geometries

February 11, 2025

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 4 February 2025].}

It took me longer than planned to complete the trilogy. But here's the third and final instalment of my photographs of Parisi Udvar in Budapest, Hungary.

I previously shared my fortuitous experience visiting the arcade with my parents in May 2012. That piece includes information about the architecture and history of the building.

in the arcade

July 9, 2024

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 2 July 2024].}

In May 2012, I flew to Budapest to meet with my parents, who were travelling through Europe.

We stayed in a small hotel, the Leo Panzió, on Ferenciek tere, near the metro station of the same name, not far from Erzsébet híd (Elizabeth Bridge).

On our first full day exploring the city, we started out slowly, each capturing the street and architecture near our hotel with our cameras.

Soon after venturing out, a fellow approached my dad, seeing the three of us with our cameras in hand and furiously snapping away.

I still don't know if the fellow was homeless or just a random passerby. I didn't speak to him much myself until the end of our 'tour' and, as we followed him into the building, I won't lie: alarm bells were quietly going off in my head for us as three non-Hungarian tourists, including two women, following some random guy into a building.

Maybe it was all my parents' teachings about "stranger danger" coming up from childhood, the knowledge that many tourists are scammed while travelling, or simply being a woman and aware that following strange men into unfamiliar places is not recommended.

Nevertheless, my dad was less cautious. And I will always be thankful for his trust in this fellow and what the fellow showed us that we would otherwise likely never have discovered.

We had been photographing the exterior of what had been known as Brudern-ház (Brudern House). It was rebuilt as the headquarters of the Belvárosi Takarékpénztár (the Downtown Savings Bank) starting in 1909 and contains the Párizsi udvar ('Parisi udvar' according to the signage on the building).

bőrdismű | bortáska [parisi udvar, budapest, hungary, 2012]

Google translates 'Párisi udvar' to 'Parisian courtyard', but 'Párizsi udvar' translates to 'Paris Court' and seems more commonly used. Based on the place and information from Wikipedia, the arcade was modelled on Parisian arcades, specifically, the Passage des Panoramas, and it incorporates Indian, Islamic and Moorish elements.

The building's architect, Henrik Schmahl, died in 1912 while undergoing intestinal surgery before the building's completion. Pál Lipták, the building's construction manager, oversaw the completion of the building.

When we followed the fellow through the fancy entrance with MCMIX written above it, we found ourselves in a mostly vacant, partially derelict but extravagantly beautiful former shopping arcade.

műtárgy-szőnyeg [parisi udvar, budapest, hungary, 2012]

Signage told us the arcade used to house a store selling fine carpets. Another store sold leather goods, and another sold gold jewellery.

However, in May 2012, the arcade housed very little for sale.

arany-ekszer [parisi udvar, budapest, hungary, 2012]

It did, however, house a grand interior replete with lifts, telephone booths, ornate staircases, a magnificent ceiling, mosaic flooring, and classic shopfronts facing into the arcade and onto the street.

There were broken glass panels and some graffiti, but most of the arcade still seemed to be in a relatively good state. Little visible to us appeared to be unsafe.

10472 [parisi udvar, budapest, hungary, 2012]

The blue modern payphones were incongruous in their booths. But time had marched on in Budapest, and time had since continued its forward march beyond the usefulness of public telephones with the prevalence of mobile phones.

Despite still feeling a little nervous about whether we had walked into a trap for tourists, I snapped away in every direction, in thrall with my surroundings.

haris köz [parisi udvar, budapest, hungary, 2012]

After we had seen and photographed our fill and my dad had tipped our impromptu tour guide for his advice, we moved on. But the place stayed in my mind.

So much so that, a couple of years later, watching an episode of Penny Dreadful, I was overcome by déja vu as Vanessa Ives entered a shop in an arcade. It took me mere moments to realise where the scene was filmed.

It was lovely to see the arcade appear lovingly restored and close to the appropriate period (the opening narrative of Penny Dreadful takes place in 1891, and the building was completed in 1913).

Over the years, I've spoken with friends about it and discussed the place and the circumstances of our visit there with my dad.

A while back, I went to seek the building out on Google Street View and discovered the building had been restored and is now a five-star Hyatt hotel.

As much as perhaps that isn't my ideal outcome for its restoration, they've retained much of the arcade's glory in the refurbishment, and I'm pleased to see it's found a new lease on life.

Despite knowing the arcade's name for all this time, I only translated it as part of composing this post. In doing so, I was reminded of the writings of a German philosopher, Walter Benjamin, about Parisian arcades, Arcades Project, which I read about in a book titled Psychogeography that my friend, Phil, gifted me.

untitled #28 [parisi udvar, budapest, hungary, 2012]

I thought it interesting that Henrik Schmahl, a German-born architect living in Hungary, decided to 'import' a Parisian arcade to Budapest.

Hopefully, one day, I'll return to Budapest to lounge in the hotel foyer with a cocktail and admire the work done to restore a gorgeous interior.

Perhaps one day, I'll also have the funds to stay in one of the rooms in the hotel to get the complete experience.

Either way, it was a highly fortuitous and unforgettable experience during our holiday.

I thank whoever that fellow was who saw us and wanted to share his knowledge of his city with us avid photographers. I will forever be grateful that, despite my initial reservations, my dad followed a random man into a seemingly abandoned building. I hope that fellow will understand and forgive my hesitation.

glasgow eyes

April 16, 2024

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 10 April 2024].}

For my final* trip courtesy of Avanti West Coast (AWC), I knew that, without a doubt, I wanted to return to Scotland. Because a) I wanted to return to Scotland after 13 years and b) I intended to get as much bang for my buck as possible with my complimentary tickets (because, of course).

I've visited Edinburgh three times, off the top of my head (I'm not counting passing through on my way to Arbroath in 2011). I attended the various festivals** in August 2000 and 2001 and returned to visit friends and revisit the festivals in August 2011.

However, I hadn't previously been to Glasgow.

Well, technically, I had. Dad's journal from my folks' visit to the UK in 2001 states, "Continued north on A737 through Dalry, Beith, and Johnstone on the M8 which is elevated for most of its way through Glasgow providing a good view over the city". That was late April, 23 years ago.

untitled #209 [merchants house, glasgow, scotland, 2024]

At least one friend had told me I should visit the city, and they rated it above Edinburgh. Admittedly, that was back when said friend and I regularly frequented gigs and nightclubs, but I was still keen to visit Edinburgh's "ugly sister"***.

A different friend was surprised I chose Glasgow. He warned me that, when visiting, he found it was "kinda just a place to live"; not like Edinburgh, which he'd expected. And, in some ways, it is. It's far less "pretty" and touristy than Edinburgh, but it did not disappoint.

The rain was not ideal, but if you've been to Edinburgh in festival season, as I did three years (two in a row, both camping just south of the city), you know that even in the Summertime, Edinburgh has its fair share of the wet stuff too.

The Glasgow Necropolis alone was worth the 4.5 to 5-hour train journey each way (even with the 20-minute delay travelling up and the 50-minute delay returning). The inclement weather and strong gusts of wind the first day I visited drove me away before I'd finished my explorations, so I wandered the cemetery for two consecutive afternoons and covered most of its grounds.

I spent the remainder of my first full afternoon absorbing art to escape the rain. I aimed for the Gallery of Modern Art and perused their exhibitions, but they weren't my style. On the way there, I stumbled across Castle Fine Art and the works of Bob Dylan, Billy Connolly and Johnny Depp, among other artists with less celebrity.

A friend I made while completing my residency at Hospitalfield in Arbroath in April/May 2011, John Fairfield, popped over from Dundee for a chinwag, bringing the sunshine with him. I was glad to have thought to message him, as we chatted as though we last met up 13 days - not 13 years - ago.

I captured Glasgow with blue skies while waiting for him to arrive, but the clouds had drawn in again when I returned to the Necropolis. All my photographs from this trip have a blue cast due to "Winter's dull light" (despite now being Spring). I've tried to correct it in these photographs of the Merchants House, but the results are noticeably variable between the three. I hope you'll forgive me.

On my final day, knowing the rain would be even worse than on previous days, I had thought to visit Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, but I wasn't really in the right mood for it. And I felt it would be remiss not to even glimpse the River Clyde during my time in the city. So, I ventured out again with my camera and held my own with the rain until I could no longer. At which point, I popped into the oldest pub in Glasgow, The Scotia, for a cheeky pint before retiring to my accommodation.

As with Llandudno and Delamere, I took over 4GB of photographs and left inspired and pleased with my stay but aware I only scratched the city's surface.

untitled #205 [merchants house, glasgow, scotland, 2024]

When I booked my trip in mid-January, I had to work around pet-sitting bookings and colleagues' annual leave. I was restricted to booking tickets released by AWC before the date my vouchers expired. Consequently, I'd booked from 2-5 April, which was literally the last possible dates available and meant I hadn't booked for the weekend, as I probably would have if they'd been available.

While others may have felt the current round of train strikes highly inconvenient, they worked in my favour. ASLEF strikes affected all AWC services on Friday, 5 April, when I was due to return to London, so I transferred my booking to a similar service the next day, allowing me an additional day in the city. It did cost me an extra £128 in accommodation for the night. But I considered it money well-spent as I kept my subsistence costs down for each of my three trips and took advantage of free accommodation in exchange for sitting Peter, Mercury and Bowie while exploring Delamere.

I enjoyed my solo travel on all three occasions, and while I occasionally thought, "X would love this", I rarely wished I were travelling with others. I didn't have to stress about what my body was doing because someone else wanted to get an early start. I didn't have to spend excess money on food and drink eating out (I did order in/get room service (at no additional cost) on two occasions - once in Llandudno, once in Glasgow). And, despite my initial nerves about taking my camera out while wandering solo in Glasgow, I felt at home quite quickly on my first full day, and that concern passed.

As much as I loved my travels, I'm happy to be home again for a little while (albeit relatively briefly!) And not to have any pet-sittings until next week.

But I'll be back pet-sitting Francois on Tuesday and Thursday. I'll be in Bromley, sitting my regulars, for at least two nights late in the month. And then off up to Liverpool for work and a day of TOIL exploring that city. Then, a busy month of pet-sitting in May.

No rest for the wicked, eh?

^{*As mentioned in my previous post about my free journeys, I booked this one second, but chronologically, it was my final free first-class trip.}
^{**The Edinburgh International Film Festival took place in August 2000 and 2001. They moved it to June in 2008.}
^{***My words, I don't know that anyone else refers to Glasgow that way. I say it fondly without malice.}

pay here

March 12, 2024

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 6 March 2024].}

the old contemptibles

November 28, 2023

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 21 November 2023].}

untitled #37 [little shambles, york, yorkshire, england, 2012]

an utter shambles

March 28, 2023

^{[I originally posted this entry as early access for my Patreon patrons on 22 March 2023].}

Here's a selection of photographs I took in The Shambles - Shambles and Little Shambles - in York during a visit in 2012.

untitled #36 [shambles, york, yorkshire, england, 2012]

untitled #30 [shambles, york, yorkshire, england, 2012]

Though I've visited York multiple times, I didn't know where the name came from.

untitled #27 [shambles, york, yorkshire, england, 2012]

As a vegetarian for almost 30 years, the revelation of where the name originated was interesting.

untitled #35 [little shambles, york, yorkshire, england, 2012]

From Wikipedia: "Shambles" is an obsolete term for an open-air slaughterhouse and meat market. Streets of that name were so called from having been the sites on which butchers killed and dressed animals for consumption.

untitled #28 [shambles, york, yorkshire, england, 2012]

As you can see, even in 2012, that name was no longer descriptive of the shops that populated the area. And on a quick search, the nearby market doesn't sell much meat either.

untitled #29 [shambles, york, yorkshire, england, 2012]

untitled #32 [shambles, york, yorkshire, england, 2012]

twelve

January 18, 2023

In the final hour of my twelfth Londonversary, here are twelve photos of my adopted city from the Sky Garden.

You can see three of my workplaces in these photographs and many of my favourite places, including St Dunstan in the East church garden and Tate Modern.