A wonderful album I bought last week from Amazon is Voices of the Valley from the The Fron Male Voice Choir. Although some of the tracks are sung in Welsh, the majority are in English with some truly magnificent performances of Sailing, Abide with Me, Jerusalem, and World in Union. I first heard a piece from this album on Alan Titchmarsh's Sunday evening programme on Radio 2 about a month ago and thought how good it sounded and I've always liked listening to choirs and music for massed voices.
On the subject of choirs, Five showed a follow up programme last Wednesday on The Singing Estate. The original series was a brilliant idea, forming a choir from the residents of the deprived Blackbird Leys estate in Oxford. Almost none of the choir members had done any public singing before and for the most part were complete novices. Over the course of the series, their transformation into a choir of professional standards was amazing. I was fortunate to see them perform for the first time live at the Royal Albert Hall last April in a Classic FM concert. At that concert the choir gave a stirring and for them at least, an emotional performance of O'Fortuna from Carmina Burana. The programme last week was a follow-up to what had happened to the choir since and for the most part the stories were positive and uplifting. The experience had given some hope and inspiration to do something positive, for others it led them to evaluate their lives and find renewed purpose. All in all, it showed that music and particularly singing, are extremely important in all our lives and can define and express our identities.
Last week I finished reading The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst. An interesting novel that is on one level a savage satire on the hedonism and greed of the 80s and on another a thoughtful and moving reflection on love and growing up. The central character, Nick Guest, I came to despise by the end. For me, he was altogether too charming, wonderfully handsome and self-absorbed. His central pursuit is that of beauty, wherever he goes and in everything that he experiences. He is very much the cuckoo in the nest of the Fedden's home, the family he becomes a part of and it is clear by the end of the novel that Nick really doesn't belong, ultimately the dark secret of his own homosexuality bringing shame and embarrassment on his adopted family.
While Hollinghurst's novel mixes satire and darkly comic moments against a vivid backdrop of grandeur and opulence, its abiding memory for me is the insidiousness of Nick. I felt that despite all his charms and assured confidence, that he is a self-destructive and vain character, largely reflecting Thatcher's Britain.
The BBC adapted the novel for a three-part series in 2006 and have a mini-site guide to the series here.
Currently I am reading All the President's Men and will probably follow that up with its sequel The Final Days, both books charting the Watergate break-in and cover-up that led to the downfall of President Nixon.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Friday, March 30, 2007
What kind of week has it been?
Well the night out with work colleagues on Wednesday went a lot better than I expected. I rather enjoyed myself and it was a good humoured and pleasant way to relax over a few beers (or Magners in my case!) and some nice grub. Maybe I shouldn't be so judgemental in future! Yesterday was another work's bash, this time a lunch for one of my colleagues who retired today after 34 or 35 years service with the company. Quite an incredible longevity of service, especially the way things are going and I can only imagine what is changed in that time. I've only done 13 years and the changes I've seen are immense.
Today has been a quiet day at home as I had Sky TV installed this afternoon :-) Been spending a lot of the afternoon channel-hopping and getting used to all these new channels now on offer, although admittedly some of them I am never likely to watch - can't see myself tuning in to the God Channel or all those mindless shopping channels either! My decision to get Sky was really made when Virgin dropped Sky One from their cable service and so went my opportunity to watch new episodes of Battlestar Galactica. Fortunately, Sky One are having a catch up weekend over Easter so I will get to see all the episodes that I've missed. Not only that but the quality of the picture and sound on cable is terrible compared to the clarity of both sound and picture on Sky. It really does make a huge difference.
I've been doing a fair amount of bidding on eBay over the last couple of weeks and selling stuff too. Sold my West Wing individual series DVD's, some books and other similar items, which frankly were just beginning to gather dust. One of my little collecting pursuits at the moment is old railway timetables, both the public ones and the Working Time Tables. The latter are particularly interesting, for a railway buff like me, as these are the timetables used within the rail industry. They're certainly not for the casual interest as they provide complex details about every train that is scheduled to run within a particular area, things like the reporting number, traction type, timing at junctions as well as main calling points, freight and parcels movements, empty stock movements etc. What they do provide is a glimpse at how the railways are run and how they have evolved over the years.
The public timetables are also fascinating - I've recently bought a couple from the early 1970s, one for the Eastern Region covering the East Coast Main Line and mainlines from Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street into East Anglia and a Southern Region table covering services radiating from Waterloo, Victoria and the Kent Coast termini. What they reveal is just what an enormous and complex system British Rail operated, not just covering trains but also hotels and shipping services - both conventional car ferries and hovercraft - under its Sealink and Seaspeed brands. I recall fondly the Sealink ships that plied the Channel from Portsmouth and across to the Isle of Wight, with their red and black funnels with white BR logo. In addition there are many train services that have since disappeared such as the Motorail service, where you could take your car with you on the train! The cars were loaded onto special trailers at the point of departure and unloaded again when you reached your destination; passengers travelling in standard coaches of the time. Also gone are the through boat trains via Dover and the extensive network of sleeper services to North of England and South Wales. All that remains of the latter is the Caledonian Sleeper from Euston and the Night Riveria from Paddington. And this was the age of local hauled services. Although the Southern Region had converted to multiple unit operation long before the 70s, key trains remained loco hauled, such as the Waterloo to Exeter service. Nowadays the only scheduled loco hauled passenger trains operate on the East Coast Mainline and on services operated by 'one' to Norwich, plus a handful on the West Coast Mainline.
Even station names have changed as the marketing men have had their way. As examples, gone are Portslade & West Hove (now Portslade), Reading General (shortened to just Reading) Tunbridge Wells Central (Tunbridge Wells) , whilst since closed are Holborn Viaduct, Tunbridge Wells West (now part of the Spa Valley Railway), Dover Marine and the through route between Winchester and Alton (although the timetable warns that this service is likely to be closed, which it was! The line between Alresford and Alton is part of the Mid Hants Railway).
Rather confusingly back then weekdays, sometimes included Saturdays as well, with virtually the same service pattern operating six days a week. Sundays were the only day when intending passengers were warned that engineering works may disrupt their journey. How different from today!
Tomorrow I am having another quiet day, especially after my last two weekends seeing me travelling 'up'north.' Easter looks like it could be a quiet one too as thanks to the blockade of the West Coast Main Line between Northampton and Hemel Hempstead, it is the interminable rail replacement service in operation again. At least, I can actually see something happening with all the attention being given to Milton Keynes Central at the moment, where Network Rail are building two new platforms. And a Rugby, where again additional platforms are being built. All this is part of plans for a new timetable being introduced from December 2008, which if it delivers what it promises will see significant enhancements to services along the West Coast Main Line.
Anyhows, so what kind of week has it been? Not bad at all methinks.
Today has been a quiet day at home as I had Sky TV installed this afternoon :-) Been spending a lot of the afternoon channel-hopping and getting used to all these new channels now on offer, although admittedly some of them I am never likely to watch - can't see myself tuning in to the God Channel or all those mindless shopping channels either! My decision to get Sky was really made when Virgin dropped Sky One from their cable service and so went my opportunity to watch new episodes of Battlestar Galactica. Fortunately, Sky One are having a catch up weekend over Easter so I will get to see all the episodes that I've missed. Not only that but the quality of the picture and sound on cable is terrible compared to the clarity of both sound and picture on Sky. It really does make a huge difference.
I've been doing a fair amount of bidding on eBay over the last couple of weeks and selling stuff too. Sold my West Wing individual series DVD's, some books and other similar items, which frankly were just beginning to gather dust. One of my little collecting pursuits at the moment is old railway timetables, both the public ones and the Working Time Tables. The latter are particularly interesting, for a railway buff like me, as these are the timetables used within the rail industry. They're certainly not for the casual interest as they provide complex details about every train that is scheduled to run within a particular area, things like the reporting number, traction type, timing at junctions as well as main calling points, freight and parcels movements, empty stock movements etc. What they do provide is a glimpse at how the railways are run and how they have evolved over the years.
The public timetables are also fascinating - I've recently bought a couple from the early 1970s, one for the Eastern Region covering the East Coast Main Line and mainlines from Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street into East Anglia and a Southern Region table covering services radiating from Waterloo, Victoria and the Kent Coast termini. What they reveal is just what an enormous and complex system British Rail operated, not just covering trains but also hotels and shipping services - both conventional car ferries and hovercraft - under its Sealink and Seaspeed brands. I recall fondly the Sealink ships that plied the Channel from Portsmouth and across to the Isle of Wight, with their red and black funnels with white BR logo. In addition there are many train services that have since disappeared such as the Motorail service, where you could take your car with you on the train! The cars were loaded onto special trailers at the point of departure and unloaded again when you reached your destination; passengers travelling in standard coaches of the time. Also gone are the through boat trains via Dover and the extensive network of sleeper services to North of England and South Wales. All that remains of the latter is the Caledonian Sleeper from Euston and the Night Riveria from Paddington. And this was the age of local hauled services. Although the Southern Region had converted to multiple unit operation long before the 70s, key trains remained loco hauled, such as the Waterloo to Exeter service. Nowadays the only scheduled loco hauled passenger trains operate on the East Coast Mainline and on services operated by 'one' to Norwich, plus a handful on the West Coast Mainline.
Even station names have changed as the marketing men have had their way. As examples, gone are Portslade & West Hove (now Portslade), Reading General (shortened to just Reading) Tunbridge Wells Central (Tunbridge Wells) , whilst since closed are Holborn Viaduct, Tunbridge Wells West (now part of the Spa Valley Railway), Dover Marine and the through route between Winchester and Alton (although the timetable warns that this service is likely to be closed, which it was! The line between Alresford and Alton is part of the Mid Hants Railway).
Rather confusingly back then weekdays, sometimes included Saturdays as well, with virtually the same service pattern operating six days a week. Sundays were the only day when intending passengers were warned that engineering works may disrupt their journey. How different from today!
Tomorrow I am having another quiet day, especially after my last two weekends seeing me travelling 'up'north.' Easter looks like it could be a quiet one too as thanks to the blockade of the West Coast Main Line between Northampton and Hemel Hempstead, it is the interminable rail replacement service in operation again. At least, I can actually see something happening with all the attention being given to Milton Keynes Central at the moment, where Network Rail are building two new platforms. And a Rugby, where again additional platforms are being built. All this is part of plans for a new timetable being introduced from December 2008, which if it delivers what it promises will see significant enhancements to services along the West Coast Main Line.
Anyhows, so what kind of week has it been? Not bad at all methinks.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Tuesday
I am beginning to dread the thought of tomorrow night as we have agreed to going to the pub for a few drinks after work. The purpose ostensibly is so everyone can relax after all the crap we've been going through recently. Personally I feel it'll more likely be an excuse for some people to get drunk. Not my idea of a fun way to spend an evening, watching my colleagues get themselves drunk. I've never particularly enjoyed drinking heavily, even less so in the company of others. I had a few experiences when I was at college when I'd had too much to drink and I don't hold my drink well. Alcohol inevitably makes me depressed and withdrawn and a rather pathetic creature all round I think. I often regret the things that I do or say when I've had a few too many. Most people probably think its fun to get drunk and do silly things, I don't. Maybe its because I am too self-controlled to ever let myself completely go. I always need to feel in control and I feel bitterly the shame of being stupid or pathetic.
Its not only the pressure to guzzle as many pints of alcohol that puts me off, its the laddish behaviour that goes with it and the depressing thought that most of the evening will probably be spent talking about work or football. I feel inadequate in such discussions and I am envious of men who can strike up lucid conversations on football or any sport, as I could barely string together two intelligent words to say on the subject.
The last two times I've been out on a work's event I've spent the latter part of the evening being lectured too by a well meaning colleague on how to find love! I hate these presumptuous and pretentious 'buddy' talks as much as anything. I don't need anyone's advice on matters of the heart, I'll find my own way thank you and if I want to be single maybe there is a reason for that and maybe, just maybe I don't want to talk about it. End of.
And then of course there are the confessions that come out when people have had a few. The things that I've learnt about the people I work with that I had no wish to know, that will forever colour the way I see them. I would be ashamed by such personal revelations. I've never felt comfortable about talking about what I consider my private life, because frankly it's private. It is my business and nobody else's and I don't want to hear about everyone else's sordid little secrets. Whatever happened to pride and dignity?
Normally at the end of these evenings I feel a vague sense of disappointment and emptiness. But to not go would invite its own cross-examination of why not and I believe would lead to a degree of ostracising from the team. Already my refusal to come to the pub on a Friday lunchtime is beginning to put up a barrier. Why is it so important anyway?
So I will go tomorrow, because to not be there as I say would warrant its own inquest. All I can hope is that I can extricate myself before I get to the point where boredom has given way to deep misgivings about why I am there and certainly before another well meaning 'buddy' talk.
Its not only the pressure to guzzle as many pints of alcohol that puts me off, its the laddish behaviour that goes with it and the depressing thought that most of the evening will probably be spent talking about work or football. I feel inadequate in such discussions and I am envious of men who can strike up lucid conversations on football or any sport, as I could barely string together two intelligent words to say on the subject.
The last two times I've been out on a work's event I've spent the latter part of the evening being lectured too by a well meaning colleague on how to find love! I hate these presumptuous and pretentious 'buddy' talks as much as anything. I don't need anyone's advice on matters of the heart, I'll find my own way thank you and if I want to be single maybe there is a reason for that and maybe, just maybe I don't want to talk about it. End of.
And then of course there are the confessions that come out when people have had a few. The things that I've learnt about the people I work with that I had no wish to know, that will forever colour the way I see them. I would be ashamed by such personal revelations. I've never felt comfortable about talking about what I consider my private life, because frankly it's private. It is my business and nobody else's and I don't want to hear about everyone else's sordid little secrets. Whatever happened to pride and dignity?
Normally at the end of these evenings I feel a vague sense of disappointment and emptiness. But to not go would invite its own cross-examination of why not and I believe would lead to a degree of ostracising from the team. Already my refusal to come to the pub on a Friday lunchtime is beginning to put up a barrier. Why is it so important anyway?
So I will go tomorrow, because to not be there as I say would warrant its own inquest. All I can hope is that I can extricate myself before I get to the point where boredom has given way to deep misgivings about why I am there and certainly before another well meaning 'buddy' talk.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Liverpool
I had a fab day yesterday in Liverpool, the highlight being a visit to the city's two cathedrals, both magnificent examples of modern architecture. The Liverpool Anglican Cathedral is the second largest in the world and is an impr
essive, dominating structure, which commands a superior position over the city. It is described in the guides and the brochure as 'The Great Space' and it is clear why on stepping inside. Awesome, is maybe an overused superlative but there is not one better to describe entering the cathedral, an extraordinary building in terms of its sheer scale and design. What I found remarkable is that Liverpool Cathedral is a relatively new building, only being completed and finally dedicated in 1978; construction began in 1904. It is a marvel from both outside and within, an incredible symbol of faith and courage.
essive, dominating structure, which commands a superior position over the city. It is described in the guides and the brochure as 'The Great Space' and it is clear why on stepping inside. Awesome, is maybe an overused superlative but there is not one better to describe entering the cathedral, an extraordinary building in terms of its sheer scale and design. What I found remarkable is that Liverpool Cathedral is a relatively new building, only being completed and finally dedicated in 1978; construction began in 1904. It is a marvel from both outside and within, an incredible symbol of faith and courage. At the time of my visit a service of penitence was underway, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery Act. I joined the congregation for the remaining part of the service, which was moving and also wonderfully uplifting and joyful particularly the gospel choir who raised their voices as the procession of Bishops, clergy and civic dignitaries made their way down the cathedral and out the great door, for the walk to the Albert Dock, where a further service was taking place.
Once the service had finished, I had time to explore this magnificent cathedral and admire, almost mouth agape at is enormity and beauty.
Next stop was the the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, which is about a 10-minute walk or so from the Anglican Cathedral. It took me a good deal longer as I was stopping all the time to look at the fine buildings on the way. I hadn't noticed before just what an architecturally fine city Liverpool is. Previously I'd been to the Albert Dock and the Pier Head, with is three 'graces', the Liver Building, the Port of Liverpool and Cunard buildings. But as I discovered on my wanderings yesterday, Liverpool is blessed with a rich and varied collection of extremely fine and attractive buildings.
The Roman Catholic cathedral I was expecting to be something of an anti-climax after the magnificence of the Anglican cathedral. Again, it is a modern structure, intriguingly circular in shape and topped with a lantern that contains the largest stain glass window in the world. The Metropolitan Cathedral, as I was reading, had a troubled history and the present one, is the fourth to be contemplated or built on the site. There were grand plans in the 1930s to build a cathedral that in terms of scale and ambition would have been enormous, rising to 520 feet! However all that was ever built was the crypt, which is incorporated into the more modern building. Unfortunately this was closed at the time of my visit, however the main building itself is impressive. The graceful flight of steps leading to the entrance was only completed in the last 3-4 years with the main cathedral completed and consecrated in 1967.Both externally and internally it is a striking building, full of light, which is effectively used to create a bright and happy atmosphere. In many ways it reminds me of the new Coventry cathedral, in its light and airy feel. Around the main area of the cathedral are a series of smaller chapels and the baptistery and some rather gruesome sculptures for each of the fourteen stations of the cross.
It is a magnificent building and feels every bit as important and remarkable as its Anglican counterpart. This is a view of the impressive organ and gives and impression of how light is used to dramatic effect within the cathedral:
Yesterday has whetted my appetite for a return visit to Liverpool before too long and reminds me of how many treasures and delights there are to be found in the UK. I often don't understand why people want to travel abroad for their holidays when there is so much in terms of magnificent buildings, beautiful places and inspiring things to do here!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Thursday
I am thinking of going to Liverpool at the weekend, especially as I have tickets on the train to Crewe again for Saturday. I've only been to Liverpool once and that was about 5 years ago and I seem to remember the Maritime Museum is rather good and of course, no visit to Merseyside is complete without a trip on the ferry across the Mersey! Yeah, that sounds rather good. Might even treat myself to First Class on the way back as its a bargain of about £10 or £15 on Virgin at weekends. Admittedly you don't get much for that - normally as much tea, coffee or water as you can drink and an unlimited supply of biscuits but First Class on a Pendolino is immensely nicer than Standard. Plenty more leg room, space to spread out and its quieter too. Mmmm sounds like a nice way to spend Saturday.
My weekends at the moment are about the only thing that is keeping me sane. Work is interminably boring because I really don't feel stretched or challenged in my current job. Really I am doing nothing more than an admin clerk's role and I am capable of much more than that. Not only do I find it boring, nearly everything I deal with is a complaint or almost always inexplicably urgent. So the tedium is measured by the hassle everything is to deal with, not because its complicated but because so many mistakes have been made on the case before I even get to handle it. At first it bothered me, I was getting really fed up and depressed about it. Now, I really couldn't care. Today for example, I got into work about 9.10, left at 5, had an hour for lunch and made no effort to do anything more than I wanted to do. I just feel disengaged and demotivated and nobody appears to notice. Indeed I made the comment today that it would be perfectly possible to slip away from the office for a couple of hours and no one would notice that I'd gone.
There is always the promise that things will get better and maybe they will but whether that will be soon enough remains to be seen. For now, I am practically on auto-pilot, just getting through each day as it comes, counting the days to the next weekend.
I sent out one of my soap box ranting e-mails yesterday evening. I am sure the friends on my distribution list must tire of seeing another one of these plop into their inbox. In fact I am quite certain that if I am not careful, I'll soon end up on a spam filter with my messages condemned to the trash can of cyberspace. I was having a rant about the lack of objectivity I consider there to be in news reporting today and my annoyance with the way everything is dumbed-down and spoon-fed to the audience. I find it patronising and more worryingly I do begin to believe that most people don't care. They are happy to accept unquestioningly whatever half-baked truths and hyperbole is dished up in the paper or on the news. A prime example of this was today's headline on the front page of The Sun - 'Reasons 2p Cheerful' - which seems to have completely missed the point that the Budget was tax neutral. It also fails to mention that the 10p starting rate of tax was abolished meaning that those that will benefit most are middle-income earners, whilst the poor are worse off. Strange idea that a party that is supposed to be socialist, is penalising the poor! And it worries me that all people will remember is the headlines.
My box set of The West Wing arrived a couple of days ago and I must say it is a lovely set, surprisingly compact. One of the disappointments is that the booklets, which were included with the individual series box sets are dispensed with. Each series is presented on six discs in slimline cases with the episode details on the covers. In addition to all seven seasons, there is a two disc presentation of extras, which I have started watching. These are quite interesting and give some background to the development of the series. All in all a worthwhile investment I feel and with 112 hours of top quality TV to watch, its going to keep me busy for a while!
My weekends at the moment are about the only thing that is keeping me sane. Work is interminably boring because I really don't feel stretched or challenged in my current job. Really I am doing nothing more than an admin clerk's role and I am capable of much more than that. Not only do I find it boring, nearly everything I deal with is a complaint or almost always inexplicably urgent. So the tedium is measured by the hassle everything is to deal with, not because its complicated but because so many mistakes have been made on the case before I even get to handle it. At first it bothered me, I was getting really fed up and depressed about it. Now, I really couldn't care. Today for example, I got into work about 9.10, left at 5, had an hour for lunch and made no effort to do anything more than I wanted to do. I just feel disengaged and demotivated and nobody appears to notice. Indeed I made the comment today that it would be perfectly possible to slip away from the office for a couple of hours and no one would notice that I'd gone.
There is always the promise that things will get better and maybe they will but whether that will be soon enough remains to be seen. For now, I am practically on auto-pilot, just getting through each day as it comes, counting the days to the next weekend.
I sent out one of my soap box ranting e-mails yesterday evening. I am sure the friends on my distribution list must tire of seeing another one of these plop into their inbox. In fact I am quite certain that if I am not careful, I'll soon end up on a spam filter with my messages condemned to the trash can of cyberspace. I was having a rant about the lack of objectivity I consider there to be in news reporting today and my annoyance with the way everything is dumbed-down and spoon-fed to the audience. I find it patronising and more worryingly I do begin to believe that most people don't care. They are happy to accept unquestioningly whatever half-baked truths and hyperbole is dished up in the paper or on the news. A prime example of this was today's headline on the front page of The Sun - 'Reasons 2p Cheerful' - which seems to have completely missed the point that the Budget was tax neutral. It also fails to mention that the 10p starting rate of tax was abolished meaning that those that will benefit most are middle-income earners, whilst the poor are worse off. Strange idea that a party that is supposed to be socialist, is penalising the poor! And it worries me that all people will remember is the headlines.
My box set of The West Wing arrived a couple of days ago and I must say it is a lovely set, surprisingly compact. One of the disappointments is that the booklets, which were included with the individual series box sets are dispensed with. Each series is presented on six discs in slimline cases with the episode details on the covers. In addition to all seven seasons, there is a two disc presentation of extras, which I have started watching. These are quite interesting and give some background to the development of the series. All in all a worthwhile investment I feel and with 112 hours of top quality TV to watch, its going to keep me busy for a while!
Monday, March 19, 2007
Weekend and stuff
I had a good time in Crewe, no seriously don't snigger, there are worse places to spend a Saturday believe me - I've experienced some of them! The boring bits of the day were really the two meetings I attended - some dull bits about rule changes and new wording to the Society's constitution that we had to discuss but once that was out of the way, it got a lot more interesting. Although I am sorry to note that my post on Friday seemed to so disturb Jamie! I was thinking on Saturday whether I should start a separate blog, one that is completely dedicated to my love of railways and my other 'anorak' pursuits. That why at least I won't cause any embarrassment or distress to Jamie by mentioning the 'r' word over here! I guess the truth is that if you simply see trains as a necessary evil (and I am sure some people really think they are evil) form of transport, then reading me banging on about it, must be about as exciting as watching paint dry, probably slightly less so in fact. I can accept that so maybe I will invest in a new blog and put a discreet link on here to there. Then if you want to take a sneaky look at what I get up to some weekends you can and do so without fear of embarrassment! Of course, if all this talk of railways is a complete turn off then you can stick here and listen to me bang on about something much more interesting, like Star Wars!
Tried to book my tickets for Celebration Europe earlier this evening but the web site through which said tickets can be purchased is not available. That is quite worrying because you would think that an on-line ticket vendor would have a web site that was robust and available at all times. Even worse, some feedback on this particular web site, which I will not name, was far from positive. In fact I'd say it was rather derogatory which does not inspire much confidence in the idea of buying my ticket in advance, especially when reading horror stories of people having booked tickets and then being told the day before their intended gig or whatever that tickets have been cancelled due to some arcane admin reason. So it looks like I could be buying the tickets on the day. The only problem with that of course is that probably everyone else will have the same idea and I have these visions of queuing for hours on end.
I bought myself a new toy yesterday. A treat to myself paid from part of my bonus and pay rise at work. Its a Toshiba combi-DVD/video recorder with a HDD. It's a lovely sleek black design and gives a brilliant picture. I was quite struck by how much sharper my TV reception is not to mention the quality of the recordings on to DVD and the HDD. Okay, its not multi-region, which would have been an advantage but then I've lasted this long without a multi-region player and I see little reason to change. Additionally, I could have gone for a player that was compatible with HD (High Definition) but as I don't have a HD TV and have no intention of getting one for the foreseeable future this wasn't a primary concern. Moreover, there are currently two competing formats for HD and it is by no means clear which will be the victor and I don't want to be on the losing side of the modern Betamax vs VHS debate. What I really wanted this machine for was the ability to record onto DVD's and also to be able to copy from VHS to DVD, which I spent an enjoyable few hours doing yesterday afternoon. I've started copying my Star Wars programmes that I've recorded over the last 10 years and was surprised by the number I have on VHS. The first DVD I've made (its not complete yet) will basically be all the little snippets and adverts that I've got. I then intend to do a second and possibly third DVD with the documentaries on, which are wide and varied. There is something from each of the three prequels and also some Special Edition stuff I recorded back in 1997. Its interesting to watch again particularly listening to George Lucas as he constantly re-writes Star Wars history!
I am really chuffed with my new toy and I went for Toshiba because that's the make of my TV, which I've found both excellent in terms of quality and design and its ease of use. The DVD/VHS player is going to take a little bit of getting used to using but I think I was getting the hang of it by the end of yesterday.
Another little treat has been buying the complete series box set of The West Wing. I am waiting for that to be delivered at the moment. Again, a pleasing purchase because I got it at something of a bargain price and it comes with two discs of extras, something which was mostly absent from the individual season box sets.
So looks like I am going to be spending a lot of time in front of the TV over the next few weeks!
Tried to book my tickets for Celebration Europe earlier this evening but the web site through which said tickets can be purchased is not available. That is quite worrying because you would think that an on-line ticket vendor would have a web site that was robust and available at all times. Even worse, some feedback on this particular web site, which I will not name, was far from positive. In fact I'd say it was rather derogatory which does not inspire much confidence in the idea of buying my ticket in advance, especially when reading horror stories of people having booked tickets and then being told the day before their intended gig or whatever that tickets have been cancelled due to some arcane admin reason. So it looks like I could be buying the tickets on the day. The only problem with that of course is that probably everyone else will have the same idea and I have these visions of queuing for hours on end.
I bought myself a new toy yesterday. A treat to myself paid from part of my bonus and pay rise at work. Its a Toshiba combi-DVD/video recorder with a HDD. It's a lovely sleek black design and gives a brilliant picture. I was quite struck by how much sharper my TV reception is not to mention the quality of the recordings on to DVD and the HDD. Okay, its not multi-region, which would have been an advantage but then I've lasted this long without a multi-region player and I see little reason to change. Additionally, I could have gone for a player that was compatible with HD (High Definition) but as I don't have a HD TV and have no intention of getting one for the foreseeable future this wasn't a primary concern. Moreover, there are currently two competing formats for HD and it is by no means clear which will be the victor and I don't want to be on the losing side of the modern Betamax vs VHS debate. What I really wanted this machine for was the ability to record onto DVD's and also to be able to copy from VHS to DVD, which I spent an enjoyable few hours doing yesterday afternoon. I've started copying my Star Wars programmes that I've recorded over the last 10 years and was surprised by the number I have on VHS. The first DVD I've made (its not complete yet) will basically be all the little snippets and adverts that I've got. I then intend to do a second and possibly third DVD with the documentaries on, which are wide and varied. There is something from each of the three prequels and also some Special Edition stuff I recorded back in 1997. Its interesting to watch again particularly listening to George Lucas as he constantly re-writes Star Wars history!
I am really chuffed with my new toy and I went for Toshiba because that's the make of my TV, which I've found both excellent in terms of quality and design and its ease of use. The DVD/VHS player is going to take a little bit of getting used to using but I think I was getting the hang of it by the end of yesterday.
Another little treat has been buying the complete series box set of The West Wing. I am waiting for that to be delivered at the moment. Again, a pleasing purchase because I got it at something of a bargain price and it comes with two discs of extras, something which was mostly absent from the individual season box sets.
So looks like I am going to be spending a lot of time in front of the TV over the next few weeks!
Friday, March 16, 2007
'Oh! Mr Porter, what shall I do,
I wanted to go to Reading, and they've taken me on to Crewe...'
Hah! The dawning realisation that came on me on Wednesday night when I realised that I had booked my train tickets to Crewe for the wrong weekend. Doh! Me, the smug one when it comes to the railways got it so completely wrong that instead of going to Reading tomorrow, which was the plan to attend my OU tutorial, is now heading to Crewe instead! And again next weekend...
Not that Crewe I am sure is a bad place. I hardly know it and the only occasion that I ventured beyond the station was a couple of years ago and that was only to visit The Railway Age. Yep, a railway museum, which is sited adjacent to the main lines into and out of Crewe. I remember it vividly for two reasons. Firstly, it has a preserved partial set of the Advanced Passenger Train, that ill-fated British Rail experimental train from the early 1980s, which arrived with a blaze of publicity and left in the rather ignominious glare of failure. The tilt just didn't work properly and it is with considerable irony that the technology that failed to be perfected in the APT, would later be incorporated in the Pendolino, which to add insult to injury runs regularly past the rusting hulk of the last APT! The second thing I remember about the day was being shown around one of the signal boxes, which if I remember correctly had been reassembled on site in full working order from Exeter. Two gentlemen, both clearly retired showed me how it worked. One disappeared off somewhere to pretend to be the signalman in the next 'box up the line, while the other stayed to show how the equipment in a manual 'box, with its awesome frame of levers, actually worked. It was fabulous experience and with the 'box being situated next to one of the lines out of Crewe, it was possible to suspend disbelief and accept that all the frantic pulling of levers, bells and klaxons had some relation to the real world railway activity outside the window.
I digress. So what am I doing in Crewe anyway? Well, rather embarrassingly considering my buying rail tickets for the wrong weekend and perhaps aptly, I am there attending the AGM of one of the railway groups I belong to. I am also an official of the society so I have to present a report to the meeting on my activities over the last year, stand for and hopefully be re-elected to my post as the Web Site Manager. This is the first AGM I've attended, having missed the previous two due to other engagements. I am a little nervous about doing the presentation but I am sure it will be fine and I am not exactly expecting an audience of hundreds!
So that's tomorrow. And then of course because I originally booked my tickets for the following weekend, I am going to Crewe again! However current plan for next weekend is to head on up to Liverpool, which is about 35-45 minutes out from Crewe and have a day there. Mind you if I do get to see any of Crewe itself tomorrow I might be endeared enough to spend time there next Saturday but I doubt it. Crewe after all is synonymous with the railway, it exists and grew to support the railway works and I doubt there is much else to commend it. The railway works have long gone although there is still maintenance and repair work undertaken at Crewe but one of the most depressing sights is the sidings crammed with withdrawn and condemned locomotives and rolling stock. Its a sorry sight, with many of the locos and carriages daubed in graffiti or showing the ravages of cannibalisation and vandalism. Mind you that's much like Crewe station as I remember it! A grand, sprawling station that looks as if it hasn't seen a touch of care for the last twenty odd years.
Ah well, I guess I will be seeing a lot of Crewe over the next couple of weeks...
Hah! The dawning realisation that came on me on Wednesday night when I realised that I had booked my train tickets to Crewe for the wrong weekend. Doh! Me, the smug one when it comes to the railways got it so completely wrong that instead of going to Reading tomorrow, which was the plan to attend my OU tutorial, is now heading to Crewe instead! And again next weekend...
Not that Crewe I am sure is a bad place. I hardly know it and the only occasion that I ventured beyond the station was a couple of years ago and that was only to visit The Railway Age. Yep, a railway museum, which is sited adjacent to the main lines into and out of Crewe. I remember it vividly for two reasons. Firstly, it has a preserved partial set of the Advanced Passenger Train, that ill-fated British Rail experimental train from the early 1980s, which arrived with a blaze of publicity and left in the rather ignominious glare of failure. The tilt just didn't work properly and it is with considerable irony that the technology that failed to be perfected in the APT, would later be incorporated in the Pendolino, which to add insult to injury runs regularly past the rusting hulk of the last APT! The second thing I remember about the day was being shown around one of the signal boxes, which if I remember correctly had been reassembled on site in full working order from Exeter. Two gentlemen, both clearly retired showed me how it worked. One disappeared off somewhere to pretend to be the signalman in the next 'box up the line, while the other stayed to show how the equipment in a manual 'box, with its awesome frame of levers, actually worked. It was fabulous experience and with the 'box being situated next to one of the lines out of Crewe, it was possible to suspend disbelief and accept that all the frantic pulling of levers, bells and klaxons had some relation to the real world railway activity outside the window.
I digress. So what am I doing in Crewe anyway? Well, rather embarrassingly considering my buying rail tickets for the wrong weekend and perhaps aptly, I am there attending the AGM of one of the railway groups I belong to. I am also an official of the society so I have to present a report to the meeting on my activities over the last year, stand for and hopefully be re-elected to my post as the Web Site Manager. This is the first AGM I've attended, having missed the previous two due to other engagements. I am a little nervous about doing the presentation but I am sure it will be fine and I am not exactly expecting an audience of hundreds!
So that's tomorrow. And then of course because I originally booked my tickets for the following weekend, I am going to Crewe again! However current plan for next weekend is to head on up to Liverpool, which is about 35-45 minutes out from Crewe and have a day there. Mind you if I do get to see any of Crewe itself tomorrow I might be endeared enough to spend time there next Saturday but I doubt it. Crewe after all is synonymous with the railway, it exists and grew to support the railway works and I doubt there is much else to commend it. The railway works have long gone although there is still maintenance and repair work undertaken at Crewe but one of the most depressing sights is the sidings crammed with withdrawn and condemned locomotives and rolling stock. Its a sorry sight, with many of the locos and carriages daubed in graffiti or showing the ravages of cannibalisation and vandalism. Mind you that's much like Crewe station as I remember it! A grand, sprawling station that looks as if it hasn't seen a touch of care for the last twenty odd years.
Ah well, I guess I will be seeing a lot of Crewe over the next couple of weeks...
Monday, March 12, 2007
A thoughtful weekend
This weekend just past was a rarity being one where I had absolutely nothing planned. Normally my weekends are filled with things to do, places to go, people to see. Not that I am complaining. Weekends are my time and I like to lots of things and enjoying getting out and going to different places. I had briefly entertained the thought of going to work on Saturday morning for a few hours overtime but sometimes the money just isn't enough. Dragging myself into the office for five days a week at the moment is sapping what is left of my motivation.
So I spent Saturday and Sunday mainly catching up on DVD's that I've been meaning to watch plus listening to the radio and catching a fascinating and disturbing documentary on BBC 2 last night and a little studying on Sunday morning, although really I should have devoted more of my time to this.
I am working my way through Season Five of The West Wing on DVD currently and it is perhaps the most uneven of the series so far, although still fantastic and gripping drama. This series' focus on CJ Cregg, the White House Press Secretary (played by the wonderful Alison Janney) is pleasing as she is my favourite character of the ensemble. I am attracted to intelligent, beautiful and powerful women, well who wouldn't be?! Hence my crush on Gillian Anderson in The X-Files and rather embarrassingly my one time fascination with Kate Mulgrew as Captain Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager.
Anyhows back to The West Wing generally. As I mentioned this season is a little uneven and one of my main criticisms is how the story always seems to be neatly wrapped up within an episode or three or four at most. There does not appear to be any clear story arcs that continue across the whole series, which gives the impression that no matter what crisis emerges, there is certainly it will settled within the 45 minute duration of the show. I guess this is to appeal to an attention-deficit suffering American audience but I feel it emasculates the drama.
One of the episodes I watched, The Warfare of Genghis Khan, was particularly interesting, dealing with the controversial issue of nuclear weapons. As the episode opens, The White House learns of a secret nuclear test undertaken off Indonesia, immediately sparking concerns that a new nuclear power has emerged. All the fingers start pointing to Iran and as the President orders B52 bombers into the air, the tension ratchets up as it appears the United States is sliding into a possible nuclear conflagration. Needless to say all is resolved by the end of the episode although there are some interesting points made about America's decision to take unilateral action, bypassing the United Nations and an incisive questioning of America's moral high ground. As the Israeli Prime Minister pointedly says to President Bartlett, America is the only nation that has used nuclear weapons aggressively against another nation yet it seeks to dictate who else can and cannot have access to these terrible weapons of mass destruction.
This episode by coincidence segued nicely into a debate I heard on The Moral Maze on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday which was debating whether Britain should renew its nuclear deterrent. I am undecided on the issue and I would like to be convinced that the need for nuclear arms is rendered unnecessary since the end of the Cold War. Unfortunately one of the main witnesses arguing against renewal of the deterrent did more to undo her argument than advance it. She prevaricated on most of the direct questions and dodged anything that didn't fit her narrow line that nuclear weapons were bad and therefore we shouldn't have them and that by leading by example other countries would disarm or not seek to obtain nuclear weapons. The latter seems to be hopeless wishful thinking. Morally, I find it difficult to justify why countries like Britain and America should hold a nuclear deterrent, while other countries should not. When it comes to countries like Iran I feel strongly that they should not be allowed to arm themselves with such weapons but what is my justification for arguing that? Is it because I feel that Iran is a dangerous and belligerent country? After all, returning to the point made in The West Wing, the United States is the only country so far to have deployed nuclear weapons offensively. What gives the West the moral majority in deciding these matters and who are we to say what is rational when our governments have acted in the past in ways which are both reprehensible and irrational at the cost of tens of thousands of lives?
Saturday evening I watched one of my favourite films of 2006, The History Boys. It is based on the extremely successful play by Alan Bennett, set at a Grammar school in northern England during the early 80s, although the film was mostly shot around Watford! Its an odd film. On the one level its a comedy, on another it makes some deep and profound statements on homosexuality and the pains of growing up. Its weaknesses are that on occasion it tries to be too clever, the dialogue sounds just like it has come from the mouth of Alan Bennett rather than reflecting the individual characters and it doesn't feel much like it is taking place in the 80s either; it all feels rather fresh and current. At times The History Boys is very funny but never far from a scene of painful sadness and pathos by the bucket load.
Also watched over the weekend and on a completely different note, was The Day of the Triffids, the 1980s BBC adaptation of John Wyndham's novel. I've seen three episodes so far and I am impressed. I didn't think I would be but everything about each episode from the spooky and strange opening titles and music to the inevitable cliff-hanger strikes a perfect tone. The Triffids themselves are menacing and while the special effects budget was clearly limited, they are still effective thanks to some clever camera work. I am looking forward to watching the rest over the coming week.
Finally. I finished the weekend off watching The Trap: Whatever Happened to Our Dreams of Freedom on BBC 2 last night. This was the first of a new three part series from Adam Curtis, who was responsible for the excellent The Power of Nightmares. The Trap is similar in style, with often weird and disturbing images that seem to flash by accompanied by moody music. It has the feeling of some mind control experiment! Difficult to fault is Curtis' measured and authoritative commentary and it is genuinely chilling as he unravels that our modern day concepts of freedom are based on Cold War Game Theory. This is a rather bleak and negative view of human behaviour based on the assumption that everyone acts in their own self-interest. Game Theory is based on the idea of a society solely made up of self-interested individuals with no place for altruism and worryingly it has shaped for example the reforms of the National Health Service during Thatcher's government in the 80s. It was all rather depressing, that our idea of freedom comes from an era or paranoia and mistrust and that rather than being freer we have actually become enslaved to these negative conceptions of human behaviour. Fascinating stuff and will definitely be watching the next two parts.
So I spent Saturday and Sunday mainly catching up on DVD's that I've been meaning to watch plus listening to the radio and catching a fascinating and disturbing documentary on BBC 2 last night and a little studying on Sunday morning, although really I should have devoted more of my time to this.
I am working my way through Season Five of The West Wing on DVD currently and it is perhaps the most uneven of the series so far, although still fantastic and gripping drama. This series' focus on CJ Cregg, the White House Press Secretary (played by the wonderful Alison Janney) is pleasing as she is my favourite character of the ensemble. I am attracted to intelligent, beautiful and powerful women, well who wouldn't be?! Hence my crush on Gillian Anderson in The X-Files and rather embarrassingly my one time fascination with Kate Mulgrew as Captain Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager.
Anyhows back to The West Wing generally. As I mentioned this season is a little uneven and one of my main criticisms is how the story always seems to be neatly wrapped up within an episode or three or four at most. There does not appear to be any clear story arcs that continue across the whole series, which gives the impression that no matter what crisis emerges, there is certainly it will settled within the 45 minute duration of the show. I guess this is to appeal to an attention-deficit suffering American audience but I feel it emasculates the drama.
One of the episodes I watched, The Warfare of Genghis Khan, was particularly interesting, dealing with the controversial issue of nuclear weapons. As the episode opens, The White House learns of a secret nuclear test undertaken off Indonesia, immediately sparking concerns that a new nuclear power has emerged. All the fingers start pointing to Iran and as the President orders B52 bombers into the air, the tension ratchets up as it appears the United States is sliding into a possible nuclear conflagration. Needless to say all is resolved by the end of the episode although there are some interesting points made about America's decision to take unilateral action, bypassing the United Nations and an incisive questioning of America's moral high ground. As the Israeli Prime Minister pointedly says to President Bartlett, America is the only nation that has used nuclear weapons aggressively against another nation yet it seeks to dictate who else can and cannot have access to these terrible weapons of mass destruction.
This episode by coincidence segued nicely into a debate I heard on The Moral Maze on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday which was debating whether Britain should renew its nuclear deterrent. I am undecided on the issue and I would like to be convinced that the need for nuclear arms is rendered unnecessary since the end of the Cold War. Unfortunately one of the main witnesses arguing against renewal of the deterrent did more to undo her argument than advance it. She prevaricated on most of the direct questions and dodged anything that didn't fit her narrow line that nuclear weapons were bad and therefore we shouldn't have them and that by leading by example other countries would disarm or not seek to obtain nuclear weapons. The latter seems to be hopeless wishful thinking. Morally, I find it difficult to justify why countries like Britain and America should hold a nuclear deterrent, while other countries should not. When it comes to countries like Iran I feel strongly that they should not be allowed to arm themselves with such weapons but what is my justification for arguing that? Is it because I feel that Iran is a dangerous and belligerent country? After all, returning to the point made in The West Wing, the United States is the only country so far to have deployed nuclear weapons offensively. What gives the West the moral majority in deciding these matters and who are we to say what is rational when our governments have acted in the past in ways which are both reprehensible and irrational at the cost of tens of thousands of lives?
Saturday evening I watched one of my favourite films of 2006, The History Boys. It is based on the extremely successful play by Alan Bennett, set at a Grammar school in northern England during the early 80s, although the film was mostly shot around Watford! Its an odd film. On the one level its a comedy, on another it makes some deep and profound statements on homosexuality and the pains of growing up. Its weaknesses are that on occasion it tries to be too clever, the dialogue sounds just like it has come from the mouth of Alan Bennett rather than reflecting the individual characters and it doesn't feel much like it is taking place in the 80s either; it all feels rather fresh and current. At times The History Boys is very funny but never far from a scene of painful sadness and pathos by the bucket load.
Also watched over the weekend and on a completely different note, was The Day of the Triffids, the 1980s BBC adaptation of John Wyndham's novel. I've seen three episodes so far and I am impressed. I didn't think I would be but everything about each episode from the spooky and strange opening titles and music to the inevitable cliff-hanger strikes a perfect tone. The Triffids themselves are menacing and while the special effects budget was clearly limited, they are still effective thanks to some clever camera work. I am looking forward to watching the rest over the coming week.
Finally. I finished the weekend off watching The Trap: Whatever Happened to Our Dreams of Freedom on BBC 2 last night. This was the first of a new three part series from Adam Curtis, who was responsible for the excellent The Power of Nightmares. The Trap is similar in style, with often weird and disturbing images that seem to flash by accompanied by moody music. It has the feeling of some mind control experiment! Difficult to fault is Curtis' measured and authoritative commentary and it is genuinely chilling as he unravels that our modern day concepts of freedom are based on Cold War Game Theory. This is a rather bleak and negative view of human behaviour based on the assumption that everyone acts in their own self-interest. Game Theory is based on the idea of a society solely made up of self-interested individuals with no place for altruism and worryingly it has shaped for example the reforms of the National Health Service during Thatcher's government in the 80s. It was all rather depressing, that our idea of freedom comes from an era or paranoia and mistrust and that rather than being freer we have actually become enslaved to these negative conceptions of human behaviour. Fascinating stuff and will definitely be watching the next two parts.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
The last two weeks
I finished reading Richard Reeves' biography of the presidency of Richard Nixon last week. The book, which is a weighty volume, ends rather abruptly, skimming over the tragic collapse of Nixon's presidency. It is tragic, however you consider it. A man, who considered himself the architect of his times being undone by a third rate burglary and the cover-up that followed. In some of the final desperate moments, Reeves' explores Nixon's retreat to Camp David, where the President broke down and confessed that he had prayed to God each night, hoping that he would not wake the following morning. There was apparently genuine concern that in those final days Nixon would attempt to commit suicide. That seems unlikely considering Nixon's indomitable spirit but there was no question that by the end, Nixon was a broken man. Similarly, the presidency and the wider government became paralysed by Watergate. During Nixon's tenure he had steadily and purposefully drawn more and more power to the White House, giving alarm at the rise of what was characterised as an 'imperialist' administration.
What struck me most about Reeves' book was that there were two Nixon's in the White House. The private Nixon, a man who was a sad drunk, self-loathing and with an insane capacity for self-destruction. This was a man who preferred to be on his own, who found it painfully difficult to make small talk, was deeply suspicious of those around him and trust virtually no one. The private Nixon was also a foul-mouthed anti-Semite; bigoted and racist. The other Nixon, the public face, was delusional and corrupted by power but a clever and manipulative orator too. It is often forgotten that in 1972 Nixon was re-elected by the biggest majority in US history and enjoyed the triumph of historic visits to China and Russia and achieving 'peace with honour' in Vietnam. The latter though underlines the stark contrast between the public presentation and reality. The reality was that the Nixon administration betrayed the South Vietnamese and there was really no peace with honour; it was a humiliating retreat.
There is on the face of it so much to loathe about Nixon and little to admire or respect. I've always been fascinated by Nixon and although Reeves' book gives a dramatic insight into the Nixon administration, it doesn't really get to an understanding of who Nixon was. This I guess is what is so fascinating; Nixon was a complete enigma and I doubt that he even fully understood who he was himself. Nixon was a craftsman at deception and obfuscation, often rewriting his own history to suit a purpose.
Currently I am reading The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollingsworth, which was dramatised last year on BBC Two. Needless to say the novel is far superior, with its delicious sentences that evoke a sense of the 1980s being a beautiful time solely populated by beautiful people. I'll share my more detailed thoughts when I've finished the book.
The weekend before last I was in London to meet with friends and as is traditional with these meets, we went to the cinema. The chosen film, The Good Shepherd, was interminably long and densely boring in places. I had expected that I would have enjoyed this but I found the narrative too flabby and the constant switching back and forth in time was not helped by the fact that the characters did not age! By the end of the film, Matt Damon's character looked exactly the same age as his son, so that they could have been mistaken as brothers rather than father and son! I think this is a film for the DVD and to be watched slowly and attentively.
It wasn't a particularly good weekend of films, as on the Sunday I made the trip to Coventry to see friends Derek & Carla, to see Hot Fuzz. I thought the premise was good - the idea of dark and sinister deeds being done by those who on the face of it appear thoroughly decent and ordinary village folk. Timothy Dalton was particularly good as one of the villagers turned secret vigilantes. What I struggled with though was the tone of the film. Often it was funny, although I didn't find it riotously so, sometimes serious but also disturbingly gratuitous in its violent deaths. It jarred in my mind and I found parts uncomfortable viewing; it was like being asked to laugh at a car crash. Not a funny subject at any time. I was also annoyed by the constant product references, something which I often find noticeable and irritating in films today.
Last week was a few days spent back in Portsmouth for my birthday, which was a quiet although nevertheless enjoyable time. The weekend just past was back in MK with friends staying over. On Saturday we visited Bletchley Park, which was an enjoyable afternoon, although all together too short to really enjoy the whole site. At least the ticket is valid for a whole year and I will be taking myself off for another visit before too long.
Hopefully a quieter weekend awaits this weekend when I'll have some time to myself including catching up on some of my recent DVD purchases!
What struck me most about Reeves' book was that there were two Nixon's in the White House. The private Nixon, a man who was a sad drunk, self-loathing and with an insane capacity for self-destruction. This was a man who preferred to be on his own, who found it painfully difficult to make small talk, was deeply suspicious of those around him and trust virtually no one. The private Nixon was also a foul-mouthed anti-Semite; bigoted and racist. The other Nixon, the public face, was delusional and corrupted by power but a clever and manipulative orator too. It is often forgotten that in 1972 Nixon was re-elected by the biggest majority in US history and enjoyed the triumph of historic visits to China and Russia and achieving 'peace with honour' in Vietnam. The latter though underlines the stark contrast between the public presentation and reality. The reality was that the Nixon administration betrayed the South Vietnamese and there was really no peace with honour; it was a humiliating retreat.
There is on the face of it so much to loathe about Nixon and little to admire or respect. I've always been fascinated by Nixon and although Reeves' book gives a dramatic insight into the Nixon administration, it doesn't really get to an understanding of who Nixon was. This I guess is what is so fascinating; Nixon was a complete enigma and I doubt that he even fully understood who he was himself. Nixon was a craftsman at deception and obfuscation, often rewriting his own history to suit a purpose.
Currently I am reading The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollingsworth, which was dramatised last year on BBC Two. Needless to say the novel is far superior, with its delicious sentences that evoke a sense of the 1980s being a beautiful time solely populated by beautiful people. I'll share my more detailed thoughts when I've finished the book.
The weekend before last I was in London to meet with friends and as is traditional with these meets, we went to the cinema. The chosen film, The Good Shepherd, was interminably long and densely boring in places. I had expected that I would have enjoyed this but I found the narrative too flabby and the constant switching back and forth in time was not helped by the fact that the characters did not age! By the end of the film, Matt Damon's character looked exactly the same age as his son, so that they could have been mistaken as brothers rather than father and son! I think this is a film for the DVD and to be watched slowly and attentively.
It wasn't a particularly good weekend of films, as on the Sunday I made the trip to Coventry to see friends Derek & Carla, to see Hot Fuzz. I thought the premise was good - the idea of dark and sinister deeds being done by those who on the face of it appear thoroughly decent and ordinary village folk. Timothy Dalton was particularly good as one of the villagers turned secret vigilantes. What I struggled with though was the tone of the film. Often it was funny, although I didn't find it riotously so, sometimes serious but also disturbingly gratuitous in its violent deaths. It jarred in my mind and I found parts uncomfortable viewing; it was like being asked to laugh at a car crash. Not a funny subject at any time. I was also annoyed by the constant product references, something which I often find noticeable and irritating in films today.
Last week was a few days spent back in Portsmouth for my birthday, which was a quiet although nevertheless enjoyable time. The weekend just past was back in MK with friends staying over. On Saturday we visited Bletchley Park, which was an enjoyable afternoon, although all together too short to really enjoy the whole site. At least the ticket is valid for a whole year and I will be taking myself off for another visit before too long.
Hopefully a quieter weekend awaits this weekend when I'll have some time to myself including catching up on some of my recent DVD purchases!
Monday, February 19, 2007
A fun weekend
If variety is the spice of life, then I think I’ve had my share this weekend just gone! It is rare that I get to do and enjoy so many of the things that I actually like or want to do. This year I am making a conscious effort to get out and about and go places and do things that I’ve long wanted to do or thought I would enjoy.
Saturday started with my OU Tutorial at Kings College, London. I do enjoy these sessions because it is nice to meet the other people on the course and our tutor, Andy, puts across the material in an interesting and engaging manner. This section of the course has been on political theory and ideology, not exactly for me at least, the most riveting of subjects. Dry as dust, would be a more apt description of how I’ve found it. But Saturday’s tutorial was actually quite interesting because instead of talking about abstract theories of social justice and freedom, we were talking about them in context of the everyday. It certainly made things clearer for me anyway.
After the tutorial, I took a rather circuitous route via the tube to Mile End in East London. Why I hear you cry! Because Mile End was the starting point of a walk along the Regents Canal that I’ve been planning to do for a few weeks. It comes from a book borrowed from the library, which I enjoy so much I really don’t want to take it back, which has about twenty different walks around London’s docklands, canals and rivers. I’ve always been interested in canals and not just because some of us are going on a canal holiday in May. My earliest interest in canals was I recall sparked while at school and we had a day trip visiting the lock gates and following the route of the Portsmouth & Arundel Canal. Much of that canal has long since been lost but the most significant reminder of its existence is the cutting between Fratton and Portsmouth & Southsea railway stations, originally part of the canal until the railways took it over. The railways were the death knell for the canals, providing a much quicker and more efficient means of transferring goods around the country and between the ports and the major industrial centres.
Anyhows, back to Mile End and this is where I started my walk along the Regents Canal. The first picture (left) is looking back towards Mile End Lock, in the distance you might just be able to make out the tower of Canary Wharf. The Regents Canal runs from the Limehouse Basin in Docklands to the Paddington Basin, linking up with the Grand Union canal. The Regents Canal was thus a vital link between the docklands and the Grand Union, which meant barges and their loads can easily reach the industrial Midlands. Before the opening of the Grand Union canal navigation was by a rather indirect route to Oxford and thence by the Thames into London.
The second picture (right) is taken from Bonner Bridge and you can see the magnificent Victoria Park on the left. If I read the information board correctly this was the first municipal park in the world. As the tow path was closed along here I had a pleasant diversion through the park and it is easy to forget that this is London, so bucolic is the setting.
In contrast to this rather nice scene, most of the route along the Regents Canal is of an industrial/semi-residential landscape. The third picture (below, centre) is typical of most of the route, although some of the warehouses have now been turned into rather smart apartment and office blocks. One thing, which is particularly interesting about the Regents Canal is that all the lock’s are doubled up so that boats travelling in either direction could use the lock simultaneously. My guide book tells me that the twin locks were abandoned after the Second World War when an unfortunate incident led to the flooding of Kings Cross station.
Saturday started with my OU Tutorial at Kings College, London. I do enjoy these sessions because it is nice to meet the other people on the course and our tutor, Andy, puts across the material in an interesting and engaging manner. This section of the course has been on political theory and ideology, not exactly for me at least, the most riveting of subjects. Dry as dust, would be a more apt description of how I’ve found it. But Saturday’s tutorial was actually quite interesting because instead of talking about abstract theories of social justice and freedom, we were talking about them in context of the everyday. It certainly made things clearer for me anyway.
After the tutorial, I took a rather circuitous route via the tube to Mile End in East London. Why I hear you cry! Because Mile End was the starting point of a walk along the Regents Canal that I’ve been planning to do for a few weeks. It comes from a book borrowed from the library, which I enjoy so much I really don’t want to take it back, which has about twenty different walks around London’s docklands, canals and rivers. I’ve always been interested in canals and not just because some of us are going on a canal holiday in May. My earliest interest in canals was I recall sparked while at school and we had a day trip visiting the lock gates and following the route of the Portsmouth & Arundel Canal. Much of that canal has long since been lost but the most significant reminder of its existence is the cutting between Fratton and Portsmouth & Southsea railway stations, originally part of the canal until the railways took it over. The railways were the death knell for the canals, providing a much quicker and more efficient means of transferring goods around the country and between the ports and the major industrial centres.
Anyhows, back to Mile End and this is where I started my walk along the Regents Canal. The first picture (left) is looking back towards Mile End Lock, in the distance you might just be able to make out the tower of Canary Wharf. The Regents Canal runs from the Limehouse Basin in Docklands to the Paddington Basin, linking up with the Grand Union canal. The Regents Canal was thus a vital link between the docklands and the Grand Union, which meant barges and their loads can easily reach the industrial Midlands. Before the opening of the Grand Union canal navigation was by a rather indirect route to Oxford and thence by the Thames into London.
The second picture (right) is taken from Bonner Bridge and you can see the magnificent Victoria Park on the left. If I read the information board correctly this was the first municipal park in the world. As the tow path was closed along here I had a pleasant diversion through the park and it is easy to forget that this is London, so bucolic is the setting.In contrast to this rather nice scene, most of the route along the Regents Canal is of an industrial/semi-residential landscape. The third picture (below, centre) is typical of most of the route, although some of the warehouses have now been turned into rather smart apartment and office blocks. One thing, which is particularly interesting about the Regents Canal is that all the lock’s are doubled up so that boats travelling in either direction could use the lock simultaneously. My guide book tells me that the twin locks were abandoned after the Second World War when an unfortunate incident led to the flooding of Kings Cross station.
The final picture along the canal (left) is taken looking at the City Road Basin (to the right), which covers an area of 4 acres and would have been considerably more substantial in the heyday of the canal. A smart office block is also seen on the right. Not far from here the canal comes to an abrupt halt (at least for pedestrians) with the Islington Tunnel. This was where I decided to quit on my trip – I think the journey (including a rather torturous diversion through Dalston to account for another towpath closure) was about 3 ½ miles. It is possible to rejoin the canal at the other end of the half-mile Islington Tunnel, which brings you to Kings Cross and then follow the canal through Regents Park and past the zoo, down to its termination at Little Venice (Brownings Pool) and Paddington Basin. I’ve the short exploration of the latter towards the end of last year.What was particularly enjoyable about this walk is that it took me through previously unknown parts of London and it reflects a changing and fascinating urban landscape, which it is impossible to appreciate from the road. I hope to do more of the walks in the book over the coming months and certainly complete the other 4 miles of the Regents Canal.
Sunday was another immensely enjoyable day as I took myself off down to Brighton for the Modelword show at the Brighton Centre. It has been many years since I’ve been but as kid my dad would take me every year. It was kind of an early birthday present. Two things really stick in my mind about those days. One was the torturous bus journey of almost three hours from Portsmouth to Brighton (which thanks to Stagecoach it is still possible to endure!) and the other was the model boat display.
Lets be blunt, Modelworld is an event for anoraks and men that are still little boys at heart. Yep, it attracts its fair share of the downright strange and weird but no more so than your average Star Wars convention! Modelworld, as I remember it, was always primarily an exhibition for model railways. That is what I loved as a kid and still love now. I admire these men, for all their eccentricities and knitted jumpers and cardigans because they are so passionate about it. It is with pride that the groups and societies often have the word ‘engineer’ somewhere in their titles because often they will have built from scratch or kits the locomotives and rolling stocks that run. Even the wiring of a large scale layout still leaves me completely baffled! The best layouts are always the ones which reflect, as closely as possible, the practice on the real railway. It isn’t just about trains running around a loop of track, it is about the faultless attention to detail about how trains are run, the landscapes and buildings, the way the complete layout is assembled.
I was pleased to see that the model boats display was in attendance and the star attraction was Titanic. Hopefully from these pics of the model and you can get some idea of the scale of the ship from these I hope. Unfortunately the pool was too small for her to get a good cruise around and Titanic spent most of its 15 minute turn being pushed around by the tugboat. Again, the attention to detail is quite amazing, these are men (invariably it is men) who are deeply passionate and committed to their hobby.
But it wasn’t all model railways and boats, in fact there was rather too little of the former in my opinion. There were lots of sales stands – even saw some Star Wars models for sale – model tanks, some astonishing large scale models of Southern Railway locomotives, various societies and guilds, model hovercraft, a ‘Robot Wars’ style arena and even full scale Daleks in the foyer chasing children!Sunday finished watching the South Bank Show profile of W H Auden, one of the few – well the only poet if I am honest – whose work I have any time for. I’ve always liked Auden’s ‘Night Mail’ but knew little else of his work or the man himself. Still didn’t feel like I’d learned a lot by the end of this programme other than some tantalising tasters of other Auden poems and a sense that he was a grumpy old man! Alan Bennett described him as a ‘bully,’ ‘a shambles’ and an ‘unlovable man.’ The most powerful praise was from Andrew Motion who as young man described meeting Auden as being like meeting God. One of the more interesting comments was about the relevance of Auden’s work today – his poem 1 September 1939 was apparently used as the mourning song for 9/11. His work was described as being a sound track to the twentieth century and in particular war and tragedy, which I thought was rather depressing.
It is a mystery why this programme was shown in the graveyard slot of 11.10pm on a Sunday night, perhaps that is indicative of ITV’s attitude towards the arts? It is disappointing that in this year, the 100th anniversary of Auden’s birth, that he is being almost completely overlooked. There was some suggestion that this could be due to Auden’s decision to flee to America at the outbreak of the Second World War, something which was deeply contentious at the time and remained so throughout his life. It would be nice to think though that events of 70 years ago could be put behind us and we could celebrate one of the great Britons.
Friday, February 16, 2007
What I am listening to at the moment
For the first time in several months I remembered to tune in to BBC 7 on Wednesday night at 7pm to listen to Round the Horne. I love these shows and although Round the Horne and its predecessor Beyond our Ken were first broadcast back in the 50s and 60s I still find them immensely funny and enjoyable. There has never been better radio comedy in my opinion, or at least I haven't heard it if there has. I like Round the Horne's bizarre cast of characters from Rumbling Syd Rumpo to Julian & Sandy to Charles & Fiona and it doesn't matter how many times I hear the sketches, they're still funny. Personally, I feel it works so well because the humour is so quintessentially English. Its of the saucy postcard variety with much double entendre, slapstick and occasional satire. There is nothing outrageously offensive in the humour and it is so well performed that Round the Horne never fails to impress and leave me laughing like a drain for 30 minutes. Must remember to tune in again next week!
One of the other pleasures I've found recently on the radio is the Moral Maze on BBC Radio 4 - 8pm Wednesdays, although I normally catch the repeat at 10.15pm on Saturdays. The basics of the programme is that Michael Buerk is joined by a panel who cross-examine expert witnesses on a chosen moral issue of the week. The debate is often fascinating and always intelligent. Recent weeks have included debates on gambling and the Catholic Church's stand on gay adoption. Although there is rarely a consensus reached by the end of the programme on the issue being discussed, what I enjoy is the fact that it challenges the witnesses and their arguments in an intelligent and forthright manner and often makes me evaluate and reconsider my own opinions.
Earlier on Saturday nights on BBC Radio 4 at 8pm is the Archive Hour. This is not always a programme I tune in for and I first listened last year with a programme reflecting on the development and history of Milton Keynes. It was a fascinating trawl through the radio archives, with interviews with locals back in 1967 who were both apprehensive and fearful of the coming of the new city. Interestingly, the presenter who made a point of visiting Milton Keynes, found that contemporary residents largely like the place and while much was lost, including many acres of fertile farmland and village life, the overall view was that Milton Keynes had brought many more benefits than disadvantages.
Also on Saturdays between 5-7pm is Classic FM at the Movies, which I seem to most weeks miss or only catch the beginning or end of. This is a great programme for someone like me who loves movie scores because it covers not just recent releases but the classics as well from the golden age of Hollywood. It does tend though to play too much of the popular excerpts from scores when it would be nice to hear the less well known pieces and occasionally to hear a full score.
During the week, depending on what time I get home I either listen to the irreverent Ronnie Barbour on BBC Three Counties Radio or Smooth Classics at Seven on Classic FM. The latter is a perfect soothe to a hard day!
Sunday evenings at 6.30pm on BBC Radio 2 have become one of the highlights of the week for me. Alan Titchmarsh presents Melodies for You, which is basically and excuse for him to play a selection of his favourite music for two hours each week. I really enjoy this show, its perfect for a Sunday evening, sublime and beautiful music interspersed with measured chat.
One of the other pleasures I've found recently on the radio is the Moral Maze on BBC Radio 4 - 8pm Wednesdays, although I normally catch the repeat at 10.15pm on Saturdays. The basics of the programme is that Michael Buerk is joined by a panel who cross-examine expert witnesses on a chosen moral issue of the week. The debate is often fascinating and always intelligent. Recent weeks have included debates on gambling and the Catholic Church's stand on gay adoption. Although there is rarely a consensus reached by the end of the programme on the issue being discussed, what I enjoy is the fact that it challenges the witnesses and their arguments in an intelligent and forthright manner and often makes me evaluate and reconsider my own opinions.
Earlier on Saturday nights on BBC Radio 4 at 8pm is the Archive Hour. This is not always a programme I tune in for and I first listened last year with a programme reflecting on the development and history of Milton Keynes. It was a fascinating trawl through the radio archives, with interviews with locals back in 1967 who were both apprehensive and fearful of the coming of the new city. Interestingly, the presenter who made a point of visiting Milton Keynes, found that contemporary residents largely like the place and while much was lost, including many acres of fertile farmland and village life, the overall view was that Milton Keynes had brought many more benefits than disadvantages.
Also on Saturdays between 5-7pm is Classic FM at the Movies, which I seem to most weeks miss or only catch the beginning or end of. This is a great programme for someone like me who loves movie scores because it covers not just recent releases but the classics as well from the golden age of Hollywood. It does tend though to play too much of the popular excerpts from scores when it would be nice to hear the less well known pieces and occasionally to hear a full score.
During the week, depending on what time I get home I either listen to the irreverent Ronnie Barbour on BBC Three Counties Radio or Smooth Classics at Seven on Classic FM. The latter is a perfect soothe to a hard day!
Sunday evenings at 6.30pm on BBC Radio 2 have become one of the highlights of the week for me. Alan Titchmarsh presents Melodies for You, which is basically and excuse for him to play a selection of his favourite music for two hours each week. I really enjoy this show, its perfect for a Sunday evening, sublime and beautiful music interspersed with measured chat.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Aaarghh!
I've had a frustrating day. At work I am getting into the siege mentality and by that I mean that I feel hounded from one quarter or another, with an ever amassing case load on my desk. I swear at points today there was literally a queue of people waiting at my desk, it felt like that anyway. And e-mail is the absolute curse of the modern office in my view. Often abused and over utilised in sending pointless or senseless messages, which occupy too much focus and time when I feel energies could be spent doing something more productive. Why do people feel the need to copy the whole office in on the most inconsequential of messages. Its not like you would 'phone everyone in the office to tell them! Then I wonder, in exasperation that is unfair and unjustified, 'can nobody do anything right?' And I include myself in that. Under pressure I don't do my best. I make silly mistakes, I find myself correcting and becoming annoyed by the stupid things I get wrong. It becomes a self-defeating cycle, piling more pressure to do better when really a break from it all for a few minutes to clear the mind would be a better idea.
Everyone in the office is under pressure at the moment, tempers (although not mine) occasionally fray and people understandably become irritable. Then the management ask if we would like to work weekends as well, as if working five days a week slogging our guts out isn't enough! Noticeably those asking are often the last in and first out the door come the beginning and end of the day.
I have to admit that my recent tardiness is beginning to be noticed. The odd comment here and there. But try as I might, I can't summon any enthusiasm to go into work. I prejudge the day before I get there, I know what it's going to be like. Mostly I am right.
One of the things I hate most is conflict of any sort. I will go to great lengths to avoid saying 'no' which often is a feature of the job I do. It is almost certainly going to lead to an unhappy and maybe aggressive response from the person who is being told 'no.' I worry about some of the cases I have to deal with, fretting over the 'phone call I am going to have to make for maybe hours, even days beforehand and then over-analyse it afterwards to the point that I doubt myself. I've had to say 'no' a couple of times today and in recent days.
What really pissed me off though was a comment from someone patronising me about losing weight and how 'you know its not good for the heart and you can get diabetes.' Well, thank you very much for the newsflash! I knew that already and I don't need supercilious remarks like that to make me feel any worse than I do about it. Its the arrogance of that sort of remark that irritates me. The presumption that I am fat because I want to be and that it is all my own fault. Well, yes, true it is because I have little self-control and yes it is my fault. But, here's another newsflash, it ain't easy losing weight. For me I don't think it is eating that is the problem it is the emotional issues that I need to deal with and the self-pity. It so easy to fall into a self-reinforcing cycle of negativity where I am convinced that I will never loose weight, so why even bother making an effort? I hate being fat. I hate it. I hate myself as much for being so weak as not able to do anything about it.
But that's crap isn't it? I need a slap in the face for that sort of remark. I am just making excuses. I am feeding that negative cycle and I want to stop doing that. I can't do that though unless I address what is really underlying all this and that is something I can't face. Because I don't want to. Because it is easier to deny or avoid dealing with things that are too painful. So the cycle continues.
Aaarghhh! I don't know whether to cry or slam my fists on the table!
Tomorrow is a new day.
Hopefully it will be a better one.
Everyone in the office is under pressure at the moment, tempers (although not mine) occasionally fray and people understandably become irritable. Then the management ask if we would like to work weekends as well, as if working five days a week slogging our guts out isn't enough! Noticeably those asking are often the last in and first out the door come the beginning and end of the day.
I have to admit that my recent tardiness is beginning to be noticed. The odd comment here and there. But try as I might, I can't summon any enthusiasm to go into work. I prejudge the day before I get there, I know what it's going to be like. Mostly I am right.
One of the things I hate most is conflict of any sort. I will go to great lengths to avoid saying 'no' which often is a feature of the job I do. It is almost certainly going to lead to an unhappy and maybe aggressive response from the person who is being told 'no.' I worry about some of the cases I have to deal with, fretting over the 'phone call I am going to have to make for maybe hours, even days beforehand and then over-analyse it afterwards to the point that I doubt myself. I've had to say 'no' a couple of times today and in recent days.
What really pissed me off though was a comment from someone patronising me about losing weight and how 'you know its not good for the heart and you can get diabetes.' Well, thank you very much for the newsflash! I knew that already and I don't need supercilious remarks like that to make me feel any worse than I do about it. Its the arrogance of that sort of remark that irritates me. The presumption that I am fat because I want to be and that it is all my own fault. Well, yes, true it is because I have little self-control and yes it is my fault. But, here's another newsflash, it ain't easy losing weight. For me I don't think it is eating that is the problem it is the emotional issues that I need to deal with and the self-pity. It so easy to fall into a self-reinforcing cycle of negativity where I am convinced that I will never loose weight, so why even bother making an effort? I hate being fat. I hate it. I hate myself as much for being so weak as not able to do anything about it.
But that's crap isn't it? I need a slap in the face for that sort of remark. I am just making excuses. I am feeding that negative cycle and I want to stop doing that. I can't do that though unless I address what is really underlying all this and that is something I can't face. Because I don't want to. Because it is easier to deny or avoid dealing with things that are too painful. So the cycle continues.
Aaarghhh! I don't know whether to cry or slam my fists on the table!
Tomorrow is a new day.
Hopefully it will be a better one.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Some of my favourite web sites
Firstly I must give a plug to a new blog from my friend, Derek, Goosey World. Its only just started but I am sure its going to be fun and with Derek's encyclopedic knowledge of films and love of DVD's plenty of obscure factoids and trivia along the way I am sure!
On my recent travels around the Internet I found this rather quirky web site, TV & Radio Bits, which has many intriguing and interesting features on TV and radio. This is a real anoraks site for people like me who should really get out more! It has everything you could want - idents, jingles, histories of obscure radio and TV, programme listings from years gone by etc, etc. It is lovingly put together and with such passion and interest in the history of these obscure and often forgotten bits of the broadcasting world.
Changing track completely another web site that I do check regularly is End of the Line. If you thought the last site was for anoraks, this is for the true anorak in me! The site is basically a database of where every locomotive that has run on British Railways is now. It is regularly updated (usually every day) with the latest movements - what's been scrapped, what's running and where, reallocations and renumberings and the rest. Pretty much everything to send anyone not into railways into a deep coma!
Keeping the transport theme, another of my favourite sites, which I discovered about 18 months ago is Milton Keynes Day Out. This site has given me many ideas for travels from Milton Keynes and is surprisingly comprehensive in its coverage of local bus and train services. Really to its credit is the detail of the information on tickets and how to get the best bargain. Something which this site does that most train operators don't (certainly not in MK anyway) is publicise the PlusBus scheme and the East Midlands Rail Rover. Really it shouldn't be down to a committed enthusiast to provide this sort of information, the local bus and rail companies should be doing this as a matter of course.
Onto my other passion, Star Wars, and here is a link to a fab film on YouTube - Triumph of the Empire. This is a spoof Imperial Information Film, using to marvellous effect, Star Wars Lego and the music of Gustav Holst. Watch it and enjoy!
On my recent travels around the Internet I found this rather quirky web site, TV & Radio Bits, which has many intriguing and interesting features on TV and radio. This is a real anoraks site for people like me who should really get out more! It has everything you could want - idents, jingles, histories of obscure radio and TV, programme listings from years gone by etc, etc. It is lovingly put together and with such passion and interest in the history of these obscure and often forgotten bits of the broadcasting world.
Changing track completely another web site that I do check regularly is End of the Line. If you thought the last site was for anoraks, this is for the true anorak in me! The site is basically a database of where every locomotive that has run on British Railways is now. It is regularly updated (usually every day) with the latest movements - what's been scrapped, what's running and where, reallocations and renumberings and the rest. Pretty much everything to send anyone not into railways into a deep coma!
Keeping the transport theme, another of my favourite sites, which I discovered about 18 months ago is Milton Keynes Day Out. This site has given me many ideas for travels from Milton Keynes and is surprisingly comprehensive in its coverage of local bus and train services. Really to its credit is the detail of the information on tickets and how to get the best bargain. Something which this site does that most train operators don't (certainly not in MK anyway) is publicise the PlusBus scheme and the East Midlands Rail Rover. Really it shouldn't be down to a committed enthusiast to provide this sort of information, the local bus and rail companies should be doing this as a matter of course.
Onto my other passion, Star Wars, and here is a link to a fab film on YouTube - Triumph of the Empire. This is a spoof Imperial Information Film, using to marvellous effect, Star Wars Lego and the music of Gustav Holst. Watch it and enjoy!
Saturday, February 10, 2007
My love of local radio
A few weeks ago I was mocked for saying that I was a regular listener to my local BBC radio station, Three Counties Radio. True, I am not exactly the average or indeed for the most part the intended audience for BBC Local Radio. Generally speaking the BBC's local broadcasting is aimed at those over 40 and upwards but I've always been a fan. The main reason for that is probably because when growing up every radio in the house was permanently tuned to what was then my local station, BBC Radio Solent. It was a rare occurrence indeed to find my mum or dad listening to anything else although I seem to recall that Radio 2 occasionally broke the monopoly of local broadcasting in the Richards household. Commercial radio was unheard, after the disappearance of Radio Victory in the mid-80s.
One of the main appeal's of BBC Local Radio for me has been the fact that it is a news and information led service with a talk based format. I've always been a news junkie and at school one of my many ambitions for a while, was to be a journalist and radio journalism in particular appealed. I've always liked the immediacy of radio, which to this day still beats TV when a story is breaking. There is no need for pictures or flashy graphics to present a story. It can be told simply and quickly in words, which are often more informative than the repetitive images that tend to be shown on television news. In addition I think the quality of news reporting tends to be better on radio, because rather than relying on pictures to tell the story, the journalist has to convey the sense of what has happened painting pictures with words. That is a skillful job and if done well can be immensely interesting listening.
So back to BBC Local Radio. It's news service for me on a local level is second to none. Not only does each BBC station have the resources of BBC News to provide material - the worlds largest newsgathering organisation - it also has its own reporters and journalists, often based around the its broadcasting patch. Indeed, it is often in moments of crisis that BBC Local Radio comes into its own. I can just about remember some of the coverage on Solent around the time of the Falklands War and then during the first Iraq War, when the station brought a local slant on these stories that were affecting many people living in the area.
The strengths of the BBC are combined with a more local and friendly service that is distinctive as each local station reflects the communities it serves. That is an important distinction and one of the attractions of the BBC Local Radio service to me over Independent Local Radio, which is largely similar (under common ownership) and plays the same music and same programme format wherever it happens to be based.
Its often forgotten that BBC Local Radio is also a leader in broadcasting. For example, Three Counties, became the first radio station in the country to provide a programme specifically for the Romany community and travellers. Indeed the station offers an extensive service for the large Asian and Black communities in this area as well as specialist programmes for the Italian and Irish inhabitants of the patch. These types of services could never be provided by Independent Local Radio and is one of the many strengths of BBC local broadcasting.
So, it is a combination of local news, information, a friendly and approachable style of broadcasting and a broad appeal to the community it serves that are for me the strengths of BBC Local Radio. As an aside, the model of BBC local broadcasting is based on the American model of local radio and was pioneered by the veteran war correspondent, Frank Gillard. And it has to be said that as the BBC's local radio service is celebrating 40 years of broadcasting in 2007, it must be doing something right!
One of the main appeal's of BBC Local Radio for me has been the fact that it is a news and information led service with a talk based format. I've always been a news junkie and at school one of my many ambitions for a while, was to be a journalist and radio journalism in particular appealed. I've always liked the immediacy of radio, which to this day still beats TV when a story is breaking. There is no need for pictures or flashy graphics to present a story. It can be told simply and quickly in words, which are often more informative than the repetitive images that tend to be shown on television news. In addition I think the quality of news reporting tends to be better on radio, because rather than relying on pictures to tell the story, the journalist has to convey the sense of what has happened painting pictures with words. That is a skillful job and if done well can be immensely interesting listening.
So back to BBC Local Radio. It's news service for me on a local level is second to none. Not only does each BBC station have the resources of BBC News to provide material - the worlds largest newsgathering organisation - it also has its own reporters and journalists, often based around the its broadcasting patch. Indeed, it is often in moments of crisis that BBC Local Radio comes into its own. I can just about remember some of the coverage on Solent around the time of the Falklands War and then during the first Iraq War, when the station brought a local slant on these stories that were affecting many people living in the area.
The strengths of the BBC are combined with a more local and friendly service that is distinctive as each local station reflects the communities it serves. That is an important distinction and one of the attractions of the BBC Local Radio service to me over Independent Local Radio, which is largely similar (under common ownership) and plays the same music and same programme format wherever it happens to be based.
Its often forgotten that BBC Local Radio is also a leader in broadcasting. For example, Three Counties, became the first radio station in the country to provide a programme specifically for the Romany community and travellers. Indeed the station offers an extensive service for the large Asian and Black communities in this area as well as specialist programmes for the Italian and Irish inhabitants of the patch. These types of services could never be provided by Independent Local Radio and is one of the many strengths of BBC local broadcasting.
So, it is a combination of local news, information, a friendly and approachable style of broadcasting and a broad appeal to the community it serves that are for me the strengths of BBC Local Radio. As an aside, the model of BBC local broadcasting is based on the American model of local radio and was pioneered by the veteran war correspondent, Frank Gillard. And it has to be said that as the BBC's local radio service is celebrating 40 years of broadcasting in 2007, it must be doing something right!
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Music
Sometimes I think its true that you can find literally whatever you want to know on the Internet. I've had one of those evenings where I started out with a certain purpose in mind but about 2 hours later ended up wondering what I'd spent all that time doing. And on the way visited some interesting sites and found out some stuff that I didn't know.
I had some specific songs in mind that I wanted to download from iTunes. As I was doing this I decided to search for music by John Miles, an artist who I only know from his 1976 hit Music. I've downloaded a couple of tracks from his debut album, Rebel, including Music, When You Loose Someone So Young and You Have it All. From there I ended up doing a search on Wikipedia and found my way to John Miles' homepage and so now know that he was born in Jarrow, North East England, Rebel was his debut album, he has toured with Tina Turner amongst others and details of albums he has released since. Going off at a tangent I read that part of his track Music was used for a jingles package for Independent Local Radio Station Mercury! Its amazing what you can discover on the Internet! More than likely I will buy Rebel as I like the three tracks that I've downloaded, even though I've only listened to them through properly the once.
Anyhows I burned myself a CD from the tunes I downloaded, selecting mainly stuff from the 1960s, 70s and 80s because to be honest, I am not that impressed with much that has been released since. So, I have tracks from the aforementioned John Miles, Harry Chapin, Bobby Goldsboro, Glen Campbell, Billy Ocean, Sweet Sensation, Elvis Presley, Nina Simone, Leo Sayer and Don McLean. Um, a bit of a mix I guess! They're all artists and particular tracks I've chosen because either they have particular memories or they're just great tunes. Mostly, its music that I remember hearing on the radio as a kid. I know, not the kind of music that most young boys or teenagers would listen to! But then I think music is a personal thing and although it may not appeal to anyone else, it is special to me and that is what is important. I don't want to be one of the crowd and certainly not when it comes to my taste in music!
I had some specific songs in mind that I wanted to download from iTunes. As I was doing this I decided to search for music by John Miles, an artist who I only know from his 1976 hit Music. I've downloaded a couple of tracks from his debut album, Rebel, including Music, When You Loose Someone So Young and You Have it All. From there I ended up doing a search on Wikipedia and found my way to John Miles' homepage and so now know that he was born in Jarrow, North East England, Rebel was his debut album, he has toured with Tina Turner amongst others and details of albums he has released since. Going off at a tangent I read that part of his track Music was used for a jingles package for Independent Local Radio Station Mercury! Its amazing what you can discover on the Internet! More than likely I will buy Rebel as I like the three tracks that I've downloaded, even though I've only listened to them through properly the once.
Anyhows I burned myself a CD from the tunes I downloaded, selecting mainly stuff from the 1960s, 70s and 80s because to be honest, I am not that impressed with much that has been released since. So, I have tracks from the aforementioned John Miles, Harry Chapin, Bobby Goldsboro, Glen Campbell, Billy Ocean, Sweet Sensation, Elvis Presley, Nina Simone, Leo Sayer and Don McLean. Um, a bit of a mix I guess! They're all artists and particular tracks I've chosen because either they have particular memories or they're just great tunes. Mostly, its music that I remember hearing on the radio as a kid. I know, not the kind of music that most young boys or teenagers would listen to! But then I think music is a personal thing and although it may not appeal to anyone else, it is special to me and that is what is important. I don't want to be one of the crowd and certainly not when it comes to my taste in music!
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Tomorrow is a better day
I've not been happy of late. Downright miserable and irritable would perhaps be more accurate to say. I am feeling happier now, the dark mood has lifted quite considerably. One of the reasons I haven't updated this blog is because no one wants to hear a miserable sod going on about his woes. It gets tiresome after a while and problem is when I am in that mood I often say many things that I'll later feel bad about. In the cold light of the morning things always seem more rational and it leaves me often wondering what was all the fuss and heat about.
There is no one thing I can say which has promoted this unhappy state of mood for the last week and a bit. Mainly it has been work. Getting pissed off about my new job, not enjoying it at all because what I have done so far I feel is a waste of my abilities and just doesn't enthuse me with any motivation. In fact I wonder if I didn't turn up one day if anybody would notice my absence. All week, I've been getting to work increasingly late and not one word has been said about it. I am convinced that if I didn't make the effort to engage others in the occasional conversation, mainly to vent my frustration*/unhappiness*/anger* (* delete as appropriate) about work, I'd sit in silence all day.
I know its a bad mind set to be in because negative thoughts and moreover negative talk is self-serving and defeating. It doesn't achieve anything and I don't feel better for having said the things I've said, just more negative and despondent. Not good.
Things are better. Today has been a better day. I feel happier, more in control. I am trying to keep smiling, looking at the positive rather than the negative. Tomorrow is another day. That's what I keep in mind.
There is no one thing I can say which has promoted this unhappy state of mood for the last week and a bit. Mainly it has been work. Getting pissed off about my new job, not enjoying it at all because what I have done so far I feel is a waste of my abilities and just doesn't enthuse me with any motivation. In fact I wonder if I didn't turn up one day if anybody would notice my absence. All week, I've been getting to work increasingly late and not one word has been said about it. I am convinced that if I didn't make the effort to engage others in the occasional conversation, mainly to vent my frustration*/unhappiness*/anger* (* delete as appropriate) about work, I'd sit in silence all day.
I know its a bad mind set to be in because negative thoughts and moreover negative talk is self-serving and defeating. It doesn't achieve anything and I don't feel better for having said the things I've said, just more negative and despondent. Not good.
Things are better. Today has been a better day. I feel happier, more in control. I am trying to keep smiling, looking at the positive rather than the negative. Tomorrow is another day. That's what I keep in mind.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things
I am sure I have mentioned in this blog before about my adoration for Jon McGregor's stunning debut novel If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things. I mention it again because I see that a new edition of the book has been published this year. I came across it purely by chance, as I was looking for a novel by Tim Lott whose Rumours of a Hurricane is an excellent read particularly as a good deal of it is set in Milton Keynes. In the end I didn't buy either of these books - I opted for Philip Roth's The Human Stain.
Anyhows I am digressing.
So, seeing McGregor's book in an attractive new cover and some additional blurb on the cover from the publishers, I did the one thing which I always hate everyone else doing, I blocked up the aisle, absorbing myself again in McGregor's wonderful prose. Moreover I was engaged by the new introduction that has been written for the book and a section at the back, which poses questions about the novel, the idea being that these can form the basis of a discussion in a reading group. Just reading those few bits brought flooding back all the wonderful things about this book and made me question it again.
I've read If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things twice at least, possibly three times and each time I have come away with something new. I've seen the characters through fresh eyes each time and different parts have caught my attention. What remains true is that I think this is a stunning piece of modern fiction. It is complex in structure, unusual in its style and imaginative. What is so fascinating is the rhythm of the words, not really like conventional prose at all. Reading McGregor's book feels different to a normal novel and better for it.
I also like the way that he elevates the everyday into something magical. The mundane becomes remarkable and the characters although they remain deliberately anonymous have such fascinating and beautifully moving stories. That is what sticks out for me. The fact that even in the street where we live there is so much we don't know, all the drama, the highs and lows of each life. All the remarkable things that ordinary people do each day.
And the book has a quite shattering climax. McGregor deliberately slows the pace as he tells in vivid detail the final tragedy. It changes the perspectives of everything else that happens on that nameless day at the end of summer. Even in the midst of the events that change everything, McGregor observes how life in the anonymous city continues just as normal. While the central characters at the centre of the book are changed forever, the heartbeat of the city doesn't pause.
I'd recommend this book whole heartedly and indeed McGregor's second novel, So Many Ways to Begin, which adopts a similar style. I might even buy If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things again, just so that I can have the new version on my shelf!
Anyhows I am digressing.
So, seeing McGregor's book in an attractive new cover and some additional blurb on the cover from the publishers, I did the one thing which I always hate everyone else doing, I blocked up the aisle, absorbing myself again in McGregor's wonderful prose. Moreover I was engaged by the new introduction that has been written for the book and a section at the back, which poses questions about the novel, the idea being that these can form the basis of a discussion in a reading group. Just reading those few bits brought flooding back all the wonderful things about this book and made me question it again.
I've read If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things twice at least, possibly three times and each time I have come away with something new. I've seen the characters through fresh eyes each time and different parts have caught my attention. What remains true is that I think this is a stunning piece of modern fiction. It is complex in structure, unusual in its style and imaginative. What is so fascinating is the rhythm of the words, not really like conventional prose at all. Reading McGregor's book feels different to a normal novel and better for it.
I also like the way that he elevates the everyday into something magical. The mundane becomes remarkable and the characters although they remain deliberately anonymous have such fascinating and beautifully moving stories. That is what sticks out for me. The fact that even in the street where we live there is so much we don't know, all the drama, the highs and lows of each life. All the remarkable things that ordinary people do each day.
And the book has a quite shattering climax. McGregor deliberately slows the pace as he tells in vivid detail the final tragedy. It changes the perspectives of everything else that happens on that nameless day at the end of summer. Even in the midst of the events that change everything, McGregor observes how life in the anonymous city continues just as normal. While the central characters at the centre of the book are changed forever, the heartbeat of the city doesn't pause.
I'd recommend this book whole heartedly and indeed McGregor's second novel, So Many Ways to Begin, which adopts a similar style. I might even buy If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things again, just so that I can have the new version on my shelf!
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Wednesday
I am not particularly happy at the moment. Work is not good since I moved to my new team on Monday. The people I am working with are not as nice, there is an air of tension around the office and everyone is under enormous pressure and stress because of the amount of work they're being expected to do. It is a far from happy environment. I am finding it difficult to fit in, trying to learn the new processes and work while at the same time managing out the case load I brought with me from my previous job. I am getting to a stage where I am feeling unable to cope. I'll probably have to do some extra hours to get myself back on track although I've been so exhausted the last few days that I really haven't felt like doing anything more.
What is not helping is the fact that I seem to be coming down with a cold. Its that odd state I am in at the moment, feeling lethargic, with splitting headache that has been with me most of the day and generally feeling under the weather.
So basically I am feeling a bit sorry for myself. Its times like this when it becomes hard being on my own. I know I could 'phone one of my friends if I wanted to talk but is not the same as having someone with me. Sometimes I need more than words of reassurance down a telephone line.
Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow and its only two more days until the weekend and I have nothing planned, so I can relax and spend some selfish 'me' time doing the things I want.
I remember as a kid whenever I was ill or feeling a bit sorry for myself, like I do now, that my parents would always assure me that I would feel better after a good night's sleep. Mostly they were right too. Often in the morning, things seem clearer and better than they do at night. I am sure it will be the same tomorrow, I'll feel happier and reassured.
What is not helping is the fact that I seem to be coming down with a cold. Its that odd state I am in at the moment, feeling lethargic, with splitting headache that has been with me most of the day and generally feeling under the weather.
So basically I am feeling a bit sorry for myself. Its times like this when it becomes hard being on my own. I know I could 'phone one of my friends if I wanted to talk but is not the same as having someone with me. Sometimes I need more than words of reassurance down a telephone line.
Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow and its only two more days until the weekend and I have nothing planned, so I can relax and spend some selfish 'me' time doing the things I want.
I remember as a kid whenever I was ill or feeling a bit sorry for myself, like I do now, that my parents would always assure me that I would feel better after a good night's sleep. Mostly they were right too. Often in the morning, things seem clearer and better than they do at night. I am sure it will be the same tomorrow, I'll feel happier and reassured.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Recent films
I've been listening to Alan Titchmarsh on Radio 2 and some wonderful choices of music. I can't think of many things that are more fun than spending two hours every Sunday evening playing a selection of my favourite music. So Mr Titchmarsh, if you ever need a stand in, I am your man!
As a slight compensation I have this blog, which while it may not be regular (which if you visit regularly you will have noticed!) and doesn't last for 2 hours (although it might take me that long to write each post) it is my space. This is my time and my place to share with those of you reading my favourite things or just my observations, inane ramblings or nostalgia...whatever takes the mood at the time.
Over the last week I've seen some cracking films. Starting last Saturday with a trip to Colchester to see Witchfinder at the Headgate Theatre. This film features a good friend of mine, Joe Sales, as John Stearne, assistant to the Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins. It is an amateur production but not in anyway in the bad sense of that word. You can read my review on Joe's blog here.
Last Sunday I watched Monster based on the troubled life of Aileen Wuornos, America's first female serial killer. It is a depressing film and one that like The Woodsman, simultaneously produces deep revulsion and feelings of sympathy for its central character. Its a morally complex and ambiguous film although its handicapped by a central lesbian relationship between Wuornos and Selby (played by Christina Ricci) that doesn't work for me. The affair between these two desperate women seems forced and I feel the actors are uncomfortable in their portrayal. It is still a powerful film and there are moments which are both chilling and sickening.
Yesterday I saw Bobby, Emilio Estevez's film on the events leading up to the assassination of Robert Kennedy in June 1968. It is clear that this film has been a labour of love for Estevez. It is beautifully crafted following the intersecting lives of 22 characters at the Ambassador Hotel on the day and night that Kennedy was shot and fatally wounded. It reminded me in its intercutting of characters and its slow build to a powerful, emotional climax of Magnolia, with all its characters, eventually thrust into the centre of the terrible events of 5 June 1968. I cried through the last ten minutes of the film, which is awesome in its power and pathos. No one left the cinema when the credits came up, everyone stayed to watch the first part, with pictures of Kennedy and his family shown alongside the names of the principal cast. This is a film that boldly states its message and while some maybe cynical of its idealism I found it's hopefulness something that inspires.
As a slight compensation I have this blog, which while it may not be regular (which if you visit regularly you will have noticed!) and doesn't last for 2 hours (although it might take me that long to write each post) it is my space. This is my time and my place to share with those of you reading my favourite things or just my observations, inane ramblings or nostalgia...whatever takes the mood at the time.
Over the last week I've seen some cracking films. Starting last Saturday with a trip to Colchester to see Witchfinder at the Headgate Theatre. This film features a good friend of mine, Joe Sales, as John Stearne, assistant to the Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins. It is an amateur production but not in anyway in the bad sense of that word. You can read my review on Joe's blog here.
Last Sunday I watched Monster based on the troubled life of Aileen Wuornos, America's first female serial killer. It is a depressing film and one that like The Woodsman, simultaneously produces deep revulsion and feelings of sympathy for its central character. Its a morally complex and ambiguous film although its handicapped by a central lesbian relationship between Wuornos and Selby (played by Christina Ricci) that doesn't work for me. The affair between these two desperate women seems forced and I feel the actors are uncomfortable in their portrayal. It is still a powerful film and there are moments which are both chilling and sickening.
Yesterday I saw Bobby, Emilio Estevez's film on the events leading up to the assassination of Robert Kennedy in June 1968. It is clear that this film has been a labour of love for Estevez. It is beautifully crafted following the intersecting lives of 22 characters at the Ambassador Hotel on the day and night that Kennedy was shot and fatally wounded. It reminded me in its intercutting of characters and its slow build to a powerful, emotional climax of Magnolia, with all its characters, eventually thrust into the centre of the terrible events of 5 June 1968. I cried through the last ten minutes of the film, which is awesome in its power and pathos. No one left the cinema when the credits came up, everyone stayed to watch the first part, with pictures of Kennedy and his family shown alongside the names of the principal cast. This is a film that boldly states its message and while some maybe cynical of its idealism I found it's hopefulness something that inspires.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Moving on
I had bad news yesterday at work. I am being moved from my current team to work in a different area. To say that I am bitterly disappointed is an understatement. I've invested a good deal of time and personal effort into the team I am working with now, building up my skills and knowledge and I feel making a genuine and positive commitment to the job, so to be told that I am being moved out of the team was a complete shock and a personal blow.
Personally it has hit me hard. For the first time in a long while I feel happy where I am working now. I've got to know the people I am working with and enjoy the work. It is the best team I've worked with and I get a buzz from the commitment and dedication shown by everyone and the supportive environment. The work itself is interesting, challenging and additionally has a certain prestige attached to it. Moving onto something else, just when I feel I've got myself settled and comfortable, is the last thing I want. But it isn't my choice and there is nothing I can do or say that is going to change the decision that has been made.
I am trying not to let all the politics of the situation bother me because I know that it will just make me angry and make things more negative than they already are. There is politics involved and there are reasons why this decision has been made, which have nothing to do with me but serve other purposes. I could get angry about the way I was told, which was in a rather flippant and casual way or about the fact that I was only told half the story. The real reasons only became apparent later. Or I could be angry about the fact that other people in my team knew what was happening before I did.
I don't want to go, that's the bottom line. I thought after a night's sleep I would feel differently about it. Sometimes, in the morning things are clearer or seem less important. This doesn't. I feel disappointed and as if I have failed in some way. Although technically the move is side-ways, I can't help feeling it is a demotion.
In a few weeks I am sure all this will be forgotten and I will be settling into the new job. I just don't want to make that step though. I have no choice so I will have to focus on the positive and try and make the best of it. There is the advantage that the change will broaden my experience and give me skills, which will make it easier to look for another job. I guess that is what I need to focus on; the future not the here and now.
Personally it has hit me hard. For the first time in a long while I feel happy where I am working now. I've got to know the people I am working with and enjoy the work. It is the best team I've worked with and I get a buzz from the commitment and dedication shown by everyone and the supportive environment. The work itself is interesting, challenging and additionally has a certain prestige attached to it. Moving onto something else, just when I feel I've got myself settled and comfortable, is the last thing I want. But it isn't my choice and there is nothing I can do or say that is going to change the decision that has been made.
I am trying not to let all the politics of the situation bother me because I know that it will just make me angry and make things more negative than they already are. There is politics involved and there are reasons why this decision has been made, which have nothing to do with me but serve other purposes. I could get angry about the way I was told, which was in a rather flippant and casual way or about the fact that I was only told half the story. The real reasons only became apparent later. Or I could be angry about the fact that other people in my team knew what was happening before I did.
I don't want to go, that's the bottom line. I thought after a night's sleep I would feel differently about it. Sometimes, in the morning things are clearer or seem less important. This doesn't. I feel disappointed and as if I have failed in some way. Although technically the move is side-ways, I can't help feeling it is a demotion.
In a few weeks I am sure all this will be forgotten and I will be settling into the new job. I just don't want to make that step though. I have no choice so I will have to focus on the positive and try and make the best of it. There is the advantage that the change will broaden my experience and give me skills, which will make it easier to look for another job. I guess that is what I need to focus on; the future not the here and now.
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