a flat white Midnight Kiss from a troll: the week so far in pictures

In Search of a Midnight Kiss
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

Thanks to a tip of from E &R watched "insearch of a Midnight Kiss" 2007 by Alex Holdridge. It's really good don't be put of by the "indie-schmidie" start as it's got a lot of heart and shabby hipster setting rings truer than many films. It's a romance but not a too saccharine  one.

The slow drip (or should that be high pressure steamy blast) of fancy coffee is dribbling our way as New Cross has got a new cafe "the London Particular" . So taking the plunge I had my first "flat white" one of the many nuanced coffee and milk cocktails on the spectrum from Mellow birds through to well chewing raw beans!

Now the cheery woman he served me may have been antipodean so it may have been authentic but I couldn't say for sure but anyway it was a very good cup. But if you were to hold the proverbial gun to my head I would have been hard to pushed to separate it from a good cappuccino ie still strong but not awash with milk like your average "neropretbucks" fare and yes the feather leaf pattern makes it taste better!

and I found another street card, sadly not one for my playing card pack but a marvelous railway repairshop snap shot. I've said before about the particular charm of this sort of thing.
Oh and look who was stopping you get through the bent railings into the park...

Solipsism 101

Solipsism 101
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

Please forgive me a few moments of me time those lovely types at the Londonist have chosen my pictures for their "behind the lens" feature. I v. honoured .
here's the link to the feature

I am Peter Saville!!

Nice Monday bonus the Lauren Laverne show used one of my pics for their weekly mp3 download package. Which cheered me up no end . Won't quibble too much about the typography! Am thinking of a special version made for silver the manufactoring costs of which will cripple the BBC and will be delivered 3 months late in true Factory style.

Breakfast #3 with toast and a tea (no egg can I have some extra tomatoes instead please)

Breakfast #3 with toast and a tea please (no egg can I have some extra tomatoes instead please)Originally uploaded by bltphoto

I am oddly slightly annoyed my N95 often takes better snaps than my more expensive panasonic or maybe I'm pleased.. Anyway the breakfast was good  and I had fun getting all black and white with the sharp winter light while I waited (which was not that long in the end).

I'm a Photographer not terrorist

Hat
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

Here's some snaps from the mass snap in trafalgar square it was really quite jolly and friendly. Although with so many snappers none of us were used to having our picture taken!!
here's some more pics
here's the campaign site!

Another Helping of Robinson:

This is either a genius idea or oddly pointless this chap is intending to re-shoot shot for shot Patrick Keiller pioneering pyscho-geographic mock-documentary "London".  Every sane person will have seen Keiller's original and the idea this time is to shoot new scenes in the same places around London to seem how the old place has changed in last 19 (count 'em 19 years). To help with the project the director has put stills up on flickr of places and scenes he doesn't know. Like I say sounds a bit odd but well good luck to all concerned.

Off with 'er head!

Little Princess
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

AKA: Temple Of Diana.
Here's a photo project I've been working on everytime I'm in the centre of town. I was struck at how you always saw Lady Di in the postcard racks but then agian she always did get around abit.
Anyway here's the collection so far.

Discoland is closed

Discoland is closed
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

Not going to the GO-GO: Spotted this on my magical mystery tour back from "In Bruges" the other night/morning/dawn. I think the Colonel foreclosed on them but don't fear we don't have to dance in the streets just yet.

Sunny Goodge Street

Out and about .....
.......yesterday , it was such a lovely day, wandered into the British Museum but have to admit to just sitting and people watching in the great court mostly then pottered around until ended up on Goodge st for a pizza and a pint.

A sunny evening and London's endless parade of good and bad luck helped break my cabin fever and Eyoreness, my lucks never been as bad as the guy wearing a sandwich board for a sex shop (nobody did "ask him for directions" all the time I was there).

And for the price of a snifter "none of the fancy stuff it's wasted on me" an old guy in a very nice shawl collared western shirt told me some tall tales about about old Fitzrovia. I can't remember my first day at work but it didn't involve being flashed by Shirley Bassey and getting locked inside a wardrobe with 3 dancers.

Here's a slightly gloomy dutch lass singing that old teller of tales Donovan's eponymous tune.
Lisebeth List :Drai Weer Bij (Sunny Goodge st)

Bleak Kanga and other treats

bleak kanga
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

I may be getting too melancholy for my own good but I did enjoy wandering round a closed fair on Blackheath last week taking the odd snap. here's more of them.

I wander through each chartered street,

In the Foot steps of Blake:
My bus got diverted yesterday and as it got further from where I wanted to be I happened to see some old grave stones. And so happily came across Bun Hill cemetary.

Which to my shame I've never visited, its full of dead famous people.

There's some nonsense about "bunhill" meaning "bone hill" but it's clearly where you go to feed the remains of your lunchtime bun to the pigeons!

It's a lovely space the sort of place that when travel shows presenters bang on about the rich history of some far flung place you want to drag them to and go "look William Blake is buried next to Daniel Defoe, stick that in your incense burner Angkor Wat"!

Any adding to history John Wesley use to live across the road and then there is all the unknown lifes and events round here which are sadly lost to us. Anyway I went on a little walk and took some pictures and if you'll excuse my indulgence licked them to some of William's words.

(Oh and sorry for the grumpy post yesterday I don't think in retrospect the wasp people were laughing at me not sure they even noticed me flailing about but well spilt beer is spilt beer they weren't as bad as the posh tossers in the pub who didn't like test match special.)

The Lost Girls

Gallery of the Lost and Found #12

I was out about today and thought I'd hit seam of profound street treasure, everyone of them indicative of the way in which women are are portrayed in society. I then thought nah maybe your just getting carried away as usual.

Anway here's what I found and chose to take pictures of .

I was taken a back by what looks like Uma Thurman staring out of this next catalogue all the time effort that went into a photo shoot etc only for it to be dumped in the street.

Last night's tv: 1066 and all that tat

Oh and Ian get those battle axes of
the van an 'all Treacle
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

List of the day:
Anachronism in last night's Channel 4 film about 1066.

Not sure even medieval armies camped on the beach at Beachy Head below the tide line!
Every one had nice shiny white uniform round tents.
The cgi Vikings rowing their longboats the wrong way round.
The general healthy look of all the actors
The English army’s campsite “comic” who seemed to have a rather dinky caplet that had a Burberry checked lining.
The replica of Stamford Bridge seemed closer to pooh corner than anything made by people who didn’t have galvanised steel bolts with square washer and yards of yards of smooth machine cut and planed timber. You half expected to see a sign Wol’s house this way
War as a game of American football, “you open them up on the left and I’ll nip though the middle and nick their flag”.
Oh and why didn’t they shoot the big f*ck off Viking on the bridge with arrows like they did Hardrada later on.
Why is Harald Hardrada the only name you can remember from history?

This is all not to say it wasn't a lot of hairychested chainmail and battle axetastic shouty fighty fun.

looking for a new England?

Handy if your not looking for the new one
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

Are these blessed Isles (well the bottom bit anyway) the only place in world where you can see as I just did someone joylessly eating a crossiant with a knife and fork.

James Taylor and the woman in caramel

his & hers
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

What we learnt from early this morning's TV

James Taylor in concert BBC2

After watching the Wire again last night I was about to turn in when up pops a concert film initially I almost turned it off because even though he just passed a way I had confused John Martyn film (I’m a bit echo effected out I’m afraid) with James Taylor. This confusion I‘ve had for a while. I’ve come to James Taylor only recently I think years ago someone in cool leather jacket said he was a bit MOR and I just accepted this opinion coming as it did from behind some knock-off Camden market Raybans and in cloud of Marlboro light. I’ve heard his most famous songs but not much else. Anyway my computer was doing some down loading so I stayed watching. It was really good concert film (I think in general what with better cheaper cameras most concert films have got better all).

I didn’t realise he was so funny and engaging. He has a PowerPoint going behind him with funny suitable pictures to illustrate songs.
This was a home town gig so was a bit of a love in (which isn’t a crime) and some the material was clearly been road tested (but that again isn’t offence) if you not heard a line before it’s still as funny even the teller used it 100 times.

So it was a good show, I’m not sure if he did any “new” as I don’t know his back catalogue but it was entertaining and very human show. The audience were on the prosperous side. They were dressed in that smart casual way that Americas go in for, you know iron polo shirts tucked into ironed chinos coordinated down to their toes. In was probably at the time I’d listened uncritically to the leather jacket’s opinions that I first encountered this sort American uber coordination.

There was this rich American lass at Uni who was coordinated in a way no British person even the girls I knew were, with her clothes shoes, scarf even her eye make up all of a piece. She was a symphony in tasteful Armani brown like a character from a John Hughes film. I imagine she may even had had some James Taylor playing in her room, she was terribly exotic she ate popcorn with salt on it (I’d only recently moved from butterkist toffee to sugar), could afford to pay for scalped tickets for concerts and made international phone calls oh and she’d had been to Iceland to buy gold!

Not sure this all amounts to anything other than maybe black leather jackets don’t have all the answers despite their glamour.

The Magazine of the moment?

25/03/2009 The Magazine of the moment?
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

Saw this in smith's today. It's just a marvelous thing.

When was this picture taken?

When was this picture taken?
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

A little quiz for wednesday: I found this nice postcard in a box and have been trying to work out when it was taken.

It must late 60's although the card was sent in 1982. The amount of wasteland around this bit of town still amazes me.

If you click through to flickr you can see some more notes I made on it.

18/03/2009 Fire in the immigration office on chancery lane

18/03/2009 Fire in the immigration office on chancery lane
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

this is what it looked like when i left work i hope no one is hurt.

Sent earlier and posted from my phone.

Blackthorn & Bees

Blackthorn & Bees
Originally uploaded by bltphoto

Takin' pictures of the Pretty flowers :let's have a heated debate!

I won't predict spring is arriving again, last time I did that we had "the snow"! All I will say is that I hope this bee collecting the first nectar and pollen of the year continues to thrive!

I had a strange conversation while pestering the bee to take it's picture. I was in the little park across the road on the way back from the market and was waving my phone around in the blossom, when a women comes up. I had my head phones on (can you imagine a phone that also plays music and takes picture all at once what times we live in!) away I was concentrating on the bee and only slowly realised she wasn't talking animatedly on her blue tooth but talking at me .

I removed my earbuds (why do people never see them?) and turned to her "what are you doin'?" "what are you doin' taking pictures of the pretty flowers?" she had been saying, she wasn't really a conversation person so I couldn't get in my usual reposte I use in these situations "because they are there " she just went on "what are you doin' taking pictures of the pretty flowers?".

I was flummoxed, normally I'm left to myself when out snapping and also I sort of thought she'd answered her own question ie "because they are pretty". Seeing as I didn't give much of a response (although I'm not sure she wanted one really) beyond smiling and muttering something about the blackthorn's "blossominess "she wandered off continuing to repeat at least twice her mantra........ "takin pictures of the pretty flowers".

I don't think she was intoxicated or otherwise distressed, she looked quite normal well dressed even. I don't know what it was all about, it was just a bit odd.

So here's my contentious picture of "the pretty flowers" and that hungry bee (which if not pretty is attractive in it's own hopefully less contentious way)

Location Location Location

Class war and other flavours:

Saw these today, is it just me or does "Croxton Manor" sound less like an aspirational foodie organic heaven and more like your towns dodgy sink estate("what d'ya expect she's from Croxton manor") or the local hard school that everyone's a bit scared of .

I bet bus driver refuse to drive past these crisps and estate agents try to say "well they are not really croxton manor cheddar more maldon sea salt and aged Siena balsamic fringes crisps...."


Every sane person knows crisps only come from one place .....Bradford