dustycheeks

2011-09-03T12:38:00.000-07:00

present memory

2010-08-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I went to the Tate modern. My Dad came along and he was interested in a short film installation by Alejandrlo Cesarco..
The Artists father was filmed and shown in a short loop of flickering film. He has just being diagnosed with a terminal illness.
My Dad had picked up the accompanying booklet and was keen to know what I thought of it all..
I have been diligently reading it and trying to comprehend..This paragraph contains the nub of the essence of the piece..
" The photograph is literally an emanation of the referent. From a real body, which was there, proceeded radiations which ultimately touch me, who am here; the duration of the transmission is insignificant; the photograph, as Sontag says, will touch me like the delayed rays of a star.
A sort of umbilical chord links the body of the photographed thing: light though impalpable, is here a carnal medium, a skin I share."
I love it

Alien life forms

2010-08-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

Had another walk up the Pennine way. From Beckermonds up to Thwaite in lovley Swaledale.

Just south of Hawes, my son spotted these amazing jelly fungi.

Into the big country

2010-06-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we whipped across the fens and ended up camping in North Norfolk..The flats of East Anglia are great for stretching the eye..The campsite was nice if a little too"Cool Camping"..
The beach at Holkham was as ever, sublime.. The wind was tearing down the North sea, parallel to Norway, five hundred miles later hitting the North coast of England ripping up the beach and twisting it into sandy rivers. The rivers were pouring into new dunes that morphed and swelled in front of us..
Amongst this Geological drama..Little Terns were nesting on the beach.. They never dessert their offspring. Often becoming the nucleus of a small dune in the process..
My Pal Fish said that it was one of the best things he had ever seen..

Chicken Tarka Massala

2010-06-10T11:55:00.000-07:00

Spent the last weekend in Exmoor. Swam in some fresh water, following in the Rudder bubbles of Tarka. Particularly my old Friend the Lynn, up from Watersmeet. And again in the Taw estuary, near Braunton Burrows.
We followed a dusty hot track up onto the moor, to Shallowford, . The place where Henry Williamson lived for a while after WW1.
The hillsides of Exmoor are like a child's ideal farm painting. Lots of coloured cattle and sheep flecked with the odd handful of Deer. Very easy on the eye.

Blaze of glory

2010-05-25T10:24:00.000-07:00

Had a glorious weekend. Spent a lot of time up at the allotment, watering..
The front bed is all planted up with Poppies, Sunflowers and two types of Squash..
Behind the shed I have put two posts, hung an old tatty hammock up and planted loads of Thyme, Lavender, Rosemary and Chamomile..It smells like a foreign place in the heat, a little liquoricey, Greek honey..I love it..
We walked Hairy Baz a lot down through the meadow, in the woods and up onto Parliament piece. The meadow is full of Buttercup and Speedwell.. I tried to take a picture of him.. It is far to tricky, he is always ablur in photographs..He is ace..

finding my direction..magnetically

2010-04-13T13:33:00.000-07:00

In eighty one, my Brother and I walked one third of the Pennine way.. We ran out of cash, and my brothers boots tore his feet to bits.
So last week I walked for Thirty miles. I was accompanied by my youngest daughter and son.. We also took young Basil.
We started at Malham, up and over The Cove and up past the tarn, up on through a remote valley on to Fountains fell. After a much needed tea stop..We were over the top and into a wild and beautiful valley..It was really tough going, but we slogged along. There are still swedges of snow, but it was a lovely day..Up past PenY Ghent and camped at Horton in ribblesdale.
We observed Lapwings, Skylarks..
Next day we headed for Hawes.It was a hot day and we stopped for lunch near Ings.. I took a wrong turn and we got lost for four hours in a large desolate commercial forest..Following a power line we ended up crossing some pretty rough terrain before ending up in The hamlet of Beckermonds..Seven miles southeast of our objective..
We stopped at a cottage and I asked if we could use the telephone, for a taxi..While we waited ,the owner made us all tea, even Basil..And some tasty cake..
We cut our losses and took an interesting taxi back to malham..Driving past village pubs full of Yorkshire folk all pink from a lovely sunny day..Drinking pints of Chateau de Chasselaise or Black sheep..Drove back to Brother in Laws in York and demolished a Curry..
Bloody Brilliant..

Loving the Moon

2010-03-25T11:29:00.000-07:00

To listen to a Buddhist lesson under the moon makes ones mental mood more detached; to discuss swordsmanship under the moon makes ones courage more inspired; to discuss poetry under the moon makes ones personal flavour more charming in seclusion; and to look at beautiful women under the moon makes ones passion deeper.

Chang Ch'ao:

Spartaco Fontanot.

2010-03-03T10:43:00.000-08:00

I read this letter ,written to his Mother.
Dear Mum, of all people I know ,you are the one that will feel it the most, so my very last thoughts go to you. Don't blame anyone else for my death, because I myself chose my fate.
I don't know what to write to you, because, even though I have a clear head, I can't find the right words. I took my place in the army of liberation, and I die as the light of victory is already beginning to shine...I shall be shot very shortly with twenty three other comrades.
After the war you must claim your rights to a pension.They will let you have my things at the jail, only I am keeping Dad's undervest, because I don't want the cold to make me shiver...
Once again I say goodbye.Courage!
Your son
Spartaco
-Spartaco Fontanont, metalworker, twenty-two years old, member of the French resistance group of Misak Manouchian,1944

Between the Woods and the Water

2010-02-24T12:04:00.000-08:00

Patrick Leigh Fermour tells the story of his last few hours spent with his Romanian lover Angela.
They had been touring the Carpathian roads and stopping at old Saxon inns, admiring ancient churches. When all too soon they had to get Angela back on to the Budapest train.
Their friend and the driver of the old Bugatti was Count Istvan. and he had stopped and fixed a puncture when they all heard the whistle of the engine.
They shot through fields of Maize and Tobacco, clouds of dust billowing behind. As they ripped along a field of Sunflowers, They levelled with the train, the passengers staring wide eyed at them. Then, grinning like a cinder eyed demon Istvan pulled ahead....
They made it well ahead of the train.
Angela leaned out of the train window and threaded crimson button holes into their shirts. She kissed Paddy goodbye, and years later he could still feel the dust on her smooth cheek.
Its a true story, and one of the best books I have ever read.
Hence; Dustycheeks.

My ten greatest extravagances

2010-02-17T11:21:00.000-08:00

No 10..
I do have a slightly vain weakness for nice sunglasses. Generally I am a bit shambolic, ungroomed, unironed and unkempt. But if it is sunny I will wack on my Police aviators.
On Friday I tried on a pair of £250 Tom Ford aviators while Frau went to the loo.
No 9..
Wetsuits. I currently own a nice full bodysuit. A bit battered and well used. But I have had some of the best times of my life innit.
No 8..
Years ago I was working near Frankfurt. When I came home me and Frau used to take a bottle of Henckel trocken up to the bathroom. We would chat about the week, in the bath. "Me at tap end".
Pretty rock n roll..
No 7..
A few years ago I bought a Tandem on a whim, cost £300. We occasionally whip off to the woods on it. It feels like we are in the nineteen twenty's.
No 6..
I buy a lot of books. Working my way through subjects. Travel, exploration. I got stuck on a huge spell of mountaineering disasters. Sci fi. Philosophy. I do however,wish I had a proper format. I intend to aim at some proper lingual skills next. starting with old Greek.
No 5..
In Two thousand ,I rented a villa with a pool in Beautiful Zakynthos. It over looked an olive grove and on to a misty mountain monastery. In the day the swallows would occasionally take swooping sips from the water. In the evening the bats did the same. We explored the island in a battered old Fiat multipla. We took all of our four children. It cost a fortune.
No 4..
On the beach at Alykes, I spent a lot of Drachma at Costas watersports. On all sorts of Ringo rides and what not.But mainly blatting across the Ionian on stupidly quick unregulated wet bikes..Frau would be screaming in my ear to slow down, but she actualy loved it.
No 3..
Road trips ,to New Zealand" with four kids, two at adult price." Drove all around South Island up to Abel Tasmen national park. Then on up to North Island. Then back home via Barrier reef.
Recent trip around middle Europe ,then up through Scandinavia.
Up through the Highlands then out to the Outer Hebrides, down through Skye back onto mainland and back to Edinburgh.
No 2..
Purchased a twelve and a half inch Newtonian reflector. I can see galaxies with it.As well as the planets in pretty good definition. The moon is enormous, crisp and very detailed. Also extremely bright. Needs a greenish filter.
N0 1..
Snowboarding costs a fortune anyway. when you bring your children along it costs even more.I would however feel terrible if I was on the mountains, knowing that my kids were stuck in a smelly old classroom in the midlands.
When you have been sliding down a mountain all day, and you stop. Meet up and sit at a mountain restaurant in the sunshine. Order an extortionately priced round of hot chocolates. And then start to swap anecdotes from the days exploits.All excited messy haired and red faced.
You cannot place a value on such moments. They truly are the times of ones life.

Everything in its right place

2010-02-12T07:57:00.000-08:00

On the culture show last night,there was an item about a couple in Leeds who collect art.
They had previously been interviewed about their tastes. The woman had mentioned how much she admired Damien Hirsts butterflies.
Damien had called her after the programme to thank her for her praise. He later sent her an original work. It is on proud display, on a wall in their modest terrace house. Truly art for the people.
Today I have been visiting Cambridge. I was killing time while my son had an interview and ended up in, Kings college chapel.
What a masterpiece of architecture, light, and acoustics.
For ten quid, my wife and I were spellbound by an ancient piece of artifice. The organ nestles in the middle. Carved from oak amidst the choir stalls. I can only wonder at the resonance of a full choral service , cranked all the way up to eleven..
I didn't feel at all unwelcome and unwashed ,like the "other place" makes the visiting Hoi Poloi feel..

Mr Sting

2010-02-05T09:39:00.000-08:00

Watched a bit of telly last night. George Galloway was on newsnight talking about the justification for the invasion of Iraq. As was Claire Short.
They were talking about how the British govt lied about W.O.M.D. as an excuse for the war as opposed to regime change.
The reason for the war was that Saddam was a jeopardy to the wests oil supply. And needed to be replaced. The hundreds of thousand dead were collateral damage. The leaders have secured there objectives and can now reap the rewards from their cooperate chums. Blair converted to Catholicism as soon as he left office so can even confess away the gore and war grime that his immortal soul must have been encrusted in.
Everybodys happy..
Watched a clip of Sting being savaged by Paxman. Sting was on about Global warming and Paxy asked him if he ever felt weird talking about this when he has homes all over and flies a lot? Sting said "Oh come on Jeremy, you can't blame celebrities for causing Global warming".
Paxman said; "I am not accusing celebrities of causing global warming.I am merely accusing you of hypocrisy".

Thermal underwear

2010-02-01T13:32:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we were driving in Hampshire, near Stockbridge. So we had to have a quick dip in the River Test.
There was still frost in the hollows all around, yet we were undeterred.
We stripped off quick and were in ,in a flash. I swam hard as I could against the flow for about ten seconds. Then out and into the uberchill of a January afternoon..
My son even picked up a wee leech.
We only had our undies on, so that is pretty hard core innit.

Unleash the Feral

2010-01-06T03:28:00.000-08:00

Today me n my lift buddy tried to get to work. The snow wasn't to bad but the traffic was getting nowhere.
So today I am enjoying our snow event..
Am reading a power full book by Jay Griffiths, called Wild..
She talks about the way that modern Capitalist Christian culture has tried to neutralise the wild in the world. And the feral that is in us all..
She uses the Cee. you .next .Tuesday. word with deliberate effect. She ignores the taboo and destroys the sexist/ sexual aspect of an extremely graphic word.
Hairy Baz and I celebrated our feral with a lovely snowy walk earlier on.

Crinkle crags adventure

2009-11-13T03:30:00.000-08:00

On Monday we were up very early. We drove up to Langdale and parked next to the Old Dungeon gill hotel. We were huffing at the cold as we got our boots and coats on before setting off up the valley.
The valley was full of frost, and frost covered sheep, lovely Herdwicks. All fluffy and smiley.
The yomp up the valley side really got us warmed up. The sun was spilling into the valley bowl and casting its sunbeams through the crags and into the dale below.
Once onto the ridge we enjoyed a very sunny day, walking amongst the crags and looking back down into the green pastures below ,across to scafell and all the way back to Morcambe bay ashimmer golden perhaps thirty miles away.

Shaking off the Black dog

2009-11-06T03:43:00.001-08:00

At the start of this week I was dead miserable. I just couldn't shake it off.!
But, I kept on taking young Basil out for his walks..I kept on being cheery with the people that I met..
A telephone conversation with an old pal really left me down on Tuesday..So..I got a bit pissed while watching an amazing documentary about Black holes..And it put it all back into perspective..
I had a good long chat with football Scouser lee, while the two dogs romped and chased this morning. And We are off to the Thai, for lunch with Ma n Da in a bit..
You've just got to chip away at the Black dog with as much low level Ecstasy as you can..

Enjoying Halloween

2009-11-03T12:46:00.001-08:00

We cooked some chili and we carved some pumpkins. We had some pals over and we drank a bit of wine while the kids went off Guising into the night..
The pumpkins were placed outside the house to scare off any evil , and to welcome any neighbourhood children. Many came along, had some sweets and had their costumes admired..
It is one of the highlights of the year in K,worth..
What can seem like a bit of a frusty town at times, drops its guard and people give their easiest smiles.
My little Bloke dressed as some kind of Caledonian military zombie..

Art for arts sake

2009-10-25T05:27:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been fiddling about with sculpture..I am interested in trying to manifest dark energy. The way I have tried to show it in this form, is in the way it has been sliced and interrupted.
The form I imagine as a billet of plasma..The annihilation affect of the dark energy has sliced it into three pieces. I am in the process of having five forms cast in bronze and maybe steel..
I am also working on a separate wooden one.

Blazing a trail

2009-10-15T09:10:00.000-07:00

I am starting to feel a bit lost, being without employment and all..It gets to me, insidiously.
But then I thought, well why not go and visit my Brother in Oregon..I havn't seen him for ten years or so now..
So I have been fantasising of renting a cool bike, something like a Triumph Bonneville or just a big old single or a twin.
Pick it up at Denver and just blat over the Rockys for a couple of days..Take my time, looking all cool and a bit renegade, smoking roll ups. And rowing with rednecks..
And just ripping of into the hilly distance..Then he and I could fish for a weekend.Chew the fat and drink two bottles of twenty five year old Macallan.
And swear a bit..

Dirty dogs

2009-10-15T02:13:00.000-07:00

Glorious weather of late. Walking back at dusk the other night, young Basil had snatched up some leaves.Or so I thought, He looked a bit shifty and wouldn't meet my eye so I grabbed the stuff off him..Turned out to be a big meaty lump of dog..shit.

.Egg was well and truly on my face..I could hear my wife and son, groaning and chuckling away behind me as I walked the rest of the way to our house..I still think he is ace though..

filthy animals

2009-10-07T02:02:00.000-07:00

So I am between jobs at the moment, Which gives me lots of time to spend with Basil. Yesterday we walked in the local woods and we met Lee the international football talent scout from eighties Liverpool, and his Staffy pup Rocky.The two pups are exactly the same age and they loved each other.

Lee and I discussed the problems facing the English youth game, of which he feels partly to blame. He told me how important it is when taking on a young Argentinian superstar to know how he may react to being two nil down on a wet No vember night in Darlington..

While we talked, (me giving my best, fake, bloke footy banter). The two pups raced and wrestled each other filthy.I had to shower him straight away, pulling out loads of thistle heads.

Rejuvination time

2009-08-08T03:05:00.000-07:00

The last few days I spent walking and swimming in Exmoor national park.
We swam in the East Lynn, up from Watersmeet. In a oxbow pool. The rivers are in spate and brimming with vigour.
We also swam in the Barle, downstream from Simonsbath..We wandered up the rivers course and swam in a pool below an ancient ruined settlement. We walked back picking raspberries and whortleberries.We didn't meet a soul until back near the village. A (East home county)Woman asked.
"Wots up there then?" I described the river meandering through the heather and bracken clad hills. I tried to en capture the tranquility and romance..
"Is that all!" We looked back at her..."No animals..Deer?"..
We wished them good luck.
We swam yesterday at Woody bay. And walking back up were asked again by a large group; "Is there anything down there?"
I looked askance..
They meant in a catering sense.
I was tempted to lie about a really funky kebab bistro ,with succulent shish kebabs cooked while you wait. And a little cool terrace, where you can sip ice cocktails while soaking up the view and the ambience.

Dog whispering/shouting

2009-08-04T03:18:00.000-07:00

We thought we were moving so we bought a puppy. He is a lovable little tike, but I feel sorry that there are so many NOs in his world. He has many chew toys, but in fact likes to chew everything.
He had his last jab recently but we still have to keep him in, nearly all the time. We do take him to quiet places, for little strolls. And if we see another dog , I pop him in his bag. He sticks his head and paws over the top.
If we walk anywhere public, it brings on a chorus of ahhs. And many glances and nudges. It is possibly the nearest experience I could get to being a film star..
Oh, he is a Border collie called Basil..

way out west

2009-07-25T07:55:00.000-07:00

We spent last week down in the west country. The first few nights on the Lizard, in an empty field bar one other tent..The occupant of which was a trained sniper! It isn't everyday you get chatting to a sniper..
Then we headed back along south Cornwall..We walked down to the cove at Lanssalos, all wet suited up ready for action. The sea however was far to rough so we headed inland and camped on Dartmoor..Headed north next day and swam in the Salmon pool at Castle Drogo.It really is a lovely spot..The River was in spate and was a rich tawny whiskey colour, it made our bodies look really magical.
The last few days we spent on Exmoor, probably my new favorite spot in England.We camped in the Lynn valley and swam in Crook pool upstream from watersmeet.

The big picture

2009-07-04T23:50:00.000-07:00

On Friday I flew back to England from Gothenburg. We took off and headed north, up toward Marstrand then out over the Skagerack to Denmark.It was a beautiful sunny evening as we crossed Jutland and then down the North sea..All the way down are blocks of shipping, groups of twenty or so, on both sides about four miles off the coast, just anchored up waiting for commerce to start again..
On Saturday I rented a van and drove down to Shoreditch to move my daughters..One has moved to Clapham, and the other to Finsbury park..It was a hot day, and we had some tense swearing, as I manoeuvred the too large van through the busy teeming streets..
Next week is the beginning of my four week summer break, and we are starting off with a weekend of Foraging, wild swimming, Astronomy and Philosophy in Devon..

Stroking the landscape

2009-05-04T14:53:00.000-07:00

When I cycle I feel as if I am stroking the texture of the landscape..All the bumps and hollows..
On the way up hills I am sucking in air. and forcing blood and energy through my thighs n Calfs and on through my tyres and into the ground..
My mind then holds a topographic memory. It is the same with astronomy. I am getting to recognise stars and know how far away they are. I am building a three dimensional map of our galaxy..It is intellectual effort more than physical, but the principal is the same..

Coast to Coast

2009-05-04T01:21:00.000-07:00

On Friday we set off from Bideford. Our intention was to Cycle all the way to Plymouth..
The Tarka trail was a proper treat. Bluebells, Ramson, buttercups and new ferns all sprouting brand new growth..The trail follows an old railway track and there are many viaducts to cross with views along the river Torridge..
We spent a pleasant night at the Half moon inn at Sheepwash, then cycled back past Bideford and up the estuary into Fremington quay..
We put the bike back onto the roofrack and drove across the moor into Tavistock.
In the morning we cycled from Lydford to the Meldon viaduct, then back again..

Sublime Virile Dominator

2009-04-29T02:07:00.000-07:00

So the other day we met up with some pals on the South coast and we circumnavigated the Isle of White..My pal has a RIB, which is really quite fast..We zapped up the Solent and stopped at a beach near Ryde.My pals had made a picnic lunch, so we ate that while we observed all of the pleasure and commercial craft making their way into Portsmouth and Southampton..Then we reembarked and scooted around past the Needle's and back up into Lymington before tying up outside the Ship Inn for a beer..My Mate has really got the hang of picking up the bow waves of larger craft and surfing their wake..
The Top Banana at work was talking to his acolytes the other day..Behind him on his Power wall were two images..One of a severely tailored jacket, like his. And the other was of The Rampant Gherkin building in London..Freudian overkill..

keeping a low profile

2009-03-28T04:03:00.000-07:00

At the car factory we are obliged to attend meetings..My Friend has taught me his meeting expression.It conveys blankness tinged with disappointed interest..I think I have nearly mastered it, and I use it often now..At yesterdays meeting we were told how we are to work our extra three unpaid hours within a rigid time span..
Some of the permanent staff had a bit of a whinge. I just kept my blank look frozen and gazed between the two gaffers alternately..I kept my neck wound right in..
Next weekend I am headed off for my first wild swim of the year.. Perhaps in Devon..

Picture of us lost near Glen Affrick

Less bucks for my bang

2009-03-12T13:50:00.000-07:00

Still banging away at the car factory . But today they have told us that they are cutting our hourly pay rate by ten percent..We were also informed by our local managers that they want us to work faster..On the way to the contractors car park, the Rozzer on the gate searched my bag for the second night running.. I am a little miffed to be honest..And yes, I know that I am one of the lucky ones with a job..
At the moment though I don't feel so lucky.. I only feel venom, and disenchantment..Less than Gruntled..
There is a terrific programme on telly about a fella living up near Applecross.. He is doing up an old bothie. He has bought some Sheep, pigs and some chicken..He has taken a young dog with him and he is very content...
I think that there will be a lot of civil unrest this Summer.. I hope that the youths smash up some posh little villages in the stockbroker belt, instead of their own impoverished back yards..
Back to wild swimming soon..

All together now...!

2009-02-07T05:28:00.000-08:00

Busy at work in the car factory..On Friday it snowed ,a bit..So at ten o clock they sent everyone home..This caused immediate gridlock,..People questioned us as they left, " Why are you fellas carrying on working?"..
Well , we have a deadline and more importantly as a contractor I don't get paid for sitting in traffic jams..Some responded that they would rather sit in a traffic jam than sit in "this place"..
This is an attitude that seems to prevail quite strongly..
Them and Us..Masters and Servants..Actors and Technicians...
It seems so out of place in a modern working environment..But it works both ways, some of the top Duces can barely hide their disdain...Not all...
And they want the tax payer to blithely wodge a load of cheap cash their way...
Here are some more Glen Coe images..

aching old legs

2009-01-30T00:38:00.000-08:00

took a road trip up to Glen Coe with a couple of pals.. We drove up in my little Yaris, which is a little snug but very gentle on fuel..
The upper slopes are full of icy compacted wind slab and the scenery was incredible. We spent all day boarding, finally getting the hang of it again after a cup of tea and some dried fruit for lunch..
It is a lovely feeling knowing that the mountains and slopes are just up the road a bit, if you are willing to make a bit of an effort..

absence of colour

2009-01-21T13:01:00.000-08:00

We took a boat from Vathi around to the northernmost shore of Ithaka.. As we skirted the east coast, we were close enough to hear the billions of Cicadas in the thick forests that cover the slopes and shores...
We disembarked to a beach, and spent a hot couple of hours swimming and nervously dodging the rocks dislodged by the feral goats in the woods above...
When it was time to leave, the sea had become to frisky, and we had to swim out and board by a hastily gripped ladder as the boat rolled heavily in the ultramarine rollers..
The captain was a mildly belligerent scruff, and he smoked and gulped away at cans of lager throuought the day...
The slightly risky approach to health and safety added something to our experience. And in the middle of this chilly winter of uncertainty. The vibrant colours of a Greek summer still bring a whist full smile to my pasty English face...

collective nouns and iambic pentameters

2009-01-10T10:01:00.000-08:00

Trying to speak my native tongue to the best of my ability is my hobby as much as a compulsion..I used to feel embarrassed when people at work would mock for " getting up yourself"..
A bit older now and I have no care for dull opinions. I suck as much marrow out of the spoken word as I can...
Phrases like; A charm of Goldfinches or A flight of locks always give me a flush of minor ecstasy..
I still feel like a gormless oaf ,way out of my depth when I try to read poetry.. Listening is easier although I couldn't quantify or categorise my pleasure...
Why for instance is "He bangs the drum and makes a dreadful noise" iambic as a pentameter..

Into Infinity

2009-01-07T14:02:00.000-08:00

In the dog days of a hot and lazy French summer, my two sons and I liked to swim out to the middle of the river and drift down to the weir..We could observe the sea trout spawning in the spume below and sometimes we would slide down the canoe slipway in the centre on our airbed our our old battered dingy...
The drop was about eight feet, and was a little intimidating at first..
Occasionally we would help a bewildered kayak group to find the slipway, and we would aim them down the middle with a vigorous shove.
The Kayakers were usually grateful and glad to find the way down stream, from the river you can see only air at the rivers edge and an unknown drop...
It was a nice way to practice French, trying to assure novices that we knew what we were doing..
Votre guide de Ardeche toboggan..

David versus Goliath

2009-01-01T06:16:00.000-08:00

The last week or so I have just been cooking drinking and eating, and I am a bit bored of it now.
I have been keeping half an eye on the news, watching Israel the ally of our greatest ally as it terrorises the Palestinians some more..
We have all been numbed by the images, but comforted by the fact that they are probably terrorists anyway...
I just wonder how powerful images like this are affecting the young Islamic youth of Britain..If I was an angry young man .."And I was angry about stuff like the Miners and the like"then I would be sure to admire the nerve and perhaps most importantly, the zeal of these two young Moslem's...

waiting for da chop

2008-11-28T01:13:00.000-08:00

I am one of about twenty or so contractors working together.. Some of us are less "well in" than others, but all of us are feeling a little twitchy..We form little huddles and discuss the nuances of comments made by our supremos..
It is pathetic but we are only human, and it is probably a coping mechanism for our fragile little egos..I try and maintain a chipper air of indifference, and witter on about becoming a transvestite revolutionary artist or some such waffle..
The shame is that we have all been making models and patterns since we were sixteen or so, and we are all totally conditioned to be content when at work, productive and functioning as we were programmed..
We want these jobs , even though there have been no pay increases for ten years or so.. And we all fear the prospect of having to work in a German sweatshop, away from our families..Whinging and crying into our Weiss biers in the evenings..

Biased propoganda

2008-11-21T10:03:00.000-08:00

The Government have been running a television campaign against evil benefit cheats. The advert features a hapless labourer getting a little cash in hand for some illicit work that he had done..The evil scrounger is then filmed walking back to his house and then watching a bit of telly..
The poor bloke looks as if he hasn't a pot to piss in..He looks close to tears throughout, and the image of him sat on his knackered old sofa in his basically furnished hovel only evoked my pity..
Then it evoked my anger, at a Labour government that wants me, to feel like dobbing the poor fella in to the Feds..
It is all about double standards..On the one hand we should hate the scroungers, yet on the other it is fine to give away Billions in future tax payments to the Banking system...
I hope the poor dole dodger Carry's on getting away with it..Maybe in the next campaign they can show him replacing his video cassettes for some DVDs..Or maybe show him getting a job in the city and then snorting some cocaine of a prozzies arse in the back of his Bentley...
Good Luck to him

saint Cirque Lapopie

2008-10-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

Last Summer we were driving west when we camped one night near this fortified medieval village...It is perched above the river Lot. I imagine to protect from attacks from Barbary pirates or the like..
Nowadays it is home and workplace to many artists and artisans..We strolled around the place one evening after cycling past it earlier on that day..I liked the fact that the window shutters and the rooftops where a coordinated shade of Aubergine...
When I but my next house I intend to paint my front door a nice dark similar hue...

To the Woods!

2008-10-21T11:14:00.000-07:00

Is the same tree, another perspective. Had an early evening spin through town last night, trying to get a feel for the place. I am wondering whether I like it or not... My new Spanish mate thinks it is dull and has plans to up sticks for Stratford...I told his wife to take him there on a bank holiday..She says she did and he loved it...

Try another perspective

2008-10-20T11:07:00.000-07:00

Same tree, photographed from the bottom of the dilly..When the sun was still shining...

Woody Dell

2008-10-18T06:37:00.000-07:00

Is a lazy Saturday morning, I just went out on my bike for a forty minute spin. Through the woods looking for mushrooms. There is a huge clump of Chanterelles in our back garden, but as soon as I mentioned eating them, wife went of on a rant.. She thought that we would all end up on dialyses..Hrmmph...
But I took a nice Autumnal picture of a Warwick shire Oak, with some exposed root hanging over a ledge..

Forest of Dean

2008-10-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

We headed west this weekend, and ended up camped near the river Wye...We got a bit lost on a bike ride, and ended up walking to the pub in the dark...After walking in the totally wrong direction we asked directions off a local who kindly gave us a lift..
The pub was as bad as you can imagine, not quite the Slaughtered Lamb but a little bit Royston Vasey... The food looked terrible but fortunately they didn't accept plastic. So after a quick beer we walked back to camp for some Pasta...Drinking wine we could hear the Hogs in the forest Grunt/howling to each other...
Next day we were up early and off to Go Ape for some tree climbing. It was a lovely sun drenched day and we drove up through the Welsh borders in the afternoon...The countryside is very easy on the eyes around Hereford shire/ Monmouth. We left it in the early evening and drove East through Worcestershire with the Sun setting smoky golden orange behind us...

Aware of my own existance

2008-10-08T14:42:00.000-07:00

Worked late last night..It is nice to stroll back to the car park, in the dark, picking out familiar stars..The moon was half full with Saturn aglow next to it..
Up early this morning and Orion was glowing fierce.. I took a minute or two and observed its familiar shape, reassuringly back in its place ,in an often chaotic universe..
Betelgeuse is larger than the circumference of the earths orbit and burns red in the top left hand corner.. Rigel burns blue in the bottom right and is larger than the Orbit of Mars..
Both names are Arabic, and were given by ancient scholars who perhaps observed them on caravan journeys across Arabia long ago...

negative rut

2008-10-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

So I am trying to be positive still.. It is tricky and it is easy to snag on to other peoples negative feelings. If I hear my colleagues starting to slide I try to bring them around with a little humour or a random fact...
It is difficult though..The negativity is almost palpable, and is almost encouraged through the cultivation of schisms and cliques...Quite a lot of the contractors are finishing soon and they are all even more glum...
So this weekend I am heading east, and intend to walk for miles across deserted sand spits. And maybe even have a quick thrash around in the briny...Buy some fish and some Samphire, come back refreshed...

Misty Hollows

2008-09-26T05:17:00.000-07:00

Driving to work through the misty Warwickshire countryside this morning. I was admiring the pools of mist and watching the Sun as it rose up through the fug...
The radio was banging on about bankers and the Credit crunch, blah blah blah...As if I give a hoot...
The next interview was with David Attenborough..About the Frogs and Amphibians being wiped out, by a fungus which attacks their respiratory system through their permeable skin...
So not only should we worry about the Bees we should start to panic about the poor old frogs...
So much to worry about as well as our own poor immortal souls...

Being freindly

2008-09-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

On Saturday afternoon we had long game of tennis. My partner Foxy and I were walking up to the car park when we paused to speak to the owner of an old Rolls Royce..He was chauffeuring at a wedding...He was an interesting man and it was nice to stop and natter on such a sunny day..
As we talked a trout fisherman walked passed and joined in our conversation..He was an interesting fruitcake too, and I think all four of us enjoyed our spontaneous discourse together...
On Sunday we played doubles with my sons...Some Chavs had set up a barbecue and were playing a sweary game of football on the bowling green..I had an anxious moment when an old lady tried to tell them off, they had set fire to a fence a bit..What might I have to do? Have a fight beat up a fifteen year old..Get stabbed...

Soggy Little island

2008-09-05T05:28:00.000-07:00

The Summer is heading toward a squelchy Autumn, and this weekend is going to be one of steady drizzle...So we are going to hunker down and watch some telly.Read some books...And cook some nice food...
Today was a good start..We had fish cakes with Amaranth and watercress leaves..The dressing though was "Unglaublurlich."..Beetroot n Tahini,,Vibrant beetroot and horseradish cream sweetened with pomegranate molasses...
And tonight Mathew I will be creating a pear, dark chocolate n raspberry frangipane..
Maybe try n squeeze a game of tennis or a bike ride in between downpours...
Is all about low level Ecstasy...

Weasely weckognisable/Stoataly different

2008-09-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

So last weekend, straight after work I picked up my family, and we drove up too Robin Hoods bay. It is quite a trek... The campsite was busy, people making the most out of the last weekend of the Summer holidays.Lots of Yorkshire folk and their children who sound so serious as they talk.The accent gives them a sense of gravity...
We cycled to Whitby along a track, it didn't take so long and when we got there we had some chips on the pier. I observed the profusion of crude tattoos on fleshy arms and muffin tops and tried not to think cynical thoughts...
We played scrabble in the evenings and drank wine or smoothies. There was a star party on Saturday evening, unfortunately the clouds closed in..The Astronomer in charge had to point with a laser pen to where Uranus and Neptune should have been naked...eye objects.
Next day we where off over the North York moors which were ablaze with heather... We observed a hen harrier and two weasels .One of which paused for a photograph outside his Gaff...

Perigrines in the City

2008-08-25T02:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we popped down to London for the day.
We met Youngest daughter and then we parked up near St Paul's and wandered over the Millennium bridge towards Tate modern...Just outside the gallery, the RSPB were set up with their telescopes focused on some Falcons.
The peregrines sat hunkered into the wind high up on the huge chimney stack...(Incidentally Peregrine is the word origin for Pilgrim meaning something like wanderer...)
So that was very interesting, but then we had lunch inside which was very tasty and pleasant...
We walked up to the steps of St Paul's and there was a dance group performing a modern movement in celebration of the Olympic handover, very cultural..
We went inside and although we were unable to get under the dome and into the inner sanctum the filigree and artwork up inside the Cupolas really impressed us all...
Back in the car for a quick razz along the embankment and into Trafalgar square stopped at some traffic lights and observed a drunk pissing in a phone box..We were very close to it...
Parked up and wandered along brick lane market...Felt like somewhere in the world, not at all England...A quick drink in Daughters pub, cool and relaxed...The red arrows whooshed overhead everyone glanced at each other a bit scared.
Then whipped up the M forty and home

Fruity Frangipane

2008-08-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

We decided to not go camping this weekend because of bank holiday..So instead we went cycling and looking for Blackberries.We found most of them in a hedgerow just out of town ,down a little lane that reminds me a bit of Cornwall.
We had enough for some pie and cycled home, I called in to town for ingredients..
I have been buying Frangipane recently, pre made from Waitrose. So I knew how nice it could be but even though I am sounding a little vainglorious. My atempt was pretty special...
Quartered Conference pears glazed with a little butter and some Caster sugar. Some very dark French Chocolate crumbled benevolently amidst some hand picked lane ripened Warwickshire Blackberries...
A dollop of Creme fresh, everybodys happy

Happy Factory Fodder

2008-08-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

Work is going well at the mo...We have our jolly moments and sometimes we even have raucous laughter. We get on with our jobs though and all in all things are enjoyable as well as productive..
Today I was fantasising about training as a Sushi chef and then opening up a lunch spot near the factory. There is little alternative to a rather bland canteen in the whole area...Sushi/ salad bar bit of a funky atmos, charging six quid a shout...Make a fortune I reckon...

Not whinging about da weather

2008-08-14T11:49:00.000-07:00

So we have had a bit of rain...The grass in our back garden is well verdant.It wasn't raining tonight so I gave it a bit of a chop. Next doors cat had left his mark in there so that ended up sprayed all over the place...Still I do like cats so it serves me right to have liquidised cat muck all over my naked fetlocks...
As a contractor working at the car factory I'm not allowed to park near work and have to yomp in from a visitors car park a few fields away...I always give the Rozzer on the gate a cheery Good morning just to demonstrate how unbothered I am about getting soaked every day...
This week I have been fantasising about buying a Scythe and sculpting peoples lawns quietly, leaving some long tufty bits in for the Harvest mice to nest...

Friday nights on the settee

2008-08-09T06:03:00.001-07:00

So we are settled back in England...I have got my head around my car factory job, had a heavy cold but soldiered on stoically...The weather was predicted to be poor so we stayed at home this weekend..I cooked some fish for tea then we settled down to watch the Telly...We were drinking Cider from Waitrose and watching,, Gardeners world first. I had forgotten how professional the Beeb were.The presenters are unpretentious, I think that there is an element of anarchism and an unspoken regard for liberty amongst gardeners...
Then we watched The Tudors...Raunchy rock n roll history, again with amazing quality and an eye for detail...The costumes are unbelievably beautiful...A bit of Q.I. then off to bed..
Good old BBC two...

moving back to England/ staying positive

2008-08-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

I spent most of today inside a car factory and it was very tough...The place is infused with an air of hopeless lethargy.The permanent staff appear to be desperately unhappy and if I was not feeling so sorry for myself I might feel sorry for them as well...
But tomorrow I am going to be ultra chipper and make them have it.
Then at the weekend we are going to go swimming in a very wet river...
On Sunday we went to an old Friends house who has recently returned from Spain...Her and her fella made us Tapas and we had a little wine...It was very nice too...

Natural Mystic

2008-07-30T02:27:00.000-07:00

These last few days I have been camping in Southern England... I have swam in lots of rivers, like the Frome and the Hampshire Avon.Wiltshire and Somerset where particularly enjoyable.There was a lovely swimming hole next to a weir on the footpath towards Batcombe, with a rope swing into the deep below a weir...
On the way to meet up with some pals in Hampshire, we stopped at Stonehenge...I really felt a presence there, but was offended by the way that is presented...Many people were taking cheesy pictures of each other so that they can prove to their Friends that they have, you know, done Stonehenge...It is obviously being exploited a a cash cow and they have some plans to spruce it up for the Olympics...
I strongly feel that it should be a sacred place of pilgrimage. The roads should be diverted or buried, and people should approach on foot..From at least five miles away barefoot across a silent grassy heath..

Scary Ocean

2008-07-21T02:18:00.000-07:00

On a few occasions last week I walked along the Cornish coast path and then down a rocky headland to fish of a very deep ledge. Just standing there flicking my lure into the sea was very therapeutic...It was also a little unnerving. The thought that a freak wave might just lick me into the water was always at the back of my mind...
The god Pan was banished into the wilderness by Zeus...Whenever we are in the wild and we feel the onset of Panic.... That is Pan tinkering with our reason...

harbour jumping

2008-07-20T05:10:00.000-07:00

Last week we where in Cornwall...We swam in the sea daily it was colder than normal but highly invigorating.One day we went out mackerel fishing with Barry Mundy, there was a lot of chop and the boat was all over the place...We caught half a pale of fish and we filleted and cooked them for our tea..Highlight of the week was jumping of the harbour at Mullion...

Bit of scrumping

2008-07-10T02:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday it rained and it rained...So late in the evening I went off on my bike to check out some allotments...When I got there it was empty apart from some guilty looking rabbits and pigeons. The gardens are beautiful definitely an art form.They are swollen with abundance and plenty, and I couldn't help myself from scrumping a couple of fat raspberries...
a nice bit of anarchy...

Oslo opera house

2008-07-08T10:10:00.000-07:00

We spent a hot Saturday strolling around Oslo...We went to a gay festival and were both kissed by a young Tranny from Sweden who invited us to a party.
We walked all over the fantastic new Opera building which is clad in marble and is meant to look like Norway's highest peak...

crap superlatives

2008-07-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

Hello again
back on my blog after a quick raz around southern Norway...We stopped .off at a beauty spot called Riddar springet.We strolled down a heavily forested valley thick with Lichen and reindeer pellets. And at the bottom was a torrential gorge with the bluest glacial surge of river...At one point it narrows, and is just about steppable...Legend is that a young Knight stole another Knights wife and they escaped by springing over the chasm...

Camberwell Beauty...Sorrig Mantel

2008-06-11T13:31:00.000-07:00

Chatting with my pal Eric about nature.I do band his ear a bit, but I think I get away with it.
I asked him if the Camberwell Beauty was common in West Gothland. He has never seen one. I read in England that they migrate from Sweden to East Anglia...
So we got on the net and checked it out...In American, Camberwell Beauty is Morning cloak, which in Swedish is Sorrig Mantell...
I reckon that the Swedes named it in the new world. Then Anglicised the name...

La Traviata

2008-06-11T13:13:00.000-07:00

So we are busy ar work, preparing for an event next week...Our project is in a large auditorium, and we are busy adding the last finishing touches to things.
Yesterday evening I had my music playing through some small speakers and we were listening to Verdi...The boss of my department had been busy working in her office upstairs and she came down smiling, asked me to turn it up.It was already to the max. She suggested that we use the state of the art, sound system...
So today we have been listening to La Traviata, quite loud... And I wondered if my Grandfathers would have been happy with the way things were working out. You know, in the way of progress for their descendant. They both had very hard working lives, working as coalminers and at sea...
My camper was buffeted by squalls of wind and rain in the night. It was dead cosy...

Johnny foreigner

2008-06-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

We have moved out of the flat and I am in my camper living in the woods. Yesterday I awoke to the smell of smoke. There is a full on heatwave and there had been a forest fire nearby...
Wen I returned last night, the site was packed... All the Swedes headed to the woods for national day. Flags out all over making me feel quite the foreigner...
After a busy day at workI cycled back dropped off my shopping then rode down to the lake and jumped straight in...

Caring community

2008-05-30T07:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was hectic. We moved out of our appartment into our camper. Many trips up and down the lift, but at midnight we were settled...As I was driving through the town, "a bit gingerly because of the size of our van.".A young woman fell heavily on a crossing. She was immediatley attended by other pedestrians and I stopped, asked if she was ok?..

She looked up and gave me a little thumbs up with her tounge sticking out of the corner of her mouth, a bit sheepish. I was relieved and happy to carry on...

A few months ago my daughter fell exiting a tube train in London. She was a bit bumped and grazed but she was really upset that no one had stopped to offer a hand or a caring word...

People are kind here. When Father Christmas knocks the door on Christmas eve, he enquires. "Are there any kind children in this house?.."

Don't you think our bikes look good together...

Moving experience

2008-05-28T09:52:00.000-07:00

It is still toasty warm in Goteburg. At work builders are tearing the roof off for an extension and it is noisy and not as pleasant...
Tonight is our last night in the appartment.Tomorrow we are camping and at the weekend we are back in England, moving into a rental house for a while...This appartment has been nice, the rooms are huge and it is central...We are sad to leave yet excited to return to family and friends...
Last night we met a man by the river, he was a little drunk...He told us exactly how big his flat was in Eriksburg, how much his mortgage costs. Then with shrug and a smirk told me it was nothing to him... We silently watched him board the ferry...
The leaded windows in our block date from Ninteen hundered and six..

Knapdale Beavers

2008-05-27T11:29:00.000-07:00

One of the most beautiful regions in Britain is about to be repopulated with a lodge of Norweigan Beaver...Beaver make pools and slow down all the water courses with their dams...

I am going to start looking out for some Musk ox soon...

American achievment

2008-05-27T11:08:00.000-07:00

When I looked at these latest Mars images. I felt a tingle of thrill, as I did when Viking landed in the seventies...To think that my species can land so accuratley on a distant rock is amazing...I am proud of the scientists and Technicians from JPL, as proud as I would be if they were Brits...

I love the sense of common endeavor , from the poorest tax payer...to the most genius rocket tragectory analyst...

Good luck to them all...

Sunday mooch

2008-05-25T06:37:00.000-07:00

We were up early this morning. After breakfast I took my bike out for a spin along the harbour...Such a sunny day, and the river is getting busy with pleasure craft...Tied up to the middle pier is a tall masted commercial yacht.It is made of wood and it is in perfect order.

The sense of hand crafted functionality for purpose, adds an extra dimension to the asthetic beauty of such vessels...

New Old Labour

2008-05-24T07:21:00.000-07:00

This is David Milliband, he is a comprehensive educated Jewish atheist...

Thrushes everywhere

2008-05-24T07:02:00.000-07:00

On a very warm Saturday morning I cycled into work...Up through the park, which was donated to the City by an old Scots shipbuilder, James Keiller in ninteen hundered and six...In the park is a cliff where in times of famine, the elderly were thrown from...No pension crisis in those days...
So anyway,, the park was super quiet and there were Thrushes everywhere...I even saw a Blackbird , looking a bit intimidated by them...
So that was lovely, but I did hear that a gay man was murdered there a couple of years ago there... On the way back home there were people throughout the park, all sunning themselves or playing a strange block throwing game...

Chatting at work today about the old Tories getting back in charge again...I really do hope not, but if they do then at least there will be plenty to whinge about...Only for a bit untill that nice young man David Milliband gets in...

lovely bridges

2008-05-22T11:14:00.000-07:00

So I am still cycling to work. I bought a new front wheel, after buckling my old one...The route to work is a very nice one...Along the harbour, up and over the tram bridge then left towards Rambergsvalen park...Into low gear, sucking in air up the twisty hill. The birds singing like a choir, among the Cathederal pillar like trees...

Then just a cruise through an affordable housing estate for low incomers. Is very neat and well landscaped and maintained...

The" Bjork trees", Birch trees are in pollen at the moment and it is causing some discomfort...If it rains then the streets run yellow with the dust..

When I come back accross the Bridge in the evening the river looks nice and green. It smells sweet and clean.

Remember Summer 1983 !

2008-05-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

So the Rozzers are thinking of going on strike...Ninety percent have voted in favour...!!

If they get too out of hand will the Government have to send the army in to rough them up a bit..Will the Government have to employ some miners from Poland or somewhere to come and help the army..

I am sure that they wouldn't mind a bit of overtime..It always comes in handy does it not.

What with full sick pay, of which fourteen percent of coppers are generally making the most of..And an index linked pension, payed for by you and I. Even when we are retired we will be paying their pensions...I am not at all happy...Are you?? Leave a comment.

Loving Cornwall

2008-05-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

In a few weeks, we are travelling down to Cornwall...I have rented a people carrier, as my parents are coming along with us..The cottage is in a little village, snug in a valley with a shingle cove beach.
After days spent swimming and snorkeling, jumping off rocks and fishing, we will have an evening meal, then a wander to the old Inn...have a couple of ales then stroll back to the cottage looking at the stars thick in the sky...
There is a wood burner in the living room, so we will have a bit of a chat, debate and perhaps a bit of a singalong gathered around it...In Cornwall the dry stone walls are all fluffy with Lichen and the landscape is stiff with magic...
When I was a boy, my Dad told me that on midsummer the rabbits peeled off their skins and danced around as pixies in the moonlight...

falling off my bike / blokeshopping

2008-05-18T12:27:00.000-07:00

So, it was my turn to get the shopping today and I went to Hemskop...I wasn't really concentrating and I ended up buying...Well, food...But not with any real theme...Mackerel, and Thai soup...Some vine grown tomatoes...Yoghurt...Prawns...I did get loo roll, bread, and milk...
As a result, teatime, I had to cycle to the salad bar near Kungsportsplatsen. The young server was efficient, yet frosty, and she set me ill at ease. I hung the bag over my handlebar and gave a shove. As I cocked my leg over, the peddle snagged on a safety barrier and I fell gracelessly over...Up like a shot, I was desperate to be away...Quick look around , hoping no one was looking...The surly salad girls, obviously, in tears by now. I checked my bike...Bloody chain fell off...Then, I noticed the busy, glass fronted, Thai restaurant, but I chose to believe that nobody saw my incident.

I am Iron man

2008-05-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

Me and my boy just watched Iron man..It was an incredible film..Obviously fantastical, but the technological aspects were feasible..He has plasma boots and gloves..We came out of the cinema buzzing...We are going to listen to a bit of Zep on the You tube now....

Bloody freezing

2008-05-17T13:04:00.001-07:00

We have just had a Greek meal in Linnegaten..It was the best Greek food that any of us have ever tasted..Unfortunately the weather has turned a little chilly, and we had to sit on the terrace..Everyone snuggled into blankets did not stop the wind whipping all the warmth away..We just galloped back to the flat and are going to watch some teev and slurp some Banrock Station...

Miserable teenager

2008-05-17T05:29:00.000-07:00

As a disaffected youth growing up in Coventry, I sometimes found my fellow teenagers irritating and often found myself wandering into my neighbour Clive's garage..

Clive and his family were the first black people on our council estate, and they were exotically different..I used to watch him fixing his old Ford cortina or building up speakers and I would listen to his music..Usually a deep beat Reggae tune spilling out into our close as we talked while he worked..I cannot remember what we talked about, but any reggae beat takes me straight back to the smell of engine oil and the memory of late seventies Coventry..

The popular music at the time was two tone ska but I found it tinny and with little base..I was also two cynical to go with the flow..Which in retrospect would have been the smoother direction to trendiness and girls..

Masters of your Universe

2008-05-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

Boris Von Kumquat de Pfeifell Johnson

And associated world dominating numpties at ...an ex Etonian club..Whilst at Oxford..

David Cameron...Second from left...Boris Kumquat...Bottom right

They truly think that they are better than you..

A world of contrasts

2008-05-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

While holidaying in Ithaka our favourite beach had an ancient cave..People used to leave offerings to the gods there..To get to the cave you have to walk past the Aussie beach attendants camp..He has a small tent, a table, chair and lamp..He keeps a black sack filled with water in a tree for his evening shower..When the season is over he returns to his Summer job in Melbourne as a beach attendant..He saunters around the beach in his shorts and his blue hat cheerfully enjoying each day..He offers Shiatsu massage, and he flirts with the Greek girls in the Tavern near the road..

In the shelter of the bay was a large motor yacht..Twice a day the owner took a swim, closely followed by a lackey in a speedboat holding a towel..

Bursts of creativity

2008-05-15T11:50:00.000-07:00

Cycling home tonight i got thinking deep..
If we suppose that we were created..And if our creator was a "Euphemistic"father..
Then I wonder was he an attentive father, who changed our nappies, read us stories and ran crouching behind us as we learned to cycle..
Or was he a preppie medical student who donated semen for a few hundered quid..
In light of recent disasters, we could bitterly suppose the med student..Yet there are still billions of us left alive and kicking on this amazing little planet..
All any of us need is a bit of love and a sense of purpose..

Having thoughts about racism

2008-05-13T11:49:00.000-07:00

When I blog I am spilling my thoughts and feelings, and the anonymity of this blog affords an opportunity to be honest..So when I talked about having racist thoughts yesterday, I was describing my racism, in the context of other viscous and raw emotions like hate,fear, envy and greed..All are a part of the miserable angst ridden animal that lays within all of our Psyches..
Surely it is how a person deals with their weaker emotions that is important..Pretending that they do not exist is dishonest folly

Having racist thoughts

2008-05-12T11:06:00.000-07:00

So here in Goteburg there are many recent immigrants..The rule is that if they find work quickly, then their families can join them..If after four years, they are still unemployed..Then the families may join them..It means that any new arrival must quickly learn Swedish..

The Swedes that I have spoken with are a laid back bunch and they are not at all vociferous with their opinions.. Unlike myself, "sorry bout that"..

In the City I have observed young Turkish/ Balkan looking men..Tough looking, behaving machoistically..It stands out fiercely here, where young Swedish men have impeccable manners and are gentle natured with no, territory issues..But.. I get these ugly little racist thoughts..About my territory, and my Country.."New Europe"...

I am a pretty good racist, and I soon get a lid on it..But I do feel a little filthy just the same..

When I was a boy, my Ma made me wear a dodgy leather hat..A black lad called Patrick Jones spat on it..That was the last time I wore it..I was sure it reeked of Bananas..

I must have started early...

Archipeligo

2008-05-10T16:07:00.000-07:00

We took the boat to Styrso today. We sat at the very rear of the ferry and we watched the green wake and I wondered if it could be surfed...When we got to the Island we had a coffee..We sat drinking it in a well kept herb garden...

The houses are large and immaculate, and throughout the island the trees where all in blossom..

After a short walk we ended up at a wooden jetty and we all swam.. The sea was fairly warm for the season..Boats everywhere increased my boat envy...

Boris de Pfeffel Johnson and Chum....

2008-05-09T09:18:00.001-07:00

I mean ...Come on.... Please...

Vertical strata

2008-05-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

Today was another glorious day..I ate my sushi lunch out in the garden with some pals ..The garden has been blasted out of pink granite that is inclined almost vertically..The geology of Sweden is quite different to England..There is very little flat arable land around the city, just rocky outcrops of schist and granite..

After work I cycled down through a lovely park towards Eriksburg..Along past marinas, and offices with people sat outside drinking tinnys and eating pizza with their workmates..While I was eating lunch I noticed a slither of a moon and a Buzzard..

Sunburned Tramps

2008-05-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

Riding to work this morning, I noticed how all of the tramps are looking very tanned..They sit around near the System Bolaget near Hjalmar brantingsplatz..They do like an early start and a nice social discourse..They are so intent when they speak, and they appear to be listening to one another very intently..
We are having a lovely sunny spell here in Gburg , and it is bringing out the best in everyone...

Three Trillion dollars

2008-05-07T11:39:00.000-07:00

A conservative estimate of the cost of Iraq war to the U S A.. Without considering rehabilitating wounded veterans and their pensions ..Or the cost of re enforcing military facilities..So many overheads and we all know who is going to pay...!!Absolutely not the multinational cooperate directors who were baying for Saddams blood the loudest.They only exist on golf courses and in five star hotels..Not on any national revenue returns..They are stateless and nontaxable, and yet they insist on calling most of the shots....

Would it not be a moral obligation ,to establish any future governments foreign policy agenda..I mean what they precisely intend to do in our name and with our money...

Anyway,, today I sat outside in the garden and ate lunch with some of my younger Swedish colleaueges..It was very pleasant too...

The Eton Rifles

2008-05-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

I strive to keep an open mind about individuals that I have never met..And I honestly do not have any specific dislike for either person. What I find offensive is the blatant fact that two absolute toffs are on the verge of such power..Shoehorned in by Murdoch and his cronies, and then blithely voted in by The Great British Electorate..Who seem eager for a change..

It would make a glorious change if People would make the intellectual effort to understand how precious their own individual opinion is..The elite are not really elite, they have just been conditioned to believe that they are so...

Riding off my tea

2008-05-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

Today we have been riding our bikes all over..We followed the riverbank along to the old boat restoration yard. People were painting and rubbing down bits of boat, some of them really old and battered..Then we cycled back and had a coffee at the Maritime museum. Sat on top of an old tramp steamer drinking strong coffee..
After lunch we headed inland to Skatas..It is in the woods where we first camped in October..Lots of flowers out and Swedes running, ski training, power walking..
Wife and I walked around a lake, if it had been a little warmer I might have skinny dipped..
On the way back there was a trendy cafe with some Italians posing in sunglasses..We soon joined in ,I with a double espresso, and new Police 08 aviators..
After our dinner I wheeled down to the harbour and watched the sun set over the Eriksberg shipyard..Oblique sunlight wobbling pastel shades all over the harbour..Smelled nicely Briny..

Celestial entities

2008-05-03T00:28:00.000-07:00

'We are all profoundly privileged owners, of a brief spark of consciousness..'Ian Mc Ewan..

Raunchy Rozzers

2008-05-02T12:38:00.000-07:00

We have been staying in for the last few nights, babysitter was in Denmark..Last night we watched Swedish Crimewatch..The Rozzers on the computers and phones were all glamorous, nicely made up..Well groomed male coppers as well.. And even the villains were handsome and trendy, they had coordinated they're look for maximum elan as well as effect..

We are moving back to England soon, so I will be on the lookout for typically defining Swedish stuff to Blog..

I intend to be upbeat about my return to England, there will be a lot more new swimming stuff, different places..Starting with a big Cornwall trip in early July...

Steel cutter

2008-05-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

Thirty three feet long is big enough to cruise oceans in..Me and my young son were fantasy yacht buying and this is the one we decided on..It is affordable as well as intensely desirable..
We planned our voyage around Britain first, iron out any gremlins..Then Azores, Caribbean, British Virgin Isles..Panama canal, Galapagos, Easter island then New Zealand..
Is a wet old Mayday in Gburg.We walked down river to Clippan and had a coffee in a knackered old boat..Then we took the Vastraffik ferry up to Rosalund..The Yangtze river had two tugs pulling her away and off to see..All spruced up and ready for business..

Motion fever

2008-05-01T02:44:00.000-07:00

Romance and Rioja

2008-04-30T12:47:00.000-07:00

Booked a ferry back to Newcastle for July..Just Wife and me..We are going to drive up from Goteburg taking about four nights to get to Bergen, moochn through all the valleys and Fjords.Am going to to get the food in Sweden as is expensive in Norway..
Am trepidacious about returning home to Britain..Excited also, is crowded yet vibrant..
It will be nice not to be a foreigner again..
We will be mostly cycling around the villages in Norway,..Then drinking Rioja in the evenings..Imagine that...

Venus aglow

2008-04-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

The day before we had visited the forum site with our two sons..It was very hot and crowded, and was fairly unpleasant..The next night We came alone to the Capitol museum, which is an intense cultural hit..Statuary is everywhere and gradually we found ourselves in the cellar area..From here we looked out onto the Forum in the early evening, nice and quiet..Wife took this picture of the sun on the columns of the temple of Venus against the Palantine hill..

These last two years I have been reading Rubicon, by Tom Holland..It gives a valid historic background to the Roman Culture..

Crimp my pies

2008-04-28T13:32:00.000-07:00

These posters are dotted all around town..There is a big demo on May the first..Anti Capitalism, facism, Homophobia..I am going to pop along and join in, not just because of the lovely artwork either..I think things really are going to start happening soon, once people realise that their backs are against the wall, they are going to start lashing out..Pensioners, tax payers, workers and students are all feeling the pinch..

On a lighter note..I have to start planning my leaving fikka at work..I though I might make some pies..Any ideas..??

Worlds without end

2008-04-27T04:43:00.000-07:00

I found this image on the web..Galaxies colliding and tangling, worlds being created and destroyed..The next time you feel angry because you lost a sock..Or you can't find a pen..Think about this...

little Dragon

2008-04-27T04:16:00.000-07:00

I wasn't in the mood for a club last night, wife was ,so we ended up down the road at Nefertiti..We are so lucky having such a club just down the hill from our flat..Little Dragon were amazing, they are very different , genre electric soul..Bit jazzy..

The club is in some old vaulted cellars and adds a lot of atmosphere to any event, but this was pretty special..We spotted a homeless fella from our window later and we took him down some blankets and a brolly, he offered to share his last can of brew with me.He also told me that he has always felt like he is a border collie..A gentle fruitcake..