COOL EVENTS; FLICKS FROM 420

As promised here are some snaps from the 420 celebrations in Hyde Park. Thousands of people turned out including grime MCs Big Narstie and Black the Ripper as well as plenty more familiar and friendly faces.

Hey.. It's the Chicken Shop Date girl 'Amelia Dimoldenberg' presenting for VICE it seems?

Big Narstie was greeted by hundreds and welcomed everyone with joke after joke. 

Artists like 'Bi0ch3mic' were out promoting their works by handing out free sweets, a definite winner with the dro-smoking enthusiasts - 90% of whom were sure to be suffering from a serious case of the munchies. Follow his Soundcloud and follow him at @bi0ch3mic on everything else.

Black The Ripper representing 'The Dank of England' was out all day selling his merchandise and taking photos with every fan, yes, every single person that asked him. He never put a zoot(joint) down.

Thousands of people made their way down to Hyde Park for the day.

There was the chance to get involved in some cool activities too from drumming to baton twirling to MCing on an open mic.

VICE News were one of a number of interesting/hip media outlets documenting the day's proceedings.

ARTICLES ON 420 

The Independent - '420: Thousands gather in London's Hyde Park to celebrate smoking weed'

Evening Standard - '420 day: 12 arrests as thousands gather for annual pro-cannabis demonstration in Hyde Park'

The Sun - 'HIGH-D PARKThousands of cannabis smokers ignore police demands and light up in London’s Hyde Park for ‘420 day’ in campaign to legalise the drug'

METRO - 'Thousands of weed smokers descend on Hyde Park for 4/20'

Thanks for reading.

Have a great weekend!

COOL EVENTS; It's 4/20!!!!

Urban Dictionary states;

"So far the majority of you are incorrect.. 420's origin IS known. 

The term 420 originated at San Rafael High School, in 1971, among a group of about a dozen pot-smoking wiseacres who called themselves the Waldos, who are now pushing 50. The term was shorthand for the time of day the group would meet, at the campus statue of Louis Pasteur, to smoke pot. Intent on developing their own discreet language, they made 420 code for a time to get high, and its use spread among members of an entire generation. 

Here are some popular guesses at where the 4/20 term came from;

- There are NOT 420 chemicals in Weed. It's about 315, the num. goes up or down depending on what you're smoking. 

- 4/20 is NOT police code or Maryjane. 

- And that whole shit about Holland and 4/20 over there being "tea time" for smokers isn't true either."

4/20 celebrations in London rival celebrations in some of the world's best cities; Toronto,  Washington, Paris, Colorado, Amsterdam. 

The location as usual is London's beautiful Hyde Park and if the trains are actually running well, you should be able to grab the Victoria or Jubilee Line to Green Park or the Piccadilly Line to Hyde Park or Marble Arch. There are loads of ways of getting there yourself.. just use CityMapper.

WATCH OUT - Obviously the smoking of as well as being in possession of weed is ILLEGAL in the UK.. This is the only day of the year where police will turn a blind eye to big crowds smoking and possessing marijuana but you still have to have your wits about you! 

Two years ago, policemen and dogs manned part of the entrance to the park, you simply have to walk around them into the park and not through them (OBVIOUSLY!!!) to avoid being caught or apprehended (stopped). I went with a group of about ten people, three of which thought the police dogs were for show and walked straight through them. They were taken into vans stripped of their bud and sent to 'celebrate' with the wiser stoners - don't be one of those three.

As soon as 4:20pm celebrations are over, police disperse the crowd and people are sent on their way. My final OBVIOUSLY will be that once you leave Hyde Park police will probably resume their duties and start arresting people stinking of weed in different parts of London. Some stations may also be 'traps' for friendly smokers to walk into and by traps I mean there are likely to be more policemen and even some dogs at certain stations - avoid them.

4/20 Checklist

- 'a creative instrument' - phone, camera, sketchbook

- 4/20 essentials - bud, rizla, grinder, bud(dies)

- water, speakers, a picnic, anything really, just don't go empty handed, this day only comes round once a year and you don't want to get there and be thinking about all the things you're going to do next year! 

4/20 LINKS;

WIKI 420

Leafly - How To Have The Perfect 4/20

£4.20 Gourmet Burgers @ Meat Liquor (4pm-5pm)

Independent Article - '4/20 Hyde Park: Marijuana users descend on London park for annual smoke-in'

Day Events on 4/20

Enjoy the day! And look out for my picture-post in a day or two!

COOL PEOPLE; ELIJAH MUSIC

"My goal in life is to be creative - with absolutely no limits."

The past few weeks have been hectic. I've taken on a number of projects (some of which I will be blogging about) and uni has resumed for the year. I am well and truly up to my neck in work but I've still managed to meet with and get to know some intriguing characters...

The second person I have for you is someone I met in London a few weeks ago now. His name is Elijah and he's a proud north Londoner. He actually approached me in need of a lighter but we soon began exchanging life stories. Elijah (Eli for short) is a second year Fine Art student who aspires to one day live off money made from his art as well as is other passion - music. After meeting we exchanged numbers and plan to stay in touch.

Oh yeah.. he also raps and has dreams of making it in the music industry.. Click here to find Eli's soundcloud and stay tuned he will be uploading some of his new music this week! I've been in a studio session or two with him and boy do I have the utmost confidence in his ability to do well.

I decided to include Elijah in this because he is doing a lot creatively and is letting absolutely nothing and no one tell him otherwise. This is the attitude that everyone should have, whatever you want to do, however it may look to friends, peers & contemporaries.

Your free time is YOURS and though you may not have as much 'leisure time' as a student you still have some so make the most of it.

Age - 19

Full Name - Elijah Brown

A.K.A - Eli

Favourite Colour - Gold.

Favourite Drink - Hennessy & Coke, Pineapple Fanta

Inspiration - His family, especially his dad. Rich The Kid (Eli recommends watching Rich The Kid's semi-recent 'Noisey' documentary - 'Rich The Kid is Rich Forever' for an insight into the rapper and his main inspiration.

Background - Part Brazillian, Part British

Occupation/Hobbies- Student, Model, Rapper, Photopraghy

Dream Job - Rapper, Artist & Model

Location - London

Instagam- @ej.brxwn

Cool Person - #1

Hey, if you didn't read my last post on my upcoming blog series (I forgive you).. and here it is!

Although constant updates on celebs and their lives is entertaining, it really isn't as beneficial as ordinary people connecting with ordinary people. If you know me well then you know I use the term 'cool' broadly - in my world it means 'interesting'. It certainly isn't defined or measured by someone's online presence, although that could be a genuine reflection of someone's 'coolness', I guess? Anyhow, these posts should ideally feature people who:

- have interesting things going on in their lives (could be anything..)

- have had unique, intriuging and thought-provoking life experiences.

As I say, it's important to for ordinary people to connect so that ideas can be shared, relations can be built and prejudice/stereotypes - broken down. Prejudice can be defined as "a preconceived opinion that is not based on actual personal experiences." - learning about others leads to a less judgmental world! Hopefully these posts can inspire different people in multiple ways (fashion, ambitions, work, lifestyle).

The first cool person I'd like to introduce you all too is someone that I've now met on a couple of occasions - both times at fashion-related events and boy does she have style!

 Her name is Emily, she moved to London from Italy and she's determined to make it in the fashion industry as a 'streetwear influencer' (which is pretty self-explanatory), not saying "no" to any modelling opportunities on the way. She strikes a mean pose on her Instagram but in actual fact she is really soft spoken and has an cool Italian twang to her voice. She currently works in and studies fashion in London.

Age - 19

Full Name - Emily O'Donnell

A.K.A - Queen Skally

Favourite Colour - 'Plant Green'

Inspiration - I.D Magazine

Background - Part Italiana, Part Irish

Occupation- Student, Model
Dream Job - Streetwear Influencer

Location - London

Instagam - @emily.j.odonnell

A lot of people like the idea of getting into fashion but it can seem intimidating and opportunities sometimes look out of their reach, but there are loads of routes into the fashion world. Start looking at courses and the requirements of your local college, speak to a teacher or someone you know in the industry. Also.. Check out the ever popular 'Fashion Retail Academy(FRA)' -- who offer LOADS in the way of courses and fashion qualifications.

Thanks for reading  - look out for the next cool person!

COOL POINTERS; Talk To A Stranger..

“Don’t talk to strangers.”

There’s one global piece of advice that I think we all remember getting from our parents at an early age. It’s right up there with:

“Don’t do drugs.”

“Don’t talk back.” and

“Look both ways when crossing.”

This is the kind of instruction you get at a very young age and it doesn’t usually come with much explanation. It’s just one of those universal truths that we seem to accept as law for all human beings..

“Don’t talk to strangers, it’s dangerous.” That’s about as far as it ever gets. If you're as lucky as I was, you may have heard "Don't talk to strangers, most people are lovely, some are bad". We don't realise the direct impact we have on the lives of the youth. If a child is brought up on the first ideal - "Don't talk to stranger, it's dangerous" you can see how later in life that same child will find it hard to meet new people, no?

But don't get me wrong.. It’s not really bad advice for a 3-year-old. As they doesn’t have the ability yet to see the bad in people, bless them.. they're just too innocent.

But it’s terrible advice for adults.

Talking to strangers is one of the most important things we can do. Strangers hold the keys to all kinds of knowledge that we want. They help us understand more about people and how we relate to each other by unlocking cultural misunderstandings.

Strangers have so much to offer us, and I think we should go out of our way to talk to more of them. I promise you that every 'stranger' has the answer to at least 1 of your 100s of unanswered questions!

This was my most recent experience with a strange..

On the 16th of January, I went to my guy's house, he wasn't in so I spoke to his flat mate properly for the first time (amazing chat), spoke about about our perceptions on the real meaning of life, our disconnection with nature and  each other. 

Anyway, left there about.. 7pm (meant to be meeting my boy, Dominic). Went to the bus stop in town, where an older guy (later found out he was 72) was rambling on to his friend slightly erratically about something he couldn't get his head round. He was saying that he one had a friend who was a gardener for 50+ years, who after 10 odd years on the job could tell (not predict, not forecast, TELL) him what the weather was going to be like for a day, sometimes a few days, and he was ALWAYS right. Despite what the "experts" & "professionals" were saying.

I thought to myself "No way is he talking on this subject! I have to manoeuvre my way in to conversation.." and suddenly became a part of their, once, private chat with a laugh. I said, "you're confusion is justified! You shouldn't feel crazy. It's your body's natural discontentment towards life, if we all weren't told about the weather and love with nature, don't you think after TEN years, we, humans, would also be able know what the weather is gonna be?..". 

And he just said back "exactly, that is what I mean!" And we began talking.. We spoke for AGES (about an hour), about so many things, I told him to enlighten me because I could see how much he wanted people to listen to him. 

I recorded this conversation (voice memo) because I knew I'd obviously tell people about this fabulous man! The man's name was Alan French, he told me a lot of mind-blowing facts about my town. Check this, he also told me that Tarzan was based on a true story, about a boy named Peter the Wild Boy, who was buried in Northchurh which is only 15 minutes from my house, sound unbelievable? Search 'peter the wild boy' yourself!

The last thing that this total strange told me was that that the pub near me called, 'Top of The World' represents the highest point on Earth, Everest, and the road leading up to the actual Mount Everest is called 'Northridge Way', YES.. So is the road leading up to the pub. 

I learnt so much from this absolute stranger! And feeling you get after acquiring new valuable knowledge is unbeatable, they do say 'knowledge is power'.

Click here to see Alan's hugely insightful and informative blog!

 #Talk2a'Stranger' #Brothers&Sisters

Stay tuned and stay blessed!