sleep out

so last friday night was the Big Issue's Sleep Out event where along with over 100 other people I slept outside (although technically it was under a roof) at Spitalfields Market to try and raise money for the Big Issue charity.

i won’t go into the evening stuff because although hearing the vendors' stories was enlightening there’s similar things already on the internet for people to read and digest for themselves and anyway it was about the actual sleep out.

when i signed up for the event i knew it wasn’t going to be that physically challenging and although I expected it to be uncomfortable, being surrounded by other people in a cordoned off area of the market doesn’t exactly recreate the psychological reality of what it would feel like to sleep on the streets by yourself. of course even without this aspect it’s still really difficult to sleep. even inside a sleeping bag on cardboard all you feel is cold concrete and being in central London it never gets totally dark or quiet.

eventually i did get to sleep but i think the next morning was harder. waking up in the same clothes i wore and slept in the night before, not being able to have a shower, having to use grim public toilets and then rolling up all my stuff into a backpack was quite an eye opener. what do you do and where do you go now were my first thoughts and although i had the comfort of knowing i was going back home, imagining what it would be like to wake up like that every day made me appreciate how difficult it must be to start to turn your life around after living without any structure or support for a while.

hearing and seeing firsthand how people in that situation can go from selling a magazine for £2 each (which they have to buy from the big issue for £1 each) and saving up that money to get off the streets was an incredible thing. the Big Issue's ethos is 'a hand up not a hand out' and whilst i love what the magazine stands for, after hearing about the experiences of some of the vendors - how tough it is to sell in this current frugal economic climate and the fact that 1 in 3 vendors are mugged for all their earnings - left me with no illusions about just how much of a challenge it is for them to keep selling the magazine and get by solely off their earnings.

if you’re like me and wish you could do something but don’t know how to or if what you do will make any difference then i would really recommend buying a magazine and supporting a vendor directly. i can say i’ve seen that it really does make a huge difference.

the big issue

next friday 2oth, i'm joining 240 other people in the big issue's big sleep out event in London.

it's an event to raise money to support the work the big issue charity does and everyone attending is aiming to raise £400 each by june 20th. i'm really looking forward to listening to the experiences of big issue vendors and even though one night outside is not comparable to real homelessness, i'm sure this will be an eye-opening experience.

if you have the means and would like to donate to my fundraising effort it would be really appreciated :) and you can do that on my fundraising page

or you can find out more about the event at The Big Sleep Out 2011 page

i'll make sure to post some pics after next friday!

genius iii

Sohei Nishino - man after my own heart. just saw an exhibition of his work and it's incredible, each of his huge dioramas are made up of thousands of small photos so you have to see them up close to properly appreciate them.

for anyone who likes architecture, cityscapes, maps, b&w photography, collages and highly detailed, meticulous artwork

small spaces

went to the V&A exhibition of small scale architecture today. all 7 of the final structures were great in their own way but these wooden ones below were definitely my favourites. each one of the pieces served a different purpose: study, play, performance, meeting place, work, relaxation and contemplation

brompton

below photos of victorian redbrick terraces and their private garden squares. although most of the private gardens are close to very busy streets like this one which is a stone's throw from the v&a, most look like hidden gems with hedges and trees helping to maintain privacy in the busy urban environment. quite different from a lot of cheap housing estates where there is usually little privacy or upkeep of landscaping

gothic

photo i took of the entrance to Holly Village in North London. one of the earliest examples of a gated community in the country and from what i could see of the houses inside they looked amazing with towers and turrets and ornate wooden detailing

Henry Astley Darbishire who designed this hamlet also designed houses specifically for working-class Londoners as part of a trust whose aim was to improve the lives of the poor by building better housing for them

eyesore

my photos of brutalist design robin hood gardens in East London, it really is as ugly as it sounds

fancy

a couple of photos i took today of the mansions off of High Street Kensington, all of which are comprised of lots of smaller apartments. this yellow brick one was my favourite

example of compact housing Kensington style