Music From The Motherland

Recently, I discovered something laying dormant inside my mobile blower... Podcasts. More precisely, Desert Island Discs. There are hundreds of 'em - and many are my cultural counterparts; from Gallagher and Brand, to Weller, Winstone and whispering Bob. If you're unfamiliar with the format. Guests (or "castaways") get to choose 8 songs (or "discs") to take with…

10 Years a Slave

Approaching 30 and birdless: "I stopped looking for a dream girl. I just wanted one that wasn't a nightmare." - Charles Bukowski As luck would have it, one turned up anyway - and it wasn't long before we were shacked up and due to get spliced. From day 1 it was obvious she was gonna…

Cell Block Hippy

When the missus first floated the idea of a week in an ashram, "reluctant" weren't the word. Don't get me wrong, I like my yoga as much as the next man, it was the "mandatory" schedule* and the prison-like house rules** that put me off. In the end my curiosity prevailed - if it's good…

Hanging with the Orangs

It's not everyday you get to see an endangered species in its natural habitat. So the opportunity to visit an orangutan sanctuary was too good to miss. The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre aims to return orphaned or injured orangutans back to the wild. Orangutans only exist on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra and are…