Sat at the computer and worked the p-shop all day. Needed to finish off a few things for this week as I have quite a few jobs this week with none of them being in London...

Off to Birmingham tomorrow for Reuben which should be fun. A shot of the Christmas joy we did before I went to back to Canada for the Christmas unjoy!!

Had a rerun of last Sunday where the Fish cooked a fantastic roast! Basically lazed around for the rest of the day which was nice. Here's a pic from last night where clearly the comedy was hilarious...

Again woke up late today and had a hurried get ready with the Fish and Matt before we met up with the Dead Swans. Did a quick shoot with them today for K! and after the feather clean up the three of us milled about town. Decided that we would go see some comedy after the show at the Concorde 2.

The Fish missed the show due to tiredness and joined Matt and I to witness the line jumping pricks of the Komedia. People who jump queues and know exactly what they are doing can Fuck Off!?! The triple bill of comedians slowly progressed into worse and the last guy bombed! Jokes that truly had crickets chirping between them! Now comedy is Mr.Hughes in the morning...

Woke up late and had breakfast with Phoebe at the Dorset. Looks like we'll be doing a little trip up to Manchester next weekend now that Brazil is cancelled. Sorted out loads of images today and then went downstairs to find a mutant rat in the garden!! No idea what breed would have chicken legs like these!! (Any ideas let me know!) It didn't seem too bothered as it gave me enough time to go back upstairs, grab the point and shoot camera, come all the way back down to get a blurry CCTV type shot of it...

Mr.Hughes came down this evening to spend the weekend with the Fish and I. Once he turned up it was nothing but comedy and he immediately named the mutant rat to be Susan which was hilarious for some reason. After a great Thai meal in Kemp Town, the two of us proceeded to pull an all night Wii/Guitar Hero maneuver!!!

Took a very early train to town to do a few errands and then head over to the Gibson office to setup for a shoot with Slash. It couldn't have gone any better. The start time was 1030 which I thought was a bit early but like a pro he turned up on time! We managed to go through a few setups which was great. For one of them he mentioned he'd quit smoking if he kept having to do it!!

After dropping off the rentals went with Duff (press) over to his office to pickup Jon and then we piled in Pete's car for a ride to Brighton.

Pulled a few more into our gang including the Fish and little Phoebe and went for a great curry at Ganges in Hove. After dinner jumped into some cabs quickly to the Brighton Center where we almost missed the beginning of Velvet Revolver. Really good show and it was great to hear Patience and Vasoline which I've only ever heard their original bands do!! Gave the late drinks a miss as I was too tired but ended up chatting to the Fish and Phoebe way into the early hours...

Today was a day of re-arranging! Was originally supposed to be doing a shoot with Slash but it has been pushed back until tomorrow. Also got word that the upcoming job in Brazil has been cancelled... Another Lemur?

Started very early today. Went to the Park Plaza Hotel to meet up with the band Does It Offend You Yeah? Nice guys but to be honest don't think they couldn't really be bothered with the shoot. After one member turning up late, checking mobiles constantly and saying are we done yet in the nicest way were a couple of hints. Did the allotted hour and and half in 30 minutes...

Had a much better lunch with the Fish and Scarlet at Pizza Express even though it was a little cold!!

Finished the evening off watching the Extras Christmas Special as Laurence had reminded us how good it was on Sunday!! A pic of Lemurland from yesterday...

After finally getting rid of my sister (hahahaha kidding of course!) Carly Maile, (another Google search hit for you!) The Fish and I went for a little trip to Drusillas Park which was great as they had just opened Lemurland to the public. Now in Lemurland you can mingle with them as long as you don't touch or feed them. So the definite highlights was the Fish not recognizing staff and asking them what the hell they thought they were doing by feeding the lemurs!! Drove through some beautiful British countryside all the way home...

Now these are Meerkats well, four of the five are!! Lookout for the Lemur pics soon.

Went over for an Easter visit to the G-Ma's. Laurence came down too and it was great to him. We then converged back to the homestead for a fantastic roast cooked by the lovely Fish... A very nice Easter Sunday indeed! I must say though I am looking forward to the weather going back to this in England this year, a bit of summer this year please...

Wandered around Brighton looking for a load of different things today. Actually found a few of the needed which worked out well. Carly Maile (little Google plug for you there!) came down for a visit and the three of us went for a great meal at Indian Summer. Came back and while the Fish passed out Carly was introduced to Guitar Hero and then the Olympics on the Wii. And the two of us played until the "wee" hours...

Found this shot online of me "trying to work"! It is from the Cribs shoot in early January and the shoot can be found in the current AP.

A very good Friday indeed! Flight arrived early and seemed like it took no time which was weird as I didn't really watch many movies apart from falling asleep the American Gangster, AGAIN! Had a smiley pickup waiting at the airport for the first time in ages from the lovely Fish. Was nice to get back home and not have to make stops at Gatwick and Patcham! Tired, so did the norm and passed out on the couch watching Cracker...

A shot of the Santa Monica Pier. Funny when I was roller blading by it I had a flashback to the movie Fletch where Chevy Chase is in disguise on roller skates right by the pier!

Met up with my old friend Ace today for breakfast. Didn't even recognize him as he has lost so much weight!! He was looking very well and it's a pity we didn't sort out more time to hang out! I'm sure I'll be back to LA soon, well I think there is another trip on the horizon...

After breakfast checked out of the hotel and went for a wander around Melrose with Robin. We had a quick bite at the Urth Caffe before having to head back to the hotel to meet Ian and catch a cab out to LAX... Usually it's nothing but long lines at LAX but for some reason there was no one around in our terminal! What to do in an empty airport but, buy some sun glasses for the cashless Ian in duty free!!

Here's the cover of this week's K! featuring Nightwish in China, seems like it happened years ago now.

This hotel is SHIT! Internet you have to pay for that goes the speed of dial up. These boutique hotels have it all wrong. When complete fuck-ups happen I don't want a hamper, internet that works, or not being able to hear the person in the next room take a piss would be more worth while. I'll show you where you can put your green frog... Tantrum over!?!

Met up with the band Black Tide at high noon. Nice guys! Drove over to the Pier and Venice beach and did loads of setups. Funny they showed me a mag that called bass player Zack the Hispanic Duff McKagan. (second from right in the pic BTW) He's not anything close to Mexican!! I said he looked more like Geddy Lee which didn't go down too well!?!? Did another quick set-up at the venue and then went back to the hotel to relax. Checked in online for the flight tomorrow as I didn't feel like being stuck in the middle seats again. Before the show had a quick bite to eat at a sushi place right across from the Key Club. Show was good, they are your typical thrash metal band and not to bad at it!

They also know how to party as when the Rainbow was suggested after the show we all went over there. I'd never been but had heard that it's Lemmy's second home, well that rumour didn't disappoint as he was in the corner! Snapped a quick pic of the band with Motorhead bassist and went back to my drink. Basically watched the goings on unravel the rest of the night into some hilarity that involved Steve the drummer's 20th birthday celebration and a famous widow... By that time I figured it was time to call it a night!!

Up at noon, well UK time! Had breakfast with Ian, and Chloe and then went for a wander. The hotel we were supposed to stay in sorted us some rooms finally. Dropped off all the gear and then met up with Robin. It was great to see him as last time I was in LA it didn't work out. We headed out to Venice Beach for a 3 hour roller blade which was fantastic. Just what was needed to calm down after being dicked around by a wanky hotel.

Met up with Ian at the hotel around 5pm and we navigated the metro out the Staples Center to see my first proper NHL game! (had only ever been to a pre-season game before.) The Kings played the Sharks and big thanks goes to Ian's friend Greg who sorted out the great seats. Was a pity that the game was on the boring side, the last 5 minutes were great but the 55 before that were pretty dull. Maybe it was because they finally pulled the goalie who was useless when he was a Canuck, or perhaps it was the shitty ice! (I don't follow much hockey but I've never seen a rink where after every other stoppage in play they need to come out and shovel the ice!) After coming across delayed Metro and then wandering around downtown LA to find another station we made it back to the hotel after only taking one wrong train!

One of the longest days of travel I have ever done!! Well close I think Florida take the award but today was a close second. Hmmm on Virgin again too. Checked in at the airport only to have our flight delayed by a few hours. When we finally got on the plane as we were about to take off they slammed on the brakes... Another few hours sitting on the plane while the engineers fixed the problem then we finally got going!

Once we finally landed in LA 5 hours after we should have it was off to our hotel (which was supposedly booked guaranteed for late arrival) upon arrival they told us they had no rooms left. Had to go to another hotel and spend one night there and supposedly go back to the shit hotel in the morning. What is it with hotels in LA giving nothing but the worst service??? I guess none of that Irish luck rubbed off on us today, that's what you get for travelling with an Aussie, a Canadian, and a Brit. If we walked into a bar it would be the beginning of a joke... A pic of Greenland, a much more peaceful place!

Wandered around Oxford Street to sort the case situation. Settled on the bad service, good products of John Lewis.

Here's a shot of Velvet Revolver that ran in this week's K! Should've been doing them this evening in Leeds if the record company wasn't pleading poverty!

Met up with Ian at Victoria Station for high noon and we then caught a train to Selhurst Park for our annual game of Crystal Palace vs Barnsley. Before the game we found a pub that allowed away fans and after the cheapest drinks and food in London we walked to the grounds. Saw Anton and Clint at the game who both seemed in good spirits despite their team losing!! So for a recap on the annual event, Ashley Maile 2 Ian Winwood 0!! Hopefully neither team get promoted or relegated so we can do it again next year!

Went to the "Chic" for dinner with the school of Fish. Ended up coming home and passing out watching Cracker.

One of my favorite signs in England and I think it described Barnsley's play perfectly today!

Made it to Holborn Studios for 11 to do a shoot with Exit Ten. Did their press session today which went well. We managed to rifle through 6 setups in 7 hours which was very productive.

Headed home after a quick drink and was greeted with Pizza Express and watched the end of a Clockwork Orange. Great film, another classic I had not seen! A pic of the lovely assistant from the shoot today... Matt! You award winning rock star!

A quiet day sorting out loads of things that are falling behind... Finally firmed up the details for a press shoot that is happening with Exit Ten tomorrow. Hate leaving these things to the last minute but it happens way to often.

A shot of the Breakfast Club from the other day taken by Grant that I found on Facebook...

The flight actually arrived early and I was on a bus by the time we should have landed so no complaints there. Kept snoozing the whole way home. Played catch up and dumped all the weekend's past shoots to the computer.

Passed out early as have no idea what time zone I'm in! Was this a dream? The size of the new John Fluevog store in Gastown??

Up again around 5 and waited around till 9 to go have breakfast with Grant, Damon, Benn, and Laura. After the Breakfast Club hung out with Jon had a nice lunch and then spent the rest of the afternoon at St.Paul's Hospital with Machinist Maile! Stayed till the last possible moment and then went back over to L2 to grab all my gear. Jon was nice enough to give me a lift to the airport as Benn's ride was clearly not up for it!

Did the whole check-in/security thing in 10 minutes. YVR is a ghost airport! Apart from the staff that seem to out number the travellers 3 to 1 there never seems to be anyone around there. Flight left on time which was nice for a change and before passing out for a bit watched Juno which I didn't see what all the hype was about?!?

Wide awake way too early although at least an hour later thanks to the clocks going ahead the other day. Sorted out some Nightwish shots in the p-shop for K! next week. Ran a few errands and over to St.Paul's. The Machinist Maile seems to be getting better which is a good thing. Had a nice early dinner with the mother at the Naam and then it was over for a quick stop at Benn's (pictured) where Buckle Up Russia were rehearsing.

Managed to drag Dean out along with the usual crew over to the Morrissey for a few drinks. Benn had some fantastic stories to confirm my suspicions from Saturday night. Ahem!

Finished the night off passing out watching American Gangster with Larissa... Again passed out by the opening credits!

Again woke up early, can never really sleep on these trips! Checked out of the hotel after another quick breakfast with Daniel. Dropped everything off at L2 and then did a shoot with Jason Martin. He's been bugging me to come back ever since I left Vancouver to do a shoot so we set it all up earlier in the week and went around North Vancouver to get some great scenery in all the pics.

After a few drinks with Jason went out for dinner with L2, Alexis and the mum to Shoji's who had the service identical to the Tojo's meal we went out for around Christmas! Food was good but service was terrible, no idea what could have happened in 2 months. Went back to the L2 and Laura and I passed out watching The Darjeeling Limited. Didn't even make it past the credits!! Before passing out took this pic of Laura trying to get comfortable, guess the expensive poorly recommended sake makes it hard to do!!

Up early without a hangover which was nice. Had a quick breakfast with Daniel Lukes and then made a quick visit to my brother who was in hospital as his Crohn's disease has flared up. Apart from looking like Christian Bale's character in the Machinist he seems to be alright, it was weird being his first visitor having come all the way from England!

Met up with the Cancer Bats who are always great to see. Their van had been broken into last night in Victoria and now two were without passports. And everyone always says how nice it is in British Columbia! Took them for the first part of the shoot to Scrape Records which I think Scott went broke buying a load of records afterwards... Finished off on Spanish Banks and lucked out with the perfect weather. Waited around at the sound check, left for a quick dinner with my mother and then returned to the venue to see the show which was great.

After the show wandered over to the Black Frog to finish the night where Donavon was spinning some records and surrounded by some of his friends. A few of them I must admit didn't have the best vibes but hey it's Vancouver they can't help themselves!!! Ended up at the Morrissey towards the end of the night and it was nice to see Mike Kruk as the new doorman!!! Put my clock ahead an hour and then passed out...

Left on the bus super early and ended up at Heathrow an hour before I needed. Now asked specifically not to fly on Air Canada this time (they lost my luggage on a direct flight this time last year!) so was booked on bmi... When I arrived at Heathrow realized it was a code share with Air Canada. Nice well at least the guy at the desk was friendly and tagged all my luggage as priority because I mentioned I needed it for a shoot a few hours after I got off the plane...

A very long boring flight with no entertainment system at least it was clear over the Rockies (pictured) which never happens. Kakuro, harder than sudoku passed a few hours.

Landed and hung out with James which was great. Did a few errands which included a quick stop by Scrape Records to see JJ who is nice enough to let me use the store for part of the shoot tomorrow. After some food James dropped me off at the new green house studios to do a shoot with Hinder. As always they were on fine "fiery" form and afterwards we drank way into the early hours at the house they have rented while they are recording.

Headed into the office to sort out a new case. Ended up with a bit of a lemon as it wouldn't move at all! There really wasn't too much in it either?!? No time to mess about as I'm off to Vancouver tomorrow so it will have to do... A pic of Tom from TGOAT in this week's K!

Waited around for a delivery today... Actually worked out well as I needed to sit at the computer and finish off a load of things that are due next week. Probably won't have time to do then as I won't be getting back from Vancouver until Wednesday.

It will be weird going back so quickly but by the looks of things there will be a ton of jobs to do. Managed to book another one by the end of the day with the biggest party band I know... A pic of them playing to thousands this past summer!

Finished off a few things on the computer before heading up to Islington. It was to the Academy to do shoots with The Audition and You Me At Six. Went well apart from waiting for 2 hours before getting any band! Did You Me At Six first who were well up for hanging out in the ladies toilets. Did a quick shoot with the Audition after their sound check and we had a cheer leader vibe going by the end!! It's always good when you have bands members Tim and Joe who can keep you entertained while waiting for the rest of the band!! Went over to the office where my rolling case died on the way, lasted almost a year I think! Not bad?!?

Here's the cover of tomorrow's Kerrang! with Madina lake. Can't figure out why the cover isn't printed the same as the inside shots?!?!? FFFFrustrating?!?

2 days in a row now the shoots I've done have benefited from unexpected props! This evening it was over to Brixton Academy to do a shoot with Jonathan Davis. Once I was set up in the green room Paul (Korn's Pr) "schooled" me at Foosball!! Jens Korn's tour manager came in and mentioned there was a chair available that Jonathan's security had bought for him earlier in the day. Well it was a beautiful throne of chair so quickly set up the lights again in the load out area and did the shoot. Jonathan is great to shoot as he does everything really quickly so you never have to hang about for too long!!

Finished the night off with an episode of Cracker which I thought would be an hour but turned out to be a 150 minute marathon! Good show though... Another sneak peak from K! this week, here's Fucked Up!

Arrived at the Roundhouse to do a shoot with Outl4w today. (Pictured is a little of what we did last time) There was a big benefit show going on so we did the shoot in the "Underground Liar!" Went really well and it was quite handy as there was a 55,000 pound prop background at our disposal!! Big thanks to Scott for sorting it all out and the band for not complaining!! Would love to shoot in there again as there is loads of room...

Watched the film Kes this evening which has to be one of the most depressing films I've ever seen. Can't believe Kes is what Karl Pilkington championed as his favorite film... Oh dear!

Couldn't believe getting a knock at the door around 10am with a man delivering a new Blackberry. Service in England?? Well I guess I did pay a pretty penny for it!! A mellow day but went for an extremely overpriced lunch with the "School of Fish" to Riddle and Finns in the lanes. I'll stick with Love's in the future thanks!

Hung about and then hit the Komedia for some late night entertainment. The comedy was good but I think the fact we were surrounded with idiots took some of the enjoyment away. Make note: stick to the early shows!! A sneak preview of Minus shot in -20 which is in this Wednesday's Kerrang!