Greece

It's really sad to see what's happening in Greece and the burden they now have after the latest bail out. Greece is such a beautiful nation steeped in history and culture, my heart really goes out to them and the average Greek person that is having to suffer this latest set back due to the financial situation. Greece and Greek people, my thoughts are with you.

Starbucks

In my town there's a whole panoply of coffee shops and tea rooms ranging from the more recognised branded names such as Starbucks and Costa to the 'old dear' type tea rooms. We also have a few privately owned select establishments, one called 'Stray's' springs immediately to mind. Living in a small town I feel quite spoilt that there's such a good selection to frequent. My place of choice though is Starbucks. Usually I veer away from corporate chains but my local Starbucks has several advantages in my opinion over it's rivals.

The first advantage is the location, it sits on the eastward side of the market place and has a great view of what's happening through its large windows which is great for people watching and observing daily goings on. It also seems to be in best position from lunchtime onwards to catch the sun and another bonus being it has ample outside seating.

Secondly, it's clean, tidy and the staff are friendly and attentive, they regularly seem to be bringing sample drinks around for you to try.

Thirdly, it has an hours free wi-fi available, always handy if I am in there with my ipad.

Lastly it has my favourite drink which is called 'Tazo chai tea latte' which is a very frothy cinnamon tasting drink that I find irresistible.

Starbucks it can be argued isn't the cheapest place to drink and this is true compared to my local pub where I can get a pot of tea or coffee with free refill for a measly £1, a large cup of Tazo chai in Starbucks is £3. So, with that said, I don't drink in Starbucks daily, the local being convenient and cheap and good for irrelevant chat and a read of the daily papers. Costa coffee isn't too far away and that in truth has a lovely more plush interior that others. Strays on Middle Gate has that continental feel, which Jazz music hanging casually in the background and reasonably priced decent food.

I guess Starbucks is the place where I feel I treat myself a little, I can indulge in watching passers by, surf the net and sip my favourite drink and if I don't want the more decadent drinks they do regular black coffee with a refill.

Have A Good Holiday !

As regular readers will not I'm not the Christmas type, being a rabid atheist and all that, but regardless, I wish all to have a good time over the holiday period, as you can see from the photo below, I was last night!

Scotland Alone?

Alex Salmond the first Scottish minister and leader of the SNP keeps banging on about Scottish independence in the news. Whilst I admire his patriotism I can also see his evident stupidity. Both our countries have been intertwined for hundreds of years now both culturally and financially and whilst I respect the Scot's for being a traditional folk, probably more so than us English my feeling is they'd have a hard time on their own. Mr Salmond bangs the patriotic drum about power being at Westminster but as we all know Scotland makes many decisions alone and has its own parliament. Whilst he points to the fact we are cutting Scottish spending and creaming north sea oil revenue he negates such facts as massive benefit and health subsidies for Scotland that they receive.

If Scotland went solo it'd soon feel the pinch, you don't have to be a wizard to do the maths, less people thus less tax and a whole myriad of other problems they'd come up against not being in a union. Personally I'm indifferent, if Scotland went it alone I'm sure the government would have less to worry about and more money to hand. Most people see Scotland as some picture postcard country with idyllic vistas and quaint villages, well let me tell you I've seen some parts of Glasgow that I'd never want to see again for health and personal safety reasons. On visiting my ex girlfriends village a few years back I'd not want to ever go there again, kids riding around on roofs of cars and rampant alcoholism, Scotland like anywhere else is not without it's own problems.

I like the Scots, in my experience they are warm genuine and very proud people but they are part of this island too and I genuinely think our futures lay together for obvious mutual benefit.

So ... That Was August

August has been a bitter sweet symphony of a month by no mistake. Gran was cremated last Friday, it was a nice ceremony that highlighted that despite her diminutive stature she was a strong woman, hard working and devoted to family. The only downside to the service was my grans involvement with religion was embellished by the vicar and described as a 'quiet faith' but it was so quiet I never heard her mention it ever. My grans famous catch phrase was 'Charity begins at home' and that was very much how she thought, family was paramount.

I don't often do the family thing but I must confess I did enjoy seeing some of my family after the service for a drink and a bite to eat and I shall try and make more of an effort to keep in touch with some of then in the future. I'll miss my gran, she was a good woman and very kind and loving towards me, she is an irreplaceable woman in my life.

Onto lighter things now! Gary came back early in the month for nearly two weeks, he didn't bring his usual sunshine days but on the days we did stuff I couldn't really complain. We headed to the coast one day to visit Bridlington, Hornsea and Spurn head. Bridlington seems to have lost its childhood magic for me and now is much like many other English seaside towns in the fact it has lost much of its former glory and appeal. It now feels like a run down town by the side of the sea with a very unremarkable harbour. There's tacky bars adorning the sea front and expensive children's rides and amusements. I won't be in a hurry to visit again, though we did find a very good retro shop that sold excellent t-shirts and memorabilia.

Hornsea was a small affair but quite nice if you have a family and want the benefits of a small quiet seaside resort which also has quite a quaint village tucked behind the more contemporary sea front area.

Spurn head was pretty amazing, £2 to get in with the car and lots of lots of quiet beach overlooked by what I think to be an unused light house. The whole place has a kind of majestic beauty of sorts, super long swathes of quiet beach stretching out on a delicate thin finger of land in the North sea. It was a memorable day and we drove over the Humber bridge home.

August has been a strange month for sure, highs and low emotionally, the graphics card on the computer blew up and a good friend moved over to Lincoln to live, and good luck to him. To be fair its not that far away and will probably open up new social avenues for him and his partner, and of course me if they invite me over!

Tv Of The Month

In all honesty it's not been a bad month on Tv. Shooting Stars with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer returned with much hilarity on BBC2, Monday 9pm or there abouts. This long running comedy quiz show (I say that loosely) just gets better with age and still manages to be fresh after all these years, it's surreal, it's bizarre and more importantly it's a bit of irreverent fun.

Reality show Big Brother entered the fray in resurrected sense on Channel 5 (daily 10pm) after it was dropped by Channel 4 some time ago. First up is the celebrity version before the long running public one begins proper. There was much hype surrounding it but to be honest a B-list celebrities are all that entered the recreated opulent house and I turned off after just two episodes, according to viewing figures over 5 million viewers dumped it after the first night too.

Dragon's Den is also in full swing on BBC2 (Sunday 9pm usually) but I really feel the format is looking tired now despite the entrance of new down to earth female dragon 'Hilary Devey'. I'll still stick with it as there's new innovations of interest but generally it's much of the same.

Cheesy reality talent show 'The X-Factor' also reprised on UK screens this month (ITV Saturday 8pm) but even though all the judges are new despite Louis Walsh it still feels very 'Simon Cowell'. Mr Cowell is already ruffling feathers by replacing chart singer Adele with Sinitta for the boot camp stages at the alleged judges houses. Though I must confess to watching the early shows its just purely for laughs as deluded hopefuls try and prove they have what it takes to be the next manufactured robotic pop act that is ultimately launched by Cowell's label 'Syco'. Fair play to Mr Cowell, he plays a shrewd game and why scout for new talent when you can get it to come to you via a televised format? Sadly a large amount of the younger British public buy into the whole thing because of the show and thus we have groomed manufactured mundane pop acts all over the UK charts.

You can't blame some people for trying but sadly a good majority think they are recording artists after getting through the first audition. The fact is the finalists are fast tracked to fame and don't really have to work hard at proving themselves like aspiring acts did years ago, it's all too easy via the X-Factor, the result is generic rubbish that end up doing an album of cover versions until they are dropped back into obscurity they were once plucked from, none will have longevity of the likes of the Rolling Stones or Bowie.

Next up was the excellent 'Seven wonders of the Buddhist world' (BBC2 24th Aug) presented by the very gorgeous Bettany Hughes. What a refreshing hour and 15 mins of great television as Bettany guided us around the world to view shrines and temples of the Buddhist world from Thailand to Cambodia, from Nepal to the USA. Regular readers know I'm not a faith orientated person but buddhism does interest me as it is one of the few faiths in the world with a lot of common sense attached to it. I'd been to the Buddha shrine on Lantau Island in Hong Kong several years ago and I found it to be an amazing place and I smiled broadly in fond memory when Bettany visited it on the show.

Lastly we have 'Francesco's Italy tip to toe' on BBC4 Tuesday 8pm) in which eternally smiling elfin Italian Francesco da Mosta travels from his native Venice to the toe end of Italy whilst criss-crossing this beautiful and historic country. I blogged about him a few years ago when he did another travelogue style program sailing from Venice in search of the old Venetian empire around the Adriatic coast, Greece and Istanbul. Francesco is a proud Italian historian/traveller with plenty of character and deserves wider recognition for his great shows and books.

Below is the Buddha shrine at Lantau island, Hong Kong, featured on Bettany Hughes's 'Seven wonders of the Buddhist world' . I took this photo when I visited some years back.

Well Voted Malta

Malta is a place I like, the people are lovely, it's steeped history and it has a certain charm that is hard to explain. I've only been to Malta twice, last year in fact, yet I want to return and understand the people and the place even more. I noticed last week in the news that through a referendum the people had voted in favour of divorce, being one of a handful of countries left where divorce wasn't yet legal, though a legal separation could be granted after some time I believe.

I realise Malta is a staunchly catholic country but its good to see them moving forward and making decisions for a more secular future and not fettered by past religious chains.

Beer Festival Fun

Here's a photo my friend Danni took, usually I don't take a good photo but I like this one, it was taken last night at the Newark Beer Festival and a cracking night it was too! From Left to right as you look at it are Dominic, Ryan and me!

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.

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?

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

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.

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.

Staithes

So here we go with another installment of the journey down the North Yorkshire coast, after the surreal Skinningrove we headed to Staithes and nearly missed it! Riding along in the car we passed through the edge of the village, and to be fair when we saw the sign and a few houses we thought 'Is this it?' and carried on driving. Something didn't sit right with me and I said to Gary 'We've missed something, it looked nice on the Coast programme when I saw it'. So we parked up and used Gary's ipad to see if we'd missed something roadwise, it appeared we had. Heading back we drove down a lane towards where we suspected the sea was and stumbled across a car park. It appeared we'd just passed through the modern top road of Staithes and fringe bits of the more contempory village. After parking up we followed the signs and a steep road down to the old village proper and were pleasantly surprised with what we found. I knew from the brief bit I'd seen on tv that artists came here to paint in Victorian times but seeing it close up and real for myself was amazing.

Staites is nestled in the cliff side and has a natural harbour and it also appears the legendary captain Cook spent some time here too. The streets down to and around Staithes are quite steep and certainly test your fitness but it's rewarding all the same. To sum up, Staithes is a lovely little fishing village with some interesting houses and great views, there's also a couple of pubs! Enjoy the photos!

Steep descent in Staithes

Lobster cages

harbour

Captain Cooks cottage, albeit rebuilt slightly.