Psychologist Irem Bray from Marmaris launches an on-line service for English and Turkish speakers. Irem holds a Masers Degree from London University and specialises in family and couples counselling.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a photographer, or not, if you have a passionate interest you should exercise it. I happen to like taking pictures and if I go a day, or so, without making any images then I tend to get, somewhat, jaded.
In some cultures, particularly Medieval Europe, the possession of a dovecote was a symbol of status and power and was consequently regulated by law. Only nobles had this special privilege known as droit de colombier.
Gianni Girotto treats Longevity specialist Liliana Pivato to a Watsu treatment at Novridra Health Centre, Sarnano, Italy. Photographs by S. J. M. Bray.
Yunus and his mother enjoying some Tai Chi around this time last year! Photograph by S. J. M. Bray.
Dave Beckerman from www.nyc-photo-lessons.com writes: “Do not force yourself to take pictures of obviously dangerous people. They exist. If you are comfortable with your street skills and have been doing this for a while – and you think the shot is worth the potential danger – then by all means. But not in the beginning.”
Making Turkish Mantı is as much an opportunity for conversation as preparing food for supper.
Sweet Pea runs away from home because he is feeling unloved and gets into all kinds of trouble.
The Light and Colours are superb today My old friend and neighbour Tony Parsons writes in ‘The Open Secret’ of how whilst walking in a park he allowed his mind to still, and he found himself simply walking and within his walking discovered his true nature. My current mentor Alex Jeffreys is helping me to [...]
Home Made Ice Cream Beats All Others! Olympus E-400, Zuiko D 50mm, ISO 100 The Olympus E-400 will, I am sure, become an iconic camera in the history of digital photography. It is the last Olympus equipped with a Kodak CCD sensor, and is amongst the smallest digital SLRs available. It was the smallest when [...]
After playing in a park, (see yesterday’s entry), Amazon suddenly became hungry so we retired to a basement cafe and pool hall. It was suprisingly civilized and the barman made Amazon the largest ‘tost’ I have thus far seen. The lighting was very subdued so all this series was shot using Image Stabilization and apertures [...]
The Bus Station, Goreme All good things come to an end and today we must leave Cappadocia, at least for the time being. As it was our last meal we decided to eat at Hasan’s Goreme Restaurant. Hasan and his wife both visited us at Amos last year as part of the group of musicians [...]
Those of you who have followed this journal from its inception will know that my inspiration is the incredible Alf Erickson of Corkscrew-Balloon.com. Alf has blogged every day for more than ten years. Hannah says South American briefs are most uncomfortable, but I don’t care! It is with great pleasure that I show a few [...]
Not The Mast at Amos! Intelligence and diplomacy has prevailed and so not only is the Avea buzz station to be dismantled at Amos, the WiFi Internet system also won’t be installed on the White Houses section of Amos Estate. These decisions taken by the respective management committees have taken great courage. It’s difficult to [...]
In 1854 John Snow investigated an outbreak of Cholera in London. He had a theory that Cholera was a digestive based illness and suspected that its cause was polluted water. He reached this conclusion because as a physician he recognized that the symptoms of cholera were similar to those of some kinds of poisoning, rather [...]
When Alice left here a month back she left a copy of ‘Country Living’ in which I found an advert for a denture fixative. The advert featured an apple with a bite taken from each side. Who is wearing the dentures it asks? In Britain, for forty or so years, a huge group of committed [...]
An Amos Restaurant Pide These days I rarely venture out much, so I don’t get to the sea or Amos Restaurant. Amazon goes often though and likes to eat there. She enjoys the Pide most. The portions are just the right size for her
Horton and The Speck of Who-Ville! Hello folks. Sorry not to have posted lots of groovy pictures of merry holiday makers recently. It’s not that they’re not here, but rather that Irem and I have been so busy with ‘The Family Business School’. You can see its progress at FamBusco.ac. I am determined, however, to [...]
Look at this fellow, only slightly longer than a slow-worm, but far more dangerous! A couple of years ago one of the residents here at Amos was stung by a bee at The Amos Restaurant. He suffered anaphylactic shock and died. Naturally we were all very upset. When people travel abroad they need to bear [...]
The Fish Was Delicious We hadn’t intended to spend the day on a beach. It wasn’t planned, although we were ready because I own a little Suzuki jeep so we can off-road to locations that are inaccessible to folk with more prosaic vehicles, so perhaps I was prepared when Oğuz Bey invited us to join [...]
Kumlubük As A Digital Kodachrome! After having to stay near the screen all day yesterday Irem and I took to the hills, well we walked to Kumlubük actually. We needed to get out because although normally we sit at home, baking bread and writing rubbish, in the past few weeks we’ve been under pressure to [...]
I am stuck close to home today because I’m waiting on a programmer in DaNang to complete an upgrade on The Family Business School web site. DaNang is four hours ahead of here and my programmer e-mailed me before I was up, and promptly disappeared off the map. Maybe she’s at school? The Twitter Logo [...]
We Need An Open Courseware Policy Yesterday when I was making my short video about The Family Business School I was unaware of Open Courseware. What a wonderful idea it is, and does it not answer many of the criticisms I made of conventional university courses in my film. Today I have had to evaluate [...]
Mr Seth Godin, like your hero, is not one to be trifled with. When a restaurant puts him in a ‘bum’ table and refuses to give him a better one he blogs about it. Quite right too . . . . . . and gentleman, as he is, Seth does not name names, or establishments, [...]
Plain Sailing At The Family Business School, Despite Suffering With The Flu! Despite suffering with flu, and also buried in the chaos following the redecoration of the house, and replanting of the garden, I’ve slowly been working on The Family Business School web site. The desktop computer is out of action, but the laptops are [...]
The front page features Amos, and my Chick-a-Dees, of course! When we were in Istanbul last month Irem and I saw this programme on BBC World. It was really rather sad for it showed a skilled businessman, (and one far more experienced in commerce than I), fail to make any impact upon a family with [...]
Wild Daisies Are To Be Found Everywhere On the Estate Like most country dwellers the city plays havoc with my mind. I remember whenever I returned to practice psychotherapy after a spell in the country I would wonder why people were telling me their woes, and foibles, as I listened to their stories. But the [...]
www.marmaristemadenhayir.com Blue Flag awards that are handed out every year by the Environmental Education Foundation of Turkey (TÜRÇEV) depending on cleanliness of the water, environmental concerns, security, safety and services at beaches and marinas, were given to 47 beaches, marinas and coastlines in Muğla this year. Bodrum was awarded 29 Blue Flags and Antalya received [...]
Some Family Therapy Training Clinic Participants Those readers who visit here because of my entries on photography won’t be surprised to learn that I wasn’t over-pleased with the technical quality of the group photographs of my Family Therapy Training Course participants made this past weekend. This group image is of those who come to learn [...]
Irem Looking Over Family Therapy Resource Notes In Our Hotel Room Irem was just looking at some papers she had prepared for our Family Therapy students on Sunday when I heard her make a huge belly laugh. When I asked the source of her mirth she read me this quotation from the book Jay Haley [...]
You Are Looking At Some Very Highly Qualified Medics Amongst The Members Of This Group For over ten months I’ve been sneaking off from paradise to train some prominent and up-coming clinicians in family therapy. Not only have these students been counsellors and pedagogues they also include two professors of psychiatry and a number of [...]
Viddler.COM, Where Professionals Post Their Video Clips Like YouTube and Google Video Viddler.com is a portal where you may freely upload your video clips for display on the Internet. But Viddler scores by offering a number of key features. For example the maximum file size for upload is 500 megabytes, which is five times greater [...]
One Bee Hive When walking in the hills above Turunç do not be surprised if you come upon boxes such as the one above. Sometimes you will find individual ones, and at other times several together, maybe as many as twenty or thirty. They are bee hives. Turkish bee keepers seem impervious to stings. Only [...]
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Amazon had just discovered some chocolate powder left over from an old pack of powdered Capaccino when I decided to see how well a 50mm Zuiko OM lens would work for portraiture on the E-400. It’s pretty good, and if you already have this lens, (the 1.8 version can be bought cheaply), and don’t [...]
While carrying your active life on your head can you embrace the quiet spirit in your arms, and not let go? While being fully focused on your vital breath can you make it soft like that of a newborn babe? While cleaning your inner mirror can you leave it without blemish? While loving the [...]
Oh Dear . . . I don’t believe it! Back in Amos once more and coerced into applying the little grey cells to the creation of stuff for others. It’s all Irem’s doing. Life would be so simple were it not for her. She finds people, talks to them, brings them into our life and [...]
There are times when the urge to create original, or novel images can blunt my senses to what is right before my nose. The other day I was walking with the OM-1, and feeling somewhat disappointed because I hadn’t found much inspiration. Suddenly I found myself walking toward home and also immersed in feeling so [...]
Better to stop in time than to fill to the brim. Hone a blade to the sharpest point, and it will soon be blunt. Fill your house with gold and jade, and no one can protect it. Be prideful about wealth and position, and you bring disasters upon yourself. Retire when the work is [...]
The highest good is like water. For water benefits the ten thousand things without striving. It settles in places that people avoid and so is like the Tao. In choosing your home look to the land. In preparing your heart go deep. In associating with others value gentleness. In speaking exhibit good faith. In [...]
Somehow in the past year, or so, my lifetime interest in photography seems to have crystallised. I confess that living here in winter seclusion sometimes I despair of ever becoming a Bailey, Newton, or an unlikely Royal Photographer such as Rankin. It would be nice to capture delicate curves in subdued light and occasionally, to [...]
When you come to Turunç in the summer you will see it alive with blooms. This is because the town council, and local business owners plant various plots and boxes and lovingly water them. It is in the autumn, winter and spring months, however, that nature’s blooms abound without human interference. Of course even in [...]
A common site in Kumlubük during the early spring Alper Erkalan the chief aikido instructor at Marmaris Zen-Center recently requested that I shoot some images of his dojo practice. Frankly I prefer taking pictures of local flowers and wild-life, and Peter and Pat have requested more of these here, so watch this space. In the [...]
Naughty, but nice, nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more!
Bliss!
It’s Ramazan here but as a child, and part yabanci, she isn’t expected to conform. Dondurmas as usual at Amos Restaurant. My friend Sir Michael Carr-Jones loves ice-cream pictures pictures, so these are dedicated to him, and Lynne. I’ve eaten the ice cream what’s to do now? There’s more there, if I suck . . [...]
Çapa Hospital at Dusk It’s just amazing how much can change in an hour. Here, above, is a photograph of Çapa Hospital taken from Dr. Behiye’s pied à terre on the opposite side of the road. Behiye is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Psychiatry at Istanbul University and is based at Çapa Hospital. [...]
One of the things I enjoy about Turkish Cities is the juxtaposition between the cultures that subsist within them. Here I am drinking Turk Kahve at a relatively smart cafe when in the distance I spy two traditionally dressed women sitting under a tree. All around them appears to be litter, blown or dumped, in [...]
Why has Amazon a bemused and appealing look on her face? This Is What She Wanted! Ooops, All The Tasty Dondurma Has Gone I Can’t Believe I Ate It That Quickly!
Looking East by Steve McCurry I guess like most proud parents I’m prejudiced and consider my daughters to be the most beautiful girls in the world. Recently, however, when shopping in Ümraniye Carrefour I saw a face on this book by photographer Steve McCurry peering out of a shop window at me. What a delight, [...]
Communing with a tree will invite joy into your world far more than talking with most people. You and a tree may be like minded whereas people tend to be stubborn. ———————— Every one of us is an illusion. There is only, for want of a better description, unlimited potential, light, or in other words [...]
Heaven and earth last forever. The reason why heaven and earth last forever is that they do not live for themselves. Hence, they last forever. Therefore, the True Person leaves self behind and thus is found in front, is not guarded and thus is preserved, is self-free and thus is able to find fulfilment. When [...]
The Tao is called the Great Mother: empty yet inexhaustible, It gives birth to infinite worlds. It is always present within you, like a veil, barely seen. Let It use you any way It wants! In some ways this short chapter of the Tao Te Ching was the most difficult, to date, upon which [...]
The Nature Of Heaven And Earth! Heaven and earth are ruthless; They see the ten thousand things as dummies. Descartes said: “I think, therefore I am.” He held that the mind was real but the body was an automaton. He believed that we are our minds, or individual egos, and we own our bodies. When [...]
poster design by Art Machine, A Trailer Park Company Yesterday I was reminiscing about how Sally introduced me to Bob and Bob, in turn, introduced me to Leonard Cohen’s music. He also introduced me to the songs of Melanie, a woman with an equally soulful voice as Cohen’s. These were the days of the first [...]
1966 Vauxhall Viva HA . . . but in the life of our planet it is a blink. It seems like yesterday but it has been half a lifetime. Am I being nostalgic, I think not? These were simply the days of miracle and wonder, but it’s not Paul Simon I want to write about [...]
Did you make your life happen, or is It simply occuring? The Tao is like an empty bowl, yet it may be used without ever needing to be filled. Where a bowl grew from a function, so the concept of Tao grew from our need to name the unnameable. What’s in a name? What’s in [...]
The Steps From The Beach At Amos Not exalting the gifted prevents quarreling. What does it mean to be gifted? Is the refuse collector not more valuable than the physician? Certainly she or he saves more lives. The simple minded may uplift us with their openness whilst learned academics bore us with the narrowness of [...]
The copy of the Tao Te Ching I bought at The Compendium Bookstore Camden and gave to my father during the 1970s I love this old copy of the Tao Te Ching. It seems like yesterday that I bought it in a bookshop in Camden. Its cover was then pure black and pure white and [...]
The Old Man Sometime during the 1970s Suzy, my wife of those days, and I gave my father an illustrated copy of the ‘Tao Te Ching’. The old man, my father that is – not Lao Tzu, said that he enjoyed reading it. Certainly he kept the book for it came down to me upon [...]
Sometimes I wonder when we’re going to give up the notion of “What’s in it for me? What’s in it for them?” Damla lent me a book purporting to be a translation of the words of the Dalai Lama, it even had his picture on the cover. Within it I found the following paragraph: When [...]
Sorry about the lapse in transmissions. Not me this time, if you want the full story you may read it here, and here. Anyway, we’re back on-line today. At least pebblesfromparadise is. The Family Business School web site got so over run by spammers in the time I couldn’t access it that I had to [...]
Haute Cuisine Maybe? I was cleaning out some files on the computer today when I came upon this ‘still life’ image. What can this meal be, you may ask? In fact it’s no meal at all, it’s a joke! Earlier this year, when my mother-in-law was staying with us, I attempted to explain to her [...]
Why Is Irem Looking So Chipper? It’s because not only was she able to spend time on the mat yesterday, but today Gaku Homma Sensei came to Amos with the Marmaris Aikido Group and spent several hours with us here. Why then, you may wonder is the main photograph of Irem? It’s very simple really [...]
Why Is The Sensei Perplexed? Because only one of these students knows how to tie their belt correctly. The Grand Master is here in Marmaris as part of his tour of the Middle East. His visit was unexpected but the Marmaris Dojo leapt at the opportunity to train with such an important Sensei. Of course [...]
Superior Chinese Rolls, at Pineapple Restaurant, Marmaris, Turkey. I was still, yesterday, under the influence of the inferior Chinese cuisine from Wednesday and determined to make up the deficiency. So today took us to The Pineapple Restaurant in Marmaris. Gentle reader, if at this point you worry that this journal will degenerate into the style [...]
Oya Zorlu and Irem Bray Cleared Their Plates! If you travel to any of the major cities of Turkey you may be able to find an authenic chinese meal. The closest we come to such a treat is to be found at the Yacht Club at Kumlubük. It is not recommended! There’s little to criticise [...]
I was expecting that yesterday’s post about the Tatler would be the last in the series, but today I received an e-mail from Sir Michael Carr-Jones to which he attached a photograph published in an ancient copy of the venerable magazine. Here we see the youthful Monsieur Tap Away Your Troubles in a clinch with [...]
Emma, as presented in The Tatler Yesterday I asked the question, which of Tatler’s writers do I most enjoy reading. Come on guys I am a chap, I like to read the motoring review. But Tatler’s motoring review is one special beast, for it’s not just writing about fast cars. It is like a sexy [...]
The Metro Station at Findikzade Your hero is currently in Istanbul training the young, (and not so young), caring professionals of the future in the art of family therapy. This weekend we will be looking at the origins of Structural Family Therapy and making much of Minuchin. I grabbed this shot with the E-400 and [...]
I’m Helping My Bank Thrive, Maybe? Damla came to have lunch with us today. She has a bad back, and a computer that won’t play the visual part of her new ‘Law Of Attraction‘ DVDs. For some reason whenever she comes here she insists on speaking solely Turkish, which in effect excludes me from the [...]
The Lesser Spotted Tai Chi Master It’s not uncommon to be awoken early in the morning by Amazon, who having risen from her boudoir, runs to our room and jumps upon my chest. This morning though I was awake before her, and turned over to face my chick-a-dee as a prelude to intimacy. But she [...]
The Party On The Patio Yesterday I was bemoaning the loss of my old home town. Today I am rejoicing in the acquisition of a new one. We’ve lived here full-time for around three years now and are getting to know far more people. Due, in no small measure, to this journal we also find [...]
The late Gregory Bateson when teaching art students matters of epistemology was fond of presenting them with a boiled crab and asking: “I want you to produce arguments which will convince me that this object is the remains of a living thing. You may imagine, if you will, that you are Martians and that on [...]
Manifestation In Action? Regular readers will recall how last year my account on the Amos Estate was shown to be 500 YTL in arrears when in fact it has always been paid up in full. The matter was an accounting error and has now been put right. This month the accounts stated that I was [...]
Time For Mulberries You call them mulberries, here they are more simply known as ‘dut’. They come in both white and also red. If the juice from the red variety touches your clothing it is doomed, but the taste of dut is worth it. With the dut comes a particularly stupid kind of fruit fly. [...]
Amazon and Irem enjoying the children’s playground at the ‘otel Kempinski, Barbaros Bay, Bodrum. Today we drove via Muğla around the Datca Peninsular to Bodrum to visit our friend Abbas of who is staying at the Hotel Kempinski. The Hotel is a modern but elegant five star overlooking Barbaros Bay. In addition to several pools [...]
“I’m bored here”, says Gloria. Ten years ago Uncle Tezer promised to take me to see Ankara Zoo. He apparently makes this promise to all visitors below the age of sixty years. I am nearly past the sell by date, if still young at heart. In the event the visit proved to be a sad [...]
People In Ankara Love To Meet In The Parks People may be classified into all kinds of shapes and sizes. There are for instance people like me, who carry hip-flasks when travelling, and those like my friend Polish Pete who carry sweet digestive biscuits. Although I did not grow up in a family where the [...]
Anyone For Caviar? I found this shop yesterday on my way to the Grand Bazaar. Next stop today Levent’s Orange Garden Cafe, Marmaris, for brunch/breakfast with Amazon and Irem. Own A Camera? If you found this article of interest you may wish to sign up for our FREE Course in Digital Photography. To do so [...]
Istanbul’s Enchanted Grotto! Hurrah, I’m back on the street with the mighty Summilux 25mm 1.4 attached to the E-400. No Family Therapy today until 5.00. p.m. when I will supervise the training clinic for a couple of hours. Marmaris tomorrow, yum! But today it was off to the Grand Bazaar, not quite at the crack [...]
Models Of Times Past And Present We have started learning about family trees on the Family Therapy Training Course today. These make the structures and histories of families easier to analyse, but at a risk of reducing real people who are living, or once lived, to graphic abstractions. People were, of course, just as much [...]
When I come to Istanbul to teach Family Therapy I find that my urge to take photographs suddenly stops. I ask myself why do I devote so much time to photography in Marmaris? It’s not that photography becomes irrelevant in Istanbul, indeed it is here, (for today I am here), that I spend time and [...]
The Orange Garden: A Superior Street Cafe In Netsel Marina It seems to be becoming a Sunday ritual that we find ourselves in ‘The Orange Garden’ at Netsel Marina. Yesterday we went there because Levent had promised that Roast Beef, with Yorkshire Pudding would be on the menu. Unfortunately it wasn’t, although it will be [...]
The vet explains why we should be kind to animals. Turnunç Women’s Group a recently accredited local government organization today presented their first major community initiative. This was an animal welfare awareness raising afternoon at Turunç Primary School. Lee Butt, who created the Turunç Street Cat Neuter Scheme introduced the afternoon and its guest speaker [...]
The Amos Restaurant, (circa 2007) During the winter Mehmet has been busy working to improve the look of Amos Restaurant. The place has been re-modelled and now has a timber, (and plastic), texture. It certainly is an improvement on the previous asbestos and iron structure and, (Philip please note), will also have a new American [...]
Water Ship Up! As promised I end the week by presenting a collection of Easter bonnets from the wonderful women at Netsel Marina Marmaris’ Easter Barbecue. I’m A Saucy Sailor, But My Tiny Herb Has Wilted The Lunch Is Getting Away! My personal favourite
Utility Again! By special request I’m showing a few more of the Easter Hats from Sunday’s Barbecue at Netsel Marina, Marmaris. These feature designs from the men’s department. On Friday I will reveal a few more of the women’s creations. The Rustic The Morris Man The Embarrassed
The Unusually Functional There was a feast of Easter Bonnets at Netsel Marina’s Easter Barbecue today. Hats varied from the utilitarian, to the exotic, and of course some of a nautical bent. The Exotic The Obviously Nautical
From Alf Ericksons Corkscrew-Balloon.com: Tube ski stunt blasted by police A man who skied nearly 200ft down the longest escalator on the London Underground has been condemned by police and transport officials. He launched himself down the 196ft (60m) escalator at Angel Tube station and filmed the stunt. The unidentified man then posted it on [...]
A new image for olive oil Emre Soylu, the International brand expert, has created a new web site for the olive oil business. His olive oil is pressed from olives grown near the village of Behramkale, from which the web site takes its name. You may view the website by clicking here.
Canon D20, ⅛ sec, F 2.8, ISO 800 We’ve all been suffering with the spring flu this last week and Irem has been doing a sterling job caring for us all. Today however she’s laid low so I have put her to bed and insisted that she rest. It’s great for her to have such [...]
Here is a photograph of a mother and child. It just happens to be Amazon and Irem. It could equally be your child and you, or even Granny and Grandad. The fact is that it’s a common enough scene, which although unposed is similar to the kinds of family portrait that many people snap as [...]
My father enjoyed crispbread and so does my daughter . . . I am still missing the Olympus E-400, which is away in Portugal undergoing repairs. The Canon 20D is a heavy animal by comparison, and although the professional lenses are good I don’t think they’re all the same quality as those from Olympus, although [...]
Time for a phone call! This photograph of Irem and Amazon may seem like a sign of the times? Truly we live in the age of stress where electronic devices intrude upon us at every inconvenient moment. Of course in Irem’s case the stress is self-induced. She could if she wished simply ask the caller [...]
Life Is Stranger Than Fiction Great Scott – just when I thought things couldn’t get much worse for my favourite airline BA have taken three short haul Boeing 767s out of service. They are apparently radio-active, (even if only slightly so). At least one aircraft is believed to have flown on a Heathrow/Istanbul service. Details [...]
When a company advertises for a graduate or professional in Turkey up to 4000 individuals may apply. Understandably this creates a niche for others to develop Human Resource businesses that exist to filter applicants using a range of personality assessment tools. Filling in the answers correctly to such tests becomes a useful skill to acquire. [...]
The Car With Personality You may have noticed that during the course of the year I’ve published no less than three blogs on personality tests. These tests aren’t designed for any serious purpose. They indicate very little about you – and indeed – since all the options offered are pretty flattering, at least as far [...]
Michael Mallows was a recent presenter at this year’s NLP Conference Our, (not so very), old buddy Michael Mallows has relaunched ‘New learning patterns’ as a Yahoo Group. In a private e-mail to Irem and I he says: Hello, I’ve added you to my NewLearningPatterns group at Yahoo! Groups, a free, easy-to-use service. Yahoo! Groups [...]
It’s been nearly three years since Irem and I were joined by a baby daughter Amazon. They’ve been exciting years and Amazon changed our lives. During her first year we were able to continue to work more or less as usual. The nature of our work and the proximity of our office meant that we [...]
Did you know the rules of C. V. writing have changed? Employers no longer wish to see stodgy, irrelevant information presented in a uniform format that looks like the architecture of a spreadsheet. They require spark, originality, simplicity and honesty. Writing a good C. V. is a specialist skill and you should consider employing a [...]
I confess ~ it’s great to be back in Amos, where the sun still shines and yours truly wakens to the call of a nearly three year old calling her Daddy. But I already miss my grown-up girl too! Last Friday we polished off a bottle of Rioja and Hannah topped her meal with a [...]
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, ymmmmmmmmmmmmmm I’ve been back a few hours and started to unpack. Last Saturday Hannah found a book of cocktail recipes at the second hand bookseller near the National Film Theatre. I’ve been thumbing through it in search of inspiration. According to the rear cover the recipes are the ones used at the London Ritz [...]
A Thoroughly Modern Way To Travel Regular readers know that recently I’ve been experimenting with ‘The Release Technique’, sometimes known as ‘The Sedona Method’. My mother-in-law has obtained a translation of the book into Turkish and she too reports benefit from applying the technique. Today I completely surprised myself in discovering how, despite the most [...]
It sure doesn’t look like Marmaris Toto! Whenever I’m in London for more than a few days I generally make sure that I visit The Dove. This old coffee house has been my friend for nearly 35 years. When I first came the air was thick with tobacco smoke. John Smith the pot man kept [...]
The Budgieman, Great Family Entertainment Here I am on day two of my adventure in London rediscovering Hannah. I’ve felt a lot more relaxed today, we both now know each other. She is no longer discomforted by moustache and I have adjusted to the slight Derbyshire drawl to her accent. Indeed I think it’s true [...]
O.K. I admit it. It’s nice to be in London. My dear ol’ Papa, Gawd rest his Soul was a Londoner he lived as a boy in Camberwell, and it was in Camberwell that I first met Irem and started my rehabilitation from therapist to regular guy. I’m still not cured but I’m lots better [...]
One of the problems that all aspiring writes share is the question of where to insert the comma in a sentence. I tend to insert lots of commas when I write my articles, and then spend the following two days removing them whilst the lentil soup simmers on the Aga. Teachers still no doubt have [...]
Exmouth Market London WC1 There are two ways to travel the world: by foot, plane, train, ship or bus, or by boat or car! If you travel by foot, plane, train, ship, or bus you will meet real people living in an apparently real world. You can ‘experiment’ with being sociable, hear new stories, imagine [...]
Please Act Now Before You, Or Your Children Become Infertile, Or Worse! I’ve just received a most disturbing e-mail from Liz Wilcock of Sulis and Stone Stable~ it’s self explantory. Dear All, If you want to keep this country, [England, separate consultations are taking place for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland], GM free it is [...]
Fishing Boats On The Way To Netsel Marina Today was spent in Marmaris. We had to go because our tyre repair hadn’t been done properly, indeed we discovered it hadn’t been done at all! In the event it wasn’t the tyre but the valve sleeve that required replacement. But the trip was valuable for other [...]
Ready For The Oven, And Now As Floyd Would Say: “Time For A Slurp!” At last it’s happened! Mehmet phoned yesterday to say that he had caught an enormous fish and he invited me to photograph it for his new brochure. Amazon, Irem and I hot-footed ourselves, actually we took the jeep because I was [...]
Fishing Boats Snapped With The Fuji Finepix E900 On This Beautiful Day In Marmaris We went to Marmaris today when something happened that made me realise just how fortunate we are. Amazon peed on me! It’s unusual for her to have such accidents and today it only happened because she was exhausted after a days’s [...]
It all started last week when I was getting up-to-date with Hannah via e-mail. Her descriptions about festivals, and the like, reconnected me to a whole world that I once knew but somehow seemed to have faded away. I hit the Internet searching for names from my past and BINGO I turned up a profile [...]
What Famous Leader Are You? personality tests by similarminds.com Yesterday I discovered that I was an ‘Easy Rider’, according to an impressive personality test at the SimilarMinds web site, which analyses your answers to a bank of questions and reveals the movie to match your personality. I also completed a second test to determine what [...]
As an escape from thinking more about the production of Mehmet’s brochure I spent some time surfing this morning and came upon an intriguing, if not very serious personality test on the web. By submitting answers to eighteen questions the test revealed what classic move my personality resembles. Below you can see what the program [...]
Some of you may remember how Amazon, Irem and I ran away from the prospect of creating a new brochure for Amos Restaurant. The reason is that the owners of large enterprise know just how much work needs to go into projecting the right image, whereas small business owners tend to think that taking pictures [...]
Amélie Poulain It must have been around midnight. I was sound asleep when I heard the sound of the telephone Irem answered it from my study. The mysterious caller was none other than Gent Bey, who owns one of the houses over the Aquarium Bay at Amos but who is currently in Istanbul. It transpires [...]
This Fine Pide Shop Was Closed To Make Way For Another Ambulance Station, But Do We Need More Ambulances, Or More Wood Cooked Pide? A couple of years ago Irem and I were having dinner with friends in Istanbul when we heard the loud crash of breaking glass outside followed by the sound of a [...]
That Bowl of Nuts Also Contains Corn-Frys That Were Probably Cooked In Unhealthy Saturated Trans Fats! Today Holiday Magazine Turkiye is celebrating its first birthday. Since my recent article on Kumlubük yours truly has become one of its star writers, ‘Ahem!’ Irem and Amazon were also at the birthday party providing support. The picture ‘snapped’ [...]
Dr. Sagan Ishizuka If you read yesterdays entry you may perhaps have reached the conclusion that Macrobiotics is a cranky idea propagated by charlatans in order to make them a profit. Whilst it’s true that some have established businesses by propagating macrobiotic ideas, and selling macrobiotic staples, I have little doubt that this was done [...]
A Fascinating Account Of The Mind/Gene Connection! In the introduction to The Psychobiology of Mind Body Healing by Ernest L. Rossi there is a story of a man who had an inoperable cancer to his neck. Back in the days when medical ethics weren’t so rigorously policed the poor chap was injected with a saline [...]
“Impossible to compete with the Local Authority” It’s official, and already we’re in mourning. Next year should you visit Turunç you will no longer be able to while away your hours in Taner’s famous Tibetan Kitchen. He’s going back to concentrating on his travel business. Quite frankly, I’m not surprised at his decision. The seasons [...]
Is Tony Parsons Bonkers? Judging by the responses I’ve been receiving privately concerning my recent post about Lester Levenson’s book ‘Happiness Is Free’ it seems that most of my readers do, in fact consider themselves to be real people living in a material universe. Well quite frankly this is to be expected, especially in this [...]
Easier Than You Think! During our recent Istanbul trip Irem and I decided that we are going to undertake the Sedona, [Holistic Releasing Technique®] together. We have two of Hale Dwoskin’s books, ‘The Sedona Method®: Your Key To Lasting Happiness, Success, Peace and Emotional Well-being, and also ‘Happiness Is Free’, which uses lots of material [...]
Holiday Magazine A year ago I was criticising the Editor and Publisher of Holiday Magazine for using an unauthorized photograph of Amazon for an article about sun-burn. I still feel that the picture shouldn’t have been used because it implied that Amazon isn’t properly protected from the sunshine by us. The magazine has come a [...]
An Essential Muse? Just a couple of days ago I was writing about looking inside my heart for inspiration, rather than in all those dull tomes in my technical library in Istanbul. Really I believe that I’ve wasted far too much of my life reading about life, rather than living it. On the other hand [...]
Readers who have come to expect content about photography in this journal may by now be considering abandoning my writings. I urge you not to do so, but it’s up to you – apparently In 1953 the great street photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson acquired a copy of ‘Zen and the Art of Archery’ by Eugene Herrigel. [...]
Yesterday in discussing the physicist John Wheeler’s ‘Delayed Choice Experiment’ we approach a problem that most people prefer to ignore. If the world is ultimately manifested from quantum objects, (particles rather than atoms), which only exist in the perception of observers whom rational science informs us are also made of quantum stuff then something like [...]
Yesterday’s entry might have seemed somewhat obscure. To those readers who are realists it probably seems crazy. It’s the kind of area that has preoccupied philosophers for centuries, and which many scientists prefer to deny. But consider this. When I sit in my comfortable home in Amos admiring my paintings, or books in the library, [...]
Some time during the 1980s I recall eating a meal at home in Manchester with two dear friends called Judith and Phil. I no longer remember what constituted the first courses, but I do recall that we decided that some profiteroles would round off the food to perfection. The trouble was in those days profiterole [...]
Guy Bourdin: Pizza, (note the masterful sloping horizon in this top photographer’s shot). I found this image by Guy Bourdin on one of his fan sites. Here are two powerful-looking women eating Pizza in front of a tropical seascape. Could we do something like this for The Amos Beach Club, I wonder? There’s nothing overtly [...]
When Guy Bourdin or Helmut Newton were commissioned to photograph fashion, or even make pictures of cars or other machinery, they always managed to inject a sense of the macabre into their work. Of course they’re both dead now which is pretty macabre too! But when I get summoned to take a photograph of the [...]
Turkish culture is very rich dating back to the days when nomads from Mongolia were united under the Genghis Khan, and later his son Khubilai Khan captured most of the ‘known world’, from Vienna to Peking. In order to administer this vast empire the Turkic speaking people employed and adopted Arab scholars, who in turn [...]
Not A Bad Place To Study Social Caswork, (or Geography, for that matter!) It seems barely yesterday, but it was over 30 years ago, that I trained in something called Social Casework. This is a concept, perhaps rather than a method, denoting the ways Social Workers used in the past to help people. The Casework [...]
There are over 600 illustrations in colour and duotone in the retrospective tome ‘Henri Cartier-Bresson: the man, the image & the world‘. Only three need concern us here. How is this possible considering the vast number of images in the book are images photographed by the Master himself? He claimed to have never been [...]
There is a popular misconception on the Internet today that if you buy an e-book, or DVD on how to make a fortune on-line you must succeed. It’s probably true that if you follow the advice in products such as ‘The Rich Jerk‘, or even a free manual such as ‘The Work At Home Mother [...]
Hatici Enjoys Herself Hatici has been living in Baz’s apartment since he departed on Monday. Last night she invited us to eat spaghetti with her. Spaghetti was the only dish on the menu because weevils had started to emerge in the rice. We also drank a bottle of white wine that would have been over [...]
— PHILLIP LANE [our aviation, and City, correspondent] writes: Now the mystery begins, this morning Jessica took delivery of a super huge cardboard box, which both Jessica and Jocelyn had to carry up the hallway together, not due to it’s weight, but due to it’s sheer size!!! The addressee was none other than yourself, now [...]
In days of old, before we were all Europeans, one could refer to the bubbly above as Russian Champagne but it’s all changed now, what with a Melton Mowbray Pork Pie living in its own exclusion zone.
Stephen continues his rant about gas guzzling motor monsters, but admits a soft spot for the classic Bentley 4.5 litre.
Paris Hilton, and Mike Filsaime show how “It’s cool to buy what they want.”
Click The Image To See The Campaign Today I’m astounded to find that I’m in agreement with George W. Bush. He once expressed support for regulating CO2 emissions, but now favours voluntary steps to reduce them. Legislation, he argues, would cause unemployment and raise costs. The fact is that George has probably been informed of [...]
I doubt If you can make a decent Mint Julep with it? I’m worried that Barry may not have received my last e-mail in which I requested that he bring me a bottle of Jasmeson whisky. He did not acknowledge the request and is flying back to Amos tonight. Perhaps it’s just as well since [...]
Wot Day Is It? Last year Irem bought the beer for Phillip‘s Visit. She chose some cases of Efes Extra for him. For the benefit of the uninitiated Efes Extra is the Turkish equivalent of Carlsberg Special Brew. The ex-husband of my ex-personal assistant in Dorset was partial to a spot of Special Brew. One [...]
An Unlikely Sign? Seth Godin published a useful link in his journal today. It connects to a nice article about logos and brand identity. It makes the point that a good logo won’t support a weak product, or service. True as far as it goes no doubt? To my mind those commissioning a logo, are [...]
For Your Throat’s Sake! Scanning through the old copies of Lilliput loaned by Alpay Bey I was struck by the number of advertisements for tobacco products. Today these are banned but in their heyday tobacco ads produced some of the most iconic brands of their times. For example the Gitannes Man, taken by Alice Springs, [...]
Adequate Supplies For The Ex-Pats, Maybe? Travellers to Amos from the United Kingdom have been pleased to bring with them two bottles of Gordon’s London Gin, which was a special offer on their flight. I am pleased to say that the holiday tourist doesn’t have the stamina of the genuine ex-pat with the result that [...]
Aloe Vera Bloom, Amos Bay, Turkey This Aloe Vera flower was captured with the FinePix E900 whilst we were visiting Yusuf and Çidem, who are staying in Piraye’s and Duan’s house. Yusuf tells me that Aloe Vera flowers for just one day each year and today’s bloom is, as you can see, exceptionally lovely. Tomorrow [...]
Just Let Go! Two years ago I gave up practising as a therapist, trainer, management consultant, and NLP person. This caused some consternation among those whom I had helped to train. They couldn’t understand my motives. The fact is that I had no reason in mind. It’s true that I thought it would be nice [...]
Power vs Force The Hidden Determinants of Human Behaviour According to David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D, consciousness may be quantified by a numerical value. There is a logarithmic progression between energy values of the numbers in the scale he invented which is calibrated in numbers between 0 to 1000. Several individuals operating at the lower [...]
A 1950s image for today’s postmodern world As it’s half-term in the U.K. Jocelyn, Becky and Josie are at Amos this week. They arrived here this morning at around 4.00 am. They brought fine beers from Thwaites, and Fullers. Fine Port from Warres and Bombay Gin to fuel Damla’s Martinis. Most importantly they came themselves. [...]
The Moon As Seen From The Gates To Amos Estate You may have noticed that I spend a great deal of time writing about photography in this journal. It’s true that photography has long been a personal interest but I also write about it because light, perspective and timing are essential to the understanding of [...]
“The witch had a cat, and a very tall hat!” As Amazon grows bigger it’s impossible for her to rest in her bed with Irem. As a result she’s taken to having a temporary bed on the floor, although she always sleeps the night in her bedroom. Nevertheless it’s quite common to find both Irem [...]
Weymouth plans to demolish Beach Huts fit For heroes
Let’s Go Home Mummy! You might have noticed fewer references to our walks in Kumlubük recently? For some reason Amazon’s routine changed and she started to nap when we used to walk. This has been quite a disappointment for Irem and I but today everything went back to ‘normal’ and we were able to walk [...]
Read Mark Joyner’s Take On Todays Topic Here As people return to Amos for the summer season many are astounded to note that I’ve lost quite a few lbs. Indeed I’ve lost 35lbs, or, (if you prefer), 16 kilos. I achieved this simply by following the natural eating principles laid out by Walter A. Willett [...]
Danger: When Irem touches the computer something untoward usually occurs!
Amos Restaurant Re-opens After the long winter our local is re-opened for traditional Turkish cuisine, including fish, kebabs, pide, and host of salads. All may be complimented with a glass of fine wine, or beer if you prefer? Mehmet is having a fine time supervising his staff. He appears always to be seated, gazing out [...]
An Easter Contribution from our Aviation Correspondent
Amazon and Irem take a constitutional walk between courses Abbas, [aka The Count of Monte Christo], barely managed to escape from an undisclosed Island near Marmaris following a mix up over his accommodation. His client a well know Middle European company had taken over the island as a training venue for its prospective managers. Trainees [...]
It looks peaceful, but last evening the Fidan Restaurant was ablaze! At first glance it looks like a picturesque view of part of the esplanade at Turunç, but discerning readers will know that it is in fact a photograph of the Fidan Restaurant. You will recall just a few days ago Pebbles From Paradise was [...]
Boats Moored In Turunç Harbour, shot taken in the early evening. If you followed my instructions from yesterday you will have thought of us making our way up that hill for our regular evening walk to Kumlubük. But we weren’t there! Gent Bey had invited us to walk with him, and together with Phil and [...]
Maybe? It’s official, first Noah’s Ark was discovered on Mt. Ararat , then Mary the mother of Jesus House was found in Ephesus and now according to leading corkscrew expert and collector Alf Erickson the corkscrew used to open the bottled water at the marriage in Cana in Galilee turned up a few years back [...]
Do You Really Need This? The Internet is one of my remaining links to the ‘real’ world. And what a sad world it’s becoming. I read that plans are afoot to decouple the Haydarpaşa railway terminal from the main network and build on some of the rail track monstrous skyscrapers 350 metres tall. A similar [...]
Normal Service Will Not Be Restored! It’s been just a week since we put the TV and DVD in the cupboard. After a few hours of Amazon asking for the ‘fish‘ she started to entertain herself and us in other ways. I continued to feel ‘guilty’ about depriving the girl of the DVD ‘Nemo’, which [...]
‘Finding Nemo’ from Pixar Animation Studios is a brilliant film. The two DVDs are excellent value providing hours of entertainment. But our DVD is now in the cupboard . . .
The Worst Breakfast You Can Eat? I’ve just received an email from Laurie Phillips, who has just returned from two weeks in Luxor. Apparently he’s lost 5 lbs since he stopped eating meat, and it seems that he’s made few other changes that could account for his weight loss. He has a long way to [...]
Stephen continues his exploration of art and aesthetics.
Click Here For An Oaty Surprise When Irem removed a cereal packet that Amazon had fetched to the breakfast table this morning she asked her daughter: “Do you mind if I take this back to the kitchen, it clutters the table and is unaesthetic. Aesthetics are very important, you know!” I was amazed at her [...]
Here at Amos, Turunç, Near Marmaris, there always seems plenty to do, and time passes quickly. Perhaps this is because we’ve chosen to lead a life that’s pretty self-sufficient? We’re currently burning wood salvaged from the husbandry of the estate. This means that it must first be cut up by either a saw or a [...]
Turkish culture tends toward overfeeding, and over indulgence. Small wonder then that after ten years of being married into a Turkish family I find myself overweight, especially when judged from medical standards. This year however I’ve slowly been reducing my waistline, and my weight and the good news is that I’ve gone from the category [...]
George Ohsawa You may well know that traditional people clean their teeth with a pointed stick and either salt granules, or ash? What may have escaped you is that George Ohsawa the founder of modern day macrobiotics created a toothpaste made from roasted aubergine and sea salt. He called this ‘Dentie’. It’s been many years [...]
Peace To All Sentient Beings I’m celebrating today because I’ve just completed the infamous 10 days on brown rice diet. Actually this is the third time in my life that I’ve completed the diet and each time has been different. The first time occurred in my late twenties. My partner, later to become wife number [...]
“…get off the wheel for a moment, discover where you are, and make a conscious wakeful decision about whether you want to get back on that wheel or not. Using our awareness, we can process the events that are happening to us. Otherwise, we are passive, unconscious witnesses of our fates.” Dr Arnold Mindell, Founder [...]
A Traditonal Turkish Feminist! I count myself as very fortunate that I belong to at least two cultures. Firstly of course I am English, and the product of a Sixties education, if not a progressive one. Secondly I am married to a Turk and live in Turkey which has it’s own customs and traditions, and [...]
It’s a great pity that vegetarians are seen as making some kind of anti-establishment statement, rather than simply stating common sense.
It is of course the Eighties generation that now hold positions of power, for whilst the Sixties Generation still dress, and behave with abandon, and continue to have the money to do so, they are also slowly collecting their pensions albeit by electronic transfer.
I was trying, rather unsuccessfully to teach a group of Turkish psychologists the art of Family Therapy, when Laurie appeared wearing vivid red lipstick!
Laurie Phillips is coming out of retirement and plans to set up a new business. He said: “I may well become teetotal – not entirely 100% on that yet!! but will try it for a while!”
One of our relatives is perpetually constipated, lives near a river that gets clogged with sewage, and can never throw anything away.
This morning I awoke to the sound of a distant rooster. It was the celebration call of an endangered species. But what else may be under threat?
I went onto a diet consisting almost entirely of brown rice and within a few days was able to breathe freely and walk a mile. A week previous and I could barely reach the bathroom unaided.
In this tale of modern Turkey stereo TV assumes a new meaning.
The American Psychiatric Association’s DSM IV is ‘The Bible’ of modern diagnosis.
Super-Glue could learn from Turkish vintners. Unfortunately corks are supposed to be removable!
Isn’t Turkey a Moslem Country, I hear the ‘little grey cells’ as they rub together in feverish perturbation in your skull at the thought that St. Nicholas might just bring Rudolph this far South!
Most Turks don’t celebrate Christmas and so it’s difficult to obtain the ingredients for the Pagan festive dishes that Northern Europeans associate with Christ’s birth.
I don’t really see why this entry isn’t safe for work, but in deference to Andy Skelton’s sensibilities I will categorise it as such, amongst others 
It was some years ago that I first saw a boy dressed in a white suit, sequined like some Pearly King and wearing a turban.
The whole day deteriorates into do-it-yourself without power-tools!
Flatulant musings on a distinctly Anglo-American commodity!
“Because your face is so perfect without deficiencies, or exaggerations I was not immediately aware the most shapely and desirable body that a woman could have. I was fascinated one by one by your broad brow, your small chiseled nose, those delicately contoured cheekbones, and your wide firm-lipped mouth which opens over small teeth like two rows of graduated pearls.”
There’s nothing like meatballs with gravy and potatoe wedges served in flight to false you into drinking the drinks trolley dry.
A traditional Sunday Roast follows the Bayram
As children and from a very early age we were all expected to do all manner of chores that would have gainfully employed a whole squad of navvies.
Coincidentally this year the Sugar Festival also falls on Amazon’s birthday. She is two years old.
At around seven O’clock from the estate here at Amos we could make out pin pricks of red against the indigo landscape across the bay.
The Turkish coast is a unique and very beautiful cruising ground.
A bloody huge scorpion, and aggresive too!
In 1924 John D. Rockefeller wrote to his son and explained his practice of giving away money. He wrote, “…in the beginning of getting money, away back in my childhood, I began giving it away, and continued increasing the gifts as the income increased…
Ramada, known in Turkey as Ramazan, begins.
When ‘Uncle’ Eric decided to pay for dinner, we decided to take him somewhere really special!
Martha Higareda is a very cool chick but Isn’t the purpose of this commercial is to sell pepper sauce, rather than simply to add cyber-spice to my life
If you ask for instant coffee in a cafe, or on a bus, you’ll be met with a blank face!
Learn how to overcome addictions, get rid of unwanted habits, overcome anxiety and depression . .
Pernickety Peter Port noticed that the Vin Rouge wasn’t as ‘rouge’ as the article recommended, so Stephen rouges it up . . a bit!
The ‘Stelvin Cap’ is no guarantee of poor quality on the contrary blind tasting indicates, on the whole the screw cap is superior.
The cola wars begin . . .
Ülker the manufacturer of Cola Turka are running a special promotion. There’s also a link to the second of the brilliant Chevy Chase Turka Cola adverts.
Bottled water is a huge industry in Asia but Stephen is caught with his pants down and so must fetch water from a stand-pipe!
This advertisement for a Turkish Cola may have seemed uncontroversial had it not been for the Gulf War.
Birth is invariably a tortuous business, and best discussed over a glass of champagne with a qualified midwife. This entry contrasts the English and Turkish maternity systems.
Thoughts of espionage are misplaced in the kitchen.
An Official Report shows the Turkish Diet to be amongst the healthiest in the World. Yet an Englishman without Black Pudding is like a Scot without Haggis and blood may count when it comes to breakfast satisfaction.