And it’s all over now….baby blue

Yep…the fun part is all over, just the serious writing up to be done and sadly, closing down the blog. My life ain’t exciting enough to run one full time. The last couple of days in Stavanger I took fairly easy. The weather stayed great, the teachers stayed on strike so kids home, and generally all pretty relaxed… I miss it!

The flight home was a long one….leaving lunchtime from Stavanger was a nice change to the usual pre dawn departures but it didn’t start off real well – plane was an hour late leaving. But it didn’t matter – there was a long wait for the connection at Frankfurt which, considering it’s such a hub, is one of the world’s most boring airports. Nothing to do except browse a few of those uber-expensive label shops - do westerners ever actually buy anything in these places?? I had something to eat, wandered off and left my cabin bag by the table for about an hour before I realized…surprised I didn’t spark a major security alert, evacuation of the airport etc! When I suddenly realised and dashed back, someone was sitting at the table and had just pushed my bag to one side – so much for concerns over global terrorism – and also a good indicator of people’s honesty etc – was very impressed.

Finally off on Singapore Airlines – they are just great – the contrast with United couldn’t more striking. Plane was ¾ full and it was as good a flight as you can expect in the el-cheapo seats. Stopped in Singapore for a few hours – now Changi Airport has it all sorted out. As well as a million shops (many of which are actually interesting) there are all sorts of other services – I went and had a foot massage and reflexology – is great after a long flight and really relaxing. Trip to Oz was uneventful though we arrived early and had to circle for 20 mins or so because of Sydney curfew – fair enough I suppose but doesn’t seem quite so good when you are sitting in the plane just wanting to get home! Through Immigration and Customs the quickest ever – Customs especially – they just whizzed me through – must be my honest face! Outside to a mile-long queue to get to the Domestic Terminal – just what you want after 30 hours traveling. Qantas finally organised a couple of extra buses and whizzed us around (was freezing cold and pouring rain in Sydney) to the Domestic but we had to book in again. Actually managed to catch the scheduled flight – just – but, as it transpired, my bag wasn’t quite so lucky!

So, arrived to a cold but dry Canberra and met by T which was nice. Waited for bag…nothing…turns out it was still in Sydney…bugger, as it had my house keys in there… Ah well, silly you more-or-less is the supportive message I get from Qantas when I explain predicament! So homeward bound and with a screwdriver manage to open bathroom window (now made more secure I hasten to add!) – that’s all very well – but have you tried climbing up through a bathroom window…not so easy. I ended up hanging half in, half out – head first staring at the toilet and the bath. Finally a big push and head over heals and landed in the bath – definitely the better choice. Was surprised I didn’t obviously hurt anything…however, a couple of days later my back is killing me and I spend the next few weeks visiting the chiropractor every other day.

And so, it was all over….back to reality, sadly! I thought I would be fed up with traveling and pleased to be home. Was pleased in a way but also, certainly wasn’t fed up with the traveling…could have gone on a lot longer! That's it - I think..... Here endeth the blog.

To Noroway, to Noroway o'er the foam..

After a fairly humdrum trip (not exactly o’er the foam, more o’er the clouds, and also, far more successful than poor old Sir Patrick Spens..) I got to Norway. Rather late at night – 11.25pm to be exact. Caught the bus into main station at Stavanger with intention of then getting a taxi to where I am staying from there (it was suggested I do this as the price of a taxi direct from airport would have been about the equivalent to a small country's national debt). In theory fine, but at 12.30am on a Wednesday morn the main station here ain’t exactly humming and finding a taxi was easier said than done. And by now of course, I am carrying around about 40kg of stuff – things have accreted as I’ve gone along… So arms at this stage about two inches longer than normal...even with all the gym I had been doing! Finally did find a taxi and for a mere week's wages got to my friend’s house. So all OK, settled into a house on an island surrounded by trees, water etc – and some other houses, not all alone…very beautiful. The weather here is fantastic – genuinely hot and being light till about 11.30pm adds to the weirdness… I sort of expected Norway to be at the very least chilly and wet…

Into Stavanger and firstly work stuff at the Norwegian Institute of Recorded Sound - nice offices, interesting joint digitisation venture and a big collection to worry aboput. Stavanger town has lots to see…busy harbour, quaint old town etc and did the archeological museum – sadly, a bit ordinary – and to my great delight, discovered this is the land of socks and sandals!! Yes, I’ve been fine all the time…just in the wrong country!! Also, the old "give way to the right"rule still prevails here on the roads - which is a bit disconcerting when not used to it.

Spent over half a day in the Petroleum museum – I know, sounds a bit anoraky and not that exciting but it is a great museum – fascinating. Very new and a bit of sales pitch of course for Norway’s oil and gas industries but was really well done…the best 3D film (with specs) I’ve ever seen - though the role of dinosaurs in the creation of oil was, I think, a little over-emphasised in this production!

Then spent the weekend (which was incredibly hot) climbing mountains, going up fjords, travelling through snow drifts etc etc…very full on outdoorsy thing…am still recovering! See the link for this place.. http://www.stavangertravel.com/news/pulpit-rock-norway.cfm that’s me on the edge there…well not quite, but lying on my stomach peering over was brown trousery enough…from the photo you'll see my nervous grin...but awe inspiring (I think). Apparently 604 mtrs straight down…and yes, people do decide to end it all there – no one survives (without a pracahute!!). We stayed the night – two adults, three kids – in a ‘quaint’ hut (the right word trust me) in the mountains. The room was about 2mtrs x 2 mtrs (bunk beds) but was OK..I felt very Grizzly Adamsish….fortunately though, didn't have to hunt for dinner, someone thoughtfully provided a bbq which was pretty good. This is the land of beer only though - wine seems hard to find and not genreally available. I didn't know but Norway had prohibition from 1916 to the end of the twenties and stronger drinks like wine and spirits and very heavily controlled...all seems a bit unnnecessary!

The next day was a bit easier going – a ferry trip up the fjords – all sightseeing oohs and ahhs – then a long drive home through the top of the mountains and heaps of melting snow…magic.

Getting close to the end now…so will be one more post before I put this blog to bed and return to the land downunda…probably time to come home…

Teen spirit and Ljubljana..

Last few days in Ljubljana and the sun has now come out and weather lovely. One of the wonders here is the Post Office – they actually provide a service and they still look like post offices, not toy shops or stationers… They are open from 8.00am to 7.00pm – yes, incredible! And when I was in there it wasn’t jammed packed with people; the staff were very helpful and even stuck the stamps on for you and whisked away the cards into the post bag….admittedly, there seemed a lot of account keeping involved in purchasing three stamps at a total cost of just over two euros…still, it was nice to relive a proper post office experience.

On the most perfect day so far my professor here and his wife took me out to Bled – possibly the most beautiful place in Slovenia and certainly breath-takingly lovely. The Alps in the background, a clear green/blue lake, an island with a monastery and church, beautiful woods and trees – it was all fabulous. We walked around the lake – a gentle, three hour stroll – and checked out the Villa Bled – a top notch hotel (was the King - not Elvis! - then Tito’s summer holiday spot)…I reckon this is the place to stay – it’s just great…about $500 night but for a couple of days on that special occasion….check it out http://www.vila-bled.com/ I should be paid for this! Was also very quiet on the day I was there though apparently heaving at the weekend – and you can see why.

On the way home stopped at a traditional restaurant and had a good meal – similar to Turkish in many ways…though noticed foal on the menu…hmm….and it’s not cheap either for you horse lovers!! Another thing, what is it with their word without vowels, or not in the right place…there’s heaps of them...how do you pronounce something that starts vklj, or the place called zdhivo ?? Dunno… I had enough trouble getting to grips with hello and thanks! But it doesn’t really matter – everyone speaks great English.

After this touristy stuff went to the Central Technical Library and spent an afternoon there – a very impressive, incredibly busy university library bang in the centre of town. An interesting discussion re their library software – they developed and maintain their own collection management system – finding commercial software with Slovenian interface not easy…so they did their own and it looks good. Though maintaining it is an issue.

No doubt for the less aware you are pondering the Teen Spirit reference...well, some closing trivia re Ljubljana – Nirvana played their last ever concert here – Kurt Cobain went home and killed himself shortly after apparently…they worry this creates a bad impression of the place – was it so bad he had to shoot himself??! It isn’t – it’s great and I’m looking forward to another visit…

The pace quickens

Well, it still hasn’t stopped raining…how come it was perfect in Manchester and so wet here…the world certainly is changing…
I’m now safely ensconced in Uni accommodation and … it’s better than the hotel. I was expecting pretty standard student/college rooms but in fact I’m in rather attractive old house that has been converted for visiting academics. A smallish room – but bathroom and kitchenette as well and about a 20 minute walk to the faculty – would be quite nice if it was sunny! University of Ljubljana is big – 60,000 + students in a town of only 270,000 people – so students everywhere. And about 65 undergraduate full-timers in the LIS school – is good to see crowds of students. Their English is good though they are a bit shy about asking questions and I have done three lectures so far – another three to go. They are 90 mins each (no break!) and on the whole they have gone well … I assume… as it’s a bit hard to tell with everyone being so polite. They are all young and very few blokes – even less than we have… though interestingly, the faculty is about half and half.

Watched the Man United/Chelsea match on a big screen here with a few of the guys – lots of beer and crisps…just like England! And was a good match too… Got back to my accommodation about midnight and found someone had kindly locked the front gate to the grounds which caused me some degree of perturbation (as Jeeves might say – have been reading PG Wodehouse a bit lately). Fortunately, having drunk enough to be confident but not uncoordinated, I managed to scale the fence and get to my front door…not easy, but finally got in OK. Though was a bit concerned that maybe someone would have seen me and the local police would shortly be on their way…but my concerns were unfounded… I am still here!

Have now finished lectures and in the afternoon I had a personalised tour of the National Library. It’s great – an imposing building with fabulous art deco designed furniture inside – a lot of care (and money) went into it. It is rather imposing though – if you weren’t confident you might feel a bit put off going inside. Afterwards had a couple of drinks by the river – the sun had finally come out – and it was very pleasant. Though it didn’t last – rained again yesterday and I cancelled my tour of the city. Will try again….also internet connection out in my accommodation – a bit irritating as have been relying on that for news etc – with only Slovenian or German language TV available in my flat it ain’t that informative or entertaining!

Finally did a tour of the city which was interesting – lots of history. During the tour, a thought suddenly struck me which hadn't occurred to me before – and I doubt, dear reader, if it has ever caused you concern either. That is the preponderance of soaring gothic architecture in churches in the northern countries – England, Germany, France – and their complete absence it seems from Italy and as it appears, Slovenia. This erudite question popped into my head while in an Italianate renaissance style church in Lube (as it’s known to its friends) – which is all roundish – arches, and curvy bits (my knowledge of architecture is a bit limited) – with no soaring spires at all. St Peters in Rome is the same… so I mentioned it to the guide. Alas, no obvious answer it seems – there was an earthquake here in 15 something that destroyed 95% of the town…so everything had to be built from scratch again..so if there was a gothic masterpiece before – it’s long gone. But it is an interesting question …. Something to ponder…

Also took the funicular up to the castle – its on a big hill overlooking the town (walked down!). A bit odd what they’ve done to the castle in trying to make it a tourist spot and also preserve its integrity. It sort of works but we would probably think too much modernizing has been done to it. Downstairs they had an exhibition – lots of quite nice exhibition panels describing medieval life (I assume) but all in Slovenian. The only English in a book tied to the first panel – odd, since 90% of the visitors would not be native speakers I wouldn’t think. And they’ve gone to all this trouble to create great art work with the panels and lots of info…hmmm - everywhere else English is rampant!

Someone was getting married in the castle courtyard - fair 'nuff - but what is it with the piano accoprdion and this country - it does seem to be the national instrument - but at your wedding?? Surely that's taking nationalism just a little too far!

Sunday – managed not to rain but still overcast and cool. Sorted myself on the public transport – it’s cheap and good – and off into the countryside and to Postojna Caves – the second largest complex in Europe if you didn’t know. You take a train into the heart of them and walk from there – the train runs through tunnels about one inch higher than me and the driver obviously loves his job – drove like a complete maniac – as fast as he could – was truly scary. I can’t believe more people haven’t been scalped – if I had a Bob Hawke head of hair I would have been in trouble…sadly(?) I don’t! The caves are caves – think I might have done my life share of caves – they are pretty much the same – stalacmites/tites etc (how do you remember – tites come down), giant halls, lots of water and pretty chilly. Still, was pleased I’d done it and also mastered the public transport system (though truth be told is simple here as everyone speaks good English). Have also finished my literary book I bought in Manchester – Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood – loved it and will leave it here for the next visitor. Finished Melvyn Bragg’s Credo a while ago – it just went on and on and to be honest was a bit of a chore. And from a secondhand bookshop in town bought Geraldine Brooks’ March – which, with an omnibus slection of Stephen Fry writings from The Listener et al should tide me over till I get home.

Foreign parts

Up at another unholy hour – 4.15am – though by the time I left for the airport, was already getting light. So the shortest flight I’ve done on this trip – Manchester to Gatwick – and the only one on BA and surprise, surprise….my bag doesn’t make it with me. Not really a surprise, Manchester airport was heaving with people and not enough staff on anywhere..I had to jump the check in q else I’d still be there and the security was way over the top.
So I make it to Gatwick and spend ages filling out forms re bag – which ends up taking a trip to Zurich before reuniting with me in Ljubljana the next day! Not a major prob but c’mon BA – this is getting a habit!
Ljubljana is surprisingly (I thought) small. Easy to get round – I hired a bike for the day and saw it all. It is very bike friendly – lots of bike paths etc and fairly flat for most of it. The usual medieval type square and lots of cobblestones – dodgy on the bike. And of course it decided to rain just after I took off – so did get pretty wet – but could’ve been worse. Checked out Slovenian impressionists exhibition at the Nat Gallery – just like everyone else’s impressionists! But they also had a great display of book art – covers and illustrations – from turn of the 20th century – lots of art deco designs and with their script quite unique – really good. Also did the national museum and learnt a bit about Slovenian history.
Surprising lot of church bells too - not too early, and definately not like Italy but along those lines..
Lectures start tomorrow – so preparing for that. Had a quick look at the Uni – very 19th century and attractive and bang in the middle of town – a bit different to CSU!!

Scots wa hae... or something like that

Manchester – and despite its reputation as one of the rainier cities in the UK, the weather has been great. Lots more beer drinking and walking in the countryside – a happy combination it seems. Lovely countryside, big hills and bluebell woods – England’s green and pleasant land indeed. A bit of a rude awakening yesterday though when caught the train into Manchester to visit the Ryland’s Library (one of the great private libraries in the UK – now part of Manchester Uni) – which by the way was well worth it. But as well as me, there were something like 70-130,000 (figures differ) other visitors – 90% of them being Rangers supporters from Jake’s hometown – Glasgow. The other 10% being the Russians brave enough to come across for the UEFA football final (Rangers and a St Petersburg team). The Library seemed to be the only place (can’t think why…) that wasn’t full of very loud, halfway to being completely plastered, Scotsmen. The place was jammed pack. Sad to say, Rangers lost 2-0 and Manchester looked like a bomb had hit it – unfortunately, just before the game started, the giant TV screen set up in the middle of town (they were never all going to fit into the ground – you could have got a thousand quid for a ticket apparently) failed and never recovered – not a good thing when this huge crowd were just settling down to watch the match. The ensuing riot has been headlines today and there is going to be an enquiry but I would have though it fairly predictable…(they needed a backup TV at least!!) - and only one Russian stabbed…c’mon Jake – your Glasgow mates getting soft??

I have been involved in less active sports – down the British Legion a couple of nights playing snooker and darts…some of you will know my embarrassing lack of cue and ball skills but this was redeemed somewhat by success at darts. Though that might have had something to do with the amount of beer we had drunk and packets of crisps consumed – it seemed to get a bit silly towards the end. To complete the English experience, we grabbed a kebab (sadly, not a curry) on the way home and watched football on the TV – quite nostalgic really. The next post will be from sunny Slovenia – watch this space!

The Darling Buds of May

Arrived to a rainy, cool Heathrow – surprise, surprise. But more or less since then has been unseasonably warm and sunny – positively hot some days. According to the paper the last few days have been hotter in London than Barcelona or Corfu – and we are proud of it!! Apart from this aberration with the weather, England is as ever – green, busy, traffic appalling, no air conditioning and still a bit expensive. Though the dollar has definately helped improve things there – now it’s only a little bit pricey instead of ridiculous. Have spent the last week with my cousins in Surrey – good to relax and enjoy some home cooking and decent beer. The beer makes up for other failings – though the baked beans are better too for some odd reason – and they do feature prominently on most pub menus! Spent about half a day in what seemed like the world’s largest Tescos – you can get anything – including stupidly cheap clothes such as three quid jeans – I resisted the temptation… The tabloids still as bad as ever and everyone has about 100 TV channels to choose from – doesn’t mean anything better to watch though.

Spent a couple of days in London doing work things – visited the BBC which was very interesting – they have over 400 staff in their archive’s branch! And also OTAB – part of a larger archive of sporting stuff. That was also a good visit but I was an hour late – finding it was very difficult…I thought I knew West London OK but was totally wrong…they didn’t seem too fazed but I was a bit embarrassed!

Spent a day at Wisley – the home of the Royal Horticultural Society – so beautiful gardens, lakes, etc etc. If you like gardening – very popular here – its just brilliant…I’ll stick a couple of pics up later. Am now typing this on the train as I head up to Norfolk for a weekend catching up with old school friends – the inter-city trains are great, if expensive.

OK, an update – spent weekend with ex-school friends who I have known for almost 50 years..and we still get on really well. Got through outrageous amounts of wine and beer and lots of great food – the host is a gourmet cook. Did some touristy stuff – walking and on a boat out to Seal Island – yes, lots of seals checking you out. All-in-all a great, relaxing weekend – esp. as the weather was so good – needed sun screen and hats.. Now in Manchester – more on that later.

Dr Bob goes to Washington

I rather foolishly had a flight organised to Washington...in hindsight going by train would have been easier and probably cheaper. Dulles airport is a real hike out of DC proper – the shuttle bus cost $50 and took ages to get me in. Still, it was an uneventful trip though the traffic in Washington pretty busy even though was a Sunday. I was staying about three blocks from the Whitehouse so a pretty good spot though mainly a business district – not too much night life after everything closed down. Had the first day, Monday, as a tourist and despite the rain and being quite cold, I got onto the Metro – very good – big, clean, not that crowded – and headed off to the Library of Congress. It’s opposite the Capitol and all the major government institutions and is rightly impressive – magnificent buildings – looked great and lots going on. Of course the camera decided to pick that moment to have a flat battery so no actual pics of the place. Close by LC is the Folger Shakespeare Library – one the great resources for studying 17th Century European culture with – strangely enough – an emphasis on the Bard. They had quite a good exhibition about 17th century life in England but oddly, nothing at all (except early editions of his plays) about Shakespeare. If you didn’t know much about him before you went there you certainly wouldn’t have gained a lot of knowledge here…odd. It was a large, quiet, libraryish type space where most people would have felt it incumbent to be quiet...but not this young woman who sat on a seat the entire time I was there (maybe 30 mins) conducting two phone calls on her mobile. And she was obviously mad…one bit I caught was how she was currently on a prayer and fast vigil for a week because of something…didn’t learn what…maybe penance for being irritating in public. Americans can be very different sometimes – she made no effort to keep her voice down at all.

Then walked up the road – Museum Mile – past the major museums as time was pressing and plumped for the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. It was t’riffic. Packed with people (a rainy Monday afternoon) and it’s free – couldn’t believe it. Exhibitions wonderful – including a V2 for my War Memorial readers. Lots of other rockets and missiles, aircraft and lunar module/space stuff. Sadly, camera battery still flat…. The really big stuff is held in another facility in Virginia – about an hour away – more on this later. Walked back to the hotel – a solid walk but a nice cool evening, rain clearing and a good way to see the city.

My big day – and sunny though still cold. Walked down to Avis and picked up the rental car – with GPS of course – I am so sold on these. And set course for the Library of Congress’ new a/v preservation facility at Culpeper in Virginia. About a 90 minute drive and didn’t get lost once! It is all very new and stand alone in the countryside and not well signed either. It is fantastic – should be at a cost of $150m plus – just for the building and I think about $80m for fit out was mentioned. Designed for 160 staff, only about 60 there so far as it is all just starting up. Had a fantastic tour round and discussions with Mike Mashon, the head of moving image (note they are still happily using MAVIS!)…have written up the report and lots of photos. They were justifiably proud of the place and happy to show it off. Their vaults were interesting – with 120 million feet of nitrate! And cold store is below freezing… All very state of the art with impressive digital workstations… well worth the trip.

On my way back to DC called in at the Smithsonian for big things which, as I got there late, I had to whiz through. Again, free, wow, and they have things like Concorde, a real Space Shuttle, a Stealth Plane etc in a huge aircraft hanger setup…even a real control tower you can go up and see what is happening at Dulles airport next door. This time camera working! Talk about boys toys… Caught in the Washington rush hour on way home and had to pay a penalty on hire car – but worth it… Washington is full of one way streets as well which without a GPS would make it very difficult. Had dinner at a pub supposedly frequented by Washington Post journos but no juicy gossip came my way.

Final day and out early. To the White House – well about 400 mtrs is as close as you can get – the security is full on and you can’t get within cooee by car. Then a walk down the Mall past all the War Memorials – like a massive Anzac Parade I suppose – to the Lincoln Memorial – pretty impressive. Train to George Mason University – I’d never heard of him either but apparently a rich Virginian along the lines of his more illustrious namesake, Washington. Was met by a really nice guy who is part of the Digital History project and one of the two prime movers behind the 9/11 Archive. This is a purely virtual archive, created ‘by the people’ a good example of Web 2.0 in action with over 120,000 items in it. All in my report! They were really nice and it is a great example of what can be done. They have made the software platform available to anyone and are pushing it with local libraries etc to create their own local or subject based archive – a bit like the thing we did for 2WG in Wagga. Thus they had also created a Hurricane Katrina one as well..the way of the future.

Had to be up at 4.30am to leave Washington – I hate that! But the flight to the UK was great – United have almost (not quite) redeemed themselves. Plane was about one third full so had seats to ourselves and there was actually quite decent leg room. I was glad I didn’t take up the option they offered me at check in of paying $89 more for an exit aisle seat..I thought long and hard and if it had been to Oz I would have done but is only 8 hours to the UK so decided no. And as the plane so empty, I moved I into one anyway with zero fuss! The downside – we left at 9.00am local time and hardly had we got in the air – I kid you not, before 10.00am, they brought round lunch. Beef and mash potatoes etc – weird. And then nothing till five minutes from England. Plus you had to pay for alcohol – not that I was in the mood at 10.00am! I am seriously gonna give them some much needed feedback on their website. Why are they so stupid??

New York New York

Arrived in New York on a chilly, rainy afternoon…and to the Pod Hotel – and yep, the room was fractionally larger than a pod but not much – just enough room for a bed, some hanging space and a bathroom like you find on a plane. But..it is New York and space is at a premium. In fact, it was a pretty cool hotel – decorations were great and everything very new – and you could go up on the roof (a song title there!) – the 14th floor – and get quite a good view of skyscrapers, especially at night. The hotel was in a good position and could walk to a lot of things – though the metro is great. The next day a healthy breakfast for a change – a million choices of food here of course…then met up with L from Wagga – she was also here in NY so we spent the day together. Off to the 9/11 site and Memorial – lots of work going on there and not really clear to me what is being done. Passed the Rockefeller Center – ice skating finished for the year. In fact is springtime and the Big Apple looking nice with lots of bulbs and blossom – surprisingly pretty. Then shopping – of course – at Century 21 – it is reasonable here and so much choice…also went to Macys and got some shirts – they do different sleeve lengths here – so could actually get some that fitted OK…and of course, the assistant I asked about this turned out to be an Australian…a strangely small world! Later to the Paley Center and their television archive – a good visit – in my report..

In the evening a great dinner at a Thai restaurant – really special – and after the South, again smacked of healthiness! The next day, the New York Public Library - terrific – and walked down to Times Square – not that great in day time but interesting! Back and had to move hotels – the Pod couldn’t accommodate me over the weekend. So taxi to the Bedford, close by (and very close to Union Station which is another magnificent ediface). This was much more upmarket (and surprise, surprise, much more expensive!). But was very comfortable – and much bigger – even had a fridge and stove – unheard of here (not that I used them much). Actually had a bath and a bit of a rest. In evening went back to Times Sq and Broadway and saw a brilliant production of Macbeth (set in a sort of 1950s fascist state – a bit like the cinema version of Richard III a few years ago). Was terrific and Patrick Stewart (Star Trek, X Men) played Macbeth. A great evening – and out into Broadway at about 11.15pm and it was packed – a zillion people around – very colourful and a good feel.

Saturday – and a bit rainy and cool again. Walked down past the Empire State Building – not as impressive as I’d expected – and line too long to wait to go up it. Down to the flatiron building – that looks good and a nearby a little park – all blossom and fresh green and heaps of people walking dogs. Back to hotel and met up with E from Philly. Weather had cheered up so we headed off to Central Park and Strawberry Fields and the Dakota Building…the Strawberry Fields Memorial a bit ordinary – I’m sure they could have done better than that – couldn’t Yoko have come up with a few zillion bucks to create something impressive?? Looks like a bit of mosaic work that cost about $72…a bit sad…though lots of people around. Walked around park – is lovely – then to the Met – one of the world’s great museums…a brilliant collection of classical art as well as heaps of other stuff. Not enough time to see everything…though up onto the roof and a lovely view of the Park and Manhatten skyline. Walked back to hotel down Fifth Avenue and all those shops…though surprisingly, didn’t actually buy anything!

In evening we met a friend of Es at Union Station and subway to the Bowery and a trendy bar for dinner followed by music at The Bowery Ballroom…a great venue. Enough people but not packed and some great music. Headline act Jesse Malin – a local lad – (http://www.jessemalin.com/ don’t be put off by the soulful photo!) who did two long sets – one sort of singer/songwriter then second with his band. In the end I was knackered by about 1.00am and had to bow out…we headed off shortly after – the band still going strong – into a really cold night.

And that was NY – everything you expect – busy, hectic, millions of restaurants, pubs, fast food on the corners etc etc… but also surprisingly (I thought) attractive – some great architecture, even the tacky areas look like they are on the up…a place to come back to!

Nashville - it wasn't God made honky tonk angels

The drive to Nashville took about four hours – with a stop at the Loretta Lynn café for lunch! With the GPS all is plain sailing so straight to the motel near Opryland. Then down into town and a Club recommended by all – the Tootsie Lounge! Pink and noisy – but two great bands – a hard rockin’ country bunch and…another hard rockin’ country bunch. Both great! No cover charge – just whatever you want to tip..and they were really professional. Off to a Mexican for dinner then passed a gospel band at full pelt (after all it was Sunday) in another club – music is everywhere. In fact Nashville seems to be a city of churches – great big imposing ones are everywhere… But it is also the city of friendly people, beautiful houses and lush verdant countryside – absolutely beautiful in palces – and the music scene is awesome. Everything from yee-ha classic hillbilly to hared rock, blues – you name it, it seems to be available every night of the week. Big names (Elvis Costello, BB King here this week) and a host of lesser lights. The next day was the Frist Art Gallery – an amazing art deco building – then a trip into the country to a couple of pre-civil war mansions and the Loveless café – just great! I spent the afternoon at Vanderbilt University and their TV news archive…(in my report!). In evening off to the Bluebird Café (http://www.bluebirdcafe.com/ ) for two more acts, the Mike Henderson band (a brilliant blues band) and Dennis Lambert, songwriter (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=155217020 ) – no, I didn’t know him either but when he started – wow, we were all spell bound. What a city….
On the last day in this jewel of the south, to the Country Music Hall of Fame – an exceptional museum/archive – could have spent all day there – tells the story really well..and what’s more – the first place I’ve ever got into at a reduced rate – cheaper for the over 55s!! Then to the Parthenon (“ours ain’t broke” to quote a local) – it’s great – really! http://www.nashville.gov/parthenon/

Walking with the King

A day of traveling - LA to Memphis (going by el cheapo airlines) takes a while. Also no food on offer at all - have to remember this - take your own. And Memphis has a two hour time difference so arrived around midnight. Cab to hotel and is OK - very near Graceland - you can feel the vibe - everything is Elvis - two TV stations with nothing but Elvis movies and related. Weather strangely crap though for the south - cold, and rainy.Had to get up early and cab to airport to meet E (Vic's friend) and then pick up hire car. E arrived OK (which was lucky as had no contact details!) and we picked up the hire car with (blessing, oh blessing, a GPS system). The GPS cost about $12/day but was worth every bit - it's a miracle...makes life so incredibly easier...leaves you to concentrate on driving on the wrong side of the road.Into Memphis, a walk down Beale Street and some great conversation in the record shops - they really know their stuff. Is very touristy but needless to say managed to buy some stuff - also got a parking fine - I took a risk and it didn't pay off. But cheap here - only $27!! (US of course). Lunch - catfish which is fine - then the big one...the platinum tour of Graceland - magic - took all afternoon - funny, moving, increased my respect for the king - just great - a legend.In evening back into central Memphis and dinner at BB Kings Blues Club - food ordinary but the two bands just great - pretty crowded but the music - fantastic - blues, motown, R&B...what more could you ask for!The next day Sun Studios - see the pic - I'm standing on the exact spot that Elvis cut "It's alright Mama" then to the Rock'n'Soul Museum - where else??! And wandered through this big markets celebrating Africans in April - heaps of stuff going on and tons of really 'bad for you' food - if its deep fried, it's there - and vegetables...what are they?? A relaxing afternoon on the Mississippi doing a river boat cruise - weather better today. Finally drinks and dinner at the Peabody, Memphis' no. 1 hotel - very nice indeed.Left Memphis Sunday morn, driving to Nashville - good memories - a nice place.

Archiving and observations on LA

A full day of work. First to UCLA and the TV archive side - won't bore you with the details - it'll be in my report! Then to the Paley Media Center - brilliant - 140,000 TV and radio titles available for public access withing five minutes. $10 for twop hours - great stuff and it'll all be digitised by next year. Paid my ten bucks and watch an episode of Rawhide from 1958 - Clint Eastwood very young! And it was actually good..held up well. Then a bit of an English rock program, Old Grey Whistle Test (they have everything!) from 1972 - David Bowie at his most exotic - and let's be honest - most beautiful...thoroughly enjoyable.

Now, more general thoughts.....
Drivers - and people generally very polite.
Even the street people - of which a large number - one introduced himself to me this evening - a good looking black guy - with "Excuse me Sir, as you have probably guessed I am a residentially challenged person, but I can be very engaging - can I sing for you?" ! We had quite a chat (I asked him not to sing!) and gave him a buck - weird!
Had lunch in traditional burger joint - sat at the counter - and yep, a bloke sits beside me and we have quite a natter - turns out he was a lawyer - typical!
Super cheap junk food everywhere.
Coffee crap.
This bsuiness of adding the tax to everything drives you mad - and fills your pockets with useless coins.
Complete lack of any civic pride - no obvious town planning - crap and mansions intertwine, rubbish everywhere, boarded up places, locks and chains and lots of evidence of police - disturbing.
The number of police, security guys on the metro platforms - about four on each.
Hardly any white people under 50 using the metro and if you ask any middle class white person about it they have no idea.
I ahve to show id (yes, really) to buy a can of beer in the supermarket - apparently it's the law (not my youthful appearance!)
TV News as everyone says - absolutely nothing outside of US
Weird and complicated street rules - no parking between midnight and 6.00am without permit; no parking Tuesday 10.00-1.00pm (garbage); no smoking inside a vehicle when a minor is with you (love that!)

That'll do for now..... be greetings from Memphis soon...

Old TV and brand new museums

I am typing this watching Get Smart – that’s the standard of TV available – though I have to admit 99 looked pretty good (and Maxwell Smart looks very much like George Bush – hmm, and sounds like him too!). This has just finished and now followed by a b/w episode of the Twilight Zone…Gawd, a trip back to my youth. Might be time to change channels. And I did – and got Seinfeld….!

Another late start – am sleeping well – and a much cooler day. Went to the new (well, its 10 yrs old now but looked awfully new) Getty Center http://www.getty.edu/ . Trouble is getting there by public transport looked a nightmare – I ended up using taxis – a hundred bucks worth of them! But it was worth it. The museum and its grounds are brilliant – this was purely a pleasure trip – no meetings. It is just magnificent – shows what you can do if you are a billionaire with good taste! Even the modern architecture I thought was inspiring - it all sort of worked together – landscape and structure. In the evening did the whole make over thing – an hour in the gym, into the sauna, the spa then an hour of Shiatsu massage – all very serious stuff and sadly, the hands on bit was done by a bloke. I made the mistake of saying my shoulder was a bit sore…if it wasn’t before it sure will be tomorrow.. he certainly enjoyed his work this little guy! Strangely enough though I actually fell asleep for a minute or two in the middle of it which I wouldn’t have thought possible. Staggered back and spent the rest of the evening sorting out accommodation in New York..I sort off left it to the last minute (Wotif usually works OK) and found it a bit challenging – finally sorted, but not easy.

The bosky fields of San Marino

Not a bad night considering – hotel is quiet which is great – hope it stays that way. Took me a fair while to get organised – something about out of your normal environment/routine – there is a real tendency to fiddle around – and there are a lot of crap TV stations to surf. Wandered off to tackle LA public transport – pretty rudimentary but very cheap. Trouble is it doesn’t really seem to go where you want to go. So the new metro (train) line heads out north and east – but not west (apparently that’s coming). And the eastern line, which I wanted, appears to meander nowhere in particular. Thus I had a half hour walk from the station (which was in the middle of nowhere) to get to one of the major tourist attractions and academic institutions in LA…weird. But was through a beautiful neighbourhood – all immaculate gardens (lots of Hispanic gardeners out in force) – and great mix of architectures and palm trees…just like on TV. The fact that everyone had signs in their front gardens announcing they were protected by XYZ Security who delivered ‘armed response’ took a bit of the gloss off. I hardly saw anyone other than gardeners so no problem and the Huntington lived up to its reputation (check out the website http://www.huntington.org/ ). The gardens were fantastic and the library brilliant (Guttenberg bible, Shakespeare first folio etc) – and they were filming a movie there (apparently to be called Seven Pounds) so if visitors didn’t want to maybe appear in it they couldn’t go past a certain point … needless to say I’m hanging out to see if I made the crowd scene! Then met with their Conservation staff – main focus is rare books and paper cons but also digitization for access. Just interesting to see how they manage with such a unique and valuable collection. Took all day and not back till 5 ish, fairly worn from a lot of walking. Had dinner at a local Japanese, very good but like every other meal here they give you way too much… which made me think re fat people and Americans…can’t say I’ve noticed especially more than anywhere else…is it just something we like to believe??

Go west young man...

Sunday morning – and it rained – what’s with this Canberra weather? The first rain for ages – and it was a little inconvenient…and maybe, it was all related to the fact I washed the car on Saturday – hmmm. Cheered up though and trip to Sydney was good – plane half empty and bang on time. Met T for coffee at the International Terminal and that was good too. But, it couldn’t last… The rain/storm closed in on Mascot and nothing was leaving (apparently not so much ‘cause of problems re planes but because the baggage handlers don’t like to get wet…and while I gave some sympathy for them I wasn’t that happy on Sunday!). Finally got off an hour late.. and take a hint from me… don’t fly United if you can avoid it – the slightly cheaper fare did not make up for:
· You can’t book exit aisle seats when checking in – they flog them off earlier at a higher rate;
· They advertise (and I have a copy!) “Leg Roomier” – it’s a blatant lie. I am sure there economy seats are smaller even than Qantas and that’s saying something. I could not get my legs in from the aisle and the plane was 100% full;
· The plane was c 1980 I reckon – still had just the centre movie screens (which you can’t see if you sit on sides) and just played two features – they have to be G rated because everyone can see them. So we got an Alvin and The Chipmunks (I kid you not), then an edited version of the Golden Compass followed by the Disney Channel endlessly and
· The food was the possibly the worst I’ve ever had on an airline. The main meal – beef and rice – OK but stone cold. Was told some of the heating things weren’t working properly – no offer to heat it up!
· Also asked about a blanket as I seemed to have missed out (and it was cold) and again, the hostie more or less shrugged and said they must have missed it when fixing up the cabin in Sydney and disappeared never to return.
· Oh, and yes, the staff are all 50+ and look like they have to pay themselves to clean their uniforms - as no one seemed to have done it..or they are really messy!

On the good side, I experienced very early on American politeness that made all the difference to the trip. So after the blanket conversation a nearby passenger (a big guy!) passed over his plastic wrapped blanket – I won’t be needing it he said. Then, and this was the big one, and elderly couple sitting up against the bulkhead in front of me (where the film gets screened so you can’t really watch it when sitting there) – the old lady suggested we swap seats as she was little and there is quite a bit of extra leg room in the bulkhead seat. Which we did and it made such a difference. Put me in a very positive light despite the UA experience.

After that trip was tedious (13 hours) but bearable..except for the food which just got worse. And come to think of it was also surprisingly bumpy which, for those who know me well, caused me some perturbation. Get to LA with two other jumbos and we could hardly get into the Immigration Hall which, with the proud number of 35 counters (trust me I had a lot of time looking at them) had five officers dedicated to non-US citizens. And they take your fingerprints and retina scans of everyone – so it takes heaps of time. It took at least 90 mins shuffling through the queue – pretty bad when your body thinks you should be fast asleep. Finally through and many to get through Customs OK – not everyone did, that’s for sure! Staggered off to the mini-buses and off to my hotel which is pretty good. The Miyako – Japanese surprisingly! In Little Tokyo, downtown LA. Seems good – nice big room, usual stuff – even a bidet for washing those intimate bits! (You can even set the temp of the water…could be fun!!). By the time I got there, 2.30pm, body was awake again so went out and had a wander around and ended up at the Geffen Contemporary – a branch of the Museum of Contemporary Art – and a gallery opening and tour by the artist (I’d never heard of but lots of books on him – Laurence Weiner…). I quite liked his work – uses words as art a lot – but the opening and blah blah went on and on so I disappeared as it looked like we were never going to get to the canapés! One gallery comprised lots of sets made from rubbish but really interesting – unfortunately was told no photos – a shame.

BTW very hot here – 95 Fahrenheit (about 35 c I think)..it’s great to see Fahrenheit again – they don’t even give you Celsius as the second option…apparently going to get cooler as week progresses (I have found the weather channel on the TV!). Wandered to the main railway station (Union) – the last great terminus built in the US (1930s) – it’s incredible – fab Spanish/Art Noveau/Walter Burley Griffin type design – enormous, spotless and more like a museum than a railway station. But when I asked if there was a pamphlet or even a book about it I was greeted with blank surprise – very polite “I am sorry Sir, I do not believe there is such a thing, though there is a panel on the wall over there which I can show you” and off we toddle. Strange…..when generally, Americans are very conscious of their heritage. Across the road is reputedly the remains of the Spanish Pueblo which is where LA started..however now completely commercialized a really just 50 market stalls and cafes selling Mexican stuff. Quite nice, and there were cariarchi(sp?) bands etc. Won’t tell you what I had for dinner – an odd mix of take-away and a lot of Japanese beer (Sapporo Reserve – good stuff) – I still am rather dehydrated from the flight and..I know, I know, but I find it hard to believe beer takes out more than you put in! OK, hopefully, a good night’s sleep and off to the Huntington Library tomorrow.

Getting organised

Well trying to anyway. After months of talking about it suddenly I'm off this Sunday - be glad to just get onto the plane, sit down (in my cramped, economy class seat - not that I'm really complaining!) and chill out. Whatever isn't organised - too late...have a couple of good books (hopefully) - Tom Wolfe's Charlotte Simmons which should be good...what a great author, and then Melvyn Bragg - one of his medieval things - Credo - which I got at the Salvos for the princely sum of $1, can't be bad..I'll leave that on a plane somewhere for another fortunate soul! I think some poetry too - a good opportunity to put quality time into reading it.... and of course the mp3 player...And I suppose some more serious reading....including refereeing some stuff and a couple of heavy duty papers. In between will fit in a movie and hopefully snooze a bit - lucky it is a long way to LA!
OK, packing tomorrow and last minute stuff - how come I can never find those multiple adapter plug thingos I buy every time I go overseas then lose somewhere - oh for a world wide standard - a good example of the usefulness of international standards. For my first post, that'll do - though sudden thought, on things literary, if you want a serious, thought provoking read that you'll need to re-read a few times to get the idea..and even then!...plus a dictionary...then check out American Vertigo by French sociologist Bernard Henri-Levy - his use of (English) language is great and he has a lot of provoking ideas re American society today - so I am all primed to descend into it!