A Weekend in Wales

My next trip had something a bit different about it.  This time it wasn't just me going.  Next trip was the first time I went away with my girlfriend.

We both like mountains and hiking, and given that it was only for a weekend away we didn't want to go too far.  So we packed up the car and drove to north Wales and Snowdonia.  Snowdon may be a bit on the touristy side as mountains go, but it was still something I wanted to share with her,

I've been up Snowdon before, but only once and only by the "tourist" trail.  This time I wanted to go up one of the other paths, maybe a little harder, but supposedly prettier.  We chose Rhyd Ddu.  And it didn't disappoint.

I always feel at peace in the mountains.  I think that is why I like them quite so much.  The walks tend to be enough of a challenge to keep you at least semi-occupied, and make you feel like you achieved something, and some of the views and scenery are spectacular.  Walking this time was a bit of a different experience, being the two of us, but if anything it was better for it.

While we were in the area, we went to lake Bala, and also hiked up Cadair Idris.  Unfortunately the weather didn't play ball for the second hike.  All the way up Snowdon we had great weather, and really good visibility.  There is always a risk that when you start getting high that the cloud will come in and you'll suddenly be stuck only able to see 10 feet in any direction.  It wasn't quite that bad, but it was pretty limited, and taking photos was out of the question.

I guess that means we'll have to go back!

Interrail

After I finished school, I went straight to university. I wasn't one of those students that took a year out to go travelling. It's not that I couldn't afford to,although that's true, but I was eager to get there and start studying. Yes I am that nerdy. It helps that with the subject path I took taking a break is really detrimental. With arts subjects taking time out and getting a better understanding of the world and all its intricacies can be really beneficial, but with physics and especially maths, if you aren't practicing you will forget tricks and techniques. Some people traveled during the long holiday before fresher's, and others did so between years at uni. Again, I wasn't one of those students.

But I was at least aware of interrailing. It's hard to be in that environment for a prolonged period of time and not be. I had friends from both home and university that did it. I heard of the places they visited and the memories they made, and I resolved that at some point I would do the same. The time when I felt I could finally afford to came after I had been already working several years.

Over that period, I had heard plenty of people say "you need to go here" about a variety of different cities. I had a few myself. Istanbul featured quite highly on that list, as did Budapest and Prague. I got a map of Europe, termed places as either have to go, nice to go, ora bit more indifferent towards, and started mapping out some routes. I'm lucky; my management is quite flexible and don't mind if I takes a three week break. This meant I had lots of options; you can go a lot of places in three weeks!

There's one piece of advice I was given by my friend Mat while I was planning that was really important. He was one of those guys that took a year to go travelling, so his advice was born from experience and worth listening to. Don't try to do too much.

I decided against doing a round trip, just going one way and flying home from as far as I got. It was so much easier logistically. My final route was fly to Prague, train to Bratislava, day trip to Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Zagreb, Sibiu & Bucharest, Sofia before finally Istanbul. Except its not quite that simple. As well as those cities there were some day trips planned. I love the mountains and nature too much to ignore Bohemian Switzerland, the Tatras, Plitvice lakes, Romanian mountains... That and my girlfriend was coming too for the first two weeks and she feels the same. Cities are nice, and they all have their individual feel. But after a while they get boring.

I guess I should start at the beginning. Prague. Over the years it has developed a rather mystical aura. Not the home of British stag parties, but an oasis of Eastern Europe. Oozing culture and class, the tagline of many other cities in recent times has been "the new Prague". But how does the original fare? In all honesty I didn't know much about it before this trip. I still feel that there is plenty I missed. But there are some things that you realise you've seen many times before going. The cathedral and especially its astronomical clock. The main square. The John Lennon wall. And for those sharp eyed amongst you, the Charles bridge is the one from the start of the first Mission Impossible film. But we went a bit further afield too. The cathedral at Kutna Hora is incredible, and the mountains in Bohemian Switzerland were beautiful and a fantastic first hike of the holiday. The variety we saw in the Czech Republic, the grace and style embodied by the architecture, and the *feel* of the place... Great start.

From there we went on to Bratislava. Not somewhere you think of as a holiday destination, but it is an hour on the train to Vienna, which is world renowned, and a nice little break point. Again, don't try to do too much. Vienna really is something else. We spent a day just getting a feel for the place, but I feel that we would need a week to do it justice. My knowledge of pre-20th century European history isn't the best but I know enough to know about the Austria-Hungarian empire, and how wealthy it was.  And Vienna was the center of that.  There was so much to see there, it definitely deserves more than the day we gave it.  Definitely worth a return journey!

I must admit that I wasn't expecting a lot from Bratislava.  It was more a stop off point so we could get to Vienna easily and buy a day or two before heading into the Tatra Mountains of Slovakia.  But it was fun, and the contrast to Vienna, so close yet a different country, culture and history, in terms of architecture and the wealth of the place was stark.  Not to disparage Bratislava too much, it is nice in its own way, and the castle overlooking it is very different to British castles, and very imposing.  Unfortunately it was shut so we couldn't get inside.  The main highlight for Slovakia, the main reason we went there was to get out into the mountains.  We spent a couple of days in the High Tatras, which were fantastic.  They are definitely worth a return journey, and a few extra days exploration.  We did cheat a bit; the consequence of limited time.  We skipped part of a hike and took a cable car.  I'm not quite as principled as some I know, who think you must earn the view at the top of the mountain.  But that view... Worth it

Next on the list was another city high on my list of priorities during the planning stage.  Budapest.  Back to the Danube, who we were kinda following as it winds its way through Europe.  We spent two days here, one looking round Buda, one for Pest.  There is so much to say about it, but I will only touch on a couple of places.  The parliament building is breathtaking from every angle.  So grand, so ornate; both inside and out.  A particular highlight is the view of it from across the river as the sun sets.  The other is the baths throughout the city, the one we went to was Gellert.  Spending some time relaxing and swimming was a great way to cool off from the heat of the city and unwind following a week of travel.

Following Budapest, we made our way to Croatia.  We didn't make it to the coast, Split and Dubrovnik, which are apparently incredible.  We spent a day in Zagreb, and visited one of the most unique museums I've been to; the museum of broken relationships.  I don't want to spoil at all, but if you find yourself there, then you should consider giving it a visit.  However the real reason for including Croatia was to see Plitvice Lakes.  I don't think I've seen lakes so clear, water so beautiful.  The fish you can see almost appear to be flying.  Its magical.

Then on to Serbia!  I was a little nervous about Serbia, and wasn't sure what to expect, but not very much.  But Belgrade surprised me.  It was great.  The church was staggeringly beautiful, the city was great, and we got to see the Tesla Museum which was a real plus for me and my physics background.  The only problems we really had was getting in and out of Belgrade.  Getting from Belgrade to Bucharest was a nightmare, the taxi we had booked decided they didn't want to play ball, and we ended up taking an overnight train with a few hours layover in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night.

But Romania was worth it.  We started in the Sibiu region and the mountains.  And they were beautiful too.  I may be biased, I've made my feelings about mountains clear in the past, but a fairly relaxed walk was just the peaceful respite we needed at this point!  After Sibiu, I went on to Bucharest, and it was this point we became I as my girlfriend flew home.  A day exploring Bucharest was actually quite sad.  The influence of the soviet era was stark over the city.  The old buildings were still there in their splendour, but new buildings had been put up between them, and it left the city feeling wrong.  Some things still stuck out.  Of course the People's Palace.  One of the biggest buildings in the world, when you get to the road leading to it, it will take your breath away.

After this I spent some time in Bulgaria.  One day in Sofia, and a day trip to the Rila Monastery.  Sofia had avoided the fate that had befallen Bucharest, the old city was much more in tact.  And the city was so much nicer for that.  But the true highlight of Bulgaria was Rila.  Up in the mountains it is a delightful setting, and the monastery itself is lovely, and aside from the other tourists was very peaceful.  I can't even imagine what it must have been like for the monks before it became so filled with tourists.

My final stop was Turkey.  Istanbul was as hectic as Rila would have been peaceful.  The call to prayer ringing out over the city, waking you up, the buzz walking through the Grand Bazaar.  The Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia staring across each other, equally impressive, but so hard to compare.  And one final treat to myself.  Day trip flight to Pamukkalae.  There are so many things to see in Turkey, you can spend weeks looking around (ignoring the current political climate!), but this was my pick to see on my final day of the holiday.  Go look at pictures, and you will understand why.

Having had years of people talking about their travels round Europe on the train, I'm glad I finally got round to doing it myself.  Experiencing a host of iconic cities, different cultures and sights was brilliant.  Trying to put it into words is far from easy.  In short, if you've not spend two or three weeks exploring different countries, if you can spare the time and a bit of money (hostels and air bnb mean its not that pricey!) it is definitely worth doing!  Pick some cities, pick a route and start planning for yourself.

Stockholm Syndrome

Have you ever played the skyscanner game?  Its great fun.  Pick some dates where you can travel, a home location and then look for flights to anywhere.  Sort by price, and see where you could go for cheap.  I played this game, and looked at my options.  Flights to Stockholm for <£40?  Why not!

So I went.

After my whirlwind trip of NY a few months earlier, I wasn't too phased about the prospect of trying to do this with little planning.  While there is plenty to do in Stockholm, it is not on the same scale as NY, so the few weeks planning time I had was plenty.

Prior to this, I knew next to nothing about Sweden.  The extent of my knowledge was drinking is expensive, its going to be cold and I needed to try some meatballs.

Flicking through the guidebook, a few things became obvious.  With all the islands and water ways, I would need to go on a boat trip.  Unfortunately it seemed that most of the islands of the archipelago, but not the city, were closed for the winter.  My desire to hike would not be sated.   Second, this is the home of Nobel, the Nobel Museum and Nobel Park.  I'm a scientist, and think I have a reasonable intellectual curiosity; Nobel is the ultimate, reading about the prize winners is inspirational.  Lastly, Stockholm had been an Olympic city.  I needed to see the stadium, even if I knew I wouldn't get inside.

These were my "goals", but I had plenty of time.  This wasn't going to be like NY, where I was rushed off my feet to try and see as much as possible.  I could be relaxed, see these things and then decide which of the other sights I wanted to do on a day by day basis.

Stockholm itself was interesting, and I do mean that genuinely.  The mixture of northern architecture and the water everywhere was unlike anywhere else I had been before.  I didn't go to many of the different Islands, but they all had their unique feel, which is strange for such a small city.  The museums were different and interesting to; from Nobel, like I already mentioned through, to one that includes an entire viking longship, with some restoration work admittedly.

Stockholm was a great city to wander around, taking my time to enjoy the view, pausing to warm up in coffee shops (and oh my god, the cinnamon rolls.  If only I could have them everyday...), and just seeing what there is to see was really enjoyable.  And the meatballs were damn tasty too.

So Good They Named It Twice (Nov '14)

After I got back from Iceland, my first day back in the office I found out I was going to the states two weeks later.  With work paying for a transatlantic flight, this seemed to good an opportunity to miss.  I booked some leave and so I could extend my stay in the states and started planning.  I have a list of US cities I want to visit, and starting to tick the ones I've visited off.  So I booked flights, and started planning a trip to the city most Europeans think of as The american city; New York, New York.

Planning a trip to New York in under two weeks is hard.  Especially when the trip will only be a few days.  There are so many aspects of the city that you know from popular culture, things that are famous and you just have  to see.  Icons of the country, some of the world's best museums, and sights that you have seen countless images of, but not in person.  How do you see as much as possible in 3 days?  What do you miss out?  What can you still get tickets for two weeks out?  And how can you plan it all in 2 weeks?

Some things were obvious.  I had to see Liberty, Empire States, Central Park, the Met.  Others were things I would like but less important.  MOMA, Time Square, Rockefeller, Guggenheim, Madison Square Gardens, Ground Zero.  The list goes on.

And this was before people started giving recommendations.  Turns out lots of people have been to NY, and they all have something else you have to try.

So I timetabled.  I prioritised.  I got the NY city pass, found a way to see Liberty, Empire, Met, MOMA, Guggenheim, walk over the brooklyn bridge, chill out in Central Park, see the best book shop in the city, Time Square.  Unfortunately the ice hockey at Madison Square Gardens was out of my budget, as was a broadway show.  Rockefeller I half forgot, half ran out of time.  But in the three days I had, I don't think I could have done much more.  I was rushing everywhere.  Now you may think that doesn't sound like a nice holiday, a relaxing time.  But this is New York.  The city that never sleeps.  Where everyone is in a hurry, and by rushing yourself you feel like you belong.  Where grabbing a coffee to go is normal, having a think pizza and cheesecake is something you have to try.  And its fantastic.

Chilling In the Land of Ice (Oct/Nov'14)

One of the things I want to see before I die is the aurora.  Borealis or Australis, but I want to see them.  With this in mind, I headed north, to Iceland to go hunting.

Now I know that you need a bit of luck to see them, and it needs the solar activity to play ball.  Thankfully, there are plenty of other things I wanted to see there.  The location of Iceland makes it unique, and gives it some very cool geology.  You can stand with one foot on the Eurasian plate, and the other on the North American.  You can see Geysirs and swim in natural hot springs.  So of course I did.

There's a tour that I went on that goes round something called the Golden Circle.  You see three of the countries most visited tourist spots, and they are worth it.  It is a land of natural beauty, and these are some of the highlights of places within a drive from the capital.  And that didn't seem enough, so I added a snowmobiling trip on top of a glacier to it!  That was ridiculously fun.  Got some good speed, about 50mph, and if you've ever been quadbiking, imagine that but better!

I spent a few days wandering around the city, looking at some museums, churches and the opera house.  There was a very odd exhibit at an art gallery that I just didn't get, and the inside of the cathedral felt a bit too empty, almost like a sports hall.  The view from the top of it was great though.  The houses are coated in corrugated iron which is then painted, so you get great colours.  And when the sunset lit up the opera house, it was just beautiful.  In fact everything I saw there was.

Unfortunately, the one down side was I didn't see the Aurora.  I went out searching for them three nights in a row, but there was no solar activity.  I got some great pictures of stars, but no green lights in the sky.  Think this calls for another trip towards the poles!

Belle Paris

Been a while since I had time to write, but I think its time to add in my next travel.  Last July I was in Paris.  Not only was I in Paris, I was also there for Bastille Day.

I was away with work, and then stayed on for a few days to enjoy the city.  Not too much to talk of about the first week, but there are a couple of things to highlight.  Bastille Day was something pretty special.  I went for a long run in the afternoon, saw a lot of the sites - Place du Bastille, Louvre, Musee D'Orsay, the banks of the Seine, the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumphe, and I ran down the Champs Elysee all decked out with the Tricolor.  It was pretty incredible, and one of the most beautiful runs I've ever done.

Then the evening came, and with it the fireworks. I think they might have been the first actually launching off Eiffel for several years, and the atmosphere was pretty special.  Afterwards we went for a few drinks and maybe the most expensive three drink round I've seen.  About 70Euros for three beers...  Only other thing I need to share is the social.  Dinner cruise on the Seine.  Thank you, I will do that.  Beautiful food, and great sights.

I didn't have much time afterwards to enjoy myself, but I did get a few cool things done.  I met some very cool people in my hostel; Elizabeth, Dasha, and the American guys.  The Louvre is possibly bigger than they say, and I was impressed I managed to get through about 2/3rds of it in half a day.  However I much preferred the Musee D'Orsay.  The art they have there is much more of the style I like; Renoir, Monet, Manet and Van Gogh.  I hate to imagine the insurance costs for that.  Versaille is just lovely, and the fountains were incredible.  Notre Dame, Sacre Couer and Saint Chapelle are beautiful.  The view from the top of the Arc, with the spidersweb of roads emerging from it is pretty impressive, but it all scales compared to the view from the Eiffel Tower.  It is about as recognisable a landmark as anywhere in the world, and there's a reason people flock to it.  Same as the Colisseum in Rome, people flock to it and you can't help it. 

You try, but you can't.

Cowboy Country (March-May '14)

Hot on the heels of the first, comes travel blog the second.  This time its America based, and is going to detail my time away in Albuquerque.

Last spring people that know me in real life will have noticed that I happened to not be around for a while.  There was kind of a Phil shaped gap where I would normally be.  And every now and again there would be some crazy photos appearing.  This is because I spent two months working in New Mexico, and not at home!

I'm not going to go into the details of it all, and I don't want to list everywhere I went, everywhere I saw.  I'm just going to go through my highlights.  And just because I was based in New Mexico, didn't mean I couldn't go elsewhere

Monument Valley
Every Western you ever see looks like it's set here.  Driving towards it makes you feel like you're on the surface of another world; the landscape is that alien.  Giant structures appear out of the earth, dwarfing you in their majesty.  It's a Navajo tribal reserve so everywhere you go there are people peddling their wares.  Meant I got a few people some cool birthday presents - about as authentic a dream catcher as you can get!  I also got the full Forrst Gump view in my wing mirror as I drove away from it.  Had to pull over and get a picture.

Bandelier National Monument
Bandelier stands out to me for a few reasons.  It was the first place I went when I was over there.  It has some history attached to it; its some native american ruins, and is a lot more advanced than I thought they would be, and there was some really good hiking there, that would be down to the Rio Grande if the paths were in good condition.

Grand Canyon
Any list would be incomplete without mentioning this place.  Everyone I know who has been there says that it is just incredible.  Normally when that is the case, it tends to be overhyped.  But not this time.  If anything it is underhyped.  By a long way.  The only thing I feel like I can compare it to is the Large Hadron Collider.  They are both so huge that pictures can't do it justice.  Consequently you try to describe them using numbers.  However those numbers are so big they quickly become meaningless.  I can't visualise a 27km circumference circle, or a ditch a mile deep.  You have to go to them and see them.  Can not recommend them enough.  Hiking down the canyon is the stuff that dreams are made of.

Roma! (May '13)

It's been a while since I last wrote anything, and I feel like I should share something.  Normally you get my views on films and TV that I'm watching or something sport related, but today I'm going to try something different.  I'm going to give you a bit of a travel blog.

Now to do this properly I should have written it at the time, or maybe just afterwards.  Not a year and a bit late. But someone suggested it, and I thought why not try.

I class my trip to Rome as arguably my first real holiday.  It was the first time I went away with money I earned from working.   I went away by myself, did what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it, ate where I wanted and I had an absolute blast.

The reason I wanted to go was the history.  I love the old style Roman and Grecian architecture, the columns, the lines, the symmetry of it.  Without knowing anything at all about it, I enjoy looking at pretty buildings.  I loved it in Oxford, a great advantage to living there!  I wanted to see the Colosseum, the roman forum, the Vatican, everything!  Another reason was the cuisine.  It's something I eat a lot of anyway, and to have it there was pretty special.

I was there for about 5 days, when you adjust for travel time.  Hindsight, I think I got that about right.  Maybe a touch long; by the end the art galleries I was looking at weren't hitting home the same way they were at the start.  I think I just had too many in a short time, and some were incredible.  I think I did all the major sights, and got a couple of extra ones in.  I think the more uncommon one was the Stadio Olympico.  I want to try and collect Olympic stadia, having been to see the London games.  This was my second.

There are two things that summed up the city for me.  The water fountains.  Everywhere and such a great thing to have.  And narrow streets that open out onto something amazing.

While the city was really cool, and the food was amazing, what made the trip for me was the people.  I stayed in a place called "Yellow Hostel".  Everyone I met was really friendly, really cool and great fun.  I got a ton of recommendations, shared quite a few beers and made some good friends.  Even met people from my home town that know people I went to primary school with!  Very small world.  So Kyle, Emma, Mike, M, Renee - huge shout out to you guys!

I'll leave you with one memory, and its arguably my favourite from the trip.  First evening, I went for a walk around the city.  Didn't look at a map, I just took the turning that looked the most interesting.  And it led me everywhere.  The PMs house, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Dajan Column, the Colosseum, the parliament building, the Fountain of the Four Winds.  Best way to see a city.

A Dame to Kill For

A few years ago, I would have told you that Sin City is one of my top 10 favourite films.  I'm not sure if it's still that high - I've seen some great films since then and not revisited a top 10 list in a whle, but I still thoroughly enjoy it.  So when I saw that the sequel was out I waws eager to go and see it.

The original was striking, new and exciting in the way that it was shot.  The black and white, with the very occasional colour.  It looked stunning.  There were some great quotes, "look at you Hartigan, you can't even lift that cannon you carry" is one that sticks in my mind, and while there was a lot of comic book style violence, it was never excessive, and the story always gave a reason for it.

In the sequel the art direction is stil the same, but more so.  I'm wondering if it was a bit much in some cases.  Less of the comic book and more of the real world would have been nice.  Some of the progresion in it was great, new touches especially with the water physics. However, the amount of block colour was a bit much and detracted from it.  It was done better in the original.

The violence in it is something else that was a bit excessive.  Not in the amount, or the style.  It was the lack of reason that got me.  In the original, Hartigan went after that yellow bastard to protect Nancy, Marv for veneance of Goldie (who had a really nice cameo) and Dwighht to protect his girlfriend who's name escapes me.  In this it seems to be done for kiciks a lot more than for anything.  Only Nancy really is after revenge, and she uses Marv who jjust seems to like violence in this.  Dwight's story is a bit more than just for the hell of it, but not by too much, and gave good background to the original.

I did like how it jumped around in time before and after the original.  Adding depth to the character roster, explaining people's back stories. It kept you paying attention, aan made it feel a lot more rewarding for fans of the original as opposed to a casual viewer.

Out of the new charaters I really liked Joseph Gordon Levitts part, and I thought it suited him well.  It was cool and suave, withh the dose of violence that is whatSin City should be all about.  He also had reason other than "that girl's pretty".

The one thing that really let it down is the lack of quotability.  This may be different after repeat viewings, but for the first time nothing sticks in the mind.  Films like this I want to be quoting it for days after, if not weeks.

This may sound like I'm hating on it, which I really am not.  I thought it was a thoroughly enjoyable film, and willl very probably buy it when it comes out. But it's just not the same as the original, which still sits high on my favourite list.

Desolation of the Hobbit

I wrote something similar to this about a year ago.  Like that case, there are likely to be spoilers here.  But as Martin Freeman put it when he got accused of that, the book is 75 years old.  So if I spoil anything, then you should have gone and read the book.  Trust me it is worth it.

The book of the hobbit is fantastic.  It would make a great film if done properly.  Note the use of the singular there, not the plural.  It would start off slowly, have excitement half way through for the trip though the mountains, a tense situation going through forest, then a grandstand finish with teh battle of the 5 armies.  More action comes throughout, with the wargs the spiders, and of course, smaug attacking esgaroth.  Yeah that would be pretty long, but as it stands there are three 3 hour long films.  And they've changed the plot, added extra action.  And that makes for eexciting films.

Only it isn't necessary.  And it has changed the focus of the story.  And that is why I am so angered by the changes I think.   The book was always about Bilbo growing into something of a leader.  And it celebrated something wonderful.  It celebrated him being clever and thinking his way out. And that has been lost in the movies, in favour of extra action, telling everyone that it is through the heroism of Thorin Fli and Kili that everything was won.  They do this for the good of films, not for the good of the story.

Intelligence isn't something that should be taken so lightly in this day and age.  Look at a previous entry in thi blog to find out what I think about intelligence in general, it is fantastic and underrated.  If we now go and glorify action in its place to the neext generation, we are letting them down, and it won't help us in the long run.  That is a massive shame, and we should be looking at ourselves for letting it happen, and how we can readdress the balance of this.   In short, long live JRR's original message. Long live Intelligence.

Bad Wolf will #savetheday

To begin this, a confession.  I am a whovian.  Since the restart of Doctor Who, I have seen all the episodes, all the specials.  I quote it in normal conversation whenever I get the chance.  I search for it on pinterest and tumblr.  I even went to see the 50th anniversary prom in the royal albert hall.

So surprisingly enough, I was excited for the 50th anniversary special.  Who saw that coming?  I didn't go to see it in the cinema due to other plans, but I was excited.  The return of David Tennant and Billie Piper sent the fan boy in me racing.  The concept of the war doctor appearing and the story of the time war was great.  Paul McGann reprising his role for the short of teh nigiht of the doctor got me even more pumped.  4 Doctors already?

But how were they going to use 10 and Billie?  Their storyline was complete, with the human doctor trapped in the parallel world with her.  How could they add to that?

In the end they didn't and I was very glad they didn't. They came up with a new fun way to include Billie. The concept of the "moment" having its own intelligence was brilliant, and that being in the form of what would matter most to the user was great.  But what was really interesting was that the most important person in all of the doctor's life was the Bad Wolf.

The most important person in all of his lives?  We know that the doctor has been married and had children.  We know that he marries River at some point in his future (different to the mother of his child).  We know he loved Rose, Clara is the impossiblel girl who saves him throughout his life, and has seen his grave, Donna was his best friend when he needed one, Sarah Jane he sees in multiple regenerations and all the other companions have touched him in more ways than we ever saw.  And this isn't even begining to think about the TARDIS when she took human (?) form.

But the Bad Wolf was the most important person throughout his history.  She who only existed for that brief time just as he regenerated from 9 to 10.  Who made it that Jack couldn't die, turning him into an impossible thing.  Who defeated all the Daleks, the first he had seen since the time war.  Since he thought he had ended it, killing his own race as well as all of his enemies. And I think this is why Bad Wolf, not Rose or anyone else was the most important person in all his lives.  She was there, at the time he saw the return of the aleks and saved him.  She gave him hope that there are better things out there, and that if theh Dalkes didn't all die during the time war, maybe not all the time lords did too.  Maybe, just maybe, he could once again set foot on Gallifrey.  Hope came to him that he may be able to go home.

That this is how the episode ended too makes me think this may be the case.  He's going where he has always been going, where everyone always goes.  He's just taking a longner route than them.  But he still is ging home.  Because of the Bad Wolf.

Becoming the Trainer

Last winter in the build up to Reading half marathon, I spent numerous weeks helping one of my friend train for it.  I didn't mind hte idea of it, I waas training myself and by doing that I got to do longer runs, and at a forced slower pace than normal, which was good for me.  And this year I get to do the same, with a different friend for a different race.

When I tarted doing it last year, I had only been running for about 9 months.  Maybe less.  I started after the Reading half the year before.  I'd been out, watched, cheered and then it got me thinking, why not.  I had always been one of the more active fitter people out of my various groups of friends, but after moving here I was suddenly not.  Everyone it seemed was going to the gym, or doing something and I was feeling a bit unhealthy.  I think more than anything it was the shame of that which drove me to pick up a pair of trainers and head out the door.  I started with the simple of goal of doing the half marathon the year after.  I had 3 times in mind, one that i would be disappointed if I took longer than, one that I wanted to do and one that I would be thrilled if I managed.  They were quite spread out, andwent from very challenging to something I should have been able to do from day one.

When the autumn rolled round I entered a couple of races to see how I was coping.  Henley and Gosport came and went and I suddenly had to changee my goals.  I'd done Henley in 97minutes, when my top target was 90.  Suddenly that wasn't quite so out of the question, but it was still going to proof difficult.

It was with the confidence from this that I started helping my friend train.  She had one main goal which was to complete the cursed thing.  As time goals went, she would have loved to been able to do it 2hrs 6 - steady at 6 minutes per km.  It doesnt sound much, but trying to keep going at a solid pace which is as fast as you can for voer 2 hours?  It is not an easy thing to do, even if you think that pace is slow.  It is something that is personal, not one sizee fits all.   So my goal in this was to try and seee to it that they could run the whole thing, not get scared by the distancee, and hopefully be able to run at a constant pace.

Starting from about half distance we went for weekly runs, gradually growing in distance up to just a couple of kms short of the full distance.  We rarely went at the full pace, because the thought wass that the race efffect, having a rowd cheering and the adrenaline going, and people to try o catch would help spur on.  This is something I had found hugely helpful in Henley; I think it saved me about 8 minutes.

The race came and went, and she finished, frustratingly a little bi outside of her target time. I'd managed to shave another 5 minutes off my own time, aganisingly close to my initial ridiculous goa, but it wasn't to e in the end.  There's always the next one anyway.

Bu I was hugely proud of her.  I spent months helping (or so I like to think) and to see someone achieve something they didn'tt think because of that is hugely rewarding.  May even have been more so for me than for her, but I doubt that.  I can't explain the feeling, it was just fantastic.

And now i get to do it all over again!  I get to see someone go from the fear of half the distance, to hopefully completing it, and maybe even getting the time that they want.  When it is something that doesn't come quite naturally to people, being able to help them achieve it is such a great feeling.

I just hope that i am actually helping!

Gravity and the weight of expectation

On Monday I went to the cinema for the second time this year (the last thing I saw was the first part of the hobbit, complete disappointment, but that's a  different blog and alpha papa, a fun romp but nothing special). We saw gravity after hearing a huge amount of hype for it over the previous month, ever since it was released in America. But how did it live up to it?

I had tried to avoid too much of the build up. I didn't hear any spoilers, just that I should go see it. I kind of knew it was a disaster movie, but that was about it.

Let's start with the things that were brilliant about it. Visually it was phenomenal. This is over film that it really is worth going to see on a big screen and in 3D. The only other 3D film I've seen was Alice in wonderland and this used it significantly better. It used it very well and the zero gravity effects were done very well. The other part that really stood out to me was the soundtrack. This is anaaspext that I rarely praise, but here it is well deserved.The use of silence is very powerful and very applicable. Sound doesn't travel in space. And the chances are the engines would be off so they wouldn't make any noise even if it could be heard. Attention to detail like this was very good throughout.

Next we come to the things that were not so good.  I feel bad slamming this film because ultimately I did enjoy it and found myself invested in the characters and storyline.  Howeverthe plot itself wasn't great.  Once you accepted that it was a disaster movie that was all that you needed to know.  Someone stranded in space then had to find a way back to earth. There's not much more that could happen.  My other main criticism is that George Clooney only seems to play one character.  It seemed that it worked here but it could have been a lot more. Sandra bullock was good enough, but I think talk of an Oscar is a bit premature when you think of performances that have gone unrewarded.  I'm looking at you Di caprio.

I thoroughly enjoyed the film and an glad that I went to see it.  Watching it in cinema is likely to be a huge improvement on watching it at home on the TV.  But I don't think I'll buy the dvd when it comes out.  It didn't fully live up to the hype.  The plot just wasn't as good as the visual. Otherwise it would be as out of the world as it's setting.

the wrong side of the law

So I started watching the wire today. Firstly, three episodes in it is fantastic. It looks like it is going to be an amazing series and all the good things I've heard about it are well deserved. but the concept of it got me thinking.

I don't think this classes as a spoiler but the wire is about the drugs scene in Baltimore as seen from both sides of the law. I've just finished sopranos (also a very, very good show) which is about the Mafia in new H Jersey. Similarly, breaking bad has just finished to huge acclaim and that was, to the best of my understanding, about crystal meth. I've not seen it yet, but it is very high on my list of things to watch.

Like i said the combination of these three for me thinking. What is it about illegal activities that we find so intriguing as a viewing public. Whyare we so fascinated with the law and breaking it?

Honestly, I'm not sure what the answer to this is. I guess it's because it'sthe unknown and the forbidden.  People like things that are bad for Erm. We see it in what we do what we eat and many aspects of our lives. It's why there are things that are universally accepted as guilty pleasures. And why we don't care about them.

It's not just in TV. Look at the top films and you will always find things that are outside the law. Mafia. Drugs. Murder. The godfather. Trainspotting, pulp fiction. Great films about things that most people are completely distant for. I'm guessing it's escapism of some form, but people are always after some way to look at a different life from their own.

This happens to me as much as anyone i'm sure. I find them really absorbing and always want to watch more. But does it bother me?  Hell no!

Les Miserables

Last night I am very glad to say that I went to see Les Miserables at the Queen's Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue.  Before this I hadn't seen any stage or film production of it, but I had read the book.  As with every adaptation of a book there are bound to be differences; characters changed, scenes missing and the like.  I mean how do you turn a book that's almost a thousand pages long into a show that's short enough to expect people to sit through?

Now obviously, as with all reviews, this is hugely subjective.  But I thought they did a terrific job.  The amount they had to cut out didn't detract from the story, it just gave more information on the background of a few people, most notably the link between Marius and Thernardier.  This is just added depth to the brilliant work of Victor Hugo, but is far from essential.

Again, with two different versions you will always get different interpretations of characters.  This is exaggerated in my view for Eponine.  When I read the book I saw her as a little bit hopeless, hardly saying anything, but the musical had her as a much stronger person.  Its also hard to be so quiet in a musical!  I like her a lot more in this version, and she had one of my favourite songs in On My Own.  Marius I found to be a smaller character in the stage show, although I did still really like him.  I just would've liked to see more of him at the barricade as that was my favourite scene of his in the book.

I'm also ashamed to say that I found Gavroche to be just a bit too annoying in the show.  I know he's an arrogant little kid so I should be annoyed by him, but it was worse than I thought.  On the contrary I much preferred Jaevert in the show.  Which is impressive as I really liked him in the book too.  Probably my favourite character in the show version.

The biggest change of all is the in Monsieur Thernardier.  He and his wife provide light relief in the show, which is kinda needed, but in the book he is much more evil and threatening to the happiness of Jean Valjean and Cosette.  Again this is just added depth to the story, but I thought it was useful in adding to the menacing air of it.  But that is something that the rest of the show does enough, and it needs some comic moments, which he delivers with aplomb.

Finally, I can't finish without discussing the staging.  The rotating section made it really easy to convey the thoughts of two sides of a divider, be it the garden fence or the barricade.  And the staging for the barricade was just fantastic, I remember seeing it come on stage for the first time and saying that it was just cool.

Brilliant show.  Now can't wait to finally let myself see the film.

British Sport Revisited

Just about two years ago, I wrote about the state of British sport.  I argued that despite what people were saying we were doing very well for a country of our size.  Right now I feel vindicated.

This summer is still mid way through the sporting season, but if we look back at it and last year we see some great performances and results.  Wiggins.  Froome.  Cavendish.  Murray.  Rose. Donald.  Westwood.  McIllroy.  Clarke.  Ryder Cup.  Lions.  Ashes.  Button.  Hamilton The Olympians and Paralympians.  The list of winners goes on and on.  Last year was a great year for British sport, and this year is carrying that on.

Let's start with the Tour de France, as this year's Tour finishes today it's a topical subject.  Having gone 99 years without a British winner for the general classification, in fact no one even on the podium, we look to be set for a second winner in a row.  Last year Wiggins blew everyone away on the time trials, while showing that he can climb as well, with the help of his lieutenant Froome.  This year it's Froome showing what he can do, leaving his rivals on the climbs.  And in case we forget in the excitement of the Maillot Jaune, Mark Cavendish has moved up to joint 3rd on the all time list of stage victories, the highest placed sprinter.  And he'll be looking to make that his own on the Champs Elysees going for a sensational 5 victories in a row there.

Next let's have a look at tennis.  Two years ago I was defending Murray as a world class player who had done exceptionally well, even if he hadn't won any majors.  Well now times have changed.  He's moved from 4th to 2nd in the world rankings.  Has Olympic gold and two majors, beating Federer and Djokovic in finals.  If you're going to break into the elite club of major winners, you have to beat some good players, and he has done more than that, beating some of the most successful players in history.  Djokovic's unbeaten run is something I never thought I'd see, and Federer's record speaks for itself.    The depth isn't there in the men's game to back him up, and in the women's Robson and Watson are coming through nicely, but not quite at the level they can be yet.  Of course they are still young, and this is hugely promising.  Robson especially looks like she could become a major feature on the LTA tour.

In golf we have a flood of success.  In recent years Rose Clarke McIllroy and McDowell have all won majors.  McIllroy Donald and Westwood have all held the top spot in the world rankings.   Westwood is placed ominously two clear going into the final round of this year's open, hoping to break his duck after so many near misses.  And then there's the Ryder cup, admittedly Europe not Britain, but winning of 5 of the last 6 is huge.

England have faltered in recent years in their bid to be the best cricket team in the world.  Even saying that they are narrowly 3rd in both test and ODI rankings, 5th in T20 and are very well placed in the 2nd Ashes test having won the 1st.  Australia aren't the force they once were, but the ashes is always special, and matters so much to both teams.  Anderson is one of the premier pace bowlers in the world,  Swann the equivalent for spin, and Cook and Trott some of the best, most consistent batsmen.

The recent Lions tour gave a lot of people renewed hope in the team.  For something straight out of the amateur era, it is going to struggle to make the transition to professionalism where the relations and understanding of the players is so important.  Having lost the previous three series they needed to show that they still should exist, with players able to cope after a long hard season.  And I'm so glad to say that they did, winning the final test in some style, and George North getting one of the great Lions tries in the first test.

Then we come to the Olympics and Paralympics.  65 and 120 medals respectively, with 29 and 34 of them gold.  3rd in both medal tables, and in a combined one we would be sat in the same place.  But it wasn't just the quantity of medals, it was the manner that they were won, and the way the whole country got excited.  A lot of world class performances rewarded justly.

We're only a small nation.  But we have some great sportsmen.  We should be proud of what they have achieved and hope that they can carry it on for a long time to come.

summer or winter?

Earlier today I saw this tweet:

@timlovejoy: Don't get too angry with me, but is Summer sport better than Winter sport?
Case for: you do get more variety and we do win lots of stuff... Now

This got me thinking, because its an interesting question. What do I prefer and what are we best at?

Trying to split into different disciplines is difficult to start with. Football and rugby union are winter sports but they have big summer components too. Lions tours, world cups, euro championships and  then transfer window. These are possibly my personal highlights of the two sports, despite how much I enjoy them normally, with the lions to the fore. After those we have sports that are year round, but get a bit more focus during summer months. I'm thinking golf and tennis, with more majors in the summer and more coverage. And there's the reverse of football and rugby - cricket is summer but there are winter tours too..

To make it simpler I'm going to split sports this way.

Winter: football, rugby, hockey, cross country
Summer: cricket, cycling, track athletics, tennis, golf

I feel bad splitting it like this. I play hockey, and rugby us my favourite s msport to watch. But out of the sports that have components in both seasons I prefer their summer components. Winter sports, but their summer season. Tricky, and that holds for tennis and golf too.

This is before we even start talking about the big events. Olympics and commonwealth games are both summer only. Yes there are winter Olympics, but both myself and the country as a whole are much more interested in the summer version. I feel bad about that hut skiing as a sport to watch just isn't a big deal in the uk. Ski Sunday was nice to have, but didn't get the views.

However winter does have it's plus side. The football and rugby seasons have the excitement that comes with matches every week, and have the highest viewing figures because of that. Football is the national sport and with all the matches in winter it keeps people talking about what happened and what's coming for 9 months.

One factor that I've not covered yet is gender. I feel bad for the incoming stereotyping and apologise if I offend anyone. Out of the sports I listed the only ones that have decent women's coverage are athletics (both winter and summer) and tennis. And the tennis coverage is mainly in the summer. Coupled with Olympics and commenwealths being the dominant coverage for athletics, summer is a lot better for following female sport.

For me everything points to summer sport. Which I find a bit odd as I always assumed that winter sport was the main season. The things you realise when you sit and think about things!

I before e except after c

I saw something on BBC breakfast yesterday that I thought was quite interesting. An english professor has said that we shouldn't worry too much about spelling and punctuation as language naturally evolves, and we should let it do so.

Now, I always thought of the written word to be a representation of the spoken word, and it follows from that as the sound changes, so the spelling follows suit. From that point what was said is perfectly valid, and there are words in common use now that would never have been dreamt of just a few years ago. In much the same way words and phrases are fashionable. I remember "random"  being in vogue, now it's epic and legendary.

But I disagree with him about spelling and grammar being unimportant.

It has never been easier to spell. Spell checkers are everywhere. Predictive text works. You can even go and use a dictionary. With all these tools, incorrect spelling strikes me as lazy. And learning to spell is useful beyond just spelling. It gets people learning which I think is invaluable. With everything standardised, changing how words are spelt seems wrong. I like that twelfth has an F and phlegm a G.

With grammar I feel the same. You don't have the ease of spell check equivalents (at least good ones) but it's easy to find grammar laws online. I admit I overuse commas, and to a certain extent semicolons, but I think they're great. I don't want to lose them or possessive apostrophes. I actually take joy doing formal writing and using them properly.

One thing that is possibly worth including in this is the use of the right word in certain situations. I can't remember being taught when to use less and when to use fewer, but I learnt and it now bugs me when the wrong one is used. Things like that I feel should be taught, but if enough people use it wrongly, language will evolve and it will become acceptable. That doesn't mean I have to like it though.

Clearly all spelling and grammatical errors here are purely intentional and ironic...

Pray for Boston

There are no words.

What happened yesterday in Boston was utterly terrible. The very worst aspects of mankind was on show and I wanted to apologise for humanity. Two explosions, one incendiary device and a reported 5 others that didn't go off. 8 separate devices. The scale,  the disregard for human life is staggering to me. It's just sickening. And targeting the end of a marathon,  a great feat of endurance, overcoming what your body thinks is impossible. There are no words.

I think I may have felt this more than some because of the marathon. The people finishing it were around the 4hour mark,  when a large chunk of the 27000 would be looking to finish it. I've not run a lot compared to some,  and only halves not full marathons, but I felt a kindred with the runners. I know the sweat blood pain and tears they put themselves through. They're very similar to me in many ways and I can't believe they were targeted like this. There are no words.

Another reason why this has disturbed me is because of London. London's marathon is this Sunday. I've been there for the past two years supporting and would have been stood in the equivalent place to the first explosion in Boston about 3:30 into each of the previous races. Had this occurred at either of them I may not be here. I'm lucky, not one of the poor victims who have lost lives and limbs. There are no words.

But in the midst of the tragedy there was stories showing the good side of man. 1000families opened their homes to stranded runners. People ran towards the explosion instead of away in fear because they wanted to help. People gave what they could, from their own blood. It shows what man can do in a crisis and how he can meet it. There are no words.

Pray for Boston

FC by the FC

I recently watched the French connection and ultimately it left me disappointed. However, looking back on it,  I have been a bit harsh. Yes it had some flaws, but I looked at it with over 40 years of cinema advancement. I'm enjoying thinking about it more than I enjoyed it first time round!

First off, I have to address a major flaw ; the soundtrack. Countless times during the film any possible tension was ruined by almost comically bad music telling you it was going to be tense. This isn't something you can blame on age as a lot of older films have fantastic soundtracks. It seems a small thing to talk about, but it ruins many good films. My other complaints are the ending seemed confused. 2 or 3minutes less and it would have been brilliant, but as it was it just got a bit confused. And the other thing was the pacing of the plot in the first half, but this may have been a consequence of it being a true story.  It went very slow,  then big lump of plot in a single scene.

That apart it was actually better than I gave credit for. Things that seemed cliché weren't when it was new,  and I didn't credit this. The chase scene must have been groundbreaking and the interaction with the characters outside the main 2 cops was a lot of fun. A favourite scene was the subway one trying to follow alain, which was a lot of fun.

Overall it is a good film,  and I think I will enjoy it more the second time provided I watch it right. If only it had a better sound track...