Leisure

So this is Christmas…

Hal

What a heck of a year.

Having been made redundant this time last year it has been a whirlwind, with barely any time at all to stop and think, let alone blog. At some points in the year I really didn’t think I’d get to December in one piece, let alone smiling.

And when you least expect it (well, I know it happens regularly) there creeps up another Christmas to hurtle you into the following year… BUT not before you have time to sit down and enjoy yet another rendition of the Great Escape or something like that. And always accompanied by enough wine and mince pies to sink a small boat, it seems (certainly feels like it – where are my running shoes?).

The other side of all this is that every now and then a kind relative or loved one bestows on you a gift of such magnitude that you don’t know what to say, and can only reflect on how hideously inappropriate your own gift to them was by comparison. So what to do when there is not one, but two such gifts in the same year? It has been difficult to find time to enjoy them at all yet!

First up is the pretty magnificent XBox 360, complete with games including Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4. Not that this is a particularly new gadgt to the market, but for ages now I’ve been plodding along with a standard XBox (now for sale, fully working, loadsa games!) which has done me proud over the years. However, when I plugged in the new ‘360’ using HD leads into my Sony Bravia LCD TV I was simply blown away. The graphics are awesome compared to before and the detail in the games is ridiculously good. What really makes it for me though is the wireless controllers. Oh yes! At last…. an end to the trailing cables all over the front room! I haven’t had much chance to put it through its paces yet, but will do so over the next few months, no doubt! One thing I definitely won’t be doing is subscribing to XBox ‘Live’ though – the last time saw me get ‘fragged’ within seconds of joining a game and then being charged for the privilege! heh… serves me right, I suppose… but have you ever tried to unsubscribe from it? It’s almost as bad as getting out of dinner with the mother in law. It *can* be done, but you need a strong stomach to get through the process.

Second up was a complete surprise – the Asus EEE PC. This is the smallest laptop I’ve ever held, has no hard drive, 4GB RAM and runs a flavour of linux. It has wi-fi, a web cam, plenty of USB slots, a slot for SD cards and a pretty slick look and feel all round.

As a Mac user, it seems reasonable to want to load on a version of MacOSX – so that’s the first thing I’ll do. Yes, I know it wasn’t designed to, but the thing is, this little gadget is crying out to be modified, played around with and generally taken to any limit you want to try. If it all goes horribly wrong, use the included install disc (you’ll need an external CD drive) to reinstall back to factory settings again. Brilliant.

I may even attempt to get Windows running on it too… but how cool would it be to have a selection of USB drives which have any operating system you want on them… go into the BIOS, set the boot order, plug in the flavour of drive you want and away you go… It’s crying out to be done, in my opinion. In fact, I’d be very surprised if it hadn’t already been done by someone somewhere.

These are magnificent ‘hobbyist’ devices, apart from anything else. They seem ideal for school use, too and have enough about them to be a pretty useful lightweight alternative to that 17″ macBook you’ve been lugging all over the place (well, OK, I’ll*still* lug that all over the place). All in all they are a winner. But don’t take my word for it… check out any review you like!

So, a brilliant year in lots of ways, capped off with some extraordinarily fabulous gifts that will see me well into the future. My thanks to all who have helped, supported, paid, cajoled, cheered, cried and generally been there along the way. I almost can’t believe it has been possible 🙂

Dartmoor Letterboxes

Hal

I have been an avid letterboxer for many years but recently I haven’t been able to get down to Devon. However, I was pleased to see a Facebook community for letterboxing and joined up… but it’s moving slowly.

I found a new letterboxing enthusiast over at http://www.Saynotopontins.co.uk

The title is a bit odd, but you need to read the content to understand why it’s called what it is. I’ll give you a clue… it’s about Pontins and a bad experience or two that folk have had!

Why not head over there and see what’s being said about letterboxing, too?

The Police in Concert, Review of London Gig, 8th September 2007

Hal

The policeThis was the first time since 1983 that The Police have played together in London and I have to say it was an incredibly good gig! I have always liked the music they produce, with some very firm favourites including ‘Every Breath You Take’. However, I have never seen them live and so I was delighted to have the opportunity to do so on Saturday 8th September.

The venue was Twickenham, home of English rugby and every time I visit the stadium I am in awe of the place. This visit was no different and the very feeling of being in the ground made it a special occasion for me. With seats in the middle tier of the East stand we couldn’t have been further form the stage so it was with some relief I saw large video screens in place.

At 8.25 the lights dimmed and a roar went up from some 80,000 people. On walked three tiny figures and out came the most amazing sound – opening the gig with ‘Message in a bottle’ was brilliant! The sound stacks were well placed and the delay between the visual and the audio was quite small, but definitely noticeable. The set raged on with classics such as ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me’ and ‘Roxanne’, Walking On the Moon’ and ‘Invisible Sun’. In fact there was very little that wasn’t recognisable as a top 40 hit at some point or another. Crowd pleasers were definitely ‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic’ and my all time fave – ‘Every Breath You Take’. No messing around with the arrangements, these were right out of the old school, sounding as perfect as they could given the intervening years. Stuart Copeland was simply awesome to listen to… so busy and still so creative. It was worth going for that alone – except when he decided to talk to the audience right at the very end. Stuart – great drumming but leave the mic alone! We know you are American, and are delighted that your heart is in London. Please keep playing the music with such passion!

Being the length of a rugby pitch away from the stage could have been a disaster. The video screens were a Godsend and the audio was astonishingly good for such a large venue. The acoustics must be pretty good in there.

By 10:15 we were done. It was a night to remember for sure, and the crowd leaving the venue filled the roads to capacity. No cars were going anywhere for a while, that was for sure. The only dampener for me was getting out of the parking area we had used – a school about a mile from the ground. It would normally take a little over an hour to drive from Twickenham home, but instead it took two and a half. Sigh. On the other hand, it was well worth it!

If you are wondering whether or not to go and see this group, just do it. You won’t be disappointed if you (like me) spent your formative years with them in the UK charts each week. If you can get a seat near the front then great, if not, enjoy the lights and audio, watch the big screens and revel in whatever song is your favourite… if it got into the charts, it’ll be played on the night, I think. I wish I’d kept a set list, but from memory (but not in order) these are what made the cut:

Message in a Bottle, Can’t stand losing you, Wrapped Around your finger, Don’t stand so close to me, Driven to tears, King of pain, Walking in your footsteps, Walking on the moon, Every little thing she does is magic, De do do do de da da da, Every Breath you take, Roxanne, So lonely, Invisible Sun… and probably one or two others.

Looking for B&B or a small hotel in the New Forest?

Hal

Having recently visited the New Forest for a short break, I was amazed at how popular the place is. Nearly all of the accommodation gets booked up early, so for the first time in ages we stayed in B&B.

Having done so, I can’t see why I would want to stay in a hotel at all now. The standard of B&B in the New Forest is extremely high (at least, the ones we tried were excellent). Check out Orchard House B&B (they don’t advertise, but are on the way to Lymington from Lyndhurst, past Brockenhurst and on the left hand side),  but also check out Burwood Lodge, right in the centre of Lyndhurst. I can’t say how brilliant these places were (for different reasons) but if you want a near hotel experience go to Burwood Lodge. If you want a real family experience try Orchard House.

The only slight issue with Burwood Lodge is the location – being in the middle of Lyndhurst makes it ideal in so many ways, except if you are driving… Lyndhurst is akin to the M25 on a Friday. Static, mostly 😉