I’m at the bus stop me Julie.
With my 30th looming I decided I’m going to milk this nightmare for all its worth and have a birthday year just to ease myself in. What better way to start than with Romeo and Juliet.
Bangshe
x
Where for art thou Romeo?
love
Testing Venus.
Venus, is always trapped. Trapped between four walls. To please and to be pleased. To live and to be loved. Fixated on those bare walls that keep her caged.
As the pale waves clash, Venus is tested.
The Lost Souls club.
Have you ever had a period in your life where you felt lost. You were stuck in a rut and you didn’t know how to untangle your way out. You didn’t know where you were going, what you were doing or where you belonged?
Just know it’s ok we have all been there, it gets easier. You figure things out in the end. Just stay positive, act on motivation and keep your head up high.
Listen to Bill Murray he knows what he’s on about.
You’ll figure it out. Im not worried about you. I know you have got this ❤️
Shanty Town #3
I’m not one to scream hello look at me.. If anything I hate attention and would rather be behind the scenes than in it. However there is one place where I know I can do my thing and feel at ease and comfort and this is SHANTY TOWN. Being amongst such chilled out, talented people who all support each other, is like me eating a big bowl of cereal. Comfort.
This is one of Birmingham finest events and I just know the next one will be even bigger. Full of poets, rappers, musicians and artist. This place is overflowing with amazing minds. I had the privilege of being amongst these amazing people selling badges and posters. You can see what some of the beautiful customers bought from Bangshe down below.
Support local artists
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In the mood to shoot.
Yes you heard it here.. Bangshe has her mojo back. Who knows how long for, it may be a month, a week, a day or even just tonight but that feeling came and it felt wonderful. Like the little man that hangs on my back, went on holiday and allowed me to be free, even just for tonight.
I’ve always loved photography but nowadays I find everyone is a photographer and its somewhat destroyed the passion I had for it. However today it came back and I remembered that everyone can be a photographer but not everyone can capture the eye. Subject is always going to change and thats how you separate yourself from the mundane.
Im not saying i’m not mundane. Ive been known to use the convenience of my phone to take selfies or foodporn and there is nothing wrong with it. But no thought is needed in these and sometimes I forget the really inspirational photographers who have influenced and fuelled my passion. This goes out to the photographers that got my imagination smiling.
Arthur Tress:
His staged surrealism, dark nature, dreamscape depiction, fantasy and controversial subtexts are the thing of beauty.
Nadia Lee Cohen
A British based photographer and film maker hugely influenced by British and Americana in the 1950s, 60’s and 70’s. Saturation, dreamscapes and the female figure all inspire her quirky pop visuals.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Don Mccullin
A classic war photojournalist exposing the realities of the urban strife. Focusing on the disadvantaged, unemployed and downtrodden.
Diane Arbus
Took a surrealist approach on marginalised people, creating voices for the shunned.
These are only a few of the great and their work captures something truly powerful. Crisp black and white imagery, pops of colour, surreal dreamscapes. Dark eerie and stark. All documented with one camera but with a big imagination and passion.
Bangshe
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Buda.Bangbang.Pessst.
After a birthday holiday in the opulent city of Budapest, I thought it rude not to tell you all about it. From a veggie, stylist and all round lover of the old romanticism’s perspective.
Before starting remember Hungarian Forints is the currency not euros. An easy mistake I was so prone to making had I not exchanged my money earlier.
On arriving to Budapest Airport,I search frantically for a means of transport. Luckily we were bombarded with taxi drivers who all saw the perplexed bewildering of our faces as we searched for words we could decipher. Taxi thats got to be what we are looking for.
Once in our taxi, address written down, my face, face palmed the window as the jet lag took its toll. We set off. As I looked through the window searching for the romancism I had been promised I would see. I was faced with derelict little huts and rundown shops. As the image of beauty crumbled away, the appearance of old grand structures, yellow, creme and pink all came flooding in. The image of grand hotel Budapest was restored. We had arrived in Pest.
As we arrived at Gosdu Udvar the hub for tourists alike. We settled in to our sleeping cave for the next week. We didn’t know it yet, but this little place was going to be the epicentre for food, socialising and gifting. We had everything we needed right where we wanted it.
The Veggie Life
It was to be expected that as a vegetarian I wasn’t going to be able to experience the local dishes as much as hoped. However, I will never forget the taste of that Hungarian salad at 11pm at night as a starved jet lagger, who had woken from a somber and was ready to pounce on the next cheese board that came walking through the door.
Mash, lettuce seasoned with the most aromatic dressing, aubergine & garlic creamy sauce with sourdough bread. This right here was the taste I had hoped from Budapest. That taste of authenticity made by an Irish man.
After that I went from salad to salad, with sheep cheese to goats cheese and the pleasant accompaniment of oranges and honey dressing. It seemed a common necessity in Budapest and I wasn’t complaining. On a hot summers day sitting next to grand building on cobbled floor.Fresh orange juice at hand. I was in nirvana.
Pizza, burgers and Thai food were also common go to eateries, which I found quite strange. There didn’t seem to be much goulash and Langes that I had hoped to see. However the pizza is amazing here. You won’t be disappointed.
If you like cute little coffee shops with chocolate truffles on the side and really thick hot chocolate, then you will be happy to know you can have them day and night here.
If you want Hungarian desserts then look for polka dot wrappers in the fridges of most newsagents. I was told by a local journalist one night that this was the thing to try, to truly know what it felt like to be that happy little hungarian child. A lemon flavoured sweet creme mixture covered in dark chocolate.
The best restaurants I found were:
The Vintage Gardens: A sweet little french restaurant,decorated with class and sophistication. I could only eat the salad here, but they did Vegan cake which was a yes in my books. However I think its taste was a bit too healthy for my liking. Just warning you.
They seem to have a great population of Italians and the authenticity is beautiful. You will always win with pasta or pizza in restaurants here.
The downfall was the New York Cafe. I was told to go for its lavish decor and its amazing food but they hardly had anything vegetarian and it was very pricey.
Art Life
The art life is beaming. With every street corner filled with artwork, posters and cool little independent shops selling things from camera to puppets you won’t be left bored. If anything it will inspire you to create.
Walking down street corners and coming across ruined pubs and studios all different in their own individual quirky way was great.
Kazicum was a studio I had the pleasure of entering. Late night, phone at entrance, welcome signs and artist collaborations. It was a place I could have stayed in forever, just appreciating all the art work. However, lost in translation got me before I could talk in-depth about his work.
Manufaktor was the other little gem that I fell in love with. A quirky handcrafted puppet shop with enchanted mystical characters painted on the windows and Nick caves puppet beaming at me through the glare saying ‘buy me’ I was so gutted that the shop was closed and I was leaving early the next morning.
However if anyone wants to buy the Nick Cave puppet for me feel free to at:
🙂
Szimpla is an artist gallery/ club and its a must see. Filled with over 3o rooms each decorated with a quirky mind from many different artists. Sit in baths, mess with buttons, gather in a cramped saloon and buy a special souvenirs for loved ones. This place is amazing. Trust me it gets really busy at night but its worth the see.
If that gets too hectic then there are plenty of little ruin bars along that road such as Lampas that will fill the music and liquid needs. With a touch of blues or live music and you will be transcended.
Fashion
It took a nice casual backseat. However there are plenty of vintage shops to find little gems . Lots of cool rucksacks and vans.
Places To See:
Hero Square for Contemporary and Fine Art (Pest)
Gillert Hill: For scenic views, castles, Labyrinths and history (Buda)
Vintage Gardens: Fine Dining
Thermal Baths
Chain bridge (it connects Buda and Pest)
Stay in Pest if you want the cosmopolitan lively vibrant city feel or Buda for a more traditional quiet and relaxed living for less money.
Gosdu Udvar is the place to stay. Eveything you need only feet away. On weekends they had antique markets full of handcrafted gifts, old antiques and cameras. I haggled my way for two antique doll hands that cost me 650huf when the guy wanted 1000huf & Jack Whites Polaroid film that shoots in black and yellow for 20euros.I was a happy bear.
Bangshe
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This Is England.
Say hello to my little friend.
*Bang Bang Bang*
Im finding myself getting a little obsessed with Dr Martens at the moment. I can’t help it.
I understand now why people buy so many shoes.boots.socks. from these guys. They have the full package of style and quality in all different shapes and sizes.
This bag below was £150 & apart from scratching me as I reach down into the endless pit of Mary Poppins bag. I feel quality. I know this isn’t going to break on me anytime soon.
Its minimal and sleek and considering I’m pretty short. It doesn’t look overly big.
My face says it all. We all need a bag for a buddy.
If that wasn’t all. I came across some blue denim Dr Marten shoes going for £30. You don’t know how pleased I was to first have a pair of shoes that look like blue velvet and secondly that could replace my moon shoes.
You can never have enough.
This is England.
To tear myself in two.
To tear myself in two. Wouldn’t that be great.
To be who I’m meant to be and be who I want to be wouldn’t be such sweet sorrow.
I find myself stuck in my mind a lot. That lonely place where darkness meets day and day meets night.
That place where my conscious and subconscious converse about my everyday actions, influencing and battling amongst her Majesty Juju . The guilt trip and the happy trip, lets have a souvenir trip.
The mind.. what a powerful embodiment of life. The mind what a destruction of oneself.
The self, me the puppet in a play. Being pulled by the strings of my own making. Unable to break from the grip of emotion that seems to be flooding through like the light of darkness.
This makes no logical sense, no real story. My words are being fed by my emotions. Let what I feel cascade across the screen like the typings of a mad person or maybe more so a sad person.
The headache I feel every time I drain myself of tears. The loss of a loved one, the loss of myself. Being lost.
Floating forever .
bangbangshe. 