Well, done a few tours of England since updating this thing and now find myself here in Scotland where (at this time of year) the sun don't shine! Bristol is a truly marvellous place, where the most busy bus route is not necessarily during peak hours, but 10pm friday night from the student halls to the city where no doubt new records are set in how many people can fit in a double decker! Not only do you get decent beer there, but its where cider is traditionally produced as well! Managed to develop my B&W film there as well ... even if i screwed up the film by mistake in the darkroom. Im bad enough with anything requiring the least bit of co-ordination ... yet alone in the pitch dark!
In a nutshell, I then quickly travelled up to Hampton-in-Arden (bonus marks for finding that on a map!), a village outside of Solihull (not Sunny Hill, as I had originally thought! ... sounds like some loony bin) about half-way between Birmingham and Coventry. Went to a concert hosted by none other than Britsh gardener come funnyman Alan Titschmark (I spose a Harry Cooper half the age minus the beret!); and realised that Peter Moore's vivid (!) description of Digbeth Bus Stationin Birmingham was not so far off the truth after all! Also went down to Brookwood to see Rich for a ferw days (Surrey, near Woking SW of London), a place which London authorities seem it fit to move all their cemtries too, hence making it the largest cemetry in Europe. Also went to my grandad's at Long Melford (Suffolk) for Xmas and my cousin's wedding ... all of this side of the family I hadnt seen for 11 years! Flew up to Glasgow with Ryan Air .... one of these airlines here that gets you to your destination with ridiculously low air ticket prices .... the latter they do pretty well but the former seems to be a bit touch and go as I found out! You know that the plane your flying has seen better days when you realise that the airline logo embossed into the chairs has been crossed out not once, but twice (First KLM, then Air Lingus then Ryan Air!)
Staying in Scotland for new year's, be in Edinburhg then before returning back to England.
Money-wise things seem to be going alarmingly well considering its the UK .... i spose though living in student accomodation with 5 other uni students who probably are on a tighter budget than me (the British Government has acheived the unthinkable and actually has an education policy more stingy than ours). All stuff in the flat is of the Tesco Value product range ... even the beer! The beer, at a riveting 2.1% alcohol, artificially flavoured, and pumped full of carbon-dioxide bubbles to give the pretence of fermentation is certainly well, um, an acquired taste!
