Tales from my travels

I was floating around on the Internet the other day looking for inspiration for well a million things if I’m honest. As always seems to be the case I eventually found myself on you tube (why do I always end up there?) where I came across Lady Antebellum’s video for their single “Just a kiss.”  It tells the story of a young couple meeting and falling in love on their travels. I’d seen the video before but hadn’t realised that Paris features quite a lot. Having just returned from Paris and Brussels it got me thinking about the stories from my own travels.  (I’ve somehow managed to post the video as a separate post if you want to watch it )

 

I have to admit I haven’t travelled all that far (compared to some people anyway.) However certain stories and events stick in my head. I love finding out about the places I visit, their past, how they came to be the way they are, and their history. I’ll admit it I’m a sucker for a good ghost story or a bit of mystery or a legend of some description. There’s also the silly stories and memories made with friends and the people I’ve met on my travels (you know who you are) usually caught on camera and discussed for a long time afterwards. I note down all the stories in a notebook so I don’t forget them (you never know when they might come in useful.)

 

There’s the story about one of the guys falling off a plastic cow in the middle of Stowe late one night. (Or was it a deer? ) Or the handstands on the glass floor of the CN Tower (eek.) Or the time we discovered the Gay Pride Halloween Street Party in, was it Montreal? Then there’s dining in the dark in Montreal (note to self-look out for the escapee squid ick.) The late night/early morning hot schnocolate in Montreal (hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps yum.) The absolutely MASSIVE plates of Nachos in Boston. Or more recently karting in Brussels (I lost severely but it was still great fun.)Then there’s discovering a Brussels pub with at last count anyway 2004 different types of beer (only 2000 left to try) one of the many benefits of meeting up with friends who know the area. All the things that make great stories to tell friends and relatives on your return home and for many years to come no doubt.  

 

Personally one of the things I love about travelling is finding out the stories and legends behind the places I visit. What happened in the past and how they affect the present.  For example Harvard students used to heat up cannon balls to use as radiators in the winter, and then because it was a long trek down the stairs to take them back outside they’d just drop them out the window. This of course created dents in the pavements outside. Or the fact that although it’s considered good luck to rub the foot of the statue of John Harvard, it may not be the best idea you’ve ever had. The statue is right next to the freshman dorms and a favourite freshman prank is to pee on the foot of the statue.  A long standing tradition apparently.  Or that Wall Street in New York is so named as it was originally the site of a defensive wall around the city.

 

The strangest story however has to be from Brussels.  Down a cobbled street surrounded by waffle shops there’s a small statue of a small boy who is basically peeing in a fountain known as Manneken Pis. He and his “sister” Jeanneke Pis draw the tourists in by the bucket loads and the souvenir shops are filled with related merchandise. Thing is no one seems to know exactly why he’s there, even the locals. In the space of six days I heard at least three different stories relating to his origin. Some say he’s there as a memento to a young boy who saved the city by putting out a fire by peeing on it. Others say that many years ago a nobleman lost his son in the city and found him like that and was so relieved he installed the statue. The other story is that an important General in the army had no one to teach his son how to be a great soldier and hero while his father was at war. So the young lad was taken along to the battle and hid him up a tree. At some point in the battle the boy needed to relieve himself. Hidden in his tree he peed on an important army general from the opposing side and as a result won his side the battle. Who knows whether any of these are true but they make interesting little stories to tell. His sister Janekene Pis was installed later as the women thought it was unfair that only the males were represented. They even have a pet dog caught short against a lamppost!!

I’m sure there are many more stories I could tell in fact there’s probably many many more locked away in my head somewhere, stored away waiting to be told at the appropriate moment.  With any luck (and a lot more pennies) I’ll get to do some more travelling and find a whole collection of new stories in the future.

Lady Antebellum Just a Kiss

Chilling out on the rink/ A ghost story

I love being on the ice, I’m not the best skater in the world (I only started lessons in September) but there’s somthing relaxing and calming about gliding round the rink. It’s a great way of clearing your head. Even when I’m trying to master a new move my mind wanders. The rink is old and worn but the ice works fine. Anyway one day I was skating around and I began to notice little things about the rink, how it hadn’t changed since the days when dad used to take us as kids. How that one light in the corner had a habit of switching itself on and off, and how the juke box had a habit of bursting into song when you weren’t paying attention. You’ve probably guessed what happened next ………my mind started to wander. Somehow this little ghost story developed in my head. Originally it was supposed to be a one parter, but i reckon it’s going to be a two parter.  Maybe even more than that we’ll see.

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The ice rink in our leisure centre is the oldest part of the building. It’s been there for as long as anyone in the town can remember, probably even longer. It doesn’t look much from the outside, or the inside for that matter. It’s old and run down, the paint is peeling off the walls in strips, the flags are faded and worn. The barrier is bruised and battered from the failed stops and collisions of a million skaters, many of whom probably haven’t been on ice since well before Torvill and Dean won their Olympic gold. There’s always a slight crackle over the sound system, and you have to give the toilet doors a good shove to avoid getting locked in the cubicle. There’s a comfortable silence to the place when the lessons aren’t on, unless the juke box decides to make its presence known and suddenly burst into song just in case we ever forget it’s there. There’s a grungy green netting round the barrier to protect spectators during the hockey games. Or at least that’s the plan it’s so full of holes it’s surprising it’s still hanging.  I’ve lost count of the amount of times the skating clubs and hockey teams have raised money and tried to do the place up, but it never seems to last. It’s almost as if the rink likes its worn out look. We fix things up and by the time we turn around again the paint is peeling as if some invisible force is pulling it off the walls. The doors are sticking as if someone’s trying to keep you in and no matter what we try, how many electricians we call in the sound system still crackles and the juke box still feels the need to announce its presence. It’s been a running joke amongst the skaters for a long time now that the rink is haunted. It’s just our jokey way of explaining some of the strange goings on you start to notice when you spend any amount of time in the old place. There’s the light in the far left corner of the rink that will without warning switch itself off and then just as suddenly back on. Or the fact that the far right corner of the rink is always colder than the rest yet the ice always seems a little softer.

It might all sound a little spooky and weird but you get used to it after a while.  It may not be the most glamorous of rinks but to those of us who practice there its home. A place where we can glide around free, not a care in the world. There’s nothing more exhilarating than feeling the rush of the icy air whipping against your skin as you whizz round the rink. I’ve been coming here since I was a kid and my dad used to bring my sister and me to the public skating on a Friday night. I started taking lessons after I left University and had a lot of free time on my hands as I could only find part time work. Turns out I was quite a natural skater and was soon progressing up the levels and much to my coaches’ delight entering competitions. I was too old to make it anywhere in the sport but that never bothered me I just loved the way the ice made me feel, free and graceful and as if I didn’t have a care in the world.

I was practicing late one Sunday night as I knew the public session would be quiet. So quiet in fact I was the only one on the ice. This was probably a good thing as I was trying to master a new spin and seemed to be spending a lot of time on my butt. At least there was no one around to laugh at me. The Juke box had been coming to life a bit more than was normal but other than that it was quiet, just me the ice and the scrape of my blades. The rink felt colder than normal but I just figured I’d been there to long, or it was the cold weather creeping in from outside combining with the already cold air of the rink. Trying the spin for what felt like the hundredth time that night I landed in a heap on the ice once again. Deciding a break was probably in order given the fact that the rink now seemed to be spinning more than I was. I skated over to the side. No sooner had I sat down when the rink was suddenly plunged into darkness. The lights were out for no more than a minute when they suddenly flickered back to life. It struck me as slightly odd but then odd things were always happening at this rink. To be honest we probably would be more worried if they didn’t happen. As I stepped back onto the ice a few minutes later a familiar clatter followed by a thunk sounded around the rink. Expecting to see someone entering the rink I turned round. Strange thing was there was no one there and the door which would normally be swinging lazily back and forward on its hinges if someone had entered stood still and silent. Wherever that bang had come from it wasn’t the main door.

 

Ten Minutes to Fulfilling Your Writing Dreams

Reblogged from Live to Write - Write to Live:

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{Guest post from Beth Bader} I left my dream of writing idle for years when I had the time to pursue it. The longer I waited to try, the easier it was to bury myself in the pursuit of making a living. Sometimes you have to completely lose yourself before you find out what parts of you matter most. That lowest point occurred, ironically, at what was also the happiest moment of my life — becoming a mom.

Read more… 681 more words

I'm having the same issue around never having time to write, work has an annoying habit of getting in the way, so I found this rather inspirational.

Books vs Technology

A few weeks back I saw an advert for a television programme (that I never managed to watch.) The programme was examining the claims that new technology (Ipads, Kindles, Computers etc.) are doing away with the need for books. I have to admit I was shocked by the claims at first, but well at the risk of sounding like Carrie Bradshaw “I got to thinking” is it true are we eventually going to end up living in a world where the computer screen replaces the printed word?  These E-readers are everywhere (including bookshops) and every other person has an Ipad or a Tablet. Same with computers and laptops. Even at University instead of setting us a chapter or a few pages to read they would just post a link to the pages. This had its advantages and disadvantages however, it was much easier to make notes and highlight important passages when you could scrawl all over a sheet of paper instead of having to make notes from a book. Only thing was you often used up a fair chunk of your printing credit trying to print off what was often a full chapter or a good chunk of one.  So I decided to do a bit of my own “research” to see what people preferred technology or a good old proper book. I have to admit I was rather chuffed with the response. It seems (from the response to my rather odd texts, Facebook posts and tweets anyway) there is still a love for books more than there is for technology.

Technology has its advantages don’t get me wrong. Some people preferred the technological option over a book as they were travelling long distances or for long periods of time and a tablet was lighter and took up less space in their luggage than a pile of paperbacks.  Or because they were a student and there wasn’t a lot of room in student accommodation to house their book collection. Others preferred technology as they were able to get free “books” and it was easier to find reviews of books before they purchased. Or there was the little things that a book just couldn’t do such as have a built in light (what happened to reading your books by torch light under the covers.) Or the fact that a tablet automatically saves your page when you fall asleep reading.

With books it seems to be the simple things that keep people going back to them. For example the smell and feeling of a new book, the sound of the pages turning, a soft spot for cover art or illustrations which are not available on tablets. Even just being able to wander in bookstores was a reason for picking books over technology.  For some it was for more sentimental reasons, they kept books as a collection, some of which had been passed down from family members and are eventually planning to hand their collection on to their own kids.  While technology has its advantages it does have a few downfalls, I can’t imagine anything more annoying than the battery running out right as you get to the really exciting bit in the story. There’s also no risk of headaches from staring at a small screen for too long.

Both books and tablets have their advantages and their disadvantages. i thought this summed it all up pretty well  (http://www.labnol.org/home/ebooks-vs-print-books/14344/)

 

So what might you ask is my preference? I can see the advantages of tablets especially for travellers or those with limited space. But I have to admit my heart still lies with books. I can spend hours wandering a bookstore rummaging around the books and would quite happily (if I had the funds and the space) come away with a stack of books every time.  This does annoy my mum slightly my room is tiny and the shelves are already performing a rather impressive balancing act with my collection. Mum also works in a library and is always telling me to stop buying books and get them from a library, but I like to go back and read certain books again so having my own copy makes that a lot easier. Maybe my parents are part of the reason I love books so much, growing up there was always books in the house and mum has worked in the library for as long as I can remember.  One of the main reasons I prefer books though is I can’t stand reading from a screen, it hurts my eyes after a short while, more often than not just as I’m getting really into the story. And as I mentioned before technology and I do not get on so I’d more than likely be constantly losing my page. Speaking of which remember Larry the temprimental non multi tasking lappy? Sadly he has been replaced by a shiny new multi tasking laptop (it must be female.) I’ll let you lnow when I think of a name. Still dosent stop me hating reading from screens, it’s books all the way for me.

 

 

 

Real Books

Reblogged from Hanna (Non)Tana:

I know I wrote on how fantastic books are yesterday, but I just couldn’t resist. A Toronto-based bookstore, Type, put this little gem together. Makes me want to hop a plane to Canada just to high five ‘em. via Brain Pickings

This was put together by a little bookshop in Toronto. I'm sat here thinking 1. How did they make it? 2. How long did it take ? 3. How did I miss the shop when I was in Toronto???

The to read list/a work in progress

My poor bookshelves probably couldn’t cope with the weight of anymore books, so until I’ve read a few more I’m trying not to buy anymore books (not an easy task.) However this is posing a slight problem. I’m forever picking up books in shops and thinking “oh that sounds good….I’ll need to read that later.” Problem is with everything else in my head I tend to forget either the title or the author which causes problems when you try to find the book later. So I’ve started saving the information in a little file on my phone so hopefully it won’t get lost as easy.( I’m always losing the little bits of paper I write the information down on) So here it is….any other recommendations much appreciated (this is most definitely a work in progress)

The Birthing House
Christopher Ransom

A Discovery of Witches
Deborah Harkness

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy Steig Larsson

The Tigers Wife
Tea Obreht

The Distance Hours
Kate Morton

Turn of the Screws
Henry James

Shell Seekers
Rosamunde Pilcher