Early Departure

As you may know, my best friend Sharad died last week. We have set up a blog for anyone who has memories of sharad to share them online. The address is:

www.memoriesofsharad.blogspot.com

Ecuadorian Adventures...

I've set up another blog should you be interested... of the times in Ecuador. More personal notes than anything but if you fancy a read feel free:

adsinecuador.blogspot.com

I will try to add bits and peices if I get the time but since arriving home things have gotten crazy!

Hot springs, social movements and videotape...

Well, the Ecuadorians won the football 2-0 which was an incredible result! But even more incredible was the fiesta that followed here, with car horns beeping just minutes after the final whistle and the gathering of thousands of yellow shirted supporters everywhere... A really incredible experience!

Today we will go into the mountains to see some hot springs and visit our friends, the whole of Quito is surrounded by volcanoes and the hot springs are apparently amazing and quite untouched by the tourists as they´re quite secluded and unknown. Tomorrow we begin our crazy 28 hour journey back to Newcastle, but before that we´re going to visit a famous Ecuadorian film maker who played a part in the recent social movement that ousted the president here last month. We really came here at the right time for our work as the movements of the people have led to real political change, something I think is almost un-heard of in Europe and the Western world... really interesting stuff... we will make some interviews and get video of the social centre so we should have something to show soon after we get back.

Viva Ecuador!!

We´re currently sitting watching Ecuador play Argentina in the World Cup Qualifying competition, and its funny how much of a liking I´ve developed for this country. The people are wonderful, peaceful, helpful and happy... I really hope they win!!

We´re meeting our friends this evening and then tomorrow we will relax ready for a meeting with a famous film maker on Monday and then head home at lunch time... which will be a crazy trip, setting off about 4pm and arriving back in newcastle about 24 hours later! So much to tell...

Pictures in the Jungle

I´ve uploaded a number of pictures to MySpace on MSN so you can see for yourself some of the things we did...

http://spaces.msn.com/members/adscom/

Click on the link then the name of the gallery on the right hand side and you can see the gallery in full... some are a bit blurred but it was hard to have a steady hand when worrying about the next creepy crawly to land on you!!

Jungle is Massive...!!!

I´m back where I started, in the same seat in the same internet cafe in Quito... but I´ve had the most amazing experience in the last five days... one I will for sure never forget. I have made a lot of notes about what we did and saw and there is way too much to write here, but as a flavour...

The camp was a 12 hour bus journey away, followed by a 3 hour trip down river on a motorised canoe... through the depths of the rain forest, to our little camp, a series of small huts with a bathroom hut and shower. There was of course no electricity and all the water was cold, the weather rapidly changing between torential rainfall to blue skies and red hot sunshine. We did many activities, nature hunting for snakes, spiders, monkeys and too many beautiful birds, as well as a night walk (one of the scariest things ever!!), piranha fishing and meeting the indigenous tribes...

Something really incredible! Anyway, I will tell you all about it on my return. We have now 2 days in Quito before returning on Tuesday, everything is fantastic but I also can´t wait to get home to family, friends and some clean clothes!!

From Colombia to Quito

Too much to tell!! Internet access has been very sparse so I´ll try and tell as much as possible here now...

I´m currently in an internet cafe in Quito, Ecuador having travelled yesterday from Medellin in Colombia. Colombia was incredible... I arrived a couple of days before the project and we had the chance to stay in a typical country house in the mountains with Laura´s family before travelling into Medellin. The city is huge, around 3-4 million people and surrounded by mountains, so much so that we never saw sunset or sunrise... The problems there, although getting better, are terrible... we went to the place where pablo escobar grew up... the streets of prostitutes and drug dealers... I have seen some of the most incredible but also disturbing things in my life... a real experience...

From there we left yesterday for Quito and now we are going to book our trip to the rain forests of the amazon... we have found a great trip, close to the colombian border and we will return on Saturday to Quito. Apparently we´ll see fresh water dolphins, rare insects and reptiles.. and stay with indian tribes... I can´t wait.

Most important is I´m safe, having a lifetimes experience and have met some of the most amazing people... So I´ll check out on that note and I´ll be able to check back in when we get back on Saturday...

Back in England on Tuesday so I´ll try and contact but I´ll be jet lagged!! Anyway, I´ll keep in touch.

Ole Madrid

Well, I finally arrived in Madrid after cutting it very short. My train was delayed by over an hour and so by the time I actually found my gate in Heathrow I was the last one to board the flight! But I made it so all is good. I´m staying in the Hostel Ole, which is pretty nice, full of Australian and American travellers... so at least the language hasn´t been an issue so far!!

I slept for a long time last night after not sleeping at all on Monday so now I´m feeling quite fresh and ready to discover Madrid.

3 months later...

Almost three months since I typed here... this year is fast dissapearing. I guess the last few weeks have not been my best by any means, but slowly things are coming back together... concentration returning and work is almost back on track.

I don't really know what to say about the last few months, not much has happened although things keep moving forward which I think is a good sign. We have amazing projects coming together both that we are partners in and also those we're developing ourselves.

With e2000 we're currently working hard back at home trying to get some core funding to make sure that we have garaunteed salary instead of worrying from day to day whether there's enough money to pay the rent... but this will be sharply interupted by what is probably a trip of my lifetime when we go to colombia and ecuador - I leave in two weeks!!

"This week I have been mostly listening to..." Brothomstates, Muse, Philip Glass, Steve Reich and Thomas Newman.

I will try to use my blog when I'm away to keep people up to date, but I'm not sure what the internet connections are like in the amazon rainforests!

Madness

I just went to my brothers blog. And found not only did he watch Eternal Sunshine on the same day as me, but he wrote about it on his blog, preceded with a blog about dads blog.

Granted, he wins as both were before mine... but thats just too weird. He even mentions IMDb...

From now on I'll check Jon and Mandy's blog before writing ANYTHING! (cries)

Eternal Sunshine...

I watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind the other day. This is a really incredible film, really amazing... written by Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) and if you haven't seen it, I suggest you buy it now! I said NOW!! :)

I found a really great website for film lovers, it has just about everything you could ask about everyone to do with film. Its called The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) maybe I'm a saddo but I spent nearly an hour on here the other day!

Also, a little favourite of mine as a kid was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and its being remade by none other than Tim Burton with Johnny Depp as Willy Wonker. Amazing...! Anyway, you can see the trailer on the apple site. They're also making Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Fantastic Four films this year which begs me to wonder if there's ever going to be an original movie made again...

This weekend was a quiet one, which I needed... lots of work done in candle light and with a classical music soundtrack. Luckily this week is also not so crazy, but I need that as after this week everything gets a bit manic again.

Pappa's got a brand new blog!

Dad set up his blog yesterday! Only mum left... come on mum!! :)

I've spent the last two days capturing and editing video from the More Ideas project we held here in January. I honestly didn't realise how amazing this project had been getting so wrapped up in running it... We are producing a DVD now with a number of films on it and Paul has taken the best stuff to get professionally edited in London. The DVD should be ready end of March this year.

I've been downloading a ton of classical music today, and really sorting out my room so its livable/workable again. My inspiration for classical music came from watching A Beautiful Mind again... a film I really love, despite some of the critics not particularly agreeing. And the soundtrack is incredible, despite featuring charlotte church!!

Faurés Requiem, Mozart, Bach... ah... incredible, and then i got onto soundtrack stuff... my favourite being Thomas Newman who has done a load of scores, but his best I think has to be American Beauty, another favourite of mine.

Anyway... back to work... I've had oo.. at least two hours relaxation. heh.

Going places?

I wonder if one day I'll stop...! I just came in to the living room, (after two days pretty much locked up in my room) to watch what appears to be a really crap horror movie - Wrong Turn. I just happen to like crap horrow movies. Nice way to relax?!

It seems like about 2 weeks since I got back from Sicily, but actually its about 48 hours! What a time the last 2 days have been, but productive... and inspiring. Me and Paul have done a lot. The next few months are likely to be crazier than ever, Poland, Portugal, Israel, Palestine, Tunisia and then something amazing. In June we go to Colombia... yes... Colombia! :)

So... we have a lot to do, and thats just the International stuff... the local stuff, well, we just got a potential offer of an office in North Tyneside College, we're getting a new office in the YMCA in North Shields and one in Northumberland on the horizon. Now we need people. Going places? I really hope so...

I made a video last week...

Reggae, video and Trappeto

This was a really great weekend. Just what I needed... Me and Peppe spent all day yesterday making videos, you can see what I came up with on the Global Voice website. Then we went last night to a Reggae night in a social centre, which was amazing... dancing, drinking... laughing.. a lot.

Today we have been in Trappeto which is the small town that Peppe and Vito are both from, a really beautiful place by the sea. Vito's mum is a great cook... we had a really huge dinner and then came back to Palermo. I'm currently working through the proposal for the "Union Get Peace" project that Vito will submit tomorrow, checking the translation. Its another great project, developing relationships between Europe, Israel and Palestine with the aims of aiding the peace process through increasing active citizenship and the involvement of women...

Pizza just arrived... ciao for now...

Sicily? Cold? Never...

Its true! Its really really cold here! I don't think its as bad as back home where apparently they have snow... buuuut... its different, because in sicily they don't have central heating! Last night it honestly felt colder inside than it did out. Strange.

I'm feeling a little worse for wear this morning, after a night in La Champagneria - a bar in central palermo, with Peppe, Arturo, Silvia, Vito and others... it was a great night. Anyway... I have CoMed website to arrange and some talks with Vito to get on with...

Servertastic! Back online...

Wehey! The server is back online and we are back in action. Still got an e-mail problem so if anyone has tried to e-mail me in the last 48 hours I probably didn't get it.

While having this slight "crisis" situation I have been using G-mail... which I have to say is really fantastic. You get a whole Gig of space and a load of nice features, never seen a web-mail like it. I have invitations left so if you want one just let me know.

Hill family bloggers

Seems the whole family is at it...

Here are the links to my family blog spots!

Eve's Blog
Jon and Mandy's Blog
Sarah's Blog

Blogtastic!

Server is still down... crap.

Adamo does Palermo take 2...

Ok, so...

3 months on since my last post and I somehow find my way back to Palermo... I was going to write some more here at Christmas after my family members seem to be so active on Blogger, however, suprise suprise I didn't find the time.

Its been an incredible 3 months and its just getting crazier and crazier... I had probably one of the hardest working few weeks of my life interupted by some amazingly wonderful social times with some of my favourite people... We did the project...

"1 castle (in some of the worst weather I ever saw) , 21 countries (turned out to be 18)... anythings possible"

...and I didn't believe that quite as much as I do now. An incredible time, new projects, many new friends, great times with old friends... and a future really beginning to seem realistic.

I had this time planned in Palermo for a long time, I think I booked the tickets just after my return from the last message... and yet still it was a problem. I knew I would need some time off after the project, but as Paul has pointed out to me, it was not really the most well timed trip. There is too much going on at home... and with missing my original flight I arrive here due to the amazing help of Mr La Fata... three days late.

And today, well... after a night in stansted airport last night I got to Palermo at 10:30am, picked up by Vito only to find that the Consult and Design server has gone down.

Yet still there is a certain optimism inside me at the moment. I don't think so many crazy things have ever happened in my already crazy life within quite such a short time but I'm just doing my best... All I can do.

Anyway, I am going now to meet my dear friends in the city and hope to forget about the situation back home. Even if it is just for one night.