3 Sleeps

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Opportunity

I’ve been waiting a long time

fourteen painful years

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by Scooj

  • We have a general election in the UK on Thursday, and with any luck we will have a Labour Government on Friday. Being realistic, I think it will be several years before we start to see improvements, because the Conservatives have asset stripped the country, made off with the money in their back pockets, and left the old place in a far worse state than they found it 14 years ago. It is incredible to think just how much poorer we are as a nation and how our international reputation has plummeted while they have been in power. The richest have got richer (don’t they always) and are completely protected from the cost of living crisis that the rest of us face. I genuinely hope that the incoming Labour administration live up to their aspiration to serve the country first, because the Conservatives have been serving themselves for way too long. It looks like, while we are leaning to the left, the rest of the world is lurching to the far right, which is all rather worrying.
  • I genuinely can’t think of a single part of my life that has been improved by the Tories, not one, but that is no surprise, I work in the service of my country, and always have. I am part of the squeezed middle – the cash cow that has been exploited when the millionaires and billionaires are laughing, and the multinational corporates avoid their tax contributions.
  • I’ll stop there, because I could write a very long essay about all of this. Suffice it to say the winds of change are on the way.

6146. Peel Street Green (33)

Trafficity, Peel Street Green, Bristol, June 2024
Trafficity, Peel Street Green, Bristol, June 2024

Sure and steady, Trafficity is probably the most dependable and consistent graffiti writer in Bristol, and although he doesn’t paint all that often, he has a rhythm, and you can be pretty sure to find two or three of his pieces every year. His consistency is evident in the gallery of his work that I have compiled.

Trafficity, Peel Street Green, Bristol, June 2024
Trafficity, Peel Street Green, Bristol, June 2024

The letters ZIOM are fairly heavily disguised, and as I have observed many times before, there appears to be another word sitting along the top, in lime green in this piece, that looks like it spells MUMM, but I might be imagining things. The colour palette is easy on the eye and the piece nicely presented. I rather like the little shout-out to Haka, whose long-standing piece here was overpainted.

6145. Dean Lane skate park (726)

Stiff, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
Stiff, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024

It has been a while since I last saw a piece by Stiff, and while finding his work is always a great pleasure, I don’t think that this is one of his finest. The main problem I have with this piece is that I am not quite sure what it is, as the colours are rather dark and the elements not clearly defined.

Stiff, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024
Stiff, Dean Lane, Bristol, June 2024

Stiff usually paints weird and wonderful aliens and monsters, and I guess that this is another one to add to his menagerie. I feel it is important to post as much as I can from all artists, warts an all, because I like to reflect the full spectrum of art and graffiti writing in the city. Looking forward to Stiff’s next piece.

6144. M32 roundabout J4 (587)

Grimes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Grimes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024

Grimes is a graffiti writer who burst onto the Bristol scene a few months back, and has already had a significant impact. His energetic pieces tend to be full of vibrant colour and movement, this one being a great example. The wall he has chosen at one of the underpass entrances on the M32 roundabout is not the easiest to paint because of the slope, but Grimes has done a good job.

Grimes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Grimes, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024

The orange, red and green combination of colours has worked really well and the fills patterns, which are a bit of a trademark, are really on point. The letters, spelling GRIMES are perfectly set on an aquatic blue bubbly backdrop and wispy grey ‘flames’. A really accomplished and enjoyable piece.

Morning – 30 Days Wild (30/30)

Morning seascape, Bracklesham Bay, West Sussex, June 2024
Morning seascape, Bracklesham Bay, West Sussex, June 2024

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Where sea and sky meet

and thoughts turn to my forebears

hungry gulls paddle

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by Scooj

  • That concludes my 30 Days Wild series of Haiku. I hope you enjoyed them.
  • 30 Days Wild is an initiative organised by the Wildlife Trusts. It is an annual challenge event, for those who choose to participate, to do one ‘wild’ thing a day throughout the month of June. I will try to write a nature haiku every day if I can, as my contribution to this celebration of wildlife and biodiversity. I did this back in 2015 and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.

6143. St Werburghs

Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2024
Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2024

Most of the photographs that appear on Natural Adventures are taken while I am out walking the long-suffering dog. Just occasionally, when he is in one of his more stubborn moods, he drags me in a different direction to my well trodden beat, and on this occasion he discovered this Zake piece on the side of a caravan in St Werburghs.

Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2024
Zake, St Werburghs, Bristol, June 2024

I have no idea how old the piece is, but it looks like some of Zake’s older work. Three wonderful cartoon-style face characters are bobbing on a splashy sea, or that is how it looks to me. His work is centred around light and shade and reflection, and it is brilliant to see how the blue of the water is reflected on the underside of the faces. A nice discovery by Rover.

6142. M32 roundabout J3 (586)

Evey, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Evey, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024

Hurrah, for this cheeky piece of graffiti writing by Evey created during a paint jam organised by RBF (Resting Bitch face Crew) for Wispa’s birthday. Regular observers of Natural Adventures will note that this is not the first time Evey has used this idea, and given its popularity, she has created it again.

Evey, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Evey, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024

The saucy letters – EVEN – contain a bottom and fishnet stockings to make up the ‘V’. The whole thing is full of fun, which some characterisation of both of the ‘Es’ thrown into the mix. A spiky orange surround and ‘confetti’ round off this party piece. Great wok from Evey.

Evey, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2024
Evey, M32 Cycle path, Bristol, March 2024

6141. Montpelier Park

j9449j and Solar, Montpelier Park, Bristol, June 2024
j9449j and Solar, Montpelier Park, Bristol, June 2024

More and more these days, writers are stacking their graffiti writing, one piece on top of the other. I am not sure why they do this, perhaps it is all about proportions and wall space. Ultimately what it means is that you get two pieces for the price of one, and this double header is by j9449j (who keeps changing his handle on Instagram, so this will have to do) and Solar.

j9449j and Solar, Montpelier Park, Bristol, June 2024
j9449j and Solar, Montpelier Park, Bristol, June 2024

This spot is one I don’t get to all that often, but it is always worth it, because every time I have been recently, there has been something different on display. j9449j has painted some letters, which I struggle to decipher, but his organic and unique fills give away his identity. Solar, was recently the subject of a gallery I pulled together, and this anti-style writing flows beautifully, so typical of his work. A nice duo to stumble across.

Startled – 30 Days Wild (29/30)

Starlings, Coronation Coast National Nature Reserve, Cleethorpes, September 2023
Starlings, Coronation Coast National Nature Reserve, Cleethorpes, September 2023

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Taking to the sky

a flock of startled starlings

evade peregrine

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by Scooj

  • 30 Days Wild is an initiative organised by the Wildlife Trusts. It is an annual challenge event, for those who choose to participate, to do one ‘wild’ thing a day throughout the month of June. I will try to write a nature haiku every day if I can, as my contribution to this celebration of wildlife and biodiversity. I did this back in 2015 and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.

6140. M32 roundabout J3 (585)

Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024

Something happened to Daz Cat while he was travelling in Southeast Asia over the winter. It is almost as if he had an epiphany after which his art has moved on to a new level. A glance at this gallery of his work shows how much he has developed over the years, but this transformation is a bit of a step change.

Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024
Daz Cat, M32 roundabout, Bristol, June 2024

Daz Cats work was already becoming more sophisticated, but since returning to the UK there is more fluidity in his work, which is more three dimensional, and he is trying out new things, such as the profile portrait of the girl in this piece. This is an exceptional and original piece of street art, and I think it might be my new favourite by Daz Cat. Whilst I was photographing it, a passer-by who was walking his dog, singled out this piece and said how much he admired it. Keep it up Daz Cat, this is special.