“Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life - and travel - leaves marks on you. Most of the time, those marks - on your body or on your heart - are beautiful. Often, though, they hurt.”

Anthony Bourdain

I first bought a copy of Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain in Hong Kong airport in 2000. I had never heard of the author but a quick glance through its pages reassured me that my impulse to buy it was the right one. I was at a pivotal time of my life and over the years I would keep the company of the author both in the written word and the TV programmes he was making. There was something about this man that went far beyond a recipe for roasted pig or tripe. Sadly the demons that kept him company finally won the day and robbed us of a truly inspirational man.

Wonderful guitars from Javolenus


Bourdain’s Blues

There can never be too much honey on the skin
There will always be a way to survive the sin
And losing sometimes can be the way to win
I might cry some tears but I still know how to grin

And the rivers will always lead down to the seas
The waters offering all possibilities
And those we fear may bring us to our knees
Your wishes could soon become the great release

Red hands resting on the dining table
Shiny silverware still polished while you’re able
And a bottle of a vintage makes you incapable
Of speaking words of anger from wearing labels

No amount of recognition can be healing
The touch is true but still there is no feeling
The way you ate a cobra’s heart was so revealing
I almost cried when I heard about your leaving.

In the market streets in towns which still have meaning
The great pretenders wave the flag and raise the ceiling
And the Holy Ghost as always is just leaving
And the roads forward are now not so appealing