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Apologies for not posting anything recently, most of the recent stuff has been a bit off on a tangent anyway, sorry for that, seems to have bored most people into silence.  One of the reasons for my silence is that  I have been on a bit of a trek recently, physically as well as mentally. 3000 miles in three days solid driving...nice.  It has taken me a week to get over it! More on that later.  you can find out a little back ground detail in this new article here

More of the Bonsai Basho videos have gone on line....part one of a series on tools.  It is for beginners mainly I guess but there will be something in it for anyone who uses Bonsai tools.  I know I go on about it a lot and it now means I have to practice what I preach.

Just yesterday I worked on a phenomenal collected yew that a student of mine had picked up for an absolute bargain price.  I wish that I had gotten to it first....as per usual I didnt have my camera with me so I will wait for him to send me some pictures.  We will get round to sand blasting it over the winter or next year.  I am in the process of building a sand blasting kit, so expect some pictures of that soon.   Have four days of workshops from tomorrow so will get some pictures there as well.  I really need to work on this self promotion thing....

Phil over at Bonsai Basho towers has been a busy boy.  He has finished the video for the azalea transformation.  It can be seen here on You tube or if you pop over to www.bonsaibasho.com and register you can see them both plus an exclusive bit of text explaining what is going on. 

 We also did a video about the problem that has been facing a lot of people up and down the country this year, spider mites on Junipers.  The video misses out a bit of the explanation of the problem so I will be adding text to it asap. but here it is.  Please excuse the poor quality of explanation.  It was all one cut stuff and some of it was unusable due to back ground interference.

 Now the pesticide problem is one which I alluded to in my last post and it one which prompted a response regarding DDT.  Now before we start I will state that I am all for the environment and living in close relation to the earth, I do not agree with widespread and unrestrained use of agro chemicals,  I wish we didn't  live in a world where demand for cheaper and standardised produce was driven by profit obsessed behemoths such as Tesco...that said, the myths and junk science that surround the DDT are legend showing us the fundamental difficulty with such issues.  The problem lies with the burden of proof that is required by scientists, but not by environmental campaigners who are happy with anecdotal evidence and the policy makers who are at the mercy of lobbyists and voters.  Sadly I fall somewhere between the two camps, I require a certain amount of proof, and in the case of the egg shell thinning of  birds, for every research paper proving DDT was the cause in the dec line, there is another paper to prove that it wasn't..  A very good article can be found here which links to much of the evidence both for and against.

What is abundantly clear is that the anecdotal evidence of the post-war decline in predatory birds can be attributed to, but in a purely scientific way, it cannot be proved beyond doubt that DDT was the singular cause. The ban of its use on a widespread and unrestrained scale in the western world is a good thing, as shown by the increase in numbers of predatory birds throughout the world since the DDT ban.

This leads me to the point about Defra and the banning of pesticides seemingly at random. The lack of scientific rigour and common sense in their haphazard way of deciding what is good and what is bad is astounding.

Take the case of Bifenthrin, recently banned in the latest cull of chemicals.  It was the active component of Rose Clear 3, a very useful contact pesticide.  Bifenthrin is a Pyrethroid, a synthetic version of Pyrethrin, an organic chemical obtained from Chrsanthemum flowers.  Both Bifenthrin and Pyrethrin are of low toxicity to mammals, but high toxicity to aquatic life.  Neither are carcinogenic.

Bifenthrin was banned in the cull, but Pyrethrin is still available on the shelves of garden centres up and down the country. If Pyrethrin gets into the water system, it will just as fatal as Bifenthrin...just as fatal as bleach or Jeyes Fluid.  If both build up in humans through consumption of crops which have been sprayed with it, neither will be dangerous. Apart from the slightly longer half life in soil of bifenthrin, what is the difference? Perhaps the word organic? More importantly, what is Rose Clear 4 now made from?

Careful examnation shows that the active ingredient is Acetamprid, which unlike bifenthrin, is a systemic insecticide, not a contact killer.  It is a neonicotinoid , which is a synthetic replacement for Nicotine, a traditional pesticide. The problem lies with anectodal evidence from France, Germany, Italy and Canada which prove a strong link between the use of neonicotinoids and the tremendous decline in Bee population. 

Colony Collapse Disorder has been attributed to may things but there is a strong, yet unproven anecdotal link between the collapse of  bee colonies and the presence of such pesticides as Acetamprid, the replacement for the relatively harmless Bifenthrin. As early ago as the 1990's French Bee Keepers made the link between the rise in the use of neonicotinoids and the decline of bees and honey production. Whilst Bifenthrin is toxic to bees if used indiscriminately and sprayed directly onto a colony, it does not have the same effect as Acetamprid.

One the one hand Defra claim to protect the countryside, one the other hand they are a Bureaucratic monster which does no good what so ever, causing more harm.  On the decision to ban bifenthrin, from the Defra website...

"In March 2009, the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health voted on the European Commission’s proposal for the non-inclusion of bifenthrin in Annex I of Directive 91/414/EEC. The Commission proposal for bifenthrin did not achieve a Qualified Majority agreement. Under Directive 91/414/EEC a “non-opinion” in Standing Committee means the dossier is referred to the Council, which then has three months to act. If a decision is not taken within three months, the Commission will adopt its original proposal by default."

Which means that because they couldn't be bothered to reach a majority vote either way, and nobody could be bothered to do any research to figure out what was worth doing.  Agro Chemical companies couldn't be bothered to shoulder the burden of proof as they have many more toxic chemicals which are yet to be banned left to sell. It is not as if Defra don't have money to burn...£350 million wasted on a computer system that doesn't work , a rebranding and new website.  All this while money to allow farmers to create land for birds to nest on and thrive in is desperately needed.

Through a complete lack of common sense and blind following of EU legislation and disregard for true science and direct observation, problems like this continue to occur.  When the bee population of this country continues to decline, as more and more colonies collapse, the blame must surely lie with Defra. Their random nature shows a lack of leadership and policy. 

That is why I think Defra are idiots.

Now that the world cup is finished, the accounts are finished and I have got no more excuses, its back to some good old hard work.  I have some Sisyphean cleaning tasks to do which will have me longing for receipts and spreadsheets.

I did promise that there would be some new content via Bonsai Basho...and here it is...in all its embarrassing entirety.  I am not camera shy, I am naturally like that.

There will be a full text to go with the second part, Phil at Bonsaibasho.com is finding it difficult to edit my monotone drone.  It will get done soon though.  This is the tree in question....

During the discussions we had making this, I told Phil that I do not like the use of the word "Master" to describe what I am and it reminded me of a documentary I heard a while ago about the continuing tradition of Wandergeselle, or Journeymen,  in Germany and neighbouring countries.  It was the second time I had thought of this recently as I am very much a Journeyman and have gone through a similar process. 

According to the oracle of Wikipedia...."The word 'journeyman' comes from the French word journee, meaning the period of one day; this refers to their right to charge a fee for each day's work. They would normally be employed by a master craftsman but would live apart and might have a family of their own. A journeyman could not employ others. In contrast, an apprentice would be bound to a master, usually for a fixed term of seven years, and lived with the master as a member of the household, receiving most or all of their compensation in terms of food and lodging."

Since the early days of the industrial revolution apprenticeships have declined in the UK as machines have replaced the need for skilled labour, a trend which continues today. The number of self-service check out tills in supermarkets and B&Q is abhorrent and should be boycotted at every opportunity.  The rise of the capitalist industries also destroyed the power of the guild who controlled the progressions of an apprentice through being a Journeyman and who finally decided if the craftsman could become a Master.  While the guilds did impose restrictions on trade and who could practice the trade and where, they did ensure a standard of quality which made European craftsmanship of the 18th/19th century a thing of beauty.

There is no guild of Bonsai artists so who determines the Mastery of it as an art or craft? The use of the term Master in the bonsai community is free, unrestrained and in many cases self awarded.  We have a culture of frowning upon the sale and subsequent display of a masterpiece tree created by the great artists, so is commercial success a good yard stick for mastery? This is certainly true in the art world where the works created are a commercial product, yet in the artistic Bonsai community this is not strictly true.

Apprenticeships declined in the UK to the point where it was less than 1% of total employment in 1990.  I have always felt that we have a snobbish attitude to craftsmen or tradesmen in the UK. The idea that intelligence is vastly superior to skill and ability is endemic in society.  During my schooling the entire education system was geared towards academic excellence rather than the ability to create anything and we are now seeing the effect of this in society with our almost non-existent manufacturing industry and our dependence on the service sector...which would make you think that service would improve, but that simple piece of logic seems to have bypassed the current generation of bar staff in most London pubs.  I always felt pressured to go to University and was never given any other option, when I discussed my desire to be a gardener at the age of 17, my careers adviser laughed at me and told me it would be a waste of talent. I do not regret it and it was a worthwhile learning experience, however I would not do it now, with the debt burden, possible new graduate tax and 70 applicants for every graduate job.  With news today that University applications are at a record level and over 100,000 people will be rejected, what for them? Will the traditional apprenticeship make a return or will the country create more non jobs. I'm sure Defra need a few more idiots on their staff to ban every chemical that is of any use to us.

Anyway....that went off a bit political and I didn't mean for it to.  I have recently come to appreciate my status as a Journeyman Bonsai-ist and will continue my years of being a jolly swagman.

Midway upon the journey of our life
  I found myself within a forest dark,
  For the straightforward pathway had been lost.

One of the things the Chief never taught me as part of my apprenticeship was the importance of keeping good records...mainly because he never did.  There was one time the tax man came knocking and we shut up shop for two days whilst they went over the books for the last six years...it was not a pleasant time.

Now I am settled and not a non-dom, I am at the mercy of Her Majesty and her Revenue collecting suits.  The last week has been sat trying to get to grips with Excel, Receipts from a year ago and looking over my bank accounts for the last year.  Where did all that money go?

It is an interesting but very very painful process.  I have never felt so grown up.  It is like voting for the first time.  I have to go to the accountant this afternoon so hopefully what I have done has not been in vain.

A Japanese friend of mine said to me the other day having read my blog...."Philosophers do not make good businessmen".  I understand this very much now.  I must be serious from now on.

On a lighter note...I will be up Bonsai Basho towers on Sunday so expect some new stuff next week.  We are getting the video camera out...so expect some hardcore bonsai.

After that I think its only fair that next week we have a day off....

Apologies for the lack of updates, I don't do it nearly enough I know...like many things in life I guess.

I have lots of excuses, mainly the World Cup and Virgin Media related.  At least England have crashed out in shame, Japan have gone out in glory and America went down fighting.   Virgin Media crash down any which way but online and have no way of telling me why or when they will do what I am paying them for.  Still, touch wood, there have been no problems for the last three or four days.

I have written this little piece about the second national show in the states.  Enjoy.

I will be doing some stuff this next week for Bonsai Basho hopefully. Keep it peeled.  Planning on doing something tool related...seemed to be obsessed a bit at the moment

Just got back from a two week trip to the US.  Texas and the national convention in Rochester.  It was a busy but very fun time.  A full report later.

Watching the world cup in the US was a great experience, seeing the US sports channels doing a great job presenting it was an eye opener, no smarmy Lineker, cliched and critical Hansen and no coverage of the biggest tool of our time, John Terry.  Never before has a footballer filled me with such despair for the human race.  How has this man become a national icon?  What kind of a society do we live in where a tool like Jay-T can command such press coverage and admiration from some quarters.  Crying like a baby because his job is boring?  Go and live in North Korea, I'm sure they are not worried about the boredom of their training camp, they have to go home having being beaten by Ronal-doh.  Speaking of which I had a difficult time trying to explain to a bar full of Americans why I was supporting North Korea against Portugal and cursing everytime they scored.  I am not part of the axis of evil, I just don't like cheating cry babies, even if they are good.

Anyway, the trip gave me and the Chief some time together and we had fun, as you can see here.

Due to the unnaturally hot weather today, I decide to try and stay out of the sun, given the tendency of bald spots to burn and necks to turn red. I have spent the day pottering around the house doing odd jobs and checking on the home brew, replying to emails and doing a bit of preparation before going off to Texas next week.

I decided to do something which I should have done a while ago and I spent an hour cleaning my tools. This is something I have always been quite fastidious about but have let it slip recently. It is essential to maintain tools on a regular basis so that cutting edges stay sharp, joints do not rust and so that disease cannot spread. As I travel to many bonsai gardens across the world there is potential for spreading fungal diseases and I do not want to be responsible for the Bonsai version of Dutch Elm. 

Sounds corny but clean tools mean a clean mind and a focus on the job ahead.  Even the greatest artists in the world had to clean their own paintbrushes.  I have been meaning to write a whole "How-to" thing about tool maintenance, I approached Bonsai Focus about it but they were not overly keen to get on with it.  I need someone who can do some good photos and maybe some videos to help me out here...

One of the reasons my tools were so dirty were because I had been doing a few days work with Ian of British Bonsai. Here is the before and after of one little Juniper that we worked on. The aim is to get it in to BSA 2012. Without wanting to sound patronising, it is a pretty little tree and has enough character to hold its own amongst other container grown trees. I look forward to its development. It will never be a world beater but it is what it is.  More details to follow.

Looking forward to next week’s trip to Texas and Rochester to see some of the best Bonsai in the States and catch up with some friends.

I recently went over to the Netherlands and Belgium to work with Bonsai Focus and Marc Noelanders respectively.  I had a few moments of understanding about the state of the Bonsai market at the moment. One of the reasons you don’t see me in the magazine so much is that I am working on some long term projects.  When I graduated/got kicked out of Japan in 2007, Farrand and I discussed doing articles for them, which of course I was very happy to do.  One of the problems he faces is that there are too many instant Bonsai articles, just as there are too many demonstrations in which a tree is presented only in the initial styled state.  I was not particularly happy to continue this tradition and suggested that we work on some long term projects together where I would come along several times a year and we would work the trees through to finish.  This takes the pressure of both me and the tree.

Several of the project trees have worked superbly, several will never see the magazine, but such is the nature of Bonsai.  Of the ones which are working well, including one which I styled this trip are some collected trees which are being taken slowly yet steadily to completion.  Here lays the trick, allowing the tree chance to grow and put on roots, something which freshly collected trees inevitably lack. They are being gently guided into the shape we want, rather than forced and pushed.

Over dinner we discussed the current depressed state of the Bonsai market and what can be done to stimulate it.  Talk turned to what I think is the seriously inflated prices in the Yamadori market and my disbelief that people are prepared to pay vast sums of money for something which has, literally in some cases, just been ripped off a mountain side with barely any roots and no guarantee if it will live or die.

Arriving in Belgium to do a demo at the club in Hasselt, which Marc Noelanders arranged, we again discussed the state of the Bonsai world.  He said that he was trying hard to teach the club members and people who he gives workshops to that whilst the best results can be obtained from Yamadori trees, they are not something which will happen overnight, they are long term projects based more upon careful horticultural practice than artistic prowess.  In order to fulfil the artistic whims and fantasies of many bonsai enthusiasts, it is better to look at material which is well established.  Garden centre material or imported Bonsai material which has been well established in a pot, with plenty of roots and usable branches.  This is something I whole heartedly agree with and we both spoke of the problem faced when doing workshops when students turn up with some piece of collected material that wobbles in the pot, has branches with foliage at the end of very long branches and has been planted at the wrong angle by a collector more interested in making a quick profit than a decent piece of usable material.

The ideal process for dealing with most Yamadori is to develop a pot full of roots before working the rest of the tree.  This can be done at the same time as gradually chasing back the foliage from the branch tips, creating back budding within the tree.  This requires an incredible amount of self control to not rush ahead and create an instant image, however if done correctly, the final result will be much better and a sustainable design, not one which will spring out of shape once the wire is removed.

I do not disagree with the use of Yamadori, I have many myself, but I do disagree with the inflated prices for rootless, freshly dug trees that have very little chance of becoming a decent finished tree.  I hope that a modicum of self control and long term planning begins to become apparent in both the buying and selling of material before Bonsai self implodes.

Rant over.

I have been meaning to write about this for a long time, but as per usual, never got round to it.  One thing after another and too many distractions.  I am now on a train and have just finished my book, the thoroughly recommended ”The  Storm of War” by Andrew Roberts and so I have finally gotten around to it.

Many years ago, Marco Invernizzi asked me if I knew anybody who made tools in Japan as he was planning to make his own, I thought little of it at the time and put him in contact with the few people I knew, not, however Masakuni as we did not deal with him, rather his brother Ezuro.  The two brothers worked under their father making tools until a falling out and they acrimoniously split up.  The Masakuni brand continued and Ezuro went off and made his own tools, specialising in Ikebana scissors as much as Bonsai.  The handmade tools he makes are a joy to behold and I am the proud owner of a pair which cost more than I am prepared to admit online.  This is merely an aside though.

When the Ichiban was released, I was a little sceptical and thought that it looked a bit funny and the seven tools in one was just a gimmick, however when I looked at Marco’s website and saw the thorough design process which he went through I was very much taken aback.  What really struck me was the outside of the box thinking which drew on Marco’s pre-bonsai background, namely his design studies.

The foundation for the creation of the tool lies in the amalgamation of both parts of Marco’s experiences, his formal design studies and his extensive Bonsai activities, including several years of  apprenticeship at Kimura.  For all that is spoken of Kimura’s artistry as being held up as the premier standard,  the majority of people fail to recognise both his craftsmanship and horticultural skills.  Craftsmanship should not be mistaken for a lack of artistry, rather a complete understanding and mastery of the tools and materials  required to make such things.  The economic use of wire, tools, time  and movement when making a tree for example are the fundamental principles upon which being a professional bonsai artist is based on.  Here within lies the beauty of the Ichiban for the average bonsai hobbyist.

One of the first lessons I was taught, after being able to wire to a sufficient standard, was to make it quick, and then once I had learnt to do it quickly, it had to be done quicker and with less wire.  One of the tricks to this is using a wire caddy for lower gauge wire, having it close to hand and most importantly, never putting down tools and then picking them straight back up again.  Repeated over the course of a day it becomes very time consuming and attention breaking.  Constantly searching for tools can destroy a train of thought.  I am terrible for this, putting my scissors in my back pocket one minute, side pocket another, then my jacket pocket and then behind the tree (I am the same with train tickets and my wallet as well).  The trick is to have a pair of wire cutters that fits into the palm of your hand or, in the case of the Ichiban, flicks back to rest on the forearm.

Without wishing to go too much into a declaration of love for either Marco or the Ichiban I will just say that an incredible amount of thought and experience has gone into it and that should not be criticised.  Some of the features are a little debatable, the hammer for example would be a struggle to use with a larger chisel.  I use a 14 oz hammer and that is just about heavy enough, however the ergonomically designed scissors and wire cutter feature alone warrants the price tag.  I am going to use the Ichiban more myself and see just how useful it can be.

The main reason for my writing about the Ichiban is not for promoting it in itself, but what it stands for; something new in a world where there is little to be invented or bettered.  Variations on a theme are possible, the Ichiban is a very clever and unique one, but what it represents is a bringing together of ideas from outside the Bonsai mentality and breathing a bit of fresh air into our world.  Not only the design aspect but also the very professionally done advertising campaign and the whole Ichiban club idea.  Very few people have actually attempted to be so professional and blend other worlds together in such a way.  For all the bad publicity he may get and criticisms of being arrogant or egotistical, I say Bravo Marco.

What then for me? Where does this leave the Monkey mountain in all of this?  I have long thought of the parallels between my pre-bonsai world, Physics, and the current life I ended up in. I am constantly asked about how I went from Physics to Bonsai as they are seemingly worlds apart.  I personally think of them as being very closely linked, but perhaps I am clutching at straws.  One of the reasons I went back to Japan and became an apprentice was the profound effect reading “The Tao of Physics” had on me.  Fresh out of University and the equations of quantum mechanics and Cosmology still fresh in my head, I struggled to make head or tail of what it meant in my head.  Concepts such as Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle and Relativity still puzzle me to this day.  The mathematics of them are reasonably easy to comprehend, but the actual meaning is difficult.  All of the great physicists had the same problem, they struggled to believe that what was mathematically and theoretically sound and valid, could actually be true.  Einstein himself famously said “God does not play dice”.

Reading “The Tao..” which illustrated the remarkable similarities between modern Western  scientific theory and ancient Eastern religion/spirituality/belief lead to a moment of enlightenment for me.  Many of the concepts I had struggled with were illustrated by Japanese aesthetic ideas which were present in Bonsai, for example the relative relationships between matter and space and the observer/observed or creating foliage pads using crystalline structure patterns.  For me, Bonsai represented a way in which I could understand some preconcieved ideas and gave me a wealth of different perspectives on life.

I have often struggled to put my thoughts into words in a way in which I am happy with, I fear that I would need to do more research and dig out my old text books at which point my theory, or my spirit will break in two.  Either way I feel that seeing Marco succeed in such a way as to utilise his past and present experience is enough to spur me to combine mine in some way.      

I had been asked to go to the UBI show in San Marino last weekend as a judge and demonstrator...and seeing as I was going anyway, it seemed only logical that I go and trade as well, seeing as the Italians were renowned for buying things Bonsai related.

The monkey mobile was packed up to the rafters with most of my stock and we set out Tuesday afternoon, meeting up with  the intrepid and experienced European campaigner John Pitt (and his good lady wife) at Maidstone services before heading off to the Continent together.  John is a good friend/colleague and it seemed only natural to travel down and stick together, and it worked out well for us as we got the best trading spot and joined forces to create a corner of a foreign field that was forever England...well at least for three days it was.  My thanks and appreciation go out to the Pitts for making it a much more enjoyable experience.

The drive down was fine, except when I found out that I was paying 30% more on the French toll roads than Mr. Pitt because my van is only slightly taller than his...I felt persecuted and thought about taking it up with the authorities before realising my GCSE level french would fall apart and I would end up getting directions to the beach and talking about what I did at the weekend....J'ai écouté des disques et  j'ai mangé du fromage

The event was good, despite the rain, location was fabulous and I met a lot of people, especially my friends from Sardinia who came over and helped with the wiring.  For some reason I am drawn to people from different countries who are down to earth, stubborn and do not suffer fools...yet have a reputation which precedes them. Texas, Sardinia...Yorkshire.  I will have pictures of the demonstration tree when I can get them.

The sales area can be seen in this video here....I took out all the big guns, hoping to sell at least one of them...needless to say I came back with a truck just as full as I went out with.  Despite heavily reduced prices on the final day, I simply couldnt give the trees away.  What was pleasantly suprising is that I managed to sell many of the antique Chinese pots to some very discerning customers.  I also got invites to several gigs this year and next.  I will be coming to Poland, Turin and some blokes back yard sometime in the near future.

 The demonstration and judging went well as far as I could tell, there was no fireworks after the decision was made so it was all good.  Some of the pictures can be seen here

Marco and Carlos Van der Vaart were the two other demonstrators and it was impressive to see Marco at work, it was the first time I had ever actually seen him working and there is something different about the way he works.  Although I only got a few minutes to watch, I actually learnt quite a lot from him.  I also had a good look at the Ichiban in action and more on that later.  Carlos was good value as well, he helped finish the wiring on my tree.  A great bloke but he kept worrying about the chaos on the roads due to the Volcano no fly fiasco.  He put the fear of god into Mr. Pitt and myself so the plan was to hot-foot it back to Blightly asap.  The drive home took around 28 hours, stopping every now and again for a coffee or 40 winks.  I also started to feel sick and feverish as we were leaving San Marino which deteriorated quickly the more I pushed on to get home.  The result was this last week was spent in bed. Hot lemon and honey combined with reading trashy novels and watching even trashier TV.  I regret ever starting to watch 24 season 7.

Was it worth it? Very much so...it has marked the end of  a year based entirely in England and has given me plenty to think on with regards to how I go ahead in the future. 

Been a very busy few weeks down at Monkey Mountain HQ.  That week of sitting in front of a computer did not materialise and my odometer has another extra few miles on it.  Still, it’s all been fun and plenty of good work has been achieved.  I have had to schedule time for some of my own trees as well, most of it done early in the morning or late at night, but I am up to date and nothing has suffered yet.

One of the things I had to do was to repot my infamous Rosemary, known as "the tick tock tree", apparently because it was due to die sometime in the summer of 2007.  I have written a history on this tree which was due to be published by an Italian publication but they don’t seem to have gotten around to it, so it will go up on here.  Needless to say the tree is still health and alive despite the fact it has now spent close to four and a half years growing in the UK.  I was told, very politely, by many of the established members of the Bonsai community that it would be dead in six months.

It spent the winter in a plastic box because I was ordered to return the pot it had been growing in for several years, the one it was displayed in at both the Best of British and the BCI event in St. Vincent 2008.  Despite the fact I had bought the pot outright, the Chief had already made an arrangement with a Chinese buyer to take the pot when I had returned with it and so I was in a bit of a pickle.  The pot had to make it back safely, and so, on Christmas Eve, in the Yorkshire snow, I took the tree out of the pot and put it into a plastic box where it sat, surrounded by soil until the winter.  It was in a heated and lighted  greenhouse as per usual but it did look a sorry state and for that I apologised.

It over wintered very well and at the start of March it had already woken up and was beginning to grow.  Root tips were beginning to move and she was off again.  I had hoped to pick up a pot of exactly the same dimensions so I could just slip the well established root ball back into the pot without any disturbance.  Unfortunately that didn’t happen and I had to settle for a nice Tokoname pot I had on hand.  I chose this as it reflects well the maritime nature of the Rosemary and it also gives it a slightly new look.  It went in relatively easily, I had to wash the soil out and mould the roots into the pot, but minimal disturbance was caused and I am confident of no major problems.  The new soil mix is roughly equal parts of Akadama, pumice and perlite all of which are small particle size.  I have been using this for the last year.  Seems ok. Apologies for the picture.  I dont have a studio.

Looks alright but it isnt the same...grrr.

I also got around to potting up this little Juniper I have had for years.  One of the problems with travelling around so much is missing out on working on trees at the right time.  This has suffered from that.  It should have been on display by now but it is lagging behind.  It was something I picked up from Toju-en, Hamano’s garden where Kimura and Suzuki both studied.  The current generation have a stand near us at the Green Club and they press-ganged me into buying it several years ago.  He still remembers it and asks after it every year.  Next year I will take a picture of it!  It is in a Stone Monkey pot, one of a few that I have of his superb work.  The original pictures of the tree can be found here. It is a strange little tree, one which I feel strangely attached too because, despite my lack of attention, it seems to continue on regardless.

Another tree I have recently come across is one I bought from the first gentleman of UK Bonsai, Ken Leaver. I was at his a week or so ago and came across this azalea and thought I should buy it.  It has incredible mochi-komi and a kink in the trunk to die for.  It had been growing in that tight pot for ever and the soil was faitly compact

A repot and a quick prune later and we are in business.  Assuming it can get over the severe repot into such a small pot, again a beautiful Stone Monkey creation with a bamboo style lip, then it will be all stations go.  A literati style Azalea with great natural movement and a superbly flared nebari. Obviously there is a lot of work to be done up top but it is not bad for £19.

More articles and that to follow.  Trips to Spain and Italy coming up over the next week along with a debate on the topic, Eastern Tradition vs. Bonsai as Art.  I will let you guess which side they asked me to defend.

 long but enjoyable weekend was had down in Bath, it has been a long time coming, but it was well worth it.  Sales went better than expected, mainly due to a beautiful blackthorn and a superb assistant in the shape of our lass.  It was my first show proper in the UK and I tried to bring my own feel to both the table and the demo that I did.

I did a repotting/rootgrafting demo on the Sunday...one tree, the air layered trident I have worked on for ages went very well, many good questions and interested viewers so I was pleased with that.  The second tree I did, an air layered zelkova was a disaster...half the trunk was dead so grafting was not an option.  Such is life I guess.  Should have checked before hand.  Still, I wanted to do something a bit different rather than just wire and style a tree and that I did.

The show itself was interesting, many familiar trees and some not so.  The innovations exhibition was having its first outing and Simon Temblett did a good job of finding some different ideas and new ways of displaying Bonsai.  I was invited to do something which I did, not many people actually thought it was part of the innovations show, I guess it was not radical enough for people.  I just suppose that I am not one for rocking the boat...still, it pleased me and the wife so thats all that matters.

The brief was to display something different and relevant to you.  I sat and looked at that which is available to me and at the things I hold dear.  How is it possible to mix classical Japanese aesthetic priciples with something intrinsically English? How is it possible to represent the coming season? What I came up with is a Sakura (Cherry) in a 300 year old beautifully patinated Shirokochi White glazed pot, displayed on a black laquered Shin-nuri board with the accompanying item an old Yorkshire cricket ball which has travelled around the world with me as a reminder of home.

To obtain the correct timing for the flowers to open mid show was particularly fun.  I had it hidden in the dark and cold, checking every day and worrying until just before the show when it was carefully packed in the van and it then spent the night in the hotel room with us to swell those buds to bursting point.  They held off until it was time to go on show adn the first flowers began to open just after lunch on the Saturday.

The other highlight of the show for me was the appearance of a tree that I sold last summer to a good friend of mine who has looked after it better than I ever could.  One of the most beautiful trees I have seen in the UK and in full bloom.

The only downer on the whole weekend was the Unjoy of snapping my van key in two at a service station on the way home.  I didnt even think it was possible but apparently it is.  I would like to think it was my Hulk like strength.  Many thanks to the bloke who drove out and sorted us out at 8pm on a Sunday night.

More updates later, I have a week or so of sitting in front of the computer so I shall blog a little if I can.

Well that was a very long and busy month.  I was on TV twice in two days, Kokufu came and went with a blur of sales and snow and I made it back eventually with bags and contents eventually intact. More on that later when I get things downloaded and sorted.

First job back was the thoroughly enjoyable BSA Shohin show up at Willowbog.  Second time for me this year and it was yet again a pleasure.  I demonstrated and judged the show along with the inimitable Marco Invernizzi, a man who never ceases to amaze me. As promised, my little Rose made it to the ball.  I found a pot suitable for it and the season.  It is a Taisho period (1920's) Japanese pot.  Size wise it was perfect and the colours were subtle enough to work.  I displayed it on a delicate modern stand made from mulberry wood. and used a simple picture of a  Bush warbler sat on a Ume branch.  The accent was a small planting sat on top of an arrangement of small wooden gears.  I picked those up at the Kokufu sales area and was thoroughly pleased with myself.  Whilst walking back to our sales area, a professional whose eye and taste I respect noticed me holding them and told me that he often used them in the past.  Taimi-san, this one is for you.

The reason for such a minimal display is that I wanted to show that something delicate and not worked could have character and presence.  I also wanted to show that there are alternative, dare I say "innovative" ways of displaying Shohin Bonsai, we are not limited to the tried and tested Tana-Kazari method.

Anyway, must get off to bed.  Its 3.43 am

Has been a trying few days for one reason and another.  The end of an apprenticeship is always difficult, especially when having started business on your own.  The chief has begun to push me towars a return to Japan...just gently but there is a strong desire there from him. Things have been a little strained.  I am looking forward to some kind of release soon. maybe I will just get pissed tonight.

I came across this picture from the Kyoto exhibition on the S-Cube blog.   This is the Bonsai that moves me.  Expect a full report in an upcoming Wabi.  Please enjoy.

Yesterday was a long yet very fruitful day.  A trip down to Kyoto on the night bus to see what was a very enlightening exhibition of 13 Bonsai and Suiseki displays held in the grounds of a temple.

It was here, sat in the warm sun, listening to the people enjoying themselves without pretence and backstabbing that I realised why I do what I do  It's quite simply incredibly good fun.

I didnt have a flash of enlightenment, more a slow realisation throughout the day that this is what I do it for.  To listen, discuss and study that which is beyond the normal realms of my experiences, and to make it my own.

Bonsai is more than just trees in pots, Suiseki is more than just rocks on wood.  This runs deep.

I have a book planned.

Got drunk again last night with the boys, I had given them a really hard time over the last couple of days as pressure built up over various things and The Chief, being chiefly decided to diffuse the situation by going away for a day, taking with him one of the pressure points.  A relaxing day was had, listening to the ipod, wiring a humongous Juniper.

It gave me the opportunity to think about an upcoming debate which I have been asked to participate in.   Eastern Tradition vs. Western Innovation.  Organised by ABBA, I will be up against the vanguard of UK bonsai in the shape of Simon Temblett who I respect a great deal.  I haven't givenm it much thought but yesterday I went through a few trains  of thought and solidified some ideas, mainly about the Japanese aesthetic vs. the Western interpretation. I am not sure of teh best way of getting my point across to the audience because I'm not sure i have one.  Perhaps teh best thing to do is drink half a bottle of sake before I begin..."now lishen ere..."

After work had finished and we were sat around the campfire, a few shandys got things going and I started by asking them what they thought.  I got some surprising answers which I should have written down at the time as I have no recollection of what they were, just that they surprised me.   I will endeavour to write something solid in the near future when I have the time.

Woke up this morning and discussed with The Chief the translation of the Keido manuals for the only school of traditional display...of which he now has the last remaining copies.  We should have a semi-translation in time for Kokufu.  It is interesting stuff and requires a wider knowledge than I have so I am pushing myself to read more and further myself.

One thing I do realise is that this incredibly poor resolution picture is, for me, intrisically more beautiful than the tree in full bloom.  Sounds a bit poncy and weird but the reason that life can be so beautiful is that eventually we die.  Bonsai is the same.

The Japanese have a term for what happened last night...yakezake

the word combines the characters for "despair, desperation, abandonment" and "alcohol".

I have a term for how I feel this morning.  It combines the words "sick as" and "dog".  I expect no sympathy.

The Persian philosopher and astronomer Omar Khayyám said it best...

And much as Wine has played the Infidel
And robbed me of my robe of Honour, well ...
I often wonder what the vintners buy
One half so precious as the stuff they sell

For some we loved, the loveliest and best
That from His rolling vintage Time has pressed,
Have drunk their glass a round or two before,
And one by one crept silently to rest

But helpless pieces in the game He plays
Upon this chequer-board of Nights and Days
He hither and thither moves, and checks ... and slays
Then one by one, back in the Closet lays

"The Moving Finger writes: and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it."

Not bad for the bloke who first moved towards non-euclidean geometry and developed binomial theorem to the power n.  I bet he got those ideas when he was on the razz.

Needless to say yesterday was a bit of a tough day.  Still today we have a photoshoot and for once it isnt me, I get to watch my kohai Naganuma nervously cutting branches while i laugh in the background.

Today is arguably the most important day for Bonsai professionals in Japan.  More important than the exhibition itself, today is the judgment day for Kokufu.  For many, the weeks of preparation and cajoling customers to display their trees is now coming to the final point of...was it all worth it?

For those younger and less well known professionals who struggle to get good customers who can appreciate and afford trees at the level required to get into the exhibition, it can be make or break time.  If they have sold the promise that the tree can get in to the show and it doesn't then there is a lot of explaining to be done at around 4 pm today. If it does get into the show then there is the chance of a much longer association with the customer and possibility of selling a new tree for next year.

Displaying trees at such a prestiguous exhibition is not cheap...just the fees to Bonsai association run to around $1000, not to mention the cost of table, pot, accent rental, preparing and transporting the tree.  For some people it will cost over $2000 to send the tree to the show.  If that kind of money has been invested in vain, then there is a lot of apologising to be done.

Entering trees is a difficult balance of realism and expectation.  Some of the trees we have to force the customer to enter, even if they are clearly top class, whereas some of the trees entered are done so because the customer desperately wants to despite our best advice against it.  One of our trees falls into this category.  Although knowing that the tree had a very low chance of getting in, I prepared it as best as I could, the pot was changed to a very old Chinese antique pot, the foliage perfectly arranged and the moss was painstakingly put together piece by piece.  That alone took six hours..  It looks good but still in my heart I know that it will be lucky to get in.  After finishing the preparations, I phoned the owner, who likes me and we get on well, and invited him to come and inspect it.  He was very happy , declaring it to be a new tree but then asked the difficult question which I was dreading and had prepared several well scripted answers for..."Will it get in?".  The stock answer is..."a lot depends on what else has been entered, but if I were the judge, it would get in", followed by a reassuringly cheeky smile.  Today we shall see if I too have to apologise and blame the luck of the gods.

Yesterday the trees were taken to the judging, which is held under strict security at the Green Club in Ueno.  I am not allowed to go this part of the process because I stick out like a sore thumb and I am considered persona non grata by many of the judges and people in the association.  If they see me carrying a tree then the chances of it getting in are reduced.  My senpai Akiyama took his and our trees yesterday and managed to get them on to the benches undetected.  On his return we began the long, dark wait...and then lightened it up with drink.  Lots of drink.

Drinking is a part of life here and one which is generally most enjoyable as I am partial to the odd shandy after a days work.  Last night was a weird mixture of tension, resignation and expectation.  We talked about who had entered what, which famous tree was there and what pot it was in, how many similar trees to ours were there and the chances ours would be selected.  Inevitably the conversation turned to women and normal service was resumed.  One of the current apprentices, Naganuma is a great bloke to have when drinking, his stories and way of thinking is frankly not suitable for print.

Anyway, today, there will be 8  torturous hours of tension followed by a phone call telling me to come down to the Green Club, possibly to help pack the van up with all our trees which failed to get in, or possibly to double check that the actually did get in!

The gnawing feeling in my stomach and restlessness is why I came back and why I will be coming back again next year...well that and the beer that will be drunk tonight...hopefully in celebration.

After a very cold christmas, my first back in the UK for 9 years, me and our lass flew out to Japan for yet more festivities.

New year is a busy time for the bonsai world, exhibitions, sales and preparation for the all important Kokufu exhibition.  As is expected of me as the most recent "graduate", I have come back to help the Chief and teach the current apprentices a thing or two.  Sadly their heads are so hard and unable to comprehend the simplest things that it makes life hard.  I blew a fuse today at them today for poor watering technique.  It is really difficult to allow them to make mistakes in order to correct them.  I sat watching it for an hour, my blood boiling until they finally finished.  After they had gone back to their normal work I quite politely asked them to explain what they had done and just how stupid they were.  It is at times like this that I am so grateful to my senpai Akiyama-san for being patient and understanding with me when I was just that stupid. 

I am still in debt to Akiyama-san as he pulls me up through the bonsai world, involving me with being a normal professional in Japan.  He keeps telling me that I should become a Japanese citizen and work here full time.  As much as England disappoints me, there is no way I could give up my passport.  We went to a Shohin Auction the other day, some of the items may be for sale on my shop soon, I am going to try and sell them here to existing customers first.  I bought specifically to order as I am broke due to the exchange rate.  It was my first time at a shohin auction, a very different occasion to the normal one I go to where everybody knows me now and lets me have stuff cheap.  Walking around before the auction, looking at what was coming up, one tree took me and I just had to have it.  I mentioned it to Akiyama-san and he just laughed and said I was sick, I showed it to Taiga Urushibata and he said I was mental...still it didnt come up until the end of the auction and I was ready and prepared, I had a limit, which was the money in my wallet and there was nothing going to stop me.  The auctioneer started the bidding and I immediately jumped in.  One other fool decided to bid 500 yen more than me so I topped that by another 1500.  There was a second of disbelief when everyone realised it was me shouting. They soon realised that there was no way they would win against me...I was dragged up on the streets of a fighting market town.  A shohin auction stand-off doesn't scare me.

Looking at it objectively, I am in fact sick and mental, but by god, this is a superb little tree.  I will get a pot for it at the kokufu and it shall be on display at the BSA show up at Willowbog.

Funny things plants.  They are quite simple really, just responsive to the environment they are in.  Even if it is getting quite parky outside, in the warmth of the polycarbonate shell that is my nursery, it is tropical.  Ever seen a Bougainvillea in flower in the UK at the end of November?

Also coming into bloom, and that isn't as much of a suprise, is one of the two Camelia Japonicas I have under my care.  A big tree, but delicate little flowers. A beacon of pink in a sea of grey

O Rose, thou art sick! 

The invisible worm

That flies in the night,

In the howling storm,

Has found out thy bed

Of crimson joy:

And his dark secret love

Does thy life destroy

If you haven't already noticed, the webshop is up and running.  still lots to put up but after a fashion it is is there.  I realised again one thing which has plagued me, I simply hate to take photographs.  I do not have any displayed at home, I dont look at them, I don't like looking at other peoples.  I think I may have been a tribesman in one of those cultures that believes a camera steals your soul in a previous life...this is not good when you need to document work or take nice pictures for sales purposes.  I can remember most stuff that I want to and I have always been of the looking forward mentality.

Anyway, our lass likes taking pictures, here it is.  Bonsai Artist and Crumpet Lover.

"Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this son of York"

If only we had had a glorious summer! Although we move into winter, the winter of my discontent is not over, although I am making a promise to put more content up on my website.  Teething problems, too much time on the road and a nasty sinus infection have kept me from doing anything, but here it is, the first of the blog pages.  Anybody out there listening then let me know.

I have to continue updating the webshop and also study for the JLPT I have got coming up but i just want to put this link up   Ryan Neil Interview on AoB

Ryan Neil, telling it like it is.  He is without doubt one of the finest people I have ever had the luck to meet.  read his interview and you will see why.