The Boy and The Coconut Tree

The clocks changed last night, it happened whilst I was out, drinking with an Australian friend. I've yet to understand why we do it and I am sure I read it has something to do with a war or something, WW1 perhaps, usually these weird unexplained rules and procedures have something to do with a politician's decision in war-time and it stuck.  I also learnt, whilst living in Spain, that Franco changed the time in Spain so Madrid would be in the same time-zone as his hero, Hitler, so politicians do weird things and when they make silly changes someone forgets to undo those changes and we are stuck with it, and the consequence of last night's clock change was an extra hour bed, or that is what should have happened but as I was out drinking and dancing until 3am and woke up at my normal time, the extra hour was wasted, I had 6 hours sleep and feel rough today as a consequence. I am using the "extra" hour that isn't to contemplate and digest my thoughts ...

I tried to introduce English poetry to some of my more advanced students in Spain during 2013/2014 and these are the poems we chose! English Poems There is another Sky,  by Emily Dickinson There is another sky, Ever serene and fair, And there is another sunshine, Though it be darkness there; Never mind faded forests, Austin, Never mind silent fields - Here is a little forest, Whose leaf is ever green; Here is a brighter garden, Where not a frost has been; In its unfading flowers I hear the bright bee hum: Prithee, my brother, Into my garden come! A dream within a dream,  by Edgar Allan Poe Take this kiss upon the brow! And, in parting from you now, Thus much let me avow-- You are not wrong, who deem That my days have been a dream; Yet if hope has flown away In a night, or in a day, In a vision, or in none, Is it therefore the less gone? All that we see or seem Is but a dream within a dream. I stand amid the roar Of a surf-tormented shore, And I hold ...

I thought I would post a review of this as it has certainly split opinions.   I wrote this as soon as I'd watched the movie as I sat on the Tube going home. Interesting movie. Great idea and looks good (if that is what Mars looks like). Great cast! Very flag waving yee hah Americana at times with nods to friendliness with the Chinese (probably for the potential box office takings there). I enjoyed it and knew it was a blockbuster, looks good and feel good. Not for everyone but I enjoyed it. And I prefer Jessica Chastain to Matt Damon! Scientists and film critics etc will pull it apart.  7/10.

I don't keep a diary, I have never kept a diary apart from a travel journal from when I lived in Australia and wrote down my observations and experiences.  I still have it and after 15 years it makes me smile and feel sad, I miss the place a lot and hope to afford another trip there soon, 2016 maybe!? A few weeks ago I was enjoying myself in sunny Stockholm and twee Tallinn and now I'm back in londony* London and think this is the last weekend of nice summer weather we will have, autumn is creeping in.  Work has provided me with the most entertainment since that trip. I was out of the office for 4 days and changes were made without my input and it happened again last week.  It is like working in the shaking house at a funfair, the ground keeps moving below me and I am not sure what I can do to stop it. Maybe I'll just focus on my up-coming weekends away, home to see my parents, then to Barcelona in December (my first visit there since I left in August 2014). ...

I don't apologize for my travel preferences, I do spend a lot of my travels sitting in cafes, drinking coffee  Coffee and delicious muffin in Stockholm and watching the locals get on with their daily lives. It fascinates me and yes I also love to travel on ships, this trip on the Baltic has not put me off, I may not travel Tallink again but I will travel on the Baltic, the sea and the cities around it are too interesting and beautiful to avoid. A day in Tallinn is probably all you need. The city has two distinct areas, the lovely old quarter which is well preserved, cobbled streets and pretty (but be warned, cobbles are dangerous when wet). The old quarter is easy to navigate if you have a map, I asked directions from a few locals and they all shrugged. I found my way around eventually and explored. The new part of the city is strange, lots of modern buildings, shopping centres and new hotels but not many people around and not a lot of character. The shopping centre ...

So the nerdy geek inside of me is a bit of a ship/ferry enthusiast. The girls in the office mock me about on a daily basis. I love being on a big ship out at sea, especially if it is a bit choppy/rough. I booked on to one of the 2 big Baltic ferry companies, TallinkSilja ,  the other (and possibly the better) is Viking Line .  Now Silja once had a reputation for having amazing ships and amazing service but this reputation has taken a blow since its takeover by Tallink, it still has the big ships but most of the fleet is now Tallink and their ships may be big etc but are not as stylish. Publicity shot of MS Victoria 1 So BA and my miles got me a round trip to Stockholm and I was booked on the MS Victoria for a round trip to Tallinn, my ideal cruise would have been a round trip to Helsinki on this beauty but the prices for 1 person travelling alone were too high. So my ship was the smaller but newer MS Victoria 1 . She isn't an ugly ship and is large but my gu...

It is August and it is raining and reminds me of Winter and this is the English summer in action. Yesterday was 32c and sunny and I have the farmers tan to prove it. My arms and lower legs are reddish brown and my upper arms and chest are as white as they day I arrived on earth (that makes me sound like some alien visitor when I should have just said "born") As I sit here waiting for one of my Spanish students, Davinia, I am reading her account of a Spanish novel, El Tiempo Entre Costuras,  and it makes me want to travel so much.  I was feeling all sentimental today. I arrived back in England 1 year ago this week and that first week was an interesting week of good and bad.  My dad's brother, uncle John died after a long battle with lung cancer but I was lucky enough to see him a few days before he died and have the usual, uncle taking the piss out of a nephew, conversations. That week I also spent some quality time with my parents, my sisters and my nieces and ne...