I spent a total of 19 weeks living away from family in London during 2007. Much of that time was spent by myself, and I ended up walking and exploring - the main task being to locate Banksy pieces. It really started just as something to do to keep me active and to soak up the essence of a different city. Armed with a Banksy Walking Guide that I bought on eBay, I set out on a number of days and walked for miles, finding many stencils around the East End. Some had been buffed; some were hidden behind fences; some just sitting there just like the picture in the book.
Oddly, you could even recognise others who were doing a similar thing and conversations started as you pointed someone to an obscure Banksy that they had missed - a temporary camaraderie in a strange city!
Subsequently, I have also found a few Banksy stencils locally in Melbourne, funnily most are just in the streets around my home and on shop fronts that I walk past each day.
Today I've just posted the last of my Banksy photos to Flickr - Banksy's skeleton car on display behind the Old Truman Brewery back in November 2007 - not sure about it's current status. You can see all my Banksy collection in an online set, Going on a Banksy Hunt if you are so inclined.
It has been an interesting exercise to seek out and learn a little about Banksy. Clearly there are many more Banksy streetart photos that are chronicled on Flickr and other online sites, and many people that know much more about Banksy than me, but it has been an interesting journey. So just saying...