London

Photos of one of my favourite cities in the world. And how could it not be one of my favourites, with bangers and mash, graffiti proposals, and snow globes the size of a house?

Here’s the thing: I don’t always like the art exhibited. In fact, some of it is downright terrible. Art is subjective, of course, but the Saatchi Gallery has a reputation for instigating media controversy, and its exhibits are sometimes totally slashed by art critics from around the world. As it is a gallery for contemporary and modern art, often it showcases pieces which the public (and perhaps the art community) has never seen before. The gallery regularly and pointedly features new and/or unknown artists – you won’t see any of Matisse or Klee here…

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Katrina from Eating London about joining one of their tours. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you may have noticed that I haven’t accepted many tours or trips; it’s just a personal thing. After reading Tom’s post about the same tour, though, and when I realised that the tour would take place in my neighbourhood, East London, I became very, very intrigued. Since moving to London I’ve decided that I’d like to do a bit more “backyard blogging”, which is writing about the place in which you live. As I live in the best city on earth, and in the best neighbourhood in the best city on earth, this means writing a lot more about East London and how much this part of town has to offer.

There, standing on the bridge that would take me to my flat, is a young man, his arms outstretched in wanting embrace, his face delighted at the sight of me. Looking at him you would have thought we were old friends, new lovers, that we had shared laughs or drinks or at least a handshake.

I have never seen him before in my life.

My ears perked up. “Winnipeg”, I had heard the girl say, I was sure of it. I had a fleeting sensation of excitement, of hearing the name of my hometown dropped casually into conversation, and I briefly wondered why she was mentioning it at all. This entire process took about 1.5 seconds in my brain, before I once again stopped myself, rolled my eyes.

“I’m in Winnipeg, you idiot,” I thought to myself. I had been for a month.

        Broadway Market in London, England   It’s only been one week in London, but it’s been such a full, happy one – Borough, Broadway, and Brick Lane markets,…