Mobile phones and not going to Lundy

So I didn’t get to Lundy this year after all. Here’s why …

Lundy Island is about three and a half miles long and half a mile wide. It lies off the coast of North Devon towards the end of the Bristol Channel and is reached by ferry from either Bideford or Ilfracombe. It’s owned by the National Trust and although it has a shop and accommodation is a bit of a wilderness. Going there has been at the back of my mind for a long time, but it was last year when I was walking the Exmoor part of the South West Coast Path and came across ferry timetables that I decided I would definitely visit this year.

I decided to go on the Thursday as the ferry times on this day would give me the maximum amount of time on the island. I hoped to walk right the way round and so wanted as much time as possible so that I could achieve this without feeling rushed and whilst still having plenty of time to sit and absorb the views and watch any wildlife.

I emailed the ferry company to see about booking. They emailed me back advising me to book in advance and informing me that I would have to do this over the phone rather than online or by email. Easier said than done as I get in too late to ring during the week. I tried phoning on Saturday morning before I left but each time I rang I got a voicemail message telling me the booking office was closed and informing me of the opening hours. As I was ringing at a time the message was saying the office should be open, this was a bit strange. Stranger still was the second part of the message advising me to ring the number I was actually already ringing. I tried one last time right before I left and this time, hallelujah, got through. I booked my ticket and arranged to pick it up from the booking office on Thursday morning. I even got a discount because I’m a member of the National Trust. The woman told me to be at the office for 7.45am and gave me directions for where to park and how to get to the office and the ferry. She also told me to phone the office after 8pm on Wednesday evening to check that the sailing was going ahead. I left home relieved I’d got it sorted out and knowing I’d be able to indulge my island habit whilst I was away.

All was well until Wednesday. I listened to the weather forecast: gales, storms, thunder, rain, gusts of wind up to 70 miles per hour. Maybe I wouldn’t be going to Lundy after all. I listened to the forecast a couple more times in case they changed their minds but they didn’t. Unless I was told otherwise by Lundy officials though, I still needed to turn up for the ferry the following morning. So it was important I made that after 8pm phone call. This is where I hit my next problem.

I rarely use a mobile phone. In fact I’ve never actually bought one, I just use other people’s cast-offs. I’ve been using my current phone for a couple of years and it’s an old one of my brother’s. As he lives in Germany this is a German phone and so the charger doesn’t fit English plug sockets. Not a problem because German plugs fit the shaver socket in my bathroom and so I can charge it in there. I can also charge it in the car and when I’m travelling in mainland Europe the charger fits the sockets fine and is much smaller and lighter to carry than an English size charger and adaptor. So I’m very happy with my German phone.

Now however, my phone decided to die. Each time I tried to switch it on it said auf wiedersehen and switched itself back off. And yes, it was fully charged. I took the battery out and wiped it and put it back in. I shook it. I held it in different positions. All to no avail. If I was going to make this phone call I was going to have to get a new phone. A trip to Tesco was called for.

I found a phone for £11 that seemed perfect. They did have one for £9 but I needed to buy a car charger to go with it and there wasn’t one to fit the £9 phone. Buying a phone is far more complicated than I ever realised.  I had to charge it, then ring a number to register it, then put credit on it, then learn how to use it so I could actually make my phone call. I sat in my car in the car park with the phone plugged into the cigarette lighter trying to go through everything in the right order. Finally I was able to make my phone call. Only problem now was that I couldn’t hear anything. I played with the volume but still couldn’t hear anything. The only way I could hear was to have the phone on loud speaker. I assumed I was doing something wrong and resolved to play with it a bit more when I got back to the campsite.

As for my phone call? Well, I felt like I’d completely wasted my time because all I got was a voicemail message saying that because of the weather forecast the ferry may or may not go and they’d decide in the morning so passengers should still turn up at 7.45am. What was the point in having to ring to be told that? After my experiences with their voicemail messages on Saturday I really think they need to think a bit more about how to word their messages so they actually tell callers something useful and meaningful.

So next morning I had the alarm set before 6am to make sure I had enough time to get to Bideford and find the parking and the ticket office and the ferry. I tried calling again before I left but it was still the same message as the previous evening. I drove the half hour to Bideford, put my car in the car park and bought an all day ticket (luckily it was only £3) all with the knowledge that I was probably doing all of this for nothing and could have had a nice lie-in.

I walked along the quay to the ticket office. The ferry was docked alongside looking inviting. A queue of people were snaking outside the booking office door and along the quay next to the sign saying ‘cancelled’. I had to join the queue to fill in a form to claim a refund. I wasn’t the only person pointing out the inadequacy of the voicemail messages. The woman in the office said they’d only just made the decision to cancel. I really don’t understand the point of having to ring the night before (ok, phoning the night before probably wasn’t as much palaver for other people as it was for me, but even so …) if they don’t make decisions until just before the sailing is due even when there are such severe weather warnings. I was rather miffed at having got up early, wasted an hour’s worth of diesel (return trip) and the parking fee all for nothing, as well as being disappointed at not getting to Lundy. The next sailing was not until Saturday and that would be too late for me.

At least it was still early and I still had the whole day ahead of me. So I went for a walk. But that’s another story.

2012 Twelve May Review

The fifth review of my 2012 Twelve challenges. I’ve been rubbish!

A bit of a rubbish month as far as this list goes. Looking over it, I can’t think of anything I’ve actually done towards it. Ah well, must try harder next month.

  1. Floating in a floatation tank (I’m hoping to do this in London during the February half term)
  2. Reading at least 10 books from the BBC Big Read list (if I read 10 a year, I’ll have the whole 200 knocked off in the next 12-13 years!)
  3. Taking at least one photo every day of the year (this will improve my photography skills, be a photo-diary of ‘year in my life’, and help me to learn to use my new camera)
  4. Coming up with a fitness plan and sticking to it (the start of my training for Kilimanjaro, though I may not actually climb it for several years yet)
  5. Leading at least 4 of my own walks (good practice for my walking group leader’s qualification)
  6. Buying another house (need to get my finances in order first)
  7. Learning to use at least 3 new pieces of technology or computer programmes (not counting my new camera)
  8. Doing a writing course (depends on the length of the course whether I’d complete it in the year or not)
  9. Getting at least one piece of writing published (paid or unpaid, as long as someone else makes the decision to publish it and it’s not self-published)
  10. Making a start on sorting out my photos (putting the prints that are currently still stuffed in packets into albums and getting all my photos scanned into the computer – no way will this be completed in a year, but I’ll feel good even if I get started on it)
  11. Buying a car/van that I can sleep in (and doing any necessary conversions/adaptations)
  12. Getting into cycling (even if it’s just short cycles along decent paths)

Home

I’m home from a week of jumbled up walking.

I arrived back very late last night from my week walking the North Devon part of the South West Coast Path. It was a gorgeous day – hot, sunny – and after a week in which I’d had lots of rain and wind I didn’t want to waste any of it. I also had one bit of my walk left to do, which would have really niggled at me if I hadn’t been able to complete it. So I walked all day, watched seals, ate an ice-cream, and only left at 5pm. Now I have to spend today sorting out my camping gear, getting everything dry and put away, and then I can think about writing up my walks and sorting out my photos.

This isn’t going to be as easy as it sounds as the whole thing is rather muddled in my head. I’d wanted to walk from Ilfracombe to Westward Ho! and of course it would make sense to start at the beginning and walk to the end. But with the combination of Sunday and the two bank holidays affecting bus services, stiff knees and the poor weather, I ended up walking the route in a really hodge-podge manner and now I’m feeling very confused as to which bits join up with which other bits. I’m sure it will all fall into place when I start working it out, but for now it’s all a bit of a daunting jumble.

Half Term

I’m looking forward to walking a bit more of the South West Coastal Path.

I haven’t posted much over the past month as I’ve been far too busy at work and barely had time to think. Still, next week is half term and I’m heading down to Devon to walk a bit more of the South West Coast Path. After spending the really hot week we had recently in what is basically a giant greenhouse, I was really looking forward to a hot week in my tent and walking along the coast. The weather forecast is pretty miserable though. Nothing like last year when I walked the Exmoor stretch of the path. Whatever the weather, it’ll just be nice to get away and have a break. I’m going from Saturday to Saturday. I’m hoping to walk 4 days, have a day trip to Lundy Island on Thursday and have one day being a tourist. I’m booked into a tiny campsite near Barnstaple which I’ll use as my base and I’ve just found out that there’s a bank holiday weekend real ale festival on in Barnstaple. How perfect is that!

Getting things booked

A week off work leaves me feeling organised, clear-headed and on top of things.

I’ve been off work this week as I lost my voice. Careless I know. As a teacher a voice is pretty much essential for my job. Still at least I’ve been able to get loads (and I mean LOADS) of stuff done at home that I normally never get time to do. Like cleaning. I’m feeling very organised and virtuous as I look around my sparkling and tidy home. Having a clear and clean space around me makes my head feel cleaner and clearer too and I feel better able to get on with things. So this afternoon I’ve sat at my clean and clear desk and done all kinds of organising and booking tasks.

I tried to book tickets for myself and a friend to go to Wembley in June to see England play Belgium but they are sold out! I only got an email on Sunday saying that tickets were available and I really didn’t think Belgium were that exciting a team, so I didn’t quite believe the ‘sold out’ sign when I first saw it. Oh well, what’s meant to be is meant to be. I’ll try to go next season instead and maybe I’ll get to see a more interesting team. Not going in June also means I get to go straight down to the South West Coast Path for half term rather than having to detour into London on the way. So that’s a bonus. It would be better to see England when it’s a stand-alone weekend rather than a half term as then it doesn’t impact on anything else and I can actually have a nice weekend in London. So although it would have been nice to get a challenge ticked off, I’m not too disappointed about it.

I did get to book tickets to hear the Dalai Lama speak in Manchester later on in June though. I’m not overly interested in Buddhism but he is pretty important and as I am interested in religions generally it’s a good opportunity to go and hear what he’s got to say. I’m going with a friend’s daughter who is currently studying Theology. Like me, she’s got more of a general interest than a specific interest in Buddhism.

I’ve also booked myself onto a walk led by Stephen Booth in September. It’s a 5 mile walk starting in Castleton and is visiting some of the locations mentioned in his books. No dead bodies guaranteed but it should still be an interesting walk. At the same time as booking it I’ve also joined the Friends of the Peak District. This is an organisation that runs various campaigns to support the Peak District and has different events on offer, the Booth walk being just one of them.

As well as this, I’ve sorted out lots of other things today, like the breakdown cover for my van (actually got a refund!), a magazine subscription, my pension, and changed my Ramblers membership to a group closer to where I live.

So, all in all, I feel like I’ve had a productive day. This would never have been possible if I’d had to go to work. It’s made me realise that for my life to run smoothly and for me to be able to do all the things I want I either have to give up work or get myself a maid and a PA. As I can’t afford either option I guess I’ll just have to accept that for most of the time things just don’t get done.

2012 Twelve April Review

The fourth monthly review of my 2012 Twelve challenges.

1)  Floating in a floatation tank (I’m hoping to do this in London during the February half term)

2)  Reading at least 10 books from the BBC Big Read list (if I read 10 a year, I’ll have the whole 200 knocked off in the next 12-13 years!) – I still haven’t read any more of the list, though I have bought myself a copy of Heidi which is on the list somewhere.

3)  Taking at least one photo every day of the year (this will improve my photography skills, be a photo-diary of ‘year in my life’, and help me to learn to use my new camera) – as I’ve been on holiday I’ve taken a lot more photographs – however this all stopped when I got back home and got straight back into being busy, busy, busy …  

4)  Coming up with a fitness plan and sticking to it (the start of my training for Kilimanjaro, though I may not actually climb it for several years yet) – still nothing done on this one.

5)  Leading at least 4 of my own walks (good practice for my walking group leader’s qualification) – nor this one.

6)  Buying another house (need to get my finances in order first) – actually made a start on going through my accounts

7)  Learning to use at least 3 new pieces of technology or computer programmes (not counting my new camera) – I’ve been learning to use the video camera I bought before Christmas.

8)  Doing a writing course (depends on the length of the course whether I’d complete it in the year or not) – I took the first lesson with me on holiday and made a start on it. Now I just need to finish it. 

9)  Getting at least one piece of writing published (paid or unpaid, as long as someone else makes the decision to publish it and it’s not self-published)

10) Making a start on sorting out my photos (putting the prints that are currently still stuffed in packets into albums and getting all my photos scanned into the computer – no way will this be completed in a year, but I’ll feel good even if I get started on it) – nothing done

11) Buying a car/van that I can sleep in (and doing any necessary conversions/adaptations) – I’m researching conversions and have the number of someone I can get to have a look at it for me and give me some advice. 

12) Getting into cycling (even if it’s just short cycles along decent paths) – I’ve bought some panniers and a cycle computer. I might not have done any actual cycling but I’m now better equipped for the cycling I don’t do!

Stephen Booth and the Chinley Book Festival

A tiny book festival and a talk by one of my favourite authors.

This afternoon I went along to the first ever Chinley book festival. It hadn’t been well advertised – I only found out about it when I saw Stephen Booth mention on his website that he would be speaking at it. A google search didn’t turn up much more information. I arrived not really knowing what to expect but hoping that the Stephen Booth talk wouldn’t be sold out as I’ve wanted to attend one of his talks for a while now. 

Chinley is a village in the Peak District not too far from Chapel-en-le-Frith. Booth’s books are about two police officers who are based in the fictional town of Edendale in the Peak District. They have an alarming number of murders to solve and their cases take them all over the Peak to many real locations as well as fictional ones. 

The book festival was rather small scale, but then I wasn’t expecting a Derbyshire equivalent of Hay-on-Wye. One hall had a few stalls including one which had second hand books for sale very cheaply. I bought eight. Another stall was advising people on the advantages of e-readers and had a Kindle and a Kobo to show people. After talking to the lady on the stall I’m finally thinking seriously about getting one.

My entry ticket which cost £1 included a free drink, so I had a bowl of broccoli soup and then indulged in a piece of banana cake with my free coffee. There were tables and chairs set out in the middle of the room so I was able to sit with food and coffee and peruse my new books. 

At 3pm I went to another hall a couple of minutes away for the talk. I think most of the talks had been quite poorly attended, but Booth’s talk had about 40 people in the audience. As the hall was only small this was quite a lot. He talked for the best part of an hour and it was really interesting. He spoke about how he decides on the locations for his books (the 12th is coming out in June) and why he has a mix of real and fictional places. He realised quite early on that the locations were really important to his readers and that many readers try to work out either where the places are that the fictional places are based on or where the places are that he only vaguely refers to and doesn’t actually name. He gets lots of emails from readers who go to specific places just because they are in the books. 

I can understand this. Although I wouldn’t go out of my way to look for a telephone box just because it had been mentioned in a book (as one reader did), if I was near that telephone box and someone pointed it out to me, I’d be quite interested and would probably take a photo. 

All in all it was quite an interesting talk and I was glad I’d made the effort to go.

The evolution of a blog

How is my blog evolving one year on?

It’s now a year since I started this blog. I’d previously played around with different ideas for blogs and although I like to think they were good ideas I never really got into them. They never felt quite right for me. This one, on the other hand, seems to have become a natural extension of the things I do. It sometimes feels as though it almost writes itself.

I started it as a way of focusing on the things that I’d like to do over the course of the next big chunk of my life and as way of motivating me to achieve these things. Though it’s still heavily aimed at this primary purpose it’s evolved into a place where I can record the things I do, eat, think, read or generally find interesting regardless of how relevant they are to my 60 goals. I used to keep diaries when I travelled during my gap decade, but I got out of the habit when I settled back in the UK. This is almost a way of keeping a diary again, but one I can access anywhere in the world as long as I have an internet connection.

Looking back over my goals and achievements I feel I’ve made quite a good start. I don’t have 60 things on my list yet as I’m sure I’ll think of more things as time goes on and I didn’t want to add challenges just for the sake of reaching a total of 60. Assuming I do end up with 60, as long as I achieve at the rate of four a year I will be done in plenty of time. Over the past year I’ve achieved six. One of which was a big one – seeing the Northern Lights. There are at least another three that I should achieve in the next few months, and others that are bubbling along nicely. So the blog is fulfilling its purpose. Some of my achievements are things I probably wouldn’t have done without it as although they’d have still been at the back of my mind, I would have kept putting off doing anything about them. So all in all I’m feeling pretty happy with myself and the way things are coming along.

Thinking about communism

How quickly time passes. Not only do the young children of Prague have no experience of communism, their parents won’t remember it either.

As I was sat on the bus coming back to Prague from Terezin, I was thinking about how different life is now to how it was just over twenty years ago. It’s 23 years since the Velvet Revolution ended communism and this seems like no time at all to me.

I’m glad I went to Russia back in the ’80s as I feel this enables me to appreciate the extent to which people’s lives have changed. Of course two holidays of carefully orchestrated experiences won’t have given me a real idea of what life was like under communism, but I’ve got a much better idea than someone who hasn’t experienced it at all. When I was in Russia, it wasn’t the major things that surprised me. I expected the food to be different for example, but it was the unexpected things, the things I took so much for granted I couldn’t ever imagine them possibly being different. I suppose it was the whole feel of the place, the vibe. The honesty, the civil obedience.

So in my few days here I keep looking at people my age and older and thinking how different their world is now to the one they grew up in. For the older people, they will also remember life under the Nazi occupation as well as communism – even more change for them. When I see people in their 20s walking around and looking like normal young people who could be from the majority of the world – their dress, their hairstyles, the music on their t-shirts, their casual deportment and mannerisms – I wonder how their parents can recognise their lives at all.

Every generation’s children is different to their parents and parents may fret about how their offspring or the general ‘youth of today’ are behaving, what they’re wearing, what they’re listening too, what their attitudes are. But this example must surely be the most extreme. The young people of today will either have been born after the fall of communism or be too young to have any real memory of it. A bit like my memories of the power cuts of the ’70s – a bit exciting, but no sense of hardship or the bigger picture. What changes their parents have had to cope with to get to where they are today.

What is even more sobering and makes me feel really old is that some of these young people will have children of their own – that’s already a second generation of children with no experience of communism. A generation that not only doesn’t know communism itself, but one whose parents also don’t remember it.

Maultaschen

More German comfort food

 

Maultaschen (singular = maultasche) are a German type of ravioli known particularly in the Swabian region of southern Germany. They are large pasta parcels and traditionally have a meat filling. It’s now possible to buy them with a variety of fillings, including fish, mushroom and vegetable (gemuse). Each maultasche is quite large being at least 8cm long.  
My favourite maultaschen are those made by ‘Burger’. This is one of the cheaper brands and can be found in most supermarkets. However, it is also one of the tastiest brands.
 
The easiest way to prepare them is to boil them in vegetable stock and eat them with the resulting soup. They can also be fried. A popular way to serve them is to boil them first, and then slice them and fry them up with eggs. Keep stirring so the eggs scramble. Another way is to boil them and then place them in a lasagne dish. Cover them with a sauce made from single cream and tomato soup powder. Slice mozzarella over the top and bake them till the mozzarella has melted and the sauce is bubbling.
 
A popular story about the origin of maultaschen is that they were invented by monks from Maulbronn Monastery to hide the fact that they were eating meat during lent. This dish has the nickname of Herrgottsbscheißerle which roughly translates to “little ones who cheat the Lord”. Although maultaschen are readily available and enjoyed throughout the year, they are particularly seen as a traditional food during Easter week.


“Schwäbische Maultaschen” has been recognized as a regional specialty by the Gazette of the European Communities. This means that genuine Maultaschen have to be produced in Swabia, Baden-Württemberg, or the Swabian speaking areas of Bavaria.