Vapour Trails

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2010-01-15T16:52:00.011Z

...and a very Happy New Year to one and all. 2010 is going to be a blinder - I can feel it in me bones!

VT.

(Click on the image for some recent photovideoage).

Riding on the summer wind

2009-08-31T17:40:00.011+01:00

One of the loveliest Summers in living memory is flying by and so much has happened (and is yet to occur) before Autumn's hues and temperatures are upon us. Miss L is feeling a bit under the weather at the moment, so in between playing nurse I am grabbing the opportunity to record some bits and bobs we've been up to:

Reiss and Dazed & Confused magazine recently ran an competition to illustrate a ltd. edition of 500 T-Shirt for their new 1971 collection. 600 designs were submitted and 30,000 public votes cast. My design came in the top 5 which put a smile on my face. I won some Reiss vouchers, a pair on ltd edition jeans and an invite to the collection launch at London Fashion Week, so can't grumble. See my submission here.

Old chum Mike came down from Lichfield for a lad's w'end which was a right old laugh, the highlight of which was the Film4/Summer Screen at Somerset House. Another old mucker Mark was DJing beforehand (and very marvellous he was too - cheeky/quirky filmscore mash-up), then we were treated to a dream double bill of Alien/Poltergeist. Great to see two of my fav. films on a big screen, in the open air summer night. Many thanks to Mark for the free entry and VIP treatment.

A few weeks later a very welcome weekend break in Harrogate followed - caught up with lots of old muckers and family, and celebrated the engagement of my bro and Sarah - really happy for you guys...Congratulations. Some de riguer stomps around the Yorkshire countryside blew away some cobwebs too. Then, it was up to Lichfield to stay with Mike and Lou who have some very exciting news - so happy for you both! Lovely relaxing weekend relaxing and BBQing. Took some cool photos too.

Yesterday da Maria and I trekked down to Clapham Common to see the ever brilliant Orbital. Wicked night and great to have a proper jump around to one of my favourite bands, with one of my oldest buds. Shame we missed Roni Size. Here's a bit of footage:

Amazingly, it seems we don't have a free weekend for the next few months, so there will be lots to report next time the blogging urge takes me.

I have discovered loads of excellent new music recently, mainly through the genius that is Spotify. If you don't have this wonderful App. I strongly suggest you download it. If you need an invite let me know and I will be glad to sort you out. Here's some brilliant music I think is worth more than a casual look:

British Sea Power - Man of Aran.
The Horrors - Primary Colours.
Noah and the Whale - The First Days of Spring.
Slut - Still No.1.
Sweet Billy Pilgrim - Twice born men.
Tindersticks - Waiting for the Moon.
The XX - XX.
John Surman - Brewster's Rooster.

I also 'graduated' from Raindance on their FilmMakers Foundation - what a great course and film festival, and some inspiring people to work with. I have a backlog of footage now which needs crafting into something amazing when I find the time and a load of lovely contacts to make magic with. Highly recommend you check Raindance out if you have even a passing interest in film.

More to come soon. Keep checking back here and Flickr for updates. Beep.

Cool waves

2009-07-28T17:17:00.006+01:00

It's been far too long since I blogged, but I'd just like to record that in between the helix of time in VT's world, a warm sparkly glow dances through the peaks and troughs. More to come soon...

PS. If you get the chance you should all go to Iceland...It's a very nice land (don't eat the Whales or Puffins though...or upset the Vikings).

A year in listening

2009-06-20T00:01:00.005+01:00

The graph above charts my music listening habits over the past year according to LastGraph...a cool little app. for Last FM.

Quite a lovely shape really.

Sunshine hits me

2009-05-10T22:13:00.011+01:00

Another brief hiatus from blogging is testament to the numerous events, unexpected changes and surprises that have peppered my little life over the past few weeks. As the seasons are in transition, so it seems are the directions in which I am traveling at the moment...some instigated by myself, some it appears driven by fate. Sometimes things seem to align in an effortless timely fashion and everything fits into place...those times make me smile.

I am supposed to be working on some freelance stuff for a friend, but the mood took me to blog so I am going to do a brief sum up of notable bobbins and twaddle:

Films

Shifty: I was very lucky to win a Boxfresh competition a few weeks ago. The prizes being a couple of tickets to the industry premier of Shifty at Soho Curzon and some free clobber from the afore mentioned brand. Great film - The directorial debut of Eran Creevy and made for an amazingly low £100k (tip - blow the actors away with the script, then sweet talk them into working for next to nothing) A 24h story set in an outer London suburb, it documents two friends (Riz Ahmed and Daniel Mays) who's lives were parted by tragedy, then reunited four years later where old ghosts return to haunt them. A refreshing take on drug street life in an average British city suburb, low key but effective in photographic direction, with an utterly fluid and semi-improvised dialogue. The lead actors have a brother like synergy on screen that makes it truly pleasurable to get lost in their journey down a spiral of social disintegration and ultimately absolution from their demons. Social realism at its best - highly recommended. 9/10

In the Loop: Armando Iannucci at his absolute best. The scene: The Labour Party just prior to the UN's investigation in Iraq's supposed WMD's and build up to invasion, it's heartless and chaotic spin doctors, whips and press depts, and fascicle MP's lack of PR skills/rational thinking. Razor sharp delivery, crude beyond words, incendiary delivery - an utterly hilarious dark comedy. Rarely have I seem so many chairs vibrate with hilarity and tears of laughter stream down so many faces in one room. Without doubt the funniest thing I have seen in a good few years. Essential viewing. 10/10.

Cheri: Excellent period romantic drama directed by Stephen Frears. A welcome return to form from Michelle Pfeiffer and the brilliant Kathy Bates. Basic story centres around the son of a famous courtesan, his dalliances with his mum's mates and other unlucky ladies of social standing. Utterly hedonistic, sometimes funny, sometimes heartwarming, ultimately redeeming and satisfying. Great soundtrack apparently, though I nearly fell asleep near the end...not through boredom...strange. 8/10.

Somers Town: I have wanted to see this film for ages - it is sooo damn good. Directed by the fantastic Shane Meadows of This Is England fame and a return from the genius child actor Thomas Turgoose. A pure, honest and lovely tale of a brummy runaway and polish immigrant who become unlikely friends, fall in love with the same french girl working in the local cafe and decide to seek her out when she leaves town. Beautiful screenplay and script, with a gritty b&w urban taste to it. Highly recommended. 9/10

I'm on a real good run of cinema at the moment, so a few more reviews to come very soon after my Flickr buddy Mark and I return from the next jaunt. Need to take some photos too...and make more films...Ooo, Raindance soon!

London Marathon

The company I work for sponsor a charity every year and in 2009 it is Help the Hospices. Our offices are bang on the 23rd mile mark and we organise BBQs, face painting, kettle drums, BBC Radio come down with a sound system and we all cheer on those amazing people running for whatever reason it is. I always take photos for the charity which is great fun (they're a lovely bunch of people). So much activity and the atmosphere is highly charged with emotion - this makes for great shots. Great weather for us spectators, but some of the runners were certainly suffering, bless 'em. Top day - loved it.

Tunes

Two bands that I just can't stop playing at the moment, both Scottish, both incredible and I think a few of the songs will enter the 'soundtrack to my life' play list very soon...ah yes, their names: The Twilight Sad and Frightened Rabbit. Brilliant - remind me of some of the Chemikal Underground bands like Delgadoes. Hope they don't get massive and turn into Snow Patrols - they're mine and I want to keep them to myself and safe from the harm of mass commercial appeal!

Book

The Box Man by Kobo Abe. A Japanese man decides to wear a box on his head, visit his mates and go about his day. Anymore would give it away, but rest assured it's brilliant.

Work

It's cool, challenging, stimulating and sometimes just nuts. I based a campaign around a glass of water - works well I think. Someone asked me to airbrush out their wrinkles and double chin on a portrait - I obliged and it made them happy. Someone else asked me to polish some poo (see book review a few posts ago)...it made me chuckle, then sigh.

I can feel those sunbeams getting stronger as they pierce the clouds and shine on my head - must be summer on its way...or something...

April Skies

2009-04-05T19:08:00.005+01:00

Welcome glorious, lovely British Summer Time - everyone starts smiling a bit more and quickly discards the drag of dark days and winter blues. I love this time of year and the months to follow - waking up to and going home in daylight/sunshine; nature coming into bloom; getting more out of the day and enjoying being inside and outside in shorts and sandals! Things are far from smooth at the moment, but getting easier for sure, and the changing of the seasons surely helps. Here's hoping we get a long hot summer this year - we all certainly deserve it!

I've been up to oodles aside from the usual work stuff - the later of which just keeps getting busier and a bit nuts sometimes - things to look forward to stuff though and a few looooong projects finally coming to fruition. A few weeks ago Maria, Rus and I returned to Bad Film Club at The Barbican - This month's offering was the utterly gash Leprechaun in the Hood - shocking it was. Everyone had to wear various tacky fancy dress items and loads of people baked (Green) cakes which were shared around. Great night - shite film, but that's the whole point.

A film experience I had from a completely different end of the spectrum was the excellent Anvil. A touching, sometimes depressing, but ultimately inspiring film - It is the story of a very influential and oft referenced Canadian metal band, who set the standard in the genre's infancy of the early 80s...but couldn't make the leap into the big time. They had to watch as their contemporaries sail off onto global success and all the trappings that came with it, whilst they struggled to make a living doing what they loved. A triumph for the human spirit and belief in one's self. Ironically, the film will probably be the making of them. Without giving too much away, the closing concert could warm the coldest of hearts. Mark and I went to Pizza Express to discuss it afterwards - I think it touched a few 'chords' with the lad, bless him.

Gigwise I went to Koko this Saturday and saw the superb Silversun Pickups. I bought their album Carnavas recently, and whilst good it is a tad overproduced and the vocals are too muted and guitars over-layered. Live they are so much better - think Smashing Pumpkins and My Bloody Valentine in a melting pot with a dash of Joy Division stirred in - awesome stuff. Other recommended tunage over the past few weeks: For all I care by The Bad Plus and Living Things by Peter, Bjorn and John.

Had a lovely night with my old muckeress Heather last week, who has some exciting news! Also, trotted down to Brixton to watch Liverpool plough Fulham at the last minute with Chris, Lou and Christine. A spot of branding freelance work on the go for a chum from home; making a weekly din with some lads down in Battersea and loving my new guitar very much! Super excited about my forthcoming Filmmakers Foundation at Raindance in June - can't wait for that one. Also, a long weekend back home in the mother county will be a welcome short break from London life. Could do with a proper holiday, but that will have to wait for a wee while.

Next time I hope to be blogging with a bit of a tan, a Magners in my hand and a spring in my step. Until then...

Happiness is six strings and a sparkle

2009-03-22T22:00:00.007Z

Oh joys of joys! This weekend I took delivery of a little treat that I promised myself when I could afford it - a new guitar. Had my heart set on a candy apple red Jaguar or Jazzmaster, but whilst in Oxford a few weekends ago I tried out a Gretsch Electromatic G5126. I pretty much fell in love with it there and then. It has an incredible tone; that 'Gretsch' sound that everyone prattles on about; very low action, so a super fast neck; an original Bigsby trem. unit...and it's sparkly and looks kick-ass! I have been playing it acoustically and it purrs like a pussycat with an infinite sustain, but plugged in with some dirty distortion it screams like a banshee and has a MASSIVE sound - perfect for the punchy ethereal stuff I like to play. The only thing that slightly concerns me is that is huge - when I wear it standing up it almost completely covers the mid part of my person and the hips of the guitar are nearly 16inches across, but it looks so cool I can live with it! Also, bought a Vox Tonelab LE effects bank as well, as going to sell off all my individual pedals. It too is fantastic.

The Display Team

2009-03-20T12:18:00.010Z

Had to write about a brilliant new band I have stumbled across (very randomly I should add). The Display Team are a six piece hailing from London and play what I can only describe as proto-progressive jazz punk...sort of thing. They have a mighty brass section too and every member sings (so imagine sometime 6 way harmonies), their key changes are laser sharp and relentless (hence the Jazz likening), the arrangements are chaotic and intricate, and they write witty, sharp and very socially aware lyrics...but most of all humour seems to command their every move.

Chuckles their drummer sent me a promo copy of their yet to be released album Drones, and it is superb. Cheers Chuck!

They are currently touring, so if the happen to be playing near you go see them. From their videos the live shows look intense to say the least. Just hope someone signs them soon!

Heaven for taste buds.

2009-03-15T19:13:00.006Z

Andy and Kath came round for Sunday lunch today. I wanted to do something special and a bit different, so hunted for a slooooow roasted lamb recipe and stumbled across this.

We all agreed it is the best roast lamb we had ever tasted - the 24hr marinade is superb (and very french), and 7hrs at 120 degrees meant the meat literally fell off the bone when touched. Made Potato Dauphinoise and french garlic beans as an accompaniment. We were so stuffed we couldn't even attempt the Gu Puddings I bought!

Next time you cook a roast I HIGHLY recommend you try this recipe - it is something else!

A quick top tune recommendation: Silversun Pickups - Carnavas.

The accelerating year

2009-03-09T20:05:00.007Z

I have neglected my little blog of late, or rather haven't felt the desire to write, which is the whole point anyway. The year is flying by already and so much has happened it feels like a year has already passed. The waves are getting smaller in general, though there are more potential storms ahead - I feel much more prepared and stronger than I did say 6 weeks ago, though the calm waters are still a good way in front. Between us we will see it though and come out better people I am sure.

Been keeping myself as busy as possible without burning out (my adverse sleeping patterns since December are challenging this though - internal body clocks are a peculiar thing). Going to start with a couple of short reviews, then will log an abridged round-up over the past few weeks:

Watchmen - My weekly jaunt to the cinema this week was treated with this incredible film. I seem to be in the minority that I never read the graphic novel, but it didn't stop be being utterly absorbed and blown away. Very complex, dark, 'graphic' and haunting journey through a parallel age. Won't give too much away, but even if you aren't a comic or sci-fi fan, you will not be disappointed by this brilliant (and very long) film. 9/10.

Torture the Artist - An great book that it took me far too long to read (kept getting distracted). In a nutshell that won't give the game away, it is the story of an academy set up to nurture young gifted artistic talent, with the ethos that only good art comes from heartbreak, loss and misery. The students have their lives subjected to persistent disappointment and pain in the hope that their work will be ground-breaking. Of course, they eventually realise what is going on...you can guess the rest. Great book. 8/10.

Tunes - Some new stuff I'm listening to which is making the hairs on the back of my neck stand-up (some more than others): Howling Bells - Radio Wars; The Bad Plus - These are the Vistas; Keith - Vice and Virtue; Prodigy - Invaders must Die; The Pains of being Pure at Heart; Bombay Bicycle Club - The Boy I used to be; Daran Hayman and the Secondary Modern - Pram Town; Airborne Toxic Event; Factory Records Communication Box-Set; Rodrigo y Gabriela - Live in Japan; The View - Which Bitch?.

Events that have passed on my mortal coil: The very sad death of my Great Uncle Charles on my birthday - rest in peace; Great weekends in Surrey, Staffordshire and Oxfordshire with good muckers; Trip home to Yorkshire for a collection of birthdays, long muddy walks and parties; Dragging my birthday celebrations out over 3 weeks (greedy I know); Making music with others again and remembering that I am actually a pretty good guitarist, just rusty and had fallen out of love with my axe!; Loving taking photos and making little films more than ever - a Spring college course is coming up to get the later on to the next level; Working very very hard, involved in some very exciting projects and doing the best work I have ever done - the recognition from both sides of the pond has been nice too; Seeing the beautiful things in life and starting to like myself again, after seeing darkness and half-empty glasses for way way too long; Finding my marbles, sparkle and smile again - they were down the back of the sofa all along! If any of that sounds wank, go read another blog. It means a lot to myself that I can write some of it in the first place, so make no apologies.

Thoughts are with those who have recently had some shocking news and have some tough times to come. Always here for you, as you have been for me.

Until next time...

Battersea Exposure

2009-03-02T17:07:00.007Z

The lovely Schmap people have used another of my photos for their excellent online maps.

Thanks for the exposure guys!

Trilogies

2009-02-20T19:17:00.001Z

Oh I quite agree.

Wrestling dinosaurs in the snow

2009-02-01T22:15:00.011Z

A good mucker of mine advises that the unofficial rule of blogging is 'don't think, just blog'. I haven't been taken by writing much of late, but the mood has taken me so here we go...

Snow, snow, wonderful snow. What an amazing blanket of white chilly fun has descended on our Isles. The last time I can remember being 'snowed in' was in Yorkshire when I was about 10, so to be in the same situation in London (urban hear island remember) at 35 was quite a treat! I worked from home on Monday and Tuesday as transport was crippled and work requested a no-show for all of us. I am always more productive working from home, though miss the banter of my fellow team-chums. I couldn't resist a few reckies down to the common to partake in en-mass snow ball fights, snow-person building and take some photos. There was at least 6 inches on the ground on Monday and it was great to see the young nippers enjoying it - most of which will have never seen more than a scattering in the past. Now of course it's all ice and more lethal than fun - good to back working with other peeps though, as I was starting to get cabin fever.

Given my new situation I have been keeping myself busy, rediscovering things, finding new interests and trying not to spend too much time on my own (despite having always been comfortable with it). Friends (and family) have been amazing and some who were more distant before have quickly brought me in closer which has been so much appreciated. I have been diving into troughs and leaping out into peeks rapidly emotion-wise, which is nothing new for me unfortunately, but something I have resented for a long time for the consequences it yields. Some dark places have been visited, but exited eventually - it's very hard work and my thoughts are very much with others who are riding the same and different waves in their own way.

Anyhow, here's a wee round-up of the past week:

Mark - A night in Soho with my old chum from home. Japanese nosh, waffle, twitter and flickr fun. He never ceases to amaze me with his creativity, wit and intelligence.

Neil - Pints, designer talk and cud chewing with my one time mentor and predecessor. A top bloke, true Scouser and spoke spinner.

Dinosaur Pile-Up - Went to Koko with Maria and Rus to see top new (and very young) band. Clearly borrowed a few of their older sibling's worn Nirvana albums and added their own unique ingredients. Was down the front for all of it, felt 10 years too old, but loved it. Check them out.

The Wrestler - My now weekly Sunday night solo jaunt to the flicks. Great film and a return to form for Mickey Rourke. A man whose career is killing him, but is all he knows and loves, whilst trying to hold on to the threads of his fragmented family life. Great film. 8/10.

Chris and Lou - A few pints, chats and footy on the telly in a proper London boozer in Warren St. Lovely, lovely people.

Aside from that it's head first into work and the usual. Looking forward to the next few weekends out of London and celebrating, commiserating and contemplating passing my mid-thirties and helping others celebrate less vintage years. Deep breath and on we go...

Oh, whilst I'm really trying not to be too self obsessed at the moment, this seemed relevant given our (as in all of us) current situation. Puts it all into perspective really.

Until next time.

The end of the old Republic

2009-01-25T10:39:00.010Z

One of our country's most influential, innovative and copied design agencies is dead. Even the mighty Designer's Republic was not safe in these uncertain economic times and after a few key clients have fled and untimely tax bills have dropped on the table, they have decided to close shop. Its founder Ian Anderson has spoken about the decision in this weeks Creative Review and mentions that maybe this was a natural end and a blessing in disguise, as the agency had become more account management based, instead of the original off the wall creative ethos. It's a shame, but I suspect Pheonix's will rise from the ashes.

The Designers Republic have had a huge influence on me from even their earliest years and along with a select few others (Peter Saville, Saul Bass, Julian Opie) encouraged me to follow an education and career (eventually) in Graphic Design. Their exposure in the youth culture I was immersed in at the time i.e. indie/electro music; console games; packaging; cultural magazines; festivals, were so perfectly timed for me. Waiting for the next PWEI record to come out was nearly as exciting for the cover artwork as the music - I loved it...and don't get me started on the T-Shirts - I can't look at a Pepsi logo without seeing my more favoured DR bastardisation! The sleek fluid post-fonts, bold tracking forms and layering, elegant detailing, vivid palette, love of symmetry, rotation and movement - all of it is such a visual feast. If you aren't familiar with their stuff I strongly recommend spending 20mins looking at an amazing body of work.

On to other things. Well, I'm sort of hibernating a bit, and sort of keeping busy and getting back out there at the same time - looking after myself, but also very much thinking of others. Friends and family have been and continue to be brilliant and I am so grateful I can't say. No need to say too much more, mainly out of respect for others and secondly because it won't be productive, cathartic or interesting for anyone else to read. Maybe at a date in the future I will return to all this and feel the need to talk about it on this blog - maybe not.

Bad Film Club

2009-01-15T21:58:00.007Z

Had to blog a top night that was shared with myself, da Maria, Rus and Richard yesterday. Trotted down to The Barbican after work for Bad Film Club. A simple concept really - show a really terrible film, have two comedians (Nicko and Joe) sit at the front with laser pointers ripping it to shreds, get the audience to join in, pass round free sweets and let everyone drink booze as well. Genius. Basic Instinct 2 was on the menu tonight, and it is indeed unspeakably rubbish, so much so they even let Stan Collymore have a cameo (possibly the most unconvincing screen death ever). Great night and I laughed...a lot... for probably the first time in a couple of months. Felt better and got to work at 8am with a heavy head, but a wee skip in my step. A long day of rush-designing (wow factor according to the brief) exhibition stands took the skip slightly out of my step, but I still kept chuckling to myself. A bit sad face again tonight, but tomorrow is Friday which is officially a good thing.

Che - Part One

2009-01-11T14:42:00.011Z

Last night I went to the flicks on my own for the first time in longer than I can remember - a bit weird at first as was probably the only person there 'unaccompanied', but quite enjoyed zoning out and losing myself in the visual treat that awaited. Che - Part One is Stephen Soderbergh's fantastic story (the first part anyway) of Ernesto 'Che' Guevara's journey from young politically conscious Argentine Doctor to iconic revolutionary and freedom fighter. What a brilliant film - peppered with so much detail, absorbing cinematography and passionate, inspiring characters. Benicio Del Toro is just brilliant, as is Demian Bichir as the hyper-driven Fidel Castro. The strength of spirit and belief in a cause for the common good of a people I have rarely seen in a film. I loved the huge sweeping shots of the Cuban jungle (hmm...itchy feet) and Che's commanding, yet humbling address at the UN. A life affirming and heart warming story of a collective dream becoming reality through self believe, sacrifice, fight and passion. Amazing stuff - 9/10.

2008

2009-01-04T15:12:00.008Z

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times;

It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness;

It was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light;

It was the season of darkness, it was the season of hope;

It was the winter of despair, we had everything before us...

Charles Dickens, A tale of two cities.

The section of the above passage neatly sums up my year. Those who know me will also know the score. Those who don't will be spared the tedium of reading about it.

Onward into 2009 and a Happy New Year to you and yours.

Verona Exposure

2009-01-03T19:09:00.004Z

The lovely people at Schmap have asked to use one of my photos for the sixth edition of their Verona Guide. Thanks for the exposure guys!

Then We Came to the End

2008-12-21T15:03:00.009Z

This is a supplemental post. After Christmas I will no doubt spill an epic stream of consciousness that sums up two of the hardest months of my life so far...but for now here is a review of a great book my bestest mucker DragonDrop gave me.

Working in a creative role you often wonder if the challenges, pressures and cultural nuances are the same in other companies. Then Came to the End by Joshua Ferris reassuringly and sometimes scarily confirms this! It tracks the lives of a group of creatives working in a US advertising agency during an uncertain economic climate (sound familiar folks?). The unwritten competition and peer pressure to out-perform and out-create each other is compelling and fascinating. The limited lifespan of the creative comes into its own and younger blood threaten the old school, whilst others hit pre-midlife crisis and consider U turns and drop-out strategies in their careers. My favourite term and concept in the book, which I am sure every designer can relate to, is 'Polishing Poo'. You know, a client gives you a load of badly written copy on a scrappy piece of A4 and expects a great design to mask the poor quality in the final piece. How many times have I been asked to do that?! Three words - Copywriter...Hire One. This book may not appeal to those not working in a similar industry, but it is a great insight into the human condition, office politics and power struggles. Made me want to quit my job and farm Emu though (or something). 8/10. Cheers DD.

Deathray Exposure

2008-12-15T13:02:00.005Z

Deathray Trebuchay are a Ska/Punk/Surf band from East London, and their performance was without doubt one of my highlights from this year's Latitude Festival. Llewelyn from the band got in touch and has asked if they can use my photo as the main image on their MySpace site. Check them out - they're boss!

Thanks for the exposure guys.

Vapour Trail

2008-12-07T23:37:00.004Z

First you look so strong

Then you fade away

The sun will blind my eyes

I love you anyway

Thirsty for your smile

I watch you for a while

You are a vapour trail

In a deep blue sky

Tremble with a sigh

Glitter in your eye

You seem to come and go

I never seem to know

And all my time is yours as much as mine

We never had enough

Time to show our love

Lyrics by Ride c. 1990.

Image by ChrisM

Waltzes, circles and crossroads

2008-11-24T20:33:00.011Z

C and I went to the flicks last night to see an extraordinary film - Waltz with Bashir. A full length animated film by Ari Folman, it tells the story of an ex-soldier in the Israeli/Lebanese war in 1980 and his search to find truth in his dreams/nightmares and hallucinations. Without doubt the most elegant and beautiful animation I have ever seen, this film is part documentary, part storytelling and has an incredible drive and pace. It is truly harrowing, but with elements of warmth and reaffirming humanity. Again, one of those films I don't need to see again for a long time (and...note to self...not unless you are really in the mood for such a heavy visual and emotional impact). 9/10 - go see.

On to other bobbins. This is truly a time of reflection and throwing your life out in front of you to evaluate what is going on, who you are, what you are, why you are and how that effects those around you. Alcoholics talk about reaching moments of clarity after going through fear, guilt, joy, self realisation - I can empathise (though don't drink enough red wine to see it through their particular eyes though thankfully). It has been and still is a roller coaster (and not a rubbish one like The Corkscrew...we're talking Oblivion territory here). I have been going through emotions not experienced for many years and it has knocked me for six to be perfectly honest. It is too easy to become entangled in what a fast paced society deems to be important and relevant, and is cathartic to take a big step back (I am as guilty as the next man for not doing this more often). The whole 'grass is always greener' attitude is good, as is to take what life throws at you and also recognise that things could be so much worse. We will all be continually tested in our lives and the challenge makes us stronger, even if we get the grey hairs or wrinkles to prove it. I see the positives in the negatives (no, really) and know what I must do for those most dear to me and myself.

Phew...and finally, I am saddened and properly sick of the celebration of celebrity in this country. Applaud achievement and champion pioneers, but don't let children aspire to the irresponsible, self obsessed and obnoxious private lives of such people. Being famous shouldn't an aspiration, it should be the recognition of talent, hard work and being an inspiration to others. As such I have stopped reading the free morning and evening rags and am concentrating purely on my books and tunes. Right...spleen vented...onward to the round-up...

Home - Took the train home to spend some much needed time with my family and friends. The usual script of walking int'Dales and doing the rounds. Spent some long overdue quality time with my best mucker Matt and for much of the night were the only punters in the excellent Tap and Spile. I miss such pubs living down here...and the beer for that matter. Also spend some great time with the rest of Le Famile Dragondrop - lovely to see them and chew the fat (salmon and curry - both great)! Went to the dentist - no probs, though I did get told off for drinking too much red wine and coffee.

Fodder - As a 'just because' surprise took C to Mini Mundus for a french feast. Snails and steak, great wine and all in the company and conversation of my lovely lady.

More fodder - Lennie our printer took me out for a mid-day Ruby. Great food and company, but my thoughts was elsewhere.

Heather - My old muckeress H stayed over - a really nice night and long-overdue chats, putting the world to rights, ciders and tunes.

Really loving listening to Radio 6 all day long at work and zoning out - it is a good distraction and focus at the moment. I'm sure there was more trivial stuff in-between, but the important stuff has overshadowed it.

All for now. Beep.

Let it flow

2008-11-14T21:53:00.007Z

In times like these, keep fighting for what is most precious and just let it flow.

Phew!

2008-11-05T13:11:00.005Z

Good on you BO! Now the real work begins - there's an awful lot to do and you've inherited quite a legacy from that muppet. Good luck.

Polar magnifica

2008-11-05T12:37:00.004Z

Those who frequent my Flickr site will be familiar with my Polar Coordinate photos. I've stumbled across a talented chap who has raised the bar and taken the concept to a whole new level. Check it out - quite amazing.

New waves riding...

2008-11-03T20:16:00.016Z

Excitedly awaiting the US election results on Thursday(ish). This could change a lot of things in our wee planet and if the result is as 'we' all hope will be a historic day. It feels like a real time of change in the wider and closer world. I feel like I'm being tested and challenged, and pushed out of my comfort zone in some areas of my life. A good thing I'm told, though scary as well. I'm not really a creature of habit, but like us all have fallen foul of the dreaded rut sometimes. Also, the seasons are on the move - I'm not a fan of the dark mornings and evenings (not to mention the endless drizzle), but every cycle and season has it's blessings when you look for them. I love nothing more than a crisp, clear day in the open air, even if it is cold - it's great seeing your breath in the cold air and walking up a sweat in beautiful countryside, with the promise of a good pint of bitter and pub lunch halfway round (can you tell I'm looking forward to going home next weekend)?!

A good mucker has told me about this dark time of year around Halloween and how the movement in the seasons and noodle can give people a wobble - yep, that'd be it then. Can't wait to see some of my close friends and family again too - they feel very far away at the moment and I feel the need to chew the fat and share the silences. The jobby job is as busy as ever, but am working on some stimulating things - just wish I had to 48hrs in the day I need to do them justice and experiment a bit. Been getting some global recognition on some work I've done and there's been a few photo-shoots recently (with more to come) which has been fun - even the odd glass of bubbly and canapes thrown in.

Before I round up, a huge congrats to Lewis Hamilton - this country needs a hero at the moment and he fits the cap (crash helmet) well - Good on him.

C's 30th Birthday Party - C and her best buds Darby and Lyd shared their collective 30th at Kisse Bar on Lavender Hill in Clapham. We had the whole bar to ourselves and had a fantastic night. Loads of people from all parts of their lives were there and everyone had a blast. Maria did an indie DJ slot which was cool and we all got very messy. Got to bed at wrong o'clock and spent most of the next day regrouping our marbles and finding comfort in food.

Drawing and flicking - Done a few new portrait type thingys: one of my good chum, the lovely Da Maria and one of my mentalist manager Donald. Very happy with both of them and the recipients even more so. A new set of orders has now come in, so plan to keep on a roll. Kept the steady flow of photos coming in as well - not too shabby, though feeling the need to use my D50 more. Also, haven't taken any film footage recently - Into the Light is fast becoming the most viewed and most favoured thing I have ever posted on Flickr. Taking photos at a press conference at the famed RAC club in Pall Mall early tomorrow morning. They're going to give me a bacon sarnie brekky too - result!

Underworld at Brixton Academy - A much needed night of jumping around to techno/electro/poetro and the like for Maria and I. Karl and Rick didn't disappoint - just like the old days - great show and my legs ached the next day from dancing so much. Haven't done that for a while and I needed the distraction from the usual bobbins. The gig was filmed and will be out on DVD soon too - that explains Karls sequin jacket, 'boxes/shelves/fishes' moves and inflatables! C went to Lucy's 3oth in London Bridge the same night and was still up when we got home which was cool - teas and chats until bed ways was right ways.

Burn after Reading - Excellent new offering from the brilliant Coen brothers. Quirky, dark and laugh-out-loud. Great casting and screenplay. Go see it. Bond was totally sold out (that'll be the rain then) - hopefully seeing it soon.

Aside from that I bought a scarf, found a new chord, improved on my already superb home-made burger/meatball recipe and descaled the kettle - it's all go (?!)...hmm...

Stormy clouds. New horizons.

2008-10-20T21:36:00.023+01:00

We live in interesting, but scary times my friends. A cascading economy caused by the greed of a relatively small number of people, bad advise taken by many more and ignorance of the warnings from those who been here before. Sickening it is indeed that powerful people who are being bailed out by, lets face it, public money will still be paid obscene bonuses for doing a bad job. I am cautiously concerned for myself and my dearest, but not panicking. Also fascinating to watch the imminent rise to power of America's first black president and the end of reign for the country's worst ever. Think back what the world was like in '94. How excited, energised and proud of ourselves we were and what we could achieve as a nation (and as a responsible developed world). The come down was more painful than many of us thought possible and the legacy will resonate for good time to come. As usual - I will watch with interest...

C and I have been busy bees, making the most of that there London and bimbling about before we get old and crusty. Here's a round-up:

Charlie and Phil's wedding in Worthing, Sussex - Lovely, happy, smiley day. Dancing, band, tears, great speeches, top food, terrible weather, crap hotel, too much champagne.

Dinner Club revival - Green and Reds in Bethnal Green with Maria and Rus. Fair to middling Mexican feast, not shabby, not amazing.

Billy Elliot - C's wedding anniversary present to me. Not a big fan of musicals, but this was just superb. The best thing I have seen in a theatre for years. Heartfelt, atmospheric, angst filled and humbling. 9/10.

Elbow at The Roundhouse - Ahh, our good friend Guy Garvey and his merry men from Manc (well, Bury). What a special gig, they are riding high this year and are getting their just rewards. The best we've seen them since Electric Picnic (when they nearly made me sob like a jessie - hard one to beat that)! The Roundhouse has the best sound too - maybe it's something to do with circles. Preceded by a lovely long walk in Richmond Park as we made the most of the last Indian Summer weekend we will be getting on these shores for quite a while.

Noah's birthday - Popped over to Mickleham to share a day in the sun with H, Kent and little (or not so little anymore) Noah - he's Two you know. Loved the Glockenspiel we bought him - not sure H and Kent did! Lovely walk to Leatherhead to ride on the miniature railway with him. Lovely day.

Spiritualized at The Roundhouse - Ladies and Gentleman, Maria and I floated in space (I would have seen more if I had - I hate being a short arse at gigs)?! Brilliant they were anyway, but after seeing MBV there, any attempt at a wall of sound wig-out just sounds like a pussycat snoring.

Chris and Jen's country pile in Littleworth, Oxfordshire - We love seeing these guys and staying in their amazing house. Good times, Chris's superb cooking and cellar, lovely Miley and little Coco, buggered my shoulder playing Wii.

Granny Di's and Papas - my lovely grand-in-laws. A great relaxing day, chats and papers. The best roast pork you will ever have the pleasure to chow down on.

New Toy - Harmon Kadron soundsticks II. Stupidly cheap off eBay and the lovely seller delivered them to the door. They look sound amazing and look fool as cuck.

Work - I've still got a job and in these times am grateful. Done some really good work recently. Designed some cool Flash eCards that the company will be using all over the world...even in Hull!

Quite a list - explains why I'm so skint. We are lucky to be able to get out and about so much and I am fully aware of that. Never been one to sit and scratch my arse anyway.

In between all this it's been a week of realisations, frustrations and reaffirmations. It's cathartic to ride the rough waves to remind you of how big the ocean is. Enough of the cryptics...there's a party to prepare for and it doesn't get much bigger than this one!

Escape to Veneto

2008-10-02T21:35:00.015+01:00

A great few weeks have passed - packed with fun stuff, good times and cool things. I'm not in the mood to waffle on, so here's a bit of a round-up:

First things first - a very happy birthday to my old muckers Matt and Mark (who were born a day apart). Sorry I couldn't be there to share the celebrations, but we'll make up for it soon.

A long awaited and much needed week away came around for C and I. Having left booking to the very last minute we headed off to Veneto in Italy. Based in Lide di Jesolo, just around the lagoon from Venice, we had a top week of relaxing and doing stuff. Lido is without doubt the largest 'resort' I have ever seen - 17km long with a main strip just as long parallel to the beach. Not really our sort of thing, but a decent enough base to explore the region. One good thing is that Lido is where the Italians tend to go for their hols, so it was relaxed and lacking in drunk Brits. The food was amazing too and we met some cool people plus quickly scoped out the only bars with live bands worth a mention. On our travels we went to Venice (amazing place - love it), Verona and Lake Garda (both equally beautiful) - all brilliant. Felt recharged, a stone heavier and ready to face the world again. Look a load of photos and videos.

Read a brilliant book whilst away - 'Once while travelling' by Tony Wheeler. In a nutshell it's the Lonely Planet story about how Tony and his missus Maureen travelled across Europe and Asia to Oz in the early 70s on very little before there was any sort of travel infrastructure, wrote a guide on how to do it...then went from there. A fascinating read and made me inspired, but green with envy and wanting to go travelling again...one day. On the subject - Bon Voyage to John and Rhainnon who are about to embark on a year long trip of a life time - be safe guys, take every opportunity, enjoy every moment and be good ambassadors for Yorkshire!

On our return we celebrated C's 30th in boozy style down at The Holy Drinker on Northcote Road - very long, happy, boozy night and cool to catch up with so many people. C was a happy bunny (though slightly and temporarily stunned by leaving her 20s behind)! A fairly hellish week back at work followed for both of us, punctuated by seeing Bloc Party - my anniversary present to C. Good gig - they played well, though not sure about the new songs. I wasn't on form at all and didn't really get into it - sorry C!

So that's up to date. A great weekend beckons which I will no doubt blog when the mood takes me - apologies for laziness in advance. I want to write things more meaningful, than just a round up of my daily bobbins, but at the very least this will be a diary I look back on to remember such bobbins. Feeling a bit out of sorts again at the moment and disillusioned by things - the bigger picture keeps flashing in front of my eyes when I get side tracked and fretted by daily blips. Need to keep focused. Sure it will pass. Oh look, there it goes...

Top tunes recommendations: The new GlasVegas, Mogwai and Kings of Leon albums. The first two are great, the third is effortless genius - I love that band.

For now...

Happy Birthday C!

2008-09-27T13:40:00.004+01:00

C, my lovely wife, turned 30 today - Yay! She opened her pressies, then I cooked her smoked salmon benedict (without the hollandaise) for breakfast. A fun day to come. Many congratulations baby!

Counting down...

2008-09-18T21:20:00.010+01:00

Once again, a few weeks between blogs so here is a bit of a catch-up. Things have been hectic, but good - the weeks are flying by and summer appears to have passed us by with little more than a semi-burn (I blinked and I missed it), but the world keeps turning and I have lots to be thankful for:

A fantastic day two weekends ago was Eddie and Lucy's wedding - What a brilliant, happy day! Lucy used to be a chorister in Bristol Cathedral when she was younger, and as such is permitted to also be married there! It is a very impressive building and it made the day all the more special. The reception was held on the top floor of Bristol's Science Museum - another amazing venue. Met some lovely people; was lucky enough to eat and drink like a king and danced like a tit in a West Country Ceilidh. As with all weddings the day sped by through having much fun, but we all had a great time sharing Lucy and Eddie's special day (they looked so happy) and it brought back fond memories of out wedding nearly a year ago to the day. After a wander around Bristol (and what a lovely city it is) with sore heads we headed back to London, did our chores then set about celebrating our first wedding anniversary:

The first Wedding Anniversary being Paper, C and I read each other's minds and bought tickets as presents - Bloc Party from myself, Billy Elliot from C. We had also put some pennies back and treated ourselves to an amazing slap up feast at our fav. local restaurant Chez Bruce - yum, hic, burp. Sunday was pretty much a write-off, but in the evening we went to see Rock'n'Rolla at the flicks. A return to form for Guy Ritchie, but basically it was more of the same - easy enjoyable viewing.

The week of work that followed was pretty full-on. I feel a 36hr day might just be enough to get on top of all the projects I am involved in, let alone the ad-hoc stuff that takes up most of my day anyway. I am keeping my head about water without much trouble, but some stuff I am barely denting. I can multi-task so well I put some women to shame these days though! My beloved Wacom tablet gave up the ghost after 3.5 years of punishment - I am lost without it these days. Currently writing a business case for a souped-up replacement in a work environment where non-fee earning staff have trouble fighting for investment. Anyway, some good stuff done this week - my Flash work is progressing and I really enjoy the projects. It's been fun to chug out a load of print work for a change, plus my involvement in some Global projects is getting welcome recognition.

Broke the week up on Wednesday by meeting Mark lad after work for our usual noodle dinner, then wandering London chewing the cud, flicking the shutters and larking about. Heather stayed over on Thursday for more of the same - all good fun and cool to spend some quality time with her.

Friday I powered though work then bobbed on the train up home to Harrogate. Popped straight in to DragonDropHQ where Tinanana's birthday was being celebrated. A chilled time sat round the firebin in the backyard chatting, a few beers and having laughs. Nice surprise to see my mucker PaintMonkey there too - lots of lovely catch ups. Saturday heralded a slight return for summer so my folks and I went for a walk in the countryside near Pannal - we picked enough blackberries for mum to make 7 jars of scrummy jam. Dinner with La Familia at Brio's in the evening, then went round to see my old friend Rhiannon who is about to embark on an epic year long round-the-world trip with her hubby Jonn - lucky so-and-so's - have an amazing time guys! Sunday I went to see my dear old Nan, then went to pick up my Godson Felix from cub camp, followed by a GeoCache hunt near Glassehouses with Matt and the kids. Note to self - don't where sandals in the Yorkshire countryside after the wettest summer on record - footwear malfunction! Cool to spend some quality time with my bestest bud and his lovely offspring (Sophie not pictured). A big sorry to Sophie Pie for knocking her head when I lifted her out of the car! :( Matt dropped me off at Leeds Station (I barely recognise the city where I went to Uni anymore). I shared a very enjoyable journey home chatting and sharing a bottle of wine with two seasoned and wise old travellers from Ohio - Pat and Mauren.

I've been whiling this week away ahead of a much needed break with C (who was at her show at the NEC most of the week). Saw Swervedriver at Scala with Maria and Rus on Wednesday - they've improved with age and were great. Reminded me why I liked them back in the early 90s. All loose ends are now tied up, voicemail and out-of-office activated. Artwork pre-flighted, packaged and deployed. Sites synced. Temp files trashed. Shutdown...wind down...depart...ciao...

The flaming altar of the modern temple of power

2008-09-01T20:28:00.006+01:00

Last Saturday I fulfilled a dream I have had for a long time - I got up close and personal with Battersea Power Station. This iconic building has always fascinated me, long before I moved to London and even as far back as childhood. For me it has always been a beautiful beast - a true design classic that loomed almost protective between north and south London. I used to almost fantasise about being let loose inside and finding all the old workings, control rooms and marveling at the superstructure. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott was a clever chap indeed - he also designed to Red Telephone Box and Bankside which now houses Tate Modern.

The power station has had several attempts at regeneration since the 80s, all of which were rejected or failed to raise the capital necessary. The creator of Alton Towers had a crack in 1993 with the idea of creating a theme park - it didn't get off the ground (good job - it looked awful), but much of the art decor interiors were ripped out during the preliminary work - this made me very angry when I found out! The current and successful idea is ambitious to say the least - it is a controversial project that will dwarf the power station when complete, but is very aesthetic, environmentally friendly and will put Battersea even more firmly on the map (they even diverting the northern line to create a new tube station)!

So then, I got down to the site first thing Saturday morning, which was the last day the power station was open the public before works begin...ever! Not surprisingly there were loads of photographers and a real sense of excitement in the air. We were led to a brilliant visitors centre then basically had the freedom to roam around the perimeter. The interior was unfortunately out of bounds due to health and safety, but this didn't spoil the whole experience. Brilliant morning - loved it. I will watch the regeneration with interest.

Spent the rest of the weekend doing odd jobs and giving out little flat a good old clean. Last night we went over to Thames Ditton to see Andy and Kath who have just moved down from Harrogate (Andy is going to study product design at Kingston Uni). Cool to have some new (old) friends down here to play with.

All for now - more soon.

A bit fishy.

2008-08-26T10:45:00.008+01:00

The nice peeps at NowPublic have asked to use my picture for an article on incorrect Fish labelling in Supermarkets (random, but relevant I guess). Thanks for the exposure guys.

Hunstanton, Moniave and Men on Wires

2008-08-25T18:51:00.009+01:00

It's always a good way to take stock and relax whilst away from home. Last weekend we were invited to stay at A Summer Place in Hunstanton, Norfolk by Bale and James. A perfect spot for a weekend out of the smoke, situated right on the sand dunes. Lots of good food (butterflied lamb shoulder BBQ), great company, daft drunken endurance games and long walks down the beach and through picturesque villages. Very relaxing indeedy do - a beautiful part of the world. Set us both up for the now norm of full throttle work week. Got back in the swing of taking a steady stream of piccies - loving my Pentax W30's amazing Macro capabilities. Such a great little camera for the price and some sweeet, quirky features. Big credits to DragonDrop for endorsing it's predecessor the W20 a year or so ago. Keeping the momentum going on the video stuff too - need to learn not to rush the 'post-production' and to trash ideas that don't work on instinct. I sometimes don't listen to my gut critic when I should. Anyway, took a load of footage that will come to light in some form soon(ish).

Went to see a fantastic film with Mark on Wednesday - Man on Wire. Documentary about Phillipe Petit's build up to and ultimate tightrope walk between the Twin Towers in 1974. An inspiration to any human being, Petit is a rare breed amongst driven human beings, whose passion shone though every part of his life (and still does - he survived...with a big smile on his face too). A huge amount of vintage Super 8 footage charts up his early life as a Parisian street performer, his relationships, challenges, plans and achievements made on a wire between very high buildings (Notre Damn and Sydney Harbour Bridge to name a few). Even the cop that arrested him after his successful 40 walks between the towers (in one sitting), said he would never meet such a person or see such things ever again. The sort of bloke I would love to be sat next to at a wedding breakfast...if I could get a word in H-ways. To be honest, he has led such an amazing life I could quite happily just sit and listen. Aceness. 8.5/10.

Just got back from a great, if wet, long weekend in Moniave, Scotland - home of my lovely in-laws Clare, Alastair and Jenny. The usual lovely weekend of walks, epic paper reading, farm smells, good food and fine wine (Alastair keeps a sensational cellar) ensued. Lovely to see them all again and we were thoroughly spoilt. It all went far too quickly as per usual and now we are back in Londinium fending off Sunday (Monday) blues with a fine fish curry.

A short, but sweet blog this week - not in the mood to post much more, but not for the wrong reasons. :)

Monkeys, Monsoons and Dark Knights

2008-08-09T14:26:00.009+01:00

Where is this year going? Quite shocked that it's August already and this begs the question 'where is the summer weather'? It's been a bit of the moist side so far and truly monsoon like in some regions (such as my parents in law - not good when you're a farmer who needs to put hay out). I've been a bit slack with blogging recently, though not through a lack of things to write. Had the pleasure of PaintMonkey's company at VapourTrail Towers last weekend. C was away so we had two days free to get on the old urban safari - lots of relaxing, chewing the fat, photography, exploring London and of course micro-blogging (not so much me though). Met up with that young Mark lad on the Saturday as well which was cool. PM was in photo heaven and took some amazing shots. Some of mine weren't too shabby either. A thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing weekend - I think PM had a great time and look forward to seeing him and other friends down here again soon. I miss them all very much. It's not as scary and bonkers down here as some people think, and it's always fun to be an ambassador for our capital.

Had a pretty draining week of work - energy levels are quite low at the moment, though I am putting it down to this muggy weather as much as the amount of stuff I am doing. The Tube is just unbearable at the moment - I always have a full bottle of water and sit as close to the carriage window as possible - it's still a sweat-fest though. A fair amount of freelance stuff has come to light recently: I've sold an illustration to an American charity for their branding, a few photos here and there, a new range of gatefold flyers for a returning client/friend, but most excitingly a major broadcaster has shown interest in my recent videos for sequences in documentaries - all encouraging stuff. Decided to treat myself to a little something as a result (I don't do so often enough): Novus were the watch making arm of the American electronics company National Semiconductor in the 70s, and made some true design classics when digital timekeeping was in it's infancy. The company is now defunct, but I have wanted to own one of their watches for years. A very rare piece in great condition came up for auction on eBay and I was lucky enough to win it. It was made in the year I was born - check it out! I should add that this is not the site I bought it from or the price I paid (it cost less thankfully)! There are a few rarer models out there that I would love, but I might have to wait for a lottery win for them!

After work on Friday C and I met up with Mike and Lou for a spot of dinner, then over to the IMAX to see The Dark Knight. Great film and fantastic to see it on the largest screen in the UK, but not sure it quite lived up to the hype. Ledger is amazing - no doubt about it, but is he really on screen long enough? Me no think so. Batman's 'in costume' voice is a bit over exaggerated too. But, I pick at straws - the pace, action, sets and just about everything else is superb. I would like to see it on at a regular cinema or on DVD as I spent most of the time darting my head from side to side trying to take it all in on such a massive screen.

A fairly low key weekend - stayed over at Heather and Kent's in Mickleham last night for a BBQ (well, a grill - the weather saw to that), then headed back to London this morning to meet Maria and brave the west-end. Had to find a new suit in the sales (lots of weddings coming up, so needs be). Totally knackered now, satisfyingly full on stir fried salmon with noodles and loving the Olympics - can't get enough.

New tunes that I can recommend highly: British Sea Power - Do you like Rock Music? Fantastic stuff, especially the song Great Skua. Might have to borrow it for one of my little films. Also, Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs.

Need to sleep - need to recharge the batteries, as they will be working on maximum come Monday. Lots on my mind and lots to take stock off - always a good thing to review the content of the grey matter once in a while. A fun week ahead though work aside and a weekend away at the coast is to come.

Why so serious?

Ay up, it's our day!

2008-08-01T21:09:00.002+01:00

Today is Yorkshire Day. Today Yorkshireman and women celebrate the fact that we come from the best county in the UK and everything that is brilliant about it. There's nowt better lad!

Wake'n'Bacon

2008-08-01T11:45:00.003+01:00

Genius!

http://www.mathlete.com/portfolio/wakeNbacon.php

Into the heat

2008-07-29T20:40:00.010+01:00

For the first part of last week I was in recovery - just can't do 4 days in a row anymore (see Latitude). Actually, let me re-phrase that...I can party 4 days in a row, but my body takes another 4 days to get over it. So anyway, had Monday and Tuesday booked off and relaxed plus felt a bit guilty when my wife (who is younger, so technically doesn't need as much recovery time) went to work. I was greeted by the usual 120 emails on Wednesday and spent the rest of the week ploughing through them, so didn't actually get to any of my projects until Friday...when it was time for another weekend - Yay!

There was a bit of a family crisis (more a need for us to pull together to help an injured party), so we cruised up the A1 home to Harrogate after work. Mum and Dad were on really good form. We spent much of Saturday sat in their garden reading the papers, drinking lemonade and avoiding sunburn (I failed), popped in to see my Nan then a great night out with lots of old friends outside Blues Bar - just like old times. Brilliant. Sunday drove over to that there Knaresborough to see PM and the adorable Moo - drinks down by the river and nice walk in the sunshine. Also picked up the fantastic paintings he has done for us - so chuffed with them I can't tell you! Just need a flat big enough to do them justice now! Had a quick lunch with Jonn and Rhiannon (who are going on an epic travelling odyssey - lucky so and so's), then did record time back down to London with daylight to spare.

It's seriously hot down here now - so much so that the Northern Line is getting a little saunaesque and horrible. I really should be cycling to work or something, but the thought of getting knocked off and squashed by a bendy-bus is putting me off. Even the over-land option is a sweat-fest, so I just grin and bare it. Drinking lites of water a day though and feeling the detox. Managed to loose nearly 3/4 of a stone somewhere in the past 6 weeks too - not sure how, given I've eaten some right lardy feasts.

A cool weekend to come once this mentalist week of work is finished. C is away on another Hen (that's not the cool part I should add), but PM is coming down for a relaxing weekend in The Smoke...if such a thing exists. Really looking forward to spending some quality time with him and praying the weather stays good - expect much micro-blogging and Flickring to follow.

Both PM and MN mentioned feeling on the cusp of something in recent blogs - must be something in this heat because I've felt the same recently...just got to work out to what the cusp belongs...or what to do about it.

...and longitude.

2008-07-24T17:17:00.010+01:00

Slap wrists VapourTrail - it's been a few weeks since my last post!

Lots has happened, though I bet I will forget to mention quite a lot - some weaves and turns, ducks and dives, frights and reliefs, surprises and predictability etc. My Dad and Jaygo had birthdays so very 'appy days to them. Seen lots of friends - Heather, Chris M, Amelia, Giles. C and I got out in the sunshine for long walks int'nature and had lots of chill time, carpet picnics etc. Saw a few films - Hancock was pretty easy viewing and good fun. Started a great new book - The Pump House Gang by Tom Wolfe - fantastic and can't wait to read more of his stuff (thanks Sam). Was reading Piers Morgan's memoirs - got bored, not my scene at all. Some great new music - Another top album from Rod y Gab - Le Foc. Also Songs in A&E from the amazing Spritualized - superb and lovely listening.

My Flickr collection of stuff has been swelling nicely as well. Enjoying making the mini-movie clips and have got lots of ideas for new ones. Need to work on the image quality whilst keeping the file sizes down though - probably can't have one with the other, but I will investigate. Have sold a few more images and had requests for others to adorn walls of family and friends. There's even been a touch of freelance work come to light from a friend/past client which is a welcome thingy wotsit.

Main thing worthy of bloggage was Latitude last weekend - Been looking forward to it for ages. Situated just outside Southwold - A beautiful part of the world for a beautiful festie. We went with old friends Chris and Marianne from that there Yorkshire. This was a great event - highly eclectic in it's design, offerings and the demographic it is aimed at. There were loads of families with kids (of all ages) which gave the place a great vibe, plus people from all backgrounds and interests. There was the music stages, theatre, comedy, poetry, cabaret, performance art, installations, happenings - there was nothing left out. Even the food was organic, wildly varied and top-notch - result. A great size too - only 25,000 people and quite a small site. The whole weekend just flew which is always a sign of a good time and the weather was generally good. Can't recommend this festival highly enough, especially if you have kids but also want to option to party until sunrise.

Could waffle on for ages, but here are the greatest hits of the festival from my point of view: The Burlesque Caberet Tent (that was bizarrely full of toddlers as well as adults most of the time); Ross Noble's impromptu 3,000 people strong conga train through the grounds who then proceeded ask every Vegan stall for sausage rolls for the rest of the festival; Bill Bailey's set; The Go-Team; Sea Sick Steve; Sigur Ros (that part I remember anyway); Elbow; Franz Ferdinand; Blondie (she was fan-bloody-tastic); Deathray Trebuchey (these guys were simply amazing - trippy brass based post modern ska madness); The pink sheep grazing by the lake; the floating orb flutist and light show; the Caribbean curried goat and dumplings; the lack of idiots and beer monsters; The Sunshine Stage high in the woods; Stewart Lee's comedy set; The mushroom risotto; having a blow up mattress to sleep on for the first time;

Back to the daily grind now, but in lovely summer heat - makes even the crapest day seem bearable. I had a wee epiphany whilst at Latitude and this plus other events of the past few weeks have reaffirmed to me how precious our lives and consciousness are, and most importantly how these should be treasured and not treated flippantly. Life is not a rehearsal.

I promise not to leave it so long next time.

Weather permitting

2008-07-06T18:54:00.015+01:00

Not too shabby a week all in all. C and I have appeared to do swappsies on the having of late nights. I finished 'on time' most of the week whilst she (being the socialite that she is) was out nearly every night. Had an impromptu after work drink on Wednesday, that turned into drinks which was a fun. Suffered the next day - I'm rubbish at work on hangovers...in fact my hangovers are generally pretty rubbish these days...listen to your body is the message there I think!

My old Harrogate friend Heather stayed over on Thursday which was great - the three of us had a right old catch up and made it to bed far too late and cidered for a school night - two in a row, doh! Luckily I was working from home on Friday (waiting in from 9-6 for the gasman) which saves having to endure the now summer heated tube with a sore head (not to mention the imminent lack of sympathy from colleagues)! Work have graciously given me a new IBM Thinkpad and a company mobile, so now I can work from home almost seamlessly (once I'd spent an hour on the phone to IT sort teething problems out). I was actually busier than if I had been in the office - I seemed to spend the whole day on the phone and answering emails. Also every workman in Wandsworth was working on our road, so it was pretty hard to concentrate above the sound of drills and stone blasting. Nice to sit around in shorts and t-shirt with the radio on and a decent cup of tea to sip on whilst I worked though.

C had driven to North Devon on Friday morning with the girls for Lucy's hen do - sounds like a right laugh. The plan was surfing, BBQs on the beach, games and liberal dose of pub time. I pitied the other people staying on the caravan site though! So I had another weekend to myself then. I'd arranged to meet Lou's boyfriend Chris and his mate Arthur for some drinks in town in the evening. We started at The Blue Posts, then as we were all a bit skint systematically searched out every Samuel Smiths pub we could in Soho (not hard, there's loads, plus the beer's amongst the cheapest and tastiest in the capital). Top night - talked the arse off every subject going and put the world to rights. Got kicked out of the last place (because it was closing, not because we were being naughty) and got home on auto-pilot. No more drinking for a good few days. Forgot to say - Banksy's latest piece was outside The Blue Post - the little tinker!

As per usual after a heavy night I woke up at the crack of dawn, so got up and after popping to buy the papers and polishing off brekky, I finished a bit of work that had been bugging me then carried on to enjoy my weekend with a 'clear' head. The sun was shining brightly and I fancied a good old hike so...got the train to Victoria, walked to Buckingham Palace then down The Mall; popped into the ICA; headed to Trafalgar Square, down Strand to Embankment; over the river to the South Bank (mooched around a bit), back over the river (watched a brass band near Charing Cross) walked through St.James' Park and back to Victoria. Train to Clapham Junction, bought pesto and herb plants at the Northcote Road farmers market then walked home though Wandsworth Common - great long walk and the sun shone on me all the way.

It poured down with rain most of today, so bar a quick visit to Kings Road I was flatbound. Did loads of experimenting with movie footage I had taken with iMovie - not bad for an entry level video app. Resisted the temptation to use most of the quirky 'filter' effects (as also resist with Photoshop). Can see the potential to do some great stuff, so watch out for more video on Flickr. Check out my latest photos also. Our TV died on Saturday morning and although it's been annoying not be able to watch Wimbledon I have listened to loads more radio than I usually would and really enjoyed it - Radio 2, 6, XFM and NME.

Top tune purchase this week has been The Bees - Sound Selection. An excellent album of covers inspired by the band's pre/post gig DJ sets. A band I only discovered a few years ago, but can thoroughly endorse their tripped out blues funk..er...stuff. Some choice versions on this album as well. Get it - it's great low slung summer music.

A fairly intense week ahead (during the day at least) - several deadlines to hit and a few lateys expected. Counting down the days to latitude - preying for some forgiving weather.

Pip pip.

Down time

2008-06-29T22:29:00.005+01:00

In sharp contrast to DragonDrop's weekend, we have had 2 days of relative inertia. Feeling slightly burnt out from some very busy weeks of work (of which there are still more to come), we shelved all plans of running around this weekend and just relaxed. We were, in a word, knackered and needed it.

A perfect start to the weekend was a trip over to East Dulwich to see new parents Sam, Lizzie and the beautiful new edition to their family Elfie. What a little angel she is and they are such proud parents (and understandably tired)! Lizzie's mum made us cheese and cucumber sandwiches - not had that particularly combination since primary school lunches - strange how tastes can trigger long filed away memories. Took a very long route home trying to find a garage that would fix our chipped windscreen to no avail and popped into Modern Metropolis, a great retro emporium not far from our house. It is filled with the most amazing furniture, lighting, fittings and objects d'art - many of which trigger the line 'I remember that chair from when I was little' or 'my mate's cool folks had that sofa'. It's a great place and a little dangerous if you have any money in your pocket. In the name of retail therapy C bought a cool white and green plastic globe desk mirror and pole slide side lamp - both 60s originals...nice (and cheap). Apart from a trip to Wimbledon on Sunday not much got done apart from that. Ploughed through the papers, watched a load of Wimbledon, Glastonbury (Jay-Z was great for the festival - what was all the fuss about) and the Euro 08 final (yay Espana), did the usual chores and necessities.

Extremely sickened that Robert Mugabe has been sworn in for another term - those poor, poor people. How on earth is he allowed to get away with such blatant brutality and steal power like that? I don't know enough about the politics of the region, but can someone enlighten me as to why his neighbours (or the UN) are not intervening on the grounds of human rights, displacement and genocide? He is not alone in the world of being a vicious dictator, but that fact that he's not even trying to hide his actions is just appalling.

My noodle had a bit of wobble this weekend - the catalyst was something really daft. I've soaked it in soy sauce for a bit and it seems better now.

Mind the gap - it's sometimes wider than it looks.

It's only a job

2008-06-26T18:46:00.008+01:00

I was re-reading a link that a colleague sent me today and with what's going on in my work life at the moment it seemed quite apt and valid to share it (apologies for length...as they say on b3ta)!

1. Simple rules
There are a lot of choices to make over the course of a lifetime. That’s why it’s important to have some simple rules in place to guide one’s actions. As odd as it may seem, something as basic as “be nice to everyone” saves a lot of time and thought.

2. Surround yourself with people who are better than you
This morning I spent twenty minutes on the treadmill. Whenever the fellow beside me sped-up, I found myself instinctively wanting to do the same.People who are better than you help you forget your own perceived limitations.

3. Choice and outcome

For everything new I do, I learn something; therefore, it can’t be a waste of time. Repeat efforts, however, have to be measured carefully to ensure they are not just time-consuming bad habits.

4. Talk to your clients like they are your spouse
When I start to think of others as “them”, something is lost. When I can find a way to cut through the formalities, however, something real happens.

5. Perception is sometimes more relevant than actuality

Garrett has silver hair, a charming smile and wears a pair of smart, dark-rimmed glasses. He is intelligent and speaks with confidence. In a room of executives, everyone takes notice and listens intently to what he has to say.One day I bumped into him on the street. He was as articulate as ever, but his hair had grown somewhat long, and he wore a less flattering pair of glasses. I found myself somehow less “taken” by the discussion.Other than two small aspects of his appearance, nothing had changed; yet, this was enough to detract from his message. What you say is often less important than what people hear (or see).

6. Set the bar high

If you want to run a 5k, become a marathoner. As a result, you’ll find that 5k runs become a piece of cake.By setting goals higher than you feel achievable, even your failures can be spectacular.

7. Busy-ness as a path to nowhere

There’s a fellow down the street that picks up bottles all day. He works much harder than the executive in the office tower but earns far less. It’s not by any means fair.Most of us get caught up in being busy, instead of concentrating on what are accomplishing. This feels satisfying, as all of our peers are doing the same. (Logic suggests this is simply a bad habit.)Get “un-busy”; determine where your wealth and happiness come from, and put your resources into that.

8. Take a moment

The urgency to respond to a situation can be perilous.When confronted by unwelcome news try this: breathe, acknowledge, and continue about your business.In five minutes you’ll see the situation more clearly. You might appreciate not having leapt to a response.

9. Today’s problems

It’s easy to look ahead and start thinking about potential problems and how you might solve them.Some of these problems will never occur, so this is time wasted.There are always plenty of problems needing to be solved. Just concentrate on today’s.

10. They won’t shoot you

When you are really stressed out at the office, rushing about in a frantic mess, try to remember that there are very few mistakes that will result in you getting shot. Take a breath and put the situation into perspective. It is probably a smaller issue than you think (at least in the long-term).

...and with that I am off home to put my feet up.

Taste My Bloody Eardrums

2008-06-23T21:24:00.009+01:00

Still feeling like a bit of weekender. Last week was an 8 on the bonkersly busy scale - did loads, loads still to do, annoying set backs, lots of achievements. Although we are working to a deadline of July 1st it has become more apparent that the teething problems after launch will make things just as nuts. Bring it on - I'm feeling energised and motivated.

Left work bang on 5:30pm on Friday - the earliest for a least a month. C has a friend who works at Channel 4 who very kindly gave us some tickets for Taste in Regents Park. A foodie festival basically where top London restaurants, food producers and chefs set up stalls and punt sample dishes to the gastronomically minded. All good fun and very well laid out event. Had some great 'samples' of nosh - finally tried Wagyu Beef from Cocoon - (yep, it's damn good), some amazing Gelatti and Anthony Worrel-Thompson's hog roast. The only thing I will say is it was very overpriced for what you got. If we had paid it would have been £25 each to get in, then as each (very small) sample dish starts at £5 and you need at least 5 to feel even slightly satisfied it gets very expensive, even though the food is exceptionally good.

Saturday we chilled, then went round to see Mike and Lou in Croydon. Good fun night playing games, chowing down, messing about with light sabres and being merry. Got totally lost trying to get out trying to find the M25 next day, but eventually got on our way to Amersham to see C's Grandpa and her Mum who is down to look after him for a few days. Lovely relaxing summer Sunday in the home counties. Sunday Roast, G&T in the garden, games of boules...all very civilised. Lovely and hot and great to see Clare and Robert again. We bought our tent to put up in the garden - reason being we packed it away damp in 2006 after a festival and haven't opened it since! It ponged, but nothing a few hours airing and a squirt of air freshener couldn't solve. C drove home and I jumped on the tube back to Marleybone - how nice to be on a tube that is above ground and travelling through the Buckinghamshire countryside instead of dark sweaty tunnel...

I last saw My Bloody Valentine on the Rollercoaster tour in 1991 with Dinosaur Jr, Jesus and Mary Chain and Blur. They have always had a special place in my record collection and are a truly pioneering band. Their seminal album Loveless will often be found in any '50 albums to hear before you die' listing. On first listening they can be an uncomfortable band to appreciate - they employ huge layers of guitars, effects, disjointed harmonies and awkward melodies...but, the more you listen to them the more they grow on you and eventually you are hooked. It really is addictive stuff. The vocals are thin and ethereal and basically lost in the mix, but it just doesn't matter, because the spiralling whirlwind of everything else just binds the whole thing together. All I could remember of the '91 gig was they were very good and very, very loud. Well, 17 years later and they have reformed to finish the album they started of the same year and play a few gigs. Myself and some friends bought a load of tickets months ago for Sunday's gig at the Roundhouse in Camden Town - a fantastic and very famous venue in English contemporary musical history (The Doors and Pink Floyd played early gigs there). In short they were fantastic - incredible sound and visual effects. They played the same set list as their last gig and it was faultless. The last song is their single 'You made me realise' which is famous for it's 30 seconds of white noise shit storm in the middle...at this gig it lasted 20 minutes! When the venue staff handed out ear-plugs on the way in I thought it was a PR stunt or 'statement', not a necessity. I had to move further back to stop my tonsils sweating and my ribcage caving in. I have never heard such a monstrous, but beautiful sound. Although it is near painful, it is totally entrancing and you couldn't tear yourself away from it. Definitely in one of the top 5 gigs I've ever been to. 10/10. Can't wait for the new album, though at their current rate of production I will be an old man by the time they release it!

Tunes of the week: Vampire Weekend's and Fleet Foxes's new albums. Top stuff - check them out.

Finally a massive thank you to PaintMonkey. We commissioned him to put brush/palette knife to canvas for us a good few weeks ago and he has created a beautiful piece of work for us. We look forward to growing old with it on a wall wherever we call home.

Until next time...

More exposure

2008-06-19T17:26:00.005+01:00

Another website (well a business blog) has requested to use one of my photos. Check it out.

Weekender

2008-06-16T21:24:00.007+01:00

I've certainly earned my groats these past few weeks. The past few weeks have probably been the busiest I have ever been in that there job. It's been a steep learning curve in some areas, a baptism of fire in others and great experience all round...dare I say it's even fun? To be honest, the most stressful part of it is that it hasn't been planned very well, which meant those few involved in making it happen ran around at 10 different directions at once for a good few days due to the geographies, complexities and logistics involved. There is more focus and direction now, but still a lot to do. Have well and truly ticked the branding part of my job title now. The only down side is that I've been getting home late, having my tea and then basically it's bed time. It's not going to be like this permanently and I am happy to put the extra miles in to get a good job done. The result is I have been looking forward to my weekends much more than usual...

C was away at a christening in Gloucester this weekend with Darbs, so I had a few days to myself for the first time in ages. Aside from a much needed lie-in on Saturday I vowed to make the most of the weekend: Did the necessaries - food shopping, cleaning, odd jobs and loose end tying. Then spent most of the afternoon playing guitar (acoustic - batteries dead on fx pedals). I used to play loads and have become quite lazy as of late, but it didn't take long to get that great feeling back. Taught myself some Hispanic semi-percussion rhythms I've been listening to a lot recently and even did a load of picking exercises that become quite mantric after a while. Got totally lost in playing for ages - I have really missed it. Must have killed about 4 hrs solid and my fingers were nearly bleeding by the end - great fun. Rang Mark to see if he was about, but he was working to a deadline and as no one else was in town I resigned myself to a night in with a nice meal, good bottle of red and a film (read: no mates). I know it's tedious to write about what you had for dinner, but this is my blog, my hit ratings are down anyway and it was really nice so...Pan fried Salmon fillet; lemon, onion and parsley risotto, and flash fried courgette and carrot shavings. I rule.

I've been meaning to see Into the Wild for ages. It is the true story of a young college graduate who decides to go travelling in the early 90s, but totally shun the materialism that appears to surround his life and try to literally live off the land where he can, as he works up the US from Virginia to Alaska. He takes everything to the extreme and cuts off contact with his family and friends (who naturally worry themselves silly) for nearly a year, whilst surviving on whatever he kills or finds. The solace, inner peace and sense of freedom he finds is also extreme, but the further he finds himself in his journey the more you feel for those he has abandoned without thought for their state of mind. His parents inability for show the love he craves, instead of showering him with material love is what pushes him away and he (un)intentionally punishes them for it. At first I related to him trying to find some reality in a world of fake ideals and misunderstood emotion; then I worried about him as his quest became an obsession and affected his health; finally, I hated him for his selfishness. His routes bring him back to an abandoned old bus which becomes a home from home and finally his grave. A very long, very thought provoking and inspired film. Totally deserves all the nominations and should have won more. 9/10.

Sunday I was up very early, grabbed by camera and was out the house. Headed down to Waterloo to see the result of Cans Festival, where an entire 200m underpass has been transformed in a free for all street art festival. The brainchild of Banksy who features several times, it is a visual treat. Some of the works are huge, some tiny, some simple, some wildly detailed. What a brilliant idea and it's venue is the perfect canvas. People are still free to draw there and it will just grow and grow. It'll be there until someone else paints other stuff over it...and then it will have just evolved. Go and see it if you can. Here's some of my photos. Spent the rest of the day wandering around the South Bank which has a big festival going on with loads of amazing jazz, latin and percussion bands, food stalls and performers - a great way to kill a few hours and the sun was shining.

Around late afternoon I headed to Parliament Sq. when Stop the War Coalition were preparing to 'welcome' George Bush to Westminster - a fascinating scene. A real charged atmosphere full of tension and expectation in the air as people unloaded piles of placards, dressed as judges (to attempt to arrest bush apparently), hippies playing guitars, people from numerous nationalities shouting into megaphones, journalists yakking on phones, camera crews and a shifty looking nun. Chatted to a few people, some of whom have been camped across the road from Parliament demonstrating for several years, others were activists from various organisations, others just came down to see what was going on...a bit like me. Kick off was 5pm - Walked for a little bit, but when someone offered me a broken placard for a weapon when the police line closed in round the corner I decided to watch from a distance.

Finished a great book last weekend as well. Bill Bryson's - The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt kid. Bryson is always an easy, laugh out loud read and that was what I fancied. This book is great - a look through the magnifying glass into childhood in 50s America. It really is quite amazing how much the world and it's values have changed. Bryson makes it all sound so engagingly innocent, timeless yet surreal...but then childhood often feels like that as I remember. Imagine living in a time where atomic bomb tests were a spectator event and you could actually book to stay at the Atomic Hotel in Nevada in a travel agents whilst you did! That said, the stuff he got up to with his friends didn't seem that different to when I was a kid and he celebrates the ability to spend endless summers playing in the street, creating entertainment out of very little except our imaginations - something many of the kids of the current generation I feel may have lost. Top book. Might read another one of his soon.

Some great new tunes discovered over the past few weeks as well. Firstly, Rodrigo y Gabriela - I can't rate these guys highly enough and last week bought their Live in Manchester and Dublin album. Their style sounds like a novelty on paper - metal riffs combined with Hispanic classical picking and intricate soundboard percussion, but it is quite simply amazing and dare I say has revolutionised guitar playing to a certain extent. I've seen their name low down on festival lines ups for a few year and always wondered who they were, but now they are really starting to make waves. Watch some of the videos on the site - I defy you not to be intrigued and later hooked.

Second is Sennen. A Norwich 4 piece (one of whom it turns out I know and works at the same company) who if you had to try to describe their sound it would be like Mogwai singing Simon and Garfunkel...if you can imagine such a thing. Brilliant chiming interchanging guitars, haunting harmonies, charging, then walking, then climbing bass lines and some very inventive and intricate (but sounds effortlessly simple - you clever bastard) drumming. A real journey 'album' as well instead of 10 songs in a certain order. Stripped down and chiming 3 minute indie pop songs and huge 7 minute wall of sound anthems. These boys have listened to more than their fair share of Spacemen 3 in their time, amongst others, but any influence is respectfully built upon and not imitated. Some gorgeous tunes and a triumph of an album - can't stop playing it. 9/10.

That's about it really. I was checking my hit stats recently and noticed that my blogs in less happy times seem to get the most traffic. I don't tag them 'misery guts, moody git or self-pitying northern monkey etc.' so I wonder why that is? It's just what's going on in my own journey along the mortal coil and isn't pretending to be anything else. Actually - top tip: If you want loads of hits, just tag your blog with Star Wars - instant popularity (and a lot of disappointed SW fans). I should imagine tagging Holly Willoughby or Brad Pitt has a similar effect. Anyway, whilst I'm on a relatively good run I don't intend to start bitching for the sake of it, so stop reading if you like...see if I care...oh, right...you're going are you?...well, bye then...are you still there?...hello...hellooo...

...and relax...

2008-06-08T21:41:00.006+01:00

Sleep patterns, now there's a thing. I am lucky in that I generally sleep quite well, even in my sad face periods. During the week (and especially in winter) I find it a real struggle to get out of bed in the morning. It's not because I don't want to get up, even though work might make it little less easy, rather I feel constantly knackered. When the weekend comes I always promise myself a lie-in, but wake up about 5am, think about stuff for a bit, try to wake C up, get a frosty response and so I get up. I love that time in the morning when no one else is up, dawn is coming up (hi dawn) and everything outside is coming to life. I usually make myself a nice cup of coffee, put the radio on and 'do stuff'. My internal clock has this setting at weekends...'you've worked hard all week, now get up and make the most of the weekend'. Ironically I am usually the first to go to bed...not because I am a lightweight (it has been mentioned in the past), but because the same internal clock just shuts the rest of my body down. There are more and more occasions where the second wind takes effect and I can carry on into the next afternoon, but these are random. My old mucker DD has the opposite - he can function on very little sleep (and keep his sense of humour as well - respect). Maybe that's what having kids does for you - you just learn to function on less. Something I wait to experience with interest. So that's sleep...

Our first 'free' weekend for about 2 months came around. Plans were chucked around...exhibitions...mammoth walks, but in the end what we settled for no plans and decided to just see what happens. A more lazy relaxing weekend I haven't had for a long time. Read the papers in near entirety, listened to the radio, ate comfort food, walked in the common and recharged. Saturday night was a break from the plan by going to see Maria and Rus in their new trendy pad in Old Street. Very nice it is too and even has cool triangular balcony. Had a top nosh dinner then went out to sample some of their new locals. Old Street has over the past 5 years become very 'cool'. There are some great pubs and venues, but to be honest it started feeling like a Nathan Barley convention sometimes, with everyone trying to out cool each other and wondering who's famous/popular so they can latch on to them. Maybe because I'm not very cool anymore (C says different)...no, actually some of the people were just a bit pretentious and fake. Sorry for the negativity there - just an observation - feel free to comment...oh, and I had the worst pint of Theakstons ever, ever, ever...that didn't help.

Spent today mostly horizontal on Wandsworth Common reading more papers, my book and soaking up the very hot sun. Very lazy and well deserved. Now watching Glastonbury the film and although I still hold the same values as I did when I first started going to festivals 1989, can't help feeling I've sold out a little bit. Unavoidable possibly, or I just grew to like home comforts a bit more than I did back then (well hot water is quite nice in winter isn't it). Hey ho - Latitude is not far away...can't wait.

Not going to touch on work too much, but last week was without doubt the busiest I've ever had, and the one to come with be more so. Also, I'm branding a new company (and everything that goes with branding) on my own on top of my already packed project list. Good experience and dare I say fun...a bit more time wouldn't have gone a-miss though. Story of a designer's life.

Fair thee well.

Censorship, Security or short-sighted?

2008-06-03T21:46:00.011+01:00

Over the past week a large amount of websites have been banned at work. First, IT in their wisdom banned all stock image and media websites. The reason being that all had imagery tagged with 'nude', 'flesh' or 'naked' suggesting pornography (you can still access The Sun, The Star, FHM and many other sites that could contain similar material...not that I do you see...just went on for research...)! As you can imagine this went down like a sack of cack with all the designers who use these websites to buy/share/sell imagery for work (and outside work for that matter). I managed to get them quickly unblocked and received an apology from those concerned in the IT crowd, but it highlighted an increased level of censorship/paranoia amongst the corporate world. I understand risk and security in the modern age, but moderation, investigation and individual merit of usage must be observed...otherwise we may as well be seen as sheep...baa!

Social networking sites have been banned for a while, mainly because people were spending too much time chatting to mates etc. I can sort of understand that, but YouTube's blocking was a bit puzzling. I even explained to the Firewall managers how it is an effective marketing, research and resource tool. The response was that so many people were looking at videos during their lunch hour, that the company's bandwidth limits were being breached...erm...a multi-national with a huge LAN config. can't cope with what can't be that many daily video downloads?! I suspect they just feared people were spending too much time on it and not enough working. As What really got my goat was loosing access to Flickr and Twitter. I wondered how long the later would last as it has little work relevance (and I can still post by phone), but Flickr (loves you)?! Promptly threw my rattle out of my proverbial pram and got access back sharpish.

So, aside from that work has been pretty much all consuming and will continue to be for the next few weeks. I seem to have my fingers in so many pies in this job that I barely have time to take a nibble, let alone a bite. I have some major projects on the go at the moment, as well as juggling the daily design work and branding help desk type stuff. The bureaucracy and politics seems to make my job 10 times harder - on paper a project is simple if executed efficiently and communicated well, but inherent issues such as pricing wars, difficult personalities and lack of value for creative solutions create mountains out of mole hills. I'm sure it's the same in many other companies, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating. Shouldn't grumble though, it the current economic climate I am grateful to have the job I do.

The weekend was fun. We went to stay with Chris and Jen in Littleworth, Oxfordshire again on Saturday. Top night with BBQ, wine, banter and making a fuss of their cute dogs. We bought Chris an huge Cuban Cohiba cigar for his b'day which he loved (he's a member of the exclusive Cigar Club, so it's not quite such a weird pressie) and proceeded to share one from his personal collection. I really enjoyed it, though can't see myself becoming a cigar smoker since I'm barely a smoker of any kind anymore. After cruising back down the A4 we spent Sunday afternoon on Kings Road looking for some bargains (wrong street me thinks), then a chilled Sunday night in as it poured down outside...there had better not be hose-pipe ban this year! At least my window boxes are doing well - the Rocket is rocketing up!

Oh...and we finally got our wedding album after 6 months - we love it and it beings back lots of amazing memories. Not much else - got a new free upgrade K850i phone after threatening to leave my supplier if they didn't give me one (they wouldn't stretch to an N95 - bugger)! In the absence of a radio reception on the tube I have been mostly listening to The Mighty Boosh podcasts - very funny they are too. A great new (to me) book on the go - easy read, so review to come soon. Just got to get through the next few weeks - it's going to be painful, but challenging and hopefully worth a pat on the back at the end (that's the best bonus I can expect in the city at the moment)!

See you later then dear visitor...come back again soon. I'll have some chocolate digestives next time!

2k

2008-05-30T21:38:00.005+01:00

2000 hits in about six months - thanks very much and keep reading.

I even got 49 hits on one day last week...you must be bored!

Thank you please.

Live advertising

2008-05-29T20:42:00.004+01:00

Apparently the first adverts on TV were usually live recordings during the schedule. Well, things have come full circle as the new Honda ads are also recorded live...and that just makes them so much more interesting and exciting. It's not on YouTube yet, but here is a teaser that precedes them.

Watch out for the next live one on your telly (if you watch it - if not keep checking YouTube I guess).

Exposure

2008-05-29T10:21:00.005+01:00

A website called NowPublic got in touch with me earlier this morning. They had seen my picture of St.Peter's Bascilica in the Vatican on Flickr and wanted to use it. Apparently they are working on coverage of the re-opening of a pagan tomb under the Basilica, and said my image would be a great addition...yay!

10 days off Part Two

2008-05-26T18:23:00.006+01:00

Part two began with the usually sluggish drive up to that there Yorkshire on Thursday morning, but the A1 was kind to us and we made it to Harrogate by mid-late afternoon. Spent some quality time with my folks (poor Mum wasn't feeling too well - bless her), then popped round to see our muckers Chris and Marianne in there huuuge new pad - the never ending flat.

Friday was the wedding day of Bongo (Al) and Lauren. Bongo was the first person I met when we moved to Harrogate in 1982. He lived across the road and popped over to see who the new kid was. I had a few Star Wars figures, he had all the Rubik's puzzles - we became instant chums. Bar a few random months, we have stayed in touch and are still good friends. Anyone that knows him will confirm that he is a truly unique chap in every way - the eternal optimist and joker who never lets anything or anyone stress him out - qualities some would surely pay dearly for. He met Lauren (lovely, lovely girl) on the t'interweb a few years ago and today they made it all official and proper like. Venue was The Dower House in Knaresborough. My role for the day was Usher and general 'help out' type person. An amazing, happy and sparkly day. So many friends and family from past and present to catch up with. Bongo and Lauren looked so happy and we all partied hard in the early hours. Even the weather was amazing - purfick.

After a hangover crushing fry-up brekky we headed over to Pately Bridge to meet my folks, Stu and his missus Sarah. About 12 years ago my Dad (a total train buff) bought a knackered old train carriage for next to nothing. It had been converted into a sort of holiday home and placed next to a stream at the end of a windy country lane - he and mum have spent the time since restoring it to it's original state (to exact detail) in a labour of love, and it is now our family's little place to find some peace and quiet in the summer - we call it Coach House. It's a beautiful part of the world and has loads of amazing walks (through old lead mines), wild-life and top class country pubs (Theakstons - nice). It's the most peaceful night's sleep you will ever have with only the sound of a trickling stream to wake you up in the morning. After a good few hours chilling we set off on a mad rush round to get provisions for the evening and popped in to see my dear old Nan. The evening was spent round at DragonDrop HQ with it's enhabitants, PaintMonkey and Weseal.Jem. Top night of cheese, wine and laughs with a bit of Micheal Palin chucked in for good measure.

Up early this morning, said our goodbyes and plowed down the A1 again back to Londinium. What a brilliant and varied 10 days we've had, spent with lots of lovely people. Head back in work mode - keep smiling and throw yourself into it. Summer's here (apparently) and that always makes things easier!

10 days off Part One

2008-05-21T20:38:00.013+01:00

A great feeling it is indeed to activate an out-of-office and leave a voicemail announcing 10 days off. All loose-ends were tied up, my cover was briefed (cheers Dave) and all systems shut-down - so began the longest period we've had off work since our honeymoon. The first port of call was Bloomsbury Lanes for Maria's 30th birthday party. Great night and a wicked place - a sort of American stylee youth club, but for 20-30 somethings. Bowling lanes, bands, lardy food and cheap beer. Maria had hired a karaoke booth for the occasion which was a right laugh - not least because it had a library of over 10,000 songs...never thought I'd be dueting Depeche Mode or Stone Roses at a karaoke bar! Did my classic version of Ace of Spades as usual - helps when the 'audience' are as plastered as you are! Missed the last tube, waited ages for a bus, but top night and a very Happy Birthday da Maria.

Saturday I felt a bit wobbly, but not too bad. We drove to East Dulwich to see Sam and Lizzie who are very soon to become parents. Had a much needed hangover killing lunch, then headed off to the train station to travel to London Bridge. I was very fortunate to be bought a wine tasting course for my birthday. It was at Vinopolis which I can only describe as Disneyland for wine (and gin, whiskey and absinthe) lovers. The first part was a personal tasting course with Matt Skinner who happens to be Jamie Oliver's sommelier - fascinating and highly entertaining. Matt is a very laid back Aussie who knows all there is to know about wine, but has a very modern, forward thinking attitude to it. His 'core message' is that wine should be for everyone - I agree. We tasted 2 whites, 2 reds, a fortified and a champagne - all great and very different. I've long enjoyed wine, but now know what to look for and why I enjoy the different characteristics. Apparently I learn towards heavy, big finish, new world reds (already knew that) The second part was entry to the museum and 5 tastings - Great fun and hair of the dog as well. Malbec from Argentina is still my current favourite grape.

We got up very early the next day for the early train to Gatwick. Our Christmas present to each other this year was a city break somewhere we'd never been before. Rome was top of the list so off we went. We fell in love with this city from the moment we got off the coach from the airport. Such incredible architecture, art, food, wine, people, culture, attitudes to live - loved it. We were in a great spot as well, right near the Spanish Steps. We had a good balanced 3 days of tourist stuff and relaxing. Obvious highlights were The Colosseum and Vatican - the thought of such spectacular ancient structures being built so long ago is quite mind blowing (and I've been to Maccu Pichu so that's saying something), especially the former. The engineering and thought to detail/function reinforces why Rome lead such a powerful empire and advanced culture. Rome is one of those great 'walky' cities like Paris, Prague, London and Amsterdam where it isn't always necessary to take public transport, but much more rewarding to amble around and see what you find. Then there's the food and wine...we were in heaven. I could quite easily live there! The Coffee's not bad either and the Romans are great - very passionate, humorous and colourfully expressive. Loved it, loved it, loved it.

Back at mothership now, catching up on chores, sweating over a poorly bank account and getting ready for Part 2. It's going to be a very happy and celebratory weekend. Watching Champion's League - don't really care who wins, as I don't like either team. Was meant to be going to see MGMT in town tonight with C and her girly mates, but the old noodle isn't feeling very well flavoured today - needed some me time to sort it out. Check back on Monday for more of my self-centred dribblings if you're interested or check out my Flickr from Rome pictures...or you could just surrender yet more precious seconds of your life to the latest Web 2.0 social networking phenomenon.

Ciao ciao.

The Genesis of Summer 2008

2008-05-12T20:47:00.009+01:00

The weatherman wasn't telling us porkies on Friday morning was he? What a fantastically warm early summer weekend! Ah, I love summer - even the crappiest day at work is great because the sun is out. I am a firm believer in S.A.D (Seasonally Affective Disorder) being a very real syndrome: the short days; getting up and going home in the dark; the wetness and cold of weekday winter is enough to get anyone down. I do love a cold sunny weekend day, preferably trampsing across the Yorkshire Dales well wrapped up (with a pint of bitter and a pub lunch somewhere along the way), but it's the endless weeks of grey, damp overcast weather that I am sure adds to a moaning psyche that spreads through the nation (or maybe it's just me...actually it probably is). An Australian colleague says there is a joke outside of the UK that tourists shouldn't go there during winter as everyone is so rude and miserable. Not totally convinced about that - maybe they were just talking about London!

Anyway - A1, tip-top, first class weekend: After slipping out of work a wee bit early we trained it to Portsmouth, then FastCated it to the Isle of Wight. Darby (Alice) is C's bestest bud from school and general all round lovely person. Her folks are lucky enough to own a house 1min from the seafront in SeaView on the east of the island and she had very kindly invited us to stay. Lovely, lovely place and so peaceful - It is still off-season (just) so there were very few people around. Darby took us on a bit of sightseeing tour - did Cowes, the Downs and a really cool Garlic Farm. Didn't make it to the south unfortunately - the beach was calling! Perfect beach weather it was too - hot, but not too hot and a slight wind. The sea was damn cold, but didn't stop us having a swim or two. We had a really cool 2 days relaxing and recharging, plus got a bit of a tan in the process. As always, searched out the local seafood - crab...hmmm! Did my famous burgers for a BBQ too which also seemed to go down well. We could have easily stayed for a week, but headed back to the metropolis Sunday evening. Seems like it had been a scorcher there as well - more than a few red shoulders a Clapham Junction. Thanks Darbs for an amazing weekend - you spolit us rotten. We will definitely take you up on your offer to make return visit!

Back to the weekday routine now - lots and lots to do, some interesting (been storyboarding and producing a 30 second advert for the KLM Open in Holland) and the not so interesting (template customisations...zzzzz), but just got to get through this week before a decent stretch of time off, some great goings on, imminent happy times and seeing lots of family and friends. It has occured to me that this post is quite a contrast in tone to what I was writing a month or so ago. It all goes in cycles I guess and that's good for perspectives and balance in life. Best not speak too soon, before GloomyTrail pokes his head round the corner again!

Must say a massive congrats to Daren and Jem on their BIG announcement. It appears I was a bit slow on the uptake and thought they were semi-joking, but they weren't so it's all very special and brilliant! Very happy for you guys - see you soon for some proper celebrating.

Bryter later.

Bad Lands

2008-05-08T19:57:00.007+01:00

Just finished a brilliant book and had to blog a wee review:

A long time fan of the Lonely Planet series of guidebooks (they've seen me right on many a beaten (and unbeaten) track, I was really excited to hear it's c0-founder Tony Wheeler's new book was out. Bad Lands charts his travels through many of the countries he originally visited when LP was in it's infancy in the 70s. Some countries were new to him, but others were re-visits and had dramatically changed politically, environmentally and socially. The main theme is to visit countries in the so called 'Axis of Evil' and report what mainstream media doesn't.

This is a fascinating and very well written book - Not surprisingly the picture Tony paints is quite different to the preconceptions the general public might have, though some are obviously confirmed and often amplified. What is so refreshing is his experiences with Joe public in these countries and their warmth, humour, generosity and happiness to be ambassadors for their countries, despite the regimes they live or have lived under. The changing fortunes of countries due to the discovery of oil, collapse of communism, war or fall of a dictator have much impact on it's people and the restraints it's governments put on them. For example in Cuba there is relative freedom for tourists (assuming you're not American or a Guantanamo inmate) to search out culture and a real view of the country, whereas in North Korea it is impossible to even get in the country without having a designated 'guide' the show you what they want you to see and brush everything else under the carpet.

He charts a kind of cheesy Evil Meter in the book, scoring countries on human rights, mad leaders, the treatment of it's people etc. which sounds in slightly poor taste, but brings up some surprising results. The most alarming being that the country that has supported terrorism the most is actually the US. Just look at their support for various regimes in Central America and the Middle East to aid their manifestos. I guess terrorism emotes a very different response depending which way it is aimed i.e. one man's terrorist is an other's freedom fighter. Not giving opinions here, but food for thought.

Anyway, if you love travel books as I do and are fascinated by other cultures, people and their politics, it's a fine read. 9/10

Forgot to mention...

2008-05-06T14:30:00.006+01:00

...this chap is now the Mayor of London. Give him a go I say - I will watch with interest.

Aircon on the tube would be a good place to start please!

Well, at least sales of hair bleaching peroxide will go up.

Bye Ken, it's been nice (most of the time).

Potters in Toters and long weekends

2008-05-05T21:50:00.006+01:00

It's been a wee while since my last post - loads has happened so here goes...

Last weekend was a gem: C and I took the train from Paddington down to Totnes in Devon to meet up with my folks, my second cousin Colin and his missus Di. Colin (Kellam) is a famous potter around those parts and nationally, having been firing an huge variety of crockery and sculptures for over 40 years. We have been visiting him for as long as I can remember, and he and Di are great company. 3 days of getting back to nature and relaxing followed - lots of long walks along the beautiful Devon coastline, visiting Colin's field (better known as Agro Acres by Di - see piccy above - it's the Aston Martin of sheds) which is an Alladin's Cave of reclamation, improvisation and fascination. Made the most of Devon's fine coastal nosh as well (fresh crab - yum)! Totnes is a lovely lovely place - a very creative and relaxed community - could quite easily live there (not in summer though, too many damn tourists). We could have stayed a week to be honest, but work and responsibility called so we headed back to London on Tuesday. I took some pretty good piccies - have a look.

A 3 day week at work went quickly, if a little stressfully. Our new webby chap has started - James - nice bloke, knows his stuff, fellow northerner, glad to have him on the team. We had to pack up our desks and move 10 metres down the corridor, only to move back to our original spot tomorrow - something to do with packing more desks in. I'm sure there's a cost saving in there somewhere. Maybe they should fix the leaking roof whilst they're at it. Speaking of which, the weather has been nuts over the past week - 4 seasons in a day sort of stuff. Crazy British April atmospherics.

Another welcome long weekend has just passed and it's been mostly glorious sunshine down here in London. Saturday we went to Dulwich Village to meet some friends for a pub lunch followed by a walk and ice cream in the beautiful park there. It was C and I's 7th 'meeting each other' anniversary too (it was actually Wednesday, but weekends are better for celebrating), so we had a romantic night in - homemade burgers, wedges and a top bottle or Malbec - purfik. Sent some roses to her at work - they made her smile (even when I told her they were a special offer from Interflora, when she said I should have saved my money - thrifty/tight bloody Yorkshiremen eh)? 7 years have certainly flown, though we have been through so much together and that night we met in the Jolly Swagman in Sydney seems a loooong time ago. We are very happy together and looking forward to the next chapter and adventures that life throws at us. Sunday we drove to Amersham in Buckinghamshire to see C's grandfolks - always a nice day and we are fed like Kings and Queens - Granny Di's Sunday Roast's are legendary.She must think I need to put on some weight as I always getting 3 helpings of everything. Coincidentally I used to live in Amersham from the ages of 4-9 so we drove past my old house and school which brought back lots of memories - everything seemed a lot smaller than I remember - no suprise there. Got home, saw a few friends and rented Brick Lane on DVD (average - dragged a bit).

Today was the hottest day of the year so far - had to be spent outside. Headed down to the South Bank and went to see Banksy's latest outdoor 'happening' The CanFest. Unfortunately the rest of London had the same idea and the queues we stupidly long, plus it appeared so busy in the actual venue that you couldn't see squat, so we sacked it off and went for lunch in the sun. Sorry Banksy. The rest of the day has been spent doing mundane things we've been putting off for ages - procrastination is the thief of time apparently.

So, another short week in upon us. As always a million things to do at work and not enough time to do them. A nice suprise though - the once thought lost My Bloody Valentine tickets have shown up - yay! On a serious note - spare a thought for those poor people in Burma who have suffered a devastating cyclone. I hope the world comes to their aid after such a terrible event.

Signing off - good night and good luck.

No tube

2008-04-24T19:59:00.007+01:00

YouTube has been banned at work by the IT bods. I'm still not sure of the reason, but am trying to find out. The thing is YouTube is a fantastic communication and networking tool (as is FaceBook...also banned). Granted there's a load of rubbish on there, but you don't have to look at it. I guess there were too many incidents where people were searching for the Mighty Boosh instead of doing their work (or maybe they were looking for things altogether darker)!

Anyway, pah!

Elbow, Carvoerio, Stag and back

2008-04-21T16:56:00.005+01:00

Booking today off was such a good idea. I'm exhausted, but happily reflective on a brilliant week...

Last weekend started on a high with our good friends Chris and Marianne coming down to stay with us. A great five days of spending quality time in each other's company, punctuated with some lovely food (notably my five hour roast lamb) and a bit too much drinking. C & M did the London tourist thing during the days we were at work, then we went to Brixton Academy to see Elbow - one of our favourite bands. Top gig - maybe not the best we've seen them, but good anyway.

No sooner had Chris and Marianne gone, than it was time for me to head off for my old mucker Bongo's stag do. We (his mates) have been looking forward to it for months and there has been a fine balance of planning and keeping the whole thing a secret in the build up. I was the only one flying from the south and sleepy eyed I got to Gatwick for a 7am flight to Faro, Portugal. After grouping the stags together and getting our wheels we set off to Carvoerio. A beautiful part of the world and very chilled (off season you see). Our villa was superb and had a perfect bedroom in the top tower for King Stag. The weather was a bit up and down, meaning there wasn't much pool/sun bathing time, but this didn't stop us making the most of everything (apart from the planned fishing trip). We sourced supplies from the uber-massive/random supermarket then got into stag mode. Four brilliantly messy days followed - a few memorable highlights were: An amazing sunset hike along the Carvoerio coastline; the first and last nights out (ouch); Matt getting us very lost on an impromptu kebab mission (but royally redeeming himself later); visiting Portimao and Albuferia; the amazing and abundant seafood; the friendliness of the Portuguese people we met; Matt and Jamie's beer game; getting some quality time with old friends I haven't seen for a while and making new ones; seeing Bongo enjoying the whole shindig so much!

Got home at 2:30am this morning feeling very broken, but very happy to see C again - I think she secretly enjoyed a few days without me and got some her-time in! Spent today recovering, doing jobs, drinking endless cups of tea, voting for the London Mayor (unlucky Boris) and attempting to get my head into a pile of tedious paperwork I need to clear...I think I'll do it tomorrow! Back to work-mode tomorrow, then another weekend away from Londinium to come. Big Happy Birthday wishes to my bro, Holly and Sophie Pie who happen to share birthday's with 'er Majesty.

Obrigado, boa noite y adeus para agora.

I'm off on a...

2008-04-16T17:34:00.009+01:00

A big fat newsy wordy post will follow when I return.

Ciao for now.

Pure as the driven...

2008-04-06T18:10:00.012+01:00

A big thank you to the equine hero Comply or Die and jockey Timmy Murphy - a spread £10 bet that I could barely afford nicely netted me a smidgen over a ton. It has made my weekend - cheers guys!

What the chuff is going on with the weather? 18 degrees on Friday, zero degrees and 3 inches of snow on Sunday! I'm not complaining mind - it's always an amazing feeling to wake up and be hit by the white light of a freshly laid snowy landscape. We drove to Mickleham in Surrey on Saturday to stay with friends Heather, Kent and their little man Noah. This morning was the first time he had ever played in snow properly and it was amazing to watch his reaction. He wasn't sure at first, so I made a huge snowball and dropped it on my head...much to his amusement, and it triggered an association that will last for a lifetime...Snow is fun! Great to watch him pottering around, fascinated by his footprints, the coldness and texture of the snow, the silence of it falling and the near blinding whiteness. A great night on Saturday - drinks, chats, nosh (good old Dominos - ah the memories...check this link out for related madness) and that shaky hand late night fav. Jenga. Kent has bought a StormTrooper helmet which Noah has developed a penchase to as well. A generally chill weekend all in all though - needed a 'doing very little' one to recharge. During the week I have to be dragged out of bed, but I always wake up really early at weekends, keen not to waste my free days and go do stuff, but was happy to splat for this one. Did achieve quite a bit though - very nearly finished my promo website, span the turning wheels a bit more etc. Went for a great Sunday lunch and few pints at The Nightingale with C, Darby and Duncan today - could well become our regular boozer. A real local's traditional sort pub, with good nosh and bitter.

Work...well it's Schmerk to be quite honest. Won't waste much more finger energy on it than that this time but...Going to put my noodle in turbo this week and try to keep my head above water. Some good projects on the go at the moment, but there are some important parts of my job I am not even scratching the surface of due to other commitments. It's rapidly dawning on me that in times of strife in 'this company' you just have to think of yourself, because when you play the helpful considerate team player you just get used and taken advantage of. Selfishness isn't a natural way of thinking for me, though self preservation is and because no one else is going to look out for me at the moment maybe that's card I have to play. A sorry state of affairs so it is. Schmerk aside there's lots to look forward to - a meeting about a photography gig, starting an illustration commission/present, drinks and meets with some old muckers.

The festival ticket sales have started - it's like a gold rush these days. When I started going to festies in 1989 (those halcyon days) it was all so simple...pop down to Jumbo Records in Leeds a few weeks before the event and hand over your hard saved £45 for a guaranteed 4 days of good tunes, scrumpy, pot noodles and laughs. These days you have to play a lottery with your ISP to see if you even get on to an already crashing website and then there's no guarantee you'll even get an (overpriced) ticket. Anyway, we managed to get tickets for Latitude in Southwold, Suffolk - heard great things about it. We went to Electric Picnic in Ireland a few years ago (the best festy I've ever been to by a long shot), and Latitude is said to be a similar sort of do and has the same vibe - can't wait. On a slight bummer - The tickets I ordered for My Bloody Valentine at The Roundhouse in June have gone astray, as have my confirmation and any record of the order (but I know I booked them). Slightly upsetting as I REALLY want to see them again. A lifeline is in the pipeline apparently.

A big thanks to PaintMonkey for his generous offer this week - looking forward to seeing your amazing work dude.

Plodding through Mind Eye still - it's all getting a bit samey and tedious, but will persevere.

Tunes of the week: Never loose that feeling by Club AC30: A load of old school shoegaze covers by NuGazers. Not as bad as it sounds!

Nye for bow.

Crunch time

2008-03-30T15:15:00.011+01:00

Not too much to report this week, but suffice to say things have got to change. For the sake of my sanity, health, self respect, confidence and all the people and things I hold dear, my situation has to take a turn for the better. It is a daunting task and won't be easy but I have put the wheels in motion. It may be a quick process - it may not, but I'm not ready for a pre-mid life crisis just yet...I haven't got the time or patience to be honest.

A quick round-up of the week that was, but wasn't exactly: Worked long and hard all week - achieved less in some areas and more in others. Love working in Flash - I find it more calming and satisfying compared to some other stuff I'm doing. Made some careless typos in a brochure (too stressed and busy to concentrate) and felt stupid about it when they were pointed out. Cancelled on Mark on Wednesday due to lateness of working - got a bit knacked about it (we'll re-arrange soon). Met Mike for a drink on Friday - put the world to rights as usual. Met a load of peeps for dinner at Scoffers in Clapham last night - splendido catch up. Good fun, average food, smooth brandy.

Today: getting an hour less in bed but enjoying the sunshine, putting the wheels in motion, listening to XFM, doing odd jobs, reading the papers, playing guitar (new FX pedals in the post - Boss DR1 and Digital Pan/Tremolo - niiice), hopefully going for a long walk when Caroline gets back and making my famous chilli burgers for dinner tonight.

Book: Eye Mind - biography about 13th Floor Elevators, who are often referred to as the pioneers of the psychedelic sound - enjoying muchly and review to come soon.

Tunes: Kraftwerk - Maximum/Minimum; Maps - We can create; Chris Morris - Blue Jam; Butthole Surfers - Locust Abortion Technician.

Film: Lions for Lambs - Great film set in the very near future and very recent past surrounding the war on terror. Viewed from several different groups, so it's the usual life intertwining thing, but done very well. Directed and co-starring Robert Redford with Tom Cruise playing a hard-ball republican government bod and Meryl Streep as a conscious ridden reporter. Recommended - 8/10.

Mantras: Fortune favours the brave.

Recharging north of the border

2008-03-24T18:04:00.011Z

This will hopefully be a more cheery post than last weeks, though I am still soul searching and questioning myself over many things - I don't like the person I have turned into recently and am trying to make a-mends, but not beat myself up too much about it.

We lost more of the team this week - some great talent who will be sadly missed. One chap in particular has gone to an amazing job working on Sony's SingStar on-line song store - a dream job for the lad and I wish him all the best. In true miser fashion the company is trying to find ways to cut corners and save money, so much so that we currently have no replacement and our websites could technically grind to a halt. Utterly unprofessional and ludicrous of the management, but somehow we will manage - some quick calls to agencies are in order.

A long awaited 4 day weekend was upon us, so C and I flew up to Scotland to visit her family (my lovely in-laws). They live in the beautiful part of the world that is Moniave in Dumfries & Galloway. Remote, cold, wet (next to the wettest place in the UK) but stunning - the perfect place to wind down, take stock and recharge the batteries. C's old man is a prize winning beef farmer with a large herd, plus sheep and a scattering of goats. His beef is without doubt the best I have ever tasted (a tall order considering we pigged out at Goucho's last weekend)! He farms Galloway cattle - big, butch, black hairy beasts, that are rarer (no pun intended) than the commercially popular Aberdeen Angus. Alastair and Clare (my parents in-law) always make me feel so welcome and we were thoroughly spoilt. Lots of chilling, epic paper reading sessions, walks in the country, great wine and the best food - a top time was had by all. I even bottle fed some early spring born lambs...which was nice. C's younger sisters were both there as well, so it was a real family home-coming and little Muffin (cheeky Cocker Spaniel) was so pleased to have Uncle Simon back for a few days. 3 days went far too quickly and before we knew it we were back at Prestwich Airport waiting to fly on to the metropolis. Ryan Air can kiss my ass by the way - charging us an obscene amount for an extra 7 kilos in our luggage (2 legs of lamb kindly donated by C's mum) - crooks. Their online 'web booking charge' is a swizz as well - surely administration doesn't exist with web bookings?! I'm slow roasting one of the legs of lamb tonight so it will taste all the more juicy at the price. *Update - I am the slow roasted lamb king...heaven*.

Just finished (and speed read) a great book - Kill Your Friends by John Niven. A fictional story of a high-powered A&R man in the mid-90s. One of life's true bastards, seriously lacking in moral fibre and living a life of excess at other's expense. I loved every minute (not that I related to or empathised with him at all). A great insight into the back-stabbing, power-hungry, fickle world of the music industry and how someone who seems to live the utopia life lads mags write columns inches about - you know the party has to end at some point, but not in such a spectacular fashion. You feel not one ounce of pity, but can't help fascinating into such a rarified way of life. 8/10

Tunes of the week: Rodrigo y Garbriela (latin guitar flavoured/percussion loveliness), Elbow - The seldom seen kid (welcome back lads - you get never cease to amaze me), MGMT (trippy, squirky, harmony driven...er...thingy).

Meat of the week: Gourlay farmed leg of lamb!

Until next time...

Perspectives and vanishing points

2008-03-16T17:14:00.018Z

It's strange how easy it is to get wrapped up in your own crap and loose perspective of what is really important in life: Family, friends, loved ones, companionship, compassion, empathy, charity to name but a few. Last week was a disappointing one for me, but no one died, no one really lost anything that can't be replaced, no one's life really changed. There are more important things in this world, but peer pressure, the media and others dictate that it is the be all and end all for a happy life. Bollocks - sure we all need money to live, but there is so much more to it than that. Career means many different things to different people. I was always taught that it was very important which created pressure, but also motivated me, but at the end of the day is it only a bloody job. Admittedly I am lucky to do something I enjoy (even though I don't enjoy the environment I work in or respect the company I work for that much), but if I could provide for my family, we had enough time for each other, hobbies and interests, and was content with myself I would be happy doing something else. Some of the happiest, wisest and most intelligent people I have the pleasure to meet in my 35 short years have shunned said pressures and achieved in other ways much more admirable in my eyes: Inspiring parents and teachers; Thought provoking artists; Selfless charity workers; Fearless moral activists; Confiding friends with infinite patience, compassion and wisdom. I would be proud to class myself among these.

What I'm getting round to is this: Maybe recently I've missed the point and have become quite insular about what really matters and selfish in my priorities - can I blame it on the rat-race and living in London. I think not, but some of the conversations at work make it all seem like a competition to stroke egos and congratulate material possession. Family and friends have always come first (even though I have been more absent in the years of late), but much of my waking time is spent pushing myself to make money for someone else, whilst pulling in a livable wage for myself and my wife. I don't have children (though I hope we will soon) so automatically have much less responsibility and worry than many others. In fact as much as I moan about long hours I probably have more free time than I realise and still procrastinate. I got to know someone better this weekend than I did before. The struggles she has had in life and continues to have made me so respectful of her and what she has achieved. You are an inspiring individual and I hang my head in shame at my current self-centered attitude to life. Just look at how many 'I's' are in these two paragraphs to confirm this! This ramble is not searching for absolution of any kind - it is just a recognition of values and truths I have always believed in, that have become blurred as of late. Hopefully it will help me focus into a better person and make a valuable contribution to the world as human being. 80 people died in Tibet today in the name of free speech, religion and equality. In a newspaper on the same day Peaches Geldof was moaning about champagne. What the hell is going on?

After all that my weekend reportage seems all a bit trivial and irrelevant, but here's is a quick round of another week that was:

Work: Busy, stimulating, stressful, kerned, pre-flighted and actionscripted.

Drinks with friends: Heather...lovely evening and good drop of Ardmans.

Purchases: Sennheiser CX500 headphones...I hear clearly now the hiss has gone.

Visitors: Stu and Sarah...top evening at Goucho Grill and various poncey Soho cocktail bars...great to see you guys and safe journey home.

Tunes: Duffy - Rockferry...No really, she has an incredible voice and the song writing is brilliant, also REM's free dukebox CD in this month's Q Magazine - check out Christopher Reilly's genius interpretation of Radiohead's Paranoid Android.

Book: Ska'd for life by Horace Panter...excellent. Best muso-biography I've read for ages. A personable, but dry witted story-teller and great journey of young music fan into Ska mega star. Also, I learnt oodles about a genre and label (2-Tone) I knew little about.

Signing off.

That's grand

2008-03-14T22:31:00.004Z

1000 posts - thanks for reading and hope you come back soon.

Thankyou please.

Hey, hey, 16k

2008-03-14T21:36:00.009Z

A wonderful homage to those halcyon days of 16-64k gaming. Ah...brings a nostalgic lump to the throat and reminiscence of wonderful lost weeks of childhood, worn-out return keys and thumb blisters. God bless B3TA.

http://www2.b3ta.com/heyhey16k/

Saul Wars

2008-03-11T10:29:00.005Z

My old mucker Mark has just sent me this amazing link. It encompasses two of my greatest passions and admirations - The pioneering graphic designer Saul Bass and the genius that is Star Wars. Enjoy...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=z25t-PQDn5A

Strip Clubs and Conifers

2008-03-09T18:53:00.018Z

Before I waffle on about anything else I must mention Wookiepedia. How did I not hear about this amazing site sooner. The name says it all - an enclyclopedic vault of everything Star Wars and a damn good one too. I can see much net time being spent here in the future - check it out (if you haven't already, and if you have why didn't you tell me eh)?!

This week was one of surprises and contrasts. A year of very hard work, sacrifice and compromise appears to have been disregarded by the powers that be at work when it came to the proverbial crunch. I am not alone in this disappointment (in fact most of my little team are fuming), but it still smarts. The usual excuses were given: impending recession (fair enough but the company still made a colossal profit didn't they?); there wasn't much in the pot this year (oh really, again...that's a coincidence?); we've all got to tighten our belts (I have and I can't breath it's so tight)! What a great way to motivate people who are already disillusioned and feel taken advantage of. I'm not going to dwell on this and don't want to come across as ungrateful as I do count my blessings, but this was a big kick in the knackers for a team who give 110% one hundred percent of the time, deliver on projects way beyond expectations and never grumble when asked to meet ridiculously tight last minute deadlines (which they never miss) because others can't manage their time properly (because they've been drinking all afternoon again). To the powers that be, I have one word for one...Exodus.

Rant over, but feck me I'm pished off. Anyways, this all seemed to make the week go really quickly in a bizarre way - mainly through being so busy, but also because it was broken up by a few cool events. One being the Captain gig on Wednesday. C and I went along with Chris and Louise who are a top couple and always good value. Chris and I find solace in that being of the same vintage and possession of similar record collections, we can waffle on about certain bands without the worry of getting a blank expression or heckle in response (Gaye Bykers on Acid anyone)? Captain were promoting their new single and impending album and their venue of choise was the Soho Revue Bar (formerly Raymond Revue bar) - probably the most famous strip club in Soho. A strange venue for a gig, but it worked. More suited to pole dancing and alternative comedy really, but it was a great intimate little gig. Captain were on best behaviour and form as it was a showcase gig, with loads of music industry types flittering around. Good fun, even with Chris heckling 'who are ya' randomly - he was miffed at paying £4:50 for a bottle of Sol, but it's no excuse! Coincidentally and rather sadly Paul Raymond died the day before the gig. Paul was the clubs founder and probably the most famous private club promoter (and soho land owner) in the world. So much more than a pornographer according to his contemporaries and fans - his club is very cool and we had a good night, so thanks Paul.

This weekend has been a relatively quiet one. Caught up with a few friends in East Dulwich, talked babies (one friend is pregnant), cooed over other friends' 3 month old (Ros and James - Josie is gorgeous) and at another's growing art collection (Banksy and Gilbert & George - Sam, you are a lucky man). We went into a baby shop and I was amazed to see CDs of Radiohead's Kid A and Metallica's Black album that have been specially modified by some cash-in merchant to stimulate baby in the early weeks. I was almost tempted to buy one just to see what said modifications were - surely the originals wouldn't do them any harm?! Saturday marked the first 6 months of marriage for C and I so to celebrate we went to try the new Brinkley's Kitchen down by the common. Nice place - overpriced for what it is, but none too shabby. Had a Rosinni Burger - prime angus burger, with foie gras and caramelised onions - yuuuuum! I can't believe it is 6 months since we said 'I do' - it has flown which I am assured is a good thing.

Spent today doing odd jobs, and cooking an uber Sunday Roast. Bought some lovely lemon scented Conifer trees for my window box as well, which look and smell great. I have a herb garden going strong in the other which made the roast all the more tasty! Film of the week was the excellent Micheal Clayton - a gripping thriller about the dark side of New York's legal world, and how ambition and responsibility can flip even the most grounded professional over the edge into lala land. George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton are all great - well deserved awards there. 8.5/10. Currently curbing my mood for what is sure to be a frosty team meeting tomorrow morning. It only a job, but I spend 8-12 hours of my life there everyday, so I do tend to take it more than a little seriously. Anyway, settling down now to watch the genius that is Crash.

Read of the week: Ska'd for life by Horace Panter - review to come soon.

Tunes of the week: Grace - Jeff Buckley; Fields of the Nephilim - Earth Inferno (reliving my murky goth past); Dubnobasswithmyheadman - Underworld; Nick Drake - Byter Layter; Ministry - Live: In case you didn't feel like showing up. I was quite angry at the time and needed a good dose of this.

Hey Jay!

2008-03-07T11:34:00.002Z

Just a short post to wish Jay a speedy recovery. He's in bed and feeling a little under the weather after a short stay in the nasty old 'lopital.

We are thinking of you little man. Grab the opportunity to ask Mummy and Daddy for lots of chocolate and ice cream!

R & R

2008-03-02T19:39:00.008Z

The first 'plan free' weekend for ages - what a treat. It's been another mental week of uncertainty, putting the world to rights over beers with colleagues (those that I have left anyway) and the deadlines so tight they would make a Scotsman look generous (apologies Caroline and my in-laws)! These were a few days where we could do whatever we liked, whenever we liked and it felt well deserved.

Made the most of a lie-in, then after our boiled eggs with marmite soldiers we headed down to the South Bank. It was a sunny, but bloody windy day and 'the bank' was packed with tourists and Londoners alike enjoying the day. We mooched around the excellent open air book market, watched the skaters, looked at all the cool stuff that we can't afford in the design shops of Gabriels Wharf, then headed to the Tate Modern. First, must mention the chap who was sand sculpting a dragon on the beachy bank of the Thames - it was ace. The Tate Modern is always well worth a visit - the outer structure and interior turbine hall alone is worth a long gawp even when there is no artist in residence. Doris Saldeco's crack is still there and people amazingly are still getting stuck/falling/dropping litter in it - very impressive it is though. Had a good look around Duchamp, Manray and Picabia - three artists and friends from the Dada movement. Not 100% my cup of tea, but some impressive stuff. I loved Manray's light and exposure works and his optical art installations. Duchamp shone with his painting - lovely stuff and verging on Cubist on some pieces. His famous urinal was also there - I got told off for taking a picture of it!

The visual feast of the day was Spanish artist Juan Munoz. In his relatively short life (1953-2001) he was an unbelievably prolific sculptor and artist. His pieces are like a juxtaposition between realism and fabrication, and though his figures share space they also create a feeling of isolation and unease. The highlight for me was a room full of chinese men, all about 5" tall with identical expressions appearing to interact, but when you looked at them as individuals they seemed to be blending in purely out of the need for self preservation and confusion as to why they were there and how they got there in the first place. To walk amongst them was like entering a meeting place of clones where time has been frozen indefinitely mid punch-line - very powerful and thought provoking stuff. The other piece that really made an impression were two figures suspended from the ceiling, their ropes slowly spinning. They appeared contorted by the agony of their execution, whereas they were actually modeled on an act in a chinese circus where the performers use their teeth to take their weight over a long drop - Fantastic. I was told off again for taking photos (no flash mind). In fact myself and another chap would nod to each other when 'the management' weren't looking so we could sneak some covert shots or find blind spots where no one could see us - it was quite a rush and I felt quite naughty!

Caroline was bought membership to the Tate as a leaving present, so we went up to the members bar on the roof for a drink and chill - great views of the city and of the huge chimney that dominates the building. Headed off to Ping Pong for a dim sum feast then got the tube home. Film of the weekend was Run Fatboy Run - good old Si Pegg on top form. Part slapstick, part Peggesque sharp one-liners, part heartwarming 'confused lad comes good' sort of thingy. Recommend it, but not sure what Thani Newton was doing in it - she was neither believable as Pegg's fiance or as their son's mother. A strange choice, but it didn't ruin the film. I'll give it a respectable 8/10.

Not much happened today - drove to Chelsea, laughed at the neo-yuppies driving their penile extensions down Kings Road hoping someone will be impressed, resentfully bought some smart shoes for work (and Bongo's wedding so not too resentful) and cooked my wife a fine chicken chasseur.

Oh, and to all the people who are selling their charity tickets to Muse at The Royal Albert Hall on eBay for vastly inflated prices - shame on you (we were on the phone and t'interweb for ages and got nowt - sell them to us at face value)! Also, isn't the new editable dashboard front page on www.bbc.co.uk wicked?! Web 2.5?

Tune favs. this week: Love and Squalor by We Are Scientists, Televise - Demo, ( ) - Sigur Ros, Joy Division - Closer, Bill Hicks - Dangerous.

New logos for old

2008-02-28T14:03:00.006Z

Having more than a vested interest in branding and visual identity (it's my job innit), imagine my excitement when B3TA launched their latest weekly challenge: Participants simply select a logo, fire up Photoshop (or equivalent, Fireworks is rather cool too), do a bit of pixel surgery, then add a liberal dash of satire and wit.

Enjoy...

http://www.b3ta.com/challenge/newlogos/

Shake baby shake

2008-02-27T10:37:00.004Z

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.2 on the Richter scale hit Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, at about 1am this morning. Thankfully there were no serious injuries - a student suffered a broken pelvis when a chimney stack fell on him (that's his story anyway). Shakes were felt in buildings as far away as Scotland and London.

I didn't hear/feel a thing, but then it would take an damn big earthquake to wake me from my slumber!

He's lost control

2008-02-24T20:12:00.006Z

Sometimes when your path isn't clear it is easy to let worry and confusion blind you to options and opportunities. This week I have left things get on top of me, whereas I should have seen the positives in the negatives. A good friend whom I haven't actually spent much face-to-face time with for a while has put things in perspective for me, when he has already enough on his own plate to worry about my petty bobbins. It is up to me to get through the storm in my own way, but he has given me a damn good umbrella to do it - cheers muchly PM, it means a lot and you know I am always here to return the favour.

This week in a nutshell feels like I've joined a sinking ship, whereas what is actually happening is transition - a natural necessity. I guess for the first time in a while I have no one to rely on but myself in my career, and it is up to me to embrace opportunity, trust my instincts, regain confidence in my abilities and recognise when others attempt to use me to bend situations for their benefit alone. I've always thought as a team player and am proud of the fact, but it has become clear that I need to be a bit selfish and look after number one. On a positive side, I have rediscovered my love of Flash and am crafting some groovy motion for an event at Excel in April. Must say congrats to Chris at work who is leaving to work for Sony developing their SingStar on-demand song store - a coolio job by the sounds of it and well deserved. You will be missed dude.

This week was very much work work work - a few late stays for deadlines and the like. Went to that there Croydon to stay with Mike on Wednesday as Lou was away. A sort of boys night in with the intention of playing a load of PS2, but we ended up just chatting, watching the (rubbish) Brits and downing a load of Spitfire. Felt very rough for the early bird photoshoot I had to do the next morning. Mum's birthday on Saturday (happy b'day Mum) - they are off to Norfolk for a well deserved break. I trotted off to Hatton Garden to get my wedding ring re- sized and buffed. Caroline has had most of the week off before starting her new job and has been a busy bee visiting relos, tying loose ends and choosing our new car - a rather nice silver Golf 2.0. A demon little set of wheels if I may say so.

Control is a film I have been really looking forward to seeing. A long time fan of Joy Division and New Order, I couldn't wait to get into this film. It is based on Touching from a Distance by Deborah Curtis and is more of a biopic on Ian than the actual band or the times. Shot in B&W and with a raw, urban tone it explores Ian's teen years, his rise into success and his untimely end. Also looking at his relationships with Deborah, his mistress Anik and especially Rob Gretton (Joy Division's crude, dry and driven manager), who is portrayed as much as father figure as a friend. A stunning film in so many ways, but without doubt the beacon is Sam Reily as Ian Curtis - a virtual unknown actor, who spills his guts, heart and soul in this role - unbelievable. Samantha Morton is a superb support as Deborah and plays a devoted yet naive wife, almost purposely ignorant to his illness, fame and unfaithfulness to keep her own grip on reality. I can't recommend this film highly enough. It is not one you will want to watch again for quite a while (it is quite an exhausting journey), but will remain in your favs. list for a long, long time. 10/10

Saturday night we drove to Littelton near Oxford to visit Chris and Jen (and their lovely dogs Milly and Coco). The are great friends and ex-neighbours at Crockerton Road, but have binned London to live in a beautiful country pile near Oxford. We always have such a laugh with these guys and had a great night of waxing lyrical, nosh and wine (the best 4 hr roast lamb and cheese spread I have ever had the pleasure to devour)! Made us weigh up the pros and cons of living in London for the umpteenth time. Drove back this afternoon and headed straight back to the cinema to see There will be Blood. Another corker, but what a chilling, powerful film. It's still sinking in to be honest, but go and see it - it's incredible. Also, Johnny Greenwood from Radiohead composed the score, which is almost entirely percussion based, adding to the minimal and crude audibal pastiche of the film. 9/10. Either film making is getting better or we have just had a run of seeing some brilliant stuff recently. Glad we renewed our membership at our local indie cinema.

So that was the week that was (or wasn't depending on how you look at it). Feeling a bit nervy about the week to come, but I'm sure if I keep things in perspective it will be fine. Caroline starts her new job tomorrow - good luck angel, you'll be great.

Fav. tunes this week (by a mile) is Soulhack by Forss - a birthday pres. from DragonDrop. Some fine tuneage. If you like break beats, ambient squidging, phasing and bleeps buy it.

35 and 30 not out

2008-02-18T20:31:00.008Z

I turned 35 this week. To be honest I don't get too excited about birthdays these days, but lots of celebrating anyway and a fantastic weekend. We went home to Harrogate which was a welcome break - needed to leave London behind for a few days. Eirene, who is the wife of my bestest bud Matt, mother to my godson Felix and a very close friend turned 30 - it was never going to be a quiet one! We were invited round to DragonDrop HQ with some other close friends for a splendido cheese, wine and chill fest - really cool nice. Great cheese from the cheeseboard (who crafted our amazing wedding cake) and top wine sourcing from Tina. Saturday we went for a great striding walk near Grassington with Mum - beautiful day, really cold and crisp - perfect walking weather broken half-way with a top pub lunch in Linton. Dad was suffering with a nasty case of gout so couldn't make it, but joined us for lunch which was cool.

In the evening was Optibus - a charity fundraising event where local chap John Shakleton will drive a donated bus to Bangladesh with some doctors and help cure kiddies with cataracts. A worthy cause and also combined with Eirene's 30th b'day party. The birthday girl in question shaved her head for the charity - a brave and admirable thing to do - she looked great as well, despite her hubby's initial reservations. What a night - musicians, poets, DJs, percussionists, raffle, good vibes, good people and ale. Brilliant in every way. I also caught up with lots of people I hadn't seen for ages as well ('lo Daren and Chris). A totally fantastiche weekend spent with lots of lovely people.

Now watching Chameleons on David Attenborough - isn't life amazing?

12,784

2008-02-13T10:41:00.001Z

Happy birthday to me, Happy birthday to me, Happy birthday to meee...Happy birthday to me!

Cinco cientos opiniónes

2008-02-12T09:50:00.000Z

500 views in 3 weeks!

Thanks and keep reading - you never know I might post something interesting soon!

Sun, Fire and Juno

2008-02-10T19:57:00.001Z

Where did this amazing weather come from?! I was walking around in a t-shirt today - others were in shorts and flip-flops! A freak 2 days of glorious sunshine that unfortunately isn't going to last, but we have well and truly made the most of it. An uber 3hr walk in Richmond Park on Saturday and a good old romp around Clapham Common today - soaking up all those rays and getting those vitamin D levels back up.

So then, a bit of a hectic week - won't dwell on work too much in this post, but it's fair to say I am a busy bee at the mo'. Crazy deadlines, notably one that meant bailing out some peeps for 'forgetting' to get an exhibition stand designed...and remembering just a week before the event. Someone owes me a few pints...they know who they are.

Pancake Day was celebrated in the traditional way, with some pretty rubbish attempts at making them - we got it right in the end. Caroline was in Stockholm on Wednesday and had her leaving do on Friday, so I had some shed time - played a load of guitar and started to re-do my portfolio website which is long overdue. February is a really expensive month for us with so many birthdays and a 5 week pay period, so decided so some cheap nights in was a good idea. Despite this Saturday night we went out for dinner with Maria and Rus - a sort of mini-b'day celebration/dinner club thing. Top notch french meal at Mini Mundus in Wandsworth Common. Great little restaurant serving very traditional and cheap french tucker. My mate Mark rang me mid-meal and told me that Camden Market was on fire! Checked the news when we got home - much of the canal market has been destroyed, as has the (in)famous Hawley Arms pub. Mark took some amazing photos showing the extent of the damage. Luckily, there were no casualties, but I feel for those poor stall-holders and poor old Camden Town. It is fantastic place and this is a real tragedy.

After a long walk today, we went to the flicks to see Juno - what a lovely, heartwarming and wickedly dry humoured film. I have to say that the trailers didn't sell it to me, but a few friends highly recommended it. Ellen Page more than deserves the Oscar nomination. 9/10 - go and see it now. Settling down to watch the BAFTAs now.

Got a new book on the go: Pies and Prejudice - In Search of the North by the brilliant Stuart Marconnie. A long time fan of his work, I am really looking forward to this read. I can highly recommend his book Cider with Roadies, which looks at how he fell into music journalism and all the madness that resulted.

Fav. listens this week: Led Zeppelin - Mothership; The All Star All Stars - Radiodread; Paul Hartoll - The Ideal Condition; Thom Yorke - The Eraser.

A final note for my brother Stu - welcome to cohabitation and hope the swelling goes down soon.

It's faster up north

2008-02-05T20:50:00.000Z

Interesting article from the Beeb.

Not sure about the 'bloke rock' comment, but anyone who used to frequent The Orbit in Morley will probably agree with the title!

Winds of change

2008-02-03T17:19:00.000Z

A busy but funny old week - damn cold and windy weather too. Change is in the air at work. Lots of sudden departures, firmly closing of purse strings and an air of uncertainty. A bit weird as I'm still the new boy and finding my feet, and it appears I will suddenly have to take on a lot more responsibility very soon. Change is always good though - there's nothing worse than stagnation. I'm trying to keep an open mind to it all and relish the challenge, but I can't help but feel at little apprehension. Did a photo-shoot of sorts on Monday night, for the graduates on the training scheme - free wine and nibbles so couldn't complain. They were given a rather gloomy lecture by the CEO about budget cuts and to expect no training or perks in the coming year due to exhausted budgets - not the way to motivate your so called 'brightest minds and most promising colleagues'. I have to say that I am sick of repeatedly being told there is no reward for all our hard work, and then see an exiting CEO get a £20m golden goodbye when he didn't do a particularly good job...no wonder there is a 'them and us' culture. Hmm. Anyway, rant over.

Tuesday night was Dinner Club. A small group of friends (Caroline and I included) who are eating our way round the world's cuisine in London. It was the turn of Colombia this week, so we headed down to Amazonica in Brixton. Having travelled through South America I pretty much knew what to expect - Chorizos, Calamares, Empandas, Plantain, Rice, Beans etc. It didn't disappoint. A no frills little place but welcoming, cheap and true to itself. We watched people learning to Salsa whilst we ate too. 7/10. French next, then Brazilian after that. Yum! Went for a few beers after work on Wednesday with my new colleagues and predecessor - good fun. Put the world to rights. Nice drop of Spitfire!

Friday I heaved a sigh of relief at the end of a tough week, then went to meet my old mucker Mark. After a fine nosh-up at Yo Sushi we headed to the flicks to see No Country for Old Men. Plenty of friends have already recommended this film to me. The Coen Bros. have crafted a triumph - a very bleak and desolate tone with an almost slow motion pace compliments brilliant cinematography, characters and dialogue. Javier Bardem plays a cold and seemingly indestructible psychopath - not someone you want as an enemy (or in your life at all for that matter)! Equally excellent supports from Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones. Woody Harrelson and Kelly MacDonald. I wouldn't be suprised if this cleans up at the various award ceremonies judging by the nominations.

Then on to a chilled weekend. Drove to visit some friends in Mickleham, Surrey for an early joint birthday bash. Lots of quality time in a great country pub, a few slices of good old Dominos and some drunken games of Buzz on PS2 (A fine wedding present from DragonDrop). For my birthday I was given a days wine appreciation course at Vinopolis with Matt Skinner (Jamie Oliver's sommelier) - can't wait. Cleared the cobwebs with a walk on the South Downs before driving home to watch Scotland get whipped in the rugby. Now getting my head in gear for what is sure to be a revealing week.

Fav. listens this week: Radiohead - In Rainbows; Kraftwerk - Live at Tribal Gathering; Miles Davis - A kind of blue; The View - Hats off to the buskers; Ricky Gervais - Desert island disks podcast.

The first 7 days

2008-01-27T18:29:00.000Z

A cool weekend all-in-all, complimented by some glorious weather down here in Londinium. Caroline and I went for a nice long walk in Richmond Park on Saturday morning. Definitely my favourite place in London to stretch the legs, get some fresh air and blow away the cobwebs. It's big enough to make you feel you're nowhere near a city and has lots of amazing features - proper hills, woods, lakes, herds of (very tame) deer, beautiful stately lodges...even parrots! It used to be a Charles I royal hunting park when the deer were introduced in 1637 and has evolved ever since. Went for a late pub lunch, then on to the cinema to see Sweeney Todd...

Usually the thought of a musical film fills me with dread (I was weened on Star Wars, NOT Mary Poppins), but this was brilliant. A dark, sometimes comedic, sometimes gruesome but utterly engrossing film. Daddy and Mummy goth (Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter) put in equally impressive performances and totally gelled in their twisted characters and dialogue. The CGI, songs and great supports (including a camp italian Sacha Baron Cohen) made one of the most enjoyable films I've seen for a long time. Thumbs up.

Caroline went to Paris this morning for a work thing on Monday, so more shed time for me. Did a good long stint on Star Wars Lego, then drove down to Battersea for a photo sesh. Currently trying to fight off the Sunday blues with left over fish pie - a busy week ahead.

A week into my first blog and I'm really enjoying it. 230 hits in week one and I only know of a handful of people that read it, so to whomever else there is I hope you enjoy reading my random dribblings!

Pedestrian Opie

2008-01-25T17:33:00.000Z

A colleague has just sent me this. A brilliant new piece of visual art from Julian Opie, whose style I paid homage to for my Avatar...

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=bk8VgGhxOVU

Koko no-no

2008-01-25T09:46:00.000Z

After a fairly frustrating day at work (seemingly spent it sorting out other people's issues and not my own) I made my way to Camden to meet a few mates. Chowed on a some quality Dim Sum at Teachi on Parkway, then made our way to KoKo via a few pubs.

Teenage Fanclub are one of my favourite bands - I have loved them since first hearing Bandwagonesque and seeing them at Reading circa 89/90. Tonight should have been a nostalgic night listening to old favs and new stuff from the melodic scots. It was not to be: Firstly they were so quiet - not that they are known for being a really noisey band, but still I like my eardrums to rumble at least a little bit when I see a band. They played a good selection of old and new (including my favs StarSign, The Concept and Radio), but to be honest they seemed to just be going through the motions. I was actually bored and didn't seem to be alone in feeling that. The whole gig had a weird, egdey vibe. What really finished the evening for me was when a friend was told to 'be quiet' whilst saying something to me (quietly)! I left early - something I have rarely done at a peformance of any kind, and luckily Caroline was still up when I got home. (she's just returned from a week away at a show at the NEC)

Hmm...maybe they just had a bad night. Hey ho - nearly the weekend!

Bugged

2008-01-23T15:46:00.000Z

Dragged my poorly self into work - had lots to catch up on even after just one day off. Still feeling like the new boy in my job and forming relationships with lots of people - some sit next to me, some spread across Europe, plus expectations and responsibilities are a lot higher now. It's cool and I have a lot more autonomy and influence than I did before, but it's a wee bit scary still. I still feel pretty ill - screaming headache, stomach cramps and hot flushes, but had to go in for a bit - deadlines and all that - pah! The tube is particularly nasty when you are ill which didn't help, and even nastier when it's the Northern Line at peak time! I just put my headphones in and bury my head in my book - the journey generally flies then. At least it's not as hot as in the summer. It can get very sauna like (without the towels). Apparently temperatures regularly exceed the level that is legal to transport cattle in the UK...and we pay for the pleasure! Definitely one of the down sides of living in London. I could always cycle in I guess, but have seen how people drive in rush hour!

Currently reading 'The Joke's Over - The Memoirs of Hunter S.Thompson' by Ralph Steadman. Great book so far - a fascinating, anarchic, excessive and chaotic ride through a variety of globe trotting assignments with the father of Gonzo journalism, written and illustrated by Wales' finest satirical/political cartoonist. 9-5 didn't apply to these blokes!

Not going to make a habit of posting what I'm having for dinner, as it could get quite boring (though I love food so you never know), but on the menu tonight is Pork, Bramley Apple and Black Pudding sausages with carrot, tatties and chive mash - yum. Caroline is back tomorrow after a week away at her show - can't wait, though better get some 'shed' time in before I loose control of the TV again!

The first trail of many?

2008-01-22T17:22:00.000Z

So then. Having a day off work with a nasty stomach bug has given me the time (and boot up the backside) to start my own blog. I should have done this years ago, but anyway. I'm not sure how this blog will evolve or if anyone will even read it, but this will be a portal for my musings, mumblings, moans, elations and photos that I choose to share with the world. If it provides entertainment and interaction then so much the better!