Justin Pushman
BootsnAll Photojournalist
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A pleasant valley Sunday in the U.K. (I was at a V.W. car festival, it was in a valley, and it was a Sunday – and it was quite pleasant.) |
By a nose, (must be my Italian extraction) I made it into the 60s generation. Although I missed the Moon Landing and was a tad too young to experiment with mind-altering substances in the hippy scene. But I sucked in my first lung full of air while “Honky Tonk Woman” by the Rolling Stones was rocking the music charts on the 6th of August, 1969.
Bumped into Johnny Foreigner for the first time whilst holding an Inter-Rail pass in my grubby hand, and the seed started to germinate.
Sat myself behind a drawing board in London for the next year and a half, making a mess with Magic Markers designing Point of Sale for various food manufacturers.
Then it was south, young man. The Dark Continent… It began in Africa.
Got as far as Cairo before I succumbed to air travel. Our train journey into the desert to Khartoum was scuppered by a passport thief. Nairobi was pulled out of the hat. Completed a big loop through East Africa, arriving back in Kenya some eight months later.
Another desk job… another design company… same city: London.
“I want to go somewhere where no-one speaks English.” My conversation starter over the coffee machine. Hence I found myself trying to negotiate with taxi drivers outside Caracas airport at five in the morning. Learn a language – or never sample the local beer. I didn’t go thirsty! (Thank god for sign language.)
After a grilling at Miami airport:
“Why were you in South America for a year?”
They gave me a three-month visa for the States. I only wanted to get to New York for the cheap ticket back to London, didn’t make much sense to Mr Customs man.
You guessed it… another desk job. But the fools let me back in my old company. Things had moved on; there were these beige boxes called Macintosh’s in the design studio, not a Magic Marker in sight. I could see it going downhill from there.
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Experimenting with facial hair (as you do when you grow up). |
Took two years mind, but finally the endless restarts and pointless screaming at monitors brought it to a head:
“I’m off to Moscow to take the train to Beijing.” It was January! Southeast Asia opened it’s arms to me.
Another gap year. Is there a limit to the number you are allowed?
Today, I find myself in the early stages of running an import business, from contacts I made out in China (ain’t everything made in China?). The Iron curtain is lifting, and it’s show time!
Know anyone who wants to buy embroidered bed linen? Lovely quality!
Click on his name below for links to all of Justin’s BootsnAll articles. Also feel free to email him at justinpush@hotmail.com.
