Post 11. Shade in Ibiza.

Sorry I disappeared...
This is where I've been hiding...
Back to life, back to reality...

Post 10. May's Feast.

I'm sitting here bored out of my mind, reflecting on life and wondering what the hell I'm doing or have been doing? Actually... it's been a rather eventful May, been auditioning for drama schools, travelling back and forth to Morocco for work, Ibiza for pleasure, Performing at the October Gallery in London with my wonderful friends and generally enjoying life's tumultuous games.

I will elaborate on said above, just gotta get my groove back.

Love.

Post 9. Hassan Hajjaj.

I met Hassan when I was 15 years old on a flight from Tanger to London, I remember seeing him in the airport with his long dreads and wondering if he was Moroccan, hoping that he was Moroccan. Those were the days that Bob Marley adorned my bedroom walls, now he just adorns my heart. Little did i know (coming from the north) that there were lots of Bob's down south, in fact Essaouira pays tribute to Rasta religion in every way, can't cross a square or turn a corner without hearing/feeling/seeing something Hendrick or Marley.

So we board the flight and guess who i'm sitting next to?... I meet Mr Hajjaj. At the age of 15 I was quite dubious of strangers, no matter how intrigued I was. He was Lovely. He pulled books/postcards and photos from his bag to show me and I remember being so proud and impressed by his work that I hoped he'd keep safe and carry on.

Little did i know that our paths would cross again and again and again.

Everything this guy does, I just love.

Above are pictures from one of his recent collections.

"Hassan Hajjaj's portraits from Marrakech capture the colour and spontaneity of his childhood in Morocco. His sitters – 'not just musicians but the snake charmer, henna girl, bad boy, male belly dancer' – often wear clothes he has designed, standing in spaces totally covered by patterns he has chosen, and the photographs are eventually set in a frame he has constructed."

Post 8. Attention Anne Hathaway.

Took a trip to the Souk to buy my spices and hammam essentials...didn't expect to see Miss Hathaway on the cover of, 'I love garlic, fade out fairness soap'.

Ain't no rules in bandit country.

Brilliant.

Post 7. Time With The Sisters Of Calcutta.

So last week I spent time in my home town of Tangier. Making it a tradition to always visit the sisters  and put some love and effort back into the system. 

These women selflessly give their lives over to aid people in countries worldwide, never knowing how long they stay nor even questioning why they are there. The sisters in Tangier care for babies up to the age of 4yrs, training their mothers on primary aids, nutrition and health, allowing mothers to continue to work. They support women with Cancer, they feed children on the street, offering showers, new clothes and medical assistance. 

When I walked into the room of about twenty children or so, delighted or angry to see me it's always an overwhelming experience, the sisters are flapping about trying to do ten things at once whilst screaming in broken Arabic just to be heard by the kid across the room, she hands me a few little ones to mind, play with and change diapers before lunch is served. This one kid had fallen down some stairs at home and when the sisters received him they were told he had hurt his arm, when they took a closer look they knew it was more serious then just a fall. He sat there teary eyed and trying desperately to catch his breath as he waited to be seen by some kind Spanish Doctors who visit occasionally volunteering their skills. Turned out he broke his arm and a cast was made up, he finally slept. We fed the children, bathed them, put them to bed and disinfected the room ready for the next round. I then made my way downstairs to the little babies, where you lay down and they crawl over to you either looking for some food or just to play. There are so many fulfilling and heartbreaking exchanges made but I just can't imagine my life without knowing the reality of others.

I'm sure I left out endless other duties but these women inspire me and I can't help but dream of sometimes handing my life over too when I see what it is they do. If you ever have the opportunity to visit your local sisters.......do. I can promise you the experience will be rich and maybe inspire you to do that little bit more. 

If ever you find yourself in Tangier and want to put in some hours call Sister Therese Francis before hand on +2129931013 and she will tell you when and where to visit.

Post 6. Casablanca Fashion Week.

So last year I opened the first Casablanca 2012 Fashion Show, I was pleasantly surprised at how organised and fun the experience was. Half of the girls were Moroccan Beauties and the other half were from all over the world. It's such a delight for me to see Morocco catch up and start building these events for their own fashion industry, which is currently being recognised and respected. Morocco is such a colourful and exciting country with so much talent yet to be exposed.

 So the girls in the photo with me were only two of the stunners I met whilst there, the one in the middle is Amina El Allam who was wearing the most gorgeous Missoni one-piece, I clocked that little number out of the corner of my eye and eased my way over, not knowing that the person would turn around and blind me with her beauty. You can find her blog at http://blog.lookbyaminaallam.com. The Beauty on the right is Nora Rida, she won the Elite Model look competition in 2010 and continues to study before she heads off to Europe the start her career as a model. 

I am delighted to say that I will be back on a plane tomorrow to open the 2013 Show. I'm so excited to go back home, see all these lovely ladies and eat some CousCous! I will update you with Pics when I'm back. Peace x

Post 5. Drink Your Greens.

 rock legends AC/DC during their World Tour.

Been away for the last couple of days, London weather has been brutal so escaped to Ibiza for some sun. Ibiza hasn't always been at the top of my list but for some reason I've been less judgemental about it lately, maybe its the salt, maybe its the Berber influence, yes I've been Wiki-ing.

During my time there a Dr Robert Young was introduced to me, found his videos on the importance of juicing, live blood cell analysis and basically watched them all. Occasionally getting paranoid about my health went into overdrive when i tried to compute this foreign information. It all makes sense so... I'm attempting to alkalise my diet as much as possible, I'm also saying that I'm not giving up chocolate but other unnecessary sweet things and bread... yes. The idea is to cleanse your gut and therefor provide a healthy constitution for the rest of your body/blood to do its job. We are alkaline by design and Bobby Young has exercised this for 30 or 40 years. He looks insanely good for his age and is in tip top health.

I've been drinking the pH Miracle Greens for a week now and can't help but notice cravings are down and energy is up. Hmmmmm i persevere and will keep you posted.

Above is a shot i did for HPE clothing.

Post 4. Watership Down.

What i'm reading.....

Post 3. Introducing Louie Banks.

Let me tell you about Louie Banks...aside from the fact that I think he's absolutley amazing, he has shot with the likes of Zandra Rhodes, Diane Pernet and countless others at a mere twenty years old.

We shot for L'official beauty and managed to get done in just one hour... thats the way we like it. Master Don!

I hope to be shooting with him again very soon on our terms, or maybe just another excuse to get creative with this little genius. Yes please.

Post 2. Gielly Green.

I realise I have been living in the dark ages without having things like blogspot, twitter, facebook etc etc....I have now decided to take a little control and update you with my goings on. This will be a slow process until i've got the hang of it so please bare with me. So a little back-cataloguing, this is a viral I shot with my pal director Danny Germain for Gielly Green in Marylebone, London.