2015/7
A Magazine for the arts and culture.
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MEET THE TEAM
EDITORS NOTE
Jax
Editor in Chief
Bonjour, The Summer is now over and we have all had our summer holidays in the sublime office. Its now back to business and time to bring you some beautiful art and culture. This month is jam packed with creative talent.
Jon
Creative Editor
Mr. Wild Content Editor
Luke
Staff Writer
Mottled Gray Staff Writer
I would like to take a moment now to discuss a major issue going on in the world. Where ever you are in the world reading this I am sure you have been updated on the ‘Migrant’ issue in Europe. We here at the Sublime believe in Humans and believe that every single one of us on this planet is equal to one and other. We have been active in our thoughts and actions on this situation and we ask you to do so too. The first thing we ask of you is to replace the word ‘Migrant’ with REFUGEE, there is too much political stigma linked to migrant that helps cause confusion on the situation. Our fellow humans are being driven out of their home land due to war and famine, horrible scenarios that have put their families in so much danger they feel they need to leave everything behind and seek a new life elsewhere. These refugees did not put themselves into this situation, they didn’t ask for the pain and fighting to happen around them, no one deserves to be in a situation like this caused by a small group of individuals. So we ask you to hold a place in your heart, to correct people when you hear them say “We don’t have any more room for immigrants” or “They only want to come over here for benefits” by educating others on the fact that these fellow humans just want a safe place for their families to live makes a difference. To accept them into our home countries makes the most difference. So join us with the thousands of others across the globe and welcome your fellow humans with safe and warm arms. Lets make a difference in the world and prove that humanity is still among us all. Remember guys, Keep it human Keep it safe For Calum Keep it surreal Keep it Sublime Jaxx, Jon & Mr Wild The Sublime Editors.
Shelley Wild Food Columnist (skellingtons Bakery)
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THE SUBLIME ISSUE 2015/7
CONTENTS ALEX MAY 4 sdrawkcaB 10 LIAM STEWART MARIA SERCISS
13 Cover image by Liam Stewart Published by The Sublime Design by Jaxx Shepherd Concept by Jon Wilford
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ROME IN THE SUMMERTIME NAOMI CRAIG
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NEIL HAYWARD
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THE FYLDE FOOD AND FARM FESTIVAL REVIEW SPECIAL 46 MAGIC MAN
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ALEX MAY 1. Today we Have Alex May, an Artist from London. Who Draws on his Commute to work, beautiful nature inspired images. So tell us, Where did you learn to draw so well on a moving train?! I’m a total fidget and rarely sit still at home to concentrate on anything for too long. So when I moved out of central London and found myself - like many - with a bit of a boring journey bookending my day, I had inadvertently created the perfect period of time to take up drawing. Initially it was really frustrating to draw on such a wobbly train but as the weeks rolled by I learnt to avoid using pens and stick to mediums that could be rubbed out! I also learnt to accept that there would be moments when I just couldn’t put pencil to paper and I’d have to wait for a moment of calm around the corner, in a way it became my daily meditation, if that makes sense. 2. Tell me more about your journey, I want to know your daily route and routine. What it is that makes you want to escape the mundane and why you chose to draw. The Kingston to Waterloo part of my journey is full of businessmen clattering away on laptops or staring into their tablets. It took a leap of confidence to whip out a sketchbook and art materials as I was definitely out of place. On one occasion, a fellow commuter - a businessman in his 60s - tutted at my sketching. I don’t like to conjure stereotypes but he made me feel like I didn’t belong, my presence was an imposition. However, I felt a lot better when the following day I saw over his shoulder and noticed he was contacting escorts in different countries on his laptop! That attitude to art and wildlife is certainly in the minority though. It breaks most people out of the typical British silence,
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starting conversations about wildlife and the connection they had to it as children. That’s what I want this whole thing to be about. I’ve even been approached to do commissions on the train so it’s a positive thing for sure. 3. What did you feel towards the art community before discovering it yourself. And how do you feel being apart of it now? I didn’t really have any contact with an art community outside of the circle of photographers I met doing my wildlife photography degree. With these people discussion was always more about biology and ethology, which served to inspire me a lot more than our lectures on semiotics. I’ve lost contact with a lot of these people but this last year I’ve found a new community on Instagram, made of artists, taxidermists and ecologists that I’ve felt I could potentially become a ‘part’ of, let alone accepted by! My experience of these people is one of sharing and openness, and I never expected that. I think for most of us it’s a situation of mutual benefit, sharing techniques makes everyone stronger and in this age of transparency it’s too hard to keep up a pretense.
4. Do you think (as an artist) it is good that there are so many creatives in the world and they can easily share their work world wide. or do you think this spoils it for an individual artist wanting to make it? Ahh I see it as a good thing that I’ve had access to so many of my contemporaries through social media. It feels like there’s no end to the inspiration out there at the moment. Yes, there’s a lot of rubbish out there - and a lot of very ‘samey’ work - but there’s no fear that I’d ever run out of people to look up to, people a billion times more talented than myself. I do understand the fear though; Today your peers aren’t just in your immediate community but worldwide and anyone can pick up art materials and get noticed. I work in the creative industry in London and there are more and more entry-level people trying to undercut
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you, you just have to keep up the quality of work! 5. In your own opinion, what would you say ‘bad art’ is? What a question! I always assume that something I consider ‘bad art’ will be another person’s favourite, so I don’t pay much attention to things that don’t grab me. Perhaps I should while I’m still developing a style! Realistically though, bad art for me is art that just fails. The hard part is knowing if you’ve failed as a viewer - or if the artist failed. Knowing what the art is failing to achieve is another layer of complexity that makes this question so debatable I imagine. I think my opinion has shifted somewhat since picking my pencils back up because I know how hard it is to convey complicated meanings through pictures alone. I’ll reserve judgement until I read the wall text nowadays.
6. Out of all the amazing artists out there, who do you admire the most? This is going to sound like a massive cliché BUT I love the work of John James Audubon, even if he did slaughter a whole load of birds. I think his natural history paintings are considered the quintessential format nowadays and is much copied. I have quite a few prints hanging in my house. Someone who’s technique I admire however has to be Ray HarrisChing, especially his more simple stuff which just oozes form. He paints and draws the natural world in a beautiful way and captures the scruffiness of birds which I love. 7. I dont think as artists we can have cliches. Your inspiration comes from artists who paint beautiful wild life as you paint too. My inspiration for my own portraits comes from Lucian Freud, its good to have artists in our styles to aspire too. Would you be comfortable painting an abstract piece like wassily kandinsky or a surreal painting like Rene Magritte?
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Thanks! I tried to copy Magritte paintings in acrylic for most of my A-levels, so I love the style. I can imagine painting in Freud’s style would be a great insight into what Freud saw in people that sat (or slumped) for him and would contribute to your future paintings? It’d be fun to paint/ draw animals in styles that are meant for other subjects but I am constantly (to a fault) trying to hide my own inspiration in case I get ‘exposed’ as a fraud. I even drew a bird a few weeks back, I forget which species, and was right at the final stages when a fellow instagrammer posted the same bird in a similar pose. I had to stop working on the piece and discard it! As far as painting in an abstract style goes, I don’t think I’m loose enough yet... but I’m working on it. 8. I think if we worry too much about producing something another artist might have, or for your influences to be evident we might end up not creating anything. Francis bacon was obsessed with Picasso, he openly admitted that he was always trying to paint like Picasso, but go one better. Look where that got him (richest living artist of the 60s). If you couldn’t express yourself in art what other means would you take? I never knew that, that’s so interesting! That’ll actually help me quite a lot. I see the way someone draws a ruffled feather and try to do the samebut-different and inevitably create something sub-par. I think if I were to create something other than bird sketches it’d be nature writing. It’d be great to publish something that makes people think about engaging with the environment around them and I’d love to write something for young adults before I forget what it’s like to be that age. I think everyone secretly believes they have a book in them.
a Life Aquatic type film. I think taking up nature illustration has brought me back to reality (just to be contrarian). It’s made me read up on things like the wisdom of corvids and notice the birds that arrive in spring. I never thought to notice these things working working as a retoucher in central London and was becoming numb to the world around me. Even looking through other people’s work opens up a world of awareness. I get what you mean though, it’d be easy to create a fairytale world and live in it, but I always have this little biologist on my shoulder pointing out inaccuracies and taking the fun out of things! 10. what has been your proudest achievement with your art so far? Honestly I think the hardest part so far has been picking it back up again after so many years and sticking with it. I know that’s an evasive answer so I’ll be immodest and say it also has to be when I sold my first piece just a month or so ago. To think that someone else - a fellow artist - would want on their wall something I’d sketched on the train just made me so proud for days. I’ve sold a few other bits and bobs since then and started to receive commissions, which is a really nice feeling! Alex, It has been a real pleasure getting to know you and your beautiful pieces. I wish you all the look with your art and your morning commutes. To see more of Alex’s work go and check out www.facebook.com/AlexMayArt
9. I always feel like there is a film in me, kind off like in the Richard ayoade film ‘submarine’. Even though you mainly paint wild life, do you feel you can detach yourself from true reality with your work? That’d be a good film to have in you! I’d love to do
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sdrawkcaB By Dunc
Sunday night I nipped to the local store for munchies to get me over the prospect of an upcoming week of dross. On the door was a poorly made poster advertising the midnight opening for half an hour or so to sell Batman- Arkham Knight or as they called it ‘The Batman Game’. Clearly the manager of Layton’s Tesco Express is no gamer. The ‘funions’ and can of Pepsi were a welcome treat, just the job, leaving a pleasant aftertaste in the mouth. Unlike, I believe, ‘The Batman Game’ which, as of writing, has plummeted off the ratings charts on Steam following thousands of negative reviews. The problem isn’t a boring game. Word has it it’s a joy to play, a veritable plethora of superlatives abound regarding the latest iteration of ‘The Batman Game’. The problem is no fucker can get it to work. Even the console versions have massive bugs and this completely pisses me off and proves one thing- gamers are morons. Seriously, go through any forums dedicated to any computing or console platform. Not the games, the platform itself. Go on a Mac forum, a PC forum, a Playstation forum and you’ll notice a trend among the regular users- any time a new software release comes up, or even a new piece of hardware, folk tread warily. New version of iOS for your phone or iPad? “I’ll leave it a week and see if any big bugs crop up.” New version of Windows due soon? “I’ll get it eventually, but I’ll give them a month or two to sort the bugs.” New Surface/iPad/Macbook/Playstation/Xbox due? “I’ll get one later down the line when they’ve ironed out the problems and it’s cheaper.” Compare that with the latest release of a big game franchise- Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Call of Shooting Foreigners, Assassin’s Creed and now Batchap “BuyItTheSecondItComesOutForASquillionPoundsEEEEEEEEEE” Gamers clearly learn nothing. It’s obvious even to a blind luddite living up a tree in Siberia that the big game studios are locked in a cycle of releasing their main franchise games every year like clockwork, promising more thrills, spills, chainsaws and Bat-Gadgets. It’s also painfully obvious that they rush the tits off the bloody thing and it’s not a fit product for selling for money.
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If Ford treated its products the way video game studios treat these ‘tentpole’ titles I’d quit my job now, buy some formaldehyde and a tape measure off eBay and start Googling “Undertaking For Dummies” because the roads would be thronged with legions of roadkill. I cannot think of any other industry where such an unfinished, unusable product is sold for a high price. The internet is awash with unhappy, tubby neckbeards bemoaning the fact that their £2000 gaming PC barely makes the game run and I’ve got absolute ZERO sympathy for them. They never seem to learn, no matter how many huge releases have been plagued with gamedestroying flaws it never affects sales. It’s a ruinous cycle and a serious problem which I can only see getting worse. Hence the title, it’s the only industry where the progress of the technology and its applications are going backwards. Imagine if LG released a valvepowered, tube TV tomorrow. The world would go ‘What the fuck?’ Actually, hipsters everywhere would buy one and complain about how they had one before they were cool, so bad example but you get my drift. One of my all time favourite games, Skyrim, is a prime example. There are STILL gamebreaking bugs in the Playstation version at least. And it’s about 900 years old, but Bethesda just said ‘meh’. Their attitude seems to be that they cheap in the cash first and worry about consumer satisfaction later. The only other industry I know with such a ‘cash upfront’ policy is the prostitution racket and I believe that leaves an unpleasant taste in the mouth also. Now, I should probably point out here I ain’t having a go at smaller developers and studios. It’s very easy to throw stones at products pumped by four people with dreams and kidney failure. My turd-pipe is pointed solely at the big studios, the ones that spew out this crap year in and year out. It’s not fair I tells ya. So what are we to do? Bitch on Twitter until they learn the error of their ways and make amends? Yeah… never gonna happen. That’s one bugged, unfinishable quest right there, pal. What we need to do is vote with our wallets. Nothing makes a rich bastard unhappier than him becoming a poor bastard. Stop forking out £40+ of YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY for something that is nigh on guaranteed to be faulty and let the sods wait. They’ll soon up the quality and drop the excuses. In the meantime I’m dusting off my rose-tinted spectacles and off to play the unpatched, release-day version of Mario 64. Call me an old-fashioned cobber but some things were just so right the first time.
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LIAM STEWART
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1. Some times we find artists from all walks of life, our next artist we found in front of a forge shaping metal, but it wasn’t the metal work we were interested in. So Liam, down your tools and tell our readers who you are. Hi my name is Liam Stewart, I was born in 1978 and currently live and work in a small town on the east coast of Scotland called Arbroath where I have spent most of my life, the first hand full of years at Drunkin Dud Smithy on the out skirts of Arbroath. Due to my family being blacksmiths (but will get to that later) I have also spent time away working at an opencast coalmine in the south of Glasgow (after serving my time as a blacksmith welder in 2000) at the open cast I was employed as a site welder for the machinery also spent a couple of years driving the cat 785 dump trucks where I got great enjoyment drawing cartoons of my co-workers mishaps and so on which I still have to this day. In 2007 I moved back to Arbroath to work for the family business of J & J Stewart Blacksmiths where I served my time which was founded by my grandparents John and Joan Stewart back in the 1950s, there were all sorts from garage door repairs to making and fitting the queen mother memorial gates at Glamis Castle but of recreant I was asked to make two sculptures of the Hyde shoe chews you get for dogs made out of 6mm plate at the size of 1800 x 800 x 650 for an artist in London where they will be on show in an exhibition in July this year, but despite all that my true passion has always been Art which regretfully I never had the confidence to pursue on leaving the Arbroath High School in 1994 until about 4 - 5 years ago when I was asked to paint a picture of the Bellrock light house on a pub window for the annual gala day in Arbroath and when I had done it the response was over whelming which totally by surprise since then I have dug my heels in concentrating on my art building a portfolio of paintings on the subject of local scenes to the unusual from my imagination also doing limited edition of 50 giclee prints on the paintings I have done, I have also been taking on commissions of pet and human portraits, buildings and aircraft even a 11’6” x 7’5” mural at the Forest View learning centre in Stonehaven. 2. It seems to be an interesting contrast from working with metal and painting, apart from the artisan skills involved in both trades, did you find it hard adjusting your work method to a completely different medium, putting aside the personal 14 The Sublime
enjoyment you get from painting was there any frustration with it when you first dug your heels properly into the pallet a few years ago? I found that the adjustment was being able to stay focused on my work as I pretty much spend most of my time during the working day thinking about the painting I’m working on and how I’m going to tackle it to make it look the way I want as I’m my own worst critic, so when I get home its the usual routine eat tea, make tomorrows piece, get washed then get painting as to be really honest the interesting jobs that grab my imagination are few and far between as its mainly dirty horrible jobs now a days for example crawling about in the back of a bin lorry when sections need platting due to wear and tear ‘smelly’ so the truth is the frustrating part is having to go to work when I’d rather be stood at my the canvas. 3. What made you decide to use paint and not sculpt out of metal? Most people stick with things they are familiar with but painting can be a challenging process that most people find off putting. I’m not sure I do enjoy sculpting, over the years I’v made random things like roses, spiders even a Freddy Kruger hand with glove. I’ve always fancied having a go at making a full sized cyborg, but painting has always been at the fore front of my mind. I remember back in my primary years my folks had a print of John Constables Hay Wain, I stared at that picture often as it always caught my attention and just disappear in my own world and pretty much spent my entire youth expressing my self through drawings as I found it really satisfying and now that I’m concentrating on my painting today I feel a lot more content with my life. 4. What would you rather choose, painting what you feel for the rest of your life but not making a penny, or being paid a good wage to paint images others tell you to. That’s a tough one because painting what I feel inside is a great sense of release. Its like a personal experience and its great when others appreciate it also but when I paint a picture for someone, say for example the family pet, when they see the finished result and I see the emotion in their face and gratitude I receive is a massive sense of joy and achievement and to be honest a huge relief as I put myself under a lot of pressure so I think painting how I feel is a front runner.
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Don’t get me wrong it would be absolutely brilliant to make a living from painting. 5. Do you find that where you live influences your work in a big way? Scotland is a very beautiful place and must be a great source of inspiration. Definitely, I have that many photos taken from when I’m out and about with work when a wow view catches my eye, trips to the glens or coastal routes when I feel like I need a kick in the ass to get painting but the trouble is when I get home I’ve taken that many photos I’ll sit for ages deciding which one to paint “ I will do this one no that one aaahhhh nightmare” there is so many different breathtaking scenes it’s mind blowing. Yeah, hands down Scotland is a beautiful place jam packed with inspiration. 6. I can see through your work how breath taking it is, you have really captured a sense of place yet your images feel very personal to me even though I have never been there. How would you feel about leaving the camera at home, setting up a portable easel and painting the scene there and then? Is this something you have tried? Thanks, your opinion means a lot, you’ve pretty much hit the nail on the head there as when I’m painting an 16 The Sublime
image I want to do or when I’m on a commission it always takes over, I pour myself into the subject toiling over the smallest of details and I even adding my own twist to every painting, ‘call it a trade mark if you want ‘ but you’ll have to look closely ‘. I have often thought about trying my hand at painting on site, I will probably have a go later on when I have more time on my hands and a bit bolder. knowing my luck though and the typical Scottish weather I’ll get set up and ready to paint and the heavens will open. 7. I think with the British weather you only have a small window to chance it, maybe in that one week of summer we seem to get each year. I do truly think your work is your trademark, it is unique and even though landscapes are widely painted and recognized yours stand out. What other subjects have you painted and which ones would like to try but find challenging? Yeah I will take advantage of that window one day. Wow unique I must be doing something right,many thanks, I feel I should clear up what I meant when I mentioned ‘trademark’ what I meant was if you look closely you will see a picture within the picture! Right back to your question. I have also painted human and pet portraits, sea scapes, cars, planes, landmarks, historic buildings and even Gothic themed pictures. All the subjects I have been asked to do over the last few years I pretty much just took it in my stride as I do like to challenge myself, but I’d like to tackle human portraiture more as I do find them more challenging and
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would like to become more comfortable and experienced in that field. 8.
Which portait artists inspire you to want to get into it?
Hands down all the old masters, I will sit for ages just staring in awe at their style of painting how it brings the subject, subjects to life and how they all seem to tell there own story, truly brilliant. One day I hope to achieve paintings to that standard. 9. Can you remember how you felt towards art as a child. Was it something you felt you always wanted to pursue? Yes. from as far back as I can remember art has always been a huge part of who I am, I would sit for hours as a child just drawing anything that came to mind from my favourite cartoon characters, animals, insects to skeletons, ghosts well anything spooky ! I’ve kind of always had a crazy imagination. So yeah all through my youth I knew that art was what I wanted to pursue in life cause it just came naturally and it made sense 18 The Sublime
to me, I even built a reputation being quite the artist. But unfortunately through high school things went side ways and I lost my way. So this is me today pursuing that life choice I blindly turned my back on all those years ago. 10. Tell us more about how you lost your way and then managed to pick it up again and become the amazing artist you are today. From this experience what advice would you give to a young artist. I suppose it all began when I realized my family was falling apart and I’ll say ‘the bullying’ of an unpleasant older brother without going into detail, well pretty much knocked all the self confidence and belief etc out of me, the anger took hold and then started on my road of self destruction. Over the years I’ve worked away as the blacksmith and my time at the opencast just existing with that constant niggling knowing this is not what I want to do, so piece by piece I started pulling myself together and as I said earlier a few years back I picked up the paint brush and here I am today speaking to you Jon feeling pretty good and optimistic of things to come ! The advice I give to a young artist is and I mean this deeply, believe in your self don’t let the negative get the better of you, keep at it, don’t judge your self or your work with others we all have are own unique style and touch to offer the world of art. 11. Whats the next step to push your work forward. It’s funny you ask me that. Mark and I ‘my step son’ are just back from four hours of taking photos along Arbroaths shore line and cliffs for that inspiration I need to get myself in gear, as just this morning I was sat with my coffee wondering just what you’ve asked me, how do I get myself out there, what can I do to get that exposure I crave! then I thought ‘ right its time I had an exhibition’ so now I’m about to start on a fresh new batch of paintings for just that, it won’t just the shores and cliffs of Arbroath its just somewhere to start as I’m wanting to do a range of different subjects including what I already have in the house to the unusual from my imagination, so when I feel I have put The Sublime 19
together enough work it’s off to speak nicely to my local library. 12. In your own opinion what would you say makes ‘bad art’? My opinion of ‘bad art’ I’m not sure how to answer that but here goes, I do admit I am on the fence of what is classed as art today, don’t get me wrong there’s artists out there creating amazing drawings, paintings, murals, tattoo’s and sculptures, that leaves me just thinking ‘wow’ ! But on the other hand the exhibitions that show random things scattered around an empty room or the carry on about that woman’s mess’t up bed with the rubbish around it, I’m not saying its ‘bad art’ I just don’t get it... but who am I to judge as I never went to college or uni I’m not educated in the field, so my apologies to the crazy woman and the exhibitions of randomness. 13. It has been a real pleasure getting to know you and your art. The blacksmith painter has inspired me. What are your departing thoughts?
Thank god for that... this has been a nerve racking but new and exciting experience for me. Honestly though many thanks to you and your team for approaching me and asking me to be featured in your magazine as its given me an encouraging boost to my choice to paint again. You can view more of liams work at: www.facebook.com/ LiamStewartFineArt Be sure to contact him if you like what you see.
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MARIA SERCISS 1. Photography can be a challenge to get right. Choosing the right composition to frame in your viewfinder isn’t something that comes natural to most of. Maria Serciss is one of those photographers that knows how to get it right. Her work is intimate and beautiful, documenting the lives she meets on her wonderful journey. So Maria tell us about yourself.
develop an attribute you don´t have yet. Going from one place to another inspires me, because you always find something different and you always come with something different too, so the more I travel the more I come back with new sets.
I am originally from my beloved Mexico, but when I turned 18 I wanted to expand my horizons, so I moved to London and worked for Dior for 1 amazing year, then I decided to study University in Barcelona and when I finished I lived in South Africa for a while, then I told myself I needed to settle down and I always wanted to come back to the UK, so here I am.
Wow, that is a hard question... I’ve got thousands of photographs where I could choose from, but there is specifically one, that is not necessarily the best of the best that I’ve got, but after spending days around this family and how they live, it makes me think about Darwin’s theory about Natural Selection, that enables a human to compete better in the wild. The photograph was taken in Botswana in the Okavango River, where there is nothing but water, with hippos, crocodiles and fishes. There is a black lady in the middle walking towards me with a bucket full of water, amazing reflect of herself in the river and surrounded by nature in the middle of nowhere, showing her everyday routine.
2. What was it about photography that made you decide that this was the medium for you to create your art? Well, since I was little amazing events where occurring in front of my eyes and the only way I was able to remember them was with memories… now those memories are history because with photography I found that it just didn’t make me remember, it made me remember with a soft touch of art. 3. You have traveled and lived in so many amazing places, tell us how that has affected your art? has it helped you grow and inspired you? Traveling definitely made an impact in my way of seeing things. I discovered that I not just like portraiture and fashion, I enjoy doing documentaries wherever I go, gather as much information as I can and translate it in a photo with that touch that characterizes me. Also traveling makes you grow in so many ways, for example doing portraits, you are completely out of your comfort zone, different environment and new faces, so you need to see how you will approach people and what you will say, it helps you to know yourself too or to 22 The Sublime
4. what is the most moving photograph you taken on your amazing jurney across the globe?
5. Who’s journey do you feel you document in these images. Is it your own personal journey or are you detached from them and want to honestly show the journey of your subjects? I definitely document their own life, their own personal space with the intention to show as close as possible their real day a day. I like to document what I am perceiving at that specific moment and what the situation is sharing with me, but I can’t deny that viewers will always find a bit of me reflected, at the end of the day I’ve got my own style and the end product will show it, and what I am documenting could be read with different feelings. 6. Other than your art, what would you consider a great achievement in your life? You know, I needed to talk about this question with a very close friend because I really didn’t know what to answer... She said ‘María, don’t be so harsh
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on yourself, you’ve achieved loads, you should be proud’. So I stopped and thought about it a bit more... My situation at the moment is not my best moment, I had one spine surgery at the beginning of the year and I am waiting for my second, but I am left with loads of side effects because of the damage that my spine caused, so mentally I´ve being like a roller coaster, up and down, all this months feeling trapped because I can´t literally do anything productive, leading me to think that all those achievements that I should be doing now, they are being delayed... but after getting all my thoughts together, I realized that is a huge achievement the way I’ve being managing my situation, (without even mentioning being far away from my family, in a different continent) the way I got to understand myself and to know what is exactly what I want from my life to be. I got to the point that I recognize that it is good to feel, at certain time in your life, trapped in a black hole, because it makes you think what you want and what you don’t. Everything becomes more clear, makes you a stronger person and more decisive. If I’m not so hard on myself, like my friend said, I have to mention that I am very proud of getting 24 The Sublime
my british license, I mean, coming from a different country, different language, different rules and different side of the road, I need to give myself a little bit of credit. Studying my career is another one of course, and previous to university, when I was 18 and I left home, I decided to work for a year before starting uni, and there I learnt so much which I never thought that at that age I was going to be able to do it or to put up with. All my experiences through all this past years made me the person that I am now, I consider that as a really good achievement. (I have to say that my family has a lot to do with all my achievements, because they are my motivation.) Probably there should be others that I could mention, but the achievements that I consider very important, are still in process of being achieved, and I know that without even notice, time will fly and I will be adding more to my list with no doubt. 7. I admire you, your courage and determination to pull through any hurdle and be the best you can. It’s not often we speak with some one as inspirational as you, both in your work and life. Let’s talk about your experience of moving over here. Being born in
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England myself I can’t imagine what it would be like to come here as an outsider. How did you adjust to our strange ways and what has been the most fun part of it? That is very kind of you to say, thank you. Well, I became familiar with England when I was 18, as I already mention I decided to work and London was the city I experienced first. Being there the first months where like doing something that you haven’t done before in your life, even if you have... New house, new room, new people, new roads, no car, hello oyster card, new everything, even the food tasted new. I have to remark that I was with my brother so that made it even more fascinating, he is such a character. I am an easy-going person and friendly (I like to think) I am very curious as well, about meeting different people all over the world, I love it, so London was the perfect place, but I have to say that I met more foreigners than british people, that’s funny. Then after that year, I went to Barcelona for 3 years, then moved back to England again, but this time was Manchester. What a change you should be thinking… well, yes. Different. You find british people over here. I am still adapting because I moved last year, but in between I went to South Africa and lived there for four months, so I need to give a little bit of time and chance to discover the hidden surprises that Manchester will offer me. I have to admit that English people are very unique. Like you say, we (the foreigners) need to adjust to understand the ways and thoughts, otherwise they won’t try, which is not a problem, I find that interesting, exciting and challenging, and that is what makes fun being here. 8. Do you think you will always move around or is there somewhere you would feel at home at completely and settle there for the rest of your life? No, definitely I will settle down somewhere, but I’m still looking where. There is lots of travelling that I need to do to find out where. But for the moment, I will settle here in England, but to tell you the truth Mexico is always my first option, so we’ll see what happens. 9. on your travels, where has been the most interesting place you have found art and what was the art? 26 The Sublime
This is quite a difficult question to answer really, because everywhere I go I always see something that surprises me or leaves me ecstatic of the work that a human can create, but I need to say that Mexico is the place where I’ve seen more art, to be more specific, in indigenous people, they are not trained at all on what they do and the interesting thing is that most of them don’t even realize how beautiful is their work and what is worth, we underestimate a lot, it is called Mexican folk art and they use very traditional methods to express themselves, it includes embroidery, weavering, painting talavera, pottery styles, blow glass, wood carving, paper crafts, jewelry… I could mention lots more. There is a lot of arts&crafts in every place you walk in, people walking around selling, in the street you find plenty, I absolutely love it and it makes me very emotional.
10. You have one of those rare and amazing stories to tell, one where your life goes in different directions and you embrace it. With everything you have experienced I want you to imagine you are in a room full of first year photography students, its their first day at uni and you have centre stage, all eyes on you. You are about to give them the most important piece of advice you know. What would you say? I would say three things… 1. I would definitely tell them to ask themselves if this is what they enjoy doing and if this is their passion (because you really need it). Now a days being a photographer is not the easiest career to make a living if we are honest, so if you are not devoted, will be very difficult to survive. You will always bump into people that will hustle you and be better than you. You cannot fake passion, if you really are passionate about it, you will work hard, you will sweat, you will add extra dedication and you won’t even be bother of being stressed… and that is what is going to make you successful. 2. Find what makes you a unique person. What can you do different, so something that is ordinary becomes something peculiar and interesting. 3. Don’t be afraid to try. If you don’t try, you don’t get.
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ROME IN THE SUMMERTIME By Luke Berryman
European city breaks are more and more popular these days, especially with young people. Places like Paris, Prague and Amsterdam attract large crowds who want to fulfil their wanderlust and take in the more relaxed urban vibe of the continent, explore sights and sample cuisine in the sun. However no city has quite the history and culture that Rome does, which made it the most exciting and fulfilling choice for me personally as a summer getaway destination. With literally thousands of years of history, and a rich culture steeped in the Roman Empire, the Renaissance and the Baroque period, there would be plenty to learn and explore. The city also promised world-class food, and an endless number of small winding streets and wide piazzas to weave through and relax in. With my Rough Guide to Rome in hand and a less than infant knowledge of the language, I set out. Well you can’t expect everything to go off without a hitch, and the start of this holiday was one of those occasions where the whole thing seemed to fall apart in spectacular fashion. After a rather enjoyable day at Manchester’s MCM ComicCon (I didn’t dress up as I didn’t want to drag a whole cosplay to Italy with me), I went for a meal at the appropriately sublime Turtle Bay Caribbean restaurant and then onwards to see a play at the Manchester Fringe before checking into the airport hotel ready for an early morning flight. Disaster struck as I arrived in Rome and it turned out that not only was I not booked on a coach from the airport to my hotel (thank you travel agent) but the quoted price I got from a taxi driver was a heartrending 125 Euros, and in addition the Italian government had decided to stick a tax of 6 Euros a day on tourists. Also, it appeared that my travel agent’s definition of “near the Vatican” was rather vastly different to mine, and that I would have to catch a bus into the centre, something I had never done before in a foreign and mysterious land. Well, it later came to light that the taxi had swindled me deeply, but nonetheless I decided to keep the good old British stiff upper lip about the whole arrangement, and crack on with it. After all, exploring a whole city from the public transport up could be fun. Indeed, that turned out to be the case. After a first evening of sorting myself out, my first proper day took me via the bus into the city centre, where I alighted somewhere near the Vatican, this time for real. This is where I was first introduced to Rome’s famously
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twisty streets, as it took me some time to actually find the famous square with it’s Basilica. I had pre-booked with a company to get into the Vatican Museum and the Basilica of St. Peter, but was offered an upgrade and a more intimate tour for only 15 Euros, which I gladly accepted. The Vatican museums are over 9 miles long and contain much of the accumulated art treasures of popes throughout the ages, from Nero’s bath to works by Michelangelo and Raphael. From the fascinating relics I could see the clear line that Renaissance artists had taken from the Greek and Roman Gods and Heroes when crafting their likenesses of God, Jesus and Saints, and our guide was truly helpful. Apparently a very small number of women do live in the Vatican, and the state was created as part of an agreement with Mussolini after years of bickering between the church and secular authorities. The famous Sistine Chapel, commissioned by Pope Sixtus and painted by Michelangelo, was I must admit not as breathtaking as I had hoped. One must really crane the neck to see anything, and the images are much smaller than you would imagine. The church of St. Peter on the other hand, was truly a marvel. Allegedly raised on the very spot where the keeper of the pearly gates met his grisly end, it is the largest church in the world and contains truly amazing amounts of marble, statues, paintings and gorgeous designs. I had meant to take the long journey to the top of the dome but decided against it due to the heat. Day one concluded with a visit to Castel Sant’Angelo, once Hadrian’s mausoleum before being converted into a fortress by the Borgia Pope Alexander VI. Truly a real medieval castle, both opulent and strong, with garrisons and secret passages and painted chapels. As I looked over the river from the castle’s Angel Terrace, complete with Bronze Archangel to commemorate the end of a plague, I looked forward to the days ahead exploring the other side of the river. I had begun to find my feet. Day two promised to take me to the heart of the Ancient Roman Empire, as I journeyed to the Colosseum and the vast archaeological site that covers much of the Palatine and Capitoline hills. I boarded the City Sightseeing tour bus at the Vatican and plugged in my complimentary earphones, ready to relax on the long ride across the vast city. Rome truly is a city of a thousand sites, brimming with history. There were many churches, fountains, palaces and monuments on the way, including columns
dedicated to the emperors Trajan and Marcus Aurelius, the Parliament building, the unification-celebrating Vittoriano, the hulking St. Maria Majora and the Mussolini-planned Termini building. Finally, I departed at the foot of the triumphal arch dedicated to Constantine and made my way towards the ancient centre of the city. To say that it was a hot day would be a rather splendid understatement. It was borderline infernal. As I passed through the Arch of Titus and explored the ruins of the forums, temples and the Via Sacra, it became clear to me that I was sweating buckets. By the House of the Vestal Virgins I had pretty much had it. Still, I managed to make my way, slowly and surely, up the Palatine to admire the remains of the rather swanky houses of Nero, Augustus and Septimus Severus (not Snape). The Palatine Museum, just outside the hulking walls of what was once the domicile of Domitian and most following emperors, was a welcome break from the heat, full of treasures that the Roman legions had acquired from numerous conquests, and even a few relics from the reigns of the Tarquin kings. From the palace ruins themselves it was easy to imagine how huge the place had once been, commanding a view of the famous Circus Maximus chariot racing track below. It was a rewarding sight, but still the hill had almost killed my feeble self. It was very much time to go somewhere cooler. After an ice cream lunch, I found that the Colosseum was just the cooler place I sought, and a very awe-inspiring one at that. Originally named the Flavian Ampitheatre, it was build under the orders of the emperors Vespasian, Titus and Domitian after the unrest following the Great Fire of Rome. While Nero allegedly played music during the fire, his successors were wise enough to recognise a truly on edge population, and tore down the gardens of Nero’s golden house to build a grand arena where the masses could be entertained, their worries forgotten in a parade of bread and circuses. All of Rome would gather here free of charge to watch thousands of gladiators and beasts, with all manner of scenery and props cleverly emerging from the labyrinthine world below the arena floor, now laid bare to see. The Colosseum truly earns it’s place as one of the world’s great wonders, a feat of engineering so impressive that even modern day stadiums clearly take after it, and a handy audio guide for only 8 Euros meant I could make the most of it. The views over the arena, walking around the numbered arches, traversing the corridors which would have been used by servants and staring down at the senator’s marble seats with their names carved into them, it was all an extremely rewarding experience. Although it had started with oppressing heat, day 2 had proven worthwhile. I had one day remaining. Day Three felt like time to finally go and explore Rome’s infamously twisty streets and colourful piazzas. By now feeling more than comfortable with the bus journey, I
made my way over the river near the Vatican and set off north for Piazza del Popolo, a rather lovely square marked by one of the city’s several Egyptian obelisks and flanked by two churches. The ornate gate at the north of the piazza marks one of the entry points from the Medieval city’s Aurelian walls, now leading to a small but cheerful market beyond. The square has twin churches, a mouthwatering restaurant and a fascinating museum dedicated to Da Vinci, containing working models of many of his inventions. It was quite fun and enlightening to play around with various mechanisms as well as watch a video about the making of The Last Supper. From the east end of the piazza I ascended a large number of stairs and made my way along a high road with wonderful views of the city below, passing a fountain or two on the way. Rome honestly is full to bursting with hidden treasures like this. My destination was the summit of the famous Spanish Steps and the Piazza De Spagna below, once home to Rome’s Spanish embassy. Trinita del Monti, the church perched atop the Spanish steps, was under maintenance. That would be fine in and of itself. The Roman authorities seem to cover buildings in need of repairs in huge tarps bearing a likeness of the building, which is a creative way of not ruining the view. However, in this case the church had a huge and ghastly advert for an overpriced jewellery firm on its’ protective sheath, which was really a bit much. Whatever helps them raise the money I guess. The steps themselves were very nice, overlooking a picturesque view down to another fountain and a wide shopping area. It’s difficult to afford most of Rome’s fashion, but everywhere seemed to be having a 50% sale and I managed to find my favourite French brand which I can actually afford, Celio, so I was happy. I was also delighted to discover the tiny, precious treasure that is Keats-Shelley House, once the deathbed abode of John Keats and dedicated to the English Romantic movement. There were many rare treats inside such as collections of Mary Shelley’s handwriting and drafts by Lord Byron. After this and ice cream for lunch, I set off again, catching a glance at the Barberini Palace and the Trident Fountain before heading to Rome’s most famous fountain, the Trevi. Which of course was still under maintenance. Oh well. At least it still looks pretty and has a makeshift receptacle to catch the coins people traditionally throw in. Sighing slightly, I headed through another small labyrinth of streets to head towards the Vittoriano, then back around to the Parliament building and eventually to Piazza Navona. Large, relaxing and bursting with entertainment, colour and life, this was an ideal place to spend my final evening. I watched some street entertainers, browsed the Best Shop Ever and enjoyed a meal before slowly heading back. By now the streets felt familiar. It had been a good trip, and I hope to go again. I need not worry – after all, all roads do lead to Rome.
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NAOMI CRAIG 1. As a child I thought the most important things in life were magic and happiness. Who doesn’t love those little magic things we hold that make us absolutely happy. Unfortunately like most of us, this magic is washed out with everyday life and the seriousness that often leaves us cynical. What if I told you that I know a person who can add more love and magic into your life with her beautiful creations, just talking to her can leave a warm glow resonating through your soul. I will let her introduce herself to you and show you the reason why reading on will leave you with a happy inner self all day. Hey there everyone Numptynimo here....I hope you are all having a wonderful day today whatever you are doing. I’m Naomi a northern Girl ( well sort of I’m 33) who managed to escape the rat race nearly ten years ago. I left Bradford in 2006 after a terrifying attack in my home that seemed to last forever. I was left with post traumatic stress symptoms. This made me rethink a lot of aspects of my life, what was really important, where I wanted to be in life. I locked myself away for six months just me and my cat and went on a deeper journey of self discovery. I experienced deep soul healing through guidance with my angels. They set my soul free. After a three day shamanic experience I viewed all of the events in my life that had hurt me deep inside my heart. I saw them as an outsider looking in rather than the younger version of me. All the pain attached to my soul vanished and I was left with a deep love and knowing of how amazing our lives are, how amazing we are and how powerful the love from where we came from actually is. Its so incredible worlds will never be able to describe it. I decided to leave Bradford with hardly any money and a suitcase. I found a spiritual magazine hidden behind some children’s ones I felt guided to in the supermarket and I found an article on Totnes. That’s where I’m going. That’s where I ended up the spiritual capital of the country. I was in heaven,everyone knew about the experiences I was talking about, people loved openly and everyone encouraged me to rediscover my creativity. My passions are everything and anything. I wake up in the morning and I’m glad to be alive, still being blessed having this experience of live we have all been given. I take my two year old daughter to the woods and we listen to the birds singing, we run wild and free (sorry neighbours) we play music and sing and dance at every opportunity. We love food we love cuddles. I create the things I create to escape, escape as after enlightenment
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still comes the daily grind that can wear us back in to following the masses. That I can never do again and I cant let my daughter believe that a 9-5 is all there is to life as it most certainly is not. Life is for living and my funked up things remind me of my inner peace and stillness. I start with the colours I’m attracted to that day and I start to play with them usually braiding or finger weaving until I get disheartened with the colour and go onto the next colour selections. After about half an hour I have decided what I am actually going to make. I love my escape time where nothing matters, the bills, cooking a meal or the kitchen floor that needs washing etc. They can all wait because nothing is more important than inner peace, that’s what I choose peace for me and my family. That’s all anyone really needs then the rest will fall into place all by its self.
2. Your story is inspirational, it’s something that a lot of us have dreamt about. Being free and feeling so happy yet most of us cower at the thought of trying something exciting and different. Your love is also contagious. I once had a shaman experience (okay I was on LSD listening to the doors) I know it has inspired a lot of music and paintings I have created! What was the most inspirational vision or journey you took, I want to know the feelings and things you saw. There have been so many spiritual experiences its hard to know which ones to mention. My angels saved my life more than once. The most inspiring was in 2007. I had just read a book about healing with the angels,and asked them to help me deal with issues that were blocking me, about letting go of all the pain and suffering I was battling with every second of everyday. One evening I just knew it was time for this was going to take place tonight. I showered and as I did it was almost like something in my brain clicked and then began working backwards. It was time. I sat in the dark at the dining table my eyes were closed. I had both hands on the table feet flat on the floor. I took a couple of deep breaths and that’s when I felt the angel in the room. Pressure covered the top of my head from ear to ear like I had hands on the top of my head, I said hello in my head. The most incredible fast light entered through the top of my head right in to the centre or my spine right down to my tummy button. The light was so bright white with sparks of gold and blue rushing even faster than the white light. As it speeded down through me I felt pops and as they popped all my
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past heart aches vanished. The light was in my soul clearing all the damage life had thrown at me, every bad word I had felt. All the heartbreaks gone but most just gone my soul was back to original before we entered our bodies back to its purest self. My heart was so filled with love I cried with joy. Then my angels took me on me journey shamanically for I think was two days from that point. I realized I was out of body when I saw a small triangular tilted window in the distance and I realized I was flying closer to the window. I could see my apartment building through it. As I climbed through what looked like a veil lifted in front of me and what was once grey was replaced by the most radiant colours I have never even, they were so bright to me that they hurt my eyes. Once I climbed through the triangle I was back in my body, in the same position in the chair , hands on the table and I opened my eyes. I sobbed with joy shaking with the amount of love that was in me. I cried thank you over and over again . I had been reborn. When the angels saved my life in 2006 they showed themselves as not as we know it angels. They intervened in a heartbeat when I called them at a point where we were about to be in our final moments of life. They had been waiting for me to ask them. I felt them rush round me in an instant I felt like I was in a big hug from a giant. From the ceiling the room filled with pink light like upside-down smoke rising , this was falling in spirals. It filled the room in less than a breath and I felt. The attackers stopped screaming and hitting and began talking gently saying sorry to us instead. Their knives were put away We survived....... I now love colour so much and I think it is because I was shown more colours than our bodies can ever see with human eyes. I am so grateful for the things I have seen ........ life is so beautiful........and so is what is after . We are all divine and beautiful.....life is divine and beautiful...were here to enjoy every second of it. Maybe the colours and creations are ways to separate me from daily life to remind me how precious everything and everyone actually is....... 3. Your journey is so inspiring. When you create
your pieces for someone, what would you want them to get from them?
I hope the people that end up with one of my creations can enjoy a smile, like they used to do before they grew up. I hope that people can remember the simple joy in life and remember the fun that can be found in the most simple things that are all around us, everywhere if we can just take the time to look.......
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4. How long does it take you to create each one. The hair wraps can take between one hour- two and a half hours if there are more than one in the set. Bracelets from one and a half hours, headbands up to two hours and wall hangings up to ten hours usually spread over a few days when my toddler gives me time out from climbing trees xxxxxxxxx I never rush, I always take a lot of time,care , effort and lots and lots of love.
5. It sounds like a lot of love goes into creating each one, did you teach yourself how to make them, if so how long did it take you to gain the skills? yes I taught myself everything I know. When I was at school I studied art and textiles, I felt my creativity was stunted by how they wanted me to see things and follow their structured learning regimes.....it made me rebel. I learn as I go along, my mind is always looking for new ways to make things. I learnt how to finger knit when I was about 7 years old. I was always braiding my dolls hair as my auntie was a hair dresser she showed me how. My next project is wall hangings and rugs for my daughters room. Then I will be on to creating a selection of loveliness for the Christmas trade. Hopefully this year I will be at the Totnes Christmas markets and also the Dartmouth ones too.
6. A lot of successful creatives taught themselves, I think you are right about being stunted when in an art class, you are always only expected to complete the task and not truly express yourself. What was your dream ambition as a child? OOhhhhh that’s a good question.......to remain connected to the love from which we came from before we were born....I always knew we came from a higher power and I knew it in my heart no matter what other people or schools tried to tell me...I always knew. My heart wanted to be a mother...I was born with so much love inside of me ...love that other people just couldn’t comprehend. For years I didn’t feel I fitted it and I felt lost, consumed by the love in my heart. The day my daughter was born will always be the best day of my life. I hope to bring her up surrounded with love and creativity......she will be staying at home and be educated in her own time in nature and the things that inspire her xxx
7. It has been a pleasure getting to know you and your beautiful creations. Before we go, what are your departing words for our readers. Question everything......seek the answers of your heart.....turn off the TV..stop reading the mainstream news papers...surround yourself with love and joy every second of everyday...live each day like its the last one you will have....life is so much more than going to work and paying the bills....... I have seen the truth of our existence......everyone can too we just have to Wake Up......wake up people ..... follow the guidance of your heart......make time to search for the truth in everything you have ever been taught and told.......ask the questions....seek the truth.....the truth shall set you free...I send you love and happiness to surround you night
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NEIL HAYWARD
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This Months Introducing artist is Neil Hayward. A self taught photographer. We caught up with him this month and asked him to jot down his story. Enjoy. My name is Neil Hayward; I am an artist, self taught photographer and keen hiker with a particular interest in our vast range of landscapes and natural environments. As far back from childhood I remember having a huge interest in both art and our natural landscape. I have a Bachelor of Arts (with honours) and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education in secondary art and design. Back in 2010 I was also pursuing my desire to teach in a secondary school, offering students new and exciting opportunities, a range of techniques indoors and out. It was helping students feel inspired about the landscape around them, an aspect which inspired my own work. However my desire to teach soon came to end in 2010 when my epilepsy once suffered as a child decided to return. I was no longer in a position where teaching was recommended for me to pursue, and found myself in a position I could never had imagined Following this change in life I found myself revisiting old skills and passions that initially inspired and have always echoed through out my own work. It has given me the opportunity to temporarily step back from this busy modern way of life, allowing me that extra time to draw inspiration from things we would not always have the time to stop and appreciate. What began as a casual walk to my local woodlands with my camera has resulted in this on going exploration into our landscape and reunited me with my passion for photography. Most of the photos are places that are based in Surrey - the county in which I live in. I am looking for the beauty that lies within simplicity amongst our landscape. It’s about trying to create a photo that is able to spark curiosity and imagination, a photo that is able to really capture the mood or the essence of what is going on in that particular area. This has become my own approach to adventure photography. There are some locations I try exploring regularly, be it day or night and during various weather conditions. Sometimes the best results from my photography has come down to being in the right place at the right time and 40 The Sublime
also during the most interesting weather conditions, doing this helps me understand and appreciate that place in greater depth and detail. There have also been locations I have visited and photographed that hold great history and tales. Yet in today’s busy and modern way of life; these fascinating tales have often been forgotten. I also hope that these places are never built upon or ruined so that future generations will be able to enjoy them and their significance in our history. Further more when visiting and exploring the surrounding landscape I can’t help but think; I’m sure most people have them whether they are aware of it or not, and those who are aware of it will probably always remember them until their last breath. I am talking about places of significance, places with positive memories. It may be a place that you visit from time to time still today. They maybe places that have played a big role in your life; a place of thought and reflection, a place to escape, a place that holds happy memories from childhood years maybe? And when shown a photo of that place one can’t help but pause, reflect and remember what that place means to them; this is more than just a pretty image in their eyes. I continue searching and finding places all over our landscape that have this ability to capture my imagination, some of which are places I would not have even considered worth exploring and photographing before now. A number of these places are often overlooked, even neglected in some cases. They are hidden gems that can still be found scattered amongst our landscape, places that have been able to survive the test of time and our modern way of life as our towns and cities continue to grow and spread across the landscape. This is one of my write ups on facebook about an image taken close to home; “On this glorious evening, as far as I’m concerned, I could be hundreds of miles away from the estate I live in and have just walked from. It may not be a remote landscape miles away from civilization, it may not even be the most stunning location in the county; however at this very moment I find myself transfixed with the variations of natural colors and warm hues of this tranquil sunset. This is the stage where my imagination really takes over as my mind begins to wander. I think to myself; this is not just a common land surrounded by towns and busy roads, but instead in my eyes this could be some remote spot amongst the plains of Africa
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somewhere. Why Africa? Initially I think it’s the shape of the silhouetted trees; I have this image in my mind of these kind of isolated trees across the plains of Africa, the kind of typical images I’ve seen on TV and in magazines in relation to the country. It’s keeping an open mind like this and allowing imagination to temporarily outweigh reality that has enabled me to find beauty and interest amongst places that many others, including myself once in the past, tend to overlook or consider not worth photographing.” At present a lot of my creative writing that is inspired by the places I visit and photograph is based on my photospired facebook page ( www.facebook.com/ photospired ) however one of my aims and desires for the future is to create a book that brings all of this together. Yet despite pursuing this personal interest in photography for a few years now, I truly feel that this self directed journey has only just begun.
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SHELLY SKELLINGTON’s RECIPES
THE FYLDE FOOD AND FARM FESTIVAL REVIEW SPECIAL This bank holiday weekend was the first year that The Fylde Food and Farm Festival was held at The Show Field in Kirkham, Lancashire. There are many of these kinds of festivals popping up all over Lancashire, and rightly so, we have some of the best food in the country and it’s nice to see it getting recognised. The festival included lots of local food vendors, a dog show, cookery demonstrations, local artists, local historians and craft vendors. There was a beer and cider tent from Mad Hatters Cider, a small fairground, tractor rides, a Punch and Judy show, farm yard animals display and quite a lot more! For a festival in its infancy there was quite a good turnout of quality vendors, it also meant that it wasn’t really busy, which for me personally is a bonus. Anyone that knows me knows that I have a strong dislike for large crowds! When we got there, we headed straight for the food section, hungry and slightly hungover, we needed something to make us feel human again, enter The Bees Country Kitchen, based in Preston. We made a bee-line (nyarf!) for their pitch and got a soul soothing lamb hotpot. My partner in crime asked for the chicken and chorizo hot pot, and whilst it was nice, the lamb was clearly the winner. They had all manner of flavoured oils on sale too. Yummy. We enjoyed some very delicious pancakes smothered in melted chocolate and chopped banana from Sweet Pancakes and Chocolate Treats. We watched him make the pancakes to order, and let me tell you they were heaven. The chocolate was melted beautifully, it’s actually a difficult thing to get right, chocolate burns so easily. Get water in it and the lot has to go in the bin. They had cute little marshmallow and fruit kebabs, never mind kids loving it, the adults were queuing!
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After feasting ourselves we headed into the tent. The Singleton History Society was there, confirming my belief that had I been born in the 1800’s I would not have been a baker! How people ever got any baking done if they didn’t have servants I’ll never know. In the tent we got a gloriously meaty homemade sausage roll (for laters of course) from the witchy-like Malkin Pie’s. The whole stall was set up to look like Halloween, so naturally I headed right for it. The bakery is based in Sabden, the heart of Pendle Witch country, and it’s famous for its homemade pies. Delicious. Next up we got chatting to an artist from the Ribble Valley, Christopher Perkins. I was drawn to his work as he had beautiful drawings of witches and black cats on display. He explained how growing up he looked out on to Pendle Hill, and that gave him inspiration. His art looks like something from a Terry Pratchett book cover, and most of it is made into clocks. His love for what he did was plain to see, he was so happy and chatty. Definitely check out his work, it’s brilliant. A few other stalls were there…didn’t quite catch our eye though. I also bypassed a cupcake stall, I would have bought one but they didn’t have boxes and I didn’t want to eat it there and then. Maybe take a Tupperware if you go next year, then you can buy all the cakes and sausage rolls you like. The festival proved to be an educational day out, as well as entertaining. The Sheep Show came to visit, all the way from Norfolk. With their little herd in tow, they gave a funny and educational show which including live sheep shearing,
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and of course dancing sheep. The children in the audience loved it. We also caught a bit of the dog show, sort of like Crufts. We are cat people, so gave it a miss, but it drew a rather large crowd and from what we could see, was pretty entertaining. They had dogs jumping through fire hoops at one point, with music from what we recognised as a band called Two Steps From Hell…..Pretty intense for a dog show! Did make us chuckle though. After the Sheep Show we headed to the beer tent where The Cartford Inn were going to do a cookery demonstration. The Punch and Judy Show was just finishing up and the kids were going nuts, so that was definitely a popular addition to the day! I must admit the fact that The Cartford were doing a cookery demonstration is what brought us to the event in the first place. I absolutely love going there. As my regular readers will know, I reviewed them a couple of issues back and was practically spewing compliments. I just love it. So I had high hopes for the cookery demonstration, and it didn’t disappoint. Dishes included pigeon, hake and a veggie hash. Chef Patrick was really good, informative and giving a few hints and tips such as when blanching vegetables, below ground go into cold water and need to be brought to the boil, and above ground vegetables can be chucked straight into boiling water. It’s the little things that make a dish sing, and the chefs at The Cartford Inn know this. It truly shows in everything they make. They mentioned that the restaurant was expanding, and a new deli will be opening soon. Sweet Jesus I felt like all my Christmases had come early! My partner and I shared a look….a look that said a 1000 words. That’s our credit cards getting a battering when it opens, and I’m not even sorry. I cannot wait. When it’s open I will no doubt spend a mortgage payment in there and showcase it on social media for you all to see!
They used some cheese from a stall in the tent next door for their veggie demonstration, so we got some of the same. At £4 for a small round it’s pricy, but it can’t be beat. The company is called Kick-Ass Strong Cheddar, we bought the smokey round as it was used in the demonstration, it has a creamy texture, in proper wax (makes me feel like an adult when I purchase a cheese in wax!) and a little goes a long way, so actually, it had great value for money. I believe you can order the cheese over Facebook and they will deliver, it’s worth it, check it out. After all the excitement of the pigeon scoffing, I needed a nice cup of tea. I visited an adorable little vintage caravan called Polly’s Tea Rooms, it looked like something from a film. It was unbelievably pretty. She had lots of cakes on show in beautiful vintage cake holders, and had tables with delicate china set up on them full of sugar and milk. The tea was delicious as well! I saw that she is available for events, if my wedding venue would have let me, I honestly would have booked her. The Facebook page is called Polly’s Vintage Caravan, please check it out. As well as The Sheep Show talk there was also other talks by farmers about farmyard animals, fresh free range eggs were on sale, and vintage cars and tractors were on display. We had a walk round in the sunshine and headed home, completely pooped. This would be a brilliant day out for food lovers like my partner and I, or families, kids there were having a great time. Overall, I think next year will be much bigger, with more stalls and demonstrations, it’s on the August bank holiday weekend, and it’s only a fiver to get in, even cheaper for kids. Well done, can’t wait to come back!
At the end of the demonstration we could all have a taste, and without missing a beat, half the tent was at that table. The pigeon was surprisingly nice. You could taste the fresh herbs and garlic. It was gamey, still blushing, and oddly the texture was more like beef, not like chicken. It was nice, if it’s on the menu when I go for my birthday in September, I’m having it. The hake, oh the hake. It was soft, full of flavour, well-seasoned….and I watched him make it in about 10 minutes! The key was to place it in a salt bath beforehand, to draw out the excess moisture. They get their fish from Fleetwood, it’s good to know that there’s somewhere local that’s decent for fish. I’ll be buying it. Bloody delicious.
The Sublime 49
Mr Wild’s
MAGIC MAN Here we are, the crossroads, directions east and west, Moistened finger by my face tells me which is best, Gentle winds, whisperings, the animals and clouds, These are some of many things I use to please the crowds, But often counsel, from the world, this subtle nature brings, The planets spirit calls to me and beautifully it sings, Speaking to me, listening, to words of subtle verse, The earth would tell me all the secrets, of the universe. Magic man! Illusionist! Parlour tricks at best, The way I walk, the way I talk, even how I’m dressed, These things, these quaint devices, tricks for blind to see, To grab them by their collars, and turn their eyes on me, For in this world, an evil’s grown, and in these evil hours, It gathers all the strength it can to all its greyish towers, A choice of east, a choice of west, but choice is hardly fair, The evil that has come to us is almost everywhere, But to the west, the setting sun, whispers ‘over here’ And west I go to follow light, and challenge peoples fear. Along the road, for many days, I’ve travelled all alone, Thoughts of all the many roads that led so far from home, Thoughts of now, and what will be, are coursing through my head, Preparing me to start the end, to say what must be said, This world, our precious mother earth, is prematurely ending, The life and spirit of the world can’t stop the reckless spending, Her oil, her gas, her ozone layer, each and every day, The humans of this perfect world, promote its slow decay, Religious men, the parliaments, the heads of all the powers, Their hearts do not allow them, to suffer thoughts of flowers, The natural things, the world about, cause them no concern, Affairs of men are all they care, and so the grass does burn, But mother wages war with man, and fights their fire with fire, And for this fight a man stood tall, and I’m the gun for hire, Heading west, I’ve reached the town, the town where war begins, Now’s the time for man to fall, and suffer for his sins.