babycakes

07/09/201502/09/2015

#MYLDN (598)

Me and my camera back in my home town, my capital city, my london

04/09/201501/09/2015

#MYLDN (597)

Me and my camera back in my home town, my capital city, my london

I can’t help but feel that this entire situation might be dealt with differently if the migrants who are in Calais were a sea of white faces from a European country instead. Would they have been treated the same? It seems doubtful.

I would also question the use of the word ‘migrant’ and its implications. The term would suggest that they are defined by their transitory nature and that they are of a ‘type’. The only thing they have in common is that they are displaced from their country of origin through events beyond their control.

The dictionary defines migrant as “a person who moves from one place to another in order to find work or better living conditions.”

This sounds like they have a choice. They don’t. If they’d had a choice they would have stayed where they were. Would you leave your home with nothing unless you absolutely had to? They only move from one place to another because no-one wants them. They are not travelling for fun. They’re not inter-railing around Europe. They are looking for a home.

I think by calling them ‘migrants’ it allows us to think of them as permanently in motion and therefore it is easier to move them on. They can just ‘migrate’ somewhere else. The terminology allows us to absolve ourselves. But this situation will not go away. It will not ‘migrate’. It will just keep coming back. It will need to be considered with genuine understanding and compassion to find the correct solution. The ‘crisis’ is our lack of empathy. They are not migrants. They are people.

03/09/201501/09/2015

#MYLDN (596)

Me and my camera back in my home town, my capital city, my london

David Cameron described the migrants as a “swarm”. This is designed intentionally to dehumanise them. So that their plight does not stir our emotions. But they are not one big problem. They are individuals, each one with their own personal story of human misery. They are not faceless multiples to be dealt with en masse. Each one has a different tale that led them to this horrific situation. Only by seeing each and every one of them as unique will we find the humanity that is necessary to deal with this ‘problem’.

And for the record, it is not our problem. It is theirs. They are the ones without a home, without a country, without anything other than what they could carry with them. They are the ones who left behind loved ones. They are the ones that no-one wants. They are the ones with the problem. The crisis is theirs. Not ours.

02/09/201501/09/2015

#MYLDN (595)

Me and my camera back in my home town, my capital city, my london

A barrel bomb is an improvised unguided bomb made from a large barrel-shaped metal container that has been filled with high explosives, with possibly shrapnel, oil or chemicals, and then dropped from a helicopter or airplane. It is estimated that, as of mid-March 2014, between 5,000 to 6,000 barrel bombs have been dropped during the Syrian conflict and 99% of casualities have been civilian. Barrel bomb attacks throughout Syria have killed more than 20,000 people since the conflict began.

If reading the stats doesn’t affect you imagine they were being dropped on your city at this rate with such a death toll…would you stick around?

01/09/201501/09/2015

#MYLDN (594)

Me and my camera back in my home town, my capital city, my london

MYLDN is back! The big story in the U.K whilst I’ve been gone is the Migrant Crisis in Calais…

Almost 60 million people around the world have been driven from their homes by war or persecution according to the Times. About 14 million people were displaced last year alone. 14 million is roughly the population of Greater London. Imagine every human being currently located in this city wandering around the Earth looking for a new place to live. Imagine you were one of them…

31/07/201528/08/2015

#MYLDN (593)

Me and my camera in my home town, my capital city, my london

Happy Birthday Agent K!! xx

and so ends this week’s photos, a random collection or random findings, weird bizarre shit you stumble upon quite by chance. London, as is life, is full of them and its important to keep your eyes peeled or you just might miss them.

This is the last post I will be doing for a while as am doing my usual European thing and taking August off…because life is definitely for living and not just documenting.

Enjoy the rest of your summer and see you in September!

bcr x

30/07/201529/07/2015

#MYLDN (592)

Me and my camera in my home town, my capital city, my london

In memory of Ben Hopkins x

29/07/2015

#MYAMDM (01) – Dutch Men In Tights – what’s not to like?

Me and my camera in someone else’s town, my amsterdam, my wrestling assignment

I was on a stag doo recently in Amsterdam and we stumbled upon this bar on the canal that had a beach and a wrestling ring. I had a ringside view and decided to pretend to be a sports correspondent and cover the event. Why? I’m not entirely sure other than I had never seen a wrestling match live in the flesh before and found it strangely captivating. Pretend violence satisfies a base carnal instinct without anyone getting really hurt. Maybe if there was more wrestling in our lives less people would feel the urge to genuinely harm others. Could wrestling be in fact the answer to world peace? Should we start a campaign? Get some badges done? Get a hashtag? This could be the solution we’ve all been looking for…Dear United Nations, it has recently come to my attention….

To see the full gallery “Dutch Men In Tights – what’s not to like? ” please click here.

28/07/2015

#MYLDN (591)

Me and my camera in my home town, my capital city, my london

27/07/201527/07/2015

#MYLDN (590)

Me and my camera in my home town, my capital city, my london – well,ish. I was actually in Cambridgeshire, in a field, knee deep in mud.

bit late today, sorry, I was at the Secret Garden Party being chased by a giant..umm..rabbit thing.

24/07/201524/07/2015

#MYLDN (589)

Me and my camera in my home town, my capital city, my london

To see the full Despacio gallery please click here.

Despacio returns!!

(For those who don’t know: Despacio is a sound system created & curated by James Murphy (LCD sound system) & 2manydjs (Soulwax). It is the best in the world

On the first day it began at Lovebox I was hesitant about going in and wondered if maybe it was finally losing its magnetic hold on me but as soon as I hit the dancefloor I remembered why I had been avoiding it..once I am there I do not want to leave. Everything else can wait. Some of my happiest moments on earth have been at Despacio and that is not an exaggeration of any sorts. It is a complete and fulfilling experience which generates happiness and well-being amongst those fortunate enough to witness it. It is a Love Machine. It was built with love and it produces love. We live in dark times. The world needs Despacio. It is a beacon of hope for how humanity can be: together as one, in harmony with each other, connected by the music, bonded by emotion. Sound over the top? I’m sure, but what can I say? That’s how it makes you feel.

When you are in Despacio you dance with strangers. You form a circle. You muck about, have a dance off, embrace. When you make eye contact you do not look away, you smile, from ear to ear, you know how each other is feeling. It makes you include one another. It makes you be a good human being. It makes you appreciate the beauty of existence. You don’t want it to end. Life makes sense inside Despacio. And the music is phenomenal. The 6hour set driven by the inspired vinyl selections of 2manydjs and james murphy takes you on the most incredible journey, building and building to the ultimate crescendo. And the sound will blow you away. It is unlike anything else that exists anywhere else on the planet. And the only way you can experience this is to see it and hear it in person.

Its coming to the Roundhouse in September. Tickets went on sale this morning, if you can get one, get one. http://gigst.rs/despacio

Here is a video I shot over the weekend:

23/07/2015

#MYLDN (588)

Me and my camera in my home town, my capital city, my london

This was lovebox at victoria park on the Saturday..

this was citadel at victoria park on the sunday

Lovebox used to run for the whole weekend but for some reason this year they did 2 days of lovebox and then the 3rd day was called Citadel.

On the friday & saturday Lovebox was a bit of a wild affair. the largely 18-21 inner city demographic seemed hell bent on getting properly wasted from the off. And they did. They demonstrated the wild spirit of youth and even though it got a bit messy it gave me hope for London. No matter how expensive and exclusive it becomes they will never be able to crush the diversity and the energy that fuels this city.

To see the full lovebox gallery please click here

On the Sunday it turned into a completely different festival. same location. same promoters. same stages and food trucks but was now called Citadel and was a totally different line-up and as a result a totally different crowd. Lovebox had the likes of Snoop Dogg, Rudimental and Cypress Hill and consequently generated an urban racially mixed largely working class crowd whilst at Citadel the singer songwriter Ben Howard was headlining and consequently attracted a very white middle class relatively sedate audience. I was there all three days (because of Despacio – see tomorrow’s post) and it was so weird coming into the same location which looked exactly the same but the people couldn’t have been more different from the previous two days. The queues for the smoothies was now longer than the queues for the bar. There was more eating going on than drinking. It was a very family atmosphere. Children were running around and getting their face painted. And as you can see above they were playing croquet for god’s sake. If they had had mallets and Lovebox there would probably have been bloodshed.

What was fascinating was how a change in music could utterly change the demographic of the audience. It really felt like a class divide and made me realise how the art we consume and the culture we come from are interlinked and intertwined, to such a degree we aren’t even aware of it.

It feels music festivals are going the way of Citadel. Calmer, more family friendly, more food orientated and it feels less and less about the music….and in all honesty I am not very happy about it. Festivals should only be about music and getting loaded and having a wild time. That is what they are there for. They are there so we can all let off a bit of steam so we can deal with the rest of the shite. The festival Grinch has spoken.

22/07/201522/07/2015

#MYLDN (587)

Me and my camera in my home town, my capital city, my london

we live in a world of short shorts. Even the guys are doing it now. Lovebox was quite a display of minimalist material ensembles from both the geezers and the birds. A case of ‘if in doubt, make sure its out’. I’m sure that some morally righteous people will be saying that the youth are denigrating themselves and should show more decorum and less flesh but the peacock parade is the catalyst for how the human race procreates. It has always been this way. Its not fashion and its not a degradation in values. Its just biology. Business as usual. If there was no mating rituals most species would not be on Earth.

21/07/2015

#MYLDN (585)

Me and my camera in my home town, my capital city, my london

20/07/2015

#MYLDN (585)

Me and my camera in my home town, my capital city, my london

2pm, saturday afternoon. The tube is full of youths on their way to The Lovebox festival in Victoria Park. They passed round super strength alcohol disguised in soft drink bottles and took turns at nitrous oxide balloons. If you go to a festival you see a lot of balloon action these days. This symbol of childhood innocence has been re-appropriated by young party heads, mainly because its still technically legal, although there is call to ban it. Although no-one can really say why. It is a short intense high that makes you light headed and euphoric. Its difficult to see quite why that is a problem. The tabloids are calling it ‘hippy crack’ which makes it sound like a demonic dangerous drug from hell which is undoubtedly the intention.

17/07/201517/07/2015

#MYLDN (584)

Me and my camera in my home town, my capital city, my london

…and so concludes this week’s photographs from the Serpentine Pavillion Summer Party. In many ways it really feels like the ultimate representation of New London as it is most definitely only available to an exclusive few . It has dawned on me that to live in this city now you have to be a REFL – Rich Enough For London. The problem is that most people aren’t. (yes I am trying to make REFL as well as New London happen- fly my pretties,fly!)

Just to give you an idea of the impossibility of home ownership in London, the average flat is worth £500,000. The average salary is £26,000 and you can get a mortgage 4 x your salary. As the saying goes, do the math, most aren’t even getting close. The top 1/% and the bottom 1% are present but everyone else has been forced out by prices that have gone into infinity and beyond and don’t look like they are coming down either.

I was reading an article this week about how the population of London has changed. In the ’80s two thirds were classed as middle income, now its little more than a third. The numbers of rich & poor have risen by 80%. The Spirit level (u can watch my 3min redux version here) showed comprehensively that inequality is the source of most of society’s ills but this shift is being allowed to occur unabated. The only barrier of defence we have that could stop this are the councils and the mayor. The councils who should be protecting us from the property developers are in fact in league with them and are using their money to fill the massive gap in their budgets that has come from Tory cuts. Deliberate actions from a government who are systematically waging war on the poor? Seems pretty convenient. And what of our illustrious Mayor, the loveable Boris Johnson. What did he have to say on the matter? “London is to the billionaire as the jungles of Sumatra are to the Orangutans. It is their natural habitat” What an absolute cunt.

Ok, its official, I have become a gentrification bore. I can’t stop talking about it and I can’t stop getting angry about it. I want my London back!! I liked the inclusive London, the melting pot, where anyone who was willing to have a go could survive and live within the city and not have to commute from fucking Margate to be able to afford the rent. If you have to travel in to work or to socialise you are not a Londoner, you are just passing through. This is not about having issue with rich people. This is about having issue with the fact that they are the only ones who can enjoy New London. The glory of this city was that is was available to all and now it is just a playground for the wealthy and that sucks. The mix worked. That’s what made it great.

I’m gonna shut up now and go and sulk in the corner. There’s no more to be said. It’s done. There is no way to turn back the clock. Time to move on. I will try not to bring this up again but I can’t promise. If it gets boring just look at the pictures. I will let them do the talking from now on.

P.s I didn’t mention the pavilion this year because it was basically shite and I don’t like to speak ill of things…(smiley face)

16/07/2015

#MYLDN (583)

Me and my camera in my home town, my capital city, my london

From scuzzy portaloos to slinky jimmy choos…the two social events I topped and tailed could not be more at polar extremes to each other..or could they? Despite the guests of The Summer Party at the Serpentine Pavillion starting the evening with great decorum, elegance and poise, once they got shitfaced on a truck load of expensive plonk their similarity to the Glasto crowd increased ten fold. Once they had been sufficiently lubricated they were dancing their designer socks off. The dancefloor got filled and things got a little messy. It was reassuring and very heartening to know that underneath all the glitz & glamour they just wanted to get wasted and party like anyone else. And they really rocked out. Throwing shapes, shaking their booty, hands in the air like they just didn’t care. It seems the desire to dance under various levels of intoxication apparently traverses all social stratas.

2manydjs who I had seen only days previously banging out tunes to the frenzied crowd from the inside of a giant metallic spider that spat out fire at Arcadia in Glasto (see last weeks pics) were now doing pretty much the same, just to a slightly different demographic. Would these people ever be up to their knees in mud off their chops in a k hole? It seemed unlikely. So were these tippled toffs better or worse than the mashed up munters I had just been with? No. Just different. Strip away the exterior and cliche though it might be, we are all the same underneath. On the dancefloor we are all equal. Now I must go and prepare the rest of my Miss World speech…

15/07/201516/07/2015

Protected: ASK AXE COP

15/07/201515/07/2015

#MYLDN (582)

Me and my camera in my home town, my capital city, my london

Someone asked Tony Hadley when was the last time they played on a stage that small. The answer: Never.

The entertainment on offer for the Serpentine Gallery Summer Party was as A list as its party guests: Spandau Ballet, Mark Ronson and 2manydjs. All headliners in their own right. The bill must have been eye-watering although based on everything else at this doo it looks like money is clearly not an issue for the organisers. Art now seems to be synonymous with wealth which I never cease to find ironic & slightly ludicrous as, by its very definition, is something which should exist for its own right and not for its worth. Try telling that to this lot.

At one point Tony Hadley tried to get the crowd to join in a singalong. He had obviously clocked the demographic of his audience and declared in his best estuary accent: “You’re not too posh to sing are ya?” They were. They didn’t.

14/07/2015

#MYLDN (581)

Me and my camera in my home town, my capital city, my london

This week’s photographs are from the Serpentine Pavillion Summer Party which was on just recently. This is an event I have documented in previous years. It is regarded as one of the most prestigious events of London’s socialite scene and is well documented in the press for its A list attendees. I thought it would be an interesting contrast to last week’s Glastonbury shots. The difference between the crowds is relatively simple. In Glasto it doesn’t matter what you wear, what you look like or who you are. At this function, these are the only three things that matter.

To say the guests are ‘dolled up to the nines’ is an understatement. Every posh frock, every designer item, every bespoke suit is top of the range. The women are doing their absolute utmost to outdo each other but it is a tall order, even for the leggy supermodels. Despite having probably spent God knows how long getting ready there is an entire team of make-up staff on hand to do face and hair touch-ups throughout the night. I spent six days in Glasto without a shower and here I am with people who can’t get through an evening without getting re-glammed. Worlds collide.