Skip to main content
Yearly Archives

2009

Cambodia

By CambodiaNo Comments

Power struggles, war and genocide have devastated the Kingdom of Cambodia in recent decades. After French colonization, a pro-western Prime Minister Lon Nol seized power and his opponents went into hiding and formed the Communist Khmer Rouge.

Following the withdrawal of US troops from Vietnam in 1975, Pol Pot (their leader) and his followers evacuated all cities and towns; for the next 5 years between 1.5 and 3 million people died from execution, enforced hardships or starvation. The legacy is a very poor country where 50% of its inhabitants are under the age of 18.

Pictures ……
Read More

Art is made from dreams and visions, and things not known, and least of all from things that can be said. It comes from the inside of who you are, when you face yourself

David Smith – sculptor

Hong Kong 2

By Asia2 Comments
Menu you try and avoid!

I have always had a rule when eating in a new culture …. Never ask what it is you have been given!!!  Our first night we ate out, check out one of the pages of the menu we found … it made me laugh so much. What on earth is Black fungus edible frog !!!

Hong Kong 1

By AsiaNo Comments

DSCF5325Nestling amongst the surrounding hills in the north and the South China sea in the East, South and West is the city of Hong Kong. It is quite an amazing sight arriving into the airport …. I have never seen so many skyscrapers in all my life …. home to some 7 million people.

Interestingly there were strict health checks as we entered into Hong Kong due to the swine flu virus, temperatures taken and anyone with a high temperature was automatically quarantined for a week.  I did laugh when I was given a conference pack with a face mask! Sadly the leader of the event, who had flown in from Japan, was found to have a suspect temperature and was whisked away, he missed the whole event …. Very bizarre!
Read More

Crisis …. ?

By My Stories2 Comments

In this season where the media is bombarding us with the financial crisis that is crippling the world my question is what is our response? Interestingly like most Mandarin words, the word “crisis” (wēijī) consists of two syllables that are written with two separate characters, wēi and jī. These separate characters mean “danger” and “opportunity”. Maybe this paradox can point us towards a counter cultural view point. Do we choose to worry about the danger that may be lurking around the corner or do we look for opportunities to be generous?

I’ve been imitated so well I’ve heard people copy my mistakes.

Jimi Hendrix

Traditional Instruments from Tanzania – Donondo

By Africa, Strings, TanzaniaNo Comments

Sing to the Well is a CD recorded in a rural community in Tanzania. During our time recording we spoke with many of the older people in the village showing them pictures from an old book I had discovered on traditional Gogo instruments. One old lady knew where someone played this strange instrument called the Donondo … so of we went searching …. 2 hours later surrounded by a maze field we found this man.

A Nasir-ud-Din story

By My StoriesNo Comments

The legendary Mullah Nasir-ud-Din arrived in the city in the middle of Ramadan. The mullah was very hungry and when he heard that the Emperor was providing a free iftar (meal that breaks Ramadan fasting) to anyone who came to the Red Fort he immeadiately tied up his donkey and went along. However he was so dirty from his ride that the Master of Ceremonies placed him in a distant corner, far from the Emperor, and at the end of the queue for food. Read More