ladybird intruder

greetings

pretty much all you need to know of this is right there in the title, i suppose. but then again this is an incident which allowed me to dabble with that new psychedelic effect on my camera phone thing, look you see. who knows, if you have a look maybe you will like it. or not. 

so, i was sat one afternoon, doing something close to nothing. actually can't recall. likely just typing up a post for here, or maybe watching a video (disc) or what have you. to my surprise i heard the unmistakable flutter of an at the time undefined insect wings near my left ear. glancing down saw me see that a ladybird had taken up residence on the lower aspect of my left shoulder. or thereabouts, you know, for it is not so that biology is a strength of mine. 

that is what i believe to be the ladybird in question, although obviously (and clearly) not on my shoulder. where it is, if it is the same one, i shall get to later. you too, if you read on. and yes the above image is very much taken with that psychedelic thing i now have installed. quite class, i hope you agree, or maybe it is just me. 

having no wish to harm the ladybird (this is getting back to the story) i got up steadily and slowing, stepping outside to sort of "shake it off" and let it make its merry way in the world. as far as i could tell, or ascertain, i had indeed shaken it off. then, when i went inside my place of exile, what should i see on the wall but a ladybird. 

either this is a different (or if you will, second) ladybird, or the original lone intruder had simply hopped on to another part of me, hopping off when back inside. don't see how the latter could have happened, as i saw it the moment i walked in. so perhaps it never actually left, and hopped off as i was heading out. giving which happened any further thought or consideration is likely to hurt my brain, so if you don't mind i shall leave you to speculate over it, if not wrestle with it. 

do people still call them ladybirds? i have the most peculiar feeling that i have written of this before, but i suspect some call them "ladybugs". by virtue of the fact that they would appear to reproduce, since i don't think we are surrounded by immortals, i presume there is such a thing as a ladybug boy. yes, i came rather close to writing "ladyboybird" there, which has a different meaning. well, ladybird is what i was always led to believe as being the name, so shall stick with it. 

another psychedelic mode image of the ladybird for you above, then. indeed i have been experimenting, which has seen me discover all sorts of quite class settings. one can adjust the type of psychedelic image you take, and the psychedelic intensity of it. still no Commodore 64 mode, but i would expect me to have some fun with this. 

what was the eventual fate of the ladybird or, i concede possibly, ladybirds? no clue. after taking these pictures i elected to let it get on with whatever it wished to. perhaps it is still lurking around my lodgings in my place of exile, or maybe it has since flown off. good luck to it, whichever. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

psychedelic thermal

hello there

in a reasonably recent post (one done, and not one to come, look you see) it was so that a kind of sneak preview of some new picture formats was provided. this was, unexpectedly, done as part of some comments or other (review, if you like) of a record off of Kaiser Chiefs. one that i did not expect to ever purchase or hear, but now is not time for such distractions. 

not entirely sure if you, who(m)ever you may be, are missing the greater good and glory of images presented in Commodore 64 mode.to recap (if needed) they went and gone done some sort of update to my phone of choice and now that "app" doesn't work. with me thus far being unable to find any sort of similar one i had been experimenting with a VHS mode thing. but now i have found others.

yes, the above image is indeed David Bowie, as featured for March (2024) on my seemingly not entirely official calendar. this image was captured using one (of many) of the variations of a thing i installed called "thermal scanner" or something. no, it doesn't take actual thermal images, for i suspect such would cost a lot. but, all the same, it claims a thermal "style". 

the thermal one is but 1 of 2 what i gone bought. with actual money. i confess that one got purchased first as my imagination stretched only so far as getting one that was "thermal" or "infra red", so as to give a kind of quasi Predator feel to things. cost for the full, advert free variation of it was just a little north of £2, which seemed reasonable and felt agreeable. and then, for just north of £3, i observed that they also did one which was labelled (or called) "psychedelic".

perhaps i should have given some warning that a selfie was to appear, for i know some of you care not to actually see me, but go ahead and get over yourselves. this image (of moi) above is indeed presented in the psychedelic mode off of the other app. oh, i quite like this one. 

why is it i insist, or if you will persist, on (or in) taking images in less than straightforward as it is modes? not really sure. just an effort to make it all a bit more interesting, i suppose. believe me i have no pretence nor claim to be all "arty", i just like the idea of seeing things a little less ordinary. don't think i would go as far as saying there's an intention, or proclivity, to subvert. sometimes one just accidentally creates an image more interesting to look at. 

like, for instance, the one above. featured here (in another of the thermal modes) is my rather smart Hannibal Lecter figurine or statute, whichever name for it you would so prefer. provenance of it is indeed that i found it on my New Zealand odyssey, a journey i believe i have mentioned on this blog before. yes, i quite like how that one has come out, so to speak.

as it happens, or indeed actually, i could not decide between a few of the different types of thermal style pics i took of Bowie to use here. well, the same image (off of the calendar) of him. that i am using as an excuse to put another one here; one which may well appeal to fans of purple. 

oh. as in whoops, or oops. now that i have had a look it seems i have only added one (1) picture in that psychedelic mode. right, well, i have every confidence, assuming i steal further time in this world to do so, more images in that format will follow. 

for now, then, more (since it is all i have here) in that thermal format. 

quite the statement on my impulsive, compulsive spending habits is made by the above. the central focus is, of course, on the rather large (if not quite life size) Scooby Doo out of (ahem) Scooby Doo what i bought upon seeing. i felt it inappropriate to leave it in the shop, and happily the price was just south of £15. yes, i do seem to wave some big money around here. anyway, Scooby is sat on a star design cushion that i had no need for but had a discount voucher, and one can also see that smart log shaped cushion that i also had no need for, but hey, log lady out of Twin Peaks immediately came to mind, so there it is. 

up to now i would say i am reasonably happy with these two (2) app things. yet i do yearn for my most beloved Commodore 64 one. maybe with the movement of time such feelings will fade, but at this moment it feels like they will not. oh, well. 

since a major motivation of "thermal" mode was the inspiration of Predator, well, best to end this post on one set up in have in one aspect of my kitchen. i think i have shared an image of the above before, although just as a regular picture. to clarify, that is indeed an alien out of Alien(s) and a predator out of Predator(s). right in the middle (ish) is the skull of The King, Elvis Presley which i bought one year instead of actual Christmas decorations. 

right, time (i suppose) for me to go and do other things. which, yes, may well involve me taking more images in thermal or psychedelic mode. not actually sure if it does video (or "gif") format, but maybe i will go and experiment down the car wash. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

all over battersea some hope and some despair

now then

just a bit more observational stuff off of my travels, look you see. and indeed it was to that there London i was once more at. certainly it is (very much) so that i am there more than what i would have imagined, but generally they have some quite class vibes shops, so there you go. 

anywhere in London (innit) that i do not particularly care to go? oh, yes. once there was a time when i wondered why a moan (or groan) from them affable London cabbies was how they don't go "south of the river", as in crossing the Thames in a downward direction. having spent some considerable, if not formidable, time driving there, i get their disdain. it's horrible how the roads and that work. 

yet it was to be that i was required to be there, down south of the river, if even only just. which is how and why i can bring you some pictures (and video, no less) of the celebrated battersea power station. as far as i am aware it is quite celebrated, at the least. 

indeed the above image is in VHS mode, as is (so as to warn) the bit of video just below. how much more time i shall spend with VHS mode is up for debate, since i have now installed "thermal" and an absolutely mental "psychedelic" set off "apps" on to my phone what has a camera welded to it. 

oddly battersea power station does not do what it says on the box. at least no more. yes, indeed it was a power station at some stage, but got disused or closed down. i have little or no doubt there was good reason for this, but i am not looking it up. they also probably wished to demolish it too, but no, it stands still (as you can see) and has been repurposed. i think it's like some sort of shopping centre or similar now, and it looks like either (probably quite expensive) apartments (flats) or offices above. 

why is driving south of the river so bad? lots of reasons. for a start there are many, many needless sets of traffic lights. also about a million speed bumps designed to totes knack the underneath of any sort of vehicle. the pretty much universal 20mph speed limit across the area you can almost live with, yet it seems excessive that it applies in areas with no residential areas or footpaths. one completely f***s their back, legs, knees, feet and what have you driving there. 

there's that promised if not suggested video for you, then. yes, in VHS mode. not sure if you can make it out, but on the far right (location, not political ideology) one can see the elevator thing coming out of the chimney stack. if that's the right word for it. yes, it has some sort of tourist attraction element to it, but no i have no idea how much it would cost to go up (and presumably down) the viewing deck elevator (or lift) thing. 

strangely i do have a reasonable idea of some of the costs involved in living in a flat (or if you like it posh apartment) in the area all these pictures (and video) were taken. a fairly standard one shall set you back, at time of writing, about £500,000 excluding purchase fees. which is indeed one half of one million pounds. to rent is anywhere between £2,500 and £3,000 a month. in either (or both) instances, that will exclude utilities, council tax, "service fees" (which are both a London thing and frightfully expensive) and anything else they can think of to bill or charge you for. no, i shalll not be moving there any time soon, thanks. 

my experience of the place (battersea) says that you would have to be completely f****d in the head to wish to reside there. it's rather close to the American Embassy for a start. this can only be of benefit to one if you have a wish to shout "Yankee go home" at people who are probably both armed and allowed to shoot anyone they consider a "threat". nearest shop to the place i could find was a Waitrose. if you think the cost of buying or renting a place there is expensive just you wait until you discover how much a bottle of milk costs. 

by my usual standards that's not too bad a picture, above, is it? reasonably clear and you can actually make out what it is.

nearly forgot, yes, this building (structure, if you like) was indeed used prominently in (or for) the artwork (cover) of the album Animals off of Pink Floyd.

right, i find myself with nothing left to say on this particular subject.

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yet here we are

howdy pop pickers

oh, right. well, here we are, look you see. in what i suspect might (or may) be a first, here's a review, or comments, on an album that i had only the vaguest sense of existing (believe i saw an ad in passing), no intention of buying and, as would follow, no real wish to hear or comment on. yet, as the title says, here we are. 

which album is it that i write of? so far as i can ascertain the actual title is Kaiser Chief's Easy Eighth Album by (ahem) Kaiser Chiefs. perhaps, or maybe, it's just called Easy Eighth Album. no idea why they decided on making the name so needlessly complex, but i am no rock and roll star. or wannabe rock and roll star. 

indeed, as can be seen quite clearly above, i have fiddled with my VHS app some and have now mastered the art of getting some boss static / tracking lines to appear, making it look quite class. or as good as it can, yes, i am really missing Commodore 64 mode. but another interesting sort of replacement is coming up (or down) below just now. 

provenance and reason for actually getting this record, then? in conversation recently Dad mentioned that he had heard some songs from it (or off of it) and quite liked it. by chance (and not long after) i was in one of my preferred vibes retailers. it just so happened that they had been donated several copies of this tape (disc) to be sold south of one half of the retail price as means of contributing funds towards a good cause. under such circumstances it was a pretty straightforward purchase choice. 

so, is the album (record, tape, disc) any good? actually it's pretty decent. gets about business with little in the way of messing about, as it happens. the ten (10) tracks come to a combined running length which is less or shorter ("fewer") that thirty minutes, so yes indeed you can play the whole album twice in an hour. doing such (playing it twice) is no bad thing at all. 

behold, then, for above is the first image i have used off of my new "thermal" camera thing off of my phone. of course no, it is not an "actual" thermal camera, just takes pictures in that style or format. hope you enjoy the new direction, and yes i shall fiddle with some of the settings for future, rather than previous, posts.

there aren't really any "stand out" tracks on this Easy Eighth Album as they all fly by so quick. it is, however, a most enjoyable thirty (ish) minutes, so no, there are no bad tunes at all. generally such short songs would suggest a kind of edgy, punchy, punk thrash sound, but more of a sense of 90s tunes with 80s production values are the case. 

no, i have absolutely no idea how this record compares to their previous (i assume) 7 albums. whereas i am aware that there's an  expectation for me to fawn over them as they are of Yorkshire, it's like they have done things what i am aware of, yes they are pretty good but also no, they've never really been a band i felt a need to latch on to. good luck to them, mind. 

could be that this is accidentally (an unintentionally) damning by implication, but the aspect of the album what impressed me the most was a note in the booklet what said that the cover art was done, or designed by, Jim Moir. this i shall take as being Vic Reeves. nice one. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

very disappointing

hello there

well, if you have visited here for a review of the documentary about London's (in)famous Scala cinema, there you go, it's in the title. anyone wishing for more is of course very welcome to read on, but for a slightly expanded shorter version one would be wise to simply listen to the mythology and urban legends of the place rather than watch this documentary. and it brings me no pleasure to say so, look you see. 

provenance of my (signed by someone or other; actually i think two people have) copy? that there fopp shop in London (innit). whilst purchasing some other items (The Holy Mountain and a few other things) i noted it on the counter. my immediate thought was "oh, that's the cinema what got closed down for holding a screening of A Clockwork Orange in the early 90s". the bloke on the counter, obviously keen to upsell but also quite passionate about it, explained how the initial run of signed copies sold out and it really was worth watching. so, despite the eye watering price for a singular single fancy video (disc) of just south of £18 (!!!!) yeah, i took an expensive chance. 

it might be that this echoes the actual cinema history itself. but it starts of really, really well and then soon becomes a boring, tiresome and very self indulgent drag. when i say starts well, it truly does. you get interesting snippets from interesting people like Mark Moore and a brief insight into how they managed to get away with screening films that were deemed not suitable for a more mainstream release. essentially, if interested, it was via being a "club" rather than open to the public sort of cinema. 

mostly, and again this is at the start, one gets a sense of how incredible it all must have been, being able to taste the forbidden fruits of cinema in a seedy yet vibrant part of London (innit). essentially it presents itself, or the Scala, as being at the heart of the kind of London many (if not all) would love to be part of. 

sadly this gives way to the London (innit) that few, if any, wish to be part of. with any actual details of the cinema, in terms of how it ran, being if not skimped over then simply ignored, you get the sense that it was a place which desperately wanted to remain all inclusive yet became depressingly exclusive. it's fairly clear that by the mid 80s onwards if you were not part of "the regular crowd" then you were most decidedly not welcome there. 

one moves from the wonders of Mark Moore and to an extent him what played the roadie in Wayne's World 2 to statements issued by people quite full of themselves, all aloof and indulged with a firm sense of self-importance. interestingly, or by chance, when you start to sense "hang on, these people are rather snooty, full of themselves and most condescending" who should appear on screen but the self anointed, even if he isn't aware of it, kind of such types, James O'Brien? 

yes, i did recall right. the fall out - mostly legal costs - of taking the decision to hold an illicit and not as secret as they thought screening of A Clockwork Orange brought the place down. one must remember the film was, contrary to popular belief, "banned" in the UK; rather it was withdrawn from release by Warner at the request of Stanley Kubrick. they (the owners of Scala) got done for copyright breach, and from what i could work out in court they openly admitted procuring a copy to screen via less than legal means. showing just how full of themselves they were the defence appeared to be "we wanted to show it, it's not a big issue". how self indulgent do you have to be to on the one hand claim to love cinema then on the other flagrantly ignore the expressed wishes of one of cinema's most gifted artists purely for self interest? 

at a guess the only people who are ever going to really enjoy this documentary are those people who feature in it, or were some of the select (and if i am honest lucky) few who were considered part of the Scala crowd. we. as a world and a society, actually need a Scala again. everything is now just the touch of a button (or screen) away, the idea of rare and obscure films that can only be seen in certain places fades with every minute we move forward. but, sadly, this documentary ultimately screams that the world is better off without such.

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

un fin de l'homme

bonjour

well, first and foremost this is kind of the dawn of a new era. perhaps not all that exciting for anyone reading this, but let it be known that this would be the first post what i gone done on my shiny new computer thing. look you see. many thanks to my good chum Mark for the sensational effort to arrange it for me. 

right, to business. if i can work out how to add pictures on this new system. hang on, yes i can. still getting used to the wireless keyboard (and mouse) i picked up for it, so bear with. where was i? oh, yes. not much really, just that a particularly, by my usual standards, posh bottle of what i would refer to as aftershave is nearly finished, which is why the title is what it is. 

presented above, in VHS mode, then, is the first and quite probably last bottle of L'Homme off of Versace that i will buy. indeed it was bought when on a most attractive special price offer, albeit one that was slightly higher than i would usually pay for an aftershave for myself. as and when Christmas comes around, which is generally annually, it would be so that i know which type of aftershave the boys want as it shall (invariably) turn out to be the most expensive one. 

oddly i would appear to have some sort of "brand loyalty" to Versace. normally, and once again i am not at all sure anyone is particularly interested, i would use their Blue Jean when on my travels and their one called The Dreamer when at lodgings in my place of exile. undoubtedly i have discussed this before, but yes, Blue Jean selected due to Blue Jean off of Bowie. but also it comes in a nice metal tin container so doesn't get damaged from station to station. 

do you all still want some sort of warning if a picture of me (moi) is imminent? if so then be warned as such is closer than you may think. 

i took the above picture earlier this year, rather than later in it. early (ish) January to be slightly precise, when i went on a stroll around that there London (innit) prior to spending many (several) hours in planes to reach New Zealand. no, i did not call in and make a purchase. funds at that stage were reserved purely for the odyssey.

how is it that i became some sort of Versace loyalist? i think it was when i saw an advert in some leaflet or similar off of a shop, offering Blue Jean at what struck me as a most agreeable price. sure the name drew me in (see above) and happily the scent was agreeable. expanding my range to have some of The Dreamer from time to time was mostly based on the special offer price. 

to be honest, to give a kind of sort of review, i am not certain that i would purchase this one, L'Homme, again. granted, yes, Sprios thinks it's marvellous that i own something so explicitly homoerotic, but in truth i wasn't all that keen on the smell. which is kind of an important part of an aftershave. rather too grapefruity for me, overall, i think. 

not sure if you can make it out in the above, for VHS mode is no Commodore 64 mode, but i believe residing in the bottle is just enough for one (1) final use. likely it shall be gone long by the time anyone visits and reads this. if indeed they do so. rather nice to have had it, for the experience and what have you, but no, probably not again. 

my suspicion is that i am lonely if not alone in calling this form of product "aftershave". i believe these days the generation at the forefront call it a fragrance, or even maybe still a cologne. well, whatever you prefer to call it, assume that is what i called it here. 

yes, there is every chance that one day i may (might) move away from the Versace experience. there's that one what they use Bowie music to advertise, which is indeed as good a selling point as any for me. also they sell it in bottles (or containers) shaped like a robot. the answer to why i have not bought any of it yet, with two very strong selling points, resides in the fact that even on special it is north of £50. i am not sure i am that bothered about how i smell or how others find me to smell. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

haxit, or if you will poxit

greetings

here in the UK, or perhaps just aspects of England, we are quite close to some local, or if you will provincial, elections. this is at the least true of the time what this went "live", look you see. generally, or strictly speaking, little attention is paid to these elections. unusual, then, for there to be 2 (two) elections which are being watched with some great attention. 

first off is, of course, the London Mayoral Election. it is generally assumed, or taken as a given, that the people of London will wisely opt (or actually directly elect) to rid themselves of the scourge of Sadiq Khan, the man who appears to hate the place with some venom and has done all he can to cripple this fine city. as soon as he is banished to that same place of obscurity as the likes of John Bercow the better. if London contrives to put him back in power, well, good luck with that decay, gridlock and senseless stabbings. 

a lesser documented, or reported on, election is that which is to take place in (or on) Hayling Island. granted, or true, this is not an official or recognised election, but rather a "poll" arranged by some dedicated people in the place determined to make clear that they are nothing to do with Portsmouth, 

thank you Colin Babb

the struggle, or if you will plight, of those residents of Hayling Island troubled by their seemingly perpetual association with Portsmouth is well documented. i need hardly refresh the collective memory here, but they are tired of being viewed as just a town or suburb of the place. now, it would seem, is the time for many of them to say enough is enough, it is their time to see Hayling Island respected for what it is, and not simply what Portsmouth would like to prescribe. 

by some good fortune, i was fortunate enough to (recently) speak to Andrew, the architect of the Hayling Island recognition campaign. i asked if he felt there were any similarities, indeed parallels to, say, the much celebrated Brexit, or Scotland's current attempt to masquerade breaking away from the United Kingdom as the far more trendy, popular sounding quest for "independence". 

on giving the question some consideration, he gave what some may well consider a rather insightful answer. as it happens i did not consider it such, but anyway. for a start Andrew was keen to point out there wasn't much in the way of comparison to Scotland, especially as Hayling Island has an economic plan somewhat more robust and sturdy than the vague idea of Europe buying several billion euros worth of salmon every year. overall, he said that the idea was to be positive, and make Hayling Island "much more progressive", which sounded reasonable. right up until he finished the sentence with the two words "like Hartlepool". 

thank you Andrew Curtis

much of the conversation which followed that is not something that i care to recall. for the benefit of fair coverage (if this is such), Andrew spoke at length in respect of his admiration for Hartlepool, highlighting in particular what he called that "great story with the canoe" and his aspiration to own property there. when i asked which area of Hartlepool in particular he was keen to invest in he stuttered an answer along the lines of "anywhere". suspecting, or sensing something amiss, i asked when he had last been there. he said that he had not actually been, and then told me he needed to leave to speak to a surveyor or something. 

indeed a more aggressive faction of the Hayling Island Is Not Portsmouth movement exists. there is, for example, the notorious international flytipper Bertie Fettlebottom. he has taken up a residency in the place, although apparently of no fixed address. 

chance did indeed permit for me to speak to Mr Fettlebottom. or, rather, Field Marshall Fettlebottom, as he informed me this was his formal ranking in the Provisional Real Hayling Island Republican Army. informed me, i hasten to add, as we were sat on a rather windswept bench and as he drank with some enthusiasm from an unspecified brand two litre bottle of cider. 

thank you Claire Wilkinson

quite a lot of my conversation with the Field Marshall was marred by his ad hoc telling seagulls to, forgive me, "f*** off", and indeed wrestling the occasional one for the trophy of a discarded tray of chips. when he did have chance to focus on the subject he mostly referred to Andrew, and those of a similar ilk, as being "gutless f***s". for him the struggle seems to be less about being progressive, more about causing mayhem. he assured me a "red dawn" was coming, tapping the side of his nose with a forefinger as he did so. 

when asked exactly what he meant by such talk, he stated that "we can't be part of Portsmouth if that bridge is gone, can we?". by this i assumed he was referring to what is seen as the one bridge which links Hayling Island to Portsmouth. i asked him what he meant by that and he said that he could not possibly comment further. reluctantly i agreed to give him £2 in order to get more cider, at which poin he revealed it was his intention to blow up the bridge and immediately declare himself Supreme Emperor of Hayling Island, but so far he had discovered there was "not nearly as much gunpowder as you might think" in the cheap illegally imported Chinese fireworks and bangers on sale at various shops in the area. 

despite no scientific or conclusive research being done, i am not convinced that the ad hoc poll being arranged by Andrew - a poll which he has opted to cast votes on behalf of residents in - is being all that closely watched by the people of Hayling Island. from what i could see there's not much in the way of an appetite for change, or a will to disrupt the way things are. in this i could be wrong, all of us must simply wait and watch what develops there. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

in honour of sir roger

who is and who isn't

it was so that, recently, it was in Manchester (in the area). this did not go well, alas. well, aspects of it were all right. very much not in the "all right" section was the (it claimed) hotel, look you see. my review of it is out there on the internet for those interested. 

but, no, no negative waves, then. very much as positive was seeing that one place in Manchester had opted to pay homage and respect Sir Roger Moore. 

quite an impressive mosaic, or mural if that happens to turn out to be the right word. probably something which begins with an m, but i am not one of them arty types. the name of it, truth be told, is not that important. what's great here is that Sir Roger is being celebrated. 

this is, of course, not the first time i have had chance to see somewhere pay respect to Sir Roger. if one is particularly interested then one may well wish to click here and see another place. a confession would be that i am not immediately sure (or certain) of any direct connection to Manchester (rave on) and Sir Roger, except of course that everywhere misses him dearly and so would of course wish to express how excellent he truly was. 

yes, as you may well be able to see quite clearly above, i did indeed make the pilgrimage to Salford Lads Club for the inevitable picture. actually, as point of fact, i went no less than 3 (three) times, but this is the images you can see the least of me in which i thought may be nice. unfortunately it was closed in each instance of my visit. i would have very much liked to make a donation to this famous to those in the know place, and perhaps picked up some merchandise. maybe i will do one of them online order things. 

damn that update to my phone what has a camera welded to it which made the Commodore 64 mode camera cease to work. it would have been wonderful to have presented at least one of these images in the form of the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode, but not to be. 

who is and who isn't. who is and who isn't

one tree hill

tena koe

yes, then, more stuff off of New Zealand, look you see. actually (not that chronology matters too much with how i have done all of this) one of the first things what i gone done whilst there. like, i went here before i went off and bought tapes or anything. 

where the here is from the previous paragraph is, as the title probably gave you every indication, One Tree Hill. my sister, knowing full well how my brain (or mind) appears to function, kindly made it a priority for me to visit the place. perhaps just to "get it out of my system", or being aware how important i hold symbolic things like this, yet maybe just because it's a beautiful place. 

for clarification, if such should be required, no, this has absolutely nothing to do with some television show called One Tree Hill. never seen it, but i believe it to be quite highly regarded by a devout set of fans. this, what with my love of things like Twin Peaks and that, i can relate to. 

needlessly starting another paragraph to pad it all out here, my interest in One Tree Hill was purely based on the song One Tree Hill off of U2. it's one of the most beautiful, powerful, poignant, heartbreaking and ultimately defiant songs what i have ever heard. as i write this i keep sort of stopping and sing parts (or aspects) of it. no, i don't have a good singing voice, yet oddly once someone mistook me for a "slightly chubby Bono". 

by the way yes, i do indeed appear in every picture. sorry, i should have put some sort of warning about that, as weirdly a number of you like reading this but (absolutely) do not harbour any wish to actually see me. one or two of you, i suppose, would like to see images of me in distress or perhaps even pain, which is understandable. who knows, one day you may get that for what you wish.

one or two of you, i suspect, with have noted (observed, even) that there isn't actually a tree on One Tree Hill no more. various accounts are out there explaining why. the monument has taken its place, but if i recall right a special, native tree is being grown (cultivated?) to stand there eventually. still, just the name of the place creates such a vivid image in the mind. well, mine at least. 

as you can see above, yes, 80% of the human elements of the Farnworth family were with me. sorry, Grant enthusiasts, but he elected to go work that day, propping up the economy or whatever. i am not all that sure either Daniel or Katie were all that aware of my wishes to visit the place, but all the same were delighted to. not only did it give them chance to spend time with this up to now mythical Uncle Lee character, there was also a most splendid cafe. in respect of the latter, the French toast was superb, and we accidentally gatecrashed a 90+ birthday party. 

someone, a good friend, did see these pictures what you have glanced at and asked if i, as point of fact, actually made it all the way up to the top. no, to be frank (or blunt). i am pretty sure it was due to me still getting acclimatised or what have you, and not any general levels of unfitness what might have led to me begging please let us stop. reason enough, if one was needed, to go back one day and really have a right good go at going all the way, so to speak. 

certainly there is some video (above), if you were intent on asking of such existed. well, kind of. this isn't video (in VHS mode) taken at One Tree Hill, but rather of it. helpfully the place was pointed out to me whilst we were up (rather than down) in the Sky Tower. for those interested, here is the link to that particular adventure from my odyssey. if you are not interested, apologies for the seconds of your life which you shall never get back which you spent reading this. this bit too. 

many would say that i have no heart in the emotional sense, that i am incapable of caring, yet possess some despicable skill which enables me to wear a mask that makes it seem to those who don't know me that i actually have feelings. in the end it may well be that they are shown to be right. all i know is that visiting this place with my family created a whole new, seemingly indelible association, far beyond just the song which led me there. on my flight home i played One Tree Hill in the U2 form and found myself uncontrollably crying my eyes out. 

getting either closer to or further from the point, i would have no idea if One Tree Hill is on the list for most tourists heading to New Zealand. if we are honest there are so, so, so many incredible things to do and sights to see. once again it is highly unlikely (and would be extraordinary) that anyone is here looking for any sort of useful information or tourist guidance, but if so, yes, yes, it very much is well worth the visit. even if you are not that bothered about the song. perhaps a trip there will lead to you hearing it and appreciating it. or, you know, just enjoy the time there. 

not too sure there's that many more adventures from my Aotearoa odyssey to tell, or pictures to showcase. in respect of the latter, i was surprisingly inclined not to snap away, instead enjoying the moment. people in this modern world which i do not understand may do well to do the same. but yes, probably other pictures to show, tales to tell. 

i don't believe in painted roses or bleeding hearts. 

kia pai tetahi ki tetahi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

flytipping

hi

i am really, really missing not being able to take images in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode. oddly the quasi, accidental replacement - VHS mode - kind of works here, look you see. but, still, what am i to do? procure a second, older camera that C64 mode remains working on and carry it with me at all times? surely such would make me look like a bigger toss than what is usual. 

moving on (or forward), then, and yes, another glimpse of something what i saw on my travels. no instance of a potential accidental discarding here, for as the title gives you every indication of being it's all the mostly illegal art of flytipping here. or fly tipping (fly-tipping) if that is the more better was of spelling it. 

as you can see (if you look) above, it was a whole pile of DVD discs what i saw as having been discarded. yes, presented in VHS mode, then. i didn't go actively looking for these, by the way, as point of fact i had not even noticed them as i parked close by. 

why would one ditch, illegally or otherwise, a whole great big pile of these discs? the way of the world these days. quite a few, perhaps a slight majority (52-48, say) seem to have embraced all of that streaming business, be it legally or otherwise. lots of discs appear to end up in charity shops and what have you, or landfill. so far as i could see, and the discs (and boxes) all appear to have been heavily water damaged, but still it looks like a few of them might be old school pirates and thus wouldn't be taken in as a donation off of charity shops. 

to be honest i had better things to do than look at the discs all that closely. mostly, though, it appears someone ditched a stack of copies of Only Fools & Horses and Harry Potter films. somewhere in there, though, there was, i noted, what seemed to be a perfectly serviceable copy of Boogie Nights. anyone who would carelessly discard this fine film wants locking up. 

present market rates have current (or recent) released DVDs going for £10 here in the UK, with a blu ray disc of the same being £15. this i prefer, as then i can watch what i want when i wish, rather than subscribing to several (official) online services to find what i fancy. my understanding is that the less formal, more independent free for all streaming services find you needing to, farcically, pay a subscription to pirates. sure, "free" illicit streaming is out there, but generally is unreliable or loaded with adverts. gotta love capitalism. 

does anyone still do old school "download" piracy? most probably. i suppose, though, that downloading a film and then either recording a disc or putting it on a memory stick is, for this generation, far too much effort in the face of streaming. quite a peculiar thing to get nostalgic (or what have you) about, but then it doesn't seem all that long ago downloading and recording seemed amazing. 

not sure if there shall ever be a "revival" of films in physical media form as became the case with books over fancy e-readers and albums over streaming. sure, there are pockets of people who collect VHS tapes (Beta, too), but for buying actual copies of films on disc i do feel a bit like a part of a dwindling if not quite dying breed. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mostly statues

tena koutou

initially i thought this might be a set of random images. yes, look you see, further ones off of my sojourn, or if you like odyssey, to New Zealand. however, after having had a look at the pictures what i curated if not selected, it does seem a good many of them feature statues. not ones what have (thus far) been relocated to (or in) bodies of water, but left mostly where they were intended to be. hence the title. 

so, right, well, further images (pictures), then. grouped together in a way that kind of makes sense, but in no particular chronological order. random has been the way of life thus far so why would i take any different way here. 

first off, then (above) one of them statues what i mentioned. this one was one i saw, i believe, in the area of Lake Taupo (here) during a quite rare wandering around alone moment. whereas i cannot 100% confirm such i would imagine it's reasonably safe to suggest that this, other than magnificent, a Maori statue. or carving. there were a few, but this one caught my eye. or eyes. 

no, i didn't really have much "alone" time whilst there, bar sleep, bathroom and various interactions with customs officials about cigarette lighters. this was very much by design, for i went off to be with family and not make it a solo voyage. 

chainsaws have always been a "thing" for me, so the above statue was quite the find. well, i suppose it was more in my youth that chainsaws were more of a thing. mostly due to key scenes in Scarface and, probably in particular, Evil Dead II. sure, Texas Chainsaw Massacre too, but it took quite a while to see that film. i am not sure if they still make many smart films with chainsaw stuff in, but it would seem as i got older (rather than younger) i don't actively look for them. 

very many things in New Zealand were an absolute delight to see, discover and behold. actually just about everything there, except the price of cigarettes. small (well, large, but still) price to pay, that. in the top percentage of excellent NZ things is where L&P resides. and here's one of two (2) massive statues of bottles of L&P i found. 

yes, indeed, that is me (moi) in the picture with it. apologies, or sorry, for the abstract lack of warning in regards of having to see me. should it help you out in deciding if you read more of this (or not) indeed it is so that i feature in a couple more pictures below. 

more importantly, then, L&P. or Lemon and Paeroa, to give a full title. whilst in Aotearoa i did of course wish to sample local wares as and when such was possible. with me not being all that much of an alcohol drinker it was so that i wished to try a local non-alcoholic drink, so gave this L&P a go. and just as well that i did, for i discovered a truly brilliant drink. quite the favourite now. 

readers in the UK (and possibly elsewhere) are in for something of a surprise here, if not shock. yes, it is so that L&P is a lemon drink, but it's one that is sweet. my experience of UK sold lemon drinks is that they are made to be as sour as possible. that would be, i suppose, quintessentially the English way of doing things in full effect. if they can't make it or serve it to you bland then sour it is. 

as is the case with various other statues i have done this with i am not exactly sure what value, if any, there is in doing a video of one (a statue), but yes, here you go. or we are. video of the one L&P statue below, for your brief viewing pleasure. 

it is so that New Zealand is celebrated (or known) for many things. with respect to this century we are presently residing in, one that i tend not to understand as much as the previous, certainly the nation is know for providing both the set for and the director of the Lord Of The Rings films. also them other ones, from what i remember, Hobbit, but i don't believe i watched (or endured) those. 

from what i recall my review of Lord Of The Rings was "nine hours of midgets wandering somewhat aimlessly across a field". when asked for a further review i think i embellished it to reference the occasional moaning about breakfast, as well as mentioning how they could have just flown on one of them massive birds and thrown the ring into the volcano instead of walking there. yes, they were extremely well made films, impressively so, but the whole story or "mythology" did little for me. 

bit of a slightly awkward scenario, then, when Mum & Dad offered to take me to Hobbiton, the set or what have you where they made at least three, possibly all six (if there are that many) of the films. oh. i said thank you, but such a trip would be more appropriate should James, William or my (former) (considerably) better half were to visit. Dad was slightly disappointed as he had heard that breakfast was something special there (go figure), but did mention that it was apparently very expensive, so perhaps for the best not to go if i was not that fussed. 

yet still we kind of stopped off in the area, or vicinity, as the picture above and below show. indeed there is an image of me below, so you have been warned. Matamata was close enough to the set for me, allowing chance to get some pictures and postcards. 

certainly i am aware that there is every chance some of you reading this disagree, perhaps quite strongly, with my review of Lord Of The Rings and associated films. well, the important thing is you probably enjoyed them, don't worry so much about me. if it helps i seem to recall an adventure game based on it on the Commodore 64. one could instruct one of the midgets to hit another, and then the game went on an infinite loop of them all hitting each other. that was quite class. 

right now you are potentially longing for some more statue based images, since that is what was mostly suggested as being here. well, ok, another one from Matamata. 

this truly was a magnificent statue of a racehorse. indeed i did tale a few pictures which showed off just how magnificent it looked, but instead i have elected to showcase a picture of me stood next to it. you could always make a visit there yourself to see it in full. 

now, then, a case of me "falling" for one of Dad's jokes. but, some scene setting. as readers of my other posts about New Zealand may recall (probably not, but still) i was rather surprised by the lack of sheep around. it was explained to me that cattle (mostly cows) was now the biggest export. i asked Dad about this as we drove around. he commented that i should watch out for a special breed of really big cows. 

ah. bravo Dad, quite a good set up, for he knew that we were to drive through a town which had a truly enormous cow statue on display. i got caught with that one fair and square. yes, look at that amazing, beautiful blue sky too. 

perhaps one or two of you would like a slightly closer look at this, the last statue picture in this post. whilst it was tempting to get Dad to pull over so i could get a better picture, and undoubtedly have a cigarette too (sorry), instead here's one as we drove closer to it. 

enough with the cows, then, or at least for now. if not right now. to clarify, or for those interested, yes, the cows (cattle) wandering around New Zealand which were not statues seemed to be pretty much regular size. by no means did i see the whole country, so who knows, perhaps they really do have some ones as big as this wandering around somewhere. 

did i do any shopping in New Zealand? goodness me yes. mostly for cigarettes and L&P, but also for other stuff. there seemed (or appeared) to be no real need for me to take images of much of what shopping i did, except for this instance. 

unless i am somewhat mistaken (possibly am) Kmart is (or was) a fairly large chain in that America place. so far as i am aware it's mostly Australian and New Zealand now, but on the off chance that it remains a thing in the states a picture seemed appropriate. 

indeed i did make a purchase at Kmart, a rather smart t-shirt which looks like it shall fit. on the t-shirt is a celebration of the Kick album off of INXS. it is one i am looking forward to wearing. however, i have to choose the right moment. it's a predominantly white shirt, which translates into being a "wear once" shirt with my proclivity for being a bit clumsy and messy. 

right, well, that's that for another look at the odyssey. yes, i do have a fair few more pictures to post. at the least two (2) sets. these are things i shall do likely sooner than later. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

effective, kind of sort of

greetings

possibly one of those posts that has some practical value to it then. but, well, do please note that i made a conscious decision to use the word possibly, look you see. for those in a rush, or simply wishing to know what and avoid any needless suspense, the use of some of that nicotine gum stuff instead of actual, real, proper cigarettes. cigarettes, of course, picked up by duty free or off of an independent importer and distributor, since our tw@t government has made it clear they don't want us to buy them legally no more. 

as a frame of reference, or to set a scene, it was recently (see most posts of late but particular emphasis on this one) that i was in a position where i could not smoke. yes, smoking is very bad for you, seek help to quit, don't start, and so forth. moving on, it was that i could not smoke for rather prolonged periods, in particular two (2) stints of over 18 hours each. oh dear. if you didn't click on the link (don't blame you) it was due to me being on one of them plane things, the ones that i had vowed not to use again. 

not that many people what know me would bother to comment on me, instead rather (wisely) concentrating on the idea of not knowing me. the select few who would are likely to suggest that a defining characteristic of me is that i smoke, or that every now and then i stop to take in some regular air as a slight break from inhaling cigarette smoke. it would be that they were rather fascinated with how i would cope with not being able to do so for such a long time, and exactly how many of my fellow passengers would survive this. options for the safety of other passengers were considered.

most people suggested nicotine patches. those who had similar experiences had used them and said they were excellent at getting one through. i was assured these were available gratis off of our NHS, and all one had to do was go to a chemist (pharmacy) and request them. as it turned out they actually make it quite the f*** on to get them, so no. with vaping out (i didn't like it when i tried it anyhow) i procured what you can see above, which is no not the newly acquired Bowie coasters but the nicorette nicotine gum. 

i had every intention of giving it a try before i flew. however, this did not happen. sheer laziness perhaps, or maybe something more constructive, like assuming if i tried it and didn't like it this would make the flight (anticipation of and actual) more stressful. leaving it to a situation where it was the only choice and theoretically had to do made sense. not every decision i make which would appear to make sense to me makes actual sense, true. but, still. 

unexpectedly, but partially anticipated, i did not actually feel like smoking on the flights. there's the whole psychology of it, i suppose, of how when you know that you can't your mind is sort of at peace in not doing so, and going without cigarettes for an insane number of hours was, overall, a very small price to pay for such a wonderful trip. also, i did smoke an entire pack before the first flight over the needless distress around that visa which isn't a visa. 

yet still i tried some of this gum. obviously not the packet (or strip) on display above. my thinking was that the closer we got to landing, etc, the more likely it was that i would commence some form of craving for a cigarette (or two), and so decided to try it as a pre-preemptive strike thing. it has been a fair bit of time since i have had any form of gum, but to my mind (or rather taste) this seemed like just a regular, normal gum. as in i wasn't immediately aware of any nicotine being present. certainly no burning or stinging feeling. a difficult one to test, really. there would be no point giving some to a fellow smoker to see what they thought as they'd be like me, and giving it to a non-smoker who happened to like gum anyway would bring the risk of getting them addicted to nicotine. i would suggest, though, that the yellow like mush the gum turns into gives every indication that oh yes, some nicotine was very much present. 

oh, yes, now i remember, i did give some of this gum (an entire strip) to a fellow smoker. whilst sat in the smoking area at Dubai airport i got chatting to a nice bloke off of Austria. or was it the Danish bloke or the German fellow. well, anyway, he asked how i got on with no smoking on the flight, and i told him about the gum. it was not something he had heard of, so i gave him a strip to try and wished him well on his travels. yes he reciprocated with the wishes. 

the provenance of my nicorette gum? it was on sale for £10, which i think is about half of the usual retail price. vaguely seem to recall i got it off of Superdrug, but it might have been one of them supermarket things. each square i chewed (or what you do with gum) lasted well over an hour. 

for what it's worth, if i was ever going to quit (!) or cut down considerably on cigarettes, i really rather suspect this gum stuff would do the job. had i any sense, or will for self preservation, i would probably commence such an experiment now. but, it's me, so no. good luck to all of those who wish to try this approach to achieve that, and maybe this has helped. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

at mangawhai

hello there

so more things of New Zealand, then. yes, i do indeed have a few more images and stories to share, look you see. not quite sure, as in i don't rightly know, who would have an interest in such, but, well, so as to say this again (or once more), here we are. 

as part of the planning of my odyssey it was so that my sister booked all of us in for a week at a place called Mangawhai. well, when i say all, like, you know, family. it would undoubtedly have been lovely to take everyone (not already there) in New Zealand with us, but that would have been likely frightfully expensive to do so. one cannot throw their arms around the entire world. 

the most interesting this is my inability to recall the name Mangawhai. you would think i could, since a significant percentage of my time in Aotearoa was spent there, but hey, me. it is likely that both Katie and Daniel would take delight in telling you the various names i used for the place. from what i can recall at times i called in Waghamaga, Mangawangamoo or similar. 

oh goodness me, yes, there are quite a few pictures of moi in this post. as point of fact i believe that i feature in all of them. so, once again, if for some reason you come here to read this but have a preference (to be fair an understandable one) not to actually see me, you may wish to do some deft swiping. or, you know, take it all in. 

which (or what) body of water am i stood in there? the Pacific Ocean, i believe. some of good memory, or simply like to take me apart, may recall that i made a vow not to stand in any significant body of water again unless it was the Aegean. it's also that i vowed never to get on a plane of any description again, what can i say i am not to be trusted. 

no, i didn't go swimming in it, just stood there, letting the water flow over my feet. i did take some swimming attire with me, but didn't wear it that day. believe me, there's a very provocative image of this to follow, kind of. it would be unfair to say that i elected not to swim in this ocean due to an unfounded fear of sharks, but that's up to you. 

from my side there's no issue whatsoever if them what do the tourism promotion (advertising) for the place (Mangawhai) wish to use the above image. yes, i am wearing both my preferred hat and them sunglasses i got what i for some reason think are quite Natural Born Killers. further yes, i am indeed enjoying a nice cigarette (sorry), as there were no "no smoking" signs and i disposed of it when done in a responsible, dolphin friendly way. 

did i spent a great deal of time at the beach? not as much as you might think. i mean, yes, it is famous for being, and celebrated as a splendid coastal beach resort. i am just not really all that much of a beach person, alas. for those looking for smart beach places, well, yes, i would say with confidence that Mangawhai excellent, but also i am not all that qualified in this. 

sadly i don't have any pictures of them, but something which really caught my attention at Mangawhat was the many "cliffside" houses i saw. they were beautiful. far, far beyond the reach of my humble budget, and rather a distance from my place of verk. one or two of them very much reminded me of that most excellent house in my beloved Body Double, which was excellent.

yes, that's me with Mum and Dad, enjoying an ice cream in a sort of cliff like area above the beach like area. oddly, sadly (maybe) there aren't anywhere near as many pictures of me with Mum and Dad, or the rest of the family, as you might think. but not everything has to be documented, some experiences shall linger on as memories for all the time one has. yes, for those who(m) for some reason looked at my feet, i am indeed wearing some dapper slides. Gill insisted i get some. 

did Mum and Dad have a good time? yes. it was a delight to spend as much time as possible with Mum, with just family time really being my only ambition. as a plus we got to play 2's and 8's, along with other games. in regards of Dad, well, he did (very much) Dad things. one particular incident probably warrants its own paragraph, so. 

there was the one morning i woke up, went through to the kitchen and found Dad already up. it was not, from what i remember, the morning he elected to wake up so as to watch Middlesbrough FC labour to a draw. he, on seeing me, advised me that he "urgently required an aids test". i suggested, in a most insistent way, that i would really prefer to have at least one (1) cup of coffee and a cigarette (sorry) before going any further with the conversation. this i did. it turns out that what he actually wanted was one of them 'covid' tests (remember them?) but he had been reading the Bernie Taupin book and, having a bit of a fever, got somewhat confused. 

more on all of that shortly, but first, to punctuate the prose, another pic. and yes, one of them selfie type ones, taken by my sis, Gill, who is the one with the smart Bono like sunglasses that isn't me in the above picture. from what i can recall Daniel and Grant were off being busy looking for sharks in the water, whilst i decided to have another cigarette instead. 

so, tests and Dad. actually, discretion and privacy says that i cannot say all that much more. but what i can tell you is that yes, Mangawhai does indeed have a chemist (or pharmacy). i would not call the relationship what Dad struck up with the staff there (one member in particular) as being particularly constructive or beneficial, but still, all done now, i suppose. 

golf featured an awful lot more on my odyssey than i had either anticipated or expected. if that isn't saying the same thing twice over. any why not. the golf, that is, on the and why not, and not any form or type of semantic debate on language. 

it turned out that there was a minigolf course at Mangawhai. possibly more than one, but we found this one quite close to the chemist what Dad is probably now banned for life from. also it was across the road from a Four Square shop, where one could purchase cigarettes. generally all win, then. 

also it turned out that both Katie and Daniel were most keen on this form of golf. i found this to be splendid and most agreeable, as i enjoy it to. the bloke what ran the place was lovely, and in many respects symbolic of the friendly ways i found across the country. it was late on, so he charged us a lower price and said we were welcome to play a couple of rounds. nice one, man. 

video, of course, for you above, then. well, so long as you press play, as i don't believe the videos here play automatically. good that they don't, i find such things most annoying. rather fortunate that this video, taken by Daniel i believe (sorry if it was you Katie) features me actually managing to putt one shot. it may well be that i (very much) enjoy playing this variation of golf, but by no means does that mean i am any good at it. 

would i like to return (or go back) to Mangawhai one day? certainly. there isn't a single part of New Zealand that i saw which i would not dearly wish to see again. family, mostly, but truly they have all found a wonderful place to make home. granted, or sure, there might be some trepidation in returning to Mangawhai knowing that we might not be at all welcome at the chemist thanks to the sterling ambassador job Dad did there, but we could always just take a supply of pills, bandages and what have you with us, including aids tests. 

now then. earlier i promised (if not threatened) some visual evidence of my going (or doing some) swimming whilst there. such an image is below. one cannot unsee what they see, so do continue beyond these words of your own decision.

it is so that warned, you have been. 

around the time this picture was taken (obviously after) i shared it with friends on one of them social media platforms. yes, the book one. i chose to share it with the simple, humble and modest title of British Beefcake. this did not go down well. from what i recall the most polite and diplomatic responde i got to this was simply "where?". 

let me leave this here, then, for now. it is indeed so that there is now a dwindling level of images from my trip to share, you may be pleased, saddened or indifferent to learn. perhaps i shall mix them up with posts on other subjects, so as to make it all feel more closer. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!