Chance encounters

During an afternoon of valley ramblings and photography I came upon a lady cyclist, pausing in a lay-by to check her map. Bound for John O'Groats, although not today I was assured, she had come from Slaidburn this morning and was heading as far as Penrith. Impressive going, considering I can hardly get up the road by bicycle, and it makes me wonder how many more interesting people are out there doing a whole array of activities, some mundane and some extraordinary.

Let loose on the motorway

Completing something at a different point in life to everyone else makes for an odd experience. I've recently done that with finally getting my hands on a driving licence, about 10 years after I first gave it a shot and, in hindsight largely due to a useless instructor and perhaps also the nerves of youth, after several failed attempts gave it up as a bad job. Now not everyone I know drives. There are still friends from Uni who haven't bothered yet and some who have similarly passed relatively recently, but on the whole driving is something which most accomplished ages ago and it's hardly given a thought these days.

Nevertheless on accomplishing a feat such as driving, however belated it may be, some thrill exists and celebration called for. Today I completed the last of my lessons, in this case some training on motorway driving, which given our proximity to the M6 is none too shabby a skill to have under the old belt. Now the land is potentially my oyster. No longer stricken by the possibility of weekend engineering works on the railways I can reach a good many places once out of reach. As an amateur photographer this is more than just a little exciting in prospect. Already I'm eyeing up potential targets for my lens that have hitherto been inaccessible: wind farms, panoramic views and the strewn remnants of a former industrial age all take my fancy.

Whether I'd go long haul with the driving is still to be seen. I have a lot of friends some hundreds of miles away and it'll still prove something of a challenge to reach them. Whether the train will continue to take the strain or not will have to be seen. I suspect it will in many cases, but the potential for flexibility in circumstances is a welcome addition. An upcoming trip to the Lakes with friends might benefit from my newly available transportation skills for one, and my parents are already making the most of being chauffeured about the countryside. It's all rather new and it'll take a while to work out just how much I'm wanting to indulge in this driving lark.

The most important factor is that it's available. Many options lay in store, and while by no means a cheap habit here in the UK, being able to drive will certain open a few new avenues that were previously well out of reach of public transport of my ability to trek there.

Eurovision RIP

The music of Eurovision has long been criticised but the very basis on which much of the voting in the contest took place last week really had plunged the whole event to new depths. At least the camp and kitsch, pop and pap elements of it could be enjoyed. Now however the fragmentation of Eastern Europe and their membership to the EBU combined with the equal vote that each country receives has potentially skewed the voting. A certain amount of voting for neighbours is expected, but when each of Serbia's tiny neighbours awards its song 12 points in what's being called 'bloc voting' any hope that songs win on merit are thrown out the window.

I can't say I care that the UK faired so badly, but the top-of-the-blocs entries dominating the scoring largely didn't deserve to be there. Ukraine had a fair shot with its ultra-kitsch and glam offer but otherwise many of the songs that received so many points were largely forgettable. For what it's worth I did vote for an Eastern European country - Slovenia, with their sensational operatic singer - although it seems the Slovenians aren't quite moving in the right circles to garner the sort of support expressed towards Russia and others.

No, I'm afraid the Eurovision, for whatever it might have been worth has become a shell of the contest it once was. Let the best song win, whoever that may be, but when that most basic of requirements - that of merit - is so blatantly ditched in favour of neighbourly political bias it's time to call it a day.

Related articles:
MP demands Eurovision vote change (BBCi)
Tactical voting the low note as Serbia wins Eurovision contest (the Australian)
Sozialistische Nachbarschaftshilfe (Die Zeit)
On Eurovision Night, everybody needs good neighbours (The Times)

The Russia to Japan Ferry

I've added a new page to the North Facing website providing an in-depth guide to travelling on the Vladivostok to Fushiki ferry. This ship takes you from the far side of Russia where the Trans-Siberian proper terminates, across the Sea of Japan to the land of the rising sun. Detailed practical information and photos about the ferry service are a bit thin of the ground online so this new feature is set to put it right! Please take a look!

Retrojets

Did you know there was such a thing as retrojets? I didn't until just now when I saw the term used in relations to the Lufthansa Airbus that is painted up in a classic livery for the airline. And that's largely what retrojets are; they're largely modern jets painted up in liveries of yesteryear. Some are quite striking, perhaps none so much as the Lufthansa A321 jet itself, although this sadly now repainted Varig 767 is another fine example, as is this monochrome photographed Mexican aircraft, while this modern American Airlines' 737-800 looks remarkably well suited to its retro paintjob. It only lacks the old fashioned aluminium engine cowlings! The photographer of this VC-10 in BOAC colours at Duxford wishes British Airways would make a retrojet of their own in such a colour scheme and I wholeheartedly agree! The VC-10 maybe long since retired from commercial service but seeing a modern jet in BOAC colours would make a real talking point.

Politics

We've been fortunate to have a couple of big elections in the past week. Thursday saw elections across the UK but most notably that in Scotland where there pro-independence Scottish National Party were threatening to cause an upset over Labour's lead, and upset they did indeed achieve, clinching one more vote than Labour. Talk of independence is unlikely however as the other 3 big parties are all committed to Scotland remaining a part of the UK, and between them their majority is considerable. Coalitions seem to be being refused by both the Lib Dems and Tories, so it'll be interesting to see what sort of ruling party and first minister we do actually get from all of this.

Yesterday saw the 2nd and final part of the French Presidential elections which saw Sarkozy win by a comfortable 6%. It's still to be seen how he pans out as President, but he's reportedly an Anglophile and pro-American, plus he was talking the friendly talk towards the likes of Algeria too. He wasn't acting so friendly however towards illegal migrants and those on state welfare, both of which will seemingly be targeted with hard line policies. Hard work is the Sarkozy's motto for France; let's see if the unions agree with him.

North Facing - my new travel website

I announced a while ago that my travel website is now North Facing, or more specifically northfacing.com. The site specialises in travel to the more Northerly countries of the world, but also includes broader features including overland travel from the UK. This is a 3-part guide with illustrated maps guiding you from the British Isles to Europe and then beyond to popular international overland destinations. Keeping with the overland theme I've written guides to The Trans-Siberian Railway which features loads of photos and information about the journey on-board, and also a guide to travelling on the train from China to Lhasa in Tibet, which similarly features practical information about travelling on this 48 hour journey.

The North Facing website has a brand new look which I hope you like. It's currently being tested out on the homepage and I hope to roll it out across the whole site very soon.

You may have also noticed that my main homepage at danielatkinson.co.uk is also undergoing a makeover. I decided a new look was well overdue and this is also something I'll be working on and rolling out in coming weeks.

Cheese - junk food?

The government has classified cheese as junk food in relation to their campaign on childhood obesity and the restrictions that will be placed on advertising to children.

Yes, cheese is composed of a high percentage of fat, but cheese is a fine natural product in which a great amount of time, effort skill and indeed art is applied. Junk food indeed! Ofcom have shown themselves up as being culinary heathens on this issue. Cheese *can* be fattening of course, but it doesn't make it junk. To even put it on the same level as the likes of MacDonalds whose food is designed to contain all that is bad in order to create addiction seems quite incredibly really. Cheese is tasty and perhaps somewhat addictive through being a fine, natural product and long may it continue to satisfy us.

Jaffa Cakes and Marmite is also being classified as junk food. On these I hold less of an issue. Jaffa Cakes, well as the name implies are a manner of cake. Indeed it was once proven to authorities that they are cakes and not chocolate biscuits in order to avoid VAT I believe. Fair do's really. Marmite, well I have forever failed in seeing what is in the slightest bit attractive of this foul substance. Thus I have no qualms in limiting its advertising coverage!