Trafalgar Square Vigil

Vigil for Victims of Hate Crimes 
Trafalgar Square 30th Oct 2009.
More pictures here
Here's my views from the other day.

And some Johnny C because the version last night was lost into the night air.






 Johnny Cash - Danny Boy

5am eternal

Not sure if it was the sound of the fridge going off (it's a small flat)or the mess of the clocks going back that means i'm a wake. After the usual sleepless stuff pillows,cold feet or cold shoulders i end up wondering if john humphries is awake yet . In his car being driven through the finally empty streets of west london.
Then the first plane goes over full of weary travellers ready for 24 hour croissants ,bad coffee and the chug of taxis at Heathrow.
Then the woman that shouts in our block wakes up and starts shouting.
Just then the fridge comes back on and the next plane full of bad pastry eating cab riding hopefuls comes over and i reach for my phone to write this.

Parklife episode 234!

Yesterday I sat out in the surprisingly warm wind in my back garden (or as the council insist on calling it the park) it was quite lovely. Across the fence from me a family were playing mostly happily. The mother was telling her partner/ brother/ son to pull his trousers up, the family’s caramel covered bull terrier complete with harness was happily pulling a toddler’s trike across the grass by the wheel (what is it with dogs and tyres?). All the while the toddler was happily chasing leaves and whacking the ground with a stick the way the children do.


In the hedge between us was to my mind one of the most elegant trees, a willowy (?) Rowan. Not the proudest specimen but elegant in a scrubby twisted way, it’s precise fractal canopy tricking your eyes as the tiny pinnate leaves make moiré patterns against the blue and cotton bud cloudy sky.

Even to my dodgy colour blind eyes the rowan leaves where fading through beautiful colours from dusty faded green to sour yellow at the tips. The trees branches are laden with clusters of berries, no longer the acid harsh almost fluorescent red of a few weeks ago but a hotch potch of dark reds, browns and mellow oranges; full of ripeness. The ripeness of the fruit attracting in the few minutes I was there several male & female black birds, great and blue tits, also a wren and Jay flew through too. The day must be lucky because even the pigeons are the sleek beautiful type with the glossy plumage of prized racing birds rather than the battered greasy KFC fed examples you often get in town.

It’s a cliché that local wildlife is as good as TV nature programmes but I’m not sure HD TV shots of hungry sharks mauling sea lions quite beat the rustling of the wind in hedge filled with so much colour and movement.

Across the grass a grey squirrel is hoping along , his (he just look a bit more butch ok) perfectly bushy tail doing that wonderful thing where one twitch sends a quiver of motion down its length as every hair reacts in perfect wave.

I know brer grey is much maligned but I doubt his cuter red cousin ever did that well in Deptford and it would hard heart in deed who could take against such poised creature. If only we could hang from our feet head down the trunk and effortlessly look around seemingly without effort or pop up in the grass head twitching like the much more cherished meerkats. This one just now was a beautiful russet browny red as if blushing from forcing out their more loved red story book cousins. And then to further endear itself it acts out more “Autumnwatch” fare by carefully bearing berries in the grass. Looking up as it digs in case anyone spots where here’s hiding his winter snacks.

I do like my garden.

Only the Lonely

Alone again naturally
I was sorting through my photos and remembered I had this shot of some wall writing in Covent Garden. In my less than consistent way this is the sort of graffiti is the sort I approve off someones intense daubings on walls random slogans or even love tokens. Seeing the shot spark another memory of obscure seven inch I found.
The title the Loneliness of London intrigue (I buy most things unknown to me with London in title)

It's a weird late sixties sub JacqueBrel/scott walker not so swinging London pop tune.It starts of bleakly but I think the ending is a bit of cop out but well have listen. It may sound slightly weird as the anti-crackle software can be harsh.I can find nothing out about Peter Reeves so if you know anything please share.

Peter Reeves: the Loneliness of London

More questions than answers

Troubling times
Not sure what to make of the whole Question Time thing, it had far too much of X-factor hype about it for my liking. I'm all for challenging and defeating racist bullies but the "hoo ha" sidesteps many of the real issues that are leading to the BNP's rise. Oh and not many of the BNP's supporters watch QT.

In fact the fight against intolerance is a dual strand (at least) firstly the ongoing fight against deep seated prejudice that still sees people kicked to death in our towns for being perceived as different in some way. Be they a Goth couple on their way home from the pub, Gay men out celebrating or a black lad in the "wrong" place. This and all the humdrum prejudice of those we meet day to day (which can be hard to confront when it comes from people  that in other ways we like or even respect).

Then there's the support for BNP some of it from racists and bigots but other support is from the benighted and confused; the "what about me" vote.  A weird mixture of people's natural parochialism, small town isolation and misdirected socio/economic grievances. When governments have been doling help to all sorts of vested interest (the banks,the hedge funds,those in high tax bands) this group  has looked around and thinks they've lost their place in the queue and their bitterness can lead them to BNP.  Of course there are people in this situation who don't turn to fascists but who give of themselves to others in their communities in all sorts of ways and maybe it's these people our senior politician should be working with instead of hanging out with billionaires on their yachts all summer.

The problems we face are serious but not insurmountable we do  live in a more tolerant country, for instance my friends who teach tell of openly gay schools kids who even though it's not completely problem free feel able to come out at school. This would have been unthinkable when I went to school.

It's not all perfect and we take steps backward as well as forward all the time. We all just have to find the little ways to make a difference, like I say no massive answers from me but if you hear of ways to help let me know.
La Lucha Continua!

Sad News : Liam Maher (Flowered UP)

Oh, these things are never easy particularly when people are caught in your memory in their and your youth . But for a steamy mad evening  the cover of NME had come to visit  Leeds and we Bezed away to "it's On" (twice because they ddin't have many songs) with Liam's distorted vowels and the bands lazy lope it was the place to be. Oh and "weekender" played out for the following years distiling the thrill of going out better than most other things. So here's a some joyful nonsense from ITV oh and aren't kids always cooler in pop videos than popstars.

Space Shuttle External Tank Above Earth (NASA, File Photo)

Space Shuttle External Tank Above Earth (NASA, File Photo)
Originally uploaded by nasa1fan/MSFC

We heart Nasa:
Another great image from flickr of the space station project. Go to flickr and see the next one of the new rocket taking off in long exposure.