Dan's Travel Log

Brighton and Hastings

2011-09-09T01:23:00.000+01:00

It's been more than half a year since I last posted and as I've had some new interest in this (more on that another time) as well as Blogger making the publishing interface a lot easier use!

So two weekends ago I went down south on my motorbike. I set off in the early hours and aimed to be at Beachy Head on the coast next to Eastbourne by 6am, which failed as I set off at 3:45am, so instead I headed for the nearest peak/viewpoint on my map - Ditchling Beacon. I'd known that it was a steep hill and the steep and winding road that takes you to the top is part of cycling routes and races from London to Brighton. Ditchling Beacon is one of the highest points on the South Downs, which are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England. Historically, the Beacon is one of several which were used as places to fire as a warning when there was an inevitable invasion.

So why was I up at that hour? Well I didn't sleep for a start, and wanted to see the sunrise! I was hoping for postcard-style pictures from Beachy Head but as that was another hour away I had to make do with Ditchling Beacon. I haven't watched a sunrise in years at best, and the last one was witnessed on a ferry coming into Rotterdam, which was easily better, but I didn't pay much attention to it. It took around 15-20 minutes for the sun to appear as a slither of bright light to being completely visible as a full circle. It was a fun experience.

Pretty =)

With the sun now risen, I rode into Hove (the city next to/attached to Brighton). Naturally, with some time to kill, I detoured and went via some small roads over the South Downs. This V-shaped valley is called Devil's Dyke and was formed by erosion, and is quite amazing to see in person.


Devil's Dyke

Next to Hove lies Shoreham-By-Sea. I'd hoped to visit a greasy spoon here in the industrial dock area, however the surroundings put me off and I shortly headed into Brighton proper to find somewhere which I could easily visit next time I came down here.

As I wasn't keen on having breakfast in this area, I headed into Brighton for a bite at The Bystander Cafe, which is right next to the station. Not the healthiest food but I don't think I've been to a greasy spoon in years.... and I mean about 10 years at least!!

Brighton itself is a beautiful city. Architecturally and culturally, it's quite distinct - and indeed, half the youngsters dress as hipsters and might as well be hanging out in bits of East London such as Shoreditch or Dalston!

Two interesting doors - I love those chequered staircases!

I don't know how widespread graffiti is in Brighton, but where I did see it, it was certainly the most tasteful kinds.

Of course, Brighton wouldn't be Brighton without the Mods on their Lambrettas - these guys were buzzing around and I must have heard/saw them about 4-5 times that day:


Lambrettas!

Another interesting architectural feature is the finish on some of Brighton's older buildings - pebbles on the external walls. Some were painted over, some weren't. Their use is probably due to Brighton being a coastal city with a pebble beach, just like how older buildings were built with materials sourced locally in other areas (unless you were extremely well off to have them transported from elsewhere)

Brighton's Royal Pavilion is one of Brighton's most famous sights. It was originally a royal residence, and was built in the late 18th century. What you see today, is largely a result of John Nash's work on it in the early 19th century - during this time, it was extended and redesigned. The gardens themselves have been restored as per Regency landscaping styles, which is how it would have looked when Nash designed it. It is built in an Indian style (with Chinese interiors) which was considered very exotic.


Brighton's Royal Pavillion

I have forgotten, but I believe this gate is to commemorate the Indians who fought in the wars for us.

Brighton beach is a pebble one. It's a fairly nice pebble beach though, and isn't interrupted by coastal defences (such as those at Eastbourne). On the beach, these ladies were singing a traditional song to a drumbeat, which was nice to listen to. Admittedly, I didn't ask them what they were singing.... ><


Brighton Beach

I headed indoors to do a little bit of shopping and unfortunately, it soon started tipping it down! =( So I checked my phone and had a look if there was anywhere was raining nearby. Hastings wasn't, so I headed along the A27/A259 over to Hastings. I've been asked several times whether this was where the Battle of Hastings took place in 1066, and my answer is always "Yes and no". The battle took place near Hastings, by a small town now known as Battle, a short drive away. Anyways, getting there was easy and nice enough, and there was ample parking on the seafront (though this pic was taken when I left, admittedly, when the other bikes had all left).

I've been to Hastings before, so I don't have any pictures of the pebble beach. It's similar to Brighton's in a sense, although much smaller. Hastings has a pier too, although I've never actually been on it. Nor Brighton's for one reason or another.... I'm a boring sod, ain't I? =P

It also has an old town, and I'm always a fan of old streets and buildings.

George Street

George Street is one of these streets. There are a number of nice gift shops, eateries and watering holes, as well as antique shops with buckets suck as these:

This was spotted in one of the gift shops:

These fish-tank ornaments are pretty cool. The left is an illuminated lighthouse, whilst the right is a diver trying to pick something up, but failing and dropping it again, and it works by letting air bubbles gather underneath it, until there is enough air to raise him. Pretty ingenious.

Between the buildings, there were many little private alleyways, for access to the backs of buildings and commonly used to place bins in.

Some of the older buildings such as these were quite nice:

I spotted an alleyway which looked interesting enough, and so I decided to see where it went. I was in for a treat!

It was pretty steep and I climbed it and soon enough it took it above the main shopping area. It was much quieter up here, and already away from the tourists.


Look! no people!


There are caves? (didn't actually visit them) There's a castle?? Great!


Up we go!

What a beautiful view!


A novelty door knocker

Getting pretty high!

So we're now at the top of the hill, and blimey, it is absolutely lovely up here. Even better is the lack of wind which I experienced on the beach! And it's quiet too!!


Looking ahead towards the Channel


Looking west, and towards the castle

Looking east

A little further west of where I'd climbed up, was an outcrop of rock. I'm pretty certain this was sandstone or something due to it's powdery and sandy nature.

hehe =D

By now, it was around 5pm and everything was shutting. I was allowed a quick gander inside the castle although I left pretty soon after a few pictures so as not to keep the staff waiting (you normally need to pay). You can see the kind of view the castle would have afforded to it's inhabitants in the old days - excellent!

That's Hastings then, a lovely town, and I was off back home. On a small country road, I spotted this lovely church, although it's been converted for another use. Still lovely though!

And that's my Brighton and Hastings visit!! I didn't see as much as I'd like to have seen, and so my report isn't great, but I did have a great day out, and perhaps not seeing so much was a good thing as I had to hack a 3 hour drive back to London..... Taken me some time to get back on here and writing this has taken the best part of two evenings, but it was a bit write-up and I hope to get more up soon!!! =)

Curlew Cafe, Sarratt, Herts.

2011-01-18T14:57:00.001Z

Looks like it's been trapped in time... though this is what I love about villages in the country. Many of them still have old bits of a time gone by - you'll be harder pressed to find that in a city (without graffiti anyway).

p.s. Sorry the blog hasn't been updated for many months - will work on that, now that the weather's getting better! =D

Box Hill, Surrey

2010-05-27T01:08:00.001+01:00

I've been busy with exams at university, which has been monotonous and boring to say the least..! So I took a big break and went for a long ride on Duke with my sister and my parents (them on dad's motorbike) through parts of Berkshire and Surrey (mainly) on Tuesday, so this is one of the places we went - Box Hill in Surrey. Most of Box Hill is owned by the National Trust, and it forms part of the Surrey Hills, which are part of the North Downs - a ridge of chalk hills which stretch from the Surrey area to the White Cliffs of Dover.

This is the other (northern) side as seen along the "Zig-Zag" road that winds up the hill.

It's named Box Hill for the box trees which grow on it and was donated by Leopold Salomons of Norbury Park to the National Trust in 1914, and there is a memorial (in the first picture) which remembers him for this - the story that we were told, was that he was buried upright looking down, presumably so that he can forever enjoy the fine view that this hill offers. This is the southern facing view that the hill is famous for:

Here's be climbing a tree =P (I'm not sure if it's a box tree or otherwise..)

Summer's here, and it's a great place to go laze and relax. Make a visit if you can!

More information: National Trust website

The River Thames at Richmond, London

2010-05-11T11:54:00.005+01:00

Not only can you see deer in Richmond, but it's also a great place to spot the occasional heron, as in the picture below. Now, I have mixed views on feeding wildlife (pros: you get to see them closer, they don't get hungry. cons: they become used to human activity which may have further detrimental effects, but nonetheless you can always watch other people feed the geese, ducks, pigeons (I'm *not* a fan of pigeons) though.

Richmond Riverside is a great place to go for a stroll and there are a number of eateries/cafes in the area. Although there didn't seem to be much on the other side other than shops, Richmond Bridge is still quite a novelty to walk on. There are also boat trips (and boat hire too I think!) if you feel like something a little different.

In the picture below you can also see an island - which is the land with the willows on it that the boats are next to. There are quite a few islands dotted all along the Thames until a fair bit upstream (to name a few: Isleworth Ait, Chiswick Eyot, Eel Pie Island, Monkey Island etc). Quite a few of these and the banks have willows on them. These were grown for the basket trade for the London markets in the old days.

Get there: Richmond station, various buses from west/south-west London.

The George Inn, Norton St Philip, nr. Bath

2010-05-08T18:11:00.003+01:00

I while back, I was riding along and stumbled on this picturesque inn just south of Bath. 6 miles south of Bath lies the picturesque village of Norton St Philip in Somerset, but the gem in this village is the George Inn, which supposedly dates back to the 14th/15th century. I didn't go inside but it has a medieval courtyard inside, and period features in the rooms.

The inn was originally built to accommodate travelers and merchants for the wool trade fair which happened annually until 1902. The timber framed upper floors were added in the 15th century. It has been used as a location for a few films.

More information: The George Inn website and the Wikipedia article.

Get there: The village is just off the A36 south of Bath on the B3110/A366. Bus: 267 from Bath.

A ride home from Kent

2010-05-05T01:36:00.005+01:00

My sister is awesome. She takes pictures of me whilst I'm on my motorbike, which I often can't take myself for obvious reasons.

Here's a few shots (nothing particularly interesting) of a ride home from Kent, where we went to pick up a typewriter she won off eBay - which is what the big lump in the topbox at the back is.

Kent - the Garden of England!:

A102 in Greenwich. Canary Wharf/Isle of Dogs is in the distance whilst the O2/Millenium Dome is on the right.:

A102, coming up to the original Blackwall Tunnel - built by the London County Council between 1892 and 1897. This arch is one of the original gatehouses for the entrance of the tunnel. It's northern counterpart in Poplar was demolished in 1958 to make way for the newer tunnel. In a way, it's amazing how modern traffic still passes under this (I mention this, as Temple Bar was dismantled for traffic reasons). A second tunnel was built in the 1950's-60's for the increased traffic. The reason the original tunnel is so bendy was so that horses do not get shocked when they see sunlight after coming out at the other end. The second tunnel is a lot smoother as there was no need to cater for horses.:
And here we are, inside the tunnel (A102).:

We're now out of the Blackwall Tunnel, and on Aspen Way (A1261). This road cuts across the northern part of the peninsula that is the Isle of Dogs, and passing it just before the Limehouse Link. This road is one of the quicker ways to get into central from the East/South-East London (the other options being the A2 at certain hours, A11 and A13). On the left is Billingsgate market, which is where one can buy fish in wholesale I believe, and the towers that dominate the skyline of the Canary Wharf area. The tall tower on the left is 1 Churchill Place, which is the Barclays Headquarters and was designed by HOK International. The taller building on the right is 8 Canada Square, which is the headquarters of HSBC and was designed by Foster and Partners:

After the Limehouse Link and past the Tower of London, this next tunnel is the Upper Thames Street Tunnel. Once a dark and dingy tunnel, it has since been enhanced with stupidly bright lights between the lanes, making this a pretty cool tunnel. Unfortunately, this picture does the tunnel no justice:

That's it for today!

See some deer in London!

2010-05-02T01:18:00.003+01:00

London, as packed and crowded as some of you may think it is (I'm referring to those people who tell me they don't particularly like London because there's too many people) still has some nice spots to relax in. Aside from the obvious parks in central and the lesser known ones a little further from central, one of my favourites is definitely Richmond Park. Here you can find deer roaming freely, and just sitting there on the grass, not bothered by the traffic nearby.

By far, one of my favourite things to see in London - Deer!

Pictures courtesy of my sister.

Get there: Richmond (walk through the centre and up Richmond Hill), Mortlake (walk down Sheen Lane), Norbiton (Wolverton Avenue > Queens Road)

Tate Modern/Bankside Power Station, London

2010-04-29T14:38:00.005+01:00

Tate Modern is an art gallery with many pieces of modern art in the Bankside area of Southwark. However, the building that currently houses it has not always been an art gallery. It was originally built as Bankside Power Station and designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, who also designed the red telephone boxes and Battersea Power Station further upstream. Much of the interior has obviously been done up, although some of the beams and girders which support the building are still visible in parts of the building. Another feature added since it's conversion to an art gallery is the glass addition to the top of the building which I believe houses 1-2 floors.

The gallery itself is home to a large collection of modern art, with some exhibitions running for a limited time only. Now admittedly, my knowledge of modern art is lacking in some departments, since my interest of this period lies in modern architecture, though the both are naturally intertwinned. If you're unfamiliar with modern art, you'd fare well reading up a little before you go along to appreciate it - I was a little lost with my relatively basic knowledge! However, what I did see and understand I did enjoy! There's no shying away from saying that modern art isn't for everyone, but if this is your cup-of-tea, then the Tate Modern is definitely worth a visit! ...the building aside!

More information on the building can be found on Wikipedia and about the gallery on the Tate Modern website.

Get there: Free entry - £3 recommended. Southwark (LU), or Mansion House (LU) via a walk across the Millenium Bridge. Why not start your visit at Southwark (LU), visit the Tate Modern, and walk across the Thames on the Millenium Bridge and up Peters Hill to St. Pauls Cathedral and Temple Bar. Or alternatively, stay on the South Bank and walk east past the Globe and towards HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge.

Three Mills, Bromley-by-Bow, London

2010-04-14T13:17:00.000+01:00

Notice the new banner at the top? Many thanks-you's to my sister who worked on it! =)

In the East End of London, lies the picturesque "Three Mills". Formerly a tidal mill, the various buildings are used for education, business and as film studios. House Mill (the main building on the left) was built in 1776 whilst Clock Mill (the white clock-tower building) was completed in 1817. The waterwheels are no longer in operation but between the 7 wheels to power 14 pairs of millstones to grind barley and maize. The mills were also used to distill Gin at one point.

Get there: Bromley-by-Bow (LU) station.

Pitzhanger-Manor House & Gallery in Ealing, London

2010-04-12T23:23:00.001+01:00

It's been a while since I wrote anything - I've been far, far too busy with work, and even busier with travelling and exploring the streets and roads of London recently. So for you today is some Travel-Log-Awesomeness for you today - this will be a joint entry with my sister's blog (she's working on her entry atm.). We visited Pitzmanor-Manor House in Ealing back in February, which is a long time ago, I know. The gallery section is used for art exhibitions (at the time of visiting, there was one on knitting/sewing) and the rest of the building is used for events such as weddings.

Pitzhanger-Manor House in Ealing is a building that has been altered a number of times since being built in the 17th century. It's most famous owner was Sir John Soane (1753-1837), an architect. He enrolled into the Royal Academy in 1771, and designed a triumphal bridge, which won him a gold medal and a travelling scholarship. He used this to travel to Italy, which impressed him greatly. Back in Britain, he bought Pitzhanger-Manor in 1800, and demolished and refuilt most of it (except the South Wing of the building). It was rebuilt into a country villa to entertain friends and clients.

The building today is made up of roughly 3 parts - the far left is the oldest surviving part of the house, designed by George Dance the Younger for Thomas Gurnell (who would become his father in law) in 1768. Soane was an apprentice of Dance, and he kept this part, the South Wing as he admired his work. The middle central bit was Soane's work, and the extension on the right is slightly newer and built in 1940 to replace an earlier extension designed by Ealing Council in 1901. Today, this room is now used as part of the gallery space.

After Soane, the grounds and house passed through a number of owners before being purchased by Sir Spencer Walpole. The grounds, as you see in the picture below, were converted into Walpole Park in 1901 when Ealing District Council acquired them. The house itself was converted into a library the following year. The library moved to the Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre not far away in 1984 and this house was restored and opened to the public.

The pretty staircase features a bust and other items of interest:

This is one of the most beautiful room I've seen around:

And it's very lush ceiling:

I didn't find the other rooms as pretty but were still interesting nonetheless. Worthy of noting is the ceiling feature in one of the rooms which I can only assume imitates what the Pantheon in Rome has - the hole in the top. The rooms also seem to have some kind of classical influence - i.e. the trellis and plant poking through it, and also the zig-zags in the room with the sky-view.

Get there: Ealing Broadway station, short 5-minute walk towards Walpole Park.

Staple Inn, High Holborn

2010-03-12T16:22:00.001Z

Standing on High Holborn is this rather interesting old building - Staple Inn. It's a timber-framed building and built in 1585 and stands on High Holborn in the City of London. Although it survived the Great Fire of London (1666), it was damaged in WW2 but restored. Staple Inn is the last surviving Inn of Chancery. I am no law expert, but from what I understand, Chancery Inns were used by people who worked in the "field" of law.

Get there: Chancery Lane LU

Happy 10,000 km, Duke!

2010-03-04T17:04:00.007Z

A few weeks ago, Duke hit 10,000 km on the speedo.. (technically incorrect as this is a 2nd speedo as I ran him into a ginormous pothole in the countryside and we both went sliding. His forks were mangled and his speedo stopped working and I had to ride him back to Bristol for a replacement (they only had KM ones and not Mile ones) before repeating the first (of many) London trips.)

Duke is actually the second Duke -a bunch of no-lifes stole the old Duke, so this is the new Duke.

Anyways, I like Duke a lot, and will always speak fondly of him. Duke has changed my life (silly as it sounds!): I've been many a place with him, had a few accidents here and there, and I've been fortunate enough to visit many places as a result. He rarely fails to start (he struggles a bit when his heart is a bit cold) but he is cheap to maintain, easy to fix if anything goes wrong, and costs little to run! So here is my tribute: Long live Duke! Bring on the summer and those twistys!

Duke's stats:
Current Miles/KM: 10,808km+ (on this speedo)
Motorbike type: Learner/commuter
Engine: 125cc, I think it's air cooled and is CDI
Top speed: 55mph (passenger/fully loaded), 62mph (just me, down the motorway)
When he's happiest: In pretty countryside or after a wash!
When he's unhappiest: Me stressing him out through gaps in rush hour London traffic =(
His home is: the Cardiff Valleys
Furthest travelled: Harlow, Essex.
Special features: His big topbox, phone charger, halogen lamp (a luxury!), being Welsh =D

Old London Underground map

2010-02-25T15:22:00.001Z

Apologies for the suck-tastic picture (it was cold and I was miserable and my camera was feeling the same...) - Whilst walking along the Victoria Embankment, I came across this old LU map. Notice how it doesn't have some of the newer stuff on it (as well as the fact that it's in an older style, and more geographically correct), such as the fact that the Northern Line goes much further than in the map.

(Get there: Temple (LU))

Carey Street motorcycle bays

2010-02-21T14:19:00.000Z

I always smile a bit when I see innovative solutions for bikers in cities or means of parking for motorbikes - such as the parking bay on the right in this picture =)

(Carey Street, WC2)

Faulkner's Alley

2010-02-17T13:47:00.000Z

I love little alleys like this one with old buildings such as the one below which appears to be some kind of former warehouse and it's outdated light.

Greenwich Foot Tunnel

2010-02-15T22:24:00.002Z

I hope you've all had a lovely Valentines and/or Chinese New Year! Mine was nothing interesting, doing a bit of cooking and a film but it was good! Dad's now out during the shop closure so it's all good, and today was spent at the library and learning the streets of the Capital on Duke.

I've got nothing better to post so this week's entry is on the Greenwich Foot Tunnel in London. Construction was started in 1899 and it was opened in 1902. It links the Isle of Dogs with Greenwich and replaced a previous ferry service. At the time the Isle of Dogs and surrounding area was occupied by shipyards and docks and it's purpose was for their workers to get across the Thames. (The old Chinatown was also in neighbouring Limehouse.)

So here we go - the Greenwich side is next to the Cutty Sark, a 19th century clipper (that's a ship, for you guys who have no idea what a 'clipper' is). It's currently all covered and fenced off as it was undergoing renovation work before an accidental fire burnt parts of it. Both sides have a building similar to the one pictured, with a spiral staircase and addition of a lift.

For safety reasons, there is no cycling.

And this is the other side - it sits in what is Island Gardens.

Looking back over the Thames to Greenwich, you can see the tunnel building as in the first of the pictures.

Getting there: Island Gardens (DLR)/Cutty Sark (DLR)

Thanks for reading, speak soon! =)

Calne, and a bit of Wiltshire

2010-02-11T11:29:00.003Z

These pictures are now a few weeks old, but I'll chuck them on here anyhow! There's a lot more to see considering Wiltshire is rather big and I always travel West to East (and vice versa) rather than North to South. I like Wiltshire though, because it's very, very country, compared to neighbouring Berkshire. That said, Wiltshire also has some of the worst roads (especially with new potholes on the usual roads that have opened up since the snow and ice!). Still, this is my bit of Wiltshire along the A4.

Took Duke out on another big outing, this time with a few pictures of Calne, which is probably one of my favourite Wiltshire towns (the other being Marlborough) and lies on the edge of the Marlborough Downs. Calne has quite a number of stone buildings and has a prosperous history. Historically it is known for rearing pigs (on their way from Ireland, through Bristol and onto Smithfield Market in London) and also cloth. It's quite pretty!

This little bit of street is called Market street - Calne was once a market town.

The main street, Curzon Street:

This is St Mary's church, built in the 15th century from donations from clothiers and wool merchants:

Many of the buildings were built with stone in a yellow colour such as these:

This is the, rather elegant, Town Hall:

..and right next to it is a river or a canal - I can't tell and the map isn't clear.

About 3 miles east of Calne is the village of Cherhill. Cherhill is known for it's White Horse - one of many across this region of the UK. It's not the oldest, and it's white colour is a result of the chalk which was restored in 2002 - I assume it was originally chalk before then. It was made in 1780, and although it has had an "eye" made from glass bottles which glistened in the sun on a few occasions, those have "disappeared" and is now made from stone and concrete. By now, the weather started getting a bit bad, it was getting dark and my phone's cradle setup was crackling due to the shaking from the handlebars.. so here is a MUCH better picture from a previous visit: (I don't know that guy on the motorbike, he just happened to be in it! =)

By now it's getting really bad for picture-taking, and we're now in the Marlborough Downs, but this is a building covered in vegetation with only the windows left uncovered in Beckhampton, another few miles further down.

Also in Beckhampton is one of the prettiest pubs I've seen - the Wagon and Horses. It gets it's name from being a coaching inn in the past for travellers stopping on journeys from London to Bath. Dickens travelled this way in 1835 and wrote: "It was a comfortable-looking place. There was a strong cheerful light in the bar-window" in the Pickwick Papers. I also have a much nicer and not-so-gloomy picture of the pub, from a previous trip that dad took of me and mum, so here it is!:

Last stop before it really got too dark to take pictures... this is Silbury Hill, an ancient man-made mound measuring 40 metres high. No one really knows what it was built for, but there is an overwhelming view of it as you come near from either direction of the A4. You can't help but wonder, "what an earth is that?" - I did! Not far from here is the village of Avebury, which has an ancient stone circle similar to Stonehenge, but on a much smaller scale. Perhaps I'll visit that in a month or two to get some nice pictures =)

... and that, is my bit of Wiltshire for this month!

How one house is recycling in Bristol

2010-02-02T15:37:00.007Z

If you're familiar with Bristol's recycling system, you'll know that every unit (be it a household or flat) gets a black kerbside box to place all their recyclable wares in it.

This house (which has been split into a number of flats, I've been inside...) has decided to pool together their recycling boxes to sort their recyclables... interesting..!

Natural History Museum sugar

2010-01-20T01:05:00.001Z

Hooray for sugar that has something else on the packet besides the words "Sugar", "Sucre", "Azucar", "Fairtrade", etc.

I found this lying around in my room - from when I went to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year last year - the same exhibition carries on this year and is on at the museum at the moment if you're in, or happen to be in London. Well worth the moolah.

Dower House - The yellow house on the hill by the M32

2010-01-19T17:53:00.006Z

Yesterday I was on my way home and got distracted. So here is something on that big mysterious yellow house on the hill, that you see on your left as you head out of Bristol on the M32. This should be a familiar sight to you guys on the National Express or whatever (assuming you don't drive).

It's called Dower House and was built in 1553 by Sir Richard Berkeley and was previously used as a hospital and mental institution. It has been converted into some flats, which is it's current use. It's been featured on BBC Bristol's alternative landmarks.

Getting to Dower House is fairly straightforward. It's located off Coldharbour Lane, the same road that serves UWE. A little bit further down (in the Frenchay direction) there is an area with new-build houses: the Stoke Park development, and it's amongst these that Dower House is hidden in. Impressively, the square that Dower House sits on is surrounded by new, but old-style (Georgian?) houses, which look rather nice. The clocktower in the foreground bears two plaques - one for Harold Nelson Burden, a priest, and one for Rosa Gladys Burden, his second wife. Together, they gave their estate (what is now the Stoke Park development and Stoke Park itself, I assume) and for his work on mental disorders (is that P.C.? my english isn't the best).

We'll take a walk, having parked Duke in the square. From Jellicoe Way (in the Stoke Park development), there is a path, which eventually takes you down next to the M32 and there are bridges and underpasses to get to the other side. Even further down, is the Pur Down BT Tower, which sits next to Lockleaze and also the Priory Hospital. This path is a rather nice path (although satellite images seems to show that it eventually runs out and turns into a muddy track - I did not walk that far.) and is frequented by walkers, cyclists and dog-walkers.

So I've walked down the path, and I'm now in Stoke Park (technically in Bristol City limits now), a little off the path. Unlike on the M32, you can really appreciate the landscape and the gentle rolling hills that is Stoke Park. With as much time as I'd like, I could appreciate Dower House's position, which feels like it's an impenetrable fortress.

A little bit further down, and I notice a monument on an adjacent hill. This is known as the obelisk in Stoke Park. (I don't know if it has a name) Some people seem to think it's a good idea to ride their motocross (off-road motorbike) around on Stoke Park and to vandalise, litter and start fires here unfortunately. And some people seem to think that vandalising this monument was also a good idea. It's seen better days unfortunately.

The view from the hill that the Obelisk sits on, was amazing, on the other hand!

Anyways, time to head back - one last picture... of it's awesomeness.

Have a good week folks, speak later. =)

Lost gloves

2010-01-18T17:17:00.003Z

You know how sometimes you find a glove on a wall, or on a railing, where someone has found a single lone, lost glove and kindly placed it in a noticeable place?

Well, this is a bit... =O

Cotham Hill, Bristol

Early January

2010-01-17T20:45:00.000Z

Some pictures from the last 2 weeks or so.

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T21:47:00.002Z

(thanks Michelle!)

Hmm, New Years resolutions... what shall they be...? And you guys...? Let me know!

Last post of the year, before I head off to Martin's for New Years. Hope you all have a good one!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T03:42:00.003Z

Well, it's been one year on from my first post in this blog (easily remembered, since some sort of sense in me considered this day a year ago would be a great time to make a start on a blog).

I'm not a Christmassy person (love the gifts though!), but I suppose being the holidays has meant that I've reflected on myself - some good and bad things. Good things, I suppose, include how I am getting along in life. I suppose that qualifies as a bad thing too! And I suppose the big topic that is on my mind is my sanity (or lack of). So that's something I'm working on, so sorry for being a crap friend (condescending, inconsiderate, attention, lack of contact, etc) to you all. I'm working on it. You'll see me write a bit more come New Year's when perhaps I'll make some resolutions - yeah right! XD

Stuff your faces full, everyone, it's one of the few times in the year where you CAN feel good about it. Eat like a pig, go on!

Have a lovely Christmas everyone!

A few pictures of the snow...

2009-12-22T01:21:00.003Z

The snow is here in Bristol (about 2 days after the east side of the country, the weather was cold enough, so it was just a matter of time of when it would rain (i.e. snow).

Ice on the rose branch
Home

Slush on St. Johns Road
Clifton, Bristol

Citroën 2CV on Saville Road
Stoke Bishop, Bristol

Woolies Indoor Market, Bristol

2009-12-21T23:36:00.005Z

Something strange and interesting has happened on Whiteladies Road (actually, a number of strange things, possibly good things, have happened on the whole stretch of the A4018 in Bristol! We'll go into those in a bit.)

This week I went to look at the old Woolworths store on Blackboy Hill. They've turned it into an indoor market! Although the shopfront is deceptively boring, and the ground floor as well, for that matter, I have no doubt in believing that this is a positive contribution to the retail at the upper end of Whiteladies Road.

I spoke with the manager a little, she was a nice lady and was talking to a contractor or plumber (I assume), and she said that it had been open for about 6 weeks now. Here's a few pics of the downstairs:

Frankly, I thought it was rather bland and generic, and lacked variation as all the stalls looked too unique and temporary. The upstairs, however, were a whole lot better.

El got a vintage coat, too!:

Overall, I like it. The upstairs is wonderful, and the far end of the hall is empty, so hopefully they'll get someone in. I love the fact that the floorboards and ceiling beams are exposed rather than covered up like downstairs. The downstairs just doesn't have the cultural/industrial charm the upstairs has, and I'm not sure the window arrangement of the previous occupier is best suited, but I assume there are reasons (e.g. easier to get planning permissiong leaving as-is.)

Other changes on the A4018: (most are recent! i.e. last 2 months or so!)
- New lane arrangement at Blackboy Hill outside the bicycle/wedding dress shop. (possibly good? it definitely caters for cyclists better!)
- Borders is closing (and I managed to buy a US magazine for 90p instead of £4.50!)
- Paperchase has moved two stores along from Borders (not checked it out yet)
- Between Borders and Paperchase is the Vinegar Hill shop (previously the Alldays/Co-op/Post Office, the shop is wonderful, think Cath Kidston, but less pink and red and more white, and slightly more practical. A cross between the Guild and Cath Kidston, I s'pose)
- Slightly older, but other new businesses on the Clifton Triangle include the new office building at the top of Jacobs Wells Road, Patisserie Valerie and Waitrose opening up.

No idea what the last few months is about, but the changes seem quite frequent, can only assume the current financial climate has something to do with it (not necessarily in a bad way or a bad result!)

My 'Annus Horibilis'...

2009-12-03T03:08:00.003Z

...it's Latin!

I have generally come to dislike writing about personal emotion and life on this blog, but since I'm stupid-busy with coursework, I think I get my little moment of attention:

I'm knee deep in coursework, I'm not even kidding when I say I'm busy. It's a combination of not working hard enough in the previous 2 years of study (meaning my knowledge is rather lacking in some parts), events in the last few months (meaning I'm about 1-2 months behind in coursework), bored out of my brains (and easily procrastinating) and bad time management.

I've accepted my work is going to be sub-par from now on, but if I just sat there and moped about it as I have done previously, I'd get nowhere, so today I decided to be optimistic. I wrote my aims in life on a sheet of paper. It sounds silly, but I was able to work for the next few hours. Today, was the turning point where I realise I need to be much more optimistic about the way I tackle these things. This is just one of the many steps I am taking in my personal checklist (inside my mind) on things I want to work on to become a better person. (side note: a number of entries in October covers this more.) The sheet of paper is something I will remind myself with - the most important one on there, is "Successful!". I'm trying to sit there and be confident about my work, although I've only got a little more than 2 weeks, I want to make it the best work I can produce in 2 weeks. It's doable, I know what you're thinking! "that's a crap way of looking at your studies"... well, yes, perhaps. But given the circumstances I believe trying to tackle it optimistically is always going to be better than doing it pessimistically.

In the midst of all this, both my motorbikes are in shocking states of repair.

Duke (the red one) has a loose chain. I am going to assume that his gears/cogs are worn, but I've not even had time to pop open the case that goes over the chain to take a peek... I don't want to ride him much more for fear of breaking him.

Blue bike has taken a hit on Saturday after a friend got off a bit quick, whilst I'm not one to fuss about a broken indicator, I have since realised my radiator is loose, not sure if this was from before. But it needs tightening. More shocking about Blue bike, is the fact that the MOT for it was due in October, and I've just forgotten about it and not realised it was due. Blue bike is going to fail, at the moment, even if I got the broken indicator replaced. This is due to the fact that the handlebars are completely wankered. The handlebars have been like this for some time now, due to a variety of falls.

What it basically means, is that if the handlebar touches the petroltank (on a traditionally placed petrol tank on a more normal motorbike, forget about the fact I have a storage compartment in it's place for now), it's an MOT fail. I've checked online for replacements, one eBay bike-breaker doesn't have any, I'm waiting for a reply from another. eBay US only has one for $99 however has no hole to allow for the heated handgrips, three online shops which I've checked have them at £87, $149, $179. All of which I can't afford. Not right now anyway. So, what it means is that Blue bike might have to go without an MOT for a little while. And I'm contemplating on taking Duke for a proper service to have him sorted out - if I did it myself, it would take half a day, and I don't have half a day free anywhere in my schedule at all.

Maybe I'm a crap rider. Here's everything that's wrong with blue bike (and theres a lot more which is wrong and is generally more expensive to get fixed than it is with Duke, partially because it's BMW, and partially because of the model's uncommoness)
- Bent handlebars
- Left heated handgrip not working
- One of the stuffbay screw-threads is missing
- Left fairing cracked and scratched
- Left indicator broken
- 15,000 mile service well overdue (it's on 19,000+ atm)... I can't afford it.
- Bike is looking a bit grubby, so could do with a clean!
- Topbox is not properly secured as some plastic/bolts have worked themselves loose
- Engine oil low

I need to sort out Duke, because Blue bike annoys me a bit too much for daily use :( Blue bike also runs a greater risk of being damaged when in the city, and I don't like to run this risk unless I'm in London, where it's speed is needed. I dunno if I should take Duke for a proper service to have him checked out... should I?

Anyways, I'm off to sleep. Sorry this post is a bit bland and boring. Hope tomorrow is a productive day. Fingers crossed.

Xenopus Trip

2009-11-25T01:23:00.005Z

We're (..by that I mean the Frogging Crew!) on BBC's iPlayer! Find it here, you only need to watch the first 10 mins or so.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00p4kfs/Inside_Out_South_23_11_2009/

It's a bit of a shame that Albert and Gemma don't get much coverage, considering they're the ones piloting this! =(

November bits and bobs!

2009-11-23T23:58:00.004Z

So, I'm now the grand old age of 23.... and the day before and on the day, for the first time I felt old... weird feeling yah. People always tell me they feel so old when they hit 20... didn't feel it, til now. I think it's partially to do with the fact that the majority of my pals and people who I grew up with have graduated?

So... what I mean is... I'm 23 years young ... maybe :)

I spent a bit of time dossing around in London during study week (and much filtering - Chiswick to Holborn in 25 mins is a record), and YES, some work was actually done that week. And boy was it awesome. So I met a bunch of ~~strangers~~.... strangers? I've been corrected: "friends you've never met" and boy, what a good description that is. Going up to London again at some point in Dec. to meet them again.

So, whilst I was there, I bought some mushrooms... Girolle, Oyster, and some other type that I forget the name of... Porcini? These all went into my lovely mushroom risotto. £4.54 poorer on fresh mushrooms later and a ride back to Bristol, did my risotto taste any better?

I had Tara and El over, the week after I was in London, and DAMN!... Tara cooks up some fine pizza. We had a pizza stone to work with, too... Supposedly they're good as they heat up the pizza properly. ... did it make much difference?

Here's my risotto, early stages.

El was having a nap (long day, eh?) so we'd just woken her up... and I think at this point, her cavegirl instincts came out... watch out there!

This picture needs no description:

Gertrude was looking rather scary. Thankfully, the oven sorted him out, and he was charred by the end of it. That'll teach him to look scary!

So, did the mushrooms make a difference? Yes and no. There was a light bit of mushroominess to it, it tasted marginally more mushroomy, but considering I ain't a conoisseur, I ain't one to appreciate it. For now I'll be sticking with the dried stuff, which is marginally cheaper, Tesco's do a pot for £2-3 I think, the fresh, equivalent amount from Whole foods is roughly £4-5. (The fresh stuff was bought out of novelty). As for the pizza stone, I will say Yes to it, having made pizza in the past on a metal tray, I think this heats up the base properly and ensures thorough, rather than doughy cooking. Even slightly soggy pizzas weren't so soggy when they would have normally been. The only thing about the pizza stone, is that it needs to be heated at 230 degC for 45 mins, which means you need to plan ahead. I got it for £5 in Oxfam.

On another note, I've been getting out and listening AND seeing live music acts! 3 in the last 2 months or so I think? Hopefully I can top that around Christmas or after. Live music is an awesome night out imho. I need to remember my earplugs though... my ears suffered lol. Here's "This is my Normal State" - Non's and Adam's band playing at The Croft, in Stokes Croft.

Crazy folk in Redland on this strange contraption...

Anyways, that's all for now. Hopefully I'll have some more interesting updates, and sorry no pics (still) of travel. Boo. You guys know how 3rd year uni is... bloody hard.

Peace.

Deadlines... not mine though.

2009-11-07T03:10:00.005Z

I really like this poem...! I'm never a fan of poems, and for that reason the "Poems on the Underground" thing never appealed to me - but this one caught my eye.

Well, here I am - I've been toiling over coursework along with El and her pal Sara's dissertations. A number off all-nighters and late nights later, they get their work done... only just..... Picture of the deadline day, about 2 hours before hand-in. The room is a mess lol.

I always forgive. Forgiveness is important in life and to me.

I am forever wondering whether I've done something really crap to deserve what I am getting in life these days. And for that reason I am in London at the moment - to have a bit of fun. It will be mega-depressing to leave on Sunday. I'll just have to come back here and there and make it a more-regular thing. I've met up with some pals and some nice people. Later today, I am going to meet some people in Chinatown... that'll be good. I need more stuff like this to take off my mind. I am going on total friend-zone friending. I remember this is how I got through the end of something like this last year.

On Thursday, I went to a fireworks show with Jann and her pals in Southwark Park - although I know better firework shows exist, it was still pretty good, everyone remarked that it lasted a lot longer than they thought it would - and I did too! The fireworks were impressive, a wide variety. Me and a pal of hers felt it was better than the NYE ones, since it was a lot less crowded, more relaxed atmosphere and there were food stalls - the car-and-trailer types that you often see around in funfairs.

It was a good night, and tonight I went out with a friend of El's and her brother to the Giraffe in Chiswick. Whilst I've never been that great a fan of Giraffe for their slightly-overpriced stuff, I was subtlely impressed by an over-enthusiastic (literally.) waiter and some rather delicious grub (BBQ chicken and cheese quaesidilla thingy). Asking for water did not come with a sense of guilt (thankfully) so it was a good meal. I suppose the guy's service makes up for it, not always, but it did this time. Service (and smiling) is important!

I hope next week I hope I'll have a few pictures of travel - it's difficult to ride a motorbike AND take pictures at the same time, y'know. I rode out here and have been riding through some hellish (but rather fun) central London traffic which is about 10x worse than Bristol. Some excessive-mad filtering skillz are required... which I'm honing.. lol. I've been thinking about how I can grab pictures whilst on the road, without buying special equipment which costs a fortune... I still don't know how.

And finally - some pictures of late night 3am shopping at Tesco Extra Southall:

Action shot!

Look how tidy the shelves are! (the floors on the other hand....)
Peppa pig!

Triumph Bicycle

2009-11-06T14:01:00.007Z

I spent last week working on the Triumph bicycle that is sitting in the garage. I've spent more than what it's worth on it... =/

But hey, it'll be the use that I'll get the most value out of. The bicycle is actually filthy, as if it hasn't been cleaned in some 20-30 years of use, and there is LOADS of gunk on it. I managed to date it to 1969 by reading the writing on the Sturmey Archer gears on the rear wheel.

This is the front wheel - look at that muck on it! No pictures of the rear wheel, but its a LOT worse than this.

The bicycle:

I've taken off the rear wheel and started cleaning it... I've had to take it apart almost completely.

And look at the shine on the rear wheel after cleaning! (took 2 hours....)

This is what the gear stuff and chains look like! MANKY!!

Cleaning up in progress:

Look at that chain! much better, aint it?! Took like, more than 3 hours I think.... lol.

I'm such a fan of fixing/repairing/restoring things! Getting your mits dirty sometimes can be SO rewarding... this feels so good to work on this project. Hope to have the bicycle set up by sometime late next week and I can ride around.. yay! Another method of getting around, without walking and without my motorbike.

New aspirations

2009-10-27T02:01:00.002Z

Courtesy of El's "I am pig face" blog.

Thanks el :)

If only.

2009-10-25T04:55:00.000Z

"If only. Those must be the two saddest words in the world." -Mercedes Lackey
...which is a very much agreeable quote right now*.

The other day, I wrote something on here, which, on second thought (and some second opinion) was just not quite right. I managed to annoy/anger(?!) her a lot the other night, and this did me no favours. It was a sorta... back to Square 1 sorta thing. Changes? No changes there... I let temptation (um.. selfishness I suppose) get to me, and somehow expect a more than what I've been given, which isn't right when you think about it - since things are done, and done for a reason.

I have some bad habits I need to break, and this includes something that resembles a 'sweet-talk' habit which I seem to have engrained into myself - it works a little like this: "oh maybe I should do that, there's no harm in it" even if there's a gut feeling telling me doing it is not quite right. And then if it's wrong, being apologetic is of little use, since it's like the 'boy cried wolf' analogy... that stuff gets old and means little by then. I just have an inbuilt assumption that doing anything is 'alright', but it's not and I really think that should end here.

So what have I learnt (at the cost of annoying others). To quit. To quit and realise where you'd standing is where you stand. (I've just been fortunate things are the way they are, so far. I shouldn't take this for granted.. which I have... unfortunately.)

I've used up my 'lives' now in a way and I paid the price. I totally regret what I did the other night. I properly ruined a [recovering] friendship which was still alright for a bit of selfishness by expecting too much. As made clear to me, friendship isn't a right. And to be fair, it was my fault. Last nights flatwarming didn't seem too bad though, after a drink. I'm happy that some people were nice to me.

If you're reading this, an apology would mean little, but you should know I'm trying to put this whole matter to rest and bury it. And give you that space that I said I would (not just in person, but online too). That's important, for you. This post is my way of dealing with things and overcoming [some of] my flaws, by recognising them, as a start.

*Despite being 'agreeable', having regret, sure, a bit of grievance is expected, but is no good in the long term. A bit of a Google, and this is a better quote to go by and work on, form now on:
“Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future.” -Fulton Oursler

Free hardcore!

2009-10-22T20:41:00.013+01:00

Note: Assuming you haven't done so already, if you have a Google account, feel free to "follow" my blog - the link is on the right hand side ----->>
(it will come up in your feed on the Blogger dashboard)

The more comments I get (from different people) the better I know how to steer what I write and make it more interesting! Keep me writing [something]... hopefully my blog isn't gibberish!

Comments = GOOD for me!

I know what you're thinking..., but no, hardcore is not some form of dodgy top-shelf material (top-shelf stuff... interested? g'wannn!). It's the layer of foundation material used in building, which consists of broken up bits of whatever, usually larger bits of stone and rock, sometimes even brick is used. There was no short supply of it (although some of it was questionable, and seemed more like building rubble/junk dumped by the side of a public footpath with supposedly "good" intentions), there was actually a rather large amount of rubble in used materials bags by the side of the path on the left of the picture.

Moving on, today I went in to talk to my dissertation tutor. I told her about my circumstances and said that I was more than a month behind in my research and so on and handed in a really shoddy synopsis (worth 10% mind you..). She understood, and whilst we concluded I wasn't the "ideal" student who would have done everything right, the important thing is that I was back on track, catching up and making the most of the remaining 80-90% since I can still do well in that. It was good to catch up with my tutor (who is also my dissertation co-ordinator and course leader) on a more personal level.

A thought I had today - you know how after a while, internet shopping becomes a matter of dealing with a faceless entity, which if anything goes wrong you usually jump to the conclusion that sorting it out will be a pain-in-the-butt due to the automated systems and complex logistical networks that somehow makes the world go around? Yeah, I think you know what I'm talking about here - there's no friendly customer face. I think this is especially the case with someone who has been on eBay since early 2002 and Bricklink since 2003 (with some 600+ feedbacks combined)... everything just becomes a matter of ordering something and expecting nothing more than an invoice inside the package... Thankfully I make the effort to write personal notes too all my Bricklink folks to thank them for their custom (and draw a great big smiley!).

Well today it was nice to be reminded that not everyone is what you assume they are - everyone from the customers who can't spell properly on eBay to those who absolutely suck at responding to emails. I delivered a Bricklink order to someone in Filton (Bristol) today, where I had a good chat with him. We're talking about a guy, in his mid-30's roughly, he has 5 children and still plays with Lego with his 2 children which are interested in it. He's still buying the stuff too, and looking to sell off the bits he doesn't need. I happen to pass by his area, then remember that I brought his order along just in case I would be able to deliver it, so I call him up and swing by, and I meet the most pleasant guy (for someone who has shoddy gramatical errors) ever... it starts off with him asking how much it was, I tell him, £2.00, despite knowing that his order including delivery is about £3.00. I refuse to take any more for it - at which point, he offers me eggs. Eggs. Fresh chicken eggs... which were laid about 1-2 days ago. There I am, amazed... and I ask him if it's easy to keep [the chickens], to which he offers to show me the hens around the back. Sure enough there's a massive garden and at the far end, theres a chicken pen, with some chickens clucking... It's such a small thing (i.e. 2 eggs) but being offered fresh eggs is strangely enough, generosity that I don't encounter these days very often, especially in the online world. It's a nice change from the normal reality that is internet shopping. I know I'll be offering that guy discounts from now on if he wants more parts.

Not everyone online is a faceless entity, or someone you merely chat with through a forum, it's so important to remember that there's a character behind all those usernames you see. It reminds me of how my associations with the University of Bristol started - through meeting someone online from a forum. It reminds me to not forget my roots and the values I once kept. It also means I'll be writing happier and notes which are more fun to my buyers! And I've got two eggs now... hmm.... fresh eggs.... mmm... damn, where is cream soda when you need it? =O

That aside, why do I feel strangely compelled to further my abilities and make myself a better character/person? Strengthening my confidence seems difficult but I know it could do me some good. Being able to be precise and make decisions without worry or doubt is essential to me. Not waffle on, be indecisive or generally hobble along in life. No, because that's not how it's done. I need to learn to inspire others, properly. I am learning out how to figure out my life better now, and take control of it. Listening too. It's a strange desire, I feel change is happening already, for the good.. or for the worse? I don't know... sometimes I'm not keen on it, but for the good I'd like to think!, it's best to look at change with optimism, and deal with it, grab it by the horns if necessary. I have a preference to look at it with a good outlook though, things will always look up, just don't let this s*** get you down.

"Change is not merely necessary to life- it is life." -Alvin Toffler.

But don't jump to conclusions or assumptions, I'm still meee!! Still your friendly neighbourhood mew mew! =^_^=

Lifes too short, so try and smile!
Here if you need me! =)

Balls are touching...

2009-10-18T23:48:00.011+01:00

Balls are touching... it's what I did on Friday, so read on. Work is looming over my head like a big grey cloud... But here's my fix!:

The last 3 weeks have been a series of [rather dramatic] highs and lows for me, and I've found it hard to come to terms with everything, but that's cool, it's for the best. On Friday I met up with some pals to go play pool at Rileys, which was easily the best thing I've done in a while. Like the others I hadn't touched a cue for some time, so y'know, we were all a bit rusty. Within an hour or so.... we were playing a little more competitively (it's a good thing, I can assure you).. but of course, Rileys was always about socialising rather than competing. Earlier today, I met up with another good friend, and we had a good chat for some... what, was it 5 hours+ or something? I don't think I've had a conversation with a single person for so long (!!). It was great to catch up and see her new flat, and all my worries were eased away... (well I hope her's was a little, my apologies for being a not-such-a-good guest!). But today I really felt she understood me, was there to listen to what I had to say and like, of had some good ideas and advice, so thank you. Today was my turning point, that point where the little light bulb inside my head goes *ding!* and I know what I'm doing in life all of a sudden again! (i.e. not being silly!)

On another note, as part of my big "phase" of distraction, I've gotten a new phone, which I've found rather feature packed. So I've been installing various ROMs (software that makes the phone go "tick"), softwares... So much so, that I'm working on a holder for my motorbike to use it's GPS feature. Note: Skip to the end of the post if you're not interested in the build!

The basic setup is basically a metal bracket (used for roofing that I got from Toolstation), attached to a waterproof case (meant for valuables when outdoors, from eBay) with some nuts holding it together and a BIG dollop of Araldite epoxy. The phone is able to charge and output audio via a splitter cable (from eBay), although it won't take calls since this would require finding some way to answer the call - i.e. the phone is inside a case, the only workaround is a button from a handfree headset, and that's not possible due to the nature of the setup. So I figure if I get calls I'll just ignore them until I pull up.

Sorting out the basic holder was simple enough. The holder will be mounted onto the mirror attachment. However, since the mirror is attached to handbars which rotate as you steer, the movement presented the next problem. Cheap wires/cables to bridge the steering (such as the typical cheap ones used in the splitter as seen above) would just not be able to handle the outdoors/rain/stress and would fail in pretty soon. I went to Maplins to buy some decent speaker cable which had 4 wires, removed one (since stereo uses 3) and was able to squeeze this into a normal 3.5mm jack. The power lead was automotive cable with a USB and mini USB plugs at either end, so it's essentially a power-only hardcore USB extension. I DIY-soldered my own cables so that I'd have some which would withstand the steering.

With the cables made up, I plugged the phone into my amp and the power to the usual charger. Bingo, it works fine and charges as it should.

The final job was making connectors ready for the outdoors, I'd already thought about the case for the phone. However, I wanted to be able to separate the USB cables from the splitter rather than waterproofing them by gluing them together. So I found a small plastic case from some old electronics to cover the plugs.

So that's it. The splitter is permanently held in place with the epoxy, tomorrow I'll mount it and give it a go, although I'm still waiting for the proper cigarette lighter socket-to-USB adaptor to arrive in the mail. I'll post a few more pictures later in the week!

Here's two good tunes which are on my playlist (might not be to everyone's taste I know)

Tomorrow is the start of another week, I'm some 2 weeks behind in study now, but I hope to catch up this week.

I've been looking at the way I work my life recently, and picked out a few sucky bits which I figure this academic year I'll work on! Well, there's quite a number of things I want to do now, so I need to take some initiative to work on myself. I've also been made to realise that I was never that inspiring towards others, sure I was good at being supportive.. but there is a line drawn between being supportive and being inspiring. Well, so I've been led to believe...! Sorry I was not there for you... I'm sorry to the various pals I've "neglected" a bit over the last year or so, you're not forgotten =P

"Live the dream" .. as a good pal always says..

so LIVE THE DREAM! I won't be scared of stepping OUT of my comfort zone this year!!

Take care all,
Have a fantastic week - I know will!!

Stay Happy, don' be sad... happyyyyyy =)

Cheap as chips...

2009-10-07T20:56:00.003+01:00

Heres a good one for you... the topic is cheap electronic items you can find on eBay.

It really has me beat on the whole "I dont understand how they sell something so cheap and tack on some really cheap postage and ship it from Hong Kong" analogy. Normally you can find bargain electronics for around 3 pounds upwards, even 2 pounds, and that might or might not include postage... these sellers are based in Hong Kong (and 95%+ of the items recieved actually come from Hong Kong with HK stamps and HK postmarks, there is a very small few that are actually shipped from China, but I haven't had one of those for a few years now)

Well im buying a cigarette lighter socket splitter that costs £1.04 including postage. Goodness knows where their returns are......... if I was to slap on some UK postage once it got here and send it back the other way, it'd cost more than £1.04.

Never mind packaging (They'll bulk buy envelopes but thats still money) or the actual product itself (which would include importation and transit costs from China into HK as well as material costs).

Soooo.... Any ideas?

P.s. the splitter is to install some creature comforts on Duke so I can power my phone and other bits and bobs.

P.s.s. the halogen bulbs that I bought for Duke that looked the "bees knees" sucked balls. Lovely to look into (and blind yourself) but absolutely sucky at night, if anything worse than the original BA20d bulb that went in there before. I'll get round to sorting it out at some point. Thankfully I am rarely out in the country at night so no bigg

Beautiful.

2009-09-26T22:10:00.002+01:00

The A4174, Bristol Ring Road. This evening, it [the sky, contrasted by the traffic and lamp-posts] looked amazing. It's a shame I don't have Photoshop on my laptop to touch it up to make it look more like what I actually saw - you know how it is with cameras vs. naked eye!

Last bit of Wales

2009-09-15T09:57:00.004+01:00

I've just finished up in Swansea for now, and it's back out to Bristol for me now. Soon the assignments and dissertation will roll in. These pictures are from my last day there.

This pair of butterflies were flying around in the garden, they are red admirals (vanessa atalanta). Here is one pictured eating the nectar.

I decided to take the slow route back and went along the A48 (the Welsh equivalent of the A4) which is the old road before they built the M4. There's a number of these dotted around, but they are most notable between Port Talbot and Cowbridge, where a number can be seen. I've brushed aside the bushes for a better picture. It's amazing that these things have been around for so long and in my opinion, still in good nick. This one can be found roughly half way between Bridgend (3 miles) and Cowbridge (4 miles)... London is 174 miles away!

Of the A48 which I know well enough (Swansea in the west and Tutshill on the English side in the east), my favourite section easily has to be the part between Port Talbot to Cardiff. Between these two towns, the road is at it's most fascinating part. (This is much like the A4, I enjoy almost all of it, but especially the part between Reading and Bath.) What makes this section (and the A4 as well) interesting, is the fact it is countryside and you pass (and sometimes by-pass) many picturesque towns and villages along the way, but also little small things in the countryside such as the above milestones. The last two pictures are of thatched houses in Bonvilston and St. Nicholas in the Vale of Glamorgan, just west of Cardiff.

I hope to cover the "Long way to London" via the A4 sometime soon, as it is a thoroughly enjoyable ride on it. Although the A48 can't compare to it, I know there are some really nice roads, towns and villages in Wales worth visiting (The A466 from Chepstow up to Monmouth for example)

My new pets!

2009-09-07T21:23:00.004+01:00

It's now been a few weeks since I took in my feral xenopus from Lincolnshire (see previous blog post). I'm really happy with them, and it is really nice to have some pets of my own, I've wanted something to look after for some time now, and these guys are pretty low maintenance.

As mentioned in my previous post, xenopus can be kept as pets. Having looked after Sherry's (and now Sabah's and Albert's), sorting out the setup for these guys was a doddle. I got the tank and some other bits courtesy of Saki, the gravel from Sherry, the de-chlorinating liquid from Wilkinsons and Sherry has the same log which is from Pets at Home.

This is a picture when I first got them, and I'd just put some stuff in the tank - unfortunately theres still not that much in there right now, but it looks better when I first put them in there, and they were really scared and were darting about all over the place. You can see two of the xenopus floating about just there, and another one sticking it's head through the hole in the log (kinda cute!).

This is a picture of everyone. The two big ones are easiest to identify - the pale one is Morris - I got her from Albert since we'd arranged to take home one extra male to swap with one of Albert's females (they wanted females for the labs/universities). When they are small, you can't tell what sex they are, so all three females that Albert kept were mistakenly given male names. Patchy is the big guy on the right. He is so named because of his patchy patterns on his skin. The small ones are called Buttercup and Sauerkraut, but I can't remember who is who.

This is them in their log:

Morris has learnt the art of squeezing herself between the log and the tank walls... something Sherry's and Sabah's do a lot of. I'll get round to putting some big stones in there at some point.

I went into the garage and found a new bit of drainpipe, cleaned it out and sanded down the ends to make it safe - you can see Patchy poking out of one end. There's also a bit more pondweed in there in this picture, which they like. Providing shade for them is good... they like it.

These guys have been trouble free and it's nice to waste time watching them. They've become much more tamer since I took them in, although they're still scared sometimes, Patchy no longer has a bruised nose that he first had when I brought him home in a large tupperware container.

Come round and see my frogs if you have time guys, they are awesome.

Frogging in Lincolnshire

2009-08-29T15:15:00.004+01:00

NOTE: I'm not a biologist, so I might be talking rubbish in this post! You're welcome to correct me!

I was invited to go along to help catch Xenopus frogs not too long ago by Albert. I've long been interested in Xenopus frogs since Sherry kept them as pets. I guess this is a story, in a way, of how I got some. This post is also long overdue.

Xenopus are a type of amphibian.. some people call them frogs, some call them toads, I believe the reason for this is the fact that the terms "frog" and "toad" is a generalisation to what people identify certain kinds of amphibians to.. and xenopus shows characteristics of both if you were to get a checklist and check the boxes as you went. I shall avoid going into the what defines each.... They are from the sub-Saharan part of Africa, the particular species which is so widespread, and the ones we went to catch were xenopus laevis, or the african clawed toad/common platanna. There are other xenopus species out there, like Sherry's x. victorianus.

Unlike the native frogs/toads, xenopus spend almost all their lives in water, and are aquatic. They have been exported worldwide from Africa for the purposes of research, and until not-so-long-ago, pregnancy tests. From what I understand, they are considered a model organism, they exhibit behaviours and resemble the workings of other species, or something like that. By injecting the urine of a pregnant woman, the hormones would cause the xenopus to lay eggs and this was how one could use xenopus as a pregnancy test (goodness knows who discovered this...!). For these reasons, xenopus have become common around the world, and in addition to this, xenopus have become popular as pets (they are considerably easier to keep than other frogs/reptiles/amphibians and are quite hardy).

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, when I was up in Lincolnshire... we (a group of us) were there trapping frogs for a few days. The story is that a pet shop owner shut his shop some time ago, and wanted to give these frogs a chance so he set them free. We became aware of this particular feral populations (a number of feral populations exist worldwide, e.g. Chile, California, France and even one near Bridgend, UK) when the locals started catching xenopus in the nearby angling pond. The land they are on is an old slag heap site, where there are a number of water bodies. Much of the area we walked around felt like old wasteland which was overgrown - it probably was,... I'm guessing...!?

As usual, I'm no expert photographer, I just enjoy taking pictures to record the moment. That sort of thing... On the first day, we didn't get as much done as we'd like to, as we had the BBC filming. They're putting together a program on Invasive Species. In the pic below, Professor Richard Tinsley is being interviewed on the xenopus. This spot is one which xenopus were previously caught in, and we have decided to put out some traps to catch them. We've nicknamed this bit "Tadpole Nursery".

So during the daytime when we arrived in the area, we set out the traps. It's now night, we went to check them out to see if we'd have any luck. There was the odd one swimming around and a few tadpoles here and there. Here's a xenopus we caught with a net (rather than a trap).

This is one of the traps. It is simply a bucket with poles popped in the lid, and a funnel. The bucket is half-submerged, and baited with liver. The idea is that the xenopus can smell the bloodied water, and they will try and find their way in... so the funnel is for that, they can enter the bucket where the liver is, but not get out very easily. Since xenopus need to come up to the surface to breathe (I believe they have lungs?), it was important that the buckets were only half-submerged... you don't want to drown the little guys! If you look carefully, theres a little one there, trying to find out where the food is.

A selection of some fine specimens... that night.:

A bucket full of tadpoles:

The next day.... we've come back to check the traps. Let's bear in mind that xenopus feed at night, so that's why it was much easier to spot them in the water last night. Look at this catch... a HUGE female! (yeah, I want one... :P )

With the xenopus in the traps, we have to scout the various sites and collect them and bring them back to the car to take them back to the B&B where we will sort them out later. Tadpole Nursery was one of several sites (one of them is, affectionately, named Albert's Pond). This is what it looks like with the water fully trapped.

Our crew - Left to right... Sophie, Gemma, Albert, Me, Kirsten and Professor Richard Tinsley.

We're now back at the B&B that we stayed in during our time there. This is one of the BBC guys, he's a cameraman of sorts. I spoke to him about his kit, and he told me he's a local guy, and is not associated with the presenter (the interviewer in the first pic), who travels around and does various programs - his last one was about steam i believe, as in, steam trains , that sort of thing. So they do a lot, and get around a lot.

Here is Albert sorting out the xenopus into Male, Female and Juveniles. The females were the most important initally as we'd managed to find new "homes" for them, Dundee University wanted 60 plump females... unfortunately the males and juveniles were put to sleep (with anaesthetics) before an "order" came in for 20 various xenopus. Thankfully,Sophie took home 2 little xenopus, and I took home 4 and rehomed another 3 with Sherry's mum.

A few pictures of the village where we stayed. With the afternoon a little free, I ventured (but not very far at all....) into the village's high street.

The pub where we ate served up some enormous sized meals... the perfect dinner for the hard work! ... hey, even I struggled to get a desert down into me!

We're back to frogs now - another reason we were sent to remove these guys from the area was that xenopus is one of the species blamed for the spread of a chytrid fungus which can kill various species of frogs, but xenopus themselves are not affected. It was important that we swabbed the xenopus and native amphibians we saw - these swabs are then sent away to be tested for chytrid.

Whilst we were there, we managed to trap and catch a large number of xenopus - this is what a netful of them from a big binful of them looks like!

And this is what a trapping-bucketful of them looks like!

When frogs mate, they get into amplexus. The female lays eggs which the male then fertilises with his sperm. Xenopus have an unusual position, in which the male grabs the female by the "waist", rather than just under the arms (the wikipedia has a few pictures of other species of frogs). When we collected the xenopus from the traps around Grass Pond (the name of a pond we found xenopus in..), this frisky male attached himself to this female. What was impressive, was that by the time we carried the bucket (water swaying and everything, mind you!), put it on the car, drove back to the B&B and unloaded the buckets, the little guy was there still hanging on! We had to pull him apart unfortunately, but it was pretty amazing to see.

Well that's it - we removed some 120+ (no idea what the exact numbers are....) xenopus from there, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it was really great to meet some other people to learn more about this species. Although not pictured (I forgot to take a pic!), Angela, our host at the B&B was the loveliest person ever, it felt almost, but only a little, uncomfortable settling into such a cosy surrounding and being treated like friends in a way. The rest of the crew have known her longer than I did so I rarely felt out of place... only in my experience (or lack of) did it show. Jim, the Natural England man, who came to meet us and learn more about the situation gave the group the go-ahead for funds to carry on with this work in removing xenopus from this area. He was an interesting guy to talk to, and was very knowledgeable about reptiles and amphibians (much like Albert :P ) With that, hopefully I get to go again at some point in the future, and see and learn more! What a change it was, from anything else I've done before.

Rye and Camber Sands

2009-08-01T23:10:00.011+01:00

I've been absolutely awful lately - I've written nothing in July, and I really should be working on my coursework and dissertation as I speak. But I figure I should actually put something down as I'm travelling too much.... I've since covered East Sussex, Lincolnshire and a random hour or two in North Somerset... and ofc a number of trips back to Swansea (of that lot, I'll cover the first two).

I'd wanted to visit the south coast (namely Brighton - although that never happened) for some time, and we did so in early July, just a week after the lovely week of sun.... it was good weather (but not beach weather... boo.). If you remember, the week before was the week everyone was on about and was lovely. If only we'd gone then - commitments here in Swansea kept me back.

We visited Eastbourne, Hastings (briefly..) and Rye/Camber... and of these, I feel that Rye is worth writing about the most. I've seen pictures of Rye, and considering it was "en-route", we stayed there, in the Ship Inn. Although it was £90 per night, I felt it was one of the loveliest places I've stayed in - I rank friendliness/cosiness over luxury, and the website portrays it almost as true as it actually is (good job to the web designers!). It was hard to fault. It felt very British, the bed was very comfy, the bathroom comforts (such as the rubber ducks and Burts Bees products), the rustic wooden floor, the [rather cute/girly] decor and the fact that there was a pub downstairs (strangely enough, it was not noisy at night). The guy who served us and showed us round was really nice too. I can't say I particularly enjoyed the local perry, but the breakfast the next morning after our stay was very filling.

Our B&B

We visited the Camber Sands beach in Camber. Camber is a small village, pretty recent in history I guess - to put it into perspective, Rye used to be a port, and once famous for it's smuggling gangs (you can almost imagine pirates running up and down the steep cobbled streets... at least, I could =/ .. ). Camber lies towards the east of the River Rother (and again, to put into perspective, on the other side, the west, Henry II's Camber Castle soon became useless due to the river silting up - Rye was an important part of the Cinque ports, a series of defences). Camber is what you can regard as a proper beach. It's got sand, plenty of it, and is used for wind and water sports.. this didn't dawn on me much, until I realised this use was the reason we found it particularly windy.

A beach as far as the eye can see... with sand dunes too.

I needed a Dan-sized sandcastle project...
...so here is my sandcastle-sized fortress =D

It's very big!

On the brow of the dunes... you can see the village and wind turbines in the distance

I particularly enjoyed Rye for it's cobbled streets and old buildings. A book I read on it, described it as stepping out into the 1950's with a lack of streetlighting... I think that's close! The tea houses, whilst slightly touristy, was where we decided to munch on fish and chips the next day.

Just outside Rye... £1.50 a punnet for locally grown loganberries,
blackberries, raspberries, cherries and strawberries - bargain.

Mermaid Street is one of the well known ones in Rye, it's cobbled and lined with old buildings.

Mermaid Street. Don't I look dashing? *cough*.

This is the Mermaid Inn, built 1420.

I like the bike... it's made with some fibre.... not sure what. very cool.

At one end of West Street is St. Mary's church, which offers a lovely view of the town and surrounding area. You pay £1 to get to the top. It's a bit scary, but you can see the pendulum moving and the bells. The climb up to the top of the tower wasn't made for visitors I reckon, so there's steep staircases and narrow corridors.

The view from St. Mary's church - the tower is the Ypres tower and that's the Rother there.

Cat vs. Japanese tourists

What a lovely florist...

Admitedly, there's a number of things we didn't check out... we totally forgot to visit the windmill in Rye, the customs house, Ypres tower, and there's probably a handful of other things I haven't mentioned here. Hopefully, I can find time to visit them one day.

That's it - for now, until I write up my Lincolnshire trip (this one's taken me 1 hour+).

Take care all.

End of term BBQ

2009-06-21T15:29:00.006+01:00

It's the end of term, my exams were out of the way some time ago now, and I am enjoying my summer - very much unlike any summer I've had in the past. I'm hanging around which is nice as I see people come and go - old friends come, new ones go... as typical of holiday periods. Although I've got a dissertation to sort out, I've been taking my time over it (for now anyway) since I don't often get the opportunity to kick back a little in this way. I am usually burdened with something, and come this week, I will have to go back to Swansea to help in the shop. Shop stuff is fair enough though - any other chores I can dislike.

Anyway - Sherry held a BBQ to which a number of friends came. Alex and Ralf were in Bristol visiting so it was great they could come. It was a great gathering, shame some people couldn't make it and some had to leave early, but still good to see most.

David and me

Early on...

Sherry barbecuing some lovely chicken and veg skewers =D Yummy!

Our favourite Redlander: Geth

Human Pyramid

We tried again with 5 at the bottom but some people chickened out and it didn't last anyway...!

Kernow (Cornwall)

2009-06-20T22:14:00.005+01:00

It's been a while since I wrote of anything (there was little to write about). Last Thursday (18th), I went down with David, Bettina, Jann and Eriko to Cornwall. Lots of pictures in this post, and there's a few others I didn't bother uploading. I've never been, but thoroughly enjoyed it and will have to visit again at some point.

David drove us there, and it took around 3 and half hours to reach Falmouth, our first stop.

David driving

Wind turbines, A30

When we reached Cornwall, we found the black and white Cornish flags everywhere. They are very patriotic, kind of like, in Wales.

The first Cornish flag we saw.

The road down to Falmouth (A39)

Woo!

We went to Falmouth to visit Pendennis Castle. It was built between 1540 and 1545, and with St. Mawes Castle on the other side of the River Fal, were part of a chain of castles built by Henry VIII to protect this part of the country against the French and Spanish. Pendennis, unlike St. Mawes were updated, and played an important role in defending the area up to and including the Second World War. (After that, we had nuclear bombs and aerial bombing etc.)

This is the view from the car park on the Peninsula.

On our side, is Little Dennis, built some 3 years before the main castle, to protect the coast whilst Pendennis itself was being built. This waterway is known as the Carrick Roads or River Fal and is reputedly the 3rd deepest or natural harbour or something like that. It is an ancient valley which flooded in the Ice Age when sea levels rised. It is possible to navigate all the way up to Truro on this waterway. St. Mawes castle is on the opposite side.

Little Dennis

Bettina....

The town of Falmouth from the path to Pendennis Castle

The entrance

The Herican Castle Keep
It's partially round as this was supposed to deflect arrows or something.

Callestick Farm Cornish Ice Cream - it was good!

Pendennis Castle has been updated over the years. During Victorian Times, the Half-Moon Battery was built - if you look carefully in the photo below, it is the overgrown brick area to the left, and it was built in a crescent shape, with a gun which fired something like 1 shell every 6 minutes.... at a potentially moving target - i.e. it wasn't very good. And they were used for something like 11-12 years.

For this reason, in WWII, those camouflaged buildings were built with huge guns which fired 6 shells a minute.

On the right hand side, there were stairs which led underground (we'll see this in a minute...) and the vents at the top were self-rotating and mechanically operated, since electricity was rather new at the time. The underground section was built in the Victorian times, but updated and one corridor bricked off due to worries during WW2 that an explosion would go through the whole underground area.

The Half Moon Battery

Eriko by the WW2 gun
...picture stolen from Bettina =)

The communications room

Old electrical cables

Underground - it had that musty smell.

We had no idea what these racks with holes were for...
...probably storing the shells or something......?

Shells or whatever they are called. They would have been piled high originally.

The Half Moon Battery was built a fair bit downhill from the keep. It was closer to sea. To reach there, there was a tunnel which connected the two sections.

The tunnel

Can't remember what this big building was - built 1901.
The far left one is the souvenir shop.

Inside the Keep - remember how it was round?
We're looking inside it now, out of the rounded bit.

David looking out one of the windows elsewhere in the keep

Looks like a new canon is being built!

The view of Falmouth from the top of the Keep
What a wonderful view it was of the area all around the Castle!

Me and David

On top of the keep.

After visiting Pendennis, we went to Mylor Bridge, a 20 minute drive away, to eat at the Pandora Inn. It's history dates back to the 13th century although I think the current building is a little newer, but still very interesting and beautiful nonetheless. It overlooks Restronguet Creek - a tributary of the Fal.

Ducks

Boats harboured in the creek

Seaweed hanging from the trees
So beautiful to see trees over the water.

A small boat and a swan.

Looking at the restaurant

This is where we ate - the water was gentle enough so we did not bob up and down despite floating on it. A very unique experience!

Another boat

Bettina made a new friend with a deep-fried spider on her chip.

A seagull making off with some food!

We had a lovely meal there and was not overly expensive. With bellies filled, we set off for our next stop (a lot in a day, eh?), Tintagel. A picturesque village with a medieval post office and the ruins of a castle on the rocks. The castle is a 13th century one, and is associated with King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table.

An old beautiful building on the way in.

The medieval post office - with rock roof tiles or something!

This little village was busy with tourists and locals alike!
Jann's on the left.

A little bridge over a stream on the way down towards the beach/castle.

Bettina being silly (as usual).
I've got no idea why, but the next few photos are overly dark for no good reason.

The ruins of the castle on the rocks.

The path down...

There was a souvenir shop and a cafe at the bottom, where the stream we saw earlier ends.

All 5 of us!

There wasn't much of a beach unfortunately, as the tide was in...

The guys on the rocks!
See - it's not actually that dark at all, just my camera being silly!

The view from the bit of the hill where we had a picnic. Lovely!

This is more or less our trip, but on the way back, we decided to drop into Boscastle, which was very near by. It's the village that was flooded in 2004 and made the news.

Identical houses going downhill on the right.

In the distance - the harbour and the river which runs through Boscastle.

A quick stop - the rebuilt bridge is on the right.

Looking downstream.

The village itself

What was nice about Boscastle, was that it still felt old, yet in good condition as a lot of the buildings were redone/refurbished, since many were damaged in the floods.

And so this is our trip to Cornwall - what a great time it was, thank you David for organising it =)

p.s. I've got much better quality pictures than the ones posted - please email me if you would like them! TIA.

The Wye Valley

2009-06-06T15:27:00.004+01:00

Exams are over - that only means one thing... a great big bike journey! I went with Sherry on the blue bike across into Wales and to the Forest of Dean then followed the River Wye back. It's a real scenic route (even Dad knows this one) and the valley itself is an AONB.

First stop - Chepstow. We'd been here before, but as it's along the way - why not.

My favourite spot, is easily Chepstow castle, although the Town Wall is worth checking out, the castle is a lot more impressive, and you can see England across the river. In addition, nearby is John Rennie's 1816 iron bridge that takes you across into England - don't have a [recent] picture of this one though.

Sherry at Chepstow Castle

Me

Looking across the Wye through the railings
Those houses there are on the English side.

We then went across the bridge and up into Tutshill on the English side and up (B4228) towards St Briavels. I thought I'd go through the Forest of Dean to see what it was like - I have to admit, it was pointless as I didn't really know what I was looking for, just cruising through it. I will see if there is anything worth checking out specifically next time.

Forest of Dean: Tidenham Chase
I saw my share of trees that day (I did enjoy seeing miles and miles of trees though.)

Coleford - a market town

We thought we'd head to Monmouth upon finding little to see (I'm certain it was us not knowing what to go and see rather there being a lack of things to see). The roads (Staunton, A4136) took us through lots of twisties into Wales, was real fun leaning my bike into all those corners... at speed. At some point I need to invest in a camera which takes pictures while I am on the road. Anyways, Monmouth was a pretty town and we decided to eat here. Hooray for Wetherspoons where we had a lovely lunch and desert.

Hooray for condiments =)

Unfortunately we spent a lot of the time eating, and by the time we came out, everything was closed and it had turned chilly. Uh-oh. But we did see a few nice things.

Monnow Bridge Gatehouse - Built in 1271.

We leave Monmouth around 8:15pm and upon heading down the A466, which took us back into England. Upon crossing the Wye (which marks the border) we found it to be far too picturesque not to stop.

Looking north up the Wye
The English side is on the right

Looking south down the Wye
The Welsh side is to the right

The old tollhouse on the Welsh side
...and Sherry blowing her nose - Hayfever =(

The Tintern Railway Station Tea Rooms
This was a bit further down the A466. It's an old railway station which is now a tourist attraction.

The old signal box

An old train

British Railways

The village of Tintern

The village of Tintern

Tintern Abbey

By now, it was getting late, and Sherry was getting cold (silly Sherry - inadequate clothing :P ), so we headed back down to Bristol. It was a great day out - and the perfect relief to weeks of hardcore revision and exams! We both agreed we'd come this way again as we found the area rather pretty, so we shall, since we didn't really have time to stop at Tintern and look at the Abbey.

Until next time....!

Lecturers....

2009-06-02T13:36:00.005+01:00

Most lecturers are usually quite good at replying to emails (providing they're not being condescending).

I asked my law lecturer for the name of the photocopied handout she gave so I could locate the book myself after having lost the handout. She tells me to come in and see her, and says that she wrote it herself, she might have a spare. (she didn't write that particular handout herself, and I clarified that what I was after was from a book)

I then manage to locate what appears to be the exact book on Amazon (she photocopied the cover), and ask her to clarify if this is the book. She's a part-time lecturer, so she's off for the weekend. In the meantime I go to UWE to borrow said book and arrive home, find that it almost certainly appears to be the book. She sent me a reply today when she got back in and tells me again, to go in and see her and that I wouldn't need any additional material. (I won't - I have what I need now)

But the fact here, is that she failed failed twice to answer my emails (instead just sending me one-liners)
- I asked her for the name and author of a book she handed out a photocopy of (she failed to answer my question)
- I asked her to clarify whether the book I'd found on amazon (and subsequently in the UWE library) was indeed the book which the handout was from (which she failed to clarify)

I thought these people teach in the University of Bristol - they would at least be able to read the emails and give appropriate replies...

Geth: "lecturers never actually pay attention to what other people say... that's not their method :P"

Some do... but she is pretty bad at replying to emails compared to others. She's a great lecturer, but just annoying she failed to answer me here.

p.s. the book is actually a pretty good book!

Imber (on the Salisbury Plains)

2009-05-27T22:51:00.008+01:00

Pretty certain very few people will have been. This one's about my visit to Imber, an abandoned village.

In short, the War Office bought up lots of land around WW2 period, and eventually bought up all the land that the village of Imber was on, making the villagers tenants of the War Office effectively. They evicted the villagers although told them that they could come back after the war. They did leave, and they believed that it was part of the war effort. The village is not normally open to the public except a few times each year at most. I visited on April 10th 2009 on my way to London. Imber lies in the middle of the Salisbury Plains, far away from most other settlements. I got there taking the A36 down to Warminster and asking some locals (it's not signposted...) Unfortunately it was cold, wet and dull so that really didn't help. My bike was covered in mud by the time I left. (and was 2 hours late to London - although it was cleaner by then!)

Imber Road
The road leading up to Imber from Warminster. Everything looks normal here.

Military signs are red.

The sign saying when it's open this year.

Passed by a tank...

Military Firing Range - Keep Out.
Almost there...

Almost at the checkpoint, I mean.
This is the checkpoint - I imagine it would be manned normally. Imber is still a few (2?) miles from here.

Danger Unexploded Military Debris - Do Not Leave The Carriageway
These signs were everywhere I went.

My bike!
First long journey within a week of hopping onto it and I'm off to London! (mastered it by the time I got there, haha.)

The loooooong road.... 3 dead tanks in this picture, there was a 4th on the far left.

The Village of Imber

Imber Court (19th century building I think)

Some army guys having a chat.

Plenty of these UGLY fake-houses around.
Target practice or something I'm guessing...? I hate the fact they're in the middle of the village.

The church
This is something the army didn't take over. Thankfully.

One of the derelict houses (building 21)

Seagram's Farm to the left. Not sure what the one on the right is.
19th century buildings.

Inside building 21

Building 21 again.

I enjoyed my visit to Imber, it was quite an eye-opener. I'll be back here in the future, but I hope they do something nice with the village in the future. It's very sad the way it is at the moment.

More info: ForeverImber.org.uk

That's it for now!

Pill and Portbury

2009-05-25T01:18:00.007+01:00

Earlier today (now yesterday), I went out for a ride - I needed it. I wanted to take a long way round towards home, and I decided I'd want to see some of the River Avon. So I decided to head on the southern side into North Somerset and check out Pill and some roads I'd long forgotten about.

Pill is a village on the other side of the Avon and faces Shirehampton. It's a fair bit further downstream from the Suspension Bridge.

I've only got the river pictures here, there's a bit more to Pill than shown - about a railway bridge's worth - and not much else (by my standards anyway). However, it was a beautiful place, and offered an awesome view of the river and M5 bridge. There were many cyclists, both local kids riding around and also a group who had come from Bristol or somewhere more central. You can see the railway bridge in the distance of the first pic - it's the disused line that runs to Portishead.

Looking towards Pill

Portishead Crossing Club
a lovely maritime themed building.

Portishead Crossing Club

Looking at the M5 bridge from Pill
(it carries the M5 from Portbury/Easton-in-Gordano to Avonmouth)

Looking upstream

Looking downstream
...where I read Chapter 8 of Town and Country Planning!

I then rode over to Portbury Dock (just because it was signposted and decided to out of curiosity.) This was where I saw the car park full of Chevrolet Matiz's.. don't think I've seen so many of the same car all in one place.

Chevrolet Matiz car park

Toyota Vehicle Refurbishment Centre
Another interesting stop.

When I went back home I decided to check this place out on Google Earth, after driving over the M5 bridge and seeing a massive car park full of white vans. See here. Pretty amazing. I was told several years ago at Bristol Parkway station, as a train full of vehicles went by that they were on their way to Avonmouth, for export to North America. This must be pretty similar.

That's it for now. Let's see where else I go sometime soon!

Whilst not doing revision...

2009-05-25T00:40:00.004+01:00

Yesterday evening, me and Sherry went around St. Mary Redcliffe to Redcliffe Parade to try and listen to the bells of both Bristol Cathedral and the St. Mary Redcliffe - it can be done - but we were there at 9pm *and* 10pm and the St. Mary Redcliffe bells didn't sound so we can only assume they're not working for the time being. Ah well, maybe another day.

Anyway - some pictures:

Looking up towards Redcliffe from the floating harbour.

The Floating Harbour

Railway tracks near the Industrial Museum (facing the Habourside Developments).

Sherry being silly =P

The night view from Redcliffe Parade West.

Henceforth.

2009-05-20T01:28:00.011+01:00

I shall never burden people around me to listen to me talk of how much I want a Vespa (or anything relating to it) ever again. I'll try and stick to it. Maybe until the day I get one. So this is just to put every last word I want to say about it until that day comes along.

Last night I realised I have been longing for my own Vespa f0r some 2 years, when I was searching for some old emails and stumbled upon some eBay enquiries I made on various Vespa parts. Something I remember very fondly, was telling dad one day I'd like to strip Ramsey bare of paint and give him a new shiny paint job (with some shiny chrome and bits) - he thought the idea was absurd. Whatever dad. One day...... one day...................

And later that night in bed, I lay there thinking about it - but in a much greater depth, the thoughts behind it, the meanings behind it, not scratching the surface in terms of what accessories I'd put on it (that list could be endless).

I thought about why I wanted it, what I'd do with it, what it would be like to have it, what kinds of responsibilities it would come with, what having it would mean,... and I cried. I went for my pal Sonic. I told him. I'm crying as I write this... and call me a pussy, I don't know why, but I am.

Trying to be honest to myself, I acknoledged that my desire to own a Vespa was a not really a want, and not really a need either, but rather somewhere in between. I believe that I'm a lot less materialistic these days than I used to be. I think that's come as something in the last year or so and I particularly realised how much I could be after my debt was partially paid off and I paid off my own credit card (which I worked very hard to pay off). I have wanted a Vespa, not because I enjoy a big brand or labels. Although it is true that I could settle for something less, I just didn't feel that anything else I could get would serve me for what I need. It is true that I want something a little stylish, but what I want, is to be "that guy that rode halfway across the country/Europe on a shopping scooter". Frankly, I can only associate that with a Vespa. Not a Suzuki Burgman, Honda, BMW motorbike or anything else. I want to see the country, not speed by it.

But more importantly, it is what the Vespa represents to me. It represents independence, freedom and a turn in my life. I would like it to be my own - in the sense that I get to decide what I do with it, what kinds of things I can put on it, if I decide to do a restoration on it or modify it, then so be it (of course I don't mind others riding it, it is from an ownership point of view here). I want something I can ride out on a Sunday which I can enjoy and not worry about crashing dad's bike. Dad has his Sunday ride, and I want mine (only mine won't just be used Sundays, it's what I intend to cherish). I feel it would contribute to who I am, something I can personalise and make my own, and something unique.

Today I counted my 300'th pound towards it... I'm quite proud. And I realised, on the day I'd have a grand in cash. That's my target... about £1200. That day is one I'm looking forward to, although I need to raise more than a grand initially. I am trying hard (even harder now, I haven't bothered replacing the many trousers that have holes in them) to save this money. Hope you guys can understand me being stingy, so don't you think for one moment I don't care about you guys, because you know I do and that's done in other ways =)

And finally, remember my memory of telling dad I'd like to give Ramsey a new paint job one day? I wouldn't mind a rust bucket to restore. But perhaps in the distant future rather than the near future! Dad can ride all the powerful motorcycles he ever wants, I'm happy with a little scooter that chugs along and has a few smoke clouds behind... Don't get me wrong, I appreciate everything and every way dad has contributed towards my licence, my skills, everything that I have and where I am now, but I don't think he should undermine my choice of transport. I loved Ramsey more than any other bike I've ridden (I was able to ride him for a mere 2 weeks after I got my licence due to some asshole driver crashing into me on Whiteladies) despite the fact he was slowest of them all, even more so since passing my test when I could carry people and it was sad to see him go. Dad saw it as an opportunity to get rid of him and take the money rather than an opportunity fix or replace him. That brings a tear to my eye... right now. *sob* He very very much loved by everyone that knew him (I know 3 others, I'm sure there are more) RIP Ramsey.. *sob*

I thought I'd share this with you guys,
You shouldn't hear me talk about it for a little while.

Homebound with a biccy (and Wells..)

2009-05-13T20:34:00.003+01:00

Last few weeks have meant that I've been stuck somewhere with a book, pen and [lots of] paper. Can't say I'm the greatest fan of this period, because there's a month where I'm effectively homebound. In theory, if I'm out having fun, I've got the energy to revise... in theory, anyway.

Fortunately, that doesn't hold 100% true (it is, for the most part, 99% true, however, else I wouldn't be writing this). And so we went to Wells on the 29th April - a charming city. I didn't really intend on going there, but was simply going for a ride out on a very nice day (route: Clifton Suspension Bridge [B3129], Failand, Flax Bourton, [A370], Backwell, Congresbury, [B3133], Lower Langford, [A38], [A368], Burrington [B3134], Charterhouse, Priddy, [A39], Wells), thought we'd head into Somerset as we'd previously ventured into the Mendip Hills, Backwell and Cheddar and found it very nice (maybe I'll upload a few pics another time). With no aim, I was starting to get hungry when we were in the Mendips (where we saw a black sheep - I don't personally have a pic, Sherry does though), and thought we'd head to Wells to find some food. We ate at an Indian place, which was not bad. Wells was very pretty, and a bit of Wikipedia when we were home later told us that this lovely street contained many Grade 1 listed medieval buildings (many had been updated, but still!). What was strange was that the complete street was cobbled and it was like stepping back in time - with the addition of a few cars parked on the street.

I don't have a picture of Wells Cathedral as it didn't dawn on me to take my camera out until quite late in the day. However, I do have a lovely picture of it at night (not great, I know).

We missed out on the palace with a moat, as it was getting late, and couldn't be bothered to walk, however, there is always next time - I am thinking of stopping at Wells next time I head in a southerly direction. p.s. the journey back was horrible, a total lack of cat's eyes on the A37 made my journey rather hellish as I couldn't see where the road was without opening my visor due to the tiny specks of rain.

Step back a few days, and I'm back in Bristol now - I notice these geese on the UWE campus. It's lovely. The female has made a next in a flowerbed (I can only assume they picked that spot at night, since it's a fair bit from any water course/feature I know of - the stream that runs through Harry Stoke and the UWE campus, perhaps?). They're gone now, unfortunately.

That's all for now!

Reflective Essay I had to write for my course

2009-05-07T14:53:00.005+01:00

Just handed in some piece of coursework into the Project Room.
On my way home now, but thought I'd share this reflective essay I've had to write.

p.s. looking forward to a nice weekend. Hopefully I can get lots of revision for my first exam in.

Reflect on prospects for employability:
This year I have tried to find a placement but I have not had much luck. In the meantime I have tried to further my interests in my field by joining English Heritage and the National Trust, since I find history and preservation interesting. I have also applied to join (perhaps a little bit late) the RTPI, so await a reply from them. Until a few months ago, I was still not certain which path I wanted to go down – the RICS or the RTPI.

Achieving effective learning:
This academic year, I have studied in a library a lot more (especially so during Easter). I found it the best place to go with a friend or two for some quiet study. It’s just amazing how a quiet bedroom and a quiet library compare – I think the fact everyone else is working is the motivation. That, and the fact I have a bed right next to my desk.

Coping with assessment:
I think I have tried to be better with my time management. A lot better. Occasionally, I still find that I’ve still got something to cover or mention in an assignment at the last minute, but it’s not as much, I prepared for it a lot more. It’s not ideal, but I generally started reading around the topics a lot, lot earlier this time. I still find my work tough, and I think it’s partially because I narrowly passed some of my modules last year, so lack the foundation here and there. That’s alright though – I have been sorting that out this year.

Benefits of working with others:
I’ve got my moments where I am really focused into my work (and also moments where I’m quite the opposite) – and I think I know when I can’t say I enjoyed my groupwork this year. At all. I found that I was more or less chairing and leading the group towards the marks in Inter-professional. Eventually I found I had to write a literature review, and having never written one before and getting it wrong twice, it meant that I just did not have time to focus my efforts on the group (I put some proper effort into the project for my own marks, as selfish as it may seem, I really can’t say I care about people who don’t put any effort in at all) or had any time to work on the project. It doesn’t bother me though – in the process, I taught myself (with my sister’s help) how to use InDesign publishing software and Photoshop and did a lot of that project in it. I thought my posters looked pretty good.

On the other hand, I quite enjoyed the groupwork earlier in the year in City and Regional Plan Making, where I worked with someone who really put in the effort to head the group. I was there to support him whenever he needed it. I felt it really worked, since he was willing to listen (shame that wasn’t the case in Inter-professional… at all.), he used your ideas, gave people a chance to talk, I genuinely enjoyed working with that him.

What are you going to do differently next year:
Next year, I am going to look at the way I approach assignments, especially the big ones. Because, quite simply, reading around the topic and then going back to the brief and then reading some more doesn’t seem to be working for me. I always seem to find I’ve missed out something and it’s all improperly bound together in the project room shortly before it’s due in. I think I lack some serious study skills, to name a few: skimming articles, how to write a report (I’ve done 2 now, and they’re both a bit sketchy) and most importantly: something that I always seem incompetent at – reading the question…!

Good morning and Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T03:40:00.000Z

After reading my sister's blog (http://renrens.wordpress.com), I felt the need to write one, her one is one I have come to love reading (mainly because it's rather relevant and has artsy stuff in it.)

As I'm now writing this on Christmas day, I shall begin with a "Merry Christmas"! Hope everyone has a wonderful xmas and that it is filled with peace and prosperity!

As I haven't done this for ages - pass this onto anyone who is relevant!

More later today when I wake up.
tc,