before the memory fades

i still can't believe that a week ago Enfield was the heart of trouble kicking off as riots took over the capital for a second night, it felt bizarre and terrifying that this could be happening in my home town and that the few clips that were circulating on the news were of places that i walk past virtually on a daily basis, so familiar, yet so different, transformed by the presence of riot police and organised chaos

thankfully things seemed to have calmed down now, but last week, amidst all that was going on, i tore myself away from the computer screen and wrote a short poem on the feelings that had been stirred inside me, this week, as situations were looking worse, i began expanding on this idea, and on others, to produce a few pieces of music to reflect the times and the tension

this piece is still slightly unfinished, it needs a little more tweaking and polishing to get it up to scratch, but i wanted to put it out before the memories fade


Riot Music EP: Track 1 (unfinished) by Hunchbakk

#Enfield

what a horribly bizarre and scary night

i should be going to bed but i wanted to put into words exactly how i feel about everything that has been going on, sunday night onwards

my dad had been in touch with me about the tottenham riots, making sure i hadn't been out in london and trying to get home, and news of the devastation was horrendous, but that was tottenham

when i was home from camping i just busied myself, stuck the washing on, washed up my cooking kit and had a bloody good sort out around the house, it probably wasn't until about half 6 or 7 that i turned on my computer and logged into facebook

a shot from the flats above the shops was being posted around, a photo of a smashed police car soon cropped up

there was shock and concern, and as the night drew on and darkness fell it all melted into a large overwhelming blur as hours fell into each other whilst #Enfield was trending on twitter worldwide and all there was to do was keep refreshing social networking feeds and flick between BBC and Sky news' slender coverage as it rolled round and repeated itself


waking up to the cold light of day brought an uneasy calm and a restless mind, i cycled into town to survey the damage done, though most of the reported damage seemed to have been confined to twitter, none of Krispy Kremes, Cineworld or Nandos had gone up in flames the night prior and petrol bombs on the a10 were pure chinese whispers that were soon being passed off as fact

Enfield Town itself was bewilderingly serene, cordoned off as the town played host to plenty of curious visitors that were more confused by it all than shaken in anyway.  some premises faired better than others, ranging from a handfull of broken windows to full on looting from sports and electrical shops.

My work was still open, we suffered a broken window along our shop frontage but nothing else, as the sun beamed and people busied themselves it all felt slightly anti-climactic, friends dropped in as they passed by and a couple of pints sunk in The George beside a deserted one way system and police line all contributed to a strange buzz as people came to terms with what had happened

but as the afternoon drew on and grey clouds drew overhead, the atmosphere visibly changed, talk of offices recieving advice to evacuate prompted an ominous vibe that hung heavy in the air, more rumours were dispensed through the day that the same was expected tonight, or that it would be hitting Barnet and Waltham Cross, or Brookfield Farm and Brent Cross

again, rumour and false reports were rife on the way home, my best friend rang me to warn me of a vehicle on fire on Turkey Street just before i had made it that far, i proceeded with caution, but there was no truth in it at all


and i wanted to keep clear of it all this evening, i pulled up weeds in the garden and favoured Don't Tell The Bride over rolling news coverage of scuffles and fires in peckham, i put on a film to escape it all for a couple of hours, but sadly it was all still there, and worse than ever as curiosity got the better of me and i checked the news for a quick update

you don't need me to tell you what is going on all over london, and also in birmingham, i am purely sickened by it all, i'm not sure if there is anymore that needs to be said on the matter, and that is certainly all i will say for now

so as i finish typing this up, and prepare to power down, helicopters overhead and regular sirens wailing are still audible.

good night london, i'm praying for a better tomorrow tonight

london aquarium

i'm really happy with my family's new blog so far (although i wish my dad would have contributed something to it by now) that features daily posts, quite often photography, although any creative output is acceptable, as i have published a few poems over there already

what i am proudest of is the fact that it has reignited an interest in photography for me, making sure that i am always on the look-out for an interesting shot or angle

for the most part i have kept my blogs seperate, but it does give me the scope to occasionaly allow them to cross over, so where-as on monday i only featured two photos, i have decided to revisit my day and flesh out this post with a handful of the other photos that i was torn between, yet didn't want to include on Byford365 (a working title, although it may stay that way) for the sake of brevity

it was my girlfriend's birthday last saturday so she had decided that she would take full advantage of being able to get her own way, and chose a day out taking in a trip to London Aquirium, since i often moan about going there again whenever she usually suggests it.

unusualy, i haven't included any of the photos i actually took inside the aquarium, since i wasn't overwhelmed with the end results, so instead we have a few photos from the journey there, as well as a couple of oddities i saw along the way and also my first ever experience of Yo Sushi! (which i guess is slightly ironic considering the amount of seafood i ended up scoffing, whereas my vegetarian girlfriend had no such concerns)



early morning light / camera phone - part 2

part 1 of this story may have looked a little lengthy and wordy, so a slightly different approach for part 2, we continue in the style of those blogs that are presented as a string of pictures, and i'll just provide a bit of annotation at the end.

i left you all hanging around at North Greenwich tube station at half four in the morning last time, so i'll pick up where we left off and see how much better my camera phone fares as morning breaks













1. North Greenwich Tube Station, now closed. 4.35am
2. A view from a moving bus, somewhere on the 188 route. 5.08am
3. Russel Square Tube Station. 5.45am
4. Bobbly looking buildings near Russel Square. 5.48am
5. Russel Square Tube Station platform. 6.13am
6. Breakfast. 7.45am

ok, not exactly amazing but i think my camera phone redeemed itself slightly as i kept pointing it all over the place trying to find something truly inspired and annoying my girlfriend by repeatedly telling her how beautiful everything looks in the early morning light but i think it was possibly worth it for that one shot outside of Russel Square Tube Station