As you'll see it's been some time since I've been in the village and with quill in hand. Following a blogging hiatus that came with a change of location I am scribe once more. However this time it's from a village in a city; an odd state to be in but a fine one at that.
As befits new circumstances there's a brand new blog to visit and much more to see.
Visit The Inconvenient Mule blog for the latest musings, photos, reviews and plenty more besides.
20081112
20070701
Smoke free pubs
Well having encountered my first English smoke free pub this evening, I've got to say that this is undoubtedly the way to go. Sat down for a good evening with mates. Sure the music was still too loud for a fairly quiet Sunday evening pub with no chance of dancing, but to be able to go in, have an evening out, and come home, not stinking of smoke and having to throw your clothes straight in the laundry bin is a real step forward.
20070630
Reflection
Talk about a day for reflection. Today marks a decade since hand over of Hong Kong back to China, the smoking ban came into force at 6am and there's the fortunately failed terrorist attempts to consider.
20070623
Blair to believe in Pixies in favour of Elves...
... or this might just as well be what he's doing with his much talked about imminent conversion to Roman Catholicism. Choose your own flavour of make believe and largely archaic and pointless rules by which to lead your life. Whoopee. Perhaps this tells us a lot about our outgoing PM.
35 days later
What a difference a month makes. New job, flat and life more of less, although in some ways I'm picking up where I left off before my travels - back in the big smoke. I'm still in south-west London albeit in a different quarter, and my job is now in an area where I want to be. I'm only a few weeks in, in fact just a few days in if we're talking about the flat, so it's still early days with some amount of settling in to be done, however so far so good.
Often it takes some time and some contrasts to boot you in the right direction. I'd spent some months at home in the idyllic green and pleasant land of the lakes and dales, and while this was fine I realised it wasn't what I was looking for now. I had had misgivings about moving back to London but in the end it is the place where my friends are and the best opportunities lie in store, and in fact it's not so bad. So far it's going nicely and I'm enjoying the buzz once again.
What of this blog then? Well I suppose it will have to become the blog of an urban village, which is pretty much where I am. From one village of sorts to quite another. Change of scene but the story continues.
Often it takes some time and some contrasts to boot you in the right direction. I'd spent some months at home in the idyllic green and pleasant land of the lakes and dales, and while this was fine I realised it wasn't what I was looking for now. I had had misgivings about moving back to London but in the end it is the place where my friends are and the best opportunities lie in store, and in fact it's not so bad. So far it's going nicely and I'm enjoying the buzz once again.
What of this blog then? Well I suppose it will have to become the blog of an urban village, which is pretty much where I am. From one village of sorts to quite another. Change of scene but the story continues.
20070519
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.
20070516
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.
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.
20070513
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)
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)
20070508
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!
20070507
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.
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