In a bid to do more things with my life, I went out a couple of times this weekend. The first was back to Cambridge to another book sale. I didn’t get a huge amount this time, but here’s my list:
- Dream Angus – Alexander McCall Smith
- Tombstoning – Doug Johnstone
- Dynamo – Tariq Goddard
- The Third Brother – Nick McDonell
As ever, random books by random authors I’ve never heard of. I’ve now got a large pile I doubt I’ll ever get through and these will be added to it. Hopefully I’ll pick up the reading again soon.
Right then, back to my weekend. After the book sale I decided not to head into the city like I normally would. Instead I drove over the Wimpole Hall to take a look around. I must say it’s a lovely place for a walk, though it is a little muddy. The paths don’t take you around the whole estate and you’re reliant on being able to cross stiles in order to get to the out-of-reach places. But if you’re properly dressed for traipsing through the mud it really is a great walk.
I got a large number of pictures too, which you can find on Flickr. I imagine I’ll put some in the Gallery at some point, though I’ve not got around to it yet because I went out again today.
This time it was down to London on a cheap-day ticket. It was the Chinese New Year celebrations and I figured it’d be a good place to take a few shots. I was wrong. It was partly my own fault, but of those pictures I took there were literally none that were any good. I shall explain why.
I was under the impression that the parade would be ending up at Trafalgar Square after roaming the streets of China Town. So I headed straight over to the Square to wait. Unfortunately it never intended to get that far and I missed out on what could have made some great shots. Then, after waiting an hour in front of the stage with nothing but a two-minute fire-cracker show to entertain me, it was time for the main event to begin. Only it wasn’t. What several-thousand people were forced to endure was a series of boring and repetitive speeches from a number of low-level politicians and hangers-on. “Oh, isn’t it cold?” they would say. Yes, it was bloody freezing. So cold that it started to snow. But still the speeches continued and still nothing happened on stage. After roughly an hour of this, me and several-hundred other people made the wise decision to scarper. I’m sure the acrobatics and the dancing were a sight to behold once it actually kicked off, but as ever the politicians killed it. I don’t think I’ll be heading down for next year’s celebrations.
So I came away with nothing from the day, apart from a bag of sweeties for a friend. So perhaps it was worth it after all. 
I’ve added some edited photos from today’s trip to Cambridge to the Photo Gallery. I tried uploading them to Flickr, but for some reason they’re refusing to upload properly at the minute. Take a look if you so desire.
My posts on here have been a bit sparce recently, which is something I want to change. I’ve been concentrating on my other blog, a link to which you can find down the side (Home of Apps).
I’ve had a rather unusual weekend. I say unusual because it’s seen me leave the house! I spent yesterday wandering around Cambridge, buying things for my Scotland trip. Then in the afternoon I met up with a friend for a second wander and had a lovely time. So I thank her for that.
In fact I enjoyed my wander so much I decided to come back again today; this time with my camera in tow. I’m still there now, supping a coffee and writing this on my iPhone. I’m not sure how good the photos will come out, but I’ll be sure to share them on here and on Flickr once they’re uploaded from the camera, and after I’ve had chance to have a play with them.
After the initial rain this weekend it’s actually turned out rather nice. So if you’re reading this shortly after I’ve posted it, get yourself over to Cambridge for the day. With the weather as it is, you won’t regret it!
One of the many books I purchased last week at the book sale in Cambridge was When the Nines Roll Over by David Benioff. As I mentioned in previous post, I had no idea who any of these authors were. But I have now finished the first of these books, and I must say I rather enjoyed it. Oh, and I must point out that this is in no way a review; I haven’t read enough books to be able to review them!
When the Nines Roll Over is a collection of short stories around many different ideals, but with one over-arching theme. From the tale of lost chance for love that never was in The Barefoot Girl in Clover to that of a dancer stricken by AIDs in Merde for Luck, the sense of loss is immense. Whether that be the loss of a loved one, the loss of one’s past or the loss of one’s mind, Benioff’s melancholy and simple approach to each story really hit home with me, and once I really got into the book I found I couldn’t put it down. Which is very unusual for me.
I’d recommend it, but I don’t know what kind of things you like to read, so perhaps I shouldn’t! I thoroughly enjoyed it though.
I took a trip to Cambridge today to visit one of Galloway & Porter’s warehouse book sales. Most people out in web-world won’t have heard of them as they’re a small independent book shop in Cambridge. If you’re in the area on one of their sale days I recommend a visit. All books are £1. Yes, that’s right: £1. They have a few academic ones at £2-a-pop and a small room just off the warehouse holding some at higher prices. But the rest are £1. Or less. They also have a wide range of kids books, with some at less than a quid. So they’re not actually all a quid. But most are! 90% are! So get yourself over to their website and take a look at when the next one is on. They’re very frequent and you won’t regret it!
After that I took a trip into Cambridge’s lovely city centre, bought a couple of magazines and planted myself in a comfy chair in Border’s Starbucks for an hour. I do love Cambridge.
Something not-so-good occurred on the way back though. The car had been making some horrible clanging noises all day, and just as I approached Bedford something detached itself from the engine bay and flew off. The noises stopped, but a couple of red lights appeared on the dashboard. Bugger.
Well, not knowing anything at all about cars, I took it down the nearest Nationwide Autocentre and got them to take a look. Fortunately it was only the fan-belt, and even more fortunately it hadn’t taken anything with it on its way out! So an hour – and a chat with the mechanics – later and I was back on the road. £32. A bit pricey for a piece of rubber, but I was expecting more for the labour. So I’m happy with that.
Now I’m back home in the warm, with a mug of coffee, a Photoshop magazine and Adobe’s premier image-editing software in front of me. Should be a good day.
Or maybe I could make a start on one of the many books I bought from the sale? No, I’ve got plenty of others I’ve yet to read before I get on to those!
