Flashback # 2 Turkish Coffee

Hey still thinking about the trip home. Becoming a Volcano dust bore. Anyway again in Istanbul - had coffee with super-colleague Lara - fast becoming a chum, if that is not to presume too much!

Illustrated - the coffee shop, the coffee, the pastries. The real deal!

The longest journey - flashback #1

Volanic Dust Busting: On the journey back last week across the Middle East and Europe it was appropriate that we should enter Europe through Istanbul. During our brief time there I was lucky enough to meet Emre Icilensu who owns the Constantine Gallery. A delightful haven of wonderful work, a stone's throw from the Blue Mosque and the Topkapi Palace. We spent a brief time together - hopefully we will collaborate in some way!

Emre is delightfully intelligent in his response to the artists he currently represents and in the way he talks about creativity.

Please visit him at http://www.constantineartgallery.com/index.php?lng=eng&page=ana

Home

Wednesday afternoon. We can’t believe it. We are aboard BD 808 to Heathrow Terminal 1
Four of us. Home. Four of the 150,000 British nationals (according to Tom saw it on the BBC World News) who were stranded in Europe. That’s enough people to fill seven hundred and fifty Airbus 330s.

In the warm spring sun we walk across the tarmac to board the small, shiny and perfectly formed 47 seater Embraer ERJ-145. Relieved.

Grateful to everyone that helped us along this four part odyssey especially close colleagues in London office, Natalie and Rupa (our Athene and Circe)and Sali and the team in office in Dubai.

Our lives are easily fractured. Certainty is unwittingly violated by the natural order of things and the fallout from Iceland’s volcanoes will continue.

End this story from Thom Gunn's poem

ON THE MOVE ‘Man, you gotta Go’

At worst, one is in motion; and at best,
Reaching no absolute, in which to rest,
One is always nearer by not keeping still.

Hello from Hannover

Yes it has two 'n' s sorry, reference the mis-spelling in my last post. Strange to wake up again, in a bed, on a different continent. After breakfast and the bonds of email we headed over to the airport to discover we have all been confirmed on a flight to London this evening. Euphoria and incredulity in the same moment.

Then the alternative planning in case the flight is cancelled. So we are closer but still very far away. Team (featured) happy however some unwellness now appearing. We wait until 13:00 the next point in time when things be come more or less certain.

A bridgehead into Europe

After the distress of the Milan cancellation we hung around the airport, free wi-fi, surfing for options to get into Europe from Istanbul. Some friend Italians, victims of the same abandonment, offered us seats on a coach laid on by their local Consulate. So we was hanging with the Italians waiting for coach and heard a flight to Hamburg announced. Lara runs over to the SunExpress ticket desk and secures four.

Hey presto we are now in Hanover. They switched airports just before we took off.
Well it begins with ‘H’ and still in Germany and that’s in Europe and that is well cool.

"Babe, when its lovin’ if it’s not rough it’s not fun" . . *
* Poker Face – Lady Gaga

Milano - iptal

Midday Tuesday at Istanbul second airport. Iptal is the turkish word for cancelled and hopefully as we head over to the main airport our flight to Barcelona tomorrow at dawn it will not be iptal

Istanbul Tuesday Morning

Certainly a morn for celebration as I have clean shirt from the hotel laundry the cost of which is allowable under the company's expenses policy. Awoke, in a bed, to the sound and then smell of fresh rain, soon followed by bakery smells particularly croissant.

Last evening we were entertained by Baran and his wife and family. Baran the eminence gris of our sales respresentative network in this part of the world. Spirits high as was the splendid resturant (Anemon) close by and level with the top of the Galata Tower. The resturant afforded an wonderful view of the Golden Horn and European side of the city, all washed in a pastel sunset. Attemped drawing, mixed results.

Tour leader Chris continues to direct our plans; currently maybe Milan or maybe Manchester. Personally auxious that I may run out of Clinique Age Defence Hydrator SPF15. However our chins remain elevated. We are blessed as the call to prayer drifts across the city.

Illustrated: The dinner party at Anemon; Golden Horn; A new dawn at the Best Western Hotel.

Istanbul - Morning

Left Dubai 02:35 and into Ataturk Airport at 06:00. The deepest sleep I have ever had on a plane - the street of constant standby or the MacDonalds we had at Dubai Airport. Small Best Western near Topkapi Palace and out comes the sun. The call to prayer mingles with the tap tap of carpenters across the street. A speed tour around the Blue Mosque and then to conference calls and briefs and counter briefings to those brilliant people in London what are tryin' to get us home.

Spirits reasonably high but oslilating between happy (when we have a plan) and less than happy when one component of it falls over. Hey Ho we move again tomorrow.

Dubai to Istanbul

Sunday, a day in the office.

A trolly dash round the Mall of the Emirates to purchase a Moleskine as my current on only has 4 pages left!

Tonight or rather 2am we fly to Istanbul. The flight is overbooked so we will check in three hours early. Like 000's of people across the world we are stranded and moving snail-like; a small platoon in some obscure scene in the 100 Years War.

Spirits high (still) as we say bye to Dubai and say Hail to Constantine's city on the Bosphorous.

Dubai - moving north

RETURNING HOME? Its all up in the air really. So this is Sunday morning 08:30 local time in Dubai. We were lucky to get a flight out of Hong Kong last night.

The general consensus was to keep moving north with the eventual idea of crossing into southern Europe. Dubai never fails to fascinate.

Hong Kong stranded due to the volcano in Iceland

Oh well another opportunity to go on the Star Ferry. The finest ferry service in the world.

Hong Kong 2

Day two and a bit. Central District in Hong Kong is crowded with lovely shops.

Hotel Coffee shop crowded with noisy bankers

(loveliness illustrated here)

Hong Kong: I am back

The city of Asia

And touching down I was reading this by Thom Gunn

IN PRAISE OF CITIES

Only at dawn

You might escape, she sleeps then for an hour:

Watch where she hardly breaths, spread out and cool,

Her pavements desolate with the dry dim air.

Thom Gunn (1929 – 2004) Anglo-American poet

Print Making: away from the press

Over the weekend, and with a few more shades of ink at my disposal I created some work in the studio at home, for further development when I am back at the Press with Christine Lock.

Initial results pleasing as shows how colour to give a particular sense of the place, the difference between northern europe and the west coast of the USA

Seen and Heard

A leaflet being handed out in Westfields Shopping Centre.

Surprise Result

A good piece of drawing from me still continues to surprise.

This piece created over Easter for Jenny's wedding invitation.

St Peters Slinfold nestling close to the Sussex Downs.

Clever Trevor

Memo to self: Its great to know someone really talented.

Trevor. Architect, helio pilot, cabinet maker, musician and builder of fast cars, bee keeper, what have I forgotten, oh yes - maker of sausages, bacon and saucissons.

Chris (creater of picture frames and another talented friend) and I went round to see T's woodworking set up the other day. Trevor laid on a modest breakfast, as a prelude to the tour of his place, grounds and wood working shop: sausages, fresh made bread rolls and strong coffee.

Illustrated: Tevor's beehives. Trevor. Trevor in his 'shop'

Drawing in Print

In print making there is a lot of experimentation, rolling up ink on odd bits of paper to determine an effect. I have taken some of these experimental scraps of paper and drawn into them with interesting results (I think) Featured here a 'before and after' piece - its exciting to attribute architectual lines to the forms created merely by running an ink roller across a sheet of paper.