LONDON REFLECTION

Photography by
 Jack Bierschenk

                                         
 THERE IS a big wide world out there: all it takes to discover it is simply to hop on a plane and fly across the sea.  If the sea happens to be the Atlantic Ocean,
then London is a perfect place to disembark. This

St. Paul's Cathedral

vast metropolis is a cornucopia of sights, sounds and colors. So many attractions: Hyde Park, Piccadilly Circus, Camden Town, Trafalgar Square, St. Paul's Cathedral, Covent Garden, the Tower of London.

 SO MUCH ART: at the National Gallery, the Portrait Gallery, the British Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum, Tate Britain and Tate Modern, a former power station transformed into stunning showcase of contemporary art. Inside, a five story high turbine hall of gigantic proportions (3,400 square meters of floorspace) is the perfect site for larger-than-life installations.

Turbine Hall at Tate Modern

                                         

Inside the Tate Modern

ON SUNNY DAYS, London parks fill up with picnickers and day trippers; after work, quaffing a beer at the local pub, or a stroll along the banks of the Thames is a good way to kick off the evening; theater is a strong lure and so are the many bookstores packed with titles new and old. Sandwiches are the preferred lunch choice and it wouldn't be England without a steaming cuppa at the slightest excuse.

IN LONDON, the past collides with the present to achieve a sometimes discordant yet never boring skyline. Buckingham Palace and  the   Houses of Parliament, overshadowed by Big Ben, embody the grandeur of a nation that took pride in the conceit that "the sun never set on the British empire." Muscling in next to the old, modern buildings and structures show off a jumble of styles. Some hark to the future, like the trio of edgy additions that Londoners have tagged with clever soubriquets: The Eye, a giant Ferris Wheel; The Shard, a glitzy glass pyramid Telegraph reporter Ed West glibly described as "a giant middle finger directed by the super rich at the rest of London"; The Gherkin, a commercial building that looks like a bullet smashed into the ground... or one hell of a funny egg.

Quo Vadis?

AS A WORLD capital, London is an amazing
marketplace of goods and the sight of huge
throngs, locals and tourists from abroad,
rushing along such main thoroughfares of
commerce as Regent and Oxford Streets
makes quite a vivid impression. Wading
through the chaotic crowds that wend in
and out of countless stores on these two
bustling avenues is to witness the stark
reality of human need and its flip side,
human excess. It is the kind of spectacle
that brings into sharp relief the power of
consumerism and the voraciousness of
economies. It makes one ponder the
perennial quandary that has yet to be
answered in any appreciable manner:
how do we reconcile economic growth
with rampant consumerism while minimizing
the inevitable effect of both on the environment?

COMMERCE on such a vast scale as we are seeing these days also implies waste. The seemingly infinite array of goods available in London, and for that matter in most parts of the world, surely reflects abundance but cannot hide the fact that a great many things for sale are, in truth, quite useless and unnecessary. Waste is inbuilt in economic production and the price of such excess can be found in landfills that are quickly running out of space and third world countries fast becoming the preferred dumping ground for the rubbish of industrialized nations.

ONE USED to travel to experience the new and marvel at the extraordinary world around us. These days, that feeling of wonder is tempered by an enhanced awareness of the dangers of our profligate ways and a realization of how important it is for human beings to start getting serious about the state of the world and to seriously commit to doing something about it. Consumption is inevitable and even necessary; clearly though, there needs to be a more ecological approach to it, both on the part of people and business (This approach must take into account such aspects as what to produce as well as packaging materials). Everyone is a part of the problem but can also be part of the solution. Are we willing to take on the challenge? Do we care enough? Do we care enough to change our ways? Can we? Will we?

Photo BY DENISE BLASOR
PEOPLE ARE TRANSFIGURED BY LOVE,
THEY'RE ELEVATED, MADE DIFFERENT,
LIFTED OUT OF THEIR ORDINARINESS.
ANATOLE BROYARD
"KAFKA WAS THE RAGE"

A SIMPLE TIP: Plastic container tops make practical and colorful coasters. Or being that it's summer, use tops as drinking glass covers to protect liquids from pesky insects or intrusive dust particles.

Photo by JULIETTE BLASOR

"IT'S IMPORTANT TO TURN OFF OUR COMPUTERS
AND DO THINGS IN THE REAL WORLD."
ANDY BOROWITZ

A BEACON IN THE CLOSET:  If you are looking for vintage, or want to snap up some funky second hand fashions at affordable prices, then head to one of beacon's closet three New York locations: Williamsburg, Park Slope, and Greenwich Village. The West Village store, located at 10 West 13th and Fifth Avenue is quite a showpiece: stop by if only to admire the stunning chandeliers made out of steel and white buttons hovering above the racks of men's and women's clothes neatly sectioned off by colors. This is strictly used clothing but much to the management's credit, the inventory is in good condition. You might even consider bringing in some of your old clothes and opt for either a 35% cash payment, based on the resale value of each item, or 55% in store credit. Open 7 days; beacons closet.com

IN OMNIBUS REQUIEM QUAESIVI
ET NUSQUAM INVENI NISI IN ANGULO
CUM LIBRO
(EVERYWHERE I HAVE SOUGHT PEACE
AND NOT FOUND IT, EXCEPT IN A
CORNER WITH A BOOK)
Thomas à Kempis

© 2012 by Lorraine Blasor All Rights Reserved