Carrying on the Robert Plant review theme, here's a link to the gig at the Hammersmith Palais two days before the Forum gig mentioned in the previous post.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14936-1905489,00.html
A
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Sunday, December 18, 2005
The Mighty Reviewer
Me and me mate Clownman went to the Robert Plant gig at the Forum in London a couple of Tuesdays back. We got there early and thus got awesome seats in the front row upstairs. The support band was some hillbilly Yankee group whose name escapes me and who looked like they'd escaped from the freak show - heavily tattooed guitarist, huge hunch-backed upright bassist, geeky looking tall, skinny inbred singer with walk socks pulled up past his knees, an occasional giant woman fiddler and a drummer. In-ter-est-ing, is how I'd describe it.
Anyway, I'm here to talk about the Robert Plant gig not the freak show. So yeah it was a great gig with extra special meaning for me as I got to see a living, breathing member of LED ZEPPELIN – the greatest band ever, who have had such an impact on my life.
So the band comes on stage followed a moment later by the man himself to steadily increasing applause and they go into Freedom Fries off the Mighty Rearranger. The rest of the gig was not quite what I was expecting i.e. no 29 Palms or anything in fact before the last two solo albums (not counting the greatest hits). There were about six Led Zep songs - Black Dog, Going to California, When the Levee Breaks, Four Sticks, What is and What Should Never Be, and the encore of Whole Lotta Love, which brought about a standing ovation. All the Zeppelin songs were arranged differently than the album versions, I imagine because it wasn't Zeppelin playing them so he didn't want them compared directly.
As was to be expected they played a number off The Mighty Rearranger but surprisingly no Shine It All Around. I thought Tin Pan Valley, where Robert berates his peers for relying on their past glories, was particularly poignant as Rod Stewart was doing his cover band thing at Earls Court a few nights later. I certainly know which gig I’d rather be at!
I was very surprised at how good his voice still is and he hasn't lost any of the power and still moves really well. He was almost reserved at times and didn't act like the star of the show, with the other band members almost on an equal footing. He certainly didn’t take himself too seriously and joked with the audience, especially after dropping his tambourine by accident at the end of one song, which created a great atmosphere.
The Forum is a relatively small venue, which he said he loves and has seen a number of bands there himself, including The Cult. The gig was long sold-out and there was probably about 2 thousand which was nice and intimate (although not as small as his gig at the Hammersmith Palais on Sunday, which would have been cool to see) - Craig and I got front row upstairs so we had an awesome view.
The sound was pretty good although I felt the guitars were too loud early on and drowned out the vocals a bit much but they sorted that out. I forgot my earplugs so I was glad that the volume wasn’t ear splitting unlike the Motorhead gig that I went to down in Brixton a few weeks back which was also a very good gig, although I really don’t know how Lemmy is 1) still alive and 2) able to hear anything at all!
Anyway, so that was the night, awesome and something that I’ll remember for a long time, a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, time.
Anyway, I'm here to talk about the Robert Plant gig not the freak show. So yeah it was a great gig with extra special meaning for me as I got to see a living, breathing member of LED ZEPPELIN – the greatest band ever, who have had such an impact on my life.
So the band comes on stage followed a moment later by the man himself to steadily increasing applause and they go into Freedom Fries off the Mighty Rearranger. The rest of the gig was not quite what I was expecting i.e. no 29 Palms or anything in fact before the last two solo albums (not counting the greatest hits). There were about six Led Zep songs - Black Dog, Going to California, When the Levee Breaks, Four Sticks, What is and What Should Never Be, and the encore of Whole Lotta Love, which brought about a standing ovation. All the Zeppelin songs were arranged differently than the album versions, I imagine because it wasn't Zeppelin playing them so he didn't want them compared directly.
As was to be expected they played a number off The Mighty Rearranger but surprisingly no Shine It All Around. I thought Tin Pan Valley, where Robert berates his peers for relying on their past glories, was particularly poignant as Rod Stewart was doing his cover band thing at Earls Court a few nights later. I certainly know which gig I’d rather be at!
I was very surprised at how good his voice still is and he hasn't lost any of the power and still moves really well. He was almost reserved at times and didn't act like the star of the show, with the other band members almost on an equal footing. He certainly didn’t take himself too seriously and joked with the audience, especially after dropping his tambourine by accident at the end of one song, which created a great atmosphere.
The Forum is a relatively small venue, which he said he loves and has seen a number of bands there himself, including The Cult. The gig was long sold-out and there was probably about 2 thousand which was nice and intimate (although not as small as his gig at the Hammersmith Palais on Sunday, which would have been cool to see) - Craig and I got front row upstairs so we had an awesome view.
The sound was pretty good although I felt the guitars were too loud early on and drowned out the vocals a bit much but they sorted that out. I forgot my earplugs so I was glad that the volume wasn’t ear splitting unlike the Motorhead gig that I went to down in Brixton a few weeks back which was also a very good gig, although I really don’t know how Lemmy is 1) still alive and 2) able to hear anything at all!
Anyway, so that was the night, awesome and something that I’ll remember for a long time, a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, time.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Friday, November 18, 2005
The Great Gig in the Sky
So I went along to the UK Hall of Fame Music Awards last night and it turned out to be one of the greatest gigs I’ve ever been to. Great venue – Alexandra Palace in North London, well organised, great sound (especially considering they changed the gear for every band) but best of all I got to see some of the people that have changed my life.
The show started with the Aretha Franklin being inducted –she wasn’t there as apparently she doesn’t like flying. The Eurythmics were next up and after being inducted by Sir Bob Geldolf, played a couple of songs - Missionary Man and I think the other one was Thorn In My Side (but don’t quote me on that). They sounded great – well Annie did at least – I couldn’t hear Dave’s guitar.
Next to be inducted was Jimi Hendrix, with Mitch Mitchell (Jimi’s drummer from the Jimi Hendrix Experience) and Slash, resplendid in obligatory top hat (and who lit up a ciggie onstage) doing the honours. They then got up and jammed Stone Free and Hey Joe with Billy Cox (Jimi’s bass player from The Band of Gypsies) and this time it was the bass I couldn’t hear, although admittedly Slash was pretty loud. I didn’t recognise the singer but may work out who it was when I watch the show on Channel 4 tonight. It was a jam in the purest sense of the word and it got a bit loose at times, especially in Stone Free, but they pulled it together a bit more in Hey Joe. Be that as it may it was still fantastic just to see these legends playing together, and Slash’s tone was awesome.
Now my memory of the order of events from here starts to cloud, but it doesn’t really matter.
Bob Dylan was inducted although he was playing Manchester last night so he couldn’t be there, Alanis Morrisette performed a couple of his songs, however, it wasn’t a performance to remember.
The Who were inducted by Ray Davies of the Kinks, however, they didn’t play.
Pete Townsend inducted Pink Floyd and although they didn’t play it was still great to see Dave Gilmore and Nick Mason, who said it was reward for a lifetime of bad drummer jokes, before proceeding to tell one. Roger Waters was beamed up behind the others on the stage in a live video link from Rome, and didn’t seem too impressed that Dave had referred to him as a “passenger” in Pink Floyd’s career - maybe no more reunions after that comment!!
Sir Geoff Hurst inducted The Kinks before a performance of a couple of their songs by The Pretenders.
Joy Division/New Order were inducted and then played a song by each incarnation and dedicated the second song, Love Will Tear Us Apart, to Ian Curtis, the original singer of Joy Division who killed himself 25 years ago.
AC/DC’s Angus Young inducted Ozzy Osbourne into the hall of fame before the madman himself proceeded to bring the house down with an extra high energy performance of Crazy Train with Zakk Wylde on guitar. This was an extra special bonus for me as I hadn’t expected Zakk to be playing - he’s right up there in my top five guitarists of all time and definitely my favourite of the past 15 years. This was pure “chill down the spine” stuff and the crowd went absolutely crazy for it, proving even though he’s approaching 60 the Ozz Man can still rock with the best of them. He certainly knows how to work a crowd and many of the younger bands today could certainly learn a thing or two from him. This was the true Ozzy, not the cringe inducing version that we see on the Osbournes.
Queen’s Brian May then inducted Black Sabbath into the hall of fame and once again Ozzy was back on stage with the founders of heavy metal. This was another “chill down the spine” moment for me as I finally got to see one of my favourite bands live in the flesh. The only problem was a technical one, as Tony Iommi’s guitar kept cutting out, however, nothing could dampen this moment for me. It brought back memories of when I was learning to play the guitar and staying up till the early hours of the morning trying to get all these Sabbath songs down.
Last, but certainly not least, to be inducted as an honorary member was the late great John Peel, for who music is certainly the worse for his passing. His brother and wife accepted the award and spoke a few words, before The Buzzcocks were joined on stage by The Datsuns who together performed a version of The Buzzcocks song “Ever Fallen In Love”. This song has been re-recorded as a tribute to Peel by an all-star line up and is to be released this coming Monday with all proceeds going to Amnesty International.
Ohhhh!!!!! What a night!!!! I’m still buzzing out over it, and would pay double the £86 that I paid to see it again. Let’s see where the Pussycat Dolls, Crazy Frog and all the other insipid, crap bands are in 20-30 years time, who????????
The show started with the Aretha Franklin being inducted –she wasn’t there as apparently she doesn’t like flying. The Eurythmics were next up and after being inducted by Sir Bob Geldolf, played a couple of songs - Missionary Man and I think the other one was Thorn In My Side (but don’t quote me on that). They sounded great – well Annie did at least – I couldn’t hear Dave’s guitar.
Next to be inducted was Jimi Hendrix, with Mitch Mitchell (Jimi’s drummer from the Jimi Hendrix Experience) and Slash, resplendid in obligatory top hat (and who lit up a ciggie onstage) doing the honours. They then got up and jammed Stone Free and Hey Joe with Billy Cox (Jimi’s bass player from The Band of Gypsies) and this time it was the bass I couldn’t hear, although admittedly Slash was pretty loud. I didn’t recognise the singer but may work out who it was when I watch the show on Channel 4 tonight. It was a jam in the purest sense of the word and it got a bit loose at times, especially in Stone Free, but they pulled it together a bit more in Hey Joe. Be that as it may it was still fantastic just to see these legends playing together, and Slash’s tone was awesome.
Now my memory of the order of events from here starts to cloud, but it doesn’t really matter.
Bob Dylan was inducted although he was playing Manchester last night so he couldn’t be there, Alanis Morrisette performed a couple of his songs, however, it wasn’t a performance to remember.
The Who were inducted by Ray Davies of the Kinks, however, they didn’t play.
Pete Townsend inducted Pink Floyd and although they didn’t play it was still great to see Dave Gilmore and Nick Mason, who said it was reward for a lifetime of bad drummer jokes, before proceeding to tell one. Roger Waters was beamed up behind the others on the stage in a live video link from Rome, and didn’t seem too impressed that Dave had referred to him as a “passenger” in Pink Floyd’s career - maybe no more reunions after that comment!!
Sir Geoff Hurst inducted The Kinks before a performance of a couple of their songs by The Pretenders.
Joy Division/New Order were inducted and then played a song by each incarnation and dedicated the second song, Love Will Tear Us Apart, to Ian Curtis, the original singer of Joy Division who killed himself 25 years ago.
AC/DC’s Angus Young inducted Ozzy Osbourne into the hall of fame before the madman himself proceeded to bring the house down with an extra high energy performance of Crazy Train with Zakk Wylde on guitar. This was an extra special bonus for me as I hadn’t expected Zakk to be playing - he’s right up there in my top five guitarists of all time and definitely my favourite of the past 15 years. This was pure “chill down the spine” stuff and the crowd went absolutely crazy for it, proving even though he’s approaching 60 the Ozz Man can still rock with the best of them. He certainly knows how to work a crowd and many of the younger bands today could certainly learn a thing or two from him. This was the true Ozzy, not the cringe inducing version that we see on the Osbournes.
Queen’s Brian May then inducted Black Sabbath into the hall of fame and once again Ozzy was back on stage with the founders of heavy metal. This was another “chill down the spine” moment for me as I finally got to see one of my favourite bands live in the flesh. The only problem was a technical one, as Tony Iommi’s guitar kept cutting out, however, nothing could dampen this moment for me. It brought back memories of when I was learning to play the guitar and staying up till the early hours of the morning trying to get all these Sabbath songs down.
Last, but certainly not least, to be inducted as an honorary member was the late great John Peel, for who music is certainly the worse for his passing. His brother and wife accepted the award and spoke a few words, before The Buzzcocks were joined on stage by The Datsuns who together performed a version of The Buzzcocks song “Ever Fallen In Love”. This song has been re-recorded as a tribute to Peel by an all-star line up and is to be released this coming Monday with all proceeds going to Amnesty International.
Ohhhh!!!!! What a night!!!! I’m still buzzing out over it, and would pay double the £86 that I paid to see it again. Let’s see where the Pussycat Dolls, Crazy Frog and all the other insipid, crap bands are in 20-30 years time, who????????
Have a Drink on Me
Apparently I have to do this for Jangles, so here goes, although it will be short and sweet.
It is really stupid and hypocritical of the SPCA to call for farmers to put their animals on diets. After all it's not like the animals are subjected to a diet of McDonald's or curl up on the couch every night to watch Shortland St with a Pizza or Fish n' Chips now is it? No, they are out in the open, free to roam and wander at their leisure, and as Jangles says, they are already on a diet of greens for God's sake!!!!! The very same diet as what we are trying to get our own species to eat five times a day!!!! Well maybe not exactly the same but you know what I mean.
Apparently there is an abundance of pasture at the moment which is why the SPCA have called for the diet. So in times of drought what are they going to call for? A diet of lard and trans-fatty acids? I think not.
Well there you go Jimmy, have one on me.
Cheers
It is really stupid and hypocritical of the SPCA to call for farmers to put their animals on diets. After all it's not like the animals are subjected to a diet of McDonald's or curl up on the couch every night to watch Shortland St with a Pizza or Fish n' Chips now is it? No, they are out in the open, free to roam and wander at their leisure, and as Jangles says, they are already on a diet of greens for God's sake!!!!! The very same diet as what we are trying to get our own species to eat five times a day!!!! Well maybe not exactly the same but you know what I mean.
Apparently there is an abundance of pasture at the moment which is why the SPCA have called for the diet. So in times of drought what are they going to call for? A diet of lard and trans-fatty acids? I think not.
Well there you go Jimmy, have one on me.
Cheers
Friday, November 11, 2005
Happy birthday Levi
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Levi, happy birthday to you. Hip hip…
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Another Weekend
Friday
Few drinks after work then home and fell asleep on the couch.
Sat
Caught up with Ocker Yolanda, who is leaving the UK for good on Wednesday, and Rocky Moira and met some Brit friends of Yo’s. Went to Harrods and got Mum her birthday presents. Down to watch the fireworks at Battersea Park for Guy Fawkes, the 400th year anniversary. Probably the best fireworks display I’ve seen. To Nandos and ate then to Infernos and danced the night away to the likes of some modern stuff and then the classics like Bon Jovi, Gn’R, Aha, Van Halen etc etc, brought back fond memories of Barneys RIP. Watched a chick knock herself out cold on the stage after falling backwards off the dancing booth on to her head, but she was ok after five minutes, although she will definitely have a concussion. Home about 4.30am after waiting an hour for the bus, the verdict - a great night out and Infernos is not a bad place considering the £10 cover charge!!
Sun
Up early as Yo was off to York so got her sorted; mucked around; an afternoon nap. Cleaned the house, Pizza for tea with Gem. A really good weekend.
Few drinks after work then home and fell asleep on the couch.
Sat
Caught up with Ocker Yolanda, who is leaving the UK for good on Wednesday, and Rocky Moira and met some Brit friends of Yo’s. Went to Harrods and got Mum her birthday presents. Down to watch the fireworks at Battersea Park for Guy Fawkes, the 400th year anniversary. Probably the best fireworks display I’ve seen. To Nandos and ate then to Infernos and danced the night away to the likes of some modern stuff and then the classics like Bon Jovi, Gn’R, Aha, Van Halen etc etc, brought back fond memories of Barneys RIP. Watched a chick knock herself out cold on the stage after falling backwards off the dancing booth on to her head, but she was ok after five minutes, although she will definitely have a concussion. Home about 4.30am after waiting an hour for the bus, the verdict - a great night out and Infernos is not a bad place considering the £10 cover charge!!
Sun
Up early as Yo was off to York so got her sorted; mucked around; an afternoon nap. Cleaned the house, Pizza for tea with Gem. A really good weekend.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Major Discover Number 2
Ipods do not support Windows Media Audio (WMA) files, which are smaller than standard MP3 files but with superior quality. This is a great reason for not purchasing one.
A Major Discovery
Ordinary old hair conditioner is as good, if not better, than specialist shaving soap, gel, oil etc etc. I found this out in the shower this morning, and it was one of the smoothest shaves I’ve ever had. Spread the word.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
The Running Man
Just finished watching The Running Man on TV - great action movie and a social commentary to boot. Gotta love those 80’s outfits and hairstyles.
Street Etiquette
Don’t you just hate it when you’re walking along the street in busy pedestrian traffic and people are just so rude? They don’t move an inch to facilitate your getting past them!! I was walking down Oxford St (that of Monopoly fame) a little while back and was getting very riled up by the amount of people virtually walking straight into me. Now granted that London is a busy place (over three million people are moved on the underground every day - that’s 75% of NZ’s population!), however, I still don’t see the harm in someone meeting you half way by moving over a foot (see I’m in England now so I’m reverting back to imperial measures) to allow the passing of both parties in relative ease – I was pretty angry and someone was going to get a dropped shoulder before too long!! Come to think of it most people down Oxford St are probably tourists – bloody foreigners.
Anyway, so it reminded me of the Oxford St incident yesterday when I was walking to work in the rain and had my umbrella up along with 95% of everyone else. Now funnily enough I generally don’t have too many complaints about the footpath etiquette of the people around where I work, as I think we are all in the same boat and just want to get where we are going. However, on a wet day the footpath’s useable space is immediately halved by the multitude of people with opened umbrellas and life becomes a jungle again. You really have to keep your wits about you in order to avoid losing an eye to an oncoming umbrella. So as always I tried to think of how this could be avoided and came upon the idea of either 1) extendable footpaths (probably not that feasible) or 2) transparent elongated umbrellas. Then again I thought why doesn’t everyone just wear a coat?
Anyway, so it reminded me of the Oxford St incident yesterday when I was walking to work in the rain and had my umbrella up along with 95% of everyone else. Now funnily enough I generally don’t have too many complaints about the footpath etiquette of the people around where I work, as I think we are all in the same boat and just want to get where we are going. However, on a wet day the footpath’s useable space is immediately halved by the multitude of people with opened umbrellas and life becomes a jungle again. You really have to keep your wits about you in order to avoid losing an eye to an oncoming umbrella. So as always I tried to think of how this could be avoided and came upon the idea of either 1) extendable footpaths (probably not that feasible) or 2) transparent elongated umbrellas. Then again I thought why doesn’t everyone just wear a coat?
Friday, October 21, 2005
The Blog That Failed
So since my purchase of the Creative MP3 player I’ve been listening to a heap of music (mostly thanks to Levi). The majority is stuff that I am relatively familiar with, however, I’ve discovered a few new gems along the way. For example, I have a new found appreciation of Metallica who I’ve been a "passive" fan of for sometime now and saw in concert coming up a couple of years back. Now of course I’ve heard their albums from time to time but I’ve never really listened to them. However, having played Ride The Lightening, And Justice For All, Metallica (aka The Black Album), Load, and Reload for the past couple of weeks or so, I have come to the conclusions that:
It is also very interesting hearing the progression over the years from the early thrash metal of the first four albums (these don't sound nearly so "alternative" today as they did back in the 80's which illustrates the huge part that they, along with certain other bands, played in bringing heavy music into the mainstream, which in turn makes it easy to forget how groundbreaking it was at the time) to the classic rock sound of Load and Reload, which are both absolutely superb albums (although the hardcore fans may disagree).
The other thing with listening to music through headphones constantly is that, (besides probably contributing to speeding up my hearing loss) you hear all sorts of things that you normally miss by just listening to a stereo. The subtle vocal, bass, guitar, drum – whatever, lines that are “hidden” away low in the mix are brought out and add that little bit extra to songs that often you have been listening to for years without noticing. The production is also highlighted as the stereo effect is brought to life by our binaural senses.
Anyway so what’s my point? Well, it's that you can see things in a totally different light by changing the way you do something, it’s like an old painting in a new frame.
1. they are up there with the great bands - some of the compositions and performances are just brilliant and they have a total synergy going on
2. I have greatly underestimated Kirk Hammett’s abilities as a lead guitarist (I think this is mostly due to his very average tone, although this has improved with the albums). Some of his work is fantastic – The Call Of Klutu and the absolutely gorgeous harmonised solo on My Friend of Misery to name but two.It is also very interesting hearing the progression over the years from the early thrash metal of the first four albums (these don't sound nearly so "alternative" today as they did back in the 80's which illustrates the huge part that they, along with certain other bands, played in bringing heavy music into the mainstream, which in turn makes it easy to forget how groundbreaking it was at the time) to the classic rock sound of Load and Reload, which are both absolutely superb albums (although the hardcore fans may disagree).
The other thing with listening to music through headphones constantly is that, (besides probably contributing to speeding up my hearing loss) you hear all sorts of things that you normally miss by just listening to a stereo. The subtle vocal, bass, guitar, drum – whatever, lines that are “hidden” away low in the mix are brought out and add that little bit extra to songs that often you have been listening to for years without noticing. The production is also highlighted as the stereo effect is brought to life by our binaural senses.
Anyway so what’s my point? Well, it's that you can see things in a totally different light by changing the way you do something, it’s like an old painting in a new frame.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Another Weekend
Out after work on Friday with work people to Agenda – good night. Chicken soup for dinner when I got home courtesy of Gem. Spent the night on the couch.
Quiet day in on Saturday until Gem, her friend and I went to an engagement party at Brogans in Fulham. Few drinks, but not a very exciting night.
Up early to watch the 19th and final race of the 2005 Formula One Grand Prix, good race – I’ll blog more on this later. Back to bed for a cat nap then organised tickets for Bon Jovi with a couple of friends for June next year. The Wembley Stadium general admission tickets had sold out so we opted for the Southampton gig.
Down to the Boathouse to meet the ex-flatmate who’s back in town from Brazil for a day or two on route back to Oz, meet some more new people and had a good time, was there a number of hours. Then boring stuff like grocery shopping on the way home and that was another weekend gone just like that.
Quiet day in on Saturday until Gem, her friend and I went to an engagement party at Brogans in Fulham. Few drinks, but not a very exciting night.
Up early to watch the 19th and final race of the 2005 Formula One Grand Prix, good race – I’ll blog more on this later. Back to bed for a cat nap then organised tickets for Bon Jovi with a couple of friends for June next year. The Wembley Stadium general admission tickets had sold out so we opted for the Southampton gig.
Down to the Boathouse to meet the ex-flatmate who’s back in town from Brazil for a day or two on route back to Oz, meet some more new people and had a good time, was there a number of hours. Then boring stuff like grocery shopping on the way home and that was another weekend gone just like that.
Quote of the Day
This is just classic!
Robbie Williams "I am the only man who can say he's been in Take That and at least two members of the Spice Girls"
Robbie Williams "I am the only man who can say he's been in Take That and at least two members of the Spice Girls"
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
The Weekend That Was
Met up after work on Friday night with some friends and some of their friends and so on – all in all a group of about 20 of us, and we did a Jack the Ripper guided tour walk, which was very cool and interesting. We found out quite a bit more about London both now and then – three million people inhabited the one square mile that is the City of London in 1888 - the year of the killings, as opposed to the ten thousand that live there now. The last part of the tour where we ended up would have been almost as it was back in 1888 with the cobbled streets and gas street lights etc. All this for only £5.
We finished the tour close to Brick Lane so about half the group went for that great ‘traditional’ English meal – the curry, which Brick Lane is famous for. We negotiated a 30% discount and free round of drinks, and had a few good laughs Left about 11.30pm and headed home, got home about 1am and had a phone call from Nona back home.
Saturday.
Met a couple of friends and went shopping for costumes for the British themed party tonight, scored an inflatable Big Ben as my costume while the others got theirs. Had Maccas for lunch and went to the scene of the party. Got the essentials i.e. beer and the party kicked off later that night. A great time was had by all, I only wish I had a pound for every time my Big Ben got squeezed. Stayed the night there on the couch – finally to sleep about 4am.
Sunday:
Bacon and eggs for breakfast from the very accommodating hosts and then watched a bit of the cricket - Aussie v The World X1, the third one dayer from Melbourne - Aussie absolutely kicked ass and won by 157 runs.
Hung around for the A1 Grand Prix from Germany, the Kiwi team did well again and came fourth in both races and are now tied for second with France in the overall competition, only one point behind Brazil, good stuff lads.
Headed home, grabbed some essential groceries on the way. Caught up with a couple of the flatties, watched an episode of that classic show Some Mothers Do Have ‘Em, which I haven’t seen for years, crashed out for a couple of hours from exhaustion. Watched Cocktail and then the F1 highlights – great race. Ahhh what an awesome weekend and now it’s back to work to recover.
We finished the tour close to Brick Lane so about half the group went for that great ‘traditional’ English meal – the curry, which Brick Lane is famous for. We negotiated a 30% discount and free round of drinks, and had a few good laughs Left about 11.30pm and headed home, got home about 1am and had a phone call from Nona back home.
Saturday.
Met a couple of friends and went shopping for costumes for the British themed party tonight, scored an inflatable Big Ben as my costume while the others got theirs. Had Maccas for lunch and went to the scene of the party. Got the essentials i.e. beer and the party kicked off later that night. A great time was had by all, I only wish I had a pound for every time my Big Ben got squeezed. Stayed the night there on the couch – finally to sleep about 4am.
Sunday:
Bacon and eggs for breakfast from the very accommodating hosts and then watched a bit of the cricket - Aussie v The World X1, the third one dayer from Melbourne - Aussie absolutely kicked ass and won by 157 runs.
Hung around for the A1 Grand Prix from Germany, the Kiwi team did well again and came fourth in both races and are now tied for second with France in the overall competition, only one point behind Brazil, good stuff lads.
Headed home, grabbed some essential groceries on the way. Caught up with a couple of the flatties, watched an episode of that classic show Some Mothers Do Have ‘Em, which I haven’t seen for years, crashed out for a couple of hours from exhaustion. Watched Cocktail and then the F1 highlights – great race. Ahhh what an awesome weekend and now it’s back to work to recover.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Jimmy Jangles Will be Jealous Not Jovi-al
Bon Jovi are booked to open the re-built Wembley Stadium next year http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4296786.stm, I am so there, yes on my steel horse I'll ride. Jealous Jimmy Jangles? http://www.jimmyjangles.blogspot.com/
Friday, September 30, 2005
Damn It!!
Don't you just hate it when you leave the house on the way to work and forget to take your sounds with you!! This is exactly what I did this morning, leaving my new Creative 1gb MP3 player (by the way these are really great, I'd totally recommend them to anyone thinking of buying a smallish MP3 player and I'm glad I didn't get the iPod Nano considering the screen problems that they are having) sitting on the dresser, so instead of being treated to the sweet, soulful melodies of Metallica, Black Label Society or The Datsuns etc I was subjected to the low frequency rumbles and onomatopoeic 'clack' of the train track
Thankfully the carriage I got into was rather full, now normally I would be complaining about this sort of thing, as I hate being squished up against some overweight oaf smelling of B.O. However, the Gods were smiling on me this morning as I had the fortune of being squished (well standing at close proximity really) next to a rather pretty lass, for the duration of the journey. We shall see how the Gods treat me on the return journey home this evening.
The moral of the story: maybe I should forget my sounds more often.
Thankfully the carriage I got into was rather full, now normally I would be complaining about this sort of thing, as I hate being squished up against some overweight oaf smelling of B.O. However, the Gods were smiling on me this morning as I had the fortune of being squished (well standing at close proximity really) next to a rather pretty lass, for the duration of the journey. We shall see how the Gods treat me on the return journey home this evening.
The moral of the story: maybe I should forget my sounds more often.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Out On The Tiles
So I had my first proper night out in ol’ blighty last Friday. Had a couple of drinks after work and then proceeded home, I just love how (they have toilets on the trains over here). Got home and the flattie (we shall call her Gem – not her real name) asks if I want to come down to the Slug and Lettuce for a few drinks with some of her friends. Now, money is tight at the mo’ so I said ok, but I don’t want a big one as I can’t really afford it and I’m also going to the first ever A1 Grand Prix qualifying day tomorrow, so I put £10 in my pocket and do the unthinkable and leave all my cards at home!!.
So anyway we trundle down to Putney High St and have a couple of pints while waiting for Gem’s friends who duly turn up. Drinking, chatting, laughing etc etc until closing time 11pm - I still can’t get used to this un-Godly early hour.
So then someone suggests going round to The Fez bar and carrying on (the pubs close at 11pm but the clubs stay open much longer), so we roll on round there and I almost didn’t make it in as there’s an £8 cover charge and of course I don’t have enough cash or anyway of getting any. Luckily one of the group lends me a tenner and I’m in.
Now I didn’t even know that any clubs existed in Putney so I’m just amazed as we head down underground and this huge expanse confronts me with light-up dance floor and all (about ten times as big as the one they had at Barneys). Next things there’s a drink in my hand and there’s dancing to be had.
An couple of hours of this and a few more drinks in my hand (though not out of my pocket) and we’ve had enough, so we head out for takeaways and then Gem, her friend and I are off home – so much for my quiet night. We’re all a little bit tipsy and my frozen pizza in the freezer sounds like a good idea, although then the chips that we’ve had kick in, and we flag the pizza idea., probably a good thing – “don’t drink and fry”.
Anyway that was my Friday night, don’t you just love those off-the-cuff nights that turn out great?
So anyway we trundle down to Putney High St and have a couple of pints while waiting for Gem’s friends who duly turn up. Drinking, chatting, laughing etc etc until closing time 11pm - I still can’t get used to this un-Godly early hour.
So then someone suggests going round to The Fez bar and carrying on (the pubs close at 11pm but the clubs stay open much longer), so we roll on round there and I almost didn’t make it in as there’s an £8 cover charge and of course I don’t have enough cash or anyway of getting any. Luckily one of the group lends me a tenner and I’m in.
Now I didn’t even know that any clubs existed in Putney so I’m just amazed as we head down underground and this huge expanse confronts me with light-up dance floor and all (about ten times as big as the one they had at Barneys). Next things there’s a drink in my hand and there’s dancing to be had.
An couple of hours of this and a few more drinks in my hand (though not out of my pocket) and we’ve had enough, so we head out for takeaways and then Gem, her friend and I are off home – so much for my quiet night. We’re all a little bit tipsy and my frozen pizza in the freezer sounds like a good idea, although then the chips that we’ve had kick in, and we flag the pizza idea., probably a good thing – “don’t drink and fry”.
Anyway that was my Friday night, don’t you just love those off-the-cuff nights that turn out great?
Sunday, September 25, 2005
A Sight for Saw Eye
The London Eye at night - at 130 metres high it is the largest observation platform of its type in the world.
Friday, September 23, 2005
Can't Buy Me Love, or an LP, but a Laptop and an MP3 player, now that's a different story
So I've joined the eAge. I splashed out and bought a laptop and an MP3 player on the weekend and now have to find some way of paying for them :-( On the upside I'll now be able to Blog on a regular basis, and on another positive, if I leave the EU within 90 days of the purchase I can claim the Value Added Tax (VAT) back, so I may well take a trip outside the EU for a weekend as I figure the refund will pay for half the trip.
So I spent most of Sunday filling up the laptop with music and have been traveling to work accompanied by most of my (or G's really) favourite sounds. Ahhh life is good, I now look down upon those prehistoric, soon to be extinct species, to which I recently belonged, that still lug around their CD players. Now, if I want to change albums I simple reach into my breast pocket and flick a switch, ahh the joys of technology.
As for the CD, will it go the way of that long forgotten beast, the cassette (does anyone remember those)? Well time will tell, but I think not, in the near future anyway, but this brings me to another point, if the CD does become obsolete we will lose an extremely important non-aural part of music - the cover art. Now, ever since the downturn in vinyl sales this has never really been the same, and for those of you old enough to remember, (or having bought second hand LPs (Long Players, for the ignorant) at bargain prices when their naive owners rushed to be rid of them at the onset of the binary music revolution) I'm sure that you would agree that there really is nothing to compare with the cover art on a Gatefold (or single sleeve) LP, the colour and attention to detail contained within them just doesn't exist anymore, and ahhh that sweet smell.
Now we all know that we shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but really, you could just tell that Houses of the Holy by Led Zeppelin was a masterpiece simply by gazing at the cover, in the same way that you could tell that you should steer well clear of anything with Nana Mouskouri on the cover. What can you do now? The "folder art" in Windows just doesn't give anything away and forgive me for being a bit old fashioned but there's just something about having a "Side 1 and Side 2", to listen to.
And what about getting your album signed in store when you buy it, or at a concert (you'd be hard pressed to get more than two signatures on an iPod Nano), which brings me to my final and most cutting point - does anyone really care anymore? Well maybe if you've read this far you still do, but in a world where a ringtone becomes number one in the charts you are probably one of the few.
So I spent most of Sunday filling up the laptop with music and have been traveling to work accompanied by most of my (or G's really) favourite sounds. Ahhh life is good, I now look down upon those prehistoric, soon to be extinct species, to which I recently belonged, that still lug around their CD players. Now, if I want to change albums I simple reach into my breast pocket and flick a switch, ahh the joys of technology.
As for the CD, will it go the way of that long forgotten beast, the cassette (does anyone remember those)? Well time will tell, but I think not, in the near future anyway, but this brings me to another point, if the CD does become obsolete we will lose an extremely important non-aural part of music - the cover art. Now, ever since the downturn in vinyl sales this has never really been the same, and for those of you old enough to remember, (or having bought second hand LPs (Long Players, for the ignorant) at bargain prices when their naive owners rushed to be rid of them at the onset of the binary music revolution) I'm sure that you would agree that there really is nothing to compare with the cover art on a Gatefold (or single sleeve) LP, the colour and attention to detail contained within them just doesn't exist anymore, and ahhh that sweet smell.
Now we all know that we shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but really, you could just tell that Houses of the Holy by Led Zeppelin was a masterpiece simply by gazing at the cover, in the same way that you could tell that you should steer well clear of anything with Nana Mouskouri on the cover. What can you do now? The "folder art" in Windows just doesn't give anything away and forgive me for being a bit old fashioned but there's just something about having a "Side 1 and Side 2", to listen to.
And what about getting your album signed in store when you buy it, or at a concert (you'd be hard pressed to get more than two signatures on an iPod Nano), which brings me to my final and most cutting point - does anyone really care anymore? Well maybe if you've read this far you still do, but in a world where a ringtone becomes number one in the charts you are probably one of the few.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Green With Angry
So I went and exorcised my demoncratic right to vote on Friday from half a world away. I left work at lunchtime and walked briskly to Bank tube station, jumped on a tube to another station and made my way to Piccadilly Circus ("what a crappy circus", points awarded for guessing the movie quote) and then to NZ house. It seemed like every Kiwi in London had the same idea as I was confronted by a large, slow moving queue and after voting (two ticks for National - a tactical vote to try and do anything to keep the Greens out of power, just don't get me started on them and the little bubble world that they live in, ohhh they just get me so angry!!!) and reversing the afore mentioned travel method (using "Green" transport, ha ha) I arrived back at work an hour and a half later, the only problem being that I have an hour for lunch. Not to worry though, nothing a few minutes working late didn't fix. Had a beer with the people I work with and then met up with The Clownman. A couple more beers, some quality conversation and a couple of hours later and I was back at Bank Station heading home. I really have lost my beer tolerance I came home and fell asleep almost immediately, a far cry from all those epic nights at Barneys (RIP).
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Working and Playing
Hi everyone
Yes I'm still alive in case you were wondering, but am back to reality now with having a job and rent and bills and all, so that's why I've been a bit quiet lately (and also the fact that I can't access my personal email from work). I'm working for an insurance underwriting company called Limit in central London, not far from "The Gherkin" for those of you who know that building. Click below to see a pic if ya want
http://www.citythemes.co.uk/
It was only meant to be for a week but I started on the 8th of August and it's now mid September so I must be doing something right. It's not the most stimulating (or the highest paying) job in the world - filing, scanning, archiving etc but it's nice to do a job with not much responsibility for a change (although I certainly won't want to do it forever) and it came along at just the right time, as the finances were getting pretty thin.
I work from 9-5 (what a way to make a living) with an hour for lunch, which I often have down opposite the Tower of London. I stumbled across this by accident one day when I first started work, I just started walking to try and find a nice spot to sit down and have lunch at. I finally found a bench and sat there reading the paper, when I looked up I saw a large bit of old stone wall (about two stories high and about three metres wide) which I correctly figured must have been part of the old London Wall. I then gazed further afield on to "an old building", which took me a moment but then I clicked as to what Iwas looking at, having only seen it in pictures before, I was staring at the Tower of London. It's this kind of experience that makes London such an awesome place to live.
I've been doing a bit of domestic travel, mostly around London but I went up to Lancaster (a small city with a population of 46,000, top North West of England) about a month back, with some friends and we met up with some other friends that we'd made on the Scandi trip. Jane, who lives in Lancaster, looked after us for the weekend and drove us up to the Lake District which was great. The weather was perfect and we went to William Wordsworth's grave site, and bought gingerbread from the world's oldest gingerbread shop and then sat in bracken covered hills in the sun and ate a picnic lunch. Then we drove around these tiny country lanes skirted by stonewalls - very picturesque before heading back to Lancaster. We went out that night and then saw a bit more of the city the next day before hopping on a train back to London. The trains are great, it only took 3 hours to get from London to Lancaster and they are really nice and new and travel at 160kph with banked turns even. It's quite amazing actually that you can be in London, a city of 8 million, and then within about 30 minutes be out in the countryside which is very scenic.
I've done a few more touristy things as well. Craig, Marsha and I went to Kew Gardens (400 acres of gardens, history and culture) a few weekends back, and then on the bank holiday Monday I caught up with some other friends (Big Mal and Bridget) and we did an open-top bus tour of London (it's really very compact) which included a Thames River cruise (not on the bus) all for £16. It was such a nice, clear day that we did the London Eye as well. As you can imagine we were fairly exhausted after 8 hours of all this in the hot sun.
As for things that I have planned, well Big Mal and I are going to the inaugural round of the A1 Grand Prix at Brands Hatch and will be proudly supporting the New Zealand team (I've requested a silver fern flag from home so hopefully it turns up in time, hint hint). Just click on the links below if you want further information:
http://www.a1gp.com/main.php?hf=Yes
http://www.a1teamnzl.com/
Besides this I have a British friend in Birmingham, yes another one I made on the Scandi trip, who is going on a working holiday toAustralia in October. So I'm keen to head up there for a weekend and take advantage of his local knowledge before he jets off. I'm also going to catch a few concerts over the next few months, the amount of acts that tour here is just unbelievable and there is something on every night of the week so I won't ever get bored (or save any money) that's for sure.
So yeah that's me for another email, I'm sure you've all been suffering withdrawal symptoms from my lack of emails lately (yeah right) (I miss Tui billboards), so until next time keep cool till after school.
Ian
Yes I'm still alive in case you were wondering, but am back to reality now with having a job and rent and bills and all, so that's why I've been a bit quiet lately (and also the fact that I can't access my personal email from work). I'm working for an insurance underwriting company called Limit in central London, not far from "The Gherkin" for those of you who know that building. Click below to see a pic if ya want
http://www.citythemes.co.uk/
It was only meant to be for a week but I started on the 8th of August and it's now mid September so I must be doing something right. It's not the most stimulating (or the highest paying) job in the world - filing, scanning, archiving etc but it's nice to do a job with not much responsibility for a change (although I certainly won't want to do it forever) and it came along at just the right time, as the finances were getting pretty thin.
I work from 9-5 (what a way to make a living) with an hour for lunch, which I often have down opposite the Tower of London. I stumbled across this by accident one day when I first started work, I just started walking to try and find a nice spot to sit down and have lunch at. I finally found a bench and sat there reading the paper, when I looked up I saw a large bit of old stone wall (about two stories high and about three metres wide) which I correctly figured must have been part of the old London Wall. I then gazed further afield on to "an old building", which took me a moment but then I clicked as to what Iwas looking at, having only seen it in pictures before, I was staring at the Tower of London. It's this kind of experience that makes London such an awesome place to live.
I've been doing a bit of domestic travel, mostly around London but I went up to Lancaster (a small city with a population of 46,000, top North West of England) about a month back, with some friends and we met up with some other friends that we'd made on the Scandi trip. Jane, who lives in Lancaster, looked after us for the weekend and drove us up to the Lake District which was great. The weather was perfect and we went to William Wordsworth's grave site, and bought gingerbread from the world's oldest gingerbread shop and then sat in bracken covered hills in the sun and ate a picnic lunch. Then we drove around these tiny country lanes skirted by stonewalls - very picturesque before heading back to Lancaster. We went out that night and then saw a bit more of the city the next day before hopping on a train back to London. The trains are great, it only took 3 hours to get from London to Lancaster and they are really nice and new and travel at 160kph with banked turns even. It's quite amazing actually that you can be in London, a city of 8 million, and then within about 30 minutes be out in the countryside which is very scenic.
I've done a few more touristy things as well. Craig, Marsha and I went to Kew Gardens (400 acres of gardens, history and culture) a few weekends back, and then on the bank holiday Monday I caught up with some other friends (Big Mal and Bridget) and we did an open-top bus tour of London (it's really very compact) which included a Thames River cruise (not on the bus) all for £16. It was such a nice, clear day that we did the London Eye as well. As you can imagine we were fairly exhausted after 8 hours of all this in the hot sun.
As for things that I have planned, well Big Mal and I are going to the inaugural round of the A1 Grand Prix at Brands Hatch and will be proudly supporting the New Zealand team (I've requested a silver fern flag from home so hopefully it turns up in time, hint hint). Just click on the links below if you want further information:
http://www.a1gp.com/main.php?hf=Yes
http://www.a1teamnzl.com/
Besides this I have a British friend in Birmingham, yes another one I made on the Scandi trip, who is going on a working holiday toAustralia in October. So I'm keen to head up there for a weekend and take advantage of his local knowledge before he jets off. I'm also going to catch a few concerts over the next few months, the amount of acts that tour here is just unbelievable and there is something on every night of the week so I won't ever get bored (or save any money) that's for sure.
So yeah that's me for another email, I'm sure you've all been suffering withdrawal symptoms from my lack of emails lately (yeah right) (I miss Tui billboards), so until next time keep cool till after school.
Ian
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Another Update
| Well I haven't really done a whole lot since I last wrote but here's what I've been up to: job and flat hunting, trying to avoid being blown up by more terrorists, reading lots, watching the cricket and F1grand prix, catching up with friends etc etc. The weather (sorry to start talking about the weather this early) up until the last three days has been fantastic - over 30 degrees most days and it's just like being back in Hawke's Bay for summer, I've had a sweat up anytime I've ventured outside the flat. Everyone keeps saying 'enjoy it while you can as it won't last' so bearing this in mind Craig, Marsha and I went out to Windsor/Eton the weekend before last and saw the sights. Went to Eton college and around Windsor castle although not inside as we thought we'd come back in winter when they open up more of the rooms and we'd get better value for our money - hey I still don't have a job yet!! The job hunting has not been as bountiful as I had hoped although I suppose it is still early days. My dream job while I am over here is to work for McLaren (the Formula One team founded in the 1960's by Kiwi Bruce McLaren) so I've sent them off my CV and even took a trip down to Woking, about 30 minutes south of London, where they are based to try and find them, without any luck. So far I haven't heard anything back and realistically I don't really expect to but at least I've tried and you never know. As a back-up plan I've contacted some job agencies and will settle for a more mundane job if I have to, as I'm really needing to start to earn some pounds. Besides the job hunting I've been reading quite a bit, and enjoying it while I can, as it's usually my first leisure activity to go once I start working. I've read The Alchemist which one of my trainees gave me before I left BNZ and which tells of the mainly spiritual, as well as, geographical journey of a Spanish shepherd. It is quite relative to me at present, well besides the fact that I'm neither Spanish nor a shepherd. |
I am also racing through The Da Vinci Code (which I'm sure needs no introduction) and am thoroughly enjoying it (will probably finish it tonight). I totally recommend it to anyone who hasn't already read it, if there is still anyone out there that hasn't.
I'm having absolutely major guitar withdrawals at the moment and it will be the first thing I buy when I get my own room. I haven't played now (except for a few minutes in instrument stores) for about seven weeks and it's driving me mad. Before I left NZ I was playing up to four hours a day and that was just for pleasure. My fingertips have gone soft and I'm sure I will be very rusty when I start again, but you can't always get what you want.
As I'm sure you are all aware, there were some more (failed) bombings last week and although no one was really hurt, they have almost caused more distress than the first. I think everyone thought that they were just going to be a one-off incident. The fact that there was another"round" only two weeks after the first has certainly made everyone very much on edge, as it now appears that they may be an on-going event. I know a few people who are only here, like I am, through personal choice and the general feeling seems to be that if there are many more bombings then some people will probably move on. Nina, a German girl that I have made friends with is cutting her scholarship with Vivienne Westwood short and is moving back to Germany on Thursday. Personally it will probably be a last resort for me, but another bombing and I will certainly consider moving elsewhere in England.
I can't help but wonder how I would be reacting to these events if I was still back in NZ, you don't actually realise how sheltered we all are down there until you get out and away. I know 9/11 was very disturbing for me personally, however, when all this terrorism is going on all the time you somehow become almost accustomed to it and it no longer has the same effect until you are actually in the "warzone".
On a lighter note, it's been great to be able to watch the cricket (the first ashes test) live and free on TV. I personally believe that the introduction of pay TV channels has contributed to the ongoing problem of child (and therefore adult) obesity in NZ, and probably elsewhere in the world.
Let me expand on my theory: when I was younger and there was sport on TV I would watch it for a while and then it would motivate me to actually go outside and play the sport myself with my brother or the neighbours kids or whoever. Now, unless a child's parent(s) are sports followers they are not subjected to the same amount of sport on TV and therefore they don\'t have the "heroes" to look up to and inspire them to do the same. In this day and age of modern entertainment it is probably easier for them to go and play on their Playstation or Xbox rather than make the extra effort to entertain themselves. I also blame Kiwisports and political correctness as a whole, but there's a whole other topic.
Anyway, I seem to have gone off on a tangent here so that's probably enough of a rant from me for one email. Hope you are all well.
Signing out,
Ian "the philosopher"
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
My Scandinavian adventures: Part One - Denmark and Sweden
Originally written 11 July 2005
Well this is the comprehensive log of my adventures in Scandinavia, I'll divide it into three or so sections as it's going to be quite long and I appreciate your time constraints (and attention spans, Scott :-)). I'll try and keep it relatively concise and not waffle on, however, I've seen and done so much in the last three weeks that I can't promise anything. I've basically survived on an average of 4-5 hours sleep a night with a few cat-naps on the bus (thank God for Berocca), have travelled in excess of 8,000km on the bus alone, with probably another 1,000 to 2,000km including walking and boating. I know you are all probably dying to see my photos and I'll get them sorted as soon as possible.
Anyway, I started my tour in Copenhagen, Denmark on the 14th of June, flew in on EasyJet about 4.30pm and got a taxi to the hostel where we were staying. I went to get in the taxi driver's door as I forgot that they drive on the right over there and he asked if I wanted to drive, which I politely declined. It was a very strange sensation as it's the first time that I have experienced driving on the other side.
Met the rest of the tour group that evening which consisted of 43 people plus the tour manager, driver and cook. I was one of four Kiwis, including the tour manager (who was affectionately nicknamed "Sheepshagger" by the Australians) but the tour was mainly made up of Aussies (you travel almost as far from home as you can and you still can't get away from the buggers, although it was great when they got beaten by Bangladesh in the cricket, and also later on when it took a Kiwi to settle an argument on how many stars they have on their flag!!! It was all in good fun though and I've discovered that New Zealanders, Aussies and Canadians are basically fellow siblings when you are this far from home) with a few Brits, a couple of Americans,
anyone I've forgotten.
A few of us went out on the first night into Copenhagen and had a couple of drinks, then we went in again at 8am the next morning on the bus and did a city tour of the main sights - the Royal Palace, theHans Christian Anderson statue, the Little Mermaid statue from the fairytale, etc. Then did a tour of the Carlsberg brewery which was quite cool.
We were left to do what we liked for the rest of the afternoon and early evening so a few of us formed a group and walked around the city. We saw a bit of the National Museum, then had a look in the Church of our Saviour which was really ornate and it had a huge organ (tee hee) inside as well. Climbed up the spiral steeple on the outside of the church which gave a 360 degree view of Copenhagen (it was a fantastic day as well) - not for those with a fear of heights or vertigo as there is only a small handrail to stop you from plummeting earthwards. Went to Christiania next, which is a social experimenttown of around 1000 residents on the outskirts of Copenhagen that developed in the 70's after an influx of hippies, artists, musicians, and poets etc. It has it's own commercial life, political structure, schooling, radio station and weekly newspaper and was in total contrast to the rest of Copenhagen but rather interesting.
Did a canal cruise which was very cool, and then we had dinner in town and headed back to the hostel about 9.30pm.
Left early the next morning bound for Sweden, we headed north toHelsingor (still in Norway) and saw Kronborg castle which was made famous by Shakespeare in Hamlet, then across on a ferry and we were in Helsingborg, Sweden. Spent most of the day driving to Stockholm and arrived early evening at our campsite next to a lake and we had ourfirst experience of Sweden's mosquitoes, I think I was the only one that had packed repellent so I was a popular guy that evening.
Up early again the next morning and we headed into Stockholm on the bus. Did a tour of the town hall where they have the Nobel Peace Prize and saw some other sites. Then went to the Royal Palace and watched the changing of the guards. Went to the Vasa museum which houses the Vasa galleon which sunk on it's maiden voyage in 1628 and was raised in the 1960's from the harbour and restored. They have calculated that if the ship had been made 30 centimetres wider itwould not have fallen over and sunk. This was one of the things thatI had read about before I left NZ so it was great to see.
Saw the world's largest palace that is still in use - 608 rooms. Then did a Viking boat cruise which took 90 minutes and gave some spectacular scenery. Out for a group dinner in town that evening for a traditional Swedish smorgasborg (Sweden is where the smorgasborg originated), then to The Icebar - a bar made completely of ice along with the glasses, and which is kept at -5 degrees. They give you these big jackets and gloves to wear and we all had a ball there, I'm told that there is one in Queenstown as well, so you can experience it there if you don't have the time to scoot over to Stockholm.
We carried on and went to a night club where the expense of Scandinavia really hit home. I ordered two drinks of spirits and expected that it would not come to anymore than 120 Swedish Kroner(SEK), I then had to pick my jaw up off the floor as the barmen asked for 208 SEK (somewhere around $39 NZD), they were doubles in a tall glass but still...I regretted it even more when after one (or maybe two) too many drinks for the day, I had a chat with the urinal and deposited them, and the dinner, down the bar's toilet in the early hours of the morning, and was not-so-politely asked to leave.
We headed off for Norway the next morning and I was feeling very under the weather from the night before (got home about 3.30am and was up about 6.30am). We stopped at a very picturesque lake in Sweden for lunch on the way and I had a wild snake slither passed my leg while sitting on the bank, which was an unexpectedly pleasant surprise, I didn't even know that they have snakes there so I have no idea if it was poisoness or not, I just wish that I'd had time to take a photo.
Got to our campsite which was about an hours drive from Oslo that evening.
Part 2 to follow, I haven't written this yet so please be patient.
Well this is the comprehensive log of my adventures in Scandinavia, I'll divide it into three or so sections as it's going to be quite long and I appreciate your time constraints (and attention spans, Scott :-)). I'll try and keep it relatively concise and not waffle on, however, I've seen and done so much in the last three weeks that I can't promise anything. I've basically survived on an average of 4-5 hours sleep a night with a few cat-naps on the bus (thank God for Berocca), have travelled in excess of 8,000km on the bus alone, with probably another 1,000 to 2,000km including walking and boating. I know you are all probably dying to see my photos and I'll get them sorted as soon as possible.
Anyway, I started my tour in Copenhagen, Denmark on the 14th of June, flew in on EasyJet about 4.30pm and got a taxi to the hostel where we were staying. I went to get in the taxi driver's door as I forgot that they drive on the right over there and he asked if I wanted to drive, which I politely declined. It was a very strange sensation as it's the first time that I have experienced driving on the other side.
Met the rest of the tour group that evening which consisted of 43 people plus the tour manager, driver and cook. I was one of four Kiwis, including the tour manager (who was affectionately nicknamed "Sheepshagger" by the Australians) but the tour was mainly made up of Aussies (you travel almost as far from home as you can and you still can't get away from the buggers, although it was great when they got beaten by Bangladesh in the cricket, and also later on when it took a Kiwi to settle an argument on how many stars they have on their flag!!! It was all in good fun though and I've discovered that New Zealanders, Aussies and Canadians are basically fellow siblings when you are this far from home) with a few Brits, a couple of Americans,
anyone I've forgotten.
A few of us went out on the first night into Copenhagen and had a couple of drinks, then we went in again at 8am the next morning on the bus and did a city tour of the main sights - the Royal Palace, theHans Christian Anderson statue, the Little Mermaid statue from the fairytale, etc. Then did a tour of the Carlsberg brewery which was quite cool.
We were left to do what we liked for the rest of the afternoon and early evening so a few of us formed a group and walked around the city. We saw a bit of the National Museum, then had a look in the Church of our Saviour which was really ornate and it had a huge organ (tee hee) inside as well. Climbed up the spiral steeple on the outside of the church which gave a 360 degree view of Copenhagen (it was a fantastic day as well) - not for those with a fear of heights or vertigo as there is only a small handrail to stop you from plummeting earthwards. Went to Christiania next, which is a social experimenttown of around 1000 residents on the outskirts of Copenhagen that developed in the 70's after an influx of hippies, artists, musicians, and poets etc. It has it's own commercial life, political structure, schooling, radio station and weekly newspaper and was in total contrast to the rest of Copenhagen but rather interesting.
Did a canal cruise which was very cool, and then we had dinner in town and headed back to the hostel about 9.30pm.
Left early the next morning bound for Sweden, we headed north toHelsingor (still in Norway) and saw Kronborg castle which was made famous by Shakespeare in Hamlet, then across on a ferry and we were in Helsingborg, Sweden. Spent most of the day driving to Stockholm and arrived early evening at our campsite next to a lake and we had ourfirst experience of Sweden's mosquitoes, I think I was the only one that had packed repellent so I was a popular guy that evening.
Up early again the next morning and we headed into Stockholm on the bus. Did a tour of the town hall where they have the Nobel Peace Prize and saw some other sites. Then went to the Royal Palace and watched the changing of the guards. Went to the Vasa museum which houses the Vasa galleon which sunk on it's maiden voyage in 1628 and was raised in the 1960's from the harbour and restored. They have calculated that if the ship had been made 30 centimetres wider itwould not have fallen over and sunk. This was one of the things thatI had read about before I left NZ so it was great to see.
Saw the world's largest palace that is still in use - 608 rooms. Then did a Viking boat cruise which took 90 minutes and gave some spectacular scenery. Out for a group dinner in town that evening for a traditional Swedish smorgasborg (Sweden is where the smorgasborg originated), then to The Icebar - a bar made completely of ice along with the glasses, and which is kept at -5 degrees. They give you these big jackets and gloves to wear and we all had a ball there, I'm told that there is one in Queenstown as well, so you can experience it there if you don't have the time to scoot over to Stockholm.
We carried on and went to a night club where the expense of Scandinavia really hit home. I ordered two drinks of spirits and expected that it would not come to anymore than 120 Swedish Kroner(SEK), I then had to pick my jaw up off the floor as the barmen asked for 208 SEK (somewhere around $39 NZD), they were doubles in a tall glass but still...I regretted it even more when after one (or maybe two) too many drinks for the day, I had a chat with the urinal and deposited them, and the dinner, down the bar's toilet in the early hours of the morning, and was not-so-politely asked to leave.
We headed off for Norway the next morning and I was feeling very under the weather from the night before (got home about 3.30am and was up about 6.30am). We stopped at a very picturesque lake in Sweden for lunch on the way and I had a wild snake slither passed my leg while sitting on the bank, which was an unexpectedly pleasant surprise, I didn't even know that they have snakes there so I have no idea if it was poisoness or not, I just wish that I'd had time to take a photo.
Got to our campsite which was about an hours drive from Oslo that evening.
Part 2 to follow, I haven't written this yet so please be patient.
Thanks
Originally written 8 July 2005
Wow, I just opened up my inbox and was absolutely blown away by all the really nice messages sitting there waiting for me after the London bombings. Thanks so much, it's really great to know that I've got so many friends.
Thanks for all the other emails that you've sent as well and keep sending them through cause I love receiving them and I know that I haven't replied to many of them but that doesn't mean that I haven't wanted to. Hopefully, now that I'm back in London and not on the road everyday, I'll be able to send a few more personal ones back, even if they are only very brief. Anyway, thanks again, and I'll send the first past of my Scandinavian travels through shortly.
Wow, I just opened up my inbox and was absolutely blown away by all the really nice messages sitting there waiting for me after the London bombings. Thanks so much, it's really great to know that I've got so many friends.
Thanks for all the other emails that you've sent as well and keep sending them through cause I love receiving them and I know that I haven't replied to many of them but that doesn't mean that I haven't wanted to. Hopefully, now that I'm back in London and not on the road everyday, I'll be able to send a few more personal ones back, even if they are only very brief. Anyway, thanks again, and I'll send the first past of my Scandinavian travels through shortly.
An update from London
Originally written 11 July 2005
Well things have settled down here in London after last Thursday's events (they will probably become known as 7/7) and I was back on the buses and tube on Saturday and have been into central London everyday since. I figure that there's not much you can do besides remaining vigilant and if your time's up, then your time's up and it's just fate. So I'm not going to let anything spoil my stay over here, although I must admit that I was glad when I got off the tube after my first ride in.
Craig and I got up early and went over to the Walkabout pub in Shepherd's Bush (a Kiwi/Aussie stronghold in London) on Saturday morning to watch the All Blacks beat the Lions (again), so that was good.
Caught up with some friends that I'd made on my tour on Saturday night and had a dinner on The Strand, then a couple of drinks. The pubs close at 11pm over here which takes a bit of getting used to and theTube stops running at 12.30pm as well, which makes it hard to get home if you miss it, as you have to use the night buses which are not as user friendly. Just made it home - caught the last Tube by a couple of minutes on Saturday night, as I had problems getting between stations as some lines are still not open because of the bombings. Just as an aside - I actually quite like getting lost while I'm travelling as I figure that I'm getting to see a new part of the city that I probably otherwise wouldn't get to see.
Had lunch in town on Sunday with some more of the tour group as a few of them were/are leaving soon. Then went to the celebrations commemorating the 60th anniversary of the the end of World War 2, then came home and cooked dinner for Craig, Marsha and I.
It's been really hot over here the past couple of days - high 20s and early 30s, so I may even get a sun-tan as it's meant to like it all week. The Tube is like an oven, so I was really happy to get home today after going into Regent St to activate my UK bank account. They've only just started using PIN numbers on their debit (EFTPOS) cards over here so it's quite strange to think that we've had them for 16 years back in NZ. Actually lots of things are very old-fashioned here and they are definitely still waiting to learn about customer service!!
Well, that's me for the moment. Take care, Scandinavian adventures, to follow.
Well things have settled down here in London after last Thursday's events (they will probably become known as 7/7) and I was back on the buses and tube on Saturday and have been into central London everyday since. I figure that there's not much you can do besides remaining vigilant and if your time's up, then your time's up and it's just fate. So I'm not going to let anything spoil my stay over here, although I must admit that I was glad when I got off the tube after my first ride in.
Craig and I got up early and went over to the Walkabout pub in Shepherd's Bush (a Kiwi/Aussie stronghold in London) on Saturday morning to watch the All Blacks beat the Lions (again), so that was good.
Caught up with some friends that I'd made on my tour on Saturday night and had a dinner on The Strand, then a couple of drinks. The pubs close at 11pm over here which takes a bit of getting used to and theTube stops running at 12.30pm as well, which makes it hard to get home if you miss it, as you have to use the night buses which are not as user friendly. Just made it home - caught the last Tube by a couple of minutes on Saturday night, as I had problems getting between stations as some lines are still not open because of the bombings. Just as an aside - I actually quite like getting lost while I'm travelling as I figure that I'm getting to see a new part of the city that I probably otherwise wouldn't get to see.
Had lunch in town on Sunday with some more of the tour group as a few of them were/are leaving soon. Then went to the celebrations commemorating the 60th anniversary of the the end of World War 2, then came home and cooked dinner for Craig, Marsha and I.
It's been really hot over here the past couple of days - high 20s and early 30s, so I may even get a sun-tan as it's meant to like it all week. The Tube is like an oven, so I was really happy to get home today after going into Regent St to activate my UK bank account. They've only just started using PIN numbers on their debit (EFTPOS) cards over here so it's quite strange to think that we've had them for 16 years back in NZ. Actually lots of things are very old-fashioned here and they are definitely still waiting to learn about customer service!!
Well, that's me for the moment. Take care, Scandinavian adventures, to follow.
My intial reaction to the first London bombings
Originally written 7 July 2005
Well I was going to send out the detailed account of my adventures in Scandinavia, which I will do at some point, however, as you are probably aware London has experienced a series of terrorist attacks this morning so I'm not really in the best mood right now. I've been watching it on TV and it's a bit surreal. I don't know if all my friends are ok as I haven't received texts back from all of them yet and I'm feeling a bit isolated.
I've only been back in London just over a day and am staying with my friend's Craig and Marsha, who are both ok, out at Harlesden which is a wee way out of central London (Marsha rang me just before and it looks like they will have to walk home which will take hours). I was actually going to head into Regent St today to pick up my cards etc for my UK bank account, however, I won't be going into the city anytime soon and will be rather hesitant to get on the Tube or a bus from now on.
We are all still waiting to hear the extent of what has happened so I really don't know what I will do from here, I will just wait for everything to settle down. The city has gone from euphoria with getting the 2012 Olympics, to shock. At least they have been prepared for it, one of the first things I noticed when I got here was that they don't have any rubbish bins at the Tube stations for fear of bombs being dropped in them and the emergency procedures seem to have gone to plan. Anyway, that's all I have to say right now.
Well I was going to send out the detailed account of my adventures in Scandinavia, which I will do at some point, however, as you are probably aware London has experienced a series of terrorist attacks this morning so I'm not really in the best mood right now. I've been watching it on TV and it's a bit surreal. I don't know if all my friends are ok as I haven't received texts back from all of them yet and I'm feeling a bit isolated.
I've only been back in London just over a day and am staying with my friend's Craig and Marsha, who are both ok, out at Harlesden which is a wee way out of central London (Marsha rang me just before and it looks like they will have to walk home which will take hours). I was actually going to head into Regent St today to pick up my cards etc for my UK bank account, however, I won't be going into the city anytime soon and will be rather hesitant to get on the Tube or a bus from now on.
We are all still waiting to hear the extent of what has happened so I really don't know what I will do from here, I will just wait for everything to settle down. The city has gone from euphoria with getting the 2012 Olympics, to shock. At least they have been prepared for it, one of the first things I noticed when I got here was that they don't have any rubbish bins at the Tube stations for fear of bombs being dropped in them and the emergency procedures seem to have gone to plan. Anyway, that's all I have to say right now.
Friday, July 22, 2005
Hi from Finland
Originally written 30 June 2005
I just wrote a much more detailed email but lost it all by bumping the wrong buttons on the keyboard before I could send it (stupid computers!!!!!!!!!!!!!). So this one will be short and sweet and I'll send a more thorough account at a later date as I have to get back on my bus in 15 minutes.
Basically I'm in Helsinki (capital of Finland) and coming towards the end of my Contiki tour - only three days to go now. I've literally had the time of my life over here and wish it didn't have to end, going back to London will almost be an anti-climax after this. I've been to Denmark, Sweden, Norway and now Finland and it's just been an awesome experience.
Anyway, I really have to get going now so I'll email again when I get the chance. Thanks for all the messages, it's great to read them and catch up.
I just wrote a much more detailed email but lost it all by bumping the wrong buttons on the keyboard before I could send it (stupid computers!!!!!!!!!!!!!). So this one will be short and sweet and I'll send a more thorough account at a later date as I have to get back on my bus in 15 minutes.
Basically I'm in Helsinki (capital of Finland) and coming towards the end of my Contiki tour - only three days to go now. I've literally had the time of my life over here and wish it didn't have to end, going back to London will almost be an anti-climax after this. I've been to Denmark, Sweden, Norway and now Finland and it's just been an awesome experience.
Anyway, I really have to get going now so I'll email again when I get the chance. Thanks for all the messages, it's great to read them and catch up.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
D'yer no wad I meen
Originally written 7 June 2005
Well this is the second exciting installment in the series of my new exciting adventures on the other side of the world, and I have already made some improvements, this being the new, improved, non-jet lagged version. Well since I last chatted I've been around a bit more of London and hopefully I'll be able to send some photos once I find an Internet cafe that actually has the facility to put a CD into PC but here's what I've been up to in the mean time. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention last time that the pub that I had the drinks at on Friday (the Slug and Lettuce) is right in the Jack the Ripper area of London, so that was pretty cool to know.
I stayed in a backpackers in Earls Court on Saturday night and have been staying at one out at Stamford Bridge (two stops further out from Hammersmith if that means anything to anyone) ever since, and will be there until I depart on my Contiki tour to Scandinavia on the 14th. It's £15 per night but I'm trying to get out of the habit of converting everything back to $NZD otherwise I would probably be staying on a park bench somewhere. I'm quite enjoying it there, of course it's got absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I'm the only guy in a room full of girls - an Aussie, South African, Spaniard and German. It's a hard life sometimes but I suppose someone has to do it.
I've already settled into the ways of the backpacker and am making the most of the "free" breakfast, which for me was 6 pieces of toast and a bowl of cornflakes yesterday. McDonald's and Subway have been the other main food sources recently (someone please let me know if I'm starting to "supersize". Does this McDonald's make my ass look fat???).
Went to the Camden markets on Sunday, which was really good. Heaps of ethnic stuff - food, clothing, etc and other stuff like Cd's, DVDs, tee shirts in fact almost everything. Some other interesting items as well, yes you could even buy magic mushrooms legally, and no I didn't buy any, but I will send the photo when I'm able.
Met up with one of my Kiwi friends, Trish, who has just got over here as well and we saw some of the touristy things yesterday - the London Eye, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament (complete withmachine gun wielding policemen), Leicester Square etc etc etc. It's actually just like playing original version Monopoly for me at the moment, except that I haven't bought any property, gone to jail, or won second prize in a beauty competition, but there's plenty of time yet.
Trish kindly invited back me for dinner where she is staying in Whitechapel so I had my first UK supermarket experience at Sainsburys, which consisted of a roast leg of NZ lamb (how patriotic is that), vegetables (although she wouldn't buy the NZ Kumara, but who am I to complain) and Jaffa cakes. I provided the beer (Becks of course) but they don't seem to have Tui over here for some reason. Saw a bit of the East End on my way back to the train station aboard a doubledecker London bus, and went home very contented.
One thing about staying at hostels is that you never really get a full nights sleep. Got woken about 2am this morning by a bunch of (presumably drunk) people leaving the hostel then again about 5.50am by the Aussie girl going to work, but it's all part of the experience and so far I'm loving every second of it.
Had lunch in town with my mate Craig today (yes it was McDonalds again), and almost got run over by both a London bus and a London taxi in two seperate incidents. Have spent most of the afternoon (and now evening, gee where has the day gone?) in a couple of Internet cafes. Firstly, trying to book a cheap flight over to Copenhagen in Denmark for the start of my Contikt, secondly, converting my CV into UK format which was a lot more time consuming than I thought it would be, and thirdly writing this novel - is anyone still actually reading this? Cause if you're not then let me know and I'll stop giving myself RSI.
With regards to the Contiki, it looks like the cheapest option for me is to fly into Malmo in Sweden and get a bus to Copenhagen (only about30 minutes by all accounts) which is where it starts on Tuesday next week. I'm really looking forward to it.
Anyway, I've been staring at a screen for way too long (I almost feel like I'm back at work) so I'm going home. Take care all, see you again, same Bat Time, same Bat Channel.
Well this is the second exciting installment in the series of my new exciting adventures on the other side of the world, and I have already made some improvements, this being the new, improved, non-jet lagged version. Well since I last chatted I've been around a bit more of London and hopefully I'll be able to send some photos once I find an Internet cafe that actually has the facility to put a CD into PC but here's what I've been up to in the mean time. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention last time that the pub that I had the drinks at on Friday (the Slug and Lettuce) is right in the Jack the Ripper area of London, so that was pretty cool to know.
I stayed in a backpackers in Earls Court on Saturday night and have been staying at one out at Stamford Bridge (two stops further out from Hammersmith if that means anything to anyone) ever since, and will be there until I depart on my Contiki tour to Scandinavia on the 14th. It's £15 per night but I'm trying to get out of the habit of converting everything back to $NZD otherwise I would probably be staying on a park bench somewhere. I'm quite enjoying it there, of course it's got absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I'm the only guy in a room full of girls - an Aussie, South African, Spaniard and German. It's a hard life sometimes but I suppose someone has to do it.
I've already settled into the ways of the backpacker and am making the most of the "free" breakfast, which for me was 6 pieces of toast and a bowl of cornflakes yesterday. McDonald's and Subway have been the other main food sources recently (someone please let me know if I'm starting to "supersize". Does this McDonald's make my ass look fat???).
Went to the Camden markets on Sunday, which was really good. Heaps of ethnic stuff - food, clothing, etc and other stuff like Cd's, DVDs, tee shirts in fact almost everything. Some other interesting items as well, yes you could even buy magic mushrooms legally, and no I didn't buy any, but I will send the photo when I'm able.
Met up with one of my Kiwi friends, Trish, who has just got over here as well and we saw some of the touristy things yesterday - the London Eye, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament (complete withmachine gun wielding policemen), Leicester Square etc etc etc. It's actually just like playing original version Monopoly for me at the moment, except that I haven't bought any property, gone to jail, or won second prize in a beauty competition, but there's plenty of time yet.
Trish kindly invited back me for dinner where she is staying in Whitechapel so I had my first UK supermarket experience at Sainsburys, which consisted of a roast leg of NZ lamb (how patriotic is that), vegetables (although she wouldn't buy the NZ Kumara, but who am I to complain) and Jaffa cakes. I provided the beer (Becks of course) but they don't seem to have Tui over here for some reason. Saw a bit of the East End on my way back to the train station aboard a doubledecker London bus, and went home very contented.
One thing about staying at hostels is that you never really get a full nights sleep. Got woken about 2am this morning by a bunch of (presumably drunk) people leaving the hostel then again about 5.50am by the Aussie girl going to work, but it's all part of the experience and so far I'm loving every second of it.
Had lunch in town with my mate Craig today (yes it was McDonalds again), and almost got run over by both a London bus and a London taxi in two seperate incidents. Have spent most of the afternoon (and now evening, gee where has the day gone?) in a couple of Internet cafes. Firstly, trying to book a cheap flight over to Copenhagen in Denmark for the start of my Contikt, secondly, converting my CV into UK format which was a lot more time consuming than I thought it would be, and thirdly writing this novel - is anyone still actually reading this? Cause if you're not then let me know and I'll stop giving myself RSI.
With regards to the Contiki, it looks like the cheapest option for me is to fly into Malmo in Sweden and get a bus to Copenhagen (only about30 minutes by all accounts) which is where it starts on Tuesday next week. I'm really looking forward to it.
Anyway, I've been staring at a screen for way too long (I almost feel like I'm back at work) so I'm going home. Take care all, see you again, same Bat Time, same Bat Channel.
The first email from the UK
Originally written 4 June 2005
Well I've arrived safe and sound in Ol' Blighty. Not too much to report as of yet as it's only been 33 or so hours but I'll fill you in on what I've been up to.
Left Napier at 8.05am on Thursday morning NZ time and flew to Auckland, caught up with a couple of friends there and had coffee, bought travellers cheques etc. Flew out of Auckland at 12.50pm bound for Hong Kong, thankfully the plane was not very full so I had a window seat and an empty seat beside me. I had 11 hours thirty minutes to kill and only got about 4 hours sleep the night before so I tried to make use of the empty seat beside me, which even with my smallish frame was rather uncomfortable, however, I did manage to catch a few ZZZ's every now and then in between watching Million Dollar Baby and a bit of TV etc and trying to avoid deep vein thrombosis.
Got to Hong Kong about 8.30pm local time (it was amazing flying in and seeing the all the lights etc through a dim haze) and spent the 3 hours 30 minutes stop-over time checking out the duty free stores and getting a bite to eat. I was worried about falling asleep and missing my flight so I made sure I set my alarm just in case as I was absolutely exhausted and wondering how I was going to survive another 12 hours 50 minutes on a plane to London and was praying for a rather empty plane so that I could sprawl across a few seats and basically sleep the rest of the way. However, I got on the plane which was stiffling hot, and arrived at my seat to find myself stuck against the window with two guys in the other 2 seats. I was close to both throwing up and passing out so I took my seat and opted for the later (and I hadn't even had one drink the whole day), thankfully when I woke up the guy on the aisle seat had moved and the one next to me had taken his place, so at least I had a bit of space.
We left Hong Kong and I actually got a reasonable amount of sporadic sleep, broken up by a bit of turbulence every so often. The trip actually seemed shorter than the one to Hong Kong and we got into Heathrow about 5.25am (20 minutes early). I actually got quite excited coming in over the Thames and it all finally started to seem a bit real, after 24 hours flying time I had arrived. I was absolutely amazed at how slack the UK security is, and after hearing a whole heap of horror stories about UK Customs not wanting to let people on UK working holiday visas into the country, the only question they asked me was how long I planned to stay in the UK, simple as that and I was in. Picked up my bags and walked through the "nothing to declare" section (they didn't even have anyone working there to check anything!!!) and I was free.
I soon discovered how quickly something can go missing as Iaccidentally left a bag of duty free wine (which was destined for my friends Craig and Marsha who I was meeting) and my polar fleece top on my baggage trolley. I only discovered I'd left it there once I got onto the tube. I got off before it got going and went back to get it but it was no where to be seen. Thankfully I didn't lose anything really valuable and it has certainly made me a lot more aware.
Met Craig and Marsha at Earls Court station and went back to their flat. Tried to stay awake etc and managed to, but couldn't stop the floor from moving (stupid motion carry-over from 24 hours flying. Went into central London (Liverpool St) and had lunch and walked around and saw some sites. I had to keep resting every so often and couldn't really focus on anything for very long. Went to the Slug and Lettuce pub with Craig and Marsha and met some of their ex-work mates for a drink, had a Becks but they are only 270mls over here and so moved on to Kronenborg which seemed a bit better value - still £3.05 for a pint. After a couple of these I was feeling rather happy and managed to fall asleep multiple times on the train home. Got to bed about 10pm and it has never felt so good to actually sleep in a bed.
Came into Wimbledon today and am trying to find a backpackers to stay at until I leave for my Contiki to Scandinavia on the 14th, and that's basically where I'm up to now.
Well I've arrived safe and sound in Ol' Blighty. Not too much to report as of yet as it's only been 33 or so hours but I'll fill you in on what I've been up to.
Left Napier at 8.05am on Thursday morning NZ time and flew to Auckland, caught up with a couple of friends there and had coffee, bought travellers cheques etc. Flew out of Auckland at 12.50pm bound for Hong Kong, thankfully the plane was not very full so I had a window seat and an empty seat beside me. I had 11 hours thirty minutes to kill and only got about 4 hours sleep the night before so I tried to make use of the empty seat beside me, which even with my smallish frame was rather uncomfortable, however, I did manage to catch a few ZZZ's every now and then in between watching Million Dollar Baby and a bit of TV etc and trying to avoid deep vein thrombosis.
Got to Hong Kong about 8.30pm local time (it was amazing flying in and seeing the all the lights etc through a dim haze) and spent the 3 hours 30 minutes stop-over time checking out the duty free stores and getting a bite to eat. I was worried about falling asleep and missing my flight so I made sure I set my alarm just in case as I was absolutely exhausted and wondering how I was going to survive another 12 hours 50 minutes on a plane to London and was praying for a rather empty plane so that I could sprawl across a few seats and basically sleep the rest of the way. However, I got on the plane which was stiffling hot, and arrived at my seat to find myself stuck against the window with two guys in the other 2 seats. I was close to both throwing up and passing out so I took my seat and opted for the later (and I hadn't even had one drink the whole day), thankfully when I woke up the guy on the aisle seat had moved and the one next to me had taken his place, so at least I had a bit of space.
We left Hong Kong and I actually got a reasonable amount of sporadic sleep, broken up by a bit of turbulence every so often. The trip actually seemed shorter than the one to Hong Kong and we got into Heathrow about 5.25am (20 minutes early). I actually got quite excited coming in over the Thames and it all finally started to seem a bit real, after 24 hours flying time I had arrived. I was absolutely amazed at how slack the UK security is, and after hearing a whole heap of horror stories about UK Customs not wanting to let people on UK working holiday visas into the country, the only question they asked me was how long I planned to stay in the UK, simple as that and I was in. Picked up my bags and walked through the "nothing to declare" section (they didn't even have anyone working there to check anything!!!) and I was free.
I soon discovered how quickly something can go missing as Iaccidentally left a bag of duty free wine (which was destined for my friends Craig and Marsha who I was meeting) and my polar fleece top on my baggage trolley. I only discovered I'd left it there once I got onto the tube. I got off before it got going and went back to get it but it was no where to be seen. Thankfully I didn't lose anything really valuable and it has certainly made me a lot more aware.
Met Craig and Marsha at Earls Court station and went back to their flat. Tried to stay awake etc and managed to, but couldn't stop the floor from moving (stupid motion carry-over from 24 hours flying. Went into central London (Liverpool St) and had lunch and walked around and saw some sites. I had to keep resting every so often and couldn't really focus on anything for very long. Went to the Slug and Lettuce pub with Craig and Marsha and met some of their ex-work mates for a drink, had a Becks but they are only 270mls over here and so moved on to Kronenborg which seemed a bit better value - still £3.05 for a pint. After a couple of these I was feeling rather happy and managed to fall asleep multiple times on the train home. Got to bed about 10pm and it has never felt so good to actually sleep in a bed.
Came into Wimbledon today and am trying to find a backpackers to stay at until I leave for my Contiki to Scandinavia on the 14th, and that's basically where I'm up to now.
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