New look for website

Last weekend saw the launch of my new look website. I’ve been quietly working away in the background on it for some time now and finally reached the stage where it was ready to be launched upon the world.

My basic idea was to make the information there more presentable and to create a more friendly user interface. Lots of new features added, including links to the latest updates, information being up front and central, featured projects, as well as a bookstore where you can buy copies of my books and cd direct from me. The plan is also to use the site as the hub for all information regarding my creative activities.

Please take a look, the link is below, or in the menu bar above or click on the screen shot below and let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing from you!

andrewjohnstonedesign.co.uk

Upcoming yoga mini-retreat

On Saturday I went to a half day yoga retreat in Acton, just outside Nantwich. This was the third one I have been to since last October and once again it was truly excellent. Four hours of postures, breathwork and meditation being a wonderful gift to give myself.

The retreat is run by Rick Calligaro, an highly accomplished yoga teacher whose approach and style I simply love. Having the extra time the retreat offers, compared to my 2-hour Thursday night session, or my home practice seems to take it that bit deeper.

Rick has another mini-retreat upcoming in February that I wanted to share the information about. Here are the details:

Yoga Mini-Retreat Focusing on Balance
1 – 5 pm, Saturday, February 18, 2012

For the February retreat we will be focussing on balance, externally and internally. Creating balance in our lives is a prime aim of yoga. There are so many things to balance that we are veritable jugglers without realising it. We will not only practise physical standing, sitting and kneeling balances but we will also be looking at internal balancing for diet, breath and mind. We will spend a short time sharing our experiences of what balance means for us and what helps us most to balance in our individual cases.

Program: 1 pm: Welcome and marma practise; 1.20 pm: Asana, pranayama and relaxation; 3 pm: Herb teas and nibbles; 3.15 pm: Sharing on balance in life and yoga, Yin yoga, Pranayama, Meditation, Relaxation; 5 pm: evaluation and farewell.

Venue: Acton Parish Hall, Chester Rd (A534), Acton (just outside Nantwich) CW5 8LG.

Cost: £24 before February 4, 2012, £29 (up to 2 days before the retreat).

If you want more information, or to book your place then contact Rick at rickcalligaro[at]hotmail.com

Hope to see you there!

Heroically Ludicrous

As some of you know and many of you don’t, last year saw the release of the album Orcadia by Black Sheep VC. The album consists of a series of archaeosonic experiments recorded by myself (Common Era) and Vybik Jon inside the Neolithic chambered cairns of Orkney.

Highly experimental and somewhat controversial the album was reviewed by Stuart Lee in the new year edition of The Sunday Times. The review read as follows:

BLACK SHEEP VC – Orcadia (F***Off & Di 300149-7)
“Two pseudonymous hairy-biker types. Vybik Jon and Common Era, travelled to the Orkneys in the summer of 2010 to sit unselfconsciously in Neolithic chambered tombs and improvise appropriate responses, using only their mouths and things found on the floor. Seasoned vocal extemporists such as Phil Minto or Yamantaka Eye might pull this off. Black Sheep VC don’t. Yet Orcadia is heroically ludicrous, its spirited barking, bleating and bellowing occasionally approaching almost transcendent note-splitting. And a beautifully designed and academically thorough booklet consolidates this future classic” — Stuart Lee

The album, recorded in June 2010 and released as a limited edition on Julian Cope’s Fuck Off & Di label in August 2011, consists of four megalithic vocal experiments, the cd also including a highly informative 16-page booklet, much of it written by Julian Cope, under whose wing this project was developed and encouraged. Head Heritage describes the album thus:

“…Who, upon hearing these Growlers, cannot fail to effect within themselves a genuine seismic shift in their consciousness? Will any man or woman — after even a short time listening to ORCADIA — ever again enter the megalithic portals of their local prehistoric chamber without inadvertently emitting similar noises?” —J. Anonymous

READ FULL HEAD HERITAGE DESCRIPTION HERE

BUY BLACK SHEEP VC ORCADIA HERE

Singing Bowls

In a recent quest to buy myself a Tibetan singing bowl I came across the following company which have many beautiful responsibly sourced items from Tibet and Nepal for sale.

www.yakyak.org.uk

First found them on eBay and then visited their web site. I am delighted with the items I bought and they are a welcome addition to my home. The bowl itself is beautiful, with a deep, rich sound and as for the hand made felt egg cosies, well, who could resist…

Signs of Etruria VI

This may be the final installment of my Signs of Etruria project as I think I have captured all examples of signage that features the name Etruria that I know of. If you do know of any that I have missed then please contact me to let me know.

Signs of Etruria V

Strictly speaking my penultimate posting on the Signs of Etruria project are not examples of signs that feature the name Etruria, but instead feature Etruscan. Being a derivative of Etruria, and there being several noteworthy examples of it being used in signage in my neighbourhood, I deemed them worthy of posting!

Save on books

Just got an email from lulu.com to say that until the end of the day Wednesday (tomorrow) they are offering a 30% discount on all purchases if you enter the code WINTERSAVEUK305 at the checkout. Naturally I would have liked it if the offer was for longer than just one day, but hey, every little helps as they say, as long as you have read this in time of course.

This offers means the price of my book, The Prehistoric Peak, should come in at around £18.37 + P&P if my calculations are right:

BUY THE PREHISTORIC PEAK AT LULU.COM