East, West, South and North

Go get yourself a cuppa because it is time for a Lizzie catch up and what a busy month it has been, traversing the four corners of Great Britain. I did take more photos than appear below, a couple more are on flickr, I’ll add more when I get the opportunity.

East. Lincoln (England) 23-24 October. Lincoln sits in the East Midlands and is often overlooked in a London-centric England, which is a bit of a shame as it is a gem of a city.  It is one of the closest cities to where my parents live and as I was at my parents for both the obligatory birthday dinner (yes it is that time of year again), and as I had other necessary tasks to complete, a trip into Lincoln was required.  Sites in Lincoln that are particularly worthy of a visit include the Cathedral and the Castle, both of which originally date back to the 11th century.   One of my favourite places in Lincoln is Stokes, a cafe which sits on the High Bridge over the River Witham.  The bridge itself is the oldest bridge in the UK to still have buildings on it and dates to the 12th century.  From the windows you can look over the river (which is often decorated with swans) and the Empowerment sculpture (one of my favourite sites in Lincoln).  This shot is actually taken looking back towards High Bridge (which is obscured by trees) and the sculpture.  To add to the surreality of the moment the Merry-Go-Round was playing the Dambusters theme (617 Squadron were stationed in Lincolnshire, including at RAF Scampton which is not far from the city):

West. Caerdydd/Cardiff (Cymru/Wales) 30-31 October. I had no real plans when I booked my weekend in Caerdydd, other than a desire to return to the city since my trip last year for a Stereophonics’ concert at the Castle.  In I had a lovely time walking around the city.  The Welsh are high on my list of likes for a few reasons which are neither great nor grand but regardless are important to me, namely:

• Ms Griffith. My teacher in 5th Form (History) and in 6th Form (Human Development).  She was originally from Cymru and was one of my favourite teachers at secondary school.  If I were to ever get into teaching it would be in part due to her, she was wicked cool.
• Rugby. The Welsh take the game of Rugby Union as seriously and passionately as New Zealand and a Wales vs New Zealand fixture is always eagerly anticipated.  Unsurprisingly I am rather totally excited about the opportunity to go to the All Black game at the Millennium Stadium this Saturday.
• Stereophonics. I’ve written about this band more than once and how much I like them, so enough said on this occasion.
• Dr Who/Torchwood. Last time I visited Caerdydd I made a point of visiting Bae Caerdydd (where the fictional Torchwood facility is located) and the Doctor Who exhibition. I took many photos and was a total nerd.  It was great.  Here is a shot of Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru/Wales Millennium Centre taken on this trip (Torchwood fans will recognise it as the vicinity where the facility is located):

South.  Brighton (England)  7 November. I would say a day by the seaside, but a visit to the English seaside doesn’t really extend into Autumnal November.  Instead the day was spent hopping between cafes with a trip to the local museum thrown in for good measure. The museum was interesting, and had a rather eclectic, but enjoyable, array of exhibits. It was rather surreal (but lovely and heart cockle warming) to see a carved stern of a waka and a carved tiki from New Zealand amongst the artifacts.  Brighton is known, amongst other things, for its pier and seaside attractions, on an earlier visit I took this shot of a Merry-Go-Round sitting on the sea front before it was put to bed for the evening:

North.  Edinburgh (Scotland)  13-14 November. RUGBY.  That was the reason for the trip to Edinburgh: Scotland vs New Zealand at Murrayfield.  Scotland is one place that I have wanted to visit since moving here, and for some strange reason I hadn’t managed to get there until last weekend (though I had a brief wander around Jedburgh in 2008). Unfortunately I didn’t have the time to really appreciate Edinburgh on this occasion, so I anticipate a return trip sometime next year. I will definitely stay at the same hostel though, it had the most crazy-cool decor, including a baby grand piano and bust of Caracalla in the Posh Lounge and pictures of Hendrix and Marley in the Cool Lounge. My favourite little guy in the hostel was this fella I found lurking in the stairwell:

The match itself was well worth the trip up north, and along with yesterday’s game against Ireland, served as hearty appetizers for New Zealand vs Wales in Caerdydd this Saturday (where I will once again wave the New Zealand flag with gusto and pride).

Rugby & Rock Concerts

Rugby and rock concerts.  Two pursuits of happiness that make for a contented Lizzie.  Last weekend was all about that particular combination with a rugby match at Wembley and not one, but two, Stereophonics concerts.

Amazingly I had not actually attended a rugby match here in the UK until last Saturday.  Considering I made a point of attending every possible Lions, Hurricanes and All Black game back in Wellington, this long gap in rugby attendance is rather uncharacteristic.  However, for the grand total of ten quid I found myself among 45,000+ other spectators for Saracens vs Leinster at Wembley.  Wembley is a stunning ground, and while Leinster took the victory over the home team (thanks to Sexton and to the delight of the Irish supporters around me), I was just a bit gutted that my camera wasn’t working because it was a truly gorgeous early Autumn’s day.  Well, I thought my camera wasn’t working.  I tried turning it on and got the message change battery pack. I thought this was a strange message as the last time I checked the battery (the day before) it was full but nevertheless I put it back in my bag.  It wasn’t till I got home that I found that the battery was fine, the camera was fine, it was just having a bit of a moment on me.  Shame, because there was a clear, crisp blue sky behind Wembley and you could see out over most of the City of London from the stadium – it would have made a lovely photo or two.  This disappointment was tempered somewhat by the Elvis impersonator I passed on the way to the ground singing Suspicious Minds. Awesome.

The Stereophonics performed their two shows at the Hammersmith Apollo with Word Gets Around on the Sunday night and Performance & Cocktails on the Monday night.  Not used to school night excursions two nights running, I was a zombie at work on the Tuesday, fuelled by tea and anything with sugar. 

I have been a bit of a mark for the ‘Phonics since I was but a school girl and – as I mentioned in this post – I have made a point of attending as many of their concerts as possible while I’m here in the UK.  The ‘Phonics are supreme live and these concerts were no exception.  Both nights started with Kelly telling anecdotes of Stuart Cable, who sadly passed away earlier this year.  I particularly appreciated the story of Stuart and their first ever gig at Wembley Stadium in 1999.  Stuart was big on rugby and the same day and time that the ‘Phonics were playing Wembley (supporting Aerosmith no less) was the same day and time that Wales were playing the ‘Boks.  This presented a dilemma for Stuart (and one with which I can sympathise).  Faced with a 60,000+ audience, Steven Tyler on one wing of the stage and Noel Gallagher on the other wing of the stage, Stuart solved his problem by taking a small portable telly on stage with him so to not miss the match.  Good on ya, mate. 

Highlights of the concerts?  For Sunday, one would be Kelly’s response for a request for Sex on Fire from someone in the audience. “F*#k your Sex on Fire” was his reply, easily one of the best quips of the night, week, month, year.  Thank you Mr Jones.  But seriously, closing with Bartender instead of Dakota (and similarly closing with Local Boy instead of Dakota on the Monday) was awesome.  Also well enjoyed was Too Many Sandwiches.  Back in the days of school uniforms and homework I wrote out the lyrics to this song in Carla’s leaving book – that was how much I liked it, so much so that I knew it off by heart and ten years on and I still know it by heart.  Also deserving an honourable mention was the Word Gets Around version of She Takes Her Clothes Off and the humble request that they play this version more often? Please and thank you.  Highlights for Monday night would be  Roll Up and Shine, Is Yesterday Tomorrow Today? Nice To Be Out, Plastic California and I Stopped to Fill My Car Up which ends with a particularly storming solo by Adam and worth hunting out online. 

Set list 17 October:

Chaplin/Tramp’s Vest/Thousand Trees/Carrot Cake & Wine/Chris Chambers/Tie Me Up & Tie Me Down/Same Sized Feet/Traffic/Goldfish Bowl/Check My Eyelids for Holes/Buy Myself a Small Plane/Poppy Day/Home to Me/She Takes Her Clothes Off/Too Many Sandwiches Encore 1: Billy Davy’s Daughter/Raymond’s Shop/Last of the Big Time Drinkers/Local Boy Encore 2: Pick a Part that’s New/Radio/Maybe Tomorrow/Have a Nice Day/Dakota/Bartender

Set list 18 October:

Roll Up & Shine/Bartender/Hurry Up & Wait/Pick a Part that’s New/Just Looking/Half the Lies You Tell Ain’t True/Radio/Fiddlers Green/T Shirt Suntan/Is Yesterday Tomorrow Today?/In My Day/A Minute Longer/Sunny Afternoon/Nice To Be Out/She Takes Her Clothes Off/Plastic California/I Stopped To Fill My Car Up Encore 1 Thousand Trees/Tramp’s Vest/Same Sized Feet/Too Many Sandwiches Encore 2: Traffic/Maybe Tomorrow/Have a Nice Day/Dakota/Local Boy