Bohemians4Soho - not over until it is over.

I kept refreshing hashtag #Bohemians4Soho on twitter last Monday waiting for updates as the protestors were still occupying the ex-12 bar. The #Bohemians4Soho had a community meeting that evening and "Frank Turner playing at 12 bar at 8pm" came up as a tweet.

When we got down to the venue, there was a buzz. People were walking into the building freely and musicians playing at the front door of the 12 bar. It was quite different compared to what we experienced the day before. Their barricade was pushed to the side, the lights were on and a somewhat lighter atmosphere filled the air.

The community meeting was held in one of the rooms within 12 bar and it was packed. Phoenix (@pheonixrainbow) was one of the activists leading the discussion in the room. On the other side, Dan was being interviewed and 12 bar seemed alive again on a Monday night. A few familiar faces like Mortecai played a big part in the discussions and there were several new faces who were keen to help out on the #savesoho front.

Mortecai

Danny, after encouraging the crowd to go on social media to tweet #savetinpanalley

Pheonix being filmed

The donation box being passed around to help the squatters

The night ended with Frank Turner playing and I overheard a woman ranting outside the crowded room going on about how it was "just f****** hipsters here to watch some famous musician and none of them cared about their cause..."

It was a matter of time before the riot police kicked the occupiers out and last Friday, it happened.

#Bohemians4Soho

The day started out at the National Portrait Gallery, partly for a small university assignment as well as checking out the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize exhibition. After our visit, Ming Yang and I walked about to try and photograph anything that caught our eye. Nothing quite happened until after lunch when we walked down Denmark Street in Soho. It was a chance encounter at the front of the ex-12 bar and one of the guys, Dan from #Bohemians4Soho came up to say hi and we started chatting about what they were up to. Mordecai, another activist from the group told us about their protest against the gentrification of Soho by the big corporation, Consolidated Development, the owner of the building. Apparently, they have been squatting in the building for about two weeks. There is a Bohemians Manifesto online which tells you about what they stand for.

The group was kind enough to allow us into the Grade II listed building to check it out. Musicians have been invited to play once again in the venue. You can check out some of their videos here and on twitter, check out hashtags #Bohemians4Soho, #SaveDenmarkStreet, #SaveTinPanAlley and #SaveSoho.

If you have been passing by Tottenham Court Road station, you would have noticed the massive changes around the area.

Guardian's report about the protest here.

A trip to Ridley Road Market

About a week ago, university life started again for me. This time in London. The last time I saw the back of university, it was in Adelaide, Australia and almost a decade ago. For those who do not know, I am studying a postgraduate diploma in photography portfolio development at London College of Communication. Towards the end of 2014, I decided that I was going to spend the new year trying to build a body of work for my portfolio. The choice was between doing it independently whilst having a full-time job or to head to university with a structured outline. There was a lot of back and forth before I came to my conclusion and it was not easy.

I hope that you will continue to follow me on my journey in photography and as part of my university work, my tutor has decided that I should keep this wordpress blog to document my progress. Meanwhile, I will continue to create more images and redevelop my website in the background.

Over the weekend, I decided to organise a photowalk for my fellow classmates to Ridley Road Market followed by a visit to Doomed Gallery to check out 'New Japanese Photography'. It was a fun day getting to know everyone a little bit better and showing some of the international classmates a new part of London where they have not visited.

Here are some of my images from the day. Tried a couple of times to get portraits of some vendors but was not successful. However, I managed to find a stand where they were selling curtains and decided to hang around to wait for an opportunity. I took about 16 shots, moving around the stand and managed to capture the last one which was my favourite of the day. What do you think?

Image of the day

Sunday

Last week was an absolute crazy week. I didn't quite see daylight as I was cooped up in the office working until 3am in the morning for days. RIDICULOUS, some might say. However, this made me appreciate the weekends more and catching up with friends and life are priorities! Since moving into the Highbury & Islington area two weeks ago, I finally had a chance to spend Saturday and Sunday exploring my local vicinity. Found this really cute cafe down Hemingford Road called Sunday. I LOVE everything about this place - from the seating area on the outside to the cute interiors where there are hanging bulbs, simple painted floor boards and gorgeous stools adorning beautiful fabrics.

As the weather was rather windy, we did not get a chance to explore the garden but instead sat by the front window and gazed out. The coffee (flat white) served at Sunday was a delight and I managed to stuff myself with the brioche french toast, vanilla creme fraiche, banana and salted caramel for my lunch. If you ever find yourself in the area and feel like a coffee, give me a shout!

Carefree

Daydreaming…

Counting down...

It has been an awesome summer in London. As the temperature takes a dive, the body is a little shocked and not quite ready to don on the winter clothing. Denial. The dude and I will be escaping to the Mediterranean this Friday to spend some time with his parents. It will be great to soak in the last of the summer rays, take a break away from the computer and recharge for the coming months. These are some photos of the Greek island where we are heading to, taken last year.

man vs cat

For those who know about the story of Charles and the cat on Phi Phi island, this series of photos will amuse you. This was taken in the early morning after a sleepless night where we got bitten by mosquitoes alive outside our hotel room.  We discovered 'bed bugs' on our bed which stranded us OUTSIDE the room, leaving us with no choice but to sleep on an open hammock. It proved to be an unreliable choice and we ended up hanging out by the beach, totally exhausted. We were waiting for the hotel reception to open in order to complain and check out. During this time, this anonymous cat decided to 'bug' us which was not exactly what we needed.

Back in 5 minutes

The Blog 'n Bake Collective caught up this week over dinner in Shoreditch at Back in 5 Minutes, a restaurant and private dining room, hidden behind Ante, a clothes shop on Brick Lane. Giulia discovered this place a while back and was curious to check it out. We were in on a Wednesday and our group of seven were sat on a table of ten where we shared our meals with three others. The informality of the evening reminds me of a supperclub. However, we were served our three courses with hardly any explanation or enthusiasm, an indication that this was somewhat different. The potted meat starters were tasty, closely followed by a delicious pork belly serving, albeit a little chewy. My favourite for the night was the braised white beans accompaniment for the pork belly.

Building Part II

When we first got to Norfolk, the base structure was wobbly. A timber member was broken when Jack tried to balance his whole weight on it. We didn't quite know what it was going to be except that it will have a seat and some string draped across it. By Sunday, the structure was sound and the floor boards and seat stuck on. We even came up with a few ideas for the details of how the string will work with the folly and did some testing before we left. Last weekend, whilst I was at Street Feast London, the boys were in Norfolk with other friends and made great progress with the string design. You can see it in the last photo (not taken by me as I was not there!) So great to see all the hard work come together in the end.

#BloggerSaturday at Street Feast London

What a day! The weather was not cooperating on Saturday where we, Blog'n Bake collective set up shop at Street Feast London. It was the first time for us as vendors thus we weren't entirely prepared. There were a few delays due to the poor weather but we managed to get our display going with a few vintage cake stands and chopping board brought by Giulia, Sam & Hannah. The downpour did not dampen our spirits and we went on for about 8 hours before we packed up!  It was fun getting to know the other vendors and try out their food. We also took the opportunity to speak to our customers and explained what Nanaimo bars and paleo baked goods are about. Thank you to Tweat Up for organising the event and who knows… you might just start seeing Blog'n Bake around.

*Credit to Sam - Barbells & Baking for taking the first photo above!

Baking...

This coming Saturday, Street Feast is presenting #BloggerSaturday and I will be there alongside Giulia (Mondomulia), Sam (Barbells & Baking) & Hannah (One little Rosebud) as Blog'nBake Collective selling baked goods. It will be the first time where we are coming together to sell our home baked sweet treats! I have attended many foodie festivities and most of the time, I am the one eating, not the one cooking. I tend to cook on a more domestic scale and have a passion for baking. My inspiration for baking comes in waves and this Saturday for the first time, you will get a chance to try out my baked goods! I will be presenting my favourite tart au citron, vegan-friendly pistachio cookies and home made coconut jam (kaya). If I survive making them all, I might just throw in a surprise!

A couple of weeks back, the same bunch of us were out at Peterley Manor Farm picking raspberries and strawberries. We returned to Sam & Hannah's home after to make this gorgeous raspberry and strawberry tart! (Thanks to Giulia as master baker!)

I hope this whets your appetite to come by on Saturday to say hi! Don't be shy!

Meanwhile, you can follow me on @wendylwarne / @dishpiglets and us @blognbake !

Backdoor Kitchen

Two weeks ago, I decided to take the dude to Brixton to check out Backdoor Kitchen pop-up - The Backdoor Salon. It happened to coincide with Brixton Splash so it was absolutely pumping when we got ourselves to Cannon & Cannon - British artisan charcuterie seller in Market Row where BDK were holding their lunch and aperitivo session. The afternoon was filled with delicious cicchettis (tapas) and cocktails, perfect for a hot Sunday. My favourite cocktail was Aperol Robs designed by chef Rob himself! If you haven't tried BDK's cooking, you are missing out!

Building Part I

Last weekend, I was away at a friend's grandmother's house near Norwich. The program for the weekend was to design and build a folly in the garden. The basic frame was done by the two boys prior as they dreamt up this mini-project before they went back to university in Copenhagen. We spent both Saturday and Sunday brainstorming, organising, drawing, working and cooking! Being an architect these days means drawing on the computer screen and occasionally, sketching on paper and hand making a model. I picked up a saw for the first time and enjoyed being able to build what we drew. There were mistakes made then corrections but there were also brilliant ideas and detailing happening right before our eyes. By the end of day one, we were all exhausted and fell asleep on the couch watching Bourne Identity. Stay tune for Part II.

The summer pavilion at Hyde Park

Every year over summer, the design geek in me gets excited over the Serpentine Pavilion in Hyde Park. This year, it is Sou Fujimoto who designed the 'cloud-like' temporary structure commissioned by Serpentine Gallery. It's amazing to see how people use this space. I enjoy observing how people interact with the space. Architecture evokes emotions and behaviours. Over the couple of times that I have visited this summer, I love watching children explore the structure, climbing and trying to find the next lattice to latch on. If you haven't seen this space, it is in Hyde Park until 20th October.

Multicultural London...

We happened to stumble across Brixton Splash - a community street festival celebrating the area’s diversity. I love the fact that London is so multicultural. Food and music brings everyone together.

Our day out raspberries picking...

Just two weekends ago, a bunch of us headed to Peterley Manor Farm to do some #PYO (pick your own). Our friends, Sam and Hannah, told us about this place in Buckinghamshire and together with Giulia, we decided to make a day out of it. We had a go at pulling some carrots out but decided that the raspberries and strawberries were much easier. These fruits were easily the best I have ever tasted.

You can check out Giulia's post on the amazing day out on her blog. Also, thank you Sam for taking the photo of the dude and I holding hands.