Tuesday's news day

Well, not really...

J had another day off (sadly unpaid - when is she going to realise she has to keep me in the manner I'm accustomed to. That is, unkempt, dishevelled, ragged.) We decided to have a look at one of the most famous of Brunel's designs, the Clifton Suspension Bridge. We got a closer look that expected when, despite the only navigational instruction being "don't take us onto the bridge", we ended up on the bridge. Luckily this year everything is C's fault, so neither of us took the blame. We paid the toll, drove over, turned around, paid the toll again and drove back again.

Clifton Village (now a suburb of Bristol) was an enclave of expensive shops, restaurants and cafes, with the odd interesting architectural and historical features. There had been a thermal spring (imaginatively called Hotwells) close by and even though there is no indication it is still used, what's left of the Pump Room has been incorporated into a Hotel. Next to this is a cliff railway that was drilled through the cliffs so as not to spoil their outlook. It was filled in after WW2 (when it was used for an air-raid shelter, a BBC broadcasting station and a store-room for barrage balloons) but is being excavated again by a local group. It would be nice if they could eventually get it all going again, but there would be a huge amount of work needed to do so.

After wandering around for a while and checking out a few shops we had lunch then headed off to see the bridge on foot. It has a fantastic view down the Avon gorge and over Bristol, though I wasn't too keen on getting near the sides. While it was designed by Brunel he never saw it finished as the company involved collapsed, and he moved on to other things. It was completed by other engineers as a memorial after his death. There was an observatory (though not astronomical) on a cliff overlooking the bridge and from there a tunnel had been carved through rocks to a cave with a natural viewing platform over the gorge. Apparently an artist had wanted a private view for painting, so had engaged some of the reduntant workers from the bridge company to dig the tunnel. Some people are crazy.

We had a look at more shops for various items we needed, of which we found none. We had bought a foam bed overlay in NZ for $25 or so, so looked here for similar. The closest we found was L49! It really is expensive over here, even factoring in the exchange. Another example is the L80 J was quoted for a hair-cut, and 96p for a litre of petrol. And before you say "Ah, but you salary makes up for it", no it doesn't. Whinge, whinge, moan, moan.

This time, and from now on, picks of Bristol will be found by clicking on the link in the top of the right hand column on this page. I'll just keep adding to that Web Album. Pics of other adventures will get their own Albums and their own links on this part of the Blog. Alles klar? Ja? Sehr gut!

One recreation to another

On Sunday it was a day of rest. I did nothing, literally. What bliss. J meanwhile sat on a bus for an hour to wander fruitlessly around Cribb's Causeway mall again, then get wet before returning on another bus.

Today however we did something. First we visited the Commonwealth Museum, with its special exhibit on the legacy of slavery. The building was another of Brunel's constructions, this time a railway station originally. The museum itself had some interesting stuff but was underwhelming. You get a year's free entry but I can't see us visiting again unless something special is shown. The exhibit on slavery was OK, but I felt that while it talked about the demand for slaves, it didn't really go into the supply very much. It's all well and good landing the guilt on the slavers who went from Africa to the Americas (or from Africa to Arabia), but what about those who gathered the slaves in the first place? We needed a little more on what drove that part of the trade.

The rest of the museum seemed small and insubstantial. I kept looking for something on NZ but we got mentioned about twice. There didn't seem much in the way of analysis going on, just description - an achievement level, not merit or excellence as we might say in NZ education circles. I guess they are looking for broad appeal rather than depth.

Outside the museum we were approached by another begger waving "The Issue" at us. As we are now realising is a common ploy he didn't have any spare copies for sale but could we spare some change? He showed us a very nasty festering sore on his leg so I gave him L2 but later on saw him walking with no apparent difficulty so I'm questioning its authenticity... At least they're polite.

Tonight it was the BBQ night run by the management committee. We had to keep running off because something more exciting was happening outside on the street - the blowing up of the bus for Casualty. They pushed us around from one viewing spot to another before the big bang, but it was kind of worth it. I tried to film it on the wee camera but apparently I put it on standby instead of record and so my footage starts when I thought I was stopping. Ejit. Best part were the hundreds of seagulls that suddenly appeared wheeling through the air. They filmed the scene in bits (get it?) with a man getting blown backwards in a harness being filmed first while we were going to the museum, then his side of the bus being blown out after we returned, then the other side and roof being blown out during the BBQ. Once they're all put together you'd never know.

The BBQ was OK, but the chances are we'll never talk to most of them again. One couple were our next door neighbours and I'd only seen them once or twice before in the 3 weeks we've been here. Of course there was another Kiwi there, from Wellington.

I'm reading Nemesis by Bill Napier. It got a rave blurb from Arthur C. Clarke who must have lost his marbles entirely because it's crap. Crap dialogue, contrived storyline: fills the gap left by TV quite nicely. Lucky it was only L1.

Berkeley Castle

We saw Pirates of the Caribbean last night and quite enjoyed it. It was perhaps a little long and I don't think Orlando Bloom can act to save himself, but still entertaining. Several of the audience - and remember Bristol is a student city - came dressed as pirates, so there was a lot of "aargghing" at various times.

The day started sunny but as the forecast promised rain we decided we'd better not hold off on going to the Civil War re-enactment at Berkeley Castle. We still didn't leave until 11am but we got there before the battles started so it worked out well. It was a colourful and noisy affair but I'm not really sure that it gives a great feel for the battles of the period (1644 in this case) because it's all so casual and small scale. We spoke to one chap who had retired 4 years early because he liked it so much, and had clocked up 23,000 miles going to various re-enactments. He now makes replica drums and his wife makes period costumes. J thought it was the kind of thing that Sharon from Kath & Kim would join, and there were certainly some generously proportioned people involved. I would like to be an artilleryman I thought. Apparently they were less likely to be massacred after a lost battle, as they had sought after skills. It might be a little hard on the ears though...

The castle itself was nice, and the hole in the defences had never been fully repaired, so were still quite obvious. Oddly enough the walls were breached by fire from besieging guns mounted on a church that was directly opposite. One would have thought that the defenders could have foreseen this eventuality. The re-enactments took place on a field round the other side of the castle anyway, so precisely which battle was being re-enacted is unclear, except that it wasn't the siege of Berkeley Castle!

I asked whether they had considered paintballs for their battles as it would be a relatively easy task to construct a muzzle loaded, canister fired, single shot 'musket'. It would be as accurate as the original (that is, not very - apparently only 2% of musket balls fired hit someone, and that may not have been who they were aimed at) and enactors would know when and where they were hit. Red paintballs would be quite useful. They said it had been considered. One downside would be the lack of smoke and noise I guess.

It started to rain as we left. We have a quiet weekend planned, perhaps watching any filming that might happen on the Casualty set.

For more pics click here.

SS Great Britain

J went to work while I entertained Dad & M until their train left. We decided to walk down to see Isambard Kingdom Brunel's SS Great Britain, the first iron hulled steam ship. It was quite interesting, as the ship had quite a mixed history, and nearly a very sad ending. They have her sitting in a dry dock which has been sealed below the waterline to prevent further rusting. It's quite a work in itself. The walk to and from showed off a little of Bristol, but it was altogether too short a time for the two visitors. I didn't have my camera so I'll just have to go again with J sometime. On leaving we ran into classes from Priory School that I had babysat, some of whom said hello.

The weather forecast for the weekend - a bank holiday and the first weekend of the school mid-term break - is bleak, so we are a little worried about our plans to visit Berkeley Castle. We would like to take public transport, but there don't seem to have been any special buses put on and we'd need to make two changes to get there on normal buses. Then again, if we drive the traffic and parking are likely to be horrendous...

I met J off the bus and walked home (via H&M for her to shop). We're going to the movies tonight: Pirates of the Caribbean if there're seats left, or 28 Days Later if not. See ya.

Taking a Bath

Yesterday we met Dad and M in Bath. It's a lovely town and the weather was good so we had a nice day strolling around. We began by checking out the famous and eponymous Roman Baths. They were a huge complex by 4 AD but had been covered over the years by new buildings, to the extent that they are currently 16' (5m) below the road surface. I found it quite confusing getting my bearings as you were up and down, twisting and turning to find your way to the various areas. I guess this can't be avoided without pulling down later buildings which of course have their own merits. Most of what you can see in the pictures is Georgian - 18th Century, but there are some pics of the original Roman baths where they had been excavated or incorporated into the later works. There is no bathing allowed in these baths but new ones have been built close by that you can pay through the nose to use.

Bath Abbey is next door but as usual there was a charge to enter so we didn't.

Dad and I went to see Hershell's house/museum. He was the 18th Century astronomer who discovered Uranus. We shelled out for the entry fee, but it was a little underwhelming in the end. OK if you have an interest in astronomy or the history of science, but probably not for most. It was an extra L5 for photos, so we didn't.


Meanwhile M & J had wandered up to the Circus and the Royal Crescent, so Dad and I went up to join them. The areas were quite spectacular, although if you follow the link above you will see they aren't all what they seem...

After a refreshment stop we had a look at Pulteney Bridge which is lined with shops like the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. It is spectacularly positioned over the Avon River, and the latter has been tamed by weirs just below the bridge. Some nice photo opportunities to be had...

Dad & M had had a long day, so we headed home in time to see 4 hot-air balloons not far away from the flat. There've been quite a few recently as the days have been quite still, and I'd like to give it a go sometime. Apparently Bristol hosts one of the biggest balloon fiestas in the world, and it's on this August. (Click here for details.)

As usual, if you'd like more pics, click here to see the album.

So much for a day off!

I'd been to Churchill for a second day yesterday but had no work jacked up for today - that is until the 7:45am call saying I had work in Wyvern School in Weston-Super-(Night)Mare. Took the A370 as it appeared more direct, but was slower than the M5 option. Where our small talk used to be about the weather in Dunners, it is now about the roads. "Oh, you should have been right on the A370 although there are lots of lights so perhaps you should have taken the A38 to Smellybottom then turned on to the B315667 to avoid Crinklyknees and cut back on to the A370 just after Middle Wicket."

Anyway, Wyvern was OK although you have to watch out for a school that begins its introductory package at the disciplinary stuff. I'd put it between the two I've already been to on first impressions. I finished at 3:00pm so drove along the beachfront before heading of to pick up J. Shouldn't have rushed as she was in a meeting until 5pm, the circumstances of which caused a little bit of a 'discussion' between us.

The petrol tank had been on red light since I left work, and after two of the petrol stations shown on our map proved to have been closed and demolished we were getting a little desperate. Fortunately we found one just in time. It's 96p per litre here - approx NZ$2.60 p/l - and the tank cost L51.00 - NZ$140 odd! We get 360 miles on the tank, so that's 580 odd km. Reasonable mileage but expensive compared to home.

A stroll in the sun

Sunday had nothing major planned, so we mucked about. J went shopping for household stuff then the plumber came and showed me the cut-off switch on the Insinkerator. (Blush.) J and I went for a stroll in the late afternoon along this side of the river and as far as the Matthew, a replica of Cabot's ship that he was in when looking for the northern passage. There was a navy ship in the harbour - HMS Quorn, a Hunt class Mine Counter-measures ship, named after a village in Leicestershire - and many smaller boats puttering about. It was a pleasant way to pass the time.

If you'd like to see more pics of Bristol, click here.

I had another day at Churchill which was pretty good, but J got left on the roadside by her carsharer, who forgot about their arrangement.

As of right now I have no work for tomorrow so will get the car radio fixed and other odd jobs. Dad & M will stay on Thursday night after we've all explored Bath for half a day.