Scotland!!!

In a few days time I will have lived in Scotland for as long as I have lived in England - 17 years in both and I wanted to share my top ten fun things about living here!
 

Me at art school - up a ladder!

1- Ken is NOT a person - it took me 3 months to figure that out when I first moved up.

my local beach in East Lothian

2- You can succeed as a creative in Scotland and not have to move to London (but you should always be willing to travel!)

another local beach!

20 min from the centre of Edinburgh you can be here!

3- Scottish people are pretty much the best people on Earth - fact. I have traveled to over 65 Countries in my life and I have never met a group of people so willing to help, with so much love and no filter ( a spade is a spade in Scotland) and it really is one of the things I love most about living here is being around friends, family and colleagues who are just well nice!



4- The Edinburgh Fringe is the largest comedy festival in the world it is incredible that such a great arts event takes place in Edinburgh every year and there are some huge advantages to living in a city where this happens (and a couple of disadvantages!) - the advantages are that you have access to over 50,000 shows over the space of a month and there is something for literally everyone! Disadvantages - a trip that would usually take you 10 min can take an hour, your favorite little quiet place for a bite to eat will not be quiet, it will feel at times like it is London on the North sea, you will want to ask to legalize punching tourists in the back of the head who suddenly stop in the middle of the pavement for no reason... (ok that might be a personal issue!)

from the gilded balloon

Check out our festival showreel to see some of what happens!!

5- Edinburgh is a gorgeous city to live in - it is just epic and a lovely place to come home too parking charges are not always fun and the road works that pop up randomly are often frustrating but you when you have a massive castle, a large hill (arthurs seat) and the beach within walking (ok a good jogging) distance its pretty hard to find anywhere else that competes!

6- The weather is not always the greatest! - its pretty much winter from September until May but if you like miles of empty beach, snow, log fires and whisky then your in for a treat!

7- We have the best NYE parties in the world.

8- The opportunity to work in hugely diverse fields are huge:

15 years later still going up ladders!

and more ladders

9- You can shoot fashion in Scotland http://www.mattsphotosuk.com/

10- It is a great place to bring up a family.

Gill, Arran, Rose and Me!!

So to wrap it up - Scotland is my home and my favorite place on earth! I might not be technically Scottish but both my children are! It has been a blast over the last 17 years - some big ups and some massive downs but I wouldn't change it for the world and here's working on the next 17 years being even more epic!

Long term review!

Ok so before I start I need to make it very clear that I love these guys:

https://trakke.co.uk/

Go and check them out they are made in Glasgow and they are epic!

A couple of years ago we did some work for them and I got to try out the bags and they are awesome!

Since then i have been using them alot and more recently they have just released a camera insert for the wee lug messenger and it is awesome thats the orange thing!!! 

I had a play with it on a recent shoot on Eriskay and with a new edition bannoch backpack

I managed to get all my camera gear in a secure - weather tight and just plain epic looking setup

Its hard to know where to start on reviewing this as I can't come at it from an unbiased view! I really do love them - ive taken these 2 bags across the UK - with clothes for a week (admittedly i dont change much!  plus computer, hard drives,cameras (yes upto 5 cameras - hassleblad h4d, canon 7dmk2, polaroid and muji 2 plus lenses!)

They are comfy - like really comfy - the rucksack especially as its a great size and just fits eveyrthing right if you know what I mean!

The buckles are lush too - they are clever and designed and yet feel effortless to use.

I have alot of bags - as I have alot of gear but I use these every day for business, pleasure and well even taking in the clothes for my new baby at the hospital - what more can I say

go check them out !!!!