Five Guns

Went to Club Corali for a swim and then to Thanassis's parents house for the pre-wedding celebration in the village of Panetolio. Lots of fireworks, Greek dancing, and the shooting of single bore shotguns into the air. Even some plate smashing and a fire dance by Thanassis's brother. He stood on a table and twirled burning sticks around while dancing to "Pump up the Jam". A bizarre, crazy and enjoyable evening with a feast for a king which even included some offal meat dishes banned by the European Union. The party went on into the early hours and fun was had by all.. There were so many people there that passing villagers thought a new restaurant had opened and were trying to get in to book a table. Got back to the hotel in the early hours

cyberless

Travelled to Agrinon and stopped off at the Corinth channel.. An impressive piece of architecture.. It took four hours or more to arrive in Agrinon from Athens... Fortunately the coach had aircon.. The heat inland here is immense.. I've just spent an hour in search of an internet cafe and finally found this one..Powernet Internet Cafe Where they speak no English but have afforded me a machine and a Heineken.. The guy in the hotel told me it was called Virus..obviously changed it's name to make more findable.. talk about needles in haystacks! This is the real Greece.. absolutely no tourists..It could be Bury, Bolton, Preston or Burnley with one subtle difference... the sun of course.

Off to Agrinon

Gorgeous morning here in Athens.. A quick breakfast and now we're off on the road to Agrinon by coach.. Gotta stock up on water for the four hour journey into the country

3 years

It's our anniversary today.. And for all those blokes out there who fancy my wife.. Tough.. we're still going strong. We're off to celebrate in style.. Greek style

Over and out The Dave

Acropolitics

Took the tram into Athens this morning... An airconditioned version of the Metrolink set up for last years olympic games no doubt.. We went to the Acropolis in scorching heat but they refused me entry with my mintrekker rucksack. Despite my protestations I had to cache it in a cloakroom. Only rucksacks were banned other bigger bags with handles were allowed..No bags were searched. I didn't understand the rational frankly.. It looks like the authorities here have got the fear.. irrational kneejerk response. In the end I worked only with two bodies and the 10.5mm and 70-200 VR as it was mad hot and hard graft lugging other lenses by hand was impossible. There's so much scaffolding and engineering gear around the Acropolis site that in my book it looks like they're in the process of rebuilding it... Another ancient site bites the dust... Lisa, Richard, Maureen and I had a slush in a bar at the base of the Acropolis...Nice...Shot the Greek guards in funny costumes outside the Parliament before heading back by tram to Glyfada... Fell asleep watching the tedious second half of Man U beating Beijing Hyundai.. pointless capitalist game.. And now it's time to prepare for.. Mousakka.. Oh yes.. now you're talking.

Athena

Finally made it to the Hotel London in Glyfada at 3 in the morning. The taxi driver tried to stiff us for a further ten euros to add to the 35 on the meter.. Of course there was no way he was getting it.. On mention of the tourist police he was in his yellow cab sharpish and off like a shot. Breakfast was a blur but I'm sure it was okay. Glyfada is a lime tree lined suburb of Athens.. We enjoyed a gorgeous greek salad for lunch and did a spot of sunbathing on roof of the hotel.. Gearing up for Maria's Greek wedding which starts on Friday and ends on Sunday.

A lost weekend

Schiphol, Amsterdam... Just waiting for the Athens departure having flown here from Ringway, Manchester.. Two hours at Schiphol with very little to do...apart from. drink heineken, eat and watch out for dodgy geezers with rucksacs....F.E.A.R.

So much to answer for

Arrived in Hull early yesterday and drove back to Manchester to watch a young City team defeat a lacklustre Everton in a friendly in Bangkok.. Michael Richards looks like one for the future and Andy Cole(Man U reject) bagged on his debut. After a brief visit to the newish Cheetham Hill shopping complex appropriately named the Manchester Fort, Maureen, Richard, Lisa and I had a sunday roast at the Wellington also known as Sinclairs. I had a pint of Boddington's, first one in years and since its departure from its Mancunian roots it is now no longer a lush, smooth beverage. It has transformed into fizzy, weak pish. Spent a relaxing afternoon at Sill and Dom's. Unfortunately Gerrard(Howard) had to go to work at Chroma.. what a shame! Lisa and I agree as soon as we're back here it feels like we've never been away...Like a pub table and a bar stool.. we're just furniture...fixtures and fittings.. Oh Manchester... Looking forward to Athens tomorrow especially since Maureen has bought me a guidebook.

War on Terror

Panic on the streets of London today as a passenger has told how he saw armed police officers shoot a man on a Tube train at Stockwell.
Mark Whitby said: "I was sitting on the train... I heard a load of noise, people saying, 'Get out, get down'.
"I saw an Asian guy. He ran on to the train, he was hotly pursued by three plain clothes officers, one of them was wielding a black handgun.
"He half tripped... they pushed him to the floor and basically unloaded five shots into him. As he got onto the train I looked at his face, he looked sort of left and right, but he basically looked like a cornered rabbit, a cornered fox.
"He looked absolutely petrified and then he sort of tripped, but they were hotly pursuing him, [they] couldn't have been any more than two or three feet behind him at this time and he half tripped and was half pushed to the floor and the policeman nearest to me had the black automatic pistol in his left hand.
"He held it down to the guy and unloaded five shots into him.

What Gustave did next?

He built a tower.. Just updated David Crausby Images(see link on this page) with my first batch of recent Paris images. We went to celebrate Lisa's birthday. Had a meal and drank beer and wine, Lisa crashed out so I had to finish the bottle of champagne before going out with the monopod to shoot nightshots of the immense monolith. It's at time likes this when you wish you'd brought the tripod.

It could be...

Rotterdam.. We're off to get the ferry to Hull and have to be there for a 9pm crossing(the disco boat). Lisa is driving the Megane which we're giving to Dom and I'll be in the BMW.
For those with similar autistic tastes this is the route we will take:
A30...Osnabruck
A30...Bad Bentheim
E30...Borne
A1...Apeldoorn
A28...Niewegein
A12...Utrecht
A20...Rotterdam

Green Line

My message is simple... this is a mosaic at the Green Line, Nicosia, Cyprus...Europe's last divided city.. I had three weird licenses today... It seems the need for political imagery is on the increase;
1. Arabic script
2. Che Guevara
3. Green Line, Nicosia, Cyprus.

Americana

Here is the link for Lee and Will's blog http://www.barras.ws/usa/
Follow their exploits across the US of A

Hamm fisted

Had a nice meal last night at The Hazienda in Hamm(Steak uberbacken mit kase und bratkartofeln=6/10) and then a sauna at the Mercure where we were staying. I can feel the badness seeping into my brain.. I'm beginning to feel angry..as... On the way back today we heard on the radio that London's Tube network has once again been plunged into chaos with stations cleared after minor blasts on two trains and a bus. Fortunately this time injuries were minimal as only the detonators went off... The situation at the moment is not good... My mum phoned and assured me that dad had been in touch and he's okay. On a more positive note, Lee is doing a blog for his USA trip. I'll provide a link in the next post.

Nothing is what it seems

A lazy start to an unsettled day here in Germany as we delay the journey down to Hamm, meanwhile; More than 100 suspected Islamist extremists have been detained across Pakistan in a series of overnight raids on religious schools in connection with the London Bombings. A new stat reveals that 34 iraqi civillians meet violent deaths everyday and here in leafy suburbia everything seems quiet and peaceful.

Boiled Hamm

On the autobahn tomorrow to Hamm.. I wonder if the extraordinarily large red seat is still in residence in the shopping centre? There's not much else to see in Hamm. I've been twice before and was shocked by its mundanity. It's almost as dull as Gutersloh. Hamm's a modern town that seems to have suffered badly in World War Two as very few traditonal or pre-war buildings have survived. last time I was there some guy had a go at me for shooting pictures in the street . We ended up having a shouting match. With him speaking German and me English it was a real lesson in miscommunication. If I see him again, I'm gonna kick his arse! Yeah right!If I get bored shooting images I'll stay in the sauna all day or attempt to scale, conquer and sit on the big red seat, from such a vantage point I'll be able to keep my eyes peeled for the weird, aggressive guy. Don't let it be said that I bare grudges.

Graf Numero 3

George Bush Senior stencil art.

Via Cavour, Roma, Italia.

Artist: Unknown

Too Cool for School

Have you heard of Baader or Meinhoff? Lisa in Adidas shades and German Army Jacket...
Don't Mess!

Cherry Caipirinhias

Dom, thanks for the invite for this weekend.. Looking forward to getting slaughtered with the drink of the peasants...In fact I've got one lonely lime here that is begging to be part of a
refreshing and traditional caipirinhia mix. I Will bring you back a few bottles of the good stuff... I'll try to get hold of a bottle of the elite as well; Nega Fulho... We'll crush some ice and get mashed and talk garbage while the women watch Big Brother no doubt

Shroom with a view

The collection, preparation and distribution of fresh mushrooms of the magic variety is now deemed to be illegal in the UK... Looks like Shroomers will have to delve into the Underworld to acquire their hallucinogenic fungi.

Primal Rose

Primal Scream and ex-Stone Roses bassist, Mani was most amiable when Howard and I bumped into him recently while out shooting in Manchester... He was all handshakes and smiles and said in reference to the images we were capturing of him;

You'll get all of thirty pence for these!

In Transit

feeling tired yet inspired by the week in Garmisch.. Gotta plan in my head what's happening over the next few weeks..

• 18th Osnabruck
• 19th Osnabruck
• 20th Hamm
• 21st Hamm
• 22nd Rotterdam
• 23rd Hull/Manchester
• 24th Manchester
• 25th Athens
• 26th Athens
• 27th Athens
• 28th Athens
• 29th Athens
• 30th Athens
• 31st Athens
• 1st Athens
• 2nd Manchester
• 3rd Manchester
• 4th London
• 5th London
• 6th London

I wouldn't have it any other way...

Psycho Killer

Man City and Chelsea agree a £21m fee for the transfer of Shaun Wright-Phillips.
And the blues are looking at buying Andy Cole a 33 year old Man U reject.. The obvious raw ambition of Stuart 'Psycho' Pearce seems to be have been unhinged by the breadheads who care more about cash than progress..

I wonder if Psycho is still smiling?

My best wishes to Shaun.. the most exciting player we've had since Gio Kinkladze.

Stolen passport ?

Passport paranoia... Lisa just asked; "Where's your passport?". I told her it was in my camera bag and she replied; "Well as long as you know where it is then that's alright?" I guess she's adopting her maternal role and preparing for our trips this summer or just expressing a little concern since my renewed passport never arrived in May and I had to travel down to the British Consulate in Dusseldorf to purchase a one journey only passport to get back to Manchester. Finally Liverpool Passport Agency couriered a new one to me while I was staying at Maureen's but the other never did surface... I reckon it must have been nicked... Renewed Passports just don't go missing in transit do they?

strange request

Lisa asked me to give her a picture of somebody thinking. I supplied her with this....

Hmmmm.. Tomorrow the WORLD!

Graf Numero 2

A recent trip to photograph the Jewish Museum in East Berlin took me by this accomplished work on a tower block at a housing project in Hallesches Tor. I would imagine that this is a state funded piece to avert the cost of the constant removal of tags.. Notice how as yet the local taggers and graffiti artists have respected the quality of the art of spray!

Artist = Unknown

Goodbye Lenin

Watched a film directed by Wolfgang Becker called Goodbye Lenin, set in Berlin 1989 as the wall comes tumbling down. the male lead was played by Daniel Bruhl... Lisa and I agreed that it was an intelligent and original film but in no way as cool as my totally genuine DDR Astrohunter educational cosmonaut toy...manufactured by communists in the People's East German Republic.

Will communism ever triumph over capitalism? Honest answers only please..

Deerhunter

6am summer mist rising in the foothills of the Zugspitze... Moments after this image was captured a virile young deer skipped by me... such a beautiful event that I couldn't shoot it(digital image not bullet) I could only appreciate it in all its magnificent glory.. The proud young buck was closely followed by a breathless hunting dog that stopped and sniffed at my monopod and fortuitously lost the scent. I'm pleased to report that the hound nuzzled off in pursuit in completely the wrong direction. A victory for the little guy always makes my day.

Monty Python

Fashions don't change much in Bavaria.. Camp comedy at its best.. For some reason this guy reminded me of Michael Palin in a Python sketch

treat me nice

Treat me nice ,treat me good, treat me just the way you should, just the way you should and I wont have a wooden heart.. Edelweiss, edelweiss.. I love my edelweiss

Klammin' up

Felt great walking the Klamm gorge and then got upto Grasse Eck for the superb view..The air was fresh and sweet and cool.

peaks and troughs

An emotional week in Bavaria...Rain and rain and mountainbiking then sunshine and more biking and then the shit hits the fan.. After consuming a dodgy steak at a local American hotel, I awake at 6AM feeling a little grim..three hours into a bike ride I develop acute gut pain.. there is no turning back.. unless I am to be airlifted out.. My lowepro minitrekker full of Nikon gear including the trusty D2X is suddenly a burden.. There is no option but to bike for base.. The hours pass by and the guts and stomach stay in tact..just.. I manage the course but on arrival in Garmisch a mere 30 minutes from sanctuary I share a fellow bikers water.. this triggers superfast psycho voms.. Quickly disappearing behind a tree,I launch three in rapid succession, emptying my stomach of all its contents , rinse my mouth out, suddenly feel refreshed and elated and cycle back into the Edelweiss. I decide on an early night and wake at midnight. I consume a bottle of ice cold Evian and omit three more rapid pukes of dirty brown liquid chemicals and poison and then I'm ready for a day gorge walking and trekking...The ups and downs of life in the mountains

Return from Garmisch

Back from an exhilarating week in Garmisch-Pattenkirchen which included lots of "ings": raining, flooding, climbing, abseiling, mountain biking, food poisoning, gorge-walking, swimming, trekking, deerstalking, Too knackered to discuss details now.

Breakfast in the Bavarian Alps

In the process of packing for my week shooting in the Bavarian Alps. Staying in a remote log cabin hence the nasty array of processed breakfast choices. As well as pressing the shutter a lot I will be hiking, rafting, moutainbiking, climbing and abseiling. My Itinerary for next week is very loose so I don't know if I'll be able to get into Garmisch to update this journal. Next entry could be on my return to civilisation next weekend.

Graf Numero 1

Gonna make this a regular feature.. I have an interest in graffiti that dates back to my preteen years in the late seventies.

This stencil is on the embankment in London very near Cleopatra's Needle.

An anti-war, placard carrying, questioning rat.

Artist = Banksy

Looking for the steel

In the cold, harsh light of day... Geldof sits on a fence, Bono talks of peaks and troughs. Cliches about cups being half empty and half full abound. Dr Kumi Naidoo, ( anti-poverty lobby group G-Cap), said after "the roar" produced by Live 8, the G8 had uttered "a whisper". And the death toll in London rises above fifty and the G8 offer the same number in Billions of dollars to Africa in phases..But what does it really mean?

I gotta letter from the Government the other day, opened it , read it, said they were suckers...

I'm still not jealous

Later Bryan's daughter took a few shots of Lisa and Bryan.. Shame she didn't know him from Adam.. Later she admitted; "I thought he was one of your photographer mates."


Jealous guy (lennon)part 2

I was feeling insecure..You might not love me anymore...I was shivering inside..I was shivering inside.....I didn´t mean to hurt you..I´m sorry that I made yoy to cry..I didn´t want to hurt you...I´m just a jealous guy...I was trying to catch your eyes...Thought that you were trying to hide...I was swallowing my pain...I was swallowing my pain....I didn´t mean to hurt you..I´m sorry that I made you cry...I didn´t mean to hurt you..I´m just a jealous guy...
Lenono music © 1971

I aint no jealous guy

Lisa got a decent shot of Bryan with the old FujiS2 I've given her..

Jealous guy (lennon)

I was dreaming of the past...And my heart was beating fast...I began to lose control..I began to lose control.....I didn´t mean to hurt you..I´m sorry that I made you cry..I didn´t mean to hurt you...I´m just a jealous guy....

Safe and sound

A feeling of relief realising my Mum and Dad are safe.

The Fear

It turns out that the mobiles are not down due to overload... the phone networks have been switched off by the security forces so no more bombs can be triggered by cellular phone mechanisms.
Both my parents are safe.. Got the news from my brother by email.. First you feel relieved and then tinged with guilt when you realise that the loved ones of others have been killed senselessly and then you feel bitterness toward the deranged people who could commit such malicious crime. Plenty of people looking over their shoulders in London tonight... as disharmony and distrust reigns.

Panic in the streets

Shocked but not surprised.. Were bombs ready to go in paris if they had been successful in their olympic bid? Just been told by Christian and Ceris about the six blasts in London. My immediate response was to contact my brother by email who in turn can contact my parents who reside in Westminster... My brother responded quickly.. my mum is safe.. But he has as yet been unable to contact my dad by mobile as the networks are all clogged up due to overload. Christian is next to me trying to text his brother to check on his safety as he works in Saint Paul's cathedral, very near one of the blasts.. But the system is not working and his text is not getting through...As another person behind us, unaware or unconcerned chortles heartily a thought springs to mind...Bombs are no laughing matter...

the strongest link

Lisa burnt her hand today, the steam iron exploded in the kitchen and her thumb is red raw and blistered.. All she could say was; "I'd have been in big trouble if it had hit my face." Even though you wouldn't think it to look at her.. She is the strongest link in any chain I know.

Hate something..Change something

Make Britain proud? An olympic bid costing millions, billions, Beckham's manor.. my arse..hate something .. change something..hate something..change something..make something better...
MAKE POVERTY HISTORY...Since time immemorial poverty is history.. past , present and future...History makes poverty..
By 2012 will poverty be history? Honest answers only!

Bush hits copper

Red faced and raw knuckles.. George Bush pedals round Gleneagles and crashes into a policeman as a load of old popstars perform at Murrayfield and what's gonna change for the better when we wake in the morning?

London Calling

London calling to the faraway towns. Now that war is declared-and battle come down. London calling to the underworld. Come out of the cupboard, all you boys and girls. London calling, now don’t look at us. All that phoney beatlemania has bitten the dust. London calling, see we ain’t got no swing’cept for the ring of that truncheon thing.

So London it is then....Heart felt commiserations to our French cousins..

Are we dining alone today Mr Chirac?

Red, White and Blue

So who's it gonna be then? Madrid, Moscow and New York are officially out.. Paris or London? France or UK? Come on Jackyboy prepare to eat roast beef and Yorkshire pud and say it is nice big man...

Chalky water

All I can hear are her heels on the wooden floor in the kitchen as I'm considering de-calcing the kettle again she shouts upwards,

ARE YOU HAVING A COFFEE OR WHAT?

You see that's the trouble with the water in Nordrhein-Westfalen it's double chalky... Nowt like that lovely, cold, hard Manchester stuff. The water situation is so bad it almost makes me want to nip to MacDonalds for a brew.

Eat your words

Will Jacques Chirac be forced to eat humble pie after insulting British and Finnish cuisine? Or will London be thwarted in a late surge to host the olympics ahead of the Parisian favourites.? Then again.. who cares? I am so sad to admit that I'm more interested in whether it'll be Science or Maxwell who goes next.
My head tells me it's gonna be the psuedo-street kid from Leeds...Remember...Big Brother is watching you.

Big in Japan

There are many reasons.. but it's not only the cameras and masses of Manga..Why I like Japan in one simple word, "Innovation".

This is how they have used one of my images today;

Country: Japan
Usage: Editorial
Media: Television (Editorial)
Industry: Leisure/Entertainment/Sport
Sub-Industry: Broadcasting/TV programming
Placement: Flash use (upto 5 seconds)
Start: 04 July 2005
End: 05 July 2005

Bring them on!

As the world spins ever more slightly out of control, Chelsea fail in an initial £32 million bid for Liverpool's Champions League hero Steven Gerrard(Howard), there is a brief bomb scare at Auchterarder near Gleneagles and fresh protests begin ahead of the G8 summit in Edinburgh. With the whole shebang once again declining into chaos and futile despair there remains only one thing to do...Bring on the Clowns.