Thursday 21 August 2008

August 21st 08 - dusting the bike off


I've not been on my bike since the end of summer last year. The months I had recovering from my broken ankle haven't helped but I feel its strong enough now to take a bit of light exercise so if the weather stays good over the weekend I hope to take it for a bit of a spin.


I'll have to find a pump though first as the months in the shed haven't been too kind to the tyres.


Lets hope for a decent weekend with the weather, it would be good to get out in the fresh air again.

August 20th 08 - who can resist?


Well I can resist...frankly he is a very loud and somewhat irritating man (well on the telly anyway, I've never met him face to face)


He is appearing at the Hull Food Festival this weekend. I've never been to the event but I'm told it is really rather good so if I'm free this Saturday I may head down and see what is on offer. I love to cook so I'm always looking for new ideas. Maybe they'll be giving stuff away too...yummy!

August 19th 08 - a very tired me!


This is one of only a few self portrait I have on my photostream on Flickr. I hate having my photo taken but at least when you do it yourself you can control to a certain extent how good/bad you look.


I am very very tired after my weekend away, but a very pleasant tired not a worn out tired. So this is a photo of me with sleepy eyes about to get ready to head off to bed.


Goodnight

August 18th 08 - Ruby on her wheels


This is my girlfriend Ruby on her new bike. It is a Suzuki GSX650F and it is a true beauty. She even let me sit on it and have my photo taken. I wasn't expecting it to be so heavy and big but it is a beautiful bike.


I even tried on her spare helmet and I know she has a spare jacket too...so maybe next time I'll get a trip round the block on the pillion seat *hint hint*


Thanks for a wonderful weekend Ruby, I loved going to the festival and sharing all those fantastic experiences with you, I can't wait to see you again xxx

August 17th 08 - Edinburgh Festival Day3


In the morning we took a break from the festival and headed along the River Firth to a place called Culross. It's a small Scottish village saved from rack and ruin by the National Trust of Scotland and is now a popular place on the tourist trail. The buildings in the village are quite something and feel more like a Mediterranean fishing village than a place only a few miles from Edinburgh. We enjoyed our walk round and had lunch in the local pub. t was strange not to see a selection of typical Sunday roasts at the pub, I am so used to that being the norm down here in England. It was a lovely lunch though.


Then in the afternoon we went into the city again to meet a friend of Rubys for a coffee which was lovely. We then went into the excitement that is the Fringe once more. This beautiful lady was one of a number of Japanese people dressed up. They all looked stunning and were happy to pose for photos.


In the evening we went to see Brahms - The Two Piano Concerti at Greyfriars Kirk. It was wonderful and even though it was not something I would have necessarily picked out as something I would have wanted to see it was excellent and I really enjoyed it. However, Ruby and I nearly committed a cultural faux paus by putting out coats on at the point we thought it had finished ready to go only to find out it was the intermission and there was another concerto coming up. Hopefully not too many people noticed :)


Then it was back to Rubys for a late night supper of Port, cheese, crackers and chocolate...lovely :)

August 16th 08 - Edinburgh Festival Day2


Today we set off into Edinburgh and headed over to the Pleasance, a Fringe venue on the southern side of town. The atmosphere there was great, lots of fun and lots of very interesting characters around either getting ready for shows or handing out flyers to upcoming performances.


We started off with lunch of Waffles with strawberries and chocolate for me, and Toffee and banana for Ruby before looking through our accumulated flyers and deciding on a play called Dad's Money. We weren't disappointed. It was really good. The story was of two Somerset brothers who, after loosing their Dad go looking for the tin of money he had kept throughout his life. Both brothers found it hard to trust the other and would constantly fall out while recounting how they'd both failed their Dad during his life. Their desire to find the money in the cellar of their Dad's house leads them in a bit of a predicament as waters from a flooded field start to fill the cellar. I'll leaver it to you to go and see the play to find out what happens at the end, but you will enjoy it. It's no comedy, even though there are enough funny lines in there for you to warm to the characters, but the story was very well told and the twist at the end was a great touch. Recommended.


After the play we headed off to the Royal Mile area again to soak up the performers on the Fringe. On the way we bumped into Shakespear himself listening to his iPod...only in Edinburgh!


One of my Flickr contacts had told me about a play that was showing at the festival which was being performed by her drama group. Unfortunately she was unable to take part in the play but she recommended we go see them anyway, so we did. They were the Filch and Blunder group and they were doing a play called The Village Idiots. They were brilliant. They story was of two young lads who stole a bag from an old lady's shoulder at the bus stop. What they find in the bag makes them feel guilty enough to try and track down the old lady to give her back the bag. The plays tells the story of their adventure to hand back the bag and the characters they meet along the way. The players all wear exaggerated face masks and as there is no dialogue all the story is told using body movement, gestures and music. Even though you know the masks aren't moving you swear they are as the body language and acting is so convincing. I'll definitely be on the look out for these guys again when we go next year. Brilliant.


That evening, after another lovely meal out, we headed over to see Antonio Forcione at the Assembly Rooms. He's an Italian acoustic guitarist and he was breathtaking. I loved it. What an amazing performance. He played the guitar like nothing I'd ever seen before, so fast and making notes from it you wouldn't believe. We were in the second row of a packed auditorium and the atmosphere was superb. He was accompanied on stage by Adriano Adewale, a Brazilian percussionist who was incredible to watch. He played drums, pumpkins, bells, bottles, pebbles, sticks, feathers, you name it he had it there to play. Between them they just held you attention for much too short an hour. I can't wait to see them again, if you love a good spectacle and enjoy your music then this is one show you have to go and see!


August 15th 08 - Edinburgh Festival Day1


So, we're at the Edinburgh Festival. It is amazing! The atmosphere is incredible and there is so much to see and do. I've never experienced anything quite like it. I love Edinburgh, it really is one of the friendliest and exciting places I've ever been to.


Ruby and I spent most of the afternoon wandering around the streets soaking it all in, watching the performers, collecting flyers and trying to decide what we might go and see.


We eventually made it up to the Assembly Rooms where we booked to go and see a play called "One Small Step" it was a play by two young guys who basically told the story of the 12 years of the space race in just under an hour. They mixed seamlessly between playing Russian Commanders and NASA scientists. They used props in such a fun and inventive way you couldn't help but get sucked in by it all. At one point they had a Thermos flask hovering over a beach ball while the cap to the flask slowly rotated into place to dock with the mother ship over the moon's surface. An amazing piece of theatre, beautifully played and very funny. Well done guys.


Then, after dinner at the Grain Store (beautiful Scottish restaurant) we headed over to see Faure Requiem by Candlelight at the Old Saint Paul's Church. The atmosphere was beautiful, the whole church was lit by hundreds and hundreds of candles and tea lights. The choir were superb and the 9 piece orchestra really made it extra special.


All in all a great start to the Festival.