Sweet Thing

Rotting teeth - what else can I say?

Back after a LONG gap...I wonder why? What on earth could have prevented me blogging for, ooo, about 3 years?!!

Panorama reports huge increases in preventable diseases such as tooth decay, obesity and side effects of alcohol abuse and smoking. The report itself, as reported, is shocking - a girl allowed to eat half a cup of tomato ketchup a day... It's worth watching the video in the link, even if you have to cover your eyes, as it's a timely reminder to make sure your kids eat their veg without disguising it with sweet stuff.

Freedom

Alan Johnston, freed today (AFP via bbc.co.uk)

Alan Johnston is free. 114 days in captivity - we can't imagine what it's like to be in that situation and not have any idea when and if you will be released. Think also for his parents - it's often "easier" to go through a difficult experience, compared to the futility felt by those outside the experience.

At the moment I'm reading the book by John McCarthy and Brian Keenan about their trip through South America (Between Extremes). Between the travelogue and the genuine warmth between the "odd couple", there are glimpses into their extended detention in the Lebanon - Keenan for more that 1500 days, McCarthy for almost 2000 days. There is a marked contrast between their experience of ultimate freedom - being able to trek through the mountains in Chile - and their experience of captivity. It was nice to hear that Alan Johnston heard McCarthy and also Terry Waite on BBC World Service, and took strength from their experience.

Somewhere Only We Know...?

Sun Peaks, "near" Kamloops, photo by vikingchild

Back to the holiday slides. You know how it is booking things online - never quite know what you're going to get. So driving towards the Rockies my better half found a good deal - a very nice sounding 5-star hotel near Kamloops, a place called Sun Peaks. Well, "near" is a relative word, of course, and after a few false turns, stopping to ask directions then driving about 40 miles straight up, we finally found our hotel - by which time it was dark. So all we knew was that it was a small village with lots of fairy lights, and that it was very quiet indeed.

The hotel - wow....but given the quietness it was somewhere between Twin Peaks and The Shining. Really. I ran along the corridors in case I got chased by some scary kids on trikes. The inexpensive price was the off-season rate, of course - we'd rolled up to a ski-resort. It had the kind of foyer that you could hold a fairly large ball within, and the requisite log fires and wooden decoration.

Next morning we woke to brilliant sunshine and the view over a pseudo-Alpine resort, transplanted into the Canadian mountainside. Apparently it is owned by a Japanese company (Nippon Cable Co.) or at least the Canadian branch thereof, and is still expanding. Of course, off season it was still deathly quiet during the day - just the odd retired couple out for a morning stroll. In some ways we were sorry to leave, but on the other hand - Red Rum, Red Rum....

Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle

Experience Music Project, with Space Needle reflected, photo by Vikingchild

I didn't know what to call this post, so it seemed appropriate to give Nirvana the nod in Seattle. Add to that that Kurt Cobain grew up in the nearby Aberdeen, although there's not much in common between Aberdeen, Washington and Aberdeen, Scotland. We've also visited Aberdeen, Maryland (Cal Ripken-town) and Aberdeen, California (two houses and a caravan, it seemed).

Seattle is one of the cities you can walk around, given the size. Pike Place is tourist-central, but off-season it's quieter and magical, especially eating breakfast upstairs at Lowell's, watching a low mist roll away over the Puget Sound...

Whilst Seattle is known for the rain, we've been lucky and had drizzle at the most. This time round we had roasting sunshine and I even managed to get accidentally sunburnt (not good). We've had 6 years between visits, and sadly to say (a) the Mariners have gone downhill badly, but more worryingly (b) the homeless problem in Seattle seems to have got a lot worse. You can't help feeling that the draw of north-western prosperity (Microsoft, Boeing, coffee) attracts people with high hopes - but little chance.

The monorail had given up by the time we revisited (shades of a "Simpsons" episode), but we walked to the Space Needle and I love this shot of the Frank Gehry-designed music museum. I don't know why people criticise this but are happy with something like the Space Needle...

A New Career in a New Town (?)

Grand Theatre, Bordeaux, from http://roccoco.free.fr/dotclear/index.php/2006/09

So, right now I'm en France and struggling with the French keyboard in my rather splendid office in Bordeaux. Here they're gearing up for the Presidential elections, which is good because it gives me a fighting chance of understanding things on TV (the politicians have to speak clearly to make their points, of course). I've also been reading "Harry Potter à l'école des sorciers" and have thus expanded my rather shaky French vocab to include "hibou" (owl) - very handy, I'm sure.

Being a complete idiot, I didn't take my camera (well, it's a work trip, after all) so I'll add a picture later.

What a beautiful city! Of course I am always enchanted by old city centres, cathedrals and trams. Oh, trams! But the trams here are very clever - they use a ground-level power supply system in the city centre, originally not to muck up the historic centre with overhead cables. Smart. See ye olde Wikipedia for more details...

Mountain Song

Canadian Rockies, Banff National Park. Photo by vikingchild

I'm not a big climber or hillwalker. Hey, I'm not even a small hillwalker, come to that. But I do like the mountains and I do like the hills. I guess I feel like breaking out with a quick chorus of "The hills are alive with the sound of music" every now and then, and I think that this photo (taken not far from the previous one) makes me feel that, just sitting here. The combination of the light hitting the features on the mountain, the blue, blue sky and the evergreen skirting the landscape is all there.

As implied in the previous post, this area of the Rockies can be overpopulated - it's very much a tourist route. But early in the year, between ski season and summer, it's quiet enough to very much feel away from it all. As the nun said, "I go to the hills when my heart is lonely...."

Back In Black

Lake Moraine, Canadian Rockies. Photo by vikingchild

Wow. It's been a while...last blog was just before I went on holiday, and it took me a long while to stop moving. In the words of "the Boys", I've been around the world for a number of reasons, I've seen it all, the change of seasons... So, time for a retro blog. Yes, I know a lot of people blog whilst travelling, but I'm usually too busy actually doing stuff - even if it's just relaxing.

So let's start with some holiday stuff. Crossing the Rockies is never disappointing, however you do it. However, I must say that the day this photo was taken we woke up to a heavy mist. With rather heavy hearts we set off, with a rather phlegmatic "what will be will be" attitude. Not far on, we actually climbed out into the mist and into the clear, fresh air and blue skies which followed us on most of the rest of our trip. I love this photo - you can taste the air. Not only that, but this is spitting distance from Lake Louise which is beautiful but always infested with people, even "off-season". Lake Moraine was tranquility itself.

Headhunter

Classic video - those crazy Belgians!! Happy memories, bit of a Lynchian-Eraserhead kinda vibe going through it.

However, thanks to my other half making a comment about Bill Bailey (who does the Hokey Cokey in German in ze Kraftwerk stylee) I won't quite be able to look at it in the same light again...

Einstein-a-go-go

From bbc.co.uk

A report this week says that fewer pupils are taking A-level physics, as compared to 1982. No surprise there, then. You could say that fewer people watch BBC1 now than in 1982 - more choice means people will take advantage of those choices. You could also say that people will take the easiest route, and, fair to say, physics is not an easy route. Also, physics still suffers from the tweed jacket, beardy-weirdy image. Einstein is the biggest icon (as can be seen from my chosen image), and he matches the "mad professor" image which is hard to shake.

But, in the same week, another report shows that many graduates are in low paid, dead-end jobs, unrelated to their degree. The fuller report indicated that unemployment was low for

Medicine & Dentistry (0%, surprise surprise!), Veterinary Science (3%) and Education (3%), rising to 10% for Creative Arts & Design. Physical sciences fared well, although it was noted that lower numbers of students take these subjects.

An old report backs this. Chemistry and Physics graduates earn more than History graduates. Whilst the vocational degrees (medicine, dentistry, law) obviously earn more, the sciences are good for employment rates. Surfing degrees (honest!) - not so good.

So what's my point? Firstly, that the government gives up this 50% target for University education. This is not intellectual snobbery - far from it. It is a way of massaging the unemployment figures which benefits few - resulting in massive debt, depression and unemployment. The aim was admirable: to remove the class barrier of going to Uni. But that barrier was long gone, in reality. If there was a barrier, it was in the schools, not at the Universities. Secondly, that the goverment (if it must meddle) looks to business to find out which graduates they actually want - and cap the trendy degrees, perhaps subsidising the needed degrees. There is a danger in this, however. I completely believe in the value of a wide-ranging experience, in the value of Arts degrees, in education AS eduation....so perhaps the government should stop meddling, and stop setting ridiculous targets.

End of week rant over. Back to fluffiness soon.

In a Big Country

Loch Lubnaig from Ben Sheann

We had a day away yesterday in the part of central Scotland that becomes the Highlands. Even in the height of our summer, it's green and lush, and on a nice day (as yesterday was, partly) the views are spectacular. Our mountains are not high, but that means that they are pretty accessible. I'm not a great hill-walker myself, but can appreciate why people are fond of it.

Anyway, our trip was to catch up with friends of the family. This made us realise how similar our mothers are: both married (relatively) late and as a result were independent single women (at a time when this was less common). As a result, they both travelled a good amount, and made friends on these trips that have lasted a lifetime. In yesterday's case, these friends went back 46 years. I can only hope that my friendships last so long and with such obvious affection.

Beyond the Sea

Fishing boat coming into harbour, from Armin's World Tour

This week, the BBC have been running programs on the theme of the sea. Living on an island as we do here, the sea is very important - but living in the north-east of Scotland, it's a livelihood. So many towns in the north-east depend on the fishing trade, and until Aberdeen reinvented itself as the Oil Capital of Europe (trademark), it was a fishing town like the rest. The Cod Crusaders are a group fighting to save the Scottish Fishing Industry, in the light of EU proposals (see their web-site for more information).

Hence "Trawlermen". This programme followed two Peterhead fishing boats through one "tour of duty", through trials and tribulations, storms, nets ripping, no catch - and worst of all, a Buchan chav who couldn't stand the pace.

This compulsive viewing should have made any viewer grateful for the fish on their plate.

Pop Musik

T.Rex do "Get It On" on Top of the Pops

So Top of the Pops ended on Sunday...oh, so many happy memories - and not a few scary ones.

This appearance was a bit before my time, but a classic (revisited) and is worthwhile watching for the audience dancing. And their fashions. Wow, folks used to get real dressed up in them days, huh?

Y'see, it all used to be different. I remember the days of listening, with bated breath, to the chart rundown on a Tuesday luncthime (when the number 1 was revealed), then there was TOTP on the Thursday (with a chance to watch your fave band miming) followed by the full chart show on Radio 1 on Sunday. A chance to try to (illegally!) tape your favourite song, with someone like Tommy Vance wittering over the beginning/end of it ("there we go, beautiful guitar work by Phil Manzanera" I remember having taped over the end of a Roxy Music offering). Now we have MTV, iTunes and YouTube.

RIP TOTP.

The Drugs Don't Work

A long-delayed edit to the last post. Since it was written, Landis has tested positive for testosterone. A blot on Le Tour in general, on top of the previously described problems for Basso and Ullrich, although Landis has denied any impropriety.

After all these years, an American Tour winner has finally tested positive for drugs. Unfortunately for the French, this winner was not Lance Armstrong. I guess you could argue (and many have) that he is too rich/smart/cunning to be caught, but the simple truth is probably that he hasn't taken any. The fact that Landis has tested positive may strengthen Armstrong's legacy even further.

Meanwhile I hope that Landis is innocent - for the good of sport in general, and cycling in particular.

LiveStrong.

Tour de France

Floyd Landis wins the Tour, from the New York Times

So, post-Lance, with Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso out, Floyd Landis won the 2006 Tour de France... It's the 11th time since 1986 that an American rider has worn the yellow jersey, le maillot jaune (OK, 7 of those were Lance). The French must be malade comme perroquet. First the World Cup, now this.

(note - it was a competition between Kraftwerk and Queen for the title of this post; the Germans won on a penalty shoot-out.)

Dance Away

Ceilidh Dancing, from visitscotland.com

Firstly this is not a Scottish post, exactly. It's more about the generation gap. Let me explain:

1) Scottish music. My friends and I would think of things like Simple Minds, Big Country, Franz Ferdinand, Texas, Travis, Teenage Fanclub, Primal Scream, Jesus & Mary Chain, Goodbye Mr Mackenzie, Cocteau Twins, Love & Money, Hipsway - you get the idea. For certain older members of our family, Scottish music is defined by the playlist of Robbie Shepherd, starting with Jimmy Shand. No concessions to our definition - that is not Scottish music....

2) Dance Music. My friends and I would think of, well, anything you can dance to, which could include any of the above but of course would also include disco, house, electronic, etc. etc. For certain older members of our family, dance music is defined by the playlist of Robbie Shepherd, starting with Jimmy Shand. No concessions to our definition - that is not dance music....

Now, I enjoy a ceilidh. I like a Gay Gordons as much as the next Scot, and a Strip the Willow(**) is a great way to lose (a) weight and (b) skin. The driving bass-lines are probably what the two disparate types of dance music have in common, but to our older relatives, "Voodoo Ray" is just a hideous noise. "That's not dance music, you can dance to that!"

Succinct reponse from my better half: "It is, and people do..."

**note for non-Scottish readers: this is not some weird perversion, merely a dance. See here for the World's Smallest Strip the Willow...

We Are The Champions

The Champions

“Craig Sterling, Sharon McReady and Richard Barrett. The Champions, endowed with the qualities and skills of superhumans. Qualities and skills both physical and mental to the peak of human performance. Gifts given to them by the unknown race of people from a lost city in Tibet. Gifts are a secret to be guarded, a secret that enables them to use their powers to their best advantage as the champions of law order and justice."

That probably sounds like the worst pitch ever for a series, but it was the late 60's. From the same writer as Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and Department S, came the Champions. I watched it on repeats along with The Avengers; these programmes had two of the best theme tunes in TV history! This was a time when we understood the concept of "suspension of disbelief" and hadn't allowed our cynicism to taint our imagination.

Released now on DVD, I wonder if my disbelief is ready to be suspended once more...?

Diamond Dog(s)

Moose, playing Eddie, from Wikipedia

I missed this news last month. Moose, famous for playing "Eddie Crane" in Frasier, passed away to the big park in the sky on the 22nd June. I like the bit on the Wikipedia where it says his son (Enzo) took over as a stunt double for the more challenging schemes as his dad got older...

He was 16 when he died, which is - what - 112 in human years? So I'm glad that his son helped him out and let him have some retirement in the later Frasier seasons. What more could a son do for his father?

Echo Beach

View from Aberdeen beach towards the harbour/Nigg, photo by Vikingchild

Just some more proof that it has been a beautiful weekend here! The tide was in, so no picture of the golden beaches, but they are there, honest...

The lighthouse in the distance is Girdleness Lighthouse. Interestingly, it was designed by the grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson, also called Robert Stevenson. It was built in 1833 and is well known for the loud foghorn (known locally as the "Torry Coo"). Although it's now out of service it is to be preserved as part of Aberdeen's maritime history.

But enough of that, a beautiful day for a walk along the beach front.

Good Year for the Roses

Drum Castle, photo by Vikingchild

Roses at Drum Castle, photo by Vikingchild

The north-east of Scotland is home to many ancient castles, and yesterday we visited one of them: Drum Castle, about 8 miles west of Aberdeen, just off the road between Peterculter and Banchory. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, blue skies and pretty warm for here (well, it is summer) so we went for a stroll around the gardens. Apparently the Rose Garden peaked on 15th July, lucky for us... One example above.

Now don't get me wrong - I'm not a huge flower buff, and I guess we were lucky to hit it on such a wonderful day when the roses were stunning - but castle gardens are something special. Immaculately maintained and presented, and in this case divided into quarters representing the past 4 centuries. We felt like we were far removed from the business of the city, which I suppose we were; set in open countryside, the castle grounds are very peaceful and picturesque.

The history of the Castle is perhaps for another day - when the weather is not quite so good?

Kick in the Eye

Zidane avec le Coupe de Monde, from Shanghai Daily

I'm booking time for a big rant...was going to do it yesterday but wasn't feeling up to it. Basically, being a Scottish person, I have avoided any comment on the World Cup lest I be painted as bitter and twisted. Not me. As a Scottish person, I have a realisation that we are a small country, and though we are fiercely proud of our football team, we know that they will: (a) perform heroically against the big team; (b) lose in the last minute against the middling team; (c) get thumped by the poorest teams. And we love them for it. We may never make a World Cup again, but we might as well sing loudly on the way.

Anyway, the cause of my rant? The English meeja, and their love affair with Wayne Rooney. In short:

Rooney shoves Ronaldo. Rooney was provoked, therefore Rooney saint, Ronaldo sinner.

Zidane headbuts Materazzi. Zizou should not have reacted, whatever was said. Zizou is a sinner.

I cannot believe the hypocrisy of the above argument. Some even said things like "the World Cup was spoiled by the likes of Ronaldo and Zidane". Right. So it's ok to stamp on someones nads, shove someone else, then stamp off like a spoiled child, so long as you're English.

Ronaldo is now a national hero in Scotland (*smile*) but may never be able to play for Man U again. Whatever you think of Zidane's behaviour, all I'm asking for is some consistency in attitude. If Zidane was wrong, then so was Rooney.

Personally, I have to wonder about the spectre of racism that seems to haunt Italian football. Today they perhaps have other things to worry about, but something stinks beyond match-fixing. Yes, footballers are big boys and have to put up with pretty aggressive banter, but there is a line. Racism is drawn in that line, and it must be stamped out.

Hell's Bells

Trevor Hoffman, from playitusa

Few days since I've blogged and don't feel like it much today. It was the Major League Baseball All-Star game last night. We watch it over here on NASN. Used to be a bit of mid-season fun, but to spice it up (?) it now determines home-field advantage for the World Series. The National League have lost the last 9 games. They were one up in the final inning - so on comes my star player, Trevor Hoffman. Top reliever, plays for the (west coast) Padres, but somehow never seems to perform when East Coast eyes are upon him. Rick Sutcliffe (colour commentator and part of the Padres organisation) was building him up big-time, so I knew once more he was doomed. And so it came to pass....the National League lost again, and my arch nemesis (Mariano Rivera) came on to win it for the American League.

Dagnabit.

Trevor is an amazing closer, especially if you consider he plays for the relatively down-market Padres - not exactly the most "winningest" (sic) team in baseball. To get a save, you have to be up in the 9th inning by between one and three runs (roughly) . So to do it with the Padres is especially special. We still love you, Trev....

The Robots

Black Dalek, from bbc.co.uk

I had a peculiar experience in the supermarket yesterday. I was just picking up a copy of the "Radio Times", having to choose between the cover with the Cybermen and the one with the Daleks. Naturally, I went for the slightly more iconic Daleks, but on making the choice a shiver ran down my spine.

I was transported back to being a small child, having the same sensation of fear and excitement and antici....pation when waiting for the next episode of Doctor Who. I also had the same sensation of my own pester power, nagging my mum to buy Weetabix (which of course I couldn't stand) as it came with a Doctor Who board game and little cardboard figures for the game. Of course you needed four boxes of said cardboard-like cereal to make the whole game, so I dutifully had to munch through 3 boxes to ensure getting them all (don't laugh, one went on eBay for £50). I remember some of the cardboard figures - I had several Daleks, a Sea Devil, a Yeti and a couple of Sontarans...I think - I could be confusing those with other freebies. I eventually graduated to owning an ersatz Doctor Who board game, the rules of which were so damn complex my friends refused to play. So I won every game, as Teddy wasn't so hot with the dice.

I know I've blogged before about Doctor Who before, but it is a testament to the show - both now and then - that those feelings, memories and the anticipation are there now. Tonight's season finale was great (although how Tracey Ann Oberman retained her soul I don't quite know - do Cybermen get distracted whilst upgrading?) and I'll be hanging on until Christmas for the next episode....