It’s been a while since I’ve posted about a book I’ve read, but then it’s been a while since I actually finished one! The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher was given to me as a gift (and a very nice surprise it was too) due to my liking of The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins.
It’s the true story of the murder which spawned the Victorian obsession with crime and crime novels, recounting the tale of a murdered boy from a middle-class family in which one of the occupants of the house in which he lived must have been the killer. We are told the story in the form of a novel but based very strictly on research undertaken by the author. A swift look at the back of the book proves the lengths gone to by Summerscale to uncover as much of the truth as possible, with a bibliography so extensive it would put many historical textbooks to shame.
The story is interwoven with historical tidbits, from small morsels regarding family life in the nineteenth century through to indications of the social mores and attitudes of the nation. We see not only the deplorableness and unusualness of the crime from the perspective of the average Victorian, but also similar feelings of animosity towards the police and in particular detectives like Jonathan Whicher.
Whilst I’ve read reviews complaining that readers simply couldn’t get into the tale and were uninterested in being bombarded by facts and figures, I must say I relished it all. And although that statement is coming from someone with a degree in History, I must point out that the past holds very little interest to me. I was intrigued by not only the murder itself but also by the origins of the detective story. I also found the last section of the book completely fascinating, where Summerscale talks about her research and how new facts crawled out of the woodwork even after the first edition was published.
A quick and simple read this isn’t, but if you’ve got the time and the inclination this is a superb book.
As some of you out in Webland might be aware, I used to write web pages. I did it for a number of years, though if I’m being honest I never made it to any level I was truly pleased with. It was only ever a hobby and whilst at one point I did have ideas of moving into it as a career, I never really took it forward. I even went so far as to talk down someone who wanted to hire me because I didn’t believe I had the necessary skills required to fulfill the role. At the time I didn’t want to quit my old job and then be fired on my first day because I didn’t really know what I was talking about. A bit daft, but that’s what a liberal sprinkling of fear will do.
Over the last few months I’ve been getting up to speed with my iPhone, trying out new apps and the like. There are a number I love and a number that I think could be great if they just had certain new features. Then it hit me; why not try and right some myself?
Well, one of those reasons is that I don’t know how to write in Objective-C or Cocoa Touch. But why not learn? So I’m starting at the beginning with Dave Mark’s Learn C on the Mac. This will be the foundation to move on to other books in the series covering Objective-C, Cocoa and Cocoa Touch, which I hope will give me a grounding in developing for both the iPhone and the Mac. Whilst I’m not saying I want to take this up as a career, it will nonetheless be something to do in my spare time. Plus, given the ease with which developers are able to sell apps in iTunes, if I were to come up with something I liked I might be able to make some money out it.
But that’s all for the future. The starting point is with the learning, and my past experience with PHP whilst developing for the web will really come in handy. I’m currently racing through this book at a rate of knots due to the similarities between the languages, with just a slight noticeable difference in some of the syntax. At the minute I’d say it was like an Englishman reading something by an American. It makes perfect sense, but it’s just written slightly differently. More to the point, I’m enjoying it. So fingers-crossed that I’ll keep on doing so.
I have finally done it. I have been abroad. And whilst there are those of you out there who are going to be thinking that Dublin doesn’t really count as abroad… well… you’re just plain wrong. That’s all there is to it!
The day began exceptionally early. I awoke at 2am because I had originally planned to walk to the train station. But after getting ready I decided that I’d rather get there in one piece than not get there at all. Bedford can be a rough place, especially around the station and especially if I’m carrying my camera/phone with me. So I called for a taxi instead and got there for 2:40 – a good half-an-hour before my train was due to depart. That really set the tone for the whole day, but more on that in a second.
I was torn between nervousness and excitement about the flight. I’d never been on a plane before and I had no idea what to expect at the airport. It turned out the whole process was smooth for the most-part, save for one minor mishap. The boards told me my flight was to be delayed from 6:25 to 9:40. Given that I was at the airport for 4am this would mean quite a wait. So I had a sit down in the departure lounge, wandered through the few shops on offer and bought a book (for those of you who read my tweet on spending so much on a single book, well, I changed my mind!). So at around 5:45 I decided to grab a panini and a coffee for breakfast. Just as I’d sat down the call came in for my flight. They’d only gone and changed it back again! There was no delay after all and I was forced to wolf down my hot pastrami sandwich.
By the time I got to the gate the queue was already massive and I figured I wouldn’t be able to get the window seat I desired. As it was my first go I wanted to be able to see everything I could. I managed to find quite a convenient one which gave me an excellent view of the rear of a wing and gave me a close-up view of the flaps in operation. I’m not really into that sort of thing, but it was interesting nonetheless.
I must say I was pleasantly surprised by Ryanair. After the horror stories I actually found that the staff were friendly and courteous, and although they were forced by corporate policy to offer us everything under the sun they could possibly charge us for, there was certainly no hard-sell.
Anyway, back to the flight. It wasn’t what I was expecting. The raw power of the take-off and the sudden de-celeration on landing were extremely pleasant. The plane banking was an aspect I didn’t particularly enjoy as the ground suddenly starts to fill more of the window, but I’m sure I’ll get used to that on future flights. I didn’t mind the turbulence too much though. Now I’ve got over the initial hurdle of not knowing how the airport works or whether or not I’d like air travel, I’m sure I’ll be fine from now on in.
I headed over to the shuttle buses once I’d hit Dublin and was expecting the worse. Rather oddly (and here’s a little tip for you) it costs €6 for a one way ticket, but if you use the machine next to the shuttle machine in the bus stop you can get an all-day ticket for exactly the same price, which not only does the airport shuttle but also any other standard bus journeys in the city. So do that if you too are thinking of heading over to Dublin for the day.
The bus dumps you out at O’Connell Street near The Spire, which has to be one of the dullest-looking landmarks I’ve ever seen (I should know – I’m from Derby and we have the Co-Op Cow!). It’s nothing but a huge spike in the middle of the road and just seems to be in the way of people attempting to cross the street. I’m sorry people of Dublin, but I just thought it was tacky.
After my initial disappointment with The Spire I went for a wander, firstly by getting lost several times and double-backing on myself quite frequently. Then I found where I wanted to go, which was roughly the path laid out in a book someone at work had lent me. This route was roughly five miles round and took you south of the Liffy, heading east towards the sea and the new developments before heading due-south for a walk by the canal. I got a few pictures of these areas which I hope to put online at some point in the very near future. I don’t think there’s anything spectacular in there, but I’ve yet to have a proper look.
The route then turns around and heads west/north-west via St Stephen’s Green until you get back to the river. It was a very pleasant walk, though if there’s one thing I’ve noticed it’s that Dubliners really don’t like pedestrians. The traffic lights are an abomination, taking ages to come on and then disappearing within a matter of seconds. This means those already crossing the road have to pick up the pace or risk being knocked down by a speeding bus.
Once back by the river I decided to find somewhere to eat. This seemed to take far longer than it should and I settled on a pub called O’Neill’s who did a carvery. My giant meatball and veg were very nice, and the pint of Guinness really was sublime. I spent a good 45 minutes in there before heading back out. My lunch-time drink had given me a thirst for the black stuff so I decided the only way to quench it was to take a visit to the famous Guinness brewery. Trouble is, it’s not that easy to find.
It’s a good job I had my guidebook with me or I’d never have stood a chance. There are very few tourist signs in Dublin and even though the Guinness brewery is (according to my book) the most popular destination in the city, it’s simply not easy to find and tucked away up some dodgy-looking side-streets. €15 to get in and I must say it was worth it. They’ve gone all out to bring an entertaining experience, with displays on the history and the techniques used in the production. There’s even a tasting area half-way around and a free pint once you reach the bar on the 7th floor. This gives some outstanding views of the city, but if I’m honest Dublin really isn’t the prettiest place in the world. It has its charms and I’m sure there are bits I didn’t see which are lovely. But I think the next time I visit Ireland it’ll be to have a drive around the countryside rather than to simply visit the capital.
After I left the brewery my legs were beginning to feel the strain of walking around all day. I walk four miles a day normally, but I’d estimate that yesterday I covered at least 20, if not more. The amount of faffing around and getting lost I did was incredible. So after walking back to the O’Connell Street area I needed a sit down. Again, it took me ages to decide where I wanted to eat as I just didn’t fancy fast-food. In the end though I gave in and headed to KFC. Wow. It’s that sort of place where you really do see the poor exchange rate in action. What would cost me around a fiver in England cost me nigh-on a tenner in Ireland.
Although the sit down was just what I needed, when I got back up again my legs felt as though they wouldn’t move again. That, coupled with the fact it just started raining quite heavily, made me decide to head back to the airport for a coffee and a read. I arrived back there at around 6:30, though my flight wasn’t until 10pm. I could have got away with catching the earlier flight but I just didn’t know how long I’d need. I think the next time I go somewhere like this for just the day I will consider an earlier return.
But the airport wasn’t so bad. The seats were fairly comfortable to a man who’s legs were killing him, though the coffee was an outrageous price that I don’t think I will ever recover from!
After a slight delay, due to the plane not arriving until well after it should’ve done, we were off. After the plane, the bus, the train and the taxi ride home it was 1:30am and I’d been up for 23 and a half hours. I was completely knackered and very glad that I’d decided to take today off to recover. My legs are still aching and I can’t see me running tomorrow lunchtime, but that can’t be helped.
All-in-all I had a great day, although I must be honest with everyone and say that I thought Dublin to be a fairly disappointing city. It’s not very pretty and not too welcoming to tourists. That’s not to say the people aren’t friendly – I had more people say good morning to me there in one day than I get in an entire year around Bedford. But the city doesn’t really have the tourist in mind and finding things is quite difficult.
I am very glad I got to go on an aeroplane for the first time though and I can’t wait until I get to do it again. My next trip is by train though, as I head off to Paris on the Eurostar at the end of April. I really think I’m going to enjoy travelling. 
This is the second time I’ve tried writing something this morning, but it vanished when I tried publishing it. Hopefully this one will get through.
I’m currently waiting at Luton Airport for my flight to Dublin. As I’ve never flown before I decided to get here early so that if I got mixed up with what I was supposed to do then I’d have plenty of time to get it right.
Well that’s really bitten me in the arse because my flight has been delayed from 6:25 to 9:40. I’m only going for the day, so hopefully the delay won’t increase any more than that! But it does mean I’ve got to hang around for the next five hours and I’m sure the duty-free Dixons can’t really hold my attention for that long!
So I may end up posting or tweeting for a while and hope that my phone still has enough battery when I get there to let me track my journey so that I can still geo-tag my photos!
