London and New York

Worksheet 3 Jason Bell, photographer. Y'know I was always obsessed by New York. As a child it struck me as sort of the centre of the world and I remember being very young and thinking, y'know, if the world had a capital city, it would be New York. Sally Blenkey-Tchassova, spray tanner. In New York you really have permission to do anything you want to do. Besides having a spray tanning company, I compete in ballroom dancing, I do boudoir photography sessions, I have, like, such a wild and cra y e!istence here. "ven the dirt here is good. It's like, I get off the plane in #$% and I smell the dirt and I think, '&hank 'od I'm in New York (ity and can eat some proper chinese food and have some New York coffee and all is well with the world. Nicky Perry, restaurant owner. I was always obsessed with the idea of coming to live in New York. Americans have an ama ing you)can)do)it attitude which is very very different to "nglish. I think if you invent a widget here, everybody slaps you on the back, says, '&hat's a great idea. *ow can I help you do that+' If you invent a widget in "ngland, it's a bit like ',h, err, what do you want be bothering doing that for+' I don't think I could go somewhere else and give up New York. Davi Schwart!, e"ter#inator. -ell I was in the British army for . years, and I left. ,n the day I left the army I got on a plane and came over here to do something different. I wanted to be a stockbroker originally. &hat didn't really work out so I ended up doing /ust like a regular blue)collar /ob. I'm an e!terminator over here. 0ats, cockroaches, y'know, regular pests, ants, things like that. And it's better to be a pest control guy here than in 1eicester. Y'know, you're in the centre of the world, in New York (ity.

London and New York

Jason Bell, photographer. I'd said at the beginning of the pro/ect I wanted to punctuate the book with landscapes of New York, and I was 2uite cavalier about those cause I /ust thought, 'I can /ust do those anytime.' I actually kind of had a bit of a crisis about it cause every time I tried to take a landscape it looked like a postcard and it sort of struck me, '&his is so difficult to, y'know, take an image of New York I haven't seen before.' "very obvious shot of $ifth Avenue, or (hrysler, or the "mpire 3tate y'know I was like ',%, seen it, seen it, done it.' $artin Speechley, etective. ,n the streets of New York you never 2uite know what you're going to be confronted with. I've had firearms pulled on me, I've had knives, bats. &here is more opportunity because there is more of everything. As an "nglishman, I also found it was helpful to be in this country because you stood out a little bit and conse2uently you were noticed so if an opportunity did arise, your chances of being selected were maybe somewhat higher so it can help you. -ill I be here for the rest of my life+ I don't know, but, en/oying the ride so far. Si#on Doonan, creative irector. Back then, they didn't give you a green card if you were gay so I had to pretend to be straight. I had to say, 'yeah, I like birds and no I'm not a gay,' and all of which was sort of hilarious and grotes2ue at the same time. I'm often in a room with people /abbering at each other like a bunch of parrots and I sit there and wait for them to finish. 1ike I probably still have that bit of "nglish reserve. 3ometimes I wish that my colleagues and friends who I adore would /ust shut up.