London...
Saturday- Lottie planned a flat mates picnic and I was lucky enough to be around for it.
The ladies all congregated in the kitchen and made lunch. There was much chopping and scrubbing and mixing and smiling. It felt very old fashioned and sweet and I think it set the tone for the rest of the day. We finished making the lunches and walked out across the street to The Earl's Court garden. It was a perfect afternoon. Sun breaking through the clouds. Mark and I, as usual, played photographer. Soon, Bjorn showed up. I was thrilled to finally meet the man Kara loves. He is this tall, lean, blonde being. So full of energy and joy and honesty. After good food and good wine and Ribina we convinced Bjorn to perform on of his original mime performances for us. He did something called a life in eight minutes. I was smart enough to turn on my video camera and I am so glad I did. The piece was very moving and it was so special to see it in that garden on that day surrounded by those people. It was so idyllic. Like something out of a Jane Austen novel just set in slightly more modern times. I began to imagine my life that way which I know is not realistic. Even the people living in Earl's Court Square don't picnic with their flat mates every day. But, while on holiday and discovering new things and living out life long dreams, it's easy to forget that the sheen of seeing and doing for the first time never lasts forever.
After the picnic Bjorn, Kara and I went for dinner at the Troubadour.
I had an amazingly tasty vegetarian bangers and mash and 2 for 1 Singapore slingers. We sat in the garden and had a LOVELY time.
Kara and I headed home and got ready to go to one of the coolest places I have ever seen. A little place called Shunt. Kara, Tiphaine and I all made our way to this place that i had been hearing about for days. We got off the London Bridge stop and as we walked out I noticed an unmarked door with a line up of people outside. This, I was told, was the entrance to Shunt.
When you walk in you quickly realize you are going to be in tunnels. Whether they are unused tube tunnels or tunnels beneath London Bridge I don't know but the tunnels just go on and on and on and on...
Apparently, the club has different live performances, performance artists etc each night. When we were there they were showing old silent films on the brick walls, there was a cool Japanese DJ and visual artist, etc. It was insane. I felt like I was on another planet. We sat and watched the silent films for a while. I narrated, making up ridiculous stories and voices. After a while we attracted an audience. It was a lot of fun. We also danced with wild abandon on the floor. no one else was really moving but I felt really free. There is nothing like being in a place where almost no one knows you.
We ended the night by catching a set from the DJ. He was wonderfully cool and fun and listening to him spin I turned off my mind for the first time in what felt like years.
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