Perpetual Hangover

Köln Karneval and Snowboarding

2007-03-20T00:22:00.000Z

Before Maren and I went snowboarding in Zermatt, I headed over to Köln for the culmination of Karneval. Mainly it consists of everyone dressing up and partying for the whole week. I got to experience the city on Friday night, the Ghost Parade on Saturday and then a float parade on Sunday - where there was a lot of chocolate and flowers thrown at the crowd! "Camillaaa!" And when I say everyone dresses up, I mean EVERYONE!! I was pretty impressed to see all sorts of characters, there was a lot of effort made!

The Ghost Parade started out as an anti-war protest during the 1st Gulf War, and everyone dresses up as ghosts, vampires, etc. I was glad that Maren convinced me to make the effort to wear the skeleton costume - see the results below.

On the Sunday I had the privilege to dress up as a Kangaroo, and perhaps i'll get around to posting a photo or video or two. In the mean time, here are a few photos from the proceedings, plus a few from our time in Zermatt ...

Everyone ready to go

Maren being Boney M!

Maren and I try to scare people at the Ghost Parade.

Clair, Maren and Matt taking a break.

The Matterhorn.

Matt, Clair and I on the piste.

It's been a while!

2007-03-20T00:05:00.000Z

It's been quite a while since I wrote an entry! Largely due to living a pretty manic life flying between London and Cologne. Nevertheless, I wanted to get back into my blogging - even if it's just for my friends in various countries, and particularly Oz!

So - it's late, and I spent more time playing around with video editing than I expected (and I still can't work out how to get a better quality version out yet because it's all in German!) but here is a little video of Maren and I in Switzerland from a couple of weeks ago.

More posts to come!

G'bye Australia!

2006-09-06T00:42:00.000+01:00

It's time for this geeza to get back to Europe. My time here in Australia has been truly amazing, as you are no doubt aware from my entries on this blog. The best part of the trip though has got to be the people, and it is a genuine shame to have to say goodbye. However, nothing is for ever, and I am sure I will return in the future.

The collage above has a few of the people I have met along the way, perhaps you can see yourself in there? I have to say a huge thank you to Kylie and the Hallorans, for adopting me even though i'm a pom; James, for being a great mate and helping me out so much; My best regards to everyone else, may your future plans be hugely successful!

Next stop, London!

Jackarooing in Oakhampton

2006-08-28T03:16:00.000+01:00

The second major activity Maren and I did, whilst she was over here, was our five day Jackaroo & Jillaroo course on the Oakhampton station, near Manilla, NSW. We got the train up the day before and hung out in Tamworth (typical country town) and the next day we headed to the station. At first we thought we would be inundated with young, German backpacker girls, as these filled the YHA, but luckily they were heading to Leconfield, which is the station advertised in the Lonely Planet. Our station was much quieter and the group consisted of a S.A. family, Maren and myself - much better!

There were many activities planned for the week and yet it was still pretty chilled out, 7.30am starts and finishing when the sun set at about 5.30pm. Day 1 was getting to Oakhampton, introductions to the family, looking around the place and catching kid goats for the males to be ringed. It transpires that Maren is a pretty good goat catcher!

Day 2 we got into the shearing shed, where Marshall introduced us to the world of sheep. Wrestling them down, crotching some and shearing others was a great experience. Carting a 70kg sheep about sure gets you tired though and you have to be impressed with the guys who manage to shear 200 a day! Once we'd shorn a few we headed out to do some drenching, mouthing and drafting - the latter of which earned me a beer for a complete draft ... nice! Each evening we helped feed the various animals around the station, the goats, the lambs, the deer, the pig, the cows, and even the joeys!

Day 3, and it was time to saddle up! Once we prepared our gear out we went to get the horses. I started on Cliffy, but soon changed over to Billy, an ex-polo and race horse, whilst Maren was on Cliffy. It was good to be back in the saddle, though I confess to being rather sore! A morning of practice riding, lunch, and then off for a trek in the surrounding hills. It's a beautiful country and it felt really good to be riding out there. We were joined by Kim and Bob: locals who made sure we didn't go too far off track! Bob being a true Bushman, and at 80 years old still spritely to jump on a horse and go out and muster the cattle ... impressive! We were also joined my the irrepressible James, who runs the station.

Day 4 started with a long horse trek through the surrounding country. In the afternoon we got serious (kind of) and headed to round up some cattle. Mustering a mob from the paddock through to the pens near the shearing shed so a couple of the male calves could be castrated. Heading out we really felt what it would be like to be a part of a working station, and it felt great! Once there we got to the business in hand: castrating two of the males, and tagging them. Maren volunteered for the second calf and as I held it against the run she got in close with the sharpened knife to do the deed. I was getting pretty scared of the skills that Maren is starting to pick up, especially after learning to use a cattle whip properly!

Day 5, and sadly the last one on Oakhampton. Again we mustered the cattle back to their homes and cleaned up the saddles, etc. Then we headed out to burn out some cactus weed, nearly starting our very own mini-bush fire in the process, but it was all under control of course! Afterwards we did some fencing - that staple of a station-workers routine.

Both Maren and I wished we could have stayed longer and under different circumstances we certainly would have done. Sometime in the future hopefully! We both would highly recommend Oakhampton for anyone wanting to experience a bit of true Aussie life on the stations! James, Belinda, John, Bob, Kim and Marshall really looked after us and we'll head back at the drop of a hat!

More photos can be found in the album:

Oakhampton

Aug 20, 2006 - 58 Photos

East Coasting

2006-08-20T12:58:00.000+01:00

It's been a while since I have had a chance to post an update because I have been pretty busy with my travels and making plans for the future. Here I'll try and fill you in, so prepare for quite a read.

It all starts with Maren arriving and both of us flying straight up to Ballina to attend the Splendour in the Grass festival at Byron Bay, joining Kylie and Karen. The festival was great fun and we saw some good acts! To add to the fun we spent most of the time tramping around in ankle deep mud and running for cover when the heavens opened.

Whilst in Byron I gave surfing a go, and lo and behold I actually enjoyed it! And because Maren is a bit of a surf nut it wasn't long before she was the proud owner of her very own board. Our justification being there are plenty of surf spots to try out on the drive down to Sydney. The rest of the week that we spent in Byron involved surfing, chilling out and walking around, and sadly it came to an end soon enough ... time to get the car!

More Byron Bay photos can be found here.

After saying goodbye to Kyles and Kaz at the airport in Ballina, we jumped in our 'sporty' Hyundai "Getz" and drove back up to Byron to get the surfboard and bags. Once lashed to the roof we set off on our adventure, first stop the hippie drug-infested town of Nimbin. We raced through the winding roads and made it around 4pm ... which gave us about enough time to have a coffee and look around. Nimbin is indeed a strange place to visit. Just walking down the 'high' street (sorry, had to!) you see more people off their head than in Kings Cross (Sydney) on a Friday night! We then headed back south to the contrastingly serene, Lennox Head where we found our first campground of the trip.

It's been a while since I have been properly camping, and I had forgotten how much fun it can be. A simple pleasure I derived, was using a $14 meths stove to boil our tea and heat our cheap tinned food. We felt a million miles from civilization, and that was a good thing!

The next morning Maren jumped into the water with her board whilst I supervised from the comfort of the beach. Tempted though I was to get into a damp wetsuit and go into the cold water, I wasn't interested today. Passing Ballina for the last time we just had to stop at the "Big Prawn" but then we were on the road again to Evans Head on the way down to Yamba, staying at the "Fishermans Haven". Something of note for anyone thinking of traveling the east coast of New South Wales in winter, as we have done, is the number of old people you will encounter. We were the youngest in the whole campground by a good 30 years it seemed. We were surrounded by the grey army, and their caravans and RVs! Everyone was terribly pleasant and were probably wondering what on earth we were doing running around with a surfboard in winter!

The next day started with a torrential downpour, and with the wind whipping our little tent around I rather hoped it would stay attached to terra firma. Once this had started abating we quickly packed up the car and set off for Yamba to get a coffee and plan our route. As the rain was lashing down we looked on over hot lattes glad to be out of it. Little did we realise that the straps we used to tie the surfboard down were acting as channels for all this water, straight into the car. Arriving back, we found the seats sodden and the cup holders full of water - naturally laughter was the only answer!

Onwards and downwards, in a very damp way, to Woolgoolga - a jaunty little town with a couple of very nice beaches and some easy relaxed waves. We didn't really have much luck with the surf on the trip all in all, but as I was a total beginner and Maren still learning we were happy to practice in the white water, and Woolgoolga was a pretty good place to do that. So we decided to stay a couple of nights, and even got chatting to our neighbours (Martin and Penny, heading north, old-ish, nice caravan unit, etc ;-) I hired a board the next morning and started to get more into it, even standing up for long enough to wonder what to do next! We even contributed to the local economy by stuffing ourselves to bursting at the local Mexican restaurant. I'm sure the people of Woolgoolga will fondly remember the couple that stayed with them for those two days in July!

But being young and dynamic we couldn't stay in one place too long .. oh no! Off we went over crazy, pot-holed back roads through Coffs Harbour (where we dutifully stopped off to see the "Big Banana" ... and rather wished we hadn't!) and made it to Nambucca Heads. Lunch, coffee and a photo exhibition were all over before we knew it and we were heading towards South West Rocks and our campground for the night at Arakoon. On the way we took the drive through the beautiful Way Way forest and it felt like we were really seeing a lot of the area! Consequently we arrived pretty late at Arakoon, and so a walk after dinner, looking for Kangaroos (of which we saw several), was all we could muster before turning in for the night.

As most of you will know, I have been in Australia for nearly a year, and so the prospect of getting up early to take photos of kangaroos didn't really capture my heart. Especially when its pretty cold out and i'm wrapped up in a sleeping bag! But as this was as much Maren's trip as mine we wandered out, cameras at the ready. We found quite a mob, and even I was impressed to see them jumping about on the beach. Once we had satisfied our marsupial urges, we looked around the Arakoon gaol and moved on to Port Macquarie (via Crescent Head).

Port Macquarie is quite a picturesque little town, and the harbour is rather ... quaint. But we weren't here for quaintness, no, we were here for the Koala rescue hospital! Maren was determined to soften me up with exposure of even more marsupials! Before the tour of the hospital began we got a chance to look at Roto House, the home of Flynn (the famous surveyor of the area, not Errol, the actor!) and then we were amongst the little critters. Most had been rescued from areas under development where their natural habitat was being destroyed, others were from bush fires and others were just plain old sick. Cute though they were, it'd take more to soften up old 'hard as nails' Hodgson!

Because of the Koala factor we were racing like demons through the night (well, dusk really) on to Forster-Tuncurry and our final destination for this trip, Seal Rocks. This area is simply beautiful, and well worth the diversion to get to. Spending the night looking at the stars and listening to the surf, we were pretty sad to have come to the end of the trip so quickly. The next day we looked over the adjacent Treachery Rocks and started the drive back to Sydney. Our advice for anyone doing a similar trip would be to give yourself as much time as you can afford and then squeeze in a little more!

More east coast photos can be found here.

Once back in Sydney we caught up with friends and chilled out. We also headed out to the Blue Mountains, and on the way dropped in at Doonside (soon to be known as Doomside!) for the Featherdale Wildlife Park. The main reason for wandering through this Western Suburb hell hole was to get up close to Koalas (yes, that marsupial thing again!). Readers of my previous blog entry on Taronga will remember my doubts about animal enclosures such as zoos, wildlife parks, etc and, in my opinion, Featherdale represents the lower end of the conservation-entertainment scale. Whilst I believe it is a good thing for kids to learn about animals etc, I draw the line at letting them run riot amongst them! Animals are pretty hardy things really, but seeing unsupervised kids screaming around I did feel for them. It was great to get up close and see the animals, but I had an overwhelming feeling that it just wasn't quite right. After Doomside we got to Katoomba a little late, and sadly had to rush through the Three Sisters and down the steps. We still enjoyed it and was glad to have made the journey.

Travel Photos

2006-07-17T08:50:00.000+01:00

It has taken me a little while, but I have finally sorted through my travel photos and published a few online.

I've published them in sections, which relate pretty much with the tours I did. Starting with the West Coast trip I did with Easyriders, then the time I spent in Broome, following that the Kimberley Ranges tour, then the Kakadu trip. Next there is the trip from Darwin to Alice Springs, then the Red Center tour, some photos from my time in Alice Springs and this is followed by photos of my time in Adelaide, and Kangeroo Island. To finish off the collection there are albums for my trip to Coober Pedy, and back via the Flinders Ranges.

Or, you can look at the albums front page here.

Or if you are really pushed for time I have collated a "Top 35" of images that I personally like.

I hope people get enjoyment from them. Of course there will be more photos from my upcoming east coast adventures.

Sydney Life

2006-07-13T08:00:00.000+01:00

So i'm back in Sydney and sadly it seems like a long time since I was travelling around good old Oz. There really isn't much to report apart from i've been doing some web development work and thinking about what i'm going to do next.

One thing that has been taking my time is the sorting and publishing of my photos. It's getting there, but it's been a challenge. Most will be available via my Picasa web album page and i'll let people know when their tour has been published.

Next week Maren arrives from Germany and we, together with some local friends, head up to Byron Bay for the Splendour in the Grass festival and a couple of weeks exploring a bit of the east coast. Thank goodness, a bit more travel to keep me away from real work! I'm really looking forward to it, especially as I appear to be being convinced to try surfing. I will keep everyone posted how that goes!

Random photos posted here are Bondi beach; some parrots going mad for food on the way into the city; and a little bit of a sunset over Darling harbour.

Nearly time to go home.

2006-06-24T09:15:00.000+01:00

Me on a Salt Lake heading to Coober Pedy

So somehow it is nearly time for me to return to Sydney and all that entails: my friends, my apartment, my cases of wine from Margaret River, and of course the prospect of work, credit card bills, etc.

It's been an awesome trip, showing me that there is so much more to Australia than I ever imagined. It has also instilled a feeling that I will return to some of the places to explore in a bit more detail!

The last trip involved me heading up to Coober Pedy, via the Barossa and Clare valleys, and then heading back to Adelaide via the Flinders Ranges, with Wilpena Pound being the highlight. It seemed to be a wildlife photo safari all the way - with lots of opportunities everywhere. It certainly kept me and my camera busy!

Sunrise at William Creek

Wedge Tailed Eagle

Kangeroo with Joey at Wilpena Pound

Emu in the morning at Wilpena Pound

G'day S.A.

2006-06-18T11:02:00.000+01:00

So far my time in Adelaide has been really enjoyable. It's a really green city and lots of places to go walking. I also headed over to Kangaroo Island for a two day tour, which was pretty damn good! Got to see a whole host of wildlife, starting with dolphins jumping in front of the ferry. The highlight was Seal Bay, and you'll see why in the pictures below. Also got to hang out with some Koalas, the first ones I have seen in the wild.

Tomorrow I jump on another tour, which will take me up through the Flinders Ranges to Coober Pedy (the place where most of the buildings are underground or in caves). Then we return via the Ranges, including Wilpena Pound which is somewhere I really want to visit! I was going to do it solo by hiring a car etc. but the costs make it pretty uninviting, and this way I don't have to worry about crazy Aussie drivers! :0)

After that I head back to good ol' Sydney to my friends, my cases of Margaret River wine, and a mountain of debt! Whoohoo!

Torrens River, Adelaide

Scott and John find the Remarkable Rocks...Remarkable, Kangeroo Island

Seals watch the Rainbow, Kangeroo Island

Seal Bay, Kangeroo Island

Danger Gaz

2006-06-18T10:37:00.000+01:00

Yep, thats me taking the quick route down some waterfalls in the Kimberleys (it's about 10 meters by the way). The best part was about a minute before this photo was taken, when I slipped at the top and was sliding down off the falls! Luckily a guy at the top grabbed my hand just in time! Adds to the excitement eh!?

Hope Mum doesn't see this ;0)

Aww, Joey Sanctuary

2006-06-15T13:22:00.000+01:00

Rare evidence of Gary 'hard-as-nails' Hodgson being a little soft whilst out in the bush! Yep - this is me before I jumped on the Ghan down to Adelaide, at the joey sanctuary in Alice Springs. the guys there do loads of great work for these little fellas, and have no kind of official support from the government or any agencies etc, only the cash from people dropping in. So if you are in Alice Springs then pay them a visit (it's only $5!) and they are next to Melankas Backpackers.

Up, Up and Away

2006-06-11T07:42:00.000+01:00

So this morning I got up at the ridiculous hour of 4AM to head just outside of Alice Springs and float away in a hot air balloon. It has been something I have always wanted to do and the experience lived up my expectations. Setting up the balloon, a 30 minute flight, deflation and then breakfast in the bush ... nice!

As we floated along we passed over all the people camping in the bush waiting for the start of the Finke Desert Race - where motorcross bikes and sand buggies speed their way 248km along a dirt track to a place called Finke, and then return to Alice tomorrow. It was very cool shouting down "Good Morning" as we drifted along.

Each basket held 16 people, and there were 4 balloons in total - you can see them being inflated in the photo above, and moving into land in the image below. As we neared touchdown the sun rose and we got a beautiful view through the bush.

Red Centre

2006-06-10T07:08:00.000+01:00

Uluru at sunrise

Another quick post to add a few photos from my 4 day 4WD tour of Uluru, Kata Tjuta, Kings Canyon and the West MacDonnell Ranges.

Uluru was as awesome to be near as I expected it to be and, even if it was a little touristy, it was very much a highlight of my trip. Next day was a walk through the Valley of the Winds at Kata Tjuta and then on to Kings Canyon where we did more walking and simply savoring the amazing feeling of the place. Finding such abundant greenery within the red centre was quite fantastic! Finally we headed to Glen Helen in the West MacDonnell Ranges which are very beautiful. On the way we saw Tnorala, a huge meteor crater which really jumped out at me for some reason.

The final morning I jumped into another helicopter for a quick flight around Glen Helen and this was pretty exhilarating! You'll notice I have quite a red nose in the photo below - this is 50% due to the beers the night before, and 50% due to it being -3degC in the morning!!! Who would have thought I would have to buy a fleece jacket in Oz!!

Anyhow, it has been yet another great tour with great people and great experiences. Tomorrow I take to the skies again in a hot air balloon over Alice, and then I hang out here until catching the Ghan down to Adelaide. Another mode of transport to tick off my list!

The Ghost Gum Walk, West Macdonnell Ranges

Chilling at the Red Centre

Chopper

View from helicopter flight over West MacDonnell Ranges

Martin and I in the Chopper

Tnorala

Kings Canyon

Heading South

2006-06-05T08:11:00.000+01:00

Very quick post before I head onto Anzac Hill to watch the sunset here in Alice Springs. Kakadu trip = Great! Tour down to Alice from Darwin = Great! Uluru and Kata Tjuta tomorrow.

Here's some pics...

Edith Falls

Daly Waters Pub (oldest in N.T.)

Tour group at the Devils Marbles

The sky at night

Devils Marbles

Mongrel Pup

Sunrise at the Devils Marbles (worth the 4am start)

Goodby W.A., Hello N.T.

2006-05-28T08:02:00.000+01:00

The Bungle Bungles

As ever I don't really have much time to do a big post, but here is a little update. I made it across the North West corner of Australia with an Adventure Tours group for 8 days. It was an awesome experience and I highly recommend it!

The country is spectacular and I think I got a few good photos here and there. The gorges, waterfalls, savannahs are all incredible to experience and because the Gibb River Road had just opened - after the end of the Wet season - we got to see it as lush and green, with creeks and rivers flowing.

The group are a great crowd and we all had a ball bush camping! My first time in a swag sleeping under the stars - awesome! The guide, Glen, is a top guy and kept us entertained the whole trip - even getting the 4WD bus bogged as we approached Bell Creek Gorge - most amusing!

As I am only in Darwin for a day I can't afford the time to upload loads of photos - but here is a sample from the trip...

Mini Palms Gorge

Edith Falls

Sunrise in the bush

Road Train

The Rhinestone Family (minus Michelle and Stacie)

Images of Australia

2006-04-26T16:30:00.000+01:00

Whilst I had a free moment here in Cologne I thought I would post the rest of my photos from my Australia trip so far.

Australia Trip Photos

Slight Detour

2006-04-22T13:47:00.000+01:00

It has been a while since I gave an update as I have had a slight detour in my journey. Whilst in Exmouth, WA, I found out I had to return to the UK on family business as soon as possible. A hectic few days followed getting from one of the more remote places on Earth to Morecambe.

I arrived in London on a cold wet, cloudy and generally miserable day, which was 32 degrees colder than my origin, and Morecambe wasn't much better. A tough time followed for us all, but with all things in life you have to work through it and look to the positive side of things.

I headed to London to catch up with people I hadn't seen in eight months, and it was great to be there ... though I am sure my bank manager would disagree! Thanks to everyone for the sofa's, floors and support!
To chill out I headed to a few galleries (very cultural), spent a day with Louisa in Kew Gardens (very horticultural), and met some great people at the first bbq of the year in Finchley (very chilly!). All in all it was good to relax amongst friends old and new.

Next on my list of destinations was Cologne, Germany, to meet meine Freundin, Maren! We had met in Coral Bay, WA, and it's great to see her again. Being the tourist that I am I have visited the Dom and the Botanical Gardens, amongst many other sights. Next stop - back to London and then up to Morecambe, before finally getting back to Oz! I'll be looking forward to the heat and regaining my rapidly fading tan!

And here are a couple of pics from the Cologne Botanical Gardens...

Going Up

2006-03-22T04:59:00.000Z

Another quick post as it is damn hot here in Exmouth and the pool is calling. Still, I thought I would throw some recent pictures online and let everyone know what I have been up to.

Last time I spoke I was helping sand-bag a house in Kalbarri, sadly this flooded anyhow and the river reached its all time peak whilst I was there. Below is a shot of the Indian Ocean just to the right of the river mouth. you can see the impact the flooding had on the area - it is really hard to convey the awesome scene of the river battling the sea, but you can see how the red silt bleeds into the sea to the horizon!

To prove that I really did cycle to the coastal gorges here's a self portrait of me on the road.

And here are the guys on top of "The SuperBowl" when we went sand boarding.

Whilst watching the slow submerging of Kalbarri I got to see the local wildlife...

Then we headed to Monkey Mia for the dolphins, which although was rather commercialised was still a lot of fun. The fact that there wasn't any air conditioning on the bus wasn't so much fun.

We also got to drop into a shark sanctuary on the way and got to see some reef sharks as shown below. Later in the journey I snorkeled in the amazing Ningaloo Reef and saw them up close and personal! Also saw rays, turtles and an abundance of marine life!

Spending 4 days in Coral Bay was the most amazing part of the trip so far - largely because of the amazing people I have met on the trip (Hi all!!) and because I spent a lot of the time snorkeling along the reef. It really is amazing that you can swim out a few hundred meters and be amongst beautiful coral, amazing sea life and sharks! It certainly sounded strange when we said: "Hey, there's a shark, lets get IN to the water!" Below is a view from the sand-dune along from the main settlement. I spent a crazy sunset there after a good afternoon walk along the bay, where, all of a sudden, rain clouds came over and soaked us. A pretty incredible experience.

My time in Coral Bay was fantastic but it was time to move on to the next destination, Exmouth - where I am writing this. An afternoon snorkeling in the beautiful Turquoise Bay and sunset at the nearby lighthouse with my newfound friends, Ruth, Jo and Zoe.

So things are going pretty well on the trip and as you can tell I am having a pretty damn good time! A few days here in Exmouth buzzing around Cape Range National Park and the Reef on a scooter and then onwards further north to Broome via Tom Price and South Hedland. More updates to come.

West Coast Arrival

2006-03-13T06:55:00.000Z

This is a very quick post to let you know that I arrived safely in the west coast and am having a great time. Got into Perth 10 days ago and haven't stopped since.

First night in Perth wandered around and got to see (hear) Nigel Kennedy in Kings Park, survived my first night in a youth hostel in a very long time. Headed to Freemantle in time for a beer festival (nice) and checked out the maritime museum etc. Also had a sunday session in Cottsloe which was pretty amazing - even if I can't really remember much and was hanging around for a cab at 3am!

Next, Margaret River for a tour of the wineries (very good, got carried away and bought 2 cases to be sent home), checked out the caves (beautiful) and went horse riding through the national park (awesome!).

Back to Perth and straight over to Rottnest Island where I cycled around, took photos and snorkled. Because it was so tranquil (no cars allowed) and also so beautiful this has been my highlight so far.

Ferry to Perth and next day an early bus journey to head up to Kalbarri, via the Pinnacles. Quite a long ride, but got chatting to people and survivd intact.

Yesterday I hired a bicycle and headed to the coastal gorges (exhausting, headwind and hills all 17kms there!) for the sunset. Thank goodness the return journey was easier on the legs. Then to make me really suffer I went out sand boarding on these incredible dunes nearby - really good fun, if a little tiring. Can't wait to see if I can handle the horseriding I have planned for tomorrow!

Intertwined with all this action have been some great people on the buses, ferries and tours etc. I had the privelage of meeting Sheree in Perth who shared a memorable Friday evening over a few drinks. Also, Ed kindly showed me around the Perth area and dropped me off in Cottesloe .. therefore I blame him for all that happened that night!

Anyhow - need to grab a brewski in the baking heat out there. Next stop, Denham and Coral Bay. More details as they happen.

Outta Here

2006-03-02T07:47:00.000Z

Righto - Everything is packed and the plans are in place. I'm off walkabout for a few months - hopefully to return with fantastic tales and even better photos.

It's been good to finish my latest projects: the website for celebrated Sydney artist, Ella Dreyfus, which is at elladreyfus.com; the site for my good friend James' company Sdirect, located at sdirect.com.au; and the insurance broker system for the team back in the UK. All in all I feel ready for the trip ahead, and I hope it's going to be as fun as it looks.

Take care everyone - see you in June.

Dalmation

2006-02-28T04:53:00.000Z

No particular reason for the post - simply to put up this image that I took whilst in Glebe. It's been my desktop for a while and I kinda like it.

Royal National Park

2006-02-25T10:28:00.000Z

After spending what seemed like aeons behind this computer over the course of the week, I decided to head over to the Royal National Park, which is a 45 minute train-ride south.

Starting at Waterfall I headed into the park along the Uloola track to the Uloola Falls. Whilst there is no denying the beauty of the area, the first leg of my route was pretty average - there is only so much excitement one can generate about Eucalypti! However the sun was shining and the walking was good!

Perhaps I should have realised beforehand, but by it being just after the height of summer, the 'Falls' were a touch dry. Still the views were pretty nice and the walking had gotten a little more challenging. One thing I came to realise - and this may affect my upcoming trip - is that it can be hard to capture the landscape in an interesting way through the lens. Landscape shots of hills of green aren't totally captivating - particularly in the midday sun.

The walk then took me on to Audley and then left up to Engadine over some pretty challenging terrain. In 1994 there were some major bush fires in this area and you can still see the blackened tree trunks all around, even though the majority of the flora and fauna has made a full recovery. Once I hit Engadine, 16kms after starting, I felt at least a little fitter.

Photos

Glen Brae

2006-02-17T07:46:00.000Z

Recently I moved from Glebe to Elizabeth Bay with my good friend Jasmine. The area is great and the building we are in, Glen Brae, has a lot of character. I said that if I got around to it I would post a few photos, and, with a bit of spare time this Friday afternoon, here they are.

Cricket 2nd Finals

2006-02-13T04:46:00.000Z

Spent a relaxing, and slightly beery, Sunday with friends watching Australia smash Sri Lanka by 167 runs in the 2nd VB Series final at the Sydney Cricket Ground. I was somehow convinced to join the 'Fanatics' area where the nutbags wearing the gold and green and throwing various inflatable objects around are! Even though it was a total of seven hours - the time flew by, probably something to do with the repeat orders of beer I guess.

More photos are here.

Spit to Manly Walk

2006-02-07T09:42:00.000Z

This Sunday involved a relaxing stroll from The Spit to Manly. Even though still in the city you feel like you've headed out into the bush, with so much flora and fauna around.

As ever I had my camera on me and some photos are here.

Taronga Zoo

2006-02-03T05:29:00.000Z

On Tuesday my friend Tanja and I visited Taronga Zoo in north Sydney. Neither of us had been to a zoo in years and we had decided to remedy this at the earliest opportunity. So we popped across the harbor on the ferry and spent an enjoyable day meandering around the animals.

The concept of a zoo sits funny with me, on the one hand is it cruel to keep animals away from their natural habitat in cramped conditions? Or is it necessary for the conservation of particular species and the education it brings its visitors? Taronga is certainly an impressive institution, and the I am sure that the efforts of the zoo and its workers helps the conservation of the animals, however watching the Black Rhino pacing up and down non-stop in obvious boredom made me question whether the facilities were big enough.

On a lighter note the seal show was pretty damn amusing, and I could have spent all day watching the chimpanzees! Tanja was very patient with me taking photos of pretty much anything and everything, and the results can be found here.

Australia Day Weekend

2006-01-31T14:12:00.000Z

Last Thursday (26th Jan) was Australia Day, and rather than spend it at drunken parties around Sydney I accepted the kind offer to join the Hallorans and James for a long weekend in the bush. Destination? Talbingo, approximately 5 hours south of Sydney, between Canberra and Wagga Wagga.

We set off early Thursday morning, heading for Tumut to meet with Kylies folks. On the way we stopped off at the 'Dog on the Tuckerbox'. A monument of a dog on a lunch box that was erected in tribute to the ideal of the faithfulness of your dog in hard times... or something like that. Anyhow, a photo of the guys in front of it is here.

A while later and we arrived in Talbingo with a boat, walking boots and fresh supplies. After quickly settling into the cabins we boys decided to head out in the boat on Talbingo dam to get in a spot of fishing. A grand idea, though it soon evaporated, largely because as we were powering up the dam, we found an upturned boat in the water with a couple of guys hanging on the outside. In a bizarre coincidence it turned out to be Robs friend, D., who, with W. had managed to capsize into the 90m deep chilly water. The rest of the afternoon was a good old true-blue bush rescue! James, Rob and I managed to get the guys on board and tow the overturned (but still floating) boat to the nearby shore. If you have a look at the photos you'll understand that the sides of the shore are pretty damn steep, are a tangle of trees and the ground is covered in sharp rocks. Still, we carried on in true Aussie fashion (it was Australia day after all) and proceeded to tie the boat fast, jump in and tip the boat back over, though this all took a few hours. Also in true Aussie fashion, D. and W. were more concerned for the beers they had on board than their lives. So day 1 of Talbingo and we hadn't even got our lines in the water. We decided to start again the next day and trooped on back to camp.

Day 2 was more successful. We got onto the water around 8am and got to see the beauty of the dam region as the sun came up. A morning of trolling for trout was getting us a few strikes, but no fish. Then at 11am yours truly caught a 1&1/2 lb rainbow trout, my largest fish to date. Once on ice we headed back to base, rested and recharged and in the afternoon the boys, joined by Robs brother Pete headed out to get some more. Sadly my catch was all we could manage in the day, but theres nothing more relaxing than cruising about in a boat on the water, soaking up the rays, supping on a beer and fishing. The trout went on the barbeque and tasted delicious.

For a change in Day 3 we decided to head in the morning to the Yarrangobilly Caves. Here we walked through the bush to a thermal spring, and then on to the caves where I got a few pretty nice shots. It was pretty amazing to walk through such huge natural structures! The afternoon I went walkabout on an 8km trek to the top of a waterfall. It was pretty knackering, but good practice for the upcoming treking I will be doing when I get to the Kimberly region. The guys had more luck on the boat, with Robin catching a huge brown trout and a rainbow, and Rob getting a rainbow too. James and Kyles sadly had no luck.

Day 4 and it was time to set off back to Sydney, the weekend going by way too quickly as it always seems to do! To complete the tour Kyles and James kindly dropped us into Golburn to see the Big Marino. I only hope that this is the first in many visits to the 'Big' items around Oz!

As ever there is a tonne of stuff that I can't fit into this blog. However hopefully the photos I put online will give a good indication of the great weekend I had.

Insomnia....

2006-01-19T18:54:00.000Z

...but at least I get the opportunity to take a night shot.

Portrait Photography Course

2006-01-16T23:56:00.000Z

A quick post to say I had a great time at the National Art School last week where I attended a short course in portrait photography. It was quite different from my previous photography course and caused me to reassess my point of view with regard to portraiture. Our teacher, Ella Dreyfus, was excellent and helped us all enormously. I found that it was a totally new experience and some of the photos I took are very different from my usual style.

The whole class got some excellent shots, which I hope to put into a dedicated gallery very soon. In the mean time I have thrown a selection of my photos into a gallery. I hope you like them.

Gallery Work

2006-01-08T11:16:00.000Z

Heading to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition today got me into a creative mood today and so I updated my gallery site. I have added fifteen new images which I hope everyone will enjoy.

I also created a site dedicated to my black and white work which can be found here.

Planning for the Big Trip

2006-01-06T10:11:00.000Z

Besides working this week I have been putting quite a bit of effort into the planning of 'The Big Trip', that is, where I finally get my ass into gear and head off around the country. Itineraries are coming together nicely.

One thing that I wanted to track on this blog was my progress around the country (think Indiana Jones style sequence with map and moving red line). One service that I found that looks pretty good is Wayfaring. It allows you to use Google Maps with your own routes and tags, and in these you can put links to photos and suchlike. Clicking on the map below should take you to my map if you want to see my previous journeys, and planned trip.

Start of 2006

2006-01-02T10:58:00.000Z

2006 is here already! In some ways it seems like I was only just celebrating the start of last year, and yet so much has happened in 2005! Of course the move to Oz was the biggest thing to happen, and spending the first Christmas away from the family was a little daunting. I was very fortunate to be temporarily adopted by the Halloran clan for the Christmas weekend.

Christmas Eve we went out to watch Newstone play at a local pub in Sylvania. This ensured the traditional hangover for the next day. Craig and the boys got everyone dancing belting out the covers and some of their originals. Some photos from the night can be found here.

We Poms are brought up with an expectation that Australian Christmas involves beaches, beer and seafood. The Halloran feast certainly hit two out of three - it's a strange feeling tucking into shrimps and lobster on 25th December sitting out in the blazing sun! However it's something that I could easily get used to! I was lucky to share the company of Kylie, Robin, Robert and Douglas, with the obligatory glass of Champagne, of course! The 1998 Moet went down particularly well. The evening rolled on with friends joining us, more food and perhaps a few more drinks. A merry time was indeed had by all!

A week later it was time to get back on it and welcome in 2006. Instead of opting for the traditional city NYE party (even with the world famous fireworks and all), I decided to join my friends out in the country, ninety minutes south of the city, in a place called Berry. Kylie had kindly agreed to organise the hire of a spectacular house just ten minutes drive from the town, and here we were joined by Lisa and Colin, Tim and Joan, Nathan, Shaun and Mary. From the veranda we had awesome views across the valley! It even had hot and cold running water!

Straight off we started to relax and take it easy, heading to the nearby 7 Mile beach, where we proceeded to be sand-blasted by the strong winds. But when it's over 30°C and you have the place to yourself there are no complaints! Upon our return we started the important task of getting the barbie going. I say "we" but I have to confess I took more of a supervisory role, with a beer in hand. After some top tucker we got the party started with a few beers, many shots and even some dance-offs. Sadly the greatest of these wasn't recorded, but let the record state that Mary certainly gave Natty some stiff competition! We cheered in the stroke of midnight watching the fireworks on TV, and then continued to party some more. As the night wore on people started dropping out, with the last one falling around 3am.

1st January 2006 started bright, sunny and with a very hot, strong winds coming from over the desert. It was like being in a fan-assisted oven, and true enough it proved to be the hottest New Years day on record with temperatures hitting 44°C in the city, and we reckon around 41 where we were. I sure know when to come and visit Oz! After a leisurely breakfast a few of us decided to hit the beach again, where the lead photo was taken. The wind had died right down and there were a few more people around. However the incredible heat - which didn't go well with the hangovers - meant we only stayed a short time. Lots of factor 30 sun cream meant none of us suffered - and thank goodness as Colin had already done himself serious harm the week before! Burnt eyelids anyone?

Returning to base we lazed around playing board games, watching DVD's and reading...exactly the kind of things you want to do on New Years Day! At around 6 o'clock the souwester (a wind coming from..you guessed it, the south-west) screamed up the valley and cooled everything down within minutes. The change was incredible, and very welcome. Soon after our appetite for a beer or two returned and night number two began. The day had also brought along some more guests, some were welcome, and one we gave a drink as he was parched, some were just following the herd, some were a bit weird, and some were seriously unwelcome!!!

One aspect of the hot, dry winds and the incredible heat is the very high risk of bush fires! We watched the news as reports came in of fires in the central coast, and particularly Woy Woy. This was a place I had been to visit a friend only days before and I soon learnt that both her and her parents had been evacuated from the area as the inferno approached. Luckily the change in weather later in the day, together with the fantastic work of the fire services meant that the fire was contained and controlled. Jasmine and her folks returned to their place the day after.

So, all in all a mixed start to the new year. I certainly had an awesome time in Berry as did everyone else. I hope everyone around the world also had a great start to the year and long may it continue. 2006 will bring lots of exciting challenges, major traveling and several big decisions, and I say ... bring it on!

Index to the New Year photos is here.

Merry Christmas from down under!

2005-12-22T02:34:00.000Z

Flickr and Desktops

2005-12-14T12:21:00.000Z

Something I did recently was sign up to Flickr. There is a link to my stuff on the right handside, and I guess I will be adding the occassional shot from time to time. No real reason for doing it apart from I was interested in using their web applications and getting some of my images out there. I think I will continue using my own hosting for the majority of the photos I put up. I have moved away from using my Coppermine album and am now simply uploading a web page generated from Picasa. I guess I will create some sort of contents page for this soon enough.

One useful feature of Flickr is that you can group images into sets. So I thought I would create one for images I think would make pretty good desktops. Suggestions welcome as ever.

Peats Ridge Festival

2005-12-14T11:56:00.000Z

This weekend I headed out to Peats Ridge, which is an hour north of Sydney, for the Peats Ridge Festival. Joining me were Karen, Lisa, Rachel, plus friends and about 3000 others, for 3 days of camping, music and being chilled out.

Friday involved setting up camp, investigating the stalls and checking out the bands. Stand out act for me was Rastawookie (who I had seen previously at the Newtown Festival) and we partied til the early hours. Saturday was pretty damn hot and so we chilled out around the site, and I headed off for a horse ride amongst the awesome scenery. In the evening we naturally lost each other wandering around the fields and woods, but I had a very chilled evening with Tanja watching acts such as the Red Eyes, and Gauche.

Sunday was more of the same, with some awesome Blues and Roots acts in the sunshine.

As ever I took some photos, which can be found here.

Jamiroquai

2005-12-08T00:25:00.000Z

Went to see Jamiroquai at the weekend. Had lots of fun, and here are the photos.

Another Gallery Update

2005-12-03T01:26:00.000Z

Over the last few weeks I have been attending a photography course at the Australian Centre for Photography which I have thoroughly enjoyed. Consequently I have added a few more images to the gallery, and also rearranged it a little.

I have also added some links on the right to my coursework. And the image above is my flatmate, Ros, firespinning.

Pittwater Yachting

2005-11-27T02:34:00.000Z

This Friday we headed to Pittwater for a bit of yachting courtesy of Captain James.

A wet start didn't dampen our spirits and we soon got some sail time in, and soon enough the sun came out.

Once Kyles and Suz came aboard we headed to The Basin and got to know the locals. Dinner and a couple of glasses of wine later and we chilled out under the stars!

Have a look at some photos here.

Summer Storm

2005-11-23T02:57:00.000Z

Last night Sydney had its first major summer storm, and it was truly an amazing visual and aural display! Luckily I had my camera and tripod with me and I ran down to the waterway at the end of our road and captured a few shots. Sods law had it that every time I took my finger off the trigger a beautiful display occurred, but I did get some.

These three are a sample of the shortlist I have put into a new gallery.

Rushcutter Party and Newtown Festival

2005-11-14T05:48:00.000Z

This weekend involved a party at Ms. Francis' residence which carried on into the very early hours. Fun was had by everyone, and at the end of it Cat and Alice decided it would be good to head to Bondi, and so off we went. There are a surprising number of people who have exactly the same idea at 6am! Still, we got to see the sunrise, have a paddle in the surf and grab some breakfast!

Sunday then consisted of the Newtown Festival with Kyles, Suz and Kim. After chilling for a while and soaking up the sun and beer we moved on to The Sheaf in Double Bay to meet up with the Gang to bid farewell (again) to JM, who is back off to London this week. All in all a great weekend!

Photos are here.

Melbourne moments

2005-11-08T13:10:00.001Z

It was time to see if the much hyped rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne was true. I headed out to Melbourne for the week of the Melbourne Cup, one of the biggest sporting events in Australia - "The race that stops the country".

Melbournites will argue that Sydney is brash, loud and full of Versace wannabes. Their city is the city of culture: refined, classy, and with a style all of its own. After touching down on Monday and heading into Brunswick Street I could certainly see it has a lot going for it. The first thing apparent was the local music scene, which is much more developed here than back in NSW. We headed over to a club to see Bomba play and they rocked the place until the early hours! Whereas Sydney bars close pretty early (due to the screwed up licensing laws in NSW) here things only just started to get going when we left the club. A bar crawl later, 3am and what a great start to the visit!

Tuesday was Cup day - the big race, which I duly lost money on. However we enjoyed a glorious afternoon at a BBQ in Seddon, and then went on for drinks near to the racetrack at Flemington to watch the race folk stagger out. Spending time at the inappropriately named Quiet Man around very boozed up Aussies after a hot day at the races had its amusing moments!

Wednesday was a tourist day, heading around the city and then St. Kilda. Naturally a well earned beer was in order after doing so much!

Thursday was Oaks day, finally we get to the race track! After two days of uncommonly good weather it was only expected that it rained like hell in the morning! Thank goodness I was there, suited and booted, at 8:30 ready for the day ahead. After a while Chris and Amy rocked up and the festivities started in earnest. I would be lying if I said I had never had Champagne at 10am before, but I have to admit it tasted good. Consequently I don't think there was a moment after the initial bottle where there wasn't a bottle to hand, as one would expect! Racing, gambling, alcohol, fillies, alcohol, sunshine (eventually), fillies, etc. etc. Who could ask for more?! Certainly not I. The partying continued into the evening, and then the night, and then into the early morning. We even hit the casino, which was, er, interesting, especially at 4am!

My time in Melbourne was fantastic because of Ves, Jill, Chris and Amy and Michelle, especially Ves for putting me up and looking after me, and Chris for driving me to the airport in his 'vintage' Saab - even though I had to focus on not reliving the night before for the whole journey!

So, in the end which city is better: Sydney or Melbourne? ...... who cares! They both have their own character, it's just over an hours flight from one to the other, and both are great to go out in!

Some photos can be found here.

Missy Higgins Concert

2005-10-29T01:22:00.001+01:00

On Friday a few of us headed over to Centennial Park to see Ben Lee and Missy Higgins play. We were joined by over 19,000 others, her biggest gig so far.

Missy Higgins has become pretty popular over here since being 'discovered' by local radio station Triple J. I've been listening to her album for some time now and was glad to find that her live set is just as good, in fact she threw in some more jazzy numbers to get people dancing... well swaying anyhow.

It doesn't stop..

2005-10-25T04:33:00.000+01:00

It's been a while since I last wrote, largely because I have been pretty busy / hungover / without net access ... and in fact i'm feeling a little worse for wear at the moment (surprised?) and so this'll be a short entry.

The main thing to happen is that I have moved into a house in the suburb of Glebe in the inner west region of the city. I live with two great girls - Rosalyn and Nadine, though we haven't seen much of each other because i've been out quite a lot.

Last weekend I headed to the Randwick festival (photos), which is a horse meet here in Sydney that mirrors the Caudfield Cup which happens in Melbourne. Thanks to one of the guys we got tickets into the members area and headed there dressed to impress. There were a few winners amongst us, though sadly not me. Still it's always nice to sip Champagne in the sun whilst watching a few fillies. Next week i'm heading to Melbourne for the Melbourne Cup Festival, which is one of the biggest meets in the Australian horse event calendar. It'll also be the first time I head to Melbourne and check it out, and I also get to meet Louisas friend,Ves.

This weekend I headed out to the Gold Coast (photos) and finally met up with the guys I was also introduced to by Louisa. The reason for the Gold Coast? The Lexmark Indy 300! And what an awesome time it was! There was plenty of partying and even some car races thrown in too!!! As they come in I will post some more pictures of (some) of the shenanigans that went on. All good fun.

Sydney at night

2005-09-26T02:39:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post with a snapshot of the city that I grabbed whilst at a great bbq at Kirribilli in north Sydney yesterday.

Two weeks in..

2005-09-24T00:29:00.001+01:00

Well I appear to be surviving the Australian culture shock. It seems incredible that two weeks have passed by already, though I do feel I have done quite a lot in the time so far.

Last week really involved looking around the city and surrounding areas. Manly, Bondi, Bronte, Coogee, Watsons Bay, the CBD, Newtown, Paddington ... it was all covered, thanks to James, Kylie, Jasmine and John. I also went to see a presentation by Rex Pemberton, the youngest Australian to climb Everest (very inspiring), and a gig by Australian singer, James Reyne (very good true blue music), in Newtown with that crazy chick Kylie and friends!

This week involved more trips to Bondi, which is never a hardship really! Got myself a new camera and so have been trying to learn to take a half decent photograph! Wish me luck huh!

I also got to spend a great two days in the country, courtesy of Rob. I headed out with him to his familys farm near to Orange. I got to see the country at its best before the dry weather turns everything brown. It was pretty damn lush!

So, all in all i'm having an absolute blast! Looking forward to having an ice cold beer whilst watching the AFL final between Sydney Swans and West Coast Eagles. Go Swans!!

Onwards to Oz..

2005-09-10T07:45:00.000+01:00

My final day in Bali, and so I simply chilled out in the villa and indulged in another massage before the journey over to Australia. Very damn excited and consequently had difficulty sleeping, however I was ready to go when Budhi rocked up to drive me over to the airport.

Even though two babies appeared to be in competition as to which could cry the loudest and the longest during the flight, I slept most of the way. Awoke as the plane neared Sydney just as the sun was rising and got a great view of Australias east coast. The images of the city, as we banked into our landing, were stunning (sadly I didn't have my camera to hand). What a great introduction to my new home.

Getting through immigration and customs was no problem whatsoever, and there waiting on the other side was Kyles! Could life get any better!?!?

Actually, yes it could. Once my things were dropped off at Kylie and James' place in Stanmore, we hopped on the bus into the CBD and I had a look around the harbour as Kyles went to work. A lunch by Darling Harbour and a very relaxing snooze in the botanical gardens made up the afternoons activities. I then made my way over to Opera Bar to meet Jasmine and Kylie for a glass or two of champagne and a good old catch up.

Monkey Magic

2005-09-10T07:40:00.001+01:00

Travelled into the town of Ubud and spent the afternoon in the Monkey Forest, I think I got some pretty good photos. Whilst re-enacting 'Gorillas in the Mist' (well, a smaller version) I was sitting amongst a group of 20 monkeys (reminded me of past IT projects actually), and just as I was lining up a shot, a baby ran up my arm to sit on my shoulder. Its mother then ran over, grabbed its kid, and proceeded to bite me! Noice! No damage done, but I started backing from the group at that time :0)

After all that excitement I headed back and perused the art and craft stalls on the way. Bali is home to some extremely good artisans, with the stone and wood carving being particularly spectacular! A shame my bags were already filled to bursting.

More Bali

2005-09-04T15:16:00.001+01:00

Bali Day 2 - traveled to the chilled out beach resort of Sanur and walked the length of the beach in the sun. That evening Budhi and I traveled to Uruwatu to catch the famous sunset over the temple there. Lots of tourists, but hey, i'm a tourist too! Got lots of sunset shots and the resident monkeys only stole my bottle of water. On the way back we headed in to the Bay Cafe at Jimboranand had some amazing fresh seafood - red snapper, king prawns, and a snappy little lobster who almost legged it before becoming dinner!

Bali Day 3 - Lazed on beach in the AM, checked out of the Grand Hyatt and then traveled the two hours to the Hanging Gardens in Ubud with Budhi. I thought that I couldn't be more impressed than I was with the place in Nusa Dua, but I was duly proved wrong when I saw the Hanging Gardens. It has a much more natural beauty to it, and the service was the best I have ever had. Being upgraded to an awesome villa also helped!

Whereas Nusa Dua was very popular with Chinese and Japanese tourists, Ubud seemed to attract more Europeans, particularly the French. The manager and the chef of Hanging Gardens are both French, and it seemed so were the majority of the (only 10) guests. It was so peaceful I felt totally relaxed from the very first minute.

Bali Day 4 - Started the day with Jalan Pagi, a two hour morning walk around the neighboring villages exploring the flora and fauna. I was joined by Patrick and Marie, from Bordeaux, and the guide, Gusti. It was great to get to see some genuine Balinese rural communities. Meeting with the local villagers, we had some refreshing coconut juice before returning for breakfast.

The afternoon involved pure indulgence - a 2 hour detox treatment and massage from the lovely Balinese girls in the spa. Life is good!

Life's a beach..

2005-09-03T14:09:00.000+01:00

OK, I made it to Bali easily enough (slept almost the whole way here) and have spent a very relaxed day on the beach and by the pool.

Sorry if this seems like i'm rubbing it in ;0)

I'm not one to run out of superlatives (yes, I spelled that right!), but I was amazed at the resort. The room is simply amazing! Photos can't do it justice. And sitting in the Grand Club lounge for breakfast this morning, listening to the Gamelan Orchestra and watching the herons perch by the Koi carp pool I realised I really am miles away from London, in more than the literal sense.

I realise it may seem sad to be on a laptop whilst over here, but after having dinner watching a traditional Balinese Kecak dance I thought I would make first contact on my travels. Anyhow, its just started to rain....but even that's rather pleasant.

Hope all is well in Blighty, and i'll be online again soon.

Steve's Leaving Party

2005-08-31T00:55:00.000+01:00

It seems that lots of people are leaving London. Me tomorrow, Karen next Thursday (jaunting around Europe) and Steve a week after that (Costa Rica for Charidee, mate).

So, Steve did the thing he does best, well, one of the things, and cooked a wonderful meal for us. In the photo above from top down, left to right, are: Mick, Me, Antonio, Melle Steve and Karen.

Thanks Stevo - and all the best!

South West Four Weekender

2005-08-29T20:28:00.000+01:00

Such a fun final weekend in London thanks to everyone attending the SW4 party on Clapham Common, and the continuation in the Fine Line and Public Life.

Sunday's recovery BBQ at Jasons provided the context for more partying for all. Cheers for the hospitality of Jase, and then later, Nicki. Nice to see that the Slug and Lettuce in Fulham remains a classy establishment. ;0)

It's a real shame to have to say goodbye, but leaving on such a high makes it easier. I'll be updating this blog whenever I can, and whenever I do something interesting in Oz.

Photos from the weekend are in the album here.

Good luck everyone, keep in touch, and I hope to see you somewhere in the world soon!

Almost Gone

2005-08-22T17:21:00.000+01:00

Thanks everyone who made it to the party this weekend (or should I say this party weekend?) I think everyone had a great time, though apologies to those who didn't make it because they couldn't get in touch with me... losing my mobile phone on Friday really put a kink in events!

Still - onwards and upwards. About to head up to the folks, say goodbye, and then run off leaving them with all my gear. Cheers parents :0)

With so much going on in the weekend I didn't really get chance to many photos, however the few I did get to take are in the gallery.

Spare time is great

2005-08-18T15:45:00.000+01:00

In between feverishly packing (which is nearly done, woohoo) and meeting up with people, I got the chance to find two pretty funny comics.

'Pearls Before Swine' follows the lives of Pig, Rat, Goat, Zebra and the Fraternity of Crocodiles as they ruminate on life. The crocodiles trying to con the smart 'Zeeba Neighba' is hilarious (well, I think so).

Also on comics.com is 'F-minus' which consists of single frame cartoons in a similar vein to The Far Side. Pretty funny stuff.

Packing is such sweet sorrow

2005-08-17T20:19:00.000+01:00

Whilst I expected the preparation for leaving the country would throw up lots of memories, I hadn't expected to be sad to pack up all my books.

It transpires I have amassed quite a collection, and it feels a shame that they will go unread, unflipped through and generally unused for potentially years.

I also hadn't realized what a bizarre collection it is. Every book collection tells a lot about the person who owns it, and I guess mine is no different. Ancient Oriental warfare strategy, horse riding, a smattering of philosophical texts, and perhaps a few too many books by Noam Chomsky.

With my latest upcoming project focused on connections between books (amongst other things), it will be a shame not to have my library to hand, to get that elusive fact or quote. Still, I am sure that Sydney has a good library :0)

Big Chill 2005

2005-08-08T21:25:00.000+01:00

Feeling totally chilled out after a great festival. Lots of bands, lots of DJs and lots of fun.

Highlights included The Bays who don't actually release any material, and only perform live. However, their site does have a few MP3s.

New Zealand export, Fat Freddy's Drop, totally rocked the place on Saturday, and are definitely worth checking out. For all the people out there who're going to be in Oz, Fat Freddy's Drop are performing @ Gaellic Club in Sydney on 28 Oct.

Whilst there were lots of great acts, the funniest must have been The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, who got the crowd going with one of the most original version of "Le Freak" ever! Who would have thought dancing like a loon to a ukulele version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" at a chill out festival would be so much fun! They've released an album, "The Secret of Life".

So, all in all, a great weekend with great people, great weather (thank goodness), and great music. I can highly recommend it to anyone wanting a more chilled out festival experience! A few photos can be found in the gallery.

London in Summer..

2005-07-23T13:02:00.000+01:00

.. is a glorious time indeed.

So, working hard, playing hard, planning my exit strategy from the country, and enjoying some sunshine inbetween. It's all good. I even got a chance to take some photos from my favourite park.

Roof Terrace

2005-07-12T21:42:00.000+01:00

Just a little photo of the terrace which will be scene of my upcoming leaving party.

Yet more runners...

2005-06-17T21:32:00.000+01:00

Perhaps people are hinting that I should start running or something.. or perhaps I just happen to know many fit, active and charitable people?

Congratulations to Doug who somehow managed to make it all around 26 miles of Edinburgh, including a traumatic final finish up the Royal Mile! All for the British Heart Foundation.

Well Done Dougie boy!

More Runners

2005-05-23T22:34:00.000+01:00

Congratulations to Kylie for running the Sydney Morning Herald half marathon in a superb time of 1hr 58m!

She raised a whopping AU$1,850 for Cystic Fibrosis, and we're all very proud of her!

Way to go Kyles!

Virtual Bookmark List

2005-05-21T22:40:00.000+01:00

Starting a new contract out of town this week and finding my internet access severly curtailed has made me think about how I can make my frequently used information easily accessible. I've also been thinking about how to share bookmarks and such like amongst friends, i.e. to be able to say 'check out this link' and have a place for them to be able to pick it up.

And then I stumbed on del.icio.us which seems to do just that. Not sure how good it is, but its got some good reviews and seems pretty simple to use. Link to my space should you want to have a look is on the right and here.

Morning after the night before

2005-05-08T12:29:00.000+01:00

So, the celebrations finally come to a halt.....at least for the time being! It has been an awesome birthday, and even though I look and feel 37, i'm still acting like i'm 17! Some blurry but amusing photos of the night at Babble are here.

Thanks to all for coming along and making it such a great night!

A little bit older, a little bit wiser...

2005-05-06T15:13:00.000+01:00

I've finally made the grand old age of 27, and although I meant to take this birthday celebration a little easier than previous years (less Champagne perhaps?), it hasn't worked out like that.

The party train keeps on rolling: a large 3 day weekend, followed by a very nice dinner on Tuesday, a bigger-than-expected night at the Mother Bar yesterday, a fancy dress party tonight, and then the main celebration tomorrow at Babble. How does one keep it together with so much on?!? I have no idea, but i'll give it my best shot!

In searching for a suitable MSN birthday I came across the fantastic, yet spooky and weird, work of Luke Chueh. I sincerely hope he doesn't mind me advertising his work.

Book List: Lila

2005-05-02T18:37:00.000+01:00

Once in a while you read a book that you believe is life-changing, truly meaningful, or perhaps a better way of saying it is, that vastly improves your understanding of life.

I have long espoused the virtues of Pirsig's first offering: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. In this he gives us a novel that works on so many levels, that it can be returned to again and again, each time yielding new insights. The semi-biographical narrative follows the journey of the author, with his son, through part of West Coast America on a motorbike. It is also an inner journey where the author is trying to save the relationship with his son, as the author was certified insane and subjected to electro-shock therapy.

The main thrust of the philosophical aspect of Zen, is that the undefinable 'thing' which is Quality, precedes all other experience, and is the source of Subjects and Objects. Pirsig then, amongst many other avenues, explores this in relation to a Classical vs. Romantic split, and how this is tightly interwoven into everyday life. The main example revolving around the maintenance of a motorbike, hence the title.

Lila, is the sequal to Zen, which Pirsig had published ten years after the original. Again there is a narrative interspersed with philosophy, this time the author, after the break-up of his family, is travelling from the Great Lakes to New York on his yacht. On the way he picks up a girl, called Lila, and the story follows their tumultuous relationship, his thoughts on his position in life, and her slow slide into insanity.

Whereas Zen provided philosophical insights, Lila provides a full philosophical framework, which is no mean undertaking. Starting with the idea of writing an anthropological study into the Native American Indian culture vs. European (including white American) culture, it soon becomes apparent to Pirsig that there is much more work to be done. This wide ranging philosophical work then proceeds to touch on: History; Science; Ethics; Psychology; Anthropology and Art whilst providing a superb framework for the metaphysical nature of the world. This he calls the Metaphysics of Quality.

Whilst the Metaphysics of Quality is based on his previous philosophical work from Zen, it is not required reading in order to enjoy Lila, though I heartily recommend it to everyone.

At this stage I would usually write a precis on the Metaphysics of Quality, but I believe I could neither do it justice, nor express the all encompassing nature of it. Instead I will try and give an indication of the impact this work has had on me. For an outline of the Metaphysics of Quality I would suggest looking here.

Ever since attending Keele University to study philosophy I have had a yearning to understand the Big Questions, and lately I have taken more and more of an interest in the modern condition. That is, I question how we, as human beings, have reached the stage we have in the world, and also why? This is where Philosophy is very much a subject that has modern day relevance, and the primary branch that tries to explain the 'workings' of the world, is Metaphysics.

Any metaphysics, by its very nature, is open to attack because it is an article of faith, and Pirsig acknowledges this before embarking. The main criteria as to whether a metaphysics is 'good', is whether it helps to explain reality better than other available metaphysics. I truly believe that the Metaphysics of Quality achieves this with a stunning simplicity and clarity. It provides true vision into why and how we are the way we are today.

Through Lila, Pirsig uses the Metaphysics of Quality to provide answers to some of the biggest philosophical questions there are: Mind/Matter Duality; Substance; Causation; and a truly important one, Why is the reality most acceptable to science one that no small child can understand? As a devout believer in the supremecy of the simplest explanation, this really hit a chord within me.

For example, Pirsig reviews the changes in society from Victorian times, through to the present, using his framework, and in this he explains why the modern individual may feel adrift morally, socially, and intellectually. The devestating impact the first World War had on Victorian society dominated attitudes, the surge of intellectualism that followed, promoting scientific truth as the God-head, and the rebellion against both of these by the Hippie revolution all point to why the modern condition is in the state it is. This is far reaching, full octane reading, exactly what a good metaphysics should be.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance achieved cult status, which in itself has both good and bad consequences, sadly Lila has not had the same impact. I believe this is due to two factors, firstly as a philosophical treaty it has been largely ignored by the academic community, and therfore has had little chance of survival in philosophy circles. Secondly, public attitude to this kind of work was markedly different in the early 1990's than in 1988 when Zen was published. I can only hope that there is a late resurgence in its popularity as its message and its ideas hold as true today as they did fourteen years ago. Further discussion about the Metaphysics of Quality is held at MOQ.org

My friends know me to get quite enthused about books I have read, and that I believe that the discussions these yield add a valuable depth to our intellectuality. However, Lila is a book that I would almost beg everyone to read, I really believe it to be that worthwhile. The story is entertaining, the insights are inspiring, and whilst the philosophy is far reaching, Pirsig's writing style means it is never too heavy.

Lila is a perfect example of the Quality that Pirsig promotes.

PhotoBlogging

2005-04-29T17:19:00.000+01:00

I've found that there is a wealth of very good photo blog sites out there on the web, and a great place to start browsing is PhotoBlog.

David Nightingale at Chromasia stands out for his spectacular portrait shots. Have a look at his thumbnail gallery for a quick overview.

I can also recommend the site of a colleague, Steffen Gorgas. Breathtaking landscape shots that really give a sense of depth and scope. All very impressive!

Two Cartoon Sites Worth Watching

2005-04-26T16:08:00.000+01:00

Found a couple of very funny sites recently I thought I would share:

GapingVoid is Hugh Macleod's site, showcasing his novel 'cartoon on a business card' approach. Some very funny entries (including the above, used with thanks).

Spamusement belongs to Steven Frank, and has "Poorly-drawn cartoons inspired by actual spam subject lines!". A simple concept done very well!

Gallery Update No. 2

2005-04-18T14:02:00.000+01:00

A quick message to say I have recently added a couple more archives to the gallery. Some macro shots of objects, which I hope to add to over the coming weeks, and one with some of my paintings.

London Marathon

2005-04-17T22:23:00.000+01:00

A quick congratulations to Matt for running the London marathon in a great time of 3 hours and 35 minutes! He has managed to raise £2000 for Shelter!

Naturally this feat was celebrated in fine style with 2 bottle of very nice wine and a great lazy Sunday lunch at The Gun.

Well Done Mate!!

Book List: Stalin and the Gulag

2005-04-16T13:30:00.000+01:00

I've had a brief sojourn into recent Soviet history, reading these three books over the last few weeks. Whilst the subject matter is truly disturbing, they provide a fascinating insight into the Soviet character, and also show the grim determination people can have in the face of madness.

Starting with "Gulag", it tries to provide the reader with some indication of the magnitude involved in this period of Soviet history. The 'Glavnoye Upravleniye Ispravitelno-trudovykh Lagerey' or forced labor camp system introduced in 1920's provided a means for the newly installed Bolshevik government to extend their empire, dispose of 'Enemies of the State' and rule the U.S.S.R under a blanket of Terror. The system existed throughout Stalin's reign, and was not extinguished until the 1990's (though camps do still exist for criminal elements).

Applebaum has made a little known aspect of the Soviet system accessible to the general public and it is to her credit that such an unwieldy topic is easy to read. As with all difficult historical topics, it is easy for the text to become merely a list of facts and figures, however the injection of human interest angles keeps the reader on track throughout.

Whilst reading this text I stumbled across "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" at the South Bank book market. Solzhenitsyn's classic account of life for S-854 in a Siberian camp provides another insight into Soviet life which complements the more austere "Gulag". The common themes of camp life are again apparent, the desperate search for food, the torment of the unexplained and undeserved arrest, and the dedication to the ideology of the Soviet system. Solzhenitsyn has been criticized by Soviets, including ex-camp detainees, for the characters 'shirker' and work-shy attitude. In fact, I read it completely differently and thought that even though ill, the main character, Shukov, fights against it by throwing himself into his building work. The very fact he has to run back to the group count at the end of the day because he wanted to finish his part of the wall shows this, but appears to be overlooked by the critics. The criticism itself speaks volumes on the Soviet attitude, even after the death of Stalin.

Finally, I made my way through "Stalin", which is certainly very interesting, if a little difficult at times. Sebag-Montefiores account of the Vozhd of the Soviet Union focuses on his relationships with the Central Committee members (the 'magnates') and their family, as he ascends from Bolshevik General-Secretary to Dictator. Any attempt to condense the life and actions of such a character into an accessible text is due to be difficult, and unfortunately Sebag-Montefiore tends to include many footnotes which could easily be either discarded, or introduced into the text itself.

Trying to keep track of the many characters that revolved around the court of Stalin is due to be difficult and one can't help but think that the author focuses a little too much on this aspect of Stalin's life, which leads to too little analysis on the unfolding history of the Union. For example, it is not explained how Stalin maintained his grip on such a broad empire through his magnates. It is made very clear that the reign of the Terror, promoted by his ever growing paranoia, maintains loyalty within his inner circle, but the story does not proceed much further out into the wider picture.

As with any account of such terrible crimes against humanity, one finds it hard to comprehend the numbers involved. Reading of Stalin's demand for more arrests (and subsequent deportation, camp interment and/or murder) by the tens of thousand, rather than by crime (or supposed crime) is shocking, but one becomes slightly de-sensitized by the sheer numbers and the madness of the events. Working through the text does give an overall understanding of the Soviet and, more specifically, Bolshevik, view on such matters.

This review certainly cannot hope to cover all aspects of "Stalin, The Court of the Red Tsar", however it must be said that I found the chapters regarding the build-up and execution of the Second World War fascinating. Particularly the brinkmanship between the German and Soviet diplomats.

Overall, I would certainly recommend each of these books to anyone looking to expand their knowledge of Soviet history, though "Stalin" should only be undertaken if you have time and energy to make your way through it all. Each of these books contains depictions of a truly terrifying and brutal regime, from several angles, however there are insights into determination against all the odds which give a surprisingly positive view of the human condition.

It's the weekend ... finally!

2005-04-15T18:55:00.000+01:00

Thank the Heavens its the weekend! What started as a good week slowly deteriorated as all things work-like went pear shaped.

Anyhow, a good party tomorrow night for a friend who is leaving the country to work in the middle east, and then watching another couple of friends run the London Marathon on Sunday morning, should make for a fun couple of days.

Gallery Update

2005-04-11T23:52:00.000+01:00

Ok, it's happened - i've updated the gallery site so i'm happy with it. In there you will find a lightbox (index) page and archives of each theme (with 2 archives for starters). I've updated a lot of the code behind the scenes so it's neater and faster. I have also put in a dynamic thumbnail generator - lets see how that pans out.

Red Shell

Bay Sands

2005-04-11T22:20:00.000+01:00

Bay Sands

It looked like the weekend was going to be a bit of a washout, rain and more rain on the Saturday, and whilst it is naturally great to catch up with the family, its not too much fun hanging around indoors for the whole time. Luckily Sunday brightened up and allowed me to wander along the promenade and get some shots.

Once it's sunny and warm you begin to imagine why Morecambe was once as popular as it was, when it was a thriving tourist resort. I'm not getting sentimental here and even considering living back there, but it was a nice break from the full on pace of London.

So, I actually got to take quite a few shots, some will go into the photo album (if you're interested) and some will be used as material for the gallery. I found that you really don't have to go far to get some pretty nice images, in fact I spent nearly an hour without moving more than a few meters.

Comments in the sites or images are always welcome.

2005-04-11T22:10:00.000+01:00

Bay Travel

Weekend up North

2005-04-08T17:02:00.000+01:00

This weekend I am traipsing up North to my hometown of Morecambe. I'm sure it shall be a very exciting time ... hmmm. Still I aim to get some photography in for the new site, and catch up with family and friends.

Photo from my collection

2005-04-05T21:41:00.000+01:00

Bee-hind ... just playing around.

The Beginning

2005-04-05T21:06:00.000+01:00

Ok, So i'm doing a Blog. Something I thought I would never start, largely because I think they add absolutely nothing to the web, society, relationships, etc.

The original Blog was based on colleagues and peers sharing web links and snippets that they thought may be interesting to the others. That is still a good idea, and I may even use this for that, we shall see.

I guess the reason i'm giving it a go is... it's better to give something a try before slating it.... recently i've been posting lots of photos of events and having to upload them to my web-site, and with this Picasa publish thing its supposed to be easy to add a Blog entry and a photo or two - which sounds cool.... and hell, I may even find that this is useful and enjoyable!

So, it begins. If, for some bizarre reason, you are reading this - don't get your hopes up - there won't be an online version of Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance or anything. But there may be amusing bits and pieces from time to time.

Also - it'll be a great way for people to see what i'm up to when I skip the country and head to Oz!