Saturday, 31 October 2015

Jack the Ripper by Sir Joshua Francis & The Eccentrics feat. Lord Toby

Good evening! Just thought I would catch you all before you crawl out for your All Hallows' Eve festivities! I have just the thing to get you into the Halloween spirit! Sir Joshua Francis, Lord Toby Jug and The Eccentrics cover of the Screaming Lord Sutch classic "Jack the Ripper"!
Jack the Ripper by Sir Joshua Francis & The Eccentrics featuring Lord Toby Jug is available now, completely free on Soundcloud follow the link and check it out!
Oh, yours truly did the cover for their cover! Enjoy! And Happy Halloween!


Credits:
Written by Clarence Stacy, Charles Stacy, Walter Haggin and Joe Simmons
Produced by Sir Joshua Francis and Richard K Montgomery
Engineered and mixed by Adrian Biggs at Sham Studios
Vocals & Rhythm Guitars - Sir Joshua Francis
Bass - Lord Toby Jug
Horns, Drums, Guitar Solo and Backing Vocals - Richard K Montgomery
Lead Guitar - Steve Reynolds


Join the Eccentric Party of Great Britain Here
© Arfon Jones 2015. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Wednesday, 28 October 2015

Believe it or Not: A Day and an Evening with Richard Wilson

1990 I switched on the small portable telly that I had in my bedroom, keeping the volume down to a bare minimum so, as not to let on that I was secretly watching television on a school night. I left it on BBC 1 as a new sitcom started. It stared the actor that played the doctor in Only When I Laugh playing the part of a man laid off from his job and his attempts at finding  new work and the madcap things that happened to him, I became an instant fan of the show. That actor was Richard Wilson and the programme was of course One Foot in the Grave. Throughout the 1990’s Victor Meldrew and his catchphrase (of which I shall attempt to refrain from using in this post) become a part of British culture and a constant fixture for me. I would constantly re-watch recorded episodes, quote favourite lines and even had the Adesso remix of the theme featuring Eric Idle and Richard Wilson that I would also play continuously! Of all my favourite 90’s sitcoms Red Dwarf, The Brittas Empire and Bottom, this show had an advantage, my parents liked it and so we would all sit down to watch it together downstairs, as a family. But after six series and nine specials latter, writer/creator David Renwick decided to call it a day and killed the character off. I never stopped watching the repeats and with each viewing my opinion of how much of a great actor/comedian Richard Wilson was would be strengthened. I love everything he has done, and remember being delighted when it was announced that he was to be in the new series of Doctor Who. So imagine my thrill at finally having the opportunity to meet the great man this year at the Autographica event in Heathrow and thank him in person for all his great work. As I expected he was a warm, friendly and very funny man and our meeting was the icing on a cake made up of the layers of the before mentioned memories, simpler times and evenings in with my family.
On the way home from the Autographica event I rambled on about how much I would love to see a One Foot in the Grave episode being recorded. Something along the lines of… How fortunate I had been to (eventually) attend a Red Dwarf recording back in 2011 but how sad it was that Rick Mayall’s untimely death in 2014 put an end to the prospect of ever seeing an episode of Bottom being recorded. How much I hoped that The Brittas Empire would return (at the time of writing this there were rumours!) coming back to One Foot in the Grave I underlined my brilliant idea… Seeing that it would never return as a series (with main character being dead and all) how brilliant would it be if Richard Wilson played Victor in a one-man show?

Chatting with Richard Wilson and
Daniel Evans, Sheffield Theatres’ Artistic Director.
One week later, it was announced that Richard Wilson would be playing Victor in a one-man show for one night only at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre on the 23rd October! (If only there was a popular catchphrase that I could use to sum up my disbelief!).
So on the 23rd October; Mrs Jones and I attended ‘An Evening with Richard Wilson’ a special fundraising event organised to raise money for Sheffield Theatres (of which Richard Wilson is Associate Director). He stepped out to a packed house and performed ‘The Trial’ (one of my favourite One Foot in the Grave episodes!) A solo episode that sees Victor on call for jury service trapped at home on a wet day enduring boredom. Having seen this story countless times, seeing him performing dialogue I have committed to memory it was a wonderfully surreal experience. Hearing people all around you laughing at a Yucca plant in a toilet and Toupée in a loaf elevated the story for me. Mr Wilson was brilliant, we had a fantastic time. A Q&A about his career and his most famous character conducted by Artistic Director at Sheffield Theatres, Daniel Evans (who also appeared in the Doctor Who story  ‘The Christmas Invasion) followed after. The script used for the performance sold for £700 in a silent auction with all proceeds going towards the preservation of this wonderful theatre that prides itself on being as they rightly put it, a “thriving cultural landmark in the heart of the city”. The event managed to raise around £17000!
We rounded the evening off at the VIP after show drinks reception and once again had the opportunity to catch up with the great man and tell him how brilliant he is. We had never been to the Crucible Theatre before, perhaps better known as the home of  World Championship snooker. Both Mrs Jones and I were suitably impressed by this magnificent Grade II listed theatre. I can’t stress how much you should visit this place, they have a wide range of performances and pride themselves on making them available for everyone to enjoy. Check out this link and see what’s going on and show your support, we may very well see you there as we fully intend on returning.
So that was the time(s) I met Richard Wilson. To finally have the opportunity to meet him was amazing, but seeing him twice in one year? well I just don’t believe it…

My sincere thanks to everyone at the Crucible for arranging such an amazing evening and Claire Murray for the photos.

© Arfon Jones 2015. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Monday, 26 October 2015

Arfon’s Sponsored ‘Friday the 13th Movie Marathon'

Its almost Children in Need time again and this year pledge night falls on Friday the 13th of November so I have decided to watch all 12 of the Friday the 13th movies (working out at roughly around 18 hours and 31 minutes) in one sitting for charity!
I will post updates on my progress throughout the day on Instagram.  So how about sponsoring me? I want to raise as much as humanly possible for this charity, as every penny raised goes towards helping disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.
I have a donate page on JustGiving a simple, fast and secure method. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity. You can even make a donation with your mobile Text JASO80 £1 to 70070!
Once you have made a donation please share and anchorage others to do the same! Every bit helps! Thanks for your support!

The Movies:
Friday the 13th (1980)
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)
Jason X (2001)
Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
Friday the 13th (2009)

JustGiving - Sponsor me now!

© Arfon Jones 2015. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Wednesday, 21 October 2015

October 21, 2015, 4:29pm...


Pardon my indulgence, I’ve waited some time for this day, the future has finally arrived!
According to my time circuits its 08:29pm here in the UK making it 4:29pm in Hill Valley, California!
That means that at this precise moment in time one of my favourite movie scientists Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown, will have travelled forward from October 26, 1985 to October 21, 2015! Accompanied by his friend Marty McFly and his girlfriend Jennifer in tow "Doc" will have landed his DeLorean time machine ready to put his future altering plan into effect!  Marty will switch places with Marty Jr. in an attempt to save his kids’ future by going into the Café 80’s to meet Griff and telling him “No!” Shenanigans will ensue, several inaccurate future predictions will be made, and a Grays Sports Almanac will be purchased before our heroes return to an alternative 1985! Great Scott! It just dawned on me! From this moment on, all of the Back to the Future movies will be taking place in the past!
Many, many jokes have been made about Back to the Future part 2’s predictions of what the future would be like and I remember speculating what 2015 would be like after first seeing it circa 1990. I wondered what advances we would have made and what my life would be like. I freely admit that I never imagined that on that very day I would be writing about one of my all time favourite movie franchises and ‘uploading’ it to the ‘Internet’ for anyone on the planet to read…

© Arfon Jones 2015. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Tuesday, 20 October 2015

Slaughterhouse Farm #3 Cover unveiled

Helbound Media will be officially launching the eagerly awaited issue 3 of Slaughterhouse Farm at this year’s Cardiff Film and Comic Con! Until then here is a little something to wet your appetites, the cover! As always it’s written by AJ Ballard and Matt Warner, cover and sequential art by me with colours by Steven Denton and lettering by Nikki Foxrobot!

So don’t forget to pick up your issue at Hellbound Media’s stall! Haven’t read issues 1 and 2 yet? No problem! Both issues will also be available at the very same table! Tell them Arfon sent you!

Join the Hellbound Media Facebook page for more upcoming news and updates!








© Arfon Jones 2015. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Arty Farty PoTATEo Party: Mail Order Mutant Potato

Artist Sigmar Polke (1941- 2010) has been heralded as one of the most significant German artists to emerge from the 1960s, making art from a various materials from painting, drawing and film to potatoes, snail juice and meteor dust. The Tate, regard him to be one of the most exciting and experimental artists of the last 50 years describes him as, “ an artist he responded to consumer society, confronted the memory of the Nazi’s, and took hallucinogenic drugs.” They recently had one of his more famous creations on display, his Kartoffelhaus (Potato House) (1967). Once again to quote the Tate, “This potato house grew in Sigmar Polke’s head; now it travels the world. Designed to flat-pack for easy transportation, the potatoes are provided at each port of call. It is not a cage, for no cage ever had one wall missing. This is the house of the ‘dissident dweller’; a temporary shelter from which to view the world, or the circling worlds of Polke’s imagination.” After the exhibition had ended at the Tate one of my creative comrades* Julie Gritten had the incentive to collect all the potatoes left over and put them to good use, namely plant them and give them out to fellow artists for them to do with them as they saw fit. On Sunday we all met up at Julie’s studio and had an 'Arty Farty PoTATEo Party', we showed off our work, discussed art and had some delicious home made Leek and PoTATEo soup, made from the Polke potatoes that Juilie had grown in her garden. I had a fantastic time my sincere thanks to Julie for inviting me.


So what did I bring to the Arty Farty PoTATEo Party? When Royal Mail delivered my potato it had already started to take root and almost seem to resemble a spider. A few weeks later it looked like a scorpion, and as the newer potatoes started to grow and the original potato shriveled up I decided to make it into a Mail Order Mutant potato!  Inside the shipping box (complete with branding and postage labels) we see the mutant potato protecting its ‘eggs’ in the corner, feeding on the 'thank you' note enclosed in the box that reads, “Dear, Julie Thank you for your order. Enclosed is your Mail Order Mutant Potato I hope you will be very happy with it, other Mail Order Mutant vegetables are available please reefer to our catalogue. Many thanks for your custom we hope to deal with you again in the future. Sincerity, Arfon Jones.”


* Creative Comrades: Lisa Hudson, Lindsey Colbourne, Julie GrittenHarri Carmichael and Eleanor Brooks
© Arfon Jones 2015. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Tuesday, 13 October 2015

Ogwen River Festival 2015: The Green Man 'A tribute to Professor David Bellamy OBE'

Has it really been a year since the lastGwyl Ogwen’? Incredible! Once again the Sculpture Circle (very kindly) invited me to join their River Ogwen festival/ exhibition at the Parc Meurig woods in Bethesda and much like last year, the event (very effectively) promoted the natural environment and the creative arts in the Bethesda area. Last year I unveiled ‘The Arm of Swamp-Thing’ this year I displayed The Green Man: A tribute to Professor David Bellamy OBE. The portrait is a painted version of Professor Bellamy’s likeness used in my Bellamy Eco-Postage Labels mounted in a ‘living’ frame made up of branches, moss and plants.
I thought the woods would be the perfect location for such a piece that celebrates my favourite Botanist and not look completely out of place amongst all the fresh foliage and greenery. Once the portrait was hung on a oak tree, I had a look at everyone’s work and was able to catch up with my creative comrades Lisa Hudson, Lindsey Colbourne and Harri Carmichael who had their amazing work on display too! As the day progressed, the curious made their way across the footbridge and along the footpath soaking the tranquillity of the surrounding trees, occasionally stopping to closer examine the works of art dotted throughout the woods and discuss art with other visitors. I had a lovely day there, and it would seem that so did everyone else. I left the festival filled with new ideas and I look forward to the next one (if they will have me) my sincere thanks to Lisa for arranging this wonderful event.





© Arfon Jones 2015. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

Thursday, 8 October 2015

Hello! Is it me you're looking for?

The 'contact' page (located at the top of this page) is now operational and offering you, the public, a plethora of ways to get in touch. Be it by direct e-mail or social networking sites if you have any questions, want to discuss a commission or just say “hello” drop me a line!
Are you on Facebook?
arfon.net’s home from home, aside from keeping me informed of the latest internet fads, Facebook has brought me in contact with hundreds of likeminded, creative people and I am happy to add more! Find me here and see what ‘crazy’ shenanigans I’ve been up to.
Or perhaps you might also consider joining the Arfon Jones Information Club Facebook page? A useful way of keeping up to date with project news and updates. Your support would be greatly appreciated.

If not that how about Twitter?
Aside from informing every one of updates I also use Twitter as the means to wish Mr Gareth 'Gaz Top' Jones a Happy St David’s day each year. Back in the 1980’s Get Fresh and How 2 were firm fixtures in my week and so I was pleased to discover that he had a Twitter page, it just so happens that was on St David’s day so I wished him a “Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus!” ("Happy St David’s day") and have continued to do so every year since 2011. Once you are done following me on my Twitter page check his out and see what he’s up to!
Curiously, on the subject of my Twitter account this year I was confused with another Arfon Jones on Twitter, specifically Arfon Jones of the political party Plaid Cymru. I rarely discuss politics online and I was suddenly Tweeted by a party supporter asking where he could get a supporters badge…  I pointed out that he had the wrong Arfon Jones and that I was in fact the artist and NOT the politician. Mr Jones the politician joined in the conversation telling me that he fancied a career “swoop” (I think he meant swap) and asked if I fancied being “a thorn in the side of the establishment?” I asked him what the hours are like… Its all go on my Twitter account, follow me there I will in all likelihood follow you back! I can’t say fairer than that!

I can also be found on Youtube,
Although I am more of a Youtube viewer I hope to change that in 2016 by uploading more content. Until that happens check out my Customised talking Roland Rat plush toy, Musical Engagement Ring Box and Singing Sparrow Post Box videos…
Have an eBay account? Unlike other creative types that place a ‘donate’ button on their web site I want you to have something for your money so from time to time I place items for sale on eBay. These range from original works of art to all manner of collectables with all proceeds funding my work and creative endeavours. Why not check out my page and see if you can bag yourself a bargain that supports art and creativity in the process?!
Other sites that I frequent, are LinkedIn, even though opinions are divided on this one with some people believing that it’s a good way of maintaining a professional online work profile while others regard it as a waste of time. If you are on there, and a keen supporter of it and you would like to be “Linked-In” you will find my profile here.
I have joined the 21st century and started using a mobile phone to access the Internet and so use Instagram allowing me to post photos as I go about my day, are you on there? Say “hello” and I’m also on Pinterest I find it a rather nice way of sharing and showcasing inspiration with others. Find me there and see if we like the same things!
And last but not least, this site, my since thanks to everyone that regularly comment on my posts I appreciate your interest and support. If this is your first time to this site don’t be shy, say “hello” and thanks for making contact!

© Arfon Jones 2015. All images are copyrighted throughout the world.

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