Goodness Grays

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Goodness Grays

After thirty years in Asia we have moved back to the UK but that won't stop us travelling!

08/10/2024

https://youtu.be/lAmAW-kqD08?si=zZ_mV6cYbtdhepsX

This is a brief video of one of the Baddow Camera Club's evening sessions where the members are trying out their camera skills with live models and studio li...

11/09/2024

Great fun at last night's Baddow Camera Club. One of our members brought in a couple of giant snails for us to photograph.

07/09/2024

Today’s harvest from my garden. Don’t think I’ll bother with carrots again but the beetroots roasted are very tasty.

04/09/2024

I am pleased to announce that Lawrence's account of the history of Great Baddow, entitled "Who put the bad in Baddow and why is it so great?", is now available for you all to read at www.greatbaddow.net

01/09/2024

28/08/2024

Once upon a time in a Warners Holiday Camp...

27/08/2024

The first of many?

24/08/2024

A day at the sea side for my Grandparents and neighbours

19/08/2024

Decided to give these rose sawfly caterpillars one more day so I could take a few more photos, but from tomorrow they are doomed!

17/08/2024

My roses are in their second flush of blooms so they need deadheading regularly. This morning I was horrified to see so many caterpillars munching away on my rose leaves! I was happy to see butterflies dancing around my garden, but didn't appreciate this was the price I would have to pay! I think these are the caterpillars of the cabbage white butterfly.

12/08/2024

The sky is alight tonight.

02/08/2024

The name’s Gray, Lawrence Gray 007.5!

30/07/2024

https://open.spotify.com/show/6e7OrdEeI0ao1L0M9tYwqd?utm_source=content_activate?refresh

Audiobook · Lawrence Gray · Author(s): Lawrence Gray Narrator(s): George Watt, Gillian Bickley In the land of Daoistan, freedom has arrived at last. The revolution liberated all, then enslaved everyone, and now it was liberating them again by allowing people to own credit cards. And a man with ...

29/07/2024

Months ago I bought two Tumbling Tom tomato plants and nurtured them in my kitchen until nighttime temperatures were over 10C. So it wasn’t end end of June that I could pot them up and put them outside. Both plants (for red and orange tomatoes) started flowering once the weather warmed up. Today I have been rewarded with the first sign of tomatoes! I wonder how long I will have to wait to eat the fruits of my labours?

27/07/2024

If you wonder why the UK is in such a mess, then read this book. It is a fascinating insight into British politics and the contempt of politicians for their constituents and for the truth; all exemplified by how Boris Johnson becoming Prime Minister.

26/07/2024

https://youtu.be/sAgN0BAxtwk?si=r4Dv8bk67HSnW6cV

Where do you stand on Just Stop Oil protestors being sentenced? What could come of China’s military drills in Belarus? What drives young men towards Andrew T...

23/07/2024

Spent the morning in my garden with Sarah Freeman trying out her RF100mm macro lens. This image of f***ing flies is a focus stacked image. Trying to get both flies in focus was an issue and I didn't quite succeed, but I'm amazed at the detail. Couldn't take any more photos as the flies had had their moment and decided to buzz off!

19/07/2024

The sun is shining so a quick trip into the garden before it gets to 30C! Very few roses blooming at the moment, so I am eagerly awaiting their second flush next month?

16/07/2024

I have a mock Tori gate at the end of my Japanese garden, and today was surprised to find a neighbour's cat sunbathing on top of it. It must have been quite a challenge to get up there and she certainly looked a little concerned when she saw me and tried to get down. (She knows I don't like her using my Zen garden as her toilet so normally runs away as soon as she sees me.) In fact she could not get down safely but had to clamber gingerly up onto the roof and then disappear over the top of the garage. Perhaps she is the reason we have stopped seeing small birds in the garden?

14/07/2024

Garden delights…. Maybe my one and only courgette as all the other flowers seem to be male. I have two pots of tumbling toms and they have started to flower, so they look promising. And I have beetroot and carrots growing slowly. Let’s hope for some warmth to help them on their way.

13/07/2024

Assassination attempt on Trump!

09/07/2024

Just been watching this 4-part documentary from 1999 on how UK governments have been sidelined by the free market and some rather ruthless money men. Absolutely fascinating and worrying at the same time.

15/08/2020

Malaysian Travels

Today, we're resting up in Janda Baik and doing a bit of nature loving.

15/08/2020

DAY 20: MALAYSIAN ROAD TRIP

Today, we're resting up in Janda Baik and doing a bit of nature loving.

13/08/2020

We’re back in JB now and will be editing and releasing the final stages of our journey over the next few days probably after we have cleared up what the geckos have been up to in our bathroom! At least we hope it’s only in the bathroom that they decided to throw what must have been a wild party.

Address

Cisaat

Telephone

+60175404031

Website

http://helengray.net/, http://www.goodnessgrays.me/

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Videos

Here it comes…

#goodnessgrays #travel #history #stuff #lifedrawing

This is what you get up to when you join an English camera club!

Stepping back

DAY 20: MALAYSIAN ROAD TRIP

Today, we're resting up in Janda Baik and doing a bit of nature loving.

Shortcuts

Exploring Malaysia!

Hi, thanks to everyone who has liked our page! And an even bigger thanks to those who are following it.

We have already added a ton of material, so dig in deep. Don’t forget that links on the post will take you to pages with lots more information. Those heading to Johor Bahru can find out what you can do there, from this link: https://bit.ly/3embzM2

We especially recommend that you hit the video link for our documentary on the River Sultans of Johor.

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/sultans

And yes, Vimeo asks you to register but that doesn’t mean anything. It just gets you access to more videos than merely our video! Sneeky of them eh?

And we hope you buy Helen's Walking Tour of Johor Bahru. Order it from her page at:

http://helengray.net

It is the perfect Christmas present even when it isn’t Christmas, because nobody outside of Malaysia has heard of Johor Bahru and so it will always come as a surprise present!

Yes, we do need the money!

Those jugs of margarita that I am so fond of require Tequila and here in Malaysia it is particularly expensive.

Helen is working on a nice big photo book about Johor despite her depressing complaint that there are no publishers in Malaysia. I just say what I have always said about publishers, agents, producers and all such parasitic life, to hell with them, let's just do the show right here... Then of course I meet a producer with money and my tongue becomes velveteen and though those who know me will consider my sycophantic skills somewhat lacking, I have had my moments. Just don’t mention the BBC when I am a jug of margarita down, with a pistol in my hand.

If you really want to get into the spirit of our little universe, why not take in my Hong Kong movie: Lust $ Found! https://bit.ly/2C22ZoB

And then there are the novels etc etc blah blah blah… http://lawrencegray.net

But I digress. This is supposed to be about Malaysia, not moi!

Given the local Tourist Board’s peculiar reluctance to profit from their country’s history, we have taken up the thankless task of trying to make Malaysia’s history fun and accessible. And in that spirit we are about to embark upon a tour of the northern states of Malaysia, hunting down history and contemplating a future documentary. Perak, Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu all have complicated histories that pose such questions as “Who has Sang Nila Utama’s sword?” “Is that really Hang Tuah’s Kris?” “Who bungs the biggest Bunga Emas?” “Does that old pile of bricks really undermine society as we know it?”

We shall endeavour to shoot a Vlog of the trip, which we intend to make as picturesque, informative, and entertaining as we can without doing too much work. We promise that there will be no Durians injured in this production and neither I nor Helen will point a camera up our noses while walking about the street whining about stuff. To get tips on this art, I have been watching a lot of backpacker vloggers traipsing about Malaysia wondering why there is no toilet paper in public lavatories. And for reasons completely bewildering to normal human beings, I am constantly reminding myself of the advice of Japan’s greatest samurai swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi, to do nothing useless. Then I check the number of subscribers the Vloggers have and wonder if uselessness is the main criteria for a fan base on the Internet!

Of course, the history I would really love to shoot is that of the White Raja of Sarawak, starring Kit Harrington of Game of Thrones fame. But I have had to settle for doing a little talking head and slides narrative over at Amazing Histories. https://youtu.be/DgkhCzksDds Which no doubt inspired the feature film that was shot last year and for reasons as yet unrumoured, does not seem to have a release date.

I would also love to have a go at doing some Indiana Jones sort of stuff, seeking out the lost cities of Srivajaya! But it all costs money, a lot of sweat, and Helen suffering in the heat trying to keep her camera focused upon me while I pose as an approximation of an authoritative TV presenter and try remember what I am supposed to say. Did I mention that you should go watch our documentaries? Go on, treat yourself.