Andy Warhol

I often tell friends and colleagues that I always feel fortunate to do the job I do. I feel this for many reasons but one of the main ones is that I get to work in London, my favourite place in the world, and live within spitting distance of the sea. I can be staring at the historic Houses of Parliament at 4pm and be walking the promenade in Bexhill at 6pm. I can be in the hustle and bustle of Covent Garden at 3 and calf deep in mud in Highwoods by 5.30: The fact is that I get to live in two completely different worlds that I see in the same day almost every day. And to some, the commute between the two would and is the barrier to all. A 60 mile car journey or a couple of hours on a train prevents many from living in the way I get to. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all roses: Landslides, leaves, snow, rain, wind, animals; all reasons to delay that journey and make a day unbearable but, on the whole, things run quite smoothly and delays or no delays, this is the life I choose to lead.

And what of the commute? Well, by car, one gets to enjoy space and privacy. The choosing to have your music too loud and sing at the top of your voice, dance in your seat and drum on the steering wheel until your hand hurts but this all has it’s drawbacks too. Endless traffic, road rage, poor weather and occasionally a feeling of isolation. By train, I can work while travelling, I can catch up on administrative tasks, I can plan, schedule and list. The downside? Delays. Mind numbing delays with seemingly endless waits for the next update. Bus replacement services. Cancellations. But they are a reality and again, it’s a choice to make and to weigh up.

So what’s the casting vote for me? It’s none of the above. The ease and efficiency of the train is neither here nor there. The comfort of my car is not a pull in that direction. What swings it is the scenery I get to enjoy.

There are two routes for me into London. The primary route is into Charing Cross. The second route is into London Victoria. This route is slower than all the other routes but gets me slightly closer to the office on arrival. On the Charing Cross route, the view from the train is pretty poor all the way up until it starts to open up on the outskirts of London until, within just a few miles, Canary Wharf comes into view. then the Gherkin, The Shard and then the River Thames. Wondrous.

On the Victoria Line, beautiful scenery stretches as far as the eye can see for large potions of the journey. Even the most hurried of snaps captures the essence of English countryside and gives us mere mortals something to marvel at.

I am a big fan of gadgets and technology but the very best camera and all the editing software and filters can only capture and edit a photo as beautiful as the surroundings it is presented with. An Artists can only paint nature when nature presents an artist with an image of itself that inspires.

I can’t fabricate this picture. I can edit and enhance it to make it a little more fantastical but it will never be as good as seeing and experiencing this with ones own eyes. An image, no matter how it is captured, never fully portrays the beauty of nature.

Andy Warhol once said ‘Land really is the very best art’.

How right he is.