This video is brilliant to watch because of the journey that you get to see a glimpse of as the background to this guy’s walk across China. But the reason I like this video so much -given that the self portrait timelapse video has been done many times before, the best one by Noah which was even parodied on The Simpsons- is that it uses video and not camera, and so each shot that makes up the timelapse has a little movement in it. Not always, but occasionally. From just a blink of the eye, through hair blowing in the gail force winds, to a brother or lover dancing around in the background. It gives the whole concept a new texture which I haven’t seen before, and I love it.
For 2 nights each summer, most of its local population descends on Plymouth’s waterfront, the Hoe, and (by boat to) Plymouth Sound to watch 2 nights of the National Fireworks Competition. This year I got to experience this delight for the first time.
I took the week off to it spend with my friend who lives in Plymouth, and also to celebrate my birthday which happens to coincide with this spectacular event (as well as the annual Perseids meteor shower, which unfortunately we were prevented from enjoying due to cloud cover).
Plymouth is a great location for the fireworks competition because the waterfront of Plymouth is large, meandering and on many levels which means there is no jostling for positions and you don’t have to worry about being stood behind the tallest-person-in-the-world. Having said that, there are definitely some prime spots for watching the fireworks display. The grassy embankment of the Royal Citadel is a prime spot.
In fact on the second day I was walking on the Hoe at about 4pm and I saw people taking up their positions at the top of this embankment already, 5 1/2 hours before the fireworks display begins! Not surprising then, that they were kitted out with deck chairs, tents, tripods and cool boxes.
I’m imagining that the person who made the following video was probably one of those getting into position early. This video is a recording of the winning display which was by a company called Phoenix Fireworks from Sevenoaks. Apparently members of the public could vote online, though we didn’t. If you have the broadband speed, I recommend you watch this full screen and in HD – it’s pretty impressive. Oh and listen to the background commentary too, its quite amusing.
In this photo of one of the lower levels of the Hoe I explored earlier in the day, you can see the jetty from which the fireworks are set off. All the water surrounding the jetty is full of boats during the displays, though overnight mooring isn’t allowed so they all go shooting off to their marinas as soon as the last firework has exploded.
Here you can see the little fishing spot where we sat on the 2nd night, with our feet dangling off the edge as we enjoyed our front row seat of the fireworks displays.
I know I said you don’t have to worry about people getting in the way of your view, but I took this next photo while I was still getting into position. I rather like the way the person’s head has a halo of firework though, don’t you? The big firework above reminds me of photos of jellyfish underwater.
You can see all my photos in this slideshow below. They’re a bit blurry but they do capture the scale and calibre of the displays. Check out the reflection of the light in the water. That was really fab.
Last week I received an email attachment from a friend in Vancouver of this stunning photo. (Click the image to get the full WOW! effect.) This is a view of downtown Vancouver skyscrapers shrouded in fog at sunrise, taken from Cypress mountain, one of the mountains (with ski slopes) which loom over the city.
A friend of mine is going to be visiting Montreal on her honeymoon soon, so I thought it was a good excuse to get my recommendations for where to eat there out in the open. Though I moved back to the UK in 2003 so I’m afraid they might not all still be there, but from what I’ve seen online, they mostly seem to still be going. (Please add comments with any corrections or further recommendations you have!)
There are many wonderful things about Montreal, that would require several posts here, but what I tend to focus on most is the food. Eating out in Montreal is cheap, easy and absolutely delicious. I think it is quite impressive that I only went up one clothes size in the 3 years I lived there, because the food is irresistable!
On “the Main” or St. Laurent, just south of Duluth is Schwartz’s Smoked Meat Deli. I’m afraid my friend’s vegetarian husband is going to have to close his eyes and nose while she indulges in this most delightful sandwich. Mounds of steaming tender smoked beef quivering between two slices of sour dough bread. STUNNING.
Just next door, at Mondo Fritz, is something for meat eaters and veggies alike. If you like chips and gravy, you will just adore this Quebec speciality, Poutine. Poutine is chips served with gravy and melted cheese curds, which are like lumps of cheese. You get this dish at all fast food joints in francophone Canada but Mondo Fritz has a gourmet version which I’d say is unbeatable. You might want to go for the Gardinier version which has some green vegetables like peas or brocolli in it. Their gravy is vegetarian, but they also do Poutine au Steak and other meaty delights. Or you can just go for their chips straight up with a choice of about 6 different mayos. All this washed down with a nice big pitcher of beer! YUM!
I was appalled by the ornate appearance of this brand new strip of beach huts waiting to be snapped up. They just look so Disneyesque – all pastel colours and frills – yuck!
We discovered this fantastic Kent pub in the village near the “Malthouse Barn” where we spent a long weekend this January. We ended up staying near Hastingleigh because I searched the English Country Cottage website for a cottage in walking distance from a pub and the ‘barn’ near Hastingleigh was the result. The pub just happened to be this amazing old Inn which was recently taken over and restored by ex-antiques dealers, so they’ve done a wicked job. You can see a picture of the lovely fireplace via this page (of their website which i’ve just discovered!!): www.thebowlonline.co.uk/
They are in the Good Beer Guide 2007 (quite a feat for such a new Real Ale serving pub) and have a pet Owl… Oh yes, we got the full lowdown from the lovely landlord Ron. He runs a music festival in the village at the end of the summer, so perhaps then is a good time to go check out the pub and area.
I thought everyone knew about the pierogi, a pasta parcel with filling, but when I mentioned them on my return from a trip to Poland last Autumn it turned out not many really know what they are. So here I present to you a home cooked version, served with fried onions and lardons. You can buy these ready-made and frozen from your local Polski Sklep (which, if you are living in London, is never far away) and they take only 8 mins to cook in boiling water.
There are various fillings, one of the most popular is sauerkraut and mushroom – but there are a plethora of options as we discovered at the Pierogarnia restaurant in Warsaw – you can check out their menu here. (Check out the price on the menu – 12 Polish Zlotych = £2 for a plate!!) One of our choices was buckwheat and wild mushroom filling – very nice. They were all served with a lovely, freshly-made sauerkraut (grated cabbage, carrot, onion) with dill.
There is so much amazing walking and climbing to be done here on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. We did this fantastic climb up a very near vertical sheer rock face, boy was the adrenalin flowing then. But it brought us up to this beautiful soft grassy plane, inhabited only by baa-ing sheep and midges. The contrast between this mossy green grass terrain and the sharp rocks surrounding it was remarkable.
The Storr: Unfolding Landscape was a nightime walk I went on in Skye this September. Myself and up to 200 other people walked for over 2 hours and climbed 700ft accompanied by sound, light, music and performance. Read a full description here www.24hourmuseum.org.uk and see the photos page for more images.
There are various fillings, one of the most popular is sauerkraut and mushroom – but there are a plethora of options as we discovered at the 
