It's 6.45am on the 13th March, and I'm hunkered down in a semi-inflatable speedboat going like the clappers up the River Thames.
I'm working for Greenpeace today as a video cameraman, and in a few seconds, a bunch of Greenpeace activists are gonna pile off the boat onto a barge housing a crane in front of Big Ben, climb the crane and drop a banner.
Why? because the following day is the Parliamentary vote on replacing our Trident nuclear weapons - all the MP's will file in like the gutless sheep they are, vote for a morally bankrupt public money-pit for 'defence' companies to trough on for the next 50 years, then have the nerve to get all snotty when any other country fancies getting nuked up.
Needless to say, we're not too keen. The banner is the first of a series of actions and protests taking place over the next 48 hours.
I film the activists piling off the boat and beginning their climb...then of course the cops get wind of whats happening and react with some motor boat action of their own. I'll let the video take it from here:
So far so good, job done, clean getaway. You'll notice me filming on the prow of the speedboat as it leaves. What you won't notice is as the boat exits the frame, it jumps over a wave, at which point I fall like a sack of spuds onto the deck and shatter my shinbone on the way down.
The bumpy boatride back to Putney holding onto a busted leg is an experience in agony I really don't want to repeat, or even remember, so I'll fast forward to Charing Cross Hospital and put you right off your dinner with a nice snap of the er, snap.
That's an 'Ilizarov Fixator' holding the various bits of my shinbone together. Both shinbones were broken (tibia and fibula) so I have 8 steel pins driven through my leg and fixed to the frame, along with another steel rod driven into the top of the shinbone.
And yes, it hurts like a total bastard. After two weeks lying in Ward 7 in various states of opiate-moderated torture, I'm now back at base looking at several months in crutches while the thing knits together and maybe one or two more operations to fix the thing properly.
So I'll be using the time to do some more video editing, cleaning my leg spokes (mmm...teeth clenching) and generally wondering what to do next...because I certainly aint gonna be a photographer for a while.
Yikes! Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Posted by: Mark | March 25, 2007 at 06:53 AM
Yikes indeed.
Looks nasty and being out of action must be frustrating.
All the best for a quick recovery
Posted by: Andy | March 26, 2007 at 11:43 AM
Sion,
Your video is just thrilling!!! I showed it to every friend in here and everybody says: "Wow, that's brave!!" (Ok, some said 'insane' instead but...)
Wish a perfect recovery, mate!!!
Posted by: Sergio | March 27, 2007 at 07:51 AM
Damn... that looks painful mate - hope you get better soon and the hospital isn't too boring. Best wishes, Ben
Posted by: Ben Curtis | March 27, 2007 at 05:18 PM
Sion,
Your building quite a portfolio of mashed up self portraits. This one looks extra painful and frustrating but I wish you a speedy and complete recovery. At least you seemed to escape the rozzers.
Posted by: Mark Chilvers | March 28, 2007 at 02:30 PM
I'm sorry to hear of your troubles Sion and I hope you recover completely as soon as possible.
I'm sure you'll emerge from this ordeal with a much stronger spirit in the end.
Let me know if there's anything I can do for you here in the states.
Best regards
Posted by: patrick yen | March 28, 2007 at 04:22 PM
Oouuch! that must have hurt!
Get well soon
Posted by: John | March 30, 2007 at 08:25 AM