Writer / Photographer
Not that long ago, this neighbourhood was a no-go zone in the world’s most dangerous city. Today, it’s a tourist hotspot where Spanish speaking souvenir sellers saturate the sidewalks. Not being one for trinkets, I give them my “Nah, you’re alright” face and have a look around. If the subjective stars align, my memento will… Continue reading Minds Alive! On Hope Street
Writing Never Mind The Jollop was an attempt to exorcise my pandemic frustrations. It was working. Until the deportation of Novak Djokovic from Australia sucked me back in and had me questioning my affection for the country I used to call home. My biggest beef with the pandemic response is the erosion of civil liberties.… Continue reading Public Enemy No. 1 
When Shutter Island opened its doors, we had it on our toes. Destination México. Our plan, to earn online and see a few sights – in a land that loves freedom as much as we do. We started in Querétaro. A city unknown to me until I made a friend on a photography course in… Continue reading Boy in the Better Land
Well, it weren’t the year we had in mind. But you take the rough with the smooth don’t yer? Especially where over-hyped global pandemics are concerned. In January, we moved to Madrid for my photography course. It was going well, Malasaña’s countercultural vibe was spurring my creativity and my multi-lingual missus had the locals eating… Continue reading A Tale of 2020
Three years ago the freedom of infertility set me on a mid-life meander to Melbourne. Last month, I went home... So, what have my cohorts and countrymen been up to without me? Well, apart from break-ups, breeding and Brexit. Not much. We did the rounds. From family roasts to beers with the lads. We were like social… Continue reading A Sort of Homecoming
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… Continue reading Music From The Motherland
First I heard of Van Diemen’s Land was back in the 80s when my Walkman was partial to a bit of Rattle & Hum*. Little did I know, it was real place that one day would be on my doorstep. Nowadays it’s an Australian state called Tasmania. We fly to Hobart and make a long weekend of… Continue reading Van Diemen’s Land
Some call it Australia Day. Others, Invasion Day. For me, it’s January 26th – a public holiday and a welcome break from the daily grind. Australians woke to the news that their prime minister had awarded Prince Philip a knighthood - and by bestowing this colonial trinket on a pointless prince had implied that no… Continue reading Pull The Ladder Up Bruce
The anniversary of my 4th decade on the earth gave the old girl an excuse to fly out for a visit. Fancy man in tow. My end of the bargain was to assume the role of tour-guide-slash-driver for a road trip round Victoria. #1 Phillip Island and the Mornington Peninsula The locals bang on about the penguins at Phillip… Continue reading Ocean Drive
As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a footballer (well, and a gangster - but that's another story). I'd have been in with shout, but lager and birds sabotaged my crack at the top flight and I settled for that kick-about between two skinfuls - the Sunday League. Injuries were… Continue reading Cash on the Hip
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… Continue reading 10 Years a Slave
This time last year I was looking out of my Canary Wharf window thinking: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller It’s good advice, but after 277 "days off" it was time to put some bunce back in the old… Continue reading Back in the Game
It's been a while since my last post. So let me fill you in. When we wrapped up the backpacking we headed for a 6 week stint with the in-laws and Chinese New Year Macanese style. They're a family that like their grub and Macau's hospitality is top drawer. I fit right in. Only trouble… Continue reading Hello Goodbye
With the backpacking part of this trip done and dusted. I've been in a reflective mood and put together a montage of the journey so far. Now it's onto Melbourne where another new experience awaits - living and working in a foreign country. Is Australia really the land of Milk & Honey? _____
Got chatting to this monk the other day. Didn't catch his name, so for the sake of the story we'll call him Harry. The conversation* went something like this. Rooky: Being a monk must take a lot of self-control - no booze, no sex. So what makes virile young men (like yourself) pass up SE… Continue reading When Harry Met Rooky
The next stop in our tour of Indochina was Vietnam. This is what I saw... Saigon Scooters With 35 million scooters in Nam, you can forget what the green-cross-code-man told you. You'll be there all day. They come at you from all directions, so my advice would be - just walk... If evolution's true the… Continue reading 19 Nights in Nam
Cambodia, a perplexing place - one day you're watching the sunrise over the "8th wonder of the world". The next, you're standing in the middle of the killing fields shocked by the evil humans are capable of. After a month on the beaches of Goa I can handle sightseeing again. So we fly to the… Continue reading Drop your Angkor, weigh your thoughts…
After 4 months on the road, travel burnout was beginning to kick in - sightseeing had become a chore and I was missing the sense of purpose that work used to provide. Thankfully my friends at OSCAR India supplied the antidote - and asked me to do some football coaching. OSCAR is an organisation that… Continue reading Teenage Kicks
Our 34th day in India takes us to Bombay, and my mind adjusts to the flagrant poverty people had warned me about. Even before my feet hit the tarmac my window seat shows me a sea of shanties that seemed to go on forever. We spend Diwali in Ambedkar Nagar slum (our friends at OSCAR… Continue reading Bombay Luck
Be Here Now by Ram Dass My rating: 3 of 5 stars In India and en route to an ashram, I was looking for a spiritual read to complement the trip. I heard this book led Steve Jobs on a similar journey, so gave it a whirl... It took me inside the mind of a… Continue reading Book: Be Here Now
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… Continue reading Cell Block Hippy
There's something about a Hindu temple that makes me wanna sing a bit of Sanskrit. I've only gotta enter one of those places and the words "Govinda jaya jaya" or "acintya bheda bheda tattva", are in my head. So as I'm in India (the home of Sanskrit), I thought I'd find out what these old… Continue reading Temple Tunes
Coming from Singapore, India's like a different world; cows at bus stops, blokes in skirts*, people eating with their hands, shoeless pedestrians on dirty roads, entire families on one motorbike (sans helmets), regular power cuts, straight men holding hands, and incessant car horns during my siesta. It took a while to acclimatise. Three days into… Continue reading South India Road Trip
Our journey down the Malaysian peninsula finishes with a few days in Singapore - everything is just that little bit better; shopping malls are spotless, public transport runs like clockwork, even the quality of the crumpet exceeds that of its Malaysian neighbour. We arrive on Grand Prix day. The chaos and crowds I was expecting… Continue reading Singer Poor
Bored of Melaka and with a few days to kill before Singapore we weigh up a trip to Tioman Island. The weatherman tells us they'll be rain all week, but Time magazine had it down as one of the world’s most beautiful islands (in the 1970s), so we ignore him. Being a city person married… Continue reading Mosquito Island
Ben Rook 