City

"A truly sustainable city is a city where the least human energy and time is spent in getting things done. Then people have time for reflection and can once again act like human beings, not the robots they have been forced to become." Balkrishna Dolshi in this months Wallpaper* 

In September's Wallpaper*  magazine, Architecture Icon, Balkrishna Dolshi, discusses how both his career and the cities of India have progressed and evolved in the past 60 years. I have to disagree with his closing statement that suggests a City should provide time and space for reflection. To me, cities are squashed spaces of hedonism and haste where time is running away so fast that you are constantly chasing after it so as not to miss out on a single second. This is not necessarily a negative characteristic, more of a lifestyle choice. Those who desire time for reflection retreat to environments that are both physically and spiritually spacious and wholesome. What makes a city a city is its continual roar of happening. Whether it is the 8am commute on the district and circle line, or the lunch time squabble for that small patch of grass to lunch on, or the gaggle of workers slowly coming down off their office-high at 7pm with a cosmo, or the dull ring of tender, fuzzy heads getting the night bus home after a heavy night out. Yes, a true city should provide minimal space for thought and reflection to ensure the harsh reality of the inevitable robot lifestyle is avoided for as long as humanly possible.

Simon Clark

Whilst under house-arrest at Villa Theresa due to illness, I have stumbled across some treats via the only form of communication with the outside world: tinternet. Here are two gorgeous images by one of O'Neil's photographers: Simon Clark who is featured in this months edition of Cooler magazine

I love the overexposed, ethereal quality of these two images. It reminds me of boiling hot summer nights by the ocean when you get that heat haze over the water...

you know the ones where you can smell the salt water and gentle barbeque smoke and you can hear soft yet constant laughter and feel a bit hazy yourself after a couple of beers. 

Beautiful.

Thinking of lovely things...

sundays

ben howard's voice

barranco longo aragonez

broccoli

going home...very soon

english pub gardens

big waves that swallow you up 

fresh powder

laughing until tears roll

standing infront of bass speakers

bonfires

fresh bread straight out of the oven

clean bed sheets straight off the washing line

drawing the first line with a new pencil

camping

small smiles

long bike rides

running in the rain

those long sighs that end in a feeling of complete contentment.

Recent views

So, it is nearly time to leave the silly-hot Portuguese heat behind and return to unpredictable English "shall-I-take-an-umbrella" weather. It has been a colourful, calm few months, spending lazy days on the west coast and hectic weekends in Lagos and Lisbon. 
One thing that still baffles me is how the locals manage to spend their days carrying out everyday doings in forty degree heat whilst wearing cordrouy trousers, brogue shoes, long sleeved shirts and flat caps. They must constantly be at cup of tea temperature. Aah, Cornish cream tea...not long now.

Aurelialala

It has been over a year since I graduated and I safely say that I have neglected the creative part of me. 

However, a very good friend of mine, Aurelia Lange, has been putting even more time and effort into creating beautiful imagery than ever before. 

Have a look at her website...it is wonderful.

 www.aurelialange.co.uk 
 

Random Acts of Heroic Love by Danny Scheinmann

"How strange Leo though, that they should have been involved in two bus crashes. Could that really have been coincidence or had fate been chasing Eleni? What if fate did exist? Eleni was frightened of only one thing in Latin America: buses. Not illness or crime or any other horror, only buses. And in the end the buses had got her, perhaps somewhere deep inside her soul she had known her fate.

On the other hand, Leo reasoned maybe it had nothing to do with fate at all. It could work the other way round. We might be so frightened of something that we bring it upon it upon ourselves. You're  standing on a ledge and you have a fear of falling, the fear makes you lose your balance. You're frightened of dogs, the dogs smells the fear and bites you. That makes some sense, but how does this apply to the bus crash? That would imply the existence of the paranormal. Leo couldn't stop himself entertaining the idea.

Was Alexandra right? Could God have been harvesting for heaven? Or was Eleni just in the wrong place at the wrong time?

His mind was racing, searching for as explanation or the inexplicable. Fate, telekinesis, luck, religion - now there  was no territory that he would not explore. He was like a leaf buffeted in the breeze, unable to find his way back up the tree that had given him stability."

Plans for the Autumn

So, only one month left until I am back in the real world again and I have started snooping around for fun things to do, good tunes to hear, and beautiful things to see. 

Here are a few of them...

Rankin Live at the Truman Brewery until 18th September...the man is a legend and the Truman Brewery is an amazing space to hold such an exciting exhibition. 

http://www.rankinlive.com/#/the_retrospective/ 

thelondonpaper HEADLINER: fink, doves, daniel merriweather, BEN HOWARD, dj yoda...yeah.

http://thelondonpaperheadliners.com/ 

Telling Tales looks like a magic land. In Kensington. 

http://www.vam.ac.uk/microsites/telling-tales/index.html 

Four years later

"It is easy to love in memory: the hard part is to love them when they are there, in front of you"

from "My Father's Tears & Other Stories" John Updike

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