Lady_of_asheru's 2nd attic
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September 7th, 2012
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| This is my escape route, should LJ turn into occupied territory... He who stays is known. He who left was not known. What left Is different from what was here. Before we go into battle I must know: have you a pass In your coat pocket? Is a plane waiting for you behind the battlefield? From: "There is no greater crime than leaving" by Bertolt Brecht (translated by Frank Jones) | ||||||
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December 6th, 2009
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| Overheard at gym today: Weary mother to very small girl: I'm sorry but mummy has forgotten her swimming costume so we need to go back home for it Child: why can't I stay without you? Mother: because you are too young to go in on your own Child (very imperiously): But *I* did not forget my costume! I was like that small child when young. It's amazing I ever made it out of childhood :-) | ||||||
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April 25th, 2009
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| My life being all about work, and running, I have reverted to my old practice of going to the Cambridge Arts Cinema once a week to escape. Last night, I was lucky enough to stroll into a special screening of Herzog's film about the Antarctic, "Encounters at the end of the world," introduced by one of the scientists filmed - Dr Clive Oppenheimer, a reader in Volcanology and remote sensing at Cambridge. Dr Oppenheimer, whilst very enthusiastic about the film, commented drily on Herzog's search for "ecstatic truth" rather than mundane documentary accuracy. In Dr Oppenheimer's case, Herzog's desire to slot him into the "eccentric explorer" stereotype (Herzog told him he was "a conquistador of the useless" after listening to what he studies) led to him describing Dr Oppenheimer as wearing a tweed jacket at the top of a volcano, which Dr Oppenheimer was at pains to point out, most definitely was not tweed. I quite fell in love with Dr Oppenheimer. The film itself is an absolute delight. I've heard that some people that work at McMurdo don't think much of it, particularly Herzog's sniffy dismissal of the few home comforts they have, and his description of it being like a mining town, or a moon colony. It's clear that Herzog has focussed only on the things that interest him - finding those that walk in the opposite direction to everyone else (even penguins), but it is also beautifully filmed, fascinating and extremely funny. The Times has a good review of it here with a clip. The week before that, I saw "In the Loop," which was more farce than satire although it had ambitions - all very shouty and one note, and ultimately rather depressing. Before that, it was the brilliant Swedish retake of the vampire myth, "Let the right one in," which was genuinely macarbre, romantic and terrifying. I was so intrigued I have sent off for the book, written by John Ajvide Lindqvist. There is a good, but spoilery review of it by one of the Guardian film critics here. | ||||||
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March 14th, 2009
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| Good lord, it is a month since I last posted. I blame this entirely on my starting training for the 5 km run - which means that I am now running 4x a week as well as my usual cycling 40 miles and swimming. I crawl into bed at 8pm and sleep like the dead, and am experiencing strange shooting sensations in my knees. Only 50 more training sessions to go and then the damn thing will be over! You can tell I am not warming to running, which I find (a) very dull and (b) very hard. I do however enjoy recording my incredibly slow progress using the tools on this user friendly running site: http://www.goodrunguide.co.uk/ In other news, I have managed to clear the 3 committees required and have permission to recruit an assistant. THANK GOD and they can't get here a moment too soon, particularly since I am currently dealing with a completely barking complainant who sends me long rambling tirades about the world in general, peppered with personal insults and vague threats to sue us. I long to be able to say "Come and have a go if you are hard enough!" but sadly my professionalism wins out. Some people just have too much free time on their hands. They should sign up for a charity run. | ||||||||
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February 5th, 2009
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| I felt pretty heroic cycling through snow drifts into work (note: my team was the ONLY team to all make it into the office) and then I came home to hear the recording of the communications between air traffic controllers and the pilot of the plane that ditched in New York's Hudson River, which as the radio 4 presenter said, certainly puts your day into perspective. There is something profoundly inspiring about hearing professional people...being professional. No tantrums, no arguing, no hesitation, just "what do you need to land." | ||||||
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February 3rd, 2009
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| I've decided the answer to my work problems is to submit a business case to recruit an assistant solicitor - then they can deal with all the really, really dumb questions. This has to go through 3 different approval committees but my boss has already given it the thumbs up! Plus some friends have talked me into doing a 5 km run for a cancer charity in June - ME, running! Not something I have done since I left my London gym 2 years ago. I need to plan a training programme - I am guessing interval training is the way to go...30 seconds running, 3 minutes leaning weakly against a tree...at least I have good running shoes and cycle 40+ miles a week...any tips welcome! | ||||||
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January 17th, 2009
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Yesterday afternoon, we took the tram to Olomouc cemetery, which was (fittingly enough) at the end of the line, right on the town border. It was snowing so hard that looking out across the fields it was impossible to distinguish the earth from the sky. The cemetery itself was rather too restrained for my taste (Czech people are mostly atheist, and were so even before the Communists took over). There were however some lovely sorrowing angels that may be good enough to post to ![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} mourning_souls. Many of the newer grave stones had photographs of the dead, smiling shyly at us as we made slow progress through foot deep snow. The average life expectancy here is still surprisingly low - you are regarded as having had a long life if you get to 70. The news and papers are all full of the Russian gas blockade - though the Czech Republic is not as badly affected as Slavokia, which is so desperate it is threatening to reactivate a soviet era nuclear reactor, much to the horror of downwind Austria. There is a very strong sense of being in the middle of Europe here, surrounded by bickering neighbours. Today is our last full day here, alas - we fly home tomorrow afternoon. Home, to fresh vegetables, home cooking, and the final half of Battlestar Galactica. Life is rich. | ||||||
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| Why is it always on the last night that you discover the perfect pub, the pub you should have been in all week, the locals' pub that is not in any guide and whose precise location you want to keep secret?? I am already pining for it - a tiny two roomed splendour across the city wall park, with walls painted with buttercream paint and hand stencilled flowers, and small wooden tables with gingham tablecloths. Only two things on the menu - bread and sausage, or bread and cheese - but oh, the beer! Strange cloudy brews from tiny breweries, smelling of rosemary. Portraits of Czech war heroes behind the bar. A resident dog that scans the room for sausages and puts its nose imploringly on your foot. In the ladies' loo, a painting of a Prussian soldier, half a bear skin over one shoulder and a spiked tin hat, wearing impossibly tight trousers and thigh high boots. Perfect. | ||||||
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January 15th, 2009
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| Watching an old Stargate episode dubbed into Czech - the one where Jack pushes Daniel's glasses up his nose in the lift - I am struck by how the actor translating Daniel's voice is several octaves higher than everyone else, and quite hysterically camp. Teal'c sounds like a church bell, and the gou'ald like an announcement on a cross channel ferry... | ||||
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January 14th, 2009
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| As I type this, snow is falling in great swathes across the street. This is my favourite cafe, attached to the Art Museum - above street level, huge picture windows, comfy armchairs, and smoke free. This compares favourably to a lot of the bars, which being below street level, feel cave-like even during the day. The first challenge is to get through the door, normally made of extremely heavy wood, with a full length curtain the other side, often with stone steps inside that are slippery with snow (more than once I have skated into the room, arms flailing, whilst the locals smile knowingly). Once inside, you are greeted with an eclectic decor, examples of which include: Astroturf on the windowsills Terrifying dolls of water sprites and "the night watchman" (a traditional figure) suspended from the ceiling or sitting on high shelves Broken cameras Tin beer adverts, often tilted sideways Chandeliers covered in cobwebs with half the lightbulbs missing Church pews and long tables Bamboo matting nailed to the wall, presumably for insulation Stuffed birds And in one case, a bored looking iguana in a tank full of plastic dinosaurs. Shopping opportunities are limited, probably because the national average wage here is under half that of UK at around 10k pa, and two thirds of the population does not even earn that. This explains why the inevitable pork and dumpling supper usually costs less than a glass of wine in the UK, and the shops focus very much on every day necessities rather than luxury goods. The Czech Republic is however seen as doing comparatively well for central Europe, and in some respects they are actually better than UK (women are allowed 3 year maternity breaks and can return to the same post). In the guide books, it is often said that Czech people are very reserved, and quite formal. My experience is that this is only when they are sober, and even then the younger people who speak some English are perfectly friendly. It's true they don't have the same inclusive approach as Germans, who expect you to share their table and are offended if you don't, but nor are they as snooty as the French can be, particularly about what you wear - since no one has much money to spare, everyone wears old jeans or cords and thick jumpers and boots so I feel quite at home. | ||||||
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January 13th, 2009
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| Dobrý den! Despite a hugely entertaining three hour Czech language lesson, I have barely progressed beyond "hello," "goodbye," and "thank you" - though the two most useful phrases I have learnt are: "Stačilo, ale bylo to super" - that was lovely, but there was too much of it (all restaurant portions are served on plates the size of tea trays) and "Nech me na pokovi" - a reasonably polite way of asking over curious drunks to leave me alone (it's still something of a novelty to see English tourists in Olomouc). Czech is a pig to learn - not only are there 40 letters in their alphabet, but there are some sounds we just don't make in English, including a combination of a rolled "r" and zh, which feels like rolling a marble around your tongue. A Czech tongue twister translates as "stick a finger through your neck" which just about sums it up. But I have dived in at the middle and not at the start - the train journey from Prague to Olomouc (which is pronounced "Ullmuutz") was stunning, through snow covered forests and hills, with herds of deer running along side in places. We travelled on one of the older trains, which still had 6 seater compartments, with ferocious heaters under the windows. We shared a carriage with an enormous man carrying one wooden box with a rabbit in it, and another full of pigeons which he put up on the luggage rack so that we were accompanied by cooing and muttering all the way. We arrived late Saturday afternoon and Olomouc was completely deserted (everything shuts Saturday lunchtime and does not open until Monday). We picked our way across snowy cobbled streets (lethal under foot) to our hotel, past Baroque fountains, dripping with icicles. Once we'd dumped our bags we went in search of beer and supper, and found that everyone was underground - small wooden doors in the corners of buildings, below street level, lead to smoke filled bars full of people drinking as much beer as possible before closing time (which is about 9pm here). Czech food is heavily based on pork, cabbage, and dumplings in various forms. A vegetarian would probably starve, since even salads come deep fried with ham. Starters include things like: A slice of fried bread, with an unpeeled clove of garlic on the side (their idea of garlic bread) "Bachelor's garlic soup" (for obvious reasons) "Fried bread with stinky cheese" (Olomouc has a local speciality cheese, which tastes like something that has been buried and left to rot) "Pickled short sausage drowned man" - fat pink sausages kept in an enormous pickle jar on the counter and "Fried battered cheese" (as much lard as you can physically put on one plate). Main courses, should you have room for them, usually consist of stews, or cheap cuts of meat (pork knuckle) with fluffy boiled potatoes, dumplings, and sliced cucumber or chili peppers. At Christmas, apparently they eat foot long carp rather than turkeys, and the fish are often sold live from barrels so that people can take them home and keep them in the bath until ready to eat. We have not yet got as far as the dessert section of the menu. Food is not however what one comes to the Czech Republic for - which is of course the beer, arguably the best in the world. I have a tragically low tolerance for alcohol these days but even I have managed to put away a couple of pints of Pilsner Urquell, Gambrinus and Budvar, always served deliciously cold (there is a Czech saying that the perfect temperature for beer can be achieved by putting the beer on the seventh step to the cellar). After consuming our own bodyweight in dumplings we stagger back to our comfortable hotel (I have a huge attic apartment under the eaves, with views across the roof tops) to watch Czech TV, which is bogglingly bad. There is a great fondness for practical instruction programmes, usually featuring an "expert" and an elderly TV presenter, covering such topics as how to: Restore an antique wood stove Clean a sheepskin coat Stuff a chicken Retread stairs Fit a bird box to a tree We can watch these for hours.... Olomouc itself is extremely pretty, with an abundance of Baroque and Art Nouveau decoration, six Baroque fountains, an C18th column that has made it to the Unesco World Heritage list, and an astronomical clock remodelled by the Communists so that each hour is announced by ideologically pure workers instead of pious saints. The Art museum has a wonderful rooftop viewing tower, below which we found a lovely exhibition by a Czech children's illustrator, Josef Lada -there is an example of his work in the link below, though I could not find online prints of my two favourites which were: "A Quiet Evening with a Statue of a Saint" (an eerily empty village square at night, with snow settling on a solitary statue) and "A slight misunderstanding," (a very funny depiction of a riotous pub brawl) Link to painting: http://www.radio.cz/pictures/obrazy/lad I am sure that Olomouc, together with the rest of the Czech Republic, will become much more popular once people start to venture further than Prague. It's well worth the trip. | ||||||
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January 7th, 2009
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| We are living in an icebox! Some great photos in this article, though.. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art | ||||||||||
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December 30th, 2008
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| I had a most exciting night at helenraven's last night - as I turned into her street I slowly noticed that something was ...off somehow, and then I realised that all the street lights were out and in a small radius from her flat, all the blocks were silently in darkness. Luckily I always carry bike lights, so I climbed 12 flights of stairs up to hers with only that flickering light for company - very spooky! It made me realise how rarely we have power cuts in the UK now, when they were of course a regular feature back in the 70s. On the subject of light, I have fallen completely in love with Adam Frank's Lumen Oil Lamp series, which project an image of trees and birds onto a wall - not that I have a wall that is not already lined with books, but if I had I would want one of these: http://www.aplusrstore.com/product_deta I think they would be great consolation for the virtually complete lack of daylight at this point of the year - a modern equivalent of a cave painting, bringing back sunnier times. | ||||||
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December 21st, 2008
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| I was really shocked to read how badly Amazon UK treats its staff, in the Times: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/b I have emailed Amazon to say that, as someone who tries hard to be an ethical shopper (and an ex trade union lawyer) it is very important to me how suppliers treat their staff, and the environment, and that if true, this account of their employment practices is completely horrifying. I have said that I would rather pay higher prices and know that my spending supports ethical and sustainable behaviour, and that I am sure I am not alone in this. I doubt whether I will even get an acknowledgement but I felt it important to say something rather than just accept this, even in today's economic climate. | ||||||
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December 4th, 2008
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On the twelfth day of Christmas,  lady_of_asheru sent to me...Twelve hobbits drumming Eleven ethics piping Ten borges a-leaping Nine linguistics dancing Eight webcams a-milking Seven ceramics a-writing Six politics a-cycling Five bla-a-a-ack books Four stargate atlantis Three film studies Two management bollocks ...and a braque in a poetry. | ||||||
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December 2nd, 2008
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| OK...so I am now up to SGA 4: 15 (Outcast) and I was wondering/hoping ...is there any fic based on that? and This evening, as I walked up my street (which is, though I say so myself, one of the prettiest in Cambridge, full of listed and in our case, listing buildings) gradually I noticed that: (a) someone had left a sofa on the pavement, like an enormous meteorite and (b) striding ahead of me was a very tall man wearing a floor length black hooded cape, which furled out as he walked, and he was smoking a cigar. I was sober at the time, people. I can only assume that Death was walking down my street in search of a sofa. | ||||||||
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November 30th, 2008
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| My last post of the day is this wonderful piece of writing by Simon Gray, from "The Year of the Jouncer," describing his rather portly cat Errol: ( Read more... ) | ||||||
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| I know, I post nothing for weeks and then it's 3 in one day...so here's number 2 - best of Leonard Cohen's on stage quips, as reported in "Uncut" Mag Dec 2008: "Thank you so much for having me... I was kinda nervous. Y'now, this is the first time I've done this in 14 years. I was 60 years old the last time I stood on stage - just a kid with a crazy dream..." "In that interim period I took a lot or Prozac...Paxil, Desyrel, Ritaline, Adderall, Wellbutrin, Focalin..What did you guys take?" "I've indulged myself in the various religions and philosophies. But cheerfulness kept breaking through..." "This is a song I wrote at a time when I thought I might never be able to sing again. Quite worrying, especially when you could never sing in the first place..." "I can say, without fear of contradiction, despite all strategies, all the medications, all the pharmaceuticals that are available, 'There Ain't No Cure For Love..." Bless! | ||||||
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| Thank you all for your birthday wishes! I rarely get a chance to show my creative side these days, so it was a delight to spend an afternoon at the Wicken Fen nature reserve today with a close friend, making Christmas wreaths - hers was spectacular, like a Catherine Wheel explosion of Christmas, but even though mine was more restrained, I am very pleased with it - hopefully you will be able to see a photo of it here:  | ||||||
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November 29th, 2008
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| It is my birthday today! Sadly my friends being the random creatures that they are, most have forgotten the illustrious date, though one managed to send a huge bunch of flowers intended for me to herself by mistake ("Pre-used flowers are all the rage, darling!") and another gave me the same book she gave me last year (which I still have not read). I have opened a bottle of prosecco and am quite looking forward to a night in watching series 4 of Stargate by myself. Last weekend I was of course in Cardiff with friends, and visited the brilliant folly Castell Coch, a mad, Disneyesque concoction (built for the 3rd Marquis of Bute, a man with way too much money to spare). I also dragged one friend to see The Mighty Boosh on tour at Cardiff Arena. Sadly, I think only a die hard fan would have appreciated the show, and even I found bits of it pretty mystifying.The first half was a random selection of vignettes from familiar characters (of which, Bob Fossil teaching the audience how to dance like him was the best - "Reach for those sandwiches! Reach for those sandwiches! Now scream like an Ocelot!!). My friend drank as much as she could in the interval, and gave me the evil eye before returning for the second half, which started with a play about an eco-apocalypse by Howard Moon, who gave a long lecture on recycling which I found hysterical before the whole thing was hijacked by Noel Fielding playing a new character Sunflash, an electro warrior from planet Camden (with a gold mini skirt and white wings, reminiscent of Pygar, the angel in Barbarella), accompanied by his scary looking love robot. They rounded off the show with medley of their songs, to rapturous applause and dancing by the audience. I felt it was probably a step too far to make my friend go to the after party, so I gave the cute bar tender at our hotel our tickets, after he told us that he'd been gutted not to get tickets to the show because BOB FOSSIL IS A GOD. Someone has put a bit of the Cardiff show up on You Tube here: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nDzUg72UL | ||||||
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Lady_of_asheru's 2nd attic
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