Gift Packs

With the re-launch party of our Greenwich West Hostel this Friday we have been putting info in envelopes in preparation today. So we thought we would put some of it up here as well, enjoy...

Time for T

After asking our facebook friends what they thought of a variety of T-shirt designs it looks like the firm favourite is...

Graffiti ART.

These days when people think of graffiti they usually think of Banksy. The walls are there for everyone though and if you look hard enough you can get to see some great pieces of contemporary art without the stuffy environment of an art gallery. The photos here are from the graffiti tunnel an authorised graffiti near Waterloo Station in London...

 

Tags.

Crew filming a music video.

Empty cans.

All in a sprays work.

If you are heading to our Brighton Hostel, on the walk there from the train station you will see (amongst a few nice examples of street art, keep your eyes peeled) Rarekind - a record store that also sells spray paint and exhibits a range of artwork, canvases and prints from the best graffiti artists from the UK and abroad.

http://rarekindrecords.co.uk/

http://rarekindlondon.com/

So why not sketch a tag, grab yourself a can and throw up your own piece!

(I did)....

UK Charity Shops

Browsing what is in store in a charity shop is a bit like a lottery scratch card, often you get nothing but occasionally you will find a nice surprise.

 In America they are know as Thrift Stores. We are unsure whether other countries in Europe have charity shops? One thing is for certain there is a large selection to be found throughout the UK.

So what exactly is a charity shop? It is where you will find shirts from the 70s, dresses from the 60s, kitchenware from all over the world, somebody else's souvenirs, books on every subject except the ones you are interested in and a whole host of other junk all for very low prices. And occasionally you might just find something perfect in amongst all the other curiosities.

Great for retro fashions, vintage finds and bizarre presents, these permanent jumble sales are an inspirational place to spark ideas for new looks!

To up your chances of finding a treasure:

http://www.timeout.com/london/shopping/features/2503/London-s_best_charity_shops.html

Here are some photos so you can get an idea of what they are all about (and remember all proceeds go to charity)

More than a store.

Ahh that's what I was looking for.

The Spring / Summer 2010 collection.

These cost about £1 a piece. 

Arsenal Hostel Opening Very Soon.

Journeys newest hostel above the Arsenal Tavern is right on the doorstep of the Arsenal football teams Emirates Stadium.

Journeys Arsenal is almost complete and looks like it is going to set a new standard for hostels in London. Should be good!

Even if you aren't a Gunner it is hard not to like this song: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9mFgaHMqEc

A Walk In The Park

Thursday 4th June 2010

I turn up to Parliament Square wearing my favourite navy blue Calvin Klein shirt tucked into brown GAP chinos and shoes of the purist white.

I start to take some photos and notice two Asian men milling around near the Nelson Mandela statue wearing the uniform of a mysterious security organisation.

A rent-a-van pulls up and some people start offloading a winch and two car engines. I ask the old man orchestrating the proceedings what is going on and he begins to tell me the engines are going to be used as feet for a ‘Goddess of Democracy’ structure they are erecting. He gets taken aside by a police officer whose colleague tells the mixed crew offloading that they have to get the equipment on the grass a.s.a.p. (the reason for this goes unquestioned.)

I take a look around the camp that lies at the heart of Westminster surrounded by busy roads. There are tents upturned and collapsed, bikes and various objects laying around creating a chaotic environment. There are peace flags and sloguns painted on many tents, however this does not seem like any place to be for people who appreciated peace. I can’t grasp the harmony here. I guess the peace they are advocating is something different, something we currently enjoy in this country; no wars.

I ask around for what exactly is going on and soon I am sitting with two English guys Dom and Joe, roughly my age, who previously lived in a squat in Berlin together. They have a lot to say (unlike the two girls sitting with them) and rapidly inform me of many things. They tell me that there are all sorts of people here with different views but the main thing they agree on is that the war in Afghanistan should stop and that our soldiers should be brought home. The camp even houses a few returned soldiers from the war who agree wholeheartedly with the protest. A man behind us from the Stop The War Coalition is giving a talk on legally withholding tax as opposition to the war.

Dom and Joe go on to explain that there is a lot more to it than a simple protest (subsequently this will be a long article). There have been people protesting and camping on this spot outside the Houses of Parliament for years (one of whom regards all the new influx of protestors as spies sent by MI6) but on May day 2010 a larger number decided to stay due partly to the recent sunshine. Since then there has been a growing sense of community amongst the protestors. Now meetings are held everyday at 7 to plan actions, discuss issues within the camp and arrange workshops. Joe adds “There is a lack of young people” which he feels is due to the fact that a lot of people see it as a camp full of old hippies, but this is a view he hopes will change. He says here you can learn a lot about all sorts of issues and it is important that the youth gets politicised.

We go on to talk about the most important current issue faced by ‘Democracy Village’; the court cases of The Greater London Authority v The Peoples Assembly on Parliament Square, concerning the Serious Organised Crimes and Police Act 2005 and various park byelaws in accordance to the European Convention on Human Rights. Depending on the outcome an injunction could be put in place to stop assemblies in Parliament Square without prior permission. As we chat about it somebody announces on a megaphone that the case has been adjourned until the 7^th of June, good news for a community not at all wanting to leave on this day filled with sunshine.

The guy with the megaphone sits down beside me and introduces himself as Sam. He tells me he is not a hippie (he is dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans) and just does his own thing but it kind of lines up with what is going on here. I ask him how they get food to which he explains they intercept it when shops are about to throw away out of date stock, known as ‘skipping’ it reduces landfill waste, is free and does not help advance capitalism. He goes on to tell me how he wants to build a solar cooker, a washing machine powered by a bicycle and compost toilets (that directly feed a vegetable or herb garden). During his time in Spain he says he even saw a filter for human urine and the filtered water was being used for washing but he drank it and it tasted fine. He says they aren’t allowed all these luxuries here but that this site is linked with places and initiatives throughout London and the world “It looks disorganised but that’s not the case.”

A girl crouches next to us and says they want to arrange a party to celebrate but can’t do it here so are looking for a squat. Sam says he is here to fight for essential freedoms, express oppressed views and hump, then in a very tongue in cheek way says “but I only hump trees, not humans” and smirks whilst smoking a cigarette. For some time there has been no mention of the war in Afghanistan.

There are a lot of environmental activists and eco friendliness is generally another unifying ideology here. I think it has also been accepted by society as a whole to be environmentally responsible already and personally don’t think camping in the heart of London is the best advertisement for this cause. I am also unsure about the large “Capitalism Isn’t Working, Another World Is Possible” sign; I know of no better system at this present time. Surely highlighting how it is possible for companies to be socially responsible is better than showing the public negative statements that give no viable alternative.

Democracy Village is full of passionate people who feel strongly about a lot of the worlds issues, here they can be part of a community of people with the same mindsets. However the average citizen should not be underestimated, their mindset may be different but the values they hold are often the same and as worthy just less intensely held. With a court hearing on 7^th June 2010 to decide the fate of this form of permanent protest here, will Democracy Village be a thing of the past? Leading to the only form of protest held here in the future to be pre-organised (and more focused?) but only if permitted by the Greater London Authority.

Although I may not appear to be on their side, It makes me happy to know there are people like these out there doing what they do, its not the life for me but if they are forced to move I will miss these people, they give a nice contrast to the inaccessible grand ornate buildings of the men and women in power.

I leave Parliament Square wearing my favourite navy blue Calvin Klein shirt tucked into brown GAP chinos and shoes specked with earthy tones.

For more info:

http://www.takebackparliament.com/

http://stopwar.org.uk/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/

http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/index.shtml

http://www.repeal-socpa.info/

http://www.london.gov.uk/trafalgarsquare/docs/squares_byelaws.pdf

http://www.hri.org/docs/ECHR50.html

Joe

Dom

FIFA South Africa World Cup Drives Us Football Crazy

The World Cup is here to ignite this summer into a football frenzy. Will this year be the year for England? They are sure to get lots of support. Especially from all of us at the Journeys office!

We were looking for the best place to watch the big games and here is what we found.

Near to our newest hostel Journeys Arsenal is The Screen On The Green: http://www.everymancinema.com/cinemas/filmlisting.asp?cn=1&ci=5&ln=1&pi=1896 a cross between cinema and football.

Then there is the Sports Café in Haymarket who can apparently sit 800 fans, you can book tables and even get a countdown to the first kick off on their website: http://www.thesportscafe.com/london/worldcup2010/

We thought we would also share with you our World Cup themed best of the web:

Podcasts with a great mix of humour and sport:

http://www.absoluteradio.co.uk/football/baddiel_and_skinner/

This video that should really get you in the mood:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idLG6jh23yE

So why not get into the spirit of things! You could even just go for a kick around in one of London’s many parks if the weather stays good.

Spot The Difference !?!?!

A recent photo of the front of Journeys London Bridge after a nice new coat of paint:

A screenshot from Guy Ritchie's British gangster movie 'Snatch':

 

If you need a clue or want to see if you got it right check out:

http://www.prlog.org/10671349-journeys-london-bridge-hostel-for-movie-lovers-with-some-added-surprises.html 

Festival season is just around the corner.

The UK has hundreds of festivals that make the most of our Great British summer.

Here a few tips from www.visitjourneys.com to get you started:

Plan ahead – with so many variations on the festival set-up available make sure you choose the right one for you. If your into roughing it and camping then a classic weekends mud fuelled camping at somewhere like Glastonbury is a sure shot for fun and freedom. For those urban lovers that want to couple high heels with high times there are city festivals like Brightons Great Escape http://www.escapegreat.com/ .

Dress to impress – why not pimp your wellington boots with acrylic paint designs. Or if you think you’ve got what it takes to pioneer a new trend then a festival is a great place to get seen.

Its all good – tickets may sell out at your first choice of festival but don’t let that stop you. Trying something new is all part of the festival experience, why not go for one of the more far out festivals like a gypsy guitar festival http://www.iggf.co.uk/

Great Escape Festival veteran Nick Harrison who plays bass in punk band From Plan to Progress told us “The buzz around the town is awesome and the crowd really seem to act crazy like they are part of something special, I can’t wait this summer is going to be nuts.” http://www.myspace.com/fromplantoprogress

The Elephant Parade

In the heart of Elephant and Castle shopping centre, in a well lit empty shop, five fiberglass elephants smile as they are lovingly adorned in a multitude of designs.

Passers by stop and watch as the elephants decorations near completion, the artists working late into the evening. The five that are on display today are merely the tip of the iceberg as over the past months the shop has seen dozens more come and go, arriving completely white and leaving painted with endless patterns and pictures, photo montages and jewels. One marched out in the guise of a peacock another held the startling image of a great white shark.

All 250 elephants will be on display around London from the  3^rd of May until the 3^rd of June. You may see one sat beside a famous landmark or a herd of them in one of the capitals many beautiful parks. This is the biggest outdoor art exhibition London has ever seen and its all to raise awareness of the crisis faced by the endangered Asian Elephant. Many famous artists and fashion designers have contributed creations and at the end of the parade all the elephants will go on sale at Sutherbys to raise funds for the Asian elephant and UK conservation charities.

http://www.elephantparadelondon.org/index.html

I talked to professional costume designer Sheara Abrahams about her elephant Mr. William. Inspired by the British Arts and Crafts Movement textile artist William Morris, her design is of an Oak tree adding an English touch to the Asian elephant. Using acrylic paint and the paint supplied by sponsor Farrow and Bull her design is meant to be seen from a far, she says it was a happy mistake that the stripes accentuate Mr. Williams cheeky smile.

Sheara tells me sweetly that Elephant parade “Is going to be great over the summer, with the herds of elephants making London an even more fabulous place to visit”

http://www.sheara.co.uk/

Fashion designer Rachel Powys is facilitating the production of Goldie for Tarun Tahilliani. http://www.taruntahiliani.com/ Adhering to Tahillianis Indian inspired design (following his creation of Baby Goldie) Rachel has painstakingly stuck on the gems and jewels giving this particular elephant a very royal appearance.

The Elephant Parade should be an event that you will never forget and another reason to stay at a  http://www.visitjourneys.com/   London Hostel.