Sunday, June 22, 2014

Roa's Flea


The street artist Roa has put up a new piece in London, a huge flea on the side of a building. Tons of people have already photographed it close up, so I opted for a longer view, from about two blocks away.

I took this on Friday, when I went to Shoreditch to catch up on some street art. Another piece I'd hoped to see, a Thierry Noir mural at the Museum of London, was already gone. Oh well.

We've been having an amazing streak of sunny weather. Yesterday was beautiful, clear and warm, and Olga and I spent the morning exploring Hyde Park. From the looks of the sky at the moment, today will be more of the same. We're actually experiencing a surfeit of sunlight -- it's light when the dog wakes me up at 5 a.m., it's light when I go to bed at 10 p.m. I haven't seen a dark sky in weeks!

We had another real estate viewing yesterday. It was market day on Portobello Road, so the prospective buyer got to see things in full swing. Unfortunately there were also about five shady-looking guys lounging around on the lawn in front of our building. The buyer, a woman, kept asking us, "Is it safe here?" I couldn't figure out why she was so concerned until I realized those guys were out front. I don't know if they even live here. I'd never seen them before. Yesterday evening I went out and filled a bag with liquor and soda bottles and potato chip wrappers that they'd left strewn on the grass.

As the folks on Sesame Street used to sing: "These are the people in your neighborhood..."

Some of you have asked for photos of our new place. Don't worry -- when we move, you'll get plenty! I actually haven't taken any yet, and we haven't been back since we signed the paperwork.

4 comments:

Ms. Moon said...

I'm sure that people might look around Lloyd and ask, "Is it safe here?"
Ah yes.
I love the people of my neighborhood.

ellen abbott said...

love the giant flea. do these artists get permission? they must, how else to paint something that large without being apprehended. how long do these art works stay up and who and how are they removed?

Sharon said...

It looks like it was a good weekend to be in London which is good because I have a friend who is there right now.

I did some research on the Desert Rose plant I featured yesterday. It's Latin name is Adenium and it says it's from the Dogbane family. It's native to south and east Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It is a succulent and adapts well to container growing however, it freezes easily to needs to be brought indoors in the winter or it says in southwestern climates, under a patio cover will protect it. I may get one the next time the garden as their plant sale.

The Bug said...

Love the flea!

People seem to think our town is kind of seedy. Which I guess some parts are - but not our neighborhood.