Saturday 26 February 2011

Adore & Endure Each Other

Village Underground, Great Eastern Street, London
A Love Letter To You: is Steve Powers' series of positive uplifting messages of love and community  spirit within the city. His murals are found in Philadelphia, but we have been lucky enough to have a Love Letter from him here in London;  "Adore and Endure Each Other" stands above Great Eastern Street; a street i do not particularly enjoy riding especially during peak traffic times: it's simply too narrow and too busy - no gaps to go through; every time i ride up and down that road, i look up, see the Love Letter; i breathe in and smile adoring and enduring my fellow commuters. 

On 24th February i snapped a photo of "Adore & Endure Each Other" before continuing my morning trip to work; i followed my usual route to Old Street, only to be diverted as the road was blocked by police. Soon, i found out that another road accident had occurred: A female cyclist and a lorry. By 10:30 am the newspaper titles emerged:

Only a couple of weeks ago,  Mark, from I Bike London, blogged that a male cyclist in his 20s died in Homerton Hospital, Hackney, on Friday 4th Feb after being struck by a left turning lorry on the Kingsland Road / Dalston Junction on Wednesday.

Both accidents are too near home. These are our streets that take us to work every day; that take us to our favourite club nights and to our dearest friends' homes. We sometimes walk them, drive them but mostly ride them. We do not own them but we have to keep them safe for all users.

The family and friends of Eilidh (a cyclist who was run over by a truck two years ago) are campaigning to get an EU declaration signed to get HGVs fitted with sensors and cameras to remove their blind spot. Please join the campaign here:

http://www.eilidhcairns.com/campaign/

and please, if you are a cyclist or a driver take a few minutes to look at this:

... and promise me you will adore & endure each other...

Safe cycling


 image taken from http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/14799.aspx