I have an announcement to make before I carry on with this blog - I've decided that from now on, my video blogs on YouTube will be private, and only viewable to my friends, and while I will not be making this text blog private, I will be more careful as to what I post in it. My reason for this is because I don't think displaying my personal life for the world to see is appropriate, because at the end of the day I don't know just who's watching my videos or viewing this blog. This is really how it should've been from the start, but of course I didn't know any better. Thanks for understanding.
I had a feeling that September would be an eventful month, and it certainly was - on the downbeat side of things, the lack of job situation remains the same, and I've also found myself becoming less motivated to do artwork. This is something I mentioned a few blogs back, and I think the main reason for it is everything going on in my life at this moment in time, but also because of the also previously mentioned gripes with DeviantArt - honestly, going there and just seeing pages of fanart, fanart, fetish art, fanart is enough to wonder what the point is anymore. There is no way I will ever leave DA though, I've been there too long and made too many friends through it for that to happen. At the end of the day, we all have our opinions and a choice to either acknowledge all the fanart etc, or to simply ignore it and carry on doing what you do. I know which option I'm choosing.
On the plus side of things, the change of season from Summer to Autumn isn't the only thing that's been happening this month. On the 8th, I took a 2 day trip down to London, my second visit there, met up with my good friend Mike (aka Dracorum-Order) and saw the city's sights and sounds, revisiting places we'd seen before and exploring new ones too. The trip was both for fun and business however, as I was also down there to have my medical checkup as part of the application for my US visa. It went very well indeed, and I very much enjoyed visiting London once again.
But wait, there's more - the London doctors wanted some extra information from me, which I had to get from my local doctors, and it ended up taking a week and a half longer than I'd have liked, but the US Embassy now has my documentation, and they will be contacting me within the next month and a half to schedule a visa interview, so it's all happening - exciting times.
My videos from the London trip are right here - and I'll leave you with this bit of cosmic artwork - my alien characters feeling right at home in Tomorrowland.
30/09/2015
13/09/2015
London: September 2015
Travel time again - and it was at very short notice, I have to say. On 8 September I paid only my second visit to my home country's capital city - London, of course. There was a twist with this trip however, it wasn't all for pleasure, there was a spot of business involved - I'll get to that later on.
Day 1
With only a slight delay, I took the 3 hour train ride from Durham down to London King's Cross. I'd only been in London about a couple of weeks previously, travelling through to get to the Isle of Wight, however this was the first time I'd visited London for the purpose of visiting London since December 2013, and as mentioned before, only the second time I'd done so. Just like last time, I met up with my good friend Mike, aka Dracorum-Order from DeviantArt, who was letting fly with his puns pretty much as soon as we said hello, and speaking of flying, before we headed into the city, we met with King's Cross' resident rat-catcher, a hawk named Harris.
One quick Tube train ride later and we were revisiting the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and the Abbey in Westminster, before making our way along to the picturesque St. James's Park, a favourite spot from last time around - no squirrels jumping on me this time though, but there were plenty of wildfowl including various types of ducks, swans, and a heron. We then made our way to the Household Cavalry Museum, the home of the Royal Horse Guards, where we walked on the large courtyard and saw the classic architecture of the place, as well as getting some photos of the two Horse Guards on duty.
Before long, we were back in another familiar place, London's famous Trafalgar Square, where we stopped for some dinner while checking out the Square's fountains and bustling atmosphere, complete with a skeleton of what looked like a dinosaur or a bird, we weren't sure. Following that, we made our way along London's famous Strand street, where we came across the historic Somerset House, with its paved courtyard, plus one of London's many abandoned Tube stations, but this one was the most well-known of them all, the former Aldwych/Strand station, well-known because it has been used many times as a filming location. We weren't able to go inside, but it was cool to see the entrance all the same. Just across the road was the Australian Embassy, which reminded me of my pending visit to the US Embassy (more on that whole process a little later).
We then jumped on the Tube once again to Wood Lane, to get a quick look at an iconic London building, the closed BBC Television Centre, however it was in the process of getting demolished - still, at least I can say I got to see it anyway. Then it was another ride on the Tube to probably one of the most famous streets in the world, not just London - Baker Street, where we found a museum dedicated to who else but Sherlock Holmes, along with the door to his house, complete with a plaque saying that he'd lived there, or rather "lived" there. Me and Mike also ended up on something of a wild goose chase, thanks to a comment we overheard from a passer-by, we thought it would be a good idea to try and find Dangermouse's postbox (anyone who's seen Dangermouse will know what I'm talking about), and while we did find a couple of postboxes on Baker Street, none of them made any mention of a certain secret agent mouse - ah well, we tried.
We then jumped on a bus up to the very picturesque and sprawling Regent's Park, and once we got there it was easy to see why it's such a well-loved beauty spot, it was definitely a welcome breath of fresh air from the bustling city centre, with its playing fields, gardens and boating lake. Also located in the park was the famous London Zoo, which was closed for the day - more on that later, too. Just across the road from the park was Primrose Hill, and it was a hefty climb up to the top, however it was well worth it, because from the top of the hill was an awesome view of the London skyline, and it was certainly a very popular spot.
From Primrose Hill we took a lengthy walk back through Regent's Park to the busy London borough of Camden, which was of course very busy, complete with street dancers doing their thing outside the Tube station, where we once again took the Tube through to London Bridge, to revisit the London riverside, which included dancing fountains, the HMS Belfast frigate, London's tallest skyscraper The Shard, and another of London's most iconic landmarks, Tower Bridge. Last time round we saw the bridge from a distance, however this time we decided to take a walk on the bridge and check out the views across the River Thames, as well as briefly checking out the Tower of London also.
At this point it was dark, so we jumped on a train from London Bridge through to Mike's home town of Croydon, in south London, where I got to experience a London pub for the first time with a meal of burger, chips and pineapple juice at the Green Dragon pub. Then it was a quick bus ride to the block of flats that Mike called home - he very kindly put me up for the night at his place, which I appreciated greatly (thanks again, I owe you one). This wasn't the first time I'd stayed overnight in London, so it wasn't really a huge departure for me, and I managed to sleep just fine. Of course, me and Mike had to get some late night doodles in there, too.
Day 2
It was time for the business side of the trip - after some breakfast including a very delicious apple-flavoured green tea that I'd never tried before, we headed back to the train station via a quick tram ride, taking the train back into the centre of London and jumping on a Tube train to Bond Street, where I made my way to a very fancy looking place called Bentinck Mansions, the home of Knightsbridge Doctors. The reason I was there was to undergo a medical check-up, which was a requirement for applying for my US visa, and it was also the reason that this London trip was short notice. Mike headed off elsewhere while I went inside, and after a little bit of a wait, I saw three different doctors who assessed me and performed a check-up on me - I won't go into detail, but the long and short of it was that everything was fine. I'd been nervous about the medical, however it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be - the only bad thing was the fee I had to pay for it, it wasn't cheap!
Me and Mike reconvened after a brief wander around trying to find the meeting place we'd arranged, before jumping on a bus at Oxford Street down to the historic district of Soho, where we wandered around its narrow streets (which reminded me a lot of similar streets in Durham and York) until we found a place to grab some dinner, a busy but quaint café called Honest Burgers - no surprises for guessing what we had, very good burgers and chips too.
A short walk later, and we found ourselves in "Theatreland", aka London's West End, where we witnessed a coach trying to almost unsuccessfully reverse into a parking spot, as well as the streets lined with what were most probbaly very packed theatres, and of course teeming with people. We made our way to London's Chinatown district from there, complete with many Chinese restaurants (including one that Mike's family once owned), someone in a panda costume, and the beautifully ornate Oriental gates at the entrance and exit of the street. Before long, we found ourselves in London's equivalent of Times Square in New York City - Leicester Square, and much like Times Square it was absolutely packed. Just a short walk further along was another famous sight, the advertisment boards and striking white architecture of Piccadilly Circus.
From there, it was another Tube train ride back to Regent's Park, to pay a visit to London Zoo, one of the biggest zoos that I've been to, next to Southwick Zoo in Massachusetts in the US. There wasn't time to see absolutely everything there, but what we did see was well worth it - we got to witness a live talk on the zoo's resident Sumatran tigers, with one of the tigers getting up close and personal to the windows; a Komodo dragon named Raja who'd had a starring role in the James Bond film "Skyfall" (my first time seeing a Komodo dragon too); a quartet of Galapagos tortoises (one of which was born in 1940!); the Amphibian Ark, which was home to many different types of reptiles and amphibians, including snakes, frogs, chameleons and a crocodile; Gorilla Kingdom, with various very playful monkeys and a lone gorilla who was content playing with a sack; a colony of penguins being fed and swimming to their heart's content at Penguin Beach; a group of pelicans and flamingoes plus some colourful macaws; and last but not least, an exhibit dedicated to bugs, including a plague of locusts (!), cockroaches, spiders, a praying mantis, and to equal disgust and delight, bluebottle fly maggots!
Time was getting short at this point, however there was just enough time to revisit another landmark - and quite appropriate considering that the Queen was celebrating becoming the UK's longest reigning monarch that day - Buckingham Palace, complete with Mike's sneaky Queen and Prince Philip impression. ;)
Before we knew it, we were heading back through Green Park and back on the Tube to King's Cross, where me and Mike said our goodbyes, before I headed back up north and back home, one train to ride to Darlington, one late train to Durham and a mad dash for the bus later.
All in all, it was a great trip, I was glad to get the medical out of the way and I enjoyed getting to revisit some of London's sights as well as seeing new sights too, and I want to thank Mike again for putting me up for the night and keeping me company - London is best enjoyed when you've got a friend with you, and while I wouldn't ever wish to live in London, or any city for that matter, I definitely recommend visiting it.
To see my photos from the trip, click here.
Day 1
With only a slight delay, I took the 3 hour train ride from Durham down to London King's Cross. I'd only been in London about a couple of weeks previously, travelling through to get to the Isle of Wight, however this was the first time I'd visited London for the purpose of visiting London since December 2013, and as mentioned before, only the second time I'd done so. Just like last time, I met up with my good friend Mike, aka Dracorum-Order from DeviantArt, who was letting fly with his puns pretty much as soon as we said hello, and speaking of flying, before we headed into the city, we met with King's Cross' resident rat-catcher, a hawk named Harris.
One quick Tube train ride later and we were revisiting the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and the Abbey in Westminster, before making our way along to the picturesque St. James's Park, a favourite spot from last time around - no squirrels jumping on me this time though, but there were plenty of wildfowl including various types of ducks, swans, and a heron. We then made our way to the Household Cavalry Museum, the home of the Royal Horse Guards, where we walked on the large courtyard and saw the classic architecture of the place, as well as getting some photos of the two Horse Guards on duty.
Before long, we were back in another familiar place, London's famous Trafalgar Square, where we stopped for some dinner while checking out the Square's fountains and bustling atmosphere, complete with a skeleton of what looked like a dinosaur or a bird, we weren't sure. Following that, we made our way along London's famous Strand street, where we came across the historic Somerset House, with its paved courtyard, plus one of London's many abandoned Tube stations, but this one was the most well-known of them all, the former Aldwych/Strand station, well-known because it has been used many times as a filming location. We weren't able to go inside, but it was cool to see the entrance all the same. Just across the road was the Australian Embassy, which reminded me of my pending visit to the US Embassy (more on that whole process a little later).
We then jumped on the Tube once again to Wood Lane, to get a quick look at an iconic London building, the closed BBC Television Centre, however it was in the process of getting demolished - still, at least I can say I got to see it anyway. Then it was another ride on the Tube to probably one of the most famous streets in the world, not just London - Baker Street, where we found a museum dedicated to who else but Sherlock Holmes, along with the door to his house, complete with a plaque saying that he'd lived there, or rather "lived" there. Me and Mike also ended up on something of a wild goose chase, thanks to a comment we overheard from a passer-by, we thought it would be a good idea to try and find Dangermouse's postbox (anyone who's seen Dangermouse will know what I'm talking about), and while we did find a couple of postboxes on Baker Street, none of them made any mention of a certain secret agent mouse - ah well, we tried.
We then jumped on a bus up to the very picturesque and sprawling Regent's Park, and once we got there it was easy to see why it's such a well-loved beauty spot, it was definitely a welcome breath of fresh air from the bustling city centre, with its playing fields, gardens and boating lake. Also located in the park was the famous London Zoo, which was closed for the day - more on that later, too. Just across the road from the park was Primrose Hill, and it was a hefty climb up to the top, however it was well worth it, because from the top of the hill was an awesome view of the London skyline, and it was certainly a very popular spot.
From Primrose Hill we took a lengthy walk back through Regent's Park to the busy London borough of Camden, which was of course very busy, complete with street dancers doing their thing outside the Tube station, where we once again took the Tube through to London Bridge, to revisit the London riverside, which included dancing fountains, the HMS Belfast frigate, London's tallest skyscraper The Shard, and another of London's most iconic landmarks, Tower Bridge. Last time round we saw the bridge from a distance, however this time we decided to take a walk on the bridge and check out the views across the River Thames, as well as briefly checking out the Tower of London also.
At this point it was dark, so we jumped on a train from London Bridge through to Mike's home town of Croydon, in south London, where I got to experience a London pub for the first time with a meal of burger, chips and pineapple juice at the Green Dragon pub. Then it was a quick bus ride to the block of flats that Mike called home - he very kindly put me up for the night at his place, which I appreciated greatly (thanks again, I owe you one). This wasn't the first time I'd stayed overnight in London, so it wasn't really a huge departure for me, and I managed to sleep just fine. Of course, me and Mike had to get some late night doodles in there, too.
Day 2
It was time for the business side of the trip - after some breakfast including a very delicious apple-flavoured green tea that I'd never tried before, we headed back to the train station via a quick tram ride, taking the train back into the centre of London and jumping on a Tube train to Bond Street, where I made my way to a very fancy looking place called Bentinck Mansions, the home of Knightsbridge Doctors. The reason I was there was to undergo a medical check-up, which was a requirement for applying for my US visa, and it was also the reason that this London trip was short notice. Mike headed off elsewhere while I went inside, and after a little bit of a wait, I saw three different doctors who assessed me and performed a check-up on me - I won't go into detail, but the long and short of it was that everything was fine. I'd been nervous about the medical, however it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be - the only bad thing was the fee I had to pay for it, it wasn't cheap!
Me and Mike reconvened after a brief wander around trying to find the meeting place we'd arranged, before jumping on a bus at Oxford Street down to the historic district of Soho, where we wandered around its narrow streets (which reminded me a lot of similar streets in Durham and York) until we found a place to grab some dinner, a busy but quaint café called Honest Burgers - no surprises for guessing what we had, very good burgers and chips too.
A short walk later, and we found ourselves in "Theatreland", aka London's West End, where we witnessed a coach trying to almost unsuccessfully reverse into a parking spot, as well as the streets lined with what were most probbaly very packed theatres, and of course teeming with people. We made our way to London's Chinatown district from there, complete with many Chinese restaurants (including one that Mike's family once owned), someone in a panda costume, and the beautifully ornate Oriental gates at the entrance and exit of the street. Before long, we found ourselves in London's equivalent of Times Square in New York City - Leicester Square, and much like Times Square it was absolutely packed. Just a short walk further along was another famous sight, the advertisment boards and striking white architecture of Piccadilly Circus.
From there, it was another Tube train ride back to Regent's Park, to pay a visit to London Zoo, one of the biggest zoos that I've been to, next to Southwick Zoo in Massachusetts in the US. There wasn't time to see absolutely everything there, but what we did see was well worth it - we got to witness a live talk on the zoo's resident Sumatran tigers, with one of the tigers getting up close and personal to the windows; a Komodo dragon named Raja who'd had a starring role in the James Bond film "Skyfall" (my first time seeing a Komodo dragon too); a quartet of Galapagos tortoises (one of which was born in 1940!); the Amphibian Ark, which was home to many different types of reptiles and amphibians, including snakes, frogs, chameleons and a crocodile; Gorilla Kingdom, with various very playful monkeys and a lone gorilla who was content playing with a sack; a colony of penguins being fed and swimming to their heart's content at Penguin Beach; a group of pelicans and flamingoes plus some colourful macaws; and last but not least, an exhibit dedicated to bugs, including a plague of locusts (!), cockroaches, spiders, a praying mantis, and to equal disgust and delight, bluebottle fly maggots!
Time was getting short at this point, however there was just enough time to revisit another landmark - and quite appropriate considering that the Queen was celebrating becoming the UK's longest reigning monarch that day - Buckingham Palace, complete with Mike's sneaky Queen and Prince Philip impression. ;)
Before we knew it, we were heading back through Green Park and back on the Tube to King's Cross, where me and Mike said our goodbyes, before I headed back up north and back home, one train to ride to Darlington, one late train to Durham and a mad dash for the bus later.
All in all, it was a great trip, I was glad to get the medical out of the way and I enjoyed getting to revisit some of London's sights as well as seeing new sights too, and I want to thank Mike again for putting me up for the night and keeping me company - London is best enjoyed when you've got a friend with you, and while I wouldn't ever wish to live in London, or any city for that matter, I definitely recommend visiting it.
To see my photos from the trip, click here.
31/08/2015
August 2015
I must be really starting to sound like a broken record now...but this month, like every other month, has been up and down, but in a way it feels like this month has been more so then normal.
Bad stuff out of the way first - I'm not going to disclose the details on here for the whole world to see, but my brother was hit with a very big setback this month, as in a financial setback - however he is taking steps to try and fix it. I'm mentioning this because as I've said before, I don't want my brother to be up the creek without a paddle once I eventually make my move to the US. Proof that money does not, never has, and never will bring happiness.
I've also felt like lately that my stress levels have been rocketing - stupid DeviantArt related crap, the whole immigration saga, plus the pressure of trying to find a job and my social anxiety have all been factors. And as a result of this I've severed ties with someone who was a friend, and I'm not gonna name any names, but while I could've handled the situation better, they could have too. I do not have any time for people who are quite happy to unapologetically and publicly humiliate me, even after I apologised for my part - real friends do not do that to each other, and that's all I have to say on that.
There has been a lot of good stuff this month too, and that includes some good news on the immigration front - I applied for and recieved one of the documents I need for both the medical and visa interview, my police certificate, so that's a step forward at least. Also, I've contacted the US Embassy regarding the status of my case, so I'm waiting to hear back about that.
I also got to witness a brief display of a phenomenon that only occurs once a year, though this was the first time I'd ever gotten to see it - the Perseids, a cluster of shooting stars. I only saw two of them, they were lightning fast but a great sight to see.
This summer, I've been making sure to try and get away on trips as much as possible. and with this being possibly my last summer living in the UK,it's been more important than ever, everything has felt very final really, and that's been the case for this whole year, not just this month. In addition to my regular day trips out to the coast at Tynemouth, I also decided it was about time I revisited a place I'd been meaning to get back to for a while, the Isle of Wight on the south coast of the UK. I first visited the island back in July 2009, and needless to say it was awesome to be back there again, getting to see all the sights I enjoyed the first time as well as checking out some places that I didn't get the chance to see back then also - it was a long journey there and back, but it was absolutely worth it.
I'll leave you with a high-flying comic to see out this summer - it feels like the sun is going down on a lot of things for me, and not just this summer. I hope I'll have some better news for you all come the end of September.
Click the links below to read/watch/see my Isle of Wight trip:
Isle of Wight blog
Isle of Wight photos
Isle of Wight videos
Bad stuff out of the way first - I'm not going to disclose the details on here for the whole world to see, but my brother was hit with a very big setback this month, as in a financial setback - however he is taking steps to try and fix it. I'm mentioning this because as I've said before, I don't want my brother to be up the creek without a paddle once I eventually make my move to the US. Proof that money does not, never has, and never will bring happiness.
I've also felt like lately that my stress levels have been rocketing - stupid DeviantArt related crap, the whole immigration saga, plus the pressure of trying to find a job and my social anxiety have all been factors. And as a result of this I've severed ties with someone who was a friend, and I'm not gonna name any names, but while I could've handled the situation better, they could have too. I do not have any time for people who are quite happy to unapologetically and publicly humiliate me, even after I apologised for my part - real friends do not do that to each other, and that's all I have to say on that.
There has been a lot of good stuff this month too, and that includes some good news on the immigration front - I applied for and recieved one of the documents I need for both the medical and visa interview, my police certificate, so that's a step forward at least. Also, I've contacted the US Embassy regarding the status of my case, so I'm waiting to hear back about that.
I also got to witness a brief display of a phenomenon that only occurs once a year, though this was the first time I'd ever gotten to see it - the Perseids, a cluster of shooting stars. I only saw two of them, they were lightning fast but a great sight to see.
This summer, I've been making sure to try and get away on trips as much as possible. and with this being possibly my last summer living in the UK,it's been more important than ever, everything has felt very final really, and that's been the case for this whole year, not just this month. In addition to my regular day trips out to the coast at Tynemouth, I also decided it was about time I revisited a place I'd been meaning to get back to for a while, the Isle of Wight on the south coast of the UK. I first visited the island back in July 2009, and needless to say it was awesome to be back there again, getting to see all the sights I enjoyed the first time as well as checking out some places that I didn't get the chance to see back then also - it was a long journey there and back, but it was absolutely worth it.
I'll leave you with a high-flying comic to see out this summer - it feels like the sun is going down on a lot of things for me, and not just this summer. I hope I'll have some better news for you all come the end of September.
Click the links below to read/watch/see my Isle of Wight trip:
Isle of Wight blog
Isle of Wight photos
Isle of Wight videos
25/08/2015
An Island Adventure: The Isle of Wight
Time for another
travel blog - this trip was about revisiting a place I'd been to before,
back in July 2009, and exploring parts of it that I hadn't seen the
last time, and it also meant travelling from the north of England to the
very south, and hopping across the water to one of the UK's most
beautiful places - the Isle of Wight.
Day 1
To get from Durham to the Isle of Wight took about 6 hours tops in total - I had to change trains at York for another train to London, and it was a faster train too. Then it was down to the London Underground to catch a couple of Tube trains to Waterloo, where I quickly caught another train down to Portsmouth, and as soon as I got further south, the heavens opened, but that didn't deter me one bit. Once in Portsmouth I took a quick bus ride to Southsea, where just like 6 years ago I got to ride across the Solent to the Isle of Wight onboard the famous hovercraft - it was a very bumpy but short 10 minute ride, and an absolute blast.
My hotel, Kasbah, was in the seaside town of Ryde, where the hovercraft alighted - it was a traditional looking building on the outside, but very modern looking on the inside. My room was perfect, with a shower, telly and the usual amenities; however the downside was that this hotel was also a pub, which meant on the night there was noise, from both music and people - which is why the amenities included ear plugs (more on that later).
The weather didn't play ball, but it didn't stop me from going out and about - a quick meal of chips, then I jumped on the Island Line train from Ryde to another seaside town on the eastern side of the island, called Shanklin, with its beaches and dramatic cliffs. The highlight of Shanklin was an area called Shanklin Chine, a nature preserve situated inside a gorge, with lots of foliage and a stream. There were some animals on display, including parrots, and even a chipmunk, which you usually can't see outside of North America or Asia. Further along the gorge there was a stone bridge straight out of a fairytale book, and a winding path leading to the centrepiece of the Chine - a tall waterfall with quite a sheer drop.
With the rain pouring down, I decided to head back to Ryde, where I popped into a café for a cheeseburger and chips, and unintentionally confusing the French waitress who worked there (je suis desolée!), before chilling in my hotel room with some old skool quiz shows on the telly. Sleep was hard to come by however - that night was live music night in the pub, and that combined with the loud talking of people outside were the reason the hotel gave me ear plugs. They worked to an extent, and I eventually managed to drift off to sleep.
Day 2
Despite not getting enough sleep, I didn't let it stop me from getting on with my only full day on the island - after cereal and coffee for breakfast, it was time to revisit one of the highlights of the trip 6 years ago, the Downs Breezer open top bus tour, an hour's drive around the island's vast countryside. The weather was perfect, a far cry from the rain of the previous day, which meant I was able to make the most of the breathtaking views of the countryside, especially on one of the downs looking out towards the island's east coast, and the quaint villages that the tour passed through. There were a lot of narrow roads on the tour route, which meant everyone on the bus was frequently dodging oncoming tree branches, that just added to the adventure of the tour though. The tour was also newly extended to the beachside town of Sandown, just up the coast from Shanklin - more on Sandown later on. Needless to say, I enjoyed the tour just as much as I did the first time.
It was straight from one bus to another once I arrived back in Ryde, heading to the island's capital, Newport, to change to another bus in order to get to the harbour town of Yarmouth, where I decided to jump onto another tour bus, this time the Needles Breezer bus, for another scenic ride up to Alum Bay, on the westernmost point of the island. Located there was the Needles Park, a small set of food outlets and souvenir shops, plus a small fun park. However, just like 6 years ago, the highlight, and the most popular attraction at the park (there qas quit e along queue), was its chairlift down to Alum Bay itself - it's quite a sensation being suspended in mid-air while being transported down the face of a cliff. The chairlift also stopped at one point so someone could be helped out of their lift, leaving myself and everyone on it stuck in mid-air for a couple of minutes, which was a little unnerving but thankfully brief.
Alum Bay was just as I remembered it last time, with its gravel beach, dramatic coastline and its unique coloured sands, and with the warm weather it was also packed with people enjoying the sun and sea. I didn't try to take a ride on the pleasure cruise this time, I wasn't up for a repeat of my aborted attempt 6 years ago, where I stepped in and out of the boat due to the choppy waves making me feel queasy.
After taking the chairlift back to the top and buying a commemorative medal, I realised I'd forgotten to bring some drinks with me, so I quickly bought a bottle of Fanta to keep myself hydrated, before taking a very scenic walk from the Needles Park and up to the headland, where I was greeted with absolutely stunning views of Alum Bay, the English Channel and the Solent, with the towns of Milford and Lymington far off in the distance. At the very end of the headland, I revisited the view of one of the Isle of Wight's most famous landmarks, the three stacks of chalk cliffs jutting out from the English Channel and what gave the fun park its name - the Needles, which looked amazing in the sunlight. Also on the headland was the Needles Old Battery, a former military outpost, which I explored 6 years ago but didn't have time to do so on this occasion. However, I did get to see an unexpected surprise off in the distance - none other than the RAF air display team, the Red Arrows, performing their display at the Bournemouth Air Show miles away across the Solent. I'd already seen them up close at this year's Sunderland Airshow, so it was great to watch them do their stuff again, and there was quite a crowd gathered up on the headland watching the display also.
It was a blast revisiting places on the island, but it was time for me to see more of the island that I hadn't seen - I took the Needles Breezer back to Yarmouth, where I then jumped on the Island Coaster open top bus. This was the longest tour on the island, a two hour drive along the south coast, and I can't put into words how brilliant it was, travelling along the coastal roads with the breeze in my face and the sun in the sky. There were some simply breathtaking views of the coast and countryside, and along the way was the the beachside town of Freshwater Bay, a low flying hang-glider, the cliffs and beaches of Chale, the fun park at Blackgang Chine and the picturesque coastal town of Ventnor. I only wish I could've had time to stop at all these places and explore them further.
I jumped off the bus to revisit Shanklin, just so I could see how it looked in the sunshine, before quickly jumping back on the same bus to take a closer look at Sandown, which I'd passed through earlier on the Downs Breezer. I took advantage of its long, sprawling beach and had a dip in the English Channel, which felt a lot less cold than the North Sea (France is just over the water from the Isle of Wight, after all!). It was also still warm, despite the sun going down, and with it being later in the day the beach wasn't so busy, either. The Isle of Wight Zoo was across the road from the beach, however it was closed - another reason to come back to the island one day.
I wandered along both ends of the beach, seeing the distinctive white cliff on the northern end of the beach at Yaverland, before making my way along to the southern end, which was more busy, because that was where the Sandown Pier was located. Inside there was an arcade, and further along was a passage leading outside onto the pier proper, with views of Sandown and the coast, plus a small fun park at the end of the pier. With the sun setting, I made my way back to Ryde after what seemed like a lengthy wait for the bus, passing through the small beachside town of Bembridge along the way. Much like the first night, it was chips for supper and some R&R with more old skool gameshows and comedy back at the hotel, although the rest part was a bit difficult to come by, as the noise downstairs and outside was even worse than the first night, with it being a Friday night. Aye, I really want to listen to a hacked off fella effing and blinding because the doorman wouldn't let him in the pub...
Day 3
I managed to get some sleep, but not as much as I'd have liked to, however I was still up bright and early to get my stuff all packed and get refreshed for the hectic day ahead. I'm not sure if I would ever stay at Kasbah again, simply because of the noise, though everything else about the hotel was spot on - if I ever do stay again, it won't be on a weekend though.
After a quick breakfast and checkout, I decided to have one last hurrah on the island - once again the weather was beautiful, so complete with suitcase, I jumped on the bus to take a closer look at Bembridge, which I passed through the previous night. The bus ride was interesting to say the least, because of a fella who was seemingly talking to himself, ranting and cursing about a lot of things, and he wasn't making a lot of sense - the bottle of Bourbon whisky in his hand explained it, though. He even had the nerve to openly flout the no smoking rule!
Thankfully there were no drunk people in Bembridge, which looked terrific in the sunlight with its picturesque harbour full of boats, and its curved beachline looking out onto the Solent and Portsmouth on the horizon. I wish I could've stayed longer, however I had to get back to Ryde, though I quickly stopped at the little café located near the beach to buy some souvenirs.
One bus ride later, and I was back where I needed to be, and not quite done with the beach yet - I briefly had a walk onto Ryde's sprawling beach, which had the furthest tide out that I've seen on any beach, and at this point the weather was very hot, and to no surprise the beach was packed with people. Just as quickly as I'd gotten onto the beach, I was off it again, and crossing the Solent once again on another hovercraft ride, they are such cool machines, and the Solent is the only place in the UK that you can travel on a hovercraft, so the hovercraft are just as much a tourist attraction as the island itself.
I had been hoping to revisit another landmark back on the mainland in Portsmouth, the distinctive Spinnaker Tower - unfortunately, the walk from the hovercraft terminal to Gunwharf Quays, where the Tower was located, took a lot longer than I anticipated, and by the time I got to the tower there was a lengthy queue to get in, so I was forced to forego going up to the top of the tower to see the views of the Solent from above. However, I wasn't too disappointed, because I got the chance to climb the tower and see those views 6 years ago, and I did get to see the Solent while walking along Portsmouth's Millennium Boulevard. Again, it's another reason to come back in the future.
I made my way to The Hard Interchange, spending a short time watching various boats sailing along the harbour, as well as taking a good glance at the imposing old-time Navy battleship, the HMS Warrior, berthed at Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard, before jumping onto the first of three trains, heading back the way I came.
The return journey didn't exactly go to plan - all of my trains were delayed. The first train to London had to divert onto another line to bypass Woking because of a track problem, and ended up stopping a few times, which slowed down the journey considerably, and I started to get concerned that I wouldn't make my connecting train. I eventually made it back to Waterloo station, only for another problem - one of the Tube lines, the Bakerloo line, that I used for the journey down was closed, so I quickly had to find an alternative route. Needless to say, I rushed liked mad, and was able to get back to King's Cross via the Northern line, though not without experiencing a hot and crowded Tube train at rush hour!
In the end, the rush wasn't needed, my train back to Durham arrived late, which also meant that it departed late. As the train got further north, not only did the delay time gradually increase, but the weather also deteriorated from beautiful warm sunshine to torrential rain - I couldn't help but see it as ironic. With a half hour delay, I eventually arrived back at a rain-soaked Durham and managed to make my bus ride back home, though not without getting soaked through by a passing car! What way to end the trip, indeed.
Overall, I had an absolute blast revisiting the Isle of Wight and seeing all the places that I didn't get to see 6 years ago, as well as the ones I did. It is one of the most beautiful places in the UK, and I cannot recommend a visit there enough.
To check out my photos from the trip, click here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152939438231441.1073741842.695421440&type=1&l=1795fce92c
Day 1
To get from Durham to the Isle of Wight took about 6 hours tops in total - I had to change trains at York for another train to London, and it was a faster train too. Then it was down to the London Underground to catch a couple of Tube trains to Waterloo, where I quickly caught another train down to Portsmouth, and as soon as I got further south, the heavens opened, but that didn't deter me one bit. Once in Portsmouth I took a quick bus ride to Southsea, where just like 6 years ago I got to ride across the Solent to the Isle of Wight onboard the famous hovercraft - it was a very bumpy but short 10 minute ride, and an absolute blast.
My hotel, Kasbah, was in the seaside town of Ryde, where the hovercraft alighted - it was a traditional looking building on the outside, but very modern looking on the inside. My room was perfect, with a shower, telly and the usual amenities; however the downside was that this hotel was also a pub, which meant on the night there was noise, from both music and people - which is why the amenities included ear plugs (more on that later).
The weather didn't play ball, but it didn't stop me from going out and about - a quick meal of chips, then I jumped on the Island Line train from Ryde to another seaside town on the eastern side of the island, called Shanklin, with its beaches and dramatic cliffs. The highlight of Shanklin was an area called Shanklin Chine, a nature preserve situated inside a gorge, with lots of foliage and a stream. There were some animals on display, including parrots, and even a chipmunk, which you usually can't see outside of North America or Asia. Further along the gorge there was a stone bridge straight out of a fairytale book, and a winding path leading to the centrepiece of the Chine - a tall waterfall with quite a sheer drop.
With the rain pouring down, I decided to head back to Ryde, where I popped into a café for a cheeseburger and chips, and unintentionally confusing the French waitress who worked there (je suis desolée!), before chilling in my hotel room with some old skool quiz shows on the telly. Sleep was hard to come by however - that night was live music night in the pub, and that combined with the loud talking of people outside were the reason the hotel gave me ear plugs. They worked to an extent, and I eventually managed to drift off to sleep.
Day 2
Despite not getting enough sleep, I didn't let it stop me from getting on with my only full day on the island - after cereal and coffee for breakfast, it was time to revisit one of the highlights of the trip 6 years ago, the Downs Breezer open top bus tour, an hour's drive around the island's vast countryside. The weather was perfect, a far cry from the rain of the previous day, which meant I was able to make the most of the breathtaking views of the countryside, especially on one of the downs looking out towards the island's east coast, and the quaint villages that the tour passed through. There were a lot of narrow roads on the tour route, which meant everyone on the bus was frequently dodging oncoming tree branches, that just added to the adventure of the tour though. The tour was also newly extended to the beachside town of Sandown, just up the coast from Shanklin - more on Sandown later on. Needless to say, I enjoyed the tour just as much as I did the first time.
It was straight from one bus to another once I arrived back in Ryde, heading to the island's capital, Newport, to change to another bus in order to get to the harbour town of Yarmouth, where I decided to jump onto another tour bus, this time the Needles Breezer bus, for another scenic ride up to Alum Bay, on the westernmost point of the island. Located there was the Needles Park, a small set of food outlets and souvenir shops, plus a small fun park. However, just like 6 years ago, the highlight, and the most popular attraction at the park (there qas quit e along queue), was its chairlift down to Alum Bay itself - it's quite a sensation being suspended in mid-air while being transported down the face of a cliff. The chairlift also stopped at one point so someone could be helped out of their lift, leaving myself and everyone on it stuck in mid-air for a couple of minutes, which was a little unnerving but thankfully brief.
Alum Bay was just as I remembered it last time, with its gravel beach, dramatic coastline and its unique coloured sands, and with the warm weather it was also packed with people enjoying the sun and sea. I didn't try to take a ride on the pleasure cruise this time, I wasn't up for a repeat of my aborted attempt 6 years ago, where I stepped in and out of the boat due to the choppy waves making me feel queasy.
After taking the chairlift back to the top and buying a commemorative medal, I realised I'd forgotten to bring some drinks with me, so I quickly bought a bottle of Fanta to keep myself hydrated, before taking a very scenic walk from the Needles Park and up to the headland, where I was greeted with absolutely stunning views of Alum Bay, the English Channel and the Solent, with the towns of Milford and Lymington far off in the distance. At the very end of the headland, I revisited the view of one of the Isle of Wight's most famous landmarks, the three stacks of chalk cliffs jutting out from the English Channel and what gave the fun park its name - the Needles, which looked amazing in the sunlight. Also on the headland was the Needles Old Battery, a former military outpost, which I explored 6 years ago but didn't have time to do so on this occasion. However, I did get to see an unexpected surprise off in the distance - none other than the RAF air display team, the Red Arrows, performing their display at the Bournemouth Air Show miles away across the Solent. I'd already seen them up close at this year's Sunderland Airshow, so it was great to watch them do their stuff again, and there was quite a crowd gathered up on the headland watching the display also.
It was a blast revisiting places on the island, but it was time for me to see more of the island that I hadn't seen - I took the Needles Breezer back to Yarmouth, where I then jumped on the Island Coaster open top bus. This was the longest tour on the island, a two hour drive along the south coast, and I can't put into words how brilliant it was, travelling along the coastal roads with the breeze in my face and the sun in the sky. There were some simply breathtaking views of the coast and countryside, and along the way was the the beachside town of Freshwater Bay, a low flying hang-glider, the cliffs and beaches of Chale, the fun park at Blackgang Chine and the picturesque coastal town of Ventnor. I only wish I could've had time to stop at all these places and explore them further.
I jumped off the bus to revisit Shanklin, just so I could see how it looked in the sunshine, before quickly jumping back on the same bus to take a closer look at Sandown, which I'd passed through earlier on the Downs Breezer. I took advantage of its long, sprawling beach and had a dip in the English Channel, which felt a lot less cold than the North Sea (France is just over the water from the Isle of Wight, after all!). It was also still warm, despite the sun going down, and with it being later in the day the beach wasn't so busy, either. The Isle of Wight Zoo was across the road from the beach, however it was closed - another reason to come back to the island one day.
I wandered along both ends of the beach, seeing the distinctive white cliff on the northern end of the beach at Yaverland, before making my way along to the southern end, which was more busy, because that was where the Sandown Pier was located. Inside there was an arcade, and further along was a passage leading outside onto the pier proper, with views of Sandown and the coast, plus a small fun park at the end of the pier. With the sun setting, I made my way back to Ryde after what seemed like a lengthy wait for the bus, passing through the small beachside town of Bembridge along the way. Much like the first night, it was chips for supper and some R&R with more old skool gameshows and comedy back at the hotel, although the rest part was a bit difficult to come by, as the noise downstairs and outside was even worse than the first night, with it being a Friday night. Aye, I really want to listen to a hacked off fella effing and blinding because the doorman wouldn't let him in the pub...
Day 3
I managed to get some sleep, but not as much as I'd have liked to, however I was still up bright and early to get my stuff all packed and get refreshed for the hectic day ahead. I'm not sure if I would ever stay at Kasbah again, simply because of the noise, though everything else about the hotel was spot on - if I ever do stay again, it won't be on a weekend though.
After a quick breakfast and checkout, I decided to have one last hurrah on the island - once again the weather was beautiful, so complete with suitcase, I jumped on the bus to take a closer look at Bembridge, which I passed through the previous night. The bus ride was interesting to say the least, because of a fella who was seemingly talking to himself, ranting and cursing about a lot of things, and he wasn't making a lot of sense - the bottle of Bourbon whisky in his hand explained it, though. He even had the nerve to openly flout the no smoking rule!
Thankfully there were no drunk people in Bembridge, which looked terrific in the sunlight with its picturesque harbour full of boats, and its curved beachline looking out onto the Solent and Portsmouth on the horizon. I wish I could've stayed longer, however I had to get back to Ryde, though I quickly stopped at the little café located near the beach to buy some souvenirs.
One bus ride later, and I was back where I needed to be, and not quite done with the beach yet - I briefly had a walk onto Ryde's sprawling beach, which had the furthest tide out that I've seen on any beach, and at this point the weather was very hot, and to no surprise the beach was packed with people. Just as quickly as I'd gotten onto the beach, I was off it again, and crossing the Solent once again on another hovercraft ride, they are such cool machines, and the Solent is the only place in the UK that you can travel on a hovercraft, so the hovercraft are just as much a tourist attraction as the island itself.
I had been hoping to revisit another landmark back on the mainland in Portsmouth, the distinctive Spinnaker Tower - unfortunately, the walk from the hovercraft terminal to Gunwharf Quays, where the Tower was located, took a lot longer than I anticipated, and by the time I got to the tower there was a lengthy queue to get in, so I was forced to forego going up to the top of the tower to see the views of the Solent from above. However, I wasn't too disappointed, because I got the chance to climb the tower and see those views 6 years ago, and I did get to see the Solent while walking along Portsmouth's Millennium Boulevard. Again, it's another reason to come back in the future.
I made my way to The Hard Interchange, spending a short time watching various boats sailing along the harbour, as well as taking a good glance at the imposing old-time Navy battleship, the HMS Warrior, berthed at Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard, before jumping onto the first of three trains, heading back the way I came.
The return journey didn't exactly go to plan - all of my trains were delayed. The first train to London had to divert onto another line to bypass Woking because of a track problem, and ended up stopping a few times, which slowed down the journey considerably, and I started to get concerned that I wouldn't make my connecting train. I eventually made it back to Waterloo station, only for another problem - one of the Tube lines, the Bakerloo line, that I used for the journey down was closed, so I quickly had to find an alternative route. Needless to say, I rushed liked mad, and was able to get back to King's Cross via the Northern line, though not without experiencing a hot and crowded Tube train at rush hour!
In the end, the rush wasn't needed, my train back to Durham arrived late, which also meant that it departed late. As the train got further north, not only did the delay time gradually increase, but the weather also deteriorated from beautiful warm sunshine to torrential rain - I couldn't help but see it as ironic. With a half hour delay, I eventually arrived back at a rain-soaked Durham and managed to make my bus ride back home, though not without getting soaked through by a passing car! What way to end the trip, indeed.
Overall, I had an absolute blast revisiting the Isle of Wight and seeing all the places that I didn't get to see 6 years ago, as well as the ones I did. It is one of the most beautiful places in the UK, and I cannot recommend a visit there enough.
To check out my photos from the trip, click here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152939438231441.1073741842.695421440&type=1&l=1795fce92c
31/07/2015
July 2015
I know I probably sound like a broken record when saying this, but July was definitely a month of two halves, but at the same time very eventful - I just wish I could say that it was all good things.
So that means there's a lot of bad things to get out of the way first - and this is something that's really been going on for a long time now, and I might've mentioned this already, so I apologise if I'm repeating myself.
I feel that there's a time when everyone gets older and "wakes up and smells the coffee", as the saying goes; a time when you begin to realise how absolutely screwed up this world really is. I'm talking about the bad news, politicians doing all they can to keep the rich richer and the poor poorer, terrorists blowing everything to kingdom come, another person getting stabbed in the street...you know what I mean. I hate it, I hate thinking about it, and I try to avoid is as much as I can, by not watching the telly, not reading the papers, and not checking the sites online, but one way or another I end up hearing about it. As a result, every now and again I'm made all to aware of all that's wrong in the world, and it gets too much for me to handle - but I also have to remember, that not everything that is reported in the news is fact, because it's all manipulated by the media into generating views/readers/numbers, etc. You know what I mean, you know the score.
Lately I've also been becoming very disillusioned with DeviantArt - on both an artistic and a social level. I'm fed up of seeing nothing put MLP, FNAF, anime and Sonic recolours as the popular stuff there, and original artworks and artists getting pushed to one side. Doesn't anyone give a crap about originality anymore? The same question could go to musicians and film studios, but I digress.
I've also just felt disconnected from my friends on DA - like we have nothing to say or talk about. In other words, my social anxiety's just worse than ever. It's why I've decided to stop doing livestreams every week, and just do them every now and again, because the truth is, the last few times I've done a livestream I feel like I'm spectating my own livestream, like I'm not even part of it. It's partly my fault and other people's fault, too - I wish I was better at engaging people and keeping up a conversation instead of being shy and anxious, but I will be more likely to do that if those people meet me halfway. Maybe they don't mean to give me the impression that they're avoiding me, maybe they're just as shy and anxious - but behind a screen, how do you know that for sure? I might be coming across as an attention-seeker with this, maybe I am, I don't know, but I don't intend that. I don't want to be the centre of attention, but I also don't want to feel left out. It's a conflict of interest and emotions, and it just makes me want to explode, to be honest.
On the same note, I'm also sick and tired of getting people on DA who only watch me or interact with me because they want something - only wanting to see certain types of art from me, wanting to do an art trade where they put nowhere near as much effort into their half of the trade as I do mine, etc.
In short: DA is supposed to be creative and enjoyable - and lately I'm not getting that.
To cap all of this bad stuff off, there's been a setback with my immigration to the US - me and Nicole were told that I could be moving there in August. Not anymore. Basically, it's going to take longer for the US Embassy to give me an interview date than previously thought, it's only the instructions on what I need to do that will be coming in August, not the interview date. It's now looking more likely that I will be having the visa interview in either October or November, which is later than we previously thought. Not gonna lie, both me and Nicole are frustrated about it, because it means more time apart - but on the flipside, it gives us more time to prepare for the interview, and it gives me more time with my family, which is good, and it softens the blow quite a bit. And there's that old saying, "everything happens for a reason" - maybe this is how it's meant to happen.
There has been light in this month too, though - on July 10th, me and my brother revisited a place from our childhood, the seaside town of Scarborough in North Yorkshire - and it was almost like 15 years hadn't passed. We had an absolute blast seeing the sights and reminiscing about our childhood memories, and you can read all about it right here.
Scarborough wasn't the only highlight of this month, either - the end of the month saw me and my brother also making another visit to the Sunderland Airshow. It was my fifth time there and ten years since my first visit, it was just as popular and packed as it was back then, and the aircraft displays as ever were nothing short of impressive - it never ceases to amaze me just how the pilots of those aircraft are able to pull off such technical and daredevil moves. The displays included the all-prop Blades aerobatic team; the Black Cats helicopter duo; two parachute drops from the Tigers Freefall Team and the RAF Falcons; the very loud Eurofighter Typhoon; the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight featuring the Spitfire and Hurricane; an air and ground attack demo by a pair of Hawk T2s, and of course the always awesome Red Arrows. Who knows if I'll ever get to go to that airshow again, given the circumstances, but never say never.
I hope I can give you a more positive blog next month - I'll leave you with some Shark Week-inspired artwork to brighten things up.
PS: Click the links below to check out the action from the Sunderland Airshow:
Sunderland Airshow 2015: Part 1
Sunderland Airshow 2015: Part 2
So that means there's a lot of bad things to get out of the way first - and this is something that's really been going on for a long time now, and I might've mentioned this already, so I apologise if I'm repeating myself.
I feel that there's a time when everyone gets older and "wakes up and smells the coffee", as the saying goes; a time when you begin to realise how absolutely screwed up this world really is. I'm talking about the bad news, politicians doing all they can to keep the rich richer and the poor poorer, terrorists blowing everything to kingdom come, another person getting stabbed in the street...you know what I mean. I hate it, I hate thinking about it, and I try to avoid is as much as I can, by not watching the telly, not reading the papers, and not checking the sites online, but one way or another I end up hearing about it. As a result, every now and again I'm made all to aware of all that's wrong in the world, and it gets too much for me to handle - but I also have to remember, that not everything that is reported in the news is fact, because it's all manipulated by the media into generating views/readers/numbers, etc. You know what I mean, you know the score.
Lately I've also been becoming very disillusioned with DeviantArt - on both an artistic and a social level. I'm fed up of seeing nothing put MLP, FNAF, anime and Sonic recolours as the popular stuff there, and original artworks and artists getting pushed to one side. Doesn't anyone give a crap about originality anymore? The same question could go to musicians and film studios, but I digress.
I've also just felt disconnected from my friends on DA - like we have nothing to say or talk about. In other words, my social anxiety's just worse than ever. It's why I've decided to stop doing livestreams every week, and just do them every now and again, because the truth is, the last few times I've done a livestream I feel like I'm spectating my own livestream, like I'm not even part of it. It's partly my fault and other people's fault, too - I wish I was better at engaging people and keeping up a conversation instead of being shy and anxious, but I will be more likely to do that if those people meet me halfway. Maybe they don't mean to give me the impression that they're avoiding me, maybe they're just as shy and anxious - but behind a screen, how do you know that for sure? I might be coming across as an attention-seeker with this, maybe I am, I don't know, but I don't intend that. I don't want to be the centre of attention, but I also don't want to feel left out. It's a conflict of interest and emotions, and it just makes me want to explode, to be honest.
On the same note, I'm also sick and tired of getting people on DA who only watch me or interact with me because they want something - only wanting to see certain types of art from me, wanting to do an art trade where they put nowhere near as much effort into their half of the trade as I do mine, etc.
In short: DA is supposed to be creative and enjoyable - and lately I'm not getting that.
To cap all of this bad stuff off, there's been a setback with my immigration to the US - me and Nicole were told that I could be moving there in August. Not anymore. Basically, it's going to take longer for the US Embassy to give me an interview date than previously thought, it's only the instructions on what I need to do that will be coming in August, not the interview date. It's now looking more likely that I will be having the visa interview in either October or November, which is later than we previously thought. Not gonna lie, both me and Nicole are frustrated about it, because it means more time apart - but on the flipside, it gives us more time to prepare for the interview, and it gives me more time with my family, which is good, and it softens the blow quite a bit. And there's that old saying, "everything happens for a reason" - maybe this is how it's meant to happen.
There has been light in this month too, though - on July 10th, me and my brother revisited a place from our childhood, the seaside town of Scarborough in North Yorkshire - and it was almost like 15 years hadn't passed. We had an absolute blast seeing the sights and reminiscing about our childhood memories, and you can read all about it right here.
Scarborough wasn't the only highlight of this month, either - the end of the month saw me and my brother also making another visit to the Sunderland Airshow. It was my fifth time there and ten years since my first visit, it was just as popular and packed as it was back then, and the aircraft displays as ever were nothing short of impressive - it never ceases to amaze me just how the pilots of those aircraft are able to pull off such technical and daredevil moves. The displays included the all-prop Blades aerobatic team; the Black Cats helicopter duo; two parachute drops from the Tigers Freefall Team and the RAF Falcons; the very loud Eurofighter Typhoon; the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight featuring the Spitfire and Hurricane; an air and ground attack demo by a pair of Hawk T2s, and of course the always awesome Red Arrows. Who knows if I'll ever get to go to that airshow again, given the circumstances, but never say never.
I hope I can give you a more positive blog next month - I'll leave you with some Shark Week-inspired artwork to brighten things up.
PS: Click the links below to check out the action from the Sunderland Airshow:
Sunderland Airshow 2015: Part 1
Sunderland Airshow 2015: Part 2
21/07/2015
A Yorkshire Adventure: Scarborough, Whitby & York
Forgot to mention this last week, but at the weekend (10-12 July) myself and my brother Chris went on holiday, to a place that we both remember very well from our childhood - the seaside town of Scarborough, in North Yorkshire. Here's what we got up to:
Day 1
It was an early start for us both as we made our way to Durham to take the hour long train journey down to York, where I'd visited for the first time in April for a DA meet-up (you know who you are!), and also where we had to change trains, though not without having another wander around the city of course. It was Chris's first time visiting York too, and he very much approved.
We'd picked a busy day to visit, as it was race weekend at York Racecourse, so the station in particular was chock-a-block - that didn't put us off one bit though. We checked out The Shambles and quickly popped into HMV so I could buy a memory card for my phone, as I'd ever so slightly forgotten to being my camcorder with me, followed by paying a visit to the grand York Minster, looking glorious in the sunshine. After that, we wandered through York's medieval style streets some more and had some dinner down by the River Ouse, watching the boats come and go.
Before long we were on our second train of the day, and even though we had to stand for the whole journey, we were still able to appreciate the views of the Yorkshire countryside flying past us, the unfamiliar ground that it was, but once we stepped out of the train at Scarborough station, we knew we were in familiar territory, and once we got our bearings, we made our way towards the hotel to be greeted by an awesome view of the North Bay, and all those childhood memories came flooding right back. The last time either of us had visited Scarborough was in 2000, and we both agreed that it had been 15 years too long.
We checked into our hotel, the Miricia Guest House - the hotel owner Joanne was very down to earth and welcoming, and we'd been given a room at the very top of the house, which was more or less in the attic, so there was no spectacular sea view, but that didn't matter as the room was spot on, clean and complete with telly, tea and coffee, and enough room for both of us. The only minus point was that the hotel's wifi was sketchy at best, so I had to rely on my phone's 3G to get online - but we weren't there to go online at the end of the day, we were there for adventure.
No sooner had we arrived in Scarborough though, we were already leaving! Even though it was late in the day, we took a very scenic bus ride through the North Yorkshire Moors and the picturesque coastal village of Robin Hood's Bay, down to the harbour town of Whitby. This was another place we both wanted to revisit - my last time there was in 2007, for Chris it was 1996, and much like Scarborough, it was good to be back there. We made our way up the cliff to Whitby's iconic landmark, the ruins of Whitby Abbey, along with some simply amazing views of the town below, which we headed back down into via the famous 199 steps, complete with a certain Captain Jack Sparrow hanging around at the bottom, and he was certainly right at home with the oldy-worldy architecture of Whitby and its harbour, which was of course very busy, with both people and seagulls (I swear, they own the place!) We walked along the harbour, all the way along its lengthy pier, checking out the town's lighthouse (I'd been to the top of it previously, however it was closed) and taking in the windswept views out towards the North Sea and the North Yorkshire coastline. Finally, we walked up the cliff across the other side of the harbour to visit the statue of Whitby's most famous son, Captain James Cook, as well as the famous whalebone arch overlooking the harbour, before once again enjoying the scenic bus ride along the coast back to Scarborough, where we ended the night with a meal at McDonald's and an evening walk along Marine Drive, from the South to the North Bay.
Day 2
You don't want to start a day sleep deprived - however, noise from a couple across the hall from us and the resident seagulls outside through the night, as well as sleeping in unfamiliar surroundings meant that me and Chris did, but it didn't stop us one bit. After a lovely breakfast of cereal, tea and toast, we headed out to our first stop of the day, and a place in Scarborough that we hadn't previously visited - its most famous landmark, Scarborough Castle. We explored the sprawling headland on which the castle was located, checking out the ruins of a signal station, the castle walls, the King's Hall and the guard towers along the walls, and enjoying the views of both the North and South Bays from the headland. Of course, we couldn't visit the castle without exploring its iconic keep, which despite being blown in half centuries ago, is still standing strong after 3000 years.
It was then time to visit some more familiar places, in Scarborough's North Bay - the first was Peasholm Park, famous for its boating lake and Oriental themed island, including a waterfall, garden and a pagoda overlooking the park. We opted to return to the park later on in the day to see something else that it's famous for (more on that in a bit.).
Across the road, it was memories of attractions gone that we were after - the Northstead Manor Gardens, that used to have three of Scarborough's big attractions, a waterpark named Water Splash World, a playpark named Kinderland, and on top of a hill behind them, an amusement park called Mr. Marvels. All three of them are now long gone, however it was nice to relive going to those places, and it was also interesting to see that there were reminders of there existence, such as an abandoned station for the chairlifts that used to take people to and from Marvel's. However, there were also some attractions to see there that were still around - the Open Air Theatre, which was derelict back in the day but has been restored and is now a concert venue (we couldn't check it out as there was a concert going on); the North Bay Railway, a miniature train that runs from Northstead Manor Gardens to Scalby Mills; and Scarborough's famous Water Chute that was once part of Kinderland. There was also a new attraction there, called a SkyTrail, which was bascially a giant climbing frame/obstacle course.
We then took a walk along the North Bay Beach, which was absolutely packed, to no surprise, because the weather was glorious. After stopping for a burger and chips, we planned to take a look inside the white pyramids of the Sea Life Sanctuary, however we changed our minds once we saw how much the admission was, and instead headed back to Peasholm Park, thugh not before revisiting the hotel that we stayed in on every trip with our family back in the 90s - there were good times there.
Now, that something else Peasholm Park is famous for? Every year they hold a "Naval Warfare" show, which involves a fleet of model battleships taking to the boating lake and re-enacting a famous battle. This was our first time seeing the display, and it was an absolute treat, complete with a pun-dropping and movie medley-playing commentator, model aircraft "flying" over on wires, and a lot of gunfire. What made this show even more impressive is that the ships weren't remote controlled, there were actually people inside the boats, steering them and firing the ammunition (it wasn't live ammo, but some of the ships did actually take damage). It was an absolute blast to watch, to say the least.
Following the show, me and Chris took to the lake ourselves on board a dragon-themed pedal boat, taking a cruise around the island, watching the park's population of Canadian geese waddle around like they owned the place, and getting a close view of the ships from the Naval Warfare display. There were also people boating around the lake on canoes and rowing boats - we remembered our late grandad taking the two of us around the lake on a rowing boat back in the day, and on one occasion almost capsizing the boat!
From boats to buses after that - we took one of Scarborough's many open-topped buses along Marine Drive to the South Bay, which really hadn't changed very much from back in the day, with its seafront full of shops, cafés and arcades, as well as its ever busy harbour full of fishing boats and cruise boats. We popped into Olympia Leisure for a couple of arcade games (The House of the Dead 4 and Jurassic Park) before visiting a shop that :devWhiteBlazingPhoenix: had been recommended to visit - Ancient Warrior, a gift shop with a difference, its specialty was selling weapons, real weapons, most notably swords and pistols, along with ornaments, figurines and lots of other stuff - definitely not your average shop. After that, it was beach time, I took a cold yet refreshing dip in the North Sea, because you just can't have a beach trip without a dip. Me and Chris remembered taking a ride on the beach's resident donkeys back in the day, those donkeys were still on the beach.
After making a pitstop at the hotel, we made our third visit to Peasholm Park, this time to visit the island, it had been closed earlier because of the Naval Warfare display, however it was open, so we were able to check it out. By now it was raining a little, which dampened the atmosphere a little, and seeing some shifty looking people hanging around the park didn't really help much, but we pressed on with exploring the island regardless, seeing all the geese hanging around and getting an even closer look at the model dock where the Naval Warfare ships were based. What we really wanted to see though was the Japanese gardens and pagoda at the top of the island, so we made our way up there, only to get an unexpected surprise - there was a security guard in the garden, and as soon as he saw us, he told us to leave the island. It turned out that the island was still closed, and we weren't supposed to be there, so we quickly left, a little embarrassed about it, but no harm was done.
By now we were all adventured out, so we headed back to the hotel for some rest, not before grabbing another meal from McDonald's though - however the atmosphere around the North Bay seemed lass sunny, and not just because of the weather - both nights we stayed in Scarborough, the entire North Bay half of Marine Drive was overrun with an organised street racer show, with dozens of modified cars and their drivers lining the promenade. There were some cool cars to see, but I wasn't really digging the atmosphere of it, plus there were inevitably some idiots who were speeding around the drive showing off, and the whole show was causing traffic to slow down all along the seafront. For me, that was the only major minus point of the trip, I much prefer the seafront when it's quieter - it was still a good day on the whole though.
Day 3
Another early start, and that inevitable feeling of having to go home had very much kicked in, but me and Chris didn't let it get us down. After another nice breakfast, we quickly packed up our luggage and said our goodbyes and thanks to Joanne, and I couldn't resist making a thank you sketch for her, involving a certain blue bug.
We still had a fair bit of time left before we had to catch our train, so we headed back down to the South Bay for some more beach time, as well as picking up some souvenirs and a tasty meal of chips. I also decided to take a boat ride around the bay on a miniature pirate ship called the "Hispaniola", which gave some great views of the seafront. There was also the option to take to the waves on a high-speed jet boat, but we both decided to pass on that one, maybe next time though.
We chose to take the scenic walk back along Marine Drive to the North Bay, and again it was great weather for it, and it was a lot more pleasant with the aforementioned car show over and done with. It was time to head to Peasholm Park one last time, and this time the island was legitimately open, so we were able to take a full walk around it, and go right up to the Japanese gardens at the top, which looked beautiful, along with the colourful pagoda, which had a great view of the boating lake and park below.
After a little bit of persuasion, we headed across to Northstead Manor Gardens so I could have another first - after all those past trips of never doing so, I finally got to take a ride on the water chute, and it was short but very sweet, and I didn't get nearly as soaked as I thought I would! Following that, time was starting to get on, so we jumped on the bus for one last scenic drive to the South Bay, where we decided to go for the quicker option and took a short ride on one of the two remaining cliff lifts that ferry people from the bay to the town above - and before long, we were at the station, waiting for our train, complete with a curious seagull hanging around the platform. About two and half hours, another changeover in York and two train rides and a bus ride later, and that was our holiday done and dusted.
All in all, both me and Chris had a great time, spending some quality bro time together, and of course revisiting all the places in Scarborough that we knew and loved as kids, as well as the bonus visits to York and Whitby - and I can't recommend taking a visit to all three places enough.
You can see what we got up to, also - click on the links below and have a gander:
A Yorkshire Adventure - July 2015: Part 1
A Yorkshire Adventure - July 2015: Part 2
A Yorkshire Adventure - July 2015: Part 3
Day 1
It was an early start for us both as we made our way to Durham to take the hour long train journey down to York, where I'd visited for the first time in April for a DA meet-up (you know who you are!), and also where we had to change trains, though not without having another wander around the city of course. It was Chris's first time visiting York too, and he very much approved.
We'd picked a busy day to visit, as it was race weekend at York Racecourse, so the station in particular was chock-a-block - that didn't put us off one bit though. We checked out The Shambles and quickly popped into HMV so I could buy a memory card for my phone, as I'd ever so slightly forgotten to being my camcorder with me, followed by paying a visit to the grand York Minster, looking glorious in the sunshine. After that, we wandered through York's medieval style streets some more and had some dinner down by the River Ouse, watching the boats come and go.
Before long we were on our second train of the day, and even though we had to stand for the whole journey, we were still able to appreciate the views of the Yorkshire countryside flying past us, the unfamiliar ground that it was, but once we stepped out of the train at Scarborough station, we knew we were in familiar territory, and once we got our bearings, we made our way towards the hotel to be greeted by an awesome view of the North Bay, and all those childhood memories came flooding right back. The last time either of us had visited Scarborough was in 2000, and we both agreed that it had been 15 years too long.
We checked into our hotel, the Miricia Guest House - the hotel owner Joanne was very down to earth and welcoming, and we'd been given a room at the very top of the house, which was more or less in the attic, so there was no spectacular sea view, but that didn't matter as the room was spot on, clean and complete with telly, tea and coffee, and enough room for both of us. The only minus point was that the hotel's wifi was sketchy at best, so I had to rely on my phone's 3G to get online - but we weren't there to go online at the end of the day, we were there for adventure.
No sooner had we arrived in Scarborough though, we were already leaving! Even though it was late in the day, we took a very scenic bus ride through the North Yorkshire Moors and the picturesque coastal village of Robin Hood's Bay, down to the harbour town of Whitby. This was another place we both wanted to revisit - my last time there was in 2007, for Chris it was 1996, and much like Scarborough, it was good to be back there. We made our way up the cliff to Whitby's iconic landmark, the ruins of Whitby Abbey, along with some simply amazing views of the town below, which we headed back down into via the famous 199 steps, complete with a certain Captain Jack Sparrow hanging around at the bottom, and he was certainly right at home with the oldy-worldy architecture of Whitby and its harbour, which was of course very busy, with both people and seagulls (I swear, they own the place!) We walked along the harbour, all the way along its lengthy pier, checking out the town's lighthouse (I'd been to the top of it previously, however it was closed) and taking in the windswept views out towards the North Sea and the North Yorkshire coastline. Finally, we walked up the cliff across the other side of the harbour to visit the statue of Whitby's most famous son, Captain James Cook, as well as the famous whalebone arch overlooking the harbour, before once again enjoying the scenic bus ride along the coast back to Scarborough, where we ended the night with a meal at McDonald's and an evening walk along Marine Drive, from the South to the North Bay.
Day 2
You don't want to start a day sleep deprived - however, noise from a couple across the hall from us and the resident seagulls outside through the night, as well as sleeping in unfamiliar surroundings meant that me and Chris did, but it didn't stop us one bit. After a lovely breakfast of cereal, tea and toast, we headed out to our first stop of the day, and a place in Scarborough that we hadn't previously visited - its most famous landmark, Scarborough Castle. We explored the sprawling headland on which the castle was located, checking out the ruins of a signal station, the castle walls, the King's Hall and the guard towers along the walls, and enjoying the views of both the North and South Bays from the headland. Of course, we couldn't visit the castle without exploring its iconic keep, which despite being blown in half centuries ago, is still standing strong after 3000 years.
It was then time to visit some more familiar places, in Scarborough's North Bay - the first was Peasholm Park, famous for its boating lake and Oriental themed island, including a waterfall, garden and a pagoda overlooking the park. We opted to return to the park later on in the day to see something else that it's famous for (more on that in a bit.).
Across the road, it was memories of attractions gone that we were after - the Northstead Manor Gardens, that used to have three of Scarborough's big attractions, a waterpark named Water Splash World, a playpark named Kinderland, and on top of a hill behind them, an amusement park called Mr. Marvels. All three of them are now long gone, however it was nice to relive going to those places, and it was also interesting to see that there were reminders of there existence, such as an abandoned station for the chairlifts that used to take people to and from Marvel's. However, there were also some attractions to see there that were still around - the Open Air Theatre, which was derelict back in the day but has been restored and is now a concert venue (we couldn't check it out as there was a concert going on); the North Bay Railway, a miniature train that runs from Northstead Manor Gardens to Scalby Mills; and Scarborough's famous Water Chute that was once part of Kinderland. There was also a new attraction there, called a SkyTrail, which was bascially a giant climbing frame/obstacle course.
We then took a walk along the North Bay Beach, which was absolutely packed, to no surprise, because the weather was glorious. After stopping for a burger and chips, we planned to take a look inside the white pyramids of the Sea Life Sanctuary, however we changed our minds once we saw how much the admission was, and instead headed back to Peasholm Park, thugh not before revisiting the hotel that we stayed in on every trip with our family back in the 90s - there were good times there.
Now, that something else Peasholm Park is famous for? Every year they hold a "Naval Warfare" show, which involves a fleet of model battleships taking to the boating lake and re-enacting a famous battle. This was our first time seeing the display, and it was an absolute treat, complete with a pun-dropping and movie medley-playing commentator, model aircraft "flying" over on wires, and a lot of gunfire. What made this show even more impressive is that the ships weren't remote controlled, there were actually people inside the boats, steering them and firing the ammunition (it wasn't live ammo, but some of the ships did actually take damage). It was an absolute blast to watch, to say the least.
Following the show, me and Chris took to the lake ourselves on board a dragon-themed pedal boat, taking a cruise around the island, watching the park's population of Canadian geese waddle around like they owned the place, and getting a close view of the ships from the Naval Warfare display. There were also people boating around the lake on canoes and rowing boats - we remembered our late grandad taking the two of us around the lake on a rowing boat back in the day, and on one occasion almost capsizing the boat!
From boats to buses after that - we took one of Scarborough's many open-topped buses along Marine Drive to the South Bay, which really hadn't changed very much from back in the day, with its seafront full of shops, cafés and arcades, as well as its ever busy harbour full of fishing boats and cruise boats. We popped into Olympia Leisure for a couple of arcade games (The House of the Dead 4 and Jurassic Park) before visiting a shop that :devWhiteBlazingPhoenix: had been recommended to visit - Ancient Warrior, a gift shop with a difference, its specialty was selling weapons, real weapons, most notably swords and pistols, along with ornaments, figurines and lots of other stuff - definitely not your average shop. After that, it was beach time, I took a cold yet refreshing dip in the North Sea, because you just can't have a beach trip without a dip. Me and Chris remembered taking a ride on the beach's resident donkeys back in the day, those donkeys were still on the beach.
After making a pitstop at the hotel, we made our third visit to Peasholm Park, this time to visit the island, it had been closed earlier because of the Naval Warfare display, however it was open, so we were able to check it out. By now it was raining a little, which dampened the atmosphere a little, and seeing some shifty looking people hanging around the park didn't really help much, but we pressed on with exploring the island regardless, seeing all the geese hanging around and getting an even closer look at the model dock where the Naval Warfare ships were based. What we really wanted to see though was the Japanese gardens and pagoda at the top of the island, so we made our way up there, only to get an unexpected surprise - there was a security guard in the garden, and as soon as he saw us, he told us to leave the island. It turned out that the island was still closed, and we weren't supposed to be there, so we quickly left, a little embarrassed about it, but no harm was done.
By now we were all adventured out, so we headed back to the hotel for some rest, not before grabbing another meal from McDonald's though - however the atmosphere around the North Bay seemed lass sunny, and not just because of the weather - both nights we stayed in Scarborough, the entire North Bay half of Marine Drive was overrun with an organised street racer show, with dozens of modified cars and their drivers lining the promenade. There were some cool cars to see, but I wasn't really digging the atmosphere of it, plus there were inevitably some idiots who were speeding around the drive showing off, and the whole show was causing traffic to slow down all along the seafront. For me, that was the only major minus point of the trip, I much prefer the seafront when it's quieter - it was still a good day on the whole though.
Day 3
Another early start, and that inevitable feeling of having to go home had very much kicked in, but me and Chris didn't let it get us down. After another nice breakfast, we quickly packed up our luggage and said our goodbyes and thanks to Joanne, and I couldn't resist making a thank you sketch for her, involving a certain blue bug.
We still had a fair bit of time left before we had to catch our train, so we headed back down to the South Bay for some more beach time, as well as picking up some souvenirs and a tasty meal of chips. I also decided to take a boat ride around the bay on a miniature pirate ship called the "Hispaniola", which gave some great views of the seafront. There was also the option to take to the waves on a high-speed jet boat, but we both decided to pass on that one, maybe next time though.
We chose to take the scenic walk back along Marine Drive to the North Bay, and again it was great weather for it, and it was a lot more pleasant with the aforementioned car show over and done with. It was time to head to Peasholm Park one last time, and this time the island was legitimately open, so we were able to take a full walk around it, and go right up to the Japanese gardens at the top, which looked beautiful, along with the colourful pagoda, which had a great view of the boating lake and park below.
After a little bit of persuasion, we headed across to Northstead Manor Gardens so I could have another first - after all those past trips of never doing so, I finally got to take a ride on the water chute, and it was short but very sweet, and I didn't get nearly as soaked as I thought I would! Following that, time was starting to get on, so we jumped on the bus for one last scenic drive to the South Bay, where we decided to go for the quicker option and took a short ride on one of the two remaining cliff lifts that ferry people from the bay to the town above - and before long, we were at the station, waiting for our train, complete with a curious seagull hanging around the platform. About two and half hours, another changeover in York and two train rides and a bus ride later, and that was our holiday done and dusted.
All in all, both me and Chris had a great time, spending some quality bro time together, and of course revisiting all the places in Scarborough that we knew and loved as kids, as well as the bonus visits to York and Whitby - and I can't recommend taking a visit to all three places enough.
You can see what we got up to, also - click on the links below and have a gander:
A Yorkshire Adventure - July 2015: Part 1
A Yorkshire Adventure - July 2015: Part 2
A Yorkshire Adventure - July 2015: Part 3
30/06/2015
June 2015
This June has certainly been a flaming one for me, but not just with the warmer temperatures - things are happening.
Myself and my fiancee Nicole finally got the word we were waiting for, my visa application has been approved - I will be getting an email before July 8 with instructions on what I need to do next, which will involve getting a medical and going down to London for a visa interview at the US Embassy. Also, the application has been processed quicker than we anticipated, which means I could now be moving to the US as soon as August rather than October as we originally thought. Honestly, words can't describe just how huge this is, and it's making it all the more real.
Unfortunately, there is a negative side to this - the original plan was that I would move there in October, then me and Nicole would come back to the UK and spend Christmas, New Year and my birthday with my family, however we've been advised that it wouldn't be a good idea to do so because of conditions with my visa. I'm not gonna lie, I was canny gutted about learning that, because now with the earlier date it means I have less time to spend with my family than I thought, and it's only going to make leaving them even more difficult, I am honestly dreading that day.
However, as disappointing as that is, I have to look at the positives too - I get to be with Nicole sooner, we get to spend Christmas and New Year with her family again, and it gives us more time to get settled in and for me to get used to the surroundings and the routine. And the fact that we get to be together is the most important part of all, and that's what my family told me.
On a completely different note, I've been hosting an art jam this month that's been all to do with dragons. I've liked dragons for a long time, I've always been fascinated by their mythical and legendary status, as well as their distinctive appearances - and it was because of a certain animated series involving dragons that first met Nicole, so they mean a lot to me on a personal level too. So please, spread the dragon love.
The weather's also been getting warmer as summer has well and truly kicked in, and needless to say I've been trying to have days out around my area as much as possible - and on the subject of travel, everything is all booked for me and my brother's July getaway to Scarborough, definitely looking forward to it.
So - my next blog may well be my last blog as a resident of my home country, so it'll be a memorable one one way or another. I'll keep you posted, and as always I'll leave you with a little bit of artwork, with a dragon theme of course.
Myself and my fiancee Nicole finally got the word we were waiting for, my visa application has been approved - I will be getting an email before July 8 with instructions on what I need to do next, which will involve getting a medical and going down to London for a visa interview at the US Embassy. Also, the application has been processed quicker than we anticipated, which means I could now be moving to the US as soon as August rather than October as we originally thought. Honestly, words can't describe just how huge this is, and it's making it all the more real.
Unfortunately, there is a negative side to this - the original plan was that I would move there in October, then me and Nicole would come back to the UK and spend Christmas, New Year and my birthday with my family, however we've been advised that it wouldn't be a good idea to do so because of conditions with my visa. I'm not gonna lie, I was canny gutted about learning that, because now with the earlier date it means I have less time to spend with my family than I thought, and it's only going to make leaving them even more difficult, I am honestly dreading that day.
However, as disappointing as that is, I have to look at the positives too - I get to be with Nicole sooner, we get to spend Christmas and New Year with her family again, and it gives us more time to get settled in and for me to get used to the surroundings and the routine. And the fact that we get to be together is the most important part of all, and that's what my family told me.
On a completely different note, I've been hosting an art jam this month that's been all to do with dragons. I've liked dragons for a long time, I've always been fascinated by their mythical and legendary status, as well as their distinctive appearances - and it was because of a certain animated series involving dragons that first met Nicole, so they mean a lot to me on a personal level too. So please, spread the dragon love.
The weather's also been getting warmer as summer has well and truly kicked in, and needless to say I've been trying to have days out around my area as much as possible - and on the subject of travel, everything is all booked for me and my brother's July getaway to Scarborough, definitely looking forward to it.
So - my next blog may well be my last blog as a resident of my home country, so it'll be a memorable one one way or another. I'll keep you posted, and as always I'll leave you with a little bit of artwork, with a dragon theme of course.
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