preguntas

2012-02-12T10:16:00.001Z

2012-02-05T09:16:00.001Z

2012-01-18T20:43:00.001Z

2012-01-10T20:20:00.001Z

2012-01-03T13:01:00.001Z

2012-01-02T23:53:00.001Z

2012-01-02T17:06:00.001Z

2012-01-02T17:04:00.001Z

2011-12-14T22:42:00.001Z

Gary Taxali

2011-11-26T16:33:00.007Z

2011-11-26T01:10:00.001Z

2011-11-26T01:05:00.001Z

2011-10-08T17:49:00.001+01:00

2011-09-18T22:12:00.001+01:00

2011-09-08T11:48:00.001+01:00

2011-09-04T21:19:00.001+01:00

2011-09-02T18:08:00.001+01:00

2011-08-30T15:46:00.001+01:00

2011-08-30T12:12:00.001+01:00

2011-08-28T22:32:00.001+01:00

2011-08-15T14:07:00.001+01:00

2011-07-24T22:41:00.001+01:00

2011-06-06T20:52:00.001+01:00

2011-03-24T14:07:00.001Z

2011-02-26T12:41:00.001Z

2011-02-13T19:03:00.001Z

2011-01-17T10:06:00.001Z

2010-12-19T23:07:00.001Z

2010-12-08T17:49:00.001Z

2010-11-20T08:49:00.001Z

2010-11-20T08:40:00.001Z

Golden Age from Chuck on Vimeo.

Banksy in Bermondsey

2010-10-29T09:50:00.001+01:00

2010-10-29T09:46:00.001+01:00

2010-10-02T09:50:00.001+01:00

2010-08-30T08:58:00.001+01:00

2010-08-26T22:00:00.001+01:00

2010-08-26T21:57:00.001+01:00

2010-05-24T15:30:00.001+01:00

Dolly at the beach

2010-04-25T17:55:00.001+01:00

Moose

2010-04-15T14:37:00.001+01:00

Dolly

2010-04-13T19:30:00.001+01:00

2010-04-13T19:21:00.002+01:00

Rolo

2010-04-06T16:19:00.001+01:00

This is Rolo, he is a Parsons Jack Russell terrier, 1 year old and the 3rd dog I have looked after so far. He's clever, keen and extremely alert as well as being as fast as grease lightning. He needs a firm hand but responds well to leadership. I've got him for a week whilst his owners are away in Spain. He's an absolute pleasure to have around.

Station Beach

2010-03-17T13:02:00.001Z

Frank

2010-03-12T10:47:00.002Z

2010-03-07T07:29:00.001Z

2010-03-07T07:20:00.002Z

Back in Australia in Cape Otway in Victoria. After feeling rather disappointed in New Zealand. Went diving the other day here are some photos of Frank and Katrina's(my hosts) oldest son Emmanuel-he's a fish!

Waiheke

2010-02-20T09:34:00.001Z

Went to the island of Waiheke today, saw lot's of vinyards, horses and an old No.12 double decker

2010-02-15T02:13:00.001Z

Devonport

2010-02-15T01:49:00.007Z

Had a quick trip over to the village of Devonport yesterday afternoon, it's a 15 minute ferry journey and a real step back in time. Beautiful old shiplap colonial style buildings and a real slow laid back atmosphere. Lots of little galleries and places to eat and drink, backed by a volcanic mount with (I'm told) great views back to Auckland city, I just didn't have the energy yesterday! This is the first thing I've seen in Auckland I really liked, it felt what I imagine parts of coastal New England in the States are like, Just lovely!

Back in Auckland

2010-02-13T21:23:00.003Z

Now back in Auckland and glad to leave Waro, thinking about my stay there, I think there was a shift in attitude to me after I had a private chat with Tanya the dutch girl. I'd said to her that I didn't know how she had spent so long there as I was finding it really dull. Tanya and Mary were very close and I've got a feeling she might have told Mary what I had said. Apparently there had been lots of parties and fishing trips just before I'd arrived so when I turned up it was a very different place to what Tanya had experienced. Must say though that I got up as usual on my last full day there, Tanya was leaving at 4pm, back to Auckland and over breakfast Warren asked her if she had been up a local Mount where the views were stunning, when she said 'no' Warren suggested that Mary take her. I'd just started work and Warren shouted for me annd asked if I would like to go along, it didn't take long for me to say yes. We first dropped the girls off at their respective schools and headed of. It ended up being a lot further than I expected, a good hours drive along some lovely coastal scenery. But when we got there the track was closed for renovation! Typical! We returned to the lodge via a lovely surf beach, I'd felt a bit of an atmosphere all morning towards me especially from Mary, she'd ask me a question and then switch off when I was talking to her, which i thought was really rude, but I thought 'what the hell, I'm gonna be leaving first thing tomorrow' When we got back I changed into my work clothes and decided to make a cup of tea, I thought I better fufill my work committment. Then I heard Warrens voice again calling me, he said as it was Tanyas last day we were all going out for lunch. All jumped back in the car and drove back into town for a seafood binge, all on Warren. Returned to the lodge again and as I got out the car warren said that i didn't have to do any work today, just take Bono for a walk and swim, which was a pleasure. So in the end I got off quite easily. The evening meal was a bit quiet without Tanya as she was the centre of attention and Mary and Warren weren't great dinner table chatters. they also wanted to watch the first rugby league game of the season, so for the only night I was there I was invited into the TV lounge to watch the game with an ice cold beer. I decided to play devils advocate and as they were shouting for the Auckland Blues I'd get behind the Wellington Warriors. My team won quite conclusively, I jumped in the shower and went to bed. Woke up early saturday morning, eager to catch the bus which was arriving at 8.45, I'd heard warren get up real early and leave, it turned out he'd gone diving and i bet mary was really annoyed she couldn't go because she had to look after the 2 girls this weekend. She'd said to me the other day, 'Never have children, it's the worse thing you can do, it totally messes up your life' which i was quite shocked at and she obviously resented her kids for stopping her have all the fun she wanted.
Anyway got up and ready with plenty of time, had breakfast alone, which suited me as i felt mary's eyes on me all the time. At 8.25 dragged bags down stairs and said goodbyes, all very stiff and formal unlike anywhere else I've stayed before, but then she asked me to comment in the visitors book, which I didn't want to do but made a short vaguely positive comment, where I really wanted to say that Mary was self centred and a cruel dog owner!
Bus arrived bang on time and journey back to Auckland minute perfect. Karen my new host had given me precise instructions in how to get to her place, west of Auckland in Glen Eden by train which was cheap and quick. She picked me up from the station and took me back to her place which is a lovely 7 bedroom Art Deco House which is a bit of a landmark. She bought it 18 months ago with her sister and she takes in foreign language students who are studying in town. She only has one staying at the moment, a vietnamese guy who doesn't speak much English at all.
She had her father Claude staying with her for the weekend who is visiting from the Gold coast in Australia where he lives. although he left last night to see his other daughter who lives in Tauranga which is probably the next place I am going.
She was also looking after her grandaughter Sophie who was a bit strange, rather vacant and aloof but came round to my charms eventually! especially when I tickled her to death!
The house is absolutely lovely, completely restored inside, with 30's furniture and fittings, I always thought Deco house were, heavy and dark but it's lovely light and airy. My room is great, at the top of the house with fantastic views back to Auckland about a 30-35 minute drive away. To be honest there doesn't seem to be much in the immediate area of interest but as i think I'm only going to be 3-4 days here that doesn't really matter. The work she wants doing in the garden is going to be challenging she wants a couple of very large well established plants removing, a philadelphus and wisteria. I am her first Helpxer and I'm not sure she really knows how it works and I think she was expecting me to work today Sunday, which I wasn't. Anyway, I woke up this morning and it was absolutely pouring-what is it with Auckland? everytime I'm here it hammers down! So I told her I'd put some extra hours in tomorow, she works all day in the city troubleshooting computer issues, so I'll spread the extra hours over a few days. Not sure what I'm going to get up to today, there is a local flea market which I'd like to see, but Karen said it would be quiet because of the weather. I'll see what comes up. TTFN

Waro (load of rubbish!)

2010-02-11T09:40:00.001Z

Now in a place called Waro. It's basically a backpackers but with a couple of self contained units seperate from the main building. They say you don't apreciate what you've got until you lose it and I now appreciate what I had up in KeriKeri. Alright it wasn't perfect, but here is just dull with a capital D! Grant, Louisa's boyfriend gave me a lift here as he had to head home as an aunt of his was coming to stay with him, which was great and saved me $28.00 bus fare. The place-Warolodge is right on the main highway, which is actually only a 2 lane road but the traffic is constant and moving at a pace, so even though we are in the country there is certainly no peace and quiet. When I arrived no-one was around except another Helpxer, a girl from Holland called Tania. I arrived at 10 and Mary the owner was out taking her kids to school, I poked my head in to look around and say Hi and Grant asked if I wanted to stay, I didn't but felt as I'd said I was coming I didn't want to let these people down, he said I could stay at his place for a couple of nights instead and I was very tempted, but didn't. Mary was very friendly and I thought as I'd arrived so early I'd better do some work which isn't what you normally do on your day of arrival. I was shown where I was going to sleep, which was upstairs in basically a dorm with 6 beds, luckily as the place is empty I had the room to myself. I did a few hours work and knocked off at lunchtime when Mary. Tania and myself sat down and had a sandwich and cup of coffee. We had a good chat and I thought that it wasn't going to be such a bad place after all. When I arrived I saw a black retriever dog in basically a cage, so after lunch asked Mary if he needed a walk, she said yeah and we set off, There is an old disused stone quarry next to the place with a signposted walk around and Mary said that I'd come across a lake where Bono the dog would go for a swim and so could I if I wanted. He's only a young dog and in conversation Mary explained that her and Warren, her boyfriend, were keen fishermen and hunters and that Bono is their gundog. He's only a youngster at 13 months but they have no interaction with him at all, he spends his whole day locked in this cage away from the house and you can hear him whining all day and if he sees you or if you go anywhere near him he goes beserk with excitement. We started walking and he took off like a dog possessed. Mary told me I had to be firm in my commands with him, he didn't have a lead but knew exactly where he was going. He was virtually impossible to control but we made it down to the lake and both went for a swim, he spotted some ducks and took off. Then when we got out and was drying off a pick-up with a dog in the back drove past and Bono gave chase. The driver had to stop and wait for me to catch up so I could grab Bono, it was a nightmare. What i noticed when I grabbed him was that the collar he was wearing was as tight as it could be with no slack to loosen it. The poor dog spends his time alone in the cage all day with a collar thats virtually strangling him and when he gets let out it's like sensory overload. I absolutley hate the way they treat him, he isn't a pet just something to use during the hunting season that lasts a few months. Mary showed me pictures of fishing and hunting trips they had been on, probably the most shocking was a picture with several dead peacocks which they'd shot and which are considered pests.
I thought Mary was pretty laid back but before dinner whilst chatting she showed me a list of rules and requirements they expect from their helpers, evrywhere I've been to previously has been very laid back and cool. Get up whenever you want breakfast and lunch tend to be a help yourself to anything type affair with a cooked dinner in the evening. Do your work hours when you want as long as they are fulfilled. Here it's Breakfast at 7.30 sharp, funnily Mary asked me what I like for breakfast, I said ''Oh I'm easy toast, cereal anything really'' her face sort of dropped and she said ''Oh we like to eat protein round here, so we normally have eggs'', which is fine, but don't ask me what I want for breakfast in that case! Working requirements are 5 hours a day where everywhere else has been 4, and start time is 9! WHY! if I'm up at 7.30 and having eggs on toast why not let me start at 8!
Tania the dutch girl will have been here 10 days tomorrow when she is leaving, she says it has been great, I've found it dull and upsetting! Yesterday after dinner everyone went to bed at 9 and today after dinner which Tania cooked and Warren finally returned after spending a couple of days in Auckland, the evening was over by 8.45. Warren said goodnight, Mary just followed without saying anything and Tania who to be frank has a bit of an attitude, turned all the lights off, went into the lounge and shut the door behind her.
I leave Saturday morning to spend some time in Mount Eden a suburb of Auckland before heading south and I can't wait.
But the thing that I will remember most is the way that they treat that poor dog, dogs which are sociable pack animals, locked up by himself with no interaction of any sort, will be hard to forget.

2010-02-10T08:40:00.001Z

2010-02-10T08:37:00.001Z

Jumping!

2010-02-10T08:34:00.002Z

2010-02-05T19:30:00.000Z

As beautiful as this place is, there are problems and I've decided not to stick around for much longer. I've promised I'll stay until Tuesday to help pot on all of the plants I've created by splitting all the mother plants. Louisa went and got 4 trailer loads of potting compost yesterday ready for the work at the start of next week, as I've got the weekend off. I've not seen or been anywhere since I arrived, so am feeling a bit frustrated. There was an offer of a trip into town yesterday but it came whilst I was in the middle of working and I was filthy from head to toe, so would have had to rush like a madman to get clean and ready which I hate, it was only a trip into Keri Keri so I probably would have only been trailing around with Louisa. Today is Waitangi day, which celebrates the signing of the famous treaty, between Maoris and the English., not sure if there are going to be any festivities, will have to wait and see.
Over the period of a week staying here, things start to focus, the main problem I'm finding is with Tiger the eldest son, he is constantly whining and having temper tantrums, screaming and shouting at his mum or brother and sister, using foul language. He throws things around and I find if I'm trying to talk to Louisa within a couple of minutes he'll get up to something that is mean't to distract her and get her attention. Basically he's a nasty little shit, with a real attitude problem. It turns out everythings not so rosy between Louisa and Grant either. He left Monday morning to go back to his place in Whangarei, 90 mins south of here, which is where his 2 boys go to school. Yesterday afternoon Louisa was getting all excited because he was coming back up to spend the weekend. Louisa was creating a lovely meal for us all, I was just mooching around reading and messing around on the computer. I sensed a change of atmosphere at one stage and at about 8 oclock, when Grant still hadn't shown up and I was starving hungry, I had a chat with Louisa. Grant was late because he was helping a female neighbour of his move house which he hadn't told Louisa about because she knew of some history they had had. Louisa was fuming and spent the next 30 minutes telling me, how she had been let down by every man she had known. She told me how Charlie-Rose's dad had used her to get property from her in the divorce settlement, and how when only 6 weeks after moving in together he had used her as a guarantor on a loan for a truck he wanted to buy, which she refused to be, he flew into a rage and head-butted her and locked her in a room! Surfice to say the atmosphere wasn't great and she decided she needed to go for a walk and clear her head, meanwhile I was dying of hunger!!!!
So alls not perfect here and I've decided to leave although my next move isn't certain, I was going to go to a water-side, camp site, where they had offered to host me, but after re-reading their blurb and the emails we had exchanged, what they offer is very much biased in their favour, reading between the lines it sounds like they want landscaping work doing and in this heat would be terrible work and they don't even offer full board, only breakfast provisions because I'd be staying in a caravan or cabin and an occasional evening meal. I have another offer which sounds good but she doesn't need any help until the week after next. Might check in to a backpacker for a few nights, have to wait and see. TTFN

2010-02-05T06:17:00.001Z

2010-02-05T01:59:00.001Z

New Zealand

2010-02-03T04:27:00.003Z

Now in Keri Keri. Took 5 hours to get here by bus, I was expecting to be blasting along on motorways but was A roads all the way. I wasn't sure about it here when I arrived, Louisa was there to meet me off the bus stop in Keri Keri, then we went straight to a supermarket to do some shopping. Got back to hers and the house was full of kids running riot. She introduced me to Grant, her partner, who came across as a bit of a dingbat. The house is big and sprawling, with lovely gardens and a fantastic water hole where you can go swimming. A water hole is a bit of a misnomer as its quite a big lake, thats filled with constant running water from a stream. I was swimming with the kids within an hour of arriving although the weather was pretty grey and miserable. Louisa has 3 kids from 2 fathers, Tiger the oldest boy, Finn second youngest from her divorced husband who now lives in Thailand and the youngest a girl called Charlie Rose from a different ex-boyfriend. Grants 2 sons were here also, he is going through a divorce with his wife of 21 years, he and Louisa have known each other for the last 10 years. They are a bit Hippy Dippy, the kids rule the roost, but essentially they are nice people. In the garden, Louisa lets out a paddock to a lady who keeps llamas, so there's a dozen of them as well as a dog 'Zina' a peacock and peahen and chickens and ducks and 2 cats. Grant brings his dog Spike here when he visits and they have just let Spike and Zina mate. Grant lives 90 minutes away in Whangarei, the next biggest town going south. Keri Keri is right at the top end of the north island. The kids had there first day back at school today, so it was nice and quiet. Louisa is a grower of a sedge that's used in landscaping to stop soil erosion, she has a couple of polytunnels and I've been working in there for the last few days, digging up the mother plants in the nursery beds, splitting them, into small plants that will be potted on and maintaining a larger plant that is the mother plant which will be replanted and harvested again at a later stage. It's quite boring and hard work as they have a very extensive fibrous root system, but the worst thing is that they are quite sharp and my arms and legs are now covered in bright red scratches. This is just a side line of hers, on top of the yoga centre she runs here. She has a beautiful wooden building up on the hill, that is 150 years old which was originally a church hall, she had it moved here 6 years ago. She is a highly qualified teacher and has constant reassessments and has to return to India every 4 years, to maintain her high status. She is trying to convince me to attend one of her Thursday evening classes as she think she can help me with my elbow problem, which is now very sore and stiff after working so hard. Today was the first nice day since I arrived, it did try to rain a couple of times this morning but when I finished work at 12, the sun was out and lovely and warm with a fresh wind blowing. As usual I was filthy dirty so decided instead of having a shower I'd go for a swim in the waterhole instead. It was glorious, lovely and peaceful apart from the buzz of the cicadas, it's quite tropical this far north. It was so nice I decided to make myself a sandwhich and return with a towel, book and ipod for a couple of hours sunbathing. Everyone is lovely and tanned, I'm still horrible and white and feel very conspicuous. One other bad thing here is that this is a no-shoes house, and my feet being the horrible things they are, I'm constantly trying to hide them. I managed to rip my heels to shreds whilst walking around in Auckland in a brand new pair of pumps, so that makes them even worse.
The major negative here is the fact it's quite isolated and there's nothing nearby to walk to, there is no public transport to speak of and there hasn't been the offer of using the car. As nice as the house and garden are, this isn't what I travelled all the way to New Zealand to see. Although having said that Auckland was completeley uninspiring and the 2 days I spent there was 1 day too many. I reckon I won't stay any longer than 10 days here, I get the impression Louisa thought I'd intended to stay for a month at least, but there'd be no point. She was telling me today she laid awake all night last night worrying about her financial situation as the yoga business isn't making any money, nor the plant growing and both of the fathers of her children don't pay maintenance for their kids. Apparently it's frowned upon by Kiwi blokes as a sign of weakness!
She wants Grant to move in, but there is the issue of the mother of the boys who wants them full time. I asked Grant what he did for a living and he told me he was a cattle farmer, but yesterday when chatting he told me he designed and built houses, I'm a little confused! He also admitted he is $10,000 overdrawn on his credit card and is paying the minimum payment every month as he has no income at the moment. We drove to the local dump yesterday to get rid of some rubbish from Louisas garden, she had given him $30 to pay, but when we'd tipped everything in the skips the bloke in charge wanted $50, I thought it was all a wind up at the time, but it got quite nasty, with the bloke taking Grants number plate and saying if he didn't return the following day he would report him to the authorities and they'd take him to court for the extra $20. I suppose it didn't help when I told him we don't have to pay anything to dump rubbish in London unless we are a commercial tradesman. Apparently the opinion that the rest of the world has about New Zealand being so green is bullshit, according to Grant. There is nowhere in the whole of Northland used for landfill and all rubbish from here in here in the far North is trucked down to landfill in Auckland 5 hours away, not particularly environmentally friendly. Kids are now home from school and playing with the pellet firing guns that Finn bought yesterday with money his dad gave him whilst they were in Thailand visiting him, he handed over $180 for 4 guns, I was gobsmacked as Grant and I were outside the shop chatting at the time, I was really surprised the shop would have taken that much money from a boy of 10 without an adult present. Haven't taken any photos yet, but will post as and when. TTFN.

2010-01-21T21:54:00.001Z

2010-01-21T21:51:00.001Z

2009-12-26T22:12:00.001Z

2009-12-20T19:32:00.003Z

Last Minutes with ODEN from phos pictures on Vimeo.

2009-12-12T11:44:00.001Z

2009-12-08T19:42:00.001Z

2009-12-03T14:33:00.001Z

2009-12-02T18:06:00.001Z

2009-12-02T18:01:00.001Z

2009-11-07T17:22:00.001Z

2nd cut

2009-11-01T12:41:00.002Z

Thought I'd have another go at the film this morning,wth a little more thought and consideration, not sure if it loses the first ones spontaneity, but I enjoyed the process.

First foray into video

2009-10-30T20:13:00.010Z

Thought I'd have a go at creating a short film set to music. As a teenager I was really into the sombre but atmospheric music of groups like Japan, Tubeway Army, John Foxx et al. I loved the videos that accompanied this music, especially the aesthetic of Anton Corbijn. I found the Black and White imagery, which at times was totally random but always stylish, a real draw. A track that I was obsessional about at the time, was 'Red Guitar'by David Sylvian and I can remember sitting in front of the telly taking stills photos of the video with my old 35mm slr. Here's the video in all it's glory. Enjoy!

So the other day, I drove down to Dungeness in Kent with my hacked Vivicam 5399. I recently ripped apart an old Polaroid camera I paid 2 quid for at a boot sale and messing around with the main lens and viewfinder lens, realised that combined they created an interesting look, blurry with a sharp warped drop-off around the edges. I'd been hoping to use my TTV set-up but came up against a lack of freely available video editing software that included a cropping facility, which is vital when using TTV shots. So thought i'd use the Vivicam with taped on polaroid lenses instead. I bought this camera, prior to going to Hawaii this year because it came with an underwater housing. I didn't know at the time that it took video as well, so was well pleased when I discovered that facility whilst snorkelling on The Big Island. I subsequently took all of the photos, whilst in Portugal this summer using the Vivicam, it has it's idiosyncrises, but I love it for that, it's a bit like a Holga in as much as you're not really sure what you're going to get, but it's proved to be the best £15.00 I've spent. It took me roughly 2 hours to get about 100 seperate clips, to knock together some sort of short. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing or the direction I was going in, just that I love the feel of Dungeness and wanted to convey that in some way or other. Infact whilst shooting I didn't really know what track I was going to set it to either. That same evening, I started to piece the thing together, with no real structure. All I knew was that it had to be Black and White, slow and moody, with an empty, bleak aesthetic, that matched the location. I decided on the track 'Horses in my Dreams'by Polly Jane Harvey, it's one of those tracks that pops up regularly on my ipod when set to shuffle and I love it, but didn't even know what it's title was. I pieced the images together before adding the music and was surprised when I did finally add the sound track to discover that certain shifts in imagery matched changes in music and even a mention of 'train tracks' and 'waves' in the lyrics coincided with track and wave visuals- I couldn't have done it if I tried! So take a peek at my first proper attempt into film making.....Horses in my Dreams by PJ Harvey.

2009-10-26T23:47:00.001Z

2009-10-26T23:43:00.001Z

2009-10-23T17:07:00.001+01:00

2009-10-15T22:49:00.001+01:00

2009-09-30T15:36:00.000+01:00

2009-09-29T20:32:00.001+01:00

2009-09-29T20:24:00.001+01:00

2009-09-16T09:49:00.001+01:00

2009-09-16T09:47:00.001+01:00

JFK style

2009-09-14T12:19:00.001+01:00

2009-09-09T08:50:00.001+01:00

2009-09-09T00:14:00.001+01:00

2009-09-06T17:55:00.001+01:00

2009-09-06T17:52:00.001+01:00

2009-08-31T22:52:00.001+01:00

2009-08-31T22:50:00.001+01:00

2009-08-31T22:46:00.001+01:00

2009-08-19T22:05:00.001+01:00

2009-08-17T18:37:00.001+01:00

2009-08-14T19:41:00.001+01:00

2009-08-13T23:51:00.001+01:00

2009-08-13T19:09:00.001+01:00

2009-08-13T11:44:00.001+01:00

2009-08-13T09:51:00.001+01:00

2009-08-12T16:11:00.000+01:00

2009-08-11T19:17:00.001+01:00

2009-08-06T20:01:00.000+01:00

2009-08-06T16:42:00.001+01:00

2009-08-05T09:42:00.001+01:00