May

As mentioned in an earlier blog (perhaps my last one), the countryside around Leicester is beautiful. While riding I have come across some quaint little towns that are so pristine and typical English, they have to be seen to be appreciated. So on my last ride I took my camera with me. The first set of pictures were taken in towns and the countryside around Leicester.

Since moving to Europe 2 years ago my life has changed inexplicably. Two examples of this are the fact I now regularly listen to classical music (daily in fact) and I read. Now, by the standards of most book readers, I am still a slow reader as I regularly spend a few months on an average book. However, right now I have 3 books on the go concurrently and they are all by Bill Bryson.

At Christmas Nina gave me Mother Tongue which is Bryson’s book on the English language and how it came to be. It in immensely interesting, but the type of book I read periodically before going to sleep. Upon discovering we would be moving to the UK I read Notes from a Small Island about his final voyage around the UK before moving back to the States. I am now reading the follow-up to that book called Notes from a Big Country which is a collection of articles he wrote for The Mail about being American, sympathising with the Brits (as he had been there for 30 years) and now living in his homeland as a stranger. Each of the 78 articles is 4 pages long and perfect for bathroom reading. I am 5 sessions away from finishing this book which I have been enjoying for the past 13 weeks.

Last weekend Nina and spent almost 4 hours in transit on the East Midlands trains and I started a book I have been wanting to read for some time; A Walk in the Woods. This was a birthday present from Nina and a book I had reserved for my month of June on the Mediterranean. I envisioned myself sitting on a beach in Marseille or perhaps on the Amalfi coast reading about Bryson’s trek along the Appalachian Trail. I got through the first three chapters yesterday (which didn’t take me 4 hours; I enjoy watching the English countryside slide by and only read when the view was boring). When I finish Notes from a Large Country I have earmarked A Short History of Nearly Everything — Bryson’s science book — as my next bathroom literary adventure.

Reading and classical music are all well and good, but to round off our cultural awakening Nina and I decided to take in some theatre. Last fall when she was on his first field season I went to Leicester’s Curve theatre. It’s a modern new facility boasting all the state of the art technology and conveniences a new theatre should. As Leicester doesn’t have a professional resident theatre troupe, all the plays are presented by travelling theatre companies. I don’t recall the name of the piece I saw; only that it was harsh and graphic, yet well acted.

Nina was eager to see Oscar Wilde’s Salome which we watched 2 weekends back. What the theatre’s website (and advertisements) failed to mention was how this was an avante-garde production taking several liberties with the meaning and innuendo. What we ended up with was a highly charged play full of gratuitous sexual reference and an ultra-modern setting for a classic play. As with the play I saw in the fall, this one had a fair bit of violence, blood and gore. We were both stunned, however I have to admit, I probably enjoyed it more due to this unique twist as the original synopsis didn’t strike me as being overly interesting initially.

Later this month an amateur Leicester theatre is presenting Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park which we have already purchased tickets to. This one I am really looking forward to as it’s hard to mess with a Neil Simon play.

Earlier I made mention of the fact Nina and I spent 4 hours travelling last weekend. We had been invited by Robert (my mother’s brother) to visit his family in Leamington Spa. By car it is about an hour’s drive, but by train we had to go via Birmingham which isn’t really on the way. With the delay between the connections the trip ended up taking 2 hours in each direction.

Neither of us had been to Leamington Spa, although we had been to Warwick last fall which is a neighbouring community and is essentially the same (the way Burnaby is to Vancouver).

Leamington is beautiful (and all the pictures from here on are from Leamington). We were taken with the beauty of Warwick and although Leamington looks much different (far less medieval), it is a gorgeous town of around 50k people.

We arrived a few hours earlier than our invitation at Robert’s house so we could take in the town centre. Nina had learned there was an Esprit store (she misses it in Leicester) and so we set out on the main shopping road, but were unable to find it.

There is a river which snakes through the centre of town and a tremendous amount of parkland along the river. From the shopping streets to the parks to the residential neighbourhood we walked through on our way to Robert’s house; all of it looked wonderful.

It was great to see Robert, Cathie and Joe again. Cathy’s daughter Kate was staying with them and had brought a friend alone. As well, Cathie’s sister and Joe’s Norwegian girlfriend were visiting so they had a full house.

Their house is lovely with a charming deck in the back full of flowers and bushes in bloom. We had a late afternoon lunch on the deck before taking a walk to Robert’s allotment. I had no idea he had a green thumb, but apparently it is a hobby he took up last year and was actually yielding some vegetables.

In all, we had a great day and I was really happy to reunite with Robert and Cathie. Unfortunately our ability to see Joe will be limited as he is moving to Norway next month. However, we will be far more proactive in keeping in touch and seeing each other on a more regular basis.

I was invited to an open house at De Montfort University 2 weeks ago to see the final projects of the Master’s student from the Creative Technologies program. Essentially a chance to see where I will be in 2 ½ years time. I was really impressed with the quality and diversity of the work. On that front, I have now amassed all the documents and letters I need to satisfy their requirements. I am hoping to receive a letter at some point in the not too distant future telling me I have an unconditional acceptance.

I have been made aware of a local group/club called Amplified Leicester. They call themselves “a city-wide experiment in social media that uses social media and the web to enhance their abilities to sense their world, create shared resources and act collaboratively”. Within this group is a sub-group called Creative Coffee Leicester. They meet every two weeks to “provide a place for business people, academics, teachers, public sector workers and managers to network, exchange ideas and discuss how to foster creativity and innovation in the workplace”. I was fascinated by this concept and attended their meet-up this past week which was actually a workshop on how to network effectively.

It took place in the coffee shop at the Phoenix Arts Centre which is a brand new mixed space development marrying residential living with a multi-media complex to promote the arts. They have two full-size movie theatres for small-run movies and meeting space for organisations such as Creative Coffee Leicester. We moved to one of the rooms where we broke down our boundaries and tried some networking exercises which proved to be effective. After it was over most of us stuck around and continued to talk and meet each other. The attendees ranged from their 20’s to 40’s and all were professionals from different industries and backgrounds. I found them all to be friendly, which was expected as they were all there to meet other people. I joined up and will look forward to meeting them again in another 2 weeks.

One of the things Shawn and I had planned to do in NY was see a concert. A particular band we both like called Transatlantic was playing select dates in America and Europe. In the end I didn’t get to go to NY and missed the show. Shawn, on the other hand, did see them and couldn’t say enough positive things about the show.

As it turned out, they were playing a few nights in the UK and so I travelled up to Manchester this weekend to see the final night of their tour. Transatlantic are the quintessential progressive rock super group; they played for 3 hours and 15 minutes and only played 6 songs.

Rock and roll does not get the same respect as other forms of music such as jazz (with its varying time signatures and unique chords structures) or classical music (with its reoccurring themes, epic/complex compositions, changing tempos and ebbs and flows). Progressive rock marries these elements with many songs composed and arranged like a symphony and running 30 minutes in length. For this reason, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that I am now getting into classical music.

My train to Manchester left me for an hour in Sheffield in between connections. I wandered through the town centre, which looked nice enough. This weekend the UK is going through a heat wave with the temperatures in the 26-28 range. In front of Sheffield’s town hall is a park with fountains which were full of kids seeking a refreshing respite from the heat.

Upon arrive in Manchester I made my way to my accommodations; which were less than ideal. The concert was in a venue on the university’s campus and the only place to stay remotely close to the venue and without breaking the bank was atop a bar. I had my own private room, but it was the style and quality of a budget hostel and had the added inconvenience of a resident DJ in the bar who played until 1 or 2 in the morning. From my room all I could hear was the bass and thump. However, after spending 4 hours on my feet at the concert (standing room only) nothing could keep me awake. The venue (both concert and ‘hostel’) did not have air conditioning which made for a sticky night and little sleep.

I woke up early Sunday morning and dropped my bag at the train station. With 3 hours until I was due to leave, I wandered around downtown Manchester. I was pleasantly surprised at how attractive it is. There is a canal network that intertwines its way through the once industrial section of town. They have revitalised this area with bars, restaurants and lofts and a path that follows the canal through town.

I saw the old Roman ruins, the impressive city hall complex and the cathedral which are all on different sides of the city. The downtown is quite compact for a city of its size and I felt I saw a good chunk of what it had to offer on my morning stroll.

My train ride back to Leicester included another hour in Sheffield which I used to sit in the sun at the station plaza and read a newspaper. It’s such a simple pleasure, but one you don’t fully appreciate until you spend some time living in a country where the native language isn’t English.

I had a good time and am thoroughly happy I went to the time, hassle and effort to see the concert. But after an exhausting 25 hours away, I am really glad to be back home again.

It’s late May and its 26 degrees in Leicester today. I have a feeling I might get to experience a real summer for the first time in a couple of years.