Apprentice Geek...

Recently we celebrated Tom’s sixteenth birthday with family and friends and on a weekend afterwards we went into town, taking Ollie to visit comic shops (Orbital, Gosh and Forbidden Planet), a games shop (Orcs Nest) and a record shop (Fopp) and a café, while Tom was out spending his birthday money with his parents. We then all met up for dinner at Polpo.

Spring has Sprung...

We made our regular spring visit to Wisley RHS to see the early blooms as they herald the change of seasons.

Holiday Blues...

Sue went out to Tenerife (Los Gigantes) with a bunch of girlfriends and unfortunately caught a nasty bug.

Felt the Earth Move...

I felt one of the recent earthquakes that has happened in Surrey, it was relatively minor and just shook some ornaments on the sideboard.

Games Day...

Games day with Martin at James’s place where we played several games, including: 

• Roll for It; 
• Okey Dokey; 
• Pirate 21; 
• Karuba; 
• Game; 
• Space Base; 
• Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards.

More of Wot I have Seen…

Sue and I had a night out at the Guildford Electric Theatre where we went to the very entertaining and accomplished Budapest Café Orchestra play. We had a meal beforehand at Yo Sushi.

More of Wot I have Read…

The Axeman’s Jazz by Ray Celestin

I enjoyed this book, partly as I have recently visited the city and like jazz music, but mostly for the well-developed characters and interesting interconnecting storylines that are based on historical events (although altered to give a greater sense of drama).

‘New Orleans, 1919. As a dark serial killer – the Axeman – stalks the city, three individuals set out to unmask him.

Detective Lieutenant Michael Talbot, heading up the official investigation, is struggling to find leads and harbouring his own grave secret. Former detective Luca d’Andrea finds himself working for the mafia – whose need to solve the mystery of the Axeman is every bit as urgent as that of the authorities. And Ida, a secretary at the Pinkerton Detective Agency, stumbles across a clue which lures her and her musician friend, Louis Armstrong, to the case and into terrible danger…

As Michael, Luca and Ida each draw closer to discovering the killer’s identity, the Axeman himself will issue a challenge to the people of New Orleans: play jazz or risk becoming the next victim.’

Spare and Found Parts by Sarah Maria Griffin

I found this book a little annoying. The characters and setting were not well developed and I found the whole thing somewhat contrived and lacking depth.

‘Nell Crane has never held a boy’s hand.

In a city devastated by an epidemic, where survivors are all missing parts—an arm, a leg, an eye—Nell has always been an outsider. Her father is the famed scientist who created the biomechanical limbs that everyone now uses. But she’s the only one with her machinery on the inside: her heart. Since the childhood operation, she has ticked. Like a clock, like a bomb. And as her community rebuilds, everyone is expected to contribute to the society’s good . . . but how can Nell live up to her father’s revolutionary ideas when she has none of her own?

Then she finds a lost mannequin’s hand while salvaging on the beach, and inspiration strikes. Can Nell build her own companion in a world that fears advanced technology? The deeper she sinks into this plan, the more she learns about her city—and her father, who is hiding secret experiments of his own.’

Keeping Warm…

We have had a surprisingly mild winter so far and have even enjoyed an evening meal sitting outdoors around a fire pit at the Whittenbury’s where food was cooked over the coals and we sat well into the night along with Paul and Lorraine and Debbie.

Not all Business…

I had a trip away for a few days at a sales meeting and was treated to an outing for evening meal in the Great Hall at Warwick castle. It was a themed event where we all worn tabards and jester’s hats and we treated to entertainment by some talented Mediaeval musicians, a magician, and a host and hostess. It reminded me a little of a school outing I had many years ago, to a venue in Auckland called Dirty Dicks.

Gregarious Glutton’s…

The semi-regular Gregarious Glutton’s outing went this time into London. We met Marc, Derek and Donna at the Botanist for cocktails and then went on to Casa Brindisa (near South Kensington) for some very enjoyable tapas followed by some delicious gelato next door at Venchi and a few more cocktails at Uncle Barts Speakeasy (an intimate and funky little venue).

Culture and Cuisine…

We stayed up in London after our Gregarious Glutton’s evening out and Marc and I went to the Ashurbanipal exhibition the following morning at the British Museum. Afterwards we caught up with Sue and wandered into a few book shops and a comic shop, had coffee at Café Vernano 1882, a drink or two at Clapham before enjoying a most delicious lunch at the trendy eating establishment, The Dairy, at Clapham.

Ole Birthday…

I thoroughly enjoyed a Mexican inspired meal that Sue made for me especially for my birthday. 

More of wot I have heard…

We went to the Harlequin Theatre in Redhill to see Band of Burns perform songs and tunes inspired by the life and works of Rabbie Burns. We met Paul and Lorraine at the theatre after we had a lovely Thai meal at Sia Kitchen above the Junction pub.

The band were amazing with individual members taking turns to lead and provide information in context to the songs and tunes about to be played. They were a very talented group of musicians and we had a wonderful evening.

Just the Two of Us…

Sue and I had a lovely day out with breakfast in Reigate and then watching the very entertaining film, The Favourite, at the Everyman cinema, and then seeing a steam train thunder past as we waited on the platform for our train home again.

Out in the Shire…

Recently we visited Jodie (and Sam the Dog) in Ludlow with Debbie for a weekend of catching up.

We had a bracing walk up at Clee Hill as the clouds closed in and we also had a visit to the quite spectacular Stokesay Castle nearby.

The next day Dawn and Muz also came over to help with some simple DIY and afterwards we all enjoyed a meal and a few drinks.

The following morning before we left we wandered around Ludlow and across the bridges and along the riverside with a great view back to the castle.

More of wot I have heard…

I have bought some new music from some quite different artists.

What Is Love by Clean Bandit. A new band that is currently very popular with catchy lyrics and exciting sound to them.

The Last King of Pop by Paul Heaton. A retrospective through this artist history from the Housemartins, Beautiful South and to his partnership with Jacqui Abbot.

The Essentials II by Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox. An unusual and slightly novelty act of reinterpreting recent (and not to recent) song in an older style. It can be quite a revelation how some songs are changed and reimagined.

More of wot I have read…

I have been re-reading Saga of the Exiles series of books by Julian May that I first read over twenty years ago, and I was pleasantly surprised how well they stood up to the passage of time. Some events and scientific discovers have since had a small impact to what we know about what was a possible future or knowledge of the past, but not enough to truly effect the story in any great way.

I like the premise of the story of how people are transported back from a future where humans have evolved and encountered other sentient species to a pre-history Pliocene earth where they encounter other alien races inhabiting the land. As I am a fan of Celtic mythology I like how the author provides an alternative narrative as to the origins of these fables and how she succeeds to make a science out of magic.

The series includes The Many Colored Land, The Golden Torc, The Nonborn King and The Adversary. Later she went on to write about how humans evolved and became involved with a galactic federation of races in separate series of books.

For me though I most enjoyed the Saga of the Exiles.

The third and final volume of this series which was originally conceived to continue in several more books, but was halted after artistic disagreements is a darker and more melancholic affair.

The Ballad of Halo Jones Volume 3 by Alan Moore and Ian Gibson

Gregarious Gluttons…

We had arranged to meet up in the New Year with Derek and Donna for a meal and as Marc was around he joined us too. We went to Bada in Godalming where we had some delicious and interesting Asian fusion tapas. We agreed we needed to make this a regular event.

A day to ourselves…

On a rare weekend without prior commitments Sue and I went to the seaside at Clymping and Felpham, for a walk and lunch (fish and chips for me and crab salad for Sue). Later we went on to visit some grand churches and have a coffee (coffee for me, glass of fizz for Sue) at Arundel, and then back home for some board/card games.

Postponed Catch-up…

After the illness suffered by Terry and Katharine we met up for an evening meal with Rod and Jenny where we had a lovely catch up. The next day we went for a pleasant walk around by the Bridgewater Monument on the Ashridge Estate and had lunch at the Valiant Trooper in Aldbury.