I want to be with those who know secret things or else alone
― Rainer Maria Rilke
Author: andy townend
path
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back
– Robert Frost
for wordpress weekly photo challenge – path
anticipation
sting, oh salty tears
sweet, anticipation
of a day, on the water
once was,
and now
gone
anticipation for wordpress weekly photo challenge
wuse market
For some time, I have not been writing with any kind of regularity on my eponymous personal blog. That, in part, has been because I was preparing for a big adventure which is now underway.
I will be spending quite a lot of time in Nigeria over the next few months.
Welcome then to nigeriastreets! My aim, as before, is to photograph and write about daily life in Nigeria and tell my own story as I explore and make new friends.
I hope you come and take a look at what I have written and photographed so far, you will be very welcome!
The superior man understands what is right; the inferior man understands what will sell.
― Confucius
Was Confucius right?
I don’t know, but I do know people need to eat, to drink, to live. And to do that they have to trade. And to do that they need to know what sells, and for what price.
Welcome to Wuse market, in the centre of Abuja.
Dust, heat, cars, people. All combine in a heady mix of trade.
Everyone comes here, young and old, rich and poor. The car park reveals the demographics. Expensive SUVs with darkened windows and rows of battered green public taxis. Side by side.
Everything is on sale here. And I mean everything. And you can forget that ‘I’m only browsing’ line. The minute you enter the market you are propositioned, cajoled. And seduced.
This is no department store, but there are clearly defined areas for those…
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How would it be, if everybody did that?
How would it be,” the police officer asked him severely, “if everybody did that?”
– Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt
Douglas Adams may not be an established literary giant, but for me (at least) he has long been an inspiration. His original The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy series, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4, captured my heart and mind many years ago. Captured my mind as I was figuring out who I was, what I wanted to be. Gave me an early insight into alternative perspectives.
Made me think.
Last week, I (or at least my business alter ego) was privileged to be invited to speak at the Baltic Project Management Forum 2016. The subject of my presentation Cultural Diversity: Making the Project Fit the Culture.
In the lead up to the Forum, I was invited to give an interview to Simas Čelutka at IQ magazine, a Baltic publication affiliated with The Economist.
The questions posed to me, the contributions of my fellow speakers, the warmth of the welcome extended to me by the organisers of the Forum reminded me of those days long ago when the world stretched out ahead of me, waiting to be discovered. And so, again, I realised that no matter how rich one’s experience, there is so much more to be learned.
The interview I gave to IQ, transcribed below, reminded me of how lucky I have been, of the opportunities I have had, to learn more about our world, about how much more there is to learn.
Always.
For we can never stop learning.
Or sharing.
Continue reading
vilnius(streets)
I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle.
― Marilyn Monroe
I’ve been invited to present at a conference tomorrow morning here in Vilnius. I had two hours sleep last night and have a busy day ahead. It’s cold and raining. As I watched this city unfold in front of me as my cab driver brought me to my hotel I was reminded of another city, one that brought me great joy, and some photographic success, it also brought to mind this old Buzzcocks song and these lyrics (adapted)
Ever fallen in love? (Love…)
In love with some (city)
You shouldn’t’ve fallen in love with
Oh, Vilnius!
poetry | 101 | rehab | red
No matter how much suffering you went through, you never wanted to let go of those memories
― Haruki Murakami
voices, filled (the air)
have, one more
don’t despair
(warm) fingers, tracing, searching
did they (who watched) care
have, one more
more, and more
no one (really) saw
or so, it seemed
blue eyes
yes (they cared, oh how so much)
told, no lies
feelings rising
choices, stretching
(out)
don’t be scared
choose, the blue
ride, the red
you’ll soon
be
dead
red
This week, my poetry prompt is red
edge
Beyond the edge of the world there’s a space where emptiness and substance neatly overlap, where past and future form a continuous, endless loop. And, hovering about, there are signs no one has ever read, chords no one has ever heard.
– Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore
For the WordPress weekly photo challenge – edge
Shot and edited on iPhone 6s
project 365 | mobile | mono | skies | twelve
083 | 365
082 | 365
081 | 365
080 | 365
079 | 365
078 | 365
077 | 365
I launched this, my latest Project 365, on Monday 13 June 2016 by posting a single photo each day to my Instagram account and to my Flickr account.
I will post an update each Sunday and you can see them all by clicking here.
Watch the skies!
andy townend 