!!! MISS VAN - NEW SHOW !!!
	"LOVESTAIN" PRESENTED BY STOLENSPACE (LONDON) Exhibition from 1st OCTOBER to 18th october 2009 PRIVATE VIEW: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1st, 6:00pm – 9.00pm GALLERY HOURS: TUESDAY - SUNDAY, 11:00am – 7.00pm
	We are proud to present 'Lovestain' a UK premier solo show from Miss Van. A retrospective as well as a new body of work and taking over two exhibition spaces at StolenSpace, this will be her largest solo show to date. More Info >>
	STOLENSPACE GALLERY Dray Walk, The Old Truman Brewery 91 Brick Lane London E1 6QL United Kingdom View location on: Google map P: +44 (0) 207 247 2684 WEB: http://www.stolenspace.com Mail: info@stolenspace.com

East End and Tower Bridge with Clara and Daniela

Last Sunday Daniela, Clara, Chloe and me went to London on the coach for the final time. :( (This school year :)) We visited Brick Lane, as Daniela had never been before, and Chloe set out on an adventure of her own, to see the sights in central London. I had never seen it so busy! I thought it might be a bit busier as the markets are on on a Sunday, but it was choc-a-bloc! We ventured into the 'Sunday Up Market', which was crammed full of people and stalls, selling exotic foods from across the globe. Turkish, Japanese, Ethiopian, Greek, Indian, French, British and Chinese! We decided we must eat here at lunch. So we explored further into the market and found rails and rails of vintage clothes at good prices (compared to the shops down Brick Lane), handmade clothing, craft and jewellery stalls. There was also an incredible cupcake stall. There were some iced and topped with strawberries, blueberries and blackberries, others were cookies and cream flavoured. But I opted for the blueberry flavoured one, decorated with a beautiful iced rose. It was delicious. Clara and Daniela bought some scarves at just a few pounds, and Daniela purchased a cute little pocket mirror for her sister. I bought some brown 70s sandals for £15, which I had been looking for a year! We then looked around the shops. I passed a stall that i think was trying to convert people to Islam. The man gave me a free 'The Meaning of the Qu'ran' book which is interesting and I think a translation of it. Daniela bought a rose jumper from the East End Thrift Store Clara bought a blazer and top from there and something from a shop where a Marilyn Monroe CD was playing. I bought a yellow play suit, a marching band jacket and a turban hat. We looked round Beyond Retro but reached saturation and starvation point so left after I got the turban. We then sat on a bench is a church yard and ate an early lunch. On the way back we passed a crazy guy dressed as a CCTV camera and searched desperately for a place to sit and get a drink and entered a cool 50s diner which had a bowling alley at the back. However after reading the menu we were put off by the extortionate prices. we looked around. What are we gonna do now?! the Waiter kept asking to take our order. We decided it was fine to forget our pride and embarrassment and make a run for it out the door. We're not from round here so it's fine, I thought :) We looked around a second market where I bought some cool skull earrings that reminded me of Frida Kahlo. Then it was back to the tube station. Whilst walking back a homeless guy approached us asking for money for food. I wasn't sure if that's what it was for, but why shouldn't he spend it on what he likes? He has nothing else. We got off near Tower Bridge and walked along the Thames, where Clara and Daniela took many photos. The Norman Foster City Hall building was much smaller than I had anticipated and i don't think I have seen it before, as we don't usually go to that part of London. We walked further along until we reached the Underground. As we were rushed out of the station we looked up. Big Ben towered over us and tourists cooed as camera flashes sparked. We then got the train back to Victoria and walked down to Buckingham Place. Then it was a walk back to the train station and a drink in a cafe. we nipped to the toilet and ran back to the coach station, which we couldn't find anywhere! We ran through the streets of London shouting. I was really panicking. Then we found it. We found Arrivals. The coach was due to leave and we had no clue where departures was. I flagged down what turned out to be our coach. The driver pointed over to our station which we ran to, by this time I was in tears. We stumbled into the bus parking and asked the coach director what to do. Luckily for us it turned out to be late, although we seemed much happier than the other passengers, who had been giving him an earful when we joined the queue. After embarrassed looks and chuckles from the driver, we finally stepped foot on the coach.

Films!

I've watched lots of films this week which has been inspiring! Film 4 has had loads of Channel 4 productions on, the majority of which I meant to see in the cinema but never did. I started with Hallam Foe which was strange, slightly creepy, endearing and beautiful! It's certainly worth a watch It's a darker fairytale style story, making me wish I could run from this mundane small town, and live in a clock tower. But minus the voyeurism. brick Lane was on Tuesday which I recorded. The flash backs to India were beautiful, however the story was quite tragic and I'm desperate to know what happened at the end. Yesterday I watched Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten. It was a fascinating insight into his life and incredibly inspiring. Next week I'm hopefully watching The Duchess and Brideshead Revisited at an old cinema that's always way behind the other bigger chains.

London with Clara

On Halloween Clara and I went to Brick Lane and Oxford Street. I love London. There's always something happening After about 10 minutes in Shoreditch a guy from Channel 4 asked us some questions about sportswear in research for a new show Sounds interesting! There was also a new shop since I last went called The East End Thrift Store which had loads of cheap vintage Clara bought a fab 80s wool jumper and a red lumberjack men's shirt from there and I bought a white casual dress and a 50s silk embroidered dress which I had to go back and buy after regretting leaving it! At Beyond Retro there were spooky kids films on the TV and people were dressed up which was fun! There was lots of graffiti as always and there was a really sweet poem written on someones door frame. At first I thought it was a romantic poem but i think it must have been a friendship. They were apologising. It seemed so poetic. Something that would happen in a silly rom-com or something. We eventually got on the tube to Tottenham Court Road and hit Oxford Streets Shops. Clara was searching for Urban Outfitters and Abercrombie and Fitch. She bought some lovely glasses in Urban Outfitters that she'd seen on the internet. We also ventured into the huge Topshop which was horrible as always. It's so crowded and we'd seen so many clothes we no longer knew what was nice! I think there was a good sale on though. Last on the list was Abercrombie. I knew it was at the end of Savile Row. But didn't know where Savile Row was! No one seemed to know where A&F was so we had to ask at least five people! After much wandering and backtracking we found it, the scent of aftershave polluting the street. Handsome men chatted at the door of the grand town house and as we went up the steps the smell got stronger and we could hear music thumping through the shop. Clara said it was like going to a house party but shopping. Clara looked some of the hoodies but decided they were too expensive which was a pity. The sizes available on the bottom were S and XS so you had ask for any other size! On the tube back I'm sure we were sat opposite Sid from Skins' dad which was funny! We went back to my Auntie's house for some pasta and apple pie. Mmmmmm Then we hit the road, listening to Lykke Li, stopping for hot chocolate at the service station. :)