That Taint Right

A Hammersmith rail almost claimed Rimmer's extremeties this evening but he "escaped" with a taint smash. Whilst he was recovering, and we were wondering if he would, a security guard told us that we couldn't take photos or do any filming because there were kids in the background and therefore we must be taking pictures of the kids! Lunatic. No attempt to kick us out with any other reason than we were paedophiles! He was then verbally humiliated by Styley who involved members of the public in his torrent of abuse until the guard retreated to call the real police. The taint was damaged enough that we had to leave anyway. We then found some ridiculously steep banks nearer to home so with footage from this new spot and my early afternoon meeting with Edson and Keegan, it turned out to be quite a fruitful day.

The Vortex

Made the mistake of going to South Bank with no real plans of where to go after meeting people there. The vortex took hold and I ended up being there for about four hours with nothing on the horizon. Rimmer saved the day by calling and arranging to meet at what is becoming an all too familiar Battersea spot, but when a line is filmed as quickly as it ended up being, I have no complaints. Here's a picture of something that did not take place today. Click image for larger version.

Fred Albrow: 5-0
Photo: Ev

Rain Stops Play

What's going on? Where did all this rain come from? Yeah, yeah, warm air turns the water from rivers, lakes, and oceans into water vapour that rises into the air. That water vapour forms clouds, which contain small drops of water or ice crystals (depending on how high the cloud is and how cold it is). As clouds rise higher and higher, the air gets colder and colder. When the water vapour in the cloud becomes too heavy, it falls back to the ground as rain or snow. I know that! But when it rains I can't skate and therefore can't film and in turn have nothing to write....oh....

Star Man

The Crossfire South Bank jam was a proper media frenzy, so I kept my beast harnessed until Filipino balance-boy Carl Magalit got busy in the city. Sporting his new tattoo, he got the troops whooping as another line was captured for The Learning Curve. Meanwhile, Fred was doing a little spot of learning of his own. Another trick learnt; another trick filmed. Sainsbury's was offering free cheese and onion pasty pieces, nice and hot, so Finn ate six and I had about four or five. I have a special relationship with this particular item of food but I thought, "what the hell, they're free". Sure enough, I got home and my guts are in turmoil. Click image for larger version.

Carl Magalit
Photo: Ev

Are You The Pigeon Or The Statue?

Just a chilled one today with Sutcliffe. We cruised around the Holborn area, testing ideas and planting seedlings for the future but took it easy in preparation for the possibly hectic weekend which will see the Crossfire South Bank jam on Saturday and Emerica's "Wild In The Streets" on Sunday. Click image for larger version.

Mike Sutcliffe
Photo: Ev

Crack Head Central

Camden doesn't fill me with joy,,,ever, but there was a glimmer in my eye and even a small smile broke out today as Keegan Walker threaded himself behind a tree via a high ledge. He took some serious punishment after that as we tried to get a line on some flat bars outside a block of flats. A huge scary looking guy came out of his flat and said "Carry on Lads, I don't care what you do". Stoked! "Just watch out for those flowers, if you damage them I'll rip your testicles off". He was referring to a small flower bed just in front of his house which didn't look too good anyway but he seemed to like them, so we carried on skating. The guy drove off somewhere but he returned just as Keegan slammed and basically dug out the entire flower bed as he slid into it. Amazingly no testicles were removed from the young Aussie but we did stop after that.

Styley and Ev were not present today so here's another picture of Finn. Click image for larger version.

Finn Andrés: No Comply Wallie
Photo: Ev

All Around The World....Well, London

Two docklands spots, Camden, Chalk Farm, Kentish Town, Battersea, Hammersmith and Shepherd's Bush were all visited yesterday and I filmed one small line with Rimmer. Sounds like an unproductive day but I filmed one small line and every day that something is captured can only be a good day. Don't know where this optimism comes from and for it I apologize. It won't happen again.

Aulternative transport.

Been chatting on msn with Chris Ault lately and we should be getting some more of his part done soon. It's looking good at the moment and if his recent media coverage is anything to go by he's just getting better and better. I become the sloth when filming him as he simply goes too damn fast. Might have to employ one of those motorized boards for filming lines; you never know, it might become a regular mode of transport. Click image for larger version.

Chris Ault
Photo: Ev

Late Start

Took a long time to get going today as I was trying to get my head around some internet jargon. Met up with a few guys at South Bank and yet again ended up at Battersea, the spot that never get's planned but has the lure of a siren. Newly appointed Landscape flow rider Rory Milanes provided the goods this time but our full efforts were thwarted by some annoyingly persistent security guards.

Mumm-Ra

Edson seems keen once again and I'm stoked. He's one of the original guys I started filming with and tends to have spurts of interest. A recent burst of energy has hit the ancient spirit and this energy will in turn feed The Learning Curve's growth. He's got some spots up his bandaged sleeves so we'll see what transpires. Click image for larger version.

James Edson: Kickflip
Photo: Styley

Cheeky Young Chaps

I was doing a spot of filming with Mike down King's Road a while back when he found a tenner on the street. Obviously he was stoked and shouted "Hey Fraze, look what I got" which instantly grabbed the attention of two young kids who had been watching him skate. They went over to Mike and claimed it was their tenner and they had dropped it a few minutes ago. Willing to hear them out, Mike told them that if they could prove it was theirs he would consider giving it, or at least a share of it, back. They said that they would phone their mum and she would confirm it but they had no mobile on them. Mike offered to pay for the call in a phone box and then they remembered their mum spoke no English. Mike's patience had run out so we told them to piss off and skated off to another spot with them shouting after us that they would get their dad. We didn't stick around to see if he spoke any English. Click image for larger version.

Mike Sutcliffe
Photo: Ev

Battersea Bonanza

Well it wasn't where we expected to end up but Battersea didn't disappoint. Had to make a quick pit-stop to buy some tapes as my usual source has temporarily dried up; I managed to find the beloved Sony Premiums in the first likely looking shop on the King's Road too! Finn and Fred delivered the goods on the skating front and we managed to get some worthwhile footage. Click image for larger version.

Fred Albrow: Ollie
Photo: Ev

What A Scorcher

The early start did indeed go ahead as planned and what a beautiful day for it. What was it, like 26 degrees? Felt like 46 degrees sitting in the car for ages and then standing in the sun filming. One word...Boots. First he punished that rail until it submitted and released a couple of hammers, then later he conquered his first proper hubba. Too good! Someone who also took some punishment today was Horsey. Oof! Definitely a worthwhile day though and The Learning Curve grew a little more.

Sunday Filming Mission

Should be hooking up with Finn, Fred, Ev and maybe Carl on Sunday for some city shooting. Gonna have a plan this time. No more wondering where to go next. Hopefully some pics or footage to show for the day. Click image for larger version.

Finn Andrés: Frontside Boardslide
Photo: Ev

Early Start

Have to be ready for 10am tomorrow (early for me) to get picked up by Styley and set off for Harrow where we will meet some of the Death boys. There's this rail you see, and it's going to see some action. Judging by the stuff previously done by some of these guys I'm expecting to capture some "hammers".

The VX1000 made a welcome return to action today as it's been in and out of the repair shop for almost the last year. Touching all things wooden, it'll be out a lot more soon. Click image for larger version.

Watch The Spikes

Gonna go back to this gnarly, steep, no run-up, bank spot soon. It truly is not fun to skate and the big rusty spikes sticking up half way down the bank scare the bejeezers out of me.

Paul Rimmer: Kickflip
Photo: Styley

Buttery Ledges

That well known wind tunnel in docklands has more than likely been "rinsed" of late but when a spot is that good and a complete non-bust I say it's best to make the most of it before it's gone. Given the popularity of the place with skaters, I'm surprised that I've only ever seen five other people there at one time.

So, met Rimmer there yesterday and tried to conquer the elements. The previous week's weather had definitely departed and the wind was in full force but we battled and came away victorious. Of course he wasn't happy with it but it'll make an appearance somewhere in "The Learning Curve".