bluntie

if we ignore cynicism for just one moment: is the overwhelming use of a local park an argument against private gardens? witness on a normal 20degree saturday the ambition, mechanism and conclusion of urban design.

oh donkey, goat, goat, sheep, pigs and farm-birds, brussels sprout and chard plots, bicycle repairer, pottery studio, gingham-table-clothed cafeteria of the home-grown.
the most perfect place, but for ominous feelings of worthiness.  how do you blunt worthiness? should it be a bit shitier? should there be less pregnant people there?

began just in time for your return.
there is nothing quite as wonderful as london in the summer. except london in heavy snow.
you would think that  sunshine is kinder to the cats of columbia road; the club promoters, the homeless, the forklift drivers, the cyclists, and the  surveillance professionals. but violent assaults, arson and bicycle thefts all peak in the summer and drop during the winter. In contrast; house and car burglaries peak in january, possibly because the burglars themselves have been away for christmas and need to make up for lost time.

^ White Cat : morning surveillance shift

scale of need to want:
1. lanes, squats, gardens, vacant yards, detritus, chips in pita
2. high proportion of residents who do not have a personal cat
3. good distribution of late-night corner stores stocking tinned sardine
4. gated communities with well-fed neighbours
5. sunny aspect, proximity to a flower market, organic cheese

^ hungry jack : skip to level 5

firstly; the cover-boy is my friend pat, and secondly; the edible city is my director’s deep obsession.
i mean, the current obsession of the entire architectural profession. timely now that more architects have less to do with buildings.
allotments are at the centre of regeneration projects, seen by both urban designers and residents of a neighbourhood as an asset more valuable than the built fabric, vertical gardens are today’s art walls, city farms are the best surprise of london. i can’t imagine a city which more desires and deserves for the obsession to be converted in the gaps in its buildings and streets.
can’t think of any local examples. hopefully the Building Centre’s Exhibition will present ideas beyond roof-top gardens, though i think this is one movement where the production of the single simple diagram is not possible after all.

like all politicians with expense claims to hide;  laying a little lower.
currently not perching on rooftop of car.

and the extent of gardens for us to play in.
greenwich park is so well mannered, but with twisty trees.

on my way to work i think i ruined a man’s morning by interrupting his particularly deep nod toward the gutter;
“are you ok?”
he said he was fine, but seemed startled and slightly pissed off;  he wasn’t hanging around Old St to make new australian friends.

3  ways of living with a city:

1. live really far from it (dunedin, NZ)
2.  stretch it to include the suburbs (melbourne)
3. ignore it and live in villages (london)

Oprah disgrace

food poverty is gearing up to be (maybe) the biggest future issue of class inequality in the UK, probably in all other fatty nations too. especially obvious in London’s outer-city suburbs, home to new and unestablished middle eastern and african communities, and a single mammoth tesco unable to locally provide the ingredients of their traditional cuisine.
even in inner-east-london fried chicken is cheaper than any other meal, home cooked or takeaway.

disgraceful and addictive too is the inverse: horrific foodies in Norwich cooking thai-style prawns. Come Dine With Me : low-budget reality show combining cringe, tenderness, a kidding voice over, and unwise meals.