I confess I did not take my camera with me, so managed to miss some quite visually stunning sights. The sky as it faded into a patchy red sunset and an interesting piece of Banksy style graffiti (It was of a black angel and on the side of a shop). Nonetheless, I was there and it was a splendid and revealing evening.
Coming out of Highbury and Islington Station is similar to descending onto an affluent alien terrain. Yet, Upper Street in Islington still suffers from the horrors of modern life i.e. Starbucks, the restaurant with the Golden Arches and more mobile phone shops than you can salute with two fingers. Then if you walk down towards Angel, you are overwhelmed by the range of card shops that scatter the environment inviting you in to buy post ironic commentaries on the modern art scene and upon a life lived inside a sweet wrapper. Wonka's 'Golden Ticket' is up for grabs for everyone around this neck of the woods and the rose tinted glasses are blinding. There is a problem with homelessness in this area but that is offered as an observation, not as a judgement. It is a London problem overlooked in the miasma of Boris Bikes and royal babies.
Whilst walking down Upper Street on my journey to the Hilton Islington, I felt caught up as though in a Bret Easton Ellis novel. Wealthy people happily engaging in their Friday night frolics. Sojourns into restaurants with minimalist names. I wouldn't have been surprised if one had simply been called 'Yes: The Restaurant You Want'. There was in fact a restaurant called 'The Fish and Chip Shop'. I was left wondering what sort of food they offered? I think my favourite eatery was called 'Snog'. Basically, it appeared to be an ice cream parlour where everybody sat on upended toilets. Actually, having done a little bit of research, they sell frozen yoghurt. How silly of me to think that ice cream would be served these days in London outside of a Haagen Dazs or Ben and Jerrys?
Anyhow, Islington has the Almeida Theatre and the Union Chapel. Both of which are worth visiting. Indeed, the reason why I found myself in the foyer of the Hilton Islington at 9pm on a Friday night was thanks to the Almeida Theatre. As is the case with many so-called 'fringe' theatres at this time of year, the Almeida Theatre puts on a festival. Normally, short performance pieces or works in progress. Last night's event was 'I Do', a site specific event wonderfully created to maximise the impact of six unique rooms and a corridor. As the audience arrived, we exchanged our tickets for flowers. We got to choose our flowers. I opted for a dark purple pinhole, which went with my eyes after a day at work. There were six groups and six guides, who could be recognised by their matching flowers. At 9.15 pm promptly, we were led to the third floor after being instructed as to the appropriate protocol within a functioning hotel. Also intriguingly, we were advised to walk close to the walls, in case people passed us. Each group was taken into a different room and through the six separate 'scenes' as I will call them then led out into the corridor where a member of cast dressed as a cleaner repeated her backward progression down the corridor and then out of site as music played backwards. Essentially, the play was comprised of the six interrelated scenes that when slotted together formed a complete story. Each scene being set fifteen minutes before a couple get married. The scenes were small intimate pieces. Some were funny and the audience had the dubious pleasure of being acted around and indeed, occasionally pushed out of the way. At one point, as the Bride and Bridesmaids got ready, I ended up temporarily shut in a bedroom! Without giving too much away, think last minute doubts, newly discovered bisexuality and troubled familial relationships and you get a sense of the narrative and its development.
Now the production itself was wonderful because it emphasised a point that seems to be overlooked by some producers of 'immersive theatre', that you do need a plot or structure to anchor the audience. The visual aspects of a production are of course, important but in order to remain memorable and to hold the attention of the audience, you need something that engages their soul and intellect. I need to feel what I experience. Using the hotel, the theatre company, Dante or Die could use bathroom mirrors to show a Best Man giving his speech. Also some of the rooms were intimate enough to portray highly emotional scenes. A man in a wheelchair (I believe the Groom's father) and a woman (probably the Groom's mother) trying to get him ready for the wedding. The woman revealing her love for this man, paradoxically tied to an inherent frustration with the endless daily rituals performed as she is forced to be both a wife and carer.
'I Do' was brilliant and the Hilton Islington is on my list of places to stay if I ever become a millionaire. I want it made clear that as I left the hotel and indeed, the station, I like Highbury and Islington. Yes, it suffers from the current need for redevelopment sucking the history out of everything and rendering everything the same. Yet somewhere amongst the hatchet job, there remains a vibrant community with its own identity like Stoke Newington and Camden. Just ease up on the standard high street stores and lay off on the pretension.
Barry Watt - 3rd August 2013
Afterword
Haagen Dazs, Starbucks and 'the Golden Arches' are all copyright to their respective holders.
Willy Wonka and the 'Golden Ticket' appear in 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' by Roald Dahl, one of the best children's books ever written. Currently available from Puffin Books.
Snog have a website and I will visit it properly to sample their wares in the future.
http://www.ifancyasnog.com/
'I Do' is copyright to Dante or Die and finishes tonight although, I believe it has toured. They have a website too.
http://www.danteordie.com/
Also the Almeida Theatre, if you want to try theatre that is more varied than the usual West End model of here's another Chekhov or Ibsen! (Not that I mind either of those two playwrights).
http://www.almeida.co.uk/
The Hilton Hotel has a website too but that won't surprise anyone. Here's the link to the Hilton Islington where you too can cry at the prices!
http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/united-kingdom/hilton-london-islington-hotel-LONISHN/offers/100048084.htm?WT.mc_id=zMWGBAA0UK1WW2PSH3SearchEngines4GrGetawayXIII5EN7GW841547&WT.srch=1
BW
Saturday, 3 August 2013
Saturday, 13 July 2013
Kew Gardens - Beauty through nurturing hands.
Okay, firstly, another much delayed blog entry. The L.O.P. seems to be the never-ending project but I guess, so long as I accept that, I can still have fun seeing where it takes me (and others).
Today, I cheated... Not through choice but through some kind of happening that effectively cancelled several services on the London Overground. I was going to use the Overground to get home from Kew Gardens, so thus fulfilling my intention of using the line to justify the project. But let's face it, the L.O.P. is actually more about discovering London and its environs plus I did get to visit Kew Gardens' Overground station (the same as the Underground station). The Overground platform is also the platform for the District Line.
Enough with the dull as dishwater explanation and on with the nice empowering embrace of Nature...
I attended Kew Gardens at just after 9.30 am. I anticipated that my visit there would be quite long and the weather being remarkably hot, I decided that by arriving early, my exit could be achieved before the joys of char grilled Barry (it's currently 4.41 pm and my skin is feeling tight and hot but not burnt).
My first impression of Kew Gardens concerned its size. Upon entering, I was given a map which I consulted then put in my pocket for awhile. It's always best to explore then consult the map when the paths least travelled fail to manifest themselves or alternatively, you get lost walking round and round seeking the Bonsais (yes, I did!)
The first thing that really grabbed my attention other than the toilets but that's a given, (Unusually, these toilets had a glass ceiling, so birds, insects and other animals could watch whilst you peed. An image that is oddly comforting until you realise that birds see colours different to us, so parts of the human anatomy probably look really weird to them), was the Temple of Arethusa with a plaque that had been constructed to commemorate those members of staff who had died in the two World Wars.
The interior of Kew Palace is occupied by attendants dressed in period dress, either looking very happy to see you or feeling ridiculous and counting the hours until lunch. It's peculiar how little of the interior of the Palace I recall. I do remember the quotes scattered around indicating that this lifeless shell was once a place of life. Bed chambers merely hinting at bodily exertions and the exchange of fluids. The portraits on the wall depicted wealthy individuals with bushy eyebrows and beards. Both symbolising overbearing masculinity in men and women.
Back to my wanderings outside... At the moment, Kew Gardens has quite an interesting program of events and novelties under the innovative title of 'INCREDIBLES' (Split the word in two and you get the idea, the focus is on edible plants etc. One of the first sights that caught my eye was a table lined up with plates. It felt like something out of a novel.
One of the many wonderful devices seeking to help to create a love of horticulture in children is this giant ruler, demonstrating the growth rate of the Giant Bamboo. One point I must emphasise is how hot the greenhouses were. Some of them also had the addition of sprinkler systems, so not only did you boil alive under glass but you were also sprinkled with hot water. A small price to pay when you are appreciating the beauty of Nature.
Throughout the Gardens, I was mesmerised by the vast array of flowers, insects, animals, fish and birds I encountered. I took over three hundred photos (I know but I like flowers etc), so here's a small assortment of them for your pleasure and delectation.
Today, I cheated... Not through choice but through some kind of happening that effectively cancelled several services on the London Overground. I was going to use the Overground to get home from Kew Gardens, so thus fulfilling my intention of using the line to justify the project. But let's face it, the L.O.P. is actually more about discovering London and its environs plus I did get to visit Kew Gardens' Overground station (the same as the Underground station). The Overground platform is also the platform for the District Line.
Enough with the dull as dishwater explanation and on with the nice empowering embrace of Nature...
I attended Kew Gardens at just after 9.30 am. I anticipated that my visit there would be quite long and the weather being remarkably hot, I decided that by arriving early, my exit could be achieved before the joys of char grilled Barry (it's currently 4.41 pm and my skin is feeling tight and hot but not burnt).
My first impression of Kew Gardens concerned its size. Upon entering, I was given a map which I consulted then put in my pocket for awhile. It's always best to explore then consult the map when the paths least travelled fail to manifest themselves or alternatively, you get lost walking round and round seeking the Bonsais (yes, I did!)
The first thing that really grabbed my attention other than the toilets but that's a given, (Unusually, these toilets had a glass ceiling, so birds, insects and other animals could watch whilst you peed. An image that is oddly comforting until you realise that birds see colours different to us, so parts of the human anatomy probably look really weird to them), was the Temple of Arethusa with a plaque that had been constructed to commemorate those members of staff who had died in the two World Wars.
The Temple of Arethusa. Peaceful and oddly invisible.
The Temple of Arethusa was near to Kew Garden's entrance and one of the shopping areas, so it sadly seemed a hidden treasure overlooked by the many visitors eager to stock up on Kew merchandise.
My walk around was initially aimless. My only vague goal was at some point to see Kew Palace. Let's get that out of the way now, although it took me awhile to find it. I was quite underwhelmed with Kew Palace. In comparison with Hampton Court, it lacks something. A certain sense of majesty and splendour. It's actually quite understated and pales into insignificance when compared with the Gardens.
Kew Palace. Oddly obsolete. History relegated to a minor background detail.
The interior of Kew Palace is occupied by attendants dressed in period dress, either looking very happy to see you or feeling ridiculous and counting the hours until lunch. It's peculiar how little of the interior of the Palace I recall. I do remember the quotes scattered around indicating that this lifeless shell was once a place of life. Bed chambers merely hinting at bodily exertions and the exchange of fluids. The portraits on the wall depicted wealthy individuals with bushy eyebrows and beards. Both symbolising overbearing masculinity in men and women.
Back to my wanderings outside... At the moment, Kew Gardens has quite an interesting program of events and novelties under the innovative title of 'INCREDIBLES' (Split the word in two and you get the idea, the focus is on edible plants etc. One of the first sights that caught my eye was a table lined up with plates. It felt like something out of a novel.
The table that reminds us of our eating habits.
The answer to the riddle posed below.
The riddle. Clue... It's yellow and you wouldn't want to rub it on your chest.
All of the plates had these little riddles on them relating to edible plants and foods/sauces relating to said plants. I spent at least, thirty seconds pondering the riddles then experiencing the sensation of the sun's rays, I quickly disappeared into one of the many green houses that are scattered around Kew Gardens.
One of the many wonderful devices seeking to help to create a love of horticulture in children is this giant ruler, demonstrating the growth rate of the Giant Bamboo. One point I must emphasise is how hot the greenhouses were. Some of them also had the addition of sprinkler systems, so not only did you boil alive under glass but you were also sprinkled with hot water. A small price to pay when you are appreciating the beauty of Nature.
Throughout the Gardens, I was mesmerised by the vast array of flowers, insects, animals, fish and birds I encountered. I took over three hundred photos (I know but I like flowers etc), so here's a small assortment of them for your pleasure and delectation.
Lovely bird. A little peeved at the photographer.
Purple flower.
Sunflower.
So Koi!
Bee.
New Romantic Squirrel.
Curious Jellyfish style flower.
The Peacock had a limp that generated a lot of conversation and I felt a great deal of sympathy for her/him as s/he hopped around avoiding the visitors.
To end this account, I will offer four more photos. One photo is of a Devilish figure that oversaw part of the Gardens, one is of the Gardens' statutory rights (including the fact that you can't use any of the plants etc in artistic works. So you can copyright Nature can you?) and also two photos pertaining to the London Overground and the fact that I actually nearly got to travel on the Overground from Kew Gardens' station... Today was a day of many highs. Kew Gardens is literally like the Garden of Eden without the pesky snakes. Nudity should be actively encouraged, although I am sure it is prohibited by the Regulations. Also without clothes, human beings look universally funny to birds.
Strange Devilish figure.
Statutory Regulations. The usual list of dos and don'ts. At best, leave the animals, birds etc alone. At worst, your photos potentially belong to us.
Well, I got there in the end. Another station to cross off the L.O.P.
Part of the route I would have taken. Promise! ;-)
Barry Watt - 13th July 2013.
Afterthought
As it is the summer, everything seems to have a sexual dimension to it. I offer one more flower as the final indication of how much a day out can corrupt me!
Provocative Nature.
BW
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