Recently I’ve been interviewed by Stuart from Inspiring City blog – where you can find the best artists and street art from London. So chuffed!
Head on to his blog to check out all the nice pics and the write up. Thank you Stuart for featuring me!
Watch the interview and a doodle below!
Thank you for looking!
PS: All content on this post is copyright by Inspiring City, who has very nicely allowed me to chare it with you.
Recently a friend put me in touch with Help 4 Refugee Children and they gave me the opportunity to travel as a volunteer to Calais, to do art workshops with the children.
One might think that there are no more refugees in Calais – mostly because the Jungle has been destroyed and the media’s attention is now somewhere else… but this couldn’t be farther from the truth. There are still people living in appalling conditions – mainly in tents, in the woods, with no electricity or running water. The police come by regularly to take away the few sleeping bags and clothes they have and there have been reports of police brutality, even against children.
Of course, what we managed to do in just one day out there in one of the camps is only a drop in the vast ocean, but I’d like to think that at least for a little while we made a bit of a difference in these people’s lives. Our governments have failed them and failed us, by creating the conditions in which people feel the need to run away from poverty and terrorism. If we can’t or are unwilling to pressure our governments to do something about it, at least the few of us that care can roll up our sleeves and do our bit. If we all did that, a huge difference could be made.
I joined the rest of the group in the early hours of Sunday morning and we got driving south, towards Dover where we can cross the Channel. The drive down was uneventful, we had a chat and got to know each other a bit more and got on the train – a new experience as I’ve only travelled via plane or Eurostar when leaving the UK islands.
Rolling up our sleeves
Soon we arrived in Calais and headed to the supermarket, to buy water and food to distribute at the camp. After filling three carts to the brim with water, biscuits, fruit and dates, we worked on getting them separated into individual parcels in the supermarket’s parking lot. It was great teamwork and the sense of accomplishment after we finished getting all 250 parcels together was great. We then headed to the camp, where we distributed the food in the most respectful way possible. I was also happy to see that there were also other people providing some help – a generator for them to charge their phones, as well as a mobile barber and hot meals, were some of the help I saw being provided by other groups.
This went well and as soon as the food was gone, we brought out the paint and canvases. Turns out the adults also wanted to join us and I spent more time with the adults painting and helping some of the children do some art. It was a lot of fun and it seemed like the people were happy to have a little respite from the hardship they’re currently enduring.
Some of the men spoke English and were very nice, so it was possible to communicate, at least with some of them. Most of the people in the camp we visited are from Iraq and are Kurdish. I met an artist – who studied art for five years and showed me his ceramic sculptures on his phone. Another gentleman created a piece by cutting stencils and using them to create a heart motif, which he gifted to me once finished. It was a very sweet gesture and I will treasure this piece for the rest of my life. Proof that even when in distress, people can still be kind.
When interest in painting was lost (and the wind got worse) we got out the skipping rope and had a laugh with the kids. One of the girls in the camp wanted to show us her family so she took us through the woods to go visit the camp where her sisters were staying. It’s heartbreaking but still, they had a smile for us.
Coming back home
I returned home feeling happy to have been able to do at least a bit for people in distress but also with a heavy heart, knowing that there is still so much that could be done and it’s beyond my own powers and ability. On the drive back we were all tired and quiet for most of the time, so I had a bit of time to think about what I had just experienced. It made me feel emotional at one point, to think that we had to leave them all behind and just get in the car and go back home because we were lucky to win the nationality lottery. It is sad to think that one day this could be any of us if the world continues to go down its current route. According to Foreign Policy, the levels of human conflict are still at an all time low, but considering what we’ve been experiencing and seeing lately, who knows if it’s going to last?
As a friend said to me, everyone should do this kind of volunteer work – it helps put the world and our priorities into perspective and most importantly, it makes a difference in other people’s lives. I am now hoping to be able to raise funds to go back again. Winter will come at one point and life will be even harder for them.
If you can’t come to the camps but would like to help the effort, please donate generously here.
Driving in London is, I am told, an absolute nightmare. I say that I am told as I’ve never tried it myself. However, having taken driving lessons before I moved to London, I really enjoyed driving in the countryside around the small town where I used to live.
As I never got to get my driver’s license (it’s somewhat useless in London, especially if you can’t afford to run a car), it’s always fun when a friend decides they feel like driving somewhere. It has happened before and the last one I did with friends was a day trip to Brighton, to go see the sea, the sun, the street art and do some sticker bombing. That is always my first destination if I feel like a day out of London, as it’s also easily accessible by train from London and the train fares aren’t prohibitive.
Brighton, as lovely as it is, isn’t the only interesting place in Britain (thankfully) and there are many other places one can go to for a day or weekend out, without having to go abroad. Sometimes it’s nice to avoid all the airport confusion and luggage drama and keeping it simple.
Another driving trip I would love to do at some point would be down to Cornwall. I’ve watched way too may TV shows set in Cornwall and it really made me want to go and see it for myself, but really be able to go around and visit several towns and see all the beautiful beach scenery. Maybe even try surfing, who knows?
Also around the Southern part of the country, are the fossil hunts you can do in some of the beaches around Dover – it’s on my bucket list and I will have to do this someday, as it’s not that far from London either.
Avebury is also a destination that I hope to drive to at some point, as I would love to go see the Neolithic stone cromelechs (stone circles) and explore the area. Stonehenge would also be interesting but I’ve been told that you can’t get too near anymore so it’s a little bit disappointing.
All I need to find now are friends willing to drive and wanting to go to these same places. It shouldn’t be too hard, right?
PS: This post has been done in collaboration with chill.ie. Words and opinions are my own!
If there is anything I would say that I would like to do more often is going to comedy shows. I’m a big comedy fan and there is nothing better like laughing, I would say.
I headed down to The London Irish Centre with my bestie Ross, for an evening of drinks and laughs, and we got just what we wanted at Stand Up Camden. I even joked that all I needed to put on the review was that I laughed all night, it was that good!
We got a drink at the bar and headed to the function room. We sat right at the front as I didn’t want to miss any of the action and also have the chance to take a couple of pics for the blog post. I forgot that people in the front usually get picked on, haha!
In the depths of Winter, I finally learned that within me lay an invincible Summer.
-Albert Camus-
Happy New Year! I’m glad to see 2016 behind me, as it was such a difficult year personally. Ever since I got diagnosed with cancer in September 2015, I kept pushing forward to get back to normal and regain my energy and had so many plans for my life… But like heavyweight champion Mike Tyson said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” And what happened feels like it.
The last two months of the year were spent off work due to burnout. I had been feeling ran down physically and ended up having a lot of symptoms that turned out to be burnout.
It was easy to understand why: coping with a long-term illness, the treatment side effects and stress at work led me to a state of complete mental exhaustion. Turns out I’m not even on my own on this, and there are other countless women suffering the same things that I have been.
So, my GP upped my meds, sent me home and I had to find a way of pulling myself out of it. I am not one to think that positive thinking alone can resolve all your problems, especially when the problem is depression or cancer. If that was enough, anyone with depression would merely just think themselves better and that’s not how it works. But I also knew that I had to take active steps to get better.
The good news is that I’m back at work and feeling a lot better, after a couple of months of taking care of myself and taking steps to improve wellness in my life. Everyone is different and I don’t think that what I’ve done is an infallible recipe for everyone but if by writing down what I did gives anyone else some ideas on how to deal with their own situation, it will be worth it.
How I’ve been getting over it:
I’m sure there are many other things I could be doing to recover (if you have any great suggestions, please let me know in the comments) but these so far have been helpful. I’m not entirely well just yet as I have some difficulty dealing with stress still, but it’s a work in progress and I’m doing my best to help myself.
PS: I was a guest at Mayfair Aesthetics but words and opinions are my own.
Hello the Mushroom is a blogger turned urban artist. Check out Instagram at @hellothemushroom for frequent updates on artistic endeavours and adventures!
