25th November? Now it’s 30th December. That’s not very good, is it?
Birthday – been and gone
Several Christmas dinners – been and gone
Even Christmas – been and gone
Well this could be the last blog of 2010 then.
Nothing really to talk about, so a feel a bit of rambling (not the walking type) may be in order.
So, the first Christmas lunch of the year was on 1st December. To have it any sooner would have been totally and utterly wrong. The 1st, is just about passable. Not the most exciting affair with it following a 2-3 hour meeting. Tasty enough though, and lots of it. Those who know me somewhat better will know that I’m not a huge desert fan. I will quite happily stuff myself with a starter and/or main and forego the pud. On this occasion, it didn’t seem right though. Christmas pudding with a liberal helping of brandy sauce. Talk about heavy! I was fit to do nothing after that.
What happened next? The folks came to stay. This was after snow... lots of it... everywhere in the country... apart from... West Norfolk. Goddamnit. The worst snow that this country had seen (certainly that early in the year), and we get next to none.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want anyone to suffer that much because of extreme weather, well maybe the odd person or two, but I do like extremes of weather. Not a big fan of the damp, cold, miserable stuff (like we have right now). But I do like it when it’s pretty damn cold but dry. Freshly fallen snow is great. Not only does it look good, it puts a damper on all noise which makes everything seem really peaceful.
Right. Where was I? Folks. Yes. They had quite a bit of snow ooop North, and so were a little concerned about driving down. No such worries though, and they made it down safely.
They came down on a Wednesday evening and I had got the Thursday and Friday booked off work to use up some holiday. Didn’t do a great deal though. Popped across to Fakenham to have a look at the market. It was cold. Very cold.
Much lovely food and drink was to be had though. All good.
Okay. Enough already. This entry is long enough (especially without pics). Part two to follow.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
What No Barry Norman?
Okay, cinemas. Here we go.
My earliest memory of going to the cinema would have been to see Star Wars in 1977. It's quite possible that I went before this (Disney probably), but I don't remember it.
After that was Grease, Chariots of Fire, Moonraker, Ghandi - not necessarily in that order.
There was then a major lull. I think that cinemas very much went out of fashion for quite a while. Then the multiplexes arrived and all was good again.
I was never a huge fan of going to the cinema though. Uncomfortable seats, crowded up close and personal to the great unwashed. Why bother? Just wait a few months, rent it on DVD, then watch it in the comfort of your own home. Sprawl out on the sofa with the all important pause button at the ready for when you need to refill your glass.
A few years ago, I succumbed to temptation though - possibly to see Phantom Menace, quite ironic in its own way! That got me back into the swing of it. Large(r) seats. Better viewing i.e. not having to lean round people's coiffured barnets, much better quality and the sound to go with it. So, I've been going every so often.
Last night was one of these occasions. The eagerly awaited Deathly Hallows. Don't worry, I'm not into reviews of any kind (as you will be well aware from reading my gig posts), so that's not what I'm rambling on about here.
Let's get the moans out of the way first though...
What is it with cinemas and popcorn? Why are the two inextricably linked? I'm sure there is a rational explanation. I can't be bothered to Google it (other search engines are available). Historical probably. Strange though, don't you think? One particular snack is so tied in with viewing a film.
That nicely lead me on to the next gripe - people eating so bloody noisily! Popcorn is hardly the most subtle of foodstuffs to munch down on is it? And then there are the sweets with their multiple wrappers. I know, let's wait until a nice quiet, important section of the film, then we will stuff a sherbet lemon in our gob whilst at the same time pissing off anyone within a 50m radius.
Finally, is it so much to ask that you relieve yourself prior to sitting down? I appreciate that last night's film was over two hours, but that was a steady stream (no pun intended) of weak-bladdered folk traipsing up and down the aisles. Lucky for me (and them maybe) that none came from my row - expecting me to disturb the comfort that I took a while to achieve, standing up to let them by.
These are but small moans though (yeah, right). So onto the positives...
Online booking. Makes life very easy. Pop on the website, order your tickets, turn up at the cinema, stick your card in the machine, out pops the tickets. Job jobbed.
Reasonable priced bar with no queuing. £5.80 for a cider and a white wine.
Good seats. We guessed it would be busy, so got there a good 20 minutes prior to the showing. This got us in to the centre section, about two thirds back. Ideal! I have little for those that turned up with a few minutes to go though, and complained that they couldn't sit together.
Comfortable seats. As I mentioned, the film was quite long, but these were spot on. Mrs B had to keep shuffling, but more of that in a bit.
Great sound and great view.
Straight out without having to get crushed in the rush. Back in the car within 5 mins and away.
All together a good experience.
Personally, I think some of the other HP films are better. This was okay. I'm hoping for more from part 2. I've read this morning that it's being done in full 3D too.
Mrs B did not get on quite so well. She'd had a long day. Grab some quick scampi and chips, then follow that with a large glass of wine and she was really, really struggling to stay awake throughout the film!
My earliest memory of going to the cinema would have been to see Star Wars in 1977. It's quite possible that I went before this (Disney probably), but I don't remember it.
After that was Grease, Chariots of Fire, Moonraker, Ghandi - not necessarily in that order.
There was then a major lull. I think that cinemas very much went out of fashion for quite a while. Then the multiplexes arrived and all was good again.
I was never a huge fan of going to the cinema though. Uncomfortable seats, crowded up close and personal to the great unwashed. Why bother? Just wait a few months, rent it on DVD, then watch it in the comfort of your own home. Sprawl out on the sofa with the all important pause button at the ready for when you need to refill your glass.
A few years ago, I succumbed to temptation though - possibly to see Phantom Menace, quite ironic in its own way! That got me back into the swing of it. Large(r) seats. Better viewing i.e. not having to lean round people's coiffured barnets, much better quality and the sound to go with it. So, I've been going every so often.
Last night was one of these occasions. The eagerly awaited Deathly Hallows. Don't worry, I'm not into reviews of any kind (as you will be well aware from reading my gig posts), so that's not what I'm rambling on about here.
Let's get the moans out of the way first though...
What is it with cinemas and popcorn? Why are the two inextricably linked? I'm sure there is a rational explanation. I can't be bothered to Google it (other search engines are available). Historical probably. Strange though, don't you think? One particular snack is so tied in with viewing a film.
That nicely lead me on to the next gripe - people eating so bloody noisily! Popcorn is hardly the most subtle of foodstuffs to munch down on is it? And then there are the sweets with their multiple wrappers. I know, let's wait until a nice quiet, important section of the film, then we will stuff a sherbet lemon in our gob whilst at the same time pissing off anyone within a 50m radius.
Finally, is it so much to ask that you relieve yourself prior to sitting down? I appreciate that last night's film was over two hours, but that was a steady stream (no pun intended) of weak-bladdered folk traipsing up and down the aisles. Lucky for me (and them maybe) that none came from my row - expecting me to disturb the comfort that I took a while to achieve, standing up to let them by.
These are but small moans though (yeah, right). So onto the positives...
Online booking. Makes life very easy. Pop on the website, order your tickets, turn up at the cinema, stick your card in the machine, out pops the tickets. Job jobbed.
Reasonable priced bar with no queuing. £5.80 for a cider and a white wine.
Good seats. We guessed it would be busy, so got there a good 20 minutes prior to the showing. This got us in to the centre section, about two thirds back. Ideal! I have little for those that turned up with a few minutes to go though, and complained that they couldn't sit together.
Comfortable seats. As I mentioned, the film was quite long, but these were spot on. Mrs B had to keep shuffling, but more of that in a bit.
Great sound and great view.
Straight out without having to get crushed in the rush. Back in the car within 5 mins and away.
All together a good experience.
Personally, I think some of the other HP films are better. This was okay. I'm hoping for more from part 2. I've read this morning that it's being done in full 3D too.
Mrs B did not get on quite so well. She'd had a long day. Grab some quick scampi and chips, then follow that with a large glass of wine and she was really, really struggling to stay awake throughout the film!
Monday, November 15, 2010
Fowls
Thursday 10th November - Gig Number 3 - Foals @ UEA
Originally planned to be going with my usual gig buddy, Hannah. Unfortunately, she was not going to get back from Leicester in time, so it was just me plus the lovely Natasha & James.
I'm sure they won't mind me saying, but they're not the biggest followers of music, but wind back the clock a while and Natasha came to see Vampire Weekend with Hannah. She thoroughly enjoyed it and we all sort of agreed to do it again.
I'm normally the one who books the tickets, so the four of us were booked in.
My turn to drive, so I eventually found their place in a village on the way and we got sorted. Naturally, a bit of Foals on the iPod. Suffice it to say that this was the first listen that N&J had of the band.
"How do you spell this band's name" - Natasha. She'd been going round telling people that she was going to see The Fowls, and then wondered why no-one wanted to buy the spare ticket.
Soooooo, we get to the UEA and head for the bar. Always a good thing with a band like the Foals is that they are quite popular with the students at the Uni, a lot of which are not yet 18. This means that the bar is not as busy as usual.
After grabbing a drink, Natasha decides that she wants a cigarette, but doesn’t have any on here. I agree to join her and we pop outside on the lookout for anyone who may have a spare one going. We round a corner and spy three likely looking guys leaning against the wall near the tour buses. Natasha quickly marches up to them and asks for a fag. They politely say that they’ve just run out, even proffering the empty packet for proof. Natasha sighs and heads for one of the coach drivers who comes good.
It’s only then, as I pull Natasha to one side that I point out what she’s done.
“You do know who you just asked for a fag”, says I. Of course, she’s no idea. It just happens to be the lead singer of Foals, Yannis Phlippakis (plus two other band members).
Natasha doesn’t immediately believe me, but then we both crack up in fits, especially as she then says that, as they were hanging around outside she was going to ask them if they wanted to buy our spare ticket.
Back in the warmth of the hall, we catch the last track by the first support and the whole set of the second. Both quite good.
Foals don’t disappoint. A really, really good set. Lots of new stuff, but some old favourites too. The audience are bang up for it, making loads of noise plus lots of obligatory crowd surfing.
The band are on proper form. Even when the lead guitar stops playing ball and takes a while to get sorted. Yannis does his usual stuff of crawling all over the speaker stacks. At one point, he puts his guitar down and lines up as if to jump off the stage. A couple of run-ups and then he launches himself into the awaiting crowd. After a few minutes of being passed all over the place, he jumps back on stage.... missing his shoes of course!
The end of the set comes round soon enough, one of the roadies comes on and says something to Yannis. He then announces that if they don’t stop soon they will get fined. However, he says that they’re having such a good time, they’re going to carry on anyway.
All great stuff, and Natasha & James thoroughly enjoyed it and want to go to more gigs. Unfortunately, I had a bit of a scour at the weekend and couldn’t find anything of particular interest, either at Norwich or Cambridge. Something WILL turn up.
Originally planned to be going with my usual gig buddy, Hannah. Unfortunately, she was not going to get back from Leicester in time, so it was just me plus the lovely Natasha & James.
I'm sure they won't mind me saying, but they're not the biggest followers of music, but wind back the clock a while and Natasha came to see Vampire Weekend with Hannah. She thoroughly enjoyed it and we all sort of agreed to do it again.
I'm normally the one who books the tickets, so the four of us were booked in.
My turn to drive, so I eventually found their place in a village on the way and we got sorted. Naturally, a bit of Foals on the iPod. Suffice it to say that this was the first listen that N&J had of the band.
"How do you spell this band's name" - Natasha. She'd been going round telling people that she was going to see The Fowls, and then wondered why no-one wanted to buy the spare ticket.
Soooooo, we get to the UEA and head for the bar. Always a good thing with a band like the Foals is that they are quite popular with the students at the Uni, a lot of which are not yet 18. This means that the bar is not as busy as usual.
After grabbing a drink, Natasha decides that she wants a cigarette, but doesn’t have any on here. I agree to join her and we pop outside on the lookout for anyone who may have a spare one going. We round a corner and spy three likely looking guys leaning against the wall near the tour buses. Natasha quickly marches up to them and asks for a fag. They politely say that they’ve just run out, even proffering the empty packet for proof. Natasha sighs and heads for one of the coach drivers who comes good.
It’s only then, as I pull Natasha to one side that I point out what she’s done.
“You do know who you just asked for a fag”, says I. Of course, she’s no idea. It just happens to be the lead singer of Foals, Yannis Phlippakis (plus two other band members).
Natasha doesn’t immediately believe me, but then we both crack up in fits, especially as she then says that, as they were hanging around outside she was going to ask them if they wanted to buy our spare ticket.
Back in the warmth of the hall, we catch the last track by the first support and the whole set of the second. Both quite good.
Foals don’t disappoint. A really, really good set. Lots of new stuff, but some old favourites too. The audience are bang up for it, making loads of noise plus lots of obligatory crowd surfing.
The band are on proper form. Even when the lead guitar stops playing ball and takes a while to get sorted. Yannis does his usual stuff of crawling all over the speaker stacks. At one point, he puts his guitar down and lines up as if to jump off the stage. A couple of run-ups and then he launches himself into the awaiting crowd. After a few minutes of being passed all over the place, he jumps back on stage.... missing his shoes of course!
The end of the set comes round soon enough, one of the roadies comes on and says something to Yannis. He then announces that if they don’t stop soon they will get fined. However, he says that they’re having such a good time, they’re going to carry on anyway.
All great stuff, and Natasha & James thoroughly enjoyed it and want to go to more gigs. Unfortunately, I had a bit of a scour at the weekend and couldn’t find anything of particular interest, either at Norwich or Cambridge. Something WILL turn up.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Ch-Ch-Chk it
Well, the amazing thing to share is going to have to wait, sort of....
Just wanted to tell you about gig number 2 - !!!
For those that aren’t familiar, !!! is the “name” of the band. To pronounce it, you say it as something like Chk Chk Chk.
Last time I saw these was over two years ago and it was when they were last in the UK (they’re American). At that time, I introduced Tim G to his first gig – muchos funnos.
Soooooo, wind forward to last Thursday. I’d been at Newark all day and so was on a bit of a charge. I got back home about 4.45. Quickly nip Jack up the road, get changed and away.
Down to Newmarket, dive on the A14, then A11, then M11. All flowing well. Hit the North Circular (A406), and the sat nav is telling me about 25 mins to go 8 or so miles. The first few miles went really well, then I hit the queues. I hate that road, with a passion! Took me over half an hour to go the last 3 miles.
Never mind, this was all in the plan. I pulled up outside Tim’s. We waited a few minutes for Bobbie to get home and then shot off to Finchley, then got the tube through to Camden.
Now going to skip forward a bit, as it involves the bit that I’m going to post soon enough...
8.30-sh and we shot off to the venue, KoKo. Second time of being there, and I think it’s a really nice venue. If you haven’t been, it’s like an old fashioned theatre, but with all the seats removed. Really well lit, quite intimate and the sound is good.
We caught the last 10mins of the second support who were pretty good. As we were a bit late getting in, I thought that we’d be towards the back, but it was still quiet-ish, so I took advantage of people getting more drinks and go us just off the rail, dead centre.
WHAT a gig! The lead singer (Nic Offer) has amazing enthusiasm and obviously loves gigging. Practically every track, he came down to the crowd, climbed over the barrier and joined in with the crowd – much to everyone’s enjoyment.
A really tight band. Great musicians and some damn fine tunes.
Much moshing ensued, and the time flew by. An indication of how much the band enjoyed it was that they played an extra track at the end of the encore, not on the setlist.
Whole-heartedly recommend them.
Tonight – Foals, back at the UEA with Natasha & James. No Hannah unfortunately.
By the way, the journey back was much easier. Not much traffic on the M11 after midnight. We got out the gig about 11 tube and drive back to Tim’s, and I was still back home by 1.15!
Just wanted to tell you about gig number 2 - !!!
For those that aren’t familiar, !!! is the “name” of the band. To pronounce it, you say it as something like Chk Chk Chk.
Last time I saw these was over two years ago and it was when they were last in the UK (they’re American). At that time, I introduced Tim G to his first gig – muchos funnos.
Soooooo, wind forward to last Thursday. I’d been at Newark all day and so was on a bit of a charge. I got back home about 4.45. Quickly nip Jack up the road, get changed and away.
Down to Newmarket, dive on the A14, then A11, then M11. All flowing well. Hit the North Circular (A406), and the sat nav is telling me about 25 mins to go 8 or so miles. The first few miles went really well, then I hit the queues. I hate that road, with a passion! Took me over half an hour to go the last 3 miles.
Never mind, this was all in the plan. I pulled up outside Tim’s. We waited a few minutes for Bobbie to get home and then shot off to Finchley, then got the tube through to Camden.
Now going to skip forward a bit, as it involves the bit that I’m going to post soon enough...
8.30-sh and we shot off to the venue, KoKo. Second time of being there, and I think it’s a really nice venue. If you haven’t been, it’s like an old fashioned theatre, but with all the seats removed. Really well lit, quite intimate and the sound is good.
We caught the last 10mins of the second support who were pretty good. As we were a bit late getting in, I thought that we’d be towards the back, but it was still quiet-ish, so I took advantage of people getting more drinks and go us just off the rail, dead centre.
WHAT a gig! The lead singer (Nic Offer) has amazing enthusiasm and obviously loves gigging. Practically every track, he came down to the crowd, climbed over the barrier and joined in with the crowd – much to everyone’s enjoyment.
A really tight band. Great musicians and some damn fine tunes.
Much moshing ensued, and the time flew by. An indication of how much the band enjoyed it was that they played an extra track at the end of the encore, not on the setlist.
Whole-heartedly recommend them.
Tonight – Foals, back at the UEA with Natasha & James. No Hannah unfortunately.
By the way, the journey back was much easier. Not much traffic on the M11 after midnight. We got out the gig about 11 tube and drive back to Tim’s, and I was still back home by 1.15!
Saturday, November 06, 2010
Bread Products Galore
I've got something pretty amazing to share, but first will dive in with a post about food - just for a change, eh?
Right. One new product that is pretty good compared to the old and two brand new, innovative products.
All three, I've fallen in love with at the moment. First up is the new toaster...
Apologies for the library image, but it's much quicker for me today - a man without much time on his hands!
Good, innit? Simple, as toasters go, but it is a four slot job and makes purrrrrrrrfect toast.
So, related to the toaster are THESE mo-fos..
Heard of them?
Everyone loves a toasted sandwich, right? The main problem with sandwich toasters is the bloomin' mess that gets left behind. Well, that and the fact that the toaster takes up a lot of room in the cupboard, only to be brought out about once a month.
Toast Bags solve that problem. Make your sandwich (croque monsieur is my fave at the moment), slip the old sandwich in the bag. Bang it in the (four slot) toaster. Job done. Perfect toasted sandwiches. Any filling that escapes stays in the bag and can be cleaned easily (am I sounding like a tele-sales presenter?). Bonus point is that they're dishwasherableableable. Take up the room of a paper bag. Job jobbed.
Enfin, we have a POACH POD.
Just tried this morning. Got to love a poached egg, but again, tricky to get right. Take one of these pods, give it a light oiling (aherm), chuck in an egg, stick it in simmering water for five minutes. Perfect.
Lovely on a good muffin.
Good news post coming very soon. Watch this space....
Right. One new product that is pretty good compared to the old and two brand new, innovative products.
All three, I've fallen in love with at the moment. First up is the new toaster...
Apologies for the library image, but it's much quicker for me today - a man without much time on his hands!
Good, innit? Simple, as toasters go, but it is a four slot job and makes purrrrrrrrfect toast.
So, related to the toaster are THESE mo-fos..
Heard of them?
Everyone loves a toasted sandwich, right? The main problem with sandwich toasters is the bloomin' mess that gets left behind. Well, that and the fact that the toaster takes up a lot of room in the cupboard, only to be brought out about once a month.
Toast Bags solve that problem. Make your sandwich (croque monsieur is my fave at the moment), slip the old sandwich in the bag. Bang it in the (four slot) toaster. Job done. Perfect toasted sandwiches. Any filling that escapes stays in the bag and can be cleaned easily (am I sounding like a tele-sales presenter?). Bonus point is that they're dishwasherableableable. Take up the room of a paper bag. Job jobbed.
Enfin, we have a POACH POD.
Just tried this morning. Got to love a poached egg, but again, tricky to get right. Take one of these pods, give it a light oiling (aherm), chuck in an egg, stick it in simmering water for five minutes. Perfect.
Lovely on a good muffin.
Good news post coming very soon. Watch this space....
Monday, November 01, 2010
An Englishman Abroad
Last Thursday brought a fair old jaunt.
Wednesday, left work and drove down to Bury St Edmunds. Met up with a colleague and then carried on driving down to Folkestone.
Here we shall have the first tale of (potential) woe. Trundling along the M25 and we hit the queue for the Dartford crossing with about two miles to go. The topic of conversation was cars and said colleague was commenting on his current one (the one we were sat in), a 318 Touring. He mentioned that in the past three weeks he’d had four punctures, and that it didn’t carry a spare, but instead had the spray stuff that inflates and seals the tyre. Now, and this is no exaggeration (well maybe a little), within seconds of him sharing this fact, there was a “bong” from the dashboard and a light lit up indicating a potential puncture. Note that I said “potential” woe, as this turned out to be a false alarm. (way too many potentials there)
Onwards we go, eventually arriving at a delightful Premier Inn near the Eurotunnel. I say delightful with a certain degree of misplaced sarcasm actually because as a place to sleep, it wasn’t that bad. The adjoining gastro-pub was a bit dire though. The speed at which they deliver your order is a fair measure at how much care and attention they have put into your food.
Up at 5am and head for the tunnel. I like this way of crossing to Europe very much. It’s quick, easy, cheap and involves very little queuing.
Colin (I’ll stop calling him colleague, as that sounds a bit rude) suggested grabbing something to eat early on, but I convinced him to wait until we were on the péage. Wise words indeed from Mr Brown, but not without a small amount of previous experience.
I give you the XL...
Colin had the XXL. Much like mine but with added sausage, beans and other things now forgotten.
On we go, eventually arriving at Bethune.
We got within about 2 Km (we are in France after all) of our destination and then all of a sudden the traffic ground to a halt. There's us thinking that the political protests had finished yesterday. No such luck. Why are they protesting? All to do with raising the pensionable age from 60 to 62. Wha? I mean WHA??? I can't fault them for there efforts but come on.... 62 isn't all that bad.
This bit in the middle of the day really isn't very interesting. Well... it is, but I'm not going to go into it on here. Suffice it to say that it involved driving round the French countryside looking at stuff.
Have a picture of some protesters instead...
Roll forward to about 2pm. Our host takes us for some lunch.
The French, as I'm sure you know, are fantastic eaters. As in quality, not quantity. They are also quite particular. Trying to find somewhere that served food after 2pm is quite difficult. But there was one place that our host (I know that I keep referring to him a such, but I'm not sure of the spelling of his name. I think it's something like Benoir) knew. I give you FLUNCH.
Right, let's make a comparison. I'm comparing an English "Gastro-Pub" from the night before, to an everyday "French Diner". In fact no, we can't make a comparison. It would be disrespectful to even compare the two. But yet.... at both places myself and Colin had sirloin steak. As discussed, the evening's came rather quickly and was flavourless and chewy. When we ordered in France, they took fresh steak from the fridge and cooked it on a griddle right in front of us. It. Was. Delicious.
Going on a bit too much now for one blog post, so going to wrap it up. After our 3pm lunch(!) we headed for home. Leave Bethune at about 3.30. Back in The Ham by about 9pm. Not too shabby.
Wednesday, left work and drove down to Bury St Edmunds. Met up with a colleague and then carried on driving down to Folkestone.
Here we shall have the first tale of (potential) woe. Trundling along the M25 and we hit the queue for the Dartford crossing with about two miles to go. The topic of conversation was cars and said colleague was commenting on his current one (the one we were sat in), a 318 Touring. He mentioned that in the past three weeks he’d had four punctures, and that it didn’t carry a spare, but instead had the spray stuff that inflates and seals the tyre. Now, and this is no exaggeration (well maybe a little), within seconds of him sharing this fact, there was a “bong” from the dashboard and a light lit up indicating a potential puncture. Note that I said “potential” woe, as this turned out to be a false alarm. (way too many potentials there)
Onwards we go, eventually arriving at a delightful Premier Inn near the Eurotunnel. I say delightful with a certain degree of misplaced sarcasm actually because as a place to sleep, it wasn’t that bad. The adjoining gastro-pub was a bit dire though. The speed at which they deliver your order is a fair measure at how much care and attention they have put into your food.
Up at 5am and head for the tunnel. I like this way of crossing to Europe very much. It’s quick, easy, cheap and involves very little queuing.
Colin (I’ll stop calling him colleague, as that sounds a bit rude) suggested grabbing something to eat early on, but I convinced him to wait until we were on the péage. Wise words indeed from Mr Brown, but not without a small amount of previous experience.
I give you the XL...
Colin had the XXL. Much like mine but with added sausage, beans and other things now forgotten.
On we go, eventually arriving at Bethune.
We got within about 2 Km (we are in France after all) of our destination and then all of a sudden the traffic ground to a halt. There's us thinking that the political protests had finished yesterday. No such luck. Why are they protesting? All to do with raising the pensionable age from 60 to 62. Wha? I mean WHA??? I can't fault them for there efforts but come on.... 62 isn't all that bad.
This bit in the middle of the day really isn't very interesting. Well... it is, but I'm not going to go into it on here. Suffice it to say that it involved driving round the French countryside looking at stuff.
Have a picture of some protesters instead...
Roll forward to about 2pm. Our host takes us for some lunch.
The French, as I'm sure you know, are fantastic eaters. As in quality, not quantity. They are also quite particular. Trying to find somewhere that served food after 2pm is quite difficult. But there was one place that our host (I know that I keep referring to him a such, but I'm not sure of the spelling of his name. I think it's something like Benoir) knew. I give you FLUNCH.
Right, let's make a comparison. I'm comparing an English "Gastro-Pub" from the night before, to an everyday "French Diner". In fact no, we can't make a comparison. It would be disrespectful to even compare the two. But yet.... at both places myself and Colin had sirloin steak. As discussed, the evening's came rather quickly and was flavourless and chewy. When we ordered in France, they took fresh steak from the fridge and cooked it on a griddle right in front of us. It. Was. Delicious.
Going on a bit too much now for one blog post, so going to wrap it up. After our 3pm lunch(!) we headed for home. Leave Bethune at about 3.30. Back in The Ham by about 9pm. Not too shabby.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Why Do We Bother?
Okay, time for a rant. Haven't had one for a while, so here we go.
Car Insurance. It really is the work of the devil, isn't it?
I though it used to be straight forward. You started out with your first car. You got insurance - generally TPF&T, as that was all you could afford, and your first car was never worth that much anyway. Barring any claims, your insurance was pretty high and stayed static allegedly until you were 21 when it was rumoured to go down (don't remember that happening) and then down again at 30 (don't remember that happening either).
Statistics dictate that the older you get, the less accidents you have, so naturally it should be cheaper to insure.
Anyway... my renewal has come up. I have been with the same broker for many years and they've normally given me a good deal. So I phoned them up and asked what the renewal was. "Ah, Mr Brown, that will be about £50 more than you paid last year". Erm, hello? How can this be? I haven't claimed, my circumstances haven't changed. I am one year older, therefore less likely to have an accident. "Well, that's just the renewal rate" I'm told when I query the increase!
Now the thing with a really annoying advert is that, despite the annoyance, you do tend to remember the product. I'll not totally give it away, but make a well known comparison website out of these words..... "Compare Go". So I did. Within seconds I was delivered a page full of quotes ranging from half my renewal rate right up to £3.5K (I kid you not).
So today I phoned the broker again and told them my good fortune. "Well Mr Brown, let's see what I can do with your renewal rate to try and keep your custom". What? So the price that you originally quoted me wasn't the best one? You just thought that you'd try it on and see if I coughed up? "Oh no Mr Brown. You misunderstand. The renewal rate is the same, I will just apply an increased discount for you. Now, can you just tell me how much you've been quoted?". Yeah, right. How's about you give me the best price you can. And she did. And it was still nearly £150 more than one I'd found myself. So that's who I'm going with. She even took a "tone" with me when I said I wouldn't be renewing with them. Tee hee.
Rant over. For now.
Car Insurance. It really is the work of the devil, isn't it?
I though it used to be straight forward. You started out with your first car. You got insurance - generally TPF&T, as that was all you could afford, and your first car was never worth that much anyway. Barring any claims, your insurance was pretty high and stayed static allegedly until you were 21 when it was rumoured to go down (don't remember that happening) and then down again at 30 (don't remember that happening either).
Statistics dictate that the older you get, the less accidents you have, so naturally it should be cheaper to insure.
Anyway... my renewal has come up. I have been with the same broker for many years and they've normally given me a good deal. So I phoned them up and asked what the renewal was. "Ah, Mr Brown, that will be about £50 more than you paid last year". Erm, hello? How can this be? I haven't claimed, my circumstances haven't changed. I am one year older, therefore less likely to have an accident. "Well, that's just the renewal rate" I'm told when I query the increase!
Now the thing with a really annoying advert is that, despite the annoyance, you do tend to remember the product. I'll not totally give it away, but make a well known comparison website out of these words..... "Compare Go". So I did. Within seconds I was delivered a page full of quotes ranging from half my renewal rate right up to £3.5K (I kid you not).
So today I phoned the broker again and told them my good fortune. "Well Mr Brown, let's see what I can do with your renewal rate to try and keep your custom". What? So the price that you originally quoted me wasn't the best one? You just thought that you'd try it on and see if I coughed up? "Oh no Mr Brown. You misunderstand. The renewal rate is the same, I will just apply an increased discount for you. Now, can you just tell me how much you've been quoted?". Yeah, right. How's about you give me the best price you can. And she did. And it was still nearly £150 more than one I'd found myself. So that's who I'm going with. She even took a "tone" with me when I said I wouldn't be renewing with them. Tee hee.
Rant over. For now.
Generate Some Music That Makes You Feel Better
Friday was the first gig of three planned before the end of the year. This one being Mr Scruff. Third time of seeing him, so to say that I was looking forward to it would be an understatement.
An added bonus this time was that I was taking a Scruffy virgin along. We shall call her Liz, because she answers to that. I think the most amusing thing leading up to the gig was our indecision about what we were going to afterwards. Hotel? Drive? B&B? Even considered camping - yes really. In the end Liz volunteered to drive. Absolutely top volunteering if you ask me. I did suffer some pangs of guilt as, in the hours leading up to the start, she realised that it was a full on DJ set running from 9pm through to 2am. She had made a hasty assumption that it would be a standard gig i.e. doors from about 7pm and all over by 11pm. Still, there we were.
I can't even try to describe the set. To say it was good would not in any way do it justice. If you like music, you should go. That is all.
Memories - warning!, fish, ghost town, cherry perry, skittles (especially the green ones), Prof Em Jay
Two gigs to go...
!!! 4th Nov
Foals 10th Nov
An added bonus this time was that I was taking a Scruffy virgin along. We shall call her Liz, because she answers to that. I think the most amusing thing leading up to the gig was our indecision about what we were going to afterwards. Hotel? Drive? B&B? Even considered camping - yes really. In the end Liz volunteered to drive. Absolutely top volunteering if you ask me. I did suffer some pangs of guilt as, in the hours leading up to the start, she realised that it was a full on DJ set running from 9pm through to 2am. She had made a hasty assumption that it would be a standard gig i.e. doors from about 7pm and all over by 11pm. Still, there we were.
I can't even try to describe the set. To say it was good would not in any way do it justice. If you like music, you should go. That is all.
Memories - warning!, fish, ghost town, cherry perry, skittles (especially the green ones), Prof Em Jay
Two gigs to go...
!!! 4th Nov
Foals 10th Nov
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Sunday 12th September. Thorpe Park, stood in a queue of idiots.
Eventually we actually get to the front of the leviathan of a queue and take our place in the little cars that make up the rollercoaster. The usual hush descends as we await the commencement.......... and we’re off.
Again, I have cause to question people's actions. Rollercoasters – why do people raise their hands up high in the air? The only logical(?) explanation is that it’s people showing how brave they are at not holding on. But excuse me. What is this bloody great u-shaped bar that is pressing down on my shoulders and chest? Take all of that away, then see how many people raise their hands in the air. Actually, thinking about who was on the ride, I suspect that at least 50% still would.
The rides these days seem to have a to have a “claim”, a “best of” so to speak. Colossus being no exception. Apparently it’s the rollercoaster with the most inversions - ten. There you go.
I’m quite a fan of rollercoasters, but this one really didn’t do it for me. There was no great drop, there was no extreme speed. There were inversions though, although I’m not sure if there was ten, I wasn’t counting. No-one threw up on our turn.
It was somewhat of an anti-climax and not the best way to start the day.
What next? Rapids. Woop woop, only a fifteen minute queue. The ride itself? I will give it 7 out of 10. It’s didn’t disappoint, but only in the way that expectations to be thrilled weren’t especially high.
Right. Really need to lift our spirits. Let’s go for an old favourite – Nemesis. Good news too, only a 45 min wait! That will do for me....
Except it wasn’t.
It was over two hours.
At one point, we were debating jumping over the fence and just leaving, but we stuck with it.
As a ride, it was quite good. It was typically Nemesis-like. But we were so hacked off with the whole place that we couldn’t really enjoy it.
Should we have stayed and got our money’s worth? Well no. Firstly we hadn’t strictly paid, and secondly why put ourselves through yet more queuing and disappointment?
So that was it. Between four and five hours spent at Thorpe Park, and 95% of that was in queues, full of retards. Chavvy retards.
I’m soooooo looking forward to Alton Towers next year.
Again, I have cause to question people's actions. Rollercoasters – why do people raise their hands up high in the air? The only logical(?) explanation is that it’s people showing how brave they are at not holding on. But excuse me. What is this bloody great u-shaped bar that is pressing down on my shoulders and chest? Take all of that away, then see how many people raise their hands in the air. Actually, thinking about who was on the ride, I suspect that at least 50% still would.
The rides these days seem to have a to have a “claim”, a “best of” so to speak. Colossus being no exception. Apparently it’s the rollercoaster with the most inversions - ten. There you go.
I’m quite a fan of rollercoasters, but this one really didn’t do it for me. There was no great drop, there was no extreme speed. There were inversions though, although I’m not sure if there was ten, I wasn’t counting. No-one threw up on our turn.
It was somewhat of an anti-climax and not the best way to start the day.
What next? Rapids. Woop woop, only a fifteen minute queue. The ride itself? I will give it 7 out of 10. It’s didn’t disappoint, but only in the way that expectations to be thrilled weren’t especially high.
Right. Really need to lift our spirits. Let’s go for an old favourite – Nemesis. Good news too, only a 45 min wait! That will do for me....
Except it wasn’t.
It was over two hours.
At one point, we were debating jumping over the fence and just leaving, but we stuck with it.
As a ride, it was quite good. It was typically Nemesis-like. But we were so hacked off with the whole place that we couldn’t really enjoy it.
Should we have stayed and got our money’s worth? Well no. Firstly we hadn’t strictly paid, and secondly why put ourselves through yet more queuing and disappointment?
So that was it. Between four and five hours spent at Thorpe Park, and 95% of that was in queues, full of retards. Chavvy retards.
I’m soooooo looking forward to Alton Towers next year.
TP Part 1
As mentioned, Sunday 12th was to be Thorpe Park day. Been?
Satnav said 2.5 hours and who am I to argue?
So off we go.
Breakfast to be had ‘on the hoof’. Promised ourselves a McDonalds breakfast. I don’t mind Maccy Ds. I wouldn’t say that I crave them, but by the same token, I’m certainly not in the anti-fastfood brigade.
So the Tomtom came into its own (again). Plenty of Burger Kings en route, but no signs for McDonalds. The last time that I had a Burger King breakfast burger it was, let’s be honest, awful. A quick search and a preferred purveyor of lard-in-a-bun was found within yards of the M25. Time was approaching 9.30 and I was amazed at quite how busy it was. Anyway, enough rambling for now. Double sausage & egg McMuffin complete with hash brown and fresh orange. Onwards.
I’ll spare you the rest of the journey as it was not of any interest whatsoever.
And so we begin my worst visit to a theme park... ever.
Entry is fairly straight forward. A little bit of a queue, nothing major. Hand over our vouchers courtesy of Tesco Clubcards (other loyalty deals are available) and in we go.
On entry we choose to dive into the first available ride – Colossus. As we walk in, the sign says 80mins. That was an under-estimate. Fortunately it’s a nice day, so we act ever-so-British and queue politely.
After a good hour and a half, we get close to the front and across the tannoy comes an announcement that they are stopping the ride as someone has been sick. What? Are they not prepared for this sort of eventuality? No-one else seem particularly bothered by this, so I immediately start to wonder why. Is it...
a) Me that is being grossly impatient.
b) Others that are very mild mannered with regards to queuing
c) The average person in the queue has a very low IQ and therefore the concept of queuing amongst similar ‘beings’ for over an hour and a half, and then being told to wait for another indefinite amount of time just passes them by without worry.
I’m not sure. What do you think?
Satnav said 2.5 hours and who am I to argue?
So off we go.
Breakfast to be had ‘on the hoof’. Promised ourselves a McDonalds breakfast. I don’t mind Maccy Ds. I wouldn’t say that I crave them, but by the same token, I’m certainly not in the anti-fastfood brigade.
So the Tomtom came into its own (again). Plenty of Burger Kings en route, but no signs for McDonalds. The last time that I had a Burger King breakfast burger it was, let’s be honest, awful. A quick search and a preferred purveyor of lard-in-a-bun was found within yards of the M25. Time was approaching 9.30 and I was amazed at quite how busy it was. Anyway, enough rambling for now. Double sausage & egg McMuffin complete with hash brown and fresh orange. Onwards.
I’ll spare you the rest of the journey as it was not of any interest whatsoever.
And so we begin my worst visit to a theme park... ever.
Entry is fairly straight forward. A little bit of a queue, nothing major. Hand over our vouchers courtesy of Tesco Clubcards (other loyalty deals are available) and in we go.
On entry we choose to dive into the first available ride – Colossus. As we walk in, the sign says 80mins. That was an under-estimate. Fortunately it’s a nice day, so we act ever-so-British and queue politely.
After a good hour and a half, we get close to the front and across the tannoy comes an announcement that they are stopping the ride as someone has been sick. What? Are they not prepared for this sort of eventuality? No-one else seem particularly bothered by this, so I immediately start to wonder why. Is it...
a) Me that is being grossly impatient.
b) Others that are very mild mannered with regards to queuing
c) The average person in the queue has a very low IQ and therefore the concept of queuing amongst similar ‘beings’ for over an hour and a half, and then being told to wait for another indefinite amount of time just passes them by without worry.
I’m not sure. What do you think?
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Ramblng Rose
Right, a little bit of neglect, blogwise. Must try harder! Now that I've (re)started it, I ought to make the effort.
So this one's just going to become a bit of a natter really.
First day back after two weeks off, was last week.
What did I do with my two weeks off? Not a great deal to be honest, but that's what I wanted to, so it's not all bad.
The first week was pretty damn wet for a start, so lots of messing about. I rediscovered the up to date version of Elite and messed about on that quite a bit. Squeezed in a bike ride.
The middle weekend was spent a bit of a mess, and come the second week, I actually decided to do something. A few good walks, a few more bike rides and lots more relaxing.
Yep, come last Monday I was pretty refreshed.
It's been a while since I've had a whole fortnight off work and it WAS a shock to the system. Soon got into it though and was firing on all cylinders within a couple of hours.
The week has shot by. Duty on Monday night. A visit to Norwich Air Ambulance on Thursday to present them with a check for £10K from our Snowdon walk.
So here we are, Saturday! A bit of a sod. Ordered a new 40" TV. That arrived this morning. I unpacked it, and starting setting up. As usual, I got rid of all the polystyrene as I went. It was only when I set it up and went to turn it on that I realised that all the screen was cracked. Next steps - retrieve all of the packaging from the bin and try and package it up again.
Today was supposed to be Thorpe Park, but it was light rain today versus sunny tomorrow, so that's when I'm going now instead.
My God, what a boring post. Only marginally better than none at all...
So this one's just going to become a bit of a natter really.
First day back after two weeks off, was last week.
What did I do with my two weeks off? Not a great deal to be honest, but that's what I wanted to, so it's not all bad.
The first week was pretty damn wet for a start, so lots of messing about. I rediscovered the up to date version of Elite and messed about on that quite a bit. Squeezed in a bike ride.
The middle weekend was spent a bit of a mess, and come the second week, I actually decided to do something. A few good walks, a few more bike rides and lots more relaxing.
Yep, come last Monday I was pretty refreshed.
It's been a while since I've had a whole fortnight off work and it WAS a shock to the system. Soon got into it though and was firing on all cylinders within a couple of hours.
The week has shot by. Duty on Monday night. A visit to Norwich Air Ambulance on Thursday to present them with a check for £10K from our Snowdon walk.
So here we are, Saturday! A bit of a sod. Ordered a new 40" TV. That arrived this morning. I unpacked it, and starting setting up. As usual, I got rid of all the polystyrene as I went. It was only when I set it up and went to turn it on that I realised that all the screen was cracked. Next steps - retrieve all of the packaging from the bin and try and package it up again.
Today was supposed to be Thorpe Park, but it was light rain today versus sunny tomorrow, so that's when I'm going now instead.
My God, what a boring post. Only marginally better than none at all...
Thursday, August 19, 2010
No Parlez
As many of you will know, the old folks have a place En France. Wanna know where?
Here it be. If you can’t be bothered to look it up and you know France, it’s partway between Bergerac and Poitiers.
I tend to go there most years for the obvious reasons – the weather, the food, the drink and not forgetting that it’s nice to go and see one’s parents every once in a while.
So come 24th July, that’s where we're heading. Normally, being just the two of us, we’d fly. This time we were taking the car. Up at 4-ish and crack on down to Folkestone to get the Eurotunnel. We were in pretty good time and so stood a really good chance of getting a slightly earlier crossing. Here is where we encountered the first problem.
My TomTom is one of the earlier models. It’s served me well for quite a few years now. The one that I own takes an SD card. If I want to switch between countries, I need to select that on the device itself. Sat in the Eurotunnel car park seemed a good place to do this. And so it was, but the Tomtom didn’t like it. Oh no, it didn’t like the France map at all.
So there we are with about 20 minutes to board the shuttle with no Satnav of France and no road atlas. Great.
I’ve driven down there before.... once. The route takes us through the centre of Paris. Great.
So how was this problem overcome? It just so happened that I’d got a new Blackberry through work a couple of weeks before. This particular model has GPS reception and I had recently downloaded Google Maps onto it. As soon as we got a signal at Calais, I quickly looked up the route. Fortunately, it’s fairly straight forward (despite still going through Paris). One other thing was that I had a charger for the phone, but not a car charger. GPS tends to soak up the battery. Back up plan was to check the route and make a quick note of the directions. That was it, simple as. But it worked. Seven hours or so later we arrived, to a well earned drink and some food.
The rest of the week was fairly straight forward. The intention was to have a totally relaxing time. Wind down from work, soak up some sun, and eat, drink & be merry.
It’s all too easy whilst there to be very lazy and you end up feeling very sedentary and generally out of condition. We decided to try and do something active most morning and then wind down from lunchtime into the evening.
Sunday – walked back from Aigre (the nearest town), about 6.5Km
Monday – a circular walk from Chillé, about 12Km
Tuesday – canoeing on a small river not too far away
Wednesday – a walk to Aigre AND back, 13Km
Thursday – can’t remember!
Friday – lunch out, so we didn’t bother
All good fun. M&D had never been canoeing before and went for a 2-man kayak. Myself & H were on small canoes. These were very little, highly manoeuvrable, BUT not the most stable of craft. H really didn’t get on with hers and spent most of the time trying to aim forwards. To say she didn’t really enjoy would be a bit of an understatement. The French country air has never been so blue!
These photos aren’t in any particular order, they’re just thrown in to break of my ramblings.
A major sad part of this visit is that it was to be our final one. After six years, M&D have decided that they would like to be back in England and are selling up. In actual fact they received an agreeable offer on the Thursday that we were there.
Friday lunch is also worth a mention. One of the best restaurants in the area is called Le Cheval Blanc (The White Horse, for the non-French speakers). It is very popular with Brits and the food there is superb. There are a couple of fixed menus which prove most popular. Our choice is the five course one for €18. Exceptionally good value for what you get, and it includes wine.
The shop above is in Aigre and owned by the same people who own Le Cheval Blanc. It sells some wonderful things. Lots of typical French foodstuffs, as well as kitchen ornaments, and decorations.
So, the end of an era. But such a lovely era. The long-term readers of this blog will know how the house started out and what a wonderful job M&D have done to convert it and make it such a lovely place. The new owners are very lucky.
However, M&D have made many friends in the area and there are ample opportunities to go and stay in the area – not least M’s sister, who only lives a few K’s away.
We had a bit of a wobble with the Satnav on the way there, but it earned it’s keep on the way back! I shall explain...
As per most modern cars, the BM has a readout of miles left in the tank. I tend to let it go down to about 50 before refuelling. We set off back with over 200 in the tank. We cracked on and decided to stop, refuel and grab a sandwich (kindly provided by M).
The service station was completely RAMMED. Queues of about 5-6 cars at each pump. As we got nearer the front we realised we were in a line for diesel only. No choice but to pull over and go round again. I found us a place in the car park and we ate. As the service station was a major one, I suggested that we crack on to the next (hopefully) quieter one.
It was a bit further than we expected but, with 12 miles to go (in the tank), we arrived. It was just as busy as the previous one. We made the same mistake and got in the wrong queue!!! This time we HAD to go round again, so I followed the exit and went to go round... except the exit led straight out onto the motorway, with no way back!!! Not good. Not good at all.
I slowed right down to 50mph, turned off the air con and basically tried to conserve fuel! In the end we decided to pull in next to an emergency telephone. Best try and do something rather than totally run out on the motorway.
One last chance. I looked on the Satnav for the nearest petrol station. After much trawling I found one 11 miles away. 11 miles in the tank. Nothing for it.
Both myself and H were very, very tense for the next ten minutes. We followed the directions and pulled off the motorway. Off down some back roads and entered a town. There it was! I pulled up at the pump and glanced down – 1 mile left in the tank.
I filled up. My tank holds 70 litres. It took 69.65 to fill.
The rest of the journey was, thankfully, uneventful. After all of that gorgeous French food, we had takeaway fish & chips when we got back.
Here it be. If you can’t be bothered to look it up and you know France, it’s partway between Bergerac and Poitiers.
I tend to go there most years for the obvious reasons – the weather, the food, the drink and not forgetting that it’s nice to go and see one’s parents every once in a while.
So come 24th July, that’s where we're heading. Normally, being just the two of us, we’d fly. This time we were taking the car. Up at 4-ish and crack on down to Folkestone to get the Eurotunnel. We were in pretty good time and so stood a really good chance of getting a slightly earlier crossing. Here is where we encountered the first problem.
My TomTom is one of the earlier models. It’s served me well for quite a few years now. The one that I own takes an SD card. If I want to switch between countries, I need to select that on the device itself. Sat in the Eurotunnel car park seemed a good place to do this. And so it was, but the Tomtom didn’t like it. Oh no, it didn’t like the France map at all.
So there we are with about 20 minutes to board the shuttle with no Satnav of France and no road atlas. Great.
I’ve driven down there before.... once. The route takes us through the centre of Paris. Great.
So how was this problem overcome? It just so happened that I’d got a new Blackberry through work a couple of weeks before. This particular model has GPS reception and I had recently downloaded Google Maps onto it. As soon as we got a signal at Calais, I quickly looked up the route. Fortunately, it’s fairly straight forward (despite still going through Paris). One other thing was that I had a charger for the phone, but not a car charger. GPS tends to soak up the battery. Back up plan was to check the route and make a quick note of the directions. That was it, simple as. But it worked. Seven hours or so later we arrived, to a well earned drink and some food.
The rest of the week was fairly straight forward. The intention was to have a totally relaxing time. Wind down from work, soak up some sun, and eat, drink & be merry.
It’s all too easy whilst there to be very lazy and you end up feeling very sedentary and generally out of condition. We decided to try and do something active most morning and then wind down from lunchtime into the evening.
Sunday – walked back from Aigre (the nearest town), about 6.5Km
Monday – a circular walk from Chillé, about 12Km
Tuesday – canoeing on a small river not too far away
Wednesday – a walk to Aigre AND back, 13Km
Thursday – can’t remember!
Friday – lunch out, so we didn’t bother
All good fun. M&D had never been canoeing before and went for a 2-man kayak. Myself & H were on small canoes. These were very little, highly manoeuvrable, BUT not the most stable of craft. H really didn’t get on with hers and spent most of the time trying to aim forwards. To say she didn’t really enjoy would be a bit of an understatement. The French country air has never been so blue!
These photos aren’t in any particular order, they’re just thrown in to break of my ramblings.
A major sad part of this visit is that it was to be our final one. After six years, M&D have decided that they would like to be back in England and are selling up. In actual fact they received an agreeable offer on the Thursday that we were there.
Friday lunch is also worth a mention. One of the best restaurants in the area is called Le Cheval Blanc (The White Horse, for the non-French speakers). It is very popular with Brits and the food there is superb. There are a couple of fixed menus which prove most popular. Our choice is the five course one for €18. Exceptionally good value for what you get, and it includes wine.
The shop above is in Aigre and owned by the same people who own Le Cheval Blanc. It sells some wonderful things. Lots of typical French foodstuffs, as well as kitchen ornaments, and decorations.
So, the end of an era. But such a lovely era. The long-term readers of this blog will know how the house started out and what a wonderful job M&D have done to convert it and make it such a lovely place. The new owners are very lucky.
However, M&D have made many friends in the area and there are ample opportunities to go and stay in the area – not least M’s sister, who only lives a few K’s away.
We had a bit of a wobble with the Satnav on the way there, but it earned it’s keep on the way back! I shall explain...
As per most modern cars, the BM has a readout of miles left in the tank. I tend to let it go down to about 50 before refuelling. We set off back with over 200 in the tank. We cracked on and decided to stop, refuel and grab a sandwich (kindly provided by M).
The service station was completely RAMMED. Queues of about 5-6 cars at each pump. As we got nearer the front we realised we were in a line for diesel only. No choice but to pull over and go round again. I found us a place in the car park and we ate. As the service station was a major one, I suggested that we crack on to the next (hopefully) quieter one.
It was a bit further than we expected but, with 12 miles to go (in the tank), we arrived. It was just as busy as the previous one. We made the same mistake and got in the wrong queue!!! This time we HAD to go round again, so I followed the exit and went to go round... except the exit led straight out onto the motorway, with no way back!!! Not good. Not good at all.
I slowed right down to 50mph, turned off the air con and basically tried to conserve fuel! In the end we decided to pull in next to an emergency telephone. Best try and do something rather than totally run out on the motorway.
One last chance. I looked on the Satnav for the nearest petrol station. After much trawling I found one 11 miles away. 11 miles in the tank. Nothing for it.
Both myself and H were very, very tense for the next ten minutes. We followed the directions and pulled off the motorway. Off down some back roads and entered a town. There it was! I pulled up at the pump and glanced down – 1 mile left in the tank.
I filled up. My tank holds 70 litres. It took 69.65 to fill.
The rest of the journey was, thankfully, uneventful. After all of that gorgeous French food, we had takeaway fish & chips when we got back.
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
There is life beyond Glastonbury
Okay, hopefully I will get up to date over the next week or so.
I do believe that Glastonbury was worth taking the time over, hopefully you agree and didn't get too bored along the way.
I was back at work on Tuesday 29th July. I purposefully kept that morning free, but needn't really have bothered. I felt surprisingly good to be honest. However, as is always the case after a break from work, there was plenty to catch up on. That week passed rather quickly.
The following week had a "Team Building Event" planned. Basically, it was the Agriculture teams from Wissington & Cantley getting together for a few days (totalling about 20 of us). The peak (excuse the pun) of the few days was to be a climb up Snowdon. All in aid of charity, but more of the money side later.
We set off on the Thursday morning, meeting on the outskirts of Shrewsbury mid-morning. After all meeting up and having a coffee, we travelled in convoy to a "surprise destination". This turned out to be a warm up climb taking on The Wrekin. No, I hadn't heard of it either. Here's a link.... CLICK ME.
It was quite a nice day, if anything a little warm so off we went. Not too long to get us to the top and here's the proof...
That out of the way, off we went again to a nearby hotel.
I shan't bore you with the rest of the day, as it involved work stuff. It did finish with a good fun quiz in the evening mind.
Friday saw an early start, 6am, as we had to get to Snowdon from where we were. A couple of coffee to wash down bacon sandwich and away. I can't remember how far it was, but I'm guessing at just under two hours.
Hands up who's climbed Snowdon? Yep, me too. It's a pretty popular mountain to climb. Last time I did it was in 2005. We did the Llanberis path. There are quite a few ways up the mountain and that path is probably the easiest, it's even tarmaced a lot of the way. Me and H did it fairly comfortably in about 4-4.5 hours. It was nice and bright although still misty on the summit. This time was to be somewhat different. Oh yes.
So here is Snowdon in all its glory (not my pic)...
Now, take your hand and cover up the top three quarters of that photo. That's what we arrived to find, and remember that this is the height of summer!
Behold the car park.
Never mind. We were doing it no matter what. Everyone had gathered within half an hour. We were also joined by a couple of the mountain rescue team, just 'cos they fancied it! Roly, their dog, came along too. He was a seasoned rescue hound, now retired.
I had a good choice of clothes, I would have loved to have started in shorts and t-shirt, but it wasn't to be. Everyone donned full waterproofs. I choose against leggings and stuck with 3/4 trousers. Someone had even ignored all advice and worn jeans! You never, ever wear jeans for climbing/walking. Ever! Doh!
Right, off we go.
Here are quite a few pics, the final one being well on the way down.
We went up the Pyg Track and down the Miners Track. It started with some walking and then gradually got steeper... then steeper. Lots of stepping, and plenty of using one's hands. The wind was really blowing a bit of a gale. The rain never stopped.... at all. At times, it seemed to be coming down horizontally.
Within 30 minutes, everyone (including the pros) were totally drenched. Waterproofs were totally beaten.
I have never, ever been so wet without actually being submerged. We couldn't stand still for long, as being soaked combined with the strong wind soon caused you to get damn cold!
But, we all made it. A welcome thirty minutes were had in the café at the summit. I took my coat off and realised it weighed about five times more than normal. I hung it over a table and it didn't stop dripping for the whole thirty minutes.
Got the message about how wet it was?
The trek down was a bit easier and took maybe half an hour less. Pyg Track is a bit of a trek all the way up, the Miners Track is steeper near the top, but for the lower section, it's fairly easy walking.
So here we all are back at the car park...
The "Gears" thing is to do with work.
The afternoon and evening were spent relaxing, eating some good nosh and having a few beers. Needless to say that we all about ready for bed by about 10pm!!!
So that was Snowdon. ANd the money raised? Well totally, over £15,000. Not too shabby, eh?
I do believe that Glastonbury was worth taking the time over, hopefully you agree and didn't get too bored along the way.
I was back at work on Tuesday 29th July. I purposefully kept that morning free, but needn't really have bothered. I felt surprisingly good to be honest. However, as is always the case after a break from work, there was plenty to catch up on. That week passed rather quickly.
The following week had a "Team Building Event" planned. Basically, it was the Agriculture teams from Wissington & Cantley getting together for a few days (totalling about 20 of us). The peak (excuse the pun) of the few days was to be a climb up Snowdon. All in aid of charity, but more of the money side later.
We set off on the Thursday morning, meeting on the outskirts of Shrewsbury mid-morning. After all meeting up and having a coffee, we travelled in convoy to a "surprise destination". This turned out to be a warm up climb taking on The Wrekin. No, I hadn't heard of it either. Here's a link.... CLICK ME.
It was quite a nice day, if anything a little warm so off we went. Not too long to get us to the top and here's the proof...
That out of the way, off we went again to a nearby hotel.
I shan't bore you with the rest of the day, as it involved work stuff. It did finish with a good fun quiz in the evening mind.
Friday saw an early start, 6am, as we had to get to Snowdon from where we were. A couple of coffee to wash down bacon sandwich and away. I can't remember how far it was, but I'm guessing at just under two hours.
Hands up who's climbed Snowdon? Yep, me too. It's a pretty popular mountain to climb. Last time I did it was in 2005. We did the Llanberis path. There are quite a few ways up the mountain and that path is probably the easiest, it's even tarmaced a lot of the way. Me and H did it fairly comfortably in about 4-4.5 hours. It was nice and bright although still misty on the summit. This time was to be somewhat different. Oh yes.
So here is Snowdon in all its glory (not my pic)...
Now, take your hand and cover up the top three quarters of that photo. That's what we arrived to find, and remember that this is the height of summer!
Behold the car park.
Never mind. We were doing it no matter what. Everyone had gathered within half an hour. We were also joined by a couple of the mountain rescue team, just 'cos they fancied it! Roly, their dog, came along too. He was a seasoned rescue hound, now retired.
I had a good choice of clothes, I would have loved to have started in shorts and t-shirt, but it wasn't to be. Everyone donned full waterproofs. I choose against leggings and stuck with 3/4 trousers. Someone had even ignored all advice and worn jeans! You never, ever wear jeans for climbing/walking. Ever! Doh!
Right, off we go.
Here are quite a few pics, the final one being well on the way down.
We went up the Pyg Track and down the Miners Track. It started with some walking and then gradually got steeper... then steeper. Lots of stepping, and plenty of using one's hands. The wind was really blowing a bit of a gale. The rain never stopped.... at all. At times, it seemed to be coming down horizontally.
Within 30 minutes, everyone (including the pros) were totally drenched. Waterproofs were totally beaten.
I have never, ever been so wet without actually being submerged. We couldn't stand still for long, as being soaked combined with the strong wind soon caused you to get damn cold!
But, we all made it. A welcome thirty minutes were had in the café at the summit. I took my coat off and realised it weighed about five times more than normal. I hung it over a table and it didn't stop dripping for the whole thirty minutes.
Got the message about how wet it was?
The trek down was a bit easier and took maybe half an hour less. Pyg Track is a bit of a trek all the way up, the Miners Track is steeper near the top, but for the lower section, it's fairly easy walking.
So here we all are back at the car park...
The "Gears" thing is to do with work.
The afternoon and evening were spent relaxing, eating some good nosh and having a few beers. Needless to say that we all about ready for bed by about 10pm!!!
So that was Snowdon. ANd the money raised? Well totally, over £15,000. Not too shabby, eh?
Sunday, August 01, 2010
Catch Up
Right. Need to get some writing done!
That's a line drawn under Glastonbury. Next up is the Snowdon adventure, then the week en France.
Watch this space!
That's a line drawn under Glastonbury. Next up is the Snowdon adventure, then the week en France.
Watch this space!
Mon 28th Jun @ 09.30 - ish
Ouch! We certainly did see the last night out with a bang!
I remember Andy saying that he woke up to find glowsticks wrapped around his wrists. Took a while to remember where they had come from, "I don't even like raving", were his words.
All things must come to an end.
We quickly got packed up and wearily loaded all the bags. Pretty much taking everything that we had brought, save for the alcohol.
It was a LONG walk back to the car. We dropped Jo off part way. She was getting a bus to the train station to meet up with her mum and her boys for a week's holiday.
Myself, Andy & Ben kept on plodding.
The car was a welcome sight. Everything was dumped inside and we drove straight out. Not one queue. A real blessing.
The journey home was pretty uneventful. We stopped off for food at one point. It was amusing looking around the cafe and seeing the other tired, dirty looking travellers, all wearing the same distinctive wristband.
Ben was dropped off at Cambridge train station to head off back to Lincoln. The final two cracked on home with Andy a further half an hour or so.
So there way go. What an experience.
Can't finish without saying a huge big thanks to the people that I went with. They made it what is was.
Ben - what a character! A genuinely funny guy. Always good to have a good joke with. Came out with some classic, cutting lines. I still remember asking where his folding chair was? "Well, I went into a toilet with it, and came out without it". Brilliant!
Jo - my food-mate! An absolutely lovely person with a heart of gold. I managed to drag her up the hill and we enjoyed some great sights from there. I beat her on the fish curry and she beat me on the Tacos. Half a bottle of port each on the last night!
Andy - hard to believe that we only met on the Wednesday morning. I don't think either of us knew what to expect. Within a couple of days, it was if we had been best mates for years. Shared some really special times, not all revolving around alcohol.
So, what of the future?
I'll see you there!
I remember Andy saying that he woke up to find glowsticks wrapped around his wrists. Took a while to remember where they had come from, "I don't even like raving", were his words.
All things must come to an end.
We quickly got packed up and wearily loaded all the bags. Pretty much taking everything that we had brought, save for the alcohol.
It was a LONG walk back to the car. We dropped Jo off part way. She was getting a bus to the train station to meet up with her mum and her boys for a week's holiday.
Myself, Andy & Ben kept on plodding.
The car was a welcome sight. Everything was dumped inside and we drove straight out. Not one queue. A real blessing.
The journey home was pretty uneventful. We stopped off for food at one point. It was amusing looking around the cafe and seeing the other tired, dirty looking travellers, all wearing the same distinctive wristband.
Ben was dropped off at Cambridge train station to head off back to Lincoln. The final two cracked on home with Andy a further half an hour or so.
So there way go. What an experience.
Can't finish without saying a huge big thanks to the people that I went with. They made it what is was.
Ben - what a character! A genuinely funny guy. Always good to have a good joke with. Came out with some classic, cutting lines. I still remember asking where his folding chair was? "Well, I went into a toilet with it, and came out without it". Brilliant!
Jo - my food-mate! An absolutely lovely person with a heart of gold. I managed to drag her up the hill and we enjoyed some great sights from there. I beat her on the fish curry and she beat me on the Tacos. Half a bottle of port each on the last night!
Andy - hard to believe that we only met on the Wednesday morning. I don't think either of us knew what to expect. Within a couple of days, it was if we had been best mates for years. Shared some really special times, not all revolving around alcohol.
So, what of the future?
I'll see you there!
Sun 27th Jun @ 07.00
And so onto the final day. My memory is lacking somewhat on this and I’m somewhat reliant on a running order to remember where I was at any particular time.
The usual three of us met up and had a walk down to the other stage. We must have had food on the way, but I can’t quite remember what – possibly another Growler.
While I think about food, there’s one dish that I had that I haven’t mentioned so far. I must have forgotten about it. I believe I had it late on Saturday afternoon.
Behold the Goan fish curry...
There was a bit of a queue for this stall 20+ people, but it came well recommended. Definitely worth waiting for! Some huge bits of fish in it and a lovely spicy sauce. I think it cost £7, which is the most that I paid for a meal, but it was good value and very tasty.
Back to Sunday morning...
We found a spot in the shade of a flag (didn’t last long) and listened to the band that were playing – Frightened Rabbit. Again, this is a band that I’d heard mention of before. They were really good actually. All three of us enjoyed it.
I’m not totally sure what we did next, but I do know that myself and Andy had already decided to go and watch the football in the afternoon.
They had put aside a field especially for it. England versus Germany in the World Cup. We found a reasonable spot in the field and had a sit down. It was damn hot and no shade. The field filled up fast. At one point I had a good look round and estimated there to be well in excess of 40K people there.
I’m not going to talk about the game much. There was a great atmosphere though. Lots of inflatables flying around. At half time, as one, 30K all sat down. That was quite sight to see.
The end of the game came round and despite the result, everyone’s spirits weren’t dented at all.
We walked back to the tent. I say “walked”. That amount of people all heading in the same direction was quite a challenge. Typically Glasto though, not one person was bothered by it. We just got on and did it.
Despite it being relatively early, we weren’t going to return, so took supplies (alcohol) with us and went to meet Jo at the Pyramid. It was going to be Jack Johnson followed by Faithless followed by Stevie Wonder. The only variance from this was Andy fancied Toots & The Maytalls rather than Faithless. V & H were also going to try and join us.
Jo had bagged a good spot down near the intermediate railings. This was good as we could stick our bags at the railings, also were less likely to get barged about too much.
Jack Johnson came on after a short while and went down really well. Just what everyone was in the mood for – a nice bit of mellowness for a Sunday afternoon.
And now... one of the moments that I had been waiting for all weekend...
And they didn't disappoint. An absolutely blinding set. Myself and Jo were dancing from start to finish. The crowd were loving it so much too.
V&H managed to join us straight after Jack Johnson and for the start of Faithless, but moved back to get more space to dance.
Another thing about Glastonbury is the range of taste etc. When Faithless finished, we had this huge change in crowd. Many wanted to stay of course, but by the same token, a lot left for elsewhere whilst other came for the headliner...
What can you say about the legend that is Stevie Wonder?
Again, I'd been looking forward to this. Faithless into Stevie? Awesome.
I'm not even going to try and describe the set. Andy had managed to get back to us, so all three of us enjoyed it together. Simply brilliant. All the people around us were loving it too.
V&H came to join us again straight after Stevie. We all chose to hang about and let the crowds die off a bit.
After a while Jo decided to call it a night. Only one thing for it then.... West Holts!
Due to fears about massive queues getting out of the carparks, we had made tentative plans about getting up at 6am to beat the rush.
This was before we had a drink, or several.
I vaguely remember saying to Andy that we ought to head off to bed. This was sometime after 2am. Shall we say that the two of us had thoroughly made the most of the evening! Lots of random strangers to share a cider with and have a natter.
My last memory before falling asleep was sending Andy a text at about 3am. Something along the lines of - "There's no way that I'm gonna make 6!"
The usual three of us met up and had a walk down to the other stage. We must have had food on the way, but I can’t quite remember what – possibly another Growler.
While I think about food, there’s one dish that I had that I haven’t mentioned so far. I must have forgotten about it. I believe I had it late on Saturday afternoon.
Behold the Goan fish curry...
There was a bit of a queue for this stall 20+ people, but it came well recommended. Definitely worth waiting for! Some huge bits of fish in it and a lovely spicy sauce. I think it cost £7, which is the most that I paid for a meal, but it was good value and very tasty.
Back to Sunday morning...
We found a spot in the shade of a flag (didn’t last long) and listened to the band that were playing – Frightened Rabbit. Again, this is a band that I’d heard mention of before. They were really good actually. All three of us enjoyed it.
I’m not totally sure what we did next, but I do know that myself and Andy had already decided to go and watch the football in the afternoon.
They had put aside a field especially for it. England versus Germany in the World Cup. We found a reasonable spot in the field and had a sit down. It was damn hot and no shade. The field filled up fast. At one point I had a good look round and estimated there to be well in excess of 40K people there.
I’m not going to talk about the game much. There was a great atmosphere though. Lots of inflatables flying around. At half time, as one, 30K all sat down. That was quite sight to see.
The end of the game came round and despite the result, everyone’s spirits weren’t dented at all.
We walked back to the tent. I say “walked”. That amount of people all heading in the same direction was quite a challenge. Typically Glasto though, not one person was bothered by it. We just got on and did it.
Despite it being relatively early, we weren’t going to return, so took supplies (alcohol) with us and went to meet Jo at the Pyramid. It was going to be Jack Johnson followed by Faithless followed by Stevie Wonder. The only variance from this was Andy fancied Toots & The Maytalls rather than Faithless. V & H were also going to try and join us.
Jo had bagged a good spot down near the intermediate railings. This was good as we could stick our bags at the railings, also were less likely to get barged about too much.
Jack Johnson came on after a short while and went down really well. Just what everyone was in the mood for – a nice bit of mellowness for a Sunday afternoon.
And now... one of the moments that I had been waiting for all weekend...
And they didn't disappoint. An absolutely blinding set. Myself and Jo were dancing from start to finish. The crowd were loving it so much too.
V&H managed to join us straight after Jack Johnson and for the start of Faithless, but moved back to get more space to dance.
Another thing about Glastonbury is the range of taste etc. When Faithless finished, we had this huge change in crowd. Many wanted to stay of course, but by the same token, a lot left for elsewhere whilst other came for the headliner...
What can you say about the legend that is Stevie Wonder?
Again, I'd been looking forward to this. Faithless into Stevie? Awesome.
I'm not even going to try and describe the set. Andy had managed to get back to us, so all three of us enjoyed it together. Simply brilliant. All the people around us were loving it too.
V&H came to join us again straight after Stevie. We all chose to hang about and let the crowds die off a bit.
After a while Jo decided to call it a night. Only one thing for it then.... West Holts!
Due to fears about massive queues getting out of the carparks, we had made tentative plans about getting up at 6am to beat the rush.
This was before we had a drink, or several.
I vaguely remember saying to Andy that we ought to head off to bed. This was sometime after 2am. Shall we say that the two of us had thoroughly made the most of the evening! Lots of random strangers to share a cider with and have a natter.
My last memory before falling asleep was sending Andy a text at about 3am. Something along the lines of - "There's no way that I'm gonna make 6!"
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Sat 26th June @ 07.00
Awake feeling refreshed at the usual time. So usual routine it is. Another morning of glorious sunshine.
Jo joins me after an hour or so and we head down the usual path. Toilet Talk. Long Drops.
Spoken to many people about Glastonbury, both before and since. There are two things that generally put people (well, women) off. Firstly is the lack of showers, secondly is the toilets. WW is no exception to this.
I think that I’ve covered off showers and their availability. I’ve also touched on toilets, if you’ll pardon the expression. I mentioned port-a-loos and I think that everyone is reasonably familiar with the design etc. There are also proper flushing toilets, should you desire to seek them out – I never bothered.
The most common toilets though are the Long Drops. I had never really come across theses before. Behold a photo (not mine) for illustration purposes...
Basically they consist of a long line of booths, all fabricated from tin. The interior consists of a bench type seat with a hole in it and a fitted wooden toilet seat. The whole arrangement sits over a large, deep pit. That’s it.
They’re as clean as the last person who used them. They don’t smell. Everyone uses them.
Key things to take with you are toilet paper (either rolls or packs) and/or wet wipes plus hand gel cleaner. Even if you forget toilet paper, there will be supplies close by.
Toilets – not an issue and really nothing that anyone should worry about. So moving on.
Myself and Jo had a bit of bimble. Didn’t fancy a growler this morning, but I remembered a stall next door to it that always seemed quite busy. I also remembered an item that they were selling – the Garlic Guzzler. That’s breakfast agree then, so off we went.
They were as good as they sound...
We then went our own way. I had only passed through Greenfields up to now and did fancy having a look round. My shoulders were still a bit stiff from Wednesday. Healing Fields were right next to Greenfields and I reckoned that a massage would be ideal. Off I popped.
Both Greenfields and Healing Fields are what they sound like, quite spiritual. Really nice, peaceful places. It was lovely just having a wander round.
There were numerous treatments in the area – everything you could wish for really. I found somewhere that was just opening up and waited for my masseur to get her final things ready.
32 year old Lucy has been coming to Glastonbury for 14 years and totally loves it. She explained that they get their place free, but obviously it is a bit of a living for them and still have to pay for food, drink etc. I asked what she would think the “essential” things are to do whilst there.
Her recommendations were a naked sauna, some chai tea, and some Guinness & chocolate cake. She was really insistent on the sauna, but there was no way that I fancied that, no matter how enlightening it was supposed to be! She told me where to get the tea from and I went there straight afterwards, but it was really busy so I skipped it. I didn’t go anywhere near where the cake was for sale, so that was all three of her suggestions not done. Maybe next time.
The massage was very welcome though and made my shoulders feel heaps better.
After this, it was time for much more bimbling, photos and to buy a few things. After the fun yesterday, I also decided to give the Outside Circus Arena another look too. On my way round to that area, I took the higher path across the Pyramid area. The Lightening Seeds were playing and they just went into “Football’s Coming Home”. Now that got the crowd on their feet and dancing.
A really good look around at the stalls etc. You could spend all your time wandering round these. Some great stuff to be had and not silly prices.
On my way round I stopped off for a sit down at the Other Stage. A female was playing who I half recognised and was pretty good. Mostly piano stuff, but with a great voice. A random came to the rescue – Imogen Heap.
Head back to the tent to drop off some stuff, pick up a few ciders and warm top for later. Definitely Delphic today, so off to the John Peel tent.
A massive crowd, and I just about got to the edge of the tent. After a couple of tracks, the sun was right in my eyes, so I squeezed past a few folk to actually get inside.
Down to my right was a guy sat on the floor. He was bent over a little and had a soaking t-shirt on. His friends were trying to get him to drink some water. This was probably my only encounter with someone who had overdone it a little! In the end, they fetched some stewards, who assisted out through the crowds to get some fresh air.
A great set from Delphic although I didn’t get to see that much due to the location.
My plan for the evening was...
Other Stage – The Cribs
John Peel – Foals
Other Stage – Editors
Other Stage – Pet Shop Boys
I dropped Vicky & Hannah a line, as I knew that they were to see The Cribs too. Typically right round the other side from me, but not a worry. I stuck to the main thoroughfare around the outside and eventually found them.
A quick summary of the next couple of hours – Cribs were good. Had a few ciders. Decided to stay with the girls and forego the Foals. Editors were very good. Much people watching and general larking about.
V&H decided they needed warmer clothes, their campsite (specifically for litter people) was round the other side, so we had a wander.
As we were quite close to the Pyramid Stage, we chose Muse over Pet Shop Boys. I’m not a massive Muse fan, but it was a really good set, especially when The Edge came on for Streets Have No Name.
12.30 finish, where else to go but West Holts! A good old sing-a-long and a dance with loads of randoms having a good time.
We called it a night at about 1.30.
Jo joins me after an hour or so and we head down the usual path. Toilet Talk. Long Drops.
Spoken to many people about Glastonbury, both before and since. There are two things that generally put people (well, women) off. Firstly is the lack of showers, secondly is the toilets. WW is no exception to this.
I think that I’ve covered off showers and their availability. I’ve also touched on toilets, if you’ll pardon the expression. I mentioned port-a-loos and I think that everyone is reasonably familiar with the design etc. There are also proper flushing toilets, should you desire to seek them out – I never bothered.
The most common toilets though are the Long Drops. I had never really come across theses before. Behold a photo (not mine) for illustration purposes...
Basically they consist of a long line of booths, all fabricated from tin. The interior consists of a bench type seat with a hole in it and a fitted wooden toilet seat. The whole arrangement sits over a large, deep pit. That’s it.
They’re as clean as the last person who used them. They don’t smell. Everyone uses them.
Key things to take with you are toilet paper (either rolls or packs) and/or wet wipes plus hand gel cleaner. Even if you forget toilet paper, there will be supplies close by.
Toilets – not an issue and really nothing that anyone should worry about. So moving on.
Myself and Jo had a bit of bimble. Didn’t fancy a growler this morning, but I remembered a stall next door to it that always seemed quite busy. I also remembered an item that they were selling – the Garlic Guzzler. That’s breakfast agree then, so off we went.
They were as good as they sound...
We then went our own way. I had only passed through Greenfields up to now and did fancy having a look round. My shoulders were still a bit stiff from Wednesday. Healing Fields were right next to Greenfields and I reckoned that a massage would be ideal. Off I popped.
Both Greenfields and Healing Fields are what they sound like, quite spiritual. Really nice, peaceful places. It was lovely just having a wander round.
There were numerous treatments in the area – everything you could wish for really. I found somewhere that was just opening up and waited for my masseur to get her final things ready.
32 year old Lucy has been coming to Glastonbury for 14 years and totally loves it. She explained that they get their place free, but obviously it is a bit of a living for them and still have to pay for food, drink etc. I asked what she would think the “essential” things are to do whilst there.
Her recommendations were a naked sauna, some chai tea, and some Guinness & chocolate cake. She was really insistent on the sauna, but there was no way that I fancied that, no matter how enlightening it was supposed to be! She told me where to get the tea from and I went there straight afterwards, but it was really busy so I skipped it. I didn’t go anywhere near where the cake was for sale, so that was all three of her suggestions not done. Maybe next time.
The massage was very welcome though and made my shoulders feel heaps better.
After this, it was time for much more bimbling, photos and to buy a few things. After the fun yesterday, I also decided to give the Outside Circus Arena another look too. On my way round to that area, I took the higher path across the Pyramid area. The Lightening Seeds were playing and they just went into “Football’s Coming Home”. Now that got the crowd on their feet and dancing.
A really good look around at the stalls etc. You could spend all your time wandering round these. Some great stuff to be had and not silly prices.
On my way round I stopped off for a sit down at the Other Stage. A female was playing who I half recognised and was pretty good. Mostly piano stuff, but with a great voice. A random came to the rescue – Imogen Heap.
Head back to the tent to drop off some stuff, pick up a few ciders and warm top for later. Definitely Delphic today, so off to the John Peel tent.
A massive crowd, and I just about got to the edge of the tent. After a couple of tracks, the sun was right in my eyes, so I squeezed past a few folk to actually get inside.
Down to my right was a guy sat on the floor. He was bent over a little and had a soaking t-shirt on. His friends were trying to get him to drink some water. This was probably my only encounter with someone who had overdone it a little! In the end, they fetched some stewards, who assisted out through the crowds to get some fresh air.
A great set from Delphic although I didn’t get to see that much due to the location.
My plan for the evening was...
Other Stage – The Cribs
John Peel – Foals
Other Stage – Editors
Other Stage – Pet Shop Boys
I dropped Vicky & Hannah a line, as I knew that they were to see The Cribs too. Typically right round the other side from me, but not a worry. I stuck to the main thoroughfare around the outside and eventually found them.
A quick summary of the next couple of hours – Cribs were good. Had a few ciders. Decided to stay with the girls and forego the Foals. Editors were very good. Much people watching and general larking about.
V&H decided they needed warmer clothes, their campsite (specifically for litter people) was round the other side, so we had a wander.
As we were quite close to the Pyramid Stage, we chose Muse over Pet Shop Boys. I’m not a massive Muse fan, but it was a really good set, especially when The Edge came on for Streets Have No Name.
12.30 finish, where else to go but West Holts! A good old sing-a-long and a dance with loads of randoms having a good time.
We called it a night at about 1.30.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
