Brighton Revisited

Alison had never been to Brighton, so we decided to take advantage of a Paramount Hotel offer(previous similar deals have taken us to Harrogate and Redworth Hall in Durham) and have two nights at The Old Ship Hotel right on the seafront. I had spent parts of five years from 1963 to 1968 at Brighton College of Advanced Technology ( later to become Brighton Polytechnic and more recently the University of Brighton), so for me this was a nostalgic return forty years on.

We were going to visit Arundel Castle on the way, but it started to drizzle so we carried on to Worthing, taking in the pier and the promenade before a coffee and some specialist shops (Yankee Candle and Oil and Vinegar).

Made Brighton late afternoon, checked in (leaving the car in the hotel car park for two days) and went for a wander, before the inclusive first night's dinner. The hotel did not have Sky, so we found an Australian pub called The Outback to watch the Chelsea v Liverpool Champions League semi. It was packed, but had about a dozen screens, so there was no problem seeing. It was just we could not hear the commentary over the noise. Memorable. ( Other pubs we have watched football include one in Harrogate for England v Columbia in the world cup and one in Wadebridge to see Arsenal lose at home in the Champions League to Inter Milan).

The next day we took in all the sights. Brighton centre did not seem all that familiar. Probably as a twenty year old, I only remember the pubs such as The Sussex above. We were caught in a heavy shower in the middle of the day, and rushed for the shelter of the aquarium Brighton Sealife. The building is quite historic. It was interesting to see the indoor arena (now unused) where the dolphins were displayed before this was banned in the UK. But the highlight was the tunnel where giant turtles and sharks would swim over your head.

We found a nice Italian restaurant for dinner and took in the pier at night. The next day was our last and we drove to the marina for a nice wander, then a coffee, in glorious sunshine. Later we headed for Eastbourne and walked the promenade and our third pier. Finally we eventually found Devils Dyke for a short walk along the top of the downs. It was a really nice break. The weather was good for the most part and even the M25 on a Friday evening was not too busy.

The Hills Have Eyes 2, Sunshine and Blades of Glory

Sometimes its hard to pick the right film to go and see. The Hills Have Eyes is a typical modern American horror where gore takes precedence over content. The photography almost saved the day.

Sunshine was a "must see", being directed by Danny Boyle. Enjoyable sci fi, although the ending was very obscure. When I tried to make sense of it by looking for comments on the web, I found that I was not the only one confused.

I only went to see Blades of Glory because I thought that Shooter might be too uncomfortable to watch in the wake of the events at Virginia Tech. I can remember going to see Heat just after similar shootings and found that quite difficult, so I did not want to chance a repeat. I am just not keen on American comedies, and Blades of Glory did nothing to change my mind. There were some quite good visual jokes, which was fortunate as the verbal gags were almost non existent.

If there was one thing these films had in common, it was the restrictions of where they took place. Outside and inside some rocks, a spaceship and an ice rink. I'm looking forward to some better locations next.

Bluebells and Beech

As this is the best time of the year to see the bluebells, it also co-incides with the beech trees coming into leaf. So on Saturday, my circular walk from Wendover Woods was extended by taking lots of photos. These have now been edited and the best are on my picasa web album. This first picture is at the start in Wendover Woods where the bluebells are the most prolific.

These are beech trees coming into leaf. The collision of the copper buds that have not yet opened with the flourescent green of the new leaves in the background make a startling contrast.

Best Things about Retirement Part 2 - Listening to music at home

Up until this year, listening to my music (as opposed to that listened to with Alison) was pretty much confined to the car and definitely my preferred way. I have now found that listening at home is a whole new experience. Some music is definitely better sitting at the wheel, but surprisingly some is better at home.

I have just played "Wrecking Ball" by Emmylou Harris and it was beautiful. It must be that the softer music comes across better in a less confined environment. Will have to try Gillian Welch, Kathryn Williams and Aimee Mann.

An introduction to Ryan Adams

My son has always suggested I might like Ryan Adams' music. I must have tried a clip somewhere and was not impressed. However there is a great website called www.allmusic.com. This has short extracts from all the tracks on loads of albums. And those from "Gold" encouraged me to buy the CD.

I was not disappointed. In fact there are two of the best back to back tracks I have heard for a long time. "When the stars go blue" and "Nobody Girl" are outstanding, especially the chorus on the former and the verse and instrumental opening and closing on the latter. This song makes me go weak at the knees and goes straight to my all time favourites. Thanks Michael.

Front Bed - Part 2

I knew we needed to finish the front bed, but after the problems with the first section, I thought it might be too dry to dig. But my neighbour Angie came over on Sunday morning to see if we could get started. It was actually a lot easier cutting and stripping the turf than I had imagined. And this time there was actually soil under the grass instead of builder's rubble, which meant we didn't have to import topsoil this time.

By mid afternoon we were at the garden centre choosing shrubs and by teatime they were in. Its amazing how much quicker it was with two of us.

A Busy Easter

The Chequers Estate and Grand Union Canal at Marsworth.

No sooner had I made a start on my Somerset history project, when Easter arrived with great weather. So the last two weeks has included visits from Alison's sisters family ( and a great day at Marsworth reservoirs and canals), great walking weather, and with Alison, a trip to the NT property at Ascott near Wing, going to Bristol to see my brothers and to my daughter for dinner (as she said, the first time she has ever cooked for me). In between there is always so much to do in the garden at this time of year, as well as horrible jobs such as cleaning the outside of the conservatory and jetwashing the pavings. So the history project has to wait.

New front bed

We have a shared front lawn with our neighbours. When we first moved in, two trees had been planted by the builder. As these grew and grew, they both eventually had to come down, leaving a plain square of grass between the two properties.

Two years ago we dug out an oval bed in the centre of the lawn, and on Sunday, my neighbour Angie and I started to strip the turf to make what will be a shrub and flower bed that will give each of us with our own piece of front lawn, and at the same time, provide a pleasant view from our front windows.

Stripping the turf was the easy part. Digging out for the planting was a harder job altogether. The upper layer of ground contained a fair amount of builder's rubble, and after that we were into the clay. So we used copious quantities of fresh topsoil and compost for the holes we dug for the plants. We finished the digging and planting the next day after a visit to the garden centre to buy the shrubs. We did pick two beautiful days to be outside. We still need to topsoil between the plants and cover the shady far end with bark. That will leave the final extension of the bed at the front of the lawn to be tackled another day.

M&S - "Itchycoo Park"

The combination of the Small Faces backing to the latest M&S advertisement is a little masterpiece. Mostly written by Ronnie Lane (who combined with the remnants of the Small Faces, after Steve Marriott left to form Humble Pie, to form the new Faces band with Rod Stewart and Ron Wood), "Itchycoo Park" joins a number of great songs from the sixties used on big ads. And Twiggy outshines the other four (much) younger models in presenting the new spring collection from M&S.

The Number 23, Becoming Jane and 300

Three very different films. Of the three, my preference was for "Becoming Jane". Anne Hathaway was excellent, as was all the acting, and the dialogue sparkled.

"The Number 23" had an interesting plot, but possibly suffered from the casting of Jim Carrey in the lead role, and that once the significance of 23 as a mystical number had been explored, there was not much else to the story. But well directed for the few chills along the way.

Similarly, once the "300" had won the first battle, the remaining fight sequences were pretty repetitive. And there seemed no consistency in their coming through the first battles unscathed, to their easy capitulation at the end.