Finding a Voice - Riding the Bike

Last night Hannah babysat Rowan whilst we went to the Finding a Voice event, where nine of us related our "moving to York tales". Some were very good [Danielle's was the best] some "needed some work", but overall it was a good evening. The next stage is to polish and interconnect the stories before a public performance [JZ, the facilitator is going to do this].

Ted and I went on a bike ride in the light rain. It was good to get out on the touring bike and whizz along the lanes to the east of York. Good ride.

Jenny is coming to stay this weekend, should be arriving soon. And most important of all, Preston have secured their place in the play-offs.

The photo was taken at Vegas Airport. You never know when a good black and white opportunity will arise. I am really pleased with this, and very surprised to find such a good shot in the garish world of Vegas.

Vegas Airport 

The Mojave Desert 

New York New York Las Vegas 

Book Group #2

Today we had the first Book Group where we discussed a book we had all read. It was called The Dream of Scipio by Ian Pears http://books.guardian.co.uk/reviews/generalfiction/0,6121,771897,00.html. Half the group thought it was great, and half [my half as it happens] thought it was awful pretentious tripe. This must count as a successful book for the group, it meant we had some really good discussion ... and wine. Went really well.

Two more pictures today. One of the Mojave Desert [I had to wait a long time for that car to come through] and ome of a casino in Vegas [a reproduction of New York City no less]

Two Views

Two views of my trip. From the ridiculous [this is a view from our room in the Aladdin in Vegas] to the sublime [sitting on the stoop with Derwood and Steph drinking beer and talking ... a lot].

Rowan and I went a walk on Hob Moor yesterday evening to say hello to the cows. The gorse bushes are in full flower, a sign that summer is on the way with the Hawthorn bush blossom due next. We saw skylarks in the air http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds/guide/s/skylark/index.asp which was another sign of things to come.

Beers on the stoop 

Vegas Room View 

Back Home

This photo is taken in Derwood's 5 acre plot of land at Yucca Valley in California. It is a fantastic location, with the yuccas and cactus and the snow covered mountains in the distance. Meanwhile back in York I have two major tasks - sort out the garden and do my PAYE return... unless I do the latter I won't be able to afford the former, so tax forms it is.

In the Desert #1 

Cows on Hob Moor 

The Cows are back, and so am I.

Great excitement on Saturday when the Hob Moor Cows came back for their summer pasture. They belong to a farmer from Thirsk [about 20 miles north of York]. Rowan and Danielle went out to meet them. I came back today as well, the trip back was fine, and although I only slept about 30 minutes on the plane I have still managed [just] to stay awake, so I hope to get back to normal sleeping patterns.

Getting Back

Had my usual 6am stroll up the strip - then breakfast with Rob, farewells then off to the Airport. Vegas airpprt is a strangely quiet placce, as though people need an antidote before returning to a different reality.

Flight to Philly was fine, where I am filing this from my phone (It's a first time...)

Back to Vegas

The return across the desert was equally amazing. A long frieght trains crossing the salt plains, hooting as it passed the one cafe en route [shut of course]. When I approached Vegas I could see the Pyramid at Luxor [no, not the real one] from a way out and guessed my it was 2 or 3 milea away max. Then I saw a sign Las Vegas 9 miles - I could not believe it, the distances get so foreshortened in this vast empty landscape.

I felt pretty flat after leaving Derwood and Steph, and approached Vegas with little enthusiasm. But I met up with Steve and Rob and had a good cocktail or two in the Casino. I still have not placed a single bet - pretty pathetic really, but there you go.

This morning walked down to Downtown Las Vegas, about 4 miles away. It was great to walk, and I actually got talking to some real local people which made a change. Met Rob down there, got some gifts for the return home.

Preston lost to Milwall [of all people]

More Desert

Went to a great place with music and food last night, lot of atmosphere [plenty of people looked like they were having a day off from being in Twin Peeks] stratosphatically bad service, Good to meet Steph for the first time, and great to talk...a lot.

To my surprise there are things I like about Vegas.
1 Architecture. It is easy [very easy] to be sniffy about imitation Eifell Towers and Statues of Liberty: but I like it. What is wrong with copying great buildings with other buildings? It is what architects have always done.

2 For everyone. As long as you have money to loose, all are welcome. There is a strange egalitarianism of the "about to be fleeced" and the staff in the hotels and shops seem as pleased to be in Vegas as everyone else. Feels good.

3 Access. Everyone can go everywhere - just about. You can wonder in and out of every Casino and shopping area you feel like without any "members only" stuff. I do not think it is like that in Monte Carlo of Mayfair.

4 The Vibe. It is a friendly, safe feeling place. Everyone is here to have a good time [even me] and it shows. People talk in the lift and smile a lot. It feels good.

The Desert

Up at six, massive pancake heap [at the 24hour breakfast bar of course] I had to leave some [unheard of]. Hired the car at 7, hit the road, then got out of Vegas. Derwood had written me out a route across the desert on back roads [and I mean Back roads] It was a truely amazing experience - salt flats, railroads, one house towns [shut of course] and enough images to keep Wim Wenders in film sets for a lifetime. Really brilliant [and it will feature in my Top Ten routes coming up soon]. Made it to Derwood's house which is equally great. Pictures will follow when I get back to UK. As for now we are sitting on the stoop listening to music, playing with the dogs drinking beer and catching up. Defintiely a good day.

FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE TURBULENT

My trip to Vegas began with a walk to York station, then a pleasant train ride to Manchester Airport. Then a sublime trip to Philadelphia courtesy of US Air. Bulkhead seat [extra legroom] no neighbour [place to put bits and pieces] great vegetarian food, good movies [Bridget Jones and Alfie]. And then a couple of beers with Royce [Danielle's father] at the terrible Philadelphia airport. It was great to see him and have a chat.

The next flight was not so hot. Cramped, no food without meat [and you had to pay for it!]late, and very turbulent [two storms over Texas]. Made it to the amazing Alladin hotel in vegas. Had a croissant then fell asleep. This morning we all met up and it has been good fun. Tomorrow is the drive across the desert to Derwood.

Viva Las Vegas!

Simon is heading west as we speak. Rowan and I have a fantastic clock which tells us the time in the UK, Philadelphia and California, so we have been tracking his progress.

Blue Peter did a brilliant piece on LV yesterday – check it out on the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/bluepeter/show/whatwason/factsheet_2005_04_19.shtml (sorry no footage available).

He’s been reading up on poker and other games, but will he ever – “Let it ride!” or "Put it all on Black"?

Leaving for Vegas

Busy day getting ready for the trip to Vegas. Derwood has just one request to be brought over from England - a Fray Bentos canned steak and kidney pudding - so I have gone to Tescos to get one. A quick game of badminton with Edward - both very rusty. Taking a photo for the front of next month's QuakeVine this evening. And tying up a few work odds and ends [like getting paid]. This photo is of a moth Rowan and I saw last May, so we will be on the look out next month.

LIme Hawk Moth at Hob Moor 

A piece of beehive

“…a piece of beehive, and it might be the wrong piece, where the bees are buzzing and not hunnying. Bother.” Piglet agreed that it would be rather bothering.
(Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A Milne, p.213)

An excellent summary of last year’s beekeeping at Hob Moor Drive. However, this year seems a bit more promising. It is true the bees are still buzzing and not hunnying YET. But I feel confident that they have now got the idea. I have had a poke around and the colonies are growing fast. When it is time to have a proper look, I will call for an expert to help me.

So far, Queen Latifa II is filling one whole brood box and I put another super box on for the colony to grow into. She is a rather aggressive Queen and I have plans to either kill her off (some of you may remember my failed attempt to do this last year) or exile her to another apiary.

Queen Marguerita’s girls (and a few boys) are a smaller colony, but I hope they will fill a whole brood box by mid-May when the clover and other wild-flowers on the Moor comes into bloom.

On our way to school today, in the pouring rain, Rowan and I had a look at all the flowers people planted in their gardens – there are tulips, magnolia, bluebells, hyacinths and other flowers – that we thought the bees would like. As long as its within 3 miles, anything is possible.

The Sage at Gateshead 

Bees and Badminton

Planted out my leeks today, a bit of a cold day for it but I wanted to get them in before going to Vegas next week. Danielle is building a new floor for her bee-hive and when she is done, we will all go and put them in a rape field east of York, so that we can hopefully get some rape honey. Rowan is playing with her friend Lucy, and I had a game of badminton that morphed into lunch when we found that the Yorkshire Vetrans were booked on our courts [funny, they all looked about my age...].

Baltic & Bridge 

No Sage at the Baltic

Danielle was working in Newcastle today, so I traveled up with her and took some photos. I looked at the Sage http://www.thesagegateshead.org/index.aspx and the Baltic modern art gallery http://www.balticmill.com/flash/index.html and saw the Millenium bridge open to let a boat through http://www.gateshead.gov.uk/bridge/bridged.htm.

The art in the Baltic was OK, but I spotted a line of five red buckets that had been positioned against a blank wall in one of the galleries to catch water from the [inevitably] leaking roof of the brand new gallery. They were definitely the best bit of art there. You are not allowed to photograph the artworks [copyright issues] but when I asked if I could photograph the buckets the staff had to make several phone calls, before saying "NO". Pathetic but true.

Much relief that the broadband has returned.

The Protestant Cemetery - Rome 

Where's the Blog been?

After the trials of KLM, it was our turn to be messed around by NTL [or NT Hell as the user-group refers to it]. Broadband down for 48 hours, and still not fixed yet... It's been a busy week. Bike ride Sunday with a new group member, Masoud. Visit to some friends who have moved nearby into a Grand Designs type house. Trip to a new work contact in West Yorkshire on Monday, hopefully some work will come from it: sounds really promising. Rowan back at school - going well. Danielle in London last night. Planted out some letuices. I am in London today meeting some contacts. Mother ringing from Croatia, seems OK. The usual.

Roma 3

The Pantheon [Roman, intact, concrete dome, amazing columns] was the most amazing place we visited in Rome.

KLM – Kinda Like Misery
A combination of the pope being funeraled, KLM demonstrating continued dedication to appalling customer care, and the usual airport misery, meant that we spent most of Friday in transit from Rome to Leeds/Bradford. Thank heavens for the mp3 player, the BBC’s children stories, and Rowan’s patience! Can anyone think of what KLM really stands for? Danielle’s come up with the best effort so far “Kicks the Life out of Me”. Any others gratefully received.

Pantheon 

Rowan @ Ostia 

Roma 2

Ostia Atica
When I visited Chris last time he took me to Ostia Antica http://www.ostia-antica.org/, the ancient port for Rome that is largely intact [having been abandonded to the sand dunes by the Romans when it silted up] and pretty amazing. So we took the tube and the train down there for one day of our visit. Rowan loved it, there are shops and bakeries and mortuaries pretty much as they would have been in Roman times.

Roma 1

My friend Chris has lived in Rome for about 12 years. I visited him ten years ago, and have been promising to go back ever since. Finally, courtesy of some refund money [a sorry tale involving KLM, zero customer care and 24hrs unwanted hours in Turin] we booked a visit to Rome for April. I proudly told Chris……… then he broke the news, he was moving back to the UK in February. To make it worse, he was moving to ………….. Wigan. Buto we decided to go to Rome anyway. A hotel was booked, our flight confirmed, all was set. Then the pope started ailing. Then he ailed, and the lying in state and funeral are slap bang in the middle of our visit. So it was with some trepidation that we set off from Leeds airport on Tuesday morning, having got up at 4.00am. But it has been fine. We have come across groups of Polish pilgrims but otherwise it feels pretty normal. This photo is of Danielle and Rowan at the Trevi fountain doing the "coin over the shoulder routine".

At the Trevi 

The Wheel 

The Wheel

Here is another photo from Mother’s day on the London Eye. It was taken from within our pod, with silhouettes of some of us reflected in the blue.

Danielle & Emma in the pod 

The Wheel

Saturday was the big day. Mother's 80th birthday trip on the London Eye http://www.londoneye.com/ . 22 family members managed to congregate on the south bank to go on the private pod on the wheel. The weather was perfect and it all went really well. After that we had a meal at Loco Mensa Italian restraunt. http://www.locorestaurants.com/

The Bees

Friday we drove up to my Mothers for her 80th Birthday celebrations. First task was to have a fantastic meal at Carluccio's at Bicester village, then to collect the Bees painting that Emma [daughter of my cousin Gill] had painted for Danielle's 40th birthday. It was the first time any of us had seen it, and it is fantastic. Emma has really got hold of the idea I gave her for the painting and turned it into something far better. It is now in pride of place in the gazebo.

The Bees