If you get the chance you should try to get too.......oh and an unexpected visitor!

This is probably a bit of a long shot, but if you are up in either Newcastle or Gateshead there are currently two fantastic exhibitions at the Baltic Mill art gallery on the banks of the Tyne. 

A friend and I headed up to visit on Friday for the weekend, and no visit to Newcastle is complete without a visit to the Baltic Mill, so Saturday morning ish was the time decided upon.  

Just getting there is an adventure! From the city centre there is a long wander down to the quayside, well it is a long way down, and from there across the Millennium Bridge, a spectacular piece of architecture that spans the Tyne and ends just outside the Baltic.

At the moment the artists being displayed are Anselm Kiefer, Dan Holdsworth and Dirk Bell. Whilst I am not a hugely artistic person and I am a proper Yorkshireman......I know what I like (and I like what I bloody say!).  Dirk Bell is a German, who I have to say I had no idea what his art was trying to identify or symbolise, although Anselm Kiefer, a fellow German's pieces were really spectacular. I will not try and tell anyone what to enjoy or what the pictures were representing to me, but for me I really loved his pieces "Urd Werdande Skuld (The Norns) 1983",  "Man under a Pyramid 1996" and "Lilith 1987-9".

Not the Baltic but rather the Sage, but just loved the photograph.

The other artist whose work was fantastic is Dan Holdsworth's "Blackout" Collection, in which he displays slow processed photographs of glaciers, providing fantastic images of almost extra-terrestrial intensity. The Baltic is such that you can spend a couple of hours wandering around without melting your brain, but which can be real food for the soul.

I would also like to tell you about my surprise visitor........we were staying at a friend's house in Jesmond. After a night out on the quayside......a real experience! and several drinks in a bar that I was advised was owned by "Ant n Dec" we headed back to the house, to find a cat on the doorstep.Well at 3 a.m. with no-one around to let him in next door, he let himself into the communal hallway. Thinking nothing more of it, we got into the flat, headed to our rooms. This was until about 4 a.m. when this arrived on my chest....well the photograph was taken in the morning, but he was a very bonnie laddie, who ended up needling my chest all night ( I really couldn't be ar*ed to get up and let him out!)

Cabin Fever!

I apologise again as the posts recently have not been as prolific as previously, and there is no justifiable reason, but I realised that there is only so much that you could say about the snow.

To anyone who doesn't live in the UK, I apologise, but snow here is usually a pretty huge thing (well to be honest talking about the weather is a national past-time, along with queuing......and despite the fact that we usually have weeks of notice the whole country seems to come to stop. It's amazing to see supermarket shelves empty as though the end of the world was approaching, how trains and buses freeze up, and apparently no effort is made to clear any of the snow around from the roads or pavements.

This was particularly true this last week with a dump of several inches of snow on Tuesday.....and some more on Wednesday....oh and some more throughout the rest of the week. Having bravely made it across to Manchester on Tuesday I was advised by my boss that it may be better to work from home on Wednesday (I have to say it not the type of advice that I usually need twice.....any excuse not to get up at 5:00am to commute to work is always welcomed!) But as the snow continued to fall it became impossible to travel across to work on Thursday or Friday (including the office Christmas party which was to be the crowning point of the year so far!). This has meant that i have had to look for any excuse to get out of the house, even if it was only for an hour no matter whether snow was avalanching from the roof tops, just to avoid the inevitable cabin fever.......it got to the point that by about 3:30 on most afternoons that even the dog was bored of listening to my conversation.

Trips out became a life saver......a walk down to a fantastic coffee shop for a latte (oh and to check out the crimbo lights on Newland Avenue), a trip to pick up a pint of milk, and can I also introduce you to Si the Skiing Snowman (yeah my Sister and I decided to regress......just a little bit, and to make a snowman)

Sadly (well maybe) the snow seems to be, if not thawing, then certainly not falling anymore, so it's back to work tomorrow. Am I upset? Not as much as I thought I would be!  

School re-union!

This weekend sees the annual old school re-union, well a dinner in the main hall with drinks and a talk from the Headmaster, typically a pat on the back to tell us old pupils that our legacy is being maintained (I have to say that my mates legacy seems to have been climbing the trees in the grounds, tormenting the Prefects and dinner ladies, running riot through the common room, smoking in the cemetery on Spring Bank, or sneaking across the road to the Old Zoological for a few pints at lunchtime! - I hope that this legacy is truly being upheld!) [although I accept that it is unlikely to be the subject of the Headmaster's speech]

I must admit that I haven't been for about 6 years.....it seemed to be a good way of catching up with friends whilst at University and after we had gone our own ways, but it was usually held on a Friday night and when you are away it can be difficult to get back in time.

Living up to the legacy we would typically meet up in the Old Zoological, our local, and have a few pints to reminisce before crossing the road to the bar that was typically set up in the Memorial Hall (where many hours were fruitless spent playing the demonstration tunes on electric keyboards) a few more drinks, before being lead through to the main hall, with lots of long tables, and a wine supplier. There was always a pot going round on the duration of the speeches, with the winnings typically being spent on more wine.

After the speeches it was typical for us to wander into Hull City Centre to attend a nightclub or two. I should point out at this stage that the event is Black-tie, and on occasions it has been known for me to attend wearing a kilt......(this always seemed such a good idea at the start of the night, although by the time you are walking into a club in a kilt on a Friday night in the centre of Hull, you are guaranteed an lively night!) For those who do not know Hull, or who have only arrived recently will never have known the joy of Lexington Avenues, or "LAs" as it was known.

This was a fantastically dodgy nightclub, where you would see things that you did not even believe to be possible, but which was cheap and cheesy (and didn't mind a group of about 40 people in evening dress turning up at about 12:30 on a Saturday morning to dance the remainder of the night away!)

Unfortunately this has since been demolished, taking a great slice of my history with it.......and this has left me somewhat more anxious about Saturday night.....this and the somewhat distressing fact that when I bought my ticket they asked me when I left. Telling them I left for University in 1995 made me realise that in a few years, the freshers that tend to race past me in fancy dress to various pubs, will not even have been born when I left to go (where is my life going so quickly, and why do I still think I am 12?)

I can almost hear the sleigh bells.....

Not only are the lights up around town (both Hull and Manchester) and the Christmas Market is in full swing in Manchester.......but now it is also snowing!

I realise that reading back through some of the past blogs it does seem that I am a little bit like a kiddie on Christmas Eve (Boy wanty pressie! Where Santy Clause? Want pressies now!) but it's not so much Christmas itself (although I do love Christmas) but rather the whole season of winter.

Walking to the station in the morning there is nothing quite like seeing your breath in the air and that almost painful first few breaths, almost burning the lungs.....and I love snow. I think it is a further regression to childhood.

When we were a lot younger.....I think I was about 6.....my parents bought us a set of cross country skis. They did not want us throwing ourselves down a hill on skis at a young age...that was the plan! Instead we would go to Beverley Westwood when there was snow to slog round with planks of wood on our feet, to drag ourselves up any slight incline to experience the thrill of a little gravity driven acceleration. This was the birth of a lifelong love of skiing......so I am even more excited about the snow.

So with the cold, lights, decorations and snow......bring on Christmas.

Waking, baking and Sunday dinner making......

This has been the first weekend for about 4 weeks that I have not been racing around, sleeping in trenches or jet setting off to Dublin that I had a weekend to myself, so this weekend I decided that I had to make the most of it, especially Sunday.

Getting up at stupid o'clock to commute to Manchester every day there is somethine really magically in sleeping in.....and quite sad when you get excited about lying in till 8.00am, as it was I managed to sleep in till at least 8:45 :) but then what do you do with the unexpected day to yourself?

Well my Mother has a charidee cake sale tomorrow, so I offered to back something for her to sell. Whilst I love to cook I know that my food would never get onto Masterchief. So a simple bake for a Sunday afternoon.......scones!!!!! Pretty straight forward recipe, that will sit in a processor for a few minutes and then into the oven!

8oz         - self-raising flour
1tsp        - baking powder
1 1/2 oz  - soft butter
1oz         - caster sugar
1             - egg
1/4 pint   - milk

Mix flour, baking powder and butter, then add sugar and then egg, before mixing in the milk, roll out, cut out, wash with milk....bake.....simples tsk!

Having offered to bake for the charidee it was only fitting that being in the kitchen I stayed there to prepare Sunday lunch.

After a day in the kitchen I remember how much I love cooking, and how much (bank manager willing) I would love to open my own restaurant. Maybe I should get out of law now while I have the chance!

Christmas is definitely just around the corner.

I'm not one of those people who can give you an exact count of the number of days to Christmas from any given day in the year, nor am I one of those people who organise presents throughout the year for that one day.....(I must admit I kind of cheat and when I am with someone, I tend to make notes of the things that they point out that they like so I can avoid the difficulty of making decisions on what jewellery, or pyjamas, or books etc to buy - being single can kinda suck at Christmas time)

I love the house fully decorated, the chance to spend the time with the family is fantastic, and the joy of watching my niece's face when she opens her presents makes all the time an effort worth while.

My family has a tradition at Christmas. Christmas eve is usually spent doing the last wrapping, and preparing the veggies for Christmas dinner, followed by a few drinks with friends and Midnight Mass. Christmas morning usually starts early, with my younger Sister who tends to be up at about 6.30am, even after Jess was born, and be dying to open the stockings. Stockings are opened upstairs, then breakfast of cold ham and boiled eggs and then onto the important job of opening the rest of the presents. After presents for the last ten years I will go and prepare Christmas dinner, typically with my Father's help (I tend to ensure that Dad has got at least one DVD which he can watch whilst having a drink whilst I cook! I find it so much easier that way round!)

After dinner the traditional Christmas activity takes over of sleeping through the Queen's speech, and pretty much everything else that is on TV.

I really enjoy this time of year, and Christmas seems to be just round the corner. This feeling was heightened today with the opening of Manchester's Christmas Market, a huge continental market spread throughout the centre, with all manner of stalls all festive and full of cheer (oh and mulled wine!)

P.S. - I apologise my posts are somewhat like buses.....you wait all week for one and then two come along at once!

Things to do in Dublin.......

I'm sorry to all of you for the paucity of posts so far this month.....a combination of a crazy few weeks and then a touch of bloggers block.

There have been up and down the Country at least twice a week, but then this weekend saw the entire department's annual (well semi annual.....in that it occurs when they remember and have something/somewhere to discuss with us!) grand team bonding session. This time it was a trip to Dublin, to see our new office and to meet all those people we know about but who we have never met (some of them with good reason I have to say!)

This extravegansa saw about 140 people converging from 6 airports into Dublin International Airport, which is a really nice airport and delivered by a very friendly coach driver to our hotel......(not one that I will be heading back to anytime soon, but a stereotypical conference hotel) I think that it would have been taken slightly better had our flight not left Manchester at 7.55am for a first organised event at 12:30pm. After the conference and a evening of moderate entertainment (well I say moderate...it certainly started out that way with a walk round the office, a few drinks and a dinner, but ended up somewhat messily!)

A couple of us decided that as we had travelled over to Dublin, it would be good to stay over on Saturday night and enjoy Saturday in Dublin, so wondered what you can do. Having checked online we realised that we would be pushed to fit everything in.

Things that we thought that we would do:

1. Visit the Guiness museum,
2. Have our photo taken with Molly Malone,
3. Walk round Trinity College,
4. Visit Grafton Street,
5. See Landesdowne Road Stadium (and if possible see a game there!)

Well I would love to say that we did everything in the list and lets face it it isn't exactly an onerous list. Saturday morning saw us decide to go for a walk into town, having seen the stadium from a distance (.....about a mile from the hotel) Does this count?

A walk into the centre.....past Trinity College, and along Grafton Street, we found a pub.....well after a somewhat late night on Friday a coffee for me.....whilst the guys hit the Guiness straight away at 10:30am. Some 17 hours later we made it back to the hotel! There was fantastic live folk music, some hugely friendly people (except for one very well informed young lady who decided that she had to inform us four poor guys from the mainland the effects of 16 Guinesses in a short space of time - thankfully not experienced her dire warnings!) great beers and I can hugely recommend the Porterhouse - Temple Bar.

Whilst the flight home on Sunday was not too fun Dublin was everything that it was billed as, and can't wait to go back......

P.S. - Having looked at the list of things to do we:

1. Drank pretty much the whole Guiness museum's worth,
2. Definitely saw Molly Malone.....if not been able to focus a camera on her
3. Walked along Grafton Street and around Trinity College.....trying to find the pub where we were to meet up, and
4. Saw Landsdowne Road Stadium - from afar......and even caught a rugby match, even if it was whilst sitting in a pub with a beer in my hand!

Result I would say!