The Boy and The Coconut Tree

In the middle of last week I had a wobble and I posted something titled ' Peering over the cliff's edge '  I wouldn't call it a meltdown but if I was a nuclear reactor, people would have been evacuated. A few people contacted me and messaged me as soon as I posted it, and that was nice but I certainly don't want people to worry. It was more a little insight, proof that I understand myself and what is going on in my head and right now I am standing much closer to the carousel than the cliff. People assume I am always happy, friends expect me to be the centre of the fun and energy, those are my friends who have known me since university when I DID have lots of energy and was very happy.  25 years can do a lot to a person. Life, real life hacks away at the energy and happiness, it is the same as erosion, the rain and wind and heat and cold eventually turn mountains to sand, life can erode our souls.  I recovered from my meltdown in two ways: Firstly I went to the gym,...

Part 1: It can happen to anyone, one minute we are riding the carousel, laughing, our faces sticky with candy floss and the next minute the sky has darkened and we are peering over the cliff's edge. The seaside can be fun and dangerous. This is not my story, it may not be anyone's story but it is a story all the same. The sound of the carousel has faded into the background and now all I can hear is the sea as it washes the pebbles on the beach below me. I am now peering over the cliff's edge into the abyss and the sirens are calling me. I snap out of it of course, I usually do, but not everyone does. Remember that. Not everyone's day at the seaside is all candy floss and carousels. 

My relationship with the USA goes back a long way.  In 1976 Jimmy Carter came to my home town, planted a tree and we all waved the Stars & Stripes at the end of our school field as he drove by, we were excited, not sure why but we knew where America was, and what it meant to us, cowboys, yellow taxis, skyscrapers, Starsky & Hutch etc, the USA was a an icon that seemed friendly and creative. As I grew up and I studied history I learnt of Pearl Harbour, D Day, Hiroshima etc and the stories of how the USA saved us from the Nazis (the Soviet Union's role was whitewashed at the time due to the cold war).  I met my first American in 1982 on a school trip in Belgium (at the site of the Battle of Waterloo), they were tall, loud and friendly and curious about the fact we came from a place called Washington in England.  In 1996 I went to the USA for the first time, New York, and it was every thing I imagined, the thrill of seeing the skyline of Manhattan from JFK airport, ...

During my recent trip to Florence my friend Sally introduced me to street art/graffiti and this is a collection of photos taken in London, Naples, Florence and Budapest of different forms of street art I've seen in those cities. Sally was able to meet her favourite,  Clet  Abraham when we walked past his workshop in Florence by chance. He signed a postcard of his work and gave her a freebie and seemed quite the gent. His art is vibrant but cannot compete with the capital of the Renaissance . Florence Florence Budapest Naples London Florence A Clet piece in his Florence workshop London February 7, 2017

Surrounded by Christmas decorations, forced to listen to Christmas songs and it is November 19th. Christmas now lasts from Bonfire Night or Halloween until Valentines Day.  It is exhausting. I am exhausted by it but it won't put me off my actual Christmas break. I'm definitely half grinch!? November 2016 has been a funny month, a mix of the good, the bad and the bizarre. My birthday was a lacklustre affair, and I should have known not to drink when I was in a weird mood, the alcohol turns me into an emotional wreck, all that was missing were the panda eyes from ruined mascara.  No, it wasn't THAT bad but I've had better but my friends were great as always. I was surrounded by friends and some family and they indulged me, you need to be indulged on your birthday.  The bizarre event was/is Trump, he has been elected in the USA despite losing the popular vote by over 1 million but it isn't the system that is flawed, it was the campaigns and the hate filled rhetori...

The story of a man doing a deal with the devil to improve his life, or gain knowledge, or seek revenge on his enemies is an old one, told in different versions over many cultures.  I had read about Dr Faustus , the Christopher Marlow play, at school or maybe not (my school wasn't big on culture) and had a memory of it and thought the idea was an interesting one.  Last week I was given the opportunity to see it on the stage in London with a colleague and performed by the RSC so it had to be good, right? The Barbican itself is a strange mix of people, the audience can range from little old ladies sipping tea in the cafes to hipsters admiring the ugly buildings and people pretending to understand the more obtuse art installations (I never try to understand them). The audience for the play was a mix and of course the person sitting in front of me was the tallest human in the place, he had to be 8ft tall but most of it seemed to be leg so I could easily see over him. Sat two rows...