Seeker: Issue 1 by Seeker

SEEKER.

The Diary Of A Thrifty Traveller: America Road Trips: What It Takes To Be An Intern In The City: Holga Travel Snaps: Short Stories: Fashion: Untold Theatre Company, And More...

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.â&#x20AC;? Lao Tzu

hello hello... ...and welcome to the very first issue of Seeker. A magazine that aims to inspire the creative within you and gives young people and people at the start of their career a platform to showcase their work and give them some much deserved love. In this issue Fiona O’Malley will take you through what it’s like to be an ‘Intern in the City’ (pg 6), Craig Willis will tempt you to travel no matter what your financial situation with his ‘Journal of a Thrifty Traveller’ (pg 41), Jarryd Lowe will mesmerise you with his beautiful short story on page 18, while Scott Grierson talks road movies and why we love them (pg 60). We also have photography from Keiran Brimson, Fashion from The Whitepepper, and there’s even a simple recipe on page 40 to start you off on your creative path (or to provide you with a delicious snack while you read SEEKER!) There has never been a better time to be creative, and we hope we will inspire you to put down your laptop, pick up your camera, pens or spatula and start creating.

C ontents... PG 12 PG 5

Page 6: Intern In The City Page 8: The Untold Theatre Company Page 10: Review—Princess Mononoke Page 12: Photography—When In Rome Page 18 Shorts—Maiden Voyage Page 20: Photography—An American Voyage Through The Lens Of A Nikon Page 40: Recipe Page 41: The Journal Of A Thrifty Traveller Page 44: Fashion—The Whitepepper Page 60: Feature—Road movies Page 62: Photography—Valencia In My Dreams Page 70: Mixtape—Summer Road Trip Tunes

PG20

PG 44 3

Here Today, Here Tomorrow

Whinnie Williams Charming vocals, eclectic melodies, and vintage inspired videos, mostly featuring Brian, the cutest poodle to ever grace the music scene, puts Whinnie Williams at the top of our music lust chart. Whether it’s original material or wonderful mash ups (her Francoise Hardy and Destiny’s Child cover gives us the chills) Whinnie Williams always finds ways of creating a sense of contemporary nostalgia. Catch her and her band performing in Hyde Park (warming up the crowd for the Rolling Stones) on July 6th. Need to brighten up your front room? Look no further than Oliver Lake’s beautifully bright, illustrated designs. Owl musicians, turtles with binoculars and floating polar bears make up a playful collection of images to brighten your home. Available from: http:// www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ iotaillustration

A collaborative studio shop, which works to make, show, sell and educate. Customers can come and browse the products for sale as well as witnessing the lovely ladies working away on their next collections. Concerned by today’s obsession with disposable fashion, Sustainability is a key feature for the guys at Here Today, Here Tomorrow. The designers address these issues by making high quality products made using sustainable practices. They have links to a fair trade group in Nepal and travel there to create lasting relationships with the craftsman, and to bring insightful stories about the products to their customers, as well as encouraging their local community of Dalston, East London to take up dress making by offering classes at a reasonable rate. With natural dyes, organic , fair trade and recycled materials Here Today, Here Tomorrow offer a wide range of beautiful products for your home and wardrobe. Find out more at www.heretoday-heretomorrow.com

has become one of the leading independent design festivals. With a host of design, architectural and creative names as well as workshops, presentations and productlaunches this three day event was a buzz of creative excitement. Our favourite were the incredible rug designs from Foundation. Working in collaboration with contemporary artists and designers Foundation aims to make your floor covering true works of art. During Clerkenwell Design Week, Foundation launched a new range of rugs featuring collaborations with Jack Teagle and Pete Fowler. www.foundationrugs.co.uk 4

Jack Teagle

Pete Fowler

Clerkenwell Design Week (21st—23rd May)

If there is one thing we love here at Seeker, it’s celebrating the talent of young creatives. This year marks the 28th year of New Designers, an event that showcases the incredible talent from a new generation of budding designers. Held at the Business Design Centre in London a broad range of disciplines are on display. With work available to buy and commission and a chance to meet the graduates themselves, New Designers get’s a big thumbs up from us. Get your tickets and head on down. (Part 1/ 26 –29th Junes. Part 2/ 3-6th July)

Favourite things… Rosanna Lea

Favourite thing about being a musician: When someone tells me how a song I wrote has influenced them in a positive way – it’s very humbling and one of the best feelings ever. Favourite past time aside from music: I love seeing my friends, walking in green spaces and reading about random stuff on

Roundhouse Poetry Collective The Roundhouse in Camden offers young people between the ages of 11 and 25 the opportunity to explore and develop their talents across a broad range of creative outlets. With state-of-the-art studios young people can take part in creative projects from TV and radio, to music production and performance. What makes the Roundhouse truly unique is the interaction between celebrated artists and the young people themselves, (some lucky creative even had the chance to interview Sir Paul McCartney for Roundhouse Radio! Amazing!) A major part of the Roundhouse’s creative team is the Roundhouse Poetry Collective. A group of fifteen talented young poets who have been working with beat poet Polarbear to enhance their skills and performance ability. They are set to travel around the summer festival circuit showing off their incredible talents, but fear not, you can catch them before they leave with their much anticipated end of year showcase taking place on July 7th at Dalston Roof Park. So get yourselves down their for an entertaining afternoon of roof garden poetry.

Wikipedia. Favourite place: Probably Godrevy headland, close to my home village in Cornwall. Great place to get some headspace and let the beauty of nature touch you. Also good for diving off rocks into the sea! Favourite food: Can’t beat proper, middle-eastern style hummus. None of that chalky supermarket stuff. Favourite piece of advice: My faith teaches me not to be afraid of making mistakes, that striving for excellence and learning from our setbacks along the way is how we progress and grow as people. I also spent two years working with a youth empowerment programme, and one of the characters in a story we read taught me that ‘hope’ is a choice! Whatever happens to us in life, however terrible, we can choose to respond in a way that is aligned with the forces of good, or with the forces of destruction. Favourite book: I like books that leave you a bit jarred and challenge your thinking – like L’Étranger, 1984 and most 5

recently the Hunger Games trilogy (**spoiler alert**). I finished the last book, and felt so empty. There was no happy ending, no triumph of the goodies over the baddies, you couldn’t necessarily tell who was good or bad anymore. But then I thought maybe that’s how it’s meant to affect you. To make you realise that oppression, conflict and prejudice leave us all scarred, and it’s very difficult to heal these wounds. I think if kids could discuss this kind of literature at school it will help the next generation to eschew all kinds of war and conflict more fully and to question our strange culture of celebrity worship, which ultimately leads us to treat each other like objects instead of people. Your guilty pleasure: I’m very, very picky about the music I listen to, but occasionally I will blast a cheesy pop song, especially if it’s nostalgic. ‘All Rise’ by ‘Blue’ came on when I was driving the other day, and there was nothing for it but to cruise along; windows down, stereo booming. Awwwww yeaaaaahhhhh.

Intern in the City

You Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Choose Your Family Words: Fiona Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Malley

The only person in existence more miserable than me is my great aunt Maureen. She has as many wrinkles as a raisin and she's a hard-core Christian, although I'm sure she reminisces when she reads the bible. I'm not sure what age she is because nobody in our family's ambitious enough to try to figure it out. I hate going around for her birthday. Apart from the fact

that everyone's surprised that she's managed to stay alive another year, we're always surprised that the bakery manages to build a cake big enough-not that we're all a morbidly obese family, but because there are so many candles on her cake. The candles cost more than the cake and the fire department is on standby when we light them. 6

Apart from counting the candles, the only other way of calculating her age is by taking a sneak peak at her birth certificate (which will expire soon) or her driving license which is written in hieroglyphics. This year, at her 150ishth birthday, she was recalling her finer childhood memories, which are probably in black and white. Whenever she's not talking about

Intern in the City

her childhood or farting dust, she barks insults at the nearest person, which is usually me.

"Let's just watch the film Auntie Maureen!" I said and pointed at the TV. Jurassic Park was on.

"When I had my first job-" she began to preach.

"I don't want to watch the film!" she protested (probably because it brought back memories) "I think it's about time that you stop trying to make this writing career happen, get out and get a real job and act your age!"

"As Cain and Abel's babysitter?" I thought. "-Things were harder than they are now."

"You act your age!" I snapped (I'm nothing if not original!) This was highly inappropriate. If she acted her age, she'd die. FIND OUT MORE ABOUT Fionaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quest to beat Aunt Maureenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s negativity and make it as a writer in the City in the next issue of SEEKER

The Untold Theatre Company Words: Laura Peta Ellis

The creative brain child of Kingston University Master graduates, Adam Wollerton and Fiona O’Malley, The Untold Theatre Company’s aim is to source, develop and expose new, organic talent., a concept that gets a massive thumbs up from us here at Seeker

UTC’s latest venture, ‘The Daily Fail: The Musical.’

‘The Daily Fail: The Musical’ takes a satirical look at the world of modern journalism, paying particular attention to the activities surrounding the Leveson Enquiry, and the modern obsession with the need to be famous. The musical centres around two talentless girls, London and Dim, No stranger to the world of theatre, Director and Producer both desperate to be famous. Rupert Murdoch, the girls’ Adam Wollerton graduated from West End Stage School in Fairy Godmother, grants them their wish and we witness 2012, going on to study a Masters in Classical Theatre at their failure to cope with the pressure of fame and the inKingston University. Already directing a number of protrusion of the press. ductions, including 'Four By Four' at Camden Fringe Festival in 2012 and 'Dream' at the International Youth Arts With the advent of reality television Andy Warhol’s propheFestival, 2012. Writer and Producer, Fiona O’Malley, also sised fifteen minutes of fame has never been easier to has her own serious credentials. A keen journalist she has achieve. However, with this apparent ease of access comes worked for Vogue Magazine, The Sunday Times, The Obthe greed of wanting more than just a fleeting dance with it. server and many others (including a column here at Seeker!) ‘The Daily Fail’ features original songs such as ‘Making A as well as having an impressive fifteen plays and four musiSex Tape’ and ‘We Could Be Famous’ echoing the lengths cals to add to her well strung, authorial bow. some people resort to in order to prolong their time in the With the UTC’s goal of developing emerging talent they limelight, often with no correlation to what it was that made have teamed up with composer, Joseph Alexander, who them ‘famous’ in the first place. began his career as a touring musician back in 2005. Having achieved success in the UK, Europe and the USA, JoPremiering at the International Youth Arts Festival (IYAF) seph was exposed to a great variety of genres and composi- in London from the 25th-28th July the UTC’s latest satirical tion styles, that influenced his work. Having recently had venture is looking to be one of the most interesting, funnihis first choral work premiere in Hampton, London and est and original new musicals to debut. So grab your tickbeing commissioned by The UBA Orchestra to compose a ets, help an admiral arts cause and enjoy a night of laughter piece for Spring 2014 he is also composing the score for the and music. ∎ 9

Review

Whole Hog Theatre’s Princess Mononoke Words: Rosie Pentreath

PERFORMANCE: Princess Mononoke, WHEN: Saturday 22nd June 2013, WHERE: New Diorama Theatre, London.

amazing costumes. Each have been lovingly and painstakingly made from reclaimed materials and designed by Charlie Hoare, who, in consideration of the plot, endeavored to take environmental impact into account. For me, it was the music that made the difference between it being a good show and an outstanding one. Kerrin Tatman expertly led a small pit orchestra in music that he himself adapted from the original film score by Joe Hisaishi. He conducted from the cello and the musicians remained tight and faultless throughout. I was particularly impressed with the flexibility of those who dropped their specialisms for percussion, and also flautist Leigh-Ann Janaway whose tone and control surpassed that of many flautists I hear live.

Whole Hog Theatre committed themselves to an ambitious task when they secured the rights from Studio Ghibli to adapt Miyazaki’s popular animated film Princess Mononoke for the stage; an ambitious task they have unquestionably succeeded in. They have crafted a whole magical world with their beautiful production, and one that absorbs the viewer completely. Choreography is used cleverly to evoke passage over large spaces and special effects in lighting and staging allows for contrasts between scenes.

Along with the music, the actors’ diligent control of the large puppets created a mesmerising atmosphere. The physical effort to achieve life-like movement is incredible, and the raw emotion of performances sustained a magical world that I felt privileged to witness. Oliver Davis as the red elk Yakul was superb – he exacted the animal’s movement and sounds brilliantly – and the puppeteers synchronised their bodies with brilliant discipline to evoke living breathing beasts.

Now in its third run at New Diorama Theatre in London – and having recently returned from a stint in Tokyo – Princess Mononoke has been performed to sell-out audiences since it hit the stage in April. I went along to the matinee on Saturday 22nd June and was pleased to be making my first visit to the New Diorama, a modern and smart theatre located near Regent’s Park. The show began rather abruptly (no safety announcements or disclaimers here then) and I felt left behind as a flurry of puppets and choreographed action ensued. But I nonetheless found myself captivated by the energy.

Actors that stood out were Elizabeth Mary Williams as Lady Aboshi and Mei Mac as Mononoke. Some lines fell uneasy and I think the rapid pacing of dialogue could be addressed, but overall the ambitious theatre company have done themselves proud. Whole Hog Theatre claim to ‘enjoy the challenge of staging the unstagable’ and with Princess Mononoke they have done just that.

The set, beautifully designed by Polly Clare Boon, came alive with an animated backdrop, brilliant live music and 10

Review

ÂŠ Polly Clare Boon for Whole Hog Theatre

Photography

When In Rome

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Photos: Laura Peta Ellis

Photography

Shorts

Maiden Journey A Short Story by Jarryd Lowe

I’ve never been anywhere that hasn’t felt like home. Whether for five minutes or five years. Yet no place has been able to keep me from moving on. Now I’ve been all over and left pieces of my heart all around the world, and just now I’m thinking maybe being nowhere has felt more like home than any place on Earth.

ing through. That, and a renowned taco shop located on the south side of town, were the only real interests I had there. Sure I did well both in school and in chasing skirts but I was always haunted everywhere I went by the constant beckoning whisper of spinning rubber strumming the black asphalt into a wandering folk song that had no end. This coupled with the fact that there was next to nothing else to do began This story takes place in Texas, in a my interest in learning all I could about bustling little town just outside Fort the life of a travelin’ man. At first I Worth. This particular township wasn’t nursed myself on “road movies” and so much a town as it was a intersection blues and country songs, but then of three major state highways. Due to weaned myself into literature. The Jack this fact, there was always a steady Kerouac’s, John Steinbeck’s, Woody stream of trucks, trains and bums com18

Guthrie’s and Walt Whitman’s of the world finally gave me something to sink my teeth into. When I was reading these authors or listening to my old Woody Guthrie albums I felt like a different person, a stranger. I felt as if I was from somewhere else and born to the wrong set of parents. So the day after my high school graduation I had nothing to keep me from putting one foot in front of the other and not stopping till I found the place that was inside me in those moments. I had no time to loose for every second that passed took me one step further from that irresponsible moment of pleasure by a couple of high school kids that

Shorts

dragged me kicking and screaming into this life, with only the smouldering ember from the greater fire I was searching for in my heart. Every day that ember grew slightly dimmer and I was determined to re-ignite the fire inside me. My first plan was to ride the rails like countless heroes of the great depression who traveled far and wide to find a bit of work. So I packed a bag with a few supplies, cracked open my piggy bank and set out for the train depot. It did not take long for me to find a train heading north. The open road was smiling at me and welcoming me with a warm embrace, or so I thought, until I hopped up into an open car. As soon as I was on board I quickly realized I was not alone, I was accompanied by what looked like very experienced men of the road. They looked at me in the grey light of dusk and told me I was not welcome on this train. Before I could get a word out I felt a cold sharp pain on the back of my head and I dropped to my knees and everything went fuzzy. I woke up in a ditch next to the tracks with my bag open and gone through and the feeling as if my brain was try-

ing to jump out of my head like a spring loaded jack in the box at the precipice of the final note of its tune. I was not happy with this start so I grabbed my bag and went into town feeling slightly betrayed by America for it not being the same country that I read about and heard songs about from the nineteen thirties. Getting into town the only thing that I could think to do was go to the taco place and have some food and maybe a beer. While I was sitting at the bar on my stool staring into my carnitas I noticed a girl at the end of the bar looking my way. This was not any girl but a girl that I knew. A girl I had just graduated with. She had long white legs that I could look at for hours as if there was something more magical at the top of them than anything I had ever seen before. She dressed well and could look through me. She was the adventure that I was seeking tonight. She was my escape from the failings of the day. She was to rescue me for the night.

versation. My whole world hung on each syllable that fell off of her scarlet lips. She was the driver on this tour and I was just along for the ride. She quite literally had a car and drove us out to find trouble for the night. We hit a few spots but nothing that grabbed us. We decided to drive off into the night with no direction or destination in mind. We wanted to just get lost. We drove for hours down highways and back country roads. Just watching the moonlight reflect off of the white and yellow lines. The intimacy of being on the road, this winding unknown path leading us into our future, built up inside of us. We drove until we could no longer hold the passion inside our bones, we pulled off into a ditch and fell into each other with no reservations. The rest of the night we just lay in the back seat listening to the occasional car pass by, staring out the back window at the passing clouds and shining stars I felt as if my journey had finally started. I knew I had no choice but to keep going.

As the deep blues turned to shallow greys and the stars became sparse and The night went from there like a car lonely I put on my trousers and boots with no steering wheel and no breaks. I and started walking, never to look would say one thing and she would say back. Headed out into the world to another and next thing I knew we were loose myself and find myself at the locked together, chained in that consame time. 19

Photography

L H

and of the Free, ome of the Brave

Kieran Brimson takes us on a visual tour of America

Photography

Photography Photography

Photography

Branana and Strawberry Muffins - no, that’s not a typo



1. Preheat the oven to 350ºC 2. In a bowl cream together butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time and the vanilla essence. Slowly add the oat bran making sure it’s thoroughly mixed. Add the bananas. 3. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add to the butter mixer and add the milk.

 2 ripe bananas 1 1/2 cups of chopped strawberries  1/2 cup of oat bran  2 cups of flour  1 Cup Sugar  2 tsps of baking powder  3/4 cup of butter  2 tsp Vanilla Extract  3 eggs  2 tbsps skimmed milk  A dash of Sea Salt

4. Fold in the strawberries. 5. Line a tin with muffin cases and fill each one about 3/4 of the way.. 6. Place in the oven for 18-20 minutes, the muffins should be springy on top. 7. Remove from oven and allow to cool. 8. Enjoy!!

The Journal of a Thrifty Traveller: Discovering the World a Pound at a Time

See The World Words: Craig Willis

“The more you have travelled, the history Bosnia and Herzegovina proimpressive fjord’ (despite it technically more you realise how little you have vided the basis to build a trip around. I being a ria but I’m prepared to let that seen.” had already mapped a route to get slide if you are). When I first read that quote, I failed to understand its logic, turns out Gunther Holtorf is pretty spot on. What started out as an excuse to get away from work for a few months has turned into an obsession. However, with obsessions come issues, and the biggest issue I was faced with was, as always, money! Since my obsession began I have found ways around this and the age old excuse of ‘I can’t afford it’, really is just that; an excuse. I hope that “Discovering the world, a pound at a time” will convince you that no matter what your budget, you too can see the world. My most recent expedition, a two week jaunt around former Yugoslav countries, saw me sampling the local delights of Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Serbia. Based on cheap hostels (I tend to judge a country on how expensive its hostels are, doesn’t sound overly trustworthy when put like that, but it hasn’t failed me yet!) and an intriguing

there, hitchhiking from London to Zagreb; but that’s a story for another There are many towns squeezed in time, for now I will start in Croatia. amongst the way but I chose Kotor itself nestled deep in the Southern corI arrived to a miserable and grey Zaner. Known for its elegant old town greb on a cold Monday afternoon, my built largely in the Venetian period, it first thought; I need to get to the Adri- has in more recent years emerged as atic as soon as possible! Overnight bus one of Montenegro’s top party towns. trips are an absolute must for budget My stay coincided with Easter weekend travellers, yes you may wake up with a and ther-e was no escaping the countstiff back and fuzzy teeth, but the less cafes that transform to bars come money saved on accommodation and sundown, a modern twist to a seemingthe breath taking scenery you encoun- ly old town. The undoubted highlight ter en route is definitely worth it. however, was the simply magnificent Catching the bus through Croatia to view across the bay from the summit Montenegro was actually rather pleas- of the fortifications, at a 1350 step asant. The last leg through the Bay of cent, it definitely has to be earned! Kotor was easily some of the most magnificent scenery I have ever viewed Following Kotor I headed back up the from the window of a bus! Imagine coast to Split, the largest city in the sharp cliff faces descending into the Dalmatian region of Croatia. As a perfectly clear sea, with just enough budget traveller I was spoilt for choice room to build a road between the two, of hostels, many directly in the heart of meandering around nearly 100 km; it’s the old town, a perfect base to explore easy to see why the Bay of Kotor is from and stumble home to. There is often dubbed ‘Southern Europe’s most plenty of historic architecture to im41

The Journal of a Thrifty Traveller: Discovering the World a Pound at a Time

The train “ran once a day, and I had missed it.

”

merse yourself in, including the Cathedral of St Domnius where you can climb the bell tower for a unique scope of the city. However, where possible I prefer to climb natural heights, you are treated to the most incredible views and it doesn’t cost a penny! For this I headed up Split’s Mount Marjan which after a brisk 30 minute walk to the summit I was met with panoramic views across the bay and of the nearby islands. For a city on the Adriatic coastline, Split is definitely a wise choice especially given the tourisminduced price hikes of Dubrovnik in recent years.

this town was subject to just 20 years ago. That said, I certainly felt that Mostar is a town looking towards the future rather than the past; it is now a tourist friendly destination with a restored elegant old town whose beauty cumulates with the Stari Most (Old Bridge) across the Neretva River.

Moving across from Croatia to Bosnia I certainly noticed a sharp drop in food and accommodation prices, a typical dorm room was less than half the price here, around £5. Equally with food, if you are prepared to dine without a view of the river eating out can be a fraction of the price. The local cuisine Arriving in Mostar, Bosnia felt a milhas a large Turkish influence stemming lion miles away from the sun-soaked, from the Ottoman era and I personally tourist friendly Split. With the rain recommend Ćevapi, essentially minced pouring and buildings tattooed with meat fingers in bread but much more bullet holes, it was a truly eye-opening delectable than it sounds. experience. A fascinating city with so From Mostar it is a few hours up to many visible scars of relatively recent the capital city, Sarajevo. I had been conflict, former Yugoslavia now felt told that the train journey between the more how I imagined it. A visit to any two takes in some of the most impresof the local graveyards where the sive scenery in all of Bosnia. There was graves almost universally read 1993, a slight hitch with this plan; the train unequivocally illustrates the horrors ran once a day and I had missed it! Bus 42

it had to be, after countless hairpin corners across the Dinaric Alps, I arrived pleasantly to a sunny Sarajevo. My poor knowledge of the Bosnian conflict was highlighted on arriving in Sarajevo. I had assumed, being the capital city, it would have seen much more extreme violence, especially after visiting Mostar. However, Sarajevo was a city under siege rather than subject to frontline fighting and consequently still has much of its original architecture in place. Shaped by two strong influences, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman, the city has an incredible blend of culture; it is the only place I have seen Mosques, Catholic and Orthodox Churches all in one eye line. Although it is a relatively small capital city, with a population of just over 400,000 there is an incredible range of things to see and do. A free walking tour taken by local Sarajevan students takes in the city’s historical highlights and is a great way to get your bearings in the city. In terms of living on a budget, there is an abundance of hostels around the

The Journal of a Thrifty Traveller : Discovering the World a Pound at a Time

city, again from as little as £5 a night. Bosnian pie, known locally as burek, became my staple diet during my stay and worked out at less than £1 a slice and local beer is available everywhere at around £1 a pint. All things considered it was easily the cheapest capital city in Europe I have been to. Last stop was the Serbian capital of Belgrade… another overnight bus ride. Getting to bus stations can often prove rather tricky, but getting through the difficulties often gives an overwhelming sense of achievement! Sarajevo’s stations were no different. After attempting to catch a train to Belgrade and being told that this service no longer operates, I found myself heading out to East Sarajevo bus station. On a regular day this would have been a 40 minute journey on a tram and bus, however my stay conveniently coincided with the tram drivers being on strike, this led to my travel nightmare; taxis! As a frugal traveller one thing I try to avoid is taxis and being charged extra for putting my bag in the boot left me far from impressed!

Consequently when I arrived in Belgrade at 7am after a 10 hour journey, my spirits were not at their highest. After reading a lot of negative press on Serbia through the trip so far and generally from UK media over the last 20 years, I was not sure what I would make of Serbia’s capital. My visions largely consisted of the NATO invasion in 1999 and the tensions with Kosovo but after a few days in the city I was easily won over. Although this is a city clearly with some tensions, highlighted by stumbling across an antiKosovo protest in Republic Square, the majority of the city gave across a friendlier vibe. There is an array of cheap eateries and local bars along the road of Skadarska where I sampled the local cuisine and nightlife. Traditional musicians play in most bars through the evening which contributes a pleasant cultural quality to drinking in Belgrade.

certainly an activity I could budget for, I did not however anticipate quite how hostile the atmosphere would be. Envisage endless flares and firecrackers, far-right themed chanting and banners combined with a universally Caucasian young male crowd you will understand why it is not something I would recommend for everyone! Perhaps try the similar priced Nikola Tesla museum for a safer and possibly more fascinating experience! In all seriousness the Nikola Tesla museum is an absolute must-do; an interactive tour and exhibition that will amaze anyone, he is a truly inspirational character.

All in all, the former Yugoslav countries were an absolute pleasure to travel without breaking the bank. An incredible mix of cultures and a complex history an incredible amount can be learnt and discovered in this area. Easter was a good time to visit to avoid the mass tourism which descends on any EuroFor a more pulsating experience I took pean city over summer, and the price in a Partizan Belgrade football match; increases that come with it. If you were 90 minutes of action not for the faint- to visit one destination, I’d say Sarajehearted. With tickets at under £3 it was vo is a good starting point. ∎ 43

Fashion

This Is An Adventure Scott Grierson ponders the evolution of the road movie

future or exciting avenues on the horizon, but in each other found a new direction. Something so obvious to us all, that you just forget it’s there... The road. They abandoned responsibility and hit the road, having fun, robbing banks. This lifestyle gave them an abundance of cash, more thrill than they’d seen before, and fresh sense of romance.

“What would you do if some miracle happened and we could walk out of here tomorrow morning and start all over again clean?” Have you ever done something to give yourself exactly that? A clean slate? Free of all responsibility, free of all ties to your daily routine? Bonnie Parker & Clyde Barrett have. In 3806 BC we had the first ever road. Sweet Track, Somerset, England. In 1878 we had the first ever movie. The Horse In Motion. In 1967 Bonnie and Clyde gave us the road movie.

Arthur Penn’s violent road movie depicting Bonnie & Clyde was a controversial release for Warner Bros, initially listed as a B movie, available only at low key drive-ins rather than multiplex theatres. The popularity of the film demanded that it were moved to large cinema houses, and today, is often considered the first ever blockbuster movie.

Bonnie was bored, early twenties, living with her mother, and busting tables as a waitress trying to make ends meet. Clyde was a delinquent, in-and-out of jail, couldn’t even hold down a job. Both had no

The appeal of leaving the difficult and depressing lifestyle that many suffered was a winning ingredient, and soon after Bonnie & Clyde had engaged it’s audi60

store worker and a lovable hooker fall in love. Just as Thelma and Louise or Bonnie and Clyde had to make a clear decision once they had met -- so did Clarence and Alabama. They get married on a whim. Mafia and FBI pursue from their pasts and force them onto the road where they give each other a new meaning to their lives. The struggles they faced in their old lives seem forgettable as they experience adventure and thrill together. In the screenplay penned by Quentin Tarantino, he stuck to the fatal formula. Director Tony Scott made the choice to swerve away from the direction his brother Ridley had ended with, and let the controversial lovebirds win. They succeed and enjoy the freedom they fought hard for where most previous heroes had to fall.

ence, they had stiff competition on the road. Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda had concocted Easy Rider; a statement of freedom in a more contemporary world. Audiences again, connected with the heroic ability of the characters to live as free spirits, as seen in the revenue; the project incurred a cost of $360k, but went on to return over $40m. A notable addition to the genre came from Terrence Malick in 1973. Badlands. Again, two young individuals (Holly and Kit), in a dead-end town, resenting the ideals they grew up with, decide to discover the open road together. While this formula is beginning to sound familiar, with the final words of Holly, you’re about to read, reveal a darker staple of the genre (spoiler alert).

Over time the ‘road’ in the road movie became metaphorical, and the true essence of it was simply ‘journey’. John Hughes experimented with the genre, and found new ground with comedy Planes, Trains & Automobiles. The road was simply the distance between Steve Martin and his family, but the sense of journey and camaraderie seen in the previous examples was still evident. In a production rife with quite literally, planes, trains, cars, coaches, walking, and stop off motels, not one real-world company would be co-operative with the project in fear of being portrayed in a deficient light. John Hughes constructed an entire collection of fictional travel and transport companies in order to successfully convey the journey, and give Steve Martin a welcome home for the finale.

HOLLY (v.o.): Kit and I were taken back to South Dakota. They kept him in solitary, so he didn't have a chance to get acquainted with the other inmates, though he was sure they'd like him, especially the murderers. Myself, I got off with probation and a lot of nasty looks. Later I married the son of the lawyer who defended me. Kit went to sleep in the courtroom while his confession was being read, and he was sentenced to die in the electric chair. On a warm spring night, six months later, after donating his body to science, he did.

Distributors had a hard time letting such rebellious characters get away with such carefree behaviour. Pressure came as movie studios began to accept large sums of money from major corporations, and feared that if they were seen to support the abandonment of structured principals, the paychecks would soon dry up.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles worked successfully, and paved way for road movie comedy filmmakers The Farrelly Brothers in Dumb & Dumber and Me, Myself and Irene, and Todd Phillips in The Hangover and Due Date. The road movie is universal. While it’s early examples are dark and controversial in their appeal, Pixar was even successful in finding the innocence in it’s appeal for Cars, set against the famous Route 66.

In the early 90s brother filmmakers Ridley and Tony Scott went head to head with two of the most defining films of the genre. Thelma and Louise and True Romance. Conceptually, both are straight from the essence of their predecessors. For Thelma Dickinson, the mundane life she needs a break from is her controlling husband. She hits the road with her best friend, waitress Louise Sawyer in a classic 1966 Ford convertible in their pursuit of freedom as they search for something else. The road took center stage, and when the road ran out, the characters gave one of the most iconic images in film. They escape the crushing realities of their dull lives for good.

The core spirit of the road movie can take on various external shape, and it has made some inspiring progress. An audience will always need a source of escapism, and characters enduring their one true fantasy -to forget responsibility and venture into the unknown -- is something so strong, that it will surely be presented in new manners, across years to come, and always go out in memorable fashion. Bonnie Parker: What would you do if some miracle happened and we could walk out of here tomorrow morning and start all over again clean? No record and nobody after us, huh? ∎

Just like Thelma & Louise, True Romance gives an almost fairytale premise; a downtrodden comic book 61

Valencia In My Dreams Photos: Laura Peta Ellis

Photography

Road trip playlist 1. 2.

Big Love - Fleetwood Mac Featherstone - The Paper Kites

Train In Vain –The Clash 4.

Road Trippin’ -Red Hot Chilli Peppers 6.

Drove All Night - Roy Orbison 7. 8.

Fever - Young Galaxy

Tumbleweed -Scarlet Tanager

Thunder Road—Bruce Springsteen

10.

Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men 11.

12.

To Lose My Life—White Lies

Killing the Work—Boy Mandeville 13.

14.

Gigantic –The Pixies

Honolulu - Last Dinosaurs

Piazza, New York Catcher - Belle & Sebastian 15.

Oblivion -Grimes

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

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