Dear all!!
Thank you all for coming to my blog this past year. There are people visitng daily from each continent of the world and that makes me a very happy girl. Thank you all.
I hope this coming year brings you good health, laughter, smiles, many happy moments and of course, lots of love. And please continue to visit, it is so much more fun talking to you than talking to myself in this cyber space.
Here is to a fabulous 2012!!
Red xx
Hello all!!
I had a few errands to run in Brixton today, and surprisingly, I saw Brixton that I very rarely see. Well, no, I lie. Brixton was buzzing with people as usual, but Brixton Village was unusually sleepy. All trendy shops, bars and cafes were closed. Grocers, fishmongers, and other local traders that have been here for years and years, were as usual hard at work.
And no matter what else is happening, Patsy is always hard at work :-)
And these two were my favourite finds in the ghostly village today:
I sat across from these three guys and eavesdropped on their conversation (subtly though. I was pretending to read my book). They were discussing recession and then started rapping about the issues. Politically, I agreed with them entirely! Picture is a little blurry, but I think I like it like that.
After the impromptu performance I got myself a dinner from a local shop. Chicken pattie. I've been very lazy to cook these days. While everyone else is being gluttons over the holidays, I seem to be eating very little. So, here is my treat. Not healthy at all, but certainly yummy.
My last stop was the flower stall in front of the station. I need to go into the new year with colour, style and my favourite flowers.
Now off to eat my pattie and start on a new book. Not sure what to start first, Toni Morrison's A Mercy or Haruki Murakami's A Wild Sheep Chase. I might close my eyes, point and chose.
Have a lovely evening everyone. If you are not partying, I hope you have a good book and good food to enjoy.
Red xx
Hello all!!
I've been going through the hundreds of pictures I took this year and noticed an emerging pattern in the stuff I snapped. It turns out that I take pictures of very random things; there is no rhyme or reason as to what catches my eye. So, for the next few days, I'll be posting pictures I haven't posted before, but think they deserve to be shared. Enjoy! (as ever, click to enlarge)
Hope your holiday season is mellow, happy and random (random is very good in my book).
Red xx
Hello all!
Two mannequins are plotting a get away. Maybe a case of Bonnie and Clyde? Who knows?!
And,... they are off:
Happy holidays!!!
Red xx
Hello all!!
I don't know what is with me this year, but I seem to love crowds! I keep going back to central London, enjoying window shopping and people watching. For some reason, I don't seem to be bothered by pushing and elbowing.
That's the only way you can go through London. If you want to get from A to B, being overly polite is just not going to get you anywhere.
And so yesterday, my starting point was Covent Garden, then the good old Soho and final destination, Oxford Street's Top Shop.
I took lots of great pictures, capturing Xmas in London. Come back in the next few days too, I'll post some more Xmas moments and windows.
Let's start with this beauty. It made me smile (click to enlarge):
These next few pictures are from a shop in Covent Garden called Give Colourfully. Never been in there before, and for some reason never even noticed it. However, they have the best Xmas windows this year, in my humble opinion. I stood for good 5 minutes looking, taking pictures and observing people.
Great idea, don't you think? I now want a small cardborad box TV in my house too.
I fell in love with these shoes (the same shop), and as I was trying to take a good shot of them, this man in the background got my attention. He is in a different world clearly, waiting whilst his companion is spending money.
And here are the shoes. I didn't dare go in to see how much they cost.
Stay tuned, I'll be posting more Xmas pics. I only wish I could bring you the smells and the sounds too. As I was going through Soho, I heard a song about Jesus blarring out of one of the sex shops. I don't think comment is need for that :-)
Enjoy Xmas colours wherever you are.
Red xx
Hello all!!
Today is the first day of my xmas break and for the next two and a half weeks I plan to do very little.
So, I started my break in style: I woke up very late, had a coffee, read my Saturday's paper (a tradition of mine I have been keeping for at least 15 years, skipping only when I am out of the country) and then made my way down to Brixton for a spot of shopping.
But before I show you what I bought today, here is my best buy of the year. Skinny jeans from Diesel. I confess, I am a snob when it comes to jeans and won't buy any other but Diesel. And I am so happy with my purchase. My budget for jeans was £150, so I got off lightly, paying only £100. And they are well worth it as they are a perfect fit.
Here is how they look on me (sorry for the pictures, I was again alone while playing dressing up, so all pictures are in the mirror. Click to enlarge, though):
I dare you to say they don't look good :-)
Now to the goodies I got today. A pretty little jumper. I have to say for years black and brown combination was the biggest fashion no no for me, but I seemed to have changed my stance on it. Well, at least when it comes to this jumper:
I think I can pull off any style, except one. Sporty! It is just not for me. I actually feel uncomfortable and strange wearing sporty stuff outside. However, I bought this shirt today and I love it. Of course, I won't be wearing it with trainers and sweatpants. I'll be corrupting the style with my skinnies and heels. Here is my "corrupted" sporty style:
And here is how the shirt looks like:
And now, for the cutest purchase of the day:
So, that's my shopping list sorted. I've got my eyes on gorgeous Vivienne Westwood heels, but will have to save up for that first.
How about you? What is on your shopping list? Are you treating yourself to something special or hoping your friends and family will deliver the goods? Whatever the case, enjoy your presents.
Red xx
Hello all!!
I haven't posted about Brixton in a while and I have to admit I haven't been down there for probably a month or so. Been busy, been going to different places in London and I have only been passing through, rather than stopping by and enjoying the smells, the food, the people, the colours.
However, last time I was there, I spotted this art installation at the entrance of the market. I captured only a few of the lines of different dialogue from the installation, so here are a few images to give you a flavour of the installation. The first picture explains how it has been made.The installation put a smile on my face and it captures the sounds and converstaions of Brixton very well. Hope you enjoy it (click on the images to enlarge and to see what is written):
Is there any street art where you are? And do you like eavesdropping on other people's conversations? I have to admit, I do :-)
Have a lovely week everyone.
Red xx
Hello all!!
As I mentioned a few weeks ago I wondered into Oxford Street and on the way to a shop or two I took a few pictures of the window displays.
It is somewhat of a tradition to go and see how Hamleys and Selfridges decorate their Christmas windows.
Over the years Selfridges created a number of stylish, different wonderlands. This year they opted for a more sombre look. Maybe they are responding to the recession. For my international friends, here is how the windows look like this winter.
So, there is yourtour of Selfirdges' Chirstmas. How do the windows look like in your part of the world?
Red xx
Hello all!!
I've spent the last few days in East London, Shoreditch and as ever I had my camera with me. I usually post pictures of Brixton and as you gathered by now, Brixton is full small shops, lots of places to eat, colourful market stalls, all sorts of different people,... One thing Brixton does not have is public wall art and graffiti. Maybe an odd one out here and there, but not like East London. Shoreditch in particular, is full of fabulous and interesting images. There is something, literally on every corner. I know, lots of people object to graffiti, but Shoreditch just wouldn't be what it is (its pretty, colourful self), if local artists did not share their ideas with the rest of us, for free.
Some 10 - 15 years ago, Shoreditch was a run down area of London with very cheap housing and lots of free warehouse space. Artists took advantage of it, moved into big studios, started opening galleries and places to exhibit their work, and now it is one of the most trendy, vibrant neighbourhoods in London. I love going there, for shopping (lots of small vintage shops), for food, for people watching,...
Here are some of the pictures I took on my lunch break(s) on Friday and Saturday:
Funky door with interesting design:
Cool dude and cool writing:
I don't like war and wouldn't have posted this if a passer by didn't scribble on the picture under the word war :-) Click on the image to enlarge.
Apparently, this is Elvis Presley. Well, who am I to argue with the artist?
Bette Davis. With a twist. I mean, a peg.
An optimist!
Wall on the ground. The pictures are on the wall, I just turned the picture around, so it looks as if it was on the ground. I like it much better this way.
And my favourite, a trift shop with lots of old TV sets showing old BBC children programmes. It put a smile on my face.
And to finish, all these pictures were taken in one small street. Now, can you say that the street where you live is this exciting? Mine certainly isn't.
Enjoy your week.
Red xx
