I've heard alot of people talk about the phenomenon of the american guy who trains dogs to behave at home and have seen a couple of shows with him in action and let me tell you he has nothing on our Victoria Stilwell, she truly is amazing, catch her show, ''its me or the dog''


She is the dogs b*******

A big thank you to Mr Francis Rossi from Status Quo for our meeting and his autograph on my portrait of him.

I will display this handsome black and white portrait i painted of him very shortly, along with the portrait of the beautiful Kate Moss i painted, also signed by her, thanks again to Peter Moss her father for helping me get her autograph on it.
The news is that YOU! will have a chance to win one of these signed, hand painted, black and white paintings for a 1.50 text!  Yes you read it right, 1.50! and you will also be helping the Rocking horse childrens charity. More so, that will not be all. There will be six Stars in all to choose from when your text message is selected, Six winners!

Have a lovely day today whatever your doing,

I'm having a sandwich then back to work

See ya

Hi,
Tomorrow Saturday 27th Feb I'll be exhibiting my work in Kensington gardens Brighton and not the usual spot in bond street Brighton.

I'm working on my black and white painting of Paul Weller tonight, hopefully it will be ready to put up for sale tomorrow.

So don't forget if your coming to get your portrait, i'll be there. wrapped up to the eyeballs in wool and stuff.

See ya tomorrow

Mervs
 

Any body catch the commentator on the cross skiing when the Jamaican Errol Kerr was racing?
in his excitment he shouted ''Errol Flyn'' look at him go. quite funny i thought. anyone who thinks they would be able to go down that coarse perhaps a bit slower even without experience think again. this is tame after looking at the film i watched to pick up some tips before i went skiing for the first time many years ago.I felt brave but when i got there i quickly realized i would not even go over a bump as big as a cola can.
Strictly smooth runnings when i ski thank you very much and one of the best holidays i've had.
I'd give gold medal to our girl just for going head first down that rink

congratulations to my friend Hamish for recently becoming a skiing instructor,He's out in Canada now

Stay warm

Merv

Get yourself down to kensington gardens today, although cold i have some great black and white paintings for your wall.

See ya

So tensions are arising once again in the Falkland islands. Maggie Thatcher sent us to war back in the days to fight for ownership of the place and apparently won!
I remember as a kid thinking 'but it's so close to Argentina, surely it should remain Argentinian'

I didn't Know why she wanted it so bad then and wonder if because of this latest conflict over ''Oil''
if that's what it was all about then.
Did Maggie Thatcher know all along that there was ''oil in dem dear hills'' and thus used forces to claim the land to
supply England with oil resources to make England wealthier.
60 billion barrels apparently, that could cause some damage eh,
Like I've said before i have a theory about dragging the oil out of the earth and that is that oil is needed to lubricate the earths crust. Imagine you don't put any oil in your car and drive it around willy nilly, your engine components will rub harshly together causing the engine to grind and clatter,making a terrible noise and bits of metal from your engine may break off and even puncture your bonnet in the process,It need lubrication.
Tsunamis that are happening around the world are caused by the tectonic plates in the earths crust jolting together violently causing what ever is above it to shake and wobble.
When the oil is taken out of the earth it leaves the tectonic plates dry, if the oil remained there perhaps the movement of the plates would shift smoothly together thus no tsunamis, that's just my theory. here's a link about these tectonic plates and where they exist in the world.
Earths Plates

I wonder if i can get my 20 year old Saab 900 turbo to run on used cooking oil?

stay smooth
Merv

That's just what we need, a bit of good news. I turned on the tv this morning where the news was on and all i got was murders and suicides, even the murder of a 3 year old girl, all too tragic.
It's high time for some good news on the news. Not just good news about 56,000,000 lotto winners no, My idea of good news and the news that's even got me dancing on occasions when i've heard it is the development of the latest medical science, that's why i became a reflexologist, working on nerve impulses and oxygenated blood supply to vital organs and glands essential to you feeling well today. These are wonderful scientific things that are happening inside of us at every minute and the work on them although  it seems behind the scenes,we catch a glimpse of it in the high streets with the little green collection boxes for things like cancer research we knowledgeably walk by.Some takers of human life who are today walking the streets walk past these collectors and even contribute to the saving of lives and yet would go ahead and take another life.
War does not set a good example,even warring with words is not a good way to go about settling peace,attack is over stepping the mark of justification. there's no water shed for the news and our little ones are exposed to this as if it was normal. Caring, sharing, helping is a good route to happiness.
If you cant wait for the news to tell you about medical science, see if it puts a smile on your face and makes you feel a bit happier on the link below.

Latest medical science

Hope you have good news today

Merv

Ok so the sun is out right now in sunny brighton but ten minutes ago, it was pelting down with snow! Grey and horrible.
now the sun is melting the white stuff that had just settled. freaky deaky weather

very excited about another star agreeing to sign the portrait i'm painting of him, itching to tell ya but wont just yet till its all done and signed,. keep tuned

Mervs 

Wow, 14th December since my last blog! hope you haven't felt sick of checking up to see what's new?how disappointed you probably felt.
I'm still wearing in the tap shoes i got for xmas from my good friends at Two Feathers. you can buy all your native American goods there.
They are quite tight,not my friends at the feathers,the shoes.I can't wear em out in the streets for i'll mess up the taps.
so I've been wearing thick ski socks with em around the house and think they're getting a bit looser.
I went down to my friends sail boat for dinner last week taking them along with me.After dinner we had a jam with the guitar while i provided the tapping on the nice wooden deck.
Catch me tomorrow in the north laines Brighton, 
see ya

I visited my friend this evening and at about 11pm we made a nice cup of tea and took it up onto the roof top of his old regency house directly overlooking the ocean to witness something I've never seen before.
We had some music up there and all gazed up into the sky waiting to see a meteor.We saw about 5 or 6 quick shooters first and then this big ball of flame came hurtling in from the sky visible for about 6 seconds! Amazing thing to see and was heading straight into the sea,. It seemed like it was about half a mile away. To try and describe exactly what it looked like i would say it was just like a firework rocket, a really good one but was shooting down instead of up, with a little blue and red to it, as well as fire burning all around it. Marvelous!

Congratulations to my dear friend 'Collette Starr' who gave birth to a baby girl today!  She's named her 'Sky'

I'm ecstatically happy about this new imaging camera which can take a 3D rotating image right into the brain and everywhere else on the human body in a heart beat. to me,to us and to the rest of the world(hopefully) this is wonderful news.
I love medical science which was one of the reasons why i became a reflexologist back in 2006 and it just puts a big smile on my face whenever i hear of a medical breakthrough.I wouldn't mind getting on one myself to see whats going on with my lower back.
Ooh,I can just sense you now wondering what you would like this machine to check out on you.Go ahead, the machines are quite rightly being first used by the NHS,.makes me think of how the Americans are protesting against a similar service over there, always money eh. one thing i do know is that if your ill, you don't care about money, you just wish you could walk again,or you just wish you could see,,people just wish to win the lottery but if your healthy, try just being thankful for being that way, just for a day, then go out and make the most of it

haben einen wunderbaren Mittwoch!

Merv

To avoid disappointment.those of you who are planning to gift one of my paintings for Xmas should order soon as i will only be able to complete a certain amount in time for the big day. Not much more to report really, Just chilling at home listening to mocking bird by Eminem, which reminds me,i must cast my vote for the greatest pop star competition currently running.I will be voting for Mr Marshall, One because i always support the underdog and what an underdog he was as a white rapper breaking through the predominantly black arena, i loved it and i loved the fact that i could understand everything he was saying.
As for my current favorite eminem track, i mentioned it earlier, 'Mocking Bird'  writing a song for your children can be particularly emotional and i'm sure a tear was shed as he wrote it, as did i when i wrote ''Song For Emily'' for my daughter. It's on my EP ''Off To A Good Start'' (you can download it now from my site)

9am now sunday morning and i'm still deciding what to do with my day, as long as i do some painting,and house chores it doesn't matter what else i do, weathers a bit too blowy for my open air gallery today. I live on the seafront and the wind has been chucking up salty deposits that my car and house windows collect, it has been great though to lie in bed all cozy and propped up in front of the tv while i look out the window at amazing big crashing waves coming in from France! ooh la la

J'aime Brighton

Hi everyone., seems like i've not written to you for ages,.nothing exciting to write about really,you already know about the music video i'm producing for my single ''I Love Brighton'' plug plug.(you can download it straight to your phone on my music download page)plug plug. video is coming along ok by the way.great stuff last week.

so thats it really, nothing any more exciting than what you already know,.I did dream that i was flying like superman last night, on my journey to see Emily my four year old daughter.


Has any one said the word to you and made you start thinking of it yet? No? ok , Christmas!, there,,, i said it,,
jingle bells!
turkeys and stuffing and stuffing after turkeys!

Just one more thing, i'd like to congratulate two men, Stephen Hawking who has just retired from cambridge who shows the most courage in going for achievements despite his illness and his successor professor green, who is now the new Lucasian Professor of Mathematics there, as some may already know previous holders of that position include Isaac Newton..



Smile with your eyes.

Merv

The video shoot for ''I Love Brighton''has resumed after a month of hanging on,
I thought i'd lost the exciting touch of it all for not filming for so long but i snapped back into the exciting thick of it
the second i had to think of the scene i wanted to film.With the cameras there rolling my Stephen Spielberg brain sprang into a natural recognition of futuristic insight to produce the image straight from my hemispheric regions to the camera. a marvelous feeling. in the bag on each take of a scene, getting the people that are close to me in it too,perfect.
I'm looking forward to presenting to you and the world the long awaited video for my anthem for this great place that we live in.
Right then, i need to carry on with this francis rossi painting from status quo, i met him a few weeks ago at my gallery and he agreed to sign a portrait i'm painting of him to be raffled off to raise funds for a charity, the details will be coming soon. So far i've got a signed portrait of Kate Moss to be in this raffle,. Stay in touch as the raffle will start when i have painted my six icons that will be signed by them. You will have the chance to win one of these & help the cause and all for a text that will cost around the one pound mark.

You know you like it

Merv

Who cares about Carol Vordeman leaving countdown when we've got the new stunner to entertain us..the pink dress shes wearing today really hits the Mark  ;)

My four year old daughter told me her first joke today it was...a sausage and an egg in a pan,the egg says cor a'int it hot in here and the sausage said oh look a talking egg!  
I proceeded to tell her about the two eggs in a pan of boiling water when one egg says ''cor a'int it hot in here, the other egg said ''wait till you get outside you get your head smashed in!


Ok so it was a bad joke but she is only four! but it doesn't mean i cant make you smile.One thing certain in life is that you can't help but smile when the corners of your mouth curl up!


Have a happy weekend

After only one single rehearsal with what turned out to be a 9 piece band, meeting for the first time the keyboard player in the last hour, I took to the stage on the beach to perform my song 'I Love Brighton' for the first time with a full band.Yes i was nervous, there were hundreds of people around and further more, I was performing for the TV cameras' who was filming me for the new series called 'Brighton Beach Patrol',starting on Channel 5 tomorrow, friday at 8pm.
I wont know what it sounded like 'till i watch the programme  and indeed i will not appear in the first episode.
So keep tabs on the show and don't forget the song is available to download now in different formats here on my website

visit Brighton!

MERV

Back in my blog,dated 27th january 09, I reported how i met Kate Moss's father at my bond street gallery display.I handed him my portrait of his daughter asking if he would be so kind as to ask his daughter if she would sign it for me.
Well it's back folks, I receivd a nice email letting me know that he was to be in town again where i met up with the family to recieve the signed portrait back. It reads,,Love Kate Moss and she drew a little luv heart.
Thank you very much Peter taking the trouble of getting it signed for me and thank you Kate for signing it,It was also nice to meet Kate's younger sister who now also owns one of my paintings.Credit also to the Brighton hairdresser who did a wonderful job of peter's partners hair.
This means folks that the charity run is on!and the collection of a few more signed portraits to make the prize pot that much bigger is wanted before i launch the event. The Rocking Horse Children's charity will be the beneficiaries of my event,
As of last year,it will be a text to enter event but now it will be cheaper to enter! last years push i believe was set too high at 3 pound! a text..this event will be set closer to the 1 pound a text to enter.
So watch this space for the next charity event where you could win a signed hand painted portrait of the beautiful Kate Moss and help the sick children from the Rocking Horse at the same time.

Oh No! the budget for the video to ''I Love Brighton'' is running out and there's still some filming and editing to do yet..there's a little panic going on but there is some thing we can all do to help.Download ''I Love Brighton''direct to your mobile phone HERE Or if you prefer to buy off Amazon,you can do that HERE And watch the video put a smile on your face.,Saying that,Filming is coming along well so i must see it completed and out there.

Oh No, My beloved football team West Ham was in trouble again.I thought those days went out ages ago but i have to say it seems the rivalry never died since the days of the ICF (inter city firm) where millwall was one of west ham's if not the biggest rivals where fighting regular took place amongst the terraces and indeed in the streets,there's been books and films about some of the hardest faces of that firm, I even hear one of them won the lottery and it doesn't stop there
,if not one hooligan getting stabbed in this incident the players are getting stabbed too, and he's a west ham player,.What's going on eh? maybe if the government banned going on the pitch it would stop them invading it,Or do you think they'll just go underground! now that joke was pitched low and i appologise, i should have known the score with that one,instead of just dribbling out a bad football joke.You can take a free kick at me for that one,it was well and truly foul..And if i'm gonna go fish for a laugh i'd need better tackle than that.

And i'd have to throw in some other footie jokes too but i cant think of any.,anyway it's not my goal to be a comedian,
last time i tried it i fell offside of the stage, had to cut it shorts!
It was at a fetish party,The leather Ball, in Jersey. I know sweet FA about football anyway,, Way out of my league!

Goodnight, god bless

After finding the perfect location for the final scene, the video shoot for 'I Love Brighton'' can resume this week and i am so looking forward to it.

I've just got in from a long drive to cambridge to pick up my mates son whom he has not seen for 8 months. It was a pleasure to drive him there as i know what that feels like. One thing i did see was that his young son loves him., the bond didn't die,,very encouraging

Greetings to all you art lovers., This Sunday I am holding a one day raffle where you can win my painting of your choice!
Simply visit me at my kensington gardens gallery, buy a raffle ticket for 1 pound any time before 5pm. leaving your contact details on the duplicate raffle ticket which then gets placed in the tomboler.The winning ticket will then be selected at 5pm the same day and informed of their win immediately after.
If the winner is still in Brighton they may come to choose their prize straight away,or if you have already left, your prize will be posted out first class by the day after.
Good luck and i'll see you on Sunday in kensington gardens

Merv

I was up at 7.30 this morning, I heard the distinctive pop popping sound of the Moped. I looked out my window and saw the first two of the army of Mods expected today in Brighton.

It's a celebration of the revival of the mods and Quadrophenia. Thousands are expected to decend apon the shores of Beloved Brighton but this time i think they'll be no fighting with the rockers.

I was a Rude Boy back in the days which is half Mod and half Skin'ead so there's a part of me who wants to dress up in my Rudy gear. Only trouble is everyone will think i'm a Mod!

I'll try to take some snaps and post them on here for all you age old Rockers and Mods to see.

PS. My song ''I Love Brighton'' is now available to download directly to your phone as well as Amazon ,Itunes . It's only 'One Pound' so i appreciate your appreciation of all the hard work i put into this song for your enjoyment by downloading the mp3 file to your phone,. it will sound pucker on your headset or your docking platform. My brass section i used are amazing with their warm blowing so if you have ever heard a song and thought.''I cant believe this is number 1'' then please note that your download from this link will count in the National charts so if you think my song deserves a title like that,. please download and spread the word..

Here's your link to the phone download GET SONG

Hi peeps guess what,,you can now download my fresh tune ''I Love Brighton'' directly to your mobile phone! aint it marvelous the technology today eh,,Get your copy HERE  now.

Keep music makers making music, download legally!

As many of us know,advertising is not cheap but sometimes it can cost very little and be very effective.I refer to my one year old advertising executive whom i met yesterday at my gallery.The big pink Balloon i had at my place   with ARTISTMERV.COM emblazed across it was belined for by this infant in a pram who declared,''I want a balloon'' to her mother.

Well i couldn't miss the oppotunity to have such a keen worker willing to advertise my website so i gave her said balloon to take with her on her travels and off she went advertising for me as she left. I could see the balloon from the other end of the street amongst the throng of people and thought to myself,,,''that's a good bit of advertising''.

She worked so hard bringing lots of attention to the website holding it aloft as she weaved through the crowds of brighton and the only commission she wanted was the pink balloon itself.

What a trooper,she her puts herself to bed at 7.30 ,8 o-clock so she can get up at 6.30 -7am to go out driving in her pram the next day holding the balloon wherever she goes.

So i'd now like to   raise a toast to my 1 year old executive. Have a wonderful life.

Merv

Exciting day today as i met up with the film producer who's filming the video to my upcoming track ''I Love Brighton'' i went location scouting all round brighton and got together a storyline for the song. there's more exciting coverage for the song but i'll tell ya about that a bit later,,.be prepared....

Love and light

Merv

What a great time was had by everyone last night when we surprised our dear friend Peter Bowley for his b'day with a party in ''wai kika moo kau'' Yes, a lovely play on the words for a fabulous vegetarian cafe'(hallumi wraps my fav') we had live music with violins drums and guitars which eventually spilled out onto kensington gardens where we all proceeded to dance in the street. I't's Been a long time i'm sorry to say,that i have danced like that. i thought i'd hung my dancing shoes up a long time ago but ''nah'' i've still got the boogie! I performed a very different version of ''I Love Brighton'' too with Raphael doing the toasting(not as in bread,as in rapping, old school terms) with violins providing a very sweet tone to it, i was in my element singing away as i played the guitar. A big bunch of really nice people who i like to call family were all having a great time up untill midnight dancing in the street which led to the best nights sleep i've had in ages.....I Love Brighton

And more rain, lashings and lashings of the gear! Also wow!  the latest 7 magazine  has a music chart  and i have just reached number 3  in it!    check out this  chart  and submit your own stuff!   latest  chart


Thanks Mia  for my lovely gift, i'm speachless  and i don't  know how you  managed to pull  it off.Must have cost a fortune. i'll be taking loads of pictures while i'm flying around up there,
Hope it's not weather like this on the day xx

Enjoy the rain everyone, so that we will have nice lush grass to sit on in the sun!

Everyone's Brown!

Merv

Thanks to everyone who turned up for my work shop on realism painting last night. good to see so many eager people there but alot did not bring a calculator and it slowed the class down a bit. I think you can get them from the pound shop and as you saw, one is needed to work out scale over composition but you all did well and i look forward to the next one.

Happy Painting!

Merv

Good to see everyone out today enjoying the sun and having fun. but not too good for my mate johnny who stacked it while street surfing, get well soon fella. good to also see my pal justin flying in his plane doing his acrobats, hopefully we'll all see alot more of him real soon.
I see theey've also goit the ferris wheel out on hove lawns for the week end, my daughter would love that,Happy Birthday to her, she's 4 on saturday.
Please don't anyone else tell me it's too hot, one would not say it's too hot if they were on a yaught.

I'm feeling the good love vibes off the folks of Brighton and it's good, holumi wraps from wai kika moo kau makes for a nice summer light munch oh and you must get yourself down to iydea in kensington gardens for a ''beat it'' juice drink, it's apples,carrots,beetroot and ginger and goes down a treat!
Oh and while your at it,get your self down to the guarana bar in sydney street for a wheat grass shot. ga-zing! your sorted!
Glastonbury must have been amazing. i've been for about six years on the bounce before the tv camera's started filming there but so wished i wsa there to see crosby stills and nash, a whole lot of others too but my favourite song is ''wooden ships'' by them.
I've just learnt it this morning on the piano.
So it's 11.15pm and i'm gonna walk home along the beach i think. sea air will knock me right out.

Hope your all happy and not too busy chasing after the pound note.

peace  x

And the beat goes on!

Summer solstice spent up on devils dyke.The sun was still so high at 7.30 and the view was of coarse magnificant.
which leaves for todays start to the summer with a nice country drive to my canvas supplier with good company and for all the nice people who made nice comments about me and my work while in my kensington gardens gallery yesterday, thank you. you made my day


Have a cracking day in the sun

Laters

Merv

Happy fathers day to all the dads out there, go out with your most precious creations and enjoy their love.
I would particully like to wish all the dads out there who are sad on this day,a strong one. all the dads that are being cruelly kept away from their children for no good reason. there are hundreds of thousands of us who feel the pain extra hard today which i should imagine that any mothers doing the same would delight in the pain they can inflict on their ex partners today, well done all you cruel mothers, you've made us cry today.
So to all the dads out there who like me are today having their kids kept away from them, i feel your pain, keep fighting for your child's right to have a dad, they will be proud that you did.


I Love You Emily


Daddy   xx


I cant dress up as spiderman to be heard,all i can do is express myself through my art so
''song for Emily'' can be heard   HERE  and is to be released for download on 1st august 09

My deepest condolence's to Mr Mike Tyson who tradgically lost his four year old daughter Exodus last week. i have always had respect for the champ and I would like to   pay my respects here to the family today. Be strong Mike, i'm so sorry.

Merv   x  

Thank you to the lady who insisted i take a ten pound reward for returning her sons lost phone, she was so happy to get it back and pleased to know that some people out there do make life nice for you. I'm not blowing my trumpet here after all the same thing happened to me and i got mine back, hell i even wrote a song about it on the juke box in my guest book page called ''I Love Brighton''

So it was rewarding to bring it back to the owner. Just goes to show how wonderful Brighton is,. Make sure you visit.


May your week be a strong one!


Merv

I've not been here for a while but another gorgeous day here in sunny Brighton.

It's here again, the merry month of May, Brighton festival has kicked off with the march of the childrens parade,whistles and drums and road blocks. Hope all the kids had a fabulous time amid all the tantrums i'm sure ensued.

Try get yourself down here for a show or two.We've got some great talent down here and you can take it all in at your leisure.Have agreat bank holiday and stay in touch

Mervs

My new song ''I Love Brighton'' was completed late last night after working all day in the studio.I'm pleased to announce that you will be able to hear it tonight on Juice fm radio station at 11.30pm. Thank you so much to all the people who helped me with the song with their unique contributions.   Dell the support voice Dan the tremendous trombone player,Ellis the sexy sax player,Crusoe the crisp trumpet player,Charlotte,Ben(no ones bigger)Ru the man, Faye,Kyle super dooper,Bally,Sonya,Peter Jarette and everyone who has given their approval after hearing the song and last but not least   thank you to Brighton for inspiration. if you cant wait till 11.30 tonight to listen , you can listen now on   reverbnation.com

Peace, Merv

 It's 2.30am the morning  after  Easter sunday, the first Easter sunday i have ever worked, the worlds first!
Shops in kensington gardens was open,the main shopping in churchill square,all closed, What happened to the sunday roast i have been having for the past lifetime Easters!
I did have a lovely eggs benedict for brekkie though,
and the fabulous ''wai kika moo kau'' vegetarian restaurant opposite my gallery served me up a lovely chilli with wild rice,''handsome'' but a dead day on the business front.

Well i'm still up at this time not because it's just bank holiday but because i'm driving a friend to the airport in about half an hour. Stanstead. Long cruise from sunny Brighton but the roads i expect to be clear, wrong time to start getting tired,even though i got my head down from 8'30pm till about ten.I need coffee. This screen is making me more tired looking at it like this so i think i'll drink my coffee and sign out, see ya

merv

Happy Easter to all.Thank you for all the nice messages you've been sending me, I really appreciate them.See you tommorow at my kensington gardens gallery .

Merv . x

They say ''love is in the air'' but i only fly in my dreams.

The man was down again! Peter Doherty was performing in my home town of sunny Brighton again on thursday night, He was at the Dome and there was me chatting to the lovely Bex who works   at the stage door of the place. I had my painting of neat Pete with me which he signed for me. it reads ''lots of love peter'' and   two kisses, Now peter,bless him,who has been my best selling   portrait for 3 years on the bounce now who also has a song in the film i acted in       ''Bigga Than Ben'' called 'Albion' turned up 5 minutes before he was to perform at 9.30pm decided to not go on just yet and have a cigarette outside the stage door, the crowd was in the auditorium gazing up at the empty stage waiting for the artist to spin his magic while the rest of his band was waiting to see him in the dressing room before all going on.

Well after peter had his   cigarette he decided to just run onto the stage picking up his guitar and just started playing without the band being present! the frantic organizers were left to run down to the dressing room to the band who were happily eating oranges and getting ready just to tell them ''you lot better hurry up and get out there, pete's already started on stage, with that they just had to dash upstairs to the stage and catch up with him! Fancy starting a big gig like that and not even waiting for your band to come on. Pure Rock-nRoll and i think its great. Keep em on their toes Peter!

Needless to say the gig was good and the crowd lapped him up. Thanks for signing my painting of you Mr Doherty, i shall be keeping this as a testament of my most popular painting, you've got a fan in me.

Merv

So sad to see my friend Erika leaving Brighton today, in fact leaving England! it was her birthday on friday the 13th so we had a party for her birthday/leaving party/ freaky friday party. now we like to dress up at the parties we have here and friday was no different. it was of coarse friday the 13th so the theme was gouls and stuff.

I took a big roll of black materiel and made a massive cape/gown out of it, then my friend matilda sewd me a pixie hood out of it and wallar! i had a Grim Reaper costume in five minutes flat. i even used the inner roll as my sypthe.

Now we was all ready for the party and on getting the address off we went. well, we arrived at the party which was the caretakers house to the cemetery! I had to take the oppotunity to do some thing i probably would never get a chance to do, so i went for a walk at middnight, in the cemetery on freaky friday the 13th dressed as the Grim Reaper! if anyone came accross me i'm sure i would have heard a loud scream followed by horse like gallops.  good party.

Speaking of birthdays, it's my birthday on the 29th march and i'm going to give away one of my paintings for free to someone as a birthday treat so come down to Kensington gardens on that sunday and pick up your free raffle ticket for the draw and good luck

Bon voyage Erika, love merv x

Really excited about returning to the recording studio on thursday to record my new song called ''I love Brighton'', of which i will also be putting one my juke box in the guest book,So much fun, oh yeah the tip about the salt to help my phone worked and my phone is back on.wanna know what on earth i'm on about?check out two blogs down ''what a place to drop it''.

Smell ya later,
Mervin

One of the reasons i love Brighton so much is that there's always musicians to grab a hold of when you need them.I was not at the gallery to because i was booked into a recording studio to record a song i wrote and i'd arranged for this cool dude singer to come in to record some backing vocals on it, you may have heard him singing in the laines?he's a white guy with dreadlocks who has a very powerful voice singing reggae song's he's very good.well, after what happened to my phone
(refere to last blog ''what a place to drop it'') i lost his number so could not pick him up. I had to be at the studio at midday so at 11.45am i was walking into my friends shop in kensington gardens and said, ''i need a vocalist to sing on my song right now''! with that, my friend grabbed his phone, made a call and withing 3 minutes i was on the way to pick up this guy who i've never met before to bring him to the studio to sing.
He done a nice job for me and i'm proud to announce the final cut is finished complete with backing singing courtesy of my new friend and vocalist Kyle. the result of the mix can be heard now in the guest book page, just click on the juke box on the page

Thanks again Kyle for your quick response and your proffessionalism and also to Ben,studio owner and technician, book your recording session with him here kiddstudios

Enjoy the final cut

Merv

Now we've all dropped a mobile phone or two during the existence of these stress building little gadgets, ''oh but they make your life so much easier''as many would gather to say but have you experienced the massive 20 second stress surge as your going through each pocket systematically? mouth open,eyes a-blaze,''where's my phone''! and then you find the little bugger and your stress drops dramatically you then know one of the reasons why you don't like have the bloody things.

I've had my current phone now for 4 years! a nokia...now i'm not at all into model numbers at all but this is such a good phone and i've had it for so long that i think i know what it is, 630i , there i said it. i feel like such a nerd now.

Speaking of something that sounds like''nerd'' I was visiting my bathroom this morning and thought i'd take my phone in there with me,(funny how phone goes off when your midway through your chores on the loo) All was good with no calls while i was making the call of nature and as i was getting up to flush the toilet i dropped my little nokia straight into the pan!

Now i think i just gave it a 3 second thought before i thought, ''go go go! and like a swans neck my hand went straight in there after it,   gurning while doing so, i rapidly felt around deep into the dark murky waters searching to grab something solid. Oh i grabbed something solid alright but with two futher grabs i located the phone and lifted it to freedom,all this within 5 seconds of submersion   it was on still but was in need of desperate shaking and   wiping but it looked so bad i was compelled to give it 2 quick 3 second rinses under the tap(bad move)

After lifting all dna evidence from the phone i spent an hour nursing it dry and it did come on again but alas it seems to have died.

Now here's a tip: table spoon of salt in a sealproof bag and lay your phone   gently on the salt   it, apparently draws all the moisture out. i find out tomorrow if it worked.(thanks for the tip des)

It was very nice to meet and have a little chat with the fabulous actor Julie Walters the other day as she passed me outside my bond street gallery.She looked great and we were chatting about me possibly painting a family portrait for her, with a knowing smile she was off to enjoy the delights of fabulous Brighton hassle free. Hope you enjoyed your day here Julie and i look forward to hearing from you.

Stay Cool,

Merv

As i was at my pitch yesterday,feeling cold,i just thought to myself, ''i've had enough i'm off'' when a gentleman with an attractive lady and a young girl stopped to look at my Kate Moss painting. Something inside told me that they were related to her so i declared to them ''Something inside tells me that your related to her,are you''? to which they replied,yes we are'' this is her dad and this is her sister''

I then explained about my charity work from last year and on thinking about this years charity event i thought i'd ask them if they thought Kate would not mind signing the painting for it. Kate's dad then said he'd ask her so i packed up the portrait and gave it to them. Like i always say trust your gut instinct,it is seldom wrong. It would be fantastic to get the painting signed by the lovely Kate Moss which would be a massive push to help the charity.Thank you again Mr Moss for,...well,for Kate!

Merv

Wow! the arab countries don't mess about with their moral rules do they.I'm referring to the story of the English woman i think she is, who is accused of cheating on her husband, punishable by imprisonment! Many women lose their children if they commit it.

Now don't get me wrong i don't condone adultery and have never cheated on any of my gorgeous girlfriends but that is a bit strong.I have a strong feeling,that their law cuts down on a lot of it but it probably still goes on in extreme secrecy, Temptation i know is rife and probably more so in this country where temptation is thrust upon us at every chance.For instance   I don't think i've ever noticed any naked women or men in any newspapers on my worldly travels.

She's had to do a runner with the kids which is so sad, mostly for the children who will undoubtedly be scared and troubled by this with the wonder if mum and dad would ever be civil for their sake,

I hope this is all resolved with a''simple''separation and joint custody of their kids where they remain happy and untroubled.

So Stay safe, respect honorable members of the compound family and try to practice monogamy.

''Right,what am i gonna 'ave for dinner''

Or doom and gloom as is bestowed upon us at this particular junction.

I try to keep away from politics in my blogs as i don't like to upset people but i have to say ''BIG UP''! to
Bim Bam Obama! I never caught the speech live but watched it late last night and despite all the down turning going on it was the exact tonic i think the world needed to feel good about the future. Touching moments when i heard an African man hoping for a start to an end in the famine and neglect of human kind.

Now at last we can all share the thought of a united nation and doesn't it feel good?We feel how we think and i think   that every one in the world will feel a togetherness with everyone on it,In turn, the energy that will radiate from all of us will be too powerful to fail.With a little bit of love thrown in for good measure and the world really is our oyster.

There is the massive statement about Obama being a black man in the whitehouse and making no bones about it i am dead proud of that fact. Slaves built the whitehouse and now a descendant from the slaves lives in it and is the president,a nice story don't you think?moved to another land where your annscesstors built your gaff so you could settle there,sounds perfectly normal and simple if you take away the struggle eh?

I'm glad that our kids,being not at all interested in politics whatsoever can grow up in a world with a good springboard chance of how it should be, we owe that to them.

So,long rein Bim Bam Obama...the world is your oyster and most importantly
the world is with you!


Vice president,

Mervin Etienne

I was getting a bit concerned about not writing a new blog for a good while, trouble is there seems to be nothing to write about that i'd think you'd wanna hear.I've got on with bits and bobs, maybe i'm still in the xmas sludge period like many others (kipper season) I'm sad to see the closure of my favourite juice bar ''sejuice'' and glad that i will still see the staff as i am friends with all of them and those guys know how to party!

I've also enjoyed the jamming sessions i've been to which has just produced another song i've written  called        ''I love Brighton''

It's the first reggae song i've written, the first song of the year and the first song i've written without putting it down on paper, all in the bonce! I'm excited about meeting my brass section this week for the track which i will put on the juke box,on the site once it's recorded so with painting to do i'd better nail it all in one day. It did go down well when i enjoyed performing it solo the day after i head wrote it,at the bees mouth bar so i don't think it will take that long, just organising the supporting vocals and the trumpet,trumbone and sax player, i think my studio will deal with the drums.watch this space!

So all in all a slow but creativley positive start to 2009, 2009!!!, i remember the millenium as though it was just two years ago. I hope you guys are doing ok and your not suffering too bad in this crunch business.I feel inspired now to go home and play an old rolling stone song on the piano ''you cant always get what you want''

Well there's not much more to tell you than that really, unless you want me to babble on about not much,trying to make it entertaining, I saw a man last night, well it was about 1.30 am as i drove along the sea front on my way to a bar to meet some friends and this guy was standing right there on the sea front talking to a young lass with no shirt on! (the lad that is) the roof of my car was flapping in the cold wind and my heaters was on full whack, nice and warm i was but still shuddered when i saw him,,,ooohhh, shuddering now thinking about it.

After getting in at about 3.30am I put the tv on to catch up with the news and promptly fell asleep fully clothed,even with my coat on,legs hanging off the edge of the bed again which plays havoc with ya back, dont know why i didn't do my army crawl up to the pillow, or maybe i do, i think i  thought i wouldn't get too comfy because i've still gott get up to take my clothes off, turn off the tv etc...

Well i'm really gonna go now before i bore myself. take care

Merv

I went into about 30 shops today, looking for a particular gift for a friends birthday and when i asked for it, all but two shop keepers laughed,
Now i consider myself thoughtful and especially when i buy a gift for someone, therefore nothing else would do once i had this gift in mind, hence the 30 shops.

 I finally tracked the gift down and was chuffed but a little concerned about the laughter everytime i asked for it but i'm gut instinctive and i don't feel any different about my choice.   ''It's a back scratcher''!
No hold on, before you laugh she's celebrating her 80th birthday,she's had to have a leg removed so uses a wheel chair now come on guys, back me up here, is it a good prezzie or what?


Shine in 09!

Ah yes, t'was that time of the year again, mistletoe, mulled wine, hold on,i saw no mistletoe this year! no kisses under the green shrub! Well it's been fantastic anyway, seeing all the family on christmas day with four kids under 5 screaming,shouting and running around with no adult saying a dicky bird to them, just how i like xmas day to be.  It was good to see old mates on boxing day too that i've known for 35 years, i even drove to the house i was born in which was nice to sit there for a few minutes remembering old times a little.

Hat's off to the exotic looking girl who i first saw when she helped me with a food   discrepancy about 2 years ago when she was the manager of the gemini bar on the beach.She informed me that she was off to the beach a couple of days ago to go paddle boarding because the sea was flat! Now don't get me wrong i've seen one of those rare occasions when the sea is just dead flat, it truly is a sight to behold, in fact it looks absolutely amazing but the fact was that it was about 6.30pm dark and about 2 degrees that night,made me shiver with just the thought.I was on my pitch in bond street when she passed and i was wearing a t-shirt,sweat shirt, jumper, furry coat, scarf, moonboots and could not take my hands out of my pockets so you can   imagine how cold the sea must have been. To the guys i see walking past my pitch in t-shirt and shorts and the girls in short mini skirts and open chests,YOU MAKE ME SHUDDER! as i stand there trying not to shake with the cold, I've even resorted to standing on a thick piece of cardboard which incidentally works very well in keeping you that much warmer if you stand out all day, try it. Another tip is to rub vaseline all into your hands before you leave your house, it works as a wind protector which helps to not get too cold. All the friends that pass help too because when i kiss them i push my nose up against their cheeks to get their warmth so if any of the girls boyfriends see me, don't worry,i'm not stealng a lingering kiss i'm just keeping my nose warm cause that really gets cold, i was almost tempted to wear a balaclava the other day but somehow i don't think i would have sold anything. Starting to stay lighter longer now folks so in the words of Phil Lynott. ''won't be long till the summer comes''    (lyrics to  ''boys are back in town'')

Take care, keep warm and buy one of my paintings

Merv x

Get yourself a cheese burger with peanut butter in it, sorted!

Lets mend ourselves today, put all your hangups behind you, bury the hatchet, leave the past where it belongs and above all have some courtesy for your children by speaking to your forgotten other half.

Mum & Dad rule ok!

Hello everyone, i'm so happy that the sunday club has been  resumed where i go to a fabulous restaurant in western road Brighton every sunday named 'Orchids'.
Food is fabulous (darling) again i ate crab,(ooh), spicy chicken and other dishes.
Great news is - On Monday 17th they have a new menu and are having a taster evening.
Seriously folks, get yourself down there for the munch your never gonna forget!

Hello everyone, the final amount of money raised is now in and i can confirm that we have all raised just under £200  for the Rocking Horse childrens charity.The suspense is hurting me too but i should have the results and be in touch with the winners tommorow. Told you it would be good odds.

peace

Merv x

Hello everyone, this is it,the winners are about to be announced for the autographed portraits, have your phone on the ready if you entered by text, check your emails if you bought tickets online.

The first number out will have the first choice and there will of coarse be 8 of you lucky people out there,

Do come back to see how much we have all raised for the rocking horse charity after you recieve your painting. Thanks again and good luck!

Merv

Ok folks, today is the last day to send your text messages in to help the rocking horse childrens charity and win an autographed painting   but you may buy with credit card in my shop all over the weekend and on monday before the draw takes place either tuesday or wednesday, depends on what day i can visit the hospital to get the sick kids there to push the button . thank you for the texts and online buyers, particualy the lady in america who bought £40 worth of tickets! i hope your one of our winners, thank you.

good luck to all

Merv

Hi, I thought this month went up to 30 days which is why the closing date for the raffle was to be this thursday, as my text line closes at the end october i'm re-checking to find out if it is still live for one more day which would give you guys more time to get your last minute text ticket in for the grand draw, i'll let you know if we have another day on it and hopefully we'll have the last day to text on friday (halloween)

The winners will then be selected next week, the £2 debit/credit card entries from my shop will still be avaliable all over the weekend and up untill the day before the draw. Do encourage your friends to buy a ticket by text or card, your odds of winning are very good indeed and don't forget your freebie even if you dont!and most importantly, you'll be helping the kids out.

Spread the word

Merv

Hello everyone, this is it!counting down days to find out who will walk away with the autographed portrait of your choice and more importantly how much we  have all raised for  the good of the Rocking Horse childrens charity.

There's just a few days left and the excitment is building so please feel free to text again and buy more tickets, We have not reached our target by a long shot but the show must go on for all you guys who sent your text or bought a ticket online.
What i would like you all to do is encourage all you know to text the word ''NOW'' to 60155  to help this fantastic charity which has been running for 40 years. We really need everyones help on these last days so please help plug the grand draw.

It's been a busy few months putting this all together and i'm sure we all want it to generate some really good money.
Bless all of you who have been part of this event and dont forget your discount for texting.

PS. dont forget Linda Lewis tommorow night 22nd at the Komedia, gardener street Brighton.but your ticket and i'll see you there.

Thanks

Merv  x

 

Hats off to ringo starr as i find it quite amazing that he had a reputation for replying to all his fan mail after all these years.The beatles disbanded a long time ago and although their music should indeed live forever these musicians have a right to retire from entertaining us if they so please.I dont know if he still performs for the public but he has a right to stop doing so if he pleases,especially if he's approaching retirement age of 65.
  I dont agree with   the angry people that still expect him to carry on doing what will always be in his heart. Give the man a break   and be thankful   for what you have signed by him, One of my customers has a house next door to him in America and has tea and buns with the man. She bought a ringo portrait i painted and promised me she would get another signed for me so i could use it to raise more charity funds but i suppose that might not happen now but never say never.
after all she is his friend and he might really dig my painting.

I do however as you know other superstars who have kindly signed for me that are available for you to win when you help the rocking horse charity by texting the word ''NOW'' to 60155. Many people i believe read about this charity event and think   ''that's a good idea, good on him'' and move on but please realise that we need you to actually send that text as you read it. you will also receive a £5 discount on all paintings you may buy in the future which cant be bad, You recieve this after spending just £3 on such a worthy cause. So come on you charitable people.send that text right now and persuade all you know to do the same.

The sick chidren will benefit so much out of your generosity and so will you.
Time is running out for this draw so lets all be proud of each other and i'll be announcing the magical total we raise just after 30th october. i have to say it's surprisingly low at this moment so we need you to do your bit.
thanks once again and lets get to work!

soldier on, Merv

Hey,how ya doing? I got on the train on monday,heading for London all suited and booted to attend a movie premier.The film is called ''BIGGA THAN BEN'' and it's due out on general release this weekend 10th'11th'12th october. I was there because I have an acting role in it.I play a tube worker and was dead chuffed to be given the part out of 60,000,000 hopefuls (not) The lead roles in the film are played by Ben Barnes and Andrei Chadov,lovely blokes and I arrived at covent garden odeon at 6pm, grabbed and ate an Ed's burger and hot footed it in there sitting right at the back so as not to get in any ones way(not really the reason)
It was so i didn't feel claustraphobic when I appeared on the big screen.
Well I gotta tell ya, whenever i came on the screen my body temprature doubled,whoosh, what a feeling. I was picking faults in my self to a degree that I could not take in how I was acting, I'll have to watch it again objectively.

Thats' this weekend,I'm gonna take my lady and a bunch of friends and be ready for some ribbing off them all.I can take it though I think(for my first feature)
Do get yourself down to your local cinema to watch it, I hear it being likened to a kind of train spotting flick (if you enjoyed that film check it out).The after part was good fun too but i'll give you no details of that.nudge nudge

Well that's it I guess, for now there's just one more movie i'm in to come out
''TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG''
where I get the chance to use an accent (yeah maan!rastafari)

ps dont forget Linda Lewis' gig. 22nd october.Komedia Brighton..get tickets HERE

Hello all, Linda Lewis (who incidently is giving her support to the Rocking Horse appeals grand draw)
is coming to my home town of Brighton to perform her awe inspiring songs at the Komedia  in Gardener street on the 22nd october 2008
You can get your tickets HERE. and i'll see ya there!

May all your troubles be little ones!

Merv

Ok folks, there 'aint no secret about my website. All i've had is people saying they like the way it looks' Well i have to tell those who don't  already know that this site cost me £35 only and i built it mysef through templates and you do not have to be a tech head to build yours!

Seriously folks, that's £35 for the site,the name, and the webspace for a whole year!
that's to say that is all i paid since i bought it last christmas!

And i had it bought and up and running live online in just a couple of hours flat.

Now you can get your own website for so little you can afford to build one just to bragg about your shoes.

So if you need to have your own website, go to the button on my site that reads 'terms sms' and you will see a banner, Click on that banner and buy your very own website with shop, forum,,etc,,everything you see on my site, good luck and do let me know the website you build so i can browse it.

Ps..the draw date for my charity raffle is closing in so get your ticket now by texting the word ''NOW''to 60155

Hope you all had a good time down on the beach for Norman Cook's( AKA)Fatboy Slim's big boutique party?
I know i did.
His set kept everyone rocking on till the last second, in particular i liked the visuals that sat along nicely with the pumping beats.Seeing the camera zooming into Norman made us feel even more a part of the rave and the quadraphenia footage made many feel proud to be living in Brighton.
Thank you to all who noticed the posters for the Rocking Horse appeal in and around the stage and bars and sent in a text to help the charity and put yourself into the grand draw to win Norman Cook's/Fatboy Slim's autographed portrait.
As someone pointed out to me before she sent her text in ''i wont get bombarded with offers will i?'' ''absolutely not''
i replied and i'll say it again, no-one will recieve any random text messages so please go ahead and help this great cause by texting the word ''NOW'' to 60155 and dont forget to follow the link to download your free wallpaper of the images of the actual signed portraits once you text.Also remember the other 6 prizes in the same draw including Kylie Minogue, Steve Coogan,Chris Eubanks, Pete Bennett,(big brother, cosmanought)Linda Lewis and Luke Goss.All up for grabs with just one text when you help the Rocking Horse Charity, Lets push this event and raise some good money for the charity that have helped the kids that have  benefited so much over the past 40 years from our donations and participations in events like this one .

Thanks and good luck

merv

 

Hi everyone,been a while since i last wrote to ya,hope your well and keeping fit.
The council knocked on my door a couple of weeks ago with a clip board asking me if i wanted a bike,

I saw no catch so i agreed and two weeks later they phoned me and said ''meet us at the bike shop at 11 am''

Of coarse i turned  up to be told,go inside and pick yourself out a bike for £250!

well i didn't need more persuading and in i went .

I picked a nice black  mountain bike out which they said ''fine'' to and also bought me two locks.

off  i went on my new bike thats so smooth, in fact it's the first 'new'bike i've ever had.
They did this as they want to encourage people to use bikes around our beautifull city of Brighton and thats fine by me.
It's like seeing a return on your council tax but,our council does alot for us here i feel what with all the festivals and stuff they put on for us.''keep up the good work''
Dont forget to get yourself down to your local cinema on october 10th for the new film''Bigga Than Ben''starring Ben Barnes(from prince caspian fame),not only because i have an acting role in it but because it is a funny,enlighting film that i'm sure your gonna enjoy.It has music from Pete Doherty,joe strummer and gear as soundtrack.I made the film two years ago just after i starred in another film which was my first feature length called''too much too young''and i still have not seen either of them but this will be the first time i get to see myself on the big screen ''scary but exciting!
I have my first red carpet premier to attend in the odeon covent garden in london on the 6th october with an after party with the movie big wigs,cast and crew,lets hope i can wangle another gig on the night. Here's the link to the film  ''Biggathanben''

How ya'll doing? As an artist i like to get involved in a few different art forms. one of them is music. I wrote this song at a sad time but it served to help keep me strong. I've a revised version of it now my site.Its in the guest book page. just click on the juke box

If you guys Like it maybe i should consider putting it on a download for you, let me know.

Hope you enjoy it,

Merv

Well folks, the press release is finally being released to the public. As you know the deadline for the charity raffle is 30th october 2008 so come on people please lets try to raise some good money for the Rocking Horse.

I've made it a bit easier now to enter by text! yes all you have to do is text the word,,,,'now'  to 60155 and thats it! you still get your discounts off purchases when you text and so much less hassle for you if you really wanna help and enter the draw for your autographed Kylie Minogue painting. someones gonna have it in october and why shouldn't it be you?

So tell all your pals about it too, I know it's the credit crunch but we dont want any kids suffering for it so dig deep! text cost £3 although you can still buy online with a credit/debit card for just £2

I'm proud of ya all

merv  x

Hi everyone how are ya all doing? lets face it now, the summers all but done. we'll still get thte odd snippit of sun here and there but we may have to all go abroad to get it prolonged, never mind eh.I think the festivals are all closing for the year too and us in brighton have just celebrated our first festival, beach down festival up at devils dyke, unfortunatlely weather has been pants so i dont think it was that happy up there for the inhabitants in their tents,

My friend Hamish was at the reading festival this weekend as was he last year when the carling beer people placed  wristbands on people saying that if they wore it for a year they would get a free crate of carling beer this year! some feat eh? anyway my friend decided to go for this mammoth task of wearing this band for a whole year.

I watched him get dressed up to go out and stuff and he just kept this by now sweaty,grotty old wrist on and it was festering! stank it did. he never took it off and i was always saying to him that he is their most loyal fan. i think it started off green untill it was too dirty to be seen!

This week end was approaching and i congratulated him once more on completing the task and off he went.

He rang me on the sunday and i asked him if he got his crate of beer  ''no'' he said ''they are not sponsering it this year so i didn't get it''  what a bummer, i think he's quite attatched to it now so i think he still has it on!

I therefore would like to launch a campaign to get carling to honour their offer to him and give him his crate of beer.

If you like you can show your support for hamish by signing and leaving a message in the guest book

The free beers for hamish campaign is now on!

cheers

Hello everyone, hope your all well on this blusterous day....well windy out there.

The draw date for the charity raffle to help the Rocking Horse Appeal is the 30th october 2008

so buy your ticket from the online shop and tell all ya pals to too, remember there are no losers in this draw as once you buy your ticket for just £2! you become entitled to 25% off the painting that you buy from £80 and up,thats savings of up to £100 and more.

here's a link to the charity that you are all helping http://www.rockinghorse.org.uk/

Thank you all once again.

merv

I thought it was suppose' to rain today according to the weather man,or was it a woman who told me #? i dunno now but it sure didn't rain here in sunny brighton. If you ever plan to visit brighton but when you look out your window it's glum and raining, chances are it is nice here so make that trip anyway.

Tommorow folks i'm at my kensington gardens gallery some come down and enjoy the fun,i'll be giving a painting away for just one pound in the famous one day raffle!  yes you can choose the painting of your choice and i have a nice selection for you all ,,Jimi Hendrix,Keith Richards,Keith Moon,Prince,Elvis,Madonna,Chaplin,Freddie Mercury,Jim Morrisson,Amy Winehouse,Neat Pete Doherty,Ali, even a nice little earner,,i mean nice little painting of Del Boy to name a few of what someone is going to get tomorrow for just £1.

So hopefully i'll see you all there, have a good weekend,

Merv

Happy Birthday to Sam the Man x

Hi ya'll

I love the wind so went onto the beach today to lap it up, only to get lashed by the rain that came so suddenly.

I took cover in the T4 bus that was on the beach after the party on the beach tour took place sunday gone with bands like n.e.r.d. and ''the streets'' whom i was saddened to have missed. ''dry ya eyes mate''

so to all the camera guys who took me on board to shelter and a chat, Thank you, your female presenter is even more beautiful off the telly!

Anyway i got my good deed in early today,you see i've been consious of a one good deed a day policy, you should try it, well todays good deed i saved a life, not like the entry in my blog titled ''First aid'' or my blog ''runaway child'' no.. this one was the life of a tiny spider who i noticed in my bath while i was taking a shower, it was heading down stream towards the plug hole when i created a damm with my hand,holding it there until the water drained,

It was a tiny little wet ball which i picked up and looked for the slightest movement,he moved his leg slightly and i knew there was hope, tranfering it from hand to hand until dry it started to run up and down my arm where i then placed him outside the door, job done! i had done my good deed for the day and hadn't even left the house!

If you can try to do one good deed a day, it's fun

Peace 

merv

Yesterday i was sitting at my street gallery when this guy came walking past with an electric guitar in his hand. i was a bit bored so i tried to get him to stop and play something ''gis a tune''

i asked, with that he said to me ''no, you can have it'' and gave me this guitar!

chuffed to bits i was at getting this, a nice shiny black one,sounds good too,Thank you to the guy who gave it to me, fits in colour code perfectly with  my piano.

Don't forget to buy your raffle ticket to help the rocking horse appeal from my online shop and

don't let the credit crunch stop you from spending £2 to help sick children

A Kylie Minogue autographed hand painted portrait for £2! Or you  might wanna get the Fatboy Slim one . how 'bout Luke Goss? they're all there for you to choose from so come on folks, dig deep,get your credit cards out and spend your £2 where it will make a difference to kids lives.

Thank you and good luck in the raffle

Catch me tommorrow at my gallery in kensington gardens brighton, i think the sun will be out so see me before you escape to the beach for your dip, I have a new mick jagger painting i've just finished which will be on display for you to purchase tommorrow.

have a funky weekend

Merv  x

I had such a laugh yesterday with you guys.I noticed that alot of people who play the guess game with their partners when they pass my gallery in kensington gardens,sometimes get stuck when it comes to a particular portrait i painted so i decided to offer it for nothing to the first person that tells me who it is.

I did not anticipate however,the 4 to 500 people who passed and gathered to have a guess at winning a painting for free!

The rules were simple,one guess,no clues. almost 500 people tried their skills and failed and the frustration on peoples faces was very watchable and entertaining.

I started packing down for the day when an irish woman arrived with her young daughter. The mother guessed first with the wrong answer and encouraged her daughter to have a go, who at first kept insisting that she did not know.I then encouraged her my self untill her mum said to her. ''well who's your favourite singer''? the girl replied ''i dont know''mika''

Hooray to the girl who guessed it right! and it happens to be her favourite! great when life treats us so nicely eh?

Please help the rocking horse childrens charity by buying a ticket from my online shop for just £2! and even get rewarded. You automatically get entered into the draw where you will recieve an autographed painting of your choice of the stars that i have painted.we have the likes of Steve Coogan,Fatboy Slim,Pete from big brother,Kylie Minogue,Chris(the earl of brighton)Eubanks,Linda Lewis,and Mr Luke Goss.who are now all on site! thanks again folks.

Karma Karma  x

I got on the bus today and put two small paintings,my charger lead and box, on the seat closest the window.

This bloke got on and as he came near me he said ''excuse me'' to sit on the inside seat of me where my charger lead and box and two A4 paintings,one which was still drying. now i understand about considering other passengers have to sit down but as i looked up at him and looked around there was eight seats behind me empty and five in front! now common sense should have made me order him elswhere but i was so flabergastidly lost for words that i just moved so he could get in there and sat in the seat behind where i began to count the empty seats all around the bus.  What's all that about?

I picked up a hitch hiker yesterday. I was just pulling out of my turning when i saw this guy coming towards me hitch hiking. Of coarse i saw about ten cars drive past him and he was quite smartly dressed so i decided to wait for him to approach me to offer him a lift.now i live very near the king alfred centre and this guy was trying to get to the palace pier in a hurry.

I've been in that situation before where i had to get to the palace pier area in a hurry but the buses are not that quick to come along the sea front, well they weren't when i wanted one.and after speed walking i found my thumb had a mind of it's own and up it went,desperatley trying to catch the eyes of the truck drivers and work vans as they passed me by. One van driver did stop and pick me up which is why i thought about doing the same.

The extra frustration is when you can see your destination from the start of your 20 minute walk when you only have 5 minutes to get there. So i picked him up and dropped him off at the pier. he was only in my car for 5 minutes or so but the conversation we had makes me wish him all the best as he has been seperated from his kids since christmas due to re-marriage. good luck mate and never stop trying

merv x

3 cheers for Emily on her 3rd birthday  x

Come on down to kensington gardens Brighton today, where I'll have my gallery set up .

Someone is going to walk away with a painting of their choice at 5pm today for £1. I have amy winehouse, neat pete docherty,hendrix and many more. The famous one day raffle, come and join in

Merv  x

Hi everyone, Another eventful day in brighton for me. I was walking down western road with my gorgeous girlfriend,just crossing the junction of the mad hatter and taj when we've heard a small child of about 2/half years old hysterical and running straight into the road crying for his mummy,He reminded me of the famous image of the Vietnam Napalm Girl     He was a little oriental boy and his mum was nowhere to be seen.

I   motioned to the traffic to stop and stooped to pick him up from the middle of the road and calm him down. He stopped crying when i picked him up and although i was dead worried for him, i had to keep smiling to reasure him everything would be ok which seemed to work, after all i was a total stranger picking him up and bringing him back across the road.

Well, after what seemed like about 5 minutes looking up and down for his mum she eventually turned up, not realising the stress he had just been through. I played down the seriousness of it as not to instill such a bad memory in the childs head and just gave him back to his mum before bidding him farewell.

I   still dont like to see kids on leads though as i do around brighton. you know the type that goes around their wrists?   everytime i see a kid with those on they look embarrassed to be wearing it.

Take care

merv

P.S. this message is for dan, thanks for comment on my song. i've put it back up for you in the guest book button.keep fighting for your little girl.  merv  x

Hi, i wrote to you   five weeks ago   explaining how   i managed to lose £15 by throwing it away by accident (refere to may festival blog)

I explained that when this happened,i would be likely to get it back by finding some money,what goes around and all that, well today it happened,

I was out on my bike for the first time in god knows how long, rusty chain creaking as i pedaled against the wind riding through hove when i slammed on my brakes to pick up a crisp ten pound note!

I almost felt a womans sigh of grief coming towards me as i got to it before her,

thats £5 i yet have to find to get my money back!

check out my new kurt cobaine that i'm just about to put in one of my gallerys.

your fantastic

merv x

It's lovely again. The sun is out and the sea is cooling. I read a message for me suggesting a self portrait.

what d'ya recon? I dont know who would possibly buy it, i mean who would want me on their wall?and could i really spend 2 weeks painting a self portrait and risk having it stuck around me,staring at me. I dunno about that one, maybe you guys would like to see what i look like.

Well if i decide to go ahead, it will just appear in my gallery pages, but of coarse there will only be one done so watch these spaces.

Hope y'all have a wonderfull monday enjoying the sun. come and catch me in the laines this week and kensington gardens on a sundays.

had my first bbq of the summer on the beach last night. cans of beans, cans of asparagus soup, duck spring rolls,sardines and pancakes, unconventional but so good.

Just off to the beach now for my lunch and a bit of that sea breeze, come and join me!

stay cool

merv

well yes i know.The suspense is killing me too.''who else you got coming on''? people are saying to me,well the suspense is killing me too because i cant tell you untill they are all on. there's about three or four more stars to come on now and they are almost here.

Then i can anounce the draw date and we'll be off but there is nothing stopping you from buying your ticket now and entering into this unique raffle, it's for a great cause and you would have secured your chance of getting the autographed painting of your choice!

your patience is a virtue and because of this and the fact that i cant wait to announce the winning raffle tickets, i'm gonna do a free competition right now!

the first one to give me the correct answer to my question wins a jimi hendrix portrait i painted.

answers must be given in my guest book and dont forget to put your email to recieve the painting:

here's the question:

In how many directions can your eyes look? ie looking to the left is one, looking to the right is two and so on

go for it!

merv

Well it's bank holiday again and i hope the weather holds out for ya.

I'll be exhibiting my work once again in the north laines Brighton over the weekend,being in kensington gardens on sunday.

It's a lovely evening now and i'd love to pop out for a cheeky shandy but love it more so when i'm fresh and hangoverless   to visit my beautiful three year old daughter in the morning.

maybe one day i'll put the song i wrote and composed for her up here for you to hear,just a ballad with me playing the piano and singing.

good news also is that i have a movie coming out towards the end of the year. I'd done bits and bobs for the BBC and stuff and theater with shakespeare and the likes but this will be my first feature film i'm acting in. It's called ''bigga than ben'' and you can see a trailer of it on the website   www.biggathanben.com  

Come to mention it, I am acting in another film where i play a character called ''whitey''. the film is called too much too young and you can see a trailer of that on the website www.toomuchtooyoung.com .I'm in the racing screeching car on your left.

Thats about it for now my trusted loyal fans, have a wonderful dinner and a cracking bank holiday. chat soon

Merv x

I found it hard to write to you guys mainly because i thought  to myself, ''how can I top a story like first aid''?
well i cant,so i wont try. At the moment  i'm watching the chelsea man u game and i've placed my second ever bet in the bookies.my first being 20p on ben nevis in the grand national. i think i won about £4.20 , I remember my mum being annoyed that she did not put more on for me, ''god rest her soul''. My friend  who i'm with at his house now is a keen fan of the bookies and i was once told.''never trust a gambler  but he hasn't  betrayed me in the 3 years i've known him so there's your exception.He went in to put a bet on earlier and i thought,why not have a little flutter so i put one pound on chelsea to win 3-2. i stand to win £33 if thats the score so hold tight.
I'm just about to order an indian takeaway,should be ready for half time.

talk to ya soon
merv

ps  go-on the chelsea!

Hello you. I had to use something that i trained to do for the first time today,first aid.

I was required to do a first aid coarse when i graduated as a reflexologist a few years ago and today,instead of finishing off an Amy Winehouse painting i decided to drive to kemp town to put some anti freeze in my car. yes i know what your thinking, ''but merv it was el scorcho today''. yes i know, but it was just something i've been meaning to do for a long time and now i needed it for the cooling effect it has on your car.

Anyhow, off i went,bought my anti freeze and decided to put it in straight away.  

I was   finishing up pouring it and doing the lid up when   i heard a loud crack just behind me,like a coconut cracking on the ground.

Well,i looked round and this old man of about 90 years old had colapsed! right there behind me.i   realized   that the cracking sound was the poor mans head as he landed ,i went to help him up but he was still,no response at all.i   soon realised   that i was in a cpr situation for the first time since my coarse and i struggled to remember what to do,i was supporting his head with my hand at first putting pressure on the very nasty wound on the back of his head and stooped with my head low to listen for breath and watch his chest for movement, no air, no chest movement.

When i looked at his face again it was blue, i had no choice but to give him mouth to mouth.

I blew into his mouth 5 times and done just one handed compressions on his chest, as i went for the lip connection again he breathed deeply and started to move, i got a blanket from my car and made a pillow   that put   pressure on the wound untill the ambulance arrived.

by that time he was joking that he had just had his hair cut and i was joking thank goodness he had fresh breath! actually i wasn't joking about the fresh breath bit but i was glad to be there and i hope he's ok. I am not happy however about forgetting what to do though and with that i shall do a refresher coarse,

that's all for now folks and remember,,brush your teeth, put antifreeze in your car and do a first aid coarse,you never know when you might need it

merv x

Glorious bank holiday here in brighton. There's a market that runs along the the front of the broken down pier, actually its right where my logo picture was taken and it bustles over the weekends. This week end saw the market over the three days and i joined the ranks to display a gallery there of my work.

I set up a hammock across two of the big iron pilons that still remain of the old pier and whiled away the afternoon meeting art lovers, jugglers and tightrope walkers. did any of you see that guy on the tight rope across another two pilons? so good, the dropped baton trick was my favourite with him informing me that it took five years to learn it, another couple of years and he could have been a doctor!

I love my girlfriend

take care

merv x

Hi everybody, May again so it all starts here in brighton. The Brighton festival every may brings acts from all over including street performers who you will bump into as you stroll out on your lunch or shopping trip.

There's plenty to see through the whole month of may here although i have to say that the street performing side of it all has been narrowed down somewhat over the last four years but never the less you should marvel at what you see here, Things are hotting up, as is the sun, the bloke that comes out every saturday morning in his little aircraft is back flying above the west pier doing his usual loop'der'loop tricks to get us in the mood of good 'ol Brighton.

I threw £15 in the dustbin last week, one of those jobbies where you have to double check rubbish you may have had in your hand longer than 3 minutes before eventually throwing it,

well i bought a cuppa for a street trader and was left with the empty sugar packets in my hand together with £15 in cold hard cash,

Through engaging conversation i threw the sugar packets and my 15 smackers. Now there's a bloke who i've seen on a couple of occasions eating out of that same bin, Sad i know but i only hope that he was the one who found it and like what goes around comes around, I expect to find some cash at some point, I'll let you know if and when i do.

Still waiting for all the stars in this first pool to come on board, I'm waiting for the return of my painting from a certain actor in LA so once again your patience will be rewarded if you can bear with me on this task, They are busy but have pledged their support so we just have to wait a little longer.

Pinch,Punch,first day of the month and all that to ya.

merv

Ok folks hope you're all well.Please accept that the stars that have agreed to help me in this fund raising event are very busy. So bear with me for just a little longer before the first six stars are all revealed.

I'm looking forward to introducing them to you so dont forget to keep coming back to check.

You can of course join my mailing list and be alerted when they arrive on my website, either way your all in for a treat and its just a way of saying thank you for you supporting the www.rockinghorse.org.uk charity.

We aim to make this special for everyone involved so thanks again for you purchase of the £2 charity raffle ticket, available now in the online shop

merv x

Congratulations to Imogen who won this weeks one day raffle in kensington gardens with ticket number 578, she chose the bob marley, well done, and to all of those who bought a ticket today thank you, keep it to recieve a discount when you buy off me from my stall in kensington gardens, Have a nice week,

merv x

Well folks i made it to forty and further more i made it through till 10am the morning after my party.

what a good night i had.Thank you to all those who turned up and made it so special and a big thank you to carla who hosted it in her big fantastic house.also to her cool housemates.If it was big brother you'd all be winners.

 I'm still playing catch up with this extra hour malarky but at least it means it's the first day of summer.I'm looking forward to going to the beach with a fishing rod, catching a couple of mackerel and cooking them straight away on the   BBQ with a nice potato salad. last year was great doing that, It was from swimming in the water to being on my plate in 15 minutes and tasted gorgeous, I'm salivating now just thinking of it.

 Burger and chips today.  goce de su comida!

merv x

Hello everyone, Birthdays galore, All over Brighton.Birthday fever and no-ones going to the doctor for it. If it's your birthday then a big fat happy birthday to you.

Yes It's three and a half hours to my 40th and I'm having a party tommorow. The first friend I made when I came to brighton Is hosting It at her house for me. I stopped by yesterday to organise It all and as far as planning goes I told her I had two speakers, She told me she had the decks and that was It!

No fuss just party.  maybe I could become a party planner.

boys II men were at the brighton center tonight, perfect name for them,well done boys oop, I mean men.

Duck feet tommorow people, I think we've got rain In. I'll let you know how my party was If your not there. Have a nice weekend

Merv x

Hi everyone,  I'm so excited about the stars that have agreed to help raise funds for the rocking horse charity by autographing my paintings of them. I'm itching to tell you who I have on board for this but I have to resist simply because of the fact that they are not quite on the site yet but soon folks, soon.

It's such a good cause and you will be rewarded for buying a ticket not only by knowing that you have helped to raise funds for sick children but for the fact that you will recieve a 25% discount on all paintings worth £80 and up.

So Come on people, what are you waiting for? buy your tickets online now and start to make a difference

All the best

Merv

Happy St patricks day to one and all   especially the irish of coarse as i feel i have an infinity with them,i'm expecting to see the whole of brighton shammrocked out tonight with the usual shinannigans going on like the obligatory guiness hats and i'm sure lots of us will be out tonight painting the town green.

have a safe evening and if you see me out, mine's a guiness

drink safely

merv

Cor blimey! 80mph winds,slates coming off roofs.I saw a nice mercedes that had been crushed by falling bricks and slates from rooftops at my end of town just by the town hall in hove, nice to see an old lady getting blown about but laughing her head off, must admit i'm a big wind lover so i think i'll head on down to the beach after   writing to you guys here, i love the big waves crashing in and the spray of the sea on my face, i went to the devils dyke last night after doing some work on my new piece

for those of you who dont know this place it's about a 5-10 minute drive from brighton up into the countryside where you ascend to this point where you can see out to sea as far as the i-can-see and out towards london as far as the i-can-see, in fact you can turn round and see panorammicaly(if there is such a word)as far as the i-can-see, beautiful spot and dead quite when your there,

all i could hear last summer whilst snoozing there was the sheep pulling out the grass 200 yards away, until i was disturbed by this guy on a motorized hang glider buzzing around above  me, so annoying i wished i had my catapult with me

anyhow i was there last night watching the storm coming in, i could see the clouds and lightning in the distance heading towards me,with the   deepened red sky murmuring   on the horizon just under   the thick grey blanket of cloud that   was coming to give us what for.   I was hoping to see the rain lashing down in the distance while i was still dry in the beautiful spot where i was,   It didn't happen.

so off home i then went where i fell asleep fully clothed with my feet hanging off the side of the bed, d'narf do your back in when you do that!

i do hope that none of you suffered any loss or damage in the storm, let us all know in the forum of your experiences

sleep well

merv

ps. dont forget to join my mailing list as it will be well worth your time. takes about ten seconds to join up. and any big announcments and offers to make in the weeks ahead  you will be the first to know, see ya in the list.

Yes it's fast approaching. my 40th,in a matter of weeks now but i'm not fretting, oh no, i'm merely celebrating the fact that i made it to that age,whoo hoo!(thoughts out to hendrix,dean etc etc)so a party is on the cards and i'm looking forward to it, friends from london and my new family of friends right here in perfect brighton that i have become fond of in the two and a half years i've been living here.

and yes,life does get better as you get older,especially mine right here in brighton, i still love it here.i like the fact that when you hear a siren, nine times out of ten it's an ambulance or fire engine and not the police curbing trouble,   you lose your phone and it would get handed in to the nearest restaurant/shop and you would get it back, thats what happened to me,and for all the single guys, there's four women to one bloke here.

perfect pete,winner of big brother or (neat pete) as i like to call him came by to see me today. his new single ''cosmonaut''out now to download so gettcha copy now! an amazing all round talented guy. I met him a couple of years ago before he took the house by storm and i wish him all the best. i'll be downloading his track promptly

listen to it here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apP_9wn2omc

Look out for the signed by him portrait I'll be doing.

May all your troubles be little ones

merv

It was a funny  old day today  with not alot of sunshine and i was set up  in brightons  kensington gardens where i have a range of A4 size paintings which are proving to be very popular amongst you all. the only bad news I heard today was from a couple of cool dudes who didn't see the taxi rank before they parked there and alas they had their car towed away,,sorry lads. they bought an amy winehouse painting from me and i felt like giving it to them but i have to eat.

I didn't spend any money on dinner though, i ate last nights indian, lovely how it taste's so handsome the next day do you not think?

I like the beesmouth in western road and i've just come from there after my after work pint, not everyday i do this but you should have seen what i was pulling today, i looked like ben hur in colour!

walk safe.
merv

well done to dominique who took part in my little raffle to win a small a4 size painting , yes, she won and when she came back she chose a john lennon painting,

Another glorious day today although we all still needed our coats here in sunny brighton.

I   took a lovely drive into the countryside and bought the biggest canvas i have ever bought.It's 2 meters by 1 metre, big and i dont know what or who i'm gonna paint on it yet, any suggestions?? maybe micheal jordan slam dunking i dunno, I may just turn it sideways and start painting the west pier in brighton but it would need a nice big wall to accommodate it.have you got such a wall needing filling?maybe your looking for someone to paint you something big you've always wanted done? you might wanna send me some pictorial ideas. rocky balboa perhaps? you tell me.

you tell me who you want that big on your wall and i'll paint it for you, Happy Holidays!

merv