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.

Santiago Webcams.

Hey, look! It's still pissing it down :D

Plaza Quintana is where I normally work. You may see me here if the sun ever shines again.

2010 is a Holy Year. Extra brownie points for pilgrims. The camera is pointing at the Holy Door - an entrance that is only open during Holy Years apparently. You can watch all the soaking wet, miserable pilgrims arriving and being forgiven for their sins. Watch them enter in sadness and then leave with loads of cash and happiness. It's miraculous.

Despite the rain, I am still hoping to leave Santiago on Monday and find a place in Laxe to finally start my next project. Hoping(?)!

Did I mention the rain? Did I?

Sigh. More wet, cold and windy stuff.

On the plus side, I've been sketching a mural in a warm, dry bar.

Next weekend maybe. Perhaps next weekend will be the weekend?

Whilst in the mountains of Anceres Natural Park, I made this website for a friend. I like his work much...

www.tom-morely.co.uk


A very wet, and quiet Semana Santa so far. Just about making enough to cover costs. Oh well.

Semana Santa?

I think it starts tomorrow.

Everyone told me today would be busy. It's no different to any other weekend I have known in Santiago so far this year. Wet, cold and a distinct lack of art buying tourists.

"You will have trouble finding a bed" they said. Cheaper this weekend than they were last weekend.

Worst of all, the wind has switched. It's a very cold North Easterly that suggest no change in weather for days.

FFS! JUST ONE SINGLE FUCKING DRY WEEKEND IS ALL I FUCKING WELL NEED! I'VE BEEN HERE ALMOST THREE MONTHS NOW, AND NOT HAD ONE FUCKING SINGLE WEEKEND WITHOUT RAIN.

I'm close to praying and going to church. If anyone reading here hadn't worked it out; I'm not a believer, but, hey! You know what? If prayer, and hanging onto hope is an easier option than actually dealing with reality I may well give it a go. Can't do any more harm than taking drugs to escape for a while. Can it?

Nah. Fuck it. I'm gonna buy a bottle of wine and find some pills instead. I will deal with reality tomorrow.

Will I ever get to Laxe?

The Bats are Out!

Well TFFT!

Winter is over, blossoms are blossoming, insects are insecting and the sun is shining. Aaaaachooooo! The bats can either smell the pollen, hear the insects, or, more likely, hear me sneezing.

I see I've lost a blog follower. Never mind.

Santiago.

I do like it here, and I've met many very good people. Many. Lots of offers of help. I like it lots, but, but, but...

Here's my problem (rain aside). Policia Local. The 'authorities'. Not all of them. Just the couple of small pricks who tell me I can't work. All I'm trying to do is raise enough cash to get my next charity project rolling. I'm no threat to anyone. Not the public, not businesses - no-one. When Policia Local threaten me with a denuncia I can't afford to pay just for sketching in a public place, a public plaza, a space we all pay for I have a big, big problem.

Some reading here may think I should just shut it and live within the 'rules'. Well, I do live within the rules. That is what annoys me. I have just as much disrespect for those who choose to stay quiet. These are very liberal times we live in. They are worth preserving for future generations. May seem like a small issue to some. Not to me. I've been writing this blog 'on the fly' since I started. Only once have I felt the need to edit/delete posts. I see no need here. I'm getting more support in Santiago for being honest than I would for just keeping quiet.

There are very few people here from ethnic backgrounds (unless you include Gauls as ethnics ;)). There are geographical reasons for that as well as political. Still, after Three months, I only know One black guy to speak to!

After Three months I am finally getting regular work. I DO like it here. But...

On the same day that Policia Local threatened me with denuncias if I didn't stop sketching for charity, some guy (who regularly did) let his dog walk all over my sketches. "Excuse me, it's my work". His reply: "This is my city and my floor - fuck off". Nice! So, perhaps you can understand why I vented so much steam here?

To focus on the good...

There are far more good people here than twats :)

I'm off to the mountains for a few days break. I deserve it. Back on Thursday. Spring has started smelling. Bats are flying and my nostral tissues are about to take an almighty beating. Yay! It's been almost a year. Mosquitoes will be next :)

OK. Let's forget about yesterday.

2 arguments with Policia Local. 2 ripped up sketches. 1 ripped canvass. Things can be very frustrating at times. Very frustating.

Today was better. Much better.

Santiago - Fascist Hell?

I may have to run quickly after this post ;)

Not many coloured people in these parts are there?

I'll give One, or Two exceptions, but, on the whole, this is Fascist hell. I am close to hating this city and all the people that reside here. Twice today Policia Local told me I wasn't allowed to work. Illegal to sketch in a public space! What? Why?

In all the time I've been here (on this last visit), I have only spoken to One single black person! Conservative isn't quite the right word. 'Backward' is possibly closer to the truth. It stinks here. Really, really smelly.

Fuck it. I could rant here forever. I hate this stinking, racist, fascistic little city.

Going to take the first bus out of here :)

Onwards and Upwards. I need a little break.

That was a shit week. Despite the good weather, good people, free food (Thank you very much to La Crepe in Praza Quintana - absolutely delicious. I shall return with friends someday. Seriously good food, beautiful service and relaxing ambience. Would have been worth every Centimo if I had paid). All the focus on the food and service. Exactly the way it should be. Subtle flavours with no distraction.

Illness, temporary blindness. Not worth blogging about really. I'd sooner forget it and move on. So, that's what I'm going to do.

I'm going to write about someone called 'T' (that'll be you!). I've enjoyed every minute of your company. Good conversation. Yesterday, you commented on how forgiving I am. I'm afraid I'm not. I always hit back if anyone crosses me. You are confusing forgiveness with tolerance. If people walk on my art because they didn't see it, then there was no intent. A simple accident. Nothing to get angry about. If someone spoils my art on purpose, I'll probably burn their house down before seeing them hung, drawn and quartered very publicly :)

It's possibly just a language thing, but... the Two people I have enjoyed the company of most in Santiago have both been from Estonia. Sana - hope to share a coffee and chat another time. And, 'T' - I'll keep in touch and see you later in the year. Both very interesting people who I would like to know much more about.

Santiago didn't click this time and I'm itching to move to Laxe and start my next project, so a huge change in plan. Heading to the bus station for a little break before coming back to Santiago with a bit of my own cash to get the next charity ball rolling.

That's the plan at least. But, a work offer in Berlin, and a curiosity about Estonia could change things! Heading South initially. East is tempting.

Sunshine.

Sunshine since Sunday actually. So, why can't I make money still?

Summer is coming. Sooner, or later, it will happen. Probably later.

My Language!

I shouldn't really do that. School children and the easily offended may be reading.

Forecast was wrong. It's bright and sunny. Almost spring like weather.