Website of the week

Now, do they get away with this dirty dancing or is it way too cheesy and smug??

What's more worrying is there are at least 2 cameras involved, so someone has gone to the trouble to mix/edit it!

Does that make it even worse??

Have applied...

What have I done??

Main aim - do not disgrace myself.

What would you do???

During my travels around the UK the past month it's fair to say I've not missed South West Trains one little bit - since my return to work not a single journey to or from work has been on time.

Anyway, current debate seems to be whether I should apply...

Back in 5 mins

Back to work. Not too bad as less than 400 emails in my inbox - I've had worse.

Big change is the head of department has got a promotion elsewhere in the organisation - wonder who the replacement will be.

Rememer you're a Womble

Out cycling and discover that not only is Wimbledon Common home to the Wombles but also the Wimbledon Windmill Museum.

Surely I'm not the only one who finds this a little bizarre? Make a note to return to find out what it's all about.

OK - windmills obviously... but all the same... slightly left field surely??

Raindrops keep falling

Back in London to a mass of washing, unpacking and mail.

Unload the bike rack and roof bars and decide my car has earnt the treat of a car wash - it is looking rather dirty.

Discovering a leak in the car during the car wash adds to the excitement of the day.

What happened to Berni Inns??

Stop over in Birmingham for a couple of days on my way back down south and catch up with family and friends. Sunday lunch is taken in a carvery - they're slightly strange places with an interesting mix of patrons. There are young families, often augmented with a grandparent, are larger family groups, or senior citizen couples out for a Sunday lunch - not the sort of mixed demographic you would see at other types of restaurant. Guess me and my mum add to the strangeness. One thing I have noticed is you rarely see a non-white face even in a multicultural city like Brum... guess it's an acquired English taste??

Staying with some friends who half jokingly are suggesting they set me up with someone they have in mind - it's polite mickey-taking. A few years ago it's the sort of thing that really annoyed me but now I take a more positive view - at least they haven't yet abandoned all hope for me! ;o)

But is it art??

Having seen his recent exhibition on the South Bank, and the installation at Blundell Sands, seeing as I'm passing it would be rude not to visit Anthony Gormley's most famous work - so here I am.

Like much of his other work I've seen it's impressive - the sheer scale of the installation is amazing - but I come away from it thinking "yeah... and..?". Probably makes me some form of ghastly artistic philistine but if I walk away from a piece of art thinking "well, what was the artist trying to say?" you can't help but conclude that the artist has failed on one level. Recently the Angel of the North came second on a list of most disappointing tourist attractions - it was behind Stonehenge. A bit unfair I feel - I may not be a huge fan of the piece but it is a stunning artistic installation on a huge scale.


On the way south I make an unscheduled and impulsive stop at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. It's an amazing place with wonderful galleries and beautiful sculptures (such as Moore and Hepworth) set in the rolling Yorkshire countryside. Spent a lovely couple of hours wandering around enjoying it all - made all the more enjoyable as it was visited purely on a whim. Only slight disappointment is with it being so far from where I live I expect I'll be a rare visitor.

Hogwarts

There are 2 things which seem to almost dominate the town of Alnwick, one of which is Alnwick Castle and Gardens. So today I head off to nose around the castle. The home of the Duke of Northumberland it is as you'd imagine a castle to be - and again going around the State Rooms I couldn't but help notice the various Canaletto and Titian paintings - no Athena posters of 'girl scratching her bum playing tennis' here.

Recently the castle has taken on a new form of fame as it was used for the exterior location shots of Hogwarts in the first two Harry Potter films, and at one point I did hear a guide point out the location of the Quidditch match. Wonder what previous Dukes would have made of Pottermania and their home's small part in it?

The other big thing in Alnwick is the excellent Barter Books - a large second hand bookshop in what was the old railway station. A simply superb place in which I spent a very pleasant couple of hours - and several £££s - last evening. An absolute gem.

Holy Island

Driving across the causeway to Lindisfarne is a little disconcerting - it's as though the tarmac has simply been laid on the beach - which is probably more or less the situation. It does make you feel vulnerable and I make a mental note to leave clearly within the safe crossing times - I don't fancy being on this road when the tide is rolling in.

I like islands - don't know why as a grew up in Birmingham which is about as far from an island a you can get in the UK - but I'm not sure what to make of Lindisfarne. Is it an island or isn't it? For large parts of the day you can easily drive across to it, but equally for other large parts it is cut off and definitely an island - does this 'part time' nature of being an island mean living there is different to, say, the Western Isles?

It is still nonetheless fairly remote and off the beaten track and, like so much else in Northumbria, is beautiful with stunning bays and the seemingly obligatory castle. It is given something else by the presence of the Priory. Fascinating to wander around and simply feel and sense the history of the place and like many other such places, for example Glastonbury Abbey, I can but imagine what the place must have looked like in its 'prime', or, indeed, how different it may look today if Henry VIII had dissolved the monasteries.

A wonderful place I wish I could spend more time here today - but the safe crossing times mean I head back to mainland after a few fascinating hours spent on Holy Island.

Coast

Weather again looks decent so I hoist the bike back on the roof bars and do a route taking in the Northumbria coast. I seem again to be constantly cycling into a headwind, no matter what direction I'm going in, but I'm rewarded with stunning scenery - beaches, bays and ruined castles - this really is a beautiful part of the country.

Berwick upon Tweed and my first castle

Berwick is a strange place. Being on the border it has often been fought over by the English and the Scots and so it has a lot of history - but there's not a great deal to do there. Having had a walk around the old town walls and read the various information about its history - plus the stuff about Lowry who visited and painted the place a lot - I head off to find something to eat. Can recommend the restaurant attached to the arts centre - such places are often a good bet as they need to raise money towards such centre runing costs so they tend to be decent - and had fantastic fishcakes.

Berwick is a place with dual identity. The accents are likely to be Scottish as much a north east England, my change was given to me in Scottish notes, the church with the spire dominating the skyline is actually Church of Scotland (the adjacent CofE pictured above was built under the reign of Cromwell so is more muted and has no spire). A nice town, but one which nowadays probably struggles with its identity and purpose.

In the afternoon I stop off as Bamburgh Castle. Now this is a proper castle - walls 10 feet thick, built on a hill, overlooking the sea and dominating the landscape. Another place full of history - though much of its current look was due to its restoration in the late 19th century.

I'm always fascinated by the art on the walls in such places, and this is no exception as among the various paintings are some by Turner and Van Dyck. Always makes my tasteful prints from the Tate seem somewhat inferior!

Kielder

The weather is good so strap the bike to the roof bars and head off to Kielder for a decent cycle ride. For a trip near a lake the route is surprisingly hilly, which is not helped by cycling into a decent for the first several miles. A restorative hot chocolate stop is needed and seems to do the trick.

Part of the trip is along the route of the old railway line linking the north east to Scotland through the midde of the borders. It was still operational into the 1950s and when taking the train it must have been lovely to stare out at the beautiful scenery through which it went.

Head back to the car and discover hoisting the bike on to the roof bars is a lot easier at the start of a cycle ride than at the end! Another restorative drink - plus cheesecake - help the energy levels and I head to back across stunning scenery to Alnwick. I pass a Post Bus and the countryside reminds me of Postman Pat - when I read one of the tourist leaflets later that evening I discover that the area did indeed inspire the setting for the legendary postie.

You're not from round 'ere...

Take it easy and do what I always do when I arrive in a new part of the country – I head to the tourist information centre and buy maps! The weather is good – though I stand out from the locals. Whilst I'm in T-shirt and fleece/hoodie top feeling a slight chill in the air, the locals are in in T-shirt, shorts and spaghetti strapped vest tops. It's not that warm surely?

Forecast for the week looks good - perhaps the mountain bike attached to my roof bars will not be there for show but might see the pedals turned in anger.

Fog on the Tyne...

Head across the Pennines to Northumbria but stop off on route in Newcastle to catch up with a friend. I've been to Newcastle before but pass the 'usual' locations on the way as though I'm doing some sort of travelogue – the Angel of the North (yet more Gormley!), the Tyne Bridge and St James Park (which completely dominates the sky line). I'm in full 'tourist mode' and we head down to the quayside where we spend a excellent few hours pottering ending up at a tapas restaurant. Again, really good to catch up with people and a thoroughly enjoyable few hours.

Finally, I head further north and end up in Alnwick, my intended destination. Always a little interesting when you first turn up at a holiday location you've never been to before – what will it be like? Will be OK? First impressions of Alnwick are very favourable – it feels right.

Across the Mersey

Head up to Southport to catch up with some relatives – again a good day and time well spent. End my time with them at Blundell Sands looking at the Gormley installations on the beach. It's fascinating and is clearly now a key site in Liverpool in the same way the London Eye is for London – there is a film crews there doing some spot to camera. A crowd gathers and bizarrely we see it is living legend Ken Dodd doing the piece to camera. A local shares a punchline of an old joke,

“Ken Dodd died today.”
“Did he?”
“No, Doddy.”

Ah, that “famous Scouse sense of humour (TM)”....

A really pleasant evening is spent around at a flat in central Liverpool – I am strictly in 'hanger on' territory but the group are fun and welcoming. The cityscape view from the balcony is stunning – the lights of a ship heading up the Mersey to one side and the Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral on the other. The evening evolves in to what can only be described as cheesy YouTube video karaoke – a lot more fun than it sounds and a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Plus the French lose the opening Rugby World Cup match - fantastic!

Liverpool

I head north to spend a couple of days in Liverpool catching up with people prior to heading further north to Northumbria. It's a strange day to be in Liverpool as it's the day of Rhy's funeral. The strange feeling is compounded by that I'll be staying in Norris Green – indeed the school opposite is Rhy's primary school and is shut for the day.

It's good to catch up – the weather is great and a good time is spent in cafes, coffee shops, bars and restaurants.

Arthurian Magic

Head over the border to Cornwall. Strange to think that in a week I'll be at the complete opposite end of England.


Never been to Tintagel before and find it's a bit like Glastonbury - full of Arthurian legend filled giftshops and crystals - but with slightly fewer nutters and more surf shops. It's a lovely little place on the stunning Cornish coastline - a nice blend of places, a little off the beaten track and I like it.


Wander around the ruins of the castle and head off to the parish church. I always seek out the war memorial in these places. I remain constantly amazed at how a small and remote place such as this still sustained a large amount of losses during the First World War - over 30 names are listed on the memorial for this small parish.

Stop off at Bude on the way back before retreating over the border, leaving the Cornish flags behind.