El Fugitivö

What use is singing if you can’t hear the tune Your heart won’t let you anyway With a cold wind blowing the night rolls in You’re a lost boy and she’s going away

I’m a great poet I can always make a rhyme I can paint pictures in your head with words and stuff and do it in next to no time

The Barbican Centre is very distinctive arts centre in the City of London.  It uses a Brutalist architectural style which polarises opinion - personally I love it!

Well it’s quiet in the room Like they’ve just been told about the things that can happen when you get old

The Brooding Soldier is a memorial near Ypres for 2000 Canadian soldiers who were killed by the first German gas attacks on 22-24 April 1915.  It is a peaceful and sombre place that is very moving.

Standing silent row on row Thousands - as far as can be seen On duty, at Attention, never At Ease A breathtaking silence - forever.

Every night at 8pm they play the Last Post at the Menin Gate in Ypres.  

In Flanders fields poppies still blow Between the headstones, row on row That mark your place, and in the sky the larks, still bravely sing, and fly, Intently heard by the hushed crowd below

Financial markets are in precipitous decline and banks are up the wazoo This is when you hear the shout go out: “But what is the view of the moo?”

So here we go again As more continue to suffer You don’t solve the problem  Instead preferring to bluster Some nonsense about morals Or a moral high ground An absence of leadership you have never  bothered to have found We set the fires And stoked them to burn And now you sit back Preferring to lecture and refusing to learn Send in the troops  and bomb high from the skies No chance of sober heads That’s no surprise Don’t use the UN Or reach for a peace that is right It’s far more fun to throw fuel On a fire already alight Is this more about you I can’t help but think Your corrupt decisions Are selfish and stink You don’t believe in much And haven’t ever done much very well But reckon the best course of action Is to save yourself and send the rest of us to hell Of course you’ve left no chance  Of any discussion or debate Quick! Start another war So that it’s all far too late WE’RE GOING TO WAR You dim witted buffoon This will be a p...

Sweated and blooded but to no avail I’m searching for the light Can’t seem to find it in this thin air Urgently need to find what’s right A way forward? A way forward?

And I thought I saw the Lamb of God Standing alone and tall in the milk aisle But Susie said I was just a fraud She must be right as he had headphones in

Tall and slim with excellent taste in his clothes People notice when he walks past I suppose Apart from the constant whining he seems like a nice guy

The smell of old bleach and a boozy hard floor If life is a sickness then this place is the cure Soft tunes on the machine with lights dancing in fun We’re drinking, we’re drinking, And we’ll drink ‘till we’re done

So I thought I'd take some early shots of Wandsworth Common.   Nice patterns from the trees...

Last summer we did a quick 3 day trip to Paris.  I'd forgotten how wonderful that city is.  Here's a few of the best snaps... The Pantheon...  

I’m sitting down here, watching the rain polish the road Patterns in the dirt show where the water has flowed But Marie she is wondering when are we to get old

We decided to go to Cormayeur in Italy for a day's skiing.  The drive from Chamonix through the Mont Blanc tunnel was amazing.  Cormayeur is quite a large resort and we got a bit lost finding the lifts but a friendly bus driver decided to take pity on us, ignore his timetable and take us directly there! Cormayeur also has a telecabin, which is very photogenic!  Here's a couple of pics!

The Aiguille de Midi is an incredible double cable car ride from Chamonix.  It is over 3800m high and the views are fabulous!

A robber with a bag of loot Is being chased by the Plod down past the suet Both ignore a couple with lots of money Getting frisky down by the honey They’re too busy to notice the tin foil hat Worn by the paranoid part-time acrobat Swinging high above from aisle to aisle  Picking up shopping with grace and style

My life is spent wired to the screen and line Time spent off is no doubt thought a crime All you speak and think is kept for ever and a day A shrinking cage in which for you to safely play

Two thousand years ago in London a Roman built a temple to Mithras on the banks of the river Walbrook.  This year a beautiful new museum about this temple has just opened at the new Bloomberg building.  

Well... it's concert time again...  t his time we traipsed as far as North London to enjoy the Brickwork Lizards launching their fine new album at the Slaughtered Lamb.

The Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland is a world heritage site. Thousands upon thousands of hexagonal basalt pillars disappear into the sea and show the causeway where Finn MacCool was challenged to a race from Ireland to Scotland by the bad Scottish giant.   In the version of the legend that my Dad told me the rules of the race were clear - the first of the two giants to touch the Scottish coast would win the right to marry some beautiful female giant.  Both giants set off from Ireland at a furious pace but while running across the Irish sea the Scottish giant was clearly winning. Finn  was falling behind.  Finn knew he was going to lose and had to do something amazing to win!  In desperation in the last seconds of the race Finn decided to do something pretty radical - he chopped his hand off and threw it at the Scottish coast.  His hand flew past the Scottish giant and touched the coast first - he won the ra...

Modern cities have instructions are everywhere!  I thought I'd document some just for fun! Clapham Junction -2017.  Yes 2017.

She was my beautiful sister The one that would make things better She was the one with all the laughter She was my beautiful sister

Acting on my own terms Yet feelings still raw Eight years ago today, it was Should have done something more

Second time to see this band in a month and what a concert!  This time they were playing Unknown Pleasures and Closer, with an aperitif of some New Order stuff.  This was in the Roundhouse in Camden and was sold out.  Much bigger than Valencia this is a great venue to see a band - top notch sound, lighting and plenty of room.  Only downside was the queue for the blokes loo - sheesh.

We didn't go up to the Dales just to walk - we took our bikes too!

Just spent a great week up in the Yorkshire Dales.  Big blue skies and snow on the ground meant for some wonderful photo opportunities!

Belfast is famous for the Harland and Wolff shipyards where the Titanic was built.  Dominating these shipyards are two giant yellow gantry cranes fondly nicknamed Samson and Goliath.  Goliath was built first in 1969, with Samson following shortly later in 1974.  I dimly remember when there was one... I think!

Every year Hyde Park plays host to a fantastic Christmas fun fair called Winter Wonderland.  Loads of stalls and both new and traditional rides to go on.  Most of the rides have travelled all the way from from Germany and the bright lights and colours really give a sense of being at an old-time fun fair!  I thought I'd probably only take a couple of pictures but as usual ended up taking far too many!  Oh well!

The Valencia City of Arts and Sciences can be found at the end of the Turia, a dried up riverbed that runs through the centre of Valencia.  Built in the mid-90's it contains some of the futuristic buildings that I have ever seen.

So this is what we get Our journey’s final station Jettison all our worries And bask in a new-forged fiction Reawakened simple hopes for a long forgotten vision  Martyrs traitors and saboteurs  Are the resurrected prohibition

David de Limón's witty street art can be found everywhere you look in Valencia! I love it!

  I saw Peter Hook and the Light playing Unknown Pleasures a few years ago in Sydney. They were so good then I really  wanted to see them again but hadn't had an opportunity until this year   We couldn't get tickets to the London gig so we decided to go to Valencia! And what a treat!

They say you can weep but none will dry your eyes They say you can scream but none will hear your sighs They say you can bow your head but none will hear you pray They say you can age a lifetime in a day

This old heart of mine Is giving me warning signs But it’s drenched in wine, and I’ll not give up this time Not this time

The Roman Forum can be found in the centre of Rome.  It was a lovely day to walk around and soak up the history.  This is Julius Caesar.  Yes, the Julius Caesar.

The churches in Rome are old, spooky, and utterly beautiful.  

In Italy everything seems to be covered in graffiti.  Here's some of the best that I spotted!

One of the most amazing buildings, if not the most amazing building I have ever been into.  It is very hard to believe it has been standing for 2000 years.

I’m sitting here in the dirt and the grime I don’t have no doubt, not this time Feels like I can see back into time Beyond one or maybe more lifetime

Blue skies and red leaves make a fine autumn day in Richmond Park unforgettable.  Look at these colours!

It was a beautiful day to visit what is the largest amphitheatre ever built.  Commonly known as the Colosseum this massive structure is actually officially known as the Amphitheatrum Flavium.   The sunlight made it look like the lights had been left on on the second floor!

Naples is a city of beautiful ornate churches, dark scary alleyways and the best pizza in the world.  It was raining when we went there which only added a big dollop of mystery to the experience.

Pompeii was a Roman city which was suddenly and completely destroyed in AD79 by an eruption from the nearby volcano Vesuvius.  As such it is a incredible time capsule of how Romans lived 2000 years ago.

The train to Naples from Pompeii at dusk.

A  beautiful  collection of vintage telephones I spied in a hotel in Naples.

During the second world war a set of tunnels were built underneath Clapham South tube station.  100 metres down and built by hand, (yes, by hand!) these were designed to be used as an air raid shelter and we got to visit!   This is the staircase from the deep shelter up to Clapham South tube station platform level.  Where the exit emerged in the tube station is now sealed and its location is a secret for "security reasons"!  Eeek!

The Outer Hebrides are a collection of islands way, way, way off the west coast of Scotland.  We took a boat from Oban to visit the islands of Barra, Vatersay, Eriskay, South Uist, Benbecula, North Uist, Bernaray, Harris, Lewis and Great Bernera.