Guerrilla Gardening

So, friends (and mysterious readers) that reside in the Philadelphia area, please check out this website which is the homepage for guerrilla gardening

Or if you're too lazy, I'll briefly explain it: guerrilla gardening is cultivating neglected land that does not belong to you, basically making small parts of the city beautiful. It started in London with a man named Richard Reynolds (who spoke to our class today). He planted flowers and other plants on public land in the middle of the night and continues to care of it. He planted seeds with his own money, on his own time. The movement has grown from there, all local people who want to make and keep their residence beautiful.

It's attracted some media attention:
like this article in the NY Times

And I think it's a lovely idea. That's all I'm going to say for now, but I think the Philly area could use something like this. So, just keep that in mind when I head back to the States.



A guerrilla lavender garden found in the London borough of Lamberth.

Tube Art Tour

For our class trip today, we had a scintillating tour of Tube art. Where we rode the Tube. For an hour. To look at artwork. That was impossible to find. And some of the pieces weren't even in existence anymore. And one piece was displayed outside. Where it was pouring.

But I suppose things could be worse. I could be camping outside of Parliament like these guys in the pouring English rain:



They've camped here since England entered the Iraq War in protest (at least, I think). Now, that's dedication!

Screw Abbey Road!

Now, off to find Acacia Avenue!



Me, rocking the Invisible Orange Pose on stage at THE RUSKIN ARMS!!! The very same rock club where Maiden used to play. I almost kissed the floor, but I restrained myself.

Did a bit of an Iron Maiden tour in east London with a friend I met on Bruce Air last night. Rocked the stage at the Cart and Horses (another rock club Maiden,at least Steve Harris and the less important early members, used to frequent) karaoke night. The English were never graced with the awesome-ness that is Journey's "Don't Stop Believing."

So, me being the pseudo goth I've always been, took a walk through Highgate Cemetery today. Weird England spoke of vampires and horror movie settings, so that's what I went looking for. Karl Marx is also buried here, but he's not nearly as cool as vampires.





And I wonder who this post-modernist is:

I think

I'm becoming a hermit. An English-ish hermit, but a hermit none the less.

England's Green and Pleasant Land

Honestly, I was more impressed with the giant sky of England's country side:



Then I was with Stonehenge. Because really, when it comes down to it, it's just a bunch of rocks.





Bath is a cute town, very un-Englandy. It seemed like something straight out of Rome (possibly because it's Roman?) But still, I felt the unexcavated bath house at Chesters by the Hadrian's Wall site was cooler. This was nice, but too touristy for my tastes.

Canals and Flowers

Originally, I wanted to head to Primrose Hill to see if I could spot any celebrities milling about. Instead, I got distracted by this delightful canal, called the Reagent's Canal. It's 8 1/2 miles long. I only walked two (well, four if you count there and back again) between Camden Lock and Little Venice.





These are house boats. There's at least 50 of them.

The roses were in Ireland and the sunflower came from somewhere near Tate Modern in London. No particular reason to post them, other than the fact that I like them.






Headed off the Bath and Stonehenge tomorrow as part of a class trip. Speaking of the class, everyone else has gone off to a night of Dionysian abandon around London. Me? I'm also having a wild night of tea, Kaki King albums, and The Lord of the Rings. Yeah, I know. I'm buck wild.

London Street Art

Our street art tour was the most interesting and useful thing my class has done so far. And that's all I'll say about that.











This girl with the Samurai sword is everywhere. The top photo was taken near South Bank, and the bottom was in the East End.





This skate park is smack in the center of the tourist trap South Bank (which rests on the River Thames, home of the London Eye, the aquarium, the Dali museum, across from Parliament, etc.)





Some Banksy. I found the top image in the East End and the bottom near South Bank.







England seems to really love Obama here.



Not everyone appreciates the street art.