Heroes Die by Matthew Stover
I am not sure about this book. It is in a very macho style with excessive focus on prolonged and graphically violent fight scenes interspersed with chauvinistic male/female interaction and little character or background development. If you like your action hard and fast without any guilt then this could be for you. Personally I would have liked to know more about the technology, sociological background and motivation that leads up to this novel.
‘Renowned throughout the land of Ankhana as the Blade of Tyshalle, Caine has killed his share of monarchs and commoners, villains and heroes. He is relentless, unstoppable; simply the best there is at what he does.At home on Earth, Caine is Hari Michaelson, a superstar whose adventures in Ankhana command an audience of billions. Yet he is shackled by a rigid caste society, bound to ignore the grim fact that he kills men on a far-off world for the entertainment of his own planet--and bound to keep his rage in check.But now Michaelson has crossed the line. His estranged wife, Pallas Rill, has mysteriously disappeared in the slums of Ankhana. To save her, he must confront the greatest challenge of his life: a lethal game of cat and mouse with the most treacherous rulers of two worlds…’
Supermen Isaac Asimov collection of sci-fi short stories
An interesting read of some quite different and variable stories. It has been a long time since I have read short stories and I enjoyed the different style and pace that is a necessary part to them.
‘The unique and sometimes powerful stories included in this multi-authored collection of short stories are, as the title suggests, tales of men that could be considered to be supermen. This anthology contains a number of good stories and some excellent ones about human beings that are in some way superior to ourselves. There are 12 tales from some of today’s better known science fiction writers.
'What Rough Beast' by Damon Knight is an excellent story about a man who can twist time and events. He can create wealth, heal the sick, and change the world in an infinite number of ways. This was a very entertaining story with an intriguing concept.
'Worlds To Kill' by Harlan Ellison is a very good story about a man who destroys entire worlds for a living.
'In The Bone' by Gordon R. Dickson tells the intriguing tale of one man searching for new worlds and equipped with the best technology that man can provide. He begins to feel godlike until he meets a technology just little better.
Larry Niven, Poul Anderson, Dean R. Koontz, A. E. van Vogt, Roger Zelazny and Robert Silverberg are some of the other writers that contributed to this above average collection of short stories. I first bought this collection back in the eighties. It sat, for some unknown reason, on my bookshelf collecting dust. Finally, craving some short science fiction stories, I read this book. I found it to be a very enjoyable book. Like any short story collection certain stories are better than others. However, there are enough varied ideas and concepts that everyone should find something that they like in this book. Amazon Reviewer’
The Universe Maker by A.E. Van Vogt
This is another book that I am in two minds about. I found it difficult to have sympathy for Cargill, who seems self serving and chauvinistic (this might be a product of the time when it was written – 1950’s). It also seems that the author skips a little lightly over some of the more complex and far fetched concepts leaving me unsatisfied with his explanations. Nevertheless it is quite an original story line and for that it is worth the effort.
‘Morton Cargill is about to die for a crime he committed 400 yrs. ago. Lieutenant Morton Cargill was brought from the past to be punished for his crime, an accidental murder that took place centuries before. Now he is in a world ruled by the Shadows, an evil people who can pass through solid walls & remain untouched by weapons. But the Shadows are being threatened by the Planiacs, a celestial race that lives high above the earth & to whom the preservation of Cargill's life means their own existence. Now Cargill is hunted by one race, held captive by the other, caught in a deadly clash of minds & machines - in a terrifying world where he doesn't know the rules!’
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Friday, October 13, 2006
More of wot I have read…
Lindbergh - by A. Scott Berg
This was an enthralling account of an amazing person. I felt my feelings for Charles Lindbergh swing from sympathy for the foul treatment he suffered at the hands of the press, through awe at the incredible mental capacity and focus of the man, to distaste at the bullying and self-centred attitude towards people he claimed to care the most about. At the end I had to admit to a misting of the eyes as his end approached. It could be possible to excuse the man his failings when you consider his start in life and I am sure it crossed his mind that this and the family history of mental illness may have had an effect on him. Perhaps it was more by chance that he changed the world in 1927, but it was entirely down to his actions throughout his life that no-one forgot it or him.
Here is an interview with the author talking about his Pulitzer Prize winning book.
‘Charles Lindbergh's solo flight from New York to Paris captured the imagination of a post-war generation hungry for heroes, and cemented an exalted spot for the 25-year-old pilot from Minnesota in the collective American imagination. A. Scott Berg's thorough new biography of the aviator suggests that despite the public scrutiny that accompanied his every move until his death in 1974, Lindbergh remained an intensely private man. The son of ill-matched parents who separated when he was 6, he was painfully shy and emotionally guarded. "Aviation created a brotherhood of casual acquaintances ... in which he felt comfortable," writes Berg with characteristic perceptiveness.
Lindbergh's wife, the writer Anne Morrow Lindbergh, gave Berg unrestricted access to her husband's and her own voluminous personal papers--and he made good use of them to assess both the couple's relationship and their activities. Probably the most startling revelation is a brief but candid discussion of Anne's affair in the late 1950s with a New Jersey doctor, which helped assuage her need to vent emotions in a way her buttoned-up husband found insupportable. (During the horrendous days in 1932 when their 20-month-old son was kidnapped and killed, Berg notes, she never once saw Charles cry.) The biography is solid on all aspects of Lindbergh's career, including his notorious urging that America stay out of World War II; Berg rebuts charges that Lindbergh was a Nazi or a traitor, but rightly criticizes the anti-Semitism latent in some of his speeches. With this book, Berg succeeds in surveying Lindbergh's fascinating life and assessing its historic impact.’ - Amazon.com
This was an enthralling account of an amazing person. I felt my feelings for Charles Lindbergh swing from sympathy for the foul treatment he suffered at the hands of the press, through awe at the incredible mental capacity and focus of the man, to distaste at the bullying and self-centred attitude towards people he claimed to care the most about. At the end I had to admit to a misting of the eyes as his end approached. It could be possible to excuse the man his failings when you consider his start in life and I am sure it crossed his mind that this and the family history of mental illness may have had an effect on him. Perhaps it was more by chance that he changed the world in 1927, but it was entirely down to his actions throughout his life that no-one forgot it or him.
Here is an interview with the author talking about his Pulitzer Prize winning book.
‘Charles Lindbergh's solo flight from New York to Paris captured the imagination of a post-war generation hungry for heroes, and cemented an exalted spot for the 25-year-old pilot from Minnesota in the collective American imagination. A. Scott Berg's thorough new biography of the aviator suggests that despite the public scrutiny that accompanied his every move until his death in 1974, Lindbergh remained an intensely private man. The son of ill-matched parents who separated when he was 6, he was painfully shy and emotionally guarded. "Aviation created a brotherhood of casual acquaintances ... in which he felt comfortable," writes Berg with characteristic perceptiveness.
Lindbergh's wife, the writer Anne Morrow Lindbergh, gave Berg unrestricted access to her husband's and her own voluminous personal papers--and he made good use of them to assess both the couple's relationship and their activities. Probably the most startling revelation is a brief but candid discussion of Anne's affair in the late 1950s with a New Jersey doctor, which helped assuage her need to vent emotions in a way her buttoned-up husband found insupportable. (During the horrendous days in 1932 when their 20-month-old son was kidnapped and killed, Berg notes, she never once saw Charles cry.) The biography is solid on all aspects of Lindbergh's career, including his notorious urging that America stay out of World War II; Berg rebuts charges that Lindbergh was a Nazi or a traitor, but rightly criticizes the anti-Semitism latent in some of his speeches. With this book, Berg succeeds in surveying Lindbergh's fascinating life and assessing its historic impact.’ - Amazon.com
A new set of wheels…
I collected my new company car this week and returned the 'old' Saab with a few thousand more miles on the clock.
I now have a Vauxhall Astra. The model is an Astra Sport Hatch Design 1.6i 16v Easytronic, and it is painted Royal Blue.
This car is two grades lower than I am allowed, but in return for downgrading I get money back and the tax is much lower. And since there is only Sue, who doesn’t drive, and me at home and we don’t have off-street parking, it seemed to make sense to choose something small and practical. The Easytronic gearbox is a variant on the semi-automatic that allows you drive in fully auto (I do a lot of motorway miles) and also allows you to drive as a clutch-less manual. The Design trim level also gives you automatic lighting and automatic windscreen wipers, making life even easier.
I now have a Vauxhall Astra. The model is an Astra Sport Hatch Design 1.6i 16v Easytronic, and it is painted Royal Blue.
This car is two grades lower than I am allowed, but in return for downgrading I get money back and the tax is much lower. And since there is only Sue, who doesn’t drive, and me at home and we don’t have off-street parking, it seemed to make sense to choose something small and practical. The Easytronic gearbox is a variant on the semi-automatic that allows you drive in fully auto (I do a lot of motorway miles) and also allows you to drive as a clutch-less manual. The Design trim level also gives you automatic lighting and automatic windscreen wipers, making life even easier.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Bricks and mortar II...
We have now found another property which we have had an offer accepted on this time in a village called Westcott just west of Dorking in amongst the picturesque Surrey hills in the delightfully named Mole Valley District. The house is a three bedroom mid-terrace house with a reasonable sized kitchen and garden. Westcott is a little village with a church, a bakery, two convenience stores and three pubs. There are several walking and cycling paths out into the countryside, up into the gentle rolling hills, and over to Denbies Vineyard (the largest in the UK). Dorking itself is a bustling town with lovely historic buildings, smuggler’s caves, and antique shops along with all the essentials and with good transport links to London and elsewhere.
A marriage on the border…
We had a couple of days off recently to attend a wedding of one of Sue’s work colleagues at Hexham in Northumberland. The wedding was at Langley Castle a few miles away from the historic town and from Hadrian’s Wall between two families that have historic Scottish and Reiver names. The event was wonderful and in a great setting we ate and drank well and danced traditional rounds to the live folk band before boogying down to the disco.
While we were in the area we had a look around the historic and picturesque town of Hexham with its Abbey and Gaol, and we went down the road to see the impressive Roman ruins at Corbridge.
We broke our return journey in Derbyshire and visited a couple of National Trust houses. The grand Kedleston Hall and the rather spooky Calke Abbey.
While we were in the area we had a look around the historic and picturesque town of Hexham with its Abbey and Gaol, and we went down the road to see the impressive Roman ruins at Corbridge.
We broke our return journey in Derbyshire and visited a couple of National Trust houses. The grand Kedleston Hall and the rather spooky Calke Abbey.
A harvest festival…
Once again the autumn signifies the end of summer and the last warm days as they shorten as we get closer to winter. In the garden it is a time of bounty as we reap what we have sown. An abundance of courgettes, tomatoes and blackberries has led to Sue making more chutneys and jams. We have been pleasantly surprised with this year’s melon, sweet peppers and butternut squash which are large and plentiful. The hot, dry summer that benefited the more exotic crops was not so good for our traditional mainstay and we had a disappointing return from our potatoes and our corn as we were not able to give them enough water.
More of wot I have heard…
Nouvelle Vague, Vol I
…and…
Bande A Part – by Nouvelle Vague
These are a couple of interesting albums by a French outfit that have taken classics and rarities from rock, pop, and punk and given them a twist by reinterpreting them with a Gallic café/club feel.
Damaged – by Lambchop
We have many of this band’s recordings and have seen them live a couple of times, once at a regular gig and once where they performed live accompaniment to a silent film. Kurt Wagner leads a large ensemble cast of musicians with his characteristic soft and raw lyrics that require concentrated effort by the listener to extract the most from them.
Feast of Wire – by Calexico
Gentle and delicate TexMex folk have been a mainstay of the Calexico sound for some years now (though I have read that some fans consider that they have ‘sold out’ with their more mainstream later albums). I have several of this band’s recordings and they rate very highly in my personal chart.
…and…
Bande A Part – by Nouvelle Vague
These are a couple of interesting albums by a French outfit that have taken classics and rarities from rock, pop, and punk and given them a twist by reinterpreting them with a Gallic café/club feel.
Damaged – by Lambchop
We have many of this band’s recordings and have seen them live a couple of times, once at a regular gig and once where they performed live accompaniment to a silent film. Kurt Wagner leads a large ensemble cast of musicians with his characteristic soft and raw lyrics that require concentrated effort by the listener to extract the most from them.
Feast of Wire – by Calexico
Gentle and delicate TexMex folk have been a mainstay of the Calexico sound for some years now (though I have read that some fans consider that they have ‘sold out’ with their more mainstream later albums). I have several of this band’s recordings and they rate very highly in my personal chart.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
More of wot I have read…
The Accidental - by Ali Smith
I found this a very unusual book that doesn’t have an obvious plot narrative but investigates how a stranger affects the lives of a family that is drifting aimlessly when she turns up at their door by accident.
It is a very well written and engaging story the spends most of it’s time exploring the different ways people react to external forces and does a good job of getting you inside the head of the characters.
"Winner of the Whitbread Award for best novel and a finalist for the Man Booker Prize, The Accidental is the virtuoso new novel by the singularly gifted Ali Smith. Jonathan Safran Foer has called her writing “thrilling.” Jeanette Winterson has praised her for her “style, ideas, and punch.” Here, in a novel at once profound, playful, and exhilaratingly inventive, she transfixes us with a portrait of a family unraveled by a mysterious visitor.
Amber—thirtysomething and barefoot—shows up at the door of the Norfolk cottage that the Smarts are renting for the summer. She talks her way in. She tells nothing but lies. She stays for dinner.
Eve Smart, the author of a best-selling series of biographical reconstructions, thinks Amber is a student with whom her husband, Michael, is sleeping. Michael, an English professor, knows only that her car broke down. Daughter Astrid, age twelve, thinks she’s her mother’s friend. Son Magnus, age seventeen, thinks she’s an angel.
As Amber insinuates herself into the family, the questions of who she is and how she’s come to be there drop away. Instead, dazzled by her seeming exoticism, the Smarts begin to examine the accidents of their lives through the searing lens of Amber’s perceptions. When Eve finally banishes her from the cottage, Amber disappears from their sight, but not—they discover when they return home to London—from their profoundly altered lives.
Fearlessly intelligent and written with an irresistible blend of lyricism and whimsy, The Accidental is a tour de force of literary improvisation that explores the nature of truth, the role of chance, and the transformative power of storytelling.
I found this a very unusual book that doesn’t have an obvious plot narrative but investigates how a stranger affects the lives of a family that is drifting aimlessly when she turns up at their door by accident.
It is a very well written and engaging story the spends most of it’s time exploring the different ways people react to external forces and does a good job of getting you inside the head of the characters.
"Winner of the Whitbread Award for best novel and a finalist for the Man Booker Prize, The Accidental is the virtuoso new novel by the singularly gifted Ali Smith. Jonathan Safran Foer has called her writing “thrilling.” Jeanette Winterson has praised her for her “style, ideas, and punch.” Here, in a novel at once profound, playful, and exhilaratingly inventive, she transfixes us with a portrait of a family unraveled by a mysterious visitor.
Amber—thirtysomething and barefoot—shows up at the door of the Norfolk cottage that the Smarts are renting for the summer. She talks her way in. She tells nothing but lies. She stays for dinner.
Eve Smart, the author of a best-selling series of biographical reconstructions, thinks Amber is a student with whom her husband, Michael, is sleeping. Michael, an English professor, knows only that her car broke down. Daughter Astrid, age twelve, thinks she’s her mother’s friend. Son Magnus, age seventeen, thinks she’s an angel.
As Amber insinuates herself into the family, the questions of who she is and how she’s come to be there drop away. Instead, dazzled by her seeming exoticism, the Smarts begin to examine the accidents of their lives through the searing lens of Amber’s perceptions. When Eve finally banishes her from the cottage, Amber disappears from their sight, but not—they discover when they return home to London—from their profoundly altered lives.
Fearlessly intelligent and written with an irresistible blend of lyricism and whimsy, The Accidental is a tour de force of literary improvisation that explores the nature of truth, the role of chance, and the transformative power of storytelling.
More of wot I have heard…
Still - by Lily Allen
A (s)punky girl that sings from the heart on subjects that matter to the younger generation. To us she sounds like a female equivalent of the Streets – Mike Skinner. Catchy tunes and pointed lyrics make this a lively album and a good debut.
Veneer - by Jose Gonzalez
This artist has become popular here in the UK for having a track used in a TV commercial. His style of music is quite and gentle with simple arrangements that although they don’t always leave a strong impression, they do give and fine overall feeling to the album.
Late Night Tales - by Flaming Lips
The Late Night Tales series of albums has a different artist select tracks that mean something to them. It is an insight to the influences on them as well as being an eclectic mix of popular and less well known music. We have collected most of the series so far and have enjoyed them all and this is no exception.
A (s)punky girl that sings from the heart on subjects that matter to the younger generation. To us she sounds like a female equivalent of the Streets – Mike Skinner. Catchy tunes and pointed lyrics make this a lively album and a good debut.
Veneer - by Jose Gonzalez
This artist has become popular here in the UK for having a track used in a TV commercial. His style of music is quite and gentle with simple arrangements that although they don’t always leave a strong impression, they do give and fine overall feeling to the album.
Late Night Tales - by Flaming Lips
The Late Night Tales series of albums has a different artist select tracks that mean something to them. It is an insight to the influences on them as well as being an eclectic mix of popular and less well known music. We have collected most of the series so far and have enjoyed them all and this is no exception.
Bricks and mortar…
We are slowly getting closer to completing on our house sale and are looking at moving out at the end of the month. We went and had another look at the house we were thinking of buying and now that the owner has moved out it looked different empty. We spent quite a while there measuring and looking at what we wanted to change. It didn’t look as attractive proposition as it did before and so we were up until 2am trying to work out in our minds what we really wanted and eventually decided it wasn’t that house, so we pulled out. Now we are looking for somewhere else again. We will stay with friends and family and rent until we find the right one.
Flowers in your hair…
We spent a long weekend camping in a field beside the river Thames with several thousand other people at the annual Womad Festival. Originally set up by Peter Gabriel, the festival has been going now for many years and celebrates WOrld Music, Arts and Dance. I met Sue and her sister Deb after work on Thursday and together we drove up to reading where we joined Dave who had gone on ahead earlier in the day to set up the tents with his brother Steve. The two tents we had were huge and drew admiring/envious glances from other campers. The main event started on Friday and this was when Blonde-Deb and the boys joined us.
The whole event is very inclusive and friendly with families rubbing shoulders with original Hippies, Rastas, Eco-Warriors, and even the occasional Goth. The music is varied, some of it ethnic some alternative and others just plain odd. The music started well with a band from New York called Yerba Buena (Afro-Cuban funk). We also liked Sasla Celtica (Salsa-Scottish folk), the Gotan Project (French electronica), Batucada Sound Machine from New Zealand (a mix of rhythm based music with Afro-Latino feel), Ska Cubano (Jamaican-Cuban crossover), Sunshiners from Vanuatu (giving modern classics a reggae makeover) and Laura Veirs from Seattle (a folksy singer-song writer).
The whole place was a riot of colour, sounds, smells and tastes. All sorts of flags flew with images as varied as red, green and gold marijuana leaves, Che Guevara, rainbow flags and classic peace emblems to pirate Jolly Roger’s. Smoke from incense burners and ‘herbal’ cigarettes drifted out from tepees and coffee tents. We were spoilt for choice with the variety of interesting and tasty food stalls that surrounded the site. If all this was too much you could wander around the multitude of stalls that were sell all manner of interesting items. I was persuaded to buy an acoustic guitar that was particularly cheap (now I only need to learn how to play it).
Apart from a few showers one evening the weather remained very good, in fact it turned that it has been the hottest July on record.
The whole event is very inclusive and friendly with families rubbing shoulders with original Hippies, Rastas, Eco-Warriors, and even the occasional Goth. The music is varied, some of it ethnic some alternative and others just plain odd. The music started well with a band from New York called Yerba Buena (Afro-Cuban funk). We also liked Sasla Celtica (Salsa-Scottish folk), the Gotan Project (French electronica), Batucada Sound Machine from New Zealand (a mix of rhythm based music with Afro-Latino feel), Ska Cubano (Jamaican-Cuban crossover), Sunshiners from Vanuatu (giving modern classics a reggae makeover) and Laura Veirs from Seattle (a folksy singer-song writer).
The whole place was a riot of colour, sounds, smells and tastes. All sorts of flags flew with images as varied as red, green and gold marijuana leaves, Che Guevara, rainbow flags and classic peace emblems to pirate Jolly Roger’s. Smoke from incense burners and ‘herbal’ cigarettes drifted out from tepees and coffee tents. We were spoilt for choice with the variety of interesting and tasty food stalls that surrounded the site. If all this was too much you could wander around the multitude of stalls that were sell all manner of interesting items. I was persuaded to buy an acoustic guitar that was particularly cheap (now I only need to learn how to play it).
Apart from a few showers one evening the weather remained very good, in fact it turned that it has been the hottest July on record.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Infrequent Update...
Again it has been a while since I have written on this blog. Nervous tension has smothered my ability to focus on anything creative. I am now gainfully employed again (though we are still buying Lottery tickets just in case), and I have completed my first month (not an easy prospect after half a year of dossing about). The job is similar to what I was doing before but for a competitor company to my previous employer (making engineering estimates and generating quotations for industrial control and safety systems).
I had to spend some time up at the Manchester office recently for product training and sales meetings so I have been doing quite a lot of travelling and staying in hotels, living out of a suitcase. Not as much fun as it sounds.
The bonus with this new job is that I get a company car (currently a Saab 93), a phone (benefit or not, I’m not so sure) and healthcare, pension and share schemes. The disadvantage is that it is in Bracknell near Reading, which is at least an hour and a half drive away. But since we had already decided to move house, it just means we needed to focus on looking in the area around the new job.
On the subject of the house we but it up for sale and had one viewing in the following week. She subsequently put an offer in and we accepted, so we have sold (subject to contract) and have been spending several weekends driving around various parts of the country looking at houses. It would seem that you don’t get an awful lot for your money these days! We wanted a 2+ bed semi or end of terrace house with a good-sized garden (for the vegetable plot) and not too away far from the countryside. It would seem that we’d need to make some compromises along the way. We found a mid-terraced (middle one of three) house that is no bigger than the one we are leaving, but the garden is much bigger (it is about 200ft long), and it backs onto forestry commission land that stretches for miles. The gate at the bottom of the garden opens out onto a lane that is called the Devils Highway and is a former Roman road that leads off into the middle of the forest.
We have also been getting together with friends and family on a regular basis and, since the weather has been quite good, some of the time has been outdoors. We are in a drought-ban at the moment, which means there are strict water restrictions and we have to be aware of conservation methods. We have to water our vegetables with a watering can rather than a hosepipe or sprinkler, not easy with the size of allotment we have. Good news is that we are starting to eat some of our homegrown bounty and are picking salad, asparagus, rhubarb and now strawberries like they are going out of fashion (Sue has had to make several fruit puddings and jars of jam and chutney with the excess). Good news is that Wimbledon brought the rain with it as usual.
We met up with a couple of our Kiwi friends while they were over in dear old Blighty for holidays and hopefully we will meet others that are due to be up this way later on in the year.
We spent a long weekend in and about Suffolk as groupies to the Aldbury Morris Men as they danced their way from one picturesque village to another (pub to pub). Audiences were good and enjoy the more furious stick dances. The sight of these older men (who should know better) splintering shards out of sturdy lumps of wood is quite a sight. Luckily the ancient and protected art of dancing-with-hankies seems to be exempted from the usual Health and Safety regulations and they don’t need to wear goggles as the wood fragments fly through the air. One of the local hotels that we stayed in was happy for them to take over part of the bar of an evening so that they could play songs and sing into the night for as long as the beer flowed. Sue is trying to convince me that I am not too young to join their merry men, but I am not so sure.
Sue travelled up to Manchester while I was there and we went across to Hull to see Jamie and to help him move into his new digs. Most of the heavy stuff had already been moved by Jamie and a friend of his who has access to a van. Quite cleverly he arrange to stay at the new place to organise the furniture (plug in his computer), while Sue and I stayed at the old place and cleaned it (a serious job). We stayed over in a spare room and he took us out to his local with a couple of friends. After we had bought the shopping and routed an aerial connection up to his room, we left and returned home (the leaving doesn’t get any easier).
I had to spend some time up at the Manchester office recently for product training and sales meetings so I have been doing quite a lot of travelling and staying in hotels, living out of a suitcase. Not as much fun as it sounds.
The bonus with this new job is that I get a company car (currently a Saab 93), a phone (benefit or not, I’m not so sure) and healthcare, pension and share schemes. The disadvantage is that it is in Bracknell near Reading, which is at least an hour and a half drive away. But since we had already decided to move house, it just means we needed to focus on looking in the area around the new job.
On the subject of the house we but it up for sale and had one viewing in the following week. She subsequently put an offer in and we accepted, so we have sold (subject to contract) and have been spending several weekends driving around various parts of the country looking at houses. It would seem that you don’t get an awful lot for your money these days! We wanted a 2+ bed semi or end of terrace house with a good-sized garden (for the vegetable plot) and not too away far from the countryside. It would seem that we’d need to make some compromises along the way. We found a mid-terraced (middle one of three) house that is no bigger than the one we are leaving, but the garden is much bigger (it is about 200ft long), and it backs onto forestry commission land that stretches for miles. The gate at the bottom of the garden opens out onto a lane that is called the Devils Highway and is a former Roman road that leads off into the middle of the forest.
We have also been getting together with friends and family on a regular basis and, since the weather has been quite good, some of the time has been outdoors. We are in a drought-ban at the moment, which means there are strict water restrictions and we have to be aware of conservation methods. We have to water our vegetables with a watering can rather than a hosepipe or sprinkler, not easy with the size of allotment we have. Good news is that we are starting to eat some of our homegrown bounty and are picking salad, asparagus, rhubarb and now strawberries like they are going out of fashion (Sue has had to make several fruit puddings and jars of jam and chutney with the excess). Good news is that Wimbledon brought the rain with it as usual.
We met up with a couple of our Kiwi friends while they were over in dear old Blighty for holidays and hopefully we will meet others that are due to be up this way later on in the year.
We spent a long weekend in and about Suffolk as groupies to the Aldbury Morris Men as they danced their way from one picturesque village to another (pub to pub). Audiences were good and enjoy the more furious stick dances. The sight of these older men (who should know better) splintering shards out of sturdy lumps of wood is quite a sight. Luckily the ancient and protected art of dancing-with-hankies seems to be exempted from the usual Health and Safety regulations and they don’t need to wear goggles as the wood fragments fly through the air. One of the local hotels that we stayed in was happy for them to take over part of the bar of an evening so that they could play songs and sing into the night for as long as the beer flowed. Sue is trying to convince me that I am not too young to join their merry men, but I am not so sure.
Sue travelled up to Manchester while I was there and we went across to Hull to see Jamie and to help him move into his new digs. Most of the heavy stuff had already been moved by Jamie and a friend of his who has access to a van. Quite cleverly he arrange to stay at the new place to organise the furniture (plug in his computer), while Sue and I stayed at the old place and cleaned it (a serious job). We stayed over in a spare room and he took us out to his local with a couple of friends. After we had bought the shopping and routed an aerial connection up to his room, we left and returned home (the leaving doesn’t get any easier).
Friday, April 28, 2006
Home again…
Well, we have been back in the UK for almost one month now and to some extent it is as if we were never away. A round of dinners and parties has welcomed us back and everybody seems well and happy.
We were out in the allotment straight away and were surprised how little work was needed to get it back into order. Seeds are now planted and germinating and we are even enjoying some crops that have over wintered.
One thing that was immediately obvious when we returned was how busy and noisy it is outside our house. After having the peace and quiet in New Zealand it came as a shock to us. So we have decided to move. Our house is on the market with a local estate agent and we have been browsing the internet for possible places to move to.
We want to find a place that gives us an opportunity to enjoy the good life without forcing us to spend the next twenty years paying for it. For the same price as our small two bedroom terrace cottage in the suburbs, we can buy a three bedroom detached house in a rural location with enough land to grow our veggies on. The only thing we need to decide is what rural location to choose. We still want to be accessible to London and our family and friends so we would only be an hour or two away and preferably near a main line station. If we are canny we might be able to get all of this and not have a mortgage to worry about, thus freeing up more time for us to try and capture some of the quality of life we are striving for.
Although my first attempt at a novel was rejected by everyone I sent it to I am trying to be optimistic. I have some new ideas for it and I will make some changes, hopefully improving it, before trying some UK publishers. I also have ideas for several other stories that just require me getting some ‘brain space’ to start on them. Sue and her mother have bought me some more paints and canvasses so that I can also continue with my painting.
We are looking for jobs in the meantime too, as we still need to pay the bills, so Sue has started back at her old job on a part time basis, and I have been knocking on doors of companies in my old industry. I think I will have a few options open to me in the next week or too including my old job. Some of the opportunities are further a field, in Bath, Northampton and Middlesex, and if any of these come to fruition they may dictate which county we end up moving to.
Monday, March 27, 2006
As one summer ends, another begins…
We are counting down the days until we migrate north again. The clocks have gone back in NZ and forward in the UK and the seasons are changing. We have had a great time down under, but we are keen now to return to our own home and catch up with other friends and family that we left behind six months ago. We have learnt a lot from our experience of dropping out for half a year. If we were to do it again we would definitely do some things differently. There are many aspects of the trip we are keen to continue with. I hope to carry on writing and painting, and get back to doing more drawing too. We want to be able to have more of a say in how we work (working smarter – not harder). Time needs to be made for ourselves and others, it is more satisfying to do things you want with those you want to, than not. So if anyone has a job I can do part-time, from home or near to it then let me know.
So it is ‘see you later’ to those we leave behind and ‘hello again’ to those we will see very soon.
So it is ‘see you later’ to those we leave behind and ‘hello again’ to those we will see very soon.
More of wot I have read...
This is an interesting concept for a book. The author revisited the tradition of serialisation of books in newspapers with the backing of The Scotsman. The only downside is that the book seems to lack a storng narative or plotline; probably a side affect of writing the book in short snipets for readers who may not get to read every issue.
44 Scotland Street - by Alexander McCall-Smith
‘When twenty-year-old Pat rents a room from handsome and cocky Bruce, she inherits some delightfully colourful neighbours: Domenica, an insightful and eccentric widow; Bertie, a five-year-old who's mastered both saxophone and Italian; and Irene, his overbearing mother. Pat's new job at a gallery seems easy enough. Her boss spends most of his time drinking coffee in a local café and discussing matters great and small, and Pat's duties are light.
That is until she realizes that one of their paintings may be an undiscovered work of a renowned Scottish artist and she discovers that one of their customers may be in on the secret. Add to this a fancy ball, love triangles and an encounter with a famous crime writer, and you have Alexander McCall Smith's entertaining and witty portrait of Edinburgh society.’
44 Scotland Street - by Alexander McCall-Smith
‘When twenty-year-old Pat rents a room from handsome and cocky Bruce, she inherits some delightfully colourful neighbours: Domenica, an insightful and eccentric widow; Bertie, a five-year-old who's mastered both saxophone and Italian; and Irene, his overbearing mother. Pat's new job at a gallery seems easy enough. Her boss spends most of his time drinking coffee in a local café and discussing matters great and small, and Pat's duties are light.
That is until she realizes that one of their paintings may be an undiscovered work of a renowned Scottish artist and she discovers that one of their customers may be in on the secret. Add to this a fancy ball, love triangles and an encounter with a famous crime writer, and you have Alexander McCall Smith's entertaining and witty portrait of Edinburgh society.’
Sunday, March 12, 2006
And the rain fell...
We took a few days off to visit the Coromandel Peninsular in the Kombi van. We drove to Thames on the first day and stopped for a tour of one of the gold mines that made this town in the 19th century. A guy who looked almost as ancient as the equipment he was talking about gave us a tour. He demonstrated the noisy stamp battery that crushed the ore, talked about the refining process using mercury and then he took us for a short walk through the mine. We had lunch on the Thames coast before wandering around the small town. We stopped the night at a nearby campsite that included a butterfly park (we gave the butterflies a miss, opting for a cold drink in the evening sunshine).
We heard that the weather was predicted to become wet as a low pressure system swept the north of the island so we decided to reorganise our plans to make sure that we fitted in a visit to our favourite tourist site in the region. In the morning we rang the booking line for the Driving Creek Railway and booked a couple of tickets for the morning train. We then drove up the slow coast road, made slower by road works, arriving just as the train driver rang his bell. New Zealand potter Barry Brickell set up the site and to get the raw materials he needed for his work out of the hills he built the original train. Now 30 odd years later the train ride is a booming tourist attraction and the site is constantly being improved with more things to do and see. The valuable work that was been done to retain and expand the native planting has been secured for future generations as Barry Brickell has arranged for the site to be gifted into trust for the community when he dies. Afterwards we had a walk through the small town of Coromandel before buying some local smoked fish and having lunch besides the sea again.
As promised the weather closed in and rain prevented us from visiting some of the gardens we had hoped to see in the area, so we drove on over the hills towards the east coast. The whole region is sparsely populated and has some dramatic scenery from mountain to coast. We eventually pitched up at Mercury Bay’s main town of Whitianga where we managed to get set up before the heavens opened up. We spent much of the evening in the TV room with other tourists who were sheltering with their dinner and bottles of wine.
In the morning the report was still for unsettled weather, so we broke camp and headed further south, this time to another gold mine, this time at Waihi. The Martha mine is opencast rather than underground and is impressive for the big hole in the middle of the town. We saw an interesting video at the mine information centre that explained the process and how the mine was soon to close and would become a large lake. We had a walk around a nearby art gallery full of interesting pictures, sculptures and the like before we decided to carry on with our journey. The heavens opened again and drove us to seek shelter off the road, where we ate our lunch from the shelter of the van next to a river as the rain pounded down. When it let up we continued through Karangahake gorge and turned north head towards Thames again. We passed through farmland as we entered the Hauraki Plains, stopping briefly at a cheese farm shop to sample their wares. We continued on towards the Miranda Holiday Park that was adjacent to the hot pools. It is situated out in the middle of nowhere but it was one of the nicest appointed sites that we had visited, and it did have its own private 38-degree thermal hot pool.
The next day we travelled home up the other coast of the Firth of Thames, opposite the Coromandel and the weather improved as we drove becoming sunny and warm as we arrived home again.
We heard that the weather was predicted to become wet as a low pressure system swept the north of the island so we decided to reorganise our plans to make sure that we fitted in a visit to our favourite tourist site in the region. In the morning we rang the booking line for the Driving Creek Railway and booked a couple of tickets for the morning train. We then drove up the slow coast road, made slower by road works, arriving just as the train driver rang his bell. New Zealand potter Barry Brickell set up the site and to get the raw materials he needed for his work out of the hills he built the original train. Now 30 odd years later the train ride is a booming tourist attraction and the site is constantly being improved with more things to do and see. The valuable work that was been done to retain and expand the native planting has been secured for future generations as Barry Brickell has arranged for the site to be gifted into trust for the community when he dies. Afterwards we had a walk through the small town of Coromandel before buying some local smoked fish and having lunch besides the sea again.
As promised the weather closed in and rain prevented us from visiting some of the gardens we had hoped to see in the area, so we drove on over the hills towards the east coast. The whole region is sparsely populated and has some dramatic scenery from mountain to coast. We eventually pitched up at Mercury Bay’s main town of Whitianga where we managed to get set up before the heavens opened up. We spent much of the evening in the TV room with other tourists who were sheltering with their dinner and bottles of wine.
In the morning the report was still for unsettled weather, so we broke camp and headed further south, this time to another gold mine, this time at Waihi. The Martha mine is opencast rather than underground and is impressive for the big hole in the middle of the town. We saw an interesting video at the mine information centre that explained the process and how the mine was soon to close and would become a large lake. We had a walk around a nearby art gallery full of interesting pictures, sculptures and the like before we decided to carry on with our journey. The heavens opened again and drove us to seek shelter off the road, where we ate our lunch from the shelter of the van next to a river as the rain pounded down. When it let up we continued through Karangahake gorge and turned north head towards Thames again. We passed through farmland as we entered the Hauraki Plains, stopping briefly at a cheese farm shop to sample their wares. We continued on towards the Miranda Holiday Park that was adjacent to the hot pools. It is situated out in the middle of nowhere but it was one of the nicest appointed sites that we had visited, and it did have its own private 38-degree thermal hot pool.
The next day we travelled home up the other coast of the Firth of Thames, opposite the Coromandel and the weather improved as we drove becoming sunny and warm as we arrived home again.
More of wot I have read...
I absolutely devoured this book, a present for my birthday recently. The author’s style was interesting and the use of long and seemingly irrelevant footnotes gave the whole book a feeling that it was more of a historical documentary than a work of fiction. A very engaging story, nicely written…
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - by Susanna Clarke
‘Two magicians shall appear in England. The first shall fear me; the second shall long to behold me…
Centuries ago, when magic still existed in England, the greatest magician of them all was the Raven King. A human child brought up by fairies, the Raven King blended fairy wisdom and human reason to create English magic. Now, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, he is barely more than a legend, and England, with its mad King and its dashing poets, no longer believes in practical magic.
Then the reclusive Mr Norrell of Hurtfew Abbey appears and causes the statues of York Cathedral to speak and move. News spreads of the return of magic to England and, persuaded that he must help the government in the war against Napoleon, Mr Norrell goes to London. There he meets a brilliant young magician and takes him as a pupil. Jonathan Strange is charming, rich and arrogant. Together, they dazzle the country with their feats.
But the partnership soon turns to rivalry. Mr Norrell has never conquered his lifelong habits of secrecy, while Strange will always be attracted to the wildest, most perilous magic. He becomes fascinated by the shadowy figure of the Raven King, and his heedless pursuit of long-forgotten magic threatens, not only his partnership with Norrell, but everything that he holds dear.’
***
A very different book is a new one from Stephen King. I had not read any of his before, although I have seen a few of his films, and I didn’t know what to expect. The idea behind the story is interesting and I suspect it is the main motivation for the writing of the book. I was not so keen on the writing style hear which is obviously action pact and visual as horror stories often are. It was also difficult to become emotionally involved in the characters and the situation and the hugely earth shattering implications of the event were difficult to accept. Nevertheless it will give you something to talk about, even if it is not on your cell phone…
Cell - by Stephen King
‘There’s a reason cell rhymes with hell
On October 1, God is in His heaven, the stock market stands at 10,140, most of the planes are on time, and Clayton Riddell, an artist from Maine, is almost bouncing up Boylston Street in Boston. He’s just landed a comic book deal that might finally enable him to support his family by making art instead of teaching it. He’s already picked up a small (but inexpensive!) gift for his long-suffering wife, and he knows just what he’ll get for his boy Johnny. Why not a little treat for himself? Clay’s feeling good about the future.
That changes in a hurry. The cause of the devastation is a phenomenon that will come to be known as The Pulse, and the delivery method is a cell phone. Everyone’s cell phone. Clay and the few desperate survivors who join him suddenly find themselves in the pitch-black night of civilization’s darkest age, surrounded by chaos, carnage, and a human horde that has been reduced to its basest nature…and then begins to evolve.There’s really no escaping this nightmare. But for Clay, an arrow points home to Maine, and as he and his fellow refugees make their harrowing journey north they begin to see crude signs confirming their direction: KASHWAK=NO-FO. A promise, perhaps. Or a threat…’
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - by Susanna Clarke
‘Two magicians shall appear in England. The first shall fear me; the second shall long to behold me…
Centuries ago, when magic still existed in England, the greatest magician of them all was the Raven King. A human child brought up by fairies, the Raven King blended fairy wisdom and human reason to create English magic. Now, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, he is barely more than a legend, and England, with its mad King and its dashing poets, no longer believes in practical magic.
Then the reclusive Mr Norrell of Hurtfew Abbey appears and causes the statues of York Cathedral to speak and move. News spreads of the return of magic to England and, persuaded that he must help the government in the war against Napoleon, Mr Norrell goes to London. There he meets a brilliant young magician and takes him as a pupil. Jonathan Strange is charming, rich and arrogant. Together, they dazzle the country with their feats.
But the partnership soon turns to rivalry. Mr Norrell has never conquered his lifelong habits of secrecy, while Strange will always be attracted to the wildest, most perilous magic. He becomes fascinated by the shadowy figure of the Raven King, and his heedless pursuit of long-forgotten magic threatens, not only his partnership with Norrell, but everything that he holds dear.’
***
A very different book is a new one from Stephen King. I had not read any of his before, although I have seen a few of his films, and I didn’t know what to expect. The idea behind the story is interesting and I suspect it is the main motivation for the writing of the book. I was not so keen on the writing style hear which is obviously action pact and visual as horror stories often are. It was also difficult to become emotionally involved in the characters and the situation and the hugely earth shattering implications of the event were difficult to accept. Nevertheless it will give you something to talk about, even if it is not on your cell phone…
Cell - by Stephen King
‘There’s a reason cell rhymes with hell
On October 1, God is in His heaven, the stock market stands at 10,140, most of the planes are on time, and Clayton Riddell, an artist from Maine, is almost bouncing up Boylston Street in Boston. He’s just landed a comic book deal that might finally enable him to support his family by making art instead of teaching it. He’s already picked up a small (but inexpensive!) gift for his long-suffering wife, and he knows just what he’ll get for his boy Johnny. Why not a little treat for himself? Clay’s feeling good about the future.
That changes in a hurry. The cause of the devastation is a phenomenon that will come to be known as The Pulse, and the delivery method is a cell phone. Everyone’s cell phone. Clay and the few desperate survivors who join him suddenly find themselves in the pitch-black night of civilization’s darkest age, surrounded by chaos, carnage, and a human horde that has been reduced to its basest nature…and then begins to evolve.There’s really no escaping this nightmare. But for Clay, an arrow points home to Maine, and as he and his fellow refugees make their harrowing journey north they begin to see crude signs confirming their direction: KASHWAK=NO-FO. A promise, perhaps. Or a threat…’
Sunday, February 26, 2006
In the kitchen...
Everyone here at Fylde Fields has been working very hard on new products for the shop and markets. Sue especially has been cooking up a storm creating new chutneys, relishes, jams and sauces out of the various crops we have been harvesting.
Since all of the olive oil has sold out and the new crop is not due to be harvested for a couple of months more, my folks have wanted other products to sell at the markets and from the shop.
We have a large range now of familiar and more unusual combinations, all of which we have sampled and enjoyed. The produce is mostly grown in our own garden our sourced locally wherever possible. I personally like the Tomato & Passionfruit Jam, Cucumber & Mint Chutney, Ploughman’s Chutney, and the Diavolo Hot & Spicy Plum Sauce.
Yum yum…
Since all of the olive oil has sold out and the new crop is not due to be harvested for a couple of months more, my folks have wanted other products to sell at the markets and from the shop.
We have a large range now of familiar and more unusual combinations, all of which we have sampled and enjoyed. The produce is mostly grown in our own garden our sourced locally wherever possible. I personally like the Tomato & Passionfruit Jam, Cucumber & Mint Chutney, Ploughman’s Chutney, and the Diavolo Hot & Spicy Plum Sauce.
Yum yum…
More of wot I have read...
I have read a couple more of the Diskworld series of books that I am so fond of. These are written much as the all of the others and there are many ‘in jokes’ for the faithful, without distracting from the stand-alone nature of the books. More of the same and just as good as all of them…
Going Postal – by Terry Pratchett
‘Moist von Lipwig is a con artist… …and a fraud and a man faced with a life choice: be hanged, or put Ankh-Morpork’s ailing postal service back on its feet.
It’s a tough decision.
But he’s got to see that the mail gets through, come rain, hail, sleet, dogs, the Post Office Worker’s Friendly and Benevolent Society, the evil chairman of the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company, and a midnight killer.
Getting a date with Adora Bell Dearheart would be nice, too.’
THUD! – by Terry Pratchett
‘It's a game of Trolls and Dwarfs where the player must take both sides to win...
It's the noise a troll club makes when crushing in a dwarf skull, or when a dwarfish axe cleaves a trollish cranium...
It's the unsettling sound of history about to repeat itself ... THUD!’
***
I have been reading many books on history for background research into the Fencible soldiers of New Zealand. All very interesting stuff, but a bit dry at times. Sue got me the next book out from library on a whim, and I found it very entertaining both from a story point of view and from its construction. Very well worth seeking out…
The London Pigeon Wars – by Patrick Neate
‘Gunnersbury claims that the hostilities were commenced at the battle of Trafalgar. But the verity is that Trafalgar was just a skirmish, a starling-tempered flare-up of pointed beaks and posturing. Really, for everybirdy, the war began with its utterance, and that was later, after the murder of Brixton 23 above the Acre Lane Sainsbury’s.
The London pigeons are at war. They’re not sure what they’re fighting about. It could be politics or personality or territory or religion or maybe the ‘unilluminable nik’ called Murray?
Down on the ground, a gang of twentysomethings are facing up to the disappointments of adulthood: while their peers seem ‘so good at London’. These guys… umm… aren’t. The hatmaker can barely sell a hatpin, the IT whiz-kid’s gone bust, and the TV micro-celeb’s continually being stopped in the streets – mistaken for someone else. But then Murray comes into their midst. And he’s different…’
***
I have read this biography for more research and was taken with the sad, desperate story of this little known New Zealand heroine.
Jean Batten the Garbo of the skies – by Ian Mackersey
‘Jean Batten was on of the great aviation megastars of the 1930s. Her spectacular flights ranked with those of Britain’s Amy Johnson and America’s Amelia Earhart. Yet, despite her brilliance as a pilot, she remained the least well known of them all. For the dentist’s daughter from New Zealand built an impregnable wall around her private life – which was dominated, though few ever knew it, by the formidable influence of her mother.
Drawing on secret memoirs found after Jean Batten’s death and on hundreds of interviews with people who knew her, this biography of Jean’s sad and elusive life explodes the enduring myths of happiness and perfection that she created for herself. It also finally solves the mystery of her bizarre and lonely end. The real Jean Batten emerges as a fascinating woman, who combined bravery and ruthlessness with the stunning and seductive beauty she used so effectively to fulfil her great ambitions.’
Going Postal – by Terry Pratchett
‘Moist von Lipwig is a con artist… …and a fraud and a man faced with a life choice: be hanged, or put Ankh-Morpork’s ailing postal service back on its feet.
It’s a tough decision.
But he’s got to see that the mail gets through, come rain, hail, sleet, dogs, the Post Office Worker’s Friendly and Benevolent Society, the evil chairman of the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company, and a midnight killer.
Getting a date with Adora Bell Dearheart would be nice, too.’
THUD! – by Terry Pratchett
‘It's a game of Trolls and Dwarfs where the player must take both sides to win...
It's the noise a troll club makes when crushing in a dwarf skull, or when a dwarfish axe cleaves a trollish cranium...
It's the unsettling sound of history about to repeat itself ... THUD!’
***
I have been reading many books on history for background research into the Fencible soldiers of New Zealand. All very interesting stuff, but a bit dry at times. Sue got me the next book out from library on a whim, and I found it very entertaining both from a story point of view and from its construction. Very well worth seeking out…
The London Pigeon Wars – by Patrick Neate
‘Gunnersbury claims that the hostilities were commenced at the battle of Trafalgar. But the verity is that Trafalgar was just a skirmish, a starling-tempered flare-up of pointed beaks and posturing. Really, for everybirdy, the war began with its utterance, and that was later, after the murder of Brixton 23 above the Acre Lane Sainsbury’s.
The London pigeons are at war. They’re not sure what they’re fighting about. It could be politics or personality or territory or religion or maybe the ‘unilluminable nik’ called Murray?
Down on the ground, a gang of twentysomethings are facing up to the disappointments of adulthood: while their peers seem ‘so good at London’. These guys… umm… aren’t. The hatmaker can barely sell a hatpin, the IT whiz-kid’s gone bust, and the TV micro-celeb’s continually being stopped in the streets – mistaken for someone else. But then Murray comes into their midst. And he’s different…’
***
I have read this biography for more research and was taken with the sad, desperate story of this little known New Zealand heroine.
Jean Batten the Garbo of the skies – by Ian Mackersey
‘Jean Batten was on of the great aviation megastars of the 1930s. Her spectacular flights ranked with those of Britain’s Amy Johnson and America’s Amelia Earhart. Yet, despite her brilliance as a pilot, she remained the least well known of them all. For the dentist’s daughter from New Zealand built an impregnable wall around her private life – which was dominated, though few ever knew it, by the formidable influence of her mother.
Drawing on secret memoirs found after Jean Batten’s death and on hundreds of interviews with people who knew her, this biography of Jean’s sad and elusive life explodes the enduring myths of happiness and perfection that she created for herself. It also finally solves the mystery of her bizarre and lonely end. The real Jean Batten emerges as a fascinating woman, who combined bravery and ruthlessness with the stunning and seductive beauty she used so effectively to fulfil her great ambitions.’
Island life...
I had never been to Waiheke Island before and so after Sue had been earlier on in the year we decided to take a short break out their with my folks. The island is only an hour away from Auckland if you take the slow, and cheaper, vehicle ferry from Half-moon Bay or 35 minutes from Downtown on the passenger ferry. We took Dubbin, our 1974 VW Kombi with us so that we could tour the island in style. We rented a friends holiday home at Onetangi and we were settled in by midday and down by the beach enjoying lunch and a drink in the sunshine watching the waves gently roll in.
We toured the entire island seeing the Stony Batter rock outcrops and old WWII gun emplacements, visiting Olive Groves and Wineries to sample their wares. We took lunches with is in our van and stopped a many of the glorious and tranquil bays to eat them as we watched the scenery and wildlife. We went and a couple of walks through the bush and Sue and I were delighted to see some of the rarer bird life such as the Morepork owl, the huge Wood Pigeons, Tui songbirds and the charming little Fan-Tails that followed us through the woods chatting to us all the way. We saw some of the art that the island is well known for, attracting as it does a variety of colourful ‘artists’. Dubbin was quite a hit as we pottered around the island.
We had a nice break in the sunshine, eating a drinking too much again. Sue will miss the daily swims in the clear blue water.
We toured the entire island seeing the Stony Batter rock outcrops and old WWII gun emplacements, visiting Olive Groves and Wineries to sample their wares. We took lunches with is in our van and stopped a many of the glorious and tranquil bays to eat them as we watched the scenery and wildlife. We went and a couple of walks through the bush and Sue and I were delighted to see some of the rarer bird life such as the Morepork owl, the huge Wood Pigeons, Tui songbirds and the charming little Fan-Tails that followed us through the woods chatting to us all the way. We saw some of the art that the island is well known for, attracting as it does a variety of colourful ‘artists’. Dubbin was quite a hit as we pottered around the island.
We had a nice break in the sunshine, eating a drinking too much again. Sue will miss the daily swims in the clear blue water.
Taking to the rails...
For my birthday treat this year Sue and I went on a train journey through New Zealand on the Tranz Scenic Rail network. They have three tourist routes through the North and South Islands, each different and spectacular in its own way.
The Overlander took us from near Auckland down the North Island to Wellington and takes in the Raurimu Spiral as it climbs up onto the volcanic plateau through the National Park and past the volcanic cones of Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro. The scenery changes again as it crosses the Rangitikei River with its deep sided gorges and towering bridges. Later the tracks run beside the coast providing views of Kapiti Island and glimpses of the South Island in the distance before it runs through a long tunnel and into Wellington. Don’t expect the trains to run on schedule. We were delayed for a couple of hours with various problems including a tree on the line.
Wellington is one of our favourite New Zealand cities and although our stay was short we were not disappointed this time either. We stayed in the Shepard’s Arms Hotel on the pretty Tinakori Road not far from the Botanical Gardens. The hotel was reasonable and had all we needed (accept a plug for the bath) and looked quaint, based as it was on the original hotel of the same name that was established in 1870. The next morning we strolled down to the Parliament Buildings and took the very interesting free tour around them before having a quick look at the delightful Old St Paul’s (a weeding practice stopped us from spending more time here). We wandered around the waterfront and had lunch at a rustic food hall at the Wellington Market. We spent a good few hours in the Te Papa museum particularly enjoying the Golden Days, Passports and New Zealand in Bloom exhibitions.
We took the ferry across to the South Island and joined the TranzCoastal train at Picton bound for Christchurch. As the name suggests this route took us mainly down the east coast of the South Island after cutting through the wine-growing region of Marlborough. All of the trains have an exposed viewing area to allow a better opportunity to take photos without the interference of the glass windows in the other carriages. Running so close to the sea was a breezy experience and we had to come back inside for a break and to clean the salt rind off our glasses.
We arrived at Christchurch later in the day and walked to our Best Western Motel in Riccarton, near Hagley Park. We had been given vouchers for this chain of motels and we were very impressed with the facilities and service that we received at the Annabelle Court on Riccarton Road. We had a few of days here in the Garden City, although one of those would be taken up with our TranzAlpine excursion. We explored the beautiful Botanical Gardens as we walked through towards the centre of town. Worcester Boulevard with the tram, entertainers and Arts Centre Weekend Market were lovely, and throughout the small city everything looked enticing. The Cathedral Square with its market, the Avon River and the punts. We ate in New Regent Street looking at the faded glamour of the terraced buildings and pastel colours. We took a bus out to the Mona Vale Gardens, which were nice (though we were put off by constantly stumbling over various wedding parties). I had been given tickets to see a gig that night as a birthday present, so before the event we returned to New Regent Street and ate a fantastic evening meal at the Six Chairs Missing restaurant. The tickets were to see Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy at the Creation club at 8pm. We arrived a little early, but the doors didn’t open until around 9pm and then we had more than an hour until after the support act finished until the main act came on. Needless to say, after a long day walking around the town, we were starting to flag. As we had an early start the next day we left the club before the gig finished. Christchurch at night is a very different place full of drunken yobs, not attractive at all.
We took the day return excursion on the TranzAlpine from Christchurch on the east coast to Greymouth on the west, and back again. On the way the train runs across the wide-open Canterbury Plains before winding its way through the Southern Alps up to Arthur’s Pass over more dramatic river gorges in the shadow of the tallest mountains in the country. Through the 8-kilometre tunnel from the dry and arid plains to the wet rainforest of the west coast, the train journeyed down to Greymouth. After a short break we returned again to Christchurch. All of the way on each train we had most entertaining and informative commentary from the crew pointing out places of interest as we passed them by. Out of all of the trains the TranzApline is the biggest and most popular by far, next was the TranzCoastal and lastly the long Overlander journey.
We returned the way we came with an evening in Wellington where we walked through the Botanical Gardens and took the Cable Car down into town where we ate on the fashionable heart of town.
The journey was very interest and we saw some amazing scenery that you wouldn’t see by flying or driving, even so we were glad to step off the train at the end of it. We still think Wellington is our favourite city, but Christchurch is not too far behind.
The Overlander took us from near Auckland down the North Island to Wellington and takes in the Raurimu Spiral as it climbs up onto the volcanic plateau through the National Park and past the volcanic cones of Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro. The scenery changes again as it crosses the Rangitikei River with its deep sided gorges and towering bridges. Later the tracks run beside the coast providing views of Kapiti Island and glimpses of the South Island in the distance before it runs through a long tunnel and into Wellington. Don’t expect the trains to run on schedule. We were delayed for a couple of hours with various problems including a tree on the line.
Wellington is one of our favourite New Zealand cities and although our stay was short we were not disappointed this time either. We stayed in the Shepard’s Arms Hotel on the pretty Tinakori Road not far from the Botanical Gardens. The hotel was reasonable and had all we needed (accept a plug for the bath) and looked quaint, based as it was on the original hotel of the same name that was established in 1870. The next morning we strolled down to the Parliament Buildings and took the very interesting free tour around them before having a quick look at the delightful Old St Paul’s (a weeding practice stopped us from spending more time here). We wandered around the waterfront and had lunch at a rustic food hall at the Wellington Market. We spent a good few hours in the Te Papa museum particularly enjoying the Golden Days, Passports and New Zealand in Bloom exhibitions.
We took the ferry across to the South Island and joined the TranzCoastal train at Picton bound for Christchurch. As the name suggests this route took us mainly down the east coast of the South Island after cutting through the wine-growing region of Marlborough. All of the trains have an exposed viewing area to allow a better opportunity to take photos without the interference of the glass windows in the other carriages. Running so close to the sea was a breezy experience and we had to come back inside for a break and to clean the salt rind off our glasses.
We arrived at Christchurch later in the day and walked to our Best Western Motel in Riccarton, near Hagley Park. We had been given vouchers for this chain of motels and we were very impressed with the facilities and service that we received at the Annabelle Court on Riccarton Road. We had a few of days here in the Garden City, although one of those would be taken up with our TranzAlpine excursion. We explored the beautiful Botanical Gardens as we walked through towards the centre of town. Worcester Boulevard with the tram, entertainers and Arts Centre Weekend Market were lovely, and throughout the small city everything looked enticing. The Cathedral Square with its market, the Avon River and the punts. We ate in New Regent Street looking at the faded glamour of the terraced buildings and pastel colours. We took a bus out to the Mona Vale Gardens, which were nice (though we were put off by constantly stumbling over various wedding parties). I had been given tickets to see a gig that night as a birthday present, so before the event we returned to New Regent Street and ate a fantastic evening meal at the Six Chairs Missing restaurant. The tickets were to see Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy at the Creation club at 8pm. We arrived a little early, but the doors didn’t open until around 9pm and then we had more than an hour until after the support act finished until the main act came on. Needless to say, after a long day walking around the town, we were starting to flag. As we had an early start the next day we left the club before the gig finished. Christchurch at night is a very different place full of drunken yobs, not attractive at all.
We took the day return excursion on the TranzAlpine from Christchurch on the east coast to Greymouth on the west, and back again. On the way the train runs across the wide-open Canterbury Plains before winding its way through the Southern Alps up to Arthur’s Pass over more dramatic river gorges in the shadow of the tallest mountains in the country. Through the 8-kilometre tunnel from the dry and arid plains to the wet rainforest of the west coast, the train journeyed down to Greymouth. After a short break we returned again to Christchurch. All of the way on each train we had most entertaining and informative commentary from the crew pointing out places of interest as we passed them by. Out of all of the trains the TranzApline is the biggest and most popular by far, next was the TranzCoastal and lastly the long Overlander journey.
We returned the way we came with an evening in Wellington where we walked through the Botanical Gardens and took the Cable Car down into town where we ate on the fashionable heart of town.
The journey was very interest and we saw some amazing scenery that you wouldn’t see by flying or driving, even so we were glad to step off the train at the end of it. We still think Wellington is our favourite city, but Christchurch is not too far behind.
Writer's cramp...
Although the Blog has not been updated as frequently as it used to be I have still been writing. I have actually finnished my first novel to a stage where I have been happy to send it off to several publishers for their comments. So fingers crossed.
Monday, December 19, 2005
The Far North...
Our first ‘holiday’ away in NZ was to northland for a few days. We travelled up in our camper van, Dubbin, and stayed in Kamo (the campsites are virtually empty in spring and so we had no trouble with space or facilities).
The next day we travelled up to the Bay of Islands where we stopped at Paihia and took the ferry across to Russel, the first capital of New Zealand. Here we had a look around the lovely small town and stopped for lunch looking out across the bay. When we returned we travelled the short distance north to Waitangi, the site of the Treaty between the native Maori people and the English government.
The weather started to become more unsettled as we travelled on to Keri-Keri, where some of the country’s oldest standing buildings are to be found. The Stone Store and Kemp House are part of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, which allows free access to National Trust members from the UK (as long as you remember to take your card).
We continued on up the coast until we teach Kaitia where we contacted Nick and got directions to their place. Nick is an old friend from when I went to school here in NZ, and he lives in an old converted country farmhouse with Carol and their eight children, the youngest having been born only a few months earlier.
We spent the weekend here and joined in with the family activities around the home, walked up into the hills and bush, played football, and fished for eels in the river. They have a wonderful family atmosphere and everyone pulls together sharing chores and responsibilities. Carol is a superb home keeper and teacher and Nick can make just about anything with his hands. We had a lovely time and we arranged to visit them again as soon as we could.
After leaving our friends we travelled down to the beautiful Hokianga harbour where we paused to admire the stunning scenery. From there we entered the primeval Waipoua forest to camp the night at the DOC site. The next day we walked to visit some of the magnificent Kauri trees before continuing on our way.
Our last stop was at a coastal campsite at the Mangawhai Heads where there a large spectacular surf beaches.
We had a great break, even if it was too short.
The next day we travelled up to the Bay of Islands where we stopped at Paihia and took the ferry across to Russel, the first capital of New Zealand. Here we had a look around the lovely small town and stopped for lunch looking out across the bay. When we returned we travelled the short distance north to Waitangi, the site of the Treaty between the native Maori people and the English government.
The weather started to become more unsettled as we travelled on to Keri-Keri, where some of the country’s oldest standing buildings are to be found. The Stone Store and Kemp House are part of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, which allows free access to National Trust members from the UK (as long as you remember to take your card).
We continued on up the coast until we teach Kaitia where we contacted Nick and got directions to their place. Nick is an old friend from when I went to school here in NZ, and he lives in an old converted country farmhouse with Carol and their eight children, the youngest having been born only a few months earlier.
We spent the weekend here and joined in with the family activities around the home, walked up into the hills and bush, played football, and fished for eels in the river. They have a wonderful family atmosphere and everyone pulls together sharing chores and responsibilities. Carol is a superb home keeper and teacher and Nick can make just about anything with his hands. We had a lovely time and we arranged to visit them again as soon as we could.
After leaving our friends we travelled down to the beautiful Hokianga harbour where we paused to admire the stunning scenery. From there we entered the primeval Waipoua forest to camp the night at the DOC site. The next day we walked to visit some of the magnificent Kauri trees before continuing on our way.
Our last stop was at a coastal campsite at the Mangawhai Heads where there a large spectacular surf beaches.
We had a great break, even if it was too short.
Kombi heaven...
We have been enjoying the ups and downs of owning a 30-year-old vehicle.
I have always fancied a Volkswagen Kombi, and we had one in the UK for a while. So when I was looking for a car to purchase for the time we were over in NZ, I was drawn to a 1974 white Kombi that was on an Internet auction site. We were still in the UK at the time but my folks managed to contact the vendor and checked it out for us. It looked pretty good for an old vehicle and several days later we were the proud owners of Dubbin.
The first time we saw Dubbin ‘in the flesh’ was when we were picked up in her as we arrived in the country.
It has its quirks and is not perfect, but we can live with the idiosyncrasies for the fun a pleasure driving around in it gives us. It costs way more than we needed to spend for an ‘ordinary’ car and we have spent even more to keep it going, but as long as there are no major problems it should retain its value.
My brother and father are both good with their hands and both have experience with cars. Dad built my first car, a kitset Lotus Super Seven replica. So they have proved invaluable in the general maintenance of the old girl.
We took her away for our first holiday recently and we found the whole experience very enjoyable. We are looking forward to more trips in the future.
I have always fancied a Volkswagen Kombi, and we had one in the UK for a while. So when I was looking for a car to purchase for the time we were over in NZ, I was drawn to a 1974 white Kombi that was on an Internet auction site. We were still in the UK at the time but my folks managed to contact the vendor and checked it out for us. It looked pretty good for an old vehicle and several days later we were the proud owners of Dubbin.
The first time we saw Dubbin ‘in the flesh’ was when we were picked up in her as we arrived in the country.
It has its quirks and is not perfect, but we can live with the idiosyncrasies for the fun a pleasure driving around in it gives us. It costs way more than we needed to spend for an ‘ordinary’ car and we have spent even more to keep it going, but as long as there are no major problems it should retain its value.
My brother and father are both good with their hands and both have experience with cars. Dad built my first car, a kitset Lotus Super Seven replica. So they have proved invaluable in the general maintenance of the old girl.
We took her away for our first holiday recently and we found the whole experience very enjoyable. We are looking forward to more trips in the future.
Keeping busy...
We have been keeping ourselves busy while we are in New Zealand with a few projects.
Around Mark’s Mum and Dad’s place we spent a good few weeks when we first arrived tidying the land in preparation for a local community Garden Ramble. This entailed extensive weeding until Sue lost the sensation in her fingers, weed eating using a serious metal-bladed, petrol-driven cutter. Mowing everywhere using both of the ride-on mowers, and planting out seedlings. The weekend event went off well and plenty of people came around to see the gardens and the selection of classic minis that Gary had organised to be on display.
We were also busy preparing and planting the vegetable garden. Digging over the earth by hand (Mark broke the rotary-hoe in the first 5 minutes). Sowing seeds in the ground or in seed trays, and planting out seedlings as soon as they were ready. Much of the land is given over to those plants that could be used to make produce in Mum and Dad’s preparation shed to sell at market. We have planted loads of tomatoes, plum varieties for sun drying and beefsteak varieties for sauces. We have planted lots of cucumbers, a small variety that can be used for pickled gherkins. We also have a large number of chillies, courgettes, beetroot and basil along with variety of other vegetables for day-to-day eating. We are now starting to reap our rewards with bowls of courgettes and cucumbers and plums ready to be turned into preserves, pickles and chutneys.
Mark has been working away on his children’s novel and has now completed the first draft. At 39,000 words and approximately 200 pages, it will need more work. But for now family and friends are reviewing it before we send it off to publishers for their comments. At the moment is going by the title of Specific Gravity.
The two tea-chest boxes we sent on ahead finally turned up, but not before we had to pay extra money we had not accounted for them to clear customs. It was a very frustrating time and we would not recommend sending unaccompanied baggage to NZ without thoroughly checking out if there are no other alternatives.
In the boxes were some of Mark’s painting equipment and so he has finally started on a couple of pieces. A small area in the garage acts as the temporary studio.
We are still trying to get our glass-working project off the ground. We borrowed an old kiln from a family friend and have had it installed, but the controller seems not to be working. We have also discovered that raw materials are hard to get hold of and are expensive. We are going to see if we can use recycled glass, as there is always a ready supply of that at our place.
Around Mark’s Mum and Dad’s place we spent a good few weeks when we first arrived tidying the land in preparation for a local community Garden Ramble. This entailed extensive weeding until Sue lost the sensation in her fingers, weed eating using a serious metal-bladed, petrol-driven cutter. Mowing everywhere using both of the ride-on mowers, and planting out seedlings. The weekend event went off well and plenty of people came around to see the gardens and the selection of classic minis that Gary had organised to be on display.
We were also busy preparing and planting the vegetable garden. Digging over the earth by hand (Mark broke the rotary-hoe in the first 5 minutes). Sowing seeds in the ground or in seed trays, and planting out seedlings as soon as they were ready. Much of the land is given over to those plants that could be used to make produce in Mum and Dad’s preparation shed to sell at market. We have planted loads of tomatoes, plum varieties for sun drying and beefsteak varieties for sauces. We have planted lots of cucumbers, a small variety that can be used for pickled gherkins. We also have a large number of chillies, courgettes, beetroot and basil along with variety of other vegetables for day-to-day eating. We are now starting to reap our rewards with bowls of courgettes and cucumbers and plums ready to be turned into preserves, pickles and chutneys.
Mark has been working away on his children’s novel and has now completed the first draft. At 39,000 words and approximately 200 pages, it will need more work. But for now family and friends are reviewing it before we send it off to publishers for their comments. At the moment is going by the title of Specific Gravity.
The two tea-chest boxes we sent on ahead finally turned up, but not before we had to pay extra money we had not accounted for them to clear customs. It was a very frustrating time and we would not recommend sending unaccompanied baggage to NZ without thoroughly checking out if there are no other alternatives.
In the boxes were some of Mark’s painting equipment and so he has finally started on a couple of pieces. A small area in the garage acts as the temporary studio.
We are still trying to get our glass-working project off the ground. We borrowed an old kiln from a family friend and have had it installed, but the controller seems not to be working. We have also discovered that raw materials are hard to get hold of and are expensive. We are going to see if we can use recycled glass, as there is always a ready supply of that at our place.
Monday, December 12, 2005
The migration south…
I have finaly got around to putting a few words together about what we have been upto over the last few months.
To start with with travelled half way around the world, stopping breifly in Malysia. After our previous visit here we were so emamoured with the place we decided to have a longer visit (I didn’t hurt that Malaysia Airlines had the cheapest flights – though thay have lost our reward points for the last visit).
We booked everything over the Internet this time and were a bit nervous about how successful we might have been, but we needn’t have been as everything turned out fine.
We stopped in Kuala Lumpur at the Le Meridien. Picked for its location at the Sentral Station (We stayed in the neighbouring Hilton last time – prices in Malaysia are so cheap). The best way to transfer from the airport To KL is via the supurb KLIA Express train. (When you leave, the station also allows you to check-in before you even get to the airport)
The next day we took the Malaysia rail from KL to Singapore. It takes longer than be road, and even in First Class it lacks some sophistication, but it nevertheless is very cheap and offers a different view of the countryside.
In Singapore we styed in the heart of Chinatown at the sweet boutique Hotel 1929. The rooms were small but perfectly formed and the décor was delightful. We had two days in Singapore and enjoyed it immensely. We took a trip down the river on a ‘bum-boat’, had a drink at Raffles, walked all over Chinatown and the historic centre and had a lovely walk around the botanical gardens.
We took another train from Singapore back to KL where we changed to an overnight train to Butterworth where we took the ferry across to Penang Island and to our favourite hotel of the trip. The Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (The Blue Mansion) This place is a stunning historical treasure. From here we explored the small city of Georgetown, took the funicular railway to Penang Hill, had tea at the Eastern & Orient Hotel and walked around the botanical gardens here too.
We took the overnight train back to KL where we took the bus (this was the only part of our journey we couldn’t pre-book, and we had to go by bus as the train didn’t run there) to Malaka (The busses are great and even cheaper than the train - everybody uses them). We stayed here at the lovely Hotel Puri and we walked around the delightfully quaint and hippy town.
This was our last night on our all too short trip to Malaysia and Singapore and the next day we flew on to a happy reunion with my family in New Zealand.
Malaysia is a beautiful country, and the people are lovely too. Since it was once a British protectorate it is easy for us Brits to navigate our way around (they drive on the left, most of the signs are in English, and nearly everybody speaks English too). It is a very cheap country, which at times just brings home the crushing poverty that some of the people are subject to here.
To start with with travelled half way around the world, stopping breifly in Malysia. After our previous visit here we were so emamoured with the place we decided to have a longer visit (I didn’t hurt that Malaysia Airlines had the cheapest flights – though thay have lost our reward points for the last visit).
We booked everything over the Internet this time and were a bit nervous about how successful we might have been, but we needn’t have been as everything turned out fine.
We stopped in Kuala Lumpur at the Le Meridien. Picked for its location at the Sentral Station (We stayed in the neighbouring Hilton last time – prices in Malaysia are so cheap). The best way to transfer from the airport To KL is via the supurb KLIA Express train. (When you leave, the station also allows you to check-in before you even get to the airport)
The next day we took the Malaysia rail from KL to Singapore. It takes longer than be road, and even in First Class it lacks some sophistication, but it nevertheless is very cheap and offers a different view of the countryside.
In Singapore we styed in the heart of Chinatown at the sweet boutique Hotel 1929. The rooms were small but perfectly formed and the décor was delightful. We had two days in Singapore and enjoyed it immensely. We took a trip down the river on a ‘bum-boat’, had a drink at Raffles, walked all over Chinatown and the historic centre and had a lovely walk around the botanical gardens.
We took another train from Singapore back to KL where we changed to an overnight train to Butterworth where we took the ferry across to Penang Island and to our favourite hotel of the trip. The Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (The Blue Mansion) This place is a stunning historical treasure. From here we explored the small city of Georgetown, took the funicular railway to Penang Hill, had tea at the Eastern & Orient Hotel and walked around the botanical gardens here too.
We took the overnight train back to KL where we took the bus (this was the only part of our journey we couldn’t pre-book, and we had to go by bus as the train didn’t run there) to Malaka (The busses are great and even cheaper than the train - everybody uses them). We stayed here at the lovely Hotel Puri and we walked around the delightfully quaint and hippy town.
This was our last night on our all too short trip to Malaysia and Singapore and the next day we flew on to a happy reunion with my family in New Zealand.
Malaysia is a beautiful country, and the people are lovely too. Since it was once a British protectorate it is easy for us Brits to navigate our way around (they drive on the left, most of the signs are in English, and nearly everybody speaks English too). It is a very cheap country, which at times just brings home the crushing poverty that some of the people are subject to here.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Ready for take off…
We are now eager to be on our way now. All this build up and anticipation is getting too much. It is bit like when as kids you see the first signs of Christmas during October.
We have been catching up with as many people as we can before we go and have had some lovely evenings with friends and family with more yet to come.
Sue spent a lovely weekend with the girls shopping, eating, drinking and generally cavorting around.
I, in turn, spent the weekend with a couple of buddies playing RPGs and getting set up for playing our games via the internet. We tried a couple of VOIP systems and found that, while Google Talk was easy to use it only seemed to allow you to talk to one person at a time. We also tried the Gizmo Project, which although it was a little more complicated it did seem to allow party line conversations quite successfully. We now have to see if it will work as well from one side of the world to the other.
This is our last week at work now, so we are focusing on the important things, such as our leaving ‘do’s.
We are planning to have most things organised at home by the weekend. This will mean that from then on until we settle in down under in mid October, that we will be without our computer and possibly incommunicado.
After the weekend we have almost a week to pack and sort those last minute details out before we fly on Friday the 7th Oct. We have a few days in Malaysia and Singapore before we land in New Zealand on the following weekend.
For all of you we leave behind, farewell and we will be back before you know it. For all of you we are about to meet, put the white wine in the fridge and have the glasses ready…
We have been catching up with as many people as we can before we go and have had some lovely evenings with friends and family with more yet to come.
Sue spent a lovely weekend with the girls shopping, eating, drinking and generally cavorting around.
I, in turn, spent the weekend with a couple of buddies playing RPGs and getting set up for playing our games via the internet. We tried a couple of VOIP systems and found that, while Google Talk was easy to use it only seemed to allow you to talk to one person at a time. We also tried the Gizmo Project, which although it was a little more complicated it did seem to allow party line conversations quite successfully. We now have to see if it will work as well from one side of the world to the other.
This is our last week at work now, so we are focusing on the important things, such as our leaving ‘do’s.
We are planning to have most things organised at home by the weekend. This will mean that from then on until we settle in down under in mid October, that we will be without our computer and possibly incommunicado.
After the weekend we have almost a week to pack and sort those last minute details out before we fly on Friday the 7th Oct. We have a few days in Malaysia and Singapore before we land in New Zealand on the following weekend.
For all of you we leave behind, farewell and we will be back before you know it. For all of you we are about to meet, put the white wine in the fridge and have the glasses ready…
More of wot I have read…
Recently I have read a couple of books by Ken Follett, the Hornet Flight and the Night Over Water. These books were given to us and had been lingering on the shelves for a while, so I thought I’d give them a go.
Both books are set in the time of the Second World War and involve a boys-own style adventure that includes airplanes.
Hornet Flight by Ken Follett
This is an interesting story for the setting and background as I was not aware of the situation that Denmark and its citizens found itself in during the war.
It is June 1941, and the low point of the war. England throws wave after wave of bombers across the Channel, but somehow the Lufwaffe is able to shoot them down at will. The skies – indeed the war itself – seem to belong to Hitler.
But on a small Danish island across the North Sea, Harald Olufsen, a bright eighteen-year-old with a talent for engineering, stumbles across a secret German installation. Its machinery is like nothing he has ever seen before and he knows he must tell someone – if he can only figure out who.
With England preparing its largest aerial assault ever, what Harald has discovered may turn the course of the war – but the race to convey the information could have terrible consequences for everyone close to him.
For his older brother Arne, a pilot in the grounded Danish Air Force and already under suspicion of the authorities. For Arne’s fiancee, Hermia, an MI6 intelligence analyst desperate to resurrect the foundering Danish resistance. And most of all for Harald himself – because as the hour of the assault approaches, it will all fall to him and his friend Karen to get the word to England.
And the only means available to them is a derelict Hornet Moth biplane abandoned in a ruined church, a plane so decrepit that it is unlikely ever to get off the ground.
Pursued by the enemy; hunted by collaborators; with almost no training, limited fuel, and no way of knowing if they will survive the six-hundred mile flight, the two will carry with them England's best — perhaps only — hope of avoiding disaster.
Night Over Water by Ken Follett
I found the most interesting character in this story to by the flying boat. I would have loved to have flown in one of them.
In 1939, with war just declared, a group of privileged people board the most luxurious airliner ever – the Pan American Clipper, bound for New York: an English aristocrat, a German scientist, a murderer under escort, a young wife escaping her husband and a charming, unscrupulous thief. For thirty hours, there is no escape from the flying palace. Over the Atlantic, tension mounts and finally explodes in a dramatic and dangerous climax.
Both books are set in the time of the Second World War and involve a boys-own style adventure that includes airplanes.
Hornet Flight by Ken Follett
This is an interesting story for the setting and background as I was not aware of the situation that Denmark and its citizens found itself in during the war.
It is June 1941, and the low point of the war. England throws wave after wave of bombers across the Channel, but somehow the Lufwaffe is able to shoot them down at will. The skies – indeed the war itself – seem to belong to Hitler.
But on a small Danish island across the North Sea, Harald Olufsen, a bright eighteen-year-old with a talent for engineering, stumbles across a secret German installation. Its machinery is like nothing he has ever seen before and he knows he must tell someone – if he can only figure out who.
With England preparing its largest aerial assault ever, what Harald has discovered may turn the course of the war – but the race to convey the information could have terrible consequences for everyone close to him.
For his older brother Arne, a pilot in the grounded Danish Air Force and already under suspicion of the authorities. For Arne’s fiancee, Hermia, an MI6 intelligence analyst desperate to resurrect the foundering Danish resistance. And most of all for Harald himself – because as the hour of the assault approaches, it will all fall to him and his friend Karen to get the word to England.
And the only means available to them is a derelict Hornet Moth biplane abandoned in a ruined church, a plane so decrepit that it is unlikely ever to get off the ground.
Pursued by the enemy; hunted by collaborators; with almost no training, limited fuel, and no way of knowing if they will survive the six-hundred mile flight, the two will carry with them England's best — perhaps only — hope of avoiding disaster.
Night Over Water by Ken Follett
I found the most interesting character in this story to by the flying boat. I would have loved to have flown in one of them.
In 1939, with war just declared, a group of privileged people board the most luxurious airliner ever – the Pan American Clipper, bound for New York: an English aristocrat, a German scientist, a murderer under escort, a young wife escaping her husband and a charming, unscrupulous thief. For thirty hours, there is no escape from the flying palace. Over the Atlantic, tension mounts and finally explodes in a dramatic and dangerous climax.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
The end of one summer…
All signs are that the UK is in transition from summer to autumn. The nights are drawing in, the temperatures are cooling down and it is picking time in the kitchen garden.
Several other signs confirm this change too; England beats Australia at cricket in the Ashes series, and Harvest Festivals are happening in villages throughout the countryside.
We have been very busy on our run up to our departure. The allotment has an abundance of produce which we are gorging on, clearing areas in preparation for the fallow winter time. We have been packing items for storage, selling unwanted items at a local boot-sale, and delivering unsold items to charity shops. Before we leave we are trying to meet up with as many friends and family as possible that necessitates much eating and drinking – it’s a chore, but someone has to do it.
We noticed a strange apparition whilst driving through the local village of Carshalton. Many brightly coloured and strangely clothed individuals were playing music and cavorting around a whirling haystack outside a local hostelry. Intrigued we returned to investigate and found that it was a harvest celebration called Straw Jack. This was the events second year (and so it was now a tradition) where a group of musicians (largely very enthusiastic drummers) and dancers escorted Straw Jack around all of the local pubs from 11am until 7pm where up Straw Jack was put to the torch. It was a very entertaining spectacle that I hope is continued for many years to come.
Several other signs confirm this change too; England beats Australia at cricket in the Ashes series, and Harvest Festivals are happening in villages throughout the countryside.
We have been very busy on our run up to our departure. The allotment has an abundance of produce which we are gorging on, clearing areas in preparation for the fallow winter time. We have been packing items for storage, selling unwanted items at a local boot-sale, and delivering unsold items to charity shops. Before we leave we are trying to meet up with as many friends and family as possible that necessitates much eating and drinking – it’s a chore, but someone has to do it.
We noticed a strange apparition whilst driving through the local village of Carshalton. Many brightly coloured and strangely clothed individuals were playing music and cavorting around a whirling haystack outside a local hostelry. Intrigued we returned to investigate and found that it was a harvest celebration called Straw Jack. This was the events second year (and so it was now a tradition) where a group of musicians (largely very enthusiastic drummers) and dancers escorted Straw Jack around all of the local pubs from 11am until 7pm where up Straw Jack was put to the torch. It was a very entertaining spectacle that I hope is continued for many years to come.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
More of wot I have read...
Balance of Power by Richard North Patterson
This is a ‘big’ book in both size and in the subject matter it tries to cover. It is obvious when reading this book that the author knows his subject very well and that he has done some very detailed research to ensure that the book is both accurate and detailed. Unfortunately, unless you are an avid political geek, all that detail might just get in the way and slow down any building tension. It is another one of those books that appears to be more about the message than the story. The author does develop interesting and believable characters and writes very good dialogue and character interaction. It is worth the effort if you can dedicate time to wade through the convoluted Machiavellian machinations to the pay-off.
“An epic story that moves with force, passion, and authority, Balance of Power begins when President Kerry Kilcannon and television journalist Lara Costello at last decide to marry. But the momentous occasion is followed by an unspeakable tragedy—a massacre of innocents by gunfire—that ignites a high-stakes game of politics and legal maneuvering in the Senate, the courtroom, and across the country, which the charismatic but untested young President is determined to win at any cost. But in the incendiary clash over gun violence and gun rights, the cost to both Kilcannons may be even higher than he imagined.“
This is a ‘big’ book in both size and in the subject matter it tries to cover. It is obvious when reading this book that the author knows his subject very well and that he has done some very detailed research to ensure that the book is both accurate and detailed. Unfortunately, unless you are an avid political geek, all that detail might just get in the way and slow down any building tension. It is another one of those books that appears to be more about the message than the story. The author does develop interesting and believable characters and writes very good dialogue and character interaction. It is worth the effort if you can dedicate time to wade through the convoluted Machiavellian machinations to the pay-off.
“An epic story that moves with force, passion, and authority, Balance of Power begins when President Kerry Kilcannon and television journalist Lara Costello at last decide to marry. But the momentous occasion is followed by an unspeakable tragedy—a massacre of innocents by gunfire—that ignites a high-stakes game of politics and legal maneuvering in the Senate, the courtroom, and across the country, which the charismatic but untested young President is determined to win at any cost. But in the incendiary clash over gun violence and gun rights, the cost to both Kilcannons may be even higher than he imagined.“
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Countdown…
We are counting down the days now until we migrate south for the winter and set up nest in New Zealand for their summer. Everything is pretty much organised now except for the packing up and the last one or two small details.
We are excited and nervous in equal measures, but everyone is very supportive and keeps telling us that we are doing the right thing, which I’m sure we are.
We are excited and nervous in equal measures, but everyone is very supportive and keeps telling us that we are doing the right thing, which I’m sure we are.
Environmental Flair…
On the last Bank Holiday in August we went down to the local Environmental Fair with our neighbours and friends, Deb, Dave and young Tom. Unusually for a bank holiday the weather was great and we had a nice time sitting out in the sun listening to the music, eating the fine food, and drinking the occasional cold one.
This fair is a nice relaxed affair rather than the full hectic extravaganza that is the Notting Hill Carnival that was also on over the weekend.
This fair is a nice relaxed affair rather than the full hectic extravaganza that is the Notting Hill Carnival that was also on over the weekend.
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Real RPG online…
Most weeks I get together with a couple of friends to play paper based role play games. We have been looking at the possibility of continuing this over the internet using a sweet little package called Fantasy Grounds
This provides a virtual table top to play on. Check out the demo, the dice are so cool! We will need to use some voice messenger package to be able to talk together, but this should enable us to carry on playing in some form or other. We are looking at the possibility of inviting other players into the group to extend it beyond just the three of us.
At the moment Kevin is working up a game based on the D20 Darwin’s World and a campaign called Metropolis Rho, a particularly violent apocalyptic vision of the future.
To support this Kevin has also been looking at a particularly snazzy map drawing package called Dundjinni. Check out some of the pretty pictures at the gallery.
This provides a virtual table top to play on. Check out the demo, the dice are so cool! We will need to use some voice messenger package to be able to talk together, but this should enable us to carry on playing in some form or other. We are looking at the possibility of inviting other players into the group to extend it beyond just the three of us.
At the moment Kevin is working up a game based on the D20 Darwin’s World and a campaign called Metropolis Rho, a particularly violent apocalyptic vision of the future.
To support this Kevin has also been looking at a particularly snazzy map drawing package called Dundjinni. Check out some of the pretty pictures at the gallery.
Kombi Heaven…
Part of my recent obsession with the old Volkswagen Kombi van led me to peruse various auctions sites and last week I found a 1974 camper van on a New Zealand site. Knowing that we were going to be spending nearly six months there I had been looking a car prices when I found this old ‘bay-window’ Kombi, and since the price was much cheaper than in the UK, I asked my family what they thought of it. My brother arranged with the owner to have a look at and thought it was fine so now we are the new proud owners. Sue wants a large sunflower decal on the side and I fancy a windsurfer in the back.
Can’t wait to bowl up to the beach in it and watch the sun go down.
Can’t wait to bowl up to the beach in it and watch the sun go down.
A weekend of culture…
Henry IV Part 1…
We visited the National Theatre recently with a few friends to see Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part 1. The theatre sits on the south bank of the Thames at Waterloo in London next to the National Film Theatre, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Harward Gallery and the Royal Festival Hall. From the outside this group of buildings evoke mixed feelings regarding their rough concrete architecture, but inside each has wonderful performance spaces that bring out the best in any performance.
Henry IV Part 1 and Part 2 are a little more challenging than many of the better know of Shakespeare’s work, but quality of the performance more than made up for the occasional lack of comprehension in the words. All of the cast was fabulous but, to single out a few, Falstaff: Michael Gambon, Hotspur: David Harewood, and Prince Hal: Matthew Macfadyen were outstanding. We are all looking forward to Part 2 which we will see soon.
Romeo and Juliet…
The next day we drove up to visit my Aunt and Uncle in Tring where we were due to watch an outdoor performance of Romeo and Juliet at the nearby Pendley Manor. As we drove up the heavens opened up and the rain continuing on and off as we ate dinner. Chancing things and taking some wet weather protection we ventured out. Apart from a few spots here and there the rain held off until the crucial moment where Romeo sees Juliet in the tomb, then the two prone figures were lashed with a quick downpour and soaked to the skin before umbrella carrying attendants could rescue them. After a short interlude where the performers and those of us in the audience sort cover, the performance continued and concluded to a rapturous applause. We have seen this company before and they are extremely proficient for an amateur group.
Sunday Lunch…
We stayed over at my Aunt and Uncle’s after the play and met up with several of their friends; work colleagues of my Uncle when they all worked together in architecture and interior design. We had hoped that both Jack and Sue could come along, but unfortunately Sue was ill. We managed to quiz Jack though about some of the things to consider when working with glass and kilns. Together they are Devilish Designs.
Also there was another couple who had also worked together in the interior design industry. John though had a claim to fame that predated this. He was the bass player in a Brit Pop/Rock band in the 60’s called the West Coast Consortium, and they even had a record at number 22 in the charts.
We visited the National Theatre recently with a few friends to see Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part 1. The theatre sits on the south bank of the Thames at Waterloo in London next to the National Film Theatre, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Harward Gallery and the Royal Festival Hall. From the outside this group of buildings evoke mixed feelings regarding their rough concrete architecture, but inside each has wonderful performance spaces that bring out the best in any performance.
Henry IV Part 1 and Part 2 are a little more challenging than many of the better know of Shakespeare’s work, but quality of the performance more than made up for the occasional lack of comprehension in the words. All of the cast was fabulous but, to single out a few, Falstaff: Michael Gambon, Hotspur: David Harewood, and Prince Hal: Matthew Macfadyen were outstanding. We are all looking forward to Part 2 which we will see soon.
Romeo and Juliet…
The next day we drove up to visit my Aunt and Uncle in Tring where we were due to watch an outdoor performance of Romeo and Juliet at the nearby Pendley Manor. As we drove up the heavens opened up and the rain continuing on and off as we ate dinner. Chancing things and taking some wet weather protection we ventured out. Apart from a few spots here and there the rain held off until the crucial moment where Romeo sees Juliet in the tomb, then the two prone figures were lashed with a quick downpour and soaked to the skin before umbrella carrying attendants could rescue them. After a short interlude where the performers and those of us in the audience sort cover, the performance continued and concluded to a rapturous applause. We have seen this company before and they are extremely proficient for an amateur group.
Sunday Lunch…
We stayed over at my Aunt and Uncle’s after the play and met up with several of their friends; work colleagues of my Uncle when they all worked together in architecture and interior design. We had hoped that both Jack and Sue could come along, but unfortunately Sue was ill. We managed to quiz Jack though about some of the things to consider when working with glass and kilns. Together they are Devilish Designs.
Also there was another couple who had also worked together in the interior design industry. John though had a claim to fame that predated this. He was the bass player in a Brit Pop/Rock band in the 60’s called the West Coast Consortium, and they even had a record at number 22 in the charts.
Sunny Side Up…
We are less than a couple months away from starting one of the biggest adventures in our lives. We are about to become truly migratory, following the sun south to give us permanent summer for as long as we can sustain it. Everything is coming together now as we finalise that last details, most importantly finding someone to look after the house (and help with the mortgage). Boxes are being packed to be stored or shipped on ahead, travel arrangements are almost complete and tickets are ready for collection. Just a few more details to sort out and we will be ready (physically if not emotionally).
After a short visit to Malaysia and Singapore we will be down under mid October and looking to spend quality time with family and friends (taking advantage of their generous natures).
Now all we have to do is find some way of sustaining this for as long as we want too by discovering some well hidden talent of making something out of nothing.
Exciting and scary in equal measures; fingers crossed and stomach knotted.
After a short visit to Malaysia and Singapore we will be down under mid October and looking to spend quality time with family and friends (taking advantage of their generous natures).
Now all we have to do is find some way of sustaining this for as long as we want too by discovering some well hidden talent of making something out of nothing.
Exciting and scary in equal measures; fingers crossed and stomach knotted.
Summer Garden…
Now is the time of year where we are reaping what we sowed. We do not need to buy many vegetables at the moment and again Sue is having to be inventive with the seasonal abundance.
We have had a greater success with our berries since we covered the bushes on a net cage to stop the birds enjoying them before we could. We are also expectantly excited at the prospect of the melons swelling in our green house along side the chillies and peppers (again, though, the aubergines are looking disappointing).
We have just started harvesting our butternut squash and they are huge (several times larger than what we have seen in the shops).
Most of what we have decided to grow this year has been summer crops and only a few plants will be in the ground over the winter; leeks and over-wintering Japanese onions.
We will have to be quite determined to eat it all the harvest up before we leave for sunnier climes. Either that or we will have to give it all away.
With our looming extended visit to the southern hemisphere we are looking forward to starting with a whole new batch of crops as soon as we arrive.
We have had a greater success with our berries since we covered the bushes on a net cage to stop the birds enjoying them before we could. We are also expectantly excited at the prospect of the melons swelling in our green house along side the chillies and peppers (again, though, the aubergines are looking disappointing).
We have just started harvesting our butternut squash and they are huge (several times larger than what we have seen in the shops).
Most of what we have decided to grow this year has been summer crops and only a few plants will be in the ground over the winter; leeks and over-wintering Japanese onions.
We will have to be quite determined to eat it all the harvest up before we leave for sunnier climes. Either that or we will have to give it all away.
With our looming extended visit to the southern hemisphere we are looking forward to starting with a whole new batch of crops as soon as we arrive.
Cousins United…
One of Sue’s Aunts decided to have a garden party inviting her sisters and their families to her cottage in the countryside. A lovely afternoon was had with many members of the extended family that we would not ordinarily get to see very often. As is usual the passage of time was marked by how much the children had grown up. Jamie joined us and happily played with the more boisterous younger relatives.
Everybody managed to catch up with the each other over a tasty buffet and a few cold drinks before we had to leave; promising not to leave it so long next time.
Everybody managed to catch up with the each other over a tasty buffet and a few cold drinks before we had to leave; promising not to leave it so long next time.
Festival Virgins…
At the end of July we went to our first festival with our neighbours Deb, Dave and son Tom. Apart from Debs we were new to the whole thing and naturally apprehensive. Womad Rivermead 2005 was probably the best introduction to festivals that we could have hoped for. We all have an appreciation of a variety of music and although many of the acts were unknown to us, many of the cultural styles were not.
We had decided to camp the weekend, which might not have been so wise considering Deb is heavily pregnant with their second child, and Tom is only two and a half years old. We also managed to find the only party-animal-stoners in the park to pitch our tents next to (though they were amenable to gentle diplomacy which improved our second nights sleep somewhat).
We found the mix and variety of music echoed by the audience as there were as many colourful sights off stage as on; original hippies, alternative lifestylers, extended families, old heads, greenies, stoners and many more.
The large numbers of 'right on' people in the audience meant that the traders had to cater for them, resulting in a superb range of food stalls and an interesting diversity of clothing, jewellery, arts and craft stalls throughout the site. There were several stages and performance spaces on the site, so no matter what your tastes your challenge was trying to find time to see all that you wanted to.
As with most large informal camping sites the major concern was the ‘facilities’ and after a while they were dire (I have never seen cheering and applause for the arrival of sewage truck before). Luckily the site was adjacent to a leisure centre which meant for a small fee you could use the pool, showers and bathrooms there.
Overall we were very impressed with the event, and we are already thinking about planning a return visit next year. We are also hoping that they will announce another New Zealand Womad as we would be keen to visit that too.
We had decided to camp the weekend, which might not have been so wise considering Deb is heavily pregnant with their second child, and Tom is only two and a half years old. We also managed to find the only party-animal-stoners in the park to pitch our tents next to (though they were amenable to gentle diplomacy which improved our second nights sleep somewhat).
We found the mix and variety of music echoed by the audience as there were as many colourful sights off stage as on; original hippies, alternative lifestylers, extended families, old heads, greenies, stoners and many more.
The large numbers of 'right on' people in the audience meant that the traders had to cater for them, resulting in a superb range of food stalls and an interesting diversity of clothing, jewellery, arts and craft stalls throughout the site. There were several stages and performance spaces on the site, so no matter what your tastes your challenge was trying to find time to see all that you wanted to.
As with most large informal camping sites the major concern was the ‘facilities’ and after a while they were dire (I have never seen cheering and applause for the arrival of sewage truck before). Luckily the site was adjacent to a leisure centre which meant for a small fee you could use the pool, showers and bathrooms there.
Overall we were very impressed with the event, and we are already thinking about planning a return visit next year. We are also hoping that they will announce another New Zealand Womad as we would be keen to visit that too.
More of wot I have read…
The Gallows Thief by Bernard Cornwell
I have not read many of his books and I have totally missed the Sharpe phenomenon on the small screen, but I am aware of the author’s attention to detail and passion for this period in British history. It is an enjoyable read – some might even call it a ‘ripping yarn’ - although some of the characters do tend towards being cartoon like and the subject is presented in a ‘boys-own’ sort of way.
‘Gallows Thief is a detective story, set in Regency London, a time when there were no detectives as such. There was a very busy gallows, however. This was a period when the English and Welsh gallows were at their busiest and, very occasionally, the government appointed an 'Investigator' to look into a conviction. That Investigator is the hero and detective, a man who was an army officer, but who, since the battle of Waterloo (it had to get in somehow) has fallen on hard times.’
Bernard Cornwell is a literary miracle. Year after year, hail, rain, snow, war and political upheavals fail to prevent him from producing the most entertaining and readable historical novels of his generation. And this is one of his best. Rider Sandman is a typical Cornwell hero, rather like his best known central character from the Sharpe series, Richard Sharpe. Sandman is poor but honest, a decent man in desperate times. The story opens with a stomach-churning series of public hangings in 1817, and then switches to Sandman being offered money to investigate a murder and the chance to save a convicted murderer from the gallows. The authorities are convinced that Charles Corday, a portrait painter, murdered a countess whose portrait he was painting. But before stringing up Corday, the Home Secretary is forced, by the intervention of the Queen, to hire an investigator to confirm the painter's guilt. Sandman is an early 19th century Philip Marlowe, a Georgian private detective, moving effortlessly from aristocratic circles to the slums and jails of London. Cornwell at his best is utterly compelling. And this is Cornwell at his best.
Gavin Esler - Daily Mail
I have not read many of his books and I have totally missed the Sharpe phenomenon on the small screen, but I am aware of the author’s attention to detail and passion for this period in British history. It is an enjoyable read – some might even call it a ‘ripping yarn’ - although some of the characters do tend towards being cartoon like and the subject is presented in a ‘boys-own’ sort of way.
‘Gallows Thief is a detective story, set in Regency London, a time when there were no detectives as such. There was a very busy gallows, however. This was a period when the English and Welsh gallows were at their busiest and, very occasionally, the government appointed an 'Investigator' to look into a conviction. That Investigator is the hero and detective, a man who was an army officer, but who, since the battle of Waterloo (it had to get in somehow) has fallen on hard times.’
Bernard Cornwell is a literary miracle. Year after year, hail, rain, snow, war and political upheavals fail to prevent him from producing the most entertaining and readable historical novels of his generation. And this is one of his best. Rider Sandman is a typical Cornwell hero, rather like his best known central character from the Sharpe series, Richard Sharpe. Sandman is poor but honest, a decent man in desperate times. The story opens with a stomach-churning series of public hangings in 1817, and then switches to Sandman being offered money to investigate a murder and the chance to save a convicted murderer from the gallows. The authorities are convinced that Charles Corday, a portrait painter, murdered a countess whose portrait he was painting. But before stringing up Corday, the Home Secretary is forced, by the intervention of the Queen, to hire an investigator to confirm the painter's guilt. Sandman is an early 19th century Philip Marlowe, a Georgian private detective, moving effortlessly from aristocratic circles to the slums and jails of London. Cornwell at his best is utterly compelling. And this is Cornwell at his best.
Gavin Esler - Daily Mail
Monday, August 15, 2005
Slow to post…
I have not been very good at keeping this blog up to date recently. It is not because I have nothing to report, on the contrary, we have been very busy, to busy to post.
I hope to remedy this soon as we have lots to tell you all.
Bear with us.
I hope to remedy this soon as we have lots to tell you all.
Bear with us.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Kombi mania…
I don’t know if it is just because we are in the middle of our summer, or if it is because I am experiencing a mid-life crisis, but everywhere I look I see classic Kombi vans.
I am regretting selling our old van that we used to have a while ago, as I have fond memories of taking an extended 6 week holiday through England, Scotland and Wales. It has become a tour that is commonly known in our family as the ABC tour (another bloody castle, another bloody church).
While we were in Cornwall recently I said something that nearly got me divorced. I saw an old immaculate split-screen Kombi and rashly stated that it was the ‘sexiest thing I have ever seen!’
After looking at various classified adverts it would seem that these VW are very desirable vehicles. A concourse condition camper from the 60’s could set you back £10,000 easily.
Almost every day I see a van trundling down the road or parked up and I crane my neck to see if it has a for sale sign anywhere on it; it doesn’t. I guess I will have to continue dreaming and buying the lottery tickets.
I am regretting selling our old van that we used to have a while ago, as I have fond memories of taking an extended 6 week holiday through England, Scotland and Wales. It has become a tour that is commonly known in our family as the ABC tour (another bloody castle, another bloody church).
While we were in Cornwall recently I said something that nearly got me divorced. I saw an old immaculate split-screen Kombi and rashly stated that it was the ‘sexiest thing I have ever seen!’
After looking at various classified adverts it would seem that these VW are very desirable vehicles. A concourse condition camper from the 60’s could set you back £10,000 easily.
Almost every day I see a van trundling down the road or parked up and I crane my neck to see if it has a for sale sign anywhere on it; it doesn’t. I guess I will have to continue dreaming and buying the lottery tickets.
More of wot I have read…
Darwin’s Children, by Greg Bear
If you can get past the techno-babble this story has a very interesting premise regarding evolution and belonging (or not belonging) to the future. Unfortunately this book often reads like some novelised biology theses and you may need to hold a PhD to get the most out of it. The author has obviously done a great deal of research on this subject and wants to ensure that you are aware that the theories are based on documented work by reputable individuals or organisations. With so much of the book dedicated to the science there is, in my opinion, not enough effort put into developing the characters to make them sympathetic to the reader. This book was hard work.
'In Greg Bear's stunning new thriller, nature is more of a bitch goddess than a kindly mother, and evolution is no longer just a theory -- it's an urgent and dangerous fact. In DARWIN'S CHILDREN, human society is about to get a complete makeover. A new kind of humanity is growing up. Some call them the Virus Children. They are special children, equipped with significant natural upgrades that allow them to communicate and socialize in ways we can hardly imagine, or resist. Charming, gentle, persuasive, beautiful...in them can be seen a future that may make all of human history until now seem clumsy and brutal. As products of an extraordinary evolutionary event called SHEVA that swept through the population like a contagious disease over a decade ago, they carry ancient viruses that could cause our extinction, viruses that may be triggered at any moment by stress, anger...or puberty. The new children are being methodically rounded up and sequestered in special schools where they are studied, measured and biopsied. Stella Nova, the daughter of Kaye Lang and Mitch Rafelson, is one of them. She is driven by instinct to be with her own kind, to establish a new kind of social order and discover her potential. Kaye and Mitch wish to protect her, but to do so, they must keep her isolated, stifled in a blanket of security that they all know must eventually be lifted. Despite their best efforts, Kaye, Mitch, and Stella are tracked by security forces that could break them apart as a family. The new children must be controlled, these forces believe; and the time may come when both species must either separate, or engage in outright war. In DARWIN'S CHILDREN, human society is about to get a complete makeover, and who will win is anyone's guess. For, as Kaye Lang discovers, silence is also a signal…'
If you can get past the techno-babble this story has a very interesting premise regarding evolution and belonging (or not belonging) to the future. Unfortunately this book often reads like some novelised biology theses and you may need to hold a PhD to get the most out of it. The author has obviously done a great deal of research on this subject and wants to ensure that you are aware that the theories are based on documented work by reputable individuals or organisations. With so much of the book dedicated to the science there is, in my opinion, not enough effort put into developing the characters to make them sympathetic to the reader. This book was hard work.
'In Greg Bear's stunning new thriller, nature is more of a bitch goddess than a kindly mother, and evolution is no longer just a theory -- it's an urgent and dangerous fact. In DARWIN'S CHILDREN, human society is about to get a complete makeover. A new kind of humanity is growing up. Some call them the Virus Children. They are special children, equipped with significant natural upgrades that allow them to communicate and socialize in ways we can hardly imagine, or resist. Charming, gentle, persuasive, beautiful...in them can be seen a future that may make all of human history until now seem clumsy and brutal. As products of an extraordinary evolutionary event called SHEVA that swept through the population like a contagious disease over a decade ago, they carry ancient viruses that could cause our extinction, viruses that may be triggered at any moment by stress, anger...or puberty. The new children are being methodically rounded up and sequestered in special schools where they are studied, measured and biopsied. Stella Nova, the daughter of Kaye Lang and Mitch Rafelson, is one of them. She is driven by instinct to be with her own kind, to establish a new kind of social order and discover her potential. Kaye and Mitch wish to protect her, but to do so, they must keep her isolated, stifled in a blanket of security that they all know must eventually be lifted. Despite their best efforts, Kaye, Mitch, and Stella are tracked by security forces that could break them apart as a family. The new children must be controlled, these forces believe; and the time may come when both species must either separate, or engage in outright war. In DARWIN'S CHILDREN, human society is about to get a complete makeover, and who will win is anyone's guess. For, as Kaye Lang discovers, silence is also a signal…'
Monday, July 04, 2005
More of wot I have watched…
We joined a few friends on Wednesday and went out for Sue’s birthday to watch a film at the IMAX Cinema near Waterloo. This venue is pretty amazing with its enormous screen and sound system. We had been previously to see the Polar Express in 3D and were totally impressed.
We had arranged to meet at the Fire Station pub and restaurant around the back of Waterloo Train Station for a drink and something to eat. The place was heaving and we stood out on the sidewalk with the crowds until we all met up (the sight of me and James having a telephone conversation barely six feet apart oblivious to each other and insisting we were at the pub, cracked Sue up). It was an interesting and pleasant restaurant and the food was good. Portion sizes were large and most of us had two starters instead of a main course.
We had arranged to watch the new Batman Begins at the Imax. It was not in 3D which was probably just as well as it was difficult at time to keep up with everything on the screen in just the 2 dimensions. The dark feel of the script and cinematography made this a different type of Batman film than the previous, and more in keeping with the later Dark Knight comic strips. The lead was very good even though his costume must have restricted his throat as it seemed to cause his voice to drop several octaves when he wore his mask. The batmobile was cool (apart from the stupid gun operating arrangement).
For the most part the film relied on the superb supporting cast to carry it through. I did not enjoy the unnecessarily over long and migraine inducing fight scenes, and I would have liked more plotline development. But overall the film is what it is and is till worth a viewing if you like that sort of thing.
The biggest problem about travelling in to London is the journey home afterwards. We had a mad scramble to reach our last train home and didn’t get in until way after midnight (not good for us old folk on a school night).
We had arranged to meet at the Fire Station pub and restaurant around the back of Waterloo Train Station for a drink and something to eat. The place was heaving and we stood out on the sidewalk with the crowds until we all met up (the sight of me and James having a telephone conversation barely six feet apart oblivious to each other and insisting we were at the pub, cracked Sue up). It was an interesting and pleasant restaurant and the food was good. Portion sizes were large and most of us had two starters instead of a main course.
We had arranged to watch the new Batman Begins at the Imax. It was not in 3D which was probably just as well as it was difficult at time to keep up with everything on the screen in just the 2 dimensions. The dark feel of the script and cinematography made this a different type of Batman film than the previous, and more in keeping with the later Dark Knight comic strips. The lead was very good even though his costume must have restricted his throat as it seemed to cause his voice to drop several octaves when he wore his mask. The batmobile was cool (apart from the stupid gun operating arrangement).
For the most part the film relied on the superb supporting cast to carry it through. I did not enjoy the unnecessarily over long and migraine inducing fight scenes, and I would have liked more plotline development. But overall the film is what it is and is till worth a viewing if you like that sort of thing.
The biggest problem about travelling in to London is the journey home afterwards. We had a mad scramble to reach our last train home and didn’t get in until way after midnight (not good for us old folk on a school night).
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Hankies, sticks and pints of ale…
We have recently returned from an eventful long weekend break in the Isle of Wight with the Aldbury Morris Men.
A cultural journey into the traditions of Ye Olde England with a well meaning group of historians you may think, but you would be totally wrong, it was more of a journey into the drinking establishments of sleepy seaside villages with a bunch of jolly drunks.
My Uncle (He is the one on the top hat - see the website) is a musician (he insists in making it quite clear he does not actually dance), and he invited us to become part of the Morris Groupies along with the various relatives and friends of the other members of this band of merry men.
We met them all at Portsmouth (not before being pulled over by the police – but then that is to be expected if you by a ‘cheap’ car). We pulled up at the harbour car park just as the lightning and thunder struck and we promptly found shelter in the local hostelry (well, start as you mean to go on as they say).
Our ferry journey across to the island was dramatic not only for the regular forked lightning strikes on the mainland, but for the assembled naval forces of many nations arranged throughout the harbour in preparation for the Trafalgar 200 ceremonies to come.
During the weekend we were ferried around the island in an old 1965 bus that was built in the Duple coachworks at the same time as my father used to work there. We travelled in style from village to village where the be-belled gentlemen of a certain age would prance about waving hankies and knocking seven bells out of each other with lengths of timber, before retiring for a cleansing ale or a pint of the local cider (very good stuff it was too). The evening consisted of taking over a venue and bringing out a variety of strange and wonderful instruments (mostly musical – of course) and singing and playing some truly moving and memorable folk tunes.
Before we took the ferry home we managed a short sightseeing trip to Cowes to watch the various waterborne craft enjoying the much improved weather. We also came across an interesting T-Shirt shop that held a garment with the legend that symbolised the weekend for us – The liver is evil and it must by punished!
In my opinion the adage ‘never trust a book by its cover’ is certainly true in this case, never turn down a weekend with the Aldbury Morris Men (that is unless you are a recovering alcoholic).
A cultural journey into the traditions of Ye Olde England with a well meaning group of historians you may think, but you would be totally wrong, it was more of a journey into the drinking establishments of sleepy seaside villages with a bunch of jolly drunks.
My Uncle (He is the one on the top hat - see the website) is a musician (he insists in making it quite clear he does not actually dance), and he invited us to become part of the Morris Groupies along with the various relatives and friends of the other members of this band of merry men.
We met them all at Portsmouth (not before being pulled over by the police – but then that is to be expected if you by a ‘cheap’ car). We pulled up at the harbour car park just as the lightning and thunder struck and we promptly found shelter in the local hostelry (well, start as you mean to go on as they say).
Our ferry journey across to the island was dramatic not only for the regular forked lightning strikes on the mainland, but for the assembled naval forces of many nations arranged throughout the harbour in preparation for the Trafalgar 200 ceremonies to come.
During the weekend we were ferried around the island in an old 1965 bus that was built in the Duple coachworks at the same time as my father used to work there. We travelled in style from village to village where the be-belled gentlemen of a certain age would prance about waving hankies and knocking seven bells out of each other with lengths of timber, before retiring for a cleansing ale or a pint of the local cider (very good stuff it was too). The evening consisted of taking over a venue and bringing out a variety of strange and wonderful instruments (mostly musical – of course) and singing and playing some truly moving and memorable folk tunes.
Before we took the ferry home we managed a short sightseeing trip to Cowes to watch the various waterborne craft enjoying the much improved weather. We also came across an interesting T-Shirt shop that held a garment with the legend that symbolised the weekend for us – The liver is evil and it must by punished!
In my opinion the adage ‘never trust a book by its cover’ is certainly true in this case, never turn down a weekend with the Aldbury Morris Men (that is unless you are a recovering alcoholic).
More of wot I have read...
Here is a nicely written fable for the modern day that introduces some old and familiar heroes and villains in some very unfamiliar yet strangely understandable settings. It is a sometimes confusing and convoluted journey where much of the enjoyment comes from getting there. I particularly enjoyed the author's liberty taking and fun poking at mythological characters and the re-interpretation of what a god really is. A good read.
I am most familiar with Neil Gaiman's graphic novel (comic book) series Sandman, and reading this novel you can certainly see how he brings that dramatic visual style to the written word.
American Gods, by Neil Gaiman.
'Is Nothing Sacred?
Days before his release from prison, Shadow's wife, Laura, dies in a mysterious car crash. Numbly, he makes his way back home. On the plane, he encounters the enigmatic Mr Wednesday, who claims to be a refuge from a distant war, a former god and the king of America.
Together they embark on a profoundly strange journey across the heart of the USA, whilst all around them a storm of preternatural and epic proportions threatens to break
Scary, gripping and deeply unsettling, American Gods takes a long, hard look into the soul of America. You'll be surprised by what, and who, it finds there!'
I am most familiar with Neil Gaiman's graphic novel (comic book) series Sandman, and reading this novel you can certainly see how he brings that dramatic visual style to the written word.
American Gods, by Neil Gaiman.
'Is Nothing Sacred?
Days before his release from prison, Shadow's wife, Laura, dies in a mysterious car crash. Numbly, he makes his way back home. On the plane, he encounters the enigmatic Mr Wednesday, who claims to be a refuge from a distant war, a former god and the king of America.
Together they embark on a profoundly strange journey across the heart of the USA, whilst all around them a storm of preternatural and epic proportions threatens to break
Scary, gripping and deeply unsettling, American Gods takes a long, hard look into the soul of America. You'll be surprised by what, and who, it finds there!'
Sunday, June 12, 2005
A Cornish country garden…
We have just returned from an extended weekend away with my Aunt and Uncle to Cornwall. We went especially to visit the Tresco Abbey Gardens.
We all travelled down together late in the week and went straight to St Michaels Mount. The bad weather had just started to improve as we approached and the fog that was shrouding the island lifted to reveal the picturesque view. Luckily this was one of the bright periods in an otherwise very rainy weekend. It is a great for a short visit.
Afterwards we drove off to check into the Gurnards Head Hotel where we were staying while we were on the mainland. An ordinary looking country pub with average facilities, but it did do some less than ordinary food. However, as is our way when we holiday, we did end up spending more on wine than food. The landlord was from Newcastle, his wife was Finish and other staff included a Polish couple and a Thai woman.
Cornwall seems to have been forced out of its traditional industries and solely into tourism. There is hardly any evidence of farming, fishing or other traditional industry any where, but you can’t drive down a road without noticing that every second building is a B&B or Hotel. We looked at the local papers and the housing section was enormous with houses more expensive than those near to London. And yet the job vacancies pages, of which there were few, had no great opportunities.
We flew to Tresco in the Scilly Isles by helicopter, which was quite an interesting and enjoyable (if somewhat noisy and expensive) way to travel (also much faster than by boat). 20mins later we were on the island where we jumped into the back of a small truck and were driven to our hotel, the New Inn.
The island is lovely and once again we benefited from a break in the weather. We walked around the much of the small island in a couple of hours. The next day we walked around the rest and visited the exceptional sub-tropical gardens.
Whilst we were in the county we also visited one of our favourite looking theatres, the Minak built onto a cliff side over looking a beautiful sandy bay.
We also managed to fit in the obligatory National Trust site, this time it was the stately home called Terice.
We had a nightmare journey home with traffic accidents, poor weather, and road works combining to have spent the whole day in the car. We had a short break at my aunt and uncle’s where we dug up the first of the new potatoes for dinner, before we jumped into our car for the journey home. Again we got caught in more traffic and road works and we didn’t get home until the early hours of the morning.
We all travelled down together late in the week and went straight to St Michaels Mount. The bad weather had just started to improve as we approached and the fog that was shrouding the island lifted to reveal the picturesque view. Luckily this was one of the bright periods in an otherwise very rainy weekend. It is a great for a short visit.
Afterwards we drove off to check into the Gurnards Head Hotel where we were staying while we were on the mainland. An ordinary looking country pub with average facilities, but it did do some less than ordinary food. However, as is our way when we holiday, we did end up spending more on wine than food. The landlord was from Newcastle, his wife was Finish and other staff included a Polish couple and a Thai woman.
Cornwall seems to have been forced out of its traditional industries and solely into tourism. There is hardly any evidence of farming, fishing or other traditional industry any where, but you can’t drive down a road without noticing that every second building is a B&B or Hotel. We looked at the local papers and the housing section was enormous with houses more expensive than those near to London. And yet the job vacancies pages, of which there were few, had no great opportunities.
We flew to Tresco in the Scilly Isles by helicopter, which was quite an interesting and enjoyable (if somewhat noisy and expensive) way to travel (also much faster than by boat). 20mins later we were on the island where we jumped into the back of a small truck and were driven to our hotel, the New Inn.
The island is lovely and once again we benefited from a break in the weather. We walked around the much of the small island in a couple of hours. The next day we walked around the rest and visited the exceptional sub-tropical gardens.
Whilst we were in the county we also visited one of our favourite looking theatres, the Minak built onto a cliff side over looking a beautiful sandy bay.
We also managed to fit in the obligatory National Trust site, this time it was the stately home called Terice.
We had a nightmare journey home with traffic accidents, poor weather, and road works combining to have spent the whole day in the car. We had a short break at my aunt and uncle’s where we dug up the first of the new potatoes for dinner, before we jumped into our car for the journey home. Again we got caught in more traffic and road works and we didn’t get home until the early hours of the morning.
More of wot I have heard…
Picaresque, by The Decemberists.
My new favourite band at the moment. They are an unusual combination of Indie edge and folksy story telling. Epic story ideas are played out in each song with the a modern folk sound. They don’t take themselves too seriously but they do the music.
Demon Days, by the Gorillaz.
Here is another ‘band’ that doesn’t but themselves before the music. This is a good second album by the cartoon foursome and has some more of the same along with a few surprises. The website is great fun to play around with especially if you are a fan of Jamie Hewlett’s (Tank Girl) artwork.
Happenstance, by Rachael Yamagata.
We saw this artist last year when we had a spat of going out to music gigs. She was the supporting artist and we had never heard her before. She is a very good musician and has a lovely voice (check it out at her web site). Her album was not available at the gig or at any of the high street stores, so I finally got around to buying it on-line (it is often cheaper to buy music online from America and pay the postage, than it is to buy it hear – the UK is a rip-off for this among other things).
My new favourite band at the moment. They are an unusual combination of Indie edge and folksy story telling. Epic story ideas are played out in each song with the a modern folk sound. They don’t take themselves too seriously but they do the music.
Demon Days, by the Gorillaz.
Here is another ‘band’ that doesn’t but themselves before the music. This is a good second album by the cartoon foursome and has some more of the same along with a few surprises. The website is great fun to play around with especially if you are a fan of Jamie Hewlett’s (Tank Girl) artwork.
Happenstance, by Rachael Yamagata.
We saw this artist last year when we had a spat of going out to music gigs. She was the supporting artist and we had never heard her before. She is a very good musician and has a lovely voice (check it out at her web site). Her album was not available at the gig or at any of the high street stores, so I finally got around to buying it on-line (it is often cheaper to buy music online from America and pay the postage, than it is to buy it hear – the UK is a rip-off for this among other things).
More of wot I have read…
I have bought a few of the 'Young Adult' range of books so that I can get a better idea of what is currently being published at the moment.
Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera.
I guess most people will know this story from the film, but the book approaches the topic from a very different angle. The author spends more time on the spiritual and mystical nature of the story than the narrative, and details the significance of the imagery as it relates to the Maori culture. It is an interesting and moving read but it is not what you might expect if you only know of this author through the silver screen.
‘Eight-year-old Kahu craves her great-grandfather’s love and attention. But he’s focused on his duties as chief of the Ngati Konohi in Whangara, on the East Coast – a tribe that claims descent from the legendary ‘whale rider’. In every generation since the wale rider, a male has inherited the title of chief. But now there is no male heir – there’s only Kahu. She should be next in line for the title, but her great-grandfather is blinded by tradition and sees no use for a girl. Kahu will not be ignored. And in her struggle she has a unique ally: the whale reedier himself, from whom she has inherited the ability to communicate with whales.’
Fat kid rules the world by KL Going.
This book is one of a breed of new edgier teen books and touches on subjects of suicide, sex, drugs and rock and roll.
‘What would you say to a homeless punk who just saved your life?
When Curt (skinny punk, guitar genius) stops Troy (hugely overweight social leper) from committing suicide, it’s the start of a very unlikely friendship. Troy’s family think Curt is just a junkie loser, but Troy knows there’s more to him.
Besides, life’s looking up now Curt’s arrived – with a new image and a new nickname (Big T) the fat kid finally has potential. And when Curt recruits Troy as the drummer in his punk band, it seems like Troy might be cool for the first time ever. There’s just one problem – he doesn’t know how to play the drums. But when Curt’s around, anything seems possible.’
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve.
This is more of the old school rip-roaring adventure stories, though even here the author touches on some more adult themes. I like the 'future-Victoriana' setting that is presented in this, the first in a trilogy city-eat-city stories.
‘London is on the move again. The city has been lying low, skulking in the hills to avoid the bigger, faster, hungrier cities loose in the Great Hunting Ground. The great town moves off after its quarry as events within the walls begin to take a sinister turn…’
Postcards from no man’s land by Aidan Chambers.
This is a story of a young man’s journey to find out more about his dead grandfather with whom he shares his name, but in turn he finds out something important about himself. Again this ‘young adult’ book touches on sensitive and adult themes. I read this book to see how the author combined the dual stories of Jacob and his grandfather in two parallel narratives. It has given me some more ideas.
‘Jacob Todd, abroad on his own for the first time, arrives in Amsterdam for the commemoration of the Battle of Arnhem where his grandfather fought 50 years before. There, Geertrui Wessling, now an old lady terminally ill, tells an extraordinary story of love and betrayal which links Jacob with her own Dutch family in a way he never suspected and which leads him to question his place in the world.’
I have also been wading through a little New Zealand history. I found the early period more interesting, and now I am having trouble in finishing it.
History of New Zealand by Michael King
Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera.
I guess most people will know this story from the film, but the book approaches the topic from a very different angle. The author spends more time on the spiritual and mystical nature of the story than the narrative, and details the significance of the imagery as it relates to the Maori culture. It is an interesting and moving read but it is not what you might expect if you only know of this author through the silver screen.
‘Eight-year-old Kahu craves her great-grandfather’s love and attention. But he’s focused on his duties as chief of the Ngati Konohi in Whangara, on the East Coast – a tribe that claims descent from the legendary ‘whale rider’. In every generation since the wale rider, a male has inherited the title of chief. But now there is no male heir – there’s only Kahu. She should be next in line for the title, but her great-grandfather is blinded by tradition and sees no use for a girl. Kahu will not be ignored. And in her struggle she has a unique ally: the whale reedier himself, from whom she has inherited the ability to communicate with whales.’
Fat kid rules the world by KL Going.
This book is one of a breed of new edgier teen books and touches on subjects of suicide, sex, drugs and rock and roll.
‘What would you say to a homeless punk who just saved your life?
When Curt (skinny punk, guitar genius) stops Troy (hugely overweight social leper) from committing suicide, it’s the start of a very unlikely friendship. Troy’s family think Curt is just a junkie loser, but Troy knows there’s more to him.
Besides, life’s looking up now Curt’s arrived – with a new image and a new nickname (Big T) the fat kid finally has potential. And when Curt recruits Troy as the drummer in his punk band, it seems like Troy might be cool for the first time ever. There’s just one problem – he doesn’t know how to play the drums. But when Curt’s around, anything seems possible.’
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve.
This is more of the old school rip-roaring adventure stories, though even here the author touches on some more adult themes. I like the 'future-Victoriana' setting that is presented in this, the first in a trilogy city-eat-city stories.
‘London is on the move again. The city has been lying low, skulking in the hills to avoid the bigger, faster, hungrier cities loose in the Great Hunting Ground. The great town moves off after its quarry as events within the walls begin to take a sinister turn…’
Postcards from no man’s land by Aidan Chambers.
This is a story of a young man’s journey to find out more about his dead grandfather with whom he shares his name, but in turn he finds out something important about himself. Again this ‘young adult’ book touches on sensitive and adult themes. I read this book to see how the author combined the dual stories of Jacob and his grandfather in two parallel narratives. It has given me some more ideas.
‘Jacob Todd, abroad on his own for the first time, arrives in Amsterdam for the commemoration of the Battle of Arnhem where his grandfather fought 50 years before. There, Geertrui Wessling, now an old lady terminally ill, tells an extraordinary story of love and betrayal which links Jacob with her own Dutch family in a way he never suspected and which leads him to question his place in the world.’
I have also been wading through a little New Zealand history. I found the early period more interesting, and now I am having trouble in finishing it.
History of New Zealand by Michael King
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
More of wot I have watched…
StarWars III.
Well that's it then - it's all over. But was it worth it? I quite enjoyed this movie and it did seem to tie up all of the loose ends, though I am glad I didn't book the special screening that included all shows back-to-back just to get there.
Isn't amazing how Hyden Christensen's acting range improves once the mask comes down!
Sideways.
A buddy movie with wine (as long as it is not Merlot). A very well acted story of great sensitivity but it is a little on the slow side.
Spivs.
Not the best movie by a long shot, wait until there is absolutely nothing else to do before you bother with this one.
Battlestar Galactica.
The new TV series has just played out here in the UK and I enjoyed it with only a few gripes (the capture and use of a Raider in particular). I liked how they tied the old series in, the feel and effects and the new twists. You don't have to have been a fan of the original, but it does help. Sky One Link
SciFi Link
Well that's it then - it's all over. But was it worth it? I quite enjoyed this movie and it did seem to tie up all of the loose ends, though I am glad I didn't book the special screening that included all shows back-to-back just to get there.
Isn't amazing how Hyden Christensen's acting range improves once the mask comes down!
Sideways.
A buddy movie with wine (as long as it is not Merlot). A very well acted story of great sensitivity but it is a little on the slow side.
Spivs.
Not the best movie by a long shot, wait until there is absolutely nothing else to do before you bother with this one.
Battlestar Galactica.
The new TV series has just played out here in the UK and I enjoyed it with only a few gripes (the capture and use of a Raider in particular). I liked how they tied the old series in, the feel and effects and the new twists. You don't have to have been a fan of the original, but it does help. Sky One Link
SciFi Link
Roleplaying…
I am currently in a D20 modern campaign and in the occasional DragonQuest adventure.
Kevin is running a campaign set in an American modern city that is becoming the focus of supernatural activity as the Earth is becoming exposed to increasing amounts of Dark Matter. James and I play agents in a shadowy private organisation that investigates these occurrences.
I have played in several adventures run by Kiwis abroad (Dean, Ross and Adam). In all of them I have played Ular Rah Shan a confused E&E mage whose mental problems are increasingly manifesting themselves as physical side effects.
Kevin is running a campaign set in an American modern city that is becoming the focus of supernatural activity as the Earth is becoming exposed to increasing amounts of Dark Matter. James and I play agents in a shadowy private organisation that investigates these occurrences.
I have played in several adventures run by Kiwis abroad (Dean, Ross and Adam). In all of them I have played Ular Rah Shan a confused E&E mage whose mental problems are increasingly manifesting themselves as physical side effects.
The kitchen gardener…
Many of this years crop is in the ground or in seed trays in the green house and with the change in temperatures we are watering and weeding in equal measures. We have had a good few spears of asparagus and now the strawberries are starting to ripen. We are keeping mostly to our favourites this time, but we have a couple of new crop choices that we are trying; out doors we have a row of Pak Choi and in the green house we have a couple of melons.
The first of many…
Summer has come to the UK (though if you slept in that day you would have missed it).
To understand the British fascination with the weather you have to live through a few seasons here. One day it can be so cold that you have the heating on and the frosts kill the new seedlings in the garden, and the next day it is so hot that cars are overheating at the side of the road and people are wearing ill advise clothing choices.
To understand the British fascination with the weather you have to live through a few seasons here. One day it can be so cold that you have the heating on and the frosts kill the new seedlings in the garden, and the next day it is so hot that cars are overheating at the side of the road and people are wearing ill advise clothing choices.
Celebrations…
J has passed his exams and is looking forward to the summer break in Spain before returning back to Hull and continuing on with his Computer Science degree.
In another milestone J has had his 19th birthday recently. He is staying with us for a couple of days before he flies off on holiday.
We had a nice family BBQ at Deb and Fog's place where they showed us a video of their recent holiday to Australia and cooked a joint of pork and a leg of lamb in their new Weber barbie'.
In another milestone J has had his 19th birthday recently. He is staying with us for a couple of days before he flies off on holiday.
We had a nice family BBQ at Deb and Fog's place where they showed us a video of their recent holiday to Australia and cooked a joint of pork and a leg of lamb in their new Weber barbie'.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
How long?
Wow! This is about the longest I have gone without blogging. Not that nothing has happened just busy doing something else.
We have some big news that can be revealed, although many already know. We are to become migratory – at least for a while. We are planning on following the sun across the globe. After summer ends here in the northern hemisphere, around October time, we will be flying south and soaking the southern sun until April when we return for the northern spring.
We had to make sure all our nearest and dearest were ok with the idea and we are happy to report they have given us their collective blessings. This should mean that we can spend a maximum time with all of our family and friends.
Our major task is to ensure that J and the house are sorted by renting it out while we are away (if you know of someone suitable drop us a note). We need to cover the mortgage and J’s expenses and then a little left over for incidentals.
While we are down under we hope to live a slightly more frugal lifestyle and thus avoid having to work in a traditional job, existing on some small scale enterprises. We hope to start an on-line T-shirt business with some friends here in the UK, and we hope to help sell some of my folks olive produce, along with other local items at craft fairs and the like. In addition we will try our hands at the creative arts, Sue making glass jewellery, and me painting, drawing and writing.
I have continued the progress with my book, but it is slow. If I can get a couple of chapters and a synopsis down I can start sending it out to publishers for their reactions.
Spring has sprung here and I have been spending more time at the allotment with plenty of seedlings sprouting in the greenhouse. Outside it is still too early for many plants as there is still a risk of night time frosts, but we do have the onions, potatoes, some carrots and beetroot in, and we have been eating our first crop of asparagus.
We have some big news that can be revealed, although many already know. We are to become migratory – at least for a while. We are planning on following the sun across the globe. After summer ends here in the northern hemisphere, around October time, we will be flying south and soaking the southern sun until April when we return for the northern spring.
We had to make sure all our nearest and dearest were ok with the idea and we are happy to report they have given us their collective blessings. This should mean that we can spend a maximum time with all of our family and friends.
Our major task is to ensure that J and the house are sorted by renting it out while we are away (if you know of someone suitable drop us a note). We need to cover the mortgage and J’s expenses and then a little left over for incidentals.
While we are down under we hope to live a slightly more frugal lifestyle and thus avoid having to work in a traditional job, existing on some small scale enterprises. We hope to start an on-line T-shirt business with some friends here in the UK, and we hope to help sell some of my folks olive produce, along with other local items at craft fairs and the like. In addition we will try our hands at the creative arts, Sue making glass jewellery, and me painting, drawing and writing.
I have continued the progress with my book, but it is slow. If I can get a couple of chapters and a synopsis down I can start sending it out to publishers for their reactions.
Spring has sprung here and I have been spending more time at the allotment with plenty of seedlings sprouting in the greenhouse. Outside it is still too early for many plants as there is still a risk of night time frosts, but we do have the onions, potatoes, some carrots and beetroot in, and we have been eating our first crop of asparagus.
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