Another sunny day and more at the computer. Yeah thanks for that weather!! Stayed up all hours to finish as I'm off to Wales tomorrow for a quick news job...

I guess the rain has affected the making of cucumbers?!? Well ones that are cut in half as they had plenty of whole ones!!!

Up early after little sleep and onto the computer for a day of p-shop. Never fails the days you need to work inside are the sunny lovely days outside... If I had less to do it would pour I'm sure! The Madina Lake shoot is coming together quite nicely and hopefully can get it finished off early tomorrow...

Forgot to post this hilarious picture of Paul Xavier's package!!

Had a fantastic lazy day at Scarlet's. Watched Kerrang! TV which doesn't seem to have anything to do with the magazine from content to the look!! Got bored and had a Wii marathon with Kev who had just acquired Mortal Kombat for it... Oh how the childhood memories from the arcade were brought back!!! But between all that Scarlet cooked the best roast dinner for the Fish, Kev, and I!! Very Ah-nice!

Caught a ride from the lovely Scarlet across town back to the Tufnell Park dome for day 2 of the Rock Off Festival which had a few more people than the night before which was good. Hung out with Raz, had a few drinks and then made a break for it to catch the last tube out of there...

Felt quite smug with myself as I beat the travel system and travelled free all the way home!! Even better that it was an Underground, a train, and finally a slow bus ride!!! More of the Greek graffiti?!?!

Day started in Clapham and had a meeting with Hannah and Chris about some upcoming promos shots. Then went into the centre of town for a quick bit of food before heading over to the Tufnell Park Dome for the Rock Off Festival...

Not the best turn out at all but there were some good bands. Mirimar Disaster who were singer less stole the show on the downstairs stage and Ghost Of A Thousand did the same upstairs. Hung a bit with Dean "Alex", Nicky, Frank and Slo Mo who's antics weren't up to Download standards. (Last time I saw them all together was the "Bread Skin Mask" shoot above!!) Had to stay to the end to get photos of the headliners Translight Vision, then it was in a mini cab fast as you like over to James "Pirate" Sharrock's party that was still going strong at midnight. Had a few drinks and then crashed out at Scarlet's place...

So after getting spammed today about 1000 messages I had to change my email box... Go to info@ashleymaile.com if you want to get in touch!!! (Now that I've posted it here, I'm sure I'll get a 1000 more!)

Spent the afternoon with Simon at Retna and we managed to polish off a few too many drinks at the local pub where they did do good bangers and mash and had the best name for the gentlemen's toilet! (pictured)

After that stumbled up to Kilburn with the Fish and met up with Carly, Simon, and Jamie for a night of mind tricks "extra" with Marc Salem. Not too sure what was extra about it and he didn't pick on anyone from our crew but maybe as Jamie said we weren't plants in the audience. I think I might have had too many drinks during the day for it to take affect!

Spent the day on a constant errand run! Asked if I wanted to buy an umbrella after I'd been soaked by the rain, banks are annoying in general, and running through tunnels in Elephant & Castle...

Did up a few prints for the National Portrait Gallery's portrait prize which has a huge cash prize for the winner. Too bad I didn't submit a shit snapshot of an old lady dressed up nice at the beach... I then might have had a chance at it!! Might have to set-up a shoot with the G-Ma!

Went over to the lovely Paul Xavier's for a meal/haircut experience and was treated to some great stories and the usual hilarity. Even had a wrestle with his new badger between laughing at "hot or not" on Facebook. (It's everywhere as my sister called for a guess who contacted me on... yeah well I beat you to the punch! The "Mr" already messaged me Carly!)

And what's with the mentals on trains? Tonight we were treated to a blinder of a performance by the puppet master, some dude making his hand puppet move in the reflection of the window. He really gave the old Vancouver Robson & Thurlow fighting puppet show a run for its money! (Dodgy photo but I couldn't resist!)

Went down to the Barfly in Brighton and photographed the 80's Matchbox B-Line Disaster who put on quite a show. Hard to shoot as the crowd was all over the place luckily the back was iced before going!

A little bit of summer turned up today but still the heat of Greece would have been nice! The floods will probably be back by tomorrow... And I'll have to find another Venetian castle to hide in.

Could probably fill a blog with all that goes on in the Facebook. It's nothing but little flashbacks to the past. Hilarious the shit you remember from way back!

Going to do a live show tomorrow in the new Brighton Barfly... Gigs with no smoking now are the way to go!! (No one believes they've been that way for years in Vancouver!)

Now I know I'm new to England but when does summer start??

This bad back shit is contagious! On the road to recovery...

Spent almost the entire day at the computer, oh what fun. Finally finished the King Blues touch up until the next round. Did manage to get out for a quick wander and picked up a few magazines as some of the press shoots I have done recently are getting published... The one of Devil Sold His Soul turned out quite nicely...

A shoot with the Gym Class Heroes when I finally got into town. Took a 55 pound cab ride to the trains that were running because of flooding... With all the rain in this country I would have thought that flooding wouldn't be a problem! The band were almost as easy as Madina Lake to shoot and afterwards had a great lunch at Satsuma with Scarlet. Not bad sushi but still not a Nobu!

Hung around for a bit at the office before going to Brixton and the club Mass. Its a church that has been converted into a huge club, but I don't think it has lost it's Brixton charm. That kind of Main and Hastings feel but 10 times more dangerous! The latest band that Laurence is in was playing for a 50th birthday party. With 9 members in the band they sounded really good and did a great version of Tom Petty's American Girl. Ended up crashing at Laurence's as they finished way past the last train home...

Had a blast from the past on Facebook this morning. Stacey put up the Grade 3 class photo and our first soccer team photo! The crazy thing is how many people's names I can remember from Grade 3... Guess all that partying hasn't killed my memory yet!

Up to Camden for another shoot with Madina Lake. They absolutely loved the idea and played along very nicely for it. Thanks to Scarlet for helping me out when the time was disappearing, and Carly for the late clean-up!

Carly and I went over to Blackheath for dinner with Laurence and Alice. It was very nice to see them and we stumbled upon a Mexican restaurant close to the heath (rumor has it no one can build on it for 1000 years as they buried the dead from the plague!!) The restaurant had weird service as you would get in half an order and the waiter would disappear... Perhaps something to do with the being close to the heath? View was nice though...

Went to the K West hotel where we were supposed to meet up with everyone for a drink but I couldn't be bothered to wait after said time. As I said to Carly I have to wait around for bands professionally not socially!! We took off and managed to catch the last bus/train home... Stayed up til the wee hours moving everything from today's shoot to the computer which is looking very nice!

A day of paperwork and pshop. Took a 2 hour break and went to the long dragged out fifth Harry Potter film... Should have had a nap during as my dreams would have been more magical. That was hands down the worst Potter film yet as there was no point in the story!!

I'll go back to the book I am reading which seems way more magical and better written. I hear it becomes a movie this winter.

Not magical but a creepy window display from some shop in Chania I forgot to post!

Came in a bit later today as it was over to the K West for 11 and a shoot with Madina Lake. Was nice to see them again and they were more than happy to drop their pants for photos!! Also they filled me in on a few people I have to shoot at a later date...

After heading back to the office, went for a nice lunch at Ben Crouches with Emma J, and then I went for a wander. Met up with Emma for a few pints to kill time before the show in Camden. Then to the sweaty little Barfly where the kids were going nuts for Madina Lake. Toughed it out at the front for a few songs and then moved to the side of the club on a crate for a few songs, but managed to get the shot above which I was waiting for!!

An early start! Met up with Anna and we went over to Stoke Newington to do the King Blues shoot... Did a few different set-ups and even got Fruitbag in the cold shower! (Hopefully the mag goes for those!) Forgot to ask why they had no warm water, but before leaving introduced them to Nardwuar who they thought was hilarious!

Made my way over to the BBC studios in Maida Vale to do a shoot with Your Code Name Is Milo. Had to wait for a bit while they recorded a few songs for a session before I could do a quick set-up. Made Paul laugh when I asked him if he had been to any strip clubs lately as he was at the one we went to in Newcastle at the beginning of the year!

Here's a shot of Outl4w that ran in K! a few weeks ago.

The joys of an upcoming busy week. Rather than getting down to pre-prduction what better way to come up with ideas than watch Silence Of The Lambs... Alright Clarice, you doing ok? Have a few shoots lined up for this week, 3 with the same band which makes life much easier. A week of Madina Lake, at least they are up for having their picture taken... An example from last time!

A shot from Koules in Heraklion... It was a load of balls!

Slowly getting better or is it just better pain killers??

A little selection of the graffiti in Crete... Had a little hand in the nurse playing game today which was nice. Sorted some ideas for a few shoots next week. Looks like a weekend of pre-prod...

Much better day and everything should be sorted soon... Did a bit of computer work and finally got the choices to touch up from the King Blues shoot. Oddly enough when I was leaving Camden last night bumped into them on my way to the tube. Was nice to see Jamie, Itch, and Fruitbag and it looks like we'll be doing another shoot next week for Kerrang! Liked this shot from Prague a few weeks ago...

I've seen...

Better days! Brings it all back to reality how fragile life is when you see a loved one being carted away in an ambulance... A very weird day. Did a shoot in the middle of it all which went so fast as I and couldn't wait to get back to the hospital the whole time to check on my fish! Hopefully all will be known tomorrow...

Was up early today helping Larissa get up to town and over to Heathrow in time for a flight back to Vancouver. We had a great time together this time around and it is definitely now my turn for a visit back to Canada. Perhaps a winter one could be on the cards!

Stopped by the office and picked up a copy of the latest issue today which was the Korn shoot from two weeks ago. Another thing I have recently learned about England... If you get sick, go back to Canada for treatment! And everyone who lives north of the border thought Canadian health care was bad, come check out England! Didn't realize NHS stood for Pass the Buck!

Went for a planned dinner at Nobu which was great food but we were minus a Fish to injury so we mourned with the above picture. Afterwards Larissa, Carly and I wandered over to Garlic and Shots for a few drinks with two nights in a row Matt Hughes!

Even with a little mixture of cocktails, sake, and beer managed to stay up through the night to finish editing the King Blues shoot...

Considering we rolled in at 3AM was up early messing around with a few things. Mellow day with not much to do which was very ah-nice. When Larissa finally rolled out of bed took a wander around Brighton and then met up with Matt Hughes by Brick Lane. Had a few drinks on the street in front of the Big Chill which seemed like the place to go on a Sunday evening!

Grabbed some dinner which was great and then capped off the night with more drinks. Fantastic evening and I think we are pulling a rerun tomorrow night!

An early rise as we needed to catch a bus to Heraklion today. Decided against the cab but almost wished I'd taken one after we were kicked off the wrong bus in the middle of nowhere. Thankfully an empty one came along and took us all the way in blissful air-conditioning with no other passengers for the 3 hour ride!

Once in Heraklion we went to the Palace of Knossos which was a Minoan ruin site. Looked really interesting and even saw a four thousand old painting based on a popular energy drink! After Knossos it was back to town and we walked through Koules which was by far the best site to see in Crete. A Venetian Fortress located on the harbour walls that still had all the old cannons and balls...

Before heading over to the airport went for one last massive Greek meal... Very nice but what better way to follow it up than have a disgustingly huge dessert. Couldn't resist the chocolate covered waffle, with whip cream, topped with vanilla and strawberry ice cream!! Apart from the worst remixes you've ever heard the cafe had the most comfortable seats but had to leave far to quick to catch a plane back to London... Crete very nice!

Second to last day... Nothing but the Beach, well and a little dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant with Belinda and Johan oh how could you forget the night cap of UNO!

So I guess all that's left is the Top 5 things I learned in Greece.

#1 Never order dessert after dinner, because they will always bring it to you anyway.
#2 You wouldn't believe the tiny places tour buses can fit in.
#3 Just like everywhere else in the world turn on the local radio station and Nickelback will be on!
#4 Sometimes getting kicked off a bus isn't so bad... you might get the next
one all to yourself!
#5 If you are going to surf in on an air mattress try to avoid the rocks! (unfortunate pic: Larissa!)

Too burnt and too tired to join Larissa on the boat today... Must have known as I got a text midday that said something along the lines of good thing you didn't come as it was choppy and we needed to change to a smaller boat. Happy times avoiding sea sickness!

While hanging in Chania was lucky enough to see the old horse in a hat... Pets with clothes on, never understood why people feel the need to do that!

Awoke nice and early for a little road trip to Elafonisi. It was one of the most amazing beaches in Crete. Took a two hour drive and a big thanks goes out to Johann for doing all the driving. Navigating around all those windy little roads was something I wouldn't have signed up for!

Highlights were definitely a good old sunburn (so windy you couldn't feel it coming!), watching Larissa taking pics of the topless tanners, and waiting ten minutes to pay for melted ice cream!

Larissa, Johann, Belinda, and I left early to beat the tour buses out of there! Stopped along the way to take pics and get some Raki and Honey which had the best advertisement on the road to entice you in! (pictured) Got passed by all the tour buses so I had a good nap for most of the drive and once we reached Platanas went for a fantastic Crepe. Chilled out the rest of the evening with the usual cocktail of Uno and Mythos...

So while Larissa went out diving today I sat in a SLOW internet cafe for 5 hours sending out all the pics that needed to be in! Happy times watching the blue bar. Actually wasn't that bad as I caught up on loads of things. Fortunately the view from the web cafe looked something like this...

Went into Chania today for a walk around... That was of course after I took an air mattress into some rocks at the beach and came out with a purple ass!!

Chania is a nice little town on the sea front with loads of restaurants and stray cats vying for food. Surprised they don't eat more as the Greek's never clear a plate in front of you unless you ask. Oh and don't order desert because they will just bring it to you anyway! Plus a shooter at the end of every meal. Slow is the key word for service but the food so far has been pretty good. Definitely check out Crete it's well worth it.

Went out for dinner with Belinda and Johann, friends of Larissa's and her dive instructors. Very nice people who told us a great story of how they came to Crete with only enough money for 5 days before they needed to find jobs!! The best kind of story!!

Happy Canada D'eh?!?

And all that eh?! (pic Larissa)