I am just trying to write from a bus's point of view of the city.
To me, buses or public transportions are not exactly "non-place", although it is true that people come and go, but I believe people may have significant memories behind these public transportations. Probably someone may have a fruitful memory of their childhood with busses as they always commute with bus to school when they were young. the bus may give them a memory of their childhood life.
A bus or any public transportations, is still a place.
Currently I am in the train back to London from Newcastle. I was in Newcastle for two days to support one of my friend in his school's performance for Malaysian Night. Malaysian Night is one of the annual event hosted by different universities for all Malaysian students to gather around. Overall, the event was really nice and I really was enjoying myself, especially with the food that they were catering - Malaysian cuisine.
However, the event is not the highlight of this post. Today's post is about the signs and letters that we encounter everyday. I remember not long ago, we discussed about Iain Borden's notion of driving in the city. One of the discussions was about how drivers tend to take road signs for granted, Consciously, drivers are more focused on the passing of cars, traffic lights and the general environment. However subconsciously, drivers tend to be more subjected to shapes, signs, abstract objects and plain ordinary visuals such as restaurant signs, stop signs and etc. This particular subconsciousness makes the experience in the city is highly semiotic, as it is based on reading signs and signals as these signs are capable of speaking to us in a multitude of different ways.
This discussion made me realise that, indeed, it was true that how driving may change the experience of the city and how drivers tend to take signage or signals for granted that subconsciously we tend not to realise it importance of its existence. However, I think that this notion can be applied to walking as well, or for that matter any routine of our mundane everyday life. The reason why I realised this is because while I was in Newcastle, as I was uncertain about the corners and bends of this place (plus, my friend wasn't convenient to bring me around Newcastle as he was busy rehearsing for his performance) I started to look for the signs to guide my way through the visit.
Below are some of signs I encountered during this trip. The reason why I filtered it all to be black and white is because I want to bring out how the essential meaning of the signage and how we tend to view these signs and signals - that it is images that we tend to forget after our trip as we has taken it for granted as part of our daily lives and tend not to realise how these small little things may shape our journey.
You may not only find these small little sign, signal and signages in the city. But you can find it everywhere, even in the most unexpected areas. Although all this system of signs may not be consciously thought about, but it is undeniable that this encompasses our everyday lives and routine and is constantly communicating with us.
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Before I end, here is a short clip to summarise my trip.
Hope that you will enjoy it as much as I enjoy in Newcastle.
Hello!!
So, which places will I be blogging today?
I guess the post title has revealed the answer out before I mentioned it.
Yup, today I will be blogging about my exploration of Oxford Circus, the most notable fashion district in the whole of England. (it will just be an exploration, there will be no shopping for me!)
However, this exploration will be a little different from the normal exploration. This exploration will be guided by a coin. You did not read wrongly. Yes, it will be guided by a coin.
Each direction of my exploration will be determined by the sides of the coin.
If it is head I will turn right, if it is tail I will turn left.
The idea of letting the sides of the coin to determine the direction that I am going to take for my exploration is taken from the book - SideWalk (which you can find it on the side bar of this blog).
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In this exploration, I've set a starting point and ending point for myself, which both are located at the same place - Oxford Circus Station. Then, in each junction I come across, I will flip the coin and let the coin to determine which direction I should take and this will continue until I have reach back the same location where I started. In another word, if I am not taken back to the Oxford Circus station, my exploration will need to continue until it takes me back.
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Am I excited about this exploration? Yes, because I know it would be fun!
Am I nervous about this exploration? Yes, because I don't know where will it bring me.
Am I prepared? Yes, there is a pepper spray in my pocket for emergency purposes!
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Below is a short clip about this exploration.
(Please bare with me about the quality of the video as there is an error occur during the exportation of the clip) *
During this coin flipping trip, it guided me into some places that I have not been to in London, I would say the quieter and mundane side of London that not all travellers ( I am saying travellers because I consider myself as a traveller here in London) might visit or even walk pass as there are no tourist attractions around that area. Although I consider myself as a frequent visitor to Oxford Circus, however most of the time, I only spend it on the main streets such as Regent street or Oxford street and did not ever visit any of these places that the coin guided me to. I must thank this event to let me see and explore more about the this area.
While I am lost in the not-so-mainstream area, I discovered that this area is rather quiet and less hectic compared to the main streets (like Oxford street or Regent Street). It is amazing to find that how the city that we are in can have such a huge contrast in the human density by a simple separation in a row of buildings.
In the main streets, there are various kinds of attractions (eg. clothes, shoes, bags) displaying and catching your attention. However, in the not-so-mainstream area, I thought that there would be nothing displaying or anything that would attract me. But I was wrong! There are many hidden gems around these areas too. Although the hidden gems you may find in these areas will not be like the materialistic objects you find on the main streets, but they are one of those things that enrich you and enlighten you, which are mental gems. There are mini underground workshops and restaurants with nice ambience (probably this is the reason why I find there is only locals inside the restaurants and no tourists because travellers like me would rarely discover such an area).
Then as I continue my exploration, the coin brought me back into the main street. Such a huge relief that I am back into somewhere familiar, because it is not a pleasing feeling to get lost in a place you have not visited, especially that there are not much people around that area.
While I'm walking in the main streets, I realise that you not only find merchandise displaying around the streets, but you may also find people displaying themselves around the street. When I say people displaying I mean that the street has become a setting for the people exploration and expression of their identities through self-display, such as what they wear or how they wear their apparel. The public spaces (such as the streets, shop or shopping centres) has become a stage for social process of style creation, where people tend to use this as the performance stage of their appearance as well as observing the appearance of others. As this reflect back to myself, probably this is the reason why we tend to take the effort to dress up nicely when we go out, because the city is actually a space for us to display our identity (feminine or masculine) to others, let it be consciously or subconsciously.
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This is the map of my exploration.
I don't know do I consider myself lucky that I manage to go back to the starting/ending point without much detouring. Lucky that I did not use my pepper spray, unlucky that I only discovered such little "not-so-mainstream" area.
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I guess that is all for today.
See you soon!
emilyccz
a panaromic view of the heart of Oxford Circus, London.
Today I am going to bring you to a cafe-bar-workshop called Look Mum No Hands! on Old Street, London. Before I continue, I must praise the weather today! It is 19'c during early of March! It is really rare to get such temperature with Mr Sunshine out shining bright and warm during March in London! Isn't it a perfect weather to go out to enjoy a cup of coffee with your friends and have a break from the miserable weather in London? Yupe, that is what I am going to do today!
So, let's begin the journey!
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Before we start, here is a short clip of my journey from Old Street Station (Northern Line) to the cafe - Look Mum No Hands!
The music playing in the clip was the music that I was listening while I'm on the way to the cafe.
I think it fits perfectly to how I want to feel about the city today - to relax and enjoy the weather.
The music makes me feel like everything around me is much calmer and lay back.
I really do believe David Beer's theory of Tuning Out that music plays a role in reshaping how we view the place, to rewrite the narrative of the place, however it never really isolates us from the reality world that we can still feel and experience everything around us. Imagine the clip above, I've edited and replaced it with another song, probably a song with more beats, you may probably feel that the place is more energetic and dynamic instead.
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Below are some pictures taken along the way to Look Mum No Hands!
Even the bicycles want some sunshine too!
A church found along the way to the cafe.
Living in a city is known to be hectic and busy.
I wonder of anyone have ever realise that they are actually surrounded by such beautiful wall?
I can see a culture difference here. I was born and raise in a city (Kuala Lumpur) that pedestrians do not use the traffic to cross the street. We cross the street by risk, no matter if its a red/green light, as long as there are no cars, we cross, as traffic lights were made for cars and not for humans.
But here, you can see even while there is no car insight, as long as it is red light, pedestrians will wait. With these, I guess it has made both Kuala Lumpur and London unique in their own ways because eventually it is the people and culture that gives the city its own unique character. After all, what is a city, if it is not a manmade creation?
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WE ARE HERE!!!
the exterior of the cafe-bar-workshop.
The reason why is it a cafe-bar-workshop is because other than serving just food and drinks, they do service bicycles for people too. So, this is probably one of the place where most cyclist would like to come and hang out.
The entrance of the cafe-bar-workshop.
As you can see on the left hand side, is where you can park your bicycle.
The dessert table.
According to the review I found, it is a must to try the Guinness Cake. However, I am out of luck when I was there. Probably next time then.
Love the old school signage.
The little workshop beside the food counter.
What I ate (Chicken Pie with hearty salad) and what I drank (Chai Tea Latte).
If you're a fan of Chai Tea Latte, I would recommend you to visit here. Personally I had 4 cups of it, shows how good it is.
Feels like home? Checked!
Friendly worker? Checked!
p/s: Do you see that miniature cyclist figure on top of the cashier?
I was early for the appointment with my friends, but it doesn't bother me to wait for them. (Who would be bothered to have such lovely weather to accompany them?)
So, I did a little activity, taken from the book (Side Walk) mentioned on the left tab of this blog.
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In this activity, I am suppose to jot down the snippets of conversation happening around me.
And, I did it!! (Please click on the picture to enlarge it)
I feel like a stalker eves dropping on someone else's conversation.
Not until this activity, I did not realise that I tend to tune out to other people's conversations around me. We are so used to the sound of people chatting around you and it has slowly became a part of backdrop sound that you would find in the city, a sound that you have no control to that you turn immune to it.
The sound of people chit-chatting around it is just a part of the urban soundscape, you can hear it anywhere in the city, and it is the product of a city in action.
Lastly, this is also taken from the book - SideWalk, but I have alter it to fit my experience.
I changed it and listed down the people that I would recommend them to visit Look Mum No Hands.
Throughout the weekend, my housemate H has been asking me to accompany her to try out a restaurant in Covent Garden, called Kopapa. It is an asian fusion cuisine restaurant that serve a variety of breakfast all day. I thought that it might be a good idea for us to take a break from our coursework and assignments to get out of our neighbourhood (our neighbourhood where our university is located) and explore a bit about London. So, I randomly chose a place from my "Places-to-visit-in-London-list" and combine it with H's chosen place to become our itinerary of the day, which is...
Kopapa at Covent Garden (H's chosen place) and Boxpark at Shoreditch High Street (my chosen place).
#1. Of course, other than taking a break from our coursework and assignment, I also thought that this outing might be good chance for me to explore the ideas suggested in this book to explore the city.
#2. This is my second pair of legs as it bring me to every corner of London;
this is my compass, it will lead me back home if I am lost;
this is the Northern Line, the vehicle of 252,310,000 passengers per year.
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Although the restaurant that we wanted to visit is located in Covent Garden, however we decided to get down from the tube at Leicester Square Station and walk to Covent Garden. With this, we can explore more about this area surrounding as we have never walked from Leicester Square to Covent Garden before.
(As an outcome of the walking from Leicester Square to Covent Garden, we found out that both places are actually located quite closely to each other.)
#3. While walking to Covent Garden, I have found this boutique along the street. I am not sure about the boutique's name, but I found it quite interesting that the shop owner used a kitchen glove as the mannequin's glove.
#4. This is probably the most common kind of road junction that you will find in city of London.
It is not a cross junction nor a T-junction, it is a star junction.
#12. Construction workers in one of the shops in Covent Garden.
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After our breakfast and a short walk around Covent Garden, we decided that we should get going to our next destination - Boxpark, which is located right beside Shoreditch High Street overground station. However, we decided that we should take a the tube to Liverpool Street station and walk to Boxpark (about 10 - 15 minutes of walk).
#13. It took me for almost two years to realise that the monograms of the seats inside the train of Central Line are the illustration of London Eye.
#14. Liverpool Street Station.
An architecture that have a mixture in preservation (design of the building, the column) and modernity (class roof, electronic signage, ecalator).
#15. To me, vandalism is not a destruction or spoiling anything beautiful.
It is a way to make a thing or place unique.
Vandalism can be beautiful too, it solely depends on how you perceive the image of the thing or place.
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The walk from Liverpool Street station to Boxpark has given me a chance to explore the neighbourhood around this area as I did not step into this area before.
In this side of London, you can find a huge contrast between modernity and traditionalism.
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Modern side
During the starting of the walk, I saw various kind of skyscraper around me, they are all at least 10 storeys high covered with green and blue windows whereby some are reflective some are not. I guess this is where the word "glass ceiling" came from, because from the bottom you can see the offices on top of you, but you may not necessary enable to work in that position (pic17).
The people around there are all dressed very formal (mostly grey and black) with a serious expression on their faces and have little interaction with others. For Max Weber, the origins of modernity are located in the transition from organic to mechanical society, a shift in which people operate as individuals, on the basis of self-interest, with each person seeking to profit from interaction. Probably this explains the interaction and facial expression of the people here, because of the basis of self-interest it has gradually lead to self-isolation.
#16. William Mitchell has once claimed that everything that you see, heard, touch or smell may stimulate your memories and emotions.
Indeed, every time I see a construction site, it reminds me of what my father told me when I was young, it would be like a instant flashback of the scene in the car where he told me that the height of the construction crane represent the height of the building that is going to be built.
Up till today, I do not know if what he said was valid, but what matters the most here is have the memory of it.
#17. Indirectly, glass architecture was meant to induce and exemplify the organisation's transparency, honesty and clarity. Wether that really is true or not..
* Preservative, traditionalism, expression side
After the very modern side of the neighbourhood, with all the various heights of skyscrapers, along the street as we walk, I had started to realise the instant difference of this area. From skyscrapers to old bricks shop lots and houses. This area had the mixture of both an international multimillion dollar businesses and domestic small family inherited businesses.
#18. City of London
#19. Construction jobs, I call it the "someone-need-to-do-it-job", without them, the city wouldn't be like how you see it today.
#20. The contrast between two different area that is separated by a thin layer of wooden wall.
#21.
#22. Driving in the city. We tend to rely on the signage on the road.
#23.
#24.
#25. The grey pipe on the upper right of the building look like a handcuff to me. One the left of the painting it has mentioned that shoplifters (crime) are welcome into the shop, then on the right there is a drawing of a hand stealing something off a briefcase (illegal, crime). Hence, the sudden appearance of the grey piping system there on top of the drawing hand's wrist subconsciously has send a message to the people that it is illegal to steal that you may get caught.
#26. Everything here are being painted and covered. The car is covered with advertisement stickers, the wall of the building is painted with words, the pillar is covered with red and white plastic.
#27. This train of thought leads nowhere. No point of you thinking without action.
#28. This picture along with the picture below (pic 29) is found in a street across Boxpark, these wall are the wall of the building's back alley. The wording of this wall form the word, extortionist. I find this wall very relevant to the drawing I came across earlier (pic 25). Perhaps these painting tells something about this area.
#29. The other side of the wall.
#30. The view opposite Boxpark. It look like someone is staying in the vault.
#31. Boxpark. An area that is built with shipping container.
#32. The alley between the shops in Boxpark.
#33. streak of line on the sky - many airplane land in London - busy city - tells the popularity of this city - melting pot.
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