Spike feeling frisky:
Phil managing to open a gate without falling in a hole:
28 March 2007
Somerset day-trip
After feeding the horses, I went out on a day-trip with all the girls, while Phil stayed back at the house to prepare for Selina's farewell party. Sel drove us around the local area for a spot of sight-seeing.
Frome:
The ruins of Glastonbury Abbey. Destroyed by Henry VIII as part of his removal of Catholic power in England. It was obviously a beautiful site, as the remains attest. It was further reduced as the stones were used to pave the road to Wales.
It was also the supposed resting place of the legendary Celtic hero, King Arthur. There is no record of what happened to his remains when the Abbey was demolished:
The Abbey had been a popular destination for pilgrims:
Because of our tight timeframe, most of the girls opted to go to a local shopping mall rather than visit nearby Glastonbury Tor. Tsk tsk. Luckily Brooke kept me company, and together we set off to climb the legendary hill. The Tor has long been associated with King Arthur, but also as a gateway to Avalon, the land of the fairies. Here's a suitably mystical looking shot:
Here's a more ordinary shot, showing the walking path (it's not that bad from this side...):
At the top is the roofless ruin of St Michael's Tower, built by the church to usurp the Tor's pagan reputation:
There's a hell of a view from up top, and the wind is something else:
Saw some livestock in the town on the way back to meet the others:
And we even had time to stop for a fantastic cream tea:
Selina's farewell party:
Frome:
The ruins of Glastonbury Abbey. Destroyed by Henry VIII as part of his removal of Catholic power in England. It was obviously a beautiful site, as the remains attest. It was further reduced as the stones were used to pave the road to Wales.
It was also the supposed resting place of the legendary Celtic hero, King Arthur. There is no record of what happened to his remains when the Abbey was demolished:
The Abbey had been a popular destination for pilgrims:
Because of our tight timeframe, most of the girls opted to go to a local shopping mall rather than visit nearby Glastonbury Tor. Tsk tsk. Luckily Brooke kept me company, and together we set off to climb the legendary hill. The Tor has long been associated with King Arthur, but also as a gateway to Avalon, the land of the fairies. Here's a suitably mystical looking shot:
Here's a more ordinary shot, showing the walking path (it's not that bad from this side...):
At the top is the roofless ruin of St Michael's Tower, built by the church to usurp the Tor's pagan reputation:
There's a hell of a view from up top, and the wind is something else:
Saw some livestock in the town on the way back to meet the others:
And we even had time to stop for a fantastic cream tea:
Selina's farewell party:
Somerset
It was on and then off again, but we finally had our weekend trip to visit Selina at the country house in Somerset where she works as a nanny. We caught a train down with Rachel and Brooke, and picked up Selina's friend Phil on the way. Sel picked us up in a Range Rover and drove us across fields and through dales to Pick Barn, a little farm plot in the English countryside.
There was quite a long mud track to the house, which was good bumpy fun. However, there are also a couple of gates that need to be opened, and we 'lost' Phil at the second one. Look for the ditch at the right hand side...
He got a nice cut on his bum from the barbed wire, but he wouldn't let me take any photos. Still, he was in good spirits for the rest of the weekend, so no harm done.
Here is the quarry railway that runs through the farm:
And here is Pick Barn itself, and the fantastic view from outside the kitchen:
After settling in, we promptly had a little party...
The next morning I got up early to help Selina feed the horses. They got an interesting mix of special horse-mix formula, grains and "soaked beets". No crappy old grass here! This is mama horse (who is with foal):
Young Spike and his fluffy "Mr Tumnus" legs:
Here are the spooky "Blair Witch" woods that border one side of the property, and are the only way to get to the horses:
There was quite a long mud track to the house, which was good bumpy fun. However, there are also a couple of gates that need to be opened, and we 'lost' Phil at the second one. Look for the ditch at the right hand side...
He got a nice cut on his bum from the barbed wire, but he wouldn't let me take any photos. Still, he was in good spirits for the rest of the weekend, so no harm done.Here is the quarry railway that runs through the farm:
And here is Pick Barn itself, and the fantastic view from outside the kitchen:
After settling in, we promptly had a little party...
The next morning I got up early to help Selina feed the horses. They got an interesting mix of special horse-mix formula, grains and "soaked beets". No crappy old grass here! This is mama horse (who is with foal):
Young Spike and his fluffy "Mr Tumnus" legs:
Here are the spooky "Blair Witch" woods that border one side of the property, and are the only way to get to the horses:
March round-up
Wow, we've had a very busy March. I'm trying to make a film over the next few months, and I'm aiming quite high. I've teamed up with one of the guys from work, and we want to use all the sweet equipment here - and get hold of decent funding, and real famous actors and the like. Why not?
Of course, all of this means plenty of work and networking. Not that it's hard to meet famous and talented people in London. Anna and I recently went to a preview screening of Danny Boyle's new film Sunshine. It's terrific, and I got to meet the director and the lead, Cillian Murphy, afterwards. Hooray!
Then I went to a seminar at the New Producer's Alliance, where I met Ed Blum (director of rom-com Scenes of a Sexual Nature) and Dominic Minghella (lead writer and showrunner of the new Robin Hood series). Heady stuff!
In lighter news, we spotted this cheeky chap when we were looking for our new flat recently. We've signed the lease, and move in mid-April. He will be one of our neighbours!
What else? Last week, we had another brief drop in temperature (though you wouldn't know it today, which is sunny and warm!). This time we had a snowfall during the day. It didn't remain on the ground, but it was neat to watch...
Here's the view from my office window.
Of course, all of this means plenty of work and networking. Not that it's hard to meet famous and talented people in London. Anna and I recently went to a preview screening of Danny Boyle's new film Sunshine. It's terrific, and I got to meet the director and the lead, Cillian Murphy, afterwards. Hooray!
Then I went to a seminar at the New Producer's Alliance, where I met Ed Blum (director of rom-com Scenes of a Sexual Nature) and Dominic Minghella (lead writer and showrunner of the new Robin Hood series). Heady stuff!In lighter news, we spotted this cheeky chap when we were looking for our new flat recently. We've signed the lease, and move in mid-April. He will be one of our neighbours!
What else? Last week, we had another brief drop in temperature (though you wouldn't know it today, which is sunny and warm!). This time we had a snowfall during the day. It didn't remain on the ground, but it was neat to watch...
Here's the view from my office window.
08 March 2007
Nine Inch Nails (Brixton Academy) 08/03/07
Setlist:Pinion
Love Is Not Enough
Sin
Terrible Lie
March Of The Pigs
Something I Can Never Have
The Frail/The Wretched
The Beginning Of The End
Closer
Deep
No You Don't
Gave Up
Help Me I Am In Hell
Eraser
La Mer/Into The Void
Survivalism
Wish
Hurt
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like A Hole
Nine Inch Nails (Brixton Academy) 07/03/07
Setlist:Somewhat Damaged
Last
Heresy
March of the Pigs
Piggy
Ruiner
Closer (w/ The Only Time breakdown)
Burn
Gave Up
Help Me I Am In Hell
Eraser
Wish
The Big Comedown
Survivalism
Suck
Only
The Day the World Went Away
Hurt
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like a Hole
Brussels - Day Two
Brussels has many comics murals throughout the city, which provide a nice route for exploring the city. We started by catching the underground out to Stockel station, which has a 135m Tintin mural done by Herge in 1988, shortly before his death.
From there we followed the trail through the markets (Marché aux Puces - Vlooienmarkt) in Place du Jeu de Balle-Vossenplein (where Tintin finds the model boat in "Secret of the Unicorn")...
And back to the Manneken Pis, where we had a great lunch followed by some waffles (wafel/gauffre), available in a square Brussels version dusted with powdered sugar (even when you ask them not to).
Abandoned the mural trail when we found ourselves in the seedy west side, and nipped back over to the Most des Arts area, where we saw an odd progression at the Palais des Congres. At first I thought it might be a bunch fo right-wingers, but I think it had more to do with the 'art month' that Brussels was celebrating.
On the train to the airport we caught a glimpse of the famous Atomium, a remnant from the 1958 World Exposition.
Unfortunately our flight departed late, which then meant being stuck on the runway at Heathrow for nearly an hour. Horrible!
From there we followed the trail through the markets (Marché aux Puces - Vlooienmarkt) in Place du Jeu de Balle-Vossenplein (where Tintin finds the model boat in "Secret of the Unicorn")...
And back to the Manneken Pis, where we had a great lunch followed by some waffles (wafel/gauffre), available in a square Brussels version dusted with powdered sugar (even when you ask them not to).
Abandoned the mural trail when we found ourselves in the seedy west side, and nipped back over to the Most des Arts area, where we saw an odd progression at the Palais des Congres. At first I thought it might be a bunch fo right-wingers, but I think it had more to do with the 'art month' that Brussels was celebrating.
On the train to the airport we caught a glimpse of the famous Atomium, a remnant from the 1958 World Exposition.Unfortunately our flight departed late, which then meant being stuck on the runway at Heathrow for nearly an hour. Horrible!
Brussels - Day One
Brussels, capital city of Belgium, and de-facto capital for the European Union. Lying at a crossroad of cultures, it is an odd melting pot of languages (French, Flemish and English) and people. All the streets have two names!
Caught a Friday night plane to Brussels (a mercifully short flight), only to find that our hostel accommodation had been cancelled! Fortunately, we were given accommodation in a nearby hotel at the same price. Score.
Went for dinner at Bier Circus, a bright little restaurant with a great beer selection. If you didn't know, Belgium is to beer what France is to wine. Lucky me! Anna stuck with a beer she discovered in Amsterdam (Bourgogne des Flandres) while I sampled a range of lambics, including a couple of honey beers. Mmm. I also ate brussel sprouts!
The next morning, we woke to extremely foul weather. In fact, it was probably the worst we've seen since leaving New Zealand. The rain was coming down at bizarre angles, and the wind was fierce and seemingly multi-directional. Still, we soldiered on.
After a brief look at the Place du Congres, we took shelter at the comic museum (Musée de la Bande Dessinée) housed in Europe's earliest shopping mall, with an art nouveau design by Victor Horta. Comics are a big deal in Europe, and especially so in Belgium - home to Tintin, the Smurfs and Lucky Luke (among others). The museum has a so-so exposition featuring the history and development of comics, but I particularly enjoyed the Herge section, with its replicas of famous Tintin objects (such as King Ottokar's sceptre, a can of crab meat etc etc).
The Schtroumpfs...
The weather had calmed down a bit, so we made our way to the Galeries Saint Hubert (Sint Hubertusgalerijen). Another shopping mall, from 1847, it is a light and airy triple-gallery enclosing boutiques, cafés, a theater and cinema. We admired the Easter window displays in the chocolate shops.
About a century or so ago, the Belgians built over the river that runs through Brussels (now underground) to make room for more buildings (and to hide the pollution). One such area is the Ilôt Sacré (Sacred Island), which is full of restaurants and fish-stalls.
We exited through here into the Grand´Place (Grote Markt), Belgium's most beautiful market square. Although wonderfully aged, this historic centre is limited to the square and three short adjacent streets. Took lots of photos of the Gothic Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall) and the Baroque seventeenth-century guildhouses surrounding the square. I obviously took the time to identify the brewer's guild, with its hop plant motifs.
Popped into the Brussels museum and saw the collection of Manneken Pis costumes (of which, more later!), before having lunch in the Ilôt Sacré, then doing a big walk via the Jeanneke Pis (a female Manneken Pis from 1987)...
St Catherine's (home to a black Madonnna)...
And the stock exchange (La Bourse/De Beurs) before doubling back to the Grand' Place...
The statue of Everard 't Serclaes (and touching it for luck)...
The official Tintin shop, chocolate shops (with liquid chocolate fountains!) and through to Brussel's most famous landmark...
Manneken Pis ("little man piss" in English) is a small bronze sculpture depicting a naked little boy urinating into a basin. There are several legends behind this statue, which you can read about on Wikipedia. Of more interest is that the statue is often dressed in a costume by the non-profit association Les Amis de Manneken-Pis. We saw former costumes in the museum (donated from a wide range of countries), and happened to arrive just in time for a dress-up!
The statue's Bolivian garb.
From there we continued our walk to a section of Brussel's original medieval wall, and to Belgium's most celebrated chocolate makers at the Place du Grand Sablon (Grote Zavel) where we bought a selection from Pierre Marcolini and Wittamer. Yum.
Took a sight-seeing route home, past the Musées Royaux des Beaux Arts (Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten), Place Royale-Koningsplein, the Royal Palace and Parc de Bruxelles. Found an interesting art installation - a seemingly insurmountable wall, with slightly raised lettering encouraging one to give it a shot! Watched a lot of people try and fail, before attempting (and failing) myself. Yay for art.
Royal Palace.
Caught a Friday night plane to Brussels (a mercifully short flight), only to find that our hostel accommodation had been cancelled! Fortunately, we were given accommodation in a nearby hotel at the same price. Score.
Went for dinner at Bier Circus, a bright little restaurant with a great beer selection. If you didn't know, Belgium is to beer what France is to wine. Lucky me! Anna stuck with a beer she discovered in Amsterdam (Bourgogne des Flandres) while I sampled a range of lambics, including a couple of honey beers. Mmm. I also ate brussel sprouts!
The next morning, we woke to extremely foul weather. In fact, it was probably the worst we've seen since leaving New Zealand. The rain was coming down at bizarre angles, and the wind was fierce and seemingly multi-directional. Still, we soldiered on.
After a brief look at the Place du Congres, we took shelter at the comic museum (Musée de la Bande Dessinée) housed in Europe's earliest shopping mall, with an art nouveau design by Victor Horta. Comics are a big deal in Europe, and especially so in Belgium - home to Tintin, the Smurfs and Lucky Luke (among others). The museum has a so-so exposition featuring the history and development of comics, but I particularly enjoyed the Herge section, with its replicas of famous Tintin objects (such as King Ottokar's sceptre, a can of crab meat etc etc).
The Schtroumpfs...
The weather had calmed down a bit, so we made our way to the Galeries Saint Hubert (Sint Hubertusgalerijen). Another shopping mall, from 1847, it is a light and airy triple-gallery enclosing boutiques, cafés, a theater and cinema. We admired the Easter window displays in the chocolate shops.
About a century or so ago, the Belgians built over the river that runs through Brussels (now underground) to make room for more buildings (and to hide the pollution). One such area is the Ilôt Sacré (Sacred Island), which is full of restaurants and fish-stalls.
We exited through here into the Grand´Place (Grote Markt), Belgium's most beautiful market square. Although wonderfully aged, this historic centre is limited to the square and three short adjacent streets. Took lots of photos of the Gothic Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall) and the Baroque seventeenth-century guildhouses surrounding the square. I obviously took the time to identify the brewer's guild, with its hop plant motifs.
Popped into the Brussels museum and saw the collection of Manneken Pis costumes (of which, more later!), before having lunch in the Ilôt Sacré, then doing a big walk via the Jeanneke Pis (a female Manneken Pis from 1987)...
St Catherine's (home to a black Madonnna)...
And the stock exchange (La Bourse/De Beurs) before doubling back to the Grand' Place...
The statue of Everard 't Serclaes (and touching it for luck)...
The official Tintin shop, chocolate shops (with liquid chocolate fountains!) and through to Brussel's most famous landmark...
Manneken Pis ("little man piss" in English) is a small bronze sculpture depicting a naked little boy urinating into a basin. There are several legends behind this statue, which you can read about on Wikipedia. Of more interest is that the statue is often dressed in a costume by the non-profit association Les Amis de Manneken-Pis. We saw former costumes in the museum (donated from a wide range of countries), and happened to arrive just in time for a dress-up!The statue's Bolivian garb.
From there we continued our walk to a section of Brussel's original medieval wall, and to Belgium's most celebrated chocolate makers at the Place du Grand Sablon (Grote Zavel) where we bought a selection from Pierre Marcolini and Wittamer. Yum.
Took a sight-seeing route home, past the Musées Royaux des Beaux Arts (Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten), Place Royale-Koningsplein, the Royal Palace and Parc de Bruxelles. Found an interesting art installation - a seemingly insurmountable wall, with slightly raised lettering encouraging one to give it a shot! Watched a lot of people try and fail, before attempting (and failing) myself. Yay for art.
Royal Palace.
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