Polish pretties

Another autumn, and another visit to Poland. This time exploring new parts of it, and being pleasantly surprised by the contents every time. Beneath the at-times crumbling Soviet union blocks and stern comebacks from strangers lies emotive responses to difficult transitions, a visit to any art gallery shows how artists are tackling issues of its dark and difficult past. Wandering through a forest park dedicated to Communist miners in hometown Katowice, having my fill of old family photographs again, and visiting a nearby turn of the century mining residence of Nikiszowiec was rich in history and meaning.

Visiting Wrocław was a colourful stroll past renovated buildings, beautiful town squares, fresh food markets (oh the forest mushrooms!), museums and riversides. One is reminded through street photographs that much of the city was destroyed during WWII, but its colour, charm, and scattered tiny gnome sculptures are a treat to explore. There too my mum and I came across the first vegan restaurant I was to see in Poland (the most delicious one at that and always busy), and shows the slow and steady changes that are arising. All for the better.

A little bit of peace and quiet

London can be busy a busy place needless to say, so earlier in the year (April in fact! That's how behind I am on posting), I decided to go to Gloucester. The cathedral there is again another wonder, cathedrals never cease to impress me. This one in particular is where the first two Harry Potter movies were filmed (Wheee! Inner dork alert), the stained glass window there was at a stage the largest in Europe (its size makes up an entire tennis court) and apparently shows one of the earliest recordings of golf being played.

From there I had the lucky chance to go on a 10-day silent vipassana meditation retreat, learning the ancient technique of meditation taught in India more than 2500 years ago as a "universal remedy for universal ills". Wandering the grounds in silence, noticing the spring flowers change and grow every morning in the woodlands on the retreat grounds did more than a sermon could have done methinks.

When the course was over and everyone dispersed back to reality, I held back to walk in the Hereford countryside. I stumbled upon a peculiar car graveyard that had succumbed to nature. Armed tanks, vintage trucks and cars no longer of use had been discarded in this strange section close to the retreat. It gave me satisfaction to see how they had surrendered to nature, becoming more beautiful in their acceptance of their fate. And with that acceptance of letting things be, I returned back to London with a little bit of Goenka's and nature's teachings.

Wondering, wandering

London can be quite a daunting place to visit, so many choices, so many places, so many tube stops to choose from. Which one is worth visiting? Do I wander around until I find something or do I have to know where I am going before I set off? Since I am virtually incapable of decision-making, the latter more planned approach seldom ever happens, and what I stumble across usually is just the case. Stumbled upon.

Whether it be amazing street art that pops out of nowhere along Regent's Canal, Dalston or Shoreditch (you can tell since I have been living in the East),all-of-a-sudden sun glares inside the Tate, Harrods' festive lights in June, a boutique JUST for umbrellas, kissing budgies, Barbican dark alleys, old clippings of the Queen in an underground wine bar, wonderfully empty streets in central early in the morning, a spraypainted christmas tree, looking up to see a car wrecked by a sculpture, a confrontational blue pigeon, a coffee shop offering coffee grounds for compost, or a walk on the Thames at low tide. Always exploring, and still so much to see.

Legible London

As I am sure you have noticed, I like me some pretty typefaces when I come across them. Be they the product of urban scrawls or houseboat signage, DIY lettering or Victorian barber signs, the Queen's greenway or City of London crests, grimey underground placards or art deco hotels, Hackney tags or vandalised telephone boxes, there's always something worth a glance and a quick shot.

Wha, a month went where?

Oh my waterproof hat. I have been a dismal blogger. London has sucked me into its quick-commuter pace and shitty weather, and I have no idea where a month of my life has gone. So instead of focusing on the grey and glum, here's a quick recap of some happy moments scattered across this last month: a new pencil set with a companion cat on my lap; the Queen's Diamond Jubilee (more pics to come) and seeing the Lord Mayor's 255 year old carriage that cost £860 to make; finding a museum just for clocks and inspiring street art; seeing not one but two shows with my fellow London Instagrammers (one that made me want to go to Cuba immediately and the other a Secret Cinema production of Prometheus ~ with 2 vehicles from the movie!), eating lunch outside Guildhall in Central on a sunny day; wandering around Buckingham Palace to find some summer flowers and a crown; and learning that William Hogarth was a pug lover. Fun, fun, fun.