Pepe the Backyard Bird

Sometimes you don’t even have to venture out of your own backyard to find those little things that make you smile. Every time I sit outside on a summer evening, this little bird – who we’ve named “Pepe” – pops his head over the wall and watches us.

I’m reading my book (Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures – True Stories from a War Zone – which is very good, if you’re wondering) and sipping on some (highly recommended) Jasmine Tea Pigs tea, and he flutters down next to my chair and watches me. He quite likes to have his photo taken, I think.

The Pig Who Lives on Bacon Street

Speaking of ROA, I thought I’d kick off the week with another awesome animal piece – created (ironically?) on Bacon Street, E1. (Isn’t he cute?)

Bacon Street is one of those side streets off of Brick Lane – down the end near the bagel shops – a sticker-plastered, graffiti-painted, fashionably-grimy, market-chic little side street with a secondhand Sunday market selling everything from doll’s heads (bodies sold at a different stall down the aisle somewhere) to silverwear, trainers, tyres, electronic parts from 1942 and broken scooters.

It’s got abandoned bicycles, chubby vendors soozing in lawn chairs outside of corner shops, bustling Brick Lane voices and street music in the backdrop and still, as always, the faint smell of South Asian spices. Here’s an old pic  from last summer of the sign at the Brick Lane end, also written in Bengali.

Anyway, it’s called Bacon Street. Enough said.

Photo Scavengers – October

This will be quite a long entry as is it is a result of the Photo Scavenger hunt for October. The main site is here if you want to check it out or join in. Some of these photos have already been posted here, so I will make them smaller.

OCTOBER KEY WORDS:

 

1.   Cosy
Strangers snuggled up under a willow tree in Camden

2.   A stranger
For this one, I did something I never did before and worked up the nerve to approach a stranger for a photo. I got talking to her because she was selling lapis lazuli jewellery from Afghanistan in Camden Market for a man who was away to see his family in Kabul. When I asked her, she was amazingly cooperative, found a cool place to stand. She said, “You know, I’m flattered. I used to be a model you know. Many years ago. I ain’t got the face anymore, but I’ve still got the body.”

3.   An icon of your city
Two for one deal – Big Ben and the London Underground.

4.   Childhood
This little girl was hanging out in Hampstead on Sunday while we were watching the Morris Dancers.

5.   Something red and green
Not the best image as far as photography goes, but instead of red and green foliage photos, I chose this one because I thought the concept was pretty cool to fit the key word (along with the colours, of course).

6.   A pattern or texture
This was taken near St James’s Park.

 

7.   Street art
This is above a garage on Portobello Road.

8.   An image that could be a book cover
For some sort of thriller novel…This is from the edge of the City.

9.   Old
A lively Morris Dancer in Hampstead, taking a break from his performance.

10.   New
New growth, Ravenscourt Park, West London

11.   A shadow or silhouette
A silhouette of branches against the sunset over Parliament Hill, Hampstead Heath in North London.

12.   Language
Bilingual English/Bengali street sign off Brick Lane, East London

13.   Music
Camden Market

14.   Autumn
So many Autumn photos this month, but this is Hampstead Heath.


15.   An animal
Okay, I have some fluffy ones as well, but decided to opt for the bird on a sign. Found this one in St. James’s park one evening. The bird just stood there looking about, not a care in the world.

16.   A place to contemplate life
Hampstead Heath again… what can I say? It’s a good place for photos. And comtemplating life…

17.   Something that begins with the letter O
O is for “orange”, a coloured building that stands out in Covent Garden.

18.   A reflection on water
St. James’s Park

19.   An interesting perspective
D and a lonely tree in Hampstead Heath.

20. A self-portrait
Just me in my room.

Who Cares?

Today, I walked through Portobello Market.

A man was standing silently, completely still, in the middle of the road, the crowds splitting around him like oil and water. Over his back and chest, he wore a sign with graphic pictures of animal abuse and in big letters, it said, “Who cares?”

As I was walking past, an American woman turned back at him and smiled.

She said, “I care.”