Hackney City Farm

Walking towards Broadway Market one Saturday, my friend and I happened to see a sign for "Hackney City Farm". I was a little shocked, a farm in a city, what? Really? Yes, a farm in a park in east London. We followed the people with children, and the signs and walked into an area which was the farm. There were chickens running around everywhere, a house for the donkeys, a house for the rabbits and guinea pigs and a house for the pigs. 

The chickens were let out to walk around freely, and so were the ducks. The donkeys, sheep and goats were in a larger more open space grazing and enjoying the warm weather. And the cute little guinea pigs were in their homes rolling around in the hay. Children were making animals sounds, or chasing chickens. Couples were looking at the different animals and walking around.

I don't know what it is about farms, but somehow everyone seems to love seeing the animals interact with each other and the big city seems so distant. I'd probably go there again, just to try to pet a sheep, I got so close to a lamb at one point! 

Here's the farm's website: http://hackneycityfarm.co.uk/

The Old Vic

On the 1st of June I went to see Sweet Bird of Youth, a play by Tennessee Williams at The Old Vic theatre near Waterloo station. The theatre is beautiful. The entrance is very small, but you do have to pass by some gorgeous white pillars to get to the main doors. The box office is all perfectly matching with the carpet and the staircases. Along the stairs there are photographs of actors and performers who have performed there in the past. Once you get inside to the seating areas, you see how few seats there are, and how intimate the experience will be for you the spectator. 

The edges of the different circles are designed in a baroque style, as well as the ceiling of the hall. The stage is a very irregular shape, and you can see the step up for the first scene already in position. One thing I love about theatre, is when the lights go down. All of a sudden everyone is silent, everyone wants to see and hear the performance and no one speaks. That moment when the lights go down is probably my favourite. It shows that people still appreciate the arts. 

The play was interesting and even though it was written a while ago the problems carried through out it are present in the past. People do depend on their looks and their youth to help them get by in life, but once youth fades, it is difficult for you to succeed and be as good as you were before. Kim Cattrall played a  very dramatic character, and I think she performed wonderfully showing the weaknesses and the strengths of the character well. The other actors however had difficulty with performing with a Southern American accent and therefore their performances weren't as good as hers. 

Here's the theatre's website: http://www.oldvictheatre.com/

Elementree

My friend Charlotte with her class organized a catwalk show displaying key pieces from the first year of their degree. The group of students study Jewelry and Silversmithing in the Artistic department of London Metropolitan University. The show was put on at Islington Metal Works, a sort of bar/warehouse near Angel tube station. Tickets were 5 pounds, and there were people queuing outside when I arrived. Everyone was given a souvenir ticket, which had the show's logo on it "Elementree" where the "t" was an image of a tree which Charlotte had drawn.

The show was in one room, and the bar was in another, where the work shown would later be displayed for a closer look. There were 3 black podiums for the models wearing the clothes to stand on, and several white benches facing them. Both rooms were decorated with many strings of fairy lights, creating a warm and welcoming feeling when walking into the rooms. 

The show opened with a woman doing the trapeze and then switched into different music as the first few models walked out. I loved seeing each piece on a person, because often it is hard to see where the artist would place the object they created. These are some of the pieces I liked the most.

Overall, I had a really great evening, it was nice to talk to people who created an event, because its linked to my future career. And it was nice to be surrounded by people who have visions and think through visual things. I genuinely miss that. I wish I was invited to more events like these. 

Here's the website for the show: http://elementree.info/

Hermes at the Saatchi Gallery

In May 2013 there was a craft fair at the Saatchi Gallery. The craft people showing their work were people from the Hermes workshops in France. There were many different different mini studios set up showing the craftsmen at work. There was a leather worker, a tie maker, a print maker, a bag maker and a watch maker. It was incredible to see all the work behind one item which we then get to hold. 

There was a live show showing the silk printing of the silk Hermes scarfs. The presentation had a man explaining the process and the actual person doing the printing. The man explained that yes Hermes do use machines but "Hermes has found the perfect balance between man and the machine" for all of their products. The work surface in the Gallery only had enough space to print two scarfs at a time being a table of about 4 meters in length. In their workshop (they do not like you calling it a "factory"), the table is 100 meters long, so that they can print more scarfs at once. 

The technique has very many steps, each colour has to be printed on in different layers, starting with the darkest and then going to the lightest. However if the darkest colour takes up a lot of space on the silk then it must be printed last because it will remain wet longer than the lighter colours. In their workshop their tables have heaters underneath so that the ink dries faster. Also everything in their workshop is monitored, the temperature of the silk is measured so that it can be the perfect humidity and the ink stays on the silk the longest possible. 

Every year they come out with 10 prints for the fall and 10 prints for the spring. Out of these prints the colourists must come up with 20 different colour combinations on the same pattern where then only 10 get selected. All the heads of the international branched of Hermes then come together in Paris and select the coloured prints that will sell the most in their countries and make their order for the factories. Occasionally certain prints are brought back in new colours to update the old designs.

Each of the Hermes designs are meant to show a story, every image they print they collected from around the world. Culture is a very important thing in the Hermes family. After seeing into the way Hermes works at this work shop, I was inspired to try to work with them. Companies who have a story mean a lot to me, and I think its important to cherish tradition as well as bringing in modern things and they are able to do this with their scarfs. 

Here's the Saatchi Gallery website: http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/

and here's the Hermes site: http://uk.hermes.com/

Welcome to Luxembourg

My family moved to Luxembourg in 2004 and is still living in here. Luxembourg is a tiny country in between France, Belgium and Germany if you didn’t know. It’s not a well known country, but it does have a lot of good things. It’s a centre for banking because there are really low taxes compared to other countries so many major companies have branches here.

But on a touristic it’s known for the way the city is structured. There are several green valleys in the centre of the city because the river cut through the hills a lot time ago.  The rest of the city is on multiple plateaus. There are many small winding roads where cars find it difficult to pass, and cobble stone roads are one of the main features of the town. There’s a pedestrian area in the main shopping area of the town allowing the people to feel safer.

I think I only really appreciate Luxembourg when the weather is good and I can walk around through the winding roads because in winter the city looks really depressing and empty. Also I spent all my high school life wishing I could leave so I’ve only really gotten the chance to look around and enjoy this tiny town during this summer. After all, every city looks better with a little sunshine.

Here’s the tourist’s office’s website: http://www.lcto.lu/en/index

Sadler's Wells

On the 16th of May my friend Daniella and I were lucky enough to go see the ballet at Sadler's Wells in London. We chose to see this ballet because it was advertised all over the tube, and it was based on a story we both know very well, The Great Gatsby. With the release of the film this year we thought it was only appropriate to see the ballet as well for a full cultural immersion. 

Even though there was a huge struggle getting everyone to stand so that we could get to our seats everyone attending the ballet was super friendly, the couple sitting next to Daniella recommended we go to a cute french style restaurant near Piccadilly Circus which I still intend to go to. Once the music starts everyone goes silent and the ballet begins. After each scene the whole crowd claps every dance move is elegant, graceful, and perfect. 

It was like a community of art lovers, the art just happened to be movement. Everyone was so friendly and happy to be there and its rare to find moments like that around London where everyone happens to be in a hurry to do their own thing. I really enjoyed going to Sadler's Wells and it was worth the money I spent on the ballet (36 pounds). I'm going to constantly check their website until they show something else I'd love to see. Here's their website: http://www.sadlerswells.com/

Last Day in Marrakesh

We were able to do a lot on our last day in Marrakesh. We had planned on seeing the important cites at the south side of the Medina on different days, but we then played with our schedule a bit and decided to see them all at once, after all they're all only a few streets away from one another. 

We started the morning at the Saadian Tombs, where you pay 10 MAD for entrance. The building is at the back of an important Mosque and the tombs are spread out in little different rooms with a green courtyard between the different rooms. Each tomb has at least one door way, where people could go to pray and visit their loved ones. The tombs are decorated with colourful tiles, engravings in wood and brick and many other little decorations. 

It was interesting to see so many tourists looking at the architecture, because that's what we see when visiting very different places such as Morocco. However to the locals it probably means a lot more. I would have liked there to be a more descriptive panel posted near the tombs explaining the background of the tombs so we could all gain a little more insight for why this particular tomb is such an important landmark. 

We then visited the Bahia Palace, which was wonderful. There were indoor and outdoor gardens, and so many small decorative details that we no longer see in Europe. The tiny tiles blended in well with the painted ceilings and stone engravings giving each room character even if it was empty. Moroccans tend to show their wealth by having fountains, because if you can waste water it shows that you have enough money to do so. I think that's an interesting mentality behind a decorative feature. 

The Bahia Palace only had windows when looking into the courtyard but never towards the exterior. This was strange to me because it gave me the impression of being closed off. Their windows however have beautiful curved metal wiring. This is where decoration works well with practicality. 

Lastly we visited the Dar Si Said Museum which was off the main roads. The rooms were dark but there were interesting historical objects showing the Moroccan and the Berber cultures very well. Intricate wooden doors and windows were displayed as well as a group of old fire arms and beautiful praying rugs. The museum had several small staircases which we used to see the different rooms, and we were able to visit most of the building which was an old rich man's house. 

Each different landmark we visited we tried to soak in and understand the most possible about the country and the culture. I truly enjoyed learning so much on my own where each discovery was new to me because I organized the trip myself without much previous knowledge about Moroccan culture. 

Camel Rides Marrakesh

During our trip to Marrakesh we had to go camel riding, because my parents would never let me when I was a kid. So we got the hotel to book us a camel ride in the Palmarie north east of Marrakesh. We got picked up near our hotel at 9am and joined a group of people who were also going camel riding. 

Upon arrival we paid our 300 MAD (Moroccan money) and lined up with the others to get our heads wrapped in traditional Saharan headscarves. We were then chosen one at a time to mount our camels. I was at the end of one of the lines of camels. 

Its a very strange feeling when the camel sits down or stands up, because their legs bend inwards, which is different from most mammals. We were then all lead on to the road, our line of camels leading the way. We got to stop for photos and to drink mint tea (a Moroccan specialty). 

We were able to gallop with the camels after learning key words to make them speed up such as "yalla yalla" and "zit zit". It was a fun experience and we got to see a much more deserted area of the country while doing something we had never done before. 

But I left with one major question in mind, why are there one hump and two hump camels? I later discovered that the one hump camel is also called the "Arabian Camel" but really it is dromedary. Two hump camels are the traditional type of camel and a dromedary only has one hump instead. We rode dromedaries because the saddle we were seated on was created around the single hump of the animal. I found that pretty interesting.