Building therapy

After a minor joke around my birthday time I am currently revisiting a childhood obsession with Lego.  I’ll be the first to admit that I never stopped being interested in the wee plastic blocks (as the presence of a couple of newspaper freebies and numerous individual minifigs around the house will prove) but not to the extent that it has been filling my spare time of late.  I can’t recall a first set, it was just something that was always there when I was growing up – the toy of choice in most circumstances.  Having Danish ancestry must have been a plus point in the accumulation of the stuff, and I do recall that some of our sets were inherited from cousins (and the uncle in that case worked for Shell which must explain why we have so many petrol station pieces!) but for many years it was top of the Christmas and Birthday lists.  Being the older of two brothers meant I must have had a bit longer on the pure play level than might be normal but I can’t be sure on when either of us bought our last childhood kit either (although there are some great web sites out there giving dates sets were released where I could work it out if I could be bothered).  We definitely visited Legoland on Danish holidays in 1980 and 1984 and I know I bought some on that second trip, but after that things get a bit hazy.  The last I recall is sorting it all out into categories in separate ice cream tubs for storage in the loft sometime before we moved to Felixstowe in 1989.

Although not building anything in the years following that, I kept pace with what was available through the simple expedient of working for Argos.  All those deliveries and sales passing through my hands meant I was up to date with everything new until I finally escaped from retail in 1998, and even then stayed in touch through the catalogue as Joan didn’t leave there until 2006 and we still picked one up every six months after that.  When the bagged single minifigures started appearing in the shops I resisted but finally succumbed around series 3, and there I was back in the collecting game again.  OK, only the people and the freebies mentioned above but still it began to nag at me.  And as it was the 21^st century starting looking at the odd fan site on the web and sought out photos on flickr (and started taking some pics myself).  Then last year while we were in America I gave in to temptation in a larger way in the Lego store at Disneyland with the purchase of the Back To The Future set.  Which was great fun to build, and introduced me to a whole load of techniques not officially employed back in the good old days.  I blame watching the Lego movie on the flight over!

So, when I couldn’t think of anything I fancied for my birthday (see depression post below) I suggested my brother should go up in the Parent’s loft and find me a technic set to build.  He ended up getting the whole lot down and all the tubs are now sat in my study, calling out to me every time I pass the door.  When I brought them home there was some discussion  about passing them on to the offspring of a cousin (said cousin having split from his wife and now needing a set of toys at each home) but I’m not sure I’m ready to give it away just yet.  If nothing else I wanted to know exactly what was in those tubs and reminisce unashamedly for a while.  Which has nicely coincided with a couple of tv shows about Lego and adult fans and the launch of a magazine or two.  Not that I have bought any of those, but they are interesting to flick through.

Up to now I have built a couple of ancient (and presumably inherited) sets from the days before the minifig was invented (a bus, naturally, and a Shell station) all the space sets I can find pieces for and tonight will see me finish off the technical stuff.  I suspect I will then work my way through the classic town sets and all the older bits I can work out from the bricks that remain.  30 years on from my last recalled construction binge I am having the time of my life and it seems to be providing me with the therapy others are getting from all the adult colouring books flooding the shops.  Disappointed that we have managed to lose a few bits along the way but there you go.  Nothing I can’t improvise around.

And we are having a day trip to Legoland Windsor next week as well.  Must not let it take over my life, but it will keep me amused for a few more months yet.

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 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...

In between the towers

In between the towers
Originally uploaded by The original SimonB

So we had our first proper day out of the year on Saturday - a jaunt down to the Tower of London care of cheap coach tickets and a two-for-one entrance voucher. I'm sure the places that do still charge have got disproportionally more expensive since we got free entry to so many other museums etc. Anyway the two offers combined gave us a relatively inexpensive blast of history and we made sure to get the best value out of it. The tower website has suggestions for what to do if you only have 1, 2, or 3 hours to spare for your visit (I can't imagine anyone being prepared to spend £17 a head for only one hour, but there were people already leaving when we arrived just after 10) and we stretched it out to 6. The weather was not the best for photos as while dry the skies stayed grey all day, but clicking on the picture will take you to more on flickr.

It was a pleasant surprise to find that while there have been many changes since MrsB and I last visited some 15 years ago, they have mostly been for the better. Most of the material on display in the various towers is still presented with "here are the facts" boards rather than some ghastly interactive nonsense, and while there was one area with a trio of actors attempting to get people involved it was definitely the only one. Of course there are still plenty of Yeoman Warders/Beefeaters wandering about and giving tours (free!) as well as other custodians, but they were good at blending into the background while still being obvious for those with questions. I lost count of how many steps we went up and down through the various towers and wall walks though.

Despite never having lived there, I feel almost as at home in London as I do, well, at home. OK so we go down fairly often and always have done, and every other show on the TV manages to squeeze in gratuitous establishing shots of the landmarks even if the action takes place in some dingy back street, but that doesn't explain why I feel comfortable with the city. Take me to other large centres and I can feel very tense and nervous of crowds - maybe I just expect it here so don't notice it so much. We also had a short stroll along the river bank before heading for home whcih was nice and again highlighted a few places to add to future visits.

I do think it is important to keep visiting places such as this whenever we have the chance. It is all too easy to dismiss them as something for the tourists and forget about what we do have at home (well, not exactly at home for someone living in Felixstowe, but you know what I mean). Not sure where our next target for a trip will be. Since listening to the History of the World in 100 Objects series I do want to go back to the British Museum and see them in the flesh so to speak, but there are so many other places we haven't seen at all.

This weekend we have a trip to a local theatre for an adaptation of three Dickens Ghost stories which promises to be spooky, then the weekend after that I seem to be turning 40 so frankly anything could happen.

Strange delight on seeing local stuff on telly

BBC World service
Originally uploaded by The original SimonB

A bit of idle channel hopping last night found us watching an old episode of Coast on BBC2, covering the edges of Norfolk and Suffolk. Although we had seen this one before, it had to be watched purely for the local recognition factor. The trip ended in Felixstowe and included a nice aerial shot over the town (missing our house by a matter of a few hundred metres, blast!) as well as some shots of the docks.

I can't decide which is stranger for people when seeing the place you live on tv. Being somewhere like Felixstowe where we get shown once in a blue moon, and then generally only on a specialist show like this (local news doesn't count) seeing stuff from just down the road gives a bit of a thrill. But I can't imagine what it must be like as a Londoner to see familiar stomping grounds in every other detective show, documentary or just as establishing shots in Masterchef. Does the thrill remain or is it "oh, there's another murder at my bus stop"?

Anyway, what I had completely forgotten from the previous viewing was an article about the Cobra Mist radar early warning system tried up at Orford Ness in the 70s from the building in that photo up there (now a BBC World Service transmission site). As it happens, I am reading a history of the Ness and the various clandestine activities undertaken there so it was great to see some of it in living colour. One thing I have always liked in Coast is the selective use of CGI to overlay historical views on the present scene, and they did a great job with the aerial arrays no longer standing on the beach by this block house.

Having been over on to the Ness some 20 years ago (when we had a trip up the lighthouse) and taken a river trip past a few weeks back it was once more a case of "ooh, I've been there" for me on seeing the place in the living room. Hopefully the sense of delight will remain next time something Suffolk hits the screen.

Clacton Pier and other diversions

Clacton Pier
Originally uploaded by The original SimonB

Just had a week or so off to host MrsB's sister and hubby over from Canada. Always good to see them and we really don't mind putting them up and ferrying them about as they always do the same for us when we head west. But the phrase "back to work for a rest" has never seemed more appropriate!

Unfortunately Stuart weas suffering from a dreadful cold/cough/throat infection which did limit our activities a bit but we did manage to squeeze in a trip to Norwich (pastures new for them) as well as the regular places they like to visit. I'm not sure why, but Clacton is one of these. We end up there quite often anyway as we friends nearby, and I even did a couple of weeks holiday cover at the Argos branch however many years ago that was, but I'm still not certain what it is that draws us back. Other than a pier you can still walk out on I can't think of anything they have that you can't get or do in Felixstowe.

Maybe it is just that - a day out but to somewhere with a familiar feel and no worries.

Anyway, they are now up in Scotland, we are getting used to a house with just the two of us again and I'm not really sure where else this post is going, so will stop!

Thunder God

Thunder God
Originally uploaded by The original SimonB

As a result of staff sickness and holidays I got called up at short notice to help run our stall at the Lowestoft air festival last Friday. What a real blow that was to go back to my old publicity routes and deal with the public face to face!

Actually, we only had quite straightforward questions to deal with - nobody shouting about poor service or wasting public money (which I was expecting) or things not working etc. But to counter that it did chuck it down most of the afternoon (luckily we have an awning on our publicity van) with three other attendees getting struck by lightning.

So, I got to see quite a bit of the show as well as an incredible cross-section of the general public who came to see it. (Some of them can be seen on flickr by clicking on the Vulcan and wandering around the airshow set) . And jolly good it was too. This seems to be becoming my year of sky-watching as this now makes three events already attended with the prospect of one or two more to come. But that wasn't what I was going to waffle about. Yes this is the intro to another list...

The Vulcan up there is possibly the loudest thing I have ever heard. Even half a mile out to sea those four Olympus engines were still enough to make the ground shake and rattle the fillings. I've been trying to think of anything I've experienced that has come close, and come up with:

Other planes - obviously enough. I have been at the business end of the runway at RAF Lakenheath, been overflown by Concorde and other jets but don't recall the racket being quite that awesome.

Iron Maiden in concert.

Standing next to the actual bell known as Big Ben (not just from the street below) at the striking of the hour. Which was strangely muted - I think it needs to surrounding buildings and air to amplify and echo the famous bongs into what you hear from outside.

The cat, snoring.

Various roadworks.

Next door doing DIY (or indeed going up and down the stairs).

Downstairs neighbours at our old flat in the throes of passion...

But nothing like that gorgeous piece of flying technology, so recently brought back to life.

Sunshine at last!

Dafoldillyskyness 1
Originally uploaded by The original SimonB

Well, it sure is nice to have had some proper blue skies again after weeks of interminable greyness whenever I have wanted to go out and exercise my camera muscles. I hope whoever was on that plane in the pic ended up somewhere nice, or they'll be kicking themselves for missing out on our sunshine.

Not that I have restricted myself to only going out with the camera when clouds aren't about, just that it is much nicer to have blue skies in the shots! Anyone wanting to see more recent things can always click on the picture to end up at Flickr for exciting bus pictures and the like!

Mind you, my thoughts have also been turned on to getting out and about by two recent books.

1 - The Tent, the Bucket & Me by Emma Kennedy. Hilarious recollections of childhood camping holidays, all of which feature assorted disasters and serve to remind me how lucky I was growing up. Unlike the Kennedy clan, our holidays were never under canvas (a school sailing trip to the broads and a cub camp don't count) and we generally ended up on the Norfolk coast rather than Wales or France. Makes me want to go for a look around and see how places have changed though.

2 - Map Addict by Mike Parker. This does pretty much what it says on the tin and looks at all sorts of maps of the UK, focussing mainly on the work of the Ordnance Survey, as well as those who collect them, live by them and so forth. Although I'm not a huge owner of maps, I love to look at them and can easily lose a few hours with an atlas or even a humble street map. The addition of the rest of the UK to Google street view recently is killing me with glimpses of places I have only ever seen as a collection of lines and symbols before and I am planning day trips by the score.

In, out, in, out (shake it all about!) - much as I like having time off work I think next time I'll try to have it in one lump rather than splitting the days. All very strange.

So, Bruges. A really good day if a bit bloody cold at times. Drive down was OK, tunnel crossing as boring as ever then a quick trip up the coast and we were there. I did of course sleep through most of the travelling, cars having this effect on me if I'm not the one behind the wheel. Bruges was just as pretty as ever (and not spoilled by the temporary ice rink in the market square) and we had a nice meal before hitting the markets. Another time we will just get some chips or something as the meal took up a big chunk of the shopping time but you live and learn.

Still, fortified with lots of food and mulled wine we prepared to shop until we dropped. Unfortunately some of the stalls turned out to be a bit disappointing - not many were particularly Christmassy which was partly why we were there after all, to get some foreign festive festoonery. Lots of clothes stalls and quite a few selling crystlas and aromatherapy stuff. Still, we did get a few more presents sorted and generally enjoyed ourselves. We were also a bit surprised to find most of the shops closed despite the thousands of people milling around town. Still, their loss. I think we will just have to go back for a longer day in the summer.

Monday we both were off but stayed local. Popped in to town for lunch (mmm, Puccinos) and some more shopping. Still got one or two presents to get but nearly there now.

Then yesterday I was back at work. But at a meeting in Norwich with Norfolk and Cambridgeshire which lasted nearly all day so I never got in to the office at all. Quite interesting at times, but I'm not sure what will come of most of what we covered - we were all sitting there talking about things we'd like to do jointly to promote public transport but at the same time all complaining about having no money to spare to do so. We shall see. Went up with the marketing manager but he decided to have a look around town before coming home. So I regretted not having brought any reading material with me for the train home.

Today I am off again as Joan has to go to Bury this afternoon for a meeting and I am taking her. Although if the fog doesn't start lifting soon I think we will have to take the train instead of driving. I don't actually mind driving in the fog, but Joan doesn't like car travel at the best of times. We will just have to see if things improve... Then tonight we have a mexican meal with my team from work. Hopefully that will be a good one.

Well, that was a fun hour in Colchester this morning with the dentist from hell. OK, so actually it wasn't too bad (lots of pain killers and other drugs) and I now have a gob full of plasticine keeping the stitches free from roving tongues, teeth or other implements but I'm getting a bit ahead of things there. Let us rewind back to Saturday afternoon when I was last in a verbose state.

After a spot of shopping we called in at Helen's for a while then ended up going back there in the evening to play cards. Not my first choice of a fun time as I've never been a cardplayer but I surprised myself by enjoying it thoroughly. Still not 100% sure I see the point of card games, and definitely not sure I understood the rules of the one we were playing but there you go.

Sunday we woke up to nice weather so started off out in the garden. I managed to get the final (fourth!) coat of paint on the gate and a few fence panels done before the rain kicked in for the afternoon. Not to mention the thunder, lightning etc. So that was the end of that! In the evening we went along to Ma & Pa's for an early birthday dinner for the Mother. Her birthday is not actually until this Saturday but they are going out and we don't know what I'll be up to eating this weekend so all agreed it was better to go early. And very nice food and a good evening it turned out to be.

Monday was the complete opposite - woken up early by thunder and rain lashing against the windows. So after a lazy morning we watched The Others. Very good if a little slow moving film. Nicole Kidman was excellent and we were also pleased to be surprised and impressed by Eric Sykes playing it almost straight. A very good twist at the end too. If you don't want the film spoiled go ahead to the next paragraph now, otherwise read on as it bugged me slightly despite being good. As with The Sixth Sense what we seem to be dealing with here are ghosts who have little or no problem interacting with the physical world. I know the "they don't evem know they are dead" premise wouldn't work if they kept walking through doors and not being able to pick things up but it does strike me as being a bit odd. I guess I am just used to the idea of ghosts haunting people, rather than trying to carry on as if nothing had happened.

Anyway, after that the weather picked up again so I was able to colour in a few more panels while Joan did some serious weeding and pruning and even planting before exhaustion got the better of us.

Tuesday we went out for the day on the train. Walked up to the station here and with the iad of the Anglia Plus day ticket ended up in Ely. Had a nice walk up to and then around the cathedral (but nearly £5 each to get in - a bit steep really). I may have said before on here - I don't really know what I believe in religion-wise but the buildings that go with Christianity really are wonderful things. And not just the detail or vast scale of them, things like the simple smell of old stone or the knowledge of hundreds of years of history concentrated into the space really make me happy. After an hour or so we wandered on in to the town centre where we had a very nice lunch from a fish & chip shop while sheltering from the rain, looked round a few other shops and then headed back to the Cathedral for another look (well, we had to get our money's worth). Then, with no aim in mind wandered back to the station. As luck (bad) would have it we just missed a train to Norwich where we had thought of going on to and had an hour to wait for the next one. As there was one back to Ipswich a lot sooner we took that instead, but got off at Bury St. Edmunds for a further dose of wandering. Just stuck to the shops this time rather than going down to the Abbey (well, one ecclesiastical masterpiece a day is usually sufficient!). Of course that meant we ended up paying a visit to the Thorntons Cafe where seriously gooey cakes were consumed but you can't have everything. Then it was back on the train to Ipswich and on to home - which was the only train to have a real problem all day as we were stuck behind a freight train for the docks which was moving very slowly. Ended up getting home about half an hour late but worth it for the great time.

Yesterday we again started in the garden - more painting and pruning - before once again the rain drove us inside. So we watched The Matrix in order to remind ourselves of what was going on before we go to see part two - probably tonight.

Which brings us back to today. And now one quarter of my mouth has been sliced open, cleaned to within an inch of its life, re-built with artificial bone and sewn up again. I admit I had a few doubts and nearly just got up and walked out while I was waiting for him to start but persevered and went through with it. Hopefully I will be able to eat again fairly normally within a day or so though as I didn't do very well for lunch.

Rather than coming straight home we went to Colchester Zoo. Great fun, loads of fluffy things to go "Aaaah" at and indeed not so fluffy things too. Well, the baby elephant was definitely cute but in no way could you describe it as fluffy without problems from the trades description people. I think we saw pretty much everything, even had a ride on a little land train wotsit getting closer to some of the beasties. I definitely want a monkey or two, some red pandas and a tiger now though.

Oh, and started a new book too. As I don't want to wait too long before getting in to the final part of Otherland I have sneakily condensed the intervening first non-fiction and the fiction choice into one with The Samoln Of Doubt by Douglas Adams which collates the last few bits of Dirk Gently story he was working on with a whole bunch of other articles, essays and general stuff found on his hard disc after he died. All fascinating so far.