you have the pounds to hire a relocation firm to work for you.
I am just now heading off to view a 2-Bed in a street about 20 mins walk from where we are now, though I have no idea what to expect. The listing essentially read “2-Bed For Sale”.
1 Jan 07 Best for 2007
Today is not only the beginning of a new year; it’s the first anniversary of our arrival in London! At this time one year ago we landed at Heathrow, took a taxi to our hotel near Trafalgar Square and dropped our bags in the room we would call home for the month of January. We set out to explore the city for the first time (for me) and enjoyed the enormous welcome parade, what would become the inevitable street celebration of each anniversary to follow. Yes, shortly we’ll get out and watch what is commonly known as the annual New Year’s Day Parade!
The past year feels like a just a few months and somehow longer than a year, too. Londoners’ accents no longer sound foreign. We’ve learned enough new regional words and slang to form a small dictionary (which eventually I’ll publish here). Instead of riding the tube we’ve crossed the city on foot a number of times, each time diverting down unseen alleys and snickleways, discovering historical oddities and architectural gems in many turns. We visit many of London’s quirky markets regularly, such as those in our own neighbourhood - Petticoat Lane, Spitalfields, Sunday UpMarket, Columbia Road, Roman Road - and some further afield like Borough, Camden, Portobello Road. Our memberships for the Tate galleries and ICA have been well used, and the British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the Photographers Gallery, the V&A, Barbican and Museum of London are all familiar with us.
In the past year we have entertained visiting friends and family and had travels in Paris, Barcelona, Edinburgh, and Wales. And being careful not to snub England in our adventures, we’ve seen Brighton, Lewes, York, Scarborough, Cambridge, and a few country parts where the wind could blow through the train station without resistance by humans. This one time while walking in the woods we even entered the Matrix (perhaps a story for another day). Oh and we’ve encountered many sheep.
Matt has been to work most weekdays at his office in Mayfair, which has been sufficiently challenging and enjoyable. He estimates he’s read about 40 books in his leisure time, while I’d nearly double that number. He has also enjoyed almost all of his annual 25 days off from work. Last week he saw Victoria Beckham in Saville Row with a swarm of paparazzi close behind.
In 2006 I shot many photographs, mostly of people and landscapes. I joined the London Independent Photography group, had work in their annual exhibition and just took on the role of designing their website. I participated in a Street Photography workshop at Tate Modern and regularly attended forums at Photographers Gallery.
Yesterday - the last day of the year - I found five grey hairs in my head!
All that’s a general overview of what 2006 was for us.
Already 2007 promises to be a full one. We are currently searching for a flat to buy, which is an extremely difficult and expensive venture in central London, particularly for first-time buyers. There’s no doubt this will be a frustrating experience, one which I plan to document here blow by inevitable blow.
There’s a strong chance I could start a full-time job next week, too. I had an interview before Christmas that went very well, and expect to hear a decision by the end of this week. I have mixed feelings about working again full-time, but it has been nearly four years since I did!
Well, here’s to an healthful and exciting 2007 for those of you reading!
21 Dec 06 follow santa!
This past Saturday I had quite a surreal day keeping up with an estimated 620+ ’santas’ touring London pubs and landmarks from noon to midnight! Santacon is an annual dressup event/party that’s picking up participants all over the world, and it makes for an incredibly fun day out! Next year I’ll be sure to wear the red suit, but this time I went with the purpose to take photos imagining 30-50 santas might turn out… Locations visited by the swarming santas included Tate Modern, Camden High Street, Trafalgar Square, Jubilee Gardens (London Eye), Leicester Square fun fair and a few pubs in between. To see a few more photos I took on the day, see here.
1 Dec 06 Shopping frenzy tomorrow
I’ve finished all my shopping for the season but I’ve got plans to enter the belly of the Beast tomorrow anyway.
The Beast? That is Oxford Street, where Londoners go do their core ‘high street’ shopping. That’s where the sidewalks (or ‘pavements’) are far too narrow to meet the demand of the throng of shoppers on any regular London day. Now that it’s Christmas shopping season, unless you aim to arrive between Monday and Wednesday early in the am and escape by tube before lunch, you just don’t want to be there. Sharp elbows or not.
Ideally the street would be closed to all vehicular traffic year-round - no taxis, no buses - as pedestrians currently push and pull too much for the average window shopper’s comfort.
Tomorrow has been branded Shop West End / VIP (Very Important Pedestrian) Day: for the first time ever the whole of Oxford Street, from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch, and Regent Street, from Piccadilly Circus past Oxford St, will be closed to traffic for “a day of entertainment and shopping” (from 10:30am-5:00pm). For those uncertain, that adds up to a few miles of busy, central road. Here’s the closure map (PDF), so come on down…
And forget the shopping - this is a street party! Last year Oxford Street alone was closed for a similar event and 500,000 people turned out :D
Really though, it’s a great opportunity to do some street photography with more ‘models’ turning out than usual. Also on the streets will be Santas and reindeer and brass bands and … beautiful lights strung across the streets every 30ish feet. Should be a good time!
Glad my shopping is done though.
20 Nov 06 Entertained
Anyone who keeps a casual and personal blog understands how it feels when there’s not much in the brain itching to be written about yet when you write nothing, a nagging pressure mounts to pick a random topic out of the ether and get over the slump. So here’s my random topic: entertained.
Not all of my time in the past while has been spent shooting pictures or editing pictures. Matt and I have been out patronising galleries and theater and cinemas, as well we have lounged a bit in front of the TV. Some recent highlights include:
The Fischli and Weiss exhibit at Tate Modern
A sincerely fun retrospective of these two Swiss artists that have collaborated for 30+ years and who I’d never heard of before this show. My favourite section is the enormous room set up as what appears to be the artists’ working studio - miscellaneous tools, crates, pizza boxes and assorted junky things. The twist is that none of the objects in this room are ‘real’, but sculpted fabrications of the real things. Having not realised this until days after we visited the exhibition, I had to return to scrutinize it all for signs of imitation. Even the rubber boots and gloves looked real, it’s a complete mind-bender. Also, separately entertaining to see is the installation of giant slides in the Turbine Hall which have attracted swarms of eager and vocal kiddies.
One Man Star Wars
Nutty Canadian Charles Ross is touring his one-man spastic interpretation of the original Star Wars trilogy. We caught the show at the Garrick Theater and were generally impressed by the unpretentious wackiness of a solo guy playing all the pertinent roles plus the spaceships as though he were performing in a livingroom for a bunch of friends for a laugh. The audience loved it but, for the few who might not have, Ross offered an apology at the end mentioning how easy it could have been to misinterpret the title of the show and have expected something different… :P
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Hysterically ridiculously belligerently funny movie, yes it is, and the humour is so way over the top to be judged only ‘politically incorrect’. Any person easily offended by pretty much anything should probably never see this flick. Just when I needed lots of laughs this movie came through, however I would happily take back five of the six (or eight) minutes I spent watching that nude wrestling scene. In light of the controversial revelations regarding the making of the film my thoughts are: Sacha Baron Cohen tricking some frat guys into drinking too much - OK whatever - but swindling an entire village of poor Romanian gypsies is perhaps ethically questionable and not entirely a practice I’d like to pay money to support.
Breaking and Entering
A London-filmed movie with Jude Law, Robin Wright Penn and Juliette Binoche - some actors I quite like to watch. Unfortunately there was no baring of Jude’s bum for this one but the interesting story and clever pacing made for a decent evening out. We have a newly opened cinema / multi-purpose community arts facility in our area, Rich Mix, where tickets cost only £6 (versus £12.50 at Leicester Square)!
In the Face of History: European Photographers in the 20th Century at Barbican
Spent a few hours wandering through this enormous and engaging photography exhibit, primarily featuring exciting and moving documentary-style images. Aside from Atget and Brassai whose images of Paris I am familiar with, top highlights for me were Henryk Ross ( represented by a series of shocking images which he took in secret while imprisoned in the Lodz ghetto in Poland during World War Two) and Anders Peterson, whose photographs taken in Sweden at “Cafe Lehmitzâ€?. Some of those pictures are the best I have ever seen, ever, and I discovered this afternoon he was here in London giving a lecture ten days ago… aaargh!
BBC’s Planet Earth series with David Attenborough
It’s nature programming at its absolute best and intriguing, really, and you can buy it on DVD. It’s equally amazing to watch the ‘diaries’ segments that document some of the trials of making the series. Unbelievably these filmmakers have suffered near attacks by lions and polar bears and extreme cold all for their commitment (and producer-pressure, I think) to record unforgettable footage. Last night’s rainforest episode had the photographer waiting 120 hours in a covered hole in the ground (not in one go), waiting with a male six-wired bird of paradise to meet a female mate. The results were worth it!
6 Nov 06 Fireworks
Fireworks have been exploding nightly for the past two weeks across the street in the Altab Ali park behind the fire station - first in celebration of Diwali then last night for Guy Fawkes day.
Each time they begin I have to assure myself those bangs don’t mean a gunfight. Last night I feared some unlucky souls had their faces blown off, as the fire trucks were out every half hour. No deaths reported in the city of London though, so that’s good news.
On a somewhat related note, a few Londoners I’ve spoken with since coming here insist that London does not experience fog. This is a lie! The same people wonder how it’s possible the city has been coined “The Big Smoke” or where the term “London fog” originated…
It’s been so foggy here in the mornings I don’t know who to believe. Maybe all those fireworks are kicking up smokey foggy.. smoke fog?
6 Nov 06 right then
I’ve just finished a bath that I think has soaked off the month of October!
:D Feeling good.
I promised to show the photos that were selected for the exhibition. Here they are:
To keep up with my latest street documentary photos visit my photo home page.
11 Oct 06 Edinburgh
So busy busy through October with visitors all month! Erin from Vancouver dropped in to stay a week and we traveled up to Edinburgh. “If it ain’t Scottish it’s crap!” What an incredibly beautiful old city to spend a few days in :)
We rode the tour bus, we bought tartan wool scarves and blankets and Erin picked up a gorgeous Scottish tam with pom-pom on top. We climbed a bit of a mountain called Arthur’s Seat in the center of the city. Near the top a cheerful old chap gave us toffees from his pocket.
We sang some traditional songs with a quartet (complete with accordian and hand drum) in a local pub, toured Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse and sampled some haggis.
Here’s a couple of photos:
GET FED: 