Riding on the summer wind

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.

Monkeys, Monsoons and Dark Knights

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?