Sunday, May 27, 2012

Locks of Love


I found this lock attached to a fence on Portobello Road this week, committing Hege (?) and Peter to a perpetual public declaration of their relationship -- well, until a maintenance man cuts it off, anyway.

Apparently this is a European thing, attaching padlocks in public places to represent couplehood. When I was in Italy, in 2007, I found nests of them adjacent to the Ponte Vecchio, hanging off railings like Spanish moss.



And last November I found a nascent growth of locks on a fence in Greenwich.


I never saw this when I lived in New York, but maybe I just wasn't paying attention!

6 comments:

  1. I've never seen anything like that and find it charming. My mind also starts thinking about being trapped in love ---

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  2. I've seen these in Boston, although not as many as you've pictured here: just one or two, here and there.

    I chuckled at the title of your post since there is a charity called "Locks of Love" that collects long hair to make wigs for children with hair-loss, either due to cancer treatment or alopecia. You have to have a 10-inch braid or ponytail to donate, and I've known some women who have grown their hair long specifically for that purpose.

    Anyhow, I chuckled because my first thought was that you had grown your hair long to donate, but then I realized that unlikely. :-)

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  3. Lorianne, that was my weak attempt at a pun -- but yeah, I am probably not a potential donor! :)

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  4. I think this tradition may have started in Paris, although I have seen it elsewhere. I had a chuckle at your post title as I am in the midst of growing my hair in order to donate it to Locks of Love...

    If you see Sally or talk with her, please tell her Happy Birthday from me.

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  5. I too have never seen this or heard of this tradtion. Either they feel like prisoners of love or maybe this sets them free? Kind of an odd tradition. Cool photos!

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  6. I just got back from a trip to Italy and was catching up on your posts. This one especially struck me because I saw these everywhere in Italy. My close friend David picked me up from the airport last night and over a glass of wine at my house we were discussing this phenomenon. I told him about a whole wall of locks under Juliet's Balcony in Verona. I found it to be rather sad for some reason. After all, the fictional star-crossed lovers never made it to adulthood.

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