last day in Crete

It was all about filming. A French crew was there



documenting Guillaume's every move





and rightfully so, for he's our golden boy



but then Tranny got all petulant because he didn't get enough attention



so Rémy filmed him too



and on the boat i told him he could have a nice strawberry lolly once we reached the shore, which placated him


picture by Chloé Villaume


but then Gui got all jealous



so we gave him some oxygen, which turned him back into his usual rockstar self



it's strange to see how the TV crew transformed people, though; Tranny became Mr Showbiz



Chloé turned into a man backwards



but Gui remained his cool self



stars are used to the gaze, i reckon.

bubble magic

i accidentally made magic today

a second before it looked like this

and a second after it broke

but for a split second i stumbled into the exact right place, and my little camera clicked at the exact right time. 

playing with the UW scooter

Now that the comp is over, we have a bit more time for play (and photography). Today it was with the scooter. Main scooter jockey is Rémy, him of Blue Addiction



who so goddamn handsome he's always got ladies hanging on him



and now one of them stuck -the ridiculously cute Chloe- and together they've taken the plunge



and they play beautifully together

shooting Guillaume Néry shooting

I shot Guillaume Néry -him of freefall fame- today



but he shot me first

Cornelis Verhoeven and Ischa Meijer

11 years ago today my father died. To commemorate him, i've translated an interview from 1991, when he and violinist Vera Beths were guests at Ischa Meijer's talkshow. I remember going there quite well, sitting in that audience and meeting Ischa -who was tiny but much kinder that you'd expect from his interviews. But i didn't remember anything that was said, so when i saw the interview again a couple of years ago, i was mostly struck by a moment 4 minutes and 40 seconds into the video -there's a moment when he's so totally unguarded himself, that i found myself watching those 2 seconds over and over again. On later viewings i was also struck by what he said about being edified (22:08). And i still giggle when he pokes Ischa -a notoriously teasing interviewer- back by saying "Next time you read Plato" (6:50) like it's something you do daily.

It's strange how it's already 11 years -feels much shorter, and at the same time, like a lifetime ago.

world ocean day

is today. Hope you got to play in one of them.

Adel

One year ago today our friend Adel was lost to the sea. My thoughts go out to his family and to all who have stared down an empty line. I miss his smile here in Crete -he would have loved it in Myrtos.

Adel diving and me as safety -photography by Frederic Buyle.

life at the 5th Mediterranean World Cup

There's a wonderful strangeness in the air and water here in Myrtos





the sea is its usual fantastic blue and filled with golden rays





but the fins are on fire and the socks stripy



and the monofins bend in odd angles





the noodles go on forever



and the fish have a foot fetish (fetfish?)



all this strangeness has people contemplating





and turned very French Aurore into Japanese Aulole



it makes Irina kiss the horizon



whereas Leila started licking it



and i invented a variation on the mouthfil



Olga is playing hide and seek



and Sergio found his smile again



so even though there's the usual going down a line







and coming back up







there's an added happiness to it



some say it's because of the ice cream,  which is so good even zombies like it



but the swallows tell me it has to do with the water



and the dust tells me it has to do with the air here

swarm enough for ya?

Bees are fantastic: they're fuzzy and funny and make honey and look great on orange



but i'd never thought of them as wild -they just seem friendly and cute. I was wrong, of course. I'd never seen them swarm



not only is the size of the swarm impressive, but the noise it makes buzzes you down to the sternum



and when they settled down, they made a HUGE living branch of bees in a tree





but for some reason, i was the only one out there -everyone else in the street went hiding insides



i tell ya, bees are wild. I quite like wild.