Saddam Hussain. My part in his downfall. . . . Twenty years ago - March 2003 and a six week long Boy’s Own Adventure began for me across the Middle East. This particular work of fiction authored by the comedian Mr A. Blair was a tale of conspiracy, intrigue, weapons of mass-distruction and oil, lots and lots of valuable, filthy oil. Saddam Hussain was certainly no angel, as very few angels carry gold plated sidearms but then, was Blair? One was hanged, the other was knighted. And still the world keeps turning. . I was planning on wheeling out the old cliché, the world’s a very different place now. But is it though? Ok we’ve had covid, but political scandal and unjustified invasions - plus ça change!? I’ve learned that the only thing we human’s seem to learn from history, is that we never learn from history🤦🏼‍♂️ . I myself received a medal from the queen (just for turning up), which was nice 🎖and visited the Garden of Eden (last pic), mildly underwhelming and no apples🍎anywhere. I had a ball and owe the good people of both 1 and 4 Para a debt of gratitude for taking such good care of me and returning me home on one piece - multiple bruising, but totally intact. . . . #operationtelic #optelic #SecondGulfWar #1Para #photojournalist #photojournalism #4Para #photographer #photography #reportage #documentary #photostory #editorialphotographer #editorialphotography #canonukandie #iraq2003 #liveforthestory #visualstorytelling #visualnarrative https://www.instagram.com/p/CqSHUL4s7vK/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Mr. Boromir’s Babby Sitting Service for Young Sprogs Continues                                  21

“ Tak me ta the ocean, Boro me lad... “ Harper slurred as he pushed open the door of the Cock ‘n Bull Pub on Lincoln Blvd. The night air hit him like a slap in the face. “ Hoo! Lord Lantern o’ Jesus...whar are we? “

Boromir propped his friend up under the arm and the two of them walked slowly over to the car.

“ Hoo! Right, we’re in Santee Monica...Oh weep fer me Moother Monica..we’re all wayward sons eh?  Boro? Eh? “

“ ‘Arper son, yer ramblin’, git in the car. “

“ Ocean! Yah promised me the ocean fer fuck sake! “

“ Reet. Joost a minute. Relax will yah? It’s only a few blocks from here. “ Boromir drove to the pier and parked as close as he could for a Saturday night. Half-carrying Harper made his knee hurt worse than usual and the Guinness had worn off an hour ago. He jabbed his friend in the ribs to wake him up, in the 5 minutes it had taken to drive over he had fallen into a dead slumber, snoring tunefully. Harper rolled out of the car and landed on his feet.

His face lit up like a child’s. Before him silhouetted against the starry night was the riot of flashing lights, psychedelic amusement rides and restaurants that was the famous Santa Monica Pier. The ferris wheel chimed and spun, children, parents, lovers and hawkers of all kinds strolled the length of it.

“ Look! “ he pointed out. “ Ish the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. Let’s git some shrimp! “

“ Give over! You’ll be chuckin’ yer guts oot sure as dog ‘as fleas. Besides, it’s closed. “

They walked along and leaned against a railing looking out over the water.

“It’s that beautiful...Boro? “

“ Aye. “

“ Boro...? “

“ Yah Harper? “

“ Boro...”

“ What! “

“ Ayr ye alright, lad? “

“ Aye, Harper. “

“ No...I mean it...we’ve been through a lot t’gither, Tell me yer alright now, lad. “

“ Ahm alright, son. “

“ Tell Everyone Leave Is Cancelled, Eh? “

“ Aye! Fortune favors the brave! “ Boromir said softly. “ 4 Yorks. “

“ Right you are. An’ then Fay...” Harper turned to Boromir with tears welling up in his eyes. “ You’re me best friend in the word...yah know that doont yah?”

“ God, yer droonk man....” Boromir laughed. “ Are thee cryin’ now? “

“ Me back teeth are swimming’! But Boro...”

“ Aye. “

“ Yer me’ best friend... mad as a box o’ frogs, but still me best friend. I would ‘av yah get on wi’ yer life. “

“ Aye. “

They stood arm over shoulder looking out at the ocean, listening to the waves hit the pilings.

K is for Kuwait 🇰🇼 . . . In the build up to the second Gulf War I spent about ten days or so with my new 1 Para compadrés as they prepared for the inevitable invasion of neighbouring Iraq. We went on chinook training, quad biking, yomps (or tabs as they call a fast march) etc, etc. Quiet a bit of time was taken packing away a fair bit of the kit I’d been ordered to take by the MoD. My hosts laughed uproariously when they saw how much kit I had. This was the first of many times I would hear the phrase, “Travel light, freeze at night.” I did, and on one night in particular (pic one is the morning after) sleeping in the open, I certainly thought I was going to freeze, if not, then I expected to get run over by the various Land Rovers criss-crossing the desert in the darkness. Several of these photos were censored at the time due to ‘cultural sensitivities’. Have gun will travel was one and I was told to avoid showing tattoos in any images because (in their words) in the Arab world, only criminals have tattoos and so it would offend our hosts. After my war I did, very briefly, see a little of the city. Six weeks later, after dis-embedding from the regiment. But this mostly entailed touring various government departments trying to establish an exit visa because, as it transpired, when flying in with the RAF and despite having the right entry visas none of the media had been stamped in so hadn’t officially entered the country and so, were there illegally. I did get out eventually and was rewarded with a cold beer once on the British Airways flight home; my first in seven weeks. 🍺 . . . #photographer #photography #reportage #photojournalism #photojournalist #documentary #photostory #reportage #adventure #storiesfromtheroad #travelphotographer #reportage #adventure #exploremore #talktostrangers #travelmore #onassignment #OperationTelic #OpTelic #Iraq #GulfWarII #Kuwait (at Kuwait) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_6kdRMFlRs/?igshid=q5k05fwbcitj

I is for Iraq 🇮🇶. . . . 2003, and a second war in the Middle East was imminent. Bush was going to make it happen and Blair was going to back him up all the way. If it was going to happen, I wanted to actually be there. I’d had brief experiences post Kosovo and more recently in Afghanistan; this assignment had a gravitational pull that I didn’t intend to resist. I spoke to my picture editor (in a pub) and got on the MoD list to be embedded. I was given The 1st Battalion the Parachute Regiment - 1 Para, airborne - this was going to be exciting! After a lot of shopping at Snow and Rock and training in how to survive nuclear, biological and chemical warfare, I was issued a gas mask and body armour then put on a bus, and then a plane, with about 100 other journalists, headed to Kuwait. Once there, we dispersed to our various embeds. As we prepared to go over the breach, the tension and excitement within the camp grew. There was a full dress rehearsal of a parachute drop into Baghdad to secure all the bridges, which I wasn’t allowed to shoot. It became apparent fairly quickly that my minders were either not going to let me shoot the best pictures, or they were going to censor what I did shoot. I had heated debates with the adjutant regarding the validity of the images I wanted to send back to London. Cautious doesn’t begin to describe his attitude. The war began on the 20th March. There was no parachute drop. The boys drove into Iraq in a convoy of seven ton trucks - not exactly airborne… For the first couple of weeks my guys were so frustrated at the lack of action they spent more time fighting each other than any enemy. It was kind of like lockdown, but in the desert and with 800 testosterone fuelled toms. We progressed onward, gradually and I witnessed some memorable moments, even visiting the Garden of Eden (pic x, not what I’d expected). We met persecuted marsh arabs and were hailed as conquering heroes but as you may know, it was only some weeks later when the war was over that the fighting began. . . . #storiesfromtheroad #onassignment #OperationTelic #OpTelic #Iraq #GulfWarII #photographer #photography #reportage #photojournalism #photojournalist (at Iraq) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_mAHQmlOEn/?igshid=14kgjdcr8rzbg