jonny's brain

Higher State of Consciousness

2018-08-10T13:25:00.001+01:00

Froghopper Nymph

2018-06-09T09:31:00.000+01:00

If you've ever noticed that foam that appears on some plants in late spring known as 'cuckoo spit' and wondered what it is and why it appears, well i wondered the same. Hiding inside the spitty type foamy substance is a froghopper nymph, which I photographed. Cute little creature innit?!

Noura Erakat On Gaza And The Israeli Massacre

2018-06-08T22:52:00.000+01:00

An articulate response to a pro Israel corporate news channel by Palestinian scholar Noura Erakat. She certainly cuts through all the bullshit

Benllech

2018-06-06T19:46:00.001+01:00

Benllech, Anglesey. 4 June 2018

Fire

2018-05-25T14:29:00.000+01:00

Fire - The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown @ TOTP 1968

Snowdon

2018-04-22T18:23:00.002+01:00

humanitarian missile.....

2018-04-22T15:55:00.001+01:00

The Long Mynd, Church Stretton

2018-04-08T22:58:00.000+01:00

1993

2018-01-23T22:04:00.001+00:00

These classic albums were all released 25 years ago this year.

The Crazy Gang

2018-01-21T14:58:00.001+00:00

The Crazy Gang of Wimbledon FC. This documentary film tells the crazy story of their rise from the old fourth division to become the greatest football team the world has ever seen! and winning the FA Cup in '88.

Let's Dance

2018-01-12T22:24:00.004+00:00

The Alternativity

2017-12-22T23:52:00.000+00:00

If you want an alternative festive film to watch this Christmas then this is it! The story of how Britain’s favourite artist Banksy teamed up with Britain’s favourite film director Danny Boyle to put on a moving nativity play at The Walled Off Hotel, in Bethlehem, Palestine in December 2017. An interesting story alongside a fascinating insight into Israel's oppressive occupation and apartheid of Palestine

Prayer House in the Wood

2017-12-21T23:03:00.000+00:00

.....that's what Betws-y-Coed means apparently. Spent a few days staying at Squirrel Cottage in the village to do some walking and take a break from normal life.

squirrel cottage

fast exposure / long exposure

Irene's Brexit solution

2017-12-14T00:04:00.000+00:00

Listen Irene love, thing is, Ireland is a bit more complicated than that.

MALTA

2017-11-12T19:50:00.001+00:00

So it turns out Malta Boy is coming back to England for good in December. So I went out there last month to muck about for a few days.....

weird huh?

check out our different choice of drinks!

yes I know what you're thinking. We look really really cool here. I know, I know.

the classic arms out pose. can't beat it

who's that on there?

a boat

what a bell end!

jumping around near cliff edges. good idea yes?

drunk?

having fun in ancient catacombs were ancient dead people are buried

air surfing

40 not out

2017-11-08T19:16:00.000+00:00

Yes, 40 years old! mad innit!? 20th birthday I'd have been out raving. 30th, can't remember so probably still raving! 40th? Punting along the Great Stour River in Canterbury, a lovely afternoon stroll along the white cliffs of Dover, enjoying a sandwich and a flask of tea on the pebble beach in Sandwich and a pleasant few days stay at a cottage in Birchington-on-Sea. Surely all that still counts as raving???

Sandwich

punting along the river in Canterbury

Blean Forest

Raving back at the cottage

Dover, obvs

The weird red sun we had at the time

Whitstable

Margate

Time to F**k off Theresa!

2017-11-03T00:01:00.001+00:00

Pie berates Theresa May...for NOT lying!

and.....

Jonathan Pie: The Great NHS sell off.

"Come all ye bastards!" The NHS is for sale.

Jonathan Pie explains academies to a 5-year-old

2017-11-02T23:53:00.001+00:00

A year or so old this video, before Jonathon Pie pretty much became a national hero as he is now, but as always his satire is funny because it's so true!

https://youtu.be/cF_HHhQyP8M

Maltesers are very powerful and dangerous

2017-09-03T11:12:00.001+01:00

Maltesers can destroy watermelons, vases, cans full of pop, safety glass, pineapples and table tennis bats. FACT.

https://youtu.be/L4PKj9UNyGM

Snailbeach

2017-07-31T19:09:00.000+01:00

24/07/2017. Snailbeach, Shropshire.
A nice area but the walking book we were following had the shittest directions ever! After several wrong turns along the way we eventually ended up scrambling down from the hills on some steep ridge on a vague loose rocky track. I slipped a few times but Bec hated it and edged most of the way down on her bum, like a crab 😉

camera obscured but it's memories have been stored

2017-07-01T23:52:00.002+01:00

My camera has abruptly kicked the bucket after 10 years of dedicated service. I bought the camera along with an extra telephoto lens with £500 left to me when my Nan passed away. I didn't want to fritter it away and she'd have told me to treat myself so I bought something I wouldn't otherwise have been able to afford at the time, and that I knew I would make good use of.

This camera has travelled around the world with me and if I may say so has taken some rather good photographs over the last 10 years. Here is a collection of some of the best and some of the most memorable to me as a tribute to my now defunct Canon 350D. There'll probably be rather a lot of photos here but it is narrowed down from thousands! and likely I've missed out some good uns. I don't really like over processed photos so most of these are framed as they were taken with a few crops and colour tweaks here and there on some of them where necessary. I don't care if nobody ever looks at this, I've just enjoyed compiling it for my own amusement.

Oh and thanks Nan!

taken 25/11/2011. side streets of Bhaktapur, Nepal. These happy children were delighted to have their photo taken and then see it on the screen.

16/11/2010. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Bec spotted this man from the other side of the street whilst we were exploring (and probably lost) on our first day in Vietnam

19/11/2014. Keswick, Lake District. These posts sticking up from the lake probably have birds sat on them all the time but at this moment it felt like it was the only time it had ever happened and I must capture it!

22/11/2012. Agra, India. Up close we weren't convinced the Taj Mahal was worthy of it's wonder of the world status, we saw much more impressive monuments in other parts of India BUT you can't deny that from this distance it is extremely photogenic.

05/07/2010. Athlone, Ireland. European Triathlon Final, Alistair Brownlee bursting onto the scene in the days when he was a relatively new triathlon name and still years away from becoming a household name. The kind of shot that you try and capture but usually miss the timing, I got it this time though.

26/11/2011. Hanoi, Vietnam. People playing chess or checkers is actually quite a common scene on street corners of Vietnam, sometimes with a small crowd of spectators leaning over

16/05/2011. William Walker asleep on dad's shoulder.

19/09/2007. Chester city centre. From Eastgate clock bridge this view must have been photographed many thousands of times, but has anyone else captured it with a fire engine on the street?!

03/07/2010. Athlone, Ireland. European Triathlon. For a good action shot all you have to do is press the shutter at the right time, simple as that.

16/10/2015. Jakarta, Java, Indonesia. Somewhere in the maze of a shanty town in Northern Jakarta.

21/03/2017. Barcelona. Taken from one of the towers of La Sagrada Familia.

26/11/2011. Patan, Kathmandu, Nepal. This one may not look like it's framed particularly well but the Durbar Square in Patan was just impossible to capture properly in one photograph, so much going on, this is as much as I could fit in but there were many more amazing sights just out of shot. This was pre earthquake and I think that unfortunately some of these buildings may no longer be standing.

23/11/2011. Pokhara, Nepal. Cycling from Pokhara to a nearby Tibetan Monastery we stopped at a shop for a drink. While sitting outside, this little boy started playing peek-a-boo with us through the holes in the breeze block wall.

20/11/2011. Ghorepani, Nepal. You only see idyllic images like this in places like Lonely Planet magazines or BBC travel documentaries, you don't actually ever get to see them and photograph them yourself! (entering smug mode). This photo was taken trekking between Ghorepani and Ghandruk in the Annapurna region of the Himalayas.

16/10/2016. Stonehenge, Wiltshire. A surprise trip organised by Becci for my birthday. We set off down there early in the morning without me knowing where we were heading to.

08.01.2017. Wetton, Manifold Valley, Staffordshire. The Lonely Tree. On a winters day walk the only tree in this particular field made a perfect silhouette against a cloudy bright white winter sky.

04/11/2013. San Jose, Costa Rica. On our first day in Costa Rica we found the pace of life very laid back and easy going which is illustrated nicely by this fella I spotted having a midday nap in the street.

23/11/2011. Pokhara, Nepal. Taken by Bec of me spinning a line of prayer wheels outside a Tibetan Buddhist temple.

14/04/2017. Mow Cop, Cheshire/Staffordshire border. Castle folly at the top of the steep hills in village of Mow Cop.

17/11/2012. Kumbhalargh Fort, Rajasthan, India. We visited here when travelling between Udaipur and Jodhpur. A huge fort up the the hills whose perimeter walls stretch for 36 kilometers! As well as the main fort complex there are apparently hundreds of temples with the boundary walls

12/11/2014. Parliament building, Budapest. Along the bank of The Danube.

19/11/2011. Poon Hill, Ghorepani, Nepal. The highest altitude point of a 6 day Himalayan trek at 3210m. From here panoramic views of the snow capped mountain ranges and an icy wind. Bec took this of me posing with our guide Ram.

18/11/2011. Ulleri, Nepal. Our first day of trekking the incredible landscapes of the Annapurna region we reached Ulleri at a height of 2200m, that's already twice the height of Mount Snowdon!. We passed by a Hindu shrine where a local lady insisted on painting a red bindi mark on Bec's forehead.

23/03/17. Montjuïc Castle, Barcelona. I carefully suspended myself in mid air for Bec to capture this.

21/11/2010. Hoi An, Vietnam. Cycling back from the beach to Hoi An we stopped at a small place by the riverside for a drink. A very nice lady insisted on carrying a table and chairs out onto a rickety looking bamboo balcony that extended out over the water, it didnt look too strong but she had gone to all this effort so we felt obliged. From here I took these photos as the sun was setting and giving the river a golden shimmer.

21/11/2010. Hoi An, Vietnam.

12/12/2007. Bongo playing buskers in Liverpool city centre.

17/12/2008. Tsavo East, Kenya. While out on safari the driver spotted this monitor lizard popping it's head up from the top of a big termite mound by the side of the track.

17/12/2008. Tsavo East, Kenya. Baby elephant.

17/12/2008. Tsavo East, Kenya. Big massive elephant.

19/11/2011. Poon Hill, Ghorepani, Nepal. Prayer flags fluttering in the wind against a backdrop of some of the worlds highest mountains.

19/11/2011. Ghorepani, Nepal. A young child helping to carry firewood.

19/11/2014. Keswick, Lake District. Dusk falling by the still lake.

20/01/2017. Clun, Shropshire. Rebecca silhouetted against the forest ahead.

06/11/2013. Mount Poas volcano, Poas National Park, Costa Rica. Located at a height of 2300m Poas has the largest crater of a currently active volcano in the world measuring 1.7km across and 300m deep. There was a strong smell of sulphur up there from the thick white smoke billowing up which shortly after taking this photo obscured our view of the crater completely. It is known to have erupted around 40 times but when we were there in 2013 it hadn't had a big one since 1953 so was due to blow any time. Sure enough in 2014 volcanic activity started increasing and it had a big eruption in April 2017 throwing ash, rocks and toxic gasses over a large area. There is currently still a 2.5km exclusion zone around the volcano.

17/11/2011. Pokhara, Nepal. When walking past some rural villages near Pokhara these children ran after us shouting ""hallo! chocla? chocla?", we didn't have any chocolate with us but they also wanted their photo taken. Although they look serious in the photo they burst out in fits of laughter when they saw their picture on my camera screen.


17/11/2011. Pokhara, Nepal

16/07/2007. My back garden. A tortoiseshell butterfly.

26/10/2015. Bali, Indonesia. Had to be patient to get a shot of one of these little crabs, there was lots of them but one little movement within 10 metres of them and they instantly disappear into the sand. So I sat on the sand deadly still until one was brave enough to pop out of it's hole.

17/06/2016. Malham Cove, Yorkshire. There isn't really an angle that you can photograph to show someone what Malham Cove is like in one picture. The sheer drop over the vertical cliff face, the strange weathered limestone formations, the ridge alongside, and the green valley beneath. You've got to see it's awesomeness with your own eyes.

15/11/2011. Kathmandu, Nepal. Just an everyday sight in Kathmandu Old Town.

16/07/2015. Annecy, France. Looking down to Lake Annecy after hiking up into the hills. On the way up there I slipped off the narrow path and clung to a tree dangling over a steep drop. while at the top taking this photo Becci got stung by a large black bee, I pulled it's sting out of her back, shortly after Bec started swelling up around her throat and we ended up at the hospital. All worth it for this photo though eh?

17/11/2012. Ranakpur, Rajasthan, India. We stopped at this incredible 600 year old Jain temple when travelling between Udaipur and Jodhpur. The large temple is built from marble with many domes and turrets all carved in intricate detail, inside there's something like 1500 marble pillars all with different, unique and insanely detailed carvings.

11/11/2016. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Taken from the top of the 421 metre high KL Tower, previously the tallest structure in the world but now a mere 7th tallest.

08/11/2016. Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia. I don't like imposing on people so used my telephoto lens to take this shot covertly. Moments after a big loud American women marched over waving her camera phone in his face as if he was a public exhibit.

18/12/2008. Tsavo East National Park, Kenya. This may not look all that much but it's one of my favourites. Taken at night from our lodge while on a safari, there was a nearby watering hole and we could hear some movement but it was pitch black and we couldn't really see anything but faint shadows in the dark. Using my telephoto lens with a very long exposure time I managed to capture this, making invisible visible.

01/11/2016. Bangkok, Thailand. The amazing thing about this lady is that watching her hammer this metal bowl into shape you wouldn't know she'd had heart bypass surgery just 2 weeks ago! She couldn't afford to have too much time off work and so she's back at it. She quickly showed us her surgery scars and got back to work.

18/11/2012. Jodhpur, India. Cows rule the streets around here. This black bull gave great contrast against the light blue walls of the house behind.

18/11/2012. Jodhpur, India. Mehrangarh Fort on a rocky hilltop overlooks the city with it's vast expanse of blue flat roofed buildings.

16/11/2013. Santa Catalina, Panama. Some colourful beach huts, a surf shack, a bar and then miles of beach with nothing else around, brilliant place for sun, surf and relaxation without crowds of other tourists. As the sun was going down this man and child playing with their dog made a good silhouette against the wet sand and sea. I took this photo from the beach bar of course supping a few beers.

18/11/2013. Panama City, Panama. I love the look of dilapidated ruined old buildings. These graffiti covered buildings in Panama Old Town looked so colourful and a stark contrast against the flashy glass skyscrapers a couple of miles away.

06/11/2016. Penang Hill, Penang, Malaysia.

06/11/2016. Penang Hill, Penang, Malaysia. So how on earth did we end up in a group photo with 25 Penangite hikers??? Well..... climbing Penang Hill was on our list of things to do but to enhance the experience and avoid the normal tourist way of doing things I found the details of a local walking group who meet up every week on a Sunday morning. I emailed the group leader the day before and he replied welcoming us to join them at 8am. We met the walking group at a Buddhist temple, who we soon realised were not so much casual walkers but experienced enthusiastic hikers..... oh dear are we gonna be able to keep up?!

22/07/2016. Shuttingsloe, Macclesfield. Think I just like the golden colour of the grasses in this one really.

09/10/2016. Bickerton Hill, Cheshire. We walk here quite often and I always insist on stopping by this funny shaped rocky bit.

08/11/2016. Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia. The street art around Georgetown in brilliant and plentyful, adding colour and character to the run down buildings. This one on Armenian Street is the most famous, there's usually a gaggle of tourists queuing up to take selfies in front of it so I had to jump in quick and snap this.

23/10/2015. Tengger Massif, East Java, Indonesia. In the dusty basin near the foot of the Mount Bromo volcano shortly after sunrise and some very early time of the morning.

26/03/2007. Ethan Newall. 10 years on Ethan probably wouldn't appreciate people looking at his baby photos, he's too cool for that now!

28/11/2009. The Gambia. They do sunsets properly in The Gambia, they are very good at it indeed.

16/10/2015. Jakarta, Indonesia. We were privileged enough to explore the shanty towns of Jakarta, meet the real but ignored people of Indonesia, enter their homes and see how they live. They call these places slums, the people here have nothing, they get through life grafting and with difficulty, there's no way out of their situation. But how can you call it a slum when they all still keep smiles on their faces? The people here seem happier and more content with life than most people who supposedly have everything. These children followed us everywhere we went.

16/10/2015. Jakarta, Indonesia. Celebrating my birthday in a school house in a shanty town in Jakarta.

09/10/2016. Rawhead, Bickerton Hill, Cheshire. Bec having a brew admiring the view back over to Crewe.

25/09/2016. Grinshill, Shropshire. The view from the top of Grinshill Hill.

20/10/2015. Borodubur, Java, Indonesia. Bec standing among the bell shaped stupas on the massive, incredible, 1200 year old Buddhist sanctuary and largest Buddhist monument structure in the world. It is incredible! It's a huge stepped temple built with large blocks of volcanic stone which are carved with amazingly detailed sculptures explaining the whole story of Buddha's life running clockwise around the walls.

11/07/2015. Geneva. Sven Riederer delighted to finish third in the 2015 European Triathlon Grand Final.

13/11/2014. Budapest, Hungary.

20/11/2012. Pushkar, Rajasthan, India. How we actually managed to make it to Pushkar I don't know. Out in the Rajasthan desert we travelled 200km to get there from Jodhpur on an overnight bus not knowing if we were going in the right direction because we can't speak Hindi and nobody on the bus speaks English. I had terrible Delhi Belly at the time which made for a pretty horrendous journey trying to sleep curled up on top of our backpacks. Arriving at Ajmer we then needed a 20km tuk tuk ride along a bumpy track in the dry, dusty, rocky wilderness. We finally made it and got a room at the Milkman Guesthouse which is a whole story in itself! We had arrived amid Pushkar's biggest and most famous event of the year, the Pushkar Camel Fair where men buy and sell livestock and thousands of pilgrims visit the holy town. Here some camel traders sit eating and drinking tea, the camels stretch out into the hills into the thousands. This really was an otherwordly place like nowhere else I've ever been.

08/11/2013. Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica. Bit of a postcard or travel brochure photo this one.

14/11/2012. Delhi, India. The classic way to travel in Delhi.

15/11/2012. Udaipur, India.

15/11/2012. Udaipur, India. Sat on the steps of a temple this 'holy' man known as a Sadhu was lost in deep meditation, well until he heard the click of my camera and then suddenly he snapped out of it and wanted paying.

18/11/2014. Keswick, Lake District. Even the roads look good around here.

18/12/2008. Kenya. I think this is classed as an impala. photographed while walking a forest trail.

30/08/2008. Eleanor Hunt. Happily running around on her aunt's wedding day.

27/03/2009. The lovely wife, Rebecca. Taken at my college friend Mike's wedding to Jess.

19/02/16. Bibury, Cotswolds.

13/05/2007. Dave and Beverly Platt the newly weds. The only time it is even remotely possible that you will have any desire to photograph your friends getting soppy is on their wedding day.

16/12/2012. Billy Walker.

03/07/2010. Athlone, Ireland. Alistair Brownlee.

29/07/2007. Bala, Wales. Bec in the thick of it as Bala lake triathlon gets underway.

21/03/2017. Barcelona. At the top of one of the hills on the outskirts of the city these three people were sat like this the whole time we were up there just having a moment together.

20/11/2011. Ghandruk, Nepal. This photo just reminds me of happy times. After an amazing trek from Ghorepani to Ghandruk we enjoyed a pot of mint tea at our guesthouse just as the icy evening chill was setting in and relaxed after what was one of the most magical days of my life.

18/09/2016. The Wrekin, Shropshire. We do like a timer photo. Here's Bec and me having a picnic and a brew in the woods midway through a walk.

12/11/2016. The Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand. Another place that's magnificence cannot be captured properly in any amount of photographs, let alone one photo. The palace grounds cover over 200,000sq metres and in all directions you look there are ornate temples, halls, stupas and shrines. I tried a jaunty angle here to try and fit as much in as possible but I recommend you go visit it yourself

12/11/2016. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Petronas Twin towers. Probably the most photographed place in Malaysia.

17/12/2008. Tsavo East, Kenya. Three giraffes all lined up nicely for me.

21/03/2017. Barcelona. Amazing colours fall through the windows inside the incredible La Sagrada Familia.

03/07/2010. Athlone, Ireland. European triathlon. The still water just about to break.....

Right, that's enough, we can't go on forever!
Been a great companion this camera has.
Kinda feel like I've lost an arm.
goodbye camera.....

Race Numbers

2017-06-29T22:40:00.001+01:00

To Rebecca Brand who has trained so hard and competed in many triathlons, duathlons, half marathons and cross country races over the last decade, winning many races, become a recognised name and face at several events on the circuit (something which she will modestly deny), represented her country and raced at international events, here is a tribute to you, using (only some of) the race numbers you have collected over the years to create some unique wall art. Bec really has lived a life of

swim, bike, run, eat, sleep

Liar Liar

2017-06-04T22:17:00.002+01:00

Captain SKA - Liar Liar GE2017
https://youtu.be/HxN1STgQXW8

Strong & Unstable

2017-05-27T08:06:00.000+01:00

Jonathon Pie sorts out what strong and stable means.

He's also here telling you why you should vote.....

coffee art?

2017-05-26T15:04:00.001+01:00

Here's a video of some coffee barista bloke in Korea who creates impressive art on your coffee froth. Oooh that's lovely mate, better than the usual naff little swirl but hold on! It's gone cold now! Can you make me another one with the taj mahal on it? but quicker this time, I want it hot! Thanks mate.

Actually though, I'm not one for poncy coffee myself, lattes and frapamachachinos are for women and fairies. If I went into this guys coffee shop I'd be saying, "no pal, I just want a strong black coffee, no sugar, no milk, no froth, no pissing about! FFS! Just a coffee please!!!"