Moving House

Due to the frustrating incompatibility of Blogger with IE9 I have moved to http://www.johnoramworld.wordpress.com/ with specialist food reviews at http://www.johnorameats.wordpress.com/

Playing Catch Up

It was hot but not continuously sunny. Under the part time cloud it was very steamy. I was, surprisingly, at a bit of a loss, finding four days off rather long. The solution then was to go to Southampton and catch up with photographs long on my 'to-do' list. I was a little jaded after visiting three sites with varying degrees of success and may pause before sending them to Flickr.

I remain concerned that blogger seems to contain errors and may be gaining more. Some of these are, I think, incompatibility with IE9. It might even be sending spurious indications when posted to Facebook. Ah, the joys of the internet! I still can't decide whether to rehome it again because I am not aware of any really good blogging software.

Fog and How It Clears

In the early morning mists of a summer Sunday morning, a deer ran across a road. Not just any road and, frankly, some way from anything qualifying as open countryside. A residential road in Lee on Solent; ran across and melted mysteriously, magically into gardens and seemingly through a wall in so doing. Was it lost, frightened? It seemed a metaphor for our existence. We are all a little lost or frightened at times and that anomalous animal symbolised for a moment our fears and, in its disappearance, how they too might disappear with the rising of a new day.

The new day was reluctant in its arrival. I had been to see my Mum and returned to Greg with an unexpected proposal of garden visits. By chance I had discovered that it was an NGS (National Gardens Scheme) open day and identified two local properties as well as an Alverstoke garden whose existence had not previously impinged on my consciousness. We went to Carisbrooke Road in Rowner and immersed ourselves in a beautiful garden. It has to be a hobby of the heart to be that well conceived and looked after. Greg photographed flowers which the macro function on his camera handles very well and I turned my attention to less obvious subjects which will appear in Flickr when I am not writing this. We went to the second property in Lee but found that it would not open until 2pm. A brief servicing stop at home and then we went to Alverstoke for the remarkable Crescent Gardens. We went via the shore. Throughout the morning the ominous sound of foghorns had suggested the persistence of poor visibility across the Solent and thus it was. In fact we moved between two lands; in one only hundreds of metres onshore bright sunshine fell whilst the fog which clung dourly to the water dared to curl and swirl tentatively onto land whilst all the while facing the retreat which would come with the later afternoon. Few it seemed were deterred by the conditions. Yachts came and went in the mists and powered vessels, jetskis and motorboats raced at speeds unabated by their grey surroundings. On land, the Bayside Cabin Cafe furnished another good meal. There were dozens of people there and hundreds in the area. We lunched after Crescent Gardens which are very beautiful and intended to proceed to Spindles (the second NGS property) via the Lee seafront. I had intended to observe if not actually particpate in the anti-Tesco protest but we were temporarily overtaken by events. A passing cyclist who happened to be a motor mechanic pointed out that we had a large bolt in the front nearside tyre of our virtually new car. It had not deflated - even if I did at this point - and, after another pitstop, we went to Kwikfit. Thank goodness they are open on Sunday. They are, I learned, open every day except Christmas Day and, yes, that does include Boxing Day; I asked. A repair rather than a replacement saw us on our way and finally to Spindles. It was another beautiful garden but very popular and therefore crowded.

As we drove along the seafront the sun was driving the fog back across the Solent and the landmark Fawley chimney seemed eerily close by virtue of an optical illusion. A shallow bank persisted along Southampton Water. The Tesco protestors were being lightly observed by the police and we drove on to the airfield where I snatched some shots which is all one can do without accompanying someone on business.

Some clouds have drifted across my life of late but the cold front of adversity is being met by my own occlusion of studied nonchalance. I shall even reserve a warm front for my few true friends but there will be no depression.

And They Shall Fear My Tread (1)

Today's supermarket scam seen in Tesco Extra, Havant. Subsidiary and partially obscured display Tetley teabags 240s, £3 a packet. On the main aisle where all Tetley sizes were together, no shelf edge ticket for the 240s promotion but large eye catching promotion for 160s - 2 for £6. So, to summarise then, that would be 320 teabags for £6 or, erm, 480 teabags for £6; that takes some thought doesn't it? Remedial action, theatrical demonstration to Produce Manager who visibly winced. He should; I waited for the end of a meeting of 10 managers - that's about the same number of people who were on checkouts at the time. Go figure. Yup, I know I'm an asshole but I am an asshole with proper motivation and a heart in the right place. It is actually wrong to want things done properly and fairly?

There were small clusters of people on Havant's pavements today. They were all affected by the same fraud perpetrated by banks and building societies across the country. Yes, it's the old 9.30 opening for 'training' trick. Having a nice chat and a cup of coffee is not 'training'. And 9.32 isn't 9.30. If you're going to open late, do so on time, thank you.

The Hyundai i10, a small car driven by people with low budgets and marginal driving skills. I don't know if there is a hybrid version but I am fairly sure that the one in front of us this morning runs on 4 AA batteries - which needed recharging.



Today's prize for sheer magnificence, the day after I passed my medical, goes to Marks and Spencer All Butter Cheese Twists.

Mourning Sickness

All death is to be mourned. Often, the perceived or even actual nature of a person in life can shape or subordinate that mourning but perhaps it is not for mere humans to judge at such a moment. I can not say I mourned the departure of, for example, Saddam Hussein but I do deprecate the unseemly celebration which accompanied the event and the accompanying endorsement of judicial killing. You have seen my comments on execution before; the death penalty is wrong. Daeth in any form can never be a cause for celebration.

Most of us enter and leave this life unnoticed; I know I shall. Some have the distinction of making an impression in the lives of others and often for good reason. This weekend took two such people from us. Of course it is judgemental, even if positively so, to venture such comment but my life and thoughts were enriched by both. No man is perfect and I am sure that Saturday's departures had flaws but both impressed me in different ways. Brian Haw was the anti-war campaigner who defied state-sponsored oppression and, of course, war in Parliament Square. How strange that someone could be vilified in official circles for opposing war. Are there people in the second decade of the 21st century who are pro war?

In an entirely different orbit was Clarence Clemons. Best known as the extraordinary saxophonist in the E-Street Band, Clemons' viscerally memorable solos and stage presence will live on. Springsteen has now lost Clemons and Danny Federici and the band is diminished for those losses but no more so than our blue planet itself.

It is so easy to read and swiftly dismiss the many reports of deaths great and small which populate the daily news. When my colleague Ben posted on the untimely demise of Ryan Dunn I had to look him up as I am not a 'Jackass' fan. Therein lay a tiny lesson. Perhaps we should take a moment to note all deaths and learn the meaning of loss in the lives of others as well as our own. Perhaps then we would be better to live with.

Reise til Norge - Day 7 - At Sea

A Review of P&O and Oceana.

Champagne and chocolate greeted us in a good sized and well appointed cabin but these things were needed to soothe after a protracted and poor check-in experience. With experience of only one P & O ship it is going to be difficult in this review to differentiate between what might be specific to Oceana and what might be generic to the company. I felt a lack of warmth from the crew from the moment we boarded and service continued to lack an edge throughout the voyage. I should say though that where I did complain on three occasions (and about three different subjects) my name and face were remembered and I subsequently received a more personal approach. The weak point of the cruise was definitely the food which was relentlessly mundane although often more flavoursome than its appearance suggested. Menus remained incoherent and it was very difficult to imagine how one thing would go with another. Drinks waiters in the self-service restaurant were inattentive especially in the first half of the cruise. Restaurant service (in the Ligurian) was mechanical more than enthusiastic but mostly efficient. The general standard of maintenance was poor with several things visibly broken and remaining so for 24hrs or more. The casino, an undeniable money-spinner on any cruise, was dull and poorly equipped with several non-functioning machines. They do not meet industry standard insofar as they continue to use tokens instead of paper. In most respects, P & O do not compete with Princess, NCL, Celebrity or even Holland America.
The shows, however, were a different matter. The Headliners Theatre Company is really pretty good and most of the performances offered pure escapism. The singing and dancing was energetic and accomplished. The artists, whom one could meet after every show, were extremely engaging. The ships photographers were also quite personable. Internet service on any cruise is always rather hit and miss and this was no exception. There was a server upgrade on the last day of the cruise but as soon as people tried to access the rehosted service it collapsed under high demand. A cap of 60 is perhaps within the technological capacity of the environment but potentially inappropriate for passenger numbers of 2000+. The itinerary was excellent and the structure of it optimised opportunities for both activity and leisure. I enjoyed all our ports.
I am in no hurry to use P & O again; it seems to attract a clientele who might be more comfortable in southern Spain or one of the cheaper Turkish resorts. I shall listen to reports from other P & O users but my bookings are likely to be more up-market in the future.

Reise til Norge - Day 6 - Bergen

It was a very beautiful morning for our arrival in Bergen and I went up on deck early to watch as much of the approach as possible. There had seemed no end to daylight. It was well after 1030pm last night when we passed ‘Marco Polo’ and I photographed her. Ships that cross in the night. This morning we passed under the Askøy Bridge but I did not see anyone who might be Tom Børslid. It was warm and sunny for the first half of the day and we had a mostly good time, self-guided, but there were disappointments. The park containing Lille Lungagårdvann suffers from litter like we saw in Stavanger. Bergen station has to be one of the dullest I have been to. Several things are in need of repair. It is based on a classic grand European trainshed and the sheer volume of infrastructure suggests to one that it can only be viably run with some sort of substantial service which there is not. The station came to life for the impending departure of an Oslo train which was evidently very popular. Walking was pleasant enough but, as in so many places, views are often cluttered. We were minded to go on the funicular Fløyenban but the queue was too long. We then stuck to the old town area and some of its shops and sights. We went in MacDonald’s so Greg could use the internet and I had a meal. It was the freshest I have had in a long while and significantly cheaper than Burger King in Stavanger. We walked to Puddefjordsbroen (bridge) from which I was able to take today’s photographs of Oceana.  Bergen is an expansive port and I was able to photograph the other two cruise ships only when we sailed. They were Hurtigruten’s Nordnorge and Holland America’s Ryndam. Cloud came over during the afternoon as forecast albeit without rain and we did not mind spending the rest of the time on board. There were substantial internet problems and I am very keen to get back to something more reliable. The evening Tex-Mex buffet was pretty incoherent. The evening show ‘Encore’, from West End shows, was excellent. We could tell from our seats that we had sailed into a storm. No long sunset this evening but the roughest seas of the cruise – which thankfully don’t bother me one bit. We should be at Southampton at 7am on Saturday and home as soon as we can collect our car.