the idea behind the pictures

While I get my finances and other bright ideas i keep coming up with in motion-slowly. I have a bit catching up to do with life, friends and culture that I had to ostracise whilst doing the NCTJ.

When I go around on my mini trips more often than not it happens to be London or the South from where I have just moved away, I take pictures on my trusty blackberry. I'm not a professional like some of my dear friends, who have a real eye for a good/great picture.

But I'm not bad-even though i say so myself-in framing and capturing a good picture. I find pictures fascinating, they are the documented proof i feel of our daily lives.

I was listening to the radio-to keep up with the current affairs and nourish my starved brain of some knowledge, an interesting fact cropped up about our memory and how the brain tends to 'delete' memories to accommodate the new memory one would have just acquired.

Its not an entirely proven fact, but was very interesting to listen to. Not sure it will explain, short term memory loss, but its definitely a good excuse to keep under the hat when I forget something!

Somehow that fact
seemed to validate my obsession of taking random photographs. This picture is one of mine and a recent favourite! I was standing out the Tate gallery about to walk towards the tube station when I thought 'this looks like a great shot'.

There are more randoms ones. I'm sometimes told off by a really good friend of mine, for taking pictures of sign boards! Well my reasoning behind that is so the viewer-apart from myself can Geo- position themselves-mentally- to give them a feel that they are ACTUALLY there.

Besides its for my memory, to remember where I have been- Hehehe. I think its important, especially with more study and revelations that more people are being diagnosed with dementia-scary thought to lose someone that way. not to remember anything-eeks :s

There have been some sad episodes in my life, and thanks to the pictures I had taken prior to those events, I have captured forever that memory and whatever happiness there was. So the camera, in my opinion, the best invention ever.

Before that, the amazing portrait painters-some excellent examples are housed in the National Portrait gallery-so life like-forget HD! they didn't need that in the 17th-18th century. Wish I could paint like that.

Well at least I can draw comic characters-that'll do for me doodling.

Big wide world

Well, what do I say after a halt to all the madness that was taking place not so long ago.

'Hello!'- My usual response to almost everything or 'Hey ya!' the latter is my favourite; so to what I have done thus far-erm bits and fragments of my plan to tour this Isle has happened.

Starting with North Wales.


Lucky me, dad was on holiday and me being me, with my big brown eyes and whining ways was able to save a chunk of money on travelling by hitching a ride with him (cheeky grin). The idea behind my travel plans was mainly to follow the legendary trail of King Arthur and the story behind it.

I did manage to find one of the battle grounds on which King Arthur supposedly fought to save his kingdom. The most part of this trip however, had a few changes to it. Most of the historical links to the legend within Wales stop just after the North/South border, for the rest I must explore south Wales.

So I figured whilst here I shall find out about this area instead. I've heard alot about Welsh slate and that the roofs of mainly London and various well-to-do areas line their houses with this material. I knew this was part of the country, mining was the major source of income and career path for the people.

I had no idea what the work entailed apart from it was very- Very dangerous! well duh you're going down into the bowels of the earth and there's a limited supply of fresh air down there.

We reached a place called Ffestiniog where the slate mines are. What you will notice when you get to the nearest town is the mountains-man-made mountains of slate chippings discarded after squaring off the tiles.

This next video is not very clear, but the sounds of the carts talking us into the dark tunnels of the dis-used mines was a bit nervy.


The road trip was very soothing to the weary soul after a long while of being stressed and tired, mainly tired. There was a lot of sheep! Most of all the language, it intrigued me to hear and read Welsh. I couldn't pronounce half of the things i saw on the sign boards that was more the three syllables!

From the books I have read, the language is a derivative of ancient celtic, druids used to and some still use it to be with the sprits of the land. Very mysterious. It would be so cool to meet a practicing druid or pagan. I mean these belives pre-date christanity and catholism, they must help countless number of people get through some pretty tough times, most of the trouble, from history, caused by religion itself .

That was North Wales, a bit of history for added measure. Next stop Cornwall and Devon hopefully!