When we last checked in with T.J. Quinton, he was in Amsterdam dreaming about flower carts.
The roots musician has since returned to London where more adventures awaited him.
“Two weeks on and I'm staying in Brixton, the melting pot the end of the Tube line; where Caribbean flavours steam out from the markets amid the dust of bustling buses and constant sirens. While it's not exactly colourful, (bright things have never been high on London design specs) it's definitely a colourful place.
“As in many parts of London, eye contact with strangers is a rarity and although impersonal, it kind of suits me. Communication boils down to that delightfully simple exchange that allows me to use virtually any combination of words to express myself — the literary content less important that the emphasis of either affirmative or negative. 'Safe Fam'.
“Despite an unfortunate ankle injury (no more free climbing on this trip) I've been heading out every evening and seeing radical stuff. The hip hop and poetry here is brilliant and I've been playing gigs alongside some just ridiculously tight music groups.
“It's also impossible to fault big cities for their ability to bring together ideas, complete with all their advocates and oppositions; so there's been no shortage of exchanges on history, genealogy, sociology, political ideology. The particular 'ology’ becoming both less and more important as the philosophical pints are consumed.
“But for me, you know the most interesting thing about London? The fact that they're still keeping Julian Assange bailed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy.
“Back in 2012, I was here and visited a few times, standing among avid protesters and plaques convinced that sooner or later someone would step in and sort this farce out. But… well, they haven't. And except for the continual police presence, the streets outside the embassy run pretty quiet these days, protesters back at their day jobs, media busy creating whirlwinds elsewhere, governments around the world probably quite satisfied with the stalemate.
“So here's a piece brought to you from the embassy. No guitars, just some of the stuff bouncing round in my head that begs to be said.
Big shout-outs to my bro Marcus Harding for the photos.
