Vegas!

I'm sure the writing up of a holiday isn't supposed to take longer than the holiday itself...

Day Six: Flagstaff to Las Vegas

From the relaxed to the frenetic, woodland charm to Sin City and other such clichés.  In some ways this was the part of the trip I was least looking forward to - I'm not a gambler and while I love a fantastic building and a bit of hustle and bustle I'd rather see the real thing than a fake in the desert.  But, it is an experience to see the place and I'm always happy to be proved wrong by such a visit.

To start the day off we called in at Williams, just down the road from Flagstaff and the start of the Grand Canyon Railway.  Not for us to board the train, but to see the short "wild west" show put on before departure.  And for a 20 minute bit of fun it did what it said on the tin, so to speak.  Back in 2006 we had a whole evening at a wild west theme village with a meal, shoot outs in the street and so forth which was several orders of magnitude better than this, but you can't really argue with a bit of free entertainment.  The cowboys then went off to hold up the train on its way to the Canyon while we headed west.

Next stop was Seligman, which unexpectedly turned out to be the most depressing part of the whole trip for me.  When you are in the area you have to do a bit of the Route 66 experience, and this was ours (if you don't count the night before in Flagstaff).  But this part of the route is slowly dying.  I know the whole route has been in decline since the opening of Interstate 40 alongside it, and much of it now survives on the tourist dollar rather than being alongside a major east-west link.  This was certainly the case in Seligman – a few empty buildings but a lot of gift shop junk to replace them.  And cars.  The whole lot centred on a single barber’s chair operated for the last 60 or so years by a guy named Angel Delgadillo.  But what was once a novelty place to get a trim when you were driving the route is now the sole reason for visiting the place, and it just struck me as a grim way of hanging on to the glory days and trying to sell a bit of branded tat to anyone who happens to stop.  And stop they do, I counted at least five coaches arriving and departing in the time we were there which must add up to a hundred or more, so maybe 500 people plus those who arrive under their own steam per day in the peak tourist times.  All buying t-shirts and fridge magnets and getting the occasional trim or burger.  And looking at the cars.

Anyone who has seen the eponymous Disney film and its surrounding details will know the idea came to Pixar head John Lasseter when he took his family on a route 66 road trip.  This was one of the places he stopped, and there is a cartoon he drew on the wall if the gift shop to prove it.  And in the way ideas go full circle, the Seligmanites have taken the Cars concept to heart and filled the place with American classics.  They may have been there before of course (a cursory look on-line has not answered this for me either way) but the majority of the ones parked around the various buildings now have eyes painted on the wind shields and smiles across the radiators to mimic the cartoon versions.  But not particularly well and a few years back and showing signs of decay and neglect already.  Add that to the also faded dummies on top of a road house and a general air of desperation about the place I was left feeling thoroughly downhearted by the time we left.

This was not helped by the lunchtime stop at some outlet malls where I didn't find anything I fancied in the right sizes.  I know, material concerns and all that!  But even though crossing into Nevada brought us up to 7/50 states visited by the time we got to Vegas I was definitely at my lowest point of the entire journey.  This was not helped by Alex having given us a spiel about pickpockets and vice while we were still on the road – not the best way to get people to look forward to seeing the place! 

We spent our two nights at the Tropicana, which is down the southern end of the strip on one side of a crossroads - also home to the MGM Grand, New York New York and Excalibur.  Quite dramatic views from the hotel and helped by us being up on the 11^th floor – our highest room of the stay.  Of course you have to walk through the Casino to get to the rooms, which was further off-putting as they still allow smoking while you fritter your money away on the slots.  But the room was very nice and a chance to relax before heading out again and a quick croissant helped to calm my nerves somewhat.

So that just left the evening tour to round off the day.  This (and indeed a similar evening tour of San Francisco, which we will get to in due course) proved to be another slight bone of contention for some of the company again as they were optional rather than included, meaning an extra charge for something done using the bus, driver and guide we already had with us.  We weren't too fussed as we wanted to see the place for the first time in company anyway…

And what a place!  The sheer over-the-top-ness won me over big time and while I’m not exactly chomping at the bit to go back there I’d not dismiss a return visit out of hand.  Starting right down at the south end of the strip by the famous “welcome” sign we headed up to Fremont Street at the far end and back again.  We only made two stops after the obligatory sign photo-shoot but they were both pretty spectacular.  First the Bellagio for the delightful floral conservatory and fountain show and then the Fremont Street experience.  Click on the links there for a few images that do more justice than I could with words.  Between these we saw most of the big casinos and shops, the wedding chapels, the neon and glitz and most of all the people.  Everywhere the people.  Dressed in all manner of costumes from full on to practically naked and trying to get you to part with a few bucks to have your photo taken with them.  Been a while since I saw so many buttocks in one place!  I would have liked to have seen inside the Venezian, and maybe Paris too but we were out over four hours on the tour as it was.

Holiday Part two

OK, proper holiday days from now on (although some of them will still be mainly getting from A to B).

Day Three - San Diego

A whole day of seeing the sights - and what a beautiful city to see them in.  Early starts (well, earlier than we might have chosen when being on holiday) were to be a feature of the trip, and we were on the bus by 0830 with a local guide in tow as well as Alex for a look around San Diego and over to Coronado where you can look back on the downtown area.  In my mind San Diego is most famous for the Comic Convention which now covers anything Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror not just inky pages, and we did see the Convention Centre but there is a lot more on offer.  For instance I hadn't realised how big a naval presence there was, parts of the historic Downtown are wonderfully Art Deco and the "Old Town" area was gorgeous.  A touch of the Old West (down to a genuine Stagecoach in the Wells Fargo museum and chaps with big fat cigars on the porch of a tobacconist).  We ended that part of the tour there and had lunch at a place called O'Hungry's - good food at excellent prices, and thousands of dollars (and other notes) signed and stuck on the walls.  Given that Alex and Art went straight in there when we reached the Old Town we reckoned it would be reasonable, and thoroughly enjoyed it, as did a few others from our bus.  And especially when an entire coach load of Chinese tourists arrived for their lunch and basically took the joint over.  Luckily we had been served by then...  One of our rules for eating away from home is to try and work out where the locals go, and failing that to at least see what the guide/driver do as they always know good spots.

San Diego as seen from Coronado

When we were looking at things to do on the holiday, we did consider spending the afternoon of this day at the Zoo.  But it would really have needed a full day to even begin to do justice to the amount of things on offer there (Pandas will just have to wait for another time, or a trip to Scotchland) so we took up the optional harbour cruise offer instead.  And were really glad that we did.  Two hours on the water which reinforced the naval presence (the tour guide for that was ex-navy himself and knew every vessel we passed from Aircraft Carriers down to the tiniest of Tugs and Submarines).  We also got to see pelicans in the wild as well as a bunch of sea lions just hanging around the wharves.

The rest of the afternoon we spent hanging about the Embarcadero area, looking in shops, eating ice creams and ship-watching.  I would have liked to visit the USS Midway (aircraft carrier turned museum complete with planes) or the other ships in the maritime museum collection, but there wasn't time and we were all beginning to flag a little from the time difference.  There was a bit of grumbling among the group about having too much time to wait for our transfer back to the hotel, but nobody went as far as to get a bus or taxi earlier.  And actually the enforced hanging around gave us a chance to properly meet folks and get to know each other - which I am sure helped with the overall enjoyment in later days.

For dinner that night Alex arranged to take us up to the Homestyle Buffet restaurant, which did exactly what it said on the door and had a hundred or so dishes to choose from.  All very tasty (Joan adored the coconut cream pie).

Day Four - San Diego to Scottsdale

Time to leave the coast for now and head inland and into the desert.  Our first stop was Palm Springs which, frankly, didn't live up to expectations and was generally regarded by all our fellow travellers as a wasted opportunity.  According to Art it added about an hour and a half of driving rather than taking a more direct line to Scottsdale which, when added to the time spent in Palm Springs would perhaps have been more enjoyable if we had blasted through to Scottsdale and got there three or four hours earlier.

One trouble with an organised tour such as this is not getting long enough in some places.  You are always on a fixed schedule with hotels expecting arrivals at certain times, restrictions on driver hours enforcing breaks and so forth.  So we only had an hour and a half to explore the city and that wasn't enough to give us a particularly good impression.  Certainly I failed to see what has attracted the stars out from LA for all these years.  OK, it is in the desert so nice and warm, but then so are many other places about the same distance away.  The main street was mainly places to eat and souvenir type shops which again didn't inspire us as a destination to linger in.  Again, this could be linked to the short time available as there were a couple of museums and galleries in sight, but no time to appreciate them properly.  If we'd had a full day, or even an afternoon in town we could have had a good look around some of the cultural bits and perhaps got a better impression.  As it was we had a short wander up and down the road, looked at a few t-shirts and then had an early lunch. 

We had hoped to perhaps get a sandwich or something to eat on the coach while the journey continued, giving us more time to look around, but after about 40 minutes we hadn't found a single vendor of takeaway food of any description so plumped for Ruby's Diner and a sit down meal (again Art and Alex had headed in there, so we knew the food would be OK).  And mine certainly was - I'm a sucker for an all-day breakfast anyway, but this one was particularly tasty!  Joan had a veggie sandwich which started out OK, but she wasn't sure on the second half - something tasting old/rotten and so it was left unfinished.  I'm not sure anything was really inedible or if it was just unusual flavours, but there you go.

The rest of the afternoon was spent trundling through the desert, with just a break at a truck stop to break up the monotony.  All of which meant we didn't arrive at Scottsdale until after five, which was a real pity.

We had a couple of nights there back in 2006 and were quite looking forward to revisiting the Old Town.  Especially as this time our hotel was literally across the road from it, rather than needing a bus journey.  However by the time we arrived exhaustion had set in, and by the time we were ready to go out the shops were all shutting.  As a result we just joined a couple of our new friends and ate in the hotel.  Nice food and excellent laughs, but a shame and not what we had wanted from the day.

Day Five – Scottsdale to Flagstaff             

Now that really doesn't do justice to the day as a description!  This was a day re-visiting old haunts for Joan and I and as such was a blast.  The morning stop was spent in Sedona.  We only had an hour and a half or so in town this time around, so no chance to reprise the jeep tour into the desert we took back in 2006, but it is such a lovely little community that being limited to the town centre hardly mattered.  A chance to see the red rocks again was tonic for the soul, and a bit of shopping went down well too.

We had expected a diversion next, as the road through Oak Creek Canyon had suffered a landslide earlier in the year and was closed for repairs.  But much to our joy it had been re-opened the day before our arrival, so we were able to head north that way after all.  It is a lovely drive which we had done southbound previously, so it was nice to see in the other direction.  Beautiful wooded hillsides and some great rock formations.  We then pressed on north, through Flagstaff and various bits of forest (spotting a couple of deer and an Elk as we did so) and on to the Grand Canyon.

Having done the helicopter flight experience last time, we decided to stay on the ground this time, but have more time at the rim to explore and eat ice cream.  It was a glorious afternoon and we had a great time wandering along a bit, looking over the edge and browsing the native artefacts in the Hopi House store.  It is a bit of a cliché, but the place really is staggeringly beautiful and just huge.  I have been to Niagara Falls four or five times now but it still catches the heart and takes the breath away on each visit, and I suspect the Canyon is the same.  I’d love to spend a night or two up there one day, just to see it in the dawn and dusk, and maybe catch a sunset over the edge.  Many photos were taken that day it has to be said (including the Grand Canyon Railway and several buses, but then it wouldn't be me without them).

Canyon, Grand variety

Our hotel in Flagstaff was also somewhere we had stayed before, which was nice.  We had a drink with a couple of ladies from Norwich (and they asked to see my ID, which I decided to take as a compliment at age 43) then went down to the Galaxy Diner for dinner.  OK, so we had done a diner the day before in Palm Springs, but we had enjoyed this one last time and it is ON route 66 so was a bit of an essential visit.  Lovely food to round off a great day (a burger in sourdough toast for me, with proper cherry coke featuring your actual cherries).

Holiday 2014 part one

Ah, I seem not to have posted since February.  Time to make up for that...

Where does the time go?  It is now over a month since we started our holiday and I really want to write it up while things are still fairly fresh in the memory, but already feel that the details are slipping away.

As followers on flickr, twitter or instagram should have been able to work out, we took another trip to the USA this year.  Like the 2006 excursion (was it really that long ago?!) we travelled with Titan, doing their "California and  the Golden West" tour, the details of which we will get to below.  We did look around at other tour operators doing similar routes, as Titan are expensive, but when you add in the door-to door travel, hotel porterage, numbers of included versus optional excursions etc plus the level of quality and enjoyment we had last time it just made perfect sense to go with them again.

So, travel we did - 2700+ miles in a big loop.  Starting and ending at Los Angeles international we took in San Diego, Palm Springs, Scottsdale, Sedona, The Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Williams, Las Vegas, Visalia, Yosemite, Modesto, San Francisco, Monterrey, Carmel, Cambria, Solvang and Santa Barbara before returning to LA to see Anaheim and Hollywood among others.  Some real beauty in there - particularly the Grand Canyon and amongst the redwoods in Yosemite and Big Sur - but also bits of San Francisco are a pure joy and the Pacific Coast Highway was delightful.

I did think about just bunging up a list of good and bad but want to try to write a bit more of a proper travelogue, so here we go.

Day one - Home to Heathrow.
Rather than getting up at Stupid O'clock we decided to go down to Heathrow the night before and Titan offered a deal at the Park Inn which seemed OK, and so it was.  That meant we got a leisurly morning to finish off packing (I never did understand people who pack their cases weeks before going away - surely that just generates creases in the clothes) and a drive down off-peak which I must confess I slept through most of.  Nobody extra to collect on the way either, which was nice.  I can't say the hotel was anything spectacular but it did the job.  We also discovered we had forgotten to pack toothpaste, but that was the only omission from the luggage and easily rectified.  Nice pizza from a place over the road and a good sleep.

Day two - Heathrow to San Diego
While we were having dinner the night before, the hotel filled up with Chinese school kids.  At least six-coaches worth.  That made breakfast an interestingly multi-cultural experience but by 8 we were in a small minibus with the others from our trip who had also elected to stop over, shuttling across the road to Terminal 3.

At this point we got a pleasant surprise.  Unfortunately not a flight upgrade, but the Tour Manager.  Alex Cussins was the guy who had guided us around Texas eight years ago, and here he was again to mange this journey.  Obviously we recognised him, but more surprisingly he remembered us too.  Now he does at least one tour a month and they run between 30 and 40 people on average so he has seen at least 3,800 folks since last time.  Maybe we made more of an impression than we thought, but either way that's good people skills.  This time the group was 37 people - mostly couples but one or two groups of friends, one each of mother/son and mother/daughter combos and a few singletons. All seemed friendly enough on first encounter and I think it is fair to say we got on great throughout the following travels.

Not having flown Virgin before, we were a bit disappointed by the on-board service.  OK, so we had chosen a two-seat at the back so as to get a window (and no stranger) but it really did feel like we were the last in line.  Oddly when we went BA to Toronto last year in roughly the same seats we got served first - funny how the same thing can be different, if you catch my drift.  So they'd run out of the meals we wanted by the time they got to us, and generally the crew seemed a bit bored by the time they reached us on each visit.  And yes, I slept through a good chunk of the flight (there's a theme developing here).

10½ hours later we were queueing to be let in to the USA.  It seemed to take forever for the immigration lines to wiggle their way to the desks, and while we were waiting spotted Verne (mini-me) Troyer who had obviously been up the front of our plane (or even upstairs).  Surrounded by hangers-on who looked like they would happily do a but of body-guarding should the need arise.  He'd not been in London for long as he was posting pics of being searched on the way out of LA only 3 days before...  Anyway, the paperwork was all in order so they let us in and the holiday proper could begin.

With a 3½ hour coach trip.  To be fair that was an hour or more longer than expected due to hideous traffic but still not the best way to first experience California.  Of course the whole holiday was one big coach trip so an extra hour didn't really make much difference in the long term - especially as it was a comfortable coach and Art an excellent driver who would prove a fount of knowledge and good humour throughout the rest of the trip.  A few interesting sights on the drive down to San Diego - Military training grounds, a Nuclear power station with suggestively shaped domes, our first look at the Pacific but the end result was well worth it.

Our base for the first two nights was the Sheraton Hotel and Marina, and it was really rather good.  Lovely room, fab views over said marina, nice food and free wi-fi in the lobby if not the rooms.  But the real appreciation of that was for later after we had a bite to eat and much needed sleep...

Oh, it seems Flickr doesn't want to link to Blogger any more, so click the link above to see the photos!

To be continued.

Harumph

32/365 Rainy day observations, a photo by The original SimonB on Flickr.

I'm sure somebody out there can dig up statistics to show it doesn't rain more at lunchtimes than during the rest of the working day, but it sure seems that way to me right now. Not that I had any pressing need for a lunchtime wander today, I just like to get away from the office for a bit if possible. And yes, I could wrap up and go out anyway, but the thought of spending the afternoon with slowly drying trousers doesn't appeal somehow.

Hopefully the weekend will have some bright spots.

Last weekend was lovely. The combination of a few days off, sunshine and my Birthday seems more than a week in the past though. Time, it would seem, flies just as fast when at work as when you are having fun, no matter how much individual minutes seem to drag on.

Apart from that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?

Sometime in the dim and distant past, somebody got a bit of translation from even dimmer and more distant times wrong and the Roman vomitorium (big passage to enable people to get in and out of theatres etc. easily) became the Roman vomitorium (special room to go and throw up in between courses at banquets so as to make space for more food).  The two don’t normally go together at all, but a couple of weeks ago I was right in the centre of an explosive conjunction.

Back in mid-January we went to see our fifth “Christmas” show by the Eastern Angles group.  This year snappily titled “The Brontes of Dunwich Heath…  And Cliff” which fit the pattern we have experienced before of borrowing characters and authors from great literature and adding in a silly Suffolk plot and songs.  As has become traditional, we met up with friends for dinner first then all bundled down to the Seckford Theatre in Woodbridge for the show.  All was fine and enjoyable until nearly the end when the person sat behind me started coughing.  Just a little disturbance to start with but then, suddenly, splat.

As can be guessed from the first paragraph, said person was not well at all and threw up all over me.  Which did rather bring the show to a halt.  I’ve not had the pleasure of washing my hair, neck, back (and indeed shirt) in a theatre toilet before and it is not an experience I want to repeat.  The Angles volunteers were very good, provided me with a t-shirt and all so I was able to sneak back in to the performance for the last few minutes.  Then it turned out that MrsB had also caught some of the extensive splattering so she too got cleaned up and t-shirted before we headed home for a very hot shower!  It is already becoming something we can look back on and laugh, but at the time…

They have given us tickets to the next production in recompense, so hopefully that one will pass off without incident.

Bite that tongue

Ever had a real struggle to keep yourself quiet in public? Seeing Ian Lavender on Holly City tonight has reminded me of the time I met him.  I may have written about this before but never mind.

We were holding a bus user meeting in Bury St Edmunds and he came along to ask about a bus stop near his house. He ended up talking to a colleague about it, who promised to look into it and get back to him. A colleague who had no idea who he was talking to. So when said colleague asked for his name, the temptation to shout "don't tell him, Pike" was almost too much to bear.

Ten years or so on and that still makes me giggle and cringe at the same time.

2013 books

2013 books, a photo by The original SimonB on Flickr.

So here we go again, another bunch of books consumed in a twelve month span. Audio in italics...

Terry Pratchett - Dodger
Alistair Maclean - The Golden Rendezvous
Barry Eisler (Ed) - 2:46: Aftershocks: Stories From The Japan Earthquake
Michael Palin - Hemmingway Adventure
Terry Pratchett - Making Money
JerryWhite - London In The 19th Century
JimBob - Driving Jarvis Ham
Alistair Maclean - The Satan Bug
Robert Macfarlane - Mountains Of The Mind
Neil Gaiman - A Calender Of Tales
Tim Cahill - Jaguars Ripped My Flesh
Mark Forsyth - The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through The Hidden Connections Of The English Language
Arthur Ransome - Coots In The North & Other Stories
Guy Browning - Maps Of My Life
Jules Verne - Journey To The Centre Of The Earth
Erica Jong - Fear Of Flying
Derek Tait - A 1970s Childhood
Henning Mankell - The Man Who Smiled
Rene Goscinny & Albert Uderzo - Asterix In Switzerland
Mick Wall - Star Trippin'
Naomi Novik - Black Powder War
David Long - The Little Book Of London
Edward Enfield - Dawdling By The Danube
Francis Spufford - Backroom Boys
Alistair Maclean - Ice Station Zebra
Mark Billingham - Sleepyhead
Jean M. Auel - The Land Of Painted Caves
Jim Starlin et al - Batman: The Cult
Richard Cohen - Chasing The Sun
Arthur Conan-Doyle - A Study In Scarlet
Hardeep Singh Kohli - Indian Takeaway
Emma Marriott - The History Of The World In Bite-Sized Chunks
Esther Woolfson - Corvus: A Life With Birds
Michael Crichton - Jurassic Park
David Hewson - The Killing
Spike Milligan - Adolf Hitler: My Part In His Downfall
Rene Goscinny & Albert Uderzo - The Mansions Of The Gods
David Long - The Little Book Of The London Underground
Terry Pratchett - A Blink Of The Screen
Chris Abbott - Travels In Canada: In Search Of A Reasonably Priced Sandwich
Jules Verne - 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
Bill Bryson - Shakespeare
George R.R. Martin - A Game Of Thrones
Fantastic Man - Buttoned-Up (The East London Line)
Nick Hornby - A Long Way Down
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Alistair Maclean - When Eight Bells Toll
Mark Billingham - Scaredy Cat
Guy Walters - The Real Great Escape
Arthur Conan-Doyle - The Sign Of Four
Mark Forsyth - The Horologican: A Day's Jaunt Through The Lost Words Of The English Language
Terry Pratchett - Unseen Academicals
Seth Godin (Ed) - The Library Book
Max Arthur - Dambusters: A Landmark Oral History
Rene Goscinny & Albert Uderzo - Asterix And The Laurel Wreath
Alistair Maclean - Where Eagles Dare
Geoffrey Fletcher - The London Nobody Knows
Tim Cahill - Pass The Butterworms
George R.R. Martin - A Clash Of Kings
Paul Morley - Earthbound (The Bakerloo Line)
Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart &Jack Cohen - The Science Of Discworld
Neil Gaiman (Ed) - Unnatural Creatures
Alistair Maclean - Force 10 From Navarone

This year I am also doing "A year of reading" project on flickr, posting a book or something else to read every day...

Who I listened to in 2013

2013 music, a photo by The original SimonB on Flickr.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned on here before that I don’t get as much time to listen to music as I would like, but the word cloud above is a good representation of what I have managed to get through in the last twelve months. (You can click it to go through to Flickr and then get to the full size version so you can actually read the smaller words). I started back in January to list every time any artist got played so while it doesn’t tell us whether I listened to someone more in summer or winter months, we do get an indication of how many times people cropped up. This is made up of in-car, in-house and in-walkphone listening with no differentiation between when and where (I may have been dedicated/sad enough to make a note of every aural experience, but not enough to further categorize them). And the cloud is a much nicer way of looking at them than just a list of artist names with. NB “Various artist” compilations or whoever popped up by sticking iTunes on shuffle aren’t here – only artists I have chosen to listen to a whole bunch of songs from.

As such, it needs to be pointed out that this is not a result of random choice or fully by the selection of who I want to hear on a given day. I realised a couple of years ago that I tended to stick to the same old stuff and was ignoring a goodly percentage of my music collection. To combat that I introduced a strict three-disc rotation system for in-car listening while still allowing myself free-reign over any other music. So the rotation is 1: Artist I have several albums by but haven’t necessarily listened to for a while (in chronological order for each artist as they come up), 2: Artists I only have one CD by (in alphabetical order) and 3: New discs. Two years in and I am still only up to K for number two, but I have rediscovered some absolute gems. Discs for number three seem to accumulate without me realising it (Santa and the sales have just added a slew more to that pile). So as an example starting today on the drive to work we had 1: Hayseed Dixie (actually started them last week so they got one entry on last year’s list. I have five official albums and two bootlegs – all will get played in order so if I do a similar word cloud next year they will end up quite “large”). This will be followed by 2: King’s X (always a surprise to me that I only have one of theirs on CD and really must get more); 3: Eat Static (a Christmas present replacing a 20year old cassette with the CD version at last) then 1: Hayseed Dixie again, 2: King Swamp and 3: Daevid Allen (another Christmas present) etc. On the rare occasions that I run out of new discs to bung in the rotation I generally double-up on the single cd artists. When I finally reach Z on the artists I only have one disc by I intend to go through again for those with just two on the shelf.

On my phone I listen mainly to Audio Books and podcasts (This American Life, Selected Shorts, Short Cuts, The Infinite Monkey Cage, Jon Ronson On…) but intersperse those with music too. That used to be just random tracks but as I am slowly getting all my CDs ripped I now generally fill up the memory card with four or five books, and then the same numbers of podcasts and albums. Although the album tracks get randomly shuffled between the books and pods they still count as full listens so the artists get added to the list. But as I am only about halfway through the ripping process this adds another level of bias into what I listen to. And there has been no structure at all to the ripping – just what I’ve fancied hearing when out and about or in the study so may as well rip the disc while I have it upstairs…

And then there is just general listening to whatever I fancy from whatever source when I’m home alone and can crank the volume up.

Why do I make my life so complicated?

Another year nearly done

356/365 fairly lights, a photo by The original SimonB on Flickr.

OK, so it seems I have been a bad blogger once again this year. I did have every intention of writing more, but life always seems to get in the way of these things and the time to waffle on just evaporates. So, a few things that I wanted to write about at the time of the occurrence, but just never got round to…

Canada
We had another great holiday there this year courtesy of MrsB’s sister. They have moved house from Burlington, Ontario to Paris, Ontario since we last visited which opened up loads of new places to explore. Paris itself is a lovely little town and the locals we met all seemed positively charming. Admittedly many of them were trying to sell us things or serve us food, but still they seemed genuine about it. OK, yes we did go down to Niagara Falls again (and took a five hour jaunt into the US while we were there) but I am not sure I will ever tire of seeing all that water doing the falling thing. My favourite pictures from the trip can of course all be found on Flickr, and if each one of them is worth a thousand words then feel free to go look and save me a lot of typing. However, particular highlights were Port Dover which has a smashing seaside vibe, even if the “sea” in question is actually Lake Erie; the beautiful old town of Elora (a bit of an artist’s hotspot) and, just because, the cars. Yes, I'm a sucker for an old American hot rod or muscle car, and there’s loads of them north of the border too. Plus of course it is always good to be with the family.

Work
I can honestly say I am quite proud of some of the things we have achieved this year. The two bus stations in Ipswich have been refurbished and despite the inevitable negativity in the local press I am more than happy with the end results, given the constraints we have to work under. Yes, it would have been nice if we could have done something a little bit more dramatic with them (headlines criticised them for looking a lot like the old versions – well yes, they are still bus stations and we didn't get any more land to play with) and it would have been lovely to have every facility people want but reality has to kick in somewhere. We are also nearly there with getting a decent real time passenger information system up and running in town (and then hopefully across the whole county). Just a little bit more data wrangling to do and then screens can go up early next year, which will hopefully be popular with the public.

50 years of Dr Who
Loved the anniversary special, and while I think Matt Smith has been an excellent Doctor I am really looking forward to the Christmas regeneration to see what Peter Capaldi brings to the part next year.

Other stuff
Looking back over the year it has been a generally steady one with no major catastrophes or major excitements to disrupt the splendid joy of a normal existence. Which is all anyone can ask for really. I’ve listened to a lot of music and read a lot of books, but they will get their own posts over the next couple of weeks complete with the big list of books (and maybe one of music too) as in previous years.

We have had some nice days out – some to London (including the Jack the Ripper and Secret London walking tour I was given as a birthday present) and also closer to home, just enjoying bits of Suffolk. And most of those have also included nice meals in assorted pubs and restaurants. Mind you, one of those also lead to us both spending the week in bed with food poisoning back in the summer, so it wasn’t all good. Although I think the positive days outweighed that one negative experience.

And, without realising it until recently, I think we have both finally stopped being paranoid about money. A maturing investment allowed us to pay off a chunk of the mortgage as well as having the good holiday and leaving us with a reserve for emergencies (hello, new dishwasher and back door frame) and we have reigned in spending on a few things, so no longer do I spend the last week of every month checking the bank accounts to make sure we can hang on until pay day. Which is a wonderful feeling at last.

So, all things considered, a good year. Here’s to 2014!

A death in store

So I woke up at four this morning with the idea for a very short story in my head.  it didn't go away when I finally got up, so here it is.  Probably not very original, but fun to get down.


The spectre of Death drifted, unnoticed, down the High Street of a busy market town. It had visited a bungalow on the outskirts in the early hours of the morning but was now back to regular territory. For the third time this week the shadow wafted through the window display and staked out a corner behind a dusty display. Being present at every death since the dawn of time lent a certain familiarity to the proceedings, this was not an uncommon event after all, but somehow the shade was already feeling a sense of anticipation, even wondering if it would be here again tomorrow.


A few minutes after twelve, the assassin walked into the shop. He did not pay attention to the bright colours of the window display, the smiling assistant behind the till or the stacks of merchandise dotted on tables between the rows of shelves. Instead he headed with grim purpose towards the corner where Death lurked. He did not know that the ultimate darkness was waiting for him, merely that this was where he should find his victim. Scanning his immediate vicinity, the assassin chose his target swiftly and with the knowledge gained in his previous two visits. Secure in his nook, he reached out with one hand and silently grasped his intended. The other hand came in to play and with one swift movement the assassin cracked his victim's spine. There was the tiniest of snapping noises and for a moment the shop seemed to darken as Death, mission accomplished, fled through the ceiling and off to its next port of call.



Later, after the lunchtime rush had died down, the shop assistant took a few minutes to tidy up the inevitable mess the customers had left behind. She worked towards the back of the store, returning items to the rightful homes, rearranging the order of things on the shelves and straightening the piles on the tables. Then she saw the assassin's victim, lying splayed and broken on the last table. She regarded the limp and wilted tome for a few seconds then sighed, gathered it in her arms and turned to the shelves in the corner. From these she removed all the other copies of the book and brought them with her back to the front of the store. This one was going under the counter from now on – three damaged in one week was enough...

Hey! Hello!

201/365 Probable album of the year., a photo by The original SimonB on Flickr.

Yes I know, it has been far too long, but I'm not dead just busy. And still got lots to say. So more posts soon, I hope.

Anyway, I did something the other night that I haven't done for years. I sat down and listened to an album. All the way through with no interruptions. Just me, the music and the lyric sheet.

That always used to be how my first consumption of music went. Not background music to dinner or reading or driving or whatever else was going on. Just straightforward songs to focus on and absorb. It is why I know the word to so many tracks and can replay them in my head at will. But life seems so busy these days that this was a rare luxury. One I intend to make more time for in the future though as it really was blissful.

As for the album it question, it was that one up there. Hey! Hello!'s self titled debut. Which is the latest Pledge funded album from Ginger WIldheart (also featuring Victoria Liedtke). I've had MP3s since before Christmas and already feel this to be the best music I've heard in a long while, but when the disc turned up I decided it deserved some reverence.

Bright, breezy pop-metal delights.

Check 'em out on the you tubes then do yourself a favour and buy it.

Done my civic duty.

122/365 Done my civic duty., a photo by The original SimonB on Flickr.

So it is election day once again. As an employee of the County Council I am probably more concerned about the outcome than many. After all, barring edicts from central government, it is the people being elected today who are ultimately responsible for whether I have a job or not. Having been a Labour Administration when I first started here, we have now been Tory lead for the last two sessions and some of the choices they have made have just been heartbreaking.

So I hope everyone has got off their backsides and made the effort. I always say you have no right to complain if you didn't take part. And whether you support their policies or not, most of our local councillors are hard working and try to do their best for their constituents when it comes to individual issues.

Now, if whoever gets in would like to raise the bus stops budget I'll be a happy chap.

Phone call of the day.

"Hello, Passenger Transport, can I help you?"

"Yes, can you check if a Renault Megane reg ******* is in one of your Park & Ride car parks?  Only my husband drove in to Ipswich yesterday, did some shopping then came home on the bus.  And he can't remember where he's left the car."

"OK, can you give me your details so I can get int ouch with the sites then call you back?"

"I've been through his pockets twice, but can't find any clues and he can't remember if he got a bus in or drove all the way.  And he forgot to get me any shampoo."

"Your name and phone number please...?"

Needless to say we didn't have their car.  I wonder where it was.

A bit whiffy

70/365 down the smoke., a photo by The original SimonB on Flickr.

Six or seven years ago, probably about the time she changed jobs, MrsB and I started using National Express coaches as our preferred method of reaching London for a day out. Rail tickets had just got horrendously expensive and connections from Felixstowe to Ipswich were never convenient. So we sacrificed a bit of time for tickets at half the price and the ease of starting nearer home. And of course the Tourist Information Centre where MrsB works sells the coach tickets so it was a doddle to book a day at short notice. Unfortunately a recent timetable change means it now takes over four hours, and no matter how much you enjoy your coach travel 8 hours in one day is too much.

So on Monday we returned to the steel road, and what a joy it was. Everything was on time, clean, comfortable and as we had booked in advance we got to come back First Class at no extra cost. Which was nice. I know this is not the norm, and have made enough work journeys to have experienced the full hell of train travel, but really can't complain at all. Of course the weather could have been better (unexpected freezing blizzards were not on the agenda when we chose the date) but even they didn't stop things working.

The whole purpose of the jaunt was lunch and a cruise on the river which MrsB had received as a birthday present. We didn't make full use of the river rover, only travelling from Tower Hill up to Westminster, but lunch on the Hispaniola was delicious. And hilarious as the couple at the table behind us were wonderfully opinionated, ex-theatricals and both stone deaf so they shouted at each other with no regard for who else might be listening. I just wish I had noted some of their observations down as all I can remember now is her having trouble explaining to him what a Risotto was, and how she met a friend at the party following the 100th performance of some play she had been in. And then we got stuck on the boat due to extremely high spring tides which had risen up over the gangway. Cue a free coffee then use of Wellys the manager had bought specifically for the assistance of unstranding people who didn't have two hours to wait for the water levels to drop.

As the snow was still swirling and the wind howling we forsook the pleasures of more time on the water and decamped to the National Portrait Gallery. It must be at least ten years since we last went there, and thoroughly enjoyed getting re-acquainted. I think I prefer the National next door, as I like a bit of variety rather than spending all afternoon just looking at people, but still, some very good stuff on display. And we saw Tony Robinson in the cafe so ticked off the required celebrity spot which is an essential part of any trip down the smoke.

Oh yes, and the final joy of the day (and another reason to travel by rail) was a visit to the international cheese shop at Liverpool Street (I think they also have one at Victoria) to obtain some Danish Esrom. My favourite cheese, and one that has a peculiarly pungent aroma than gained us strange looks on the train. Heck, even one shower and at least four hand washes since making my sandwiches today I can still smell it on my fingers...

Snippet

Is it just me, or when the road signs say "Severe Weather Forecast Today" does anybody else then picture Carol Kirkwood in black leather?

2012 books

2012 books, a photo by The original SimonB on Flickr.

Yup, it's that time of year again, a list of all the books I read last year. WIth a fancy word cloud from Tagxedo.  Audio books marked with *, but I've not gone so far as to distinguish between paper and Kindle books!

John Farndon - Do You Think You're Clever?
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Bill Bryson - At Home
Alistair Maclean - The Dark Crusader *
Rene Goscinny & Albert Uderzo - Asterix At The Olympic Games
Henning Mankell - The Dogs Of Riga
Terry Pratchett - A Hat Full Of Sky *
Ken Livingstone - You Can't Say That
Jules Verne - From The Earth To The Moon/Round The Moon
Michael Palin - Around The World In Eighty Days *
Hardeep Singh Kohli - Indian Takeaway
Arthur Ransome - Secret Water
Alan Moore & David Lloyd - V For Vendetta
Dan Brown - Angels And Demons *
Manjit Kumar - Quantum: Einstein, Bohr And The Great Debate About The Nature Of Reality
Paul Brickhill - The Great Escape *
Naomi Novik - Temeraire
Nicholas Crane - Great British Journeys
Peter Ackroyd - London Under
Mike Gayle - Mr Commitment
Terry Pratchett - Going Postal *
Brian Switek - Written In Stone
Daniel Defoe - The Fortunes And Misfortunes Of The Famous Moll Flanders
Diana Preston - Before The Fall-Out *
Mark Mason - Walk The Lines
Arthur Ransome - The Big Six
Carl Sagan - Life In The Universe *
Bill Bryson - I'm A Stranger Here Myself (Notes From A Big Country) *
Andrew Marr - The Diamond Queen
Michael Palin - Pole To Pole *
Rene Goscinny & Albert Uderzo - Asterix And The Cauldron
Joe Casey, Chris Burnham, Marc Letzmann & Rus Wooton - Officer Downe: Tough Shit
Tim Powers - On Stranger Tides
Julian May, Marion Bradley & Andre Norton - Black Trillium *
Dava Sobel - The Planets *
Simon Singh - The Code Book
Terry Pratchett - Thud! *
Henning Mankell - The White Lioness
Dave Mustaine with Joe Layden - A Life In Metal
Bill Bryson - A Walk In The Woods *
Arthur Ransome - Missee Lee
Dan Brown - The Da Vinci Code *
Simon Loxley - Type
Carl Sagan - Pale Blue Dot *
Jules Verne - Around The World In Eighty Days
Stephanie Pain (Ed) - Farmer Buckley's Exploding Trousers : And other odd events on the way to scientific discovery
Rene Goscinny & Albert Uderzo - Asterix In Spain
Julian May - Blood Trillium *
Arthur Ransome - The Picts And The Martyrs *
William Gibson - Spook Country
Emma Kennedy - How To Bring Up Your Parents
Naomi Novik - Throne Of Jade
Craig Taylor - Londoners: The Days and Nights of London Now - As Told by Those Who Love It, Hate It, Live It, Left It and Long for It
Mike Gayle - Dinner For Two
James Hamilton-Patterson - Empire Of The Clouds
Michael Palin - Full Circle *
Rene Goscinny & Albert Uderzo - Asterix And The Roman Agent
Julian May - Sky Trillium *
James May with Ian Harrison - James May's Toy Stories
Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist
Bill Bryson - Down Under *
Dan Brown - The Lost Symbol *
Nicholas Rankin - Churchill's Wizards: The British Genius for Deception 1914-1945
Arthur Ransome - Great Northern?
Gerry Davis - Doctor Who And The Cybermen *
Simon Pegg - Nerd Do Well
Michael Palin - Hemmingway's Chair (Abridged) *
Terry Pratchett - Wintersmith *
Sissel-Jo Gazan - The Dinosaur Feather
Ian Marchant - The Longest Crawl *
John Lloyd and John Mitchinson - 1,227 QI Facts To Blow Your Socks Off
Helen Dyrbye, Steve Harris & Thomas Golzen - The Xenophobe's Guide To The Danes
Jon Savage - England's Dreaming
James Robinson et al - Batman: Collected Legends Of The Dark Knight
Jen Campbell - Weird Things Customers Say In Bookshops

Oh, and yes I am doing it again this year. And because I am a total loon I am tracking all the music I listen to as well and doing a picture a day project on flickr...

Dear Santa

I have tried my best to be really good this year so do you think, possibly, Santa old bean, that I could have a faster database for Christmas?  I've got a house full of consumer goods and don't need any more clothes or gizmos, so just something that will make my working life better and stop me swearing so much would be fab.

Thanks awfully,

Simon

The sound of the crowd

ginger 555% cd set., a photo by The original SimonB on Flickr.

Busy, lazy, uninspired, forgetful, enjoying other stuff... Take your pick from any of these excuses for the continued paucity of posts. A bit early for thinking about New Year's Resolutions but I guess being better at this in 2013 will be an ambition.

Anyhoo, I've been wanting to waffle on about crowdfunding for a while now and today seems to be the moment. Partly becuase Ginger's 555% (as pictured above) won "Event of the year" at the Classic Rock awards last night. That was my first toe-dip into the murky waters of paying up front for something to be created without support or backing from the traditional music biz (as opposed to paying up front for something that already exists, which is what most normal shopping is after all, not often you get to try before you buy).

I can't remember when I first encountered the concept, but do recall reading something about Marillion raising money through their web site to fund a new album many years ago. It only properly registered with me when I first joined Twitter though, and people I was following started plugging projects on Kickstarter or Pledge Music. First ones they were aware of and supporting themselves, but then their own. And Ginger was the first that intrigued me enough to part with some cash. Of course I now wish I had taken the plunge earlier, but there you go.

The whole recording process was laid open to backers, with regular updates and sneak previews etc which, to my mind, brought the project alive. Watching a couple of minutes of video now and then in the run-up to release just made the sense of anticipation all the greater. Lots of artists are opening up the recording process these days through web exclusives and tweets and the like but most of my finding out about new albums still comes from seeing a review or even just spotting it in HMV. While such surprises are nice, I do enjoy a good build-up. And in this case the end product didn't disappoint - a triple CD set (distilled to a single disc selection by fan vote for retail release) featuring 30 tracks that have had more than a few listens since arrival.

Since then I have also backed (and received) the new albums from Amanda Palmer (there is going to have to be something pretty spectacular arrive in the next couple of weeks for Theatre Is Evil not to be my album of the year) and Ben Folds Five. Paul Miro, former singer with Derby band Apes, Pigs & Spacemen has done a pledge release through his own site, rather than one of the main players in the field, and already delivered in mp3 form with the physical disc to follow. That one I learned about through a comment on one of Ginger's posts, which made me doubly glad I'd backed that project as I would probably not relaised Miro was still going otherwise. Due in the New Year is an album of space songs from Kim Boekbinder, who I found out about through Amanda Palmer so it is all a bit circular in the crowd-funding world. I do take the occasional look through the Kickstarter and Pledge Music sites for other things that might be worth the risk, but nothing has sparked my interest as yet.

And then there is Ginger again. Not content with a triple album he also has another three on the go for this year. Two extreme noise and weirdness collaborations under the name Mutation and a power-pop thing called Hey, Hello. The bits of both that have been dribbled out so far have again whetted my appetite to fever pitch.

Anybody got any recommendations for other projects worthy of my cash?

Caution: Contents may be cold

Mapmug2, a photo by The original SimonB on Flickr.

In what an only be described as a Water Cooler Conversation (because it actually took place while I was getting some cold water) one of my Managers revealed yesterday that she is unable to drink cold liquids from a mug. For her mugs can only be for hot drinks, and anything cold must be from a glass. Although she is fine with a Latte or posh hot chocolate in a glass "with a handle". This was not something I have ever considered might be a problem before. If I am thirsty, I'll happily drink from whatever container is to hand. As it happens, I tend to use mugs for cold drinks at work because (a) I normally bring my own mug in with me, use it throughout the day and take it home again for washing up I trust. I will admit to a slight issue with the communal cups and glasses here even though I know they are properly dealt with in a dishwasher rather than just being indifferently rinsed and put away as I have seen elsewhere. And (b) I don't consume tea or coffee anyway but we have a stack of mugs at home that would never otherwise get used if I didn;t cart them back and forth to the office.

Since then I have been trying to think of any other utensil "phobias" I might have, and just can't identify any. I'll slurp soup from a desert spoon if that's all there is, drink straight from a can/bottle or use a straw, happily use a wooden or plastic disposable chip fork or use my fingers when sitting on the sea front with a portion and don't insist on pre-packed sandwiches being decanted onto a plate before consumption. Anybody out there got any food consumption problems they'd like to share?

Canterbury Tales

7 image Cathedral stitch, a photo by The original SimonB on Flickr.

They say time flies when you're having fun, which I guess is how I come to be writing about my holidays on the fifth day back at work after them... Mind you, "they" also say that cats would by Whiskas so I'm not sure "they" are the most reliable of sources. We were only actually away for three nights in the first week of a fortnight's break, which added to the two nights we spent in Northampton earlier in the summer for a wedding gives me the huge total of five away from home since we got back from Canada in Jan 2010 but they sure were what we both needed.

So after much decision making and thinking of thoughts we plumped for Canterbury as a nice place to visit. Joan had never been before and I'd managed one afternoon about 20 years ago when my Brother was there at university. Funny that I never went down to visit him now I look back on things, but there you have it. It is a beautiful little city with the reconstruction following the World War 2 bombing not too jarring alongside the survivors. My particular highlights:

The Cathedral. Natch. I'm no believer but I can sure appreciate the architecture, artwork and sheer history of the place. And even more than that, I appreciate them allowing photography inside. So many "historic" buildings of whatever stripe are so dead set against it that the exceptions are always a joy to explore through the lens. Click through the shot above to get to flickr if you feel that way inclined.

The Heritage Museum. If only because it houses the original Bagpuss and friemds, as well as some Clangers, Pogles and Ivor The Engine/Noggin The Nog art. Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin's Smallfilms productions are the childhood tv memories I treasure most and being in the same space as these was a moment of pure magic for me. The rest of the museum is also pretty interesting as it goes, and is worth getting the combined ticket for the Roman museum too. That one is not worth the single entry fee, but as an add-on is not to be sneezed at.

The big theatrical mask sculpture outside the Marlowe theatre.

The buskers.

And, the Beaney house of knowledge and art. Which has just been refurbished and houses the Library, Tourist Information Centre and a great collection of local and internationally significant art. Without realising it we were there on the second day of the relaunch so got up close and personal with some excellent Henry Moore sculpture as well as, well, loads of other great stuff. And it is free entry too. Worth paying a visit to Canterbury for.


We also paid a visit to the old Dockyards at Chatham and took the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch railway to Dungeness. Both fascinating places in their own ways and all contributing to a really great break. Roll on the next holiday.