Lilac, Gold and Red

One of the things I love about big cities is the endless supply of visual feasts and contrasts in colour, forms, style, scale and age. Autumn and winter sunshine always enhance the views.

Tokyo is the place more full of contrasts than anywhere I've ever been with tiny old, wooden buildings next to new, high blocks, bright signs, traditional costume, millions of potted plants next to air conditioner outlets - I could go on. I've been there twice and both times barely slept in the fortnight because my eyes were overstuffed from the daily feasts.

The drinks machines punctuate and light up the city by night. I went in autumn and took a trip out of town where the red and orange maples are similarly overwhelming. One day I would love to go back in spring to see the blossom.

Slicker City

I always loved this tin church in Clapham, South London. Googling tin churches I found a great selection of pictures of more places like this here. I love corrugated iron as a material and rusted up in the countryside it is perfectly landscaped. I wish I'd photographed this palce before it was repainted too; it used to be more greeny. So many times I've kicked myself for not getting a photo of something that's struck me in London and then it's gone. This city is changing faster than ever.

And sure enough this place is supposed to be replaced at some point according to this article on the Brixton Society site. Of course the owners may be thrilled to get a new place - this looks hard to heat, but I'm a sucker for character and quirks and London is getting them ironed out at a rate of knots - how boring!!!!
I read a very sobering article on the changes in London here; 'London: the city that ate itself'. Very interesting and amongst other examples it tells how my previous studio provider ACAVA will have lost 200 studios to development. Most other providers are having similar losses. Hands up who's not under threat!?!

Included in that article is the sad tale of the A&C Continental Delicatessen on Atlantic Road in Brixton. Save the Arches is a massive campaign.

This is a lovely, much loved shop run by lovely people. They gave me a hug when I was in there one day feeling miserable that I was going to be evicted (them having no idea they were next) and my mum had had a stroke at the same time. It's a proper friendly, community shop that knows all it's customers. Go there now while you can before Pret a Manger crash in at quadruple the rent and where will we get all those lovely Mediterranean herbs and olives etc, and a slice of water melon on a hot day?

My former home in Brixton: I am proud of everything we achieved there as a housing co-operative. In How to be Bohemian (not sure which episode) Will Self mentions how Bohemia becomes commodified and then becomes hipsterdom and loses all edge....exactly what's happened to Brixton. It's significant that my chandeliers were born and nurtured in a self help co-op in an old building with tons of character and the scope to make our flats really our own environments.
Well I guess that the provinces will benefit from all this rapid change, partially squeezed out myself (split between several places now) I find the undeveloped corners of Plymouth - for example - really refreshing to see. Then in years/decades to come  I'm sure parts of London will be an urban wasteland again and we can all go and live in Billionaires Row (rotting mansions) or those luxury flats that are owned as investments and not lived in; in fact maybe ACAVA could run them as artists studios....

Canal Cityscape

Views from a canal walk in London are some of the best, surreal cityscapes you can find and they change at every turn: some sinister some heavenly. A walk from Little Venice to Kings Cross offers many stopping off points too.
More surrealism came later the same day as I returned to Brixton and rioting broke out on this traditional frontline, a scene that took me back 20 odd years. At the risk of sounding flippant it all made me wonder why rioters are so conventional; the same turf, the same missiles, the same looting (though much more this time) the same number of cars on fire climaxing in at least one sacrificial building with a shop at it's heart. Unimaginative people can be really dangerous.

Banksy would approve.....

I really hope they don't fix these....