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The Outsider
23 Jan‘Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center.’ Kurt Vonnegut
Phnom Kulen
12 JanGreen Tours Cambodia, apart from loosing her phone in the great Tonle Sap lake, had a great time running a private tour at Phnom Kulen.
Exhibition :: The Soul of the Ebony Rockers
9 Oct
To celebrate black history month, organised in Southampton in part by my good friend Don Jon manager of reggae band Ebony Rockers and race relations consultant, an exhibition of photographs (including some of mine) will be featured until end November at The Soul Cellar Southampton. Go see it or if you can’t? All of the fantastic photographers featured can be found at the wonderful www.johnnytoaster.co.uk
(Nice styling Toaster!)
Green School ~ Bali
18 AugI have been collecting ‘green‘ links a plenty from interesting people on my travels to blog about so I shall catch up a little whilst I grab some down time and nurse a hacking cough. Fresh ginger, lime and Cambodian honey tea is helping.
On my journey here I got chatting to a lovely woman, Henny, travelling home to Bali with her daughter India. What India thought of the young people dominated recent UK troubles and riots as a young adult herself I know not but, I do know, Henny’s daughter is one very lucky young woman as she studies at Green School in Bali.
Image © Green School
For a girl like me who found school an utter trial and would play truant to sit in the local park to talk to the trees and daydream I can think of little better than a building and green spaces such as these children have as a place to learn about the world.
Image © Iwan Baan
Green Schools website tells me that they are “preparing students to be critical and creative thinkers who are confident to champion the sustainability of the world and its environment.” It sounds great and the bamboo building is out of this world. Designed by John and Cynthia Hardy its sweeping spiral roofs and open air classrooms bring the natural world into the learning space and the students into the managed wilds to learn sustainability skills.
Lovely Henny! Should you read this do get in touch, Bali has moved up on my to visit list!
Fields of Bliss…
16 JulSorry dear blog, it’s been too long, I got lost in the fields of the ‘shire there a while, come see…
Blissfields 2011
Moments of joy
7 MarThere is a freedom in the summer,
as the corn fields call us home,
to chase fireflies and fancies,
moments of joy…
‘Between the stones’
6 MarRoyal Victoria Country Park Hospital through slate and stone sculpture ~ 50,000 patients were treated here during WWI, Queen Victoria loved it, Florence Nightingale deemed it vain. I’m really enjoying exploring black & white.
Eden Ahoy!
5 OctTwo of my favourite things plus a night away with my better half was always going to bode well. Dreadzone at eden project in Cornwall on October 1st was like having your favourite pudding and your favourite meal delivered by hand. The following day exploring the flora of Eden was like a 7 course meal for my eyes and camera!
A startlingly beautiful and almost alien venue at night we were greeted by gifts of Acai berry juice freshly harvested from the tropical biome. Warmly welcomed by Dan Ryan, editor of Eden’s online conservation website Plant Talk, who was kind enough to put us up in his camper (thanks Dan!). I have been volunteering for Dan as photojournalist and wasn’t sure if I was more excited to photograph Dreadzone in such an amazing structure or the plant life the following day. But both were as wonderful to shoot as the other.
An intimate gig with an audience of eight hundred nestled between the biomes Dreadzone played with abandoned pride, clearly showing their joy gigging at such an inspiring venue with the multi coloured Cornish crowd in full appreciation. Once the rhythm section of Big Audio Dynamite in the 1980’s the new album Eye on the Horizon is available now on Dubweiser records. Look out for tracks Gangster, Little Britain (not the tv show the song!) inspired American Dread and the hypnotising Tomorrow Never Comes. The band played with personal passion dedicating the track Changes to a member of eden team who had recently lost her father, their connection to their audience as strong as ever. Oh how we danced under eden’s biomes, as those who know would say “Oi Oi!”
Eden isn’t just about plants, occasional gigs (the spectacular Kate Tempest plays next month) and the largest greenhouse in the world. As a registered charity member’s of the team work with the homeless on their Great Grass programme which enables participants to realise new skills on registered training courses and support into employment. There are campaigns to encourage school children to learn how we can grow our own foods, a deep geothermal energy project proposing to build the first UK geothermal power plant, and so much more to learn and explore. Wear comfy shoes and layers, that tropical biome is hot and go, you’d be silly not to!
Pulse ~ a festival for the heart
8 Sep
I had such a wonderful response to my recent blog about the Secret Garden Party festival I thought I should treat you to some more festival wild things that are we humble humans in full summer bloom in thanks for your kind words!
Pulse Festival grew from a little idea to raise some cash for Southampton’s Children’s Heart Unit as two fathers shared their concerns over their children’s ill health from congenital heart disease. From little acorns come large oaks and this wonderful family festival encompassed all that is good about colourful festival people, the music scene in Hampshire and and our green countryside. Located at Sunnyfield’s Organic Farm there were pigs to pet, organic produce to nosh on and tractor rides to keep the dads … sorry kids happy!
We got to see our lovely friend singer, songwriter and guitarist Lucy Kitchen sing her blend of folky acoustic sounds including the beautiful ‘Blue Eyes’ and a haunting rendition of Lamb’s ’Gabriel’ one of my personal top 10 ten favourite tunes.
Watching the Pulse people go by in their festival finery was a joy as ever and it was a pleasure to see so many happy families, daft dad dancing and painted faces. We didn’t stay for the evening as my daughter was leaving for three months travels the next day but I did round off my fun with a good jump around to Pronghorn.
One of Hampshire’s finest products of cow punk Pronghorn played Glastonbury this year and got this south coast crowd jumping and one little girl deciding it wasn’t quite her cup of tea…she’ll learn!
As day turned to evening a sunny shower freshened up the revellers and brought with it a rainbow. May it be a good portent for all of the families supported at Southampton General Hospital and may this little acorn of a festival grow into a sturdy oak. I believe the cash raised is still being counted but estimates suggest nearly £10,000 will be winging it’s way to the Heart Unit. A brilliant result, a beautiful event, do let’s have another!
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