Flu and Natural History Museum

Been recovering from a bad cold that turned into the flu over the last 4 days. Heres a question, why does snot keep coming even after you have just blown your nose!!!!!!! Its really quite annoying. Im pretty sure its from that night in Edinburgh. Poor Ollie, I must have spread the germs around the flat and given it to him haha. Im really lucky i had a couple of days off this week. Have the most important interview of the doco tomorrow so i am really looking forward to that. Make sure you watch 3 news over the weekend / monday to see our stuff. Will try not to get my reflection in the glass cabinet this time :)

Since i spent the last couple of days in bed and i was feeling a little better today i decided to check out the Natural History Museum and to make things even better they had the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition on!! I was very excited because i have been following most of the entries for about half a year, so to actually get to go to the exhibit was really cool. There are some amazing photos there! I think i am going to enter this years competition so will start getting some photos ready for my application. I still cant believe i almost deleted my best photo! If your interested in some of the photos at the exhibit go and check this site out www.nhm.ac.uk/wildphoto/ Some of the photos really are inspiring.

The Natural History Museum is amazing! There is so much to see and do. I spent about 5 hours there and i still had'nt seen about half of the museum. The amount of fossils and dinosaurs are incredible and it made me feel like i was a little boy again. They have this giant Tyranosaurus Rex robot and it is so real! At least, i thought it was life like, no one really knows tho do they haha. Some of the kids where having heart attacks which bought out the evil side of me because it made me laugh :) Until i got an evil eye from one of the kids mothers. They also have almost every creature on earth in pickle jars! The one animal they did'nt have was a human! I may donate my body to be pickelled when i die, they could'nt get a more perfect specimen than that haha, that would be so wierd. The one animal that freaked me out being pickled was a sheep, poor bugger. They also had a life sized replica of a blue whale (but not in a pickle jar). HUGE! and it weighs exactly 1463 times my weight! Which was a shock to me because i found out i have gained 4 kg's since being here haha. If you don't know, there is a saying among kiwis here that when you come to London, everyone gains 7 kg's. Its because of the pub culture and the pub food. So only 3 more to go for me. I think i can achieve that in a couple of days. My plan for the day was to go to the Photographers Gallery after the Natural History Museum but will have to save that for another day. Its meant to be amazing tho.

This weekend me, Ollie and Poos are going to do a spring clean of the flat. We have suddenly been attached by an army of ants armed with the shear determination to make our live misserable. Little shizers! So on sat morning we attach back armed with mops, sponges, flannels, a hoover (vacuum cleaner for kiwis), and Mr Muscle! Not to mention our brains and brilliance. We should be able to win the war. If we don't then we must be pretty dumb because ants brains must be at least quarter of the size of a grain of sand! We are having a dvd night tomorrow night too. My friend Jessica arrived in London yesturday so will meet up with her soon. Plus, Karman (friend from school) is arriving in a couple of days too so will hook up with her also. The weather here is getting a lot warmer now so i am thinking i will start going for runs and maybe start swimming each morning if i have any time. I always write in my blogs i will start exercising but do i ever follow through, no. But this time i have some encouragement because Kiera Knightley lives down the road haha. Maybe i will run into her one morning by accident :). In the flat Ollie put up a bar to do chin-ups. Back in the school days i used to be able to do 30 proper ones easily, now, the most i've managed to do in one go is only 8! So before i leave for NZ again my goal is to achieve at least 9 haha.

Gonna go and cook some dinner now, Or maybe i will get the chinese guy down the road to cook it for me :) haha, so lazy but his food lasts for about 2 days and it is so good so its worth it.

Adios,

Lance

Scotland

Update:

The doco is going well. We have interviewed a few more amazing people recently including the Francis Fukuyama who is one of the worlds leading acedemics or meant to be THE worlds leading acedemic. So i am learning a hell of a lot. We took the train from London waterloo to Edinburgh on Saturday night. Was a nice trip on the train and got to see a lot of the countryside. It was nice passing through tiny farming villages. They are really pretty and are basically all layed out the same. You have the church in the centre of town, some houses surrounding the church, then the local shop and the local pub and thats it. We arrived in Edinburgh at 8pm and found some accomodation. John went and met a friend for dinner and then i went to town in search for dinner. Whilst in town this girl (Mei) comes up to me and randomly asks me out to dinner which was great because i knew nobody. So we went to this Thai buffet restaurant and had all you can eat, i was starving! Now i have a friend in Scotland.

After dinner i went back to the hotel. I ended up going to bed at about 1.30, woke up at 3 and could'nt sleep at all and there was no way i would get any sleep so i decided to walk around Edinburgh at about 3.15 in the morning. It was pouring with rain and freezing, plus i had a pretty bad cold but i loved it! I walked from my hotel, down town, around the castle, up through the alley ways to Edinburgh castle which is on top of the hill, then down to the other side of town. The walk took about 2.45 hours and then i did the whole thing again! I kinda felt like Forest Gump when he goes for a run for a couple of years and dos'nt stop. I just did'nt want to stop walking. Although i did have a little lie down in a bus shelter haha. The alley ways leading up to the castle were wicked! The wind and rain was howling through and around the buildings and it was pitch black, talk about scary! I found myself looking over my shoulder quite a few times haha. It was just so silent because there was absolutely no one around! On my walk i came across this graveyard. The first time i passed it it was dark. the chain around the gate had been cut so i was going to go in. But i chickened out :( Luckily i did because i was told the next day that that graveyard was actually famous for having a poultergeist that actually hurt people so that why it was chained up, to keep people from danger! The second time i passed it the sun had just risen so i went inside to have a look. It was a very scary feeling even before i knew it was haunted. Some of the graves where from the 14th century! I took a couple of pictures but will post them in the next couple of days.

I got back to the hotel at 9am and had breakfast. John and i then went and looked around during the day and shot another interview. We then caught the 7pm train back to London. I must have looked like a zombie by the time i got home and basically collapsed onto my bed! Overall it was a great weekend and i really made the most of my time in Scotland.

Today it is Julias birthday so we had a birthday dinner and a few wines. If you want to get rid of a cold have a couple of nice wines, it does the trick :) although i may not be saying that tomorrow morning ha. I get to sleep in tomorrow and then have an interview tomorrow afternoon. We are heading back up to Scotland next week and then i go away for a little bit. I will try and post a few more photos later this week. HA, this blog took me ages to write because whilst im typing i am watching the A-TEAM!!!! I pity the fool!!!


Lance

Aldershot and war protest

Man it feels like i've been in London for about 3 weeks but its only been 5 days! We went to Aldershot for the trial on Wednesday. It was like being in a movie during the trial. Each of the lawyers were trying to outwit each other and it was fun trying to think what the other lawyer would come up with next. The prosecutions skeleton was soo long that i was almost falling asleep in parts. I felt really guilty about it until the lunch break and i was talking to other journalists and they were all falling asleep too.

Aldershot is quite a depressing town. I went there expecting it to be depressing but this town is so depressing i felt down after a couple of hours!! When people talk it sounds depressing! On thursday morning I woke up at 5am because I cant sleep so I went for a walk. As i was walking down the road this old guy with 2 teeth was riding on a bike behind me. He then rode right up to me, stared at me, and suddenly burst into song!! I almost pissed myself right in front of him because it was so random. He sung "Video killed the radio star" and then rode off as fast as he could laughing like a hyena! Ahh Aldershot, Wanganui of England haha. We stayed in this nice little pub with a lot of character, and a 9 year old girl that fell in love with me!! It was quite embarrassing because she just would'nt let me go! Her mum said she had a thing for gingers haha! So wrong!

I moved into Julia's the other day. It is great having a bed and a nice place to stay. Me, Ollie (Julia's boyfriend) and Julia went into town for St Patricks day. We ended up at the Walkabout bar. It felt weird going to an Aussie bar in England. They have these disgusting drinks that everyone has called snakebites. Im not sure if you get them in NZ but i did'nt like it!! Its half cider, half beer and a little bit of cranberry syrup! Yuck!! We caught a cab on the way home. I did'nt put my seatbelt on and the driver floored it. He then slammed on the breaks and i flew forward and smashed my head on the head rest. The sound of my neck cracking made Julia really worried that i had broken my neck haha! It was bloody painful tho and today, when i woke up my neck was very stiff. Its getting better tho. Talking about injuries, i have slipped twice in the showers here so far and almost smashed my head on the side of the bath yesturday morning. So it really is dangerous here. Yesturday Peter and I went to Westminster Abbey. Its just incredible the history of England! Some of the tombs in there are from the 12th century!

Ive just got back from filming the anti-war protest in London. It started at Big Ben and ended up in Trafalgar Square. Met a lot of very interesting people with different views about Iraq. Must say it made me think what Im doing is gonna be for a good cause. There were thousands of people marching from all walks of life. So i am absolutely stuffed right now. I have been suffering from jetlag a bit. By 4pm it feels like i should be in bed. We've been so busy the last couple of days there is so much to write about but im gonna have to go to sleep. O yeah, my English mobile is +44771 748 2966 if anyone wants to get in contact with me. Txts cost the same as txting NZ too :)


Lance



I have learned a hell of a lot over the last few days about war and different peoples views.

London

Good ol London!

haha, saw a funny thing today. I went for an early morning walk to Sainsburys (the NZ Pack n Save). Now I think i have seen and experienced a lot in my life and I saw a lot in India. But today i saw a pigeon in south London with Delhi Belly!!! I just could not believe what was happening to this poor pigeon!! I honestly thought i should look for a cork (or a gun)! Poor lil bugger. O man, just had a thought. Maybe it was'nt a viscious strain of Pigeon Delly belly, maybe it was bird flu!!!! If it was bird flu they should rename it to bird poo.

Just got back from the first days shoot. Went really well and am happy with the footage which is good because i havent been happy with any of my footage for over a year now. Am really excited about this project seeing the people im working with and the topic, plus its taking me to yet another country!

We shoot off to Aldershot tomorrow morning. Spending one night there and then when i come back to London i will be moving in with Julia and Ollie for a little bit which will be cool.

Anyway, there is so much on my mind but my body is telling me i have to go to bed. So i will

lance

FA FA FA REEEEZZZINGG!!!!!!

Well i have arrived home and it is freakin cold!!!!!! My hands froze to my bag when i was walking to Ollies flat!!

The flight went really well and i have no complaints at all. Sat next to a couple of really interesting people on my journey. One was a guy who worked for U2 and he was traveling back to Belgium because the show was cancelled. He had a lot of really amazing story's!! The other was a personality psychologist which again was very interesting!! She told me a lot about why people think and act the way they do. I want to be a psychologist now!! Maybe i can combine my camerawork with psycology. I will be a psycocameramanologist!! Will look into it.

Its funny a sense of belonging i get here. Although i say that now when i have only been in the country 2 hours haha. So now i am sitting in Ollies flat alone in the middle of London! Ollie had to go to work. I just cant believe i am actually here. So i have a couple of things to organize after i finish typing this blog. So will head into the middle of London on the tube to do some stuff. Will catch up with Poos later tonight too!!

Thought i better show where abouts i am in London so here is a photo of me outside Ollies flat. I may look like a munter because i am one hahaha. Na, i just haven't had much sleep over the last few days. Stress is all gone now tho :)

Look at the houses!!! Ollies flat is on the left. If you look really closely you can even see a snot icicle on my left nostril haha.

Anyway, better get organised. Have a really busy two weeks ahead. Man, its good to be home!!

Lance

Im off!!

Well, it is 11.30pm on sat night and i am sitting at home alone with no sound apart from the wind and my keys on the keyboard, and to be honest the odd fart haha. I leave for England tomorrow lunch time :) Spent the day getting stuff done and seeing a few people before i go. It is a real shame i had to cancel my going away drinks on sunday night because my flight was on sunday lunchtime. It took bloody ages to send txts and emails to everyone! I will miss you all. I must admit that i am really excited right now but also a little nervous.

I have been asked to go and film in Iraq! Thats all i can say at this point but just the thought about it makes me a little nervous. I guess its better i go than another cameraman who has wife and kids. So to be honest i will probably do it when it comes. Its strange tho because i remember watching the news about Iraq and thinking that there is absolutely no way i would go there, but now, i would. And i have no idea why i would change my mind like that. random i guess.

But yeah, IM OFF TO ENGLAND!!!!! hahaha. I freakin cant wait!! Get my posh pommie accent back too ahaha. So i am mentally and emotionally drained at the moment and have a million things racing through my head but as soon as i get into my seat on the plane and relax i will be sweet, hopefully :) If not i have a few wines and beers with my name on it haha.

I am stuffed right now so better go and pack and get a few more things ready
Will update the blog as regularly as i can when im over there.

Lance

Busy

Thought i'd better update my blog after a couple of weeks!

The fortune teller in India was right haha, or should i say parrot! So random and every time i think about what was said it makes sense, but then, if i had'nt of heard what he said, would i be doing what i am going to do... the answer is yes. He said that i would go through a life changing event in March, one for the good, and I am guessing that this documentary that i am doing is it! Now i did'nt really think that it would come true at all. I mean, i have had pshycic experiences in my life that has scared the hell out of me but this was a parrot!! The thing that really made me think about what he said to me is that about 3 weeks ago, I woke up one morning and decided I was going to move to England because i was feeling a little down here. I opened my diary at a date that i thought would be possible for me to sell everything and have everything ready and then wrote in it, "Lance to England!" The wierd thing is that about 2 weeks later i got a call asking to film a doco in London and i said i would do it! This is too much of a coincidence, the ticket that the production company booked for me was the exact same date that i had written in my diary 2 weeks earlier!!!!!!!!! To make things even more wierd, he said that i would meet someone before i go overseas that has the potential to change my life forever, i believe i have met this person!!!! Hope the fortune teller was right about everything else haha, because then im going to be rich at the end of the year!!

Been pretty busy the last couple of weeks. Had my wisdom teeth out which was wicked!! The drugs they pump into your body are pretty cool, gota get me some of that haha. I woke up halfway through the surgery and remember saying to the doctor "Im awake" and then i remember nothing haha. So i guess they pumped more drugs into me straight away. All i can remember was the doctor with his hands in my mouth and me trying to speak. Afterwards was cool too because you feel drunk but without the sickness feeling when your drunk. So spent a few days recovering, nothing too bad apart from one day that i had a migrain the whole day and spent sleeping, which i did'nt mind doing at all.

Last weekend i went away with the family and family friends to Russel in the Bay of Islands. In the next two years I am going to own a place on the waterfront of Russell. Its one of those towns with a really nice feel to it. Its something that you cant explain but you can truly feel it inside. Plus it is an absolutely stunning place with the water and beach ahhhhhhh. I love it!! And then the other side of Russell you have a beautiful beach where the sun rises. One morning i woke up at 5.30 am because some dickhead was pumping his music out really loud!! I liked the music so i did'nt really care until they turned it up even louder. Then i got out of my tent and bagan to make my way towards their house to tell them to turn it off and came accross Chris (family friend) who too, was about to tell them off. But somebody had beat us too it and we heard yelling. So i could'nt sleep after that and decided to go for a long bike ride which was awesome. Cycling is such a great thing for the mind. You can think clearly and intellingently haha. So I cycled to the other side of Russell to watch the sun rise over the water and the amazing beach. There were all these couples getting up at the same time to watch the sunrise together which was both depressing for me and made me feel happy at the same time if that is possible. Was a nice atmosphere and a stunning sunrise!! Overall it was a wicked weekend and made me feel something that i havent felt since India which was great. LIFE!

After the Bay of Islands trip i have been working on Shortland Street as a camera ass and then on friday a lighting ass too, guess i can be called "ass boy". It is the greatest feeling having to get up at 4.30am each day and finishing by 8 - 10pm! Long days make you feel like you've done something and then when you get home a nice cold beer really does the trick. Thats the thing about beer for me, I really don't appreciate ice cold beer unless i have actually worked my ass off for it :) Hmmm beer!!!

So now i am getting ready to go to England. My ticket is booked on Monday 13th March. I sold my car today YESS!!, my kayak and air rifle yesturday. Selling some more stuff soon. So i leave in 9 days!! I will be filming a doco for the first 2 and a half weeks and then i will stay on for a while and see what happens. My friend Poos (Julia) has a spare room in her apartment so I will stay with her for a while. When i have finised the doco i will go and visit grandma and auntie belle in Devon. Then, depending on the work situation i will travel to Germany and Switzerland for a short time and hopefully visit family and Elisabeth :) I am going to miss everyone but I will be back. Im still not sure when i am coming back, but one things for sure i will be back in June for Amits next movie. The funny thing is, one of the reasons I am going to stay in England is to find work, but as soon as my ticket was booked i have had work offers coming at me everyday!! Guess it was just a slow start to the year.

Now i am going to a "Animal" themed party as a monkey! So if there is any spelling mistakes i am a little drunk. I don't know anyone at the party apart from Jenifer me who i met at video Ezy last week. So this will be a fun night.

Lance