Bournemouth Beauty

Whilst walking along the beach in Bournemouth I realised that I really have been taking this beautiful town for granted. Previously living in a city meant I was constantly surrounded by the hustle and bustle of noise and people, all of whom seemed as though they had something to do or somewhere to be. You could stand in Birmingham town centre and just see a swarm of people moving around you, some are shoppers, some are business workers and some are residents. I loved living in a city and always having something to do and something to see. But with everything Birmingham has to offer, peace and quiet is not one of them.

Bournemouth is so refreshing, although renowned for retirees who almost certainly occupy Bournemouth's park and beach all through the year. Its not surprising that Bournemouth has seen an influx of students. The beautiful surroundings and flourishing nightlife sees to a rise in students who want to study and party in a chilled out environment. Although it's only January and quite far off Spring Bournemouth skies would tell differently. With the sun still setting quite early and the skies being clear, this week has been one of the most perfect weeks to watch the sunset on the horizon of Bournemouth beach. The tranquil sound of the sea crashing against the shore and the surfers diving into the waves almost tricks you into believing your a million miles away from England. Luckily the bitter sea breeze quickly reminds you that although the South Coast is warmer than anywhere else in the country, tropical it is not. 

I'm looking forward to the summer months when the weather is gorgeous and I can really take advantage of having a beach on my doorstep.   

Ink Spot

Bournemouth Ink’s Dinu Dragos talks about his determination, his tattooing career, and his hopes for the future.

“When I finish it and he stands up it doesn’t look anymore like an eagle, it looked like a parrot.”

Stood in the Bournemouth Ink’s foyer a male customer towers above him yet he seems unfazed. Slanting his head cockily to the side he concentrates hard before placing his hand on the customer’s chest “here”, he says “the tattoo of your daughter will look better on your chest, more meaningful you know.” A burst of colour peeps out from underneath Dinu Dragos’s short-sleeved black top, with a swirl of a tattoo giving away his addiction. “I think tattooing is the greatest job in the world!” he exclaims.

            

Dinu, aged 32 claims his world just fell into place. After owning his own tattoo shop in Romania for three years, travelling around Europe for a while and getting to meet lots of amazing people, Dinu finally thinks he’s found his home for good. “I think I will stay here, I love the sea... now I'm getting old I want to settle down, like get a house with my wife.” Originally from Romania his accent is still strong, he pauses for a few minutes and thinks hard about how he can word his answers in English.

A distant buzz of tattoo needles fills the room as he sits more comfortably into his chair and smiles. Although having over 14 years of tattooing experience Dinu believes tattooing isn’t a talent that can just be learnt, “I think I was born with like this kind of drawing talent you know... When I started it wasn’t difficult, what was difficult was buying machines and other stuff... but if you don’t put your heart and soul into this industry you can’t be a good tattoo artist, so it’s difficult and its easy, depends how you take it.”

The fluorescents of the tattoo room highlight his blushing as he reminisces about the first tattoo he ever did. He emphasises that every aspiring tattooist needs to have a lot of friends, especially at the beginning. “It’s a very funny story”, he laughs, “it was the head of an eagle, I trace it, I stencil it and I put it on his back but the thing is he was bent over a bit and when I put it on it was ok. I started, but when I finish it and he stands up it doesn’t look anymore like an eagle, it looked like a parrot.” The poor friend wasn’t upset because of the tattoo but because he was subsequently nicknamed ‘The Parrot’. “It was like two tattoos in one”, Dinu chuckles.

Tattoo artists have always been considered a bit rebellious I state, “Yeah quite bad, but we are more natural,” Dinu responds. He snubs the mean stereotype that tattooists are often associated with, claiming, “We just have more imagination, which is why they are jealous.” Getting his inspiration from other great tattooists he takes bits and bobs from everybody and makes his own style. He emphasises that he prefers portraits and colour pieces to tribal’s, which explains why Dinu decided to get a portrait of a Warrior as his first tattoo, aged 20. “I think that I’m a warrior in all my life and struggling. I’m coming from a poor country, so I'm fighting to get where I am now. Some of my friends aren’t very wealthy. I just wanted it for myself, its difficult coming from an ex communist country you don’t have as many open doors like the rest of Europe. Everyone looks at you like oh you’re from Romania, you’re a thief or a gypsy but it’s not true, it was quite difficult to get where I am now.”

Having a close family helped, as they are fully supportive of Dinu’s career, “I’ve tattooed my mom, my father, they are very open minded, very modern, funky,” he laughs. “I can’t wait to go home at Christmas, my brother is also in London, I shall visit him as soon as I can.” His brother is younger and also a tattoo artist. Dinu however is hesitant about getting tattooed by him, “I let him learn more and have more experience.” Perhaps he is afraid of ending up with a parrot as a tattoo.

After Dinu confessed to being a bit rebellious, I wondered what the craziest thing he had ever done was. I was shocked to hear that he had heroically saved someone from drowning in sub zero temperatures. “One winter at home… the water was freezing cold, about minus fifteen outside and he was fishing, fishing on the ice and the ice broke and he fell into the water...this I think is the most unusual thing I’ve done.” 

Dinu, stresses the importance of building a good relationship with his customers, he says, “most of the customers are very friendly they are not just coming one time and that’s it. A lot of the time they want more tattoos so if your friendly they come back to you.” The customer featured in the photos said, “This is my fifth tattoo, it doesn’t hurt too much, although sometimes I’m like ouch get off… Dragos is a great laugh… this tattoo took two hours… it’s heavy”.

Although claiming to be ‘old’ at 32, it seems he still has a few schoolboy dreams left to accomplish. He confided, “I want to fly a jet fighter, also stroke a lion or tiger or some sort of big cat” he nods with certainty. However Dinu reveals that he moved to Bournemouth in order to settle down and start a family. Therefore he notes that these dreams may always remain just dreams.

Galaxy Birmingham Interview

The Galaxy Birmingham radio breakfast team talks casually about life working in radio and what they believe it takes to become a great Journalist.

 

As funny off air as they are on, Dan Kelly 32 and his co presenter Katy joke about their dream jobs, interviews they have done and how they managed to get a job in radio.

            

When asked what advice he would give to an aspiring journalist, Dan laughed and shouted “don’t do it” before swiftly emphasising that networking, being nice to people and doing things for free will always impress when your first starting out. “It’s not necessarily what you know it’s who you know, always make contacts and always be nice to people.” Dan initially got into radio by first doing a full time position behind the scenes and finally being given the chance to go on air when one of the DJ’s didn’t show up leaving him to step in. A job in radio however is a bit different to his dream job of playing for Leicester city, although he reveals his schoolboy dreams are not completely destroyed, as he still believes that England manager Fabio Capello will one day pick him.

            

Katy claimed that a great reporter is “someone who gets the facts right” but also has compassion. “One of the girls in news was out with the fire brigade doing a report when a fire happened, some of the fire guys that had gone into the building died so she was reporting on the scene. She really showed compassion and did an awesome report.”

            

When asked what wage you could expect from working in radio a very specific figure of between £10,000 and £100,000 was given. Although Katy alluded to the figure by joking that “it would be nice to get my boiler fixed.”

The Winchester Bass

The Winchester pub stands interlaced into a row of terraced venues in Bournemouth’s triangle. Hosting numerous alternative events where promising artists can exhibit their work, this month it hosts the live arts event ‘Moon Street 10’. The pub encapsulates the cosy Christmas atmosphere and an alternative quirkiness. The lights are dimmed and the ceiling is laced with Black and Red drapes with a further silhouette of white material clinging to the walls. The room has been transformed into a piece of art ready for viewing. Red fairy lights illuminate the bar and a number of inviting leather sofas guard the dance floor. An 8ft white canvas, which stands in the middle of the stage, however is drawing the most attention along with the DJ decks lit my flashing disco lights.

Four promising DJ’s collaborate to create a funky mix of house, electro, garage, drum ‘n’ bass and dubstep, as Steve Jurado the featured artist draws live art on stage. The audience stand intrigued about what the artist will reveal as he begins to squiggle lines onto the huge canvas. If you look closely however you can see he has already stencilled the outline of the artwork in pencil. There’s no questioning whether his artwork makes a statement. The black and white contrast would stand out on any wall. Although I'm not sure how anyone would fit it through their front door. The finished product is interpretive and postmodern, looking like a mixture of a French Shakespeare with an explosion of black imagery surrounding a robin. The signatures were scribbled underneath in a more grungy graffiti style, reminding you of something ‘Banksy’ would do.

The laid back rhythm with a heavy bass makes it almost impossible not to nod your head or tap your feet. Every mix smoothly entwines into another, you become entranced by the flashing lights and mask of smoke.  You would feel like an outsider of a secret society if you weren’t wearing a trademark brightly coloured new era hat and drainpipe trousers. This event definitely attracts a certain crowd. As the night progresses the tunes become more upbeat with a deeper bass. The DJ’s are completely in the zone holding their headphones as they spin the decks. Josh Topshelf aka ‘Topshelf’ even waves his arms in the air in triumph of a good switchover whilst Adam Withers aka ‘Aphix’ is unfazed as the camera flashes around him.

As the music turns to dubstep the audience make their way to the dance floor. Standing in a crowd your whole body feels the bass. With the party only just beginning at midnight you can tell this is an event that lasts all through the night.