Walking to get a coffee (natch), I saw this:

Why is there so much chimney and so little house? Is the house over-compensating for something? Was the house teased a lot when it was nothing more than a brick in a builder’s eye? I suspect there was another level that had to be removed for some reason, but instead of scaling back the chimney to match, they left it audacious and standing proud, a signal to other homes in the area, nay, a warning, this is our patch. If chimneys could click their fingers and do jaunty leaps down an alleyway to an apposing gang, this one would be leading them.

The whole structure reminds me of those people you sometimes see at the gym who have clearly been working exclusively on one area of their body and now their shadows resemble tortilla chips.

Then there is the mews opposite. Its gated and the metal structure has been shaped so that it looks like dozens of pears hanging from branches. Except the pears look more like bums. A series of bums flashing at the house opposite who has its middle finger up in response. This is clearly a feud that’s been going on for generations. I expect the Victorians were very embarrassed by the whole thing.   

Normally at this point I’d try and make some vague connection to my personal life and use this whole thing as a metaphor for some area that needs development. And yes I grant you the obvious phallic shape staring me straight in the face may indeed be mocking the distinctive drought in my love life, but really, I just wanted you to see it. Because its just a bit fucking weird. And I like that. A good walk or stroll isn’t complete without a noticeable oddity en route. It just lightens the whole journey. Finding little unexpected random moments just, well, helps.

On that same short walk, I also saw two builders who had evidently been working on the rendering of a property nearby. One was stood outside using a torch to inspect the outside presumably for any imperfections. Only he had his torch tucked in under his hood which was up and lodged beside his head at eye-line, so from the side it looked like his own eyes were emanating white light, shifting their focus with every nod of the head. Like he was a member of the x-men. Only his superhero outfit was less cape and more paint-stained joggers and hoodie. His handle would be the ‘Render Defender’ or something. He moved his head quite rhythmically like search lights in the sky above some grand plaza like structure. I imagine erection house and butt mews were quite jealous.

So there you have it. Its the odd little details that add dabs of colour that brighten the whole picture.