scaleability photos on Flickr

st michael with his scales by Holly Hayes

South Leigh, Oxfordshire.

Navigating change in an unpredictable world

TastingBritain.co.uk - Funthyme @ The Farm, Spitalfields City Farm, Spitalfields, London by Tasting Britain

Tasting Britain was invited down to Spitalfields City Farm (yes, there is indeed a farm in Spitalfields, just in case you missed itâ¦.) to meet Matthew 'Funthyme' Phelps and eat all of his delicious, kinda Spanish, and locally (very locally) sourced food. Now coming up on the business' 5th year anniversary - Matt quit a career in sales in the advertising industry when he turned 30, realising that now would be a good time to get into the catering business.

Since then he's been busy, and doing rather well. You could be saying that he's been having a 'fun thyme' (see what I did there? *ducks projectiles*). That's him behind the grill putting up with my camera/shit. He now runs supperclubs, does event catering, and has been working with the likes of Sohoâs Experimental Cocktail Club, The Camden Arts Centre and Village Underground in East London. Matt's delicious foods included a farm foraged salad, some kind of beef steak that I doubled up on and a cream and cherry based dessert made from polenta (which, as far as I know, is a Northern Italian thing, not a Spanish thing?)

As for Spitalfields City Farm, this place is fuckin' amazing. Built on the site of what was a former railway goods depot, the farm was started in 1978 'in response to local peopleâs wishes to convert wasteland into allotments'. It has been perpetually under the threat of developers since then - and in 1980 gained charitable status. Since then it's developed into what appears to be some multifaceted, all singing, all dancing community project. When I was there I saw artwork (check the guy making things out of discarded bottlecaps), community farming (chicken, rabbits, geese, plus a small scale yet legitimate urban zoo), polytunnels growing all manner of things, a zoo, a playground, a coffee shopâ¦it goes on.

Though the farm gained charitable status in 1980, itâs been under regular threat from developers since then (more unaffordable apartments, anyone?). In a past life it was a railway goods depot (which you can kinda tell if you look at where itâs situated). Apparantly urban farming is a long established East End tradition, and I can't help but think that London could benefit from seeing these kind of projects in more places.

Scaling Granite by Bob Larson

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One for scale. The tiny dot at the top of the rise with arms in the air is my son.

Watson Lake, Prescott, Arizona.

scale 1:200 by MODEL architect