If you follow this blog, you probably do it wearing sunglasses. I’d put them on now, if I were you…
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Emerging from the Tube station, the first big surprise is that the street is real. When Eddy Grant sang ‘We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue,’ he was referring to the Brixton riots of 1981. I was only 14 years old, and although I watched Britain burning on the television, I later failed to make a connection with the song, or the widespread hatred for Margaret Thatcher.
Brixton today is bright, loud and colourful, chaotic and multi-lingual. Round-voweled posh girls called Chloe and Esmé rub shoulders with Polish market traders and Rastas. The ghost of past tensions seemed to be long gone, as we explored the buzzing street market and had brunch at a cafe in the ancient arcade. The sheer energy of this place is exciting, jumbled and bohemian. This is Old London.
This was tucked away in a corner near the entrance to Brixton Village, the kind of detail any photographer would pray for. I think it’s a robot or something, anyway I love it.
In the Arcade, it looks like The Artful Dodger would sell his hat for an aspirin…
As my hairline recedes, I find myself strangely drawn to shops like this. I’m thinking the little Andy Warhol number, maybe…?
The metal edging on Tube station steps always reminds me of The Fifth Element, for some reason. Here’s some advice for you: never stop on busy steps while taking a picture looking down at your own feet. You might end up at the bottom ahead of schedule.
This character wandered around all day, and it wasn’t until he coordinated beautifully with the Butcher’s behind him that I managed to steal a picture. Colour and accessory being key here, to street fashion. Not an entirely ethical background, but a good strong patriotic livery.
‘Fear the fruit,’ this man seems to be saying, but he beamed at me when he realised I liked his stall enough to photograph it. Always helps to actually buy something…
Have you noticed how I always seem to be hanging round street markets taking pictures? Or if there’s a tiled mural anywhere, I’ll be there, snapping away. It may be off the beaten track for most tourists, but if you haven’t seen Brixton, then you haven’t seen London.
the vibes 
You have captured some of the most amazing shots of Brixton area which I have ever seen. Thanks for sharing.
Very nice of you to say so, Clarissa. I felt very relaxed taking pictures, and nobody seemed to mind when they realised I was friendly.
Yep, its quite easy to take photographs; if we gets mixed up with the atmosphere as it creates a warmth among people and that can results in wonderful shots like as you have taken.
Great post. You should send a link to the local MP – this promotes Brixton beautifully.
As you know, I’m only ever self-promoting. I noticed even a Pinterest page has appeared now, http://pinterest.com/source/markjwallis.wordpress.com/
It looks a great place to take photos!
FM
Yes, you would love it! You can’t go wrong with Brixton – so much character. When I was snapping fruit stalls, the girls asked me to stop so they could fix their hair first… great place.
Love the Mad Hatters hat.
It is the Mad Hatter, isn’t it? And he’d want something much stronger than an aspirin….
Your funky blue shoes match the funky blue steps. And you’ve hidden your funky blog title in there too! That’s my favourite funky photo 😉
Well spotted, Ziggy! There’s also a stall in the arcade with my logo on it, which is about as real as the blue on my shoes (I’m experimenting with colour and contrast in iPhoto…)
I had a hunt around to see if you’d hidden the logo elsewhere. Didn’t spot that…damn. And what do you mean you don’t have electric blue shoes?
My trainers are actually grey! When I raised the blue levels in iPhoto, all these details jumped out, including my shoes. It looked a bit arty so I kept the effect, but the original is a bit dull…
Fantastic photos – love um 😉
Cheers! Glad you like them and great to hear from you 😀
You get about mister. the coolest places and some fab pics. I want that hat!
Gotta love anything bohemian! I love the wandering character photo and the robot too. 🙂
Thanks, Sheila! I loved your Summertime on Cape Cod post, and one day I’m coming over to take some pics and (try to) paint like Edward Hopper! That would be the ultimate. But for now I’m happy with London which is always a bundle of fun. 😎
Hi Mark thanks for stopping by and liking my post! I realised I’d not seen your posts for a while and popped by to see how things are going. Seems WordPress has neglected to update me on some of the blogs I follow and yours is not the only one. I wonder if you are finding that also?
Me no likey seeing as I almost missed out on this fabulously stunning piece on Brixton. The colours are dazzling, you’ve captured sunshine where I thought there was none! 🙂
Hi, I think something might be up with WordPress. Since the new tumblr-style reader came in, a lot of people have been complaining about a lack of hits. My readership has halved and it hasn’t coincided with getting my own URL. You might want to search the forums to find out what’s wrong, but the lack of email alerts could mean that everything comes through your reader (under ‘Blogs I Follow’.) Actually I’m subscribed to myself so I can monitor what my subscribers see, and WordPress keeps unsubscribing me. Weird.
I’m glad you liked this post, and although there wasn’t really any sunshine that day, I boosted everything to get rid of that stubborn English grey light which also washed out my visit to the Houses of Parliament (coming soon) I really should go and live in Spain!
Cheers for the suggestions. I actually read through the reader and it’s not coming through.
Stay in London! We need the sunshine you help us believe exists 🙂
I’ve tried to search the forums without success. However, I just published from WordPress and found that the usual “we have notified your followers” style blurb did not show. Instead, it showed a third-party thing that you seem to have to sign up for… times are a-changing on WordPress it seems 😥 I don’t know if that’s the reason.
I would contact WordPress via the Help button on your dashboard because that doesn’t sound right to me, like spam or a virus. My publishing is normal now.
That’s good to hear! Thanks for your help. I’ve posted on the forum – seems that’s as far as you get after you navigate the links via the help button: http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/stats-are-down-and-new-posts-from-blogs-i-follow-are-not-all-showing-in-reader?replies=21#post-933081
I visited Brixton a few years ago when my daughter was living nearby. It was an amazingly colourful area full of all sorts of people and I loved it. I wasn’t brave enough to whip out my camera in case someone felt exploited but I have heaps of inner pictures to remember. Top of the heap was the guy dealing from under a bus stop seat. He gave me an enormous grin when he saw my astonished face, and carried on as if it was apples he was selling. I never felt unsafe, but it was a real culture shock coming from my little city in New Zealand.
Thanks for dropping by at my blog.
Hi there, I think there’s a dilemma whenever people are in the shot, but as an amateur and a tourist I hope I’m not exploiting anyone. I see everything as a blog photo-opportunity now! It sounds like you had a similar experience to me in Brixton, and I’d go back there tomorrow – I love the atmosphere.
Love the pictures mate. I spent an afternoon wandering through Brixton this summer too, albeit without a camera 😦 That one of the guy in the red, white and blue robe outside the butchers is brilliant. Such a great, natural shot. Love it.
Thanks, it looks natural but I stalked him for a little while, determined to get a good shot. In another picture, you can see the butchers giving me the strangest looks!
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No shades necessary. I live in Mexico, where color is king!!!! Nice shots…http://judydykstrabrown.com/2015/08/20/true-west-social-stereotypes-in-a-south-dakota-small-town/