Monday, July 24, 2006

Whatstandwell - July 2006

Had a great three days in Derbyshire with Jon. Camping never used to be like this! The days of trecking up mountains to pitch tents on a rock fall in the dark have certainly been good preparation for driving to the campsite, putting up a 6-man 'Palacio' tent, and relaxing on the riverbank with a beer.

Although the River Derwent was perfect for canoeing we were foiled by the shallows and a couple of weirs about a mile in each direction from our site. We were hoping to explore the Cromford Canal as well, however we found that the majority of it cannot be navigated. We'll definitely need to research some more waterways if we ever plan go far by boat.

Having picnicked at Black Rock and visited the incredible Scarthin bookshop in Cromford we decided to head home before the weather turned against us. This was obviously a sensible decision because our leisurely drive through the Peak District (via Poole's Cavern in Buxton) soon turned into a wet journey all the way home.

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Dorset - July 2006

Just back from a terrific few days in Dorset. Although the drive down was wet and miserable the sun came out for the rest of the week.

When it comes to beautiful coastlines, Dorset can be proud; Durdle Dor, St Oswald's Bay and Lulworth Cove are all fantastic beaches. The only thing they lack is golden sand rather than pebbles.

We managed to visit a selection of neolithic sites such as Maiden Castle and Hellstone Dolmen near Dorchester. Also, Corfe and Lulworth castles (which are both ruinous for very different reasons) were each impressive. When you add our trips to Brownsea Island and the Stourhead Estate on the way home I think we must have walked a hundred miles between us.

We need another holiday now just to recuperate!

Sunday, July 02, 2006

They're Red Hot

Gone are the days when I crowd surfed at 'The Institute' (1992) whilst Flea belted out "Nobody weird like me", but the Chilis did manage to blow away my headache which had dogged me all day long.

The support band, !!! [pronounced 'chk-chk-chk'], were impressive however 'Dirty Pretty Things' failed to inspire. I found the RHCP set list surprising with only one track from BSSM featuring as an encore and obvious crowd pleasers like "Readymade" and "Especially in Michigan" (from the new album) noticeable only by their absence.

Overall they gave a good performance, however I feel that their passion for their music never quite works with these large scale shows and that if you want to Taste the Pain you need to get up close and personal with these guys.

Saturday, July 01, 2006

Summer Holidays

Keeping the kids amusing during the Summer Holidays can be tiresome. It may seem like you've exhausted all the obvious options: "Ride your bike", "Play Football", etc.
Only with hindsight is the request to "Go paint something" seen as a foolish one...