A view from the Old Sake Shop behind Ueno Park, Tokyo.

I sat in the front of the old Sake Shop behind Ueno park and sketched what I saw. Old buildings, new buildings, loads of criss-crossing power lines and a hedge. I was knackered after walking most of the day and the rest was most welcome.

A small back alley near Minami Shinjuku Station, Tokyo.

My wife asked me why I chose my subject matter - she thought it strange. It's simply about perspective and depth I guess. I walk around and just see angles that appeal. So....no really smart answers really.

Scooters near Harajuku

I just love the scooters in Tokyo - really wacky and over the top. This one was really ugly so I just had to do a quick sketch.

A flyover near Shinjuku, Tokyo

I sat down on a small wall just outside Yoyogi Park. A man came over and started talking to me in pigeon English and I did my best to respond in pigeon Japanese. This was followed by a policeman coming to 'move me on'. When he saw my sketchbook he simply nodded and walked away - the power of the pencil!

An Old Pair of Boat Shoes

Just sat in the sun and sketched an old pair of boat shoes on the grass in front of me. Perfect way to relax!

Here lie the mangled remains!

The bodies of the murdered William Green and Private William Webb lie in the graveyard of St Mary’s church.  Green’s stone is inscribed:  ‘Here lie the mangled remains of poor William Green, an Honest Officer of Government, who in the faithful discharge of his duty was inhumanly murdered by a gang of Smugglers in this Parish September 27th, 1784, aged 37 years.’  Webb’s stone is inscribed:  ‘William Webb, late of the 15th Lt. D’ns who was shot from his horse by a party of Smugglers on 25th Sept.  1784 aged 26 years.  I am not dead but sleepeth here And when the Trumpet Sound I will appear.  Four balls thro’ me Pearced there way.  Hard it was I’d no time to pray.  This stone that here you Do see My comerades Erected for the sake of me.’

There's a great book called The Lawless Coast - Smuggling, Anarchy and Murder in North Norfolk in the 1780s by Neil Holmes (Larks Press, 2008). The book really tells the story of the night both Customs men met their fate. A great read!

The Old Vicarage, Clehonger, Hereford

I spent the weekend with the family at my brothers annual barbeque and we stayed at a fabulous b&b. On the Sunday night the owner prepared a meal to remember. The sketch was whilst drinking a Gin & Tonic and watching the sun go down - a golden moment to savour!