We did it! On a very hot day in July I jogged my little heart out and completed 5km in 42minutes.
I am extremely proud of myself. Despite going out and training quite a bit, I had still never ran 5km before that day (I know that is an amateur mistake.) Plus, unbeknownst to me at the start, the majority of the course involved running uphill, which I was not prepared for at all. But I beat my target time of 45min.
As he had earlier threatened my dad was on hand to capture the entire day in his much better than mine camera - hence the upgrade inquality. I will not be sharing all 200 pictures with you all. No one needs a still by still depiction of my ungainly running style, but here are a few I offer as proof for those that generously sponsored me,
Also a massive well done to Elle and her Mom. It would have been wonderful if we could have run together, but the threat of stress fractures is more important than my fear of looking like a pillock. I am very proud of her as she carried on and completed the 5km despite being in pain all the way through. And also go Jane for deciding to join in at the 11th hour with absolutely no prep!
Over all I raised just over £350 ( when you include gift aid etc) thank you so much to everyone that donated!!! You are all amazing. It was extremely moving running in such a large sea of pink, as everyone's reason for running was pinned on their backs. Everyone was running for close friends and family, no one was just running for themselves. Reading the messages to loved ones just spurred me on to run more. I think I will probably do it again next year, or something similar at least. But for now no more running. Give me a bike any day :D
Furthering my reputation of being somewhat impulsive, I persuaded Jeannie and Neff to come steward with me at Camp Bestival with only 14 days notice. Frustrated by my lack of headway in my attempts to get a job with Oxfam I thought volunteering for them might get me some brownie points :D
We had an absolutely amazing time. Would recommend stewarding to anyone that can cope with a little sleep deprivation. You get a free festival ticket, ace music, some lovely new friends and an excuse to be rather childish and watch things like sooty & sweep, Dick & Dom and Mr Tumble.
We also did a bit of celeb spotting. I spoke to Jo Whiley (who is surprisingly quite short) and spotted a few others milling around in the crowd. Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall was spotted by one of my freinds, but alas I could not find him. I did however go to the River Cottage tent and met some of the guys there & got to eat some of their scrumptious food.
Most of our job consisted of telling people where the programme sellers were and looking after lost little kids - some of which were really sweet and did not care at all that their parents were no where to be seen. We met some lovely people and hopefully have made a few new friends. It seems wearing a bright orange Oxfam tabard or yellow security jumpers makes everyone really friendly and approachable. Despite not really seeing that many bands and doing far to much walking in ill fitting wellies this was probably the best festival experience I have ever had. Leeds has got a lot to live up too!
Last Autumn Nick and I indulged in a day of Enid Blyton based mischief. We packed our corned beef sandwiches and cans of ginger ale with the idea of spending the day in Tatton Park. Alas it seems Tatton Park is closed in the winter (something they would do well to advertise on their website). So we changed our plans and unexpectedly found ourselves in the middle of a deer park. Despite living on the green belt and driving past multiple road signs warning that there may be deers crossing, the closest I had ever gotten to one of these lovely creatures was when peering at one of its distantly related cousins at the West Midlands Safari Park.
Dunham Massey, although not being a spectacular grand house, or of particular historical interest, is definitely a must see. Especially on a crisp autumn day. We had the place practically to ourselves and so naturally pretended to be in our own nature documentary, trying to get as close as possible to a large herd who where huddled together, not unlike penguins. It was a very indulgent and childish morning, but was so much fun. All that was missing was the presence of Philip, Dina, Jack & Lucy.
Nick modelling his Movember Look
We then ventured on into Chester as it's on the list. Being the middle distance (ish) between Nick and I, we had ventured here before and have visited since (both occasions were largely due to our need to visit the wonderful Ice Cream Farm, tucked away in the countryside about 20 minutes outside of town. A definite must if you are in the area, especially for the liquorice and blackcurrant flavoured ice cream.) Having Nick about as we wandered around the town was an advantage as I got to pick his brains about the place's history. We walked along the city walls and I learnt about Roman defence tactics and who proceeded Caeser. The city is very nice, with its chocolate box finish and high end shops. I would recommend investing a guide to the city, or do a bit of swotting up before you go as there is more to this city then meets the eye. Unlike other places though, the city does not readily provide much information for us tourists to devour about its rich history. Alternatively I might start hiring Nick out as a guide (possible new business venture). There is also a very nice old fashioned sweet shop tucked up in one of the side streets that stocked every liquorice delight you could imagine, but unfortunately I have forgotten what it is called and where exactly it is. As for it being a Must See City, I don't entirely agree. The best bits of the day were the out of town exploits and the newly acquired knowledge. If I were to do it all again I would spend an hour on Wikipedia learning about the Romans and then hot foot it to the nearest National Trust house for an Enid Blyton adventure. Long live ginger beer!
There were three reasons why Winchester was always going to be better than Brigthon. Firstly it is enshrined in English folklore and holds the Round Table that Merlin, Arther and Lancelot all partied around. Secondly Frank Turner just wrote a song about the place. Thirdly King Alf has his own Twitter account telling tourists exactly where the fun is. These things alone should persuade anyone that the drive there is undoubtedly worth it.
I went with a clear view of what I wanted to see in the 4 hours we had to spend in the city. I wanted to see the Cathedral, I wanted to see the round table and I wanted to do the Mizmaze, if I wasn't to hungover. All of this was swept aside when we got to the high street and were blown away (quite literally they were quite loud) by the Meridian Drum Corps who were busking quite merrily outside Monsoon. Treating us with the delights of Downtown, Total Eclipse of the Heart and Aga Du, they brought the entire street to a stand still. It was just what we needed to kick start our exploration as we were running on nothing but hang overs and very little sleep. Yet again Neffi and I were impressed by the calibre and quality of the buskers, but I am beginning to think that maybe everywhere except Birmingham & Wolverhampton has a thriving busking scene as all the evidence seems to point this way...
After purchase of the obligatory coffee, we wandered into the Cathedral grounds to have breakfast and watched the very well dressed people dispense from the Sunday morning service. The Cathedral itself is both impressive and informative. The staff were very friendly and there was ample reading material explaining everything from British history to procedural information, with a bit of pop culture thrown in to boot. Much better organised than Bristol cathedral and with a lot more to see than in Chester. Although, we may have been a little biased as we are Austen fans; reading so much about her and seeing her grave site was a bit of a pilgrimage. I also learnt and actually managed to retain quite a bit from our brief tour. Having never studied English history that far back at school most of King Alf's story was new to me. I feel like I might be able to add to a conversation between Nick & the guys now, or at least follow what they are saying.
Another good find was Buddy's Dinner. Neff was severely lagging by midday and this Retro American diner was a pretty good bribe to keep her both happy and awake long enough to do a bit more site seeing. We recommend the milkshakes (especially the Oreo Cookie one).
We really enjoyed Winchester. Its up there with Cambridge as our favourite city so far. The place has plenty of history to immerse yourself in, and in an extremely accessible and way. Alas we were to hungover to find St Catherine's Mizmaze and ran out of time to see where Anne Boleyn got married. But now I know how to get there, there is very little stopping us from visiting again.
Also I stumbled across this Diary of a Busker whilst researching the trip & I recommend the read!
We went to this mini London festival on a whim, as we were down South and weren't to bothered about spending much time by the sea side. I was quite excited about it because I FINALLY GOT TO SEE NEWTON FAULKNER. I am a big fan, but had thus far not been able to go to any of his gigs. This frustration was amplified by the fact that Neffi saw him 3 times last year, despite not being particularly bothered about him. So not fair.
Playing by himself, with the addition of a tape player for one song (very retro), he happily bantered away to the little crowd that had gathered in Camden. Even if you aren't a big fan of the music that he makes, I defy you not to be entertained at one of his gigs. He manages top make a humble acoustic guitar sound like a full band, and on occasion plays some string accompaniment with his feet. It is like watching art at work. We were properly impressed, with Neffi wondering if we could make her guitar into a bass drum once we got home.
The big mix is a tiny festival so it was worth going to in order to see bigger names playing in smaller venues, there was stand up comedy and fashion too. May try and go again next year as we saw a lot of new music we liked, along with some old favourites. Just hope it rains slightly less. Now that I have the route from Liverpool Street Station and Brick Lane down (although I swear that place moves every time I go) it should be brilliant. And it is all in support of MacMillan Cancer support, so you can even go home feeling all warm and fuzzy as the money you spent went to a good cause. Keep your eyes peeled for it next year.
Also if you look closely the Teal coat (and by proxy me) makes it into the official video for the day :D
So that is 5/6 bands off Octobers bucket list done. Though it is going to be a while before I get to see the last one.
Possibly the most beautiful city I have been to (so far). There is something magical about the place, with its hazy sky line and castles a plenty, it is entirely to easy to pretend that you are actually on a set of some big budget Disney movie.
We arrived at 5.30am as our bus was running ahead of schedule which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Despite being perhaps the grumpiest person in the world that morning, Nick managed to persuade me to not go back to the hostel to sleep, but to take advantage of how empty the city was and explore. I am so glad that I listened to him. We had the city to ourselves for the first few hours and it was gorgeous. Crossing over the river ambling around the Charles bridge at sunrise was (in hindsight) the most stunning part of our European foray.
There are three things you seemingly cannot escape whilst in Prague:
Churches
Kafka
David Cerny
The first two are fairly predictable. Prague was granted the grace to be largely architecturally unaffected by the mass demolition of World War II. The higgledipiggidly turrets, spires represent 100s of different religions, denominations and saints, all standing in their Gothic glory. Similarly, Kafka is probably the cities most (only) famous expat, which is unfortunate as the man himself didn't seem to have much of an opinion of the place. David Cerny on the other hand was a revelation and a joy to stumble across.
Think of him as a Czech Banksy and Tracey Emin all rolled into one. His sculptures can be found throughout the city and make for an interesting and unwieldy guide of the backstreets and secret beauty spots. Amongst my favourites were the two men pissing into a lake the shape of the Czech Republic that stands as the entrance to the Kafka Museum. Nick informs me that during the summer the motorised men will pee actual messages into the water, and that you can text in to have your message "written". You wouldn't find that on the Fourth Plinth.
On a (drunken?) saunter through the city late at night in search of food we found his glowing Embryo, which doubles up as a drainpipe. We actually doubled back as at first we just strode past it in a very nonchalant fashion, coming to a halt a few metres later and doing the WTF double take.
Cerny is not the only modern art that Prague wears like a badge of pride. There is a gigantic metronome that resides above the city, keeping time, aloof from all the scurrying that goes on in the city below it. There is the famous Dancing House, the only 'modern' glass building that I can remember seeing there. Also the site of some really monumental road rage, but I hope that is not a daily occurrence.
As with Berlin, there is a certain amount of grief weighing on the city from WWII, in a way that I don't encounter when visiting London or Paris. The Jewish Quarter is a must see for the sake of remembrance and culture, but do not go expecting to be chipper once you have seen all its sights. The Pinkas Synagogue is horrific, there is no other word for it. Where the Jewish memorial in Berlin is playful and beautiful whilst maintaining its vast purpose, the memorial of every Jewish person who was either killed or relocated in the war is humbling and sorrowful. The walls are covered in this cavernous building from floor to ceiling in tiny red script listing every man, women and child that is no longer there.
To counteract that realisation of the scale of Jewish persecution comes perhaps that best restaurant in the entire world. The Vytopna Railway Restaurant was charming and warm and FULL OF MODEL TRAINS. Just off Wenceslas Square, this place is no doubt aimed at the tourist, but I fell for it hook line and sinker. Once you are seated (by the rather cute waiter) your drinks are brought to you by train, straight to your table. You then proceed to sit and watch all the other trains zoom around the room, across the bar, along over head bridges and stopping at signal boxes as they bring drinks to the other punters. It was as if some one asked Nick what his favourite things were and then made a restaurant. I am amazed that he didn't insist on permanently relocating there. Most amazingly of all it was still ridiculously cheap costing less than £20 for a large meal and lots of alcohol.
Prague is majestic and regal. The castle is the largest in Europe. The astronomical clock in the Old Town Square is as farcical as it is endearing. The views from Vysehrad Castle are breath taking and well worth the jaunt out of the city centre to find. Happiest of all the beer made in the Monastery a short walk from the castle is excellent, and entirely allowed at 10am, because you are on holiday.
After our epic adventure last week, Neff and I uncovered a wealth of new bands to listen to. So here are our new music to love list, brought to you after the wettest road trip in history.
We journeyed into London for The Big Mix Festival, mini festival that was spread out across Shoreditch that provided some really exciting little venues to watch some potentially big new names.
A welsh electro-pop band that had some really good hooks. I had heard a few of their songs before we got there so made a beeline for them. It was a shame that they were on so early in the day, as the venue they were playing in was quite the walk from the main entrance. I don't think that many people had managed to find it before their set started. But they soldiered on anyway. I would quite happily dance around Sandmarsh with my bottle of Tequila with the girls to this music. Just enough of a dance tune that we can prance around the living room, but with some amazing lyrics to sing along with too. Their new single Firework is out today! And the other song that I particularly liked was Golden Blood. Also the lead singer bares a striking resemblance to Terry Richardson. They have now been added to the list of why I am GUTTED to not be going to Wakestock this year.
Described in the blurb as The Libertines- meets Paolo Nutini, they were the opening band, doing an acoustic set in Spitalfield Market. We liked them so much we then went to their full band set later in the day. I don't really get the Libertines comparison. Their whole vibe is much more country/folk then Indie, but there are times when there is a little twang that could be compared to Paolo's voice. Soft and melodic there is an ounce of Americana running through the songs. Their stand out song was definitely Roses in the Yard, as we were still humming it when we got on the train at the end of the day. Also the bassist has to be one of the most friendly and approachable guys ever, quite happily chatting to the crowd whilst the rest of the guys re-tuned. They have just won the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition so keep an eye out for them and expect big things.
This band was exactly what the doctor ordered on an extremely wet Saturday afternoon. A 'Ska & Roll' band that somehow pulled the 60s and 80s together got the crowd skanking and generally cheered everybody up. Despite having a few technical issues with the mikes, theirs was the most enjoyable set of the day. There is a lack of Saxophones in the music that is pervading the charts at the moment, especially now with the loss of Clarence Clemons, and so there isn't a better time for the re-emergence of some proper cheering sounds. They also got the seal of approval from Newton Faulkner who was dancing about 3 feet away from us, so from one ginger to another, check them out!
Our Favourite band of the weekend, Tall Ships were actually the support act for We Are Scientists on Friday. WAS usually provide some pretty good new music at their gigs (Neffi disagrees at this with some enthusiasm however much love for Goldheart Assembly) so I had high expectations. Plus Edith Bowman raved about them after seeing their gig at Kokos a few days earlier. They did not disappoint. They provide a very big sound with lots of melodic synth and loops. Playing more instruments then is feasibly possible, with only 3 members, they cover a lot of ground. This makes the live performance amazing because you spend half the time working out just how they do it. The math rock they create is epic in sound and the lyrics that are laid on top of them are clever metaphorical thoughts, particularly Ancestors.
They are playing in Brum the night of Race for Life so hopefully a lot of you will come with me to see them play and help me celebrate the end of training and the re-uptake of alcohol! So go get listening!
Combining all this travelling with going to gigs seemed like the perfect idea. Two of my favourite things all rolled into one, and all I needed to do was find a willing participant (victim) to come along with me. Good times guaranteed! How wrong I was.
Even before we got there I was pretty hacked of with Brighton. Organising some where to stay turned into a nightmare, and I am now completely convinced that absolutely no one in the city answers their phone. This ill ease was only fuelled by the abysmal weather this weekend.
Three Things to keep in mind if travelling to Brighton.
Do NOT drive. It cost more to park then to stay in a Hotel
When we got to the (ridiculously expensive) hostel we found that there was only one bed available in our room, as the other occupants had decided to use the other one as storage. They promised that it would be sorted by the time we got back. They lied, I was woken at 2am by an 40+ German man asking why I was in his bed. Compared to other hostels I have stayed in I am amazed that this one can charge what they do. It was the most expensive one I have ever stayed in, and also the worst.
The Best Bit of the City.
The city itself wasn't to bad, I just don't understand what made it 'must see'. It is not unlike Wolverhampton. Nice shops, an Oceanas, a smattering of kitsch and quirky outlets (Alice dreams) and some decent pubs. Plus a pier. In the rain there really wasn't much to do. We have the same shops at home. It was a little early to be drinking. And there was nothing to do on the Pier except walk up and down it. So we did what all intrepid explorers do: holed ourselves up in Nandos.
The place is far to expensive, I have spent far less on a week in London than a weekend there. It has a decent night life, but nothing that looked out of this world and, like every other place by the sea, it suffers a lot when it is wet.
I am so glad that we went in order to go see We Are Scientists. If we had gone with no other purpose than to look round, it would have been awful. As always WAS were up to their usual musical comedic ways and we had a really good night dancing around. We were also really impressed by the support Tall Ships (more on this later).
It would be nice to see what the place is like when it is sunny, but it won't be on the top of any list of future holiday destinations. Unless I am given a very good reason (AKA a Counting Crows gig).
Neffi and I, along with 64,082 other women, reclaimed the Millennium Stadium in the name of all things girly and fanatical last week. Take That were in town and the Valleys apparently emptied into Cardiff to mark the occasion. I was completely overwhemlemd by just how many people were there. The city centre was rammed and for a moment I thought that perhaps we had stumbled across a 'Slut Walk'. But no, Take That concerts seem to have also become synonymous with hen nights.
I will admit that I have been a HUGE Robbie Williams fan all my life. It was the first music that I got into all on my own, away from the parental influence of everything Genesis all the time. I had previously seen him once before, when he toured with his second album. I think I was 10 and I went with my Uncle. He made us leave less than half way through because of all the foul language being used. I had been oblivious to this (an age before TV) as I was only little, so was thoroughly miffed at having to miss so much concert. 13 years of waiting and I finally get to see him play a whole set. AND IT WAS BRILLIANT.
I know he isn't the most musically creative person in the world, and that he doesn't really play any instruments or whatever crap the more musically pretentious throw at him as reasons as why we should not be listening; but the man knows how to entertain a crowd! His 45minutes of the show were brilliant, and he did a nice selection from his many albums AND he split his trousers from all the over enthusiastic dancing. In the local vernacular it was 'Well Lush'.
On the other hand, I did feel very out of place when the rest of the band were on stage. I don't particularly like any songs of the newer album, and the previous new stuff I have dubbed 'the wedding albums'. I felt a bit like a spy infiltrating an enemy camp defended by extremely loyal guards. The boys did put on a spectacular stage show, which was extremely enjoyable despite my lack of enthusiasm for the music. A highlight of which was a live action chess game. Resulting in a dance off between Howard and Jason which was very inventive. I give them full credit for putting on a proper show that befit the scale of venue they were playing, taking full advantage of the cavernous space by erecting a 30ft(?) robotic man in the middle of the stadium as the night progressed.
My inner 7 year old was very happy after their rendition of Babe and Back for Good, but I am still not a convert to the man band that is now Take That. My heart belongs to the 90s.
I am going to RUN 5km in order to raise money for Cancer Research.
(Please get the boobs vs black eyes jokes out of the way now)
Pel and I talked about doing this way back in February, but only booked in to do it today. I think that this procrastination only makes the challenge harder, as instead of having months of preparation, we will have 6 weeks to cobble together some form of fitness routine that might enable us to complete a 5km run. This will of course be based around day jobs and pre-booked city adventures.
Our first job should probably be to figure out how far 5km is in old money. Can I drive the course to give me a better idea? Probably not as we are running around Weston Park.
My "current" running song.
Basically we are running the Race for Life on 24th July and I would be ever so grateful if you dear reader could sponsor me and donate money to Cancer Research. This entire blog is in dedication to the Carpe Diem attitude I have adopted since Granddad's death and it would be incredible if I could give something tangible back. Also, I am ridiculously unfit, so sponsoring me to do this will be some form of torture. I won't be able to back out of it if there is more than just my parents money resting on me (as I'm pretty sure they'd still pay). If you have enjoyed my ramblings musings and would like to encourage me to continue with my attempts at honouring Granddad's memory please donate. If you really hate what I have written and wish me to suffer for it, donate even more!
So please click on the link and give as little or as much as you can, in the hope that some day cancer will be a treatable disease rather than a terminal illness.
Luckily for me (and the completion of this 501 cities task) my sister lives in Cardiff, so I have ventured there a few times already this year, and am off there again next week. This means that rather then cram everything into one day of frantic sight seeing and very worn out feet we are taking our time in exploring the Welsh capital.
(First time we heard this played somewhere other than our rooms)
So obviously, our first priorities were where to get decent cocktails (definitely NOT Tiger Tiger club - a whole pint of orange juice does not a tequila sunrise make) and where to get cheap Sushi. Us Hitch's don't ask for much. But even then Cardiff is surprisingly lacking. Having spent 5 years in a backwater town in Wales with an AMAZING if not somewhat overpriced Japanese restaurant, I was expecting to at least have some diversity in an actual city. But so far we have only managed to find Yo -sushi & our tired legs could only drag us as far as TGI Fridays for decent old fashioneds and pretty bar tenders.
Big tip for anyone planning on walking from the town centre to the bay. DO NOT FOLLOW THE RIVER. The bay is quite far away from the centre of town, but is well worth a look at if only for the obligatory attempt to get into Torchwood. However, even though logic predicts that the river will eventually lead to the sea, I neglected to take into account that it would also meander in the largest of loops - through a very rough neighbourhood- before it got there. No, there are plenty of buses that take you there for less than a pound, a much more sensible idea. If you ever get a chance to go to the Wales Millennium Centre, jump at it. It is styled as a traditional theatre mashed up with Swedish Bathhouse chic and I spent a large amount of my time in there just working out how they made the wood do that. It also has amazing acoustics (although combined with horrendously steep stairs).
On the other hand, I would not recommend paying to go to Cardiff Castle. It dominates the city centre and backs onto the beautiful Bute Park, but that is the best views it has to offer. Neffi and I were scandalised at how much we had to pay to get in, and once inside were really disappointed by the lack of historical information available and the sparseness of sites to see that could not already be viewed from outside. There are plenty of other castles near by that are both cheaper, Raglan, and more impressive, Caerphilly.
On Monday I packed up my teal coat and, with Pel in tow, went on a surprise adventure to Camden. Turns out I was one of the few very lucky winners of the HMV competition to see Frank Turner play the Barfly on the day of his album launch. This was a huge shock. I had actually forgotten I had pre-ordered England Keep My Bones off of HMV, as I had also ordered it from Amazon. I’m really grateful to HMV for giving us a chance to see Frank in such a tiny venue. I was well chuffed seeing him at the Slade Rooms a few weeks ago, thinking that the chance to see such an intimate gig again would be infinitesimal once the album came out, as it is obvious that Frank is now so in demand he will be playing ever bigger crowds from now on. Seeing him in the Barfly was incredible.
Much to my delight it also meant another chance to see the lovely Ben Marwood. His mini set was amazing, and it was wonderful to hear the crowd singing quite a few of his songs. Obviously Pel & I were not the only ones that were impressed by his stuff during the earlier tour. He himself said it was “one of the best gigs I’ve ever played ever". His closing performance of “Singalong” got the crowd singing just as loudly as they did for Frank’s music; evidently Ben now has quite a few new fans. I am quite proud that my tone deaf participation was a part of that. To top it off Ben actually remembered us and I got my Molotov’s Magic Lantern book signed.
Frank was obviously absolutely knackered having flown in for the day from Germany. But ever the trouper – or troubadour as that is what every internet article is currently calling him- he soldiered on. Mixing in the brand new stuff in with the old, his set went down a storm. I couldn’t tell if he was surprised that all of us already knew all the words to If Ever I Stray, but that song was definitely a highlight. Also there was a rare moment of silence during the gig. Frank had asked us not to join in with the English Curse, but the crowd remained equally still when he played Redemption, taking in the beautiful lyricism of the song. I'm still totally blown away that he put such a personal song on the album.
Another stunning night of music from two of my favourite singers – oh and we got cake. The whole gig was streamed over the internet which can still be watched here it is well worth checking out. It was all topped off with another beautiful rendition of District Sleeps Alone Tonight, in which Frank finally learnt the correct words to sing. I will never tire of hearing that song. And I promise this will be the last Frank post as the tour is over. Well that is until November when he is back touring again (does the man ever stop?)
On a side note, Ben you almost gave me a heart attack yesterday. He put up a link to this blog from his own, and I found this out whilst on the train home. What was a joke between 4 of my friends about how much of his back catalogue of music I had listened to, has now been read by over 200 people. I apologise to the other train passengers for my muffled scream of embarrassment. It’s wonderful that so many of you actually bothered to read what I had to say, I just wish that I hadn’t mentioned the word stalking.
As it is Derby day I think it is fitting to blog my recent foray into the world of horse racing. Pel & I are taking part in a cultural exchange: She is teaching me all about the ponies and I am teaching her all about F1.
The last time I was near a pony was probably Wordsley Carnival in 1996, when I went on a donkey ride. I was never one of those girls that obsessed over the pretty horses and so this whole world of horse riding has largely passed me by. But with the mantra of yes I am up for learning everything new I am embracing this new knowledge.
Pel has steadily been feeding me tid bits of information for the last year. Bless her heart, after Grandad died I was having problems sleeping so she stayed up for hours with me describing her dissertation on horse breeding and her love for Sheik Mohammed. And although her soliloquy did put me to sleep, I did take in some of it. So I arrived at Lambourn with a smidgen of understanding of what was going on.
Lambourn is a tiny village in Berkshire that is also known as Valley of the Racehorse and it is in a stunning part of the country. Every year the whole village has an open day that lets all us riff raff wander around their huge stables full of amazing thoroughbreds and race winners. To be honest it was quite nice just going around and being nosey. I actually knew who some of the horses were (shock horror). We met Longest Run who won the Gold Cup earlier this year and I very almost got bit by Sir Alex Ferguson's horse-yet another awful claim to fame.
The best bit of the day though was the discovery of Horse Ball. Everybody needs to go see a horse ball match because it was really impressive. Sod polo, that's for the toffs, Basketball on horses is where the party is at. Possibly the funniest part of the match was when they swapped the regular players for tiny jockeys and they were to small to reach the ball. Bless them.
The most enlightening part of the day was definitely the jumping exhibition. I have always thought of horse racing as a rather elitist sport, but once I understood a little of what was going on it was like being let into a little club of genuinely nice and enthusiastic people. The commentators let the jokes and the mockery of the jockeys flow and the banter between the jumps was brilliant. I didn't feel like an outsider at all, but rather included and I laughed along with the crowd as Tony McCoy was roasted and poor Eddie Ahern took the brunt of the jokes about his horse Charlotte. There was no snobbery or elitism and definitely no sneering at my comments which marked me out as an absolute novice of all things ponies.
Two weeks ago I saw Frank Turner in Wolverhampton and supporting him was Ben Marwood. I had heard Ben's album before, yes I'm a geek & research and revise support acts before going to gigs. Obviously my love for The District Sleeps Alone Tonight meant that I was looking forward to seeing him. And I was not disappointed. His live performance far surpasses his recorded stuff, and he was so self deprecating and happy chatting to the crowd. It was really refreshing to hear both Ben & Franz Nicolay so at ease at interacting with the crowd, as the last few gigs I've been to the supports just did not know how to deal with other peoples fans. By the end of his set Al & I were happily singing along to his songs (insert joke here) and cheering enthusiastically.
After the gig we wondered over to the merch table as the guys wanted to buy his album. Rather embarrassingly I am completely skint. I had turned up to the gig with enough money to pay for the carpark and a heart full of hope that my friends would let me steal some of their drink. So I kind of hung back as both Ben & Franz were selling their gear, & it was obvious I wasn't going to buy anything. Pel then changed all that by blurting out how much hearing the District meant to me. So I automatically became my usual self and barged into the conversation. After getting a really random signiture in Pel's album from him we had a (really awful) picture taken with the guys and everyone was happy.
Since the gig I have not stopped listening to Toil. I wake up singing it, I have remixed it in with Frank's I Am Disappeared and also with Feeder's Just a Day in my head (don't ask how that happened I don't understand it either). Really annoyingly I have combined it with 'Tell Avril Lavigne I Never Wanted To Be Her Stupid Boyfriend' so it now forms one song, and now I get confused when I listen back to them as to why I am now singing the wrong words to the wrong tune. Spotify has meant that I now actually know all the words to pretty much every song and as a birthday present to myslef I have ordered his older EP of Amazon (its still somewhere in the post though). I have been on two road trips since we saw him, and both times my carefully crafted playlist, of frank/2005 punk/90s crap/80s cheese/ Jimmy Eat World/ Snippets of Hardcore that usually takes me the best part of a day to make, have been replaced as soon as one of Ben's songs have come on in favour of listening to his whole album.
Ali posted a link on twitter of Ben singing (drunkenly) the District in a bath tub. From there I have spiralled. Through you tube I have now listened to everyone that has ever had anything to do with Ben or Frank. Somewhat ironically his stuff reminded me that 2 years ago I was really into Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. I have listened to more than my standard 3 songs by Chris T-T, why I hadn't one that before I don't know. Jim Lockey is now a favourite and I am getting into the Tailors. The list goes on for quite a while. (for people that are interested you should watch this - it's just seasonally inappropriate ). My problem now is that if you look at my last FM, it kind of looks like I have tried to insert myself into the Ben/Frank/Bean's's group of friends/collaborators. Which I totally didn't mean to. Maybe it's a sign that I should have gone to Uni in London in order to go to Nambucca, or its just that all these people get on because they all make similar music, which just happens to be music I like to. But it is bothering me that I appear a little stalkerish and I really do not like the idea of being described as a 'fan girl'.
Rather amazingly, I have won tickets to go see Frank & Ben play again at the Barfly in Camden next Monday for the launch of England Keep My Bones. Thankfully, my birthday has meant that I actually have some expendable cash, so I am travelling down south and staying in some dodgy youth hostel off Chalk Farm Road. I am really excited about seeing Frank live again but also really chuffed that I get another chance to see Ben so I can say how much I love his songs (and Ben Gibbard covers). This time I am coming armed. I have a crisp £10 ready to buy his album, and also I have tracked down the book that Franz Nicolay was reading which we stole and got Ben to quote in Pel's album. This way I figure he can sign the first line of I Will Breathe You In on the cover, and together we will have a complete set.
Thank you so much to all the people that made my birthday so special. I had an amazing bank holiday weekend and am so happy that everyone was able to come out and play. I miss Aberystwyth a stupid amount and to be able to share all the fun with my favourite people was very special.
I managed to convince both the lovely Jeannie and Lizzy that it would be a good idea to let a rabble of people stay at there house for the weekend, being particularly impressed by Lizzy's acquiescence as she had work at 6am two mornings in a row. Reforming what is becoming a dwindling number of Aber Grads and supplementing the group with a couple of Kingswinford regulars was an awesome idea. Also very happy that Mr Nicholas was able to make an appearance as I miss my little brother far to much.
Although not everything went to plan (we will never speak of the bridge) and the weather decided for us that bbqing on the beach was not an option, there was no where else I would rather have celebrating getting old (and getting old isn't to bad when I am still the youngest person in the group). Waking up to Al playing happy birthday on his guitar was pretty special, and what could be more life affirming than a group acoustic rendition of Creep first thing on your birthday. Answers in the comments please. I feel the inclusion of Heather Small was genius. And that Miranda Hart would be proud.
As always, Wales was breath taking. I will never get bored of driving around the gorgeous mountains. I still feel Welsh (linving there for 4 years counts right) and it made me very happy when Al likened it to being in Canada. Devils bridge was spectacular! A 1000 year old bridge some local mythology and gorgeous waterfalls is always a win. Especially when you include the Moulin Rouge medley we attempted.
I am now officially Charli Hitch Hard Core, just like Frank Turner (a girl can dream) and Pel also made me a rather epic cake. A brilliant effort especially as that was the first cake you ever made sweetie!
It was especially nice to see Emma and Amanda again, as I had lost touch with both of them and as it stands now have no idea when I will see them next, but hopefully this time we can make mobile phones work!
The whole trip was rather bitter sweet as that will be the last time I get to go and stay in Sandmarsh Cottage as it stands. Next time I go back it will be a shell of Jeannie and Lizzy's (and my) belongings, when I go help them move next month. I did a lot of growing up whilst living in that house, and a tiny part of my heart will always remain in Aberystwyth. But there are bigger and better adventures for me now (496 cities to be exact).
Potsdam is about 50 minutes away from Berlin, in the middle of the German countryside. Nick and I went for a little day trip there during our European Adventures earlier this year and it was gorgeous. The place itself is pretty small. I didn't realise it even qualified as a city until I just spotted it in my book whilst researching my next adventure. But it is well worth the short little train ride - which I seem to recall we spent much of it trying to remember how Coffee & Cigarettes started.
I think the people that lived there had some very grand ideas for their little city. For instance a water pump station was built to resemble a Moorish Mosque. My favourite quirk was a large Egyptian Obelisk that the town had commissioned. It was built before Hieroglyphics had been translated so the designer just wrote what he thought looked pretty. Now it just reads as utter nonsense and they had to put up a little sign next to it explaining why. (Obviously there a lot of people who can read hieroglyphs passing through Potsdam to justify said sign). Also, rather cheekily, they have their own Brandenburg Gate. Wonder how many people have been caught out by that....
My favourite thing about our trip was the discovery that people do actually go ice skating on nearby lakes in winter, it doesn't just happen in Little Women. Maybe it's something I have accepted from living on this little island of ours that going and playing on the ice was fictional or at least archaic as we have killed the world with global wamring, but that actually is quite common in Europe? I was blown away when we came across a huge frozen lake where kids were playing ice hockey and Moms were pushing pushchairs ON TOP OF THE ICE. This does not mean that I trusted it. I stood on the ice for a good 30 seconds-enough time to get a picture- and then promptly ran off again with my head spinning at the idea of what the newspapers would say if I had fallen through "idiotic ginger English girl stupidly fell in ice".
The largest draw to Potsdam is Sanssouci, Frederick the Great's pet project. It is a vast estate with multiple palaces, a Roman style spa, a Chinese tea house, an orangery and a functioning windmill. It is the oddest and possibly the most opulent palace/grand building I have ever been to. He decided that he knew better than his architect so took over the whole build. The main palace is entirely on one floor as he didn't like stairs. Basically making it the poshest bungalow in the world. He then had a separate palace built for his wife (which she never visisted, they didn't get on) and for any possible guests: Charlottenhoff Palace - another ode to me obviously.
There was plenty to see when touring the palaces. The most bizzare of which is the grotto, a huge reception area which is decked out from floor to ceiling in semi precious stones, crystals and shells. Huge sea monsters and mermaids adorn the walls and there are indoor fountains. A few generations down the line from Frederick (I forget who) they decided that the room wasn't decadent enough so they added stripped bands of more crystals and precious stones on all the pillars in the room too. It is spectacular. On top of all this the records of what stones are where have been lost, so now there is no way of telling what or where the most expensive stones are in the room. I quite like the idea that you could chip off a saphire from the wall whilst the tour guide wasn't looking.
Also to see was the chair that Frederick died in (morbid much) and also the apartments that Voltaire stayed in when he visited Sanssouci. The grounds are huge and rambling, there seems to be little logic behind the layout of the palaces and buildings throughout - more of Frederick's genius. It would be good to go back in summer as the pictures on the internet are glorious, but then I would have missed the awesome site of the ice-skating...
Sanssouci litterally translates "without a care" and it probably was the most stress free day out of the German leg of our trip. Also the most informative, as I knew very little of German history before I went - "what do you mean King of Prussia and Holy Roman Empire? Italy and Germany were joined?" Also the best place in the world if you want to know anything about Rococo design as the place was crawling in it. Literally They decorated their ceilings with gold leaf spiders webs.
Also a hint to the traveller. These palaces were not built with heating in mind. It was -2 INSIDE. I think it was actually warmer outside. It sent us a bit crazy towards the end of our tour.
Continuing my charity work that consists of taxiing people back and forth from university, I took a small (50 mile) detour on the way to Cardiff to have a pit stop in Bristol. Purely so I can tick it off the list of cities I have visited.
I wasn't expecting much, as the last time I had been there all I can remember is sat on the motorway in the biggest tailback ever on the way to a holiday in Devon. When mentioning it in passing to other people no one else seemed particularly enthused about the place either. All everyone seemed to know was that it is impossible to park there.
As we only had a few hours I deployed my usual tactic of walking as fast and as far as possible. Perhaps going on a Sunday wasn't the best plan I have ever had, as quite a few places were closed. The town centre was fairly unremarkable, could easily have been confused with Swansea or Worcester. But once we got passed the generic shops and Starbucks things looked up.
We found the cathedral was encircled by a huge Sikh festival that was obviously gearing up for opening later on the day. Quite a surreal site, this huge cold Christian landmark surrounded by Bangra music, brightly coloured lanterns and the smell of spicy food. Was quite chuffed that we were allowed to wander around the cathedral for free, as the little tiny one in Chester charges, so we went and looked at the stained glass windows, got bored, and moved on.
Leading the way like I knew where I was going (as usual) we found a new development next to the river. It was still largely empty, had lots of signs about with 'coming soon' and 'to let' in the windows. There are wide open squares, reminiscent of Berlin and it is right next to the river so there are some beautiful views. And to top it off there is a huge screen in the square that was showing the F1 at the time.
I think that if we went back the same time next year (perhaps not on a Sunday) the place would be amazing. As it is at the moment there is the riverside and its ice cream parlours and coffee shops, which is lovely. But give it a year and it might be even better than Cardiff Bay.
Because of our complete lack of pictures. (do you have some Neff?) I leave you with Bang as Neff did an amazing air drumming solo in the car just as we got to the city centre - if you ever get a chance, ask her to recreate it. She is up their with Animal on the charts of best air drummers ever!
Back in November I graciously offered to drive Jeannie home from Aberystwyth. I have done the journey many, many, many times and so didn't think much of our travel arrangements when we left town.
However, once safely out of Ceredigion we became engulfed in the biggest snow storm I have ever seen. I have never been so scared in my life. Never having really driven in snow before, only that sludgey excuse for it that we get in Birmingham, I was rather nervous & racking my brains for information that my driving instrutor had mentioned 5 years ago. After 3 hours we were still in the middle of Wales, when usually we would have been home. Just as we got to a little town called Rhayader, the two cars in front of me collided, which i think was the final straw. This was the last town for a very long time, and I knew that further on the roads got steeper and at the pace we were going it wopuld have taken another 5 hours to get home. So I stopped the car.
Rhayader is a little farming community. It takes less than a minute to drive through and I had never really taken much notice of it before, except to moan about the ridiculous town clock that is just in the middle of the road. Luckily we found a bed and breakfast run by a nice old lady, so had a chance to try and relax after a horrible few hours stressing out.
After the pancea of a cup of tea, we tried to figure out what to do. It was still fairly early in the day and we didn't have anything to do. We decided that the most sensible thing to do in a blizzard was to go to the park and make snow men.
The town had come to a complete standstill as most of the roads in and out were now closed, and we meandered around until we came across a bit of country side that had been untouched since the snow had started. Needless to say, we went a bit mad. We had a snowball fight, made snow angels played on the swings and got completely drenched in the process. There was one hairy moment where, in my haste to avoid one of jeannies snowballs, I almost fell in the river. Aside from that it was so much fun. Just me and Miss Jeanniekins and a field of snow.
Come the evening we found ourselves in a little tiny pub, sat next to a log fire and chatting to two bikers who were in a similarly stranded. Warm and cosy, full of beer and pub grub, all of the days earlier stress and panic were completely forgotten. It was a few wonderful hours in what turned out to be an undiscovered beauty spot.
I encourage more people to go out into the countryside when it starts to snow, find a little tiny town to hole yourselves up in to enjoy the best winter can offer. Snow scenes to run around in and crackling fires to cuddle up to.
