Stop spamming my blog you cunts.

OK. I'm in a much better mood today :)

Nice hotel with no bedbugs. Good work. Beautiful company. Life is alright again.

Why I Hate Santiago. I'm Afraid I Do.

I've been staying in a shit little pension. Probably spent somewhere in the region of €800 over the past couple of months. Shit room. No window (other than the one that opens onto the communal bathroom). Tonight they refuse me a room because my sheets were always covered with blood.

Blood from your fucking bed-bug infested shit. Evil, little facsist cunts. Why is this my problem?

In short, this sums up Santiago. It's not a nice place to live. Where are all your black and Indian people Santiago? Where is your Christian goodwill? Ugly, ugly little city.

Fucking evil little cunts for the most part. I have met good people, but they are few and far between here. Honestly!

Good Weather!

Yay! I'm rocking and rolling quickly towards my next project.

Thieves are still thieving on a daily basis. I can't spot who it is. 1.30PM(ish) everyday and someone takes a dip into my poy, but... I'm getting there anyway. Good weather, more tourists, more opportunities.

Help Me Through My Cynical Days.

A reference to an XTC lyric. Normally at this time of year I enjoy listening to the album Skylarking. It has a very optimistic 'springtime' feel. Not from said album, but possibly one of their best known tracks is here on Youtube A very cynical song. One of my favourite UK pop bands (although they're a bit more than pop).

XTC sort of evolved from punk/post punk. Punk sort of evolved from anarchy. There is a certain type of 'anarchist' I have a huge problem with. They smash up your mobile for the hell of it and steal your money. They do this because it's being an anarchist innit. They tell you they can live without money. Then, they steal more money from you. They're not really anarchists, they're filthy, lying, fuck wit, smack-head scumbags who lead a life far more regimented than any 9-5 office worker.

Every morning they wake and go through the same daily routine to satisfy their anarchic cravings. At 1PM and 8PM they will visit the Church organised and provided free kitchen for their food. You will see them at exactly the same time everyday in the same places. Begging for the cash they don't need to feed a habit that will deny rules their lives. Begging, stealing whatever they need to do. That's everyday of the year. No weekends off from heroin addiction.

Lots of new 'anarchists' arriving in Santiago with the milder weather. Not easy to spot them immediately, but it soon becomes apparent. May be that's why I didn't make much money yesterday? I saw what was happening today. Sneaky fucks some of them. Drop a 20 Cent coin and pick up a €1. Or, just pretend to drop and only pick up.

Difficult not to get very cynical about the World when you have to share it with smack-heads and cunts.


Just in case anyone hadn't noticed; I use this place to rant and vent steam. It is legal. Smashing twats in the face isn't. Sorry if anyone gets offended!

Optimism?

The weather was good. The crowds were good. All looked perfect.

€6.28 in 12 hours!

Something is wrong here. This time last year I would have banked on €100 for a day like this. It's worrying - I'm in trouble.

Anyone reading here know how you survive on €6.28 a day?

Bed = €15
Food = €4 (without good nourishment)
Cigarettes = €3 (well, yeah, OK)
Wine = €2 (well, yeah, again - not a need, but...)

Then there are all the other things. Life saving medicine, clothes, internet and mobile top-ups.

Obviously, a holiday in Portugal is completely out of the question ATM. I just want to know how to escape this God forbidden hell hole!


This is it.

Even I need money to live. Forget the charity cause. Currently, I'm not even making enough for my own bed. Never mind travel. Worse than that, I may well go hungry!!! God forbid! I get very angry when I get hungry :(

I do believe it's getting better.

Well, hey - thank fuck for that!

Papere money in my pockets again. Bag of sweets to munch at the internet cafe. Good weather. Good people. Hotel with bogs booked.

Paper money! The only finacial security I've known for the past 18 months. A carrefore carrier bag full of 50 €1 coins is just as good, but a crisp, new €50 note sort of gets you a better reception at your choice of bed for the night for some reason.

Some arsehole on the TV is going to spoil it and tell me it's going to rain tomorrow now. I know they are. Plastic faced lying cunts!

Portugal for a break is looking favourite ATM.

Back to Square One.

Before I start moaning again :D I should point out that this is my choice. And, yes, it's a very nice way to live. No way am I going back to the way I lived before!

Thanks for the nice comment. Talk to me next time - I'm not nearly as scary as I look, or as angry as I come across here sometimes.

However, this is a very precarious way to live. After a weekend of stolen work, stolen cash, knife in face and smashed mobile I am skint again. I should have worked yesterday, but just felt to defeated. No enthusiasm. Today I worked 12 hours for €12! Not enough to pay for a bed. The €12 I have will pay for cigarettes and coffees to get me through the night. Tomorrow I will be sleepless fucked and have to work another 12 hours in the hope that I actually make enough for bed, food, cigarettes, booze, new materials and pens, chemist (that should be priority really) and maybe even some chocolate.

That's just the nice bad stuff about this lifestyle. My stomach is not well. I would like to make use of my own bathroom. There is no bathroom to use other than bar bathrooms that cost at least €1.20 for a coffee. Late bar closes at 5am. First to open is 7am. You learn these things very quickly in any city!

On the upside; I did my best 2 sketches yet today. Very nice even if I say so myself, but fucked if they got any interest. This is not good. This time last year I was comfortable. Easily selling 3 sketches a day even on Monday.

12 hours working the streets with all that entails for just €12 :(

Not good. Not good at all.



I need new boots, new jeans, new socks and stuff. This is not easy. Actually, it is hard work and a hard way to live if you're not the type to 'enjoy' it.

Spanish Mobile No8 Bites the Dust.

It just gets fucking worse here.

Sitting down in Praza Quintana texting mates and some crazy woman sticks a knife in my face demanding my mobile. Initially I tell her to fuck off, then realise trying to calm her down is probably the better idea. She grabbed my mobile, and instead of running off with it, just smashed it!

All of this happened in front of Policia Nacional. I have to show my ID - fair enough. It's the law here. But, they let crazy person go - she will undoubtedly do the same to someone else who may not be as used to these sort of situations as I am. In the meantime, I get given a hard time for drinking a can of beer and littering the plaza with my sketch (I threw a tantrum myself yesterday when the cunts stole my sketch).

So, on the first dry, sunny weekend I get in Santiago instead of making decent cash I'm down the cost of a replacement phone and I need to source paper on a Sunday to try and recover something. That stolen sketch wasn't just a stolen sketch that would have sold for €50, or so. It was the paper I had to work with.

I'm just a little bit more angry than I was yesterday. I do not like it here!

The Thieving Cunts in Santiago de Compostela.

First ever. Anywhere. Some fuckers just stole my sketch. 4 hours work. The words are very clearly displayed: I am an artist raising money for charity...

Not only did they steal my sketch (cunts), they stole my shell and money (double cunt people of this shithole fascist city).

Not even in Madrid, Barcelona, or Seville did I ever get a sketch stolen so blatantly.

Forget the frustrations of rain and wind. It's sunny now. But, oh Santiago - you bunch of Christian believing fascist fuckers - a folder of sketches stolen and now a huge sketch stolen in broad daylight.

Last straw for me. Fuck you Santiago. I leave tomorrow. Fuck the idea of raising money for charity when Christian cunts in this world are just going to grab it for themselves. Selfish fuckers.

I AM A LITTLE BIT ANGRY.

Not sure I can come back from this. Think it's time to move on.

If You Don't Ask - You Don't Get!

You know what? Sometimes when you ask you don't get either.

Back in Santiago. I got distracted by something I saw on the coast. Research time.

Not sure how long this will take. I could be in Santiago (or, tooing and throing between here and somewhere else) for a while.

Laxe.

And, on to Laxe.

A bit of a change in plan/approach due to lack of funds. Obviously, I don't want to turn up in some tiny village skint. Plan now is to go on a bit of a reccy. I will paint in a location where most will see me and stick a written explanation (who I am and what I want to do) next to my painting. Hopefully, after a couple of days I will have the info and contacts I need to make this happen.

Soy un artista Britanico recaudando dinero para organizaciones caritativas en España y el Reino Unido. Mi plan es vivir en Laxe durante un año y crear 5 cuadros a la semana para vender en internet y donar el dinero a dichas organizaciones. Necesitaría encontrar un alojamiento asequible durante este tiempo.

I am a British artist raising money for charities in Spain and the UK. I intend to live in Laxe for 1 year and create 5 paintings a week to auction on the internet for charity. I need cheap accommodation for this year.

If you don't ask - you don't get.

Being the cheeky, no shame fuck that I am, I plan to approach the mayor and local tourism bod's asking for help :)

There are many reasons I have chosen Laxe for this project. Mostly because the area is just outrageously beautiful and extremely varied in landscape.

A little bit apprehensive about turning up in a tiny village where no-one will speak English (my clumsy Spanish is gradually turning into clumsy Gallego) although, my previous experience of small villages in this part of Spain suggest I have little to worry about.

Back in Santiago to work next weekend. Plan from now on is to paint on the coast by week and work the cities at weekends for my own pocket money.