jonnybaker

best coffee in london

about two years ago i blogged a link to a map created by a friend dwayne of best coffee places in london. i think have pretty much visited all of them now! well by way of an update jen pointed out that timeout had a feature on good coffee shops in london (the print version is better as it had ones for north, south, east, west as well as central) - i don't know a lot of these so some to explore if you are  in town. to be honest i am writing this as much for my own reference as anyone else's so i can find this list! i didn't miss many things while i was on silent retreat but i have to say getting back to a decent coffee has been nice :)

creativity in youthwork

tomorrow i am leading a training day for youthworkers in london on creativity which i am looking forward to. details, the flyer etc can be downloaded from here. i am sure it's not too late to just turn up!

labyrinths take over london

mark wallinger is going to be installing a wall mounted labyrinth at all 270 london underground stations - yes 270! now there's a photographic challenge for someone...

the writers of creative review clearly have no idea on the difference between a labyrinth and a maze but i assume the designs will all be labyrinths.

the first ten designs are up at baker st, bank, embankment, victoria, green park, kings cross st pancras, oxford circus, tottenham court rd, westminster, st james park with rest due in the summer. 

desire - grace feb 9

grace february 9 is the saturday before lent. so come along to gear up for lent. we will be exploring some of the thoughts and ideas of john of the cross and our desire(s). it starts at 8pm and as ever there will be a café afterwards. love to see you there. if you've not been ever, it's a contemplative worship service in a relaxed setting using a variety of media to explore the christian faith in today's world.

the magical union chapel did not disappoint

ADVENTurous on saturday was a wonderful day. i hope it is the first of many - a regular advent festival like this exploring poignant themes, celebrating advent, fused with the arts in london would be amazing. i was photographer for the day and have added a set of photos here - see slideshow here.

this photo is the lead singer of hope and social wandering into the crowd literally unplugged - up on a pew (which he politely asked permission for!!) singing and hand aloft to the cavern of the chapel. it was a really magical moment. it was also almost completely in the dark so i was pleased i managed to get a photo out of it!

and this is one of the amazing pieces of art put together by engedi arts and now in leeds and shortly to be in colwyn bay - this chess set is called 'mother mary chess set' and is by pea runstall and pits a series of marys against the empire of domination - it must have taken an eon to make and was quite extraordinary as was the rest of the art.

host café launch at moot

i can't remember how many years i have known ian mobsby - a long time anyway! and for 99% of that time he's carried a dream of having a café and arts space for a christian community. he is living proof of stephen johnson's theory of the slow hunch. i am so excited that this dream is being realised and moot launch their café host tomorrow at 1pm. you are all invited. i can't go as tuesday is the day we have pioneer students in at cms. but i will be celebrating quietly. congrats moot and ian - have a coffee for me! joel has done some of the design work for it which makes it doubly cool as far as i am concerned. i took this photo at a wedding that was there the other week...

this is an AMAZING opportunity!

if i were to think what are the themes i want to look at and think about at the moment in the world they would be ecology, economy and faith, and guess what next saturday - dec 1 - there is an incredibly creative event in london doing exactly that - ADVENTurous. 

the day consists of

• a serious of speakers in a TED talks style day - exploring those themes. the speaker line up is fantastic as far as i can see
• artists who have engaged with the themes displaying their work which will go on to leeds and colwyn bay after
• an evening of performers including no less than world slam champ harry baker (biased moi?!)

it's all hosted by greenbelt. you can get tickets for the day, evening or both. if you can't afford it and want to come e-mail me and i'll see what i can do (shhhh don't tell anyone)

i can't wait! what a great way to kick off advent. i'll try and get blogging this week about advent - no time no time and yes i know advent is about waiting.

now is the time you ADVENTurous bargain hunters

ADVENTurous is an event not to miss - greenbelt comes to London for a day in the winter! but the cheap ticket price deal ends at the end of october so get yourself over to the web site and get yourself a ticket!!!!

corsham reformed

well following yesterday's blog post of paul hobbs exhibition coming up in london it turns out another artist friend, iain cotton, who i knew in bath at the same time as paul is exhibiting in london at the same time in corsham reformed. 

the heart of things

paul hobbs has an exhibition in london in a couple of weeks time...

ADVENTurous

ADVENTurous is an exciting festival on dec 2 in london hosted by greenbelt at the wonderful union chapel. there is a day of thinking, artistry and imagining around the world we live in and the issues we face in the areas of faith, ecology and economy and how we get to a new world. the line up of speakers looks great - mike frost, ann morrisy, ruth valerio, ann pettifor, abdul rehman malik. then in the evening there is an evening of artistry with harry baker (!), iain archer and hope and social. tickets for the whole day if you book before the end of october are only £25 which seems like a pretty good deal. 

en gedi arts are curating the visual arts for this and simultaneously exhibitions and events in leftbank leeds and the imperial hotel in colwyn bay. hope to see you there!

everything was moving

if you get a chance go and see everthing was moving: photography from the 60s and 70s at the barbican. it's a very powerful exhibition especially the photography of the civil rights marches in the usa by bruce davidson, and that of aparthied by david goldblatt and ernest cole. 

GOLD!

it was soooooooooo exciting today to be out in teddington about 2.5k from the finish of the time trial to see bradley wiggins win gold and chris froome bronze medal - wow!!!! wiggo (as he is now known) winning on the track over the years, coverting to the road, winning the tour de france and now the time trial gold - i just can't believe it. he is now the british olympian with the most medals ever - again wow! it's also fantastic to have the olympics in london, to be able to get on the bike and watch this historic moment for free... i think i'm on a high... 

it's also an absolute treat to be able to take some photos at something like this and i love the challenge of it - here's a black and white set (again). i may do a set in colour at some point...

leave them out there NOT!

it was great fun watching the men's road race at the london 2012 olympics. brilliant to be able to see some events free and up close (why would anyone buy a ticket for a road race???!!!). we were right at the top of box hill and a member of team gb was next to us with a walkie talkie and a notice board. each time the cyclists came round he held up a board with the time gap to the the lead group. as this gap came down gradually it seemd like the lead group would be caught and obviously the team felt confident as he wrote on the board - leave them out there!

well several things conspired to make this pretty bad advice. firstly because cav is such a great sprinter all the other teams seemed to have decided to just let team gb do all the work - with teams of 5 this was too big an ask and very strange tactics from countries who could have medalled in a bunch sprint (and pretty negative!). secondly another group got away to join the first and made the front group too strong. and thirdly it turns out team gb cyclists are human after all and just didn't have the legs to reel it back in. but it was great to see team gb, cav, brad, huge crowds and even the police in a great move high fiving the crowd from motorbikes as they whizzed by!

clearly it was a disappointing result from gb point of view but cav is still a hero and it was fantastic to see lizzie won silver medal today in the women's road race.

i have added a set of photos in black and white here. it's pretty hard getting photos of cycling in a packed crowd with the cyclists whizzing by but at least you got 9 chances so it was quite fun trying some different approaches and slowing down the shutter speed to create some different effects...

i wish...

yoko ono is a brilliant installation artist. she currently has an exhibition to the light at the serpentine gallery which i really recommend and it's free (and while you're there see the wonderful pavilion this summer). she is a very uncynical person and her work is laced with hope, imagination and a yearning for a better world. she's a romantic in the best sense i think. oustide the gallery are some wish trees - could be prayer trees i guess. take a label and write a wish. i found it very interesting to see what people wish for...

grace take part in waterloo festival sunday 15 july

grace have been invited to lead a grace worship service at st john's waterloo as part of the waterloo festival. it's on sunday july 15 at 7pm. it would be wonderful to see a load of people there - it's a big venue! remember the blah... and london zoo gatherings of years gone by. perhaps this could be a gathering of friends across the alt worship, emerging networks in london amongst other things and go for a drink (or stay for a drink) afterwards? we'll be exploring the theme 'another world is possible'. hope to see you there...

perception - ealing photo group exhibition in southall

the ealing london independent photography group i am part of have an exhibition in southall from 13 may - 6 july. it's called perception. i have a panel of three photos in it. the private view is on may 17 from 7pm-9pm. if you'd like an invite or are able to come to that i'd love to see you there - let me know. here's more detail...

15 photographers from Ealing's London Independent Photography Group interpret the theme of Perception through their diverse styles of photography. United by their shared passion for photography, the group explore perceptions of the area in which they live, things that go unnoticed in everyday life or perceptions about places further afield.

13th May - 6th July
Dominion Arts Education Centre
112 The Green, Southall, UB2 4BQ
Nearest Rail Station: Southall

rebel

the stranger's arrival

grace tomorrow night

the first grace of 2012 is on sat night with a focus on prayer