Archive for the 'MyWeek' Category

As part of my occasional series on My Local London, I describe a visit to Beddington Park to look for the Lost Village of Beddington - in the otherwise unremarkable Greater London commuter town of Hackbridge

Here are the pics from our stroll:

I stare out at sea from The Cobb in Lyme Regis, pondering on the illusion and reality of John Fowles’s “The French Lieutenant’s Woman” and later, meet a friendly Fossil Hunter who shows us his “catch” from the rocks of the Undercliff.

And these are the snaps:

I share the views from the cliff tops of Dorset’s Jurassic Coast on my summer holiday via a live mobile podcast from my mobile phone.

Here are some snaps:

BTW, I was inspired to visit this part of the UK by the A Mile With Me running podcast after its host, Steve Chopper, who lives in Bournemouth podcast about his walks along the coast. So, thanks, Steve for inspiring me to come on this lovely holiday!

I don’t know what it is about the breakfast menu but for some reason, whenever someone who can’t see the point of blogging talks about blogs, they always say, “I’m not interested in what someone had for breakfast” as if that and all the other dull minutae of life is what bloggers blog about.

Well, out of my hundreds of posts now here on this blog, I’ve only blogged about my breakfast only once before (see My Favourite Breakfast) and I’m now going to blog about it again - sorry, if you’re not interested…!

Most of the time during the week, I have my breakfast when I get to work as I leave home very early. I usually have a bowl of cereal at my desk as I scroll my way through emails and my tasks ahead. The great thing about Sundays is having the time to make ourselves a cooked breakfast and to take time eating it.

The other Sunday, I had a full English with as many of the trimmings I could muster from the provisions in the kitchen. The only things missing were mushrooms and black pudding - and maybe hash browns, though they are not a traditional accompaniment to this meal. And although I would have liked fried bread alongside the bacon, sausages, baked beans, tomaotoes and fried eggs, I had toast instead - my one minimal gesture to healthy eating…. I’d been obsessing about a fry up all week for some reason - perhaps the weather getting cold again all of a sudden in spite of it being the spring had got me hankering for comfort food!

The thing about blogging is that in many ways it is the minutae of bloggers diverse every day lives that is what can draw you in. If you were reading a novel that went into such details, you’d say of it, !My, how wonderfully well-observed this novel is!” Similarly, for me, the small things of people’s lives can paint for me a picture of who they are and help me make that connection with them online. Which is why, I think, I enjoy the so-called trivia of Twitter and Facebook as it helps me glimpse, say, my cousin’s daily life as she takes the kids swimming or goes to boot camp or watches Lost with her husband.

Of course a diet consisting solely of trivia and banalities would be as unhealthy for you having a fry up every day. I supplement it all with books (fiction and non-fiction, physical, electronic and audio)and news (online) and magazines (print and digital) as I supplement my full Englishes with fruit and veg and lean, grilled meat and fish - as well as curries, stir fries, pasta, soups…

Aaah, the 80s! Big shoulder pads, big hair, big earrings - those were the days… And I had ‘em all.

I was clearing out some cupboards the other weekend and came across these old passport photos. Hilarious!

I would often be mistaken for Brazilian or some such exotic Latina… Hola, chicos!

Gardening is not an easy hobby to get into for me. I like to see instant results for my effort and with gardening, it may take months for there to be any outcome to my hard work. (In some ways, it’s rather like writing a novel!).

Over the autumn, we spent several afternoons in the front garden, clearing away weeds and faded flowers from the summer in order to plant some bulbs. Nothing happened for months over the winter and we were convinced they’d all died from the ice and snow.

But now that spring has come, we have a skip in our step as we walk down the garden path and see all our hard work manifest itself in bright splashes of colour - our tulips have sprung up at last!

However, it’s not all gladness and joy. We also planted loads of allium bulbs but there’ve been no sign of them. Perhaps we didn’t clear the weeds enough around them. Or perhaps the snow and frost got to them even as it spared the tulips. So we’re feeling a little frustrated and fed up on that front even while we’re enjoying our lovely, bright tulips.

I suppose that’s like anything that any of us put our efforts into. We can have the perfect plan and execute it the best way we know how. In the most part, things turn out according to plan but there’s always a margin for imperfection or error. It’s about celebrating the successes and taking the imperfections in our stride.

While I was out on my run this evening in my local park, I came across a TV crew filming an episode of the long standing kids show Blue Peter. A whizzy young man from Rollerski.co.uk was teaching the “talent” how to rollerski for the cameras - and they were kind enough to smile for my snapshot as I whipped out my Blackberry to capture this moment.

When I used to live in Central London, I’d come across film crews quite often but here in the suburbs, it’s not so glamourous so it was fun to have something unusual to run past as I did my triple circuit…

I’ve had a go at rollerskating but spent most of the time on my bum. I’ve never tried rollerskiing and it looks quite fun - the poles should help you stay upright!

Snapshot is an occasional photoblog series featuring moments or images captured while I’m out and about.

snps

Continuing my exploration of the volcano ash travel crisis, I reflect on the silent skies above the UK this springtime. Podcasting guru Neville Hobson also adds his voicemail, reflecting on a silent London.

There’s also a round up of travelling friends who’ve been posting about being caught up in the air travel chaos on Facebook, including a voicemail report from Ingrid Beazley of Dulwich OnView who is stuck in the US after a museums/ heritage sector conference.

You can subscribe to the Fusion View Mobile Podcast by clicking on the “Subscribe with iTunes” button - it’s free and new episodes will be downloaded automatically to your iTunes application.

Here are links to the articles I discuss on the podcast:

Social Media and Stranded Travellers

Dunkirk-style mission to transport travellers

Also, I mention Dulwich OnView wins an international award

Other resources:

Liftshare.com - social network site for car sharing

My snaps from the park:

I’d love to hear about your experiences of the air travel ban - have you been enjoying the quiet in the skies above your area? Or have been caught up in the chaos, trying to get to your destination? You can send me an email or voicemail via my Contact Page

After some setbacks, I’m back podcasting with a new Mobile Podcast format that takes advantage of Ipadio’s live phoneblogging & mobile upload facilty. I hope that bringing audio blogging to Fusion View will stir up some different, spontaneous energies around this blog as I bring you conversations, interviews and audio impressions while I am on the move and out and about.

I’m also planning that 2010 will be my year of being creative and active. There’ll be podcasts on the arts, writing, culture. I hope to share my walks in and around London and restart my series on My Local London. You may also find some future mobile podcasts created on the run - literally! - as I bring you along while I run…

Although some podcasts will be live by mobile phone, others will be via pre-recorded mp3s but my aim throughout will be to keep it as “live” and spontaneous as possible…

I hope you’ll join me on my journey!

You can subscribe to the Fusion View Mobile Podcast by clicking on the “Subscribe with iTunes” button - it’s free and new episodes will be downloaded automatically to your iTunes application.