So That Was 2010

Some people think this year has sped rapidly by, on reflection I think it has gone fairly slow, no bad thing. On the whole it hasn't been a bad year, it's had more highs than lows. The year began with myself and friends coming to terms with the passing of big Russ and so I think it's fair to say the year began on a very subdued note.

An erroneous phone call in January led me to Nottingham, working in a homeless shelter and helping out in it's music shop in the city centre. Nottingham in many ways has changed many of my views on things this year, I've seen some genuinely sad things but I've also seen people move on in life, that is a rewarding to watch in itself. The people in Nottingham have been amazing and I can honestly say I've enjoyed my time there this year immensely.

2010 has also been a year of music, since working in the music shop has its advantages and my knowledge (which was already large or so I thought) has grown to encompass much more styles, bands and genre's of music. The year began with loving the Cocteau twins and moved through 60s psychedelia, electronica, progressive and a plethora of others.

This year saw me reunited with old school friends via Facebook and then meeting them again in person, it felt good to rekindle old friendships again and I hope to see more of them in 2011.

On the social front 2010 has been manic to say the least, weddings, parties, functions, birthdays, gigs, fancy dress and fund raising events. It seemed the summer of love in some respects as weddings graced most months. My friend Dom's stag night was probably the best night I had out all year and brought all of my local male friends together for an epic night. Sadly I missed the following wedding as Gary was back over from Hong Kong and in truth I wish I'd gone to wish them well, even though weddings aren't my thing.

I've seen many friendships grow this year and on stepping into 2011 I feel I am fortunate to have such a good friends network around me.

February saw me visit Malta, fortunately dodging the ash cloud problem from Iceland. It was a nice little break, so much so I went back this month (another blog coming sometime on that). There were other jaunts too, to the lovely north east Yorkshire coast, Norfolk and to London. There were also trips to York and other picturesque places and parks.

April saw the election announcement and I decided I may be changing my vote this time around.

The election duly came in May, I voted, it was a hung parliament which proved a very disenchanted nation indeed. The coalition was formed and even though the party I had voted for were in the coalition I began to have immediate misgivings.

June was the world cup, and lots of social engagements, a busy month indeed. To be fair I never really got into this world cup and didn't watch that much of it at all, though I did spend more time at Meadow Lane this year watching my beloved Notts County, and what a year they've had!

July came, I aged another year, more flecks of grey hair and creaks when I get out of bed in a morning! Gary was visiting (glued annoyingly to his ipad), weddings were happening and I breathed in the lovely pure air when we visited the Whitby area.

August saw a lovely new real ale pub open in town called 'Just Beer' and since then it has gone from strength to strength. I'll probably spend more time down there in 2011 but usually in January I have a month off the beer.

September saw the odious pope visit, something that made my blood boil and for some odd reason I remember a Colombian being named as the worlds shortest man!

October saw the miners in Chile rescued, an amazing feat and testament to mankind ingenuity. I visited London to register at a model/movie extras agency which was a huge boost to morale. Nothing has come of it yet but I hope in 2011 that something does come of it. I also started playing the truly fantastic Lord of the Rings online game.

November, well nothing much happened and the cold weather closed in.

December saw me return to Malta once more and even have a couple of interesting trysts with someone whilst there.

During 2010 there's been some great television, the excellent Ancient Civilisations on the BBC along with the Apprentice and Dragons Den. And I really have to mention the funny yet starkly gritty 'This is England 86'.

Film wise I loved Centurion and Black Death. The Spartacus series was immense and I want more! On the downside there were turkeys at the cinema including Iron Man 2 and the dreadful Inception.

It's not been a bad year really I guess, my dear gran is still alive, I love her dearly and cherish my visits to see her. My dad is always there should I need help and I love and respect him too.

On the downside, my health hasn't been great, I've been concealing things and may need to open up about them in the coming year but I will say this, I'll soldier on whatever may come with my usual plucky hobbit resolve. I'm also hoping my car insurance/accident issue will conclude as quickly as possible in the new year.

Talking of resolve, I intend to blog more during 2011 as writing is therapeutic and something I need to do. I'm not sure what 2011 will bring, I know what I'd like it to bring but I never heap my hopes on too many things, each day is very much an amazing thing indeed and something we should never take for granted.

Thanks for reading and a happy 2011 to everyone who reads the Hobbit's Journal !

That Man Epicurus, Again!

In times of winter, when you hear of tragedy and death or in fact anytime when you switch the tv on and see something regarding death or injustice - you think 'why'?

“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call call him God?”

I just love this point that Epicurus puts across, bearing in mind its not aimed at christianity, more gods in general but it still holds up really well and show's us how intelligent people were back then.

Snow

Never since I've moved to Newark have I known snow like this. On Tuesday the trains stopped running, the town seemed devoid of life, even my local supermarket was a breeze to get around. Most of the other shops had not bothered opening (wise indeed) and the market had been abandoned, though I hear a couple of plucky stall holders still made it. It looks like most of the nation has been gripped with a rather premature freeze and Scotland has had the worst of it (let them have it!!!). I just hope it's all gone before my holiday abroad in three weeks and my plane is clear for take off.

My car from the bedroom window, covered in snow!



A view of the car park opposite my flat.



The gloomy church yard as I passed through to go to the local supermarket.

Light

Took this photo walking across the market square last week. It is times like this I wish I had a better camera but as the light hit the church I thought it a good idea to capture the moment.

What An Idiot

Today I spent a productive morning down at the homeless centre in Nottingham. At 12:30pm I usually saunter up to the Music Exchange project and do a bit of time there. On the route I tend to stop off at Waterstones or browse the shops of the Hockley area, time permitting.

Strolling along I heard young voices behind me, one standing out above the giggling others. His comments squarely aimed at me and my stature, they weren't nice but I've heard them all before truth be known, so I smiled and kept walking thinking they were just the usual baseball capped/hoody type of youth scoring cheap laughs in front of friends.

As I was overtaken, I saw they numbered three, one afro-caribbean guy doing the fun making, an indian guy and an oriental girl. I have to confess this shocked me a little. The name calling isn't an issue at all, I've heard them all before and as my close friends will vouch I definately have a devilish sense of humour. I guess it was the fact that people of different diversities and cultures are generally more respectful when it comes to 'difference' or perhaps evidently not!?

The reason I often praise Nottingham is because of how diverse yet tolerant everyone is, I often joke you could walk through the city naked and painted blue and nobody would bat an eye.

I remarked quite sardonically 'what an idiot' to which the afro-caribbean guy asked 'what did you say?' I'd no wish to continue the game so smiled and walked on, the fact being it is a no win situation really for obvious reasons I don't need to explain. Usually I wouldn't have said anything but I did feel a genuine pang of disappointment in the guys actions and he was being an idiot especially when some people would have perhaps highlighed his skin colour thus fanning the flames for confrontation and doing nothing for racial harmony.

There's no real moral to this blog, I just feel vexed that people of different ethnic origins would verbally attack someone in a way that they obviously wouldn't like to be attacked themselves. I know people are people regardless of ethnic background but I can't deny today left me feeling a bit sad really, not for myself but for the protagonists.

Lord Of The Rings Online

The last few weeks have seen me glued to my pc screen playing Lord of the Rings online or LOTRO as it's known in gaming circles. I've played MMORPG's (massive multiplayer online roleplay games) before starting with Guild Wars a few years ago but recently found out Lotro was becoming free to download and play. I'm several weeks into playing it and can honestly say it's been an amazing experience, graphically the game looks stunning and the locations feel realistic to the Lord of the Rings books. You start with humble beginnings but soon your character starts to take form and high adventure awaits!

Some of my friends think it's a little sad of me but it passes time and to be able to explore Tolkiens Middle Earth virtually is something else, and very rewarding. So here's some screen shots of my character 'Gildora Grumbleweed' in action (Yep she's a hobbit!)

Waterstones

I love books. Nothing beats a good book and whilst commuting to Nottingham and back this year a book of some description has been my constant companion. Often when I get chance I pop into Waterstones where ever I may be - I grab it, to peruse books which usually ends in me succumbing to temptation and buying one. This week whilst in Nottingham I had 30 mins to spare between going from one place to another so dropped into Waterstones.

I've had a mind for a while to read Lord of the Rings again, in the past I only ever got it from the library, read it and then returned it. I thought it would be good to have the three volumes for myself in some kind of hardback format as I know in the future I'll read them again or use them for reference. Ironically I did spy a nice set of them bound in a leather case in a local bookshop some months ago but when I got around to returning the bookshop had sadly closed.

So into Waterstones I went and found some lovely 50th anniversary hard backed ones with the covers made up of illustrations drawn by Tolkien himself. To my horror they only had the 2nd and 3rd volume. I searched in vain before asking an assistant. He checked the stores computer and then turned to me and said 'Sorry but we sold the last Fellowship of the Ring (1st volume) last September'. I stood and blinked and thought why haven't they bothered to re-stock it? It's not like it's an obscure book!? The chances of the other two volumes in the same range are surely unlikely to sell, so why have them out on the shelves?

I'm not angry at Waterstones (well maybe a bit) but surely in these days of technology stock should be better monitored?

Insular

I've been a little insular of late, preferring my own company and the solitude of my flat. For some reason I've found crowds difficult and have been happy in with my own company. This is no reflection on my friends, it just seems to be a phase of sorts I am going through, inexplicable really. It's not that I've been avoiding people, I've just been reluctant to go out and more content with the comfort of home and my own company.

Reading lots of books and online gaming seem to be taking most of my time up and seem almost an escapism, sad I know! I seem at an impass, I'm not depressed or down, neither am I particularly happy either, it's a bizarre empty feeling.

On the plus side I suspect there's good times ahead with friends and normal happy hobbit service will be resumed shortly!

From The Cradle To The Grave

"Life is a dead end street." H.L Mencken, writer and satirist.

"I'm not afraid to die, I just don't want to be there when it happens!" Woody Allen, comedian.

"As men we are all equal in death." Publilius Syrus, one time Syrian slave of Romans turned writer.

Death is subject we generally like to keep on the periphery of our thoughts because plain and simple it's just easier that way. Although in life there may be times we have brushes with death be it in a car accident or through friends and loved ones suffering we generally like to think 'death' is something far off. Yet from the cradle onwards death is something we draw inexorably closer too, none can escape it and eventually it consumes us all with its unknowing darkness. It encompasses all, in essence we just vanish. As we get older it has more of an ongoing significance to us but the fact is death negates every single aspect of our lives eventually.

I'm not sure if other animals have knowledge of death but trapped animals usually lash out and strive for life or some sit apathetically and wait for it's onset. Humans however do have that ongoing knowledge of death, it's all around us from family to movies, to media.

You might be sat there feeling uncomfortably at reading the grim words above but the single fact we all have in common is that we all die at some point, we just cannot escape it, the book finally closes. When friends or loved ones die we can open their 'life' book and reflect on their life and exploits, we can remember them in our own unique way. When we die we can reflect on nothing, consciousness ends.

Death of course affects us differently. I was talking to a homeless guy today who said he'd had a good early life but since both parents had died he'd gone down hill and into drugs. There was a silence and then he added he may have ended up doing drugs anyway but his parents death had perhaps hastened the process as he'd found it hard to cope. My thoughts on this were that he needed the escapism to avoid dwelling on the reality that was death (amongst other things).

My own personal experiences of death have been consenting to my mothers life support machine being switched off when doctors told me they were unable to save her from brain damage. I sat and watched her die, I literally saw death happen before me. In some ways it gave me a few moments to come to terms with it better, rather than it being sudden and shocking news.

I spoke to my gran the other week who is in her late 80s. I broached the subject of death and she openly said she was ready to die with no fear it as she was tired of life, seemingly its all become an exercise in futility for her as old age slowly robs us of our faculties.

In some instances when we are aware of the onset of death of say a loved one we can take steps to make things easier, we can plan, we can say goodbyes, tell them we loved them or even say things that have remained unsaid for years but needed to be said. The cruel reality is though death robs us of loved ones without remorse. Though in my own opinion it is far better to be prepared for it than it be sudden in some respects. Then of course this brings me to the counter argument of do people on death row welcome the thought of knowing when they are going to die? This brings me to my earlier point of death is something we like to push into the distance because in comparison saying 'I may die in 40 years' against someone on death row saying 'I am going to die in 40 days' is far, far easier to swallow.

We all cope with death differently. Many of course turn to faith and religion. All religions of course handle the subject differently or in different stages. Buddhists believe in reincarnation and that a 'you' survives each death into another temporal life which is judged on your previous life's karma. Christianity, Islam and Judaism state you only have one temporal life and earthly life is a test for the after life. Though I am not religious the buddhist thoughts on life, karma and death fascinate me as you can over several lives refine your karma or not as the case may be. On the plus side you could reach 'nirvana' but is a perfect you the end of things anyway? That you have stepped off what buddhists call the 'wheel of samsara' and have reached a perfect peace? because surely that being the case there is nothing more to reincarnate. That said I'm no expert on that religion, or any other because I prefer not to entwine myself spiritually and believe. I am however always eager to learn history and facts or the lack of them in some cases I say with a sardonic smile.

The philosopher Heidegger stated that firstly death is the end of us and our experience, secondly that death is not an end goal - it is simply stoppage. Thirdly that death is inevitable and uncertain and finally the previous three points make us wonder if there is any meaning to our life.

The Greek philosopher Epicurus once wrote that "Death is nothing to us, for what has been dissolved has no sense and experience - and what has no sense and experience is nothing to us."

These days the term 'Epicurean' is all about seeking pleasure, the reality though is that Epicurus said that people should actually try and avoid pain, he wasn't some 24/7 party person! Epicurus basically said instead of desire people should seek friends, warmth and food. When we have this then we become at peace for these are the things of a good life and to be honest he has a good point, except we know there is more to life than the above. Another good point Epicurus touches on about death though is that to be without experience (see above quote) is to be without suffering.

A fruit will ripen and produce seed and then die, humans and animals are the same. We mature, we mate and try to ensure we prevail - it's the passage of nature. When a person dies we carry fragments of their lives within our own, it makes us glow and feel good when we reflect it again makes us feel intimate with them even though they are not there. Going back to Heidegger a moment, he says that people often live their lives with a certain denial of death. That isn't to say people don't dwell on it but if we do dwell on it then that can be seen as trying to control it. I'm sure people into extreme pursuits such as mountain climbing or deep sea diving, or even astronauts think about death and despite obvious risks they take their thoughts will give them some degree of control over how they feel about it.

Going back to religion though, which is totally man made at least if gives some a comfort blanket surrounding the subject of death and offers the chance of an afterlife. My view on the afterlife is pretty much inspired by some of the great philosophers and contemporaries like Hitchens, Russell and Dawkins et al. As Hitchens states that imagine from the moment you are born till the moment you die you are scrutinized totally by god, then you pass all the tests and go to heaven and are watched all over again - it would be like living in some kind of celestial North Korea. Seriously who would want that? To me it is gross folly and ignorance to let religion govern your life and dictate how it should be lived. To be immortal would more scary than knowing you are going to die. Imaginary celestial cities falling into disrepair as the workers could simply do the job tomorrow or the next day. After we'd met back up with loved ones and family and in some cases realised why we didn't like them in the first place, what then? An eternity of doing not that much and plenty of time to do it in, so things eventually become of little relevance. The philosopher Nietzsche criticises religion on the valid point it attempts to denigrate our real world in favour of a superior fantasy transcendent one. I certainly won't spend my life telling a god that is only a belief how good he actually is just to get a ticket to an afterlife. For me there is something oddly comforting knowing that life actually has to end and this thought gives my life more purpose in the present.

Lets draw on some practical positives about death. The main thing at the end of our days to make us more content is to know that our life has had some significance. To some this is almost definitely having children and watching them grow. To others it may be writing a book, painting or writing songs. As humans we are capable of doing many things that we can pass on into the memories of others, to me that gives meaning to our being. Life is to be embraced whilst we have the chance and before we get too old. We can do many things in our life to benefit others just through being human and exhibiting human compassion.

In closing I relate death to having an anaesthetic at a hospital. You are shrouded in darkness but you are at peace, free from pain and suffering in a serene void. If death is similar then I do not fear death itself, I just hope the dying isn't painful! At the end of the day there's no point fearing death because we can't do anything about it.

The Hobbit Becomes A Model

Back Story: A few weeks ago I called a model agency in London, I'd had their number for some time but it was the news that Peter Jackson was short of extra's for the upcoming Hobbit movie that spurred me on to call them. I did procrastinate for a bit but eventually gave them a call and was pleased with the reception I got. I had to email some photos of myself and they'd get back to me given I was suitable. Three weeks later I got a phone call and was invited down to see them, evidently they were impressed with my photos and wanted to find out more, so after hurriedly booking a train ticket I went down to see them last Friday (15th).

So here's the story.

It was a cloudy grey morning as I departed south on the train, I'd prepared everything the night before so I wasn't hurrying come the morning. I found a seat amongst some sophisto's all name dropping about places to eat or have your hair cut in London whilst periodically tapping on their laptops. I sat back, relaxed and within no time was pulling into Kings Cross station.

I was going to meet my old friend Pat later, he's a Londoner and when we get the chance we meet up for a coffee and a chat but my first port of call was my beloved Camden. I took the short journey on the northern tube line to Camden and ascending the escalator felt invigorated by the draft of cold air coursing downwards. Out into the hustle and bustle of Camden, a myriad of sights and sounds, a panoply of cultures and diversity, it's one of the few places I feel I can be 'me'. My plan is a little retail therapy and then go meet Pat but before I'm lost in the many market stalls and shops my mobile twitches in my pocket and it's shrill noise brings me momentarily back to reality. It's Pat and he wants to meet at the Dominion theatre on Tottenham Court road about 12:45. This gives me little time in Camden as it's already just gone midday. So with purpose I head towards the area where I suspect the things I want will be. I'm lucky, I drop onto the right market stalls and manage to bag some new socks (with compartments for toes!), a new hat which I enthusiastically haggle for and some gloves. I also spy a gift for my friend Danni and grab that too, knowing it's exactly the thing she likes. Then it's back to the tube and off southwards to meet Pat, I turn and look at Camden before I descend and make a silent oath to be back soon.

I arrive to meet Pat a few mins early at the Dominion as the statue of Freddie Mercury looms overhead. He arrives 15 mins late in his own inimitable style but I don't really complain too much as a gorgeous redhead in denim shorts has been parading about and keeping my eyes busy. Then it's off for a chat and a coffee. We put the world to rights and talk, time passes quickly, Pat does most of the talking but I'm more than happy to listen as he's an engaging character.

Then it's off to Edgware Road and the model agency called Ugly/Rage models. Pat accompanies me and I'm glad he does as there's several exit points for the tube at Edgware road and I probably would have taken an age to find the agency, Pat being a native sniffs it out in no time, it seems to be off the main Edgware road itself on a side street. We're a tad early so we walk around the block and it becomes apparent once you're away from main streets London has some lovely little enclaves with pubs, restaurants and shops. I agree with Pat when he says London is lots of little area's and communities that make up the bigger picture. We circle back to the agency and an African guy on the door directs me to the 2nd floor. It's an old jaded building of decadent tiles that feels very 70's, it reminds me of the interior of some buildings in Thailand.

Entering Ugly/Rage I'm greeted warmly and go about filling paper work out before being taken outside for some photos. Pat is waiting outside reading a book and grins sardonically as he sees me nearby. Then it's back inside, sign an 18 month contract and that's basically it. Nothing is really said in great detail. I ask a couple of questions and everything seems straight forward. The agency want £250 upfront to appear in their catalogue, I decide not to pay this and we come to a compromise of they'd take it out of any work I do for them. The fact is they have hundreds of models in their catalogue, so I could pay £250 and nothing may ever happen. I'm sensible when it comes to money and temptations of possible fame and fortune aren't going to get me to pay up front to people I've just met and hardly know. If work comes my way through it they'll easily get their £250 and the 20% cut that they take. I wait for my copy of the contract to be printed off and a very dusky girl, probably of Syrian/Middle east origin comes in to sign too, we chat briefly, she's very stunning indeed, the contract arrives and I'm off outside after shaking hands to seal the deal, all in all it's taken about half an hour and is a very low key affair really.

Pat asks what I want to do next, my original plan would have been to head back to Camden again but I would have succumbed to temptation and spent more money so I go with Pat's excellent suggestion and we head to Tower Hill.

In no time we arrive and on leaving the station are greeted with the sight of the tower of London which I've never seen before, very interesting it looks too. This is Pat's home territory I'm told as we head off to walk along the Thames. Pat's company is infectious, he knows the sights and history and I contentedly soak it all in. We pass HMS Belfast and head towards the Tate Modern. Pat is a member of the Tate modern so we use the members area for a coffee, the balcony there gives a stunning view of St Pauls back over the Thames.

As the evening draws in we head along the Thames towards tower bridge which looks amazing lit up, en route we pass more interesting sights such as a replica of the Golden Hind and lots of little bars and restaurant nestled under bridges etc. We pass city the modern looking city hall, over the bridge and its back to Kings Cross on the tube.

I'm pretty damn hungry at this point and buy some quick fix food whilst waiting for my train, a train I nearly miss as neither of us realise Kings Cross now has a platform zero! Hastily making for it I shake Pats hand and make a dash, just managing to get on the train before it departs. So then it was back to the quiet confines of Newark and a few celebratory beers whilst feeling quite bizarre at being a 'model'.

Sincere thanks go to Pat as I really thought we were going to part ways after our coffee at lunch but he stayed with me and I'm more than grateful he did. He sometimes makes out he's a loner and recluse but he can talk for England but that's no bad thing as everything he has to say is interesting and witty, he's more of a people person than he realises. Had it not been for Pat I may have not found the place in time and wouldn't have done that much after, apart from weave my way back to Camden. Over the years Pat has shown me loads of places in London and I'm ever in his debt for doing so. The line he quipped of 'New York is the city that never sleeps, is it heck, it shuts at midnight like any other city!' will make me smile for a long time to come.

So, what next? Well to be honest I don't know. During the initial phone call I asked if they would have any involvement with the hobbit movie should casting come to England to which they replied they may do, as they'd been involved in the past with such projects as Harry Potter et al. It's going to be a waiting game, I may be signed as a model but as I mentioned earlier they do have hundreds of people on their books. Whilst I hope something will happen I am not banking too much on it, I may be short and ideal for some roles but they have other short people (we hobbit's are more numerous than you think!)

So I'm going to view the whole thing as a great day out with excellent company. Becoming a 'model' is certainly a morale boost even if it does feel a little odd and surreal still.

The truth is I'd love for something to come up, being in the background in a film such as the Hobbit or any film come to that would be amazing, a real dream come true. I guess if anything comes of this I'll be happy though. There's a few photos below but the light wasn't great on the day so I didn't take many.

Tower of London

A lost London Spartan?

St Pauls

HMS Belfast with city hall just to the left of it.

Tower Bridge

Chile Miners Rescue

It's fantastic news that the miners trapped underground in Chile since the 5th of August are now being rescued. As I write this blog half of them are already out to scenes of jubilation, relief and high emotion.

Many are hailing it a miracle and the work of god.

But lets have a reality check here. Would any benevolent god have put them in that position in the first place? If you asked a christian why it happened in the first place they'd probably say it was god's will or some kind of bizarre test of faith.

The real reason the 33 miners are being lifted to safety is man kinds ingenuity, resourcefulness and pragmatism, added to the fact science has played a major role. Whilst the miners thank god for their release they really ought to be thanking their fellow human beings first who have worked tirelessly to make it possible.

You have to imagine if the world was more of a theocracy and less scientific, the miners would have been trapped down there with no hope of rescue, a million and one prayers could not have saved them.

As a humanist I look at my past, look at my health problems. I nearly lost my sight aged 13, later in life I needed hip surgery. Had it not been for the advent of science and man kinds involvement in amazing breakthrough's I would have been a blind cripple. It was man's knowledge and compassion that saved me.

This is where mankind beats any god and is master of his own destiny. What god would wish any hardship on any individual only for man to rectify it? It's clear proof there is no god because such actions would be a totally pointless exercise. In the past human tragedy and disasters were labelled 'gods will' because there was no better way to explain things. Today's heroic rescue and the bravery of those 33 miners is credit to human resources and courage and clear proof we don't need to look to any god to determine our fate.

It's incidents like this that increase my belief in humankind and what we are capable of when we believe in ourselves. And this is why I am a humanist.

Chimps

I had an epiphany on the train this morning, the one that just pops into your head randomly. The thought was this 'we really do come from monkey's, just look what things people are doing on the train!'

The thought hit me as the ticket collector had just issued me my ticket on the train and struggling for free hands and pockets the ticket was instinctively and without thought slipped into my mouth, just like monkey's do on the Tv (not when buying train tickets I might add!). Then when I looked up and around you see people social grooming, women helping to preen male friends or each other, gesticulations, bags marking empty seats of people that want to be alone - it's all there.

Evolution, I just don't don't doubt it for one second.

National Apathy

To be fair I can be a cynical person at times but as the months and years roll of the calendar my cynicism and diminished faith in human beings rapacious behaviour continues to grow.

You'd think in the age of email and computers things would get done easier, sadly it's not the case as the UK seemingly has dropped into a serious case of apathy. Nobody seems interested in getting things done anymore. Take for instance my car insurance, without wanting to spare you the reader all the boring details I've have an issue still not yet sorted dating back to May of this year. This is now impacting on my new car insurance who want to see proof of my no claims bonus and are gearing up to charge me extra money if said proof doesn't appear. The irony is that every time you switch the Tv on the adverts are dominated by car insurance ones. They are so eager to take your money yet so reluctant to do anything once they have it.

It just seems to be everything these days seems to be so long winded, it makes some of the clerical jobs I did back in the 80s and 90s seem super fast. I hate the fact that when you ring somewhere it always seems to be a call centre in some far off land and the language barrier begins almost immediately. No disrespect to these guys (apart from the cold calling ones) as I know they are trying to earn a living. Even closer to home there seems to be a genuine lack of interest or any empathy when you call someone, it's like as a nation we collectively seemed to have thrown the towel in and are all dreaming about what we are going to be doing at the weekend. The truth is there are some good people out there but it appears they are a dwindling sort.

Another thing that annoys me is I rent privately, it's a nice place and I am relatively happy here though I would in truth like somewhere less communal and more private. The problem is that I rent through a letting agent and have to speak to them if I want something done. The letting agents response is to stick their heads in the sand and hope it goes away. Again they are all smiles when taking the rent off me every month.

At first I thought it was just me being 'me' about stuff but problems getting things done these days just seems so prevalent or motivated by money. A friend went to buy a new mobile phone at the weekend and was told he had to buy a new sim card for £10 as part of the deal, even though he didn't need one. It just seems to me a case of the big phone companies bagging an extra £10 simply because they can.

Another recent instance that springs to mind is when I purchased my fridge a few months back. I bought it from Curry's online but first I went into the shop in town. The shop wanted to charge me something like £25 delivery even though there's a regional distribution centre for Curry's a few hundred yards away near the A1 motorway. If I ordered it online it was free delivery and yet would almost definitely come from the same distribution centre locally! Madness indeed. All I wanted to do was pay the cash in the shop, get it delivered, I don't mind ordering online but ideally like to spend money locally when purchasing expensive stuff and have that real person touch instead of the faceless online one.

Anyway, a bit of a moan there about things and ironically when typing the blog I get a phone call about some possible good news!

The Pope, No Thanks.

The Pope, lovely fella (allegedly), a man with a hotline to god, a man whose word can influence millions of catholics, a man I really don't want in this country with his antiquated values and morals.

Where do I start with this blog? Well lets have a look at popes from the past first.

"If my own father was a heretic, I would personally gather the wood to burn him" Pope Paul IV

"Mussolini is a wonderful man. Do you hear me, a wonderful man" Pope Pius XI

"One Galileo in two thousand years is enough" Pope Pius XII (more about him later).

And lastly the current pope Benedict XVI

"Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is more or less strong tendancy ordered to an intrinsic moral evil, and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder"

Back in the middle ages the pope was the real power in Europe, having influence over most of it, his word was treated as the word of god and what he said - went. So we had crusades that cause division and animosity to this day, inquisitions, burnings, invasions, papal bulls, edicts - they all happened. It seems to me that even though society has moved on and developed, the papacy hasn't. I say the papacy because there's much more to it than just the pope, and all past popes cannot be culpable.

Let's go back to pope Pius XII. Though there is quite a lot said in favour of this pope but you don't have to dig deep to find that this pope, the pope during the second world war and after could have made a difference but chose not to. This pope had favourable relations with the Nazi regime, but during the invasion of Poland he decided to keep silent, tens of thousands of Polish catholics died and catholic monks, 2,500 (aprox) were detained in concentration camps. Pope Pius's refusal to censure the invasion of Poland still strikes a raw nerve with some Polish catholics today but it gets worse, much worse. Ante Pavelic, the new leader of the Nazi puppet state in Croatia formed during the war went on, with Vatican approval to forcibly torture, convert and kill on a mass scale the jews and orthodox christian Serbs in their territory. So large and cruel a concentration camp that was set up by Pavelic and his Ustashe party henchmen in the town of Jasenovacs that even the Nazi were reviled by their actions. Of course later in history Yugoslavia erupted again with the Serbs seeking revenge in what was called 'ethnic cleansing' which was really 'religious cleansing'.

In 1942 when there was evidence of mass killing and concentration camps Pius turned a blind eye to it, even when his own people such as Monsignor Montini (the future pope Paul VI) told him that 'massacres of the jews reach frightening proportions'.

In 1944 on meeting Winston Churchill it was pope Pius who tried to get Italian war criminals off the hook by saying they shouldn't stand for trials as they were victims of the Nazi regime.

In fairness the catholic church did save many Jews during the war, some had to convert to christianity, some were kept safe in religious establishments throughout Europe.

In closing this bit, Pope Benedict now wants to make Pope Pius XII a saint, madness!

Back to the middle ages, fortunately this Isle managed to shake off catholic yolk and control from Rome but not without a few hiccups. After Henry VIII died his daughter Mary came to the throne, married Phillip II of Spain and began reversing her fathers work and embracing catholicism again. Come 1554 England had a Spanish king and was subject to Rome once more, then it was time for the burnings of protestants to begin, Bishops, poor people et al. Just before being burnt at Oxford, Bishop Latimer turned to Bishop Ridley and said "We shall on this day light such a candle by god's grace as, I trust, shall never be put out". The burnings in Smithfield where most suffered horrible deaths was actually a turning point, and eventually led to the return of England to a protestant nation. Catholic horrors were still being perpetrated abroad though, the Spanish inquisition, catholic purges in the Spanish occupied Netherlands and atrocities in the New World.

Today in Edinburgh as the pope made his opening speech or should I say gambit of the tour it wasn't long before he was having a pop at the rise of secular states. If old fools like this were in charge we'd soon be back to the middle age values and the thinking back then. I wouldn't be able to type blogs such as this because of the fear of persecution or even death. An example of how far the catholic church hasn't come is this, in 1996 the Irish republic held a referendum on whether its state constitution should still prohibit divorce. Fortunately Ireland has increasingly moved towards sensible secularism and most political parties urged people to approve of a change in the law. They did so, for several reasons, they no longer thought it right for the roman catholic church to legislate the people on their morality. There was also thought that there would be no reunification in Ireland if the mainly prostestant north were repelled by the thought of clerical interference and rule. But one of the main reason was nobody should be trapped in an unhappy marriage, especially if it was a woman with a continually drunk husband that would beat or rape her - I'm sure you get the picture. Despite people having common sense on the vote the catholic church flew in such big names such as mother Theresa to campaign for a 'no' vote.

Personally I find catholicism regressive, self serving, self indulgent and fundamentally backward in its values (sorry catholics, as I know you aren't all bad and I have catholic friends) but that is my view. This is a faith that lets you give your wife a beating but you can atone for it with a confessional. Forget confessionals, just make sincere apologies for the bad things you've done or to the people concerned, see... easy, and the human thing to do. This is a pope and faith that advise people in the third world not to use condoms, in fact that condoms are a weapon. More people die of aids in Africa and many other catholic countries and its alright by the pope, common sense doesn't come into it. When you look at Ireland both main factions prefer sectarianism as this divides communities and fuels old hatreds but the catholic hierarchy there like this, as it can influence children in clerical schools and continue fuelling religious hatred. In such a divided society the populace are easily monitored and its easier for the church to extend its controlling hand.

It always intrigues me why catholics make a big deal of the virgin Mary, revere her in such a sycophantic way. The virgin birth is clear proof that man is capable of creating a legend, a legend not to dissimilar from other eastern faiths, Horus of the Egyptians being born unto a virgin to mention one past figure. There's no recorded birth of Mary in the bible but later of course she is singled out for special treatment and visited by the archangel Gabriel and told of things to come. How ironic later in the bible that she seemingly has no memory of this or angels telling her she is the mother of god. Later after Jesus is born according to biblical accounts she seems surprised at everything her son does, why is he talking to priest's in the temple? You'd think a Mary would have a memory of why Jesus is important.

More interestingly, later in the new testament Matthew tells us in 13:55-57 that Mary had several kids, that there were 4 brothers and some sisters too, hhmm not very virginal. Later we have James telling us in his gospel that Jesus had a brother by the same name (what!?) who mixed in religious circles ... would the real Jesus please stand up?!

Amazingly the doctrine of the immaculate conception didn't come to being until it was announced in Rome in 1852, and later the dogma of the assumption in 1951.

Back to the pope Benedicts visit. There seems to be fluctuating statistics on the cost of it all but the general figures seems to be 12 million of taxpayers money which is shocking really, the Vatican is so rich that it could easily afford to fund the pope's visits but I guess as we're the hosts we have to foot the bill, large thanks go to Mr Tony Blair who I believe had something to do with inviting him to some degree. You can argue as a nation we do pay for other dignitaries to visit but most of these are diplomatic figures and I would assume trade talks are always on the cards, so this is of benefit. It's fair to say though the papal hierarchy and the vatican aren't short of money, papal personalities such as the popes private secretary, the smooth Georg Ganswein dubbed 'gorgeous Georg' by the Italian press likes to play tennis and fly planes in his spare time.

British catholics are paying £25 to see the pope at various venues in the UK, if the catholic church was so benevolent why isn't it paying for the facilities and hosting it free?

Getting back to Pope Benedict, this is a pope that doesn't want progress, doesn't want to release details of child abuse within his church thinking his own people are above secular law. This is a pope that fears secularism and practical thinking, this is a pope that knows there are prominent clergy within the catholic regime who deny the holocaust.

I think it's warming to know that so many great people within British society, celebrities, scientists, authors and philosophers are speaking out against the papal visit. This is the great thing about secular democratic societies, we have the freedom to think and speak openly without fear of theological recrimination. Personalities such as Stephen Fry, Richard Dawkins, AC Grayling, Polly Toynbee, Peter Tatchell (his documentary on the pope was brilliant) and veteran author Claire Rayner have all spoke of their dislike of Benedict.

For me though it was Andrew Copson, chief executive of the British humanist society that phrased things so well, that the papacy 'use their powers to make peoples life worse'. People such as the woman from Manilla that Peter Tatchell interviewed with a large family, and getting larger as she was pregnant again. She said she didn't want to have more kids because she was struggling to feed her existing ones but because of her faith she couldn't use condoms and the local priest said she should have more children, shocking.

In closing, the pope isn't a kindly old fluffy man, he's a man that could make a difference to millions, especially in Africa but chooses not to. In fact he chooses not to do a lot of things like hand details of thousands of cases of child abuse over to secular states.

I want to end with a quote from Thomas Paine, English born American author and revolutionary.

"The world is my country, all mankind is my brethren, and to do good is my religion"

The fact being you don't need religion to do good.

Why I Don't Do Religion, Part 1

I was born in the late 1960's and in retrospect I was glad I made my debut on earth during this era. When I refer to this era, I mean a time when technology was advancing at break neck speed, attitudes were becoming more liberal and people were beginning to think more openly.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet though because closed minded spectres revered in books long from the past still had firm root in modern day societies thinking. People were still using religion to control others, channel their thinking and play on conscience en mass.

As a kid my childhood was fairly unremarkable but contented. I was a sickly child with an overbearing protective mother and a pragmatic father. We were a working class family and I remember my parents striving hard for many things and toiling long hours at a local factory. I spent a good deal of time with my grandparents on the next road who'd had an even harder working class upbringing.

My parents and grandparents didn't really do religion, occasionally my gran would show old copies of the bible she'd received from previous generations but that was about it. I suspect my mother was open minded and a little spiritual, she kept a neutral stance on it really whilst my father never really mentioned it. They were though both of the opinion that should I want to discover faith later on I was free to do so but they would not foist it upon me and have me baptised. It was to be my choice later in life, an informed choice when I better understood such issues and the gravity of it all.

My education began, the curriculum of course contained elements of religion. Most notable in those early years was the daily assembly where all the pupils gathered, sang songs and said prayer. In those formative days though I didn't understand some of the biblical words and references but I enjoyed the communal feel and the chance to sing, in my innocence I paid little attention to the bigger picture and meaning. Occasionally through those early years vicars would come in and do the preaching bit and organisations would visit yearly and give us small versions of the new testament as gifts. I tried reading it but made little sense of it.

On to middle school which was pretty much the same routine, as my thinking developed and my ethics and conscience grew it became apparent that I often thought about the consequences of things and if the big man upstairs was watching - so I began to fear him a little. To be fair I wasn't an overly bright youngster, in my infant years I could tell the time at an early age and was good at writing but I was terrible at maths and probably had dyscalculia (dyslexia with numbers) to a degree. Later at middle school I only tended to be good at subjects I was actually interested in, these mainly being history, English and ironically on joining middle school - religious education (R.E). In the first year of middle school the curriculum was set before we could choose our preferred subjects the following year and R.E was one of those set subjects, as it had lots of (as I then thought) historical elements I embraced it, plus I really liked the guy that teached it, who was also my form tutor. I recall getting 63% in the exam, more than anyone in my class and my form and R.E teacher urging me to continue with my studies but something happened around that time that made me rethink things and change my perspective.

I can't recall in detail the whole of events but most of it has stuck with me to this day. I was approached walking home from the local boy scout's group one night by a local man who'd visited the scout hall for some reason or another. He told me he was setting up a new youth group and wanted some young responsible people such as myself (yeah right!) to help out and would I be interested? Of course I was young and impressionable not to mention flattered to be asked. I was a little knowledgeable of this man, and so were my family as he lived fairly nearby and worked for the local newspaper. So, I went along with him the following week to the new youth group. In his car I pressed for details of what the group would involve and what we 'd be doing, he seemed evasive in his reply. I recall being taken to a large house on the outskirts of town and on entering found most of the group were younger than me, and all of them seemed polite and amiable, almost too accepting in a sense. We were then told we were going to watch a film on video, to much excitement, as video was the brand new media of the day. The film turned out to be a christian one, preaching morals at every turn and demanding worship and obedience to the big guy allegedly upstairs. The film tried to be subtle but soon became a blatent moralistic christian affair with little doubt regarding the message it was conveying. Elaboration would be pointless here as I am sure you can imagine what such christian films contain. I felt unnerved, awkward and didn't want to be there. Then after what seemed like the longest film ever we were asked to kneel and pray. I went along with it and mumbled wanting the whole experience to end as it didn't feel right, in fact it felt uncomfortable.

On the way home I was the last to be dropped off in the car. The man who'd organised it and asked me along stopped short of my house and wanted to chat. There's no doubt he was charismatic and very eloquent as I recall but he also seemed to be pressuring me between the nice white teeth smiles. It was coercion to say the least and even a young and impressionable mind knows when something doesn't feel right. I told him I wasn't sure I believed, something didn't feel right about it all and perhaps the group wasn't for me. He didn't like that and became more firm, playing on my emotions and mind with subtleties and word play. I wasn't an adult and probably therefore couldn't debate or argue well, I just knew it felt wrong, slightly sinister and at the earliest opportunity I made my excuses and left the car telling him I wasn't interested in attending again. I told my parents who were concerned but also proud in a sense that I'd made my own mind up on such things, they also told me to avoid the guy in future and were not best pleased about things but as nothing wrong had occurred there was no need for confrontation, just for myself to be aware next time I guess.

From that moment on began my questioning of religion albeit in a quiet personal way.

I also recall a guy in my class at school, a quiet yet witty lad by the name of Darren. His parents were Jehovah's witnesses and I remember in R.E class he wasn't allowed to participate, just to read his own JW bible, he also wasn't allowed to do some activities or attend assembly. I would often chat to him about how he felt about his faith, the fact he couldn't indulge in things at Christmas with us all etc. The answers I got were that he felt miserable but he had no choice but to follow his fathers wishes until he was older. My heart really went out to him sometimes as he sat there alone in the class with only his JW bible to read as we went and had fun doing various things. Shortly after leaving school I saw him again and he told me he'd turned his back on it all and felt he had his life back again. Hopefully he was now free to explore life without the controlling restrictions of religion.

I've had a few encounters with Jehovah's witnesses since and of course now I am an adult and can debate with clarity and conviction but what annoys me about them is they always seem to have children or young adults with them when they visit, great leverage really as nobody likes to vociferously argue whilst younger people are around. In my last encounter with them, an older man who constantly quoted from their version of the bible was accompanied by a lad of 16 or 17 years, smartly dressed and looked a bit like David Beckham. After some debate I turned from the old fool and asked the young lad with glazed eyes 'why aren't you out doing sports, chasing girls and living life to the fullest whilst you are young and in your prime?' There was no reply only a worried expression, he didn't want to step out of line obviously. I just find it all very sad that young people can be seemingly brainwashed with lies and conscience eroding stories that have little truth or historical fact at all. You can be a good person without any religious prattling.

I appreciate compared to others that may have had staunch religious upbringings at Catholic schools or similar, my experience of faith or religion hasn't been too full on, though I suspect many of those people never took things too seriously at times either and questioned things too.

As for the rest of my younger years, I decided to pay little attention to religion and live my life, enjoy what it has to offer as it is beyond doubt in my mind that this is the only life we have, as there is no proof of an afterlife, that is just wish thinking on mankind's part. It's only in these later years I feel I need to be outspoken about the wrongs of religion and that people should be free to make their own choices and be allowed free thinking without having to be subjected to dim rhetoric and fables from the insular times of the past.

The bottom line for religion and young people is that in my opinion we don't need it. Parents can instill perfectly good morals, discipline and the difference between what is right and wrong without any religious influence and doctrine, it's that simple. To threaten children that there is a big bogeyman upstairs watching their every move and they could go to hell if they don't conform to the word of others in effect in my opinion a form of sublime mental thought control and a form of child abuse that sadly is tolerated in today's society by millions.

Lace Market District

I pass through the Lace Market in Nottingham almost on a weekly basis, it's an area of Nottingham I really like. It kind of feels like a small town within a city. It's home to lots of old types of buildings and architecture, corporate business, bars and colleges. When I stroll through there in a morning it's fairly quiet and to say it's in a busy city has a certain serenity about it.

Anyway, here's some photos I've taken recently of the lace market area when passing through.

Hawking

Stephen Hawking is a genius of our times, a man of considered rational thoughts and despite his frailties has heroic qualities, I'm sure the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche would have considered him an 'Übermensch' who embodied the better qualities of mankind, much like Wagner who Nietzsche idolised (but never saw eye to eye with).

Hawking is indeed one of the great scientific thinkers of today and although I personally can't understand some of the stuff he writes (I was never good at maths, physics and chemistry) I try and take on board as much of it as I can.

The last few days have seen most newspapers in a science Vs religion debate, letters pages have been filled with arguments, counter arguments and at times vitriol (most of the vitriol being from the religious kind).

Hawking has stated that 'Science leaves no room for god in the creation of the universe' and of course this has rattled the religious establishment severely. The Times front page today shows rabbi's, imams' and archbishops et al venting their displeasure at such a statement and also projecting their warped reasoning's. Of course these are the people who are happy to believe people can live till several hundred years old and that Adam named all species of the earth in genesis (I'm guessing that could of taken some time!).

Personally I am glad the gloves are off against organised religion at the moment, that people are questioning things with rational thought and scientific processes. It's about time mankind took more steps to shake off the old fetters of religion and myths laid down by ignorant men long ago (I'm starting to sound like Bertrand Russell here) and stride into the future with open logical and sensible minds.

I'm not against people having faith, as I can see what a comfort blanket it can be and some faith's such as Buddhism do have wise words but I am wholeheartedly against organised religion that seeks to control minds and lives with the fear of fairy tales. Reading the Times today it seems that religious powers that be are united in protecting their chosen faith's when the irony is they cannot agree on a singular faith at all.

If mankind had invested more energies and time in knowledge, learning and sciences instead of biblical scaremongering and pointless wars then my guess is we'd be travelling the stars right now and cancer would have been a long forgotten thing of the past.

I've long been planning a blog (possibly a long one) on my experiences and thoughts on religion. I've made some notes and ideally I need to type it up first, and probably edit it several times but hopefully in will be posted at some point in the forthcoming weeks.

September

September has arrived and what a lovely day it was to begin the month. It's always a bitter/sweet month for me in some ways. I love the late summer feel and warm but not overpowering temperatures but on the downside September will always be a month that I remember losing my mother.

This morning as I stood at the train station waiting for the train to Nottingham I felt positive as a hot air balloon drifted lazily in the distance. I felt upbeat and invigorated by the chilled morning air. As it turns out it was a good day, lots of thinking, lots of smiles and a fair bit of time between projects in Nottingham to be happy in my own company in the sunshine.

You'll have to squint a bit to see the balloon in the distance.

The Unwashed

The press in general and especially the odious Daily Express who loves to churn out doom on a regular basis are seemingly laying the smack down on the unemployed without mercy at the moment. They want you to think the unemployed are the great unwashed responsible for nearly everything going wrong in the country today. It's easy for the government and the press to lay the blame with people out of work, after all they are an easy target but are the newspaper editors and politicians really in touch? Do they empathise with the man in the street that may have just lost his job, or a single parent struggling to hold down a part time job and raise a child?

Have we become a society that is so divided we can look down on the less fortunate so readily? I ask you, who has the moral high ground in say a boss that plays games on Facebook for hours a week in his office whilst doing nothing or the man/woman who is out desperately searching for a job? And let's be honest here, jobs that just aren't there.

The government must be revelling in the press headlines at the moment, it makes there job easier when it comes to purging the less fortunate or making them even poorer.

I will readily admit that there are people that use and abuse the benefit system to their advantage but this has been going on for years now, through different governments. Gradually as Britain has shut down over the last 30 odd years and lost its industry successive governments haven't addressed the problems of growing unemployment, training and a growing populace in general. Back in the 80s the Tory government had the Youth Training Scheme but everyone knows it was just a way of keeping the unemployment figures down and giving employers free reign to exploit cheap labour, believe me, there was little training involved in the YTS.

Apprenticeships are seemingly unheard of these days were once they were commonplace. Initiatives aren't being taken to remedy the growing underclass. Most young people from working class families or families on benefits have low literacy levels but lets be honest society is on decline in many different ways.

I'm not sure if we are still actually in a recession technically, I suspect we are, jobs aren't readily available for sure. I realise there's problems, I realise people do take advantage but most importantly I realise there are genuine people out there wanting to work. The press will play devils advocate and raise questions regarding unemployed people or foreigners taking jobs because it's easy pickings. The press loves to peddle misery and be divisive, out of touch editors love to curry favour with out touch politicians whilst quaffing wine and eating business lunches unawares of thousands of miserable people out there desperately wanting work.

We are becoming more of a divided nation, a case of those of have, and those that have not. I'm pretty sure we've all used benefits of some sort in the past, especially as the last couple of decades have been turbulent employment wise. What we have in the benefit system is an amazing thing, unique in the world, like the NHS. Before we chastise the unemployed, berate people for claiming some form of helpful benefit take a moment think about the plight of those that genuinely need it and realise that the majority that do need it outweigh the ones that abuse the system.

As for me, I won't be joining silly Facebook groups that denounce the unemployed, I won't be buying into fluctuating figures of this and that regarding scrounging people on benefits from the press. There are thousands of people out there that need benefits, disabled people, war veterans, people with mental health - who are we to label them lesser citizens?

I feel for the average man out there that may have lost his job and may be losing hope due to the sense of apathy that comes with being out of work. As a nation though it seems the powers that be would prefer us to pour scorn upon them, decry them and lay the blame on them when it is past governments (mainly the Tories but Labour are guilty too) who have sold British industry out and encouraged cheap imports that are culpable.

Just Beer

Once upon a time pubs were places of tradition and character, places to socialise and forget your woes, places of laughter and a damn good English pint. Alas these days pubs and bars are fickle places, often changing hands, being refurbished or re-branded so they are appealing for the younger drinker. In some respects the traditional pub has been dying a slow death for a good while, many a country pub you pass are boarded up or in disrepair and in the towns and cities many pubs have been bought and turned into shops or living accommodation.

In Newark where I live some pubs have closed and new ones have opened. Most new pubs these days of course need to be versatile to bring the punters in, offering food, entertainment or other facilities to make things pay. If you think the days of traditional English pubs that just serve real ale were being consigned to history, slowly being swallowed up by big pub chains and turned into something else - then think again.

It's not often I get excited about pubs these days, not many really appeal to me in truth. Then suddenly a place comes along that captures my imagination, and that place is called 'Just Beer'.

Four local lovers of real ale have opened 'Just Beer' in town, in the swan and salmon yard near the river. The beauty of Just Beer is that it is a simple affair, no frippery, no neon lights, no advertising boards, no loud music - just a bar, chairs, tables and already a good atmosphere. Just Beer isn't big inside, it's small but that adds to the social aspect because it's conducive to socialising, people aren't sat in different corners staring at each other or being distracted by the television. I've been in several times now with friends and it's just nice to indulge in the increasingly forgotten art of conversation and socialising.

Four beers and and a cider are sold, all from local micro breweries - it's all nice and simple, no baffling array of drinks just quality local beer. When I'd sat in the pub for a while and soaked things in it all made sense and certainly is a refreshing change to Newark's pub scene.

Without wanting to go on about things it's fair to say I know a good pint, years of drinking the stuff for a start and working in a brewery for a good few years gift you with knowing good beer from bad and the beer in 'Just Beer' has been excellent. I'm not a real ale sycophant, I like it sure but I'll never be a real ale purist (I do like a lager when it's hot), that said I will definitely be spending more time in Just Beer and I can only wish it well for the future and commend the lads down there for doing such a great job with conviction and enthusiasm.

You can read more about 'Just Beer' - Here.

Robin Hood's Bay

And so to the last of my sojourn to the north east Yorkshire coast - Robin Hood's Bay. I did have very vague memories of this place from childhood, mainly of it being very steep, it seems on arriving there my memory hadn't let me down!

To put it simply, Robin Hood's Bay is a beautiful little place. A maze of little alleyways and streets festooned with shops and interesting houses, it really is like stepping back in time to the 19th century. It's a place of much history but sadly the the likelihood of the famous Mr Hood going there are probably more folklore than fact.

I asked Gary what was his favourite place of our visit? 'Robin Hood's Bay' he replied with firm conviction. I nodded in agreement. So here are the photos, enjoy them and I urge you to visit this lovely place and take in its rustic charm, magic and beauty.

Whitby

It's been many a year since I have been to Whitby, in fact this was only my second visit. My first visit to Whitby was as a young teenager and my memories are blurred to say the least. On arriving there with Gary I was taken aback by how beautiful Whitby is, it gave me a similar buzz I get when visiting Camden. Though I love all things gothic and know Whitby has goth festivals I just haven't got around to going there sooner, shame really. Many know of course that Whitby is famous for being mentioned in Bram Stokers 'Dracula'. Whitby certainly has plenty of history, 'Whitby' meaning in old Norse 'White Settlement' but it was also a Saxon town before that called 'Streonshal'. It was a place of religious meetings (the synod of Whitby) before the Vikings destroyed the original abbey. Later it was a small fishing port before precious stones were found in the area, the rock needed for 'alum' in medieval times and the black stone known as 'jet'.

The Chef Rick Stein also claims that the best fish and chip shop can be found in Whitby which is called the 'Magpie Cafe'.

I loved Whitby, the abbey was amazing though a tiring ascent but well worth it for the views. I really do need so spend more time there and I'm sure I will in the near future. As we left I felt deeply contented inside for rediscovering such an amazing place, Whitby is definitely a place I really identify with on many levels.