tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8700591176218493832024-03-14T09:13:06.151+00:00A Lifeform In Northern IrelandSimon's Snapshots of Life in BelfastAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.comBlogger264125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-80597017121579319712013-03-17T00:33:00.000+00:002013-03-17T00:35:27.869+00:00To the Future4 years ago I started to write this personal blog and I have to say it has served me well - it's seen a lot of water under the bridge (or flowing over the weir as the case might be in the photo below - I just didn't have anything more appropriate) however now seems like a good time to think about a change to look to the future.<br />
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As well as sounding like something fun to do, I also had 3 main reasons for blogging.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8563844644/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="The Lagan Weir at Night by Simon Chilton, on Flickr"><img alt="The Lagan Weir at Night" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8368/8563844644_a35a0e0d19.jpg" /></a></div>
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The 1st was to use it as a means of sharing life experiences - particularly the positive - a sort of non-social networking (I'm not a huge fan) social outlet.<br />
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The 2nd was that I was already keeping a diary of sorts and I appreciated the therapeutic side of writing down frustrations - a personal blog was as good a way as any.<br />
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The 3rd reason was that I read a lot of blogs and I looked forward to trying to add something worthwhile to the mix - to communicate and share ideas that might spark ideas and our imaginations.<br />
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To add to this, before I get further into why I'm posting this slightly random and perhaps out of the blue introspection, here are some relevant stats about my blogging over the last 4 years:<br />
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At the highest level - 82% of posts were related to life experiences. The remaining 18% were opinion posts.<br />
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To be more specific, the content could be categorised as follows:<br />
36% General life experiences (home life, day to day stuff, misc entertainment)<br />
18% Local Tourism (Northern Ireland, day trips, local sights, museums etc) of which 74% was about Belfast, 26% the rest of Northern Ireland.<br />
18% Holidays (Travel and tourism abroad) of which 65% was about the USA and 35% Europe.<br />
18% Opinion (Politics, news, other events etc)<br />
10% Sports (Irish League football, Crusaders, Leeds United, Ice Hockey and Olympics)<br />
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Keeping all that in mind, I've also discovered that although I originally started off posting a lot more about life experiences this has slowly changed. This blog has now become dominated by posts about travel and holidays. So on the plus side my blogging here is still largely dominated by sharing experiences that are important to me - which is what I set out to do - however... only the detail of those experiences are really unique. Thinking about it with some perspective, sites like Tripadvisor for my travel posts or football forums for my sports posts are perhaps better places for my thoughts if I really feel the need to share in such detail.<br />
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Another site that I'm already using for another part of my publishing on the web is Twitter. Indeed I can see from the stats I put together that when I joined Twitter is when the more opinionated posts I used to make fell away. I didn't really know what to make of Twitter at first but it has soon become the place I voice an opinion 'as and when' those opinions come to mind rather than dwelling on them until I can find time to sit down to type a post here. This might be for better or for worse as it's not about carefully thought through arguments, it's often just a means to empty your head... but still it fills that niche.<br />
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So with the 2nd reason I began to blog now largely removed and the 1st being whittled down to something that might be more suitably placed elsewhere, what about the 3rd? - adding to the mix and sharing ideas? - the social side of blogging?<br />
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I think I can reasonably state that over the last few years I've added to the mix at least a little bit.<br />
In regards to positive feedback, since I started blogging here I've had a dozens of posts linked to on other (non-blog) sites including the Belfast Telegraph. I even had one of my photographs published as a book cover last year. Some very kind bloggers also linked to my posts with a positive feeling - and that I have to say has always brought about a warming feeling of inclusion. Overall I'm happy I've been able to take part and in terms of personal well-being and development I think I've got as much out of blogging as I put in - if not more. My spelling has improved a tiny bit if nothing else. The positives have however diminished in recent times - I'm not finding the motivation to blog so much and when I do it's often late into the night when I should really be getting more sleep.<br />
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So that leads me to the next point - a point more in-line with the question posed 'what about the social side of blogging?'<br />
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Something I know for sure is that my blog is really only read regularly by other bloggers or people who know me - and in terms of bloggers, specifically other Blogger users at that. The majority of the rest of my page views tends to be one time visits from people (largely by chance) finding my posts and photos through search engines. In regards to viewing figures, I'm not sure if it's just my blog but over the last few months - although I've posted regularly - page views have plummeted and SEO isn't a major part of it.<br />
As my content isn't niche enough to target a specific audience and retain many repeat visits from those just finding me by chance in terms of the subjects I blog about... and given the fact I haven't changed those subjects all that much over the course of the last year, there has to be something else that is adding to this trend of declining casual activity. Indeed it doesn't look like I'm alone in sensing this or something similar. Many bloggers I followed have wound up their blogs over the last year, several of those who continue have slowed down in regards to the regularity in which they post.<br />
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I've tried to find some new bloggers to follow to keep my own blogosphere fresh - as I said I would try to in my 2013 list, but alas, there just aren't many left or searchable (especially local bloggers)... well at least those who remain free of ridiculously narcissistic tendencies and/or are being led by purely financial motivations anyway.<br />
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This would worry me a lot more if blogging for me was about trying to do something like 'getting known', making money or indulging in narcissistic tendencies. Thankfully it's not at all! All I worry about is the practicality of if it's worth continuing. So although a lack of an audience isn't an issue in itself, a decline in the audience is a trend that I'd have to be fool to ignore in terms of that practicality.<br />
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The main issues I consider with blogging are just the time I have to put into it and the resulting benefits for both me and those who view what I publish.<br />
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The real joy of Blogger when I started to use it was the connectivity. I could write a blog and reach an audience with little effort (and time). With the likes of Google Friend Connect and Google Reader all the tools were there that made Blogger a sort of very personalised Facebook page, with better scope for search engine optimisation, for the type of blog I write.<br />
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The first of these tools is now all but suspended, the second is planned to be dropped later in the year and with them the connectivity of blogger has very much been diminished. A blog like mine is just a collection of words, images, videos, thoughts and ideas aggregated into one accessible place. It is basically a personalised Facebook or Google+ page with more room for creative expression and control over what is presented and published.<br />
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Sadly, Facebook and other social networking/media storage sites have captured the vast majority of the audience, Google with Google+ also compete in that area and with the withdrawal of the services that made Blogger click, it seems Blogger (in the way I use it) is currently becoming just a form of web hosting for me.<br />
As such, with the retiring of services that helped provide an audience, the connectivity of Blogger has been relocated to Google+.<br />
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This is where I personally get caught out twice, largely because with a truly personal blog I wanted to remain quasi-anonymous. Because of this scenario, in order to offset the connectivity blogger previously offered, I would need to throw myself into Google+ or other social network sites to provide a similar result.<br />
The issue being, I don't have the time to duplicate my social networking activities (as well as blog) in order to maintain an active or new readership whilst remaining somewhat anonymous.<br />
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The other logical problem is that if I'm asking people already using one application and network, then surely it stands to reason that I might as well just post my content directly onto that social network in the 1st place since I'm not trying to drive traffic for money or any other such activity. <br />
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So to summarise this rambling:<br />
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I still enjoy blogging and I still really like Blogger as a publishing platform - the freedom and control in presentation it offers whilst making it so simple to do are second to none.<br />
The problem is that it makes no sense to continue writing a personal blog in the way I currently do. I can't justify the time it would take to build and maintain a community around this blog to fight the tide and keep an audience. I also don't have time to duplicate what I publish around the web in more than one place and with some of the reasons I started blogging having evolved to other parts of the internet, my focus in using Blogger has to change to make it practical and timely.<br />
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So...<br />
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I intend to take what I've learnt from my blogging experience these past 4 years and put it to good use in a different way. If I don't, I predict that in the not so distant future I'll probably find myself better off (time wise) just going back to writing a diary in a notepad.<br />
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In regards to the future of this blog, I won't be getting rid of it. On the off chance I need a place to publish something random or vague it's a handy spot to keep available. However, apart from the odd update now and again, I won't be making any regular posts in the near future.<br />
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'A Lifeform in Northern Ireland' (as my means of regularly publishing content online) is on an indefinite hiatus.<br />
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As disappointing as it is to break a routine and bring to an end something I've put a lot of effort into over the last few year, a change is as good as a rest and the chance to focus on something else brings about some fun possibilities and opportunities.<br />
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My blog posts here were becoming more and more photo heavy anyway and I often don't have time to use Flickr and its community aspect as much as I might like to, so in terms of my use of Blogger I intend to start a project that is photo orientated.<br />
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Though I haven't worked out the ins and outs yet, I intend to start a photo blog project of some kind.<br />
Something that will allow me to combine two things I would do anyway but cut out the hours spent typing.<br />
I realise my pictures aren't worth a thousand words at the moment but perhaps, with practice, one day they might be... and if not, at least I'll have tried to improve.<br />
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With the new blog being something far less contentious, it could also allow me to use my real name and Facebook and Google+ presence as well as other sites. It might also allow me to use Flickr and Twitter more effectively.<br />
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Hopefully this will save me a lot of time and allow me improve a skill whilst also enabling me to enjoy the social side of blogging much more. Not to mention it gives me an excuse to finally invest in more than just a standard compact camera.<br />
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I also hope it might allow me achieve more of my 2013 list (one goal being to take more photos and another to not procrastinate as much!).<br />
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On the off chance anyone was thinking along the same lines (especially a photography blog – maybe based around Belfast) and has an idea for a joint project or bloggorific extravaganza - do let me know! I've always liked the idea of a team blog but I’ve just never found a team… let alone a subject.<br />
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I'll be sure to update here whatever I end up doing. All being well it'll be a lot less self indulgent and a little more focused on really sharing an aspect of life in Northern Ireland.<br />
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So it's that time again, time to get back to the future!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-83254056966095541642013-03-04T02:56:00.001+00:002013-03-04T03:08:28.969+00:00Roman Forum PhotosAfter visiting the Colosseum we headed on over to the see the ruins of the Roman Forum. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8525829907/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Roman Forum and Helicopter by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Roman Forum and Helicopter" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8246/8525829907_c5f44d2ac4.jpg" /></a></div>
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I still know so very little about the ins and outs of the site's history (that was the one big thing I did learn) so I'm not going to try and explain anything or describe the place (for that sort of thing here are a couple of links - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Forum">Roman Forum on wikipedia</a> and '<a href="http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Forum/">Digital Roman Forum</a>'), rather I'm just going to do the timeless 'slide show' photo dump and let you see some of the same things our photoreceptor faceballs did on the day we visited.<br />
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The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Maxentius_and_Constantine">Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8525830871/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Basilica of Maxentius in Rome by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Basilica of Maxentius in Rome" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8225/8525830871_0bb6ba23d8.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8525830849/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Panorama of Basilica of Maxentius by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Panorama of Basilica of Maxentius" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8088/8525830849_74d436447a.jpg" /></a></div>
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Basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8526943730/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8365/8526943730_16ca17d0f8.jpg" /></a></div>
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Temple of Julius Caesar</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8525830657/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Temple of Julius Caesar by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Temple of Julius Caesar" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8251/8525830657_9046f1eb67.jpg" /></a></div>
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The Forum itself and other surrounding buildings.</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8526942718/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Foro Romano Ruins by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Foro Romano Ruins" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8104/8526942718_4490ed8f85.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8526943538/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Roman Forum Panorama by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Roman Forum Panorama" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8515/8526943538_3f4c04580e.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8525830865/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Classical roman columns by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Classical roman columns" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8241/8525830865_8c4303e01f.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8526943398/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Foro Romano Panorama by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Foro Romano Panorama" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8368/8526943398_43e651b189.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8525830361/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Religious building ruins Rome by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Religious building ruins Rome" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8097/8525830361_93407b124d.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8526943196/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Roman Forum by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Roman Forum" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8087/8526943196_32120a29d7.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8526942906/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Forum Pillar Rome by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Forum Pillar Rome" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8085/8526942906_457103be54.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8525830565/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Roman Ruins by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Roman Ruins" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8509/8525830565_32591430b6.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8526943028/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Rome and Roman Forum by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Rome and Roman Forum" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8511/8526943028_7c9467b636.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8526942620/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Roman Forum Archeology by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Roman Forum Archeology" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8100/8526942620_e4c741fb14.jpg" /></a></div>
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The Forum and the surrounding area was very much worth a visit - we didn't even get around half of the overall site and whilst we were there you could even watch the ongoing archaeological efforts in action. If you're into your Roman history I'd say you'd need to give yourself a good day to really take it in. I'd love to go back and see more of it.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-46544481553454619262013-03-02T03:32:00.001+00:002013-03-03T14:42:05.593+00:00Rome and the Colosseum<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8520436642/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Seating areas of the Colosseum by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Seating areas of the Colosseum" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8230/8520436642_f0ce81d658.jpg" /></a>This was our first ever visit to Rome, a city often dubbed the eternal city though luckily it didn't spend an eternity on our 'we must go there one day' list. It was great to finally see some of it for ourselves. My main interest in visiting the city was the historical - mainly the pre-Christian world but I was also intrigued by the modern - the sights and sounds of what this famous city has to offer today.<br />
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The morning we arrived on the ship into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civitavecchia">the port of Civitavecchia</a> we took a short walk along it's small seafront from a coastal fortress by the harbour called Michelangelos Fort which looked pretty impressive, then past a very large sculpture of a sailor kissing a nurse (a replica of the one in San Diego, USA which is based on the famous photograph taken in New York after WWII). <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8520437192/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Civitavecchia Sailor Kissing Nurse Statue by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Civitavecchia Sailor Kissing Nurse Statue" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8505/8520437192_45e569cfa5.jpg" /></a></div>
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I'd have liked to have spent a bit of time in Civitavecchia but we only had two days and that wasn't even going to cover all we wanted to see in Rome itself.<br />
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A few hundred meters later we arrived at the train station. The train station has a shop and a coffee bar. The weather was fine and so we sat outside enjoying the morning sun (we don’t get much back home!) waiting for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome">Rome</a> bound train.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8520437174/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Civitavecchia train station by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Civitavecchia train station" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8506/8520437174_742392ff9c.jpg" /></a></div>
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It was a nice ride along the coast and though some country side (it's about a 40 mile journey). There are two handy stops in Rome, one is Roma San Pietro railway station located near to the Vatican City, the other is Roma Termini – Romes most central station in relation to a lot of the tourist sites. We opted to get off at the end of the line at Roma Termini. I can only describe the station as long. The walk from where the Civitavecchia train stops to the main entrance of the station is approx 600 meters. My advice would be to go down from the platform to the underpass bit and use the moving walkways if you're heading that way. It's not so bad on arrival but after a long day of sightseeing hurrying to get to your train with sore feet it felt like a lot further. <br />
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The layout of the city of Rome was nothing that I'd really been able to imagine from reading books or watching TV shows or looking at maps. The topography was more varied (it was a bit hillier) and the modern streets, which for some reason I imagined it to be more like Paris, turned out to be more like London. I knew it was the city of the 7 hills but I obviously wasn't listening closely enough before as I had always imagined them to surround the city. The city sightseeing bus tour soon put me right as I found out the city was built on them. Evidence for my dear wife that it’s not just her I don’t listen properly :-p!<br />
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The 1st day we were in Rome there was an anti-austerity protest and workers union strike which was funny when our tour bus got stuck in the traffic chaos that followed. I totally sympathise with what the protesters were striking for so I didn't mind being stuck on the tour bus, in fact I was just sad we weren't a little closer as an open top bus is a good vantage point for taking photos!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8519323703/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="November 2012 Rome Anti-Austerity Protest by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="November 2012 Rome Anti-Austerity Protest" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8368/8519323703_17491a530d.jpg" /></a></div>
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Several drivers in Rome were, to put it nicely, 'a little bit insane'. During our time in Rome we saw many instances of erratic driving but three instances stood out.<br />
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The first was a moped driver who wasn't paying close attention to the traffic cop who was directing traffic and missed hitting the police man (albeit at low speed) by about the length of his shoe. Even more worryingly this didn't seem to be an unusual occurrence to the policeman who with a gesture of displeasure synonymous to 'ah now, catch yourself on' didn't even have a word with the driver.<br />
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The second was a driver who sped across a junction only to swerve at the last minute to miss the back end of a fast moving moped by a distance so close it's a mystery how one didn't become a part of the other. It was a real heart in mouth moment, stunt drivers would have been proud of pulling off such a close miss. Any contact and it was broken bones or corpse time.<br />
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The third incident was probably the most stupid but also the funniest, this one happened so slowly that all the tourists on the bus had time to laugh and take photos. And here it is, someone trying to push ahead in a traffic jam by joining the trams on the tram tracks - the Tram driver was NOT amused.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8519417013/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Driving on the Tram Tracks by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Driving on the Tram Tracks" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8232/8519417013_a464687e04.jpg" /></a></div>
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We got off the bus soon after to make better use of our limited time in the city than drivers with death wishes.<br />
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Where the bus had to turn around was very close to the Colosseum and the Roman Forum so they were are first sights.<br />
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Before getting up close and personal to both, we took some time to admire <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arch_of_Constantine">the Arch of Constantine</a>.<br />
Norngirl is a Byzantine nerd so like me seeing Vesuvius the day before, this was her moment of seeing something for herself that she'd only seen in books and film.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8520437096/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Arch of Constantine in Rome by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Arch of Constantine in Rome" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8531/8520437096_6464957ebf.jpg" /></a></div>
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The arch admired we set off in what turned out to be the wrong way for our search of toilets. After giving up and turning round to go back towards the Colosseum knowing they’d likely have some somewhere, we got in line to buy tickets. Thankfully inside the bowels of the Colosseum on the ground floor near the entrance are some toilets. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8520436592/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Inside the Colosseum by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Inside the Colosseum" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8233/8520436592_5613544122.jpg" /></a></div>
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Relieved, we then set about exploring the Colosseum and the cavernous concourses we'd passed through.<br />
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The Colosseum is probably the worlds most well known amphitheater that apparently dates back to 72AD (when its construction is said to have started).<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8519323575/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Wide view of the Colosseum Amphitheatre in Rome by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Wide view of the Colosseum Amphitheatre in Rome" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8245/8519323575_c9936e4b14.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8520436994/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Colosseum Panorama by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Colosseum Panorama" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8372/8520436994_2d2155dd88.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/colosseum_01.shtml">The Colosseum</a> is an impressive monument to it’s time, very imperial looking and imposing even in it's current state. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8519323471/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="High Walls of the Colosseum by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="High Walls of the Colosseum" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8365/8519323471_3390bfc5a2.jpg" /></a></div>
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In it's heyday it was apparently able to hold 50,000 spectators. What it was like in it's prime must have been pretty spectacular especially given how unique it was in it's scale. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8519323391/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Recreated section of the Colosseum by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Recreated section of the Colosseum" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8106/8519323391_f4a86b9c33.jpg" /></a></div>
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Reading about some of the entertainment on show I think I'm happy to stick with football and ice hockey -occasions where the only things to be murdered are our hopes. I wouldn't have liked to be walking among these submerged passages back then!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8520436704/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Former underground tunnels in the Colosseum by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Former underground tunnels in the Colosseum" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8112/8520436704_4ec3f03473.jpg" /></a></div>
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Much like <a href="http://life-in-ni.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/pictures-of-pompeii.html">our visit to Pompeii</a>, the strangest thing was how familiar walking around it for the first time felt. How similar to modern stadia it appeared - especially when walking around the inner concourses then stepping out through it’s arches into the seating areas. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8520436598/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="View out through a Colosseum Arch by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="View out through a Colosseum Arch" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8389/8520436598_994a539647.jpg" /></a></div>
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So much in the concept of a stadium has been kept and so little it has evolved since the Romans had this leviathan built. Thankfully most of humanity’s ideas of what constitutes entertainment have become a little less cruel and imperialistic - on and off.<br />
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It also seems to be well looked after which is good news.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8520436836/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Cleaning the Colosseum by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Cleaning the Colosseum" height="375" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8090/8520436836_6606cb2fe0.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8520436544/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Cat in the Colosseum by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Cat in the Colosseum" height="370" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8250/8520436544_743f8a419c.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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I’d personally have liked to have spent a little longer looking around but as with the entire trip it was a little more rushed than our usual sightseeing trips largely due to our hotel floating off at assigned times. So we got a move on and left the kitty to catch all those barbarian mice. <br />
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Our next historical sight of Rome was just over the brow of the hill - The Roman Forum.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-54697601626927266592013-02-25T23:56:00.000+00:002013-02-28T01:30:19.805+00:00February Snapshots of BelfastWithout any topic to string these photos together, here are just some sights of Belfast from over the last few weeks such as the ethereal Titanic Memorial in the grounds of city hall.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8507511523/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Titanic Memorial by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Titanic Memorial" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8238/8507511523_8166e85b5a.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Some cold but nice dandering on the sunny days...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8508618554/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Trees at Layon Place by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Trees at Layon Place" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8387/8508618554_3e5cc7aae9.jpg" /></a></div><br />
And with plenty of bright red lanterns for the Chinese new year.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8508673554/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Chinese red lanterns outside Belfast City Hall by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Chinese red lanterns outside Belfast City Hall" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8096/8508673554_2016ac5cb3.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Some would say cracking.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8508618478/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Crack in the Paving by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Crack in the Paving" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8226/8508618478_e46ea3aba1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
As always, plenty of traffic.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8507511479/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Traffic Signature Lighting Mast by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Traffic Signature Lighting Mast" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8524/8507511479_09578d8f61.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The Belfast Giants honoured Graeme Walton's long service with a testimonial game in which the popular Pizza eating on ice featured.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8508618370/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Pizza eating on ice by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Pizza eating on ice" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8378/8508618370_026380fb8f.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The weather wasn't always dry and sunny, but Belfast still has it's charm.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8508618144/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="February Belfast Scene by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="February Belfast Scene" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8528/8508618144_3e6c5e0bbf.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Sadly we still have this on the streets - illegal flag protests. Here some are blocking the street at the front of Belfast city hall... yet again! (plenty of space on the pavement yer eejits!) <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8507511235/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Illegal Flag Protest in Belfast by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Illegal Flag Protest in Belfast" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8100/8507511235_0de5a19495.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Don't even get me started on what those claiming to stand up for the UK did at Seaview. Pure hateful and despicable bigotry. Thankfully football fans and football stood strong that day. I'd go so far as to say that the clubs did NI, the UK and Ireland proud. I do feel sorry for the police though who had to deal with the small group and their warped perception on life here in Northern Ireland. Speaking as a non-religious, comprehensive school educated Yorkshireman/adopted Northern Irishman: I honestly think that the people illegally protesting the democratic decision to fly the flag on special days DON'T understand what the United Kingdom is. Either that or they at least don't understand how the rest of it functions OR maybe they're being coerced? I say this because going by their actions to date they certainly don't understand what the UK tries to represent in this day and age. Sure, when BNP/UKIP related individuals also show up to these things, you can gauge the sort of thinking behind it for yourself. <br />
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I know everyone has a different slant and perspective on life but maybe we could start to show all arrested the 5 episodes of the BBC show 'Wonders of Life'. Surely worth a shot in the hope they'll gain a new found respect for reality and their own existence though I'm sure some minds could even warp that. D'oh, I got started. I'll not even begin to start to type about the politics.<br />
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Due to things like the above, this flying machine has been gathering more air miles.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8508618242/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Belfast Police Helicopter by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Belfast Police Helicopter" height="332" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8524/8508618242_db5235bfaa.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
Where all that will end up - who knows. The summer is probably going to be interesting given the stance and political maneuvering going on. No doubt some more stains on humanities intelligence knowing the mentality of a small amount of people in this part of the world.<br />
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That's something that will run for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, you'll find us being big kids jumping on this on the way home after a Giants game.<br />
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And this I have no explanation for other than it's a way to get to the other side of the road without waiting at the traffic lights.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8507511027/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="An Underpass in Belfast by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="An Underpass in Belfast" height="375" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8105/8507511027_ebba52806d.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
Maybe the underpass will lead to March?<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-42167636813427647732013-02-17T02:07:00.002+00:002013-02-17T02:33:11.344+00:00Pictures of PompeiiNot the best place to be 1,934 years ago. Sat at the foot of mount Vesuvius, the Roman city of Pompeii was the victim of a volcanic eruption which covered it in ash and volcanic rocks.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8480716266/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Roman Forum in Pompeii by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Roman Forum in Pompeii" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8526/8480716266_76035084e8.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Many natural disasters happened before and after the Vesuvius eruption and around the world will happen again. It's just a matter of people being in the wrong place at the wrong time in relation to natural processes. What is special about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii">Pompeii</a> however is that the event, as well as being destructive, preserved so much. It turned the city into something of a time capsule. It locked away a Roman city, protecting a moment in history from the renewal and changes that would have been made had it not been buried.<br />
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Combining both a love of ancient history as well as environmental science, this place had intrigued me since I learnt of it’s existence at primary school. So it was the one main thing I wanted to do when visiting Naples. On the day we visited Pompeii we ventured through Naples on the tram from the port and caught a train to the Pompei Scavi station which is just down the road from the entrance of the <a href="http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/829">UNESCO World Heritage Site</a>.<br />
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If I remember correctly, the entrance fee was €11 per person. To help make the most of the trip we also hired 2 hand held audio guides and they were extra (€10 for 2).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8479627149/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Pompeii Heritage Site Audio Guide Handset by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Pompeii Heritage Site Audio Guide Handset" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8512/8479627149_49dfeb71ff.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I'd recommend the audio guide if you do ever visit. It really does give lots of good information and helps you build the picture in your mind of what it must have been like to live in Pompeii at the time it was a thriving city.<br />
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I'll not type too much about it as the pictures really speak for themselves but just to say being there is like stepping back in time, walking and sitting on some of the oldest streets you'll ever have chance to and seeing the buildings that made up a complex Roman society. Yet despite the gap in time, an awful lot is so familiar, the result of what was passed down through the ages in more than just our DNA. Take for instance:<br />
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Buildings for business and legal affairs. Like this 2nd century BC <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica#Basilicas_in_the_Roman_Forum">Basilica</a> and surrounding administrative buildings <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8480717496/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Roman Basilica in Pompeii by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Roman Basilica in Pompeii" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8109/8480717496_bf44e216e2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8479627297/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Side of Pompeii Roman Basilica by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Side of Pompeii Roman Basilica" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8376/8479627297_509a77194b.jpg" /></a></div><br />
And large civic spaces such as the forum.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8480717288/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Panorama of Pompeii forum by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Panorama of Pompeii forum" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8513/8480717288_f416ae3689.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8480717406/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="View of Vesuvius from Pompeii by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="View of Vesuvius from Pompeii" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8095/8480717406_45d014e050.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Civic monuments.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8479626837/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Arch of Caligula in Pompeii by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Arch of Caligula in Pompeii" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8514/8479626837_7a8402244f.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Changing rooms.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8480717214/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Changing Rooms in Bath House by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Changing Rooms in Bath House" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8232/8480717214_3c5f26c40d.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Public Bathing.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8479627033/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Interior of a Roman bath in Pompeii by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Interior of a Roman bath in Pompeii" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8507/8479627033_1f240e10b2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8480717210/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Roman Baths in Pompeii by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Roman Baths in Pompeii" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8375/8480717210_414d78252c.jpg" width="370" /></a></div><br />
Shops including take aways!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8479626859/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Food sellers in Pompeii by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Food sellers in Pompeii" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8232/8479626859_2fbb7a3aca.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8479626953/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Shopping street in Pompeii by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Shopping street in Pompeii" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8373/8479626953_5b20201d50.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Religious buildings.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8479626761/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Temple of the godess Fortuna Augusta in Pompeii by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Temple of the godess Fortuna Augusta in Pompeii" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8506/8479626761_40e81abfab.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8480717332/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Temple of Vespasian in Pompeii by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Temple of Vespasian in Pompeii" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8236/8480717332_ebbac75575.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Streets lined with houses.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8480716834/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="A main street in Pompeii by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="A main street in Pompeii" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8525/8480716834_3c37138cb8.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8480716822/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Roman Street in Pompeii by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Roman Street in Pompeii" height="347" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8530/8480716822_1cd3f491c8.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
Interior decorating.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8479626163/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="House Entrance Pattern mosaic in Pompeii by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="House Entrance Pattern mosaic in Pompeii" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8529/8479626163_0aa7ccf2eb.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Manufacturing and food production like this bakery.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8480716730/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Pompeii Panificio by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Pompeii Panificio" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8378/8480716730_b68e7920a0.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Entertainment venues.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8480716684/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Indoor Roman Theater in Pompeii by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Indoor Roman Theater in Pompeii" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8101/8480716684_07a95b83de.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8479626447/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Large Roman Theater in Pompeii by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Large Roman Theater in Pompeii" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8107/8479626447_1c353da478.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The site is much larger than I anticipated and though we managed to cover a fair chunk of it, there is a lot more that we know we didn't see. Indeed there will be more to see in the future as the archaeology on site still continues to this day. Not so far away are other sites such as the once the Roman port town of Herculaneum - we didn't have chance to go there but I read that it is also worth a visit. Pompeii was thought-provoking and enchanting as a connection to the past. Certainly well worth using our only day in Naples to see. It was an eye opener to how little has changed and a reminder as to how valuable scientific understanding of our natural world can be.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8479626383/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="South West Pompeii by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="South West Pompeii" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8092/8479626383_0ed39d5df1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
On the way out we called into the shop for a fridge magnet. We couldn't resist buying one which has a little cartoon Vesuvius saying ‘I’m Sorry’.<br />
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We ended up spending so much time in Pompeii that when we made it back into Naples we didn't have very long left to see the city itself - especially after we slightly wandered off the beaten track and ended up finding a yummy small pizza place. Once we located a bus we made it back to where we had to be - by the port - and got a drink, a Naples fridge magnet and a look at a fountain.<br />
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We then walked past a castle before heading back to the port.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8480716256/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Port of Naples by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Port of Naples" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8389/8480716256_fe12a28d8f.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Seemingly as quickly as the day had begun, we were back on the ship and sailing off to visit another Roman city... indeed, THE Roman city itself... Rome.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-10630025370158088562013-02-15T00:44:00.000+00:002013-02-15T00:46:20.268+00:00Messin about in MessinaAh Messina... what to say about Messina. From the ship it very much looked the part, a city flowing down from the hills into a busy port but before we had even set off from Belfast on this trip we'd struggled to find anything to do in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messina">Messina</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8473882697/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Messina View by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Messina View" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8246/8473882697_1d27aa334c.jpg" /></a></div><br />
We had just one thing on the list. Watching the astronomical mechanical clock move. The rest of the things to do, if they existed, we'd hope would reveal themselves when we got there. They didn't. <br />
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I suppose I should give Messina the benefit of the doubt. To be fair we didn't see much of it, just a square mile or so. Saying that, our lack of exploring was more a symptom of having trouble finding anything interesting or fun to do. If you are fanatical about churches or boats you might be OK but other than that...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8473882709/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Port of Messina Entrance by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Port of Messina Entrance" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8527/8473882709_8aba662317.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Sooooo... here is what we did.<br />
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Getting off the ship and dodging the horde of scarf sellers, it was a nice surprise to find a 13th Century Church just a stones throw from where the ship docked. Here is the Church of Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8474970570/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Messina Church of Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Messina Church of Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8227/8474970570_9bb29a8fbe.jpg" /></a></div><br />
We stopped for a look before making it over to the Cathedral of Messina.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8473882595/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Cathedral of Messina and Astronomical clock tower by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Cathedral of Messina and Astronomical clock tower" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8375/8473882595_eaa06c6e4e.jpg" /></a></div><br />
And here is the Fontana di Orione outside the Cathedral in front of the clock tower.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8474971128/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Fountain of Orion by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Fountain of Orion" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8225/8474971128_d96fe2c181.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Inside the Cathedral it was suitably cavernous, donned in the usual garnishing of symbolism and wealth but impressive never the less.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8474970908/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Inside the Cathedral of Messina by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Inside the Cathedral of Messina" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8514/8474970908_566dc42554.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8474970970/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Mary and Jesus icon in the Cathedral of Messina by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Mary and Jesus icon in the Cathedral of Messina" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8088/8474970970_0e58282ace.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Back outside the Cathedral it was a bear pit of tour touts and swarming pushy trinket sellers. Going by a seller/tourist ratio it was probably worse than the big tourist locations like outside the Colosseum in Rome. I really didn't like the atmosphere.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8473882293/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Outside the Cathedral of Messina by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Outside the Cathedral of Messina" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8379/8473882293_414a7b3b9b.jpg" /></a></div><br />
It was a captive audience as everyone who wasn't selling was there to watch the mechanical parts of the clock tower move.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8473882527/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Messina Astronomical clock tower by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Messina Astronomical clock tower" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8087/8473882527_cf4b938735.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Move they did... a Cockerel here, a Lion there and some bell ringing. It was slow going but all the gold coloured things got where they were going in the end.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8473882425/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Cathedral of Messina Mechanical Clock by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Cathedral of Messina Mechanical Clock" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8090/8473882425_19b2dae7c6.jpg" /></a></div><br />
So we wandered a little out of the way to find a fridge magnet. It was something like being in a more built up Italian version of Lurgan on a Sunday morning but this was a Monday... in a city. Maybe we were just in the wrong area?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8474970776/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Messina Street by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Messina Street" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8372/8474970776_c791744190.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Norngirl still wasn't very mobile and a lot of Messina is up hill, plus it was raining so we then negotiated a price to go on an historical road train tour to see the other few (pretty much all religious buildings) sights in town. Yeeeeeeaaah... it never set off, they couldn't get enough people to fill it so we ended up getting our money back.<br />
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With loads of time and nothing to do we wandered back towards the boat in search of a cafe or wine bar. Down by the port we found both and also a lot of the other tourists who had been watching the clock too. First we had some local Messina beer in a cafe, it was alright like, nothing to write home about but nicely refreshing.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8473882181/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Messina Beer by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Messina Beer" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8385/8473882181_6c8e373b10.jpg" /></a></div><br />
We then found a gelato shop almost next door that had been mentioned to us on the ship. The guy serving here was the politest and friendliest person I came in contact with in Messina. He didn't even mock my attempt to order in Italian and made me feel like it actually worked without the comfort blanket hand gesture.<br />
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Last but not least we settled down in a coffee/wine bar. Ordered Red wine, got steadily tipsy and put the world to rights whilst in view of the Church of Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani again.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8473882123/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Wine in Messina by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Wine in Messina" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8239/8473882123_4e67ec29a0.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8473882007/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Church of the Annunziata dei Catalani by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Church of the Annunziata dei Catalani" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8109/8473882007_5e942f5a64.jpg" /></a></div><br />
And that was that, our entire trip to Messina. As days go it was nicely relaxing once we'd found the bar.<br />
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We headed back on board the cruise ship and continued our relaxing day of drinking with a sail away cocktail. From the top of the ship Messina still looked like an interesting place even if it flattered to deceive.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8473882095/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Messina Panorama Sicily by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Messina Panorama Sicily" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8244/8473882095_8e21af124f.jpg" /></a></div><br />
To see us off on our safe travels having maybe helped convert the water into wine for us was HeyZeus himself - well the <a href="http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_della_Lettera">Madonna della Lettera</a> anyway. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8473881991/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="The Big Jesus at the Entrance to the port of Messina. by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="The Big Jesus at the Entrance to the port of Messina." src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8511/8473881991_811722b6ac.jpg" /></a></div><br />
As for ever going back. I'd still like to see Mount Etna so having to travel through that part of the world again might not be out of the realms of possibility, however, if I did, I probably wouldn't hang around in Messina. At most it would be a comfort stop for the all the healthy things like ice cream and local wine.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-59928696016213613622013-02-14T01:15:00.000+00:002013-02-14T22:56:07.606+00:00IRN-BRU League Cup Final 2012/13<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8471278389/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Liam Boyce Free Kick by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Liam Boyce Free Kick" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8232/8471278389_4017327894.jpg" /></a>From a <a href="http://www.crusadersfc.com/">Crusaders</a> point of view, the 2012/13 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_League_Cup">IrnBru League Cup</a> final was a game to forget but for the team the lessons from it are not to be forgotten.<br />
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Personally for me, the cup final day started off badly, we made the most of it but it just got worse. The game was an early evening kick off for it was being shown live on Sky Sports. So before the game we had intended to go into Belfast to go for the now traditional pre-game treat at Made-in-Belfast. Alas, NOPE. 5 minutes before we were about to set off Translink pop up on Twitter to announce that all East Belfast buses were being held in town due to protests. Don't get me started on the mindset of flag protesters.<br />
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We tried to not let that dampen our spirits... even with the rain pouring down outside as we thought up a change of plan. In the end we decided to stay local and sit in at Little Wing in Ballyhackamore for some Pizza, which was probably the highlight of the day. Yum yum.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8471278633/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Little Wing Pizza by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Little Wing Pizza" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8386/8471278633_8f6ae6d4c5.jpg" /></a></div><br />
We then got a taxi to the game but the driver didn't seem to know where he was going around Windsor Park so we ended up with an unexpected long walk around the ground in the rain. Once we'd walked past all the IrnBru people handing out pop and mini Cup Final flags, we got some hot drinks, I bought a programme and then we went up into the stand where we found some familiar faces. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8472374052/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Crues fans in the Kop at Windsor Park by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Crues fans in the Kop at Windsor Park" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8111/8472374052_fd05912a22.jpg" /></a></div><br />
After saying hello we found some seats. This time we were in the Kop. It was the first time I'd been in this stand, it was OK, decent enough leg room, but something soon hit me - literally - we were sat under a leaky bit in the roof that was dripping water every minute or so.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8471278487/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Leaking Windsor Park Roof by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Leaking Windsor Park Roof" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8388/8471278487_dd1b009a46.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Thanks again Linfield! What do you actually do with the money you get and don't spend on the team or facilities? At least the grounds keeper was doing his best with a fork to try and drain some of the surface water from the pitch but as you'll see in a few moments with the photo of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yohann_Lacroix">Yohann Lacroix</a> in his goal-mouth, the penalty box looked like a beach that a wave had just lapped up against.<br />
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The Radio Ulster DJ Alan Simpson, who Norngirl and I refer to as 'Not Gok' (referring to Gok Wan as from afar their hair has a lot of similarity) made the introductions and he and the <a href="http://www.cliftonvillefc.net/">Cliftonville FC</a> mascot - Red 'what am I?' Arnie - and the fans, welcomed the teams out.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8472373818/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IrnBru League Cup, Red Arnie & Alan Simpson by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="IrnBru League Cup, Red Arnie & Alan Simpson" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8375/8472373818_1a51fd35e8.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8472374056/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Cliftonville and Crusaders FC Teams IrnBru Cup Final by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Cliftonville and Crusaders FC Teams IrnBru Cup Final" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8087/8472374056_798af5c559.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The game itself didn't start too badly but we were being exposed by Cliftonville playing direct football, both long balls from defence and through balls from deep in midfield. Our own midfield seemed off the pace and left too much space in the hole where it was exploited. By not picking up runners and leaving that space it provided opportunities at the edge of the box - often with our defence on the back foot. We did have some chances ourselves too mind you and on another day might have even taken the lead against the run of play. In the end it wasn't anything clinical that broke the deadlock nor was it the Crues. Cliftonville's 1st goal had a hint of fortune about it. We were sat in a good line of sight to the shot and it was the deflection that beat the keeper, he had it covered otherwise. You can't account for that other than trying to stop the opportunity to take a shot in the first place. This didn't seem to be enough of a wake up call though. Our midfield was just being by-passed. We weren't even winning the aerial battle. What was wrong? I don't know but it was one of the worst, if not the worst performance I've seen all season. When we had the ball we couldn't seem to find a player and our best attacking assets were just passengers.<br />
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Cliftonville really deserved their 2nd goal, in the end Coates was left exposed and unfortunately was also caught flat footed. Once the ball had been taken past him, it was cut back across the box. There was a bit of a scramble to reach it and sadly it ended up over the line in a sort of real time slow motion. From then until the end of the half the Reds had the wind in their sails and pushed for a 3rd. Thankfully half time beat them to it so it was 2-0 to our North Belfast neighbours at half time.<br />
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The half time entertainment did give us a laugh. Like last year's final it was a cross-bar challenge and some well known and not well known fans of the clubs were having a go. This time the line up included Hole In The Wall Gang's - Tim McGarry and boxer Paddy Barnes. The comedy moment came from a likely looking teenager who decided to try and goad the Crues support behind the goal before taking his kick. He promptly fell on his derrière into the mud. Sadly that was the biggest cheer of the night for our end of the ground :(<br />
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In the 2nd half it was fairly even until a silly tackle saw us reduced to 10 men, Paul Heatley, one of our best players this season, seemed to get a rush of blood after being tussled with whilst running with the ball. His response was to lash out with a rash tackle. At the time I thought it a yellow but after seeing a replay, no complaints at the red card in the end. <br />
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As always it was good to see this Crues team rally and pick up their game when faced with a disadvantage. It's just a shame it took going down to 10 men to be the catalyst for us to really start playing. <br />
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We were unlucky not to pull one back and make a game of it. One chance looked a splitting image of Cliftonvilles 2nd goal but the luck just wasn't on our side and the ball agonisingly flew past everyone and out the other side of the penalty box.<br />
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As time wore on it got more stretched and with 10 men, against a Cliftonville side who have the best attacking record in the league this season, we eventually got caught on the break - twice. They were great finishes mind you, nothing more our debutant goalie Yohann Lacroix could do. Indeed he was the main silver-lining in the game as he looked a very capable goalkeeper, one stretching save to stop an almost certain goal in the 1st half especially stood out.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8471278433/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Yohann Lacroix at a Soggy Windsor Park by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Yohann Lacroix at a Soggy Windsor Park" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8093/8471278433_1cf87b5c9c.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Our subs on the day - David Rainey and Matthew Snoddy - also looked sharp and will hopefully get some more game time in the coming weeks. Jordan Owens did come very close to pulling back an equaliser but alas, like on that day, it just wasn't to be and it cannoned back off the post to safety. The <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21200615">final score was 4-0</a>.<br />
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We stayed as long as we could, though not long enough to see our team pick up their runners up medals but long enough to witness the lifting of the trophy. Only last year that had been us, but as gutting as the game had been, Cliftonville fully deserved it on the night.<br />
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We had a bus to catch so headed out of the ground. We got to the Lisburn road just in time to see the bus pull up to the stop.<br />
Preventing us from catching this bus was the obstacle of moving vehicles in the road and about 30 meter run. Given our luck on the day we didn't bother testing it again and waited to cross the road safely, watching the bus drive off as we did.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8472373798/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Missing the Bus by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Missing the Bus" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8528/8472373798_13fb78ecc4.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Again, it just wasn't to be. It was just an unfortunate day from our perspective.<br />
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Since the start of January we had been avoiding alcohol. That was until that night. It wasn't a new years resolution or anything (we don't do those), it was just a break from it as we'd maybe overdone it over the Christmas period. If you follow my blog you'll know we would usually head back to Seaview to drown our sorrows after a cup final loss but with the day we were having we just wanted to go home... well, after doing one thing first. That one thing was WINE! With a relaxing bottle of red we watched some ice hockey to forget football existed for a night.<br />
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It wasn't a long football inspired downer though thanks to Leeds and a cup upset. Leeds were playing Spurs the following afternoon and won 2-1. They put a smile back on my face with both the result, performance and two great goals during what proved to be the 1st game of the post Becchio era. Since then for Leeds fortunes have swung the other way even with improved performances.<br />
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But, you know what, football ain't so bad. As the saying goes - 'you win some... you lose some'.<br />
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I still stand by the mantra that losing in sport adds to the overall experience. It might be something fickle 'prestige supporters' who support clubs with hyper-wealth and success just can't understand but passionately watching your team lose makes the wins (when they come) just that extra little sweeter, that little bit more special. So I'll not be letting it get me down and rightfully so. The Crues bounced back to a 3-0 league win in the next game and progressed to the next round of the Irish cup with a resounding 4-1 win over Glenavon. That cup game also included a Paul Heatley hat-trick!<br />
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Although the 26th January was a bad day, it was just that... one bad day. The team have already pulled themselves back on the track and there is still lots to play for in the coming months.... starting with a re-match against Cliftonville this Saturday!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-69104041118068489102013-02-11T03:21:00.000+00:002013-02-11T20:40:55.572+00:00A Walk Along the LaganLast Thursday I took a walk through town to visit the Odyssey, to buy some tickets for Graeme Walton's testimonial game and to get some more flexi tickets. The day was overcast and wet, I'd go so far as to say it was miserable. Despite the weather it turned out to be the same day that, completely separately, Neil over at <a href="http://belfastismymojo.blogspot.co.uk/">Belfast is my Mojo</a> also took a walk along the urban banks of the River Lagan. Here was Neil's walk in his blog post '<a href="http://belfastismymojo.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/down-by-lagan-side-belfast.html">Down by the Lagan-side</a>'.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8462863269/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Black Guillemot on the River Lagan by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Black Guillemot on the River Lagan" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8372/8462863269_f877dd7468.jpg" /></a></div>
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Most of my own walk was on the opposite side of the river. After buying the tickets and setting off back towards the city center I was stopped in my tracks (in the rain) by this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Guillemot">Black Guillemot</a> who, all alone on this part of the river, was seemingly on a hunt. With what must have been a chance of some dinner, it was DIVE DIVE DIVE! The legs kicked up into the air as its head went under.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8463963448/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Black Guillemot Surface Dive by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Black Guillemot Surface Dive" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8389/8463963448_c6b4c976a7.jpg" /></a></div>
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Then there was just a glimmer of those bright red webbed feet disappearing in an instant into the abyss. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8462863237/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Disappearing feet of a Black Guillemot by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Disappearing feet of a Black Guillemot" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8086/8462863237_d2a9cbf426.jpg" /></a></div>
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In less than a second all that's left to give away the bird was ever there are the small ripples that fade into stillness.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8463963346/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Ripples of a Guillemot by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Ripples of a Guillemot" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8241/8463963346_18a5c5877c.jpg" /></a></div>
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I watched this a few times before heading on along the towpath, mostly because I was slowly getting soaked. <br />
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Further along before the footbridge that is part of the Lagan weir is a nice view of the <a href="http://www.laganboatcompany.com/">Lagan Boat Company's</a> MV Joyce Too' and MV Mona.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8463963506/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Belfast River Lagan Scene by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Belfast River Lagan Scene" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8390/8463963506_c5c04b4800.jpg" /></a></div>
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After another small stretch of water between the weir and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge are some benches where on a nicer day than this you can watch the traffic and water flow by.<br />
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Back on the city side of the Lagan, down by Lanyon Place and the Waterfront is the MV Confiance aka '<a href="http://belfastbarge.com/">The Belfast Barge</a>' which is home to a maritime exhibition and cafe. <br />
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I wasn't alone in arriving back at the office drenched that day but it was still worth it for the lunch time walk and the tickets.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-78271404231700495092013-02-05T07:00:00.000+00:002013-02-05T07:00:10.847+00:00Making the most of our day in Malta<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQLl5GnVI8VkAIIxwfGU7BiELZ7Dafe0jk9mSBxXYhn8EA1NpYP8ltfX-j_Y78hRwzwlM-vkr_ejoWOaZiOjwvT1r0ke6DqX7a1xXW9b6FGyYIojDEw58p5LBds3TvPHzF7VF6lVsvFw/s1600/Mdina+entrance+Malta.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidQLl5GnVI8VkAIIxwfGU7BiELZ7Dafe0jk9mSBxXYhn8EA1NpYP8ltfX-j_Y78hRwzwlM-vkr_ejoWOaZiOjwvT1r0ke6DqX7a1xXW9b6FGyYIojDEw58p5LBds3TvPHzF7VF6lVsvFw/s400/Mdina+entrance+Malta.JPG" width="138" /></a></div>Valletta in Malta was our second port day. I'd been to Malta before and apart from the buses <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta_bus">now being Arriva instead of the old Bedford buses</a> painted yellow, orange and white, not much of what we saw had changed from what I remembered. So I'll not go into huge detail, especially since again it was a flying visit and we were unable to spend very much time in any one place. The main part of our Malta trip revolved around another hop-on-hop-off City Sightseeing bus tour which I have to say was a bargain given it covered almost half the island for about 15 Euros (about a 2 hour round trip not including stops). It was also packed though and there were long waits to get back on the buses due to this in popular spots like Mdina.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8441971317/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Mdina Tourist Sightseeing Road Train by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Mdina Tourist Sightseeing Road Train" height="320" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8513/8441971317_5d7833a167.jpg" width="239" /></a>Getting ashore from the ship was simple, just a short walk to where the tourist buses leave from (really the opposite of the sort of location in Palma) though walking into Valletta involved a 15 minute walk up hill. After buying some tickets we waited on the bus, we had to wait quite a while due to the queue.<br />
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After heading out of town on the lower deck of the bus we were happy to get off as early as we felt we could. It wasn't the first stop but the first place we did hop-off was at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mdina">Mdina</a>, an historic city and former capital of Malta. In Mdina we went for a short walk to the tourist information building before finding the tourist road train tour.<br />
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It was a nice way to see the area around Mdina and gave views of the city like this.<br />
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Once we'd arrived back at the road train stop, we walked back inside the walls of the old city and had a look around the Typical narrow medieval streets, this one being one of the more open streets.<br />
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Deceptively large and a looming sight in Mdina is St. Paul's Cathedral<br />
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Eventually there was a bus that had room for us and we got back on track, we stayed on the bus for the rest of the tour. Next up after seeing the national stadium and a forest park was Mosta. There was the impressive Rotunda of Mosta which is apparently the 3rd largest unsupported dome in the world according to wikipedia.<br />
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This area was very fond of flying the flag of Malta.<br />
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After Mosta the bus reached the coast then began to make the journey down the north east coast back to Valletta. The landscape was very heavily agricultural in this part of Malta. <br />
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We passed by a few coastal resorts and then one of the many coastal fortifications.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8441970877/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="St Mark's Tower Malta by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="St Mark's Tower Malta" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8075/8441970877_a1e0b2924e.jpg" /></a></div><br />
As well as the tourist areas with lots of medium sized hotels, there were a couple of pretty bays as well as the odd churches, towers and even now a very high rise building. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8443060898/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Church of our Lady of Mount Carmel by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Church of our Lady of Mount Carmel" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8365/8443060898_212c04f740.jpg" /></a></div><br />
We were slightly running out of time to do much in Valletta and that was made even harder by the fact the bus didn't drop off up the hill by where the big fountain is... what used to be the bus station the last time I was there. Now there is a big Arriva bus station that looks like it'd been picked up from the North of England. So yeah, Norngirl with her injury braved it and we walked back up the hill from the Valletta Waterfront. Along the way we passed through Victoria Gate.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8441970625/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Victoria Gate Valletta by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Victoria Gate Valletta" height="384" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8329/8441970625_d9a4a6d167.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
We stopped for a beer, we had some food and a couple of cans of Cisk (pronounced 'Chisk' - the waitress was very adamant about that) which is basically just a generic cheap lager but was nicely refreshing after the up hill walk and the fact that even though it was November - it was almost 25°C. Once refreshed we took a small walk to see some of the cities main buildings, such as the Parliament Building.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8443060774/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Parliament Building Malta by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Parliament Building Malta" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8504/8443060774_24c2f8e2dc.jpg" /></a></div><br />
And <a href="http://stjohnscocathedral.com/">St Johns Co-Cathedral</a> which if you notice the size of the people at the bottom of this picture - is much bigger than it seems at first!<br />
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I really like Valletta and it's on my bucket list to one day really visit the city for more than just a day (like the 1st time I was in Malta) or a couple of hours like this time. The streets are very pretty.<br />
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We found an interestingly named tourist shop called WooHoo which is where we bought our fridge magnet. <br />
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Alas, time was getting away from us and so we even got a small electric golf buggy like taxi back down to the Valletta Waterfront to speed things up. We were soon back at the dock and taking a last few pictures before boarding the ship.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8441970589/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Cruise ship at Valletta Waterfront Panorama by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Cruise ship at Valletta Waterfront Panorama" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8044/8441970589_afc32b2e2c.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8443060304/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Fort St Michael Valletta by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Fort St Michael Valletta" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8088/8443060304_1726c41e81.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The light soon faded on our day in Malta and the city began to light up. <br />
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It was a nice view as we headed out to sea once more. Looking back were the lights of the Maltese coast.<br />
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Our next stop was Messina in Sicily.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-45398914336672488252013-02-03T00:12:00.001+00:002013-02-04T03:02:06.390+00:00Palma de Mallorca and Castell de Bellver<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8438351257/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;" title="On top of Castell de Bellver by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="On top of Castell de Bellver" height="370" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8377/8438351257_d3bf85a80a.jpg" width="500" /></a>This was our second time in Mallorca in two years but our first time in Palma itself. To be honest we hadn't actually planned to be back in Mallorca. It was a substitute port for <a href="http://life-in-ni.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/that-time-we-went-on-cruise.html">the cruise we were on</a> due to US worries about Tunis. It was a nice substitute stop. Though we didn't have a huge amount of time and the cost of the transport to get from the port into the city was a bit much from our cruise line, as soon as we could we ditched them and went exploring on our own it was a good day trip.<br />
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I'll not type too much about the place as we didn't really do that much, time was against us, but on the morning we arrived this was the view from the ship looking out over the port of Palma.<br />
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We got off the coach and picked up a City Sightseeing tour bus ticket near the Cathedral of Santa Maria.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8439438372/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8516/8439438372_5ee9364609.jpg" /></a></div><br />
As I said in my post about the cruise itself, the downside to such a trip is the rushed nature of the port visits. You can't see a place properly let alone take it easy enough to get a true feel of it but we did our best with what we had.<br />
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We took a walk around some of the streets and saw the city hall and some of the narrow pedestrian areas that scatter the underlying terrain. Back on the main streets it was quite a busy little city and fairly well built up.<br />
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Once on the hop on hop off tour bus, which was very full on the day (probably due to all the Cruise ships in port), we eventually found ourselves able to get upstairs before making it to the one place I'd picked out as wanting to go to. That place was Bellver Castle (Castell de Bellver) a 14th century castle but one of only a few circular castles in Europe.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8439438208/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Castell de Bellver by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Castell de Bellver" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8076/8439438208_2c6afe427f.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The scenary in the area was much less built up, in face a much more relaxed spot.<br />
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Bellver Castle is rather impressive, it's not huge but it's location certainly adds to it's impact.<br />
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Inside there are many rooms with the history of the castle through the centuries including it's use as a prison between the 18th to 20th centuries. It's splendid circular interior is quite a sight.<br />
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The rooms on both floors on the interior of the building house the museum exhibits and artifacts from the castles history. It's well laid out and very informative.<br />
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The upper level, the roof really, is where the awesome views of Palma can be found.<br />
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The castle itself is quite impressive too.<br />
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After another part of the City Sightseeing bus tour that took us to within 1 mile (1.6km) of the boat but sadly not close enough to walk it given Norngirls injury, we headed back into the city center. It was quite pretty for the most part.<br />
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There was just one street that was stereotypical clubber tourist centric but thankfully it's only one street, the city was very Catalonian in character with influences seemingly from throughout the Mediterranean.<br />
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A funny sight was towards the end of the hop on hop off bus tour where people had just dumped their earphones en-mass over time. It reminded me of the movie Triangle.<br />
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Our next stop was just to get a beer in a bar along the Passeig des Born which had its Christmas decorations up.<br />
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We found a nice spot for a beer and relaxed for an hour or so watching the world go by before heading to buy the customary fridge magnet.<br />
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After which we headed back to the boat and enjoyed a drink as we sailed off from port whilst the captains of the boats blew their horns at one another.<br />
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I liked Palma, it'd be nice to see more of it and the Castle was well worth visiting, I'd very much recommend it and it wasn't very expensive, just a few Euro entrance fee. If we ever make another trip to Mallorca, maybe back for a relaxing stay, I'd certainly be adding a trip to Palma into our itinerary. Our next port of call was Malta.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-48947040578774683612013-01-30T07:30:00.000+00:002013-01-30T07:30:06.306+00:00Introducing Amy Farrah Meowler<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8421786846/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="That Fish was THISSS big! by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="That Fish was THISSS big!" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8364/8421786846_92a40735d2.jpg" /></a>It's been three weeks since we took guardianship of our feline friend. As you might recall from the '<a href="http://life-in-ni.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/soft-kitty-which-kitty.html">Soft kitty, which kitty?</a>' post earlier in the month - which I typed just before we were about to visit the <a href="http://www.assisi-ni.org/">Assisi animal sanctuary</a> (Northern Ireland's largest independent animal welfare charity). In that post I suspected we'd be matched with a cat who was a bit older - but I was wrong. The cat best suitable was a three month old kitten however this wasn't any trouble as we had time to prepare. Assisi were very good by the way, they do a great job and if you live in this neck of the woods and are ever looking for a pet to re-home, I'd recommend checking them out.<br />
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It was ever so surreal during the journey to bring her home. All the cats I've known, from family pets to other peoples', have always freaked out in cars. Amy didn't seem to care, I put my hand into her carrier and she nestled up against it and as I stroked her she purred herself to sleep. Given the situation, she was surprisingly calm. More recently we had to take her on the bus to the vet for her second injections and apart from a little scared, she was fine then too. She is certainly a resilient wee animal.<br />
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The story of how she came to be in the animal shelter was a sad one, someone getting a cat for all the wrong reasons and mistreating her before finally wanting rid. Thankfully she seems very happy in her new home with us. Our common ancestor, something like - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maelestes">Maelestes gobiensis</a> (a shrew like creature) - would have been proud to see a couple of it's branches of evolution were getting on so well more than 70 million years later.<br />
Well it would if it had a human brain and could use it for more than just evading being eaten by a dinosaur.<br />
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Like the reactions to travelling, Amy's initial reaction to the house was out of the blue - but again in a nice way. We had prepared our expectations for the worst but she took to the place like a fish to water. First she wandered around the rooms claiming them all as hers with a quick rub here and there. Within a matter of 20 minutes she was showing us her fancy footwork playing with her toys.<br />
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On the form at the animal sanctuary we'd answered the question about length of time willing to allow for the animal to settle in as 'As long as it takes', it turns out 'As long as it takes' in this kitten’s case was shorter than the time it took us to drink a cup of tea whilst keeping an eye on her. It was great to see her playful side, somewhat ninja like at times!<br />
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Saying that, when she's being very playful she has had a few 'You've been framed' moments already. The speed she can pick up running around the house chasing her toys and screwed up paper balls sometimes has to be seen to be believed. At a guess - like all kittens, she also has her 'meaner' side. This Youtube video below had us almost in tears laughing - especially the part where he dons the overmits - it's a song entitled 'mean little kitty' by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_Williams">Cory Williams</a> and is about his pet kitten named Sparta. He certainly experienced a kitten like our own and loves it just the same! after all they're just being kittens even if you are a human chew toy.<br />
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We didn't name our kitten after a city state famous for it's military superiority though, we called her Amy Farrah Meowler - named after a character called <a href="http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0204146/">Dr Amy Farrah Fowler</a> from the very funny US TV show 'The Big Bang Theory'. The name 'Amy Farrah Fowler' basically has the meaning: Beloved Joyful Birdcatcher. Though she is an house cat and won't be catching any birds unless they fly into the house, she is instead a 'Meow-ler. Saying that she doesn't meow often, only when she wants something and it doesn't look like it’s forthcoming. The good news is she's already begun to respond to 'Amy', I'm reliably informed that names ending in 'Y' and 'ie' are easiest for cats to learn.<br />
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As far as personality goes, she is like her namesake, a clever one! Where most cats I've known would be timid, Amy see’s only more opportunities to play. And when she's being mischievous, she knows just what to do. I'm sure at times the look in her eye is one that says "you think you’re using kitten psychological behavioural modification techniques on me! Nuh Uh! Muwhahaha, I shall reverse condition you back my human!". I wouldn't be surprised if one day to get away with something she put on the Super Mario theme tune for me and cooked spaghetti with hot dogs cut up for Norngirl.<br />
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Her playfulness, though boisterous at times is often very instinctive but ever increasingly adaptive. At the moment, to hunt a ball of paper, she'll first gather intelligence:<br />
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Then leap out at her target it least suspects it, before chasing it around the room and carrying it back in her mouth to somewhere she can lay down and toy with it. If you use more than one ball, she'll do the same for each and line them up together like they're mice. She's also very stealthy. If she wants to sneak up on you she will.<br />
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If a human is stood up and doesn't want to play there is a 2 second window to call her bluff, tell her 'No Amy' and move on without hesitation. If not done within that 2 seconds she'll proceed to play chicken with you. She's a master strategist at this game - well except the one time she got ahead of herself and did a back flip in some sort of confused strategic retreat, bless. Her pouncing at feet is her current specialty, only to be outdone by her first mini-beast kill when overnight she left a very large house spider curled up dead in the middle of the floor. Norngirl was very pleased with her for this mind you as she doesn't like spiders. Amy for the next couple of days became known as Amy 'Spider killer' Farrah Meowler.<br />
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Luckily the playful and sometimes 'mean kitty' moments are almost always followed by the amazingly cute - sleepy kitty moments.<br />
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Like a light going out, after a good couple of hours of play time she'll regularly jump into her spot on the sofa where she'll just curl up & drop fast asleep. Most of the time though her routine is to go from manic playful to affectionate, you give her a stroke, she grooms herself for a minute then the light switch moment as she curls up into a ball or stretches out on her back and turns herself off for a couple of hours. It's very cute and it was like that from day one. Within just a mere matter of hours of being in the house with us she'd found a spot of her own on the sofa and was asleep slap bang in the middle of us!<br />
We were expecting to have to coax her out from hiding places but nope, it was like she'd always lived here with us. Can't blame her, she'd found herself a home and was going to enjoy it damnit! Good girl yourself Amy lass.<br />
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Her daily routine so far is to be all purry, cute and out for affection first thing in a morning before being fed, once she's had her fill of breakfast it's then play time.<br />
She will run about the house in a mad half hour before settling down in her room on top of some draws where she has the best vantage point out of the window to watch us head to work. What she does other than make a mess during the day we're not sure though given her fondness of technology she might be a 'Stewie' of Family Guy fame like creature, plotting her quest for global dominion.<br />
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We leave classic FM on low on the radio for her for some company, she seems to like it, or at least doesn't mind. If anyone has any better suggestions for cat radio, do let me know!<br />
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On an early evening, again after food and a mad half hour, her favourite place to spend some human interaction time is on Norngirl. AFM quickly adopted Norngirl as a motherly figure (Like Amy Farrah Fowler took to Penny as her 'bestie') and will spend lots of time as close to Norngirls head as possible, usually preening and often trying to lick Norngirl's skin too. It's cute but having seen where the cats' tounge has been, Norngirl wisely opts for the human form of washing. <br />
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At this point it's back to play which is when we normally play with her the most. It's can be quite a work out for us as well as the cat, she soon learns patterns when you're playing with her so it's a challenge to be random enough to keep her interested in the toy and not your feet.<br />
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Though she plays with the bought toys during the day, her favourite things to play with (apart from our hands and feet) are of course the packaging those toys came in. What else! She loves rustling brown paper, cardboard boxes and anything paper based that is scrunched up into a ball.<br />
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Food wise, she's quite picky, the vet (probably trying to sell the stuff) recommended dry food only but (on advice of more independent books we've read) we feed her 2 high protein (kitten specific) wet meals a day and access to dry food the rest. She likes strong flavours and smells, seemingly the stinkier the better, but only eats small quantities at any one sitting. If anyone can give us some better scientific advice, please do, the internet seems more divided on this topic than the extremes of the Northern Irish Assembly on the subject of national identity.<br />
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Then, as I mentioned already, comes the usual stuttering of the motor as she runs out of fuel. She enjoys some pampering and some self grooming before falling asleep on one of us or in between us. Later on around midnight we set up her room and fill her cat hot water bottle with some warm water and put her to bed. Her bed being a cat bed but placed on an office chair as the first night when she had a choice of the two she slept on the chair itself.<br />
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So yep, so far so good, she now has her routine and we've got used to the change in ours. At her check up she was in pristine health and growing purrrfectly.<br />
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Looking at my hands right now, like Norngirl's too, they've taken plenty of collateral damage these last few weeks, but it's been worth it. We've also learnt the advantages of using a blanket when she's showing her kittytude and it's certainly helped, as did clipping her claws. All being well, she'll grow from being an awesome energetic little kitten to be a big friendly clever cat. That’s the theory anyway!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-47867956951312628932013-01-28T07:00:00.000+00:002013-01-28T07:00:04.164+00:00Bounding around Boston - Part 2Before we got the bus to the <a href="http://web.mit.edu/museum/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology Museum</a> located on part of the MIT campus in Cambridge we walked past the Prudential Tower we'd just had lunch at the top of.<br />
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The bus ride was a very short one and after a little confusion as to where we were going we found the Museum. It was awesome for nerds like us and probably non-nerds too. What sparked my interest in wanting to go there was the large collection of holographic images they have on display but I ended up enjoying everything there. From plasma balls to awesome mechanical objects and an area you can write your own ideas with colouring pencils! Lots of science, technology and design among other things.<br />
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I have to apologies to Norngirl for what we did next which was to walk back to the hotel. In my defense it looked a lot closer on the map. Sorry again!<br />
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The upside to that walk was the view, a view of the city across the river.<br />
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Which also looks fun as an upside down reflection in the river.<br />
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The sun set as we walked back and we took it easy in the evening, taking our time over a swim in the pool then out for a long meal (I had a BLT pizza) and drinks.<br />
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The next day was the day we flew home but we had it planned so we could make the most of the day.<br />
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1st up we checked out then left our luggage with the water taxi company we were going to be travelling with to the airport later in the day.<br />
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Next we hopped across town, having a look around as we went.<br />
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We called into a few shops for the few remaining gifts we wanted to get for folks back home, a café for lunch, and made our way on the subway out to a place called Stony Brook which has a real old town US feel to it provided by the fun ye olde period looking houses.<br />
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Located there is the <a href="http://www.samueladams.com/age-gate.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fshare-passion%2ftours.aspx">Samuel Adams brewery</a> who do free tours though a small donation of a couple of dollars to local charities is asked for on the tour itself. Our tour guide was great, I can only describe it as like being taken on a brewery tour by Boston's version of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Murray">Al Murray</a> - which was brilliant fun - give this dude a pay-rise. <br />
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We got to taste the ingredients and then at the end, plenty of the finished product including some speciality lines. Not only that, they let you keep your Sam Adams taster glass. As well as our glasses we left with a new found appreciation for some of the beer.<br />
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Back on the subway and enjoying the almost tipsy feeling, we got off the subway and took a look around Boston Public Garden, a large park in the middle of the city.<br />
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Once we'd had our scenic fill, we got back on the T to Quincy Market where we'd been the day before.<br />
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We had something on our bucket list that we hadn't done yet which was on sale there. With just a couple of hours to go before we needed to be at the airport, we had time to try some clam chowder which was very creamy and tasty.<br />
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The trip was over all too soon, time has a habit of keeping ticking but as we'd planned we still had one more thrill, the water taxi. We'd looked at getting the T across to the airport but it just didn't seem as fun and it's always great to have something to look forward to right at the very end of your trip. I'm really glad we did take the water taxi as from the boat we were able to see the city from the water and it's quite the view, a fine way to bid farewell to the city.<br />
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As I mentioned at the start of the post, I found Boston to be relaxed and welcoming. The best parts of our trip for me were the Ice Hockey and the museum at MIT, I also very much enjoyed the Sam Adams Brewery tour and the clam chowder. Though Boston seems to sell its tourism on it’s history and that probably works for a US crowd my opinion would be, that like Belfast, it's best assets are where it’s people get on board in creating it’s future. Old and historically significant buildings, churches and boats are a dime a dozen around the world, but exhibits like those at MIT and the friendly feel inside a large sports arena seem increasing unique – at least those that really do it well anyway! The taste and flavours of the city are great and there is loads to do, especially in the surrounding area and a lot more than we could fit into our 1 full day and 2 half days. I’d especially like to revisit the city at a good time for whale watching as I think it’d be awesome. Out of the 3 cities we visited (Washington, New York and Boston) Boston was the most down to Earth and most like being back in the UK but that comes with both a good side and a bad, good in the way it’s non-threatening and functional but not so good in that it lacks some of the real excitement and that almost undefinable life of it’s own that somewhere like New York has in abundance. I really enjoyed Boston and indeed the whole trip, I just hope that one day we can afford to revisit.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-39719342895962423322013-01-26T09:00:00.000+00:002013-01-26T09:00:04.210+00:00Bounding around Boston - Part 1In Boston (The one in Massachusetts, USA) we found a pleasant city with a nice atmosphere and friendly people. This was our last stop in our February 2012 US visit and we were only there a couple of days, a flying visit as we were flying back to the UK from Logan Airport. <br />
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I think we spent our time wisely as again thanks to Norngirl it was well planned. After getting off the train from New York we stood on an almost deserted platform, the complete opposite of Penn Station where we'd been just hours earlier. The first thing we did was buy our travel passes for the local metro service called the 'T' and found ourselves a station to get on a tram out to Cambridge where the hotel we were staying at was located.<br />
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Once we had made it to the hotel, checked and settled in, we made our way to the local Cheesecake Factory we found food and were introduced to the not so old Samuel Adams. His tastier brews became a firm friend during our visit.<br />
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Another ride on the T and we'd made it to TD Garden, home of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Bruins">Boston Bruins</a> for the big game as they took on the New York Rangers. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8412003287/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Bruins TD Garden by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Bruins TD Garden" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8333/8412003287_1137553587.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I'll try not to delve into too much depth as I still aim to write a separate post on all of the overall Ice Hockey experience but suffice to say, we weren't at this game as neutrals. We were cheering for the New York Rangers! Boston and New York have quite the friendly rivalry. Inside the stadium we were set upon by a big fury Bruin, thankfully this one was the mascot dressed up in a big plush costume. I got a mocking tug of my hockey shirt that says 'NEW YORK' diagonally across it and some Bruin attitude... we laughed. Next up the dude selling beer was toying with us until he found out we'd travelled from the Emerald Isle, at which point ‘best buds’ and the beer flowed. It was all in good humour and it set the tone for a friendly but competitive game in which, complete with a flashing beer, we had a great time.<br />
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It felt like being in a friendly hornets nest (the Bruins club colours didn't help) or should I say Bruins den? We were little spots of blue and red scattered amongst an arena of yellow and black. A plucky fellow New York Rangers fan in the section across from us gave us both some confidence with some fighting talk and so as the NYR goals rained in we celebrated like we were at Madison Square Garden. The final score was 3-0, the Bruins fans did get to cheer but it was short lived as a goal was correctly ruled out muwhahahaha.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8396806842/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Rangers @ Bruins TD Garden Big Screen by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Rangers @ Bruins TD Garden Big Screen" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8509/8396806842_ecce54100a.jpg" /></a></div><br />
We hung back as the crowds emptied from the stands to take it all in and ended up having a chat about hockey with a friendly Bruins fan and we wished them all the best for the season. On the way out the building we had to use the lift, turns out we weren't the only UK hockey fans in the building as a lady with a Coventry Blaze shirt was there too. Our night ended back in the hotel with a slice of Cheesecake, watching the Daily Show on TV.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8413103950/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Cheesecake by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Cheesecake" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8491/8413103950_cf9cf899f1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The next day we set about our sightseeing itinerary. We'd decided not to bother with the USS Constitution as we've seen our fair share of ships and US history this trip. We also looked up the sights along the freedom trail but we hoped to do something different.<br />
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First of all we took a walk past Boston City Hall, Custom House Tower...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8413103800/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Custom House Tower Boston by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Custom House Tower Boston" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8493/8413103800_2234b3bd5c.jpg" /></a></div><br />
and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faneuil_Hall">Faneuil Hall</a> ...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8413103920/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Faneuil Hall Boston by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Faneuil Hall Boston" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8332/8413103920_1d581bd781.jpg" /></a></div><br />
...and through <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincy_Market">Quincy Market</a>.<br />
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We then carried on our walk down Long Wharf amongst others...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8412001999/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Panorama near Long Wharf by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Panorama near Long Wharf" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8505/8412001999_c3e646cc77.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8413103834/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Bird House? in Boston Inner Harbour by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Bird House? in Boston Inner Harbour" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8372/8413103834_59cbbc7afd.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8413103780/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Boston Inner Harbor Panorama by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Boston Inner Harbor Panorama" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8358/8413103780_628a7ef9be.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>The aim was to find where to go the next day for a water taxi to the airport and it found where we were looking for at Rowes Wharf.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8413103730/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Rowes Wharf Boston by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Rowes Wharf Boston" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8082/8413103730_6031e68e6a.jpg" /></a></div><br />
To get to our next location we ended up in the Aquarium... well the stop of that name anyway. The place names were fun. We were heading inbound which wouldn't have been disappointing if we weren't giving up the intrigue of finding out what was is in Wonderland!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8412003049/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Aquarium Outbound to Wonderland by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Aquarium Outbound to Wonderland" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8368/8412003049_d3066edcea.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Where we did go was for lunch, a delicious and very reasonably priced set lunch (which on the day was $22 for 3 courses) at the restaurant called '<a href="http://www.topofthehub.net/">Top of the Hub</a>' which is located at the top of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prudential_Tower">Prudential Tower</a>. It had amazing views of the urban sprawl and beyond.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8413103634/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Fenway Park and Boston view from View from the Prudential Tower by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Fenway Park and Boston view from View from the Prudential Tower" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8219/8413103634_a64f31278d.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8412002911/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="View from the Prudential Tower by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="View from the Prudential Tower" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8326/8412002911_fe1c70832c.jpg" /></a></div><br />
This was followed by a short walk to the bus stop to catch our ride over the Harvard bridge to the University area in order to visit the <a href="http://web.mit.edu/museum/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology Museum</a>... more in part 2.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-52011394476144457282013-01-24T09:26:00.000+00:002013-01-24T21:03:24.419+00:00Part of the Daily Show Audience<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8409880627/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="The Daily Show Studio by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="The Daily Show Studio" height="375" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8086/8409880627_1d1c7b8b46.jpg" width="500" /></a>I realise it's not everyone's cup of tea but we really enjoy watching the US TV show - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The show is filmed in a small studio on the west side of midtown Manhattan in New York (it's pre-recorded before later that evening being shown on Comedy Central) and the awesome thing is, if you can get tickets online when they're released, you can watch it being recorded - for free!<br />
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Norngirl knows her stuff and prior to our East Coast US trip last February, she was scouring <a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/tickets">the Daily Show website</a> many times a day to try to get free tickets for any day we'd be in the NYC. Her persistence with the F5 key paid off and on the afternoon of February 13th 2012 we were headed across town on a bus to get to the studio so we could be part of the audience on that day’s show.<br />
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Being nerds however, we got off the bus a little early to have a quick nosey at the building where they film the spin off show from The Daily Show, called <a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/tickets">the Colbert Report</a>. Here is the building:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8410976174/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Colbert Report Studio 513 W 54th Street New York by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Colbert Report Studio 513 W 54th Street New York" height="375" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8188/8410976174_9aca7f87b5.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
... and here is one of the painted posters featuring a likeness of Mr <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0170306/">Steven Colbert</a> himself to be found on the walls of the studio:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8410976136/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Colbert Report painted graffiti poster by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Colbert Report painted graffiti poster" height="375" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8507/8410976136_126f1be392.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
It's just around the block from the Daily Show studio and so it didn't take us long to make it past the park so often featured on their shows with Jon and Stephen chasing one another around.<br />
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Once at the building we got in the queue (see photo at the start of the post). We knew already that the ticket you get online is just the ticket to get a ticket - the ticket to be in the audience you get on the day itself. That means you do need to be there as early as possible (though don't go mad and camp out or anything) to guarantee a place as they do over subscribe the tickets given out on the internet to ensure enough people come to pick up a ticket to make a full audience. So along with a lot of other likely looking characters and some not so likely, we waited a while.<br />
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At the time the tickets said to be there by, some folks who work for the show came down the line to explain what was going to happen and how long it'll be etc. It wasn't too long we'd waited, around an hour or so and we were about halfway in line. As with pretty much every day on our trip, we thankfully got lucky with the weather and it wasn't too cold. There is a canopy however so if it did rain there would be some shelter. Indeed in the end it was a breeze really as we'd waited longer in line to buy theatre tickets before, so queueing up to watch something for free was no trouble.<br />
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Once we had been checked in and given our number we had a bit of time to play with so headed up town on the bus to see a part of town we'd not really seen much of, the upper West side. The area seemed to be a haven for local schools and was packed with teenagers munching away on fast food, having a laugh and giving their friends 'tude. After a bite to eat we headed back to the studio via 2 buses, as the Subway wasn't an option for reasons I can't remember, but we still made it back early and got into the right group area they'd set up for us to wait in that was ordered by ticket number. There was then a call for last minute calls of nature before a person came to tell us some more about the how they were going to do this thing. Once we passed through the airport like security we were seated by the seating people. We were very lucky due to circumstance and ended up sat in the front row. Looking around the room we were in the main block of seating, head on to the desk where <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0829537/">Jon Stewart</a> performs the majority of his show. The place soon filled and then there was an introduction and the warm up guy came to get us in the laughing spirit, though to be honest I don't think we needed much warming up, just being there with the set of the show in front of us was enough.<br />
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Jon then joined the rest of us in the studio and did a some meet and greet, cracked a couple of jokes and took questions from people in the crowd. As with everywhere in New York, we weren't the only folks from the British Isles in the building. Someone from southern England asked a question about why we didn't get the Daily Show on TV in the UK any more (which back then was the case). It was on the TV channel More4 for a while but they stopped showing it. Jon explained a bit and came across very understanding. I'm not really someone who cares much for celebrities & celebrity culture but Jon Stewart has to be up there as a well known person I've most appreciated being in the same room as. His presence is huge, and in a nice way, like the American version of Michael Palin - very understanding, brilliant at what they do but also worldly wise as well as very funny.<br />
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On a side note, Boris Johnson went on the show a few months later and not long after we got back to Northern Ireland, the show was on Comedy Central - good times! It saved us having to connect the HDMI cable to the laptop all the time in order to ever have chance to see it.<br />
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The show we saw that day was great. Being a member of the audience was a fun experience. When you're there you're told to try to try to laugh a little louder to accommodate the sound levels. Though awkward at first, you kinda get used to not holding back in laughing loudly. It's not forced laughter either, there are screens showing the pre recorded clips that will be in the show and Jon does almost all of it in real time, as if it was live. Also the thing about the sound levels is true, on the TV it's like the audience are in a box yet there it's like being in the crowd at a comedy gig.<br />
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Jon did everything first time, no retakes at all, as I said, he's brilliant at what he does. Can't beat the message he sends out with his comedy too, a sanity check of the US political and topical landscape through humour. One thing I would advise to anyone going to see the show, follow the news and watch the show a lot before you go so you get the jokes. Luckily we did and do but I'm sure if you're not up to speed with some of the news stories those jokes might wash over your head.<br />
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Pretty much the only parts cut on TV when we watched later were the in-between clips quips and interaction with the audience and the part where the studio hands mopped up the water that was splashed all over the floor as part of a sketch before the guest from the FBI came out. Safety first and all that! The special guest was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_Soufan">Ali Soufan</a>, a former FBI agent promoting his new book. As guest on the show go he was OK but it was quite a dry subject matter so not the greatest interview. It was all over seemingly far sooner than the time suggested, I'd love to go back and watch another being recorded and also maybe catch a Colbert Report filming too, we'll have to see what the future holds!<br />
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Later that night, after we'd been shopping for odds and ends we flumped back into the hotel, ordered a take out to the room and watched the show we'd been at followed by that night’s Colbert Report. Norngirl wrote a much better account <a href="http://isitfridayyetblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/hello-brooklyn-day-ten-monday-13.html">here</a> about this day including all the other places we ended up as well as this and the earlier <a href="http://life-in-ni.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/a-ride-on-roosevelt-island-tramway.html">ride on the Roosevelt Tramway</a>.<br />
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We're still avid viewers of the Daily Show and watch it every night, laughing at the absurdity of politics and people that with our own quite liberal (striving for equality) views, often find common grou the madness in N.I, the rest of the UK and Ireland. <br />
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One thing that did spring to mind when we were there and still holds true now is that we could really do with a show like it dedicated to events in N.I. Just something to shine a light on the absurd idiocy of our political landscape. We had a couple of shows here in N.I. like the sketch show <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Folks_on_the_Hill">The Folks on the Hill</a> and sit coms like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Give_My_Head_Peace">Give my Head Peace</a>, but they're not quite the same, a late night political satire show in a similar format to the Daily Show could be awesome!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-53631540186472249812013-01-19T03:00:00.000+00:002013-01-19T13:12:37.725+00:00That Time We Went On A CruiseThis wasn't our usual sort of trip. For a start, our bed, the four walls and even the dinning room traveled with us.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8392984031/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Circle of Sea by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Circle of Sea" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8192/8392984031_6264d0ffbc.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Going on a cruise around the Western Mediterranean sea was mainly down to chance. Our first plan had been to try and book a trip that would start with a city break in Edinburgh then take in a train ride to London then more trains til we'd visited a city or two in Europe, somewhere like Brussels/Munich or Paris/Milan. This trip was to have us in London on the 10th anniversary of the day we met - and also our 3rd wedding anniversary. Sadly it was a no-go, after adding up all the train fares, hotel costs, factoring in it'd be November and potentially we'd face delays with so many connections, it was just too risky and costly. First world problems I know.<br />
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Other plans also fell by the wayside due to practicalities and cost but as luck would have it, one trip that Norngirl turned up in her extensive search was what must have been a rather empty cruise because the price was very low at the time for what it was. Though it did mean having to go on our first Ryanair flight (never again if I can help it!), it was doable. I think the words were along the lines of 'Why the hell not, LETS DO IT!'. So we worked out the logistics and itinerary and Norngirl got the cruise booked. It was an 11 night trip taking in Palma in Mallorca (a substitute stop in place of Tunis due to the unrest there at the time), Valletta in Malta, Messina in Sicily, Naples, Rome (Civitavecchia) and Pisa (Livorno). <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8392984177/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Map on screen by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Map on screen" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8354/8392984177_745e10f107.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Time soon caught up with our departure date and in the dead of night we traveled down to Dublin by bus (which we happened to get all to ourselves - it was the worlds largest taxi). Luckily it was the night of the US election and the bus and Dublin airport have free WiFi so we were in our element following it all. Thankfully a happy ending given that even in Northern Ireland Mitt Romney would be hard pushed at being electable and that's saying something!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8394069946/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Obama Re-election 2012 by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Obama Re-election 2012" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8513/8394069946_76ab4d2a38.jpg" /></a></div><br />
On the way out we flew with Aer Lingus. From what I'd heard through the grapevine I expected the sort of service we ended up getting on the way home with Ryanair. It was nothing like that though, it was clean and comfortable, they reminded me of generic low cost airlines likes Flybe, Jet2 or BMI. After a nice flight we landed in Barcelona. We'd been here a couple of times before so knew our way around and got the bus into the city. The hotel we stayed in was tucked away down a side street that didn't exist on Google Maps but it was quite new and nicely modern. Our room was clean and tidy and had a fun shower that was like one of those fountains you sometimes find at leisure centre swimming pools. In Barcelona we headed out for a bit of tapas and a bottle of wine (day drinking on a tired head... weeeeeee) followed by a walk to the harbour area where we had a look around.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8392984601/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Barcelona Marina Panorama by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Barcelona Marina Panorama" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8230/8392984601_76f3ab148e.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Our intention going down there was to finally ride the cable car.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8392984467/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Funicular de Montjuïc Barcelona by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Funicular de Montjuïc Barcelona" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8332/8392984467_99c5272c86.jpg" /></a></div><br />
We'd been as close as the station at the top of the hill a couple of years earlier but time was an issue that day. Sadly, we were thwarted again. We got to the central tower only to find out that entrance/exit was closed for a few months. As we hadn't slept since the day before we didn't fancy any random trips across town to the top of the hill or around on a bus to the far side of the harbour. It wasn't to be, so we went back to the room, rested a while then went out in search of food using the downloaded maps on our phones. We found a bakery and a convenience store and got some odd looking snacks. I think mine was something along the lines of an imitation crab meat seafood stick sandwich which was ermm, different but not bad at all.<br />
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The next morning we made our way in a Taxi (which wasn't too expensive though they do charge a little extra to take you to the port or airport) to the cruise ship itself.<br />
The ship was called 'Serenade of the Seas'.<br />
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This was our first cruise so we just went along with what everyone else was doing. Sea pass in hand we boarded and went through the now familiar on-boarding security screening. We were travelling with Royal Caribbean and onboard alcohol is rather expensive so some people were trying to smuggle it on. We didn't bother (as much as we wanted to!), we did buy a few drinks onboard during our trip however we went sparingly and opted to make the most of our port days. Like this wine we merrily passed the time with in the not so exciting city of Messina.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8392984081/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Red Wine in Sicily by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Red Wine in Sicily" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8074/8392984081_a85a80a861.jpg" /></a></div><br />
It wasn't a bad thing as there was a distinct lack of real ale onboard the ship and most beer onboard came in cans or bottles and at posh hotel pint prices. Some San Miguel in Palma, Cisk in Malta and Sicilian Beer in Messina, though not the greatest drinks, were nicer than a can of Guinness for 5 times the price you'd usually pay.<br />
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Ummm, holiday beer.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8392983875/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="A Beer in Spain by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="A Beer in Spain" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8236/8392983875_d7ffb0f6b9.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8392984199/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Messina Lager by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Messina Lager" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8080/8392984199_0f75f2375e.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Though we did very much like the cocktails onboard ship and got plenty of promotional glasses which we now use at home. They were also very nice for each sail away. We got very lucky with the weather during our trip and so had views like this to enjoy.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8392984361/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Sunset over the port in Barcelona by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Sunset over the port in Barcelona" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8078/8392984361_b87fdce103.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I'll be putting together some posts about what we saw in the ports we visited soon but as far as the cruise experience goes, here were the highlights and low-lights.<br />
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The good stuff:<br />
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- The ship itself was clean and tidy, and other than some of the old fashioned decor, it had some great sights:<br />
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- The food: was brilliant! In all the spots you can eat (there was a huge choice and the standard was beyond expectation). The food was probably the highlight of the cruise experience. Evening meals in the dining room were perfect and other food around the ship was great too, so much choice it was unbelievable. Having views like this from one of the cafes was a awesome way to eat your breakfast!<br />
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- The service and staff: were brilliant - especially the waiting staff who covered our table in the main restaurant and our room’s attendant.<br />
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- The onboard activities: I had great fun with the mini golf course though it wasn't my proudest moment (OK, well I was a little proud) when my ball clipped a rock, bounced off 2 odd shaped obstacles and managed to find somehow squeeze between the protective screen and land on the deck below – oops! Shooting some hoops on basketball court was good craic too. <br />
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We also went along to a couple of the ‘Language basics’ classes for Spanish and Italian, they were just the right amount of basic to pick up a few extra words to add to please, sorry and thank you and came in handy on our trips away from the boat. The swimming pools, both indoor and outdoor, were grand to float around in though a little tricky to do much swimming, especially at busy times. The hot tubs when you could get a space in one were also nice and relaxing and the outdoor ones a nice place to chill.<br />
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The entertainment – the shows we went to we enjoyed, the entertainment was like a dolled up Butlins show - lots of former talent show competition winners etc. The entertainment manager and some other guy from the entertainment team did a show each day where you could write in and have stuff read out. We found ourselves submitting slips of paper most nights by the crazy teapot.<br />
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- Sleeping at sea: on a couple of nights it was a bit of a rough sea but we slept like logs, you just get used to the motion and it’s like a comforting rock, combined with lots of sightseeing we were asleep as soon as we turned over and our heads were on the pillows.<br />
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- I really quite like the relaxed feel onboard the ship and I could get used to waking up most mornings, rolling over and seeing a new port or city. Then heading for a cup of tea and some breakfast whilst watching a city or port go about it’s business below.<br />
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The not so good stuff:<br />
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- Fellow passengers, not all mind you (most of those in the photo below are probably lovely people) but 4/5 of those who tried to seriously engage us in conversation, I could have done without meeting.<br />
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There was one guy from Belfast who no longer lived in Belfast who seemed to want us to think he was Bono with a harem in tow – which he could have pulled off had it not been for the fact he was so drunk he knocked over his own drink without realising and then wondered where it had gone. Another guy from New York met us twice and gave us the entire same conversation both times before just ending mid sentence each time and wandering off like a puppy who got distracted and lost his train of thought.<br />
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- Sales technique - we were looking forward to what were described as destination lectures. Yeah, don't. Glorified sales pitches for overly expensive tours. Some of the information wasn't exactly accurate either.<br />
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- The location and transport options/price from where we docked in Palma (Mallorca) was terrible (unlike the port in Belfast, don't expect a free shuttle into the middle of town).<br />
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Overall: I enjoyed this holiday but it's hard to look at it as travelling in the usual sense because it was largely just a flying visit at each port of call (though the 2 days in Rome was great). The concept of a cruise like this with ports so close together seems a good idea for a taster of places, but there just isn't chance to spend much quality time to really get to know a place or see everything. <br />
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We had 2 sea days on this 11 night cruise and I think if we ever choose to splash out on a cruise again we'd be looking for less ports and more days at sea. Time to be able to unwind and treat it as a beach holiday. I'd also be looking for a company that provides basic alcoholic drinks as part of the package. I think the cruise we were on was better suited to an older, wealthier crowd but we certainly made the most of it and had a good time though to be honest I don't think cruises will be very near the top of my wish list when we're next looking for a holiday for ourselves.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-37626934338456020042013-01-16T04:31:00.000+00:002013-01-17T00:15:15.420+00:00Movie Review - Les Misérables (2012)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfl7OYPET1sgsBJu0XnzlkvShEivjHAAHoRQrOu2kSSMB5Twjurs1XxmKExvtrlmL2uNGRa-85grtg2HBcCsg0-2KXx-xNWEzFe6SEchffozpBxmPGZHWAINvQXkqNQV24rV6ojYu7wAc/s1600/les+mis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfl7OYPET1sgsBJu0XnzlkvShEivjHAAHoRQrOu2kSSMB5Twjurs1XxmKExvtrlmL2uNGRa-85grtg2HBcCsg0-2KXx-xNWEzFe6SEchffozpBxmPGZHWAINvQXkqNQV24rV6ojYu7wAc/s400/les+mis.JPG" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image adapted from <a href="http://www.lesmiserablesfilm.com/splashpage/">Les Misérables</a> film poster.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The day after watching the 2008 film of the same name on TV, we made it around the <strike>peaceful protest</strike> riots into Belfast city center to pay a visit to the cinema to watch Tom Hooper’s <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1707386/">2012 interpretation of Les Mis</a> (Warning: potentially contains spoilers depending on what you already know of Les Misérables).<br />
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At first, when the singing began with the convicts in the ship yard, it took me a minute to acclimatise as it was so different to have so much of the story sung in a movie. I knew it was a musical version before I went but it’s still something that doesn't happen very often. Most of the movie musicals I've seen before had a lot of spoken dialogue mixed in. When it dawned on me that this was very much dedicated to the musical, this opening number felt a bit like the ‘musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ meets ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’.<br />
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As well as all the songs from the stage show, there were also some new additions. One being a new song which we hear Hugh Jackman sing in a horse drawn coach on the way to Paris. Though nothing spectacular or really anything to write home about, it did suit the scene to help add some flavour to the bond Valjean and Cosette are developing and show it as a journey for both body and mind. As well as a little bit of originality to refresh it for the big screen, there was also a change in cast. Movie actors took up the main roles although awesomely there was a part for Colm Wilkinson - the man who made 'Jean Valjean' his own in the stage production of the musical. He plays a Bishop in this. It was a nice touch as he literally hands over the baton candle sticks to Hugh Jackman, a new ambassador for the role. There were some other faces from the stage who made it into the film. Samantha Barks plays Éponine (and is excellent) - we knew we recognised her at the time but couldn’t place her. She turns out to be ‘Isle of Man’ Sam from ‘I’d do Anything’ – the BBC reality show that was casting for the role of Nancy in Oliver, she came 3rd in that and was one of my favourites. Since then though she’s been in the stage show of Les Mis playing Éponine as well as in the 25th Anniversary Concert and also more recently playing Nancy in Oliver… shows how much I pay attention! Another to make it into the film from the stage show is <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-21008835">Dungannon born Fra Fee</a> who plays one of the revolutionaries – Coufeyrac.<br />
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With the cast featuring mainly movie actors, they did an amazing job with the songs that by all accounts were sung live to camera on set. The only criticism that can be made is that of the singing voice of Russell Crowe who was playing Inspector Javert. His voice did lack that little bit of power to make it a great performance like his fellow stars Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway but his acting and look were spot on. Don’t get me wrong, he sang his part well, it wasn't like he performed it badly, it was just that his voice doesn't have the properties to really hit home a couple of the songs that character has. If there is anyone hearing these songs for the first time, it wouldn't stand out as being bad in any way. It just wasn't as good as it can be done. If you have heard a very good version of the song 'Stars' though then you'll know what I mean... like this:<br />
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The rest of the vocals were hard to find any fault with and combined with the visuals it came into it's own with the close ups and montages. The rendition of the song 'At the End of the Day' was entirely excellent and a huge advert for more movie musicals in the future (if done well like this).<br />
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The acting was also great, very believable and sucked you into their world and emotions. So much so, the row in front of us were all in tears. Unlike the usually over the top soppy quality to Marius, in this the rather 'well spoken' actor Eddie Redmaybe was surprisingly likable. Thank goodness they didn't cast Nick Jonas as Marius like they did in the 25th Anniversary Concert - I imagine it's probably best not to have the audience wanting Marius to get left behind in the sewer.<br />
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There were plenty of lighter moments too, the main one delivered by Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter who added a twist to the Thénardiers. They brought a younger looking but just as devious and funny pair. I loved the added detail here with the movie, rather than just hand movements, they were shown going about their tricks of the trade, something that just couldn't be done on stage. They were also helped a little of course by a surprise visitor!<br />
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Another memorable part of this version of Les Misérables which made us laugh (but was maybe only light hearted to a few) was the moment of the sound effect that broke the big fall into the river. For me it was just the unexpectedness of it, I think we were all expecting a splash or a cut away, but the realistic crunchy thud, lol, even just thinking about it has me laugh, ah well! It was just unexpected is all, a nice touch of realism to the not so nice business of suicide. We didn't roll around on the floor laughing mind you, nah it just made us do that awkward trying to hold it in laugh and then we each laughed at the fact we weren't the only one holding back the laughter. The situation being that the row in front were in full teary flow by this point which just made it all the more inappropriate. Another glance at each other of course just made us laugh even more. Belated apology to the folks sat in front of us that night – you probably thought we were callus and uncouth but ah well, we couldn't help it, it just happened.<br />
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As well as great acting and singing, the sets, costume, make up and attention to detail were also a pleasure to see. What caught my eye the most were the scenes in Paris. A realistic sized barricade in a realistic location for a start. The fact the houses were part of it too, the windows being used and attacks from roofs etc. A realistic tight and horrible sewer access, unlike the movie we watched the night before which had something like a modern day sized manhole. The sewer itself seemed pretty authentic too! There was even some real next day stubble.<br />
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The cinematography was brilliant. From 'fly on the wall documentary' style wobbly cam that moved around the characters (almost examining them), to wide angle still shots on the streets, to shallow depth of field close ups of the actors singing their emotional numbers, to overhead panning complete with CGI landscapes - it all seemed to be there and was all very well done. When needed it was fantastical on a grand scale. At other times, it was subtle, such as with the close ups of characters singing in front of an almost plain background or the delicate touches like the butterfly gently moving it's wings on a metal bar whilst the actors sing to one another through a gate.<br />
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It had all the drama, comedy, tragedy and emotion of the stage production but added much more action, realism, grander fantasies and best of all - more context. Anything it did miss was made up for by engulfing your eyes, ears and emotions. My brother-in-law showed us <a href="http://cheezburger.com/6938439936">this summary of the plot of Les Mis in emoticons</a> which was doing the rounds on social media sites, it gives a novel summary of the plot which is good for a lol or two.<br />
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I've tried hard to find something I remember that I can mark it down for but I can't think of anything beyond what might have been had the Javert vocal also stood out.<br />
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Another thing I'd usually say with a film where it is set in another country with characters native to that part of the world is that perhaps it could have been a foreign language film with subtitles - to add to the authenticity of it. That could have been the case with the 2008 movie but with this movie musical, I think that would have taken something away. Based on a West End stage musical - based on a less successful French language version of the musical - based on a book (and perhaps a very old movie that was also based on the book) - it's evolved quite a bit. What part of the evolution this 2012 version uses most is the musical side of it. Though the words to the songs are in English, the music is universal. The language or time period of the language doesn't much matter so it’s just really down to the audience it’s being released to. So with the English language words to the music already being a huge part of what it is and the it's accessability to it's audience requiring this, it fits perfectly. Another point of note was the interesting use of regional accents from around the British Isles which I think worked well overlaid on this French story.<br />
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Overall I thought it was one of the best films I've seen in a long time (the best thing I’ve seen at the cinema since the opening sequence of the 2009 Star Trek movie). In giving a rating I’ve tried to take out my fondness for the stage show (as that undoubtedly helped me warm to it) but even after putting that aside, it was very well made, was absorbing, powerful and has the hallmarks of a real classic. And so, it really does have a happy conclusion, they can smile at last! Les Misérables (2012) gets my joint highest score for a movie so far, a magnifique...<br />
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<b>Score: 9/10</b></div>
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Per the <a href="http://life-in-ni.blogspot.com/2012/01/reminder-of-films.html">The A.L.I.N.I Movie Review rating scale</a>:<br />
9 - Excellent - a real classic - lets hope it's re-released at the cinema.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-26956519757319852622013-01-12T06:33:00.000+00:002013-01-12T06:33:54.245+00:00Crusaders FC: The 2012/13 Season So FarWith the Danske Bank Premiership simmering away nicely and some important cup games approaching, it's time for me to serve up my Crusaders FC 2012-13 season half time report.<br />
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After the great cup successes of last season and all the distractions of sport during the summer, the beginning of this one was like someone unexpectedly speaking to you whilst you're day dreaming - that strange feeling of being pulled back to reality. The feeling didn’t hit immediately, I didn't expect the Crues to beat Rosenborg in the Europa League qualifier and though we lost 4-0 on aggregate it wasn’t disheartening. Only losing 1-0 in the away game to a brilliant long range strike was indeed encouraging. The worry came after being beaten 8-2 in a pre-season friendly at home to Harrogate Town, (and no disrespect to Harrogate Town) that was the ‘being dragged back to reality’ moment. Though it didn't mean too much as it was just a pre-season friendly, it did feel a little more ominous when we also lost the opening game of the season 3-1 away to Coleraine with a lackluster performance. That was soon followed by a disappointing scoreless draw at home to Ballymena.<br />
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Thankfully, it was just something of a hangover (given the celebrations after the Setanta Cup win, maybe an actual one!) and like all hangovers it eventually dissipated. Most of the side re-gained that extra yard they had seemed to lack (that we knew they had in them) and the 1st win soon followed with a 1-3 away victory against a poor Lisburn Distillery side, this being the first of 4 wins in a row in all competitions for us. It wasn’t a time to rest on laurels though. No sooner had form returned (and oddly after a victory away to Linfield), we went and lost all of our away games in September (to Glenavon, Portadown and Dungannon respectably). Of greater concern were some rather disjointed team performances at this time, for even when we were still winning games at home, a lot of the games saw us often giving up possession needlessly and playing exactly the wrong kind of ball for the skill set of the player being passed to..<br />
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I could be wrong but from my perspective a lot of this was due to players getting used to one another’s playing styles and strengths. With the likes of Paul Heatley, Gary McCutcheon and Josh Robinson arriving and being so pivotal, there were some new strengths to play to. In hindsight it just took a while for the side to get used to playing alongside one another and for it to click.<br />
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As soon as the dots were connected - that McCutcheon likes the ball played to feet, that Heatley can pick a cross field ball out of the air like a dolphin in a show then run at a defense with pace and that Robinson has the composure of a player twice his age and could be readily relied upon; things soon picked up!<br />
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Injuries also had their hand in each starting 11 finding it hard to set a mould that suited the squad. The Liverpool glamour friendly was a great occasion but it saw two of our side pick up injuries, Jordan Owens a calf strain and Colin Coates an ankle injury which kept him out for quite a while. When he did come back it turned out to be a little premature but he’s OK now. Chris Morrow was out for a long time but he too is back in action again now which is great news. The other long term absentee has been our former speedy winger who returned to us this season - Eamon McAllister, hopefully he'll be back and pushing for a place in the side soon.<br />
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The Liverpool game itself was an odd one, the score line was 3-1 to Liverpool and it was an entertaining game but that wasn't what intrigued. <br />
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As an Irish League football supporter, on one hand it was great to see the Crues play a young Liverpool side and it was brilliant to have a big crowd for a game, but on the other hand it was a sad reminder of the challenges the Irish League faces. I mean in how many other major cities in the UK and Ireland would more local people show up in the shirts of another city’s team to a friendly held there with a local team playing? Not many I’d assume. Well on this occasion more turned out in Liverpool shirts to a friendly than would show up to the entirety of the Irish League fixtures on most normal Saturday afternoons. There were probably twice as many there for a friendly than showed up for last season’s Irish Cup Final! <br />
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The good news is it reveals the demand is there for professional football here (if it can be achieved) but yet it tells us something else we already knew, that even with the advantage of geographical remoteness from the English Premier League, it's still a huge challenge to get people to come to watch a live football match in person locally without an established brand of another club from a bigger league involved. Going into all this in detail is something for another blog post but I do agree with the sentiment from <a href="http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/local/biting-back-irish-fa-need-to-sell-themselves-16258364.html">this Belfast Telegraph piece</a> in terms of us having “become a nation of event people” where people pay to attend a match primarily “to see and be seen, enjoy a refreshment or three, be entertained and to come away with a sense of occasion”. The pivotal thing being that getting people to attend a game is now less about the sport itself and following it through the season - “the game, any game, is no longer the sole attraction”. As a fanatical football fan it’s not a great thing to hear - supporting my teams through thick and thin, hell and high water, the good and the bad, is part of the camaraderie, integrity and appeal of football. It’s a bizarre thing though, this is nothing new, football grew to it’s current worldwide popularity out of the same attitudes we have today just at a different time in our recent history. The sport hasn't changed much but the average person’s expectations of what constitutes an event and how they access it has changed over that time. More on that in another post though, that’s a long term conundrum. In the meantime, lets get back to the season at hand.<br />
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Thankfully, even during that string of not so great performances back in September, there was enough cohesion and motivation left in the tank to collect enough points at home to keep us not too far off the leading 2. The teams at the top for the majority of the 1st half of the season were the early pacesetters in the form of surprise package - Ballinamallard United and our local rivals - Cliftonville. Thankfully that changed and the Crues worked their way into 2nd. Currently, the Reds are (at the current time – 11th January) in 1st place, 6 points ahead of the Crues and with a game in hand. Just a little further back, a resurgent Linfield ominously lurk in 3rd spot. Their poor season so far has been a refreshing demise for the rest of the league but everyone knew it was only a matter of time before they got going again. Squad depth will earn them the points they need to keep pace and they will be somewhere in the mix come the end of the season. Put it this way, if Linfield don't get a top 3 finish or win a couple of cups, it'll be the worst use of resources in football since Chelsea bought Fernando Torres. After Ballymena of all teams beat them in the final of the CAS Cup and we knocked them out of the IrnBru, hopefully the redistribution of prizes away Windsor, home of the IF… Linfield, continues!<br />
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It's certainly looking like an exciting few months ahead as it’s an intriguingly poised League campaign. So what about the cup competitions mentioned just now and those still to be played?<br />
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In the County Antrim Shield and IrnBru League Cup, Crusaders lost 0-1 at Seaview to Linfield in the semi-final of the CAS but got own back in the IrnBru League cup semi final with a 0-1 win at Windsor Park. Crusaders now meet Cliftonville at Windsor Park on the 26th January (Live on Sky with a 5.30pm Kick Off). It'll undoubtedly be the most watched North Belfast derby since the 2009 Irish Cup Final and one to look forward to even if due to league position and the last league meeting between the 2 sides, the Crues will go into it as underdogs. Before that though, there is an Irish Cup 3rd round tie against Linfield (yet again!) and a bit later in the season, around March, some Setanta Cup games.<br />
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Hopefully in all these games to come there will be less crazy (often laughable) refereeing decisions than some of those we've had so far - mainly in the league. From conceding a penalty (that late on pretty much cost 2 points) due to a linesman confusing the hell out of 22 players - to offside goals - getting booked for taking a free kick too quickly without being told you couldn't – getting booked for just lifting your shirt to your mouth in celebration - to having penalties given against you for... ermm… we still don't know even with video evidence! Don’t even get me started on the usual of being booked for everything and anything yet opposition players perform an identical foul in the same game and get away with it (which happens far too often seemingly because of our 'reputation' as a physical side). In fairness though there have been a few good refs who have let games flow and even made some right decisions in regards to big calls – some being calls against us – so there is a little hope on that front.<br />
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Despite this sprinkling of perplexing events, the Crues are still unbeaten in the League at home this season, Seaview has become a fortress once again. In recent past seasons, our team's counter attacking abilities tended to favour us in away games and our away form tended to be better than our home form. This season though it's been our home form that has been great and it seems to have come from a little bit of a shake up in the team. Players like Declan Caddell have also really come of age and are keeping much cooler heads in midfield and with that the core of the side seems sturdier. My guess is that it's either been a change of tactics given to the players, a growing maturity among the squad or just a differing playing style added to by the newer players to have been added to the side. Whatever the reason or if just down to chance, what it has resulted in is not being so gung-ho all the time. For the most part our goals against have been lower so far this season. The side has demonstrated much more composure in the bigger games (well apart from the little spell of being disjointed early on). It’s a nice change, a lot easier on the pulse. There have still been occasions when it's been heart in mouth time but thankfully Sean O'Neill has been a stand out player whenever he's been called upon.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8371546029/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Crusaders FC vs Ballinamallard United at Seaview by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Crusaders FC vs Ballinamallard United at Seaview" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8229/8371546029_ee5263dbd7.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Going forward we've also been pretty good, plenty of goals and we always look likely to score. Timmy Adamson has re-discovered his scoring mojo, David Rainey is still a handful for opposition defenses when he comes on and Gary McCutcheon has really been much better than his goal tally, his work off the ball as well as on it is as good as anyone in the league. Last but not least with our strikers, Jordan Owens has been excellent, sure, he’s still not mastered taking his chances but he’s always getting into good positions and putting his body on the line to win the ball. He’s still scoring his headers and he’s also showing signs that he’s found his shooting boots from further out but he just needs to keep working on his reactions, composure and technique to help him put away more close range chances, especially with his feet.<br />
<br />
There have been plenty of midfield options too, Aidan Watson has done ok, he did have a bit of a bad patch but really it's only in relation to his form last season. He's still getting the tackles in and hopefully can be back to his best for the rest of the season. With so few places available for some very good players, some players are seemingly adapting from their favoured positions to another to better slot into the current side. Matthew Snoddy is one such player who has put in great shifts when he's played and has recently impressed with a transition to what I think would have be a right sided winger sort of role. Robinson being moved into Midfield has been another experiment and though I do think he's still better as a central defender, he's certainly taken to the role and has been mightily unlucky not to have scored a couple of goals (the woodwork is not being kind!). <br />
<br />
In defense there has been a fair bit of rotation so it's hard to really pin down what's worked best. David Gibson and BigG at right back have both given a lot when they play and have been level pegging in terms of their defensive work. Going forward though, Gareth McKeown just has more strings to his bow and can sit deeper to deliver his long-cross field balls, deep crosses, shots and long throws. So for me, he's probably added that little bit more when he has played as he doesn't need to be in the box to do damage. In the center it's been a case of musical chairs - mainly due to injuries and suspensions, personally I think David Magowan and Robinson have been our sturdiest pairing but Colin Coates (when fit) hasn't done too badly either and again offers another goal threat as well as a pretty formidable aerial defense. At left back it's been a shame we haven't seen more of Stephen McBride this season but Craig McClean just hasn't really put a foot wrong. He's been solid and with probably our stand out player of the season so far - Paul Heatley - in-front of him, he's been a great partner in crime along that wing. Paul Leeman hasn't played much but he's not looked out of place when he has. In midfield the same goes for David McMaster who has featured in a lot of games but hasn't had a huge amount of game time. In net, I haven't seen much of Wayne Drummond to really get to know his strengths and weaknesses.<br />
<br />
In the January transfer window I'd be more than happy to see no one leave and no one else come in as I feel the squad we have has it in them to achieve whatever they put their minds to at this level if we get lucky with injuries and suspensions. The worry is we have some very talented players who might have a good chance of following Stuart Dallas across the water and to turn fully pro. Denying these guys that opportunity is silly so it's not out of the realms of possibility that it's an active transfer window but my gut feeling is it'll probably be fairly quiet.<br />
<br />
Just before I stop writing this now essay length report. Another great game of note in the last few months was Colin Coates’ testimonial when Huddersfield Town came to play in an exhibition match at Seaview. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8371546047/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Crusaders vs Huddersfield Action Freekick by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Crusaders vs Huddersfield Action Freekick" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8223/8371546047_139d781888.jpg" /></a></div><br />
It was a really good night… the crowd was not very big which was a shame but for anyone who showed up it was a treat, good natured and some great goals. Plenty of highlights including Stuart Dallas showing us all how he’s progressed with some fine goals and lots of old faces on show… not only from the Crues side but as a Leeds fan also some from the Huddersfield Town side. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8372616322/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Jermaine Beckford and Colin Coates by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Jermaine Beckford and Colin Coates" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8194/8372616322_099bfd178e.jpg" /></a></div><br />
For as well as Jermaine Beckford and Adam Clayton there was also a cameo appearance towards the end from none other than Simon Grayson! <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8372616236/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Simon Grayson playing for Huddersfield Town by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Simon Grayson playing for Huddersfield Town" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8354/8372616236_711593445b.jpg" /></a></div><br />
That was just the icing on the cake. I just wish those players and manager were still at Leeds and it had been a team in white shirts coming to play. Huddersfield were great though and really put on a good show. I used to end up watching Huddersfield Town or Rotherham games with friends who supported those clubs on the weeks when Leeds were away from home so although rivals with Leeds I still have a soft spot for those clubs. Hopefully there will be more great occasions ahead against fully pro teams from over the water. Sure, it can’t be long now until Chris Morrow’s testimonial and who knows if there might be another ‘big event’ friendly game in the pipe work, fingers crossed!<br />
<br />
So that’s pretty much where I think we’re at right now. A solid enough start to 2012/13 with plenty still to strive for. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-48798361714148779632013-01-09T07:00:00.000+00:002013-01-10T00:55:49.263+00:00Leeds United 2012/13 Mid Season Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBNu88cvS5tAhkdLadvB6ByQIhnJy2Rc34_ZbpAVaPahq8K7-tWsYl4I4C3Pfa3ePQu22ukNzdZYiO-1I2-UHTGllS1HFuD8yrfdmLdxfof9sevGB97j9LfL4QIrlztFDqOVvBb_rYT2M/s1600/Leeds+Sheet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBNu88cvS5tAhkdLadvB6ByQIhnJy2Rc34_ZbpAVaPahq8K7-tWsYl4I4C3Pfa3ePQu22ukNzdZYiO-1I2-UHTGllS1HFuD8yrfdmLdxfof9sevGB97j9LfL4QIrlztFDqOVvBb_rYT2M/s400/Leeds+Sheet.JPG" width="366" /></a></div>
A lot has happened in half a season at Elland Road so I'm going to take a quick look at Leeds United's 2012-13 season so far.<br />
<br />
In <a href="http://life-in-ni.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/leeds-united-201112-end-of-season.html">my 2011-12 end of season review</a> I ended by saying that: "Even inaction will lead to something giving way. It's building up to be an intriguing summer ahead."<br />
And it was an intriguing summer, one that didn't really end for the regular Leeds fan like me until late November when something finally gave way!<br />
<br />
After yet another summer of sales, secrets and silence, the start to the 2012-13 season in August was depressingly filled with yet more uncertainty and worry about what was to come of the club, both on and off the pitch. Ken Bates was still in charge, sticking to what I'd call his 'tell 'em nothing' customer relations technique. Everyone was in the dark, even the press. The proposed takeover was shrouded in mystery and dragged on like an NHL lockout.<br />
<br />
Thankfully, the new owners were persistent and patient. The news we'd been waiting to hear since the 'Show Bates the Red Card' campaign back in 2007 broke in November, Bates was being bought out. Over 7 years since he first took a bite of Leeds, there was finally hope of some form of liberation for our club as a large sum of money finally relaxed a metaphorical sphincter that was keeping the football side of the club trapped in an ever constricting colon. <a href="http://www.gfh-capital.com/about-us/about-gfh-capital">GFH Capital</a>, an entity involved in private equity, finalised a deal on the 21st November and completed the takeover on the 21st December. <br />
<br />
Looking back at how Ken Bates treated supporters it brings out a lot of negative emotions. No matter what parasitic relationship to Leeds United he may keep from here on in - no matter how much we'd be better off without his presence and for all the facts of his reign to emerge - at least he's (hopefully) no longer pulling the strings - and that's the most important thing - as long as the new owners have a better idea of what a football club is supposed to be.<br />
<br />
Though off the pitch issues dominated my focus and probably many other Leeds supporters, on the pitch, Neil Warnock put together a side of what we could see would be hard working individuals but we didn't really know what to expect from them as (per Neil Warnocks comments at the time) the squad wasn't the finished article.<br />
<br />
The issue, as with football in general, was tied to finance. Neil Warnock prepared the base of a squad with the hopes of adding a creative flair - if and when funds were released. With some of the value of the squad being used to subsidise other aspects of Bates' plans, we sold our most creative player (Snodgrass) and the necessary funds for Warnock to complete the side further never surfaced. During the saga of the protracted takeover, it was reported that the new owners even had to dip into their pockets to keep things ticking over before they'd even bought the club.<br />
<br />
Against all odds the side got off to a reasonable start but the problems of only having a thin squad soon surfaced. Just 7 points from a possible 27 between October to mid-November, including a 1-6 home defeat at the hands of Watford brought that home to anyone hiding their heads in the sand. Frustrations on the pitch pretty much reflected frustrations at the continued silence from the club around that time. If Ken Bates was ever going to sell up (and rhumor as to why he wasn't) became running jokes on fan sites. Holding our breath was officially abandoned. Thankfully, results picked up again in December in huge part thanks to some emergency loans - again funded by our owners to be.<br />
<br />
Statistically, since the start of this season we've not been great. We've conceded too many goals for our league position and we have the joint 6th worst defensive record in the league, however, Leeds sit in 8th place, unsurprisingly we have the dis-honour of owning the only negative goal difference in the top half of the table. For the most part, the points on the board have been accumulated through tight wins, in the league we are yet to win a game by a margin of more than 2 goals.<br />
<br />
In terms of going forward, in Championship games, shots and shots on goal have far fewer than the teams around us in the league table. Possession during games hasn't been great either. So how are we in 8th position?<br />
<br />
One big positive from the first half of this season on the pitch has been effort. For the most part, the determination to somewhat punch above our weight has been excellent and results have been ground out. What has also made up for both the goals conceded and the lack of attempts on goal has been some clinical finishing from the awesome Luciano Becchio; prior to the Birmingham game (in which he scored) in 28 games in all competitions this season, <a href="http://soccernet.espn.go.com/team/squad/_/id/357/league/all/leeds-united?cc=5739">ESPNsoccernet stats</a> say he's had 25 shots yet scored 18 goals.<br />
<br />
So what needs to change for this Leeds side to create more chances and concede less? The simple answer must be to complete the squad. To add the play-makers and creative passers that we're lacking which Neil Warnock hoped to bring in originally.<br />
<br />
Digging into the positions we might look to improve:<br />
<br />
Up front, we actually look pretty good right now but it wasn't that way earlier in the season due to injuries. Forwards like Ross McCormack and Davide Somma now back in action after being out injured for a while. Adding to the equation our current life-line – the brilliant Becchio and also the reformed Diouf too, up front we seem quite well covered.<br />
<br />
In defense there is still much room for improvement; stability and cohesion are needed. Alan Tate was brought in from Swansea after it became apparent that our central defense lacked leadership and he's done well but sadly we've still leaked goals. I really don't think our defense is as bad as some of the results like the Notts Forest match (a 4-2 loss) might suggest. We have plenty of good players and a couple of great young players who in a couple of years will be the finished article, but for the moment there is still work needed and we're a bit short for pace in the center.<br />
<br />
Another glaring issue for this part of the squad is that Alan Tate is currently only on short term loan from Swansea. If Leeds aren't planning to sign Tate up longer term (beyond the 26th January anyway), we have to be in the market for a central defender during this month or we're back to square one on that front. With that leading central defensive role hopefully addressed before the end of the month, we could probably make do with the defense we have if we can get a better balance in midfield to help shield them and allow our talented younger players to get forward in support more often.<br />
<br />
From what I've seen, our midfield is the area that most urgently needs improvement with some creative qualities. When facing sides with a hard working midfield, we've struggle to put the ball to good or even safe use when we finally get possession. To compensate we end up playing the long ball far too often and giving up possession far too easily. In games like in the league cup run, it's been a case of just determination and hard work getting the job done, but when that underdog motivation hasn't been there (against the likes of Derby, Notts Forest, Watford etc) we've been rolled over. Our midfield has a lot of hard grafters but too few with the creativity and quality. Without an extra edge and re-organisation in midfield it'll probably be another mid-table finish.<br />
<br />
Sadly there are likely to be very few players available who fit the bill required during the January transfer window and those there are will no doubt be in high demand and go to the highest bidder (which I hope we're not if the likes of Leicester are involved as the price is likely inflated and too high). Still, you never know what strings Neil Warnock might be able to pull if resources are made available to him.<br />
<br />
Another thing that has to change for us to progress is to stop selling our best talents - the likes of Becchio, Byram, White and Lees in this transfer window. If Becchio is sold and it's for less than the cost of purchasing a new midfield and another talented striker or 2 (who each have good-great potential) then it would be a major folly because we're just not going to be able to replace his goals within the side we currently have. His goals have literally been the difference between being in touch of the playoffs and fighting relegation. Not only that but he's a fans favourite, yet another sale of our prized assets would just further demoralise the fan base and that's the complete opposite of what needs to happen for the new owners to get the club moving forward.<br />
<br />
Almost everything really does hang on what the new owners plan to do. The good news is that they do seem to understand that there has to be some investment in the playing squad if the club as a whole is to succeed and give a reasonable return on their investment. Obviously no silly risks! We've had our fair share of Ridsdale-like gambles, but owners and fans can generally all be on the same side and push the club forwards together and I very much hope that is now the case with Leeds again. With David Haigh <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2251922/Leeds-United-takeover-Neil-Warnock-sign-six.html">stating recently</a> "It will take investment; we are ready to make that investment. We won’t spend crazy money, but we will make the investment sustainable and make the club successful.", it's looking reasonable to cautiously hope for the best.<br />
<br />
Though I don't really know anything about GFH Capital and don't know what to expect from their ownership, it's still early days and so far they seem to be going about things the right way. For instance, the clubs' communication with it's fans has improved greatly. The new board members and club use of social media exists (unlike with the last regime) and is being done well. Their willingness to have 2 way communication with supporters has been a breath of fresh air after the suffocating silence of our club president to be. A reintroduction of half season tickets and rebuilding of burnt bridges with supporters groups have also been a great welcome to what we can only hope is a new era for the club. I have to admit I don't dare to build my hopes up, probably a symptom of <strike>once</strike> twice bitten, <strike>twice</strike> always shy. Saying that I never had any confidence in Ken Bates except to do what is best for Ken Bates so that wasn't exactly a shock.<br />
<br />
In terms of expectations for the rest of the season, although I'm not expecting great things like promotion to the Premier League, progress is a must. Getting fans back in the stands and re-engaged with the club has to be the first thing. That, and if possible, improving the squad so that the hard work given by a lot of the current squad (to stay in touching distance of the play-offs whilst also going on an unexpected cup run) may have a chance to lead to something more. Hopefully their hard work will continue and a little sprinkling of skills we are currently missing can be added to give the side a realistic opportunity of making the play-offs at the end of the season.<br />
<br />
The big difference I see between where the club was at the start of the season to where it is now is the realistic hope of improvements to come (both on and off the pitch). We'll not know where we are until after the transfer (and then emergency loan) window closes, so in more ways than one, the rest of this season is a case of wait and see.<br />
<br />
MOTAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-86018528789599232672013-01-07T07:30:00.000+00:002013-01-07T07:30:01.916+00:00The 2013 ListPosting a list of potentially achievable things that I'd like to do in the coming year for all the world to see seemed to work well last year as it gave me a little extra incentive to get things done. So here is my 2013 List.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8347302853/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="The 2013 List by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="The 2013 List" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8049/8347302853_d30ffedf5a.jpg" /></a></div><br />
There are a few things from last years list that are on the list again but I've also decided to be more organised and so as well as the hopes, I've listed first steps of what I'll try to do to get the ball rolling.<br />
<br />
<b>Generally:</b><br />
<ul><li>Stay alive</li>
<li>Attempt to maintain health and happiness.</li>
<li>Try to find/get/make a job I would enjoy doing (like last year, it's not likely to happen but it won't at all unless I try so it's staying in there again for the 2nd year running).</li>
<li>Make at least a small positive difference to something worthwhile.</li>
<li>Procrastinate less</li>
<li>Make a list of Birthdays/Anniversaries and make use of it.</li>
<li>Try and research my family tree a little.</li>
</ul><br />
<b>Entertainment:</b><br />
<ul><li>Read 2 books (doubling the target set last year)</li>
<li>Finally play some of Zelda on the Wii that I received as a present more than a year ago.</li>
<li>Play a game of CivV</li>
<li>Finally get around to having some fun with my 1980s/90s Nintendo collection.</li>
<li>Watch all of the episodes of 2 different TV shows that I’ve never seen or only seen some of before (DVD Box sets)</li>
<li>Attend 1 or more comedy gigs.</li>
<li>Attend 1 or more live music events.</li>
<li>Attend at least 5 ice hockey matches.</li>
<li>Watch 25 films I've never seen before.</li>
<li>Just the usual on the football side of things, though try and get over to Elland Road once or twice now evil Santa is no longer pulling the strings.</li>
</ul><br />
<b>Finances allowing:</b><br />
<ul><li>Visit 1 new country.</li>
<li>Visit 3 cities/major towns that I have never been to before.</li>
<li>Head over to visit my family at least twice.</li>
<li>Have most of my gifts for people prepared before the start of December.</li>
</ul><br />
<b>Internet-world-wise:</b><br />
<ul><li>Try to blog more than I have before in a given year (More than 80 posts).</li>
<li>Take time to comment on the blogs I enjoy reading.</li>
<li>Find at least 3 new blogs to follow properly - like I would those on my blog list to the bottom left of this page (if you're reading this and have any good suggestions please do add them in the comments).</li>
<li>Take more photos.</li>
</ul><br />
Last but not least, the now standard <b>disclaimer</b>:<br />
<ul><li>Try to do all this whilst not injuring Norngirl mentally or physically (she is judge and jury).</li>
</ul><br />
<b>How I'm going to try and achieve these:</b><br />
<ul><li>- Work hard</li>
<li>- Do as much as possible as soon as possible so that I don't procrastinate over it all and feel like it's a backlog of chours when they're really not.</li>
<li>- Find another group/cause that does something useful in real life and get involved. Preferably something local (Non-sectarian community stuff? Humanism? Photography? Science? Astronomy? Sports?)</li>
<li>- Go to the doctors if I probably should but likely wouldn't.</li>
<li>- Adopt a new pet – Norngirl negotiated with the landlord as part of my Christmas pressie so that we can now have a furry critter of some form, hopefully a kitteh!</li>
<li>- Come up with at least 2 new ideas in relation to jobs.</li>
<li>- DON'T FEED THE TROLLS, online or in real life!</li>
<li>- Make a reference list of dates for Birthdays and anniversaries etc so at least I know where to look.</li>
<li>- Research my basic family tree online because even my dad doesn’t know anymore than his grandparents, if I can tell him who his great grandparents were that’ll be a success!</li>
<li>- Take books on long journeys.</li>
<li>- Either free up a day when Norngirl is away or take a couple of days annual leave during the year to dedicate to playing computer games.</li>
<li>- Get hold of and watch 2 TV box sets – I got a gift voucher for Christmas and Star Trek the Original Series was only 30 quid so that’ll be one of them!</li>
<li>- Book tickets to a comedy gig</li>
<li>- Book tickets to a music event – my favourite band are playing at the Limelight during the year so I've booked tickets to see them play live for the 1st time.</li>
<li>- Buy 5 flexi tickets between end of 2012/13 season and start of 2013/14 – I have 1 still left over but a few more to get.</li>
<li>- Book a foreign holiday to somewhere I've never been before (If this happens this year it's likely to be a part of a present for someone else)</li>
<li>- Book a trip to another UK or Irish city – I really want to visit Edinburgh this year if I can.</li>
<li>- Visit my family twice. I'll be in Belfast for Christmas 2013 so it'll be some other time this year, not all in December so I’ll need to keep an eye out on flight prices.</li>
<li>- If I see something awesome someone would like for a present, make a note and try and source/make it as soon as possible.</li>
<li>- Try to Blog twice a week and schedule posts. Try to make posts smaller (less waffle that no one wants to read).</li>
<li>- Make an effort to comment on good blog posts and read around a bit more.</li>
<li>- Try to remember to use my camera more often.</li>
</ul>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-58146419479233769082013-01-05T01:34:00.000+00:002013-01-05T02:44:19.894+00:00Soft kitty, which kitty?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpVlfFw4is1cZXKquwBoUlRxFpR4VQnY3P6UY3WkNfrQLbAza5BhK5e3j8UBQBfmKb8h2YYDBjwdtg8hqzVmIDBZFR1_QEXOPCNJF5ud9fJ69x-N1u7Eq9pdFW_ON2kBTYzuXRdtILlg/s1600/DSC03962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZpVlfFw4is1cZXKquwBoUlRxFpR4VQnY3P6UY3WkNfrQLbAza5BhK5e3j8UBQBfmKb8h2YYDBjwdtg8hqzVmIDBZFR1_QEXOPCNJF5ud9fJ69x-N1u7Eq9pdFW_ON2kBTYzuXRdtILlg/s400/DSC03962.JPG" width="301" /></a>Today, we're going to an animal sanctuary to choose a feline to live with us for what could potentially be the next 20 years. I'm not so secretly hoping the cat chooses us! It's not like you can interview for the position of house cat or can you?<br />
<br />
Our landlord has kindly allowed us to keep a feline & Norngirl has bought all we need (except food and cat litter which we're waiting to get once we know what the cat we get is used to). It was a lovely surprise sprung on me at Christmas by Norngirl who had plotted to make my hopes of one day keeping a pet cat a reality.<br />
<br />
I grew up with cats around me and I think they're one of the most majestic creatures on the planet. The independence and self sufficiency of a wildcat entwined with the calmer nature of a domesticated animal is as brilliant a combination for a pet as I think you can get.<br />
<br />
Though I guess how great a pet is all depends on why you want to look after it...<br />
It's an odd one, in human history pets are really just a strange result of our historical dependency on domesticating animals to help us. Though these days, around this part of the world, you still get the likes of guide dogs, sniffer dogs and the odd foodstuff guarding-rodent catching cat, keeping such animals has spiraled away from their working past because we no longer need them to help with the tasks they were originally kept for. They now add to our own life experience by their very presence and companionship. Even keeping goldfish had a calming influence so it’s probably not a shocker to want to look after an animal that responds to being stroked with a soothing purr, is soft and warm, can be playful and carefree but also affectionate and sociable. And yes, sure there is the smelly cat litter, the damaged furniture, the random medical conditions, the life span that will see you out live your cat… but those things pale in comparison to the positives a pet can bring. Not to mention the extra responsibility which might be a well needed kick in the right direction.<br />
<br />
So the big question I have is how do you pick a cat over another? You can't ask them if they'd like to live in your house so I guess you have to hope you can earn their trust. Thankfully it sounds like we’re going to get a little help in finding the right feline friend. I’m told that at the shelter they ask you to answer lots of questions so they can try and pair your household up with an animal suitable for your situation. My best guess is we’ll adopt a house cat, short haired, older than a year old and hopefully friendly. Even if we do find the perfect kitty this weekend, we'll not be bringing it home until the weekend after but it’s still all very exciting!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-81451574865128333612013-01-03T02:32:00.000+00:002013-01-03T02:32:13.061+00:00And that was Christmas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8339511703/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Christmas dinner in a giant Yorkshire pudding by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Christmas dinner in a giant Yorkshire pudding" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8351/8339511703_8ddcb2b90b.jpg" /></a></div>
My dad doesn't have the best of luck, for our 2nd Christmas with him in a row, he fell ill for the big day itself.<br />
<br />
Perhaps we're just bad luck charms? More likely I suspect his love affair with eating seafood on Christmas Eve may have played a part on one or both occasions. To be fair though, the 1st time was a combination of slightly warm prawns from Whitby and the crazy proof navy rum consumed that night. The 2nd time was more bad luck, perhaps related at least a little bit with a defrosted fillet of Plaice that was consumed, but more likely being in contact with someone who recently had the winter vomiting bug could have done it. Bless his cotton socks, he was still trying to do the cooking preparations when he just couldn't keep it in any longer and spent most of Christmas day in the bathroom and looking as pale as a sheet.<br />
<br />
The 4 of us remaining rescued the preparations and Norngirl took charge of the cooking and we still ended up with yummy feast. We went buffet style on the table so I went for a giant Yorkshire pudding pile variety of presentation. It was delicious!<br />
<br />
As well as the unexpected which threw the day out a little, we all managed to sit around the TV to watch Dr Who which I thought was very good, well structured and heart warmingly festive. The falling from the edge of space and being dead but only bruised on the outside did seem to push the need for a plot device a little far. Multiple fractures and a bit more of a pizza appearance seemed more likely but at least it was only for a little more dialogue and to probably not scare the children watching.<br />
<br />
The rest of the Christmas period flew by, on boxing day we went to the pub to watch the football; Leeds were thrashed by Notts Forest and it didn't make easy viewing. Hopefully the lack of fight and skill was more a hangover of the Ken Bates era.<br />
<br />
The best moments were getting a little bit of down time here and there with Norngirl as well as tasting lots of nice beer. Other highlights were visiting people and heading to a couple of tourist attractions.<br />
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One of the places we visited was <a href="http://www.hepworthwakefield.org/">The Hepworth Wakefield</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8340568138/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Hepworth Wakefield by the River Calder by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Hepworth Wakefield by the River Calder" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8075/8340568138_094ff75303.jpg" /></a></div>
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Being able to walk over the river on a springy bridge to get to it was great fun and there is a cool junk dude hanging from a crane by the river Calder.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8340568612/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Scrap Art Dude by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Scrap Art Dude" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8081/8340568612_eec657527c.jpg" /></a></div>
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The gallery itself has lots of space but very little content that grabbed my attention. I liked the medical drawings though they were all rather samey samey after the first 10 or more. My favourite artwork was the collection of images showing scenes of Wakefield as it was in the past. <br />
<br />
If you've read my views on art before you'll know I'm not a fan of a lot of modern art and the majority of the pieces displayed here didn't win me over. By the time we had walked through all of the galleries it seemed to me that a lot of modernist sculpture (where it isn't self evident as to what it is) ends up looking like a case of someone creating something and then assigning the context or label to the form after the fact. <br />
<br />
In fairness, I thought a lot of the Barbara Hepworth sculptures were quite good as they are sculptures that appear to have some coherent idea and design behind their creation. The museum itself is free entry so you've nothing to lose (time aside) by heading down to it.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8340568452/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Hepworth Sculptures by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Hepworth Sculptures" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8361/8340568452_6beb1815f6.jpg" /></a></div>
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If I dare say so myself, still not as good as my 'Using 2 Dominoes to balance the rest of dominoes and the box too' that I made on the table at my dads house when I was bored.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8340568774/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Domino Tower by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Domino Tower" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8075/8340568774_0c8d66eeee.jpg" /></a></div>
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The building the gallery is in, it's boring grey facade aside, was rather modern and well thought out, the windows were huge and the views of the river were my highlight for me.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8339510825/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Hepworth Wakefield by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Hepworth Wakefield" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8492/8339510825_f44f27d5f2.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8339511093/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="View of Wakefield from the Hepworth Gallery by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="View of Wakefield from the Hepworth Gallery" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8502/8339511093_f9724a7c71.jpg" /></a></div>
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The other place we visited was the <a href="http://www.thackraymuseum.org/">Thackray Medical Museum</a> in Leeds. The medical museum was more up my street. Though it's £7 admission for an adult there was plenty to see and it engaged us initially by picking a character which you then find out more about and end up seeing how long they lived and how long they ended up living for.<br />
There was plenty of interesting things, a part about disability and people's perceptions, another about improvements made in medical science. I even got to try on a pregnancy empathy belt as well as find out lots about how medicine was in the UK before some major breakthroughs - like anesthetics.<br />
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Our time in Yorkshire was soon up and we were back on a plane and landing onto the runway at Belfast City Airport. Over the next couple of days we had a re-Christmasing in North Belfast which involved perhaps a little too much alcohol.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8339510547/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="The re-christmasing by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="The re-christmasing" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8503/8339510547_a4a39b2e2f.jpg" /></a></div>
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Time flew by and we didn't get much downtime, Norngirl only managed to get through a book or two instead of her usual libraries worth. The biggest surprise was a shock result in a game of Trivial Pursuit.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8340567860/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Roll again by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Roll again" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8362/8340567860_0dba5ba966.jpg" /></a></div>
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Also the news that we're going to be getting a pet cat! Norngirl okayed it with the landlord and surprised me on Christmas day with a photo of items bought for our feline to be. We’re planning to adopt a cat from an animal sanctuary so hopefully it’ll be a nice improvement in life for the cat too.<br />
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Christmas 2012 was busy but benign and hopefully the kick start into a great year ahead.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-69995148055094356172012-12-26T07:00:00.000+00:002012-12-26T07:00:06.797+00:002012 List ReviewSaythewhatnow? 2012 is almost over? Seriously? Hang on, what happened to the rest of it, did someone take a bite out of it like those Jaffa Cake adverts with the 'Total eclipse' lady?”. OK, OK, it's that time of the year again, time to review <a href="http://life-in-ni.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/2012-list.html">my 2012 List</a>. Sweep... <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7lOgH8vKPk">keep calm and organised</a> (You're in for a treat if you watch from 2mins 45 seconds on the youtube video linked just there), time to look back at what I have and haven't done and check to see if my point still has a pencil.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8297762211/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="2012 List by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="2012 List" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8224/8297762211_47e66c1206.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<i>Generally:</i><br />
<br />
<i>Stay alive</i><br />
- There were a few moments crossing roads in Italy that nearly ruined this one but as far as living goes, it's still happening and personally, I like it.<br />
<br />
<i>Read 1 whole actual, real, in paper, page turning, proper book (seriously that number isn't a typo, I read a grand total of 0 books in 2011)</i><br />
- Some silly theories about Mayan prophecies may not have come to fruition but something Earth shattering did happen this year - I read a book!<br />
And not just any book, a hardback book! Wonders never cease!<br />
Just one book mind you, don't be signing me up to a book club or buying me 50 shades of Ink. The book I read was Stephen King's - Needful Things. I enjoyed it immensely, especially the first 4/5ths of the book.<br />
It was flowing and full of details that kept the characters vivid in my mind.<br />
The only criticism I did have was that I thought the ending was a little bit contrived. A little too whimsical and flowery so to speak.<br />
Has anyone else read it? What did you think?<br />
<br />
<i>Try to find/get/make a job I would enjoy doing (a long shot but it won't happen unless I try).</i><br />
- Well I applied for one job but didn't get it and haven't tried to further any ideas on making one. To be honest I just couldn't muster the motivation to create the time I'd need to further this, which is a shame as I would still like to do something I truly enjoy as a job. Then again, wouldn't we all.<br />
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<i>Try again at learning to separate the stress of work from home (if possible).</i><br />
- I think I'm almost getting on top of this one. Helpfully the stress at work has been less this year but what there has been I've not dwelt on... too much.<br />
<br />
<i>Follow 1 Olympic 2012 sport über religiously. Has to be a sport that I honestly don't care about right now. For no reason whatsoever really except for a bit of fun.</i><br />
- Yep, did that one, two in fact - Handball and Synchronised Swimming amongst others. I really enjoyed the Olympics this year and can't wait for Rio in 2016, saying that there is also the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 before then.<br />
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<i>Don't allow Clothes Mountain (the pile of washing in our bedroom) to rear its voluminous crumpled head again. This has been a success but Norngirl and moving house have been the main help to this - we now have space to do some housework.</i><br />
- There have been a few hillocks but nothing mountainous, Norngirl is the clothes washing wonder woman of the house (as I am the lazy chief washing up-erupper) and she's been doing a wonderful job! Go Norngirl! :D<br />
<br />
<i>Not get my hopes up with Euro 2012.</i><br />
- Succeeded with style, I was optimistic that we'd do better than expected but knew we'd be long shots to even go close. I had England reaching the Semi Finals in the prediction game and they were a penalty shoot-out away from that guestimate.<br />
<br />
<i>Make at least a small positive difference to something worthwhile.</i><br />
- The worthwhile part I should really have qualified a little better. Small positive difference I can justify saying yes to but nothing that's going to have much of a last affect or change peoples lives for the positive to any large degree. <br />
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<i>Risk it for a chocolate biscuit and do a few more things on the spur of the moment and procrastinate less</i><br />
- Same as before. It's hard to say really, we've done a lot of random things this year but most have been us reacting to situations rather than the other way around. Still, moving into a house the day after seeing it for the first time and meeting people you know from the internet from another country probably count right? Perhaps still room for improvement on both, especially the procrastination.<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Finances allowing:<br />
<br />
Visit 5 cities/major towns that I have never been to before.</i><br />
- Hell yeah! 9/5 (Washington DC, Boston, Rome, Pisa, Naples, Eniskillen, Palma (Mallorca), Mdina (Malta), Messina (Sicily))<br />
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<i>Visit 1 new country.</i><br />
- 1/1, Italy - Pulled out of the bag late on with a miraculous travel bargain that Norngirl tracked down.<br />
<br />
<i>Visit my family at least twice.</i><br />
- 2/2 well at least it will be by the time this appears on the internet if our plane made it there OK as I have it scheduled to post whilst we're away :)<br />
<br />
<i>Attend 3 or more comedy gigs.</i><br />
- 2/3 So close but yet so far. We saw Sarah Millican earlier in the year and then Jack Dee back in September but unfortunately didn't get to a third, they're getting awfully pricey these days though thankfully not as bad as music gigs.<br />
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<i>Attend at least 10 ice hockey matches.</i><br />
- 10/10: 3 NHL games (BOS at WSH, WSH at NYR, NYR at BOS) and 7 Belfast Giants games (BGvsNP x 2, BGvsSS x 2, BGvsDS x 2, BGvsCB). I can't remember a dull game but a couple stand out as been awesome. Supporting New York in Boston as away fans and the Giants 5-1 win over the Steelers to secure the league title at the Odyssey Area back in March.<br />
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<i>Watch 20 films I've never seen before</i><br />
- 32/20 <br />
Fools Rush In<br />
Role Models<br />
New in Town<br />
The Graduate<br />
Casablanca<br />
Premonition<br />
Mystic River<br />
The Muppets<br />
Alien Autopsy<br />
The Inbetweeners<br />
Super 8<br />
Glee<br />
The Skin I Live In<br />
The Big Lebowski,<br />
Men In Black 3<br />
To Kill a Mockingbird<br />
Le Orme<br />
Some Like it Hot<br />
Goodfellas<br />
All the President's Men<br />
She's Too Young<br />
Titanic (1953)<br />
Employee of the Month<br />
Ted<br />
Waiting<br />
Extreme Measures <br />
Capricorn One<br />
Children of Men<br />
Charlie & Boots<br />
The Way We Were<br />
Merry In-Laws<br />
Christmas Mail<br />
<br />
<i>Don't leave the entirety of Christmas shopping until December.</i><br />
- I started at the end of November so only just. I must try and remember to get things during the year when I see things because by the time November comes the prices go up and the stuff I saw during the year mysteriously disappears.<br />
<br />
<i>Possibly move house.</i><br />
- Done earlier in the year. East Belfast, we are in you!<br />
<br />
<i>Internet-world-wise:</i><br />
<br />
<i>Spend even less time playing games on the net.</i><br />
- Dear Bejewelled Blitz, it's all your fault, you and your addictive exploding gems. Other than that though I'm only playing a couple of fantasy football games so really, given how many games I used to play it's been a successful withdrawal.<br />
<br />
<i>Do a spring clean of my Google Reader.</i><br />
- To be honest it's looking a bit sparse now but then I haven't been that active in the good old blogosphere of late. Maybe something to work on in the 2013 list.<br />
<br />
<i>Spend more time commenting on the blogs I enjoy reading.</i><br />
- Like my own blog, I've been neglecting others, I do read all the blogs I follow still but like posting to my own, I've become even worse with my time. Must try harder!<br />
<br />
<i>Spend less time pointlessly commenting on political blogs where everyone has their minds made up anyway no matter what you say.</i><br />
- Same as midyear - The good news with the general lack of posting to any blog including my own is that I've not replied to one political blog since - every cloud! :)<br />
<br />
<i>Find at least 3 new blogs to follow properly - like I would those on my blog list to the bottom left of this page (if you're reading this and have any good suggestions please do add them in the comments).</i><br />
- 0/3 to be totally truthful, I haven't really kept an eye out, especially in the last 6 months. I've kept up with blogs I already read but these days I find myself more and more in the high speed world of the Twitters.<br />
I see it as just being lazy mind you. Twitter is great for finding out the latest or gauging opinion but it's not the same as a quality blog.<br />
I find I tend to get back about 1/3 of what I put in to the interwebs but if I’m not finding time to be sociable it's a tricky relationship, sometimes I do wonder if it's worth the time and effort and then every so often something happens that renews your faith in people.<br />
<br />
<i>Be more sociable (if it's not going to make my brain hurt)</i><br />
- Like someone with a New Years resolution to do more exercise, I started off trying but soon fell back onto the sofa with a bottle of something alcoholic and gave it up as a lost cause.<br />
The big problem I find with being sociable, especially online, is that everyone wants to think they are being sociable but generally those who are most active are mainly trying to bring attention to themselves and don't care for a two way conversation. <br />
And yes I realise the irony in that I have typed that in a blog post about what I've done this year, these lists aren't to show off what I've done, they're to publicly hold myself to account to try and get me doing what I'd really like to do so they actually get done (see the part on procrastination).<br />
When I put being sociable down in my 2013 I think I should probably split it into two categories.<br />
1. Being sociable with people I do know offline and<br />
2. Being sociable with people I don't know offline.<br />
In regards to 1. That I managed - I met new people, chatted to people at work who I'd normally just be polite to, indulged taxi drivers, went out of my way to chat to people at the football when I'm there by myself, I even took the plunge and at a wedding initiated a conversation with people I'd never met who were sat alone.<br />
All of this was fine and though it brought about some awkward moments I learnt something about people and will feel more at ease the next time I bump into them.<br />
Online though is a totally different scenario.<br />
I'm not sure if it's how I come across when I type, how I portray myself, who I'm typing to, where I'm active or maybe how active I am but I still feel like what I can only think to describe as a virtual vagabond.<br />
I'll keep trying but if anyone knows of a non-cultish, happy bunch of people online who like to talk about their ideas, the world around them and have a laugh, sign me up!<br />
In the meantime I'll keep replying to people on Twitter only to have them reply to someone else #sadface<br />
<br />
<i>Take even more photos.</i><br />
- On our mini-adventures, Yes. During a regular week, no - if anything I've been taking less.<br />
I've really got used to the camera I have now and I've found it isn't great for dull light (such as rainy days), which is a bit of a b*tch when you live in Northern Ireland.<br />
Good light and it's great, though the image isn't too sharp. Weirdly, for a compact camera, night-time shots - awesome.<br />
I'm very tempted to try and save up for a DSLR or Hybrid but with so many other expenses on the horizon that, like my dream of a telescope combined with a cloud free, street light free night and the means to get somewhere to use it, might just have to wait a while.<br />
<br />
<i>Disclaimer section of the 2012 list:</i><br />
<br />
<i>Try to do all this whilst not injuring Norngirl mentally or physically (she can be judge and jury at the end of the year).</i><br />
- The verdict from Norngirl is... *drum roll please* <br />
<br />
"In any harm caused by these activities I was a wilful conspirator. The Yorkshireman, in spite of his puppydog-like enthusiasm for bounding around Belfast and the wider globe, cannot be held responsible for any of the misfortune I've experienced this year. B+ Keep up the good work".Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-57751201127286379412012-12-23T04:05:00.000+00:002012-12-23T14:14:07.132+00:00Merry Christmas to Belfast and Beyond.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8298022833/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Finn McCool during a festive Chuck a Puck by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Finn McCool during a festive Chuck a Puck" height="280" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8078/8298022833_c1f0289f10.jpg" width="400" /></a>Wow it's been a while, hi everyone, sorry for the absence, I almost feel like I should reintroduce myself but to be honest, people I already know probably make up 3/4 of the people who will read this. So instead I'm going to start by wishing everyone a very happy Christmas and a really brilliant new year. <br />
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We're still in Belfast at the moment though heading over to Yorkshire for Christmas itself. We were just there a week ago for a wedding so it seems to have become more of a very well planned commute at the moment. Flying around like the pucks during the chuck-a-puck at the Belfast Giants!<br />
<br />
Talking of long commutes, it's been an odd few weeks in Belfast largely 'thanks' to the law-breaking, offence-seeking, democracy-bypassing, unable to understand how they're being used as political pawns, 'peaceful' flag protesters. They're a strange bunch, able to happily live within a culture of ignorance and cognitive dissonance relating to what they claim to stand for and the wider reality surrounding them. Don't even get me started on the politics of it all. Suffice to say, far-right groups have got the sniff of the fact that there is a spoon fed target market for them here in N.I. The delicate balance of a slightly dysfunctional but peace brokering political system is really being toyed with by the threat of violence. These games are nothing new to N.I politics but still a disgrace to a democratic society. If there is any glimmer of light to all the inexcusable saber rattling and violence, it's that it has highlighted the latent problems that still exist and plenty of the more unusual dimensions to them. I'll undoubtedly end up posting a bit more about it next year.<br />
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It's not all doom and gloom though, don't let those who shout loudest convince you otherwise. There are plenty of great things happening in Belfast and the place is looking pretty good:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8298022923/" title="Lights on the Lagan by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Lights on the Lagan" height="375" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8491/8298022923_a79f8a5a70.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8298023063/" title="Reflections of Belfast by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Reflections of Belfast" height="361" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8360/8298023063_1d3ab2ea2d.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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I'll not drone on too long, I just wanted to get back in the habit of blogging again with a quick update. I have a review of my 2012 List scheduled to be posted on the 26th and I'm working on my 2013 list so I'll be back with those as well as some travel posts and the likes as soon as possible.<br />
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Merry Christmas</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-3951847204125689152012-11-04T09:00:00.000+00:002012-11-04T09:00:03.623+00:00A Day Trip to the Armagh Planetarium<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8146332336/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Armagh Planetarium by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Armagh Planetarium" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8323/8146332336_14321f5fa9.jpg" /></a>With family visiting and the route into Belfast about to turn into a parade for the day, we decided to escape to somewhere quieter. Our solution was to get a Translink Goldline coach to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armagh">Armagh</a>, the least populated city in Northern Ireland don’t you know! We aimed to have a quick look around the city but our main aim destination was one of my favourite visitor attractions in Northern Ireland – the <a href="http://www.armaghplanet.com/index.html">Armagh Planetarium</a>.<br />
<br />
Armagh is about 1 hour and 20 minutes away by the express bus from the Europa bus station in Belfast. The bus calls at Lurgan and Portadown along the way but the journey flew by. On the way back especially as we got one of the <a href="http://www.translink.co.uk/Services/Goldline/About-us/">Goldline coach</a> that has been fitted out with free Wi-Fi.<br />
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Once we arrived in Armagh we set off from the bus station on a short walk of about 200m over to the planetarium. At the reception desk we bought our tickets to the show for later on and set off around the exhibition area.<br />
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The exhibition section isn't even close to the size of some other planetariums like the Hayden <a href="http://life-in-ni.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/awesome-day-in-nyc-at-amnh.html">planetarium in New York</a> but it still has many interesting and fun exhibits and they make great use of the space. I'm always mesmerised by the topographical map of Northern Ireland on the floor and the kids area is awesome fun - splatting images with your feet.<br />
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In one room there is a screen showing 3D short videos about science, technology and space. The one about size is quite an eye opener - Stars are huge!<br />
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If I was to be critical I'd say some of the shows and exhibits might need updating a little, some of the information on display references dates for things as future events that have already happened. It's very hard to be too critical though as access to the exhibition is free and they even have a room upstairs now with a projector showing some more recent news about astronomy events, such as updates about the Mars Curiosity Rover. Not to mention a lot of it is timeless such as getting to feel a real meteorite!<br />
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After we had walked around the exhibits, we had some snacks at the planetarium’s little café. I had a big chocolate muffin and a pot of tea and got plenty of change from 3 quid. Even the vending machine was cheaper than the apparently subsidised cafeteria at work, I kinda wish I worked nearby!<br />
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After the refuelling, we went for a walk around the <a href="http://star.arm.ac.uk/astropark/">Astropark and observatory</a> grounds.<br />
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Walking the line of the scale model of the solar system...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8146333126/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Scale Solar System Planet by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Scale Solar System Planet" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8333/8146333126_bf035d8887.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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...and being perplexed by the hypercube of wonder and broken by the Hill of Infinity - uphill I might add.<br />
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Along the way you get some nice views of the two St Patrick's Cathedrals.<br />
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On the way back to the planetarium we passed by the observatory and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orrery">orrery</a> at the top of the hill.<br />
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We made it back in time for the best bit of the planetarium - the shows in the astrodome. This bit you have to pay for, the tickets for the shows are 6 pounds for an adult. Although short they're good value, as there isn't another thing like it in Northern Ireland. The shows are usually the same shows as you'll get if you go to the planetarium in London or New York, often narrated by the likes of Whoopi Goldberg or Ewan McGregor and for the show we went to this time it was the voice of Liam Neeson.<br />
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Projected onto the roof of the dome for us this time was the show '<a href="http://armaghplanet.com/html/trailer_DynamicEarth.html">Dynamic Earth</a>'.<br />
They're only short, usually around 20-30 minutes, but they pack a lot in and the immersion is amazing. It's not 3D in the cinema glasses sense but it has the depth of the dome. In some ways it's more absorbing as everything you can see all around your head are the moving images, like watching a movie when you can't see where the walls end and the picture starts. I'm maybe bias given my degree subject but it was a good show, as it's only short in length it doesn't go into any brilliant detail but as an overview that adults and kids alike can take something from it was very engaging.<br />
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Rather than trying to describe it I'll just give the blurb from the planetarium's site:<br />
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<i>"Dynamic Earth follows a trail of energy that flows from the Sun into the interlocking systems that shape Earth's climate: the atmosphere, oceans, and the biosphere. Highlights include ultra-high-resolution visualizations of giant swirling eddies of the Gulf Stream, a recreation of the anatomy of Hurricane Katrina, microscopic ocean creatures blown up to giant size, and the most detailed recreation of the surface and atmosphere of Venus ever produced."</i><br />
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After we'd adjusted to the light, we headed to the shop and I bought a magnet to add to the collection as we’re still living the fridge magnet dream - I must take a photo of the fridge door sometime to show you all.<br />
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Our next stop was to take a walk through Armagh and find some food. We gave <a href="http://embersrestaurant.co.uk/sample-page/">Embers</a> Restaurant a try, I had a BLT with chips and it was very nice, cheap food too compared to Belfast prices. <br />
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After we’d eaten and taken a little walk around the rest of town, calling in at a few shops for a nosey, I was curious on the way back and went for a wander up the hill for a closer look at one of the Cathedrals.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8146332252/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="St Patrick's Cathedral Armagh Close View by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="St Patrick's Cathedral Armagh Close View" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8049/8146332252_0a417ee73b.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Before we headed back for the bus, we had a nice pint of Guinness in the big bar of the Charlemont Arms whilst we sat and chatted. We got very lucky with the weather on the day and it was amazing how quiet the place was given it was a sunny Saturday in September though some of that may have been due to other people heading the other way into Belfast. It turned out to be an easy going trip and just the right pace for what we needed it to be.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-870059117621849383.post-44582353499487786222012-10-31T03:34:00.001+00:002012-10-31T20:44:47.951+00:00Our Trip to Titanic Belfast<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-in-ni/8140432651/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Titanic Belfast Visitor Attraction in Belfast by Life-in-NI, on Flickr"><img alt="Titanic Belfast Visitor Attraction in Belfast" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8189/8140432651_dff6141222.jpg" /></a>I would hazard a guess that there are very few people in the western world that haven’t heard the story of the Titanic. Not to spoil the plot if you haven’t but the basics are: Ship was built, people get on ship, ship sets off, ship hits iceberg, ship sinks, lots of people killed due to lack of life saving equipment, maritime lessons learnt, disaster captures public's imagination and spawns romanticised movies.<br />
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Titanic Belfast is a visitor attraction that opened in April 2012, it is located on the site of what used to be the main part of the Harland and Wolff shipyard in what is now known as Belfast’s Titanic Quarter. The shipyards in Belfast produced many ships but undoubtedly the most famous (sadly for tragic reasons), as you might have guessed, was the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic">RMS Titanic</a>.<br />
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On the day we visited, approximately 5 months after the grand opening, there were plenty of typical Belfast <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshower">sun-showers</a> and the Titanic Belfast building glistened in the sun and rain as we got out of the taxi and walked the short distance to the main entrance. This was the first time we'd been inside and we were intrigued yet outside there were plenty of rainbows.<br />
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To tell the truth I was a little apprehensive in case it was just going to be another morbid cashing in of the disaster. Thankfully it wasn't. I found it to be something a little bit different to anything I’d expected prior to our visit. I had heard mixed reviews from people who had already been but it soon became apparent that the attraction was less about the drama and more about the history. I feel many who were giving negative reviews were really hoping for a theme park version of the movies or were so into their nautical or local history that they had their fussy blinkers on.<br />
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The main areas inside the attraction provide an insight into what it was like in Belfast at the time the ship was built, a guide to it’s construction, what it was like on board the ship and what happened after the disaster, from reaction at the time to examination of the wreck. It was very informative, revealing realities, dispelling myths and channelling the sensationalism that made the disaster so ‘popular’ in modern culture, turning public intrigue into a positive learning experience.<br />
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The best part of the experience for me were the visuals and the clarity of the information. These are the parts of the exhibits that I think stood out in an intriguing and good way:<br />
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- The scaled up - photos of Belfast in the 'Boomtown Belfast' section<br />
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- The life-sized scene displayed on a screen in the Shipyard ride of some actors showing what riveting was like.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXlr7t_rARtjac8-WFnF4tjI1tD7E0-3dtZMXzwsEUANj86XWnIAlzSoLECaCX_OdBrUExNDT09oDOgu0HadbeVVIsHS-Efi9DwyPgJxWuOj0Ubi8kXNVopQEVPU-Th-VBOGtzIqY6U_E/s1600/Titanic+Belfast+6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXlr7t_rARtjac8-WFnF4tjI1tD7E0-3dtZMXzwsEUANj86XWnIAlzSoLECaCX_OdBrUExNDT09oDOgu0HadbeVVIsHS-Efi9DwyPgJxWuOj0Ubi8kXNVopQEVPU-Th-VBOGtzIqY6U_E/s320/Titanic+Belfast+6.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>- My favourite part of the entire attraction was in the The Fit-Out section – where there is a very clever 3 walled screen projection that took you on a journey of a part of some of the decks of the ship allowing you to gauge the scale with your own eyes. I hope the powers that be don't mind but just to try and illustrate what this is, here is a blurry photo:<br />
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- Stories of the realities in 'The Aftermath', the sort of things you don't hear about in the movies, the logistics of the rescues and the impact on land as well as at sea.<br />
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- At the end in the 'Titanic Beneath' section, it was very good from a marine archaeology perspective as you can watch a short movie about the wreck of the Titanic and walk over a projection of the ship resting on the seabed and explore the debris field on interactive maps.<br />
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- The sculpture outside the main door was rather impressive too, apparently it's called Titanica and was sculpted by a man called Rowan Gillespie.<br />
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The most disappointing bit for me was 'The Launch' section which for all the interactivity and moving visuals elsewhere, this was rather static and missing the moment of awe that it has the potential to. I think I'm probably singling this part out for criticism because of what I imagined it to be like, a projection onto the glass of the footage from the launch lined up so you feel like you're there and immersed into it. What is actually there are some replica wooden docking chains on the floor with a small screen hanging from the ceiling showing the launch of the ships hull, there is a filter on the windows which is a representation of the shipyard that fades in an out as the lights are lifted to reveal the slipways today. I'm probably just being picky and being a bit harsh but I just thought it could have been done better given the high standards set by the visuals elsewhere and the unique key significance of over looking the exact site the ship was launched.<br />
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Here is <a href="http://youtu.be/BudI_lVCQR8">the promotional concept video</a> showing how it must have hoped that section would look, it's very close and one of the only things I didn't see was a lifeboat simulation – seemingly similar to that in the Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum in New York. I guess if it was left out it was probably seen as potentially in bad taste though kids in general (and us too) would no doubt have loved it as much as we enjoyed tipping back and forth on the one on the Intrepid – which was lots.<br />
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The other mildly disappointing aspect of our visit was that we got left hanging on the shipyard ride for a few minutes just feet from the end due to some idiot people standing up in another pod and some other logistical problems with some folks with a buggy but we amused ourselves pondering if it was worth jumping given there was a fake bar to head to just feet away (though a long drop separating us)!<br />
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The other strange thing was the lack of physical material from the time or the ship being inside the building. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing as by all accounts the folks who made it <a href="http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/a-visit-to-titanic-belfast.html">didn't want to recreate the ship but rather interpret it</a>. <br />
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So if you’re looking for a solid material connection to the time and place that isn't a model or a replica, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Nomadic_(1911)">SS Nomadic</a> and the old <a href="http://www.gotobelfast.com/things-to-do/member/harland-wolff-drawing-offices">Harland and Wolff Drawing Offices</a>, both of which are practically outside Titanic Belfast, are your best next stops.<br />
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Our visit to Titanic Belfast was on a Friday afternoon and it was quite busy. I think we'll go again at some point but I'd like to go when it's very quiet so I could take more time to read and absorb it all. Also, a quiet time might limit the chances of going around the museum at the same time as an idiot, in our case a 50+ old man - aka someone old enough to know better, who in blatant disregard to the signs and the staff who told him not to, wandered around the exhibitions using flash photography, annoying everyone as he did so. After being blinded in dark rooms on more than one occasion, I gave him a glare I'm not entirely proud of.<br />
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Some other good things about Titanic Belfast are very helpful and friendly staff. The building also has some great views of Belfast and the River Lagan and surrounding area. There are toilets throughout which is handy and they were very nice and clean too. I also loved that they had somewhat incorporated into the attraction the route Norngirl and I take in all museums, that of heading to the top and working our way down.<br />
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The restaurant downstairs on the far left from the main entrance looked to have nice food and the prices are about on par with the likes of an inner city café. The gift shop prices were a little Titanic but not unusual for a visitor attraction gift shop. We didn't buy anything and to be totally honest, I thought it was all a bit much in the shop, to say the exhibitions interpret the Titanic story with consideration and understanding, the shop was more like a Titanic themed Disney Store. I mean where would you wear a Titanic sailor hat? In fairness though I did try it on... I know!<br />
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The exhibits were very educational about their subject matter and I'd recommend it to anyone visiting Belfast. I think you'll get a lot more out of it if it's quiet as people got in our way a lot of the time (blocking views, stopping suddenly in front of you when walking in the dark, that sort of thing), but if you are patient it's worth playing with all the interactive exhibits and reading everything through, I thought it was very well done. Given the subject matter, I also thought the exhibits kept good balance between holding my attention and teaching - I learnt a lot! Not so much about the headline event that booked the ship’s place in history, but about the time it was built, the place it was built, the people who built it and the ship itself.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04667346027685084738noreply@blogger.com1