heavy metal fuel

now then

in a peculiar turn of events it's been more or less (give or take, look you see) quite close to nearly a year since i visited the hallowed turf (or grounds) of Donington Service Station. being, but of course, the closest service station one can visit before reaching the promised land of Castle Donington. well, yes, once promised land, i suppose. Monsters of Rock has gone. no doubt this "Download" replacement is quite good or at least serviceable, but not as cool sounding. besides, that's quite outdated, for as far as i know the kids these days "stream" rather than "download". unless it means something else. 

my travels, predominantly for verk purposes, remain extensive. it's just that oddly, and sadly, i have either not passed the way of Donington, or have had no need to stop. well, of course to see the place in all splendor is reason enough, but generally i would have stopped to "spend a penny" or similar just before it, and i need to get where i am going. not so, earlier this month. 

a quite (or rather) important part of doing travels is ensuring one has fuel in their vehicle. by chance i was running reasonably low somewhat close to Donington, and so i thought yeah, why not, let me have some heavy metal, full tilt leaded fuel in the tank for a change. not actually leaded, of course, for such has been made illegal in our brave new world. still, by virtue of me filling up (so to speak) in the great shadow of Castle Donington means that, by default, it's metal fuel in. from what i recall i had a tape of The Cult playing too, for added effect. or affect. 

chances are that this particular petrol station has been revamped and reconstructed since the 80s. yet still i like to fantasise that i used the very same fuel pump what a roadie for the likes of Maiden, Ozzy, Motorhead, Bad News (they would have done it themselves but still) or even Metallica may have used, either on the way to or from Monsters of Rock. probably when leaving, mind, but still. a simple thought to hold as an abstract daydream, but a harmless one which helps me make it through life. 

yes, we do indeed have a video, above. kind of actual video too, i suppose, since i have once again used that reasonably smart VHS camcorder "app" what i bought. obviously one cannot use a phone with a camera welded on it at the petrol station directly, as apparently doing so would make the whole thing instantly blow up. so, this was filmed on the border of a car park quite near it. my word this is boring. 

putting fuel in my vehicle has become an unexpected area of contention for William, the youngest of my (known) offspring. he believes me to be a "coward" if i fill up "just" because it is low. in his view, and i hasten to add he does not drive, that "fuel range" thing i have is meaningless, and if it's saying i only have 200 or so miles of fuel left it's probably the case it really means 500. frequently i find myself saying sorry to him for putting fuel in. such is how my life is now. 

not sure if this is the first instance of such, but yes, as above (kind of) shows, i have worked out how to take basic, rudimentary pictures with the previously mentioned VHS camcorder app. again is an image from some distance from the petrol station, as they get all funny if you smoke whilst filling up. no idea what damage they think it might do, but anything for a quiet life. oh, yes, i am "rocking" my clean shaved look. i got bored and shaved the beard (and moustache) off a little while ago. well, no, i paid a professional to do such. my intention was to let the beard grow back, but Mum says i have to leave it off. in fairness a lot of people suggest i look better sans it, but i am not sure. 

with the remnants of this year (2023) ebbing away there is every chance that this episode shall come to represent my one and only (that i can recall) visit to Donington for the year. a bit of a shame if so, but then at least i made it there the once. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it's no secret at all

howdy pop pickers

just another bit of vibes acquisition, really. well, actually, as it happens, a kind of restoration to the collection, look you see. so no, it's not a new tape (disc) what i gone done bought. should i have the mathematics and calculations correct, it is indeed a single which is, at time of writing, 32 years old. wow. since when was it the 90s were all that way back. 

anyway, moving on, it is, on the turntable (cd player) the FLY, being the first (or lead) single off of the much celebrated Achtung Baby record off of U2. now, yes, as i understand it, the modern world is quite divisive on this band. so, if you are on the side (for our society is now all taking sides) which does not care for the band, you may wish to read something else. 

full well do i recall going and buying this in the first instance. i was at college at the time, and took the bus to town during the week it was released to purchase the tape (cd single) during the first week of its release. this wasn't done as i was in a rush to get it, or for reasons of me being all that big a U2 fan. more that it was in the music press that the single was to be "deleted" immediately after release, which i took as meaning if you did not get it that week you didn't get it. oh. 

whilst i (really) rather liked it, just a few years later (into the lower middle of the 90s) i gave it away. no, that's not fair, i presented it as a gift to someone who really liked it. a rather sweet person, shall we say, who(m) i am very saddened to say it's unlikely i shall see again in this lifetime. perhaps in the next. 

to the single itself, and it's smart. obviously (i think) the actual song of the single, the FLY as they style it, is immense. that is a lot of i words. quite the strange tune, as it is less that it has aged well, more so that it gets better and better with the passing of time. but, that said, i can recall being a bit taken aback by the remix, the lounge FLY, as lyrically it was somewhat different. don't think i had experienced a remix having different lyrical content since the 16 minute epic one of Frankie's Relax. still, soon got used to it, and enjoy. 

ostensibly the b-side is a couple of bits of music what 50% of U2, being Bono and Edge, gone done for a theatrical production of A Clockwork Orange. my vague memory is that Burgess himself wrote this adaptation. also, memories of a possibly manufactured bit of "argy bargy" or disagreement between the celebrated author and the musicians. i seem to remember that Burgess was quoted as "not liking" the music, then a quote was attributed to Bono (because who would ask Edge) of him saying Burgess should "stick to writing", to which it was pointed out that Burgess had indeed composed several musical works and so perhaps knew of what he spoke. oh. 

so far as i am aware, or at least i think, all of the tracks off of this single are in my collection across a variety of albums, compilations and special editions. but when i saw it in a charity shop for all of 99p, well, all at once (honestly) all of the memories written here came to being and left me with a smile on my face. so yeah, i bought it. and indeed have played it a few times. perhaps, of course, not so much as i have done with the InterGalactic off of Beastie Boys single, before you all (once again) start with accusations of me not being a "proper" fan. 

essentially, all this streaming business, where you can access just about every song ever made in a reasonably instant way, is amazing. but, still. we are tactile creatures. my memories are based on the actual single as well as the song, as it were. not sure it was all that wise to strip this sensation from all future generations, but here we are. 

yeah i gotta go, i'm running out of change, there's a lot of things if i could i'd rearrange. 

when i was a young boy i wanted to sail round the world

yoho ahoy

and so another post about a place i have been which might (or may, look you see) be of interest to the casual observer somehow finding themselves here on my blog. or possibly not, i suppose. for all i know you are reading this sentence and round about now go "no", presume it shall be rather boring, or dull, or even simply not of interest, and have already clicked on another link so you haven't even read this bit. such things happen. 

for those who have decided to stick with it, even if just for a little while, welcome. and for you a tale that isn't quite one of adventure on the high seas, but is somewhat aquatic all the same. it involves, of course, me (moi) taking a trip, or if you will voyage, across a body of water. actually i am not sure which body of water, but the one that takes you off of the English mainland and finds you, all being good and well, arriving at the Isle of Wight. 

indeed yes, above is an image, presented in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode, of a ferry like the one i was on, making the crossing between Portsmouth and the Isle Of Wight. much of that i suppose did not need to be said, for i could not realistically take such an image of the ferry what i was on. and ferry is the term i am comfortable with, for that is what it was. many use this sort of discussion to get bogged down in the debate around what you can call a boat and what you can call a ship. well, you can get a life boat on a ship, but one tends not to find a ship stored on a boat. 

what drew, or otherwise compelled, me to visit the Isle of Wight. in the absence of time travel, so as to go and see their splendid festival in its prime, a verk instructed visit. a consequence of such is to give you warning that, alas, no, i didn't get to see much of the place itself. just get there, do what it was that i was requested (or instructed) to do, and, well, leave. from what i could see of the place it actually all seems all right. not sure i would wish to be an outsider there when night falls, but, still. 

yes, we have some video, like the above. except, so far as i can recall (as in i think) it's only the above what i have gone done in my spiffing new VHS camcorder format. pretty sure the remainder of the video here is "normal", whatever that may mean in this brave new world. anyway, the above footage shows, off of the back of it, the ferry leaving Portsmouth. 

blame, if you will, my ignorance of such matters, or my general lack of knowledge, but i had no idea the crossings between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight were so frequent. and busy. my knowledge of all things to do with the place amounts to the festival, really. so far as i am aware, at least during daylight hours there is a ferry going between the two once every 40 (forty) or so minutes. each one that we were on (which is two) was rather packed, too. no, alas, i have no idea what commerce or industry means such a level of movement is required. 

some of you for some reason or another might have looked at the video of the ferry leaving Portsmouth and wished for just a relatively straightforward image of such instead. well, there you go, above these very words one shall find such an image. but then you probably worked that one out. 

have i researched why the crossings are so frequent? no. i am satisfied to just document that they are. there must be good financial reason for such, as they tend not to run any service unless there is a very significant economic benefit for doing so. quite strange that there are more ferries sailing between the Isle Of Wight and Portsmouth than there are buses running between towns over on the mainland. let such be a (mass) debate for another time. 

another bit of video, then, and i think presented in non-VHS camcorder format. sorry, or great, if i am mistaken with that declaration. yes, indeed, what you are seeing (should it be the bit of video i intended to add) is a ferry going the other way, so to speak. no, i didn't wave at anyone on it, or try to attract the attention of the crew, for i did not think to take one of them smart flare gun things with me. bit of a missed opportunity perhaps, but another time, another place. 

the journey takes around forty (40) minutes or so, which ties in rather nicely with the frequency of the service, i suppose. and no, of course one cannot smoke on the ship. oh, heaven forbid one should find themselves with a fire on their hands when they are more or less surrounded by water. indeed that is flippant, for the last thing one would want is to be in the middle of a quite choppy, not too calm body of water with their vessel rapidly disappearing into flames. 

perhaps a warning is appropriate here, for a selfie follows. see, i put a warning, so please could whoever it is that keeps flagging my posts for being "inappropriate" take the day off. 

would i have ever considered a life at sea? certainly. there was that one show Michael Palin did, i think it was his first travel one, Around The World In 80 Days. yeah, it was based on a novel, the title of which escapes me for the moment. anyway, there was that one bit where he hitched a ride, so to speak, on a container vessel. it looked like a quite class thing, for as far as i could see the main duties of the crew were to smoke, drink coffee and sit around reading, occasionally playing chess. i am reasonably sure that is a job i could do.

now, maybe not so much. possibly. it seems that smoking is banned on all forms of travel on the sea, but i am not certain who would enforce such in the middle of the ocean. still, even if you could smoke, it would be them rough as goodness cigarettes. also, getting bummed off of a salty sea dog holds no appeal, and nor does the prospect of becoming a salty sea dog which does such things. fighting pirates doesn't seem as exciting a thing to do as younger me might have presumed. maybe i should just refrain from (yet) another career change, then. 

not in the greater good or glory of Commodore 64, then, is, above, an image of a ferry going the other way. actually this one was (i think) heading to the Isle of Wight, as i am pretty sure we (me and a guy called Eddie) were heading back to the mainland. taken from inside, for the weather turned badly and it was frightfully windy. so, sorry for any anecdotal reflections. 

it did, to be honest, feel quite strange to be on an entirely different body of land from my (known) children. yes, true, i was still within the same nation, and usually i am some distance from them, which is a tragedy but if i am in a maze then it is one of my own making. but still, you know, that thing where you are not even sharing the same land as them. 

last bit of video for you above, then, and indeed it is footage of the ferry what i was on pulling away from the Isle of Wight. my hope was that it was heading back to Portsmouth, and indeed it was. 

for those interested, actually i did surprisingly well, not having a cigarette for a good hour or so whilst taking the journey. the view was distracting enough, and i was further distracted by the large number of coffee shops one could find on the ferry. now, if i were to do something extreme, like for instance take a flight which saw me unable to smoke for, oh, 17 or so hours, it would be fascinating to see how that one would work out. perhaps one day. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cigarettes, glue, warnings and you

hello there

ok, so, yes, then, it is the case that smoking is quite bad for you and one should not do it, and if you presently do indeed do it then you are (likely) best off getting some help and assistance in quitting. at the least this is true for cigarette smoking, look you see, as for some reason cannabis smoking is virtually encouraged in our society. go figure. 

with that disclaimer (of sorts) out the way, on we go. as it happens i, moi, got some cigarettes at a most agreeable price recently. and what was also agreeable (i cannot say with a straight face that it was even more agreeable) is that the big warning message on the box (or carton, or sleeve) was that mega classic one which appears to feature either Ant or Dec out of Ant & Dec on it, getting some medical treatment due to smoking. or so the image casually leads one to believe. 

i think it is the Ant one out of Ant and Dec, for it looks like the one who stands, when you look at them face on, to the left, and they always stand in that order for branding purposes. or, well, whatever. anyway, the point is that the fella on this warning label looks like that one. a bit. true, this is not as class as them Indian or what have you cigarettes what have an actual picture of John Terry (that one) on them, doctored to look like he is in (smoking related) distress. they don't use that one here, as for most of our nation the idea of "Jay Tee" being in some form of distress would be too emotional. but also it could possibly be that the bloke looks like Dec. i am afraid i just don't watch them, they are far too busy and bouncy for me, thanks. 

presently our incumbent prime minister has got quite the bee in his bonnet about smoking. he is doing that trick of distraction, where he blames all on smoking and is looking to ban smoking so that everyone will think he is brilliant. everyone except smokers. i suppose this means he will be hiking the taxes on them (which are already ludicrous) again, and he also has an idea of raising the age limit for buying cigarettes legally every year. a not bad idea to genuinely remove it from society, and if i make it for another few years i look forward to being aged checked for buying some. if i ever go into a conventional shop to get some. 

ahem. i happen to know (or have it on good authority) that independently imported cigarettes are fairly easy to get, and cost around half price of what they do in conventional shops. think about that. it is somehow that presumably less than legal (if not criminal) types are able to import them to the UK, sell them from half price and still make a profit. that is how harshly we are treated. 

make no mistake, may future generations not make the folly of a decision to smoke. but, also, be quite wary of agreeing with them restricting choice just because you, the non-smoker, happen to agree with that one. next it shall be something you like what they gone done target. as things stand, their arguments against smoking are ridiculous. smoking was the reason for many years that the NHS was a mess, remember. well, smoking figures are now at a record low, and the NHS is in a worse state than it has ever been. the toll on national resources smoking takes is insignificant to that which, say, alcohol has. yet they don't appear to target that one. or not yet. 

sorry, no, there is no reference (except here) to glue in this post, but i thought it sounded quite class to include it in the title, so as to make a rhyme sort of thing. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

amy and who(m)

greetings

just a sort of quick one (so to speak), look you see. once again plucking images from travels that i had not quite got(ten) around to posting here and, well, doing so. 

not for the first time and (certainly) not for the last i found myself in that there London (innit) for purposes of verk. a bit of a first was being in that celebrated, if not necessarily legendary, bit called Camden. no, i did not go to the market but did have to drive quite close to it, which was "busy". hey ho. 

i saw this "street art", then, which is the fancy term for graffiti. a rather good portrait of Amy Winehouse, i would say. having a picture of her up in Camden makes absolute perfect sense for it was her stomping ground. something would be very wrong if they did not celebrate her there. my question is who(m) is that supposed to be stood by her? 

my initial thought, or reaction, is that it's a (very good looking) painting of Dave Gahan. as in the one out of Depeche Mode, and not some other Dave Gahan randomly walking around. i have show this image to others, without narrative or prompt, and they also immediately said that's Dave Gahan. should it be that it is meant to be he, well, why? 

this may well (and it would not be the first time) be complete ignorance on my behalf, but i am entirely unaware of any connection between Dave Gahan and Amy Winehouse. or with him and Camden, to be honest, what with him being famously a Basildon Boy. undoubtedly he will have been there, that Camden place, at some point, but i know of no strong connection. 

well, i can only offer unreserved apologies if i am missing something obvious should it not be him out of Depeche Mode. really, i am curious, so if anyone can shed light on who(m) that is with Amy, and why, i would appreciate it. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

killing time at zoo

hello there

it was not too long ago (videos are dated, look you see) that i found myself in Scotland. one can say several things about that, but the one which comes predominantly to mind is that at least it was not France. but, let's not drag the tone down. 

whereas (or whilst) i was there at the request, invitation or behest of verk, i found that i had some unexpected and certainly not planned free time. also, i was rather close to the Edinburgh Zoo. since it was so that the last reflections of summer were a thing, off i went. eventually, after declining once in the face of what struck me as a draconian and unnecessarily heavy handed smoking ban. but, Scotland will do Scotland.  

the main point of appeal, as in the compelling reason, to go ahead and visit turned out the promise of seeing a koala bear. possibly more, but one would have been sufficient. so it was to be, as you can see in a reasonably clear way in the picture above, taken off of (or with) my new phone what has a camera welded to it. who is it, i wonder, that decided to start welding cameras to phones, and did they see how much use they would get. 

sometimes things get clouded. i am pretty sure this was me having a wish to see a koala bear once more, as in "again", but i am not certain. there is every chance that i had seen one before, what with me spending some time in Australia. no matter, for i have seen one now. 

yes, we've got a video, and it is there above. oh absolutely i used (apologies to regular readers) the fancy new VHS camcorder app what i bought. which may not have been the best idea if i had any wish to retain such for posterity, but here we are. 

oddly, and quite unexpectedly, i find myself at odds with my (known) youngest offspring in respect of the view on koalas. i believe them to be quite class, William not so. his view is that they are stupid, they have had to evolve with (his words) "folded brains" because they think it's so awesome to keep falling out of eucalyptus trees after getting completely trashed (stoned) eating their poisonous leafs (leaves). i pointed out that this aspect is one of the most predominant reasons they are quite class. truly, a koala bear lives a life most adults would gladly trade. 

by means of a general sort of quasi review of Edinburgh Zoo (as i go) they do have a good many rather interesting signs up, giving all sorts of information. well, yes, predictably (and sadly) they do have a few signs saying "but what about Scottish wildlife", as if one should feel bad about being where they are and not roaming the Highlands or Glasgow. moving back to point, i have indeed most certainly been to Blue Mountains. as point of fact Katoomba, and saw the Three Sisters. 

going on with the sort of (kind of) review thing, brace yourself, for the walk around the zoo is steep. and i do mean very, very, very steep. if there wasn't a ridiculous smoking ban anyway i probably would not have smoked. do you remember the Rocky IV documentary, when that massive Swede pretending to be a massive Russian was on that treadmill and they made it go vertical and made him keep running on it? like that, but without the running (unless you are insane) or the general presence of Soviets. 

more watching the (Australian) wildlife for you, then. kind of. in the centrally central part of the above image you (or one) can see a wallaby. trust me, there are kangaroos present, but they are up to the back, just chilling in that sort of hut house thing. quite surprised to see an area that has no fences being provided to walkabout (kind of) near them, for my understanding is that a kangaroo has a most ferocious kick. well, you would think so with them feet, man. 

rather an endearing myth, or urban legend, would be around how a kangaroo came to be known as such. i believe in a telling intended to mock the (us) English (we can take it, we are big and strong enough, only our jokes about ourselves are totes better), the story goes that them what first landed in Australia approached the indigenous people, assumed (despite centuries of going to other countries and knowing other languages were a thing) they spoke english, asked them what "that creature" was called and got the response "kangaroo". which supposedly in aboriginal languages means "i don't understand". really doubt it is true, or the case, but still, nice story. 

giraffes! a particular highlight, this, and amazed that not so many people were there. perhaps because they are located right up at the top of the zoo, which is near impossible to get to for mere mortals due to all that steep walk thing. but, with two (2) places to view them from, at least, well worth it. 

far be it from (or for, not sure which is right) me to not tell one of the single greatest jokes what i know of. why is a giraffe's neck so long? it's because it's head is so far away from its shoulders. oh. well, i find it funny. believe i lifted it off of a Carry On film somewhere. 

last bit of video for this post here, then. again, no, sorry, nothing in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode this time. but i am not bored with the format. anyway, it was really, really lovely to have he giraffes sort of saunter, or stroll, up to me, clock that i probably had no food and lose interest. quite glad to have experienced it in solitude, at least in the sense of no other humans around. to be honest i was feeling rather down on going, engaging with the wildlife was heart-lifting.

certainly i did see a good deal more animals than i have included pictures of. and yes i probably do have loads more images. but, the world being what it is, i accept that patience and interest levels drift off. so here are some penguins. 

i absolutely could have stood and watched the penguins all afternoon, really. given the chance, i suppose, all day. they are fantastic and tremendous fun. whenever they have been presented as being fun in animated films, be it Madagascar or that one where Robin Williams voiced the Emperor one what wanted pebbles (can't remember name, sorry), well, i would guess the creativity was easily stimulated by just observing. 

yes, i did go and see the Giant Pandas, who(m) i believe return to China in December (2023). alas they were asleep with their backs to me, and the glare off of the glass prevented decent images being taken. think i more or less saw all. regret not being able to take pics (or video) of the meerkats, but quite understandably they were absolutely crowded by people. 

right up at the (very) top of Edinburgh Zoo, where i went only because there was where one would find the only smoking area (dangerously close to a construction site, but hey, us smokers are quite used to getting proper f****d over), where was i oh yes, they have some massive dinosaurs. some of them are that animatronic (or how you spell it) sort, but not the t-rex. yes, they have a t-rex. quite a lovely view to go with a nice, quiet cigarette. 

easily the most annoying aspect of a visit to Edinburgh Zoo (above smoking and steep) is the farcical system they have to pay to get in. they charge you an amount which includes an extra donation, and then ask if it is ok to leave the donation in. exactly what sort of sh!tbag would say no in that circumstance? but it's strange that a donation is assumed rather than requested. probably all due to some sort of tax law, no doubt introduced by that aspirational parish council they have up there. but no, i was not going to take around £2.50 of eucalyptus out of the mouth of a koala. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

blast

howdy pop pickers

another delve into the word (or realm) of how particularly easy it is to persuade me to part with coins in exchange for something what i ostensibly already have. well, another copy of such, look you see, with some slight variation. 

the year that is this year (2023) has been a particularly rich year (so far) for those of us who happen to be fans of both Frankie Goes To Hollywood and their frontman, Holly Johnson. if we are to be entirely honest, it was (of course) the exceptionally unexpected "reunion" of the band for a one song performance at the Eurovision celebrations. true, sure, the band did not play, but no one really (really) in their wildest dreams saw all five being on the same continent together again, let alone the same stage. 

it was that coming together (so to speak) which, be it by default or design (i do not care which), saw Holly elect or opt to go very much back into the public eye. which is a truly, truly wonderful thing. 

so far as i can remember there's not too many tapes (actual or disc) which have been released, or as here re-released, during the year what i have bought. little doubt or hesitation came into thought when another re-release of Blast, Holly's debut solo album, was announced. well, any doubt soon went when it was announced, as you can see in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode, that the tape which is an actual tape re-issue could be bought signed. 

pretty sure that i did previously have this album on tape (actual) but it went, some time ago. i oddly cannot remember entirely (or exactly) but i think my sister became custodian of my tape copy. but, as pictured above (and below), i certainly kept the compact disc variation of the tape, what with Holly very kindly signing and doing a doodle on the booklet. go on then a (slightly) clearer pic. 

for those for some reason wishing for a (more) better image of the signed disc, here you go, click them different coloured words for a post from quite a while ago. there's probably another post (and another) somewhere related to it all, as well as stuffs of things on Holly. 

call me biased if you will, but certainly it is so that Blast remains a quite class album. it gets played a fair bit as i am off out, round and about on travels, as it happens. and of course there are some incidental moments when i get to randomly hear my favourite song from it. not that there's a bad song. also, this is no nostalgia feeling. when making this album Holly found a whole bunch of happy notes which he banged again and again. truly Blast is an all time great just feel good pop album. 

you will be delighted to see (above) that i have discovered my new (paid for) VHS camcorder app has, it turns out, the function to take a "VHS picture" of sorts. that's quite class, that is. 

my suspicion is that another post concerning the excellent ways of the most excellent Holly Johnson shall turn up fairly soon. on that note (ahem) here's an official link for Holly, where one can purchase tickets for his imminent tour, as well as music. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

french corner

bonjour, mon amis

it would, on the whole, be somewhat unusual (if not plain out of character, look you see) for me to give any time further than absolutely necessary to anything french. usually, if we are honest, such a reference made by moi would be limited to, for example "here is how something proper looks and here is the french interpretation of that". they are, after all, not really much good at anything of consequence. 

but, still, i am for some (inexplicable) reason determined (and dedicated) to presenting here things what i have seen on my travels that strike me of being of interest. whether they are indeed this or not is, of course, down to you, dear reader. i, as your humble narrator, can only throw it on here, so to speak, and see if anyone considers it worth their time. mostly, probably not, no. 

so it was so that i, me (moi) found myself in an area of that there London (innit) which struck me as being predominantly, possibly overtly, french. or frenchish. a number of people were walking around speaking "french", if you accept it as an actual, proper language. further, there were a couple of clearly french businesses there, too. yes, any normal person would look at any sort of french car and wonder how they have any sort of industry, but still. then i saw various things relating to De Gaulle, oh. 

anyway, i have now decided to refer to this aspect of London (innit) as french corner. not that i can entirely remember where it was. perhaps french quarter would be a proper or correct term, but no. it strikes me as being particularly difficult to fault the wisdom of London here, putting all french things to one side, in a corner. true, certain nations at quite specific points in their history (as in not really relevant now) have felt it better just to get rid of them (the french), but that's harsh. shoving them somewhere out of harm's way is perfectly sufficient. 

just over the road from the statue (pictured) is a building with one of them blue plaques on, indicating what it was that De Gaulle was doing in the vicinity. indeed, yes, i agree, i perhaps should have zoomed in, but still. no, you are right, there are no images presented here in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode. frankly it's a bit much that i am being so polite and diplomatic about our when they need us friends on the continent, i am certainly not wasting superior image quality on them. 

what do i think (or what's my stance) on De Gaulle? never really touched on him in my studies, to be honest. i would suspect, mostly, that he first came to my attention in the original (superb) Day Of The Jackal film, which alerted me to the concept that one could blend real things (and people) with fiction in a clever, effortless way. from what i gather he wasn't too keen on any sort of integrated, dare i say union of Europe, and he felt no need to be grateful to nations such as the UK or the USA whatsoever. the former seems at odds with the incumbent frenchies, the latter strikes me as being the absolute personification of the frenchies. 

for some reason there are all sorts of (peculiar) bits of information floating around in my head. or wherever such things reside. indeed there was a temptation to say "useless" in respect of the info, but that is harsh, as all information is ultimately of some use somewhere. anyway, i recall reading, once, it being so that by population (please note) that there London (innit) is in fact france's 4th largest city, for there are so many of them living there. not sure if that was true or remains so, but there you go. welcome, all of them are. you have to give credit to people who realise they are living in a dire country and so go live in another quite close by. 

regrettably the french shall no doubt appear in this blog again at some point, but i (very) much doubt that i shall afford them a post in its entirety like this. well, maybe. i do have a lovely Inspector Clouseau box set here, perhaps i shall watch all of them films again and comment here. 

sacre bleu, avec moi tres bien donnez moi (or whatever)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

commerce is our goal

greetings

just taking up some valuable internet space with a rather dull and boring reality, look you see. well, to be fair (or "tbf") one could say anything what i write of, or share, is by default dull and boring. should you be of a mind to be kind, though, this might be more of such than usual. 

it has been quite some time (about eight years, as point of fact) since i faffed or otherwise messed around with that "google image search" thing. you can see the results then by clicking on the link, which is the words in a different colour. with the ferocious rate of technology developing surely it had to be that results on a search of an image of moi would be (more) better. 

not really, then. or yes, no, maybe. i am truly impressed, considering it's a both compressed and also not the best image of me, that the all powerful google could, fairly (as in very) quickly tell the make and model of my glasses (spectacles). oh. unfortunately that is the only search result it kicked out. with lots and lots of links encouraging me to purchase further. 

yeah, all this "AI" stuff. and data harvesting, or big data, or what you will. various theories exist in concern of it all, with some of them conspiracy, some plausible and some so outlandish that various inept governments around the world probably would do so. a test of any conspiracy theory is "ok, who profits, makes money or gains power from it". mostly, then, it really seems all this data harvesting is just set on selling you stuff. 

a second (of two) tests got gone done, then. once again, most impressive, they worked out the make and model (should that be how one refers to stuff) of the particularly stylish sunglasses i had on. brilliant. why they would try and sell me something i already have is a mystery. writes he who does indeed have multiple copies of the same albums. oh. 

by chance i had given the google a fighting chance of finding moi via an image search of me. rather more from laziness than due to some preemptive anticipation of me searching i have, over the last coupe of years, added and "tagged" a couple of them selfie things on social media, making them possible to be viewed by all (not that many would be interested). going on all of this, they don't use that for search results, instead opting to rather find ways to make money off of you. welcome to the world which we, if not directly created, then stood around and watched come to be. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

swan(s) on a trunk

heya

well, a post which pretty much does what it says in the title, look you see. recently i saw, just by my lodgings at place of exile, some swans on a trunk (of tree). i had absolutely no idea what to do with this but take some images (and video) to add here. 

and here we are. into the last quarter (at time of publication) of this year (2023). the business end, if you will, when the months are counted in some no-nonsense double digit ways. indeed all that time is relative stuff strikes true as the years progress. perhaps i have been optimistic in speculating that i am as far as a three quarter life crisis. 

moving on, then, and a swan in the singular format. yes, indeed, just a regular picture, and there's nothing here in the greater good and glory of Commodore 64 mode. odd. he, or she, was just chilling on this trunk which had come to be in a central-ish middle section of the river by which i am located every now and then. presumably lots of things like this get washed up, or float down (or up) until such point as they get lodged at a certain point. sadly (alas) i only got a "d" in geography, so you would need to ask someone more informed than i (me) if you are interested. 

i tend to find it all but impossible, or irresistible if you will, to mention that question of whether or not all of the swans in the UK do indeed "belong" to the incumbent monarch. which would, at this point in time, be HMKC3(PO). really, no, i do not know. by all accounts swans believe the best form of defence is very much attack, and they are quite strong. just leave them be.

yes, we've got a video. above you can see (if you click play, or what have you) some footage of swans in the plural sense gathering, if not congregating, on this tree trunk. best i clarify what sort of trunk, i suppose, lest any suitcase variation enthusiasts get disappointed. or elephant fans. 

certainly that video (above) is once again in this fancy new "vhs camcorder" format. to recall, or recap, i spent some money (£5) on it on a whim, so if you are a regular visitor here thank you very much for being so and get used to seeing more (and more) video in this format. the novelty may well wear off, although i can see me continuing using it after such a point, at least until i feel (or believe) i have had some vague sense of value from it. 

so far as i am aware, and you would (reasonably) think that i might have done some reading or research on the subject, swans get fairly territorial. quite strange to see so many gather on, or flock to (i suppose) this spot and see it as a sort of communal sharing thing. they all appeared to be getting on just fine, or at least i did not see any fighting. 

righty-ho, then. undoubtedly, should i not expire before chance permits, a swan or some swans will feature here again. failing that, well, there's several posts what i have gone done on this subject, you go ahead and feel free to find them and look. as far as i am aware there's a bit at the top where you can search my posts, so write swan it there, hit enter and see what comes up. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!