Monetary Donations Welcome

Another day in the city and another day with Finn, Fred and Chris. Yesterday was not Finn's day, nothing landed so nothing filmed. Today, however, he got the line he wanted second try and then went and did it twice more! I only need one mate, calm down. Time is running out now though and I'm getting deep into thinking mode about a) how to edit the video i.e. which sections in which order and with which music and b) how to edit the video i.e. I've got no money and my computer is too weak. Click image for larger version.

Not really sure why Finn is ripping Fred's shirt here.
Photo: Ev

Mini Malt

Today I met up with Finn and Chris Ault at South Bank, complete with it's shiny new blocks, and Chris was on fire. Full of beans; excitable, and logging footage at a rate of knots made for a really good day. Having just turned eighteen this week, he was looking forward to the coming evening's legal alcohol consumption, but being turned away when trying to buy cigarettes shows that he still doesn't look like the man he thinks he is.

Rain Doesn't Stop Play

Emerging from the tube station, I was greeted by black clouds and the rumbling of distant thunder which I believe was karma, my punishment if you like, as I should have met Rimmer earlier in the week to film at this spot but I spent the afternoon sitting at South Bank instead.

All was well for a short time but then the heavens opened and down came the proverbial cats and dogs. We waited it out as the day was so warm that we thought if the rain stopped fairly quickly then it might dry up quickly too, but it soon became obvious that it simply was not going to happen. The rain did indeed stop, but the spot was absolutely soaked, with puddles everywhere, but as Rimmer was skating an old set-up, he thought "why not give it a go anyway?". Several slippery attempts made me doubt that he would make it. I was proved wrong though and he landed his trick despite the puddles and lack of grip. Nice one mate.

An Enjoiable Day

As I mentioned in the "Mr. Blobby's Ends" post a little while ago, Styley had called me with a view to maybe returning to Bloblands with someone interesting. Well it happened on Friday. It was Louie Barletta's last day in London so he, his roomie Christine, Mike Sutcliffe, Josh Roullion, Zac and Alan from Crossfire, Styley and myself all went on a little trip back there. Another blazing hot day and another great filming day ensued. We hit Bloblands first, then Crystal Palace where we witnessed Mr. Barletta land undoubtedly one of the most incredible tricks to be done there. Simply ridiculous! Zac, Alan, Josh and Mike then departed but Louie had another trick up his sleeve for the Holborn bench in bank spot. A few tries and it's in the bag (of suck).

That should have been the end of the day as we dropped Louie and Christine back to their pad, but Rimmer was hungry for an evening hook-up, so we went along to Docklands and got two more tricks with him that he's been eyeing up for a while now. He's going good at the moment, let's hope this productive period continues. Click image for larger version. Styley's photos from the day will be appearing in Sidewalk magazine soon.

Louie and Mike teaching the kids how to skate
Photo: Styley

90% Mental

Leo, Rimmer and I spent the day in Docklands yesterday and it was Leo's turn to battle with his own mind which simply refused to let him land his trick. It really was a case of being mentally prepared as he basically had the trick down but when it starts to go astray the rage follows and instead of the mind being focused, the board ends up focused instead. We took a couple of breaks, set up a new board and tried a couple of different spots but nothing was happening so on the third return to the original spot it took just a few tries to land and suddenly the dark cloud that filled Leo's mind lifted and everything was peachy. Click image for larger version.

Ben Jobe: An example of mental control (?)
Photo: Ev

Patience Pays

Yesterday's torment maybe topped up our ability to sit and wait for the moment to come and that ability was put into action straight away this evening as parked cars and lurking kids tested Rimmer to the extreme. The moment arrived though and his work was done. Not much else to say except "hammer time". It's an abd ("already been done" for those of you not familiar with geek speak) which shouldn't matter but seems to to some people out there, but when it's abd by one of the most stylish skaters on the planet, it's all good in my book.

The Waiting Game

I met up with Rimmer today with a view to getting a quick line filmed. It was a beautiful day and the park was fairly busy so it wasn't that surprising that there were some people occupying the benches that we had our eyes on, so we sat nearby and waited. It was a quite a while until the people left so we had a couple of quick attempts but the need for a bit of wax soon became obvious. I nipped to the shops, bought some wax and returned to find the benches occupied once again. Fair enough, it's a public park and benches are for sitting on after all. We sat nearby and waited. And waited. And waited some more. The three women sitting on the bench not only stayed there for three hours but they left some litter behind including a banana skin which had been smeared on the top of the bench somehow. Basically, long story short, we got nothing done and spent the entire day sitting in the park getting sunburnt and playing with Rimmer's dog Jas who is half alsation and half greyhound. Click image for larger version.

Rimmer and Jas the wonder dog
Photo: Ev

Too Many Kooks...

Bit of an odd one today. Left South Bank with a huge group of people which should have been a good thing but it actually caused a bit of a problem as it's so hard to go somewhere where everyone is happy. Also, the chances of getting kicked out of a spot obviously increase too, so eventually, after an hour or so of nothing at all happening, some people left for other spots and we split into smaller groups. Sure enough, this led to a bit of motivation which in turn led to Jak Pietryga putting down yet another hammer for Morph's collection. Chris Ault was out again too which was good as he's been away on team duties quite a bit recently, but this could all change in the near future. Click image for larger version.

Chris Ault
Photo: Ev

Lost In Translation

It's thirsty work skating, filming and shooting photos in the city during this amazing heatwave we're having, so a quick shop run is common. Yesterday it was Fred's turn to ask what everyone wanted from Tesco, so the orders were made, but for some reason Evgeny's request for orange juice put a confused look on Fred's face. I didn't think any more of it until he returned with a bag of oranges for Ev! Fred blamed Ev's accent for the confusion, but whatever it was, we were in hysterics for ages. It was a memorable moment to remember Ev by as he is off back to the motherland for a few months now, so have a good trip mate. Hope to see you soon. Click image for larger version.

Fred returning from a more successful shopping trip
Photo: Ev

Say Cheese

Here are a few photos for you to peruse. I've added a link to Styley's photography website so check out loads more of his pictures there. Hopefully Evgeny will sort something out soon too so there will be a link to his work when it's done. Click images for larger versions.

Chris Peacock: Backside Tailslide
Photo: Ev










Chris Peacock: Ollie
Photo: Styley











Downtime
Photo: Ev












Fred and Finn
Photo: Ev

Mr. Blobby's Ends

Lucien Clarke and Rory Milanes convinced me to take the long journey out to a paddling pool steeped in skateboarding history today, better known as bloblands. The place is amazing too. I've seen photos of it ever since I started skating (getting on for 20 years now!!!!) but just never bothered trying to go there. If Styley's phone call today was anything to go by though, I might be going back soon with someone quite interesting. Watch this space.

Australia Day

Well not the real Australia Day, that's in January, but the footage I got today was from Aussies Keegan and Will. We had quite a crew out today too, but the VX1000 let me down yet again and simply refused to perform later on in the day. I dunno what is wrong this time but it's infuriating to say the least. Picked up another load of amazing photos from Evgeny so there should be a nice picture with every post for a while now. Click image for larger version.

James Edson
Photo: Ev

Tunnel Vision

There this tunnel right, and it's long. I mean really long. It takes a good few minutes to push the length of it and if someone is at the other end you can hardly see them. It's fun to have someone do an ollie at the other end, see them land, and then wait another second or so for the sound to reach you. Simple proof that light travels much faster than sound. It's in Central London too! Amazing what you can find when you have a look around. Click image for larger version.

Phraeza: A rare moment of speed
Photo: Styley

And Many More

Alongside the main sections of "The Learning Curve", there are many skaters included who I have only met briefly but who have managed to get some good stuff done. One such guy is Alex Barton. He showed Styley and I around his local spots and in one sunny afternoon produced at least five good tricks. Stoked. Click image for larger version.

Alex Barton: Lipslide
Photo: Styley

They Shoot Horses When They Fall

Here is a picture to whince at. It should have been published with the "What A Scorcher" post a while back but technical mishaps etc etc. As I said, Horsey took some real punishment that day. Click image for larger version.

Horsey: Taking a tumble
Photo: Styley

Hassle The Celebrity.

Took a much needed day off from filming yesterday and went to Wimbledon with the missus. Saw Martina Navratilova walk right past me and thought that would be my brush with celebrity done for the day but as soon as she had won her doubles match and signed a few autographs there was a flurry of camera flashes just to my left. Who was there sitting near me all through the match? It was the Hoff! Mr. Baywatch. The Cheese Man. And he received far more attention than the tennis players too.

The Quick Brown Jak Jumps Over The Lazy Fox

Went to Walthamstow with Styley to get a sequence and footage of Jak Pietryga on Saturday evening; we ended up at an interesting and very hidden spot that the locals knew of. Jak has a proper shirt tan (super brown arms and neck but white under the collar of his traffic warden's uniform) and he was trying a rather lengthy backside kickflip whilst a young fox that was watching kept trying to sneak up to the take off point. Every time it would creep closer and closer only to dart off again as Jak hurtled towards where he was launching from. The trick was made but Styley was left cursing his equipment for the second time that day. Bad workman etc....

Great Britain?

There were four of us skating and filming in Homerton on Saturday and still one scumbag rudeboy told me to give him my camera! He was of course ignored but he hinted he'd be back in a few minutes so Leo stood guard with Rimmer's dog Jas (who looks gnarly but is very soft) just in case. A couple of policemen happened to walk by and after we told them what had happened they stood guard whilst Rimmer got his trick done. This was while England were knocked out of the World Cup. I would say that this country has gone to the dogs but that would be disrespectful to Jas. Click image for larger version.

Damn
Photo: Styley