theboywonder.co.uk

Today my mum, dad, brother and I went to the Tara Centre Summer Fayre (events). The Tara Centre is a Buddhist study and meditation college about 15 minutes drive away from our home, near the village of Etwall. My dad goes once a week for meditation class, but this was the first time he’d been to look around the place more closely, so it was a first for all of us.

– Ashe Hall, the main building at The Tara Centre.

Despite the place being very busy (great! lots of money raised I hope!), it seemed really lovely – gorgeous surroundings! I can imagine it would be incredibly peaceful during times of normality. Situated within 38 acres of woodland and fields you get the feeling that you could really escape from the comparitively fast-paced “real world”, which is kind of the point really!

– Catching a peaceful moment, away from the day’s events.

– The Barn Retreat, where you can stay during your time at Ashe Hall.

Dad introduced me to a young woman called Choweng, who is a nun living at the college. Vietnamese, born and raised in Australia, set out to the UK to travel and ended up at the Tara Centre and never left! That was 4 years ago. Quite amazing really. She was very nice and encouraged me to come and stay… though I’d already decided that it was something I definitely wanted to do. Dad has offered to pay for me to stay for 1 week (�165 including food and accomodation)… though if possible I think I’d like to pay the extra and stay for 1 month (�380 total). Even though a week would be great, it might be too short to make any real impact on my psych�, so assuming I have the time (which I think I will) I’d rather try and last a month :)

All in all a nice day, with nice people, in the english countryside, with lovely weather! :)

Edit: You can view a selected set of photos, in higher quality, on my flickr account here.

Wahhh, I’m so happy! I just came back from London (just over 2 hours drive away from my home) having gone down there with my younger brother… and dad(!) to see Sek Loso play @ The Garage. It was awesome!! The band played really well :D

Last year Sek formed a new band, with guys from the UK – currently it’s Eric on drums, Chris on bass, and Bonehead (ex-Oasis) on rhythm guitar. Let’s hope it stays that way! My brother knows Eric, so we met up with him, his dad, Chris, and Chris’s gf and mother before the set for a drink and a chat :)

Pre-set photo with Sek and my brother Josh. My pic was pants, so it’s remaining hidden :P

It was nice to see quite a few Thai people turn up, smiling away, the girls screaming as Sek came on :P A lot of farang turned up too – also nice to see! Represent!

Eric, the Loso drummer.

Chris, the Loso bassist.

The one and only, Seksan Sook Pimay

More Sek

And more Sek

Video clip: Clicky click :)

It was Bonehead’s birthday, so they brought out a cake in the middle of the show and everyone sang happy birthday to him. They then played a cover of “Live Forever” (an old Oasis song) which was fantastic, running straight into a cover of “Voodoo Chile” by Jimi Hendrix. Awesome.

Video clip: Sek rocking out!

Bonehead, and Sek.

We love you Sek :P

Close up.

After an hour, they finished their set, and bid us goodnight, but everyone started chanting “Loso! Loso! Loso!” wanting more. They came out and played 3 more songs :D

Oh did the girls whoop when he took his top off!

Video clip: Ahh, nice song which I forget the title to now!

Everyone started dancing when they played Som Sarn!

A Thai guy decided to play “poster guitar” in front of Sek on stage haha :D

The original description by the photographer reads:

The monks weren’t sure what to do when I asked to come in; the abbot of the monastery didn’t speak, hadn’t spoken for twelve years. I sat on the floor and talked to the monks, as the abbot watched from his huge chair and fed bits of cracker to a cat. After a few minutes, he motioned for me to wait, then hunted through some papers until he found what he was looking for: a colorful child’s book on Buddhism, which he pressed deeply into my hands. Rangoon, 1999.

This photo was taken in North Okkalapa, which is situated in Yangon (previously known as Rangoon), the capital of Myanmar (previously known as Burma). An awesome photo – I can’t believe this guy had not spoken for 12 years… (and that was 1999, so it would be ~18 years now)! It makes me wonder whether or not I’m following the right path in life – one could assume the kind of inner peace he has is incredible.

The photographer, known on flickr as tap_tap_tap is a very talented photographer – check out his other photos now! So good, *sigh*.