the city and the river

One of the first things you learn in history class is that cities usually grow out of rivers by necessity. In time the identity of the city and its river become inextricable. The publisher Thames and Hudson chose its name to evoke the strength and relationship of two of the world's greatest cities. 

Pentel sepia brush pen and washi tape in Muji notebook

 One of my favourite songs is The City and the River by The Rescues - history sung as a beautiful but tragic love story.

Staedler 2B clutch pencil in Fabriano artist's journal

I was walking around St. Paul's Cathedral and saw that it was low tide--a drastic difference, along the Thames! I went down to the rubbly shoreline and sat on a damp rock to draw. It was chilly but not really cold, and the sun came in and out. There was a tour that stopped by briefly, just long enough for me to learn that all the oyster shell fragments I saw lying around were actually discarded from the markets in older times, before the Victorians cleaned up the place. No oysters grow in the Thames, sadly. (Even if they did, I wouldn't want to eat them.)

ps. In related news, I have started a photo blog called London Is My Boyfriend. There may also be drawings in its future.