East London that is! I just thought it would be nice to share a few things from the almost annoyingly arty area that is Hackney. Columbia road is lovely, Bethnal Green road has some great shops, but the best stuff is found by walking a bit slower and looking at the walls around you, sometimes you have to be very observant as the smaller things often go unnoticed.

Having just got back from South Africa I thought it would be only fair to share the pictures of the great stuff I saw  there.  I spent every last Rand I had on art and all manner of handmade objects.  Not a "made in china" mass manufactured souvenir in sight.  I bought stuff  from Art Galleries and Co-operatives where a lot of things are made from low cost materials and are just the most incredible pieces of craft work.  I was absolutely in my element and really quite jealous of these peoples skills and ideas!

Even the rubbish bins were amazing!