DIDI MAE

Ice Ice baby

2012-01-16T15:24:00.001Z

This weekend saw the annual ice sculpture festival descend on Canary wharf, where against a back drop of glass sky scrapers and frosted offices aspiring teams competed to chisel a 2m lump of ice into a frozen masterpiece.

Last years winners Portugal (Cool Runnings eat your heart out) opted for delicate snowboarding creature while Sweden carved an impressive though abstract stacked square number.

The lovely Anna Heale and Jessica Rosheen standing in front of this years London Ice Sculpting Festival's doubles entry.

The Brunel Tunnels

2012-01-12T20:03:00.004Z

The Thames tunnel, sunken brainchild of architectural father and son mega-team the Brunels, was not only the worlds first underwater tunnel, but following delays in construction and an interrupted revenue stream, its first subterranean market place and finally circus. Victorian London was a far cry from the capital we see today, as horse-drawn carriages tore up the cobbled streets either side of the thames - the swirling cesspit which flowed through the city centre and out to sea - was manned by a series of small boats. But when it came to the titans of trade and industry, these small boats and the neighbouring Tower Bridge simply couldn't cope with the sheer amount of goods which needed to be transported from one side of the river to the other.

Enter the Brunels- Marc Isambard and Isambard Kingdom (yup thats Isambard Kingdom...) who worked tirelessly using their newly invented tunneling shield to construct a shaft 396m in length, 23m below the river Thames' busy surface. Now construction wasn't without its problems; floods, gas leaks and inevitable delays blighted the project and saw it commuted down from a trade route, to a footpath and eventually a circus. No doubt to the relief of the tunnel's investors, it was purchased in 1865 by the East London Railway Company. The tunnel's generous headroom, resulting from the architects' original intention of accommodating horse-drawn carriages, provided a sufficient loading guage for trains as well.

The conversion is not to take away from the project's magnitude- the construction of the Thames Tunnel showed that it was indeed possible to build underwater tunnels which was in itself a revolutionary concept. These days the tunnels can be viewed from Rotherithe and Wapping tube or as part of a walking tour offered by the Brunel museum, which incidentally I couldn't recommend more highly.

David Arnold in front of a picture of what the entrance at Rotherithe would have looked like.

An Illustrated Post About Birds

2012-01-03T13:50:00.003Z

Bee eaters

The lesser spotted leopard.

Blue stee-agle

A teenage eagle merrily chows down on some sort of smaller bird.

A black headed Ibis spreading its wings.

The fairly commonly spotted peacock.

On a leopard safari in Yala, Sri Lanka the incessant and unfortunate Monsoon rain ensured the leopards, though beautiful, were a little thin on a ground. There were however some spectacular birds. Turns out ornithology, long the pass time of the beardy and bespectacled is in fact quite fun.

Sovereign Debt Made Cheesy

2011-11-16T16:50:00.005Z

Sovereign Debt Made Cheesy

For a complex global matter, to be understood with ease,
Simply turn the offending articles, into lumps of cheese,

With EU summit talks, now in the 11th hour, Its clear the Euros buzz, has turned lactose-n-sour,
A sovereign debt disaster, caused chiefly by the banks,
There’s even talk in Paris of a return to the old Francs,
And while Sarkozy’s brie,Could probably take the strain,
Of Berlusconi’s Lira, it could not be said the same,
A mozzarella currency,that’s what Italy have got,
Like Spanish Manchego, they both melt when things get hot,
And what of Greece's Drachma, troublesome as Feta,
Of Papandreou’s performance, The results could have been better,
Not to mention Cameron’s cheddar, Patriotic and proud, But the hardcore euro states don’t really want the pound around,

So let us hope that beefy Merkel, can keep it all together, Sobering absorbing bread to in disastrous joint venture

But in so many waysThis Euro drama is irrelevant,
Since the Chinese Renminbi, is quite lactose intolerant.

Shockingly it didn't win, but was highly commended by The Spectator

Penny for your thoughts

2011-05-15T22:34:00.002+01:00

I think it's time to take a cold hard look at what I let pass for a productive afternoon these days...

The Masks of Prince Charles

2011-04-30T10:50:00.000+01:00

26 March Picadilly and Trafalgar square

2011-03-28T01:55:00.007+01:00

While a peaceful march through Hyde park may be a more legitimate form political statement but kids playing thug is central London makes a much better picture.

NHS not for sale

2011-03-15T10:37:00.003Z

Buzz Buzz bees

2011-02-28T00:35:00.005Z

So there are a few bees based bands buzing around but these are my favorite. On Saturday night i had the privilege of going to their highly acclaimed gig in Westminster library- cakes were served. The Allotment hosted 3 sold out London show filmed by Tuckshop. This was my absolute favorite. (never mind that i thought the words were happy as a pie- i prefer it that way.)

Sea of Bees - The Woods from Tuckshop Community on Vimeo.

Send in the Clowns

2011-02-06T20:19:00.003Z

This annual memorial service in Dalston in honour of the king of clowns, Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837) is a colourful event. About 60 clowns in full harlequin get up including props of musical bubble machines and deceptive flowers descend upon the Holy Trinty church. Much of the usual Sunday morning congregation are also present leading to a strange mixture of the farcical and the faithful including a preaching magician who having folded the sunday papers into the shape of a cross- promptly re-assembled them.

Ever Young

2011-01-24T14:03:00.003Z

Ali in Accra

Meet James Barnor- the subject of my final year dissertation on the history of Photography in West Africa. He's 82 in June and lives here in London. Barnor was a studio and press photographer for the a Ghanaian branch of the Daily Mail in the decade prior to Independence. In 1959 he left Accra for London where he continued to shoot for amongst others- Drum magazine. In November, Rivington place held an exhibition of his work (mostly from london) and ran a series of workshops, with the BBC making a documentary of his life at some point this year. Certainly at 82 this recognition comes rather late, and Barnor is acutely aware of the coverage that his French West African contemporaries such as Malik Sidbe and Seydou Keita received, but remains grateful that it puts him in a position to support his family in Ghana.

Barnor in Hounslo

~Ridicule is nothing to be scared of~

2011-01-19T01:19:00.004Z

Fresh from a reasonably lengthy stint as a certified mad man- Adam Ant played an intimate gig in Soho's madam JOJO. The audience was a strange mix Adam's friends family and die hard fans in ill fitting Napoleonic jackets. His set was equally eclectic, t-rex/sex pistols covers and a selection of his old hits all belted out in an aggressive spit that would have made the gentrified John Lydon blush under the shame of his own butter commercial. Supported by 2 drummers, 3 guitarists and what i can only describe as 2 tuneful singing strippers, Ant held his own well into the second part of his 3 part show- at which point he got bored and left.

Also these photo's are a lesson in why you should avoid taking photos in low light conditions, without a flash and drunk.

Baloonia

2011-01-04T16:59:00.002Z

Kyaiktiyo Pagoda- or- that big Golden Rock

2011-01-04T16:42:00.005Z

RockRockRock

On the way to the Rock- an hour sharing an open top truck with 50 people up a hill

And then another hour down at dawn following the 4am prayers

Kids playing on the hill side

One of the guest houses

Another guesthouse

A happy monk smoking after 4 am prayers

Holy Man

sleeping pilgrims

One very dedicated monk

And finally the rock. It is supposedly held in place by a single strand of the Buddha's hair and covered daily in gold leaf by the pilgrims.

This woman was so keen to have her picture taken that she nearly set her broom on fire

Offerings made at the foot of the rock

A young boy keeping war

Makeshift shelters for those who couldn't get a space in the Hostels

Many of the pilgrims have traveled hundreds of miles to pray here

The rock at sun set

Cat on a cold stone floor

2011-01-04T00:23:00.009Z

I can't begin to convey the level of excitement i felt at the prospect of watching a cat jump through a hoop. Nor can i explain why i was so excited- but i was. I'd heard that monks on Lake Inlay had trained the monastery cats to jump through a hoop, then i watched this...

Not sure how much this cat was enjoying the whole jumping thing.
and thought to myself, I'm into silly things and a tourist- it's okay for me to like this. Anyway turns out the the wider Buddhist community were somewhat outraged that the monks had nothing better to do that reward cats for jumping through unreasonably small hoops, so now the hoop is no longer held by a monk and most of the cats sort of fell through their hoops anyway. All in all a little disappointing.

BURMA I

2011-01-02T14:43:00.016Z

Pigeons Flying over one of the Temples

So begins the deluge of pictures from Burma. First stop- perhaps one of the most memorable images- the Shwedagon in the country's capital of Yangon

A monk walks past the Shwedagon, the worlds tallest pagoda

Standing 98- metres high the pagoda dominates the city skyline and is the most sacred of all Buddhist pagodas as it contains relics of the past 4 Buddhas. Burma is strewn with pagodas, stupas and temples, these together with the monks and Aung San Suu Kyi have become synonymous with the country.

Overshadowed somewhat by its more famous neighbours Burma is penned in by India, China and Thailand and is roughly the size of France with a 153 ethnic groups contributing to a population of 54.3 million. Roughly 1 million of these are soldiers.

Burma's recent history is checkered, formerly part of the British Empire it was lumped in with India until independence in 1948. At the time it was named the 'Union of Burma' uniting the 7 states, in 1983 the regime changed the name to 'The Union of Myanmar'. Burma has been tightly controlled by the military-led State Peace and Development Council since 1962, and vast swathes of the country are still off limit to tourists.

Interaction with foreigners remains closely monitored and there is a very real sense that what you see as a tourist is heavily stage managed; for example next to the world's largest working bell on the banks of the Irawaddy river lies an oddly and unmissably located Infirmary and old folks home. As you are walked through the ward, probably causing a great deal of intrusion for the residents, there is no doubt that the Burmese government would like to show you just how well it cares for its elderly and infirm citizens.

A monk carrying his begging bowl

Straying from the path may seem like the adventurous option, but in all likelihood it will result in your guide receiving an unwanted late night visit from the green shirted Junta. It's impossible to take pictures of the military personnel and conversations with locals can be tricky. As a rule politics are off limits, though in a one party state the debate is a pretty stale one. In something of a reverse Voldemort Aung San Suu Kyi is referred to only as 'The Lady' and always in hushed tones.

Monklets having a nap

The monks hold a revered position within Burma, surviving on alms and a meal a day. The Saffron revolution in 2007 was the result of the monk's dissatisfaction. Following a 500% increase in the price of petrol there was a marked decrease in generosity by alms givers and rise in hunger amongst the monks.

Monks sit down to their only meal of the day in silence on the outskirts of Mandalay

In an attempt to appease them the Junta gave the monks a $300,000 land cruiser which they promptly set alight.

This 92 year old woman has been a nun since she was 7

The nuns joined the protest a few days later though these peaceable demonstrations were later violently suppressed.

The Junta's rule has locked Burma into a strange capsule.

1950's buses negotiate their way down streets busy with carts and trucks powered by generators and hooves. The Government refused to pay for network coverage so you simply cannot use your mobile once you enter Burmese air space. A working sim card will cost you something in the region of $4000 so its often cheaper to rent one. The internet is heavily censored.

Goods are transported up and down the river on barges or slow moving trains and most transactions take place in the loud and bustling markets. There are no ATM's and barely any coffee chains but you couldn't meet more lovely people and as long as your not looking to photograph a group of snarling soldiers the pictures are a dream.

A dockworker in Yangon carries crates of beer for a dollar a day

Along with Bhuddism the Burmese believe in the Nat spirits, 37 humans who each met their end in a particularly violent fashion. These live harmoniously alongside Bhuddism and yet in a way seems diametrically opposed to its basic principals.

The Nats are mischievous and require much drinking and smoking to be done in their honour.

A woman selling vegetables in Bagan removes an errant puppy

Killing animals is forbidden so strays are left to their own devices, whilst much of the meat is slaughtered by Muslims, Christians or brave Bhuddists.

I was told there was empirical evidence that Bhuddist butchers often died in an unusually painful manner, with some uttering shrieks of pain that resembled those of their victims, the shrill squeal of a pig or the mournful exhalling of a cow. Somehow I doubt this.

A female fishmonger
Customs regarding death are intriguing.

The belief and fear of reincarnation control events in this life and it is generally considered that poverty and infirmity in this life are the result of misdeeds in the last. Orwell makes repeated reference to the fear of one of his more odious characters- of being re-encarnated as a frog, the man attempts to build pagodas in order to atone for his sins but dies before these can be completed.
The concept that man can be reborn as a toad would account for some of the more repugnant members of the Junta, however for the most part genealogy seems to take a back seat with regards to beliefs surrounding reincarnation. On encountering a young girl with white blond hair in rural east Burma- we were informed that she was the future self of a former European.

Whilst on the subject of superstitions and fair skin it is necessary to mention the white elephants of Burma. These are heavily associated with the legitimation of power. Before the British takeover the last Burmese king, Thibaw, loaded his elephant with treasures- it's forehead was decked with a spray of diamonds to ward off evil spirits and diamonds were set into each tusk. Above his gold feeding trough, a mirror specially ordered from France was installed to reflect the Elephant's splendor. Shortly after the elephants death the King was deposed. The junta have gone to great lengths to secure for themselves 3 white elephants which they keep in a stone dais, their feet attached to the floor by a short metal chain and their light grey backs shaded by the concrete ceiling. The junta will undoubtedly go on collecting these rare white elephants, but it'll take more than that to persuade the Burmese or and the wider international community of its legitimacy.

Burning back benchers

2010-12-10T12:00:00.015Z

I'd like to retract last week dedication to the police.

I've gone off them again.

I just don't appreciate being 'kettled' at 3.30 in the afternoon.

It really is the most poorly thought through and absurd policy.

Well perhaps the second most.

A couple of policemen could have stopped protesters from burning three commemorative benches, or persuaded that rosy floyd-ian youth not to swing on the cenotaph.

Instead they formed an inane human wall, containing the grisly contingent whilst trapping all other protesters who weren't suspicious enough to get out in time.

woop woop its the sound of the police

2010-11-30T22:20:00.022Z

I'd like to dedicate this post to the men and women of the London MET.

It seems unfortunate that the brunt of public anger in the protests surrounding the gross increase in student tuition fees seems to be focused in the tawny direction of the London Met.

Fuck the Police- what happened to 'no if's no buts no education cuts' Ey?

Physical aggression against uniformed officers, especially when its perpetrated by men with scarves pulled up over their pubescent faces, undermines the efforts of all involved, infusing the protest with a generally aggressive aura of LINXX.

The police add legitimacy to a protest, without them flanking the sides of a march, it would just be a motley crew of students, proudly brandishing their 'here's one i made earlier' banners.

That's not to excuse the random and targeted acts of aggression that take place at these protest, nor to condone the physically intimidating kettling tactics recently employed,

Rather to highlight the nature of the job in which the police are involved, yeah they're pigs- on a power trip- out to do you over-etc.

But they've also been stood for a fair few hours in the snow listen to you shriek this at them, often accompanied by a suggestive volley of placard sticks, flares and general detritus.

I spoke to one of the riot police officer's who assured me that out of uniform he stands firmly behind any peaceful protest,

and he's not the first police man I've encountered to say this. Following sweeping cuts to a majority of public sector jobs,

many policemen believe that once they are no longer required to take the brunt of any public out-spill of emotion related to these, that their own positions will become increasingly vulnerable.

The future for those policing today's protest is no more secure in this current climate than anyone else.

Ever young

2010-11-21T10:44:00.024Z

Tucked away in a dusty old tin somewhere under my grandma's bed all the negatives and slides from my mother's childhood lay undiscovered for years.

Until i got my grubby little paws on them.

Some are of her, others taken by her but i was struck by the similarities between our pictures.

Neither of us are particularly adept but we took pictures of what was around us, our friends, and lions and tigers.

Perhaps its all a little tenuous, but it made me smile.

I suppose

kids really do

turn out

like their parents

One black Eye and a lightly singed Fern

2010-11-12T11:40:00.017Z

I didn’t see many instances of violence during the ‘Milbank clash’. I’m not very tall so perhaps that’s why.

Or maybe because there just wasn’t very much of it, at least not on the scale reported. I saw plenty of vandalism, singed pot plants, badly damaged office furniture, personalized stationary mutilated beyond recognition, and a front window that’ll defiantly have to be replaced, but almost none of the ‘violent snarling attacks reported in the press.

A seemingly good-natured march which according to The Guardian was accompanied by benign chants of ‘no if’s no buts’ not education cuts’. Yet the press appear to highlight the utter futility of another march past Westminster by smiley but serious protesters bearing witty but loaded messages on homemade placards. 750,000 marched against the war in Iraq, 400,000 for the countryside alliance; these underscored mass public opposition without making the blindest bit of difference. The student protests on the 10^th of November probably won’t either, the students are fucked- but they’ve showed they’re not happy about it.

To brand them a militant faction is fanciful, indeed there is something wonderfully comic about enraged students storming the lobby of the wrong building, climbing the stairs of the wrong building, dancing to steel drums and wreaked untold havoc – still unfortunately outside the wrong building. This breed of rampaging angst is almost a rite of passage in mainland Europe. Failing to hurl abuse at an anonymous uniformed officer can result in your degree being withheld until such time as you’ve formed a human chain round a petrol station. Bonus points are awarded if the scarf wrapped around your face belongs to an elderly relative.

The Met anticipated 15,000 people; they underestimated a student population who until this week lay dormant. The NUS claims 52,000 students came to show their opposition to government plans to cut university budgets by 40% whist simultaneously raising some tuition fee’s to £9,000 a year. Currently undergraduate students can expect to pay a sum just shy of £10,000 in fees for a three-year degree. New measures would see that sum nearly treble to a debt of £27,000, not including the cost of living, in line with inflation; inherited by graduates in an unconvincing jobs market. Heaven help the architecture fresher’s.

The majority of students who marched on Wednesday didn’t go on to 30 Milbank, and fewer still participated in any of the violence. For the most part, they danced around, chanted a bit, avoided essays, heckled the twat on the roof who threw the fire extinguisher, then got scared and left when it looked like the police were about to move in.

No one could really understand what the middle aged anarchist with the broken nose was doing there, but these men giddily stirring the spoon- grooming the storm in the proverbial tea cup, looked old and out of place amongst the smiling faces.

Today’s students aren’t thugs, they’re scared, some still hormonal. Breaking stuff is a way of showing anger, disillusionment. A desk down a flight of stairs is both vandalism, and a cry for help

Much like all other dissenting members of the public students don’t want to break the state; they just want to make it work for them.

Game on.

2010-11-07T22:20:00.005Z

Time spent spent stalking poultry is seldom wasted.

BANG-BANG

2010-11-07T21:33:00.009Z

I spent bonfire night on a house boat moored on the Thames. The park opposite put on a very nice display.

In conversation with Matthew Williamson

2010-10-13T11:02:00.010+01:00

These are some photo's from the launch of Matthew Williamson's new book. I think everyone had drunk a little too much champagne.
I'm really not sure why they agreed to do this.

I think she may be trying to lick Mr. Robert Brydon's face.

Mr. Steven Coogan

And the beauty editor whos name i can't for the life of me remember.

Mr. Matthew Williamson & Mrs. Twiggy (does she have a second name?)

Chymical Jousting of Brother Perardua

2010-10-12T08:55:00.008+01:00

King Lamus descended on me one morning, just after I had taken a dose, and was racking my brain for a reason for my action. I was alternately chewing the end of my pencil and making meaningless marks on the paper. i told him my difficulty.
'Always glad to help', he said airily; went to a filing cabinet and produced a docket of typed manuscripts. He put it in my hand. It was headed 'reasons for taking it.'

Heroin
1. My cough is very bad this morning.
note (a) Is cough really bad?
(b) If so, is it the body coughing because it is sick or because it wants to persuade you to give it some heroin?
2. To buck me up.
3. I can't sleep without it.
4. I can't keep awake without it.
5. I must be at my best to do what i have to do. If i can only bring that off, i need never take it again.
6. I must show i am master of it- free to say either 'yes' or 'no.'
7. In spite of the knowledge of the disadvantages of the heroin life, I am really not sure whether it isn't better than the other life. After all i get extraordinary things out of heroin which i should never have got otherwise.
8. It is dangerous to stop too suddenly.
9. I'd better take a small dose now rather than put it off till later; because if i do so it will disturb my sleep.
10. It is really very bad for the mind to be constantly preoccupied.

A ball of pure Opium

11. I am worried about the drug because of my not having any. If i were to take some, my mind would clear up immediately, and i should be able to think out good plans for stopping it.
12. The gods may be leading me to some new experience through taking it.
13. It is quite certainly a mistake putting down all little discomforts as a result of taking it. Very likely, nearly all of them are illusions; the rest, due to the unwise use of it. I am simply scaring myself into saying 'no.'
14. it is bad for me morally to say 'no.'I must not be a coward about it.
15. There is no evidence at all that a reasonable use of heroin does not lengthen life. Chinese claim, and English physicians agree, that opium smoking, within limits, is a practice conducive to longevity. Why should it not be the same with heroin.
16. I take it because of its being prohibited. I decline to be treated like a silly schoolboy when i am a responsible man.
note: Then don't behave like a silly schoolboy. Why let the stupidity of governments drive you into taking drugs against your will?-K.L
17. My friend likes me to take it with her.
18. My ability shows superiority over other people.
19. Most of us dig our graves with our teeth. Heroin has destroyed my appetite, therefore it is good for me.
20. I have gotten into all sort of messes with women in the past. Heroin has destroyed my interest in them.

Laudanum. Opium drowned in alcohol.
21. Heroin has removed my desire for liquor. If i must choose i really think Heroin is better.
22. So-and-so has taken it for years, and is all right.
23. So-and-so has taken it for years, and is still taking it, and he is the most remarkable man of his century.
24. And so on and so forth.
'Help you at all?' asked Lamus.
Well, honestly , it did not. The fact tends to prove that the alleged reason is artificial and false, that it has simply been invented on the spur of the moment by oneself to excuse one's indulgences.

Aleister Crowley 'Diary of a drug fiend' 1922.

Disposable thumbs

2010-10-06T12:08:00.008+01:00

These pictures were taken nearly a year ago, but considering the Causeway is pushing 60 million years of age i'm sure it hasn't changed too much.

The Giant's Causeway or Clochán an Aifir comprises 40,000 interlocking basalt columns bequeathed to the area by a series of volcanic spit ups.

To Seal the Knot

2010-10-06T10:19:00.017+01:00

A couple of years ago, i attended a sealed knot wedding.

Now what this meant was that, for the couple, who had met on site at one of the Sealed Knot's numerous living history camps, dedicated to the costumed reenactment of events and battles surrounding the English Civil War, it seemed natural for them to consecrate their love in the most traditional of ways- in full 16th century costume.

A majority of the guests were friends from the same such re-enactment society and thus were only too keen to dust off their russets, corsets, buckled boots and woolen suits for a traditional ale fueled Ceilidh.

Felling a little out of place in my demure store bought dress, but never one to pass up the opportunity to hear a 47 year old accountant from Huddersfield bemoan the execution of his great king Charles I.

I clapped and cheered along to the somewhat unconventional toast of 'to wigs- to parliament- to the bride and groom'.

The couple now have a one year old son, who, like the majority of the guests at that wedding has a range of day to day casual wear, and a tiny little civil war re-enactment suit for ultimate contentment.

Bandstand Busking I

2010-09-27T16:37:00.010+01:00

Bandstand busking is genuinely one of my favorite this to do on a cloudy Sunday afternoon.

This Busk saw The Irrepressible take to the stand in London's Victoria park.

It was cold and wet and in theory should have been a rotten day out, the the band were brilliant- managing to execute their dance routine, lurching gracefully from side to side whist playing their assortment of instruments.

They are playing this Thursday at the Scala.

I was filming at the time so these pictures were taken by the lovely Sonia Garcha- in this hat...

who's a druid, where's a druid, there's a druid.

2010-09-23T22:30:00.012+01:00

The equinox- Parliament Hill. A collection of Druids stood about in the rain chanting swaying and strewing flowers, ears of corn and apples in a big circle. Like Harvest festival circa 1234.

An escargotoire of snails

2010-09-23T22:01:00.007+01:00

...who knew. I would have gone with a slither, or slime of snails. Its an invasion of Aliens.

Pope-fest 2010

2010-09-19T11:19:00.009+01:00

I'm embarrassed to admit the only biblical quote i know by heart is followed by the words - i take a look at my life and realize there's nothing left- and sung by Coolio. But the Pope came to London so i wanted to have a look see. The pilgrims all gathered outside Westminster Cathedral to hear mass and sing hymns. It was pleasant.
Although i never actually saw the Pope.

No one comes to God except through me- making Jesus sound a bit like a body guard.

but the banner was held by this particularly gentle looking fellow so you can kind of see his train of thought.

These were lovely though.

Pope-sona non gratis

2010-09-18T18:47:00.009+01:00

I'm vaguely ambivalent about the Pope's visit, but you can understand why the head of a body of 1.1 billion people who believe you'll rot in a fiery hell for your inclination to sit on the sofa and drink Ovaltine with someone with matching genitalia- wouldn't be brilliantly well received. Well that and the child abuse- that's just wrong. Oh and the condemnation of birth control- that's plain dangerous. And it cost 15 million to host him. Okay maybe I'm not as indifferent as i think. I mean really who can blame the Westminsters cleaners for talking about wanting to off the chap. Congratulations to the Daily Express for their impartial coverage.
Although pope-nowp, i'm not sure it was the most artfully constructed protest name. I preferred popesona non gratis.
And 'keep your rosaries off my ovaries', that was clever.

The Pirates of...

2010-09-18T18:37:00.002+01:00

I went to Penzance. It was very beautiful.

Introducing

2010-09-08T16:36:00.003+01:00

Introducing his magnificence- my Grandpa George

Breaking and entering

2010-09-08T15:36:00.010+01:00

I've been coming to Ibiza every summer since i was 10 so sometimes i have to find new ways to entertain myself. Next door to us is a a plot of land with an abandoned house, the land owner has started to build up around it but the old building remains intact, mainly because his planing permission has been revoked. Eerily preserved i later found out that what i assumed to be an abandoned building had in fact been taken over by a hermit.

The hanging coat should have been my first clue

Bucket Girl

2010-09-08T15:13:00.005+01:00

Last one from Bali, but too cute not to mention.
I came downstairs to the sound of giggling, the daughter of the hotel owner was having a bath in a bucket. Hilton sisters eat your heart out.

Monkey Bum Sex

2010-09-08T15:02:00.004+01:00

Two male monkeys enjoying the pleasures of the simian form.

Warung

2010-09-08T14:12:00.010+01:00

Whilst in Bali, we thought it might be nice to try learn to cook a lil something traditional, but reluctant to part with $40 at one of the local cookery school, my ever ingenious friend just asked the owner of the restaurant we ate in if we could watch him cook. He agreed.
Coconut Husk
Washing the gutted eels
Gutting the eels. I found him doing this behind the shed so as not to put off his colleagues.
The chicks circled the raw meat constantly pecking at it.

Crushing the Chili's
Chopping Tomatoes. The cooking lasted for about 4 hours, it is customary for warung food to be prepared in bulk first thing in the morning then served until it runs out over the course of the day. About half the cooks were fasting for Ramadan and despite cooking and serving food all day they would be unable to eat till 7 that night.

Desperatly avoiding Jakarta

2010-08-23T09:19:00.005+01:00

On August 18th Indonesia celebrated 65 years of independence, Jakarta was filled with ceremonies and military parades but in Ubud, a small town on the Island of Bali, celebration unfolded in a slightly different way.

On the 17th we saw nearly 3000 Balinese school children march 3 abreast through the country side, each holding a flaming torch. It was a beautiful and slightly unnerving sight.
Although the person who allowed Kerosene on a fire march ought to be held accountable for a great number of singed plaits.

today i fell in love with a fisherman

2010-08-09T16:47:00.003+01:00

Retierment party Crashers

2010-08-08T15:53:00.008+01:00

Josephine
Hogging the limelight and slaughtering innocent eardrumbs

As an unemployed student, i was always gonna feel a little out of place at a retirement party, but throw in a pinch of 16th century Portuguese Hamlet culture and i was lost for words.

Making Paper boast with Kristan kids

2010-08-08T11:12:00.011+01:00

Sometimes when you want to take beautiful pictures of Kristang kids making symbolic paper boats- they will just steal your camera and take pictures of each other swearing.

The dog body guard, big on Kristang pride small on dental hygene.

Barbara with her kids
The Kristang are a minority group of Eurasians of Portuguese descent who live along the banks of the melaka straight. Traditionally a community whose livelihood depended heavily on fishing income recent land reclamation schemes initiated by the Malay government combined with water pollution have jeopardized their livelihood. I joined a Kristang class, making paper boats, the class was taken by a Portuguese lady named Barbara who hoped to pick up the dialect and a toothless fisherman bemoaning the loss of the traditional Kristang way of life.

Halong bay post Typhoon and horses heads

2010-08-08T10:51:00.012+01:00

This girl tried to sink our boat
Korean guy brought this along...

Houses sinking

Co-Co Nuts

2010-08-07T13:52:00.005+01:00

when the Thai ship capitain says get off deck- usually best to listen

2010-08-07T11:54:00.007+01:00

When the capitaine tells you to get off deck because a storm is brewing- listen to him. These ferry ships in southern thailand were so overcrowded that by the time i tried to get inside there was no room left. I stood on deck in the pouring rain for the better part of an hour. It was only after we docked that i found out one of these had sunk a month or two before.

The life and Times out south eats asian poultry

2010-07-18T10:04:00.004+01:00

Before and After

Other People's property

2010-07-18T09:59:00.005+01:00

Ankor une fois

2010-07-18T09:46:00.012+01:00

The horses resting before a full days work carry the children of tourists
Performers on their way to work

The tomb raider tree

Fishing in Vietnam

2010-07-18T09:37:00.005+01:00

Look Up Bangkok

2010-07-10T16:33:00.003+01:00

The Fairy stream at MuiNei

2010-07-10T16:21:00.004+01:00

Look Left
Look Right

One of the main problems with the fairy stream, apart from the falsely advertised fairies, was the constant smell of fish sauce brewing in large clay pots. MuiNei is famous for this fish sauce but the smell is not dissimiar from that of a rotting t-rex, i imagine.

Dead Dogs in Vietnam

2010-07-10T16:01:00.006+01:00

This One is pretty self explanatory

And a picture of some birds tweeting to cheer us all up

I heart Cambodia

2010-07-03T15:02:00.009+01:00

MaMa Monkey
Using a helmet as a rain hat
Sinking pleasure boats in Kep
A kid sitting on the roof
Children in an orphanage in Kampot
Monks on a pilgrimage from Japan
The Main temple of Angkor, which was used as a hospital; by the khmer during the civil war as it was one of the few places they knew the government wouldn't bomb
The child vendors of Angkor relaxing in their free time

EverythingEverthing

2010-06-20T18:38:00.014+01:00

I took some pictures of Everything Everything during a film shoot for the Tuckshop Community. The band released their latest single 'Schoolin'' last week so the location, an A-level art room complete with teenage angst and lots of work about identity using broken mirrors, was fitting.

And one of Alice- just cos she's pretty

Hi- i'm a Manatee, Please Love Me

2010-06-13T23:44:00.011+01:00

ME Manatee

Manatees, typically up to 12ft long are some of the fattest lumps of happy blubber you could hope to encounter. Unfortunately due to their size and the fact that their habitats tend to clash with prime jet ski and motorboat territories, the Manatee is today quite endangered. These photo's were taken in a sanctuary for endangered and orphaned Manatees. The tank (i think thats what you would call it, the liquid version of an enclosure..)was full of bits of floating lettuce, as they typically consume up to 10% of their own not insubstantial body weight in plants daily.

And i thought i'd throw in a couple of sea horses for good measure- they're endangered too, 20 million a year caught for Chinese medicine.

THE MIDDLE EAST

2010-06-12T09:41:00.019+01:00

Weavers And Dolls

The Slum Cats Of Christmas Past

These photo's were taken in a slum in Cairo a couple of days before Christmas. The place was full of animals, cats crawing around the litter looking for food a few very scrawny chickens and even an aligator in a tank.

Goat Herders & HorseMen

DUBAI???

2010-06-07T21:06:00.013+01:00

DUBAI HAS TO BE ONE OF THE STRANGEST PLACES I'VE EVER BEEN, TECHNICALLY A DRY CITY- THE LACK OF ANYTHING MUCH TO DO COMBINED WITH THE HEAT (AVERAGE 58' BETWEEN JULY AUGUST) MEANT THAT IVE NEVER BEEN SO CONTINUOUSLY DRUNK IN MY LIFE. I WAS OUT THERE WORKING WITH VIVA, A WOMENS MAGAZINE IN THE MIDDLE EAST. I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO GO TO THE ATLANTIS HOTEL WHEN I WAS OUT THERE, WHICH WAS UNLIKE ANYTHING I'VE EVER SEEN, ITS TACKY INCOMPARABLE IN SCALE AND COST ABOUT 800 MILLION TO BUILD.

THE ENTRANCE

BUT IT DID HAVE THE BEST AQUARIUM IVE EVER SEEN

THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN IN THE RESTAURANT IN THE BURJ AL-ARAB, THEY HAVE A HUGE EXOTIC FISH TANK THAT FORMS THE MIDDLE AND WALLS OF THE RESTAURANT, THE Sharks ARE KEPT OVERFED SO THAT THEY DON'T EAT THE Rare FISH.

NOW FOR THE SKI SLOPE

SKI DUBIA, IS A 22,500M INDOOR SKI RESORT IN THE EMIRATE MALL, THE FACILITY CONSUMES 3000 GALLONS OF OIL A DAY, WHICH ISN'T SURPRISING SINCE ITS BASICALLY THE EQUIVALENT OF KEEpING A FRIDGE COOL INSIDE AN OVEN.

OUTSIDE OF THE MALLS AND HOTELS THERE'S REALLY NOT MUCH ELSE TO DO, I TRIED THE MUSEUM

BUT IT WAS CREEPY

AND DULL, SINCE DUBAI IS ESSENTIALLY A VERY YOUNG TOWN. THIS IS A MAP OF THE AREA 50 YEARS EARLIER.

AND AS SOON AS YOU LEAVE THE CITY, IT TURNS BACK INTO DESERT.

FLOWER POWER PANDA POWER

2010-06-07T00:18:00.006+01:00

PANDA POWER

FLOWER POWER

THE LOVE CATS

2010-06-07T00:08:00.005+01:00

2 BIG CATS GOING CRAZY IN THEIR RATHER CRAMPED AND UNSANITARY CELLS AT THE BEIJING ZOO

FROM ATLANTIS TO INTERZONE

2010-06-06T20:40:00.006+01:00

ATLANTIS IS A FORMER QUARRY , THE ROCKS FROM WHICH WENT TO BUILDING BITS OF IBIZA TOWN. TO GET THERE YOU HAVE TO DROP DOWN FOR 45 MINUTES OF A CLIFF, WHERE I SWEAR THE LIZARDS ARE TAME. ITS EERIE INSANELY BEAUTIFUL AND SURROUNDED ON 3 SIDES BY CLEAR BLUE SEA.

THE VIEW FROM THE TOP OF THE CLIFF eS VEDRA

tHE QUARRY

THE LIZARD

AMY- MISS WINEHOUSE IF YA NASTY

2010-06-05T17:42:00.001+01:00

SHANKHILL FALLS

2010-06-05T17:17:00.011+01:00

LOOKING at how the infamous murals of SHANKILL and FALLS road have evolved over recent times to reflect the desire of communities on both sides to integrate their past into their present and begin to look to the future. You can see in an area that has always painted its politics on the wall, that in-spite of everything including the impact of the economic down turn, this area of Belfast is visibly making every effort to repair itself.

tHE UNICORNS OF CLEANLINESS

GRAFFITI IN THE MIDDLE

SOME POETRY

AND
HOU-
-SES

SEBASTIAN TELIER

2010-06-05T16:56:00.009+01:00

thE LEDGEND

THE MAN

THe TEETH

WELCOME TO JAMROCK

2010-06-05T14:01:00.009+01:00

FISHTAILS AND LADy HEADS

FISHING

The ONE and only DUTTY WIND

HOME grown ProdruCE

NOM NOM- happy puppies

Nike Brand

2010-06-05T10:06:00.004+01:00

This gentleman provided NIKE with some wicked free advertising


Not sure how much this cat was enjoying the whole jumping thing.