ARYZTED Development

ARYZTED Development

Graffiti is all over Europe. It’s abundant. It’s divisive and it’s reactionary. It’s a sign that younger people in particular are reclaiming space, sharing views, saying, “I’m here!”, being political, or in some cases just being rebellious assholes. Graffiti is not one thing, and to dismiss it or belittle it is to also lose sight …

+ Read More

Czech Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

Czech Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

Service in Germany is a mixed bag. It’s lank efficient but they seem to take pleasure out of trolling tourists. We went to the Tourism Office in Hannover to try and buy a SIM card and the woman there tried to sell us a monthly train ticket. If you work in the Tourism Office, surely, …

+ Read More

Cycling and Recycling

Cycling and Recycling

Assimilating into German culture means embracing hyper-efficiency, weirdness, and feeling like you’re getting trolled as a tourist. We arrived in Hannover on Friday rush hour… Being in a busy train station (Hauptbahnhof) in peak traffic, with petulant luggage, after a very very long trip stinking like pollcats straight outta Sontra (well maybe not straight) is …

+ Read More

Back to Bebra

Back to Bebra

You know what gives you the edge when you travel? Being fucking smug. It’s nice to be in the airport terminal and in high volume sotto voce saying, “Thank god we went for that 6km run before we came here!” Sometimes, I really think I run just to be smug. But let’s hold up a …

+ Read More

Excess Baggage

Excess Baggage

My Emotional Support Animal, Mands, tells me that, ‘You either have a good time, or a good story.’  Well, strap yourselves in for a heroic tale about air travel, the weirdest guy on the aeroplane, an early morning hunt for a clinic at Nairobi Airport, a busting suitcase of pharmaceuticals, and Chlamydia. For an extra …

+ Read More

DuckTales… WOO-OO!

DuckTales… WOO-OO!

Today it’s all about duck pie… If you like duck I’m about to share one of the best ways to cook it. How do I know it’s good? Well, I have this on good authority from my family. Why should you trust them? Well, there are several PhDs among them so you can trust them …

+ Read More

We Are What We Eat: Food identity, politics, and culture.

We Are What We Eat: Food identity, politics, and culture.

You cannot separate food, stories, and place. Food frames and contextualises the culture, history, social order, and of course, the politics of a place. Food is personal.  Nothing proves this more than the the latest shitshow courtesy of the Department of Land Reform, Agriculture and Rural Development’s (DALRRD) Food Safety Authority (FSA). In a naming …

+ Read More

Are Ants Colourblind? A Paper Trail.

Are Ants Colourblind? A Paper Trail.

It’s holiday time for kids, and I can honestly feel the seismic shift in happiness. I still remember watching the second hand move, and then the collective breathing in, and silence… And then the shrill gleeful sound of the school bell shattering through our bodies. Today these two gorgeous young whipper snappers came into the …

+ Read More

Landmarks

Landmarks

‘There are no big stories left, just paths through the clutter and the inevitable soft landing.’ (Ivan Vladislavic) The other day I emailed my hero.  I was thinking about Jono and my vision for Hilton, BOOMTOWN, the gallery, and storytelling. Who’s the landmark writer that I want to attach to a mural?  Only one name …

+ Read More