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“Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves, and all the while the grand thieves are running the country.” ~ Howard Zinn, via Derrick Jensen.

* those big feet are andy’s. He also took these photos, but gave me permission to borrow them because I loved them so much.

Most of these photos are from my twitter account. I have been so slack at getting my camera out these past few months and all of these are from my iPhone. My days are happily spent pottering around in the city, in cafes & bars, on our balcony…. and of course in the office. The latter might sometimes be a bit of a bore if I didn’t enjoy (most of!) my colleagues company so much.

I love cities. I love everywhere, but I really love cities. On my lunch breaks I either get to go sit in the sun and people watch (and acquire more freckles, it would seem) or I get to mingle in the energy of the streets where the work crowd are out for lunch and the tourists are in dense clusters making good use of the current low exchange rate. I love getting to my train station and hearing all the Spanish being spoken. And I love getting my morning cup of black coffee from my happy Italian Barrista.

There were a few mornings a while ago when the sun wasn’t yet at it’s fullest and we’d wander into a local cafe/bar on the weekend to read the papers whilst sitting in the sun’s rays as they streamed through the window. When the time was as such that those rays would soon be hitting our balcony we took ourselves home. Our little neighborhood here in London is so good to us. We have a town center, a village and lots of other local cafes, bars, shops, parks and my beloved river path. We also have a bizarre fancy dress store whose window display is currently an obese Baywatch costume. Someone not only thought that up, they also made it.

Adios from my balcony, for now. I’ll be back soon with more images and energy from the London summertime & wherever else we find ourselves.

We in the UK have a new government and it’s a little different from what anyone anticipated.

Before the election, I spent time with the ideas from the manifestos of Labour and the Liberal Democrats swirling in my mind. I then voted not only with my heart but also tactically. I voted to keep the Conservatives out of power and I voted to move closer to Europe and adopting the Euro. I voted to be open to immigration. I voted with the hope of being represented.

The result has been that the Liberals and Conservatives have compromised and formed a coalition. Theoretically I have no problem with this. The Liberals could vaguely temper any rash or alarming Conservative idea, which is surely better than having no refrains in place at all. However, the areas the Liberals appear to have compromised on are unfortunately my Deal Breakers. And when the Conservatives name a somewhat homophobic MP to be in charge of equality…. Well, suffice to say I raise an eyebrow. I also cringe when I consider our new “obsessively anti-European” Minister for Foreign Affairs. Oh la la (la la la la)!

I am acutely aware that the only way I can bring about any sort of change is within my own life and in my own exchanges. When my Conservative voting* colleagues pointed their fingers at me this morning laughing and informing me I had “lost”, I was glad to take the afternoon off to do something practical toward my own future. In the end, each and every one of us is responsible for our own lives and how we live them. I can’t change the Conservative voters in my office, but I can control the hows and wheres of my life. I can choose how much I let others interfere with my day to day thoughts and my mood. I can choose to smile when the Conservatives tell me to “B^gger off back to New Zealand”** when I ask questions for which they have no answers or when they look at me confused because all they voted for was change regardless of the package. I could struggle with understanding their choices, or I can just let them be. I’m going to let them be. I’d like to say I could engage with them, but it’s just not my calling.

Over to you, Nick Clegg, et bonne chance!

* I appreciate not all Conservative voters are like this. This just relates to my recent and specific personal experience.
** I was born and bred in Britain, with every right to be here and vote for what I believe in.