I glorify the Mafia all the time, crack jokes & such, but the Mafia is no Joke.

I long time ago I was with an Italian friend of mine & we were chatting about La Cosa Nostra. Sadly his family had had 1st hand experience with regards to Extortion.

He told me of a Photographer, a woman in Sicily who takes pictures of all the crime scenes & that she has been doing this since the 70’s.

I went in search of Letizia Battaglia.

What I found woke me up with some harsh photography to the absolute reality of what La Cosa Nostra is capable of.

This was before Goodfellas & the like, the closest reality we had in the mainstream was the poetic Godfather, & yes they plotted & killed, but these pictures tell a different story.

She covered most of the major crime scenes in Sicily & plastered them in the newspaper L’Ora. She woke the world up to the realities of the Sicilian Mafia.

She deserves much praise & is one of my heroes.

There is an excellent essay on her here.

& Her book is called:- Passion, Justice, Freedom

Be well.

As a father of 3, & as a father alone, there are things that you wish to experience with your children at different stages of their lives…of course I want to do them all now, as I have never been that patient. Plus some of the things could get me & said kids in trouble with the law, let alone Mum Dukes !

But when your 12 year old steps up & says these magic words, ‘ Dad, can I watch the Godfather ? Everyone else in my class has seen it except me. ‘ No I am not a big fan of peer pressure & all that, but in this case…HOW FUCKING HAPPY AM I !!!

Ah shit, this is like a dream come true & at the same time how sad am I that I want to, but have been thinking about introducing my Son(s) to the Mafia with this the most Poetic Version of a altogether Violent & Hostile world…but full of Respect….

Anyway fuck all that, I set it up & told Che that he could ask me any questions he wanted at any time…if he did not understand anything, just ask.

I then told him to pay attention as I would be asking questions later…nah just kidding.

As we walked in the Shed to watch it with all 5 speakers cranking, I was idiotic enough to comically come out with, ‘Che you are walking into the shed a boy, but when you come out after this, you will be a man.’ Hah, well I found that funny.

The boys was hooked from ‘I believe in America…’, even commented on how much he liked the music…ahh shit life of my life, blood of my blood.

Wait am I now gonna get a call from the school…ring ring…

’Mr Shariff ?’
‘Yes?’
‘QPS here sir, we have your son Che in the headmasters reception right now.’
‘Really, that is surprising, what has happened ?’
‘Well Mr Shariff, he wishes to be part of the Mafia as a career choice.’
‘What, that is not possible.’
‘Yes Che explained how you told him that he could not be inducted into the Mafia, but could work up to be an associate given time & effort in the correct manner’
‘Uhh well I did tell him a few of the in’s & out’s of the Mafia..’
‘You do realise Sir that the Godfather is an 18 film & your son is 12 ?’
‘Yes I do…’
‘I am glad to hear it, now would you please come to the school as soon as possible to collect your son, & we wouldn’t mind a quiet word in your ear.’

What have I done, Che is already on my case for Godfather pt2, he loved pt1…like father, like son, what can I say…& I get to repeat this little scenario 2 more times.

Be well.

That is a name I think you may hear more & more.

On Weds night I was asked by a friend of mine Matt Ross to come along to a gig in Bristol, to meet & take some pics of this young new artist Aynzli Jones. Me, never missing a good photo-op went along.

Turns out Mr Jones was the 1st act for Ziggy Marley, so there was an added bonus there…but did I get a snap of Ziggy, nope…management had that under wraps at the get go. But I was not there for Ziggy…I was there for Aynzli.

This fella has a good voice & can crank out some killer wails, his beats are good & lyrics are sound. The gig I saw was the 3rd time on stage & you can see something happening out there. The boy got the crowd going.

Jamaican Born, but living in this here town for over 6 years. This has given him a nice little edge when it comes to his sound…it does not sound made up in anyway, & the vibe is coming together very well.

Hope fully, you will see more of this young man, via my lens or other means…I am going to follow this chap for sure.

You can check him out on Myspace HERE. Make him your friend, he truly is a nice fellow…can you tell I like this guy.

Be well.

‘Polo at 11.00am, Golf at 3.00pm on Saturday.’

‘I thought you played on Friday’s Dahling ?’

‘Yes I do, but Johnny is coming back from Cannes on Friday’


That was the conversation on the next table the last time I had lunch with Raoul at the fancy French Steak House, & I have been wanting to write something about it ever since.

I heard all of this while waiting a few moments for Raoul, poor guy had just got back from Athens watching Liverpool lose, so I had a bottle of wine at the table…red of course.

So…

This Fancy couple having lunch with Ma & Pa, & these people smelled of Fantastic Perfume’s & Cologne. The dude’s suit was Money in every sense of the word, & she, well you know the type…maybe not a complete knock out but the ensemble made you look & think…Damn Lady….

Ma & Pa were looking sharp, the old man had an excellent cravat, never forget that one, very tasty Blue & Gold Paisley, but real nice Paisley.

Made me think, are these people Olde Money, which got me thinking what is Olde Money…& then how Old is Olde Money. No think about, when do you declare someone is Olde Money.

For real, & I am laughing as I type…think about it ? There are meant to be more millionaires today than ever before (I am still working on it). But when does what we call New Money become Olde Money.

Ok Olde Money Tends to have a link with Style, a certain Panache, & the way you spent your money. But a lot of New Money people have these qualities.

So I ask again when does New Money become Olde Money?

It used to be old Inherited Cash, but you can Inherit New Money these days…

So when…?

50 years ?

A generation ?

100 years ?

2 generations ?

Or is that there will never be any New Olde Money in our lifetime or ever again ?

Has Olde Money stayed in the 20th & previous Centuries, & now in the 21st all we can be or aspire to be is New Money.


Fuck, I just wouldn’t mind SOME money.

Be well.

Some John Coltrane today, who has to be one of my all time favourite musicians...this man was a king in his field.

Be well.