David Mellor esq.

[mellowthyme]

I'm crass and rough in the northern sense, only really learnt this when I began to wander. I have a strange affinity with the south west of England. I really like Bath, posh that it is. Went to art school between 91/93 in my home town and wasted it away.

Travelled first, nice and safely to experience the life of a Kibbutznik and stayed in Kibbutz Beit Alpha near Bet Shean, northern Israel. Also took the opportunity to wander down to Sinai staying at Dahab when it was like a bedouin camp, then into central Egypt, (Cairo then onto Aswan and around). Came back to England and spent sometime working as a repro technician for a repro house in Ruislip, Middlesex. Plus a multitude of other jobs. Awfull times.

[Peace-Phoenix]

Well travelled I see. What did you make of Egypy? One of my favourite countries is Egypt. And a Kibbutz eh? Are you Jewish? Religious? What was commune life like?

[mellowthyme]

I best time I had in Egypt was in a Faluca (sail boat), taking up the Nile with a group of English and Canadians for three days and two nights sleeping on the boat, it was great. The Canadians were a laugh and were in the mix so to speak, got offended when I asked if they were American, difficult to tell sometimes. I was Irish, Scottish and northern european, everything other than English, even to the English! I'm not Jewish, you could say a typically anglo-saxon christian without the firm belief.

The Kibbutz was enjoyable, it was at the time of Yitzhak Rabin so there was a degree of tolerance and a beginning for understanding, the Kibbutz were I was at was in the foothill of the Golan Heights and lived close to a Palestinian village;and until a year previous it was attacked weekly, so a lot of guns would crack around the valleys, this didn't happen when I was there.

It was a working stay and as volunteers you worked the crap jobs mostly and began an induction and as time went on the jobs became more and more enjoyable. I ended up in the fields laying irriagation pipes, ploughing fields; it felt like I found my calling, loved doing that. Eh up there lad!

yeah, soem good times.

[Peace-Phoenix]

Yeah I've been in a Faluca. What's the most amazing thing you've ever seen?

[mellowthyme]

Standing in the Hymalays looking right down the Khumbu Valley late a night enjoying a relaxant and looking into a sky that was so deep and colourfull. Did you travel up the nile too?

[Peace-Phoenix]

Yeah, not by faluca though, just had a little trip in one. We took a cruise boat down the Nile from Aswan to Luxor....

[Peace-Phoenix]

Ever been to Latin America?

[mellowthyme]

Not yet.

[Peace-Phoenix]

Where's next on your list?

[mellowthyme]

In the realms of fantasy I really fancy walking to Santiago de Compostela from the north east for the feast of Saint James. As I understand the traditional route is Paris down. Brian Sewell the art critic did a show where he drived his classic merc down looking at Cathedrals, I tell you. I guess it would take a year or two my time. Again, I'm not a crazy believer but I do have a belief. This is just about a thought and will be until something changeable happens. But in the meantime I have no real burning desire to travel, I'm just enjoy flitting out into the Lakes and Northumbrian countryside and trying to see a lot more of Scotland from home.

[Peace-Phoenix]

What do you believe in most strongly?

[mellowthyme]

God!;)







It's such a hard question to answer for being so easy to ask.

My first thoughts were in nothing at all. Thinking about it I would have to say my immediate family and as a have no family of my own this would be my mum, dad, sisters and brother; and other close relatives. It has taken me sometime to fully appreciate the true support your family will offer; like the addage says, 'you can't pick family'.

[mellowthyme]

;):mad:images/icons/newicons/crazy.gifhyperfuckingtext.:mad:

[Peace-Phoenix]

What's the most important political issue to you?

[mellowthyme]

I'm finding it hard to answer these. I guess for me at the momnet it is the fear of greater control over my personal life, yeah CCTV and proposals of ID cards/credit cards/passports.....
......or whatever the intention of these things are really going to be.

Find the mis-information and a culture of doom in current affairs depressing with a continous stream of negative messages. The fact that politics has become about arguing a particular issue without thinking out it fits within a wider context or how it may sit within our communities or even culutre. But all in all I'm not bitter.:mad::mad:

[mellowthyme]

I'm finding it even harder to use the friggin' smiles. Every action I give it does something different.:mad:

[mellowthyme]

Yeah; Bitter me, what when the sun is shinning and the birds are singing in the trees, these sodding smiles are doing what they bloody well like.:);)

[lithium]

Hello mellow I have a question for you..

when did you first realise you were a homophobe?

OK just joking (dont kill me) Ill start again

Nice to see a fellow cyclist... what exactly is a "mountain bike leader" - who do you lead? What kind of bike do you have?

What is an "information worker" ... what exactly do you do?

What kind of art do you do?

[mellowthyme]

Yeah a lot of fancy titles like 'window engineer'.

I have been organising youth arts exhibition for a few years now here in NE, ran art groups in producing for the night and venue. It isn't high brow razor sharp stuff, we are talking about community art but its pretty good all the same. I've also developed and worked a few wall murals here in the good olde NE. The information worker is an advice worker. For a voluntary project, housing, benefits and what not. Being a mountain bike leader is getting paid to take people out into the country on bike trips; people always say get paid for what you enjoy most. (OTC level2?) I've a cheap Giant, I mean it didn't cost me a couple of grand but it serves its purpose well, took quite a hammering. I more or less stopped producing work, I 've about five unfinished canvases around the flat that go back years, half finished projects that are dusty. Seem to have spent the last few months typing onto this site.

So I've got three part time jobs, plus a lot of one off things I tend to find myself getting paid for.


images/icons/newicons/icon25.gif and that isn't a meant to have a double meaning.

[dapablo]

I'm finding it hard to answer these. He's just outrageous sometimes, just pretend not to hear him if you don't want to. :)

What was the favourite band of your youth ?

[Peace-Phoenix]

He's just outrageous sometimes, just pretend not to hear him if you don't want to. :)
Oi!

[fountains of nay]

What's your favourite type of cake?

[mellowthyme]

My favourite time of youth? This would have to be my 19 - 24 years when I left my hometown and began to find there was an interesting world beyond, or my favourite band of youth would be The Jam, but then I also liked The Beatles, Madness, Sex Pistols......?

What kind of cake do I like? Cheesecake, or for party time, Hash Brownies.

[lithium]

Do you now have, or have you ever had, any pets?

[Olympic-Bullshitter]

Kibbutzim are an extremely popular means of combining travel with volunteering. You can either show up in Tel Aviv with your fingers crossed that there's an available placement (there often is) or contact the representative in your home country. enquiries@kibbutz.org.uk

[mellowthyme]

Pets?

We had two family dogs and a girlfriend of mine had a cat which I became attached to over the years just to see them all die, as did the relationship. Emotional baggage. It's truly said pets do become as close as a family member.

Kubbutz are a good way of safely travelling and gives a structure to your time but not at present. The VSO is probably a better bet and has strong benefits when you decide to settle as in jobs etc. I also think that they have widen their availability for people, meaning they don't just take graduates or university students anymore.