365 Days Of Trying - Day 49
A London Moment.
I have much to catch you up with dear reader, however time eludes me right now.
So in the meantime, to quickly keep my hand in with these substacks I thought I’d share a moment as it happens, that epitomises my love for the Capital.
On a quest to find a new Coffee Shop near Tottenham Court Road I stumble upon Grove Gallery on New Cavendish Street. It marks my first new venue for the day.
Inside I meet gallery assistant George, who starts describing the work to me, but I immediately recognise a piece on the wall from The Homelessness Reframed show at The Saatchi Gallery by Robi Waters, which both friends David Tovey & Surfing Sofas had work in.
We discuss the other works including the only piece I own, bought from the Saatchi Gallery in 2007 one of a collection of 50 prints of Hreinn Friðfinnsson’s of his inside out house in Iceland, who I just discovered looking up to get the correct spelling of his name, had died on 6th March 2024.
As I’m leaving George says they have an exhibition coming up of Adee Phelan’s work and they’d like to invite me to the opening. I used to have my haircut at Adee’s store in Shorts Garden, so obviously accepted. I’d also seen his show with Rankin at the Maddox Gallery (that is now a restaurant on Ladbroke Grove) over lockdown to raise funds for the NHS workers - oh how things have changed with our compassion and hearts since then.
One little gallery off the beaten track, held two connections with me. It’s not an uncommon occurrence in truth. The city lives and breathes stories and connections of life that I have never experienced the like of anywhere I’ve visited or lived during my lifetime.
Next door is the newly opened Coffee Shop, Kasa Cafe, it has the look and feel of a Cashless venue, and if I’d not needed to have such a venue for one for my daily finds for Google Maps I wouldn’t have even gone to ask.
To my utter surprise, I find they do indeed take the King’s currency and added to that they had a piece of Zara Muse on the wall from the gallery I’d just left too. It is from here that I rapidly put these words to screen whilst enjoying a huge Mocha.
It’s as often, the little connections you make in the City that are as just as impactful as the big ones and talking of which I have to leave you now to go perform in the biggest one of them all…
The opening night of the final run of the legendary immersive theatrical experience, You Me Bum Bum Train.