Project Harvest Diary

2007-07-09T04:10:00.000-07:00

Miami Vice

Project Harvest Diary

Joss:

Flew out of New York into MIA (Miami International Airport to civilians) and spent three sweaty and irritable days recording beautiful people having a good time as we lugged equipment around in tropical weather. Still it could be worse and I think Craig now wants to live here (for this week at least). Went down to the Everglades and despite wearing supposedly the best insect repellant money can buy (according to the Costa Rican Pharmacist we bought it off) still got royally chewed up by mosquitos. Got some good swamp noises though and also some of us swearing as another mosquito sucked our blood.

Thus we came to the end of our American Tail, bloodied, bruised but unbowed. We have gone our separate ways for a two week holiday; I to Mexico and Craig to Costa Rica. We will be back in blighty soon, with a bagfull of stories and a casefull of sounds.

Hasta Luego.

Harvest

2007-07-09T04:03:00.000-07:00

New Yoyk New Yoyk

Project Harvest Diary

Joss:

Drove out of Canada and returned to the U S of A after a thorough interregation by immigration officials and made our way down through New York state (which is really nice), nipping into some neighbouring states along the way. Recorded a biker rally at Lake George on the way down and arrived in New York and ditched the van on Monday 11th June.

Spent a week recording in New York highlights including a session at Grand Central Station, trying to not get arrested or shot recording on the subway without permission, reocrding baseball in central park and god-botherers in Times Square. Recorded the diner where Sally simulated orgasm to Harry and also Comfy Soup and Burger where Adam Sandler took his adopted son in 1999 classic comedy "Big Daddy". Even found time to nip up the Empire State on our day off. I do not know where we find the time.

2007-07-09T04:02:00.002-07:00

Project Harvest Diary 1st - 8th June

Craig:

Algonquin National Park was our first stop after Toronto where we recorded a variety of forests, swamps, rapids, lakes, reservoirs, birds and super loud insects. Armed with a can of Mosquito spray, this didn't seem to deter them and myself and Joss must have lost about a litre of blood between us over that weekend not to mention the itchy lumps that covered our bodies. Ontario have really strange alcohol laws and you can only by booze from a beer cash-and-carry which is extremely expensive so Ontario was a sober weekend.
On Monday we got up at the crack of dawn to get some early morning forest atmospheres, had a good scratch and then headed off to Montreal.
We had the first two days off and it absolutely rained buckets, winds not short of gale force, followed by thunder and lightning. We soldiered on though and went to see what the big city had to offer us. We went downtown to have a look around a few shops and then walked to old town to sample a pint of locally brewed ale (what else is there to do on a rainy day?).
We went to see the new film Severance in the evening and it was pretty funny although every film we have watched out here so far has been British.

The following day we went to the Planetarium but unfortunately we missed the last film show in English so we decided to sit in on a French-speaking version. Fifty minutes of it. Needless to say the only thing that I managed to translate was "big planet" so that was a waste of my time and money.
On the Wednesday we recorded on the Metro system, shopping centres, a cathedral, train station, city parks, old town cobbled streets, bars, coffee shops, restaurants and the port. The following day we concentrated more on individual sounds and recorded an industrial street cleaner, hydraulic generator, garden fountain, lock and chain rattling on various doors and a variety of individual construction site sounds such as a steam roller, JCB and some welding sounds. We also did some undercover recording in Banks, department stores, shops and in a food court.

We are going to try and gain access to the Formula 1 Grand Prix tomorrow and then make our way down to New York recording on the way.

2007-07-09T04:02:00.001-07:00

Harvest Diary 31st May 2007

Joss

Hit the road again and drove up through from Louisiana to Chicago stopping off to record red-necks in Memphis at the World BBQ Championships and forests and diners in Mississippi. Arrived in Chicago and spent a few hours trying to find somewhere to park, eventually succeeding on finding somewhere a mere 25 minute walk from the hostel on our 3rd attempt. Spent a week in Chicago recording the famous overland trains that run through the city, sneaking into the Academy of Art and recording a very long Memorial day parade on Saturday.

Left Chicago and drove up through Michigan stopping at a campsite in the middle of nowhere in Kalamazoo county. The place was hicksville and we left as early as possible in the morning having been kept awake with their whooping and hollering and blasting out of "God Bless America".

Stopped off at Niagara falls, sneaking in some mics and recording the loud white noise that the falls produce. We now find ourselves in Toronto where we will be spending a couple of days before heading through to Montreal

2007-07-09T03:58:00.002-07:00

The deep south and beyond.

Project Harvest Diary 3rd May - 17th May

Craig:

We hit Kansas and headed for the local bovine Auschwitz to record some crazy machinery and generators. The cattle didn't really have much to say though unfortunately. We headed down to Fort Worth recording some plains, fields and birds on the way before boarding the old steam train.
Results were excellent even if I say so myself even though I came close to decapitation as I hung out of an empty carriage window recording the tracks. So far some great train sounds recorded out here!
That evening we went 'undercover' once more to sample the local Rodeo.
It seemed more than a coincident that ever single cowboy fell off in the time limit, yet the last cowboy of the evening stayed on that god damn bull too long if you ask me.

The following day we headed to Ennis to record the All Harvey Drag Race and got some awsome sounds in the can. We were given access to the side of the track as they raced past at the speed of lightning and we also recorded in the stands, by the bikes themselves before racing, "backstage biker hangout" and some announcements over the speakers.
After recording bits and pieces around Texas we made our way to New Orleans in Louisiana which turned out to be an absolute blast!
The first day we boarded the paddle steam boat to get some great sounds in the engine room, the paddle wheel itself, announcements over the speaker, deck and dining area atmospheres and a beat of all the loud horn. HOOOONNNNK.

We later recorded the canal street ferry which was so so and later recorded the world famous street cars. Also in our time in the city we recorded various parking lot sounds, generic city sounds, hotels, bars, restaurants, around the amazing French quarter, drunkards in Bourbon Street and some generators and elevators. We met some great people at the hostel and went out on saturday
evening and awoke with sore heads on the sunday.

We left the city to hit the swamps only to get stuck in the middle of the worst thunder, lightning and rain ever. To make matters worse the windscreen wipers broke so we had to keep pulling over when the rain got too heavy. We booked into a motel and recorded some thunder before retiring after a hot shower. The next morning things got worse as the van wouldn't start up at all. As a result the got towed to an "auto shop" so we hired a 4*4 to record and to get us to the swamps to get some atmospheres.

2007-07-09T03:58:00.001-07:00

Journey To The Centre Of A Continent

Project Harvest Diary May 2nd 2007

Joss:

We made ready to leave California and venture forward into the American heartland. With 3000 miles plus, several mountain ranges, many thousand police and many millions of strange Americans between us and New York we breathed a deep breath and put our foot on the gas. Not much happened as the van crawled forward at 15 mph. We limped it to a garage where they tweaked the bit that makes it go and we were back on our way. Stopped briefly in Reno but were given short shrift by the various casino owners who were unwilling to defy state law for a pair of young rascals on the lamb. We cracked on for the very long and very boring drive across Northern Nevada, the landscape briefly punctuated by the odd petrol station / casino. Drove up through part of Idaho into Montana and arrived at our next scheduled stop of Yellowstone National Park.

Spent the day recording geysers (not the sort you get in sound studios in Soho, the wet type), cranes, bubbling mud pots and all sorts of other geo-thermal rumblings. Stayed the night at Chuck's RV Site in West Yellowstone. Upon meeting us showed us some pictures of some Grizzly Bears eating an Elk that he had just killed, probably with his bare hands. Asked him where there was to get some food in town and he advised to go to a place which "you guys will love" as there are "8 chicks to 2 dudes!!!". Why he didn't just go for the more obvious ratio of 4 to 1 I don't know. As it turned out it was the only place open in town and was a quiet family restaurant. Maybe Chuck hadn't been there for a while.

Got up the next day and started the long drive through Wyoming to Colorado, stopping to record as we went getting freight trains, oil pumps, forests and frozen lakes amongst other things. Stayed the night semi-illegally at a camping area that was closed for the season (there was nothing saying we definately couldn't stay there) because the other campsite in town seemed to be inhabited by people who lived there and there were several large dogs roaming around. Spent the night in fear of grizzly attack instead in the hills.

Drove down to Denver where we had a couple of days to celebrate Craig reaching the grand old age of 24. Recorded in the town yesterday but uninspired by the sonic make-up of Denver we cracked on and now find ourselves a mere 150 miles or so from the Kansas border.

2007-04-19T14:18:00.001-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 16th - 19th April

Joss

We stopped off in Santa Cruz and did some recording at the beach and got some freight trains that rumble through the town. Cracked on to San Francisco and stayed in a hostel in Chinatown so we ended up eating Chinese food every day.

Spent Monday recording in the downtown part of San Francisco and in Chinatown recording all sorts of city sounds and getting hassled by people trying to extort money from tourists. One particularly stood out as he was like Michael Caine in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", pretending to be some kind of Australian aristocrat who's wallet had been stolen by an African whilst slumming it downtown getting brunch (a nice touch I thought). As a result he needed $20 for a taxi back to his hotel. Why he couldn't just get the bus for $1.25 I don't know. Recorded in Chinatown as well so now we don't need to go to China because we have Chinese conversations and even a traditional Chinese band / Dragon dance.

Tuesday we had organised a recording session at a wind-swept Pier 39 in the morning and we had access to an arcade (bleeps and money clinking, we also won 2 postcards and a plastic spider ring), the marina (wind whistling through masts, rope and wood creaks) and a restaurant and kitchen (Mexicans cooking, fridge sounds, conversations over lunch). After that did some recording along the waterfront, managing to get a fishing boat engine from 1906 and crab sellers amongst other thing.

Got up at the crack of dawn the next day to record San Francisco's street cars and electric buses. Craig's immediate reaction to being woken up was to shout a torrent of abuse that would make a whore blush but after calming down we got some good stuff and went on to record in a bowling alley with mixed results because of the racket made by the pensioners bowling league that was going on at the same time. Stopped off to record some traffic at the Golden Gate Bridge and at Golden Gate Park on the way back and we are heading off to Reno after we have copied off all our sounds and sent them back to the Iceman at Wave HQ.

2007-04-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary 6th April - 11th April

Craig:

Well, where do i start? Our time in LA has been mind-blowing to say the least!!! We flew in on the Friday and waited about three hours at BA Cargo dept. to pick up our recording gear and then got a cab to our hostel on Venice beach. Our room was really nice and everyone there was friendly!
The next day (rest day) myself and joss took a trip into the anti-climax of Hollywood strip! Its not anything like you would imagine and at one point i had to push Joss off the walk of fame sidewalk to prevent him from stepping into a heap of freshly laid dog turd. Nice! We went to a cool guitar store, had a hearty meal in a hip dinner and then hit the bars! I've always heard of Sunset strip and its amazing history as the buzzing music scene it once was back in the day where Guns and Roses played the Wisky-a-go-go so we ventured on down to see what all the fuss was about! We went to the Rainbow where Lemmy from Motorhead and Slash drink all the time but unfortunately they were nowhere to be seen! I've heard tales of Lemmy propping up the bar with a hot chick on either arm and being the only person in the world allowed to smoke in this non-smoking venue! That's rock n' roll. We later went to the Roxy music venue to watch some bands and i met a really nice girl called Aimee that night who i met up with in my free time which was really cool!

Monday we stated work and recorded a bunch of beach atmospheres, sounds of crashing waves, cafes, bars, restaurants and later recorded individual car sounds in a car park! The next day we recorded some fire engine sirens, union station, downtown LA including a swanky hotel, an indoor market and general street/city bustle sounds! Wednesday was public transport day recording some great tannoys on bus and underground as well as individual doors/rails and the usual atmospheres to capture the journey! I also got permission to record the massive LA public library and got some great room tones and elevators! All in all a good time has been had and we look forward to hittting the 101 to San Francisco.

Bye Bye for now

2007-03-30T02:42:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 30th March

Craig:

Its been a fairly quiet month in terms of recording as we have been busy planning and getting permission for interesting things to record in America. Hopefully this time next week project harvest will be flying to LA - watch this space for blogspot U.S.A styleee.
We have done the odd bit of recording this month. Joss recorded inside Tate modern and I had the joy of recording St Patrick's day parade in Central London (although i left my camera at home) and the red carpet of the U.K premier of Wild Hogs feat. John Travolta, Ray Liotta and Tim Allen at the Odeon Leicester Square. For some reason (god only knows why) Right Said Fred strutted there stuff down the carpet and i got a camera pointed at me by the Paul O'grady camera crew! Watch this space.....

2007-03-02T04:55:00.000-08:00

Project Harvest Diary: 2nd March 2007

Craig:

Greetings bloggers, we have spent the last week or so of editing and recording various office sound effects in the studio with the help of new harvester Ashley 'The Ice Man' Smith who has created quite a buzz on You Tube recently for his editing antics. It was 28 hits last time we checked but still counting! I headed out to some stables near South Woodford yesterday to record my friend Gill's Horse Jasper (pictured). Me and Jasper spent some time negotiating on the recording fee and we eventually agreed on 3 apples. I thought he was going to call the whole thing off at one point when i was pointing mic's at his head whilst he was eating his dinner!
All went well and I got some good neigh's, hoofs on different surfaces, grooming sounds, trots, him rolling around in the mud and him taking a number 2. Really Jasper - was there any need for that?

2007-02-15T06:50:00.000-08:00

Project Harvest Diary: 15th Feb 2007

Happy New Year Blog Fans!

We have been a bit slack with our entries because we have been in London working out where we are and what to do next. We have got our US visas and are planning the next stage of the Harvest adventure.

We have been recording some stuff in the studio with honorary Harvest-eer Ashley "The Ice Man" Smith who is compiling and cataloguing the library.

Check out what we did to a computer! The warranty may now be void....

Click below to see Ashley doing what he does best.......

2006-11-28T06:37:00.000-08:00

Project Harvest Diary: 15th - 23rd November

The Boys Are Back In Town

Joss:

We left Serbia behind after a brief overnight stop-off in a small town just shy of the Hungarian border. Spent a bit of time recording in the morning before heading up into Hungary. Got a bit of hassle at the border but we are well used to that now. The border guard demanded to see the eighth of a bottle of vodka we had left from Estonia (not the best), told us that we should have walked around rather than driving and that we shouldn't have gone to Romania. Mulling over this sage advice we headed through Hungary into Austria. Arrived in Vienna late and stayed in a service station and tryed to acclimatise ourselves back to Western European prices. Drove into a campsite in the morning and spent a few days recording in Vienna which was fruitful as it is quiet, they don't blare out Beyonce's latest hit from everywhere and the people are much too busy eating cakes and drinking double mocca frappacinos with cream to pay attention to us. Went into the Christmas market on Saturday and found that the sense of smell was more stimulated than the sense of hearing with various stalls selling apfel punsch, sweets and massive cakes.
Left Vienna on Sunday and drove to Salzburg hoping that the Christmas Market there would be a bit more sonically stimulating but it was not open for another week. We pushed on after scraping the ice off the inside (!!!!!) of the van windscreen in the morning and rolled into Innsbruck to find that again nothing was open for a few weeks. We meandered our way back to Calais and got the ferry back our European adventure all but over. There will be more after Christmas when our adventure continues.

2006-11-14T05:44:00.000-08:00

Project Harvest Diary: 8th - 14th November

Back-Handers, Pot-Holes and Turning the Corner

Joss:

Left Bucharest in the morning and after finally managing to find our way out and stopping at the border town of Guigiu to briefly record we arrived at the border looking forward to the new challenge of Bulgaria.
While it is very easy to get into Romania it is very difficult to get out. We had to buy two different types of road tax, bribe a border official 50 Euros because they didn't give us some paperwork going in that they should have (or he just decided to rob us) and then pass an interrogation by a spiv passing himself off as a customs official. We then had to buy insurance for Bulgaria, more road tax and a dubious "disinfectant tax" which allowed you to drive through a car sheep dip.
Shell shocked and about 150 Euros poorer we drove into Bulgaria and stayed the night in a town on the way to Sofia, spending a couple of days recording rural and town sounds including schoolchildren screaming at a frog, old men drinking wine out of plastic cups, and various shops and cafes.
Arrived in Sofia and managed to find a bed for the night only after Craig nearly had a nervous breakdown after driving in the chaotic traffic and incredibly narrow maze-like one way systems. Spent that evening doing a bit of recording before settling down to a fitful night`s sleep in below zero temperatures in an unheated hotel room. Spent the next day recording in and around the city centre before driving out hoping to stay the night somewhere near the Serbian border. Unfortunately the van hit one massive pot-hole too many and started making a very worrying clanking noise. After calling the RAC we got a recovery mechanic out who turned up in good spirits, drunk and in a Lada. After confirming that there was a problem and trying to bend the wheel back into shape with his bare hands we spent about an hour sitting in his Lada in silence listening to Serbian "Golden Hits Radio" occasionally trying to have a conversation. The language barrier proved insurmountable on this occasion.
The tow truck driver turned up and took us and the van back to a garage in Sofia, then taking us on to a nearby hotel. The tow truck driver bizarrely showed us to our room and made sure we knew what time breakfast was before leaving. We half expected him to ask us for a tip. It soon became clear that we were the only people staying at the hotel who weren`t paying by the hour so we cowered in our room finishing off the last of our Romanian lager and watching "Kelly`s Heroes" with Serbian subtitles.
The next day being Sunday we expected that the van wouldn`t be looked at until Monday and were surprised to get a phone call at midday saying the van was fixed and we would be picked up was ready for our inspection. Things got stranger when our friend the tow-truck driver turned up to pick us up and take us to the garage. After nodding sagely and kicking the tyres of the van we confirmed that they had done a good job and agreed to pay up. After paying the tow truck driver the 120 Leva I asked for a receipt only to receive 20 Leva back and a cheeky wink. It then became clear that the tow truck driver had done the job on the sly with whoever was at the garage that weekend without the owner of the garage`s knowledge. We couldn`t complain though and drove back to the hotel ready to have another crack at getting out of the country.
Got to the border without incedent but had the usual hassle of having to buy insurance for the next country (which set us back 126 Euro!!!) but finally made it through into Serbia after about an hour of going back and forth between different officials. Arrived in Belgrade last night and walked around trying to find somewhere to eat that wasn`t a kebab house (we had a bad experience with Eastern European kebabs in Bucharest which I won`t go into here, this being a family blog) or as expensive as the Ritz finally finding somewhere as we were about to collapse from hunger.
Spent today recording in the bustling Metropolis that is Belgrade hoping to get out tonight and start the drive up to Austria before heading back to good old Blighty with the hope of a decent breakfast that doesn`t involve cold meats or chicken.

2006-11-07T07:08:00.000-08:00

Project Harvest Diary: 1st - 7th November

Hungary Like The Wolf

Joss:

After a relatively short drive of a few hours we had left Slovakia behind and were heading into Budapest and our last campsite for a while, having no listings beyond Hungary and those we had being closed. It was characterful, being a concrete pit that was a former tram depo but the builders hardly disrupted us at all with their banging, shouting and emptying stuff into a skip that got closer to the van daily. Spent a couple of days in Budapest recording in a massive grocery market (before we got chucked out, I sneaked back in though), at the State Opera (another stealth operation, Verdi's Requiem; emotive tenor, divaish soprano lost her place in duet; 7/10) and got some good concert build-up sounds, at the famous baths (at one point recording the outside swimming pools in swimming trunks and nearly getting pneumonia) amongst other things. Saw the first snow of the trip a few times in the morning, it being bitterly cold.
After Budapest headed up north-east into the Carpathian foothills and did some quick forest and village recording before heading off into Romania.
Spent a day driving through the border and into Romania stopping off at a small town to get stared at with absolute astonishment by the locals, trying to avoid getting rabies off the many stray dogs that roam around here and avoid getting killed by the insane local drivers who seem to care very little for their own lives let alone anyone elses. Spent the night in Transilvania under a full moon. Spooooookeeeeee!!!! Had Mexican food for dinner at the restaurant round the corner from the hotel.
After managing to dodge the articulated lorries overtaking on blind corners, carts full of old women being dragged by cows on main roads and alive and dead dogs all over the place we arrived shaken but resolute in Bucharest only to find no rooms at any of the semi-respectable hotels in the city. After getting lost about 4 times, driving around the Parliament building 6 times (we are probably now being followed by the Ministry of Intelligence) we finally managed to find a delightful 1 star fleapit by the train station after about three hours searching. It is cheap though and we have good view of the glue sniffers and packs of wild dogs that roam Bucharest at night so shouldn't complain.
Went into Bucharest today to get hassled by private security guards at the train station managing to get what we needed before finally being escorted out by two large baton-weilding female guards. Went into town recording in the sprawling centre of town recording shops, cafes, old drunks taunting diabetic old women beggars and generally get looked at like we have got 6 arms, 5 legs and our genitalia where our face should be. Have avoided jail and any approaches by members of the public have been curious rather than aggressive though. Regroup and see where we are tonight and then crack on tomorrow.

2006-11-03T02:57:00.000-08:00

Project Harvest Diary: 27th - 31st October

The Brat Pack

Joss:

We left Poland behind (no doubt mourning our departure) and headed into Slovakia, not before stopping of in the Tatra mountains to record some forest sounds. Our first port of call in Slovakia was a small medieval town whose name I can't remember. We did some recording in the main square and cracked on. After an overnight stop where we were harrassed in a restaurant by a drunk middle aged waitress wearing devil horns and a red wig we arrived in Bratislava just in time to record the local heroes Slovan Bratislava edge out a nervy win against a team who brought about 20 fans with them and had all the quality of the Dog and Duck's second XI. Gladly avoided any run - ins with the Slovan Ultras (they had a banner saying "no-one likes us we don't care" and spent much of the game doing what seemed to be Nazi salutes), just a few suspicious glances not even any verbal abuse. English fans should take heed from these Eastern European far right hooligan groups on how to behave in a civilised manner. Towards us at least.
Spent some time recording in Bratislava proper and then drove the short drive down to Budapest which is where we now find ourselves.

2006-10-25T02:17:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 19th - 25th October

Climbing Up A Greasy Pole

Joss:
Recorded some more stuff in Prague, picked up the van and headed to a campsite near to the city centre. Did a bit more recording the next day and got ready to leave but found the van unwilling to start, it's battery being flat. After some improvisation we managed to jump the main battery off the leisure one without setting fire to the van or shorting all the electrics and we were on our way.
Arrived fairly late to a campsite in Kuntna Hora, a small town just outside of Prague where we spent the next day recording. Craig found a good place to record trains going past but after waiting for two hours none came and he left, only for three to come along at once as he was walking back! We went back there the next day and recorded three trains, one of them going over a steel bridge. Fo the train going over the bridge our set-up was such that I had to wait for he tran to come, whack i on record then run off the bridge. This sounds very dangerous but in fact the trains were only travelling at about 10mph.
After spending 4 hours recording 3 trains we decided to cut our losses and head off to Poland, as you do. After sleeping in a Polish layby we headed to Oswiezim, better known as it's German name Auschwitz. After negotiating access we spent a couple of hours recording before it closed in Auschwitz 1 which was the smaller of the two camps in Oswiezim. All the old blacks here have been turned into a kind of museum commemorating the Holocaust. We camped that night in what is essentially a car park trying to pass itself off as a campsite and Craig cooked a barbecue that only took 3 hours and two disposable barbecues to finish.
Spurred on by the inspiring words above the gates of Auswitz 1 "Arbecht Macht Frei" (Work Is Freedom) we got to Auchwitz 2 when it opened at 8 before anyone else got there and spent a couple of fun-filled hours recording in the stables that were used as barracks for detainees and in the old sauna where incoming prisoners were robbed of there possessions and clothes, deloused and washed. Nothing remains of the old gas chambers as the German's destroyed them upon leaving.
After that we drove to Krakow on awful Polish roads. It is amazing that so many roads are closed for works and yet the roads that are open are so rutted and hole-ridden that you can only go about 30mph for fear of snapping an axle (especially judging by the van's track record). Arrived at the campsite to meet a couple who had stayed at the one we had stayed at in Auswitz. Craig intensified the impression that we were stalking them by parking our van beside their's in an empty campsite.
Spent the evening recording in Krakow and are back in today gazing out of the window at the largest medieval square in Europe.
More informative facts and observations next time.

2006-10-18T11:53:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary 13th-18th October

Czech Us Out!!!

Craig:

Not a great deal to report since the last blog as it was Joss's birthday on Sunday and his girlfriend Annika came over to Prague for the weekend. I returned back home for the weekend to see my newly born Niece Neve (who is absolutely adorable - takes after her uncle Craig!!!) and my big sis and also thought I'd let Joss have a nice romantic weekend with Annika.
Just as we pulled into Prague airport carpark on Friday, the lights in the vans went which was good timing as it was pitch black!!!
It was a blessing in disguise as the slide-door handle recently broke off and the wing mirror is completly buggered after many a gaffa-tape roll used to attempt some kind of make-shift repair!
We took the van into a garage when i returned and are now holed up in a Hostel in the city centre and have been busy recording various things around the old town, the metro, trams, horse and cart, bars, restaurants, pigeon's fighting and around the airport including the disabled toilet (dont ask).

We plan to record some evening night life and some bits and pieces in the morning before picking up the van where the harvest adventure continues. Oh.... I also sat next to Bradely from Eastenders on the tube on the way to the airport. Not as good as us seeing Holly Valance in Rome - Jesus I should send these in to hello magazine!!!

2006-10-12T07:17:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 7th - 12th October

Ich Bin Ein Berliner!

Joss:

We left Munich via the zoo which was near the campsite. Recorded a few things but were disappointed by the animals on show. Managed to get a rhinocerous urinating though, essential for any good library. Stopped off at the airport and then headed to Rother-something Am Taub, a small medieval Bavarian town, and did some recording there on Sunday.
The week started disastrously on Monday as I knocked over an air pump trying to pull into a service station. We sheepishly picked it up and hearing no alarm bells or police sirens legged it leaving an old man filling up his car to pick his jaw up from off the floor. We made it half a mile down the road before a tyre blew on the van. After a wheel change Michael Schumacher would be proud of we made good our escape, heading down to the Black Forest.
Spent the afternoon, night and part of the morning recording some forest atmospheres, cuckoo clocks and sleeping cows before setting off on the long drive to Berlin. Arrived late tuesday night and did some recording on Wednesday around Potsdamer Platz and Mitte district. Back in today recording in museums, artist co-operatives, train stations, parks and zoos amongst other things.
Tomorrow we are diving over to Prague where I will celebrate my birthday in style (feel free to post any gifts to Wave Recording Studios where I will peruse them upon my return).

Congratulations to Craig´s sister Janine and her husband Chris on the birth of their baby girl, Neve. Yes, Craig is an Uncle. And back on the meat. Hooray!

2006-10-06T06:25:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 1st - 6th October

Oktoberfest

Joss:

We finally arrived in Munich on Sunday night after a 36 hour drive spread over two and a bit days spanning five countries and 1000 miles. Went to the campsite nearest the Oktoberfest, finding it full of drunk Australians, Germans and Italians, and settled down to a fitful sleep with honking horns and whoops from our German neighbours. Went into Oktoberfest the next day and recorded around the fairground before heading into some tents. Spent a frustrating few hours of people offering us interviews, grabbing the mic and singing into it and trying to twiddle knobs on the Deva. Weary and unamused we got some decent recording done and headed back, looking forward to a couple of days off to go to Oktoberfest and recover.
Went in the next day, bought some silly hats, went on roller coasters, ate chicken, got drunk and hit tables with our fists in the biggest piss-up in the world.
Back to work yesterday, recording restaurant, metro, market, bus, and various other city sounds in Munich city centre and we are back in today, hoping to finish off tomorrow morning before heading off into Bavaria and then the Black Forest.

2006-10-06T05:40:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 26th - 30th September

Guns, Run - Ins With The Law And A Quick Sprint Across Europe

Joss:

We got the overnight ferry to Turku from Stockholm, arriving 2 hours early at the port due to overcautious timekeeping. Got into Turku at 7AM and drove the 3 hours or so to Helsinki where a freezing cold and empty campsite welcomed us. Went in in the afternoon recording various transport sounds and the Finnish people going about their business. Craig got into a concert in a cathedral buried out of the "living rock" and recorded a few rounds of applause in the evening. Despite warnings from Swedish people that Finnish people were ugly and stupid and that Helsinki wasn´t worth going to we both found it a very nice place. In the morning I went and recorded a sauna which was in an area surrounded by brothels and sex shops so when I asked where the sauna was I just got either knowing nods or looks of horror. In the end I found it and just about managed to get out without melting the equipment or passing out.
We got the evening ferry to Tallinn in Estonia, getting in at ten at night. After unsuccessfully trying to find a campsite we settled for a lay-by just out of town and settled down to sleep with the sound of distant gunshots ringing in our ears.
Got up the next day and did some recording in the old town then tried to find somewhere to stay, eventually getting a room at a hostel attached to a college which apparentely used to be the dorms of the old Soviet technical college. It evidently hadn´t been washed since the soviet days and but at least it had 55 channels of Estonian TV in the room. Upon checking in I discovered I didn´t have my passport with me. Having changed travellers cheques earlier I presumed it was stolen and that someone was as we spoke stealing my identity. After a phone call to the duty officer at the british embassy we discovered I could get another one tomorrow if I got a police report and came in the next day. We went into town, got the necessary report and recorded in a couple of bars, the town being surprisingly low on stag nights that evening.
On the off chance I had left my passport at the bank where I exchanged money the previous day I went back in the morning before going to the embassy as Craig recorded some weird electric buses that they have in Tallinn. They said I had left it there but they had taken it to the police station at 3 pm the previous day which means that while I was making my statement to the police my passport was sitting a few feet away behind the reception desk.
We had organised a recording session with a guy called Mr Death who provides members of the public with small (and not so small) arms to fire in a partially controlled environment of a shooting range just outside Tallinn. Unfortunately Mr Death couldn´t make it and his assistant Tanu picked us up with a bootload of guns and ammo and drove us there at great speed, ignoring the dangers of driving fast over speedbumps with live rounds in the back.
Once at the range we recorded ourselves firing a glock pistol, a magnum (Tanu quoting Dirty Harry naturally), a pump action shotgun and an AK-47. I proved a natural with the small arms, hitting a target 50 metres away with 60% of my bullets from the pistols (Tanu nicknaming me "The Widowmaker"). Craig failed to hit the target once and sent a few rounds flying out of the range, to come back to earth hopefully safely somewhere otherwise he is possibly now wanted for murder in Estonia. If he wasn´t such a bad shot I would have been more concerned when he pointed a loaded Glock at me while asking whether we were recording yet. After Craig was mildly mauled by the driving range guard dog we left Estonia to start our 1000 mile drive down to Munich and the end of Oktoberfest.
We made it through Estonia and Latvia and did a trademark Harvest lay-by night stop over in Lithuania. Continued the next day through Poland, being stopped by the police for overtaking and being English and let go for being frustrating and not speaking Polish, just about making it to Berlin after a gruelling drive across Polish country roads (there are about two motorways in Poland, one of which lasts for about 20 miles).

2006-09-25T02:34:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 22nd - 25th September

Swedish Hardcore

Joss:

After some enquiries we discovered that there are no frozen lakes in Sweden in September so headed south towards Stockholm stopping at a couple of villages and pine forests on the way to record old people having tea. Arrived in Norrkoping on friday night after driving the equivalent of London to Newcastle and spent the night at Craig's cousin's house.
Drove into Stockholm the next day and Craig went in to record, me staying in the van nursing a swollen face and foot. I was worried sick but he finally came back with himself and the equipment intact at 2 AM having recorded a load of transport sounds, restaurants, bars and the beautiful people of Stockholm queuing for clubs. We went in the next day to record the changing of the Swedish Royal family guard, a swim meet and some park sounds.
I am currently living out the Gary Glitter fantasy of sitting on a park bench in Central Stockholm on the internet surrounded by 50 Swedish schoolchildren. We are getting the overnight ferry tonight from Stockholm to Turku in Finland and then will drive to Helsinki where our Scandinavian chapter will close.

2006-09-21T06:29:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary 12th Sept - 21st Sept

Norwegian Wood? Norway Jose!

Craig:

After a picture-esque drive from Copenhagen through Sweden we finally arrived at our campsite 8KM north of Oslo. We were greeted by two very friendly campsite owners who asked us where we were from and then told us how much they they loved the English because "we are very peaceful people" - Yea right!!!. We later realised that they were just buttering us up for the shock of our lives that was Norway's number one campsite from hell. Campsite aside, We spent two days in Oslo recording the central train station, around the Metro, Various Tram recordings, Port atmospheres, Restaurants, hotels, a Didgeredoo busker and some unusual spot effects ranging from escalators to revolving doors to random beeping noises. We then headed West to Odda to record some Glacier sounds stopping off at the world famous Latefoss waterfall to try some experimental recording techniques using our underwater microphone and a bucket as well doing some standard atmospheres and spot effects.

The long climb up the glacier in Odda is going to remain a memorable one to say the least - The tourist info failed to mention the words "absailing" and "rope-bridge". Throw in us lugging the equipment into the equation and it's the bloody crypton factor all over again. After a nice hot shower we decided to tart ourselves up and hit the big Friday nightlife of Odda to see what the place had to offer. Absolute bloody washout! The place was completely dead and it was literally me and Joss supping our £7 pints in an empty room so we decided to cut our losses and buy a litre of coke from the petrol station and retrire to the van to polish off my duty free bottle of Jim Beam.

The following morning we headed north to check out another glacier as there were ice caves that made for excellent recordings. We also did some more experimental recording with the underwater microphone, burying it into the glacier and sticking hot objects into the ice with a little help from a disposable BBQ. The tourists and treckers must have thought we were a couple of absolute loonies! On our way out of Norway we stumbled across a saw mills and the kind manager agreed to let us roam free on his premises and we recorded lots of good interior and exterior machinery, JCB's, Lorries and pretty much every wood related noise you can think of. We are now in Sweeden on the lookout for a frozen lake before we head to Stockholm, calling in on my cousin Ben on the way recording various bits and pieces on our journey.

2006-09-11T04:48:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 8th -11th September

All The Fun Of The Fair

Joss:

Spent the evening recording in Amsterdam city centre and red - light district. Needless to say the minute we pressed the record button on the main street for prostitutes peddling their wares (and bizarrely loads of tourists sightseeing) the ladies became a little more shy, covering themselves with the curtains they pull across when "busy" and banging on the glass and shouting. After trying to explain that it was a microphone and getting a few minutes of recording we beat a hasty retreat leaving that as our last, and very fitting, image of Amsterdam.
Stopped off in a few villages on the way out of Holland, the best being the town of Volendam on the coast just north of Amsterdam. There was some kind of festival on so we could do some recording at the fair and of groups of young drunk Dutch men.
Slept that night in a layby somewhere in North Germany and stumbled out of the van to find the carpark full of people stopped for their Saturday. Craig woke up to see a German man's face peering into the van as I showed him round (he was thinking of buying one). Arrived in Copenhagen at around six that evening and after a couple of hours getting the van sorted and having some beans on toast we headed into Copenhagen.
Spent a pleasant evening in Copenhagen, watching some punk bands at a student venue / youth club until we went to get the night bus home. The driver charged us 180 DKK (about £18) each to get a single back to the camp site, 4 times what it had cost to get the bus into town. Despite our protestations the driver stood firm and we grudgingly paid him his dirty money and went home with bewildered looks and empty wallets.
Spent Sunday afternoon recording in Copenhagen; it being Sunday parks, outside cafes and squares being the main recording focus. Criag managed to get into the Tivoli themepark in the centre of town for free and recorded the screams and laughter inside.
Today we are finishing off some odds and ends in Copenhagen and then are going to head off over the bridge to Malmo in Sweden and start the drive up to Olso.

2006-09-07T09:28:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 5th - 7th September

Harvest Strikes Back: The Saga Continues.........

Joss:

Hello blog fans,no doubt you have all been waiting with great anticipation to see when and where we would pop up next. We have started the next leg of our European Odyssey and are in Amsterdam, our first stop.
We left London on Tuesday after spending a few weeks getting the van sorted and equipment fixed and serviced. We just about made it to the ferry after a manic drive to Harwich after some bad traffic on the M25. Arrived in Hook Of Holland and drove straight up to Amsterdam, arriving at the campsite after a (fairly) brief unscheduled tour of the northern suburbs of the city.
Took a day off on Wednesday as neither of us had been to Amsterdam before and decided to cash in some free time early doors. Went to the Heineken factory, hurrying past the exhibits to get to the bar and cash in our complimentary drinks. Went out to a Dutch restaurant which seems to have exactly the same food as a German one (Schnitzel and sausages) and then went out for the evening getting back a little later than planned due to a logistical problem meaning we ended up on the wrong bus, had to get off in the middle of nowhere, wait for another night bus back to the city centre and then get another bus to the campsite. This meant that what should have taken us 15 minutes took us 2 and a half hours.
Have spent today recording in the city; highlights being recording cafes and markets in the Pijp district, sneaking into the Amsterdam University canteen (there were students there actually studying!), getting thrown out of the Amstel Continental Hotel and stoned teenagers making monkey and cat noises at us in Vollendam park.
We are currently waiting for night to fall so Amsterdam reveals it's seedier side and we will try and capture that on tape whilst trying not to get robbed.

2006-08-18T02:21:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 3rd - 10th August

Viva Espana! (But Not The Van)

Joss:

We headed south from Barcelona with the ferry booked for the 10th so had a week to record in the south of Spain. Stopped off in Benidorm for the night, sneaking in and recording a theme park, a water park and the modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah that is Benidorm's nightlife. Woke up the next morning to find we had both had our phones stolen. After looking around for them we chalked it up to experience and, so we thought, left Benidorm behind. Upon stopping at the road toll just before the motorway we went to pull away, heard a loud clank and the van refused to go into gear. After some swearing and wrestling with the gear stick I sent Craig out to push us through. Somehow he managed this (though he did fall over several times in the process) and we rolled to the side of the road to consider our next move.
After some soul-searching I walked back into town to find a phone and call the RAC. An hour and a half later after an excruciating walk in baking midday sun I returned and a tow truck turned up shortly afterwards. The driver of the tow truck turned out not to be our saviour but served only to make matters worse. He was muttering to himself as he got out of his truck and stamped over to us. As far as I can make out, he then asked us where he was taking the van (the only words I could understand being "where" and "car") I said I didn't know and then apologised for not speaking much Spanish. This just enraged him further and he started shouting and gesticulating in a manner which suggested to me that he was not happy about this. After repeating the question which included the words "where" and "car" about 20 times to me I managed to ask him where a garage was. "Almea" he replied. I said take it there.
He then angrily hoisted the car onto the back of his truck, chucking his equipment around as he did so like a 5 year-old who has just been told he can't have any pudding. This done, he told us to call a taxi "no tengo telofono" was my response and after some shouted exchanges down the phone with his superiors he grudgingly accepted to take us to the garage with the van.
The most narky man in Spain muttered to himself the whole way to the garage and the girl at the toll locked herself out of her booth which delayed us even further. Once we got to the garage things went relatively smoothly and the RAC got us a hire car and we were on our way.
Craig's Uncle lives nearby so we holed up there until Monday waiting for news of the van. Monday came and still no news. Despite ringing throughout the day they couldn't tell us anything so we thought "sod it" and headed off to the Costa Del Sol on Tuesday morning.
Did a some recording in Torremelinos and got the call that the van was ready with just about enough time for us to pick it up and get to Santander to catch the ferry.
Drove from South Spain to East and then up to North overnight, arriving in Santander at 5.30 AM with enough time to spare to get a couple of hours sleep and go to a supermarket to get Craig's Dad some bottles of Spanish brandy.
We got the overnight ferry back to the UK and to our relief Plymouth was covered in a thick blanket of cloud as we pulled in on Friday morning. Will be spending a couple of weeks losing our tans in the English summer and then back on the road again. Where next? You will have to log in and see.

2006-08-02T08:02:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 26th July - 2nd August

No Spain, No Gain

Joss:

Spent a couple of days recording in Monaco; one evening and one day. Got refused to go into any casinos and didn´t record them undercover either because of the massive amounts of security and fear of a Joe Pesci-style headclamp beating out the back. Craig wasn´t even allowed through the front door of the swanky casino hotel and a rude French waiter (unbelievable I know) told us in no uncertain terms to get lost. The police also cornered us and told us we weren´t allowed to record. Joke was on them though because despite all this adversity we had already managed to record some romantic moonlit parks and promenades, some good port stuff, an outside swimming pool and some outside cafes.
The previous night we were thrown out of the campsite for talking in the van at midnight so had to change campsites but found one better so again we came out on top. Harvest 2 - France 0.
Went into Nice which lives up to it´s name apart from the large quantities of dog excrement that you have to tip-toe through as you walk down the street. More like a real place than Monaco and got some city ambiences and beach stuff as well as recording a terrible modern art exhibition (piles of cardboard boxes, bits of meat stapled to a grid etc....). Craig popped into Cannes to record a hotel lobbies and we said a hasty goodbye to France and headed off for an unneccesarily long drive down to Barcelona. The roads were incredibly busy and we arrived in Tarragona just south of Barcelona after a horrendous 13 hour drive. Took a day off to recover and went to the beach, got burnt and went out with Craig´s friend Marco who we are staying with in Tarragona.
Got up the next day eager to go into Barcelona but discovered the van had been towed, despite there having been no signs to say we couldn´t park there. We went to the car pound and explained this to the woman on the desk but she appeared not to be very concerned about our situation. Eventually after sorting out paperwork and paying a fine, we then had to wait to pay another fine to a policeman. For some reason we had to pay the policeman who had originally booked the van. After being assured we could pay him by card we waited about an hour for him to turn up from having his lunch or unnecessarily geting foreign cars towed or whatever he was doing. He then informed us he could only take cash but we could pay at a bank, get a form stamped and then come back and hand it in, then getting the van back. After finding a bank and queuing we were told that we would have to pay them in cash too so went to the cash point, went back to the counter and then back to the car pound. By this time the original woman who had dealt with us had left and her replacement didn´t seem to believe us that they had our van. After a couple of phone calls she accepted that they did have our van and that we could take it. By this time it was not worth going into Barcelona so did some backing up and editing and tryed to put the day behind us.
Went into Barcelona the next day and did some recording down by the port and on the Ramblas and around the city centre. We are back in today, hoping to head further south to more touristy climes in search of an English pub that serves John Smiths and Sunday roasts.

2006-07-25T05:24:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Dairy: 19th - 25th July

Arrivederci Italia

We took a day off to check out the leaning tower of Pisa and get the obligatory amusing photographs, buy some tacky souvenirs (Pisa have the best we have seen) and go to the worst pizzeria in Italy.
Headed off to Como the next day and recorded around the lake in some little towns. After this we hired a speedboat and did some recording on the lake, narrowly avoiding losing Craig over the side as he leaned over the side to record the engine as I cornered at top speed.
At the weekend we decided to head up to Switzerland as we were waiting for some stuff to be sent to Milan. Drove up to Zurich on Friday and recorded on Saturday, getting some good German-Swiss atmospheres and also recording an anti-Bush, anti-Israel demonstration that we stumbled upon in the centre of town. Went back into town in the evening to record some bars and nightlife (it’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it). We were told there were busses all night but there weren’t so we ended up walking back to the campsite (again).
Drove down to Milan on Sunday and then pushed on to France which is where we are at the moment, the end of this leg of the trip finally in sight.

2006-07-18T01:42:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary 9th July - 18th July

Riots, Rock and Renaissance Architecture

Craig:

Stayed at my friend Kayleigh and Lorenzo's flat in Milan for a few days last week, arriving on Sunday just in time for the world cup final. Needless to say we got some excellent riotous sounds, lots of airhorns, cheering, fireworks and a drunken fan attempting to smash up a train with an ash tray???!
Got the train into Milan on Tuesday and Wednesday, recording sirens, Piazzas, parks, trains, train stations, trams, restaurants, streets and indoor shopping centres.
One evening we went to a German beer festival to watch some highly regarded guitarist play from Mississippi who has supported ZZ Top and Steve Vai to name but few.
We had heard he was an amazing guitarist who plays slide with a beer bottle and sets his guitar on fire so we were all excited.
We made our way into the marquee and to our horror the outside stage roof had been lowered, so our hearts sank – gig called off we thought.
Just as we walked in to marquee we suddenly realised not all was lost. Phew…. Cue the German oompah band wearing matching Lederhosen attire! They opened up with a German version of “Achy break heart” which had us doubled over in stitches, followed by “Que sera sera”.

After many laughs in the marquee, to our amazement the clouds parted, the rain stopped and like a bat out of hell the outside stage roof was raised, the lights shone down onto the amps and the drum kit and rock was re-born!!! This guitarist was totally amazing and we met him and the band members afterwards and I got them to sign my china Stein I blagged off the bar staff.

We left for Florence at the weekend and stayed at a campsite on a mountaintop, which had extraordinary views. We went into the town on the Saturday to record in the day and later returned at night to record as they had a celebration of culture night with Arabic and Middle Eastern music with Sri Lankan and Somalian food stalls. The funny thing was the locals didn’t seem to be getting involved with anything at all other than downing wine and endlessly scoffing the food on offer. We only managed to record one sound as the rest of time music was constantly being played.
The following day we drove through Tuscany recording woodland and countryside atmospheres and somehow stumbled upon a café in the middle of nowhere only to find one man sat a table eating a whole raw cabbage the size of a football. We then asked the barman if they were doing food and no was the answer, we then twigged.

We recorded in Florence yesterday and are now going to head to Pisa and see if we can find a villa for a night or two and catch up on some editing.

2006-07-05T03:19:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary 25th June - 4th July

Craig:

After leaving Grado we went to Venice and stayed at a really nice campsite situated on the riverbank and it was just a short boat trip from outside the campsite into Venice.
The campsite was also full of backpackers so it was a refreshing change to meet some people our own age that spoke English.
We made friends with a couple of lads from London (called Craig and Rich) and Rich could do some crazy magic tricks like spinning a card in mid-air and putting lit cigarettes through peoples clothes without it leaving a mark! We also met some really nice Ozzy guys and had a good time!

We did some evening recording and the following day we had a romantic ride for two on a gondola to record the journey. I’m sure the gondolier thought we were gay as when I went to take my t-shirt off he said, “no, the police don’t like but you pay me extra 40Euro and I take you somewhere private to enjoy yes?”
I was gob smacked! We refused his generous offer. Apart from this Venice was absolutely stunning (so was the price of two cans of coke in a bar – 8Euro!!!) and we had a good laugh and recorded lots of good sounds! We then made the two-day drive to Sicily in the boiling heat and we went up mount Etna guided by a local tour guide and we recorded inside some volcanic caves, some rolling lava rocks, footsteps on lava rocks and some general atmospheres around the more isolated areas.

We later got the ferry back and stayed in a small town called Palmi for the weekend. The campsite was on a cliff top looking down on a beautiful beach and the sea was like swimming in luke warm bath water and was really clear and clean. We did some recordings in the area, mainly countryside and beach atmospheres and we have just spent the last day at a campsite with its own beach near Calabria to catch up on some editing and backing up files. Next stop Rome.

2006-06-24T03:49:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary 16th – 24th June

Stuttgart Riot And A Well Earned Break

Craig:

After squeezing myself off a train rammed with avid Holland fans yesterday, my first encounter outside Gottlieb-Daimler stadium was a punch up between a ticket tout and a Holland fan. It took three riot vans, full of cops to break up a two man scuffle and I recorded the incident. I found a good spot outside the stadium and got some good cheers and Holland fans singing.
The next day we hit the small city of Kaiserslautern to record USA and Italian fans. The streets were rammed with stalls and there was lots of random stuff going on, a really good carnival atmosphere, so got some good surround street recordings. There were some German street break dancers that were busting some mad moves like spinning on their heads and doing back flips with no hands. The streets were so busy, could hardly move and it took a while to get about and we couldn’t get into any of the arenas with big screens because they were full. However, we got some good pre-match fan atmospheres and recorded some American fans watching the match in a pub. On the way home we encountered some drunken English and German fans chanting, so recorded them as well.
Sunday we went to Leipzig as France played Korea and Korea drew which meant they were practically through to the next round. There was a massive street party which ensued and I somehow got managed to get involved in with it with a random German guy (as Joss recorded) and we were in this massive chain of people chanting Hoy-Fang-Do or whatever it was. It was absolutely hilarious and one of the Korean blokes kept on hugging me and high-fiving me and there was also a Korean news team filming so you never know I may even be on telly in Korea.

Monday we made the fourteen hour drive down through Austria to Italy. Somehow I drew the shortest straw when it came to swopping driving responsibilities as when we switched over it started to rain heavily and I encountered the sharpest turns ever on really high mountaintops. We made it safely though, van intact and since then we have been beaching it and watched the footy last night. The walk home turned into a living nightmare as shops along the seafront had fenced off (with barbed wire) the promenade walkway to secure their premises. All good and well for them but it was the only way we knew back to the campsite so what I thought was going to be a picture-esque walk home by the sea turned into the bloody krypton factor - We had to climb over barbed wire fences, walk over shack roofs and dive through bushes to make it back to the van.
We treated ourselves to a pair of turbo deluxe li-lo’s the other day. There was a whole range of them but we went for the best that double up as an inflatable chair and they also have an inflatable pillow (that was the real WOW factor for me!).

2006-06-16T07:23:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 15th - 16th June

Ingerland, Ingerland, Ingerland

Joss:
Drove to Leipzig to record the England match only to realise that it was in Nurenberg. Luckily it was on the way and we made it in time for the start of the match. Recorded fans at a big screen by the stadium the Holophone and Craig being pelted with plastic cups and straws by English "fans". After the match some drunk Germans made us interview them (they thought we were from the BBC) and we went back to the van and chatted to a German punk who was supposed to be driving some lads from Wolverhampton to Berlin but instead was sitting by our van getting drunk. Slept in a lay-by again.
Today we have gone to the right city and are in Stuttgart waiting for the Holland-Ivory Coast game.

2006-06-16T06:57:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 9th - 14th June

Vee Are Fussball Crazy, Fussball Mad

Joss:
Slept overnight in a petrol station car park and awoke to a rousing chorus of "we hate the English" by some Germans.
Arrived at the Munich football stadium and recorded the German and Costa Rica fans outside the ground, the Germans suprisingly quiet but Craig pointed out they were probably just quietly confident. An incredible amount of press were there and we swelled their ranks two-fold. All the dancing and shouting you see at the world cup on TV is all staged for the cameras, apart from people trying to get on telly everyone else is pretty quiet. Couldn't stay til the end of the match as we had to drive to Frankfurt. Spent the night in a pub car park.
Got to Frankfurt for the first England game against Paraguay. Recorded outside the ground again but the England fans were subdued due to a crappy display. Saw Freddie Flintoff and Steven Harmison (my facial hair twin) enjoying a beer (or seven) outside a bar near the ground. Saw and English guy with the three lions tattooed across the whole of his back (with Exeter City FC at the bottom, natch). Slept in some woods near the stadium and got abused by some England fans who must have got lost (their brilliant comments were "dogging van" followed by "pikeys, pikeys"). We have found it quite embarrassing to be around England fans as a lot of them appear to be mindless idiots. Are first contact with English fans was a taxi-load hurling abuse at a Korean couple walking in the park. The German people are very polite and friendly (apart from that early incident) and would have every right to hate us if this is how English people behave when they are abroad.
The next day headed up to Portugal vs Angola match in Cologne. My face swelled up again so Craig went on his own, leaving me at the campsite with a brown paper bag over my head. He did me proud and got some great Angolan drumming. The following day Craig had the evening of and I recorded Italians and Ghana fans in Hannover. I missed the last bus back and didn´t get in til 2am. Craig was worried sick.
On Monday headed for Berlin where Brazil had their first game against Croatia and we got some lively samba drums and just missed some Croatians fighting with police. An interesting character came up to us and said he could get some chants going for us. He then proceeded to chant and dance around on his own, thanked us and walked off. Stayed in Berlin at a campsite full of Swedish lads and recorded the Germany game at a big open air screen next to the Reichstag. Luckily for us Germany scored after two minutes of injury time and everyone went crazy. When I say everyone I mean everyone in Berlin, the streets rammed with people going nuts.

2006-06-16T06:41:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 5th - 8th June

Finally, A Full English (and The Road To Glory)

Joss:
On Monday went into Albufeira and recorded on the beach and in the town. There was a construction site which you were expected to walk through and we got some good surround recordings. Got some funny looks when I was hunched over getting battered by waves recording the sound of them underwater. Hung the undewater mike off the end of the pier but loads of fish tryed to eat it. I suppose someone might need that sound. Then to my delight found somewhere that did a full english and got one in. Were entertained by the friendly Portuguese cafe owner, him and his friend necking shots at midday and talking to us in Portuguese. They wouldn't let us leave without having a shot of local Almond liqeur which was very tasty.
Spent the late evening on the beach just down the coast from Albufeira and even managed to get a swim in!
Spent Tuesday morning recording some countryside atmospheres in the hills inland and then head off for Germany and the world cup in the afternoon.
Stayed in Cordoba overnight and then continued our journey, hoping to get to France by sundown. We stopped driving at 4am, 30km short of the French border. Slept in a motorway layby and continued. The next day drove through France, Switzerland and briefly Austria. This time stopped driving at 4.30am about 120km shy of Munich and the first game of the world cup.

2006-06-16T06:24:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 30th May - 4th June

Rocking In Lisbon

Joss:
Stopped off in the Catholic pilgrimage town of Fatima to record some wailing and breast beating but there wasn't much of that going on. Any worshipping that was going on was drowned out by loud construction work so we cut our losses, bought some Pope postcards and Virgin Mary Toenail clippers and continued on.
Arrived in Lisbon and spent a couple of days recording (at the airport, up a tower, outside a pop festival) and getting lost on the underground or waiting for buses that would never come, giving up and then getting a taxi. The rest of the time I spent trying to find an internet cafe or an open museum (the latter unsuccesfully). We found Lisbon to be quite a frustrating city but managed to get tickets for the Rock In Rio festival that was in town and went on Saturday. We watched Kasabian, Soulwax, Red Hot Chili Peppers and some Portuguese bands, one who were trying to be Blink 182 and another who sounded and dressed like Green Day. It was a very civilised affair, me and Craig being the only two drunk people there.
On Sunday we drove down to the Algarve, hoping that some people down there might understand what we are saying (still have difficulty ordering a beer).

2006-05-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 27th - 29th May

Port-you-geezers

Joss:
Took the weekend off to lie on the beach and get sunburnt in a small town just south of Porto. Our tans are starting to come along but we still look freakishly white compared to the locals. Went out to a local bar on Saturday night where belly-dancing would randomly start up by a group of girls in costume.
We have been recording in Porto today, going up a tower to record the sounds of the city from above and recording old men in a bar watching melodramatic Portuguese soaps. Heading back out of town later and setting off down the coast towards Lisbon.

2006-05-29T08:17:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 23rd - 26th May

Those Spanish Onions

Joss:
Spent Monday recording in Madrid including a botanical gardner in a railway station, public toilets and the Museo Del Prado where I got stopped for having a suspicious object in my bag which did look like a bomb under X-ray but was in fact a battery. Left Madrid on Tuesday and headed south for the Toledo mountains which were spectacular but a nightmare to drive through, passing wrecks of cars in ravines and with vultures circling overhead. Made it through though having got some quiet countryside sounds, this area being the most sparsely populated in Spain.
Stayed in the mountains overnight and woke to find my allergic face swelling had reared up again. Have started a portfolio of photos of facial swellings which I will publish when I have enough material. After taking some strong anti-hystemines and looking less like a freak we drove out of the mountains camping at a dusty camp site. Finished off the drive into Portugal on Friday.

2006-05-22T06:15:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 20th - 22nd May

Craig Goes Vegetarian

Stopped off in the Rio Lobos National Park on Saturday and recorded some sheep, some Spanish Plains sounds and failed to get any river sounds as the river was dry. Arrived late in Madrid after somehow negotiating the various ring roads around the city and managed to get into the only campsite in the city.
The next day went for a wander around the city centre and went to a bullfight to record the baying crowd. We left after 4 kills and saw the last bull being skinned in a slaughterhouse behind the stadium. Craig was so disturbed by what he saw he has become a vegetarian (but still eats fish).

2006-05-22T06:05:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 16th - 19th May

Spanish Caravan

Joss:
Did some more recordings of various things in San Sebastian, Craig even managed to fit in a swim before sun down. The next day we drove along the coast towards Bilbao, stopping along the way to do some less hectic coastal recordings. The next day the weather was terrible so we stayed in the van and did some editing and backing up.
Went into Bilbao on Friday, with me sneaking into the Guggenheim Museum with our stealth recording equipment and Craig recording around town. Started the drive down to Madrid stopping off at a random campsite which happened to be next to a picturesque medieval village which we recorded in the morning.

2006-05-16T02:26:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 10th - 16th May

Au Revoir/Buenas Dias

Joss:
Bordeaux proved to be a good stop off and we got a lot of good sounds including some sort of protest (our French doesn´t extend to political sloganeering) which Craig managed to get swept up in, rooftop sounds, empty museums, lots of squares and outdoor cafes and fountains. Pictured above is Craig taking a well earned break by the Garonne River.
The next day we drove down through the countryside around Bordeaux recording fields, tractors, more forests and bees in trees. Stopped of at my aunt and uncle´s near Mirande for the weekend where some mild food poisoning set in from something I ate in Bordeaux I think. The local insects also took a liking to my blood (with alarming swellings resulting) and my mystery allergic reaction also swelled my lip up. On Sunday I felt much better so we did a bit of recording of my Uncle Evan´s power tools (picture below), a bike and frogs in the height of mating season (though we couldn´t get them "in the act", they're very shy).
On Monday morning we said our goodbye´s and headed to the nearby town of Mirande to record the local market. While I unsuccessfully tried tryed to find a parking space Craig set about the business of recording some sounds in the market and as he finished was questioned by a policeman via a passer by who translated. The Gendarme took Craig´s details so he is no doubt now on some kind of French wanted persons list.
We promptly fled the country and headed for Spain and the Costa del Crime. We find ourselves in San Sebastian today and look forward to the Spanish leg of this trip.

More press: http://www.boardsmag.com/articles/online/20060509/peeps.html

2006-05-11T06:01:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 6th - 10th May

Always take the weather with you

Craig:
After spending a day driving to Carnac, Brittany, we pitched up to a campsite for the weekend that had a swimming pool and two big slides (I was in my element). After an hour of fun swimming, racing each other down the bumpy slide and me ploughing into the back of Joss’s head feet first on the flume (accidentally), the pool area closed for the evening (party poopers). The next day we hired some bikes and went into Carnac and recorded a restaurant and a beach before cycling back in the pouring rain. To rub it in, one of the guys on reception shouts “I see you’ve bought the English showers with you”.
We headed to Auray on the Monday and recorded a war remembrance march (this one was even longer), a fish market and some street atmospheres before heading to the fishing port of Douarmenez. We recorded some early morning port sounds before making our way to Fouras for the night and then headed to Bordeaux the next morning calling at Brouage to record some frogs in marshes, birds, flies and got some interesting sounds by lowering some microphones down into a well. We then got some reverberant sounds of a wooden stick hitting the rim and some stones being dropped into the well.

Joss:
We are now in Bordeaux doing some recording and updating this site. Check out our random press coverage on: http://www.bikeforall.net/news.php?articleshow=198 and http://www.boardsmag.com/articles/online/20060509/peeps.html

2006-05-11T05:50:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 3rd-5th May

Loire Valley: Right Up Our Alley

Craig:
Loire, our next port of call was a vast contrast in weather from the wet Monday of Paris. Joss and I even pushed the boat out and went for an early evening jog along Loire Valley followed by a lay about under the sun with a bottle of cider, bottle of wine and some stubbies (well… the jog cancels it out doesn’t it?). The following day we (Joss: he means Joss!!! Unless you count lying in bed asleep recording) recorded some early morning Loire valley sounds and then headed into Orleans forest where we got some amazing bird noises and climbed a massive watchtower that’s height was taller than the trees in the forest (and they were huge). Whilst in Loire we also went to two Chateaux and recorded some empty rooms, slammed a few large wooden doors (naughty) and recorded in the gardens etc.

2006-05-11T05:41:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 1st- 3rd May.

Gay Paris

Craig:
Monday’s weather in Paris was pretty ropey with occasional showers, so after breakfast we headed into Nord train station to record some interior atmospheres. With it being bank holiday the station was busy but unfortunately the majority of shops, restaurants and bars were closed. There was a lot of busy traffic along the roads outside of the station and there were a large number of cars beeping horns aggressively so we recorded a selection of rainy loud Parisian traffic sounds. Later we headed to the Eiffel tower and recorded tourists underneath the tower, then headed up to the Trocadero and recorded its open park and various tourist features.
The following morning we headed to Paris sewers, which absolutely stank (Dunno what I was expecting!). We did get some really good stuff though. Later we headed to Tuileries and recorded in some open parks and then recorded a war remembrance ceremony in the middle Arc de Triomphe. Not looking forward to editing the darn thing. It went on and on and on….

2006-05-01T06:08:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 28th April - 1st May

Springtime In Paris

Joss:
Drove down to Paris through some picturesque countryside on Friday morning. Rolled up to our campsite which is really central (you can see the Eiffel Tower from it) had a bit of food and got the Metro into town to record some of the famous Parisienne nightlife (see picture). Had a pint (or demi litre) after work in Bastille which cost 11 euros!!!!! Disheartened we headed back to the campsite only to find we had missed the last bus. Decided to walk back, finding ourselves walking along a park street which seemed to be the main drag for picking up overweight transsexual prostitutes. Quickening our pace we spent a traumatic half hour being shouted at in French getting more and more concerned for our safety.
Arrived home safely however and awoke on Saturday with the sun shining. It was also Craig's 23rd birthday so wetook the day off and went sightseeing to the usual places; the Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. Went for dinner and then went to the smokiest bar in Paris in the Bastille area (again).
On Sunday got up and did some recording around the Seine and also got a boat trip down the river which we also recorded.
Today we are hoping to record some May Day (Fete de Travail) celebrations after recording at the Gare de Nord.

2006-05-01T05:54:00.000-07:00

Project Harvest Diary: 25th - 28th April

We're On The Road Again!

Joss:
After a short break project harvest is go, go, go. Spent Tuesday recording villages and towns in Kent and Sussex. Stayed in a campsite who's shower was infested with woodlice so had to spend 10 minutes washing them down the sink. Recorded at Camber Sands in the morning (picture) and drove to Canterbury where Craig recorded for the day and I went back to London to sort out and pick up some things.
Stayed with my brother overnight and left for the Dover to Calais ferry. Had Craig's favourite meal of moules et frites that night and stayed at a municiple campsite in Calais.

2006-04-05T03:29:00.000-07:00

Harvest Diary 24th March – 5th April

After our long drive through North Wales we decided to treat ourselves to a more upmarket campsite in Chester, one with laundry facilities and nice hot showers. As I seem to attract tragedy, it will come as no surprise that my best jeans got ripped to shreds in the spinner (good start!). The next morning we got a train into Liverpool and we recorded The train station, an open air market, shops & pubs, high streets and around Albert docks. The following day we spent the morning in Liverpool to finish off, then headed to Stafford to stay with my friend Rich ready for our next adventure Birmingham. We spent Sunday at Rich’s catching up on some editing and eating roast turkey and later discovered to our disbelief that the van window had been smashed in. At first we thought someone had tried to break in but we later realised that other cars in the street had windows smashed as well as a bus shelter. We eventually ended up in Birmingham on the Tuesday and we recorded in the train stations, streets, and shopping centres and around the town hall area where floods of people were gathering for a pension protest.

2006-03-23T08:39:00.000-08:00

Harvest Diary 21st - 23rd March

Welsh Wizards

Woke up to the sound of planes and helicopters passing overhead so set off to try and find where they were coming from. Found the Valley RAF Base and we recorded jet planes taking off and landing. Stopped off in Bangor in the afternoon but there was nothing really there. The next day set off to drive into Snowdonia but the back tyre was totally flat and split. I instantly thought that our tyres had been slashed by Welsh Nationalists but on closer inspection to the damage perhaps I should be less quick to accuse. Craig went off to blag a jack because we couldn't work out how to use our one and quickly had it fixed. Drove off and recorded a couple of steam trains, machinery in a slate museum, and some valley sounds and pushed on. Today we have been along the welsh north coast and are heading to a campsite near chester tonight.

2006-03-23T08:28:00.000-08:00

Harvest Diary 16th - 20th March

St Paddy's Day And The End Of The Irish Odyssey

Went into Belfast on the 16th and recorded a few different city things, driving out through the Falls area of the city. This area is staunch Republican and has been fenced off from the Loyalist area next to it to avoid them fighting each other and blowing each other up. Drove the few hours down to Dublin and settled down in what would be our home for four whole nights, a campsite just outside the city.
We set off to go to the St Patricks day parade in the morning and after spending an hour to try get a bus we go a taxi and then a tram into town. Got some good parade and crowd sounds in various degrees of sobriety (the crowds not us) and then settled into the craic in the Temple Bar and Northside areas of the city.
Spent the next day recouperating and went back into the city to try and capture it in a less manic state. Got up very early on monday to get the ferry back to the UK and sailed into Holyhead.

2006-03-15T07:54:00.000-08:00

Harvest Diary 11th - 15th March

Stuck In A Rut

We spent a pleasant weekend off in a remote cottage in northern Clare where we managed to do some sight-seeing in the rain (see picture) visiting the cliffs of Moher. Monday was spent recording through Clare and Galway city where I infiltrated the university's marine biology department. We camped near the village of Cong which was where the film "The Third Man" was set (apparently).
On Tuesday we drove up through Mayo and Sligo trying to finish our Irish countryside recordings. Getting a bit overzealous I reversed the van into a ditch in a forest in the middle of no-where narrowly avoiding rolling it. As I walked off to get reception on my phone and argue with the RAC Craig befriended a local man who called around and got someone with a tractor to come and drag us out. He also gave us his address in case we are ever in the area again and advised us not to drive into ditches again. Thanks Matt.
We camped in a site just south of Donegal and recorded there this morning, diving up to Derry where we find ourselves now. Have done some recordings from the city walls and sneaked around the Town Hall. Hope to stop off at the Giant's Causeway on the way to Belfast tonight. Anyway, back to work.

2006-03-10T05:31:00.001-08:00

Harvest Diary: 8th - 10th March

A Run In With The Provisional IRA

After going into Clonmel we decided to treat ourselves to a couple of pints out in the village near where we were staying. After settling down we were engaged in conversation by a drunk Irish man who after talking for a few minutes about assassinating George W. Bush (fairly harmless we thought) proudly proclaimed that he was "provisional IRA through and through" and that "the IRA will never die". Feeling a little threatened by this I tried to end the conversation as quickly as possible (Craig was just smiling and nodding because he couldn't understand a word he was saying) but he wouldn't go until I had complemented him on how good he looked for his age. He then asked me where I was from, I said Britain which was greeted with a scowl. Craig said "Britain but my family is from Ireland". Thanks a lot. He then tried to talk to Craig in Gaelic but as he couldn't understand him in English this conversation peetered out very quickly. We made our excuses and left. The next day we waited for a DVD burner which didn't come till Thursday. Today we have driven through Cahir and Tipperary and find ourselves in an internet cafe in Limerick.

2006-03-10T05:07:00.000-08:00

Project Harvest Diary 4th-8th March

A Day At The Races

We spent the whole of Saturday recording pub atmospheres with the undercover microphones in Cork. We felt we needed some traditional Irish pub sound fx, so what a perfect way to spend our Saturday, sampling the local Guinness. Have to say, the Guinness in Cork is nowhere near as good as it is in Wexford or Clogheen. We had a nice sobre day on Sunday recording horse racing in Clonmel, although we decided against placing a bet (to Joss's disappointment!). The place was faily busy and we got some good Irish walla in the bar area although we only had a pair of tea's to the horror of the locals.
Monday morning we caught up on some editing, had some lunch then we took a stroll to the local farm to record some animals. Quite possibly the funniest moment of Ireland so far, as the farmer insisted on giving me a guided tour of the place and i could hardly understand a word that he said. He was a really friendly man though and kept saying "I'll make the little feckers make some noise for yer" and he then proceeded to jump into the cages, chasing around various animals from Emus to Donkeys. I had all on to keep a straight face, but the sounds turned out good.
We then headed to Mitchelltown famous caves to record some surround atmospheres with dripping water, although we had to deviate from the tour party to avoid recording voices. We got up nice and early on Tuesday to sort out our reciepts and then spent the afternoon climbing a massive mountain in the Vee district, in the pouring rain. Joss had to record the atmos as I was puffing and panting like a dog in a car on a hot summers day. We later found a large lake on the side of a mountain, which we recorded and then headed into Clonmel to grab some Veg for me to make some of my Loftus world famous broth.

2006-03-03T05:48:00.000-08:00

Harvest Diary - 1st - 3rd March

Ferry crossing passed without incident and we arrived in Rosslare a bit late but in high spirits. After a thorough interogation from the port Garda we set off to try and find somewhere to stay the night eventually ending up in a B&B in Wexford.
The next morning went and got loads of material from the tourist office and did some recording in town before heading off through the Irish countryside to our next location Kilkenny. Stayed at a campsite close to the town centre and went into town and discovered the revelation of Irish Guiness. Craig has vowed to drink nothing else while in Ireland and I am interested to see how his body copes. Both of our heaters broke in the van last night so we had a fitful night's sleep in sub-zero temperatures (Ireland is having it's coldest snap of the last 12 months).
We are recording in Kilkenny today heading for Cork at the weekend. Apparently it is a "good craic" whatever that means.

2006-03-01T03:21:00.000-08:00

Harvest Diary: 26th February - 1st March

After being denied stadium access to the Carling Cup final, I thought I'd get amongst the pre-match banter to get some good football hooligan sound clips! This was achieved, although I narrowly avoided a black eye when a drunken Man United fan decided to punch the Holophone into my face! Nice! Have to say, the Wigan fans were really nice, friendly people, wish I could say the same about the United fans! Another scalley in his Stone Roses t-shirt, swaggering like Ian Brown decided to use the Holophone as a punch bag! I ran away to avoid any damage to the equipment and got laughed at in the process! The final straw was when yet another Man U fan decided to throw coins at the microphone so we decided to call it a day and cut our losses! One consolation, we got some good sound fx. We then made our way over to Cardiff Indoor Ice Arena to record the Cardiff devils play Nottingham Panthers. Luckily the ice hockey fans didn't try and kill me, we just made sure we kept out of people's way and got some awesome fx. Cardiff won 3-1, a good end to the day! Monday, we took a coastal drive through Port Talbot and recorded some industrial noises and we also risked life and limb (ok - maybe a little exaggeration) on an industrial/mainline train track recording trains go past. We spent Tuesday in picturesque Tenby recording the around the village and the harbour. Joss has just commented on my blog becoming a novel so I'm taking the hint. We get our ferry in a few hours so we'll miss the rate I'm blabbing on. Bye for now

2006-02-26T06:40:00.000-08:00

Harvest Diary: 22nd - 25th February

We have hit the road again and have started our Welsh and Irish leg of the trip. Spent Wednesday driving down to Cardiff from London, staying with a friend of mine from Cornwall. We spent Thursday recording around Cardiff including an ice rink and sneaking into the biomedical department of Cardiff University.
It was snowing on Friday morning which filled us with dread for camping that night. Due to Royal Mail being crap we hung around waiting for a package which didn't come 'til 2:30 PM. After this rushed off to the Brecon Beacons before the snows closed in.
Spent the night at the worst campsite in the world. It is flattering to call it a campsite as we were basically parked on the side of a muddy track in a farmyard. They were lambing so we recorded some sheep in the morning, Craig trying to make the cows moo by mooing at them himself. Drove into Brecon in the afternoon to record an antiques fair and peruse the crap on offer, narrowly escaping buying some tat with our food budget. Craig blew his on the way back to the van on a small "decorative" Wales souvenir glass to add to his burgeoning collection.
Drove to the waterfall pictured and did some recording and then drove to find another one nearby but the night closed in and we ended up wandering around some spooky woods in the dark with a torch who's batteries were running out. somehow managed to find our way out and treated ourselves to a halfway decent campsite without animals and tractors.
Have headed back into Cardiff for the Carling Cup Final (no access granted but we'll see what we can do) and we have set up a recording session at a Cardiff Devils ice hockey game. We were warned by the manager that the crowd may "rip our heads off".

2006-02-15T04:59:00.000-08:00

Project Harvest Diary: 15th Feb

Today we spent the day outside A West-London sports hall recording a football being kicked, dribbled, dragged & passed for a Nike advert! I tell ya - the way Joss was controling that ball, he could teach Mr Henry a thing or two! We strapped some DPA's to Joss's trainers as well as using the Sennheiser and we'll add todays sounds to the library. We're spending this week researching our upcoming tour of Ireland!

2006-02-14T07:55:00.000-08:00

Project Harvest Diary: 9th - 11th February

Went straight to Great Yarmouth in the morning only to find the place deserted so recorded some windy beach atmospheres and tried to find somewhere to get a bite to eat. The King's Wine Bar looked like a good bet so we went in and had a pretty bad meal. Craig then told me it was a gay bar after we had left because the toilets were so clean and had a lifesize cardboard cutout of a man in his pants saying "I Love Men". The regulars were also greeted with a high pitched "hiyaaaa" upon entering the bar. Went to the Norfolk Broads and then Norwich city centre. Stayed in a place near Cambridge and headed into town on Saturday morning. Did some recording of cloisters, leafy suburbs and hushed academic activity and headed back to London to start planning the next leg of the trip. (The photo of the van is for Teddy)

2006-02-14T05:34:00.000-08:00

Harvest Diary: 6th-9th February

Spent Monday and Tuesday editing, backing up and hassling the garage and got the van back 5 o’clock Tuesday and after a quick test drive decided it was ok to continue with our whistlestop tour.
Left for Nottingham on Wednesday morning and spent a frustrating day being shouted at but got a good atmos from the national ice centre. Then stopped off at the national watersports centre hoping for some great sounds but there wasn’t much going on. Craig failed to pass himself off as an Olympic athlete to get into the gym and then got flexed at by a half-naked member of the Nottingham Forest youth team. Suitably cowed we drove to Norfolk, staying at a nice campsite in the South Downs where we intend to record today along with Great Yarmouth and Norwich.

2006-02-14T05:31:00.000-08:00

Harvest Diary: 1st – 4th February

Drove out of Newcastle after doing some top-up recording and stopped off at the Angel of the North to do a quick atmos and take some photos. Stopped of in Middleborough to get some industrial atmos’ and continued on towards Scarborough.
Only got as far as Whitby and spent a frantic hour or so trying to find a cheap place to stay for the night. Got a room each at a b&b (luxury!) and headed into town to sample Whitby’s famous nightlife. Went to three deserted pubs and decided to call it a night.
Got up in the morning and did some recording in Whitby and then drove down to York. After recording there we stayed at Craig’s cousin’s house. We left early ong Friday for Leeds and after finally finding somewhere to park went into the city centre recording for all day and then met Lu. She took us out to some trendy nightspots where we got hammered and tried to prevent a fight between two girls on the dancefloor.
Both woke up with stinking hangovers and started the torturous drive to my brother’s house in Sheffield. After some difficulty we finally got out of Leeds after endin up in a very dodgy estate at one point. The van was playing up and overheated when we got to Sheffield so we decided to get it looked at on Monday.

2006-02-13T08:47:00.000-08:00

Harvest Diary: 28th – 31st January

Spent the weekend in Edinburgh and Monday morning recording train noises from a freezing muddy field in Northumberland. Headed for Newcastle and spent the afternoon doing some recording in the city centre. Are going to do some more recording in Newcastle today and then head towards Scarborough via Gateshead.

2006-02-13T08:44:00.000-08:00

Harvest Diary: 24th – 27th January

Left Inverness for the last time on the and drove over to Skye on the 23rd. Spent the night in the relative luxury of a bunkhouse with our own kitchen and bathroom.
In the morning found a treasure trove of rubbish to make sounds with and drove through Skye on the lookout for more sounds. Due to an optimistic estimate of how long the journey from Skye to our next hostel in Killin we ended up driving for 5 hours that night. When we arrived at the next hostel I was accused of trying to steal the neighbours quad bikes. Craig was then warned by the hostel owner to lock the doors at all times because the neighbours wife is an alcoholic who sometimes wanders in when on a bender.
Spent the next day recording around Loch Lomond and headed for our next stop; Milgavie, a satellite town of Glasgow. Spent a day and a half recording in Glasgow, some of which we were fearing for our lives while walking past burned out houses and drunks by the river Clyde.

2006-02-13T08:42:00.000-08:00

Harvest Diary: 14th – 18th January 2006

After a treat of a lie-in on Saturday morning we hit Peterhead to have a look around and do a bit of recording. After that headed for Aberdeen and booked into our first youth hostel of the trip and immediately left and hit the town. Went for a curry and a few drinks then went home to our beds in the dorm. I slept like a baby but Craig was kept awake by a group of 6 Swiss blokes burping, farting, giggling and quoting Arnold Schwarzenneger.
We strolled down to town for lunch returning at about three only to be told that we should have checked out at half ten that morning. We mumbled some excuses and left, stopping off in town to do some recording.
Stayed in another hostel on Sunday night in Braemar but this time had the luxury of a room to ourselves. Woke up nice and early and hit the mountains. Had a good day recording waterfalls, peat bogs and avalanches (created by ourselves) and even made it up to the top on one of the ski mountains at Glenshee (being Scotland there was no snow). I fell on my arse though and may have broken my left cheek on the frozen ground.
Woke up Tuesday to find ourselves in Loch Ness. Went to Urchart (wrong spelling) castle to try and get a good recording of Nessie and ambiences of the Loch. Later went into Inverness but found little of note there and headed up towards John O’Groats.
Thursday involved going to John O’Groats and starting the long journey south. Stumbled across a jet fighter doing manouveres very low down and recorded it.
Got about 10 miles from Inverness and broke down with what has now been diagnosed as an alternator problem. Back on the road next week.

2006-02-13T08:37:00.000-08:00

Harvest Diary 8th-13th January 2006

Team Harvest reconvened on Sunday 8th January 2006 and set off for the Scottish / North East leg of the tour. Stopped off in Sheffield for the night to break the 16 hour journey up the highlight of which was Craig narrowly avoiding driving over the Severn Bridge. Arrived in Edinburgh early Monday evening and stayed with friends.
Climbed a large hill in the centre of Edinburgh on Tuesday morning, Craig nearly dying halfway up, and recorded a very windy atmos. Then scooted into the centre of town to do some of the sounds of the city’s famous locations.
Finished off the city on Wednesday morning and spent the afternoon recording some wacky percussion sounds with a friend who has a large and eclectic ethnic instrument collection. Left Edinburgh that evening after a curry feast for two and headed for Fife.
Spent the 12th recording in St Andrew’s which seems to be populated entirely by rich students, made our pilgrimage to the Old Course (were unsurprisingly refused entry to the Old And Ancient Golf Club) and then drove to Dundee and did some quick recording there too. Then spent an hour trapped in a small village’s one way system trying to find the campsite.
Spent today (13th Jan) driving up from Dundee to Aberdeen recording along the way. Are drinking 12 year old Scotch in a very windy campsite between Aberdeen and Peterhead.

2006-02-13T08:33:00.000-08:00

Harvest Diary: 20th – 23rd December

Spent the day of the 20th in the Yorkshire Dales recording various things. In the evening were put up by a crazy old woman who had a field with electric we could hook up to. She also had a toilet in a shack and a shower in her garage who’s swing door was left open all the time so we basically had showers outside. She also wandered in and chatted to Craig when he was in the shower. Probably after a (very) cheap thrill.
Went to the last working Sheffield Steel works on the 22nd and were shown around by the plant safety officer Chris who spent most of the time explaining to us how Health and Safety laws in this country had led to the decline of the British Steel industry. Refreshing to meet a safety officer who holds safety in such a poor regard. He was very helpful though and we got some good stuff.
Went back to London and then headed off for our Christmas break.

2006-02-13T08:24:00.000-08:00

Harvest Diary 16th – 19th December

Stayed in the village of Garstang overnight visiting the local pub which was massive but only had us in it. Spent the evening playing pool and debating as to whether the bar”maid” was a man or a woman.
Went into Blackpool in the morning but, unsurprisingly, everything was closed. Got a few freezing cold beach atmospheres, saw a girl headbutt a man (at 2pm) and got out.
Stayed the weekend at Craig’s friend Dave’s house in Carlisle at the weekend. Got verbally abused by a 40 year old woman in a Walkabout bar 1 hour after arriving (she hoped I would have a “crap Christmas”, Craig was called a “fat twat” and Dave was “even ugly from behind you ugly c**t”). Enchanted by this display of Northern hospitality we left for the Lake District with mild nausea and frostbite from the stink of faeces and ice – cold temperatures that pervade this city. Beer is cheap there though.
Spent a rewarding day in the Lake District recording streams, dams, woodland sounds and rock splashes and then spent a comfortable night at a campsite near Lake Windermere.

2006-02-13T08:23:00.000-08:00

Harvest Diary 12th – 15th December 2005

Arrived in Salford at around 6 PM on Tuesday having taken a long detour in the Peak District, stopping to record some woodland atmospheres and an amazing dam that was built out of stone and had water running down the side of it.
Stayed at my old school friend Sean’s house in Salford that night and headed by bus into Manchester the next morning. We spent the day recording in the centre of town and got stuck on the bus for over an hour on the way back. Had our second best comment so far from a joker who called Craig Timmy Mallet.
The next day we went for a much – needed trip to the launderette and did some recording whilst scrubbing our smalls. Then drove the short distance to Bolton and recorded a few things before heading Northwards towards Blackpool and the next campsite destination. I am writing this from the campsite which is right by a canal and seems to be infested by rabbits. We head into Blackpool tomorrow which should be fun in the depths of winter.

2006-02-13T08:22:00.001-08:00

Harvest Diary 10th – 12th December

Arrived in Sheffield on Friday 9th December having spent the week catching up with cataloguing and admin in London. We stayed with my brother on Friday and went to the Sheffield United vs Burnley match on Saturday 10th hoping for some crowd noise.
Having been denied access to the ground itself we got some surprisingly good results hanging around the outside with plenty of noise as the home team won 3-0. On Monday we headed out into Sheffield itself Craig recording street atmospheres, bus and tram sounds and me going undercover in cafes and the University, including wiring my brother to record a lecture. This afternoon we are heading off to Manchester.

2006-02-13T08:22:00.000-08:00

Harvest Diary 30th November – 1st December

After a hearty breakfast of banjos (egg sandwiches, don’t ask why) we headed off to fulfil a childhood fantasy of mine and went to Portland Bill headland and lighthouse. Unfortunately Bill wasn’t there, in fact no-one was so we did some quick recording and struck off for Dorchester. After recording the sounds of the market in this horrible county town we drove as fast as we could to get the hell out of Dorset.
After staying a very pleasant evening at a caravan park by Salisbury racecourse we went to Salisbury plain hoping for wind and artillery fire. We got both in good measure and managed to avoid getting arrested or shot at for hanging around with surveillance equipment on the edge of a military base. We then drove down to the New Forest in the rain hoping for some good forest atmospheres / FX. Unfortunately all we got were rain and wind noises and we headed to our final campsite in the South-West damp and tired.
Luckily our spirits were lifted by the name of the campsite; Sandy Balls Holiday Park. After having had little sleep due to laughing so much we went to the gift shop for some Sandy Balls memorabilia (car sticker and key ring) and we set off for London.

2006-02-13T08:21:00.001-08:00

Harvest Diary 26th - 29th November 2005
Finally the roads were clear enough for us to get out of Cornwall on Saturday 26th and we high-tailed it to a campsite on the Eastern edge of Dartmoor for the night which conveniently was attached to a pub. The next day we headed for Buckfast Abbey which was just down the road from where we stayed and we asked if we could record a service. We were told that we would have to apply in writing, which was rather unchristian, so we left empty-handed. We then happened upon a steam railway (the South Devon) and spent a jolly time with the Buckfastleigh Rotary Club who were having their Christmas party on the train. We said some emotional goodbyes and headed into Dartmoor. Not much interesting happened in Dartmoor. On Monday we headed for the town of Dawlish in the heart of the English Riviera. We intended to record some trains going along the coast but this meant first a 2 mile hike to find the perfect spot and then waiting around for long periods of time for trains to turn up. A short visit to PC world in Exeter for DVD supplies and then it was on to the next campsite. The campsite turned out to be closed but the owner showed pity on us and let us stay. We decided to walk to the local pub that evening which was, we supposed, a short walk away. A 30 minute hike in sub-zero temperatures later we arrived at the pub to discover it didn't open for another 40 minutes. Within 10 minutes we had exhausted the entertainment of the village (walking from one end of the village to the other, trying to read the W.I. notice board in the dark) and waited for the next 30 trying to avoid getting frostbite. Eventually the pub opened and we celebrated by getting drunk. Today we worked our way out of Devon visiting a donkey sanctuary, cider farm (I am sampling Jack Ratt's vintage scrumpy as I write) and an old limestone mine. It was great elation that we arrived in Dorset and headed for The Fleet, a long sand bank that runs out into the sea and did some quick recording there before the sun went down. A quick visit to Asda in Weymouth we again find ourselves in an almost deserted campsite.

2006-02-13T08:21:00.000-08:00

Harvest Diary – 23rd to 25th November 2005

Met up with new Team Harvest member Craig in Cornwall on 23rd November and spent some time going through procedures and planning a route back up to London. After that had set off a frightening array of fireworks not without serious risk to life and eyesight. One rocket I decided to stick in the ground rather than in one of the provided tubes. It didn’t make it off the ground. The very next firework was a roman candle that sent plumes of flames 20 metres or so up into the air. Having ignored the instruction to insert into the ground rather than just rest it on top it fell over and we scattered having been standing 10 metres away and fireworks flying directly over our heads into the trees behind. Having learnt my lesson the rest of the pyrotechnics passed without serious danger to life or limb.
On the 24th we set off having after clearing up the carnage from the previous evening. We spent the afternoon recording various ambiences in Truro, Cornwalls great capital, and spent the night at my Mother’s house in North Cornwall. We woke to find snow falling and decided to leave it until the afternoon to head off to Dartmoor, our next port of call. The snow has only just stopped though, at 6:30 PM, and we are well and truly snowed in. We have had a very constructive day recording snow sounds which was a pleasant surprise.

2006-02-13T08:19:00.000-08:00

Harvest Diary 31st October – 4th November

The week started with admin for last week; burning DVD’s, naming files and other exciting tasks. Monday afternoon I spent recording sometap-dancing and ballet dancing that my girlfriend Annika kindly provided.
Tuesday I went to a primary school and recorded the kids having their lunch and then playtime. I let it slip that what I was doing could be used onb TV to one child and pretty soon I was surrounded by about 30 kids all shouting, dancing and singing, hoping that I would provide them with their big break. The afternoon I went to St. Ives and recorded the sound of a deserted, damp and windy holiday destination.
On Wednesday I continued my journey around the coast recording whatever I saw from Zennor to Land’s End. Along the way I stopped Of at Geevor Tin Mine which is open to the public hoping that I could get some good, deep underground atmos’. I had to go round with a public tour and the tour guide thought I was there to record him and put his fascinating monologue into actual libraries nationwide. This led to him putting on quite a show for me as well as bragging to any other tour guide he saw. As it turned out the mine that was open was a very shallow C18th one which didn’t sound like anything anyway. Disheartened, I continued on my journey.
Thursday saw gale force winds rock the south-west and I went to the fishing port of Porthleven to try and get some interesting wave sounds. As it turned out 10 foot waves rocked the harbour and surrounding coastline and almost caused my death on more than one occasion. Several times I had to run for my life as a rogue wave threatened to suck me out to sea.
Today I will hopefully avoid death once more and finish my Cornish saga today or tomorrow, heading back to London for a meeting with Harvest bigwigs and an emotional re-uniting with Tom.

2006-02-13T08:17:00.000-08:00

Harvest Diary - 27th-30th October 2005
Spent thursday the 27th at the Eden Project near St Austell and caused quite a stir amongst the visitors there. One tourist even decided to take a photo of me recording for his holiday slide show. I drove back through Bodmin moor and got the noise of high winds and a delightful brook I happened across.Friday was spent in Padstow and then Newquay getting some various atmos' of harbours, beaches, tourists etc. Spotted Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen in Padstow which has been the highlight of the trip so far.Sunday was an early start as I got up to record some chickens (more active at 7AM apparentely) and some church bells. I then spent the rest of the day in shock.

2006-02-13T08:16:00.000-08:00

Harvest Diary 24th-26th October

After re-starting the project, the Joker having passed it’s MOT with flying colours, I continued where we had left off in Devon with a slightly more glamorous assistant in the form of my girlfriend Annika. Tom having been left behind in London.
Exmoor was my first port of call on Monday and spent some time recording flooded rivers and gale force winds, continuing on to Bideford where I did some recording of pubs, cafes and shops. On Tuesday went to the Devon village of Clovelly, which is bizarrely like a theme park with people living in, so I had to sneak in and do some covert recording. Today went on to Cornwall, namely Boscastle and Tintagel, clinging on to cliff faces and coming close to being washed away by rogue waves in order to get the choicest sea sounds. Look forward to Bodmin Moor and the Eden Project tomorrow.

2006-02-13T08:08:00.000-08:00

Left London on lunchtime 4th October on course for the West Country, first port of call Swindon. Arrived in Swindon around 4.30 and headed straight for the city centre to do some recording. Having been harassed by drug addicts trying to steal our clothes and ghost hunters asking us for equipment advice we headed to our campsite with heavy hearts.
On arrival at the campsite we discovered why it was such a bargain: no showers or toilets. There was a pub nearby so we headed quickly for it. Today we started the day in a wet and windy hill trying to record some sounds while not catching hypothermia. Followed that by recording in a church. Are in the only café in Devizes with internet access. We have hired a canal boat for tomorrow and we have made sure our campsite has some sort of washing facilities as Tom has really started to smell.