I must be on vacation - 2 blog posts in the same day. I spent the day wandering through
Kensington Palace Gardens and Hyde Park. No agenda. I have never been in London in the summer, so it was a new way to see the city - relaxing in the parks on Sunday. I was mildly curious when I saw the signs leading to the Princess of Wales Fountain. I had read and heard so many (mostly derogatory) comments about it that I was curious to take a look. What I saw really surprised me. It was the high point of my day. A much richer experience than watching the
hoards waiting for the Bruce Springsteen concert in Hyde Park. It was alive with kids. They were so delighted to be in the water. I took just a couple of quick shots as there were many naked and half-naked children there and I didn't think it was wise to linger about with a camera. What a relaxed, fun, place. I think that a woman who loved children and whose children grew up around these gardens would have been happy to see what I saw today.


The other high point of today, and the past couple of days has been the newspapers. I can honestly say that I didn't miss much when I was in the arctic, but I did miss newspapers. Here, I can walk out of my building and in 1 minute I can buy the world's newspapers. I read an article in the London Times today about the Twitter
phenomenon in regards to the death of Michael Jackson. The writer was making the argument that Twitter is the only way to connect with the rest of humanity when shocking events occur. I do recognize the value of citizen reporting and the power of personal narrative and photography. I have even made a couple of attempts at Twitter, mostly because I want to understand something that is having such an impact. But it
doesn't work for me. Maybe I'm not that
interested in the outbursts of strangers. What I am interested in is news, and
commentary and photos and the feel of a newspaper in my hands.
I am absolutely shocked at the world's reaction to the death of Michael Jackson. I had no idea that he maintained such popularity and such a huge fan base. Or is it just more of the
phenomenon of mass grief that started with the death of Diana? It was a strange week for those of us who grew up in the 70's. The Jackson Family was such a sensation then - and so was Farrah
Fawcett. Two icons from my youth, certainly. I was never a Michael
Jackson fan; maybe a compassionate
observer of his decline from shiny, bright, talented child to the weirdness that followed.
Tomorrow, I think I'll treat myself to a whole day at the Victoria and Albert Museum. After I finish reading the weekend newspapers. In bed. With toast and tea.