The secret Journey is my account of the magic of now – the law of attaction.
It is a work in progress, written as much for you as it is for me.

I would like to share this, as much as chart my progression, the creation of my dreams and wishes, and as I have already had some wonderful experiences since learning of this magical power, I need to share it before I burst!

Today I will make this my homepage for reflecting on my journey as it happens and reliving some of the wonderful things, that secretly I have manifested.

I don’t want to sound, preachy or weird, like another one of those funny people, who stand in Leicester Square screaming through a megaphone about the end of the world being nigh!
Although I do feel, like I have learnt a secret that has made me become somewhat wiser than before. Perhaps that’s just growing up?! Sorry, I am procrastinating

What it is that I am trying to say is, I am not weird at all, I am just like you. Actually, I am a total contradiction of the last delivered statement as “I am Unique” the same as you are!

I (like you, I am sure) am trying to grow as a person, be the best I can be, treat my friends and family well, and ultimately be happy!

This hasn’t always been the case..

Some time ago, when my life was on another path. I received a DVD of a book. Rachel a dear friend had purchased it for me as a gift. She knew I needed help in someway or another. To her I will always be thankful. At the time the place I found myself in mentally, was rocky and hard, difficult and confusing. The drugs certainly didn’t help. I was on a one way trip to mental institution, I was fueling my body with alcohol and drugs to see me through a very tough and completely ill fated, physically and mentally demanding job. I will reveal in another addition about the nature of that beast.

Anyway that’s when I found a Health, Smile, Peace centre in Hammersmith – http://www.brholistic.co.uk/html/hammersmith_centre.html – which fixed me up a treat, just in time! I had walked past this building many times, the off licence was next door after all, I hadn’t ever paid any attention to this building, or considered the goings on inside.

I had watched the The Secret – Rhona Bryne DVD with a dreadful hangover, smoking a spliff whilst painting my toe nails. I wasn’t really paying too much attention to the story, it was certainly more like company comfort noise.
I did feel a little different afterwards, as some of the stories had drawn me in, for a few moments. I would contemplate the ideas, before returning to the spliff, and correcting any mistakes I had made with the scarlet paint.
The following day I was on my way back from Shepards Bush Market, with two friends in tow, when I said, “Hold up, wait I need to go in here”. My friends asked why. I did not know.

The HSP Centre saved me for a little while it gave me a sanctuary of calm, a place to reflect and wash myself of the madness of my life. I found peace there, I practiced meditation, although I didn’t find this easy. There was certainly lots going on upstairs, mentally to try and keep that lot in check took some practice. I enjoyed Yoga, Energy Building, Vibration dance and Thai Chi, I took myself there everyday, to this HSP Centre I will always be grateful.

Thinking back I know it was the essence of what i found in The Secret by Rhona Bryne that gave me that nudge that day, the nudge through the door at the HSP Centre. Well, not litrally, but it certainly had awakened something inside of me, I remember a section of the film saying “Ask – Believe – Receive!” I asked for Strength, Love and to make a grand that night!! It didnt happen staight away, but as soon as I found the strength the rest followed.

Following a convergence of couriers, with artwork wizzing between Edinburgh Twickenham, Conneticut and Florence – my week settled into a delightful mixture of doing my own painting work and teaching visiting students. One student was keen to explore pen and brush drawing which made a nice change and reminded me what a lovely medium it is. By coincidence I also heard from Alexis Hunter this week who is the only contemporary artist I know who excels at this technique – www.alexishunter.co.uk

Miniatures 6" x 6"

I’m working on a new version of ‘The View’ from Richmond Hill at the moment, a subject I never tire of. It’s become my equivalent of ‘Monet’s haystacks’ which I can happily paint in any number of imagined colour combinations or light effects. I do tiny miniatures 6″ x 6″ which I use to experiment on and then scale up larger if the image is successful.

Nocturne 28" x 28"

Coming home from the studio tonight there was an almost full silvery orb of a moon hanging in the misty sky between the wet branches and lighting up the soggy pumpkins left over from last night’s Halloween; still visible as I crossed the bridge it shone down on the swans and geese floating with the leaves on the dark water washed down with the high tide. It’s easy to take the island for granted after working there for more than 8 years but tonight it was impossible to ignore the magical reality of the dark Autumnal scene both above and below me.

November

Following my business breakfast on Frid. I had a meeting with Prof. Hans Haenlein of Hammersmith – he is one of two architects who are also  members of the BNI group. Dodging joggers and cyclist (many of whom greeted Hans personally) we walked along the river bank into the morning sun with Hammersmith Bridge behind us until we came to the beautifully secluded and historic part of the river bank where he lives and works. Visiting people at their place of business gives a deeper insight into how they relate to their community in both business and social senses and Hans is a man very much at one with his environment. He showed me models of his projects and photos of designs and earlier achievements. We spoke of the links between science and art, Kelly’s personal construct theory, values and ideals which reinforced my impression of Hans as an architect of integrity and a master of the process of change. www.haenlein.com

Day 4 in London..
Date: July 4, 2009

Checklist Item Crossed #11 — Buckingham Palace
A Change in Plans…
9.30am – Y woke me up. It’s a good thing she did or I would’ve overslept. I had planned to see the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace that morning. I was already running late. Showered, got dressed, no time for breakfast! 10.10am – Got a bottle of Evian at the shop downstairs, walked to the Underground station….oh, crud. I forgot my Oyster Card. Walked back to the apartment; 10.20am – Arrived at the Underground station, topped up my Oyster Card, then found out that the train wasn’t in service due to railworks on the Piccadilly line (dammit). Took the bus to Hammersmith, chatted with a nice but talkative London-based Sudanese lady who had gotten on at South Ealing with me; 11.20am – Hm…too late to go see the Changing of the Guards now — it was due to start in 10-20 minutes. Decided to mooch around the shops at Hammersmith station for awhile, then took a train to Piccadilly instead.

Checklist Item Crossed #11/12 — Lillywhites @ Piccadilly Circus/ PRIDE London Parade, Regent Street
12.30pm – Looked for the Liverpool home jersey for Rina’s brother at Lillywhites, a sportswear store at Piccadilly Circus (it turned out to be a size too small for him when I took it back to KL…); 1.15pm – Finally finished shopping at Lillywhites, it started to drizzle outside. Saw a small crowd gathering by the roadside just outside the store and realized that I was standing along Regent Street and that the PRIDE London parade (that’s the Gay&Lesbian parade, if you didn’t know..) was going to pass through. Oh, yay! I thought I was going to have to miss the parade, I guess it was a good thing the Buckingham Palace plan didn’t fall through after all! Also, I was lucky to be one of the earlier ones to be there because I got to be right up front at the barricades instead of having to fight for a good view with the crowd that was gradually growing all around. I could feel the nice cool English wind brushing against my bare arms; 1.45pm – Still waiting. It had stopped drizzling and was getting a bit warmer — was still glad that it was still slightly windy. Nice weather today! Crowd growing bigger; 2.15pm – The PRIDE London parade had finally arrived. It was my first live parade of any kind ever; 2.45pm – The parade was AWESOME!!! I saw Boy George too!!! 3.30pm – Parade ended, I’ve managed to exhaust my camera battery, the film rolls of *BOTH* my manual Kodak cameras (that I had purchased at the London Eye a few days earlier) and the space on my SIM card *AND* phone memory, having taken 200+ pics at the parade alone(!). Took a train to South Kensington, then onwards to NottingHill Gate.

Boy George in the middle!!

Television and performances with Riverdance 's European force in Europe, Asia and aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2, before the U.S. troops in 1998. Niamh performed with Riverdance from that date until December 2005, toured with them in North America. From Mexico to Vancouver and Los Angeles to Broadway, New York, Niamh has delighted audiences with her fiery fiddling smiles, footwork and dazzling. More recently, she shared her talent in the Irish Riverdance-and Far-shooting …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuzX_AMB-h8&hl=en

Yıl 1961 Babam 51 yaşında Hodgkin hastası, sürekli 40 derece ateş ve halsizlik içerisinde, şimdi tam olarak var mı bilmiyorum ama o zamanlar hiç tedavisi yok ona rağmen bir umut diye Annem babamı alıyor Londra’ya götüruyor. İkisi de dil bilmez, havalanından bir taksiyle doğru Türkiye’den adresini aldıkları Hammersmith hastanesine gidiyorlar. Annem Babamı hastaneye yatırıyor, zaman gece, hastaneden ayrılıyor, yanındaki  parayı babamın ne kadar kalacağı belli olmayan hastaneye vermek zorunda, bir yer bilmez geceyi yakında parkta geçirecek oluyor, bir banka oturup ağlıyor, 40 yaşında bir kadın, başına her şey gelebilir. Bir aile ona acıyıp bir chapele götürüyorlar geceyi orada bankta geçiriyor, ertesi sabah doğruca Türk elçiliğini arıyor, sora sora buluyor, durumunu anlatıyor, ilgilenmiyorlar, daha sonra Dışişleri Bakanı olacak zamanın Büyükelçisi Feridun Cemal Erkin’e çıkıyor, o büyük insan elçiliğin alt katında mütevazi bir odada kalmasını sağlıyor. Böylece Annem her sabah para harcamamak için hastaneye onca yolu yürüyerek gidiyor, akşam yine yürüyerek geliyor.

Bir gün yandaki hastayı ziyarete gelen ve gayet iyi Türkçe bilen bir kişi bizimkilerin konuşmalarını duyarak kendini tanıtıyor. Önceleri adını hatırlamıyorum ama Keşişyan soyadını unutmam mümkün değil zira Annem yıllarca onu anlata anlata bitiremezdi. Keşişyan hızır gibi yetişiyor, günlerce bizimkilere hastanede tercümanlık yapıyor, Annem’e dışarda yardımcı oluyor, hastaneye, Elçiliğe getiriyor götürüyor, dönüşlerini ayarlıyor, hatta cebinden külliyetli miktarda sterlin çıkarıp bizimkilere veriyor. Bizimkiler istemese de “olsun lazım olur siz alın, adresimi vereyim Türkiye’ye dönünce gönderirsiniz” diyor. Bizimkiler “ama bizi tanımıyorsunuz, göndermeyeceğimizi düşünmüyormusunuz?” diyecek oluyorlar verdiği yanıt “olsun siz TÜRKSÜNÜZ önemli olan budur, göndermeseniz de olur”.

1975 de ben Londra’da çalışırken Annem Türkiye’den gezmeye geldi. Yine dil bilmez. Elinde Keşişyan’ın bir zamanlar kağıda yazıp verdiği adresi. Londra haritası üzerinde otobüs hatlarını çizdim, neye  binip nerede ineceğini, bineceğini çizerek tarif ettim. Becerikli kadındı, bana sen gelme işin var dedi. Gitti. Keşişyan’i bulmuş. Sohbet etmiş ve bir kez daha teşekkür etmiş.

Ondan yıllar sonra Türk gazetelerinde büyük bir ilan gordum. Keşişyan vefat etmiş ve Londra’da toprağa verilmis. Türkiye’deki akrabaları gazetelere ilan vermişler. Zira O da bizim buraların adamıydı.

Annemi kaybettikten sonra hayatını gözlerimin önden geçirirken Keşişyanı hatırladım. Annemden daha önce İstanbul’da yaşadığını, sonradan Londra’ya göç ettiğini öğrenmiştim.  İnternetten bir arayayım dedim, bakın neler buldum:

“………Bundan yıllar önce, 1986′da Başbakanlık bursuyla İngiltere’ye gitmeye hazırlandığım günlerde, bu ülke hakkında bilgi topluyordum. Kim var, kim yok. Kim bana nasıl yardımcı olur diye sorup soruşturuyordum… Yakın dostum ağabeyim Hüseyin Usta bana birisinden bahsetti ve ona gitmemi istedi. Hüseyin Usta’nın beni yolladığı adamın adı John Keshisyan’dı. Londra’ya gittikten bir kaç gün sonra adama telefon açtım. İngiliz sekretere kendimi tanıttım ve karşımda temiz ve güzel bir Türkçe konuşan birisiyle karşı karşıya kaldım. Adı John olan, ama çok güzel Türkçe konuşan birisine çok şaşırdım. Bana çok sıcak sözlerle “Hoşgeldin” dedi ve beni beklediğini ilave etti. Kalktım ofisine gittim. Kendimi bir an Türkiye’de gibi hissettim. Senli benli ve rahat bir konuşma ortamı doğrusu beni çok mutlu etti. Hüseyin Bey’in selamını söyledim. Biraz bilgim vardı. Hüseyin Bey, eskiden İstanbul’ da oto yedek parçası satan bu adamın müşterisiymiş. Adam Türkiye ile bağını koparmamış. Haliyle Hüseyin Bey’de onunla hep görüşüyormuş. Anadolu’da bir kentte, bir yazıhanede gibi yapılan bu sohbeti ardından diğer görüşmeler izledi.

Bir gün beni yemeğe davet etti. O zamanlar Milliyet Gazetesi’nin o zaman Londra Muhabiri olan televizyoncu Nuri Çolakoğlu ile beni tanıştıracaktı. O gün Nuri Bey’ in işi çıktığı için gelemedi. Bir Çin lokantasına gittik ve Pekin Duck dedikleri ördekten yedik. Anadolu geleneğinde ki gibi artık yemekleri toplayıp bir paket yaptırdı ve ordan ayrıldık.

Bir sohbetinde “Ben sana John Abi diyemiyorum. İzin verirsen sana Ahmet veya Mehmet Abi diyebilirmiyim,” dediğimde güldü ve “Fakat karım Olga’nın yanında deme olur mu” demeyi de ihmal etmedi.
Ben bir dönem orada hastaneye yattım. Beni hemen hemen hergün ziyaret eden Bay Keşişyan’a karşı mahçup oluyordum. İşini gücünü bırakıp çiceklerle hastaneye geliyordu. Bir defasında karısı da geldi ve benimle tanıştırdı. Keşişyan bir Ermeni idi… Ama Türkiye’de doğmuş ve Türkiye’de büyümüştü… En son Bursa’da bir okul yaptırdığını biliyordum. Bir dönem Türk – İngiliz Ticaret Odası Başkanlığı yaptığını da sonradan öğrendim.

Türkiye’ye döndükten sonra İstanbul’da beni oğlunun düğününe davet etti. Gidemedim ve kendime çok kızdım. Yıllar sonra da birgün gazetede ölüm ilanını okudum. Ve işte o zaman bir dostun ve iyi bir insanın öldüğünü anladım..
Benim Ermeni arkadaşlarım çok değil. Ama böyle bir insanı ve böyle bir Ermeni’yi tanıdığım için şanslıyım…” http://www.airporthaber.com/hb/cikti1.php?id=688

“Avrupa’da ilk tek başıma gezme tecrübemi 1962’de yaşadım….. Ertesi yıl yaz aylarında, Londra’ya yerleşmiş İstanbul’lu Ermeni Türk sevgili Ohannes Keşişyan’ın yarattığı staj/tatil olanağı için gene trenle İngiltere’ye gittim……………” Yahya Sezai Tezel http://www.geocities.com/ystezel/yby/agustos00/agustos00_20.html

“…………..Yin ve yang temel teorisinde olduğu gibi, “her kişide iyi taraf, her toplumda iyi ve kötü olur” esaslarıyla din, dil farkı gözetmeksizin otuz yıl önce tahsil için Londraya gidişimden beri sevdiğim, saydığım, katı prensipleri yanısıra, gerçekten tüm insanlık için örnek dost istanbullu büyüğüm john Keşişyan ve Bizans meleği eşi Olga Hanım. Yunanlı dost Mikis Teodarakis, sanki asırlardır tanırmışım gibi yakın hissettiğim dostum Bob Simon Glaubert, İsrail parlemento üyesi, değişik kişiliğe sahip Yoel Dayani İtalyada yerleşik istanbullu büyügüm Gigi Niego ve değerli eşi, ilginç mucit dostum ingiliz Micheal Alexander, aile dostlarımız Sir Hamish and Lady Mary Forbes, değişik açılardan ele aldıkları ‘Global’ görüşleriyle, yabancı gözüyle ‘Türkiye’ algılamalarında önemli derecede etkileyici oldular……………” http://www.oytrabzon.com/oytrabzon/modules/sections/index.php?op=printpage&artid=32

Böylece tarihler tuttuğundan, yaptığı benzer yardımlardan-vb aradığım Keşişyan’ın Türkiye’deki adıyla Ohannes İngilteredeki adıyla John Keşişyan olduğunu öğrenmiştim. Facebook’tan Londra’da oturan Keşişyan soyadlarını taradım ve bulduklarıma mesaj attım. Sonunda Adrian Keşişyan (Adrian Keshishian) adlı bir kişinin John Keşişyan’ın oğlu olduğunu, babası gibi Türkiye’de iş yaptığını öğrendim. Adrian’ın anlattıkları, Ohannes adı vb. herşey tutuyordu. Hikayeyi anlatıp ailem adına teşekkürlerimi ilettim. Adrian Bodrum’da İngilizlere yazlık yapıp satıyormuş. Bir süre mailleştik, bana adresini, telefonunu verdi. Adrian sonra Türkiye’ye, Ankara’ya gelmiş beni aramış, önceden de haber vermişti ama malesef ertelemeye imkan bulamadığım çok acil bir tapu işi için Side’de seyahatteydim, buluşamadık. Kısmet olmadı.

However, she could look at this menagerie with relief. She was happy that she was not like the animals that trooped daily through the corridors of the tower.

London Ark, Talgarth Road, Hammersmith & Fulham, W6

They were not even nice, well-groomed animals.

The London Ark, Talgarth Road, Hammersmith & Fulham, W6

Strange half-breeds. Unkempt and angry. All penned in and roaming the same ground.

samsung washing machine repairs

Finding the right appliance repair specialist can be a hassle because the washing machine always breaks down on Sundays

This website actually offers a fixed price appliance repairs, so you know exactly how much it’s going to cost you – including all labor costs, call out charges, parts, etc. It’s all included and you can get a simple and instant quote online.

Let’s say if you are looking for an appliance repair specialist in West London, then this is the right place to start your search with instant appliance repair quotes. Any domestic appliances repaired in Hammersmith – from good old washing machine repairs in Hammersmith to the same day dishwasher repairs in Hammersmith.

Aproveitando o clima de reuniões das bandas do caralho das antigas, o Mott the Hoople fez uma série de shows na semana passada com a formação original, o que não acontecia desde 1972. Os shows rolaram no Hammersmith Apollo, em Londres. Acima, All the way from Memphis, clássico da banda. A qualidade do vídeo é uma bosta, mas enfim…

How is Nutini only 22?! It’s crazy. Saw him in Hammersmith for his ‘Sunny Side Up’ tour, and it was wicked. The audience was from all walks of life, gathering to dance along to the Scottish singer.
There were quite a few straw hats on the go as well. Paolo and his 10-man-strong band performed their lively cover of Smokey Joe’s Cafe. I’d recommend getting your hands on his live stuff, and if possible, see him perform!

(Prosze w komentarzach wpisywac swoje oferty)

Shilpa south Indian restaurant

Last Friday, Jon and I met our friends at the Lyric Hammersmith for a performance of “Punk Rock” (which, by the way, was pretty forgettable). The show ended at 9:30 pm and I needed food, stat. Thank goodness for Tamarind & Thyme’s July post on Shilpa Indian Restaurant. The restaurant is near the theatre, and as a bonus, Shilpa is running a promotion of 40% off your food bill when you eat in.

I’d already been to Shilpa a couple of months ago, soon after Su-Lin’s post (I love south Indian food and so was willing to schlepp across town to Hammersmith). At that first dinner there, while a few of our dishes were winners (e.g., prawn moilee and Kerala paratha), there were also a few extreme clunkers such that I didn’t envision another destination-dining journey to Shilpa. Exhibit A of a totally inedible dish at Shilpa: the “squid pepper fry,” which turned out to be tiny, rubbery O’s of (allegedly) squid.

That said, at 10 pm on a chilly Friday evening near the Lyric Hammersmith, Shilpa seemed ripe for a re-visit.

masala dosa at Shilpa

Masala dosa is a must at any south Indian meal, and Shilpa’s version was a filling and tasty way to start our dinner. The pancake was hot and crispy, and the spicy potato filling was well complemented by spicy sambal and soothing coconut chutney.

king prawn moilee

At £8.50, the prawn moilee may be the most expensive dish on Shilpa’s menu, and both times I’ve had it, it’s been worth every penny. I loved the curry’s fragrant turmeric and ginger mellowed by the sweet coconut milk, and the dish’s seven or eight prawns were beautifully cooked (i.e., not overcooked to toughness).

The Kerala fish curry (£6.50), in contrast, had an appealing tomato-based sauce, but seemed to include a flaky, slightly-dry fish that tasted like tuna out of a can.

kerala paratha

I love Kerala paratha (and its Malaysian cousin, roti canai), and at £1.75 per generous portion, Shilpa’s version is a steal. Hot, flaky and crispy – what’s not to love?

mango pachadi, okra, saag paneer

The four of us ordered up a storm, at some point caving in to our love of paneer and ordering saag paneer (even though my friend from Bangalore points out that no self-respecting south Indian resto should have paneer anywhere on its menu), and happily, there were no awful dishes this second time around.

In the end, the dishes were so inexpensive that I felt mildly guilty taking advantage of the 40% off deal, but the beauty of saving on the food is that you get sucked in to ordering a lot of beer at £4.50 per (large) bottle. So then I didn’t feel as guilty anymore.

The service was attentive both times I visited; and tap water was never a problem. The restaurant’s decor is utilitarian save for earnest posters of the Stuart Smalley variety and a flat-screen TV on mute showing Bollywood films.

Despite all the food and beers ordered, our tab on both our visits came to a wallet-friendly £13 per person.

If you live within 30 minutes of Shilpa and are prepared for a few misses on the menu, it’s a must-visit place for a quality, great-value curry. But if you live further afield (say, in Angel, Islington), then drop by the next time you’re catching a show at the Lyric Hammersmith.

Shilpa Restaurant, 206 King Street, W6 0RA, 0208 741 3127; closest tube stations: Ravenscourt Park or Hammersmith.

Straddled, she sits, her legs clad in shimmying silver tights atop killer black heels.

Aflame, her hair long, unnervingly straight, a cloak behind which to hide her pale, unassuming face.

Now we get a lot of oddballs in Hammersmith – it’s not uncommon to see the full spectrum of society waiting for a bus outside HMV so a slightly disturbed 40-something muttering the word ‘motherfucker’ over and over under her breath is just rite of passage round here.

Difference is, hundreds of people have paid to see this one – and not just in London – all over the UK. We are, of course, talking about Tori Amos. The feisty fireball from North Carolina came and delivered to a packed audience at the legendary Apollo arena last Thursday (10 September).

When I arrived, I was late. I had to climb over legs to find my seat and Amos was already in full swing (damn, missed Cornflake Girl). It took only moments for me to realise what I was witnessing. There she was, legs akimbo in a cage of keyboards, belting out a song I hadn’t heard in years, but had stayed dormant in my psyche.

It was my first Tori live experience and I was stunned – the voice was so powerful, the stage presence even more so, considering it was just her alone with two guys in the dark far corners facing out to the eager crowd.

Tori Amos isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. She wails. She says some odd things. Her melodies are often hidden beneath layers of complex piano playing and wolf-like howls.

Yet her talent is undeniable. That night, it came and smacked me in the face with the full force that Amos has always intended it to. Her music isn’t forgiving – it’s not meant for the faint-hearted, or those who wish to have their music presented in a simplistic three-minute format – an intro, verses, chorus, more verses, chorus, bridge, chorus, bridge – throw in a key change for dramatic effect, if you will.

No, instead there are lyrics so undiscernable that even Alan Turing would have a problem deciphering them. Listen closely and there’s poetry in every line; a feeling conjured up, a place, a memory.

But I can’t attempt to write a review without coming back to the very core of her performance – the piano. It was staggering to see a modern musician so competent at music in a world where we are often so used to having just a charismatic front person who may hold a guitar in the odd song.

Watching someone play the piano isn’t typically a visual treat. It’s grounding and unsociable when a big crowd is watching. Yet Amos delivered each song from between her pianos with such vibrancy, such energy, such passion, that the keys and their sound became all we could think about. She was captivating as she writhed, sexually, over her stool, kicking her heels and occasionally coyly looking out from behind the wall of ginger at the adoring faces before her.

The applause was raptorous, the songs unforgettable and the lady – who is a rare reminder of a musician that has refused to sell out to commerciality despite tens of albums – is not for turning. For fans expecting to see the voice that they had listened to in their bedrooms for years, this was Tori Amos at her purest. Long may those Little Earthquakes in the world of modern music continue… it was a motherfuckin pleasure.

I have decided to extend my London trip. Mostly because Sunday and Monday there is to be a great carnival, the largest in Europe, down the road in Notting Hill. Appaptly called The Notting Hill Carnival.

So, after re-arranging my flight and hostel info, I headed back out to Shepards Bush. (home to a lot of Aussies and Kiwis in London)  I was hoping to catch a rugby match somewhere…but no luck. I didn’t know where to go and I started to think it would be a little odd if it was just me who walked in to watch the match. So, I went shopping at the Primark one stop further down the line at Hammersmith.

I had plans to meet up with John, a guy I met yesterday, for drinks.  After I got home from shopping, I got stood up and found myself watching Meet the Fockers and going to bed at 9:45, on a Saturday, in Londontown! This is completely unacceptable!

oh, well,  I watched the best X-Factor last night.

]]> http://centreoftheworld.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/hammersmith-bridge-road-surgery/ Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:23:47 +0000 joemh http://centreoftheworld.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/hammersmith-bridge-road-surgery/

He began to clean his teeth and stare blankly at himself doing so in the mirror. He spat into the sink.

Hammersmith Bridge Road Surgery, Hammersmith & Fulham, W6

The froth of toothpaste was red. He froze. Keeping his jaw slack, he brought his head up in line with the mirror. He opened his mouth as wide as he could and showed himself his teeth.  

Hammersmith Bridge Road Surgery, Hammersmith & Fulham, W6

Still gripping the toothbrush in his right hand, he ran the index finger on his left hand around his gum as he began to panic.

I went to a performance of my composer friend David Bruce’s new song set/opera Piosenki at the Riverside Studios, Hammersmith at the weekend.- most excellent it was too!!

Featured in the piece is David’s ‘lagerphone’, a crazy percussion instrument made from three spade handles, bells and lots of metal disks / bottle tops!

Here is a terrible picture I took of it during the performance (I wasn’t really allowed to take photos so they were a bit rushed!) but there are some much better ones on his website here taken during rehearsals.

The is also a bit of video detailing some of the performances here – the Lagerphone kicks in at about 2.53.

David Bruce's Lagerphone

There are lots of things on the web about Lagerphones – check out the Groanbox Boys site/page as a good start!

I’ve been inspired for a while now to create my own Lagerphone, but needless to say it’s taken me ages and is becoming far more complex than I ever imagined. A lot of this is down to the fact I decided I’d do a nicely crafted and ‘themed’ version, based around a single remaining ‘heavy metal-style ‘ boot from a pair I used to wear at gigs (no idea where the other one went but I always suspected it feel out of my car one night when getting changed in some terrible pub car park somewhere!).

The Boot! (will for the bottom foot of the lagerphone and serves as the inspiration for the whole theme)

Another long task in the creation of my Heavy Metal Lagerphone has been obtaining enough bottle tops (a vital component and responsible for the jangly sound the ‘phone makes when shaken or banged on the floor) – I figured I’d need around 400 of these, and for months now have been getting friends and family to collect them for me. I also decided these had to be burnt in a fire to give them the correct distressed patina – yet more delays as it’s never a good time to have a bonfire here in the UK now (rubbish weather, smoke restrictions, etc).

Burnt bottle tops!

Anyway, here are a few work-in-progress shots on my Flikr site – I’ll add more of these as the project progresses. David’s opera was a real inspiration for me to crack on with the project – as always, watch this space!

I’m not a vain man. Carly Simon, she wouldn’t write a song about me.

And I am not paranoid either, really, much, am I? I’m not. Honest.

Just wanted you to know that, because otherwise you might get the wrong idea about it, this thing I am about to tell you. I’ll keep it to the facts, as I know them, and then you judge?

I might get raped. Or worse.

District line to Hammersmith two weeks ago. I am standing by the door and this woman gets on: way beyond 6ft, south american in complexion, long dark hair. thighs like baby cows wrapped in denim, boobs burrowing for freedom under either armpit. She was striking. In a peculiarly transvestite way, I thought. Man? Maybe…

She stared at me. For three stops. I caught her looking. Unashamedly. She looked confused. Maybe I had smeared Metro ink on my face again. My reflection said I hadn’t. Hmm. Shit. She might fancy me. I have a cross dressing stalker. There must be websites for this sort of thing.

I got off at Hammersmith. I could feel her watching me still. I looked through the window. Jesus Christ. Two big almond eyes, expressionless, watching me. That’s not lust, that’s murder.

“Jade! This woman, man, wants to kill me, or rape me!”

She emailed back: “HA”.

I saw Amazonian woman again this morning. It’s definitely a she. Short red skirt. A man can’t pull that off.

I got on before her at Earl’s Court. She clocked me as soon as she sat down. She stared. Again. About forty five, I would says, a slight hesitation of botox in her face.

She looked scared. I read my paper.She looked at me. The whole way to the next stop.

Where she abruptly got off.

Right.

If my body is found mutilated or interfered with or both and a large South American looking woman who may or may not be a man is seen running away from the scene, can you please direct the police to the west bound district line from Earl’s Court at around 9.15am. You’ll find her easy enough.

Thanks.

P.S: Imagine Kim Kardashian, above, older, droopier, harder, twice as tall and with vacant eyes, and you have her, Maybe it’s her mum. Or dad.

Westminster City Council have been facing massive opposition to stealth taxing motorcyclists for parking since they first introduced this ridiculous scheme in August 2008. Thousands of bikers and their supporters have been emailing and writing to the Council to express their opposition to charging for motorcycle parking, and the Council has to date consistently refused to listen.

Conservative Councillor Danny Chalkley, the architect of the bike parking tax, has been running Westminster parking services with closed ears, assuming that the No To Bike Parking Tax campaigners would go away with time. Not only the campaign is not going away, but it has also been growing at an impressive rate, with thousands of supporters joining, who are all keen to see the bike parking tax scrapped at the earliest opportunity. We must confess that, when Kieran Fitsall of Westminster parking services, said that the bike parking demonstrations were nothing the Council had seen before, we laughed so much that we ended up with a big stomach cramp! Come on mate, we are talking about thousands of people protesting at the bike parking tax every single month in the streets of Westminster, not just a few people who have absolutely no idea whatsoever of the many benefits that motorcycles bring to the environment, including reduced road congestion and air pollution. Not to mention the thousands of objections received by Westminster Council during the period from August 2008 to February 2009, and also during the three weeks window to 3rd July 2009. Well, let’s say that the No To Bike Parking Tax campaign is something that Westminster have never seen before, a protest group of a magnitude that the Council has never had to deal with in the past. And they’re still trying to ignore the campaign! Oh well, let’s see if they keep ignoring it in court for having, as we are told, illegally introduced a parking tax, which could potentially have a serious impact on the pay by phone contract awarded to Verrus, a Canadian owned organisation. If we were Councillor Danny Chalkley, we would scrap the bike parking tax right now. It’s never too late to admit your own mistake, isn’t it?

Anyway, Westminster seem to be the only council ignoring the No To Bike Parking Tax campaign. We very well know that other councils, such as the City of London, would love to introduce parking taxes for motorbikes and scooters in a view to filling up their coffers, like Westminster have been doing. Below is an extract of a recent statement made by the City of London Corporation:-

“Officials, however, showed no enthusiasm for the idea [that is of charging for motorcycle parking], citing practical problems and reminding committee of previous protests from bikers, which had blocked City streets”.

You can read the full statement here on page 5.

At least, we have a good example of a council who is paying some attention to public opinion. The City of London, who undoubtedly would love to fill up their coffers by taxing motorcyclists to park, seem to have decided not to because of the fear of seeing thousands of motorcyclists blocking their streets for hours every three weeks or so. How embarrassing would it be if massive traffic jams took place in the City of London because of repetitive motorcyclist demonstrations, causing massive disruption to a major international financial district? Surely, this would be mentioned in the news worldwide under the title “London financial district brought to chaos because of motorcyclists protesting at a parking tax introduced by local Councillors”. Clearly, the City of London cannot afford such a bad publicity, and we very well know that, like any other council, should they dare to introduce bike parking charges in their borough, they may see the No To Bike Parking Tax campaign coming their way.

We note that other London councils, such as Wandsworth, Hammersmith & Fulham, Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Greenwich, Hackney, Haringey, Harrow, Lewisham, Merton, Newham, Richmond, Waltham Forest, to name a few, all offer FREE parking to motorcyclists, whether residents or visitors (source: http://www.motorcycleparking.com/parking_london.shtml). Why is that? Because motorcycles are the solution to reducing air pollution and road congestion, so why discourage their use by stealth taxing them? At least, some councils have a bit of common sense, unlike Westminster, who keep coming up with ludicrous excuses such as the following:-

“Motorcycles, even small ones, pollute more than Hummers”

“Being environmentally friendly would be to encourage motorbikers to use more public transport”

The above statements are from Councillor Susie Burbridge who, while recommending that bikers should switch to public transport in a view to being more environmentally friendly, enjoys the benefit of FREE parking in Westminster, as in her opinion, her Hummer pollutes less than a small motorcycle with an engine size of 50 cc! Only Conservative politicians can say things like this, to the extent that we sometimes wonder on what basis David Cameron appoints his colleagues. Absolutely chocking, and these are the kind of politicians who fight to head up the United Kingdom and represent this country in the European Union! Some of them have actually failed in the last European elections, like Belgian Conservative Councillor Jean-Paul Floru who, after having failed in his home country, thought he would try again in the UK.

Some more statements made by Westminster Conservative Councillors are available here, some of them are worth a good laugh.

 THE CAMPAIGN WILL TAKE WCC TO COURT SHORTLY, WE HOPE THAT THE BIKE PARKING TAX WILL BE SCRAPPED!

Please join and support the legal fight to get the bike parking tax in Westminster scrapped before it spreads all over the UK and the European Union. The next demonstration is on 16th August 2009, don’t miss it! For further details, visit  http://www.notobikeparkingtax.com/

Soutenez et participez au proces dont le but est de forcer la mairie de Westminster a supprimer la taxe de stationnement des deux-roues avant que le concept ne se propage a travers le Royaume-Uni et l’Union Europeenne. La prochaine manifestation est prevue pour le 16 aout 2009, ne la manquez pas! Pour plus d’informations, consultez http://www.notobikeparkingtax.com/

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Hammersmith Bridge is a crossing of the River Thames in west London, just south of the Hammersmith town centre area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham on the north side of the river. It allows road traffic and pedestrians to cross to Barnes (in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames) on the south side of the river. The current bridge is the second permanent bridge on the site.

The current suspension bridge was designed by noted civil engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette. It was opened by the Prince of Wales on 11 June 1887. With much of the supporting structure built of wrought iron, it is 700 feet (210 m) long and 43 feet (13 m) wide and cost £82,117 to build.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammersmith_Bridge

01 December 2008; 1511 hours
[Canon EOS 5D | ISO 400 | 35mm | 1/640 seconds | F/5.6]