Street art (and in some cases, graffiti) is very prominent in Birmingham, particularly around the canals, with a lot of very artistic work in Digbeth. Here are a few snaps of just such work: This piece on the Library building is by Lucy McLauchlan. Thanks for stopping by, you can subscribe to my RSS feed [...]

I’m a big fan of the It Gets Better project and the many hundreds of videos it has produced. While the project has been hugely praised, it also has many critics. There are those who say it doesn’t do enough, that when you leave school everything, generally, gets better, and that it gets better a [...]

Nicky and I took a long walk around the Birmingham canal system — over 160 miles at its peak, with 100 miles in current use. It was enjoyable to watch a couple navigate the locks, and carefully try not to knock the narrowboat against the tight canal walls, as the boat is moved up and [...]

I’ve always had major issues with politics in Northern Ireland, coming from a family who never forced political allegiances, I only saw politics, and the trouble it caused on the streets) on TV/news. I was never taught explicitly what each party stands for, which is possibly a huge flaw in my upbringing, though I never [...]

Digbeth is simply a small area of Birmingham, only a 10 minute walk from the city centre; an industrial district, with many old factories and empty spaces of that time gone by. Today Digbeth is undergoing much redevelopment by turning these factories and industrial buildings into apartments, retail outlets. Both of these aspects are very [...]

I’m not a particularly fan of Ani DiFranco, though I found myself listening to Not a Pretty Girl (1996) in the last few days, and this song in particular made me stop and listen. Known for her staccato sing style; it’s that which bugs me most about her. The words are spoken too fast. She [...]

On leaving Paris I got a plane over to Birmingham where the ever-lovely Nicky very kindly put me up for the weekend. I enjoyed the locals, the sights, the beer, the wine and not to mention the rain that particular weekend. Though I didn’t allow it to hinder my photo-snapping! I managed to see all [...]

Today has been a bit hazy. Having woke up late with a banging headache, I realised right then that the day was to be a write-off. For the most part it was. I need these days every once in a while. For some reason I try to do too much, often resulting in doing very [...]

There is a lot of street art and graffiti to be found in Paris. I didn’t photograph very much of it this time around, however, I did spot a few Space Invader characters as created by the street artist Invader. It is true that you only see things when you’re looking for them, or they [...]

You’ll probably know the song Never Stop [YouTube] from the iPad T.V. ads. If you like that, the album, Ivory Tower, is filled with 12 other fantastic tracks the musician and producer, Chilly Gonzales. A smooth mix of piano and electo, pretty bass — that won’t shake the whole house — and brilliantly odd lyrics. [...]