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Published: March 1st 2024
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" Do you decide to observe ?" "Or do you merely observe ?" I hate philosophy . Always struggled with the moral arguement of free will and determination . Always had a problem who to throw out of the boat when there were too many passengers . But somehow this morning I found myself thinking more deeply than usual on the thought for the day which was clearly a debate two philosophers would dearly love to have .
Because of this quotation on observation - who decides to observe , why we do it and how we explain it brought me to the underground depths of a city centre car park . I had passed it by many times . It was never one of those car parks I ever used . In fact I probably have only parked there once to go to the cinema and that was years ago . I had noticed through the silver metalled gratings street art . How many walked or drove by without noticing it I thought. One day I will go down into the darkened empty bowels of the car park and see close up what looked like street art .
The car park was empty . Perhaps at night it might be used when the bowling alley and cinema come to life . It once was packed with shoppers but all the main shops closed it was underused . The lorries and vans that once serviced the shops had ceased calling. The lights were out and place felt slightly eerie without people and vehicles . I counted one or two cars . They probably belonged to tenants from the flats above . I had the place to myself and it felt extremely eerie and at time frightening .
The street art must have been there a long time but it was unloved and unnoticed . It looked as new and fresh as the day it had all been painted . There were no clues who the artists were but given the differing styles and content there must have a number of them . Some were better than others but most were excellent and it felt a shame that they were relegated to a place no-one visited .
One took my eye . A stunning young girl painted on the walls in stunning colours . She was full of
life and was the best street art I had seen for a while . Next to her was version of Deadpool . Homage to one of the owners of our football club . A hedgehog with pastel prickles . Poppies strung along a wall .
Sadly my phone was not the best for taking photographs in the dark .
I came across a crocodile styled creature with massive teeth and then voices . They came from round a corner . The workmen or the parking attendants had arrived . They wondered what I was doing down there on my own . "Come to look at the street art " They looked at me blankly as if they thought it odd for someone to be interested . I felt a little intimidated then . As if I should not be down there as I had no car . Nor did I work in the building or own one of the flats .
Trying to get out of the underground car park was harder than getting in. The gloom hid all the exits . The lifts were not working . Probably locked shut to stop people like me wandering
in .
I got out eventually . Pleased that I had made my way down to the bowels of the car park and got my photographs . As I walked back to my car I pondered where I would be next . Rochester in Kent . A short break away staying in Travel Lodges . Drive down in the car with no name . Take in the castle - Norman . The cathedral - Romanesque . Chatham Docks - some ships and ropemaking buildings . Then onto a garden Sissinghurst and finally Winston Churchills hideaway Chartwell . That trip had come out of the blue .
The next one would be even more interesting . Istanbul bound .
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
Have a great rip to Istanbul!!
And a break in Kent also sounds wonderful. We would visit Kent every Spring when we lived in Brussels.