I came across this mural on the side of the Southbank Centre near Waterloo the other day: The Southbank Centre says this about Sam Durant’s artwork: The handwritten text originates from a placard used in the 1963 March on Washington, a landmark event of the American Civil Rights movement. Removed from its original context, the laconic phrase is open to interpretation. It might speak to … Continue reading What are YOU waiting for?
I’ve struggled with nail-biting for over 20 years. I don’t know when it began, but there’s a home video of me nibbling away at my sister’s baptism – I was five. I could never pin down exactly why I bit my nails. My mum theorised that it might be stress. Another potential explanation was boredom. All I knew was that if there was any white … Continue reading What nail-biting taught me about life
A few favourites spotted recently … From murals to quaint street signs to wall decorations to shutters to artful flowers to an abandoned piano to lighting to seats that spell out ‘welcome’ … You can find more like this on my Instagram. Continue reading London street art
Last weekend I went to see Josiah McElheny’s ‘The Crystal Land’ exhibition at Bermondsey’s White Cube. Among the items in this collection were his series of ‘paintings’ consisting of glass domes and pillars set inside gem-shaped, mirrored window boxes (not shown): Looking inside these structures, I was reminded of what it’s like to stare down a cathedral nave – ad infinitum – or of the Wizard … Continue reading Crystalline art
This post has been a long time coming and I have been hinting at it for a while. Last month, I left my very decent job to become a Philosophy student. To some people, perhaps this will seem crazy. Quitting a job with good prospects, a salary, the opportunity to travel, throwing away the social capital of liking and trust I’d made efforts to build, … Continue reading [Life updates from me]
Extroverts take their energy from bouncing off other people, whereas introverts draw strength from their inner lives: this has become commonplace, but I remember feeling profoundly understood when I first came across the idea that feeling drained by loud restaurants and busy parties wasn’t abnormal. It was an important discovery because it often feels like extroverts rule the world, and extroverted characteristics are often extolled … Continue reading How to party like an introvert
One of my favourite parts of London is Bankside, the riverside route between Blackfriars Bridge and London Bridge. The 800 metres between the Tate Modern and the eastern end of Clink Street hold a quirky mix of buildings in various architectural styles covering 800 years. Listed residential chic 51 Bankside is a terraced house built in the early 1700s. In the 1950s the Southwark Cathedral … Continue reading 800 years in 800 metres
I first encountered A Midsummer Night’s Dream while reading Ballet Shoes as a child. The three Fossil sisters are enrolled at stage school, where reluctant actress Petrova is nearly fired from her role as the fairy Mustard-Seed in the play, after repeatedly struggling to intone correctly the very simple line ‘And I’. Yesterday I saw a hilarious and mad production of the play at the Globe. It … Continue reading Midsummer jollity at the Globe
Or, how to be really really dysfunctional in 18 easy steps: It’s Friday night. Your plane lands at Gatwick after a five-hour delay and you arrive home at 10.20pm. Go out anyway. Get in at 3.30am having got up at 4.30am for a flight that morning and therefore having been up for 23 hours Get up unnaturally early the following day to have brunch with … Continue reading How to make great life choices
“So did you get up to much this weekend?” “Yeah no, it was a pretty quiet one actually, grabbed dinner with some friends on Friday then went to a couple of bars on Clapham High Street, my friend was DJing – had a pretty early one, got an Uber home. Saturday morning I had my yoga class (so hungover!) then met some friends for lunch … Continue reading When a woman is tired of London …
in my write mind 