Social Media Is My Life!

Today I went to take some video of Neal's Yard in Seven Dials - London. I was taking it for a friend called Jim, who lives in the USA and whom I have never met IRL, only on Dailybooth.

He had posted a photo he had found of Neal's Yard on Facebook, and tagged me in it asking if I knew of it, I instantly recognised it as the fabulous Neal's Yard! In my excitement of him posting that pic and me knowing it (I like winning hahaaa...) I offered to go video it for him and give him a little tour.

He loved the idea so off I went today, it was a gorgeous sunny day and I had just moved on Saturday into my new place in Bloomsbury and now I am in walking distance of the wonderful-ness :D

What struck me looking at these photos now is how much of my life is made from conversations and sharing of cool stuff on the internet.

This is one example, but I love to share everything I do on the internet, well you know, most things, not everything :)

I like to show people places they wouldn't normally go or things they would look past.

This is one of my main reasons for being on YouTube, people may think it is a popularity to many, and that is true for some, but for me I just want to share my artwork and vlogs out and about. I hate the idea that my art would sit in folders where no one would see it.... and when my YouTube took off it really brought me into the world of the internet.

I started my voyage into social networks and social media back in 2005 when I joined a Harry Potter fansite (JK Rowling I owe a lot to you).. and I still talk regularly to two or three people from there. They were the first people I told I was gay, and have stuck with me and even though we have never met I know one will be coming to my wedding.

This is the age of skype and without it life would be so different. My parents did long distance for 4 years, only using a pay phone in a telephone box!

Hey I met my fiancé on the internet and have been doing long distance for over 2 years and thank god for skype, Twitter, Facebook and Dailybooth.

Some people may think it strange to be friends with people you have never met.. I just say it's the modern pen pal!

I have been to countless YouTube gatherings, met people I had never met before, I've met up with people abroad I know off the internet...

It doesn't phase me in the slightest, if you build a good transparent relationship online there is nothing scary or dangerous about meeting people from the internet, and of course always using common sense, meeting in public places etc.

The internet has brought me some valuable friends, a lover, and it even offers me the chance to get to know people I sell my artworks too! 

I have now landed an internship in social media, never did I think I would be doing something to do with what is basically my life. 

Social Media is my life for now, and always will be a big part, but hopefully I will remove some of it by getting Mark - my fiancé in the same country soon :) Still I am bloody lucky to have been born in the internet generation!

I'm back in London! For Good.....

Well I am back in London for good!!

I moved back on Saturday, I used to live here for three years while at uni, but now I have a paid internship for 6 months and hopefully I'll find a job after that :D

Soooo eeeeeee I am crashing with friends till i find somewhere permanent, wahoooooh London is not cheap, I knew this of course but when you are on a strict budget, eeeee. It's gonna be bargain hunting, and lots of walkies all the way guys!!

It's strange to be back, partly cus I don't have a room to call my own yet...  and I am in a different part of London, and I won't have uni to go to, rather my new work :D ....Haha and I am getting used to hearing lots of sirens again and watching out for those evil cyclists who cycle through red lights when you are crossing the road and almost run you over if you don't look carefully... bastards...

It also snowed yesterday which was quite the welcome to London!

I can't quite believe I am going to be in London for the Olympics, the Queen's Diamond jubilee and the completion of The Shard!

I think this is gonna be quite a 6 months! Prepare for some vloggage!

See you soon. Jonny.

Aldwych Tube Station

On Saturday I got the chance to go down Aldwych Tube Station and it was rather intriguing! You can see my photos from the day on flickr

I have always had an interest in that area of London, knowing about the 'hidden' tram tunnel under Kingsway and this closed tube station too. When tickets came up to go down the station I jumped at the chance as it's quite rare to be able to go down!

I was quite surprised that i wasn't surrounded by older men and train spotters while queuing to go in, but rather plenty of people my age and even a lady in a faux fur hat and boots! Obviously the love of the underground is shared by a large variety of people!

The station was opened in 1907, first called Strand, which can still be seen in the tiling, but then it was renamed to Aldwych when the nearest station on the Northern line at Charing Cross became Strand, (later renamed Charing Cross).

Aldwych tube station is on a short spur / branch line from Holborn coming off the modern day Piccadilly Line. The Piccadilly Line was created by the merger of two seperate tube projects. They were linked at Holborn to create the great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway, which was opened between Hammersmith and Finsbury Park. This left the short spur from Holborn to Aldwych, the southern terminus of one of the tubes as originally planned.

The station was designed along with 35 + others by Leslie Green. They all have the dark red glazed brick and terracotta frontages. Each building is on a load bearing steel frame which made it strong enough to take the weight of the lift winding equipment.

Both old Otis lifts are still in Aldwych, but no longer operational, and they are the reason it closed in 1994. It was estimated to cost £3 million plus to replace them! Aldwych was also never busy enough to justify putting in escalators or new lifts.

Aldwych did have two tube tunnels and platforms but only the western platform was used by a two car train, as a shuttle service to Holborn. The problem was trains used to run every 9 minutes plus and you can walk to Holborn in that time from Aldwych!

During WW2 the disused platform was used to store 300+ paintings from the National Gallery and The V&A and the British Museum also used it in 1939/40 to store artefacts including the Elgin Marbles!

You can read more here: Aldwych tube Station

Some video I took can also be viewed here: Thelandofjonny

It was very damp down there, and water was dripping in places. The old posters were of particular fancy and some gave us a laugh due to the current economic climate! It was also really cool to see where they had tested out new tiles for new tube stations such as tiles for Piccadilly Circus and I recognised ones for the Central Line too.

Nowadays the emergency services use it for practice drills and the station is also used for films.

It was well worth the visit and to see it and I did like the part where they told us that if there was a fire or a problem at the top of the stairs, we would have to be evacuated by walking along the track and dark tunnel to Holborn! Now that would have been a story to tell.