Newstead Abbey

Some photos of a trip to Newstead Abbey last week. Famed for being the ancestral home of the poet Lord Byron. Byron lived there from the 1808 till 1814. You can see his private apartments, letters he wrote, poems, drawings and even the clothes he wore throughout the house. The abbey is set in around 300 acres of land that features lakes, mini castles and oriental gardens. It's a lovely house rich in history and it's even rumoured to be haunted!

Yup, Byron's bed !

Elated !!!

The football season kicks off and Notts County beat Bradford 5-0. Happy days !!!

Sven's-day !

I don't go to many games at all, in fact I haven't been in perhaps the last couple of years, I'm more of a fan than a supporter, in fact I'm not really sycophantic about football at all apart from enjoying world cups and watching out for my favourite team on a Saturday so imagine my glee when the below almost surreal story unfolded last night and today, Wednesday the 22nd, or otherwise know as Sven's-day!

Sven-Goran Eriksson, former England Manager has been announced as 'Director of Football' at my beloved Notts County. Call it uncanny but when the six o' clock news announced they'd tell you who Sven had been linked with on news at ten I instantly thought it was my team. I hastily searched google for news and my bizarre sixth sense was confirmed before my eyes, Sven was on his way to Meadow Lane, and my heart sang. It was only 2 years ago that Notts County bereft of luck and cash faced expulsion from the Football league, and being the worlds oldest league club it would have been a bitter tragedy. Jimmy Sirrel the old former Scottish manager was wheeled out, the man in the twilight of his years roused Meadow Lane with words of encouragement and County stayed up after scoring in the 80th minute.

I'm sure Sven with his extensive knowledge of the game and contacts will bring something good to Meadow Lane, after years in obscurity Notts County deserve to be back where they belong, in top flight football.

Nell

So it came to pass a couple of weeks back that 'Nell' my trusty desktop pc died. It had been on the cards for months really but I managed to keep her going in a cobbled together fashion. Nothing lasts forever as they say and computer components seem to change overnight these days! Nell, who got her nickname from the ships computer in the sci-fi movie 'Battle beyond the stars' has done really well over the 5 or so years I've had her. So now is the time to get a new model, which I'm actually thinking of having a friend build, far cheaper and more power for your money. After checking out ebuyer.com we worked out the fundamentals of a new pc which came to £666 (the beast!), ironically when we checked the same spec machine on PC world the spec was actually slightly less but the cost was an exorbitant £1,500. I still have my laptop for day to day stuff but I don't think you can beat a tower pc as a main hub for all computing activities.

Stapleford Wood

Some photos I took in Stapleford Wood on Thursday, didn't realise this place had been sitting on my doorstep and I didn't know about it! It was a lovely walk on a hot day in shaded woodland!

Jackson

The first record single I can remember buying with my pocket money was ‘Black Pudding Bertha’ by the Goodies in 1975. Not a great musical masterpiece by far but at that time I avidly watched the Goodies and being a child their surreal wackiness appealed to me. Later at the age of 10 I can remember two other singles I bought, one was Billy Joel’s ‘My Life’ and the other was The Jacksons and ‘Blame it on the Boogie’. I guess the latter song typified the era, Disco was at its height and I recall the summers being long and hot.

As a family we would sit and listen to the top 40 countdown on a Sunday evening, my dad would often tape the songs off the radio because as a working class family we couldn’t afford to go out and buy records all the time. They were magical days, quality time as a family, laughter, dance and song, and hilarity at my dad trying to time taping the songs to avoid the DJ talking!

So Michael Jackson is dead, long live Michael Jackson… do I really think that? The answer is no, not really. Firstly Blame it on the Boogie was the first and last Jackson record I bought, later as a teenager I discovered lots of different types of music, bought Smash Hits every week and became more aware musically to different styles of music. Of course back then Smash Hits was more informative that the gossip/celeb orientated one now. As I recall it had good features and printed song lyrics but I digress, back to Mr Jackson.

Of course when Michael Jackson died suddenly yesterday I was surprised but not completely shocked. That’s because his past exploits have always raised an eyebrow and my first reaction on hearing the news was ‘he’ll do anything to get out of those O2 concerts’ but that’s because I wasn’t really taking his death seriously at that point, such is his outrageous past.

So began a day of musings about Michael Jackson and what I really think. He’s termed the ‘Legendary king of pop music’ and I guess on paper that stands up well, record breaking signings by Sony and record breaking sales testify without doubt his fan base is massive but in my eyes he just isn’t up there with the greats. Sure a couple of his videos I like, Thriller and Scream (with Janet). Looking at a video tribute to him last night on channel 4 I can’t help thinking most of his dancing and video cardboard like backdrops are the same, some windy street corner, with the city as a backdrop or some rundown alleyway etc. Then we have the really self indulgent messiah stuff like the Earth Song video. But that phrase is very apt for Mr Jackson, I refer of course to ‘self indulgent’. In 1989 he had a reputed fortune of around 75 million and I’m betting at the time he died he actually had very little, the O2 concerts, merchandise and spin offs being his last gambit.

I’m not going to really go into the past controversies surrounding him, no doubt some were factual and some were calculated people trying to debase him, the rest of course is celebrity hype and speculation. You have to feel sorry for him really, since being a youngster he has known nothing but fame and all the trappings it brings, though in Michaels case it ranged from the bizarre to the absurd. Of course, he’s not alone here, most stars and celebrities have their quirks and styles but in reality Michael’s left him wide open to tabloid manipulation and mockery.

The truth is, I feel there are far more important and influential musicians out there past and present than Michael Jackson who in essence is basically a manufactured eccentric. His songs are generic his style and self indulgent presentation – the same. Is he up there with past greats? Many will see it that way, alas I don’t, and not because how he himself or the media have portrayed him but because of my own opinion.

Street Preachers

If there’s one thing that annoys me it’s street preachers. They stand on street corners, in front of churches, shopping centres and generally any public place where they can be heard decrying civilization in general. Usually they are fairly skilled orators and to stand in public and talk normally should be admired. If it was about politics or decent causes then I think that’s all well and good but to make the populace feel guilty for whom and what they are is just wrong. Street preachers are skilled at this, quoting the bible, quoting their own deluded views and generally bringing doom and gloom on people unless they seek salvation in god. It’s an old trick of course, it preys on the weak minded but thankfully these days few stop and heed their words of fiction and stupidity.

When I was in Lincoln last week there was one such street preacher sounding off against medicine and technology, basically saying it doesn’t help us but god does. Maybe I should have put my faith in god and not medicine when I needed my eye or hip surgery rather than putting my faith in my fellow human being.

Ironically that very day I had bought the book ‘why I am not a christian by Bertrand Russell’ just before I had come across the street preacher. The book is comprised of several essays by Russell but contains his lecture delivered on March 6th 1927 at Battersea town hall which bears the same title of the above book. At this point I want to quote some of that essay which is very fundamental to how I think when it comes to organised religion.

‘Religion is based, I think, primarily and mainly upon fear. It is partly the terror of the unknown and partly, as I have said, the wish to feel that you have a kind of elder brother who will stand by you in all your troubles and disputes. Fear is the basis of the whole thing -- fear of the mysterious, fear of defeat, fear of death. Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand in hand.’

And to conclude….

‘A good world needs knowledge, kindliness, and courage; it does not need a regretful hankering after the past or a fettering of the free intelligence by the words uttered long ago by ignorant men. It needs a fearless outlook and a free intelligence. It needs hope for the future, not looking back all the time toward a past that is dead, which we trust will be far surpassed by the future that our intelligence can create.’

Whilst I am not really against people having faith I am totally against people ramming their faith into you, telling you that you are a sinner and not pure, telling you that your life and decisions are wrong because this to me is against human free will and thinking, against what mankind has created for himself and is about. Whilst freedom of speech is quite acceptable in a large majority of the western world today you can’t help think that if these religious cranks had their way society would regress back to darker times when if you spoke against god you would have been burnt at the stake.

Children

To be honest I'm not a person that usually likes children or can see myself ever having any, that's my preference and personal reasoning. I've worked with teenagers in the past and I didn't really enjoy it and I usually avoid small children.

During the last week my friend has been over from Hong Kong with his family and I spent some time with them. They have a lovely 3 year old son who is fast growing up. As I walked through town with them his tiny hand slipped into mine as his parents were momentarily distracted looking into a shop window. At first I felt odd and then suddenly overcome with a strange but good feeling. As the day passed I interacted more, chatted and laughed with him and maybe felt a pang of wanting to be parent. Ironically a friend once said I'd make a really good parent.

Then yesterday when the young girl on 'Britains Got Talent' sang on tv and suddenly became so panicked she gasped and couldn't go on my heart went out to her, my throat contracted, a silent sob issued forth and I was gripped by her evident onset of nerves and anxiety. Despite her distress the great British public urged her on and applauded her and thankfully she was given a second chance later in the show.

The truth is, I will probably never have kids, I don't think the future is amazingly bright but I think if I had my time again, the circumstances were different then I would probably want to father a child…. Perhaps. Alas the practical side of me, the cynical side of me doesn't want kids and thinks that people need to think long and hard before they have them, and if they can provide for a future for them. It was good to feel that brief tiny glimmer of ‘inner parent’ within me though and I cannot deny it felt good.

Lincoln ... Once Again

Here are some photos of my day out in Lincoln earlier this week. A kind of business and pleasure trip with a tour around the cathedral with some clients to round the day off. Lincoln is such a lovely place, especially the area surrounding the cathedral. Though I think the cathedral is an amazing building organised religion isn't really my thing at all. I love the history to it but that's as far as it goes.

(Above) The Water Tower, and believe me it's massive when you get up close.

(Above) There are lots of archways like this around Lincon.

(Below) Steep Hill

(Above) A raiding party of ducks makes an attack on the exposed castle gate!

(Below) Is the fabled 'Lincoln Imp', the only such Imp to be found in the cathedral, he's the little fella lit up ... my kinda guy!

(Below) The cathedral organ.

(Above) An alter where you can light a candle and pray... if that's your thing!

(Above) A shrine.

(Above) Underneath the trapdoor are the original cathedral foundations.

(Above) A stained class window, the cathedral has several windows from different time periods.

Heart Warming

It's stories like the one below that are truly heart warming when you browse the world news with a cup of tea in a morning!

British Politics

Well it's in a right old state isn't it? I suspect many of us deep down knew politicians got plenty of perks and fringe benefits of the job but some of the recent excesses in expenses claims are just ridiculous and blatantly a slap in the face for us, the electorate. What makes it worse, is that when businessmen do it and it comes to light then politicians are quick to pour scorn on such actions.

You can bet that even though the house of parliament speaker has quit, he'll bag himself a fat pension and a peerage. Confidence in Labour is at an all time low, the man in the street rightly thinks the current government is a shambles. The man in the street also thinks the other political parties aren't fit for the job either.

Radical changes need to take place, rafts upon rafts of sweeping measures need to begin, and then, maybe then ... we can start to believe in the age old democracy this country has always had ... and been proud of.

Moving

So, I find myself packing boxes and moving home once again. This time it's more for practical reasons than anything. The new place is bigger, has central heating, is more private as it's on the second floor. The rent is a little more but not a great deal so I've got that covered.

Am I looking forward to the move? Well as always packing and organising such things can be stressful but I'll get there in the end and hopefully this move will be both beneficial and long lasting. As I sorted through things to throw out today I came across birthday cards and other reminders of my time here, and I can say with conviction that my two and a half years here has been nearly a 100% happy. I'm hoping the move also gives me a boost to motivate me a little more because I feel that my personal motivation has been lacking of late. Friday is the moving day, though I can sort of see it lasting a couple of days as I call in friends to help me when they can. If I don't blog before, see you in the new place!