Parlez-vous Europop?

A quick thought about Eurovision

2012-01-21T22:13:00.002Z

Almost exactly three years ago,I adopted Denmark as my Eurovision homeland.There were a few reasons for this- 1: I was living in northern Germany and had quite a lot to do with Denmark,2: Denmark feels like home to me and 3: they send bloody good songs.

They hadn't let me down in those 3 years but tonight they crossed the line by choosing the 3 minute whinge-fest that is Should've Known Better.It isn't the worst song in the world but for me it belongs on British radio in the late 90s.I would have liked it then probably.It just isn't a Eurovision song.If you're reading this you'll probably know that my favourite song in this year's MGP by far was Venter.Yes I know that's a really dated song too but I thought it was classy and cheesy in equal measure.And if I remember rightly,it was the only song this year that even attempted a drop and surge and key change.This is what I want in Eurovision,a one-off song that sticks in my brain and that I'll remember for years to come.I thought that a lot of the MGP songs this evening were no better than songs you'd hear in the charts any week of the year.

Call me old-fashioned (because I certainly am!) but I loved Venter because it makes me feel a bit nostalgic.Soluna Samay herself said that her favourite Eurovision song is Fly on the Wings of Love because it won in the year that she moved to Denmark and so it brings back memories.Well although the 2000 contest is the only one I've missed since I started watching in 1993- the Olsen Brothers song kind of typifies Eurovision music of the time I started to get into the contest and so that's why I still like hearing the same kind of music.Kind of like my dad never really moving on from schlager types because he started watching ESC in the ABBA days.It's all nostalgia.

Of course I don't only go for middle-aged men with guitars at Eurovision.My all-time favourites include Nocturne,Eighties Coming Back (rather appropriately I suppose!),Talking to You,Tornero,Fairytale,Work Your Magic,Siren and of course New Tomorrow- a song which I just don't think will be topped by anything for a good few years.All of these are pretty different and (with the probable exception of Jakob Sveistrup) all of them really stood out due to being completely different to your usual ESC fare,or simply for just putting on a bloody good performance.

I'm not just talking about Denmark tonight,there's been many songs in the last few years whose success I just don't understand (as you probably know,I'm not a believer in political voting),not least last year's winner.Eurovision needs songs that are one-offs.They don't have to be cheesy and they don't have to follow a certain formula,but they have to stand out.Otherwise we might as well just pick a track off the best selling album in each country for the year and send that.

And speaking of standing out- wouldn't it be great if Iceland sends this...

Deal

2011-11-19T14:34:00.001Z

7.17-7.24

We will not forget!

Don't let anyone stand in your way

2011-09-15T18:48:00.002+01:00

A few weeks ago I was looking at a What's On in London type page hoping to find some decent music.A chap called Jens Lekman was on there and as his was the only European sounding name I thought I'd check him out on youtube,and I'm glad I did.As you probably know I'm not a massive fan of Swedish pop (Agnes excepted),but I Love Love Love (geddit?) all that the country offers in terms of indie and their singer-songwriters.

Jens is a brilliant storyteller (another example of a Scandinavian being annoyingly good at expressing themselves in a language that isn't his own) and his some of his songs have such curious titles that you just want to listen to them immediately to find out what they're about- I Don't Know If She's Worth 900 Kronor is a good one,as is When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog.

My favourite that I've heard so far though is Postcard to Nina,a song about that oh-so-common subject of pretending to be your lesbian friend's boyfriend so as not to upset her religious family.The lyrics really make me smile and the music has a rather old-fashioned sound to it whilst also being light and summery sounding,which makes a change from the bleak and atmospheric Scandinavian music that I normally listen to :)

Copenhagen Day 1

2011-09-10T16:01:00.003+01:00

Gatwick has always been my favourite airport having been the first ever one I went to all the way back in the early 90s when planes had a smoking section and you could take as much orange juice and 2-in-1 shampoo on board as you liked.It's even better there these days though,I get dropped off,walk up to the terminal,check-in,get some Swedish krone,go through security and am queuing in McDonalds for breakfast (it's 6am) all in a total of 15 minutes.It's brilliant.

I can't really be bothered with this trip and on the way down to the departure gate I start planning my next mini-holiday.Reykjavik next Spring.With a day trip to Greenland.Staying in Hotel Cabin which is right opposite the Shell garage they filmed Night Shift in.Hmm...Oh it's time to get on the plane.I'm flying Norwegian for the first time and it turns out to be quite nice,there's a telly and they show Scandinavian tourist board videos and a few cartoons à la Swiss Air.The flight isn't much longer than the one that takes you to Hamburg and as we fly over Øresund coming in to land we see the big bridge in the distance- something I've wanted to cross ever since I saw it on Top Gear a few years ago.

You know how when you're above the clouds everything's bright and sunny and then when you come through them and it isn't anymore? Well it basically looks like night when we land.The weather is (and has been all morning apparently) awful.Kastrup airport is only 15 minutes from Copenhagen Central Station and I'm quite excited to get on a DSB train again (I still love the fact that they provide plastic bags under all the tables,though I'm still not sure what they're for).My hotel is just down the road from the station and no sooner than I've checked in,I'm out again looking for TPMUSIK on Amagertorv.I find a corner shop first though for something to eat.I come across this stuff...

...I don't buy any though.Not after the acid reflux it gave me in the Faroes.

Of course I go completely the wrong way and nearly go over a bridge which is covered in election posters.Not sure when the election is but there really are a lot of candidates (they seem to love their coalitions in Denmark).I decide I'd vote for Annika (not sure of her surname) for the simple reason that she's got Faroese and Greenlandic flags on her poster.Suddenly the heavens open (understatement),there is the biggest crack of thunder I've ever heard and also the biggest flash of lightning I've ever seen.It's not a fork it just lights up the entire sky.I jump out of my skin whilst all the scantily-clad Danish girls (who don't even have umbrellas) find the whole thing hilarious.I quickly look for something loud to put on my iPod so I don't get caught out again.Eric Saade should do.Popular.It'll get me in the mood for tomorrow.

I find TPMUSIK and it's wonderful.CDs and DVDs are just so cheap here I can't believe it.Especially in a country where your average 100g chocolate bar costs over 2 quid.I buy Hej Matematik's two albums and Thomas Holm's Middelklassehelt (Middle Class Hero- I love that name) all for under £20.

Copenhagen has the most amazing shops.I'm sorry to say that Strøget wipes the floor with Oslo's Karl Johan's Gate.However I don't really go in any because a: there are 4 million tourists dithering about and I just haven't got the patience now my jeans are soaked up to my knees and I have blisters on my feet and b: I'm at least £2500 short if I want to go on a proper shopping spree here.I have a quick look in Illum though,which reminds me so much of Selfridges/Harrods that I get that uneasy/comforting feeling of familiarity that I get in Denmark.I've already seen a car with a Flensburg numberplate and another car with leopard print seat covers that scream Medway at me.

I take a scenic walk (read: get lost) on the way back to the hotel and pass a very cool map shop on the way that sells lovely globes and maps of everywhere you can imagine.

I plan on going back out later but when I take my shoes off my feet hurt so much that I think it's best to rest them.So I spend the rest of the evening eating Marabou and flicking between a Billy Connolly documentary on Swedish telly,Sky News and Afrika Nu on DR1.Afrika Nu is a charity fundraising thing that I assumed to be like Comic Relief but there's no comedy as far as I can make out.There is however,a piano version of New Tomorrow accompanying some of the "and here's a reminder of what tonight is all about" videos shot in Africa.I understandably get a bit excited about this and am pretty sure AFIL will make an appearance at some point this evening.Rasmus Seebach comes on,and he's much better than he sounds on my iPod.Nik & Jay are on too but I'm not too fussed about them.By 10 o clock I give up and go to sleep.

In the morning I see a tweet from Tim Schou: "Wow. Just sang infront of millions of people live on Danish TV for AFRICA benefit show!" Typical.

Copenhagen August 2011

2011-09-10T15:54:00.002+01:00

Two weekends ago I made my third trip to Denmark- my favourite Eurovision nation of the last 5 years and a country that I've had an odd relationship with since I first visited in 2008.I booked the trip ages ago (a few days after we got back from Eurovision in fact) but having done so much travelling already this year and having only started my new job 5 days previously,I really wasn't in the mood to go.So it wasn't the best weekend I've ever been on,but that just adds to the weird "this place feels so much like home" feeling that I get every time in Denmark.There were some good bits though,and I'll try to remember to write about them over the next few days.

Party on til the break of dawn

2011-08-19T17:56:00.004+01:00

I'm going to Copenhagen next weekend.It's all come around a bit fast and really,I could do without going what with the new job and moving house happening etc etc.But I've already packed my bag,got a vague itinerary sorted out,and I am very heartened indeed to see the price of CDs in Denmark.Looking at the TPMUSIK website it seems all the ones I want are at least half the price of what they are in the Faroes and (from what I remember) Norway.Anyway,all I need to do now is get some kroner from somewhere,book my train ticket to Sweden (I went to school with a Swedish-Iranian guy once,he said Malmö is shit,but hey it can't be as bad as Tønder),and listen to more stuff like this to get me in the mood.I've not heard a song this catchy since that Faroe Islands rap.

Faroe Islands Day 3: Andvekur

2011-08-16T22:49:00.017+01:00

Forgot to mention- last night I had a kebab from Cafe Sandwich.Apart from me there were 3 guys in there all watching MTV on the massive plasma screen.The power kept going off and a bit of a comical farce ensued when the chef had to keep turning the generator on and shouting "is it back on?" Cue "Yes.No.Yes.No..." from the guys.When it did come back on,the telly went to default channel Kringvarp Føroya,which unfortunately happened to be showing a documentary about childbirth.A screaming lady's undercarriage on a 50" HD screen isn't what you want to see whilst waiting for your dinner,and all the men made disgusted noises and shouted at the chef to turn the telly off again.It's little incidents like this that make me love travelling.

This morning at breakfast I feel sad that I'll never again taste bacon the way the Faroese cook it.I don't know what they do,but anyone who can make streaky bacon taste palatable let alone amazing,deserves an award.I have 5 rashers.As well as lots of scrambled egg and toast :/

Today I decide to walk to Hoyvík to visit the National Museum.When I see the Skansin lighthouse I realise I've gone the wrong way.Back at Steinatun I've missed the bus,so I go for a walk.I briefly went to Vidarlund Park yesterday but I didn't realise it was so big.There aren't really any trees in the Faroes,so if you want to see some,Vidarlund is the place to go as most of them were planted there within the last century.There are also plenty of ducks there,pretty views of the city and the countryside,and a war memorial statue which scares the life out of me as it's massive and I'm not expecting it.

This is the first day that the sky has been blue and that there's been any real sun.I think about grabbing a sandwich or something and sitting by the duck stream but no,it's my last day- I have to at least go to Hoyvík or find the Nordic House.It turns out that the park ends about 100 metres from Steinatun so I just sit and wait for a bus.Local buses in Tórshavn are free,yet in northern European fashion they're still all clean and unvandalised.If you need to connect with another line somewhere,just tell the driver and he'll radio ahead to let the driver of the other bus know to wait til you get there.Things like this make you realise (as if you didn't know already) that Britain is crap.

Not knowing the name of the bus stop I need,I think Hoyvík School sounds logical,and work out that it's 7 stops away.It's about 7 stops when the last person gets off,so I get off too.Turns out I'm still a good 10 minutes away from Hoyvík and I'm actually in a suburb called Millum Gilja,which is actually beautiful and has gorgeous houses and lovely views of Nólsoy.I take pictures for a while then get on another bus.

The museum is good for its £4 entrance fee and there are exhibits about fishing,knitting,Faroese national dress (including an outfit worn by Eivør Pálsdóttir that's like a modern twist on the traditional),and (my favourite) three stuffed Lítla Dímun sheep- a breed that was purposefully made extinct in the 1860s.Most strange of all was a fragment of an old ceramic pot from the 13th century (I think),that came from Frechen in Germany.Why strange? Well,I'd never heard of the place until May this year when I stayed there on Eurovision weekend.*Whistles "It's a Small World..."*

Coming out of the museum I see the Atlantic Airways helicopter which serves as a form of public transport in the Faroes.The Faroese word for helicopter is "tyrlan" which makes me think of "twirly" which is appropriate considering the rotors.Yesterday I contemplated getting the twirly to Klaksvík this afternoon,but in the end decided that would be too much effort.Next time though.It does only cost around £15 after all.

Waiting for the bus on the way back,an impatient looking man comes up to me and asks me (I presume) "has the bus been yet?" I say no and he paces up and down,sighing and checking his watch.I reckon he's a driver who's never taken a bus in his life and feels put out doing so.I like this.It reminds me of home.

I stop at SMS for supplies and come across some excellent additions for my collection.A shame most of them are imports from Sweden and Denmark,but still...

...and my favourite...

Human Juice.As the Faroese speak perfect English,I wonder how well sales are doing?

I have lunch at the Hvonn restaurant at the hotel.Chicken club sandwich with rock salty chips and the best caramel iced coffee I will ever taste.I do a bit of shopping at Andreas i Vagsbotn (2 pairs of wonderfully soft and thick woolly socks and an incredibly itchy scarf which I'm going to use as a blanket) and a Faroese flag.When I get back to the hotel,there's very loud,very heavy metal music coming from the music school opposite.Très scandinave.This is around 4pm.

Havnar Kirkja is right opposite the hotel so I have a look around,and then one last walk around Tinganes and the shopping streets,despite the shops being shut ages ago.Back at the hotel I munch on one of those nice triangular sandwiches and some yogurt,pack,have a shower and then get the televisual surprise of my life.There's been a lot of coverage of the Tour de France on Danish telly,but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought they would show an hour-long documentary about Andy Schleck,the man who made me want to become a cycling WAG :) What do I learn? That he doesn't like going downhill,he really loves his brother,and that he needs to lose 2 kilos (!) Anyway,what a nice way to end what's been a lovely holiday.

The heavy metal finally stops at midnight.

(By the way,I just found that documentary on youtube)

Freedom

2011-08-12T22:12:00.004+01:00

After nearly 9 months I've finally ended the second part of my retail career.I never thought the day would come but I'm glad it has.No more weird,fishy smelling,malfunctioning air conditioning units,no more answering the same dull questions 3878 times a day and no more awful black,restrictive uniform.But it hasn't all been bad- I've made plenty of good friends there (one of whom bought me these rather fab gerberas),and I have managed to squeeze a couple of great holidays out of the wages :) Next stop,working in Maidstone.But not before a week off in which I don't intend to do very much.

It's kind of in the middle like...Sciceland

2011-08-09T18:22:00.001+01:00

This is actually the best thing I have ever seen.EVER.

Faroe Islands Day 2: Káta Hornið

2011-08-07T22:22:00.005+01:00

Early morning walk down to Tinganes after a breakfast of ham and cheese smørrebrød (cannot for the life of me remember how you spell it in Faroese).I find the Prime Minister's Office...(It's the one on the right.)

And the view across the harbour is pleasant enough despite the white sky.

At 9am it's all aboard the Norðlýsið schooner for a trip around the neighbouring island of Nólsoy.I'm (predictably) the only British person on the boat,along with a crew of 4 Faroese,a Norwegian couple with a baby and a Danish family with 2 teenage boys,one of whom clearly resented his parents from the minute they came home and said "right,we're going to the Faroe Islands for our holiday this year."

I speak to a couple of the crew in English- including a boy of around 15 who does that typical Scandinavian thing of putting you to shame with his perfect language skills.He makes us all coffee and one of the other guys says "we're all Scandinavians here aren't we? Good,I'll speak Danish" in Danish.At this point I'd feel a bit silly pointing out my nationality,and as I once spent a day at Schleswig-Holstein parliament pretending I could understand what all the Danish politicians were saying,I figure I can do it again.Five minutes out of Tórshavn and all the Danes/Norwegians are putting waterproof trousers,wellies,woolly hats and gloves on.I'm just wearing jeans and a thin cagoul.Alarm bells in my head "WHERE THE HELL ARE WE GOING???!!!" But I stay calm and don't question anything.That's British isn't it?

The skipper tells me to move to the other side of the boat as we're getting close to the bird cliffs and you can sometimes see puffins there.This is interrupted by another one of the crew shouting "SEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAALLLLL!" I get a brief view of said seal but he soon dives into the water,quite possibly scared off by the shouting man,who incidentally sounds so much like Georg Bjarnfreðarson from Night Shift that I can't help but chuckle.Especially when he comes out with the Georg-esque comment "he obviously doesn't like Danes," referring to the seal. Anyway,we don't see anything more exotic than sheep or seagulls for the rest of the trip,despite there being 206 species of bird in the Faroes apparently.But Nólsoy is very pretty and we see some sights that you wouldn't really expect to see in the North Atlantic...

...Far cooler than Capri's Blue Grotto :) The Norwegian guy obviously thinks so too,and gets a bit arsey with his wife for not taking enough pictures of it despite the fact she's struggling with the baby who's now getting a bit arsey herself because of the rather large waves.According to Georg these waves are nothing- he used to work on the trawlers in Iceland and it's much worse there.Still though,my camera and cup slip off the wooden seat onto the deck,covering the camera in coffee.It makes quite a loud noise,but again,I do the British thing and pretend nothing's happened.

Back in Tórshavn I have to take the obligatory picture of a flag.I like the Faroese flag,not only because of the colours and the fact that it has an interesting story behind it but also because it's used in Björk's Declare Independence video- the lyrics of which are dedicated to the people of the Faroe Islands (and Greenland).I'm frozen through (turns out those clever Danes brought extra layers with them purely for warmth after all),and on the (90 second?) walk back to the hotel,I fantasise about turning the radiator up to 4 to see what it's like.

Time for a walk around town again.Well,along Niels Finsens gøta anyway.It's the main shopping street and I haven't bought anything yet.I take a picture of Káta Hornið,which is of course what Teitur's Faroese album (and one of the best songs on it) is named after.The song goes "I always stop at Káta Hornið,have a talk with someone who likes to talk.It's not Picadilly or Piazza Navona,but a very good friend that is so much else." Káta Hornið also means "happy corner," and for me today,it's certainly that.Tutl is right next to the fountain and the board outside declares that the free show today will be by none other than Jens Marni! We've played him on Sounds of Europe a few times after discovering him through the Danish Melodi Grand Prix in 2010.I'm stupidly excited and go back home to listen to his album,doing the "I bet he'll do this one,I hope he does this one..." routine that I always do before gigs.

I watch the Tour de France on Danish telly- it's going to be a sprint finish which I always love watching,but with about 6km to go,I have to leave.I can't be late to Tutl today! Jens is already there,setting up,and it's the most awkward gig atmosphere ever,as it's just me and a teenage boy who was there yesterday too.Jens looks different to what he does on the album cover so I'm not convinced it's him.When he plays about 4 Faroese songs in a row I think "he must have cancelled,I have no idea who this is." But the songs are pleasant.Then suddenly he starts playing Heroes Will Fall and I get a massive smile on my face.To go to a foreign country and happen upon a completely unexpected show by a singer you really like in a very intimate setting is an amazing experience.The poor guy has a really bad cold,you can practically feel how sore his throat is when he hits the big notes and he keeps coughing during the instrumental bits,but he plays for nearly an hour and chats a lot to the audience (sometimes in English too,weirdly).He does a very intense cover of Billie Jean,a few more Faroese songs and most excitingly,this...

Back in June,I was in a foyer in London basically on my own with Tim Schou,but I was so starstruck I couldn't even look at him.I didn't want this to be the case this time,and I planned everything I was going to say to Mr Marni,but when it comes to it,I'm too embarassed again.So I just buy both of Høgni Reistrup's albums and Brandur's album and leave.With Jens' album on my iPod as I walk up to SMS.

Travelling hearts fill the sky and the ocean

2011-08-06T21:41:00.002+01:00

Got Brandur's album on this evening (I'm not quite out of the Faroese mood just yet),and there are no words for how much I love this song and what it's about.

Cutest thing ever!

2011-07-31T15:17:00.000+01:00

Packing

2011-07-28T20:20:00.001+01:00

Only the essentials remain...

Faroe Islands Day 1: Havnin er ein lítil bygd

2011-07-27T21:03:00.006+01:00

After turning up stupidly early at Stansted on Monday I queue up at the Atlantic Airways check-in desk to find a Faroese family,a Faroese girl of about my age (it was comforting to see her legs were as pale as mine- there aren't many people around like that),and a group of elderly English ramblers.I notice that Faroese passports have the same cover as Danish ones.I wonder how the Faroese feel about their relationship with Denmark.

At the boarding gate,an elderly Faroese lady turns up with a massive Primark quilt.I can't escape the place.I write this observation on Facebook and my colleagues all "like" it immediately.

The flight is great,it reminds me of the good old days of flying,as the cockpit door is open on more than one occasion for quite a while.Sadly I can't see inside from where I'm sitting.We get a chicken and mayonnaise triangular sandwich and a chocolate chip muffin for lunch.I read before that you get a lot of opportunities for drinks on Atlantic Airways flights,but I wasn't expecting seven.The guy on the other side of the aisle takes full advantage and has a can of lager,a (double at least) shot of whisky,and a vodka.In front of me are three members of a youth gymnastics team all wearing blue tracksuits with "Føroyar" on the back.One of the boys looks a bit like Brandur Enni from a few years back.They're all wearing medals.

Coming in to land in Vágar is nothing short of exhilirating.It's overwhelmingly green everywhere.When we land the stewardess does the "we've arrived in the Faroe Islands,local time is..." speech in English.In Faroese,she simply says "welcome home."On the ground,the guy driving the steps towards us parks about 10 metres from the plane (engines still running) and sits with his hands over his ears with a grimace on his face.I wish someone would get him some ear muffs.

Technically this is a package holiday (not been on one of those for years),so for a change,I've already got transfers to the hotel.The other two people who were meant to be sharing the taxi have somehow got lost in the crowd in baggage reclaim,and so I get to enjoy the ride all by myself.Vágar is 40 minutes from Tórshavn which is on the island of Streymoy.The drive is lovely,winding roads around lakes and fjords,sheep all over the place,and tunnels through mountains where you hardly ever see another car.We drive through Hoyvík,the suburb of Tórshavn where Teitur comes from.It's exciting to think that I'm in the country that has provided so much inspiration for him,and actually,it's one of the main reasons I wanted to come here.My friend at work didn't understand this.Yet she went to Graceland because she's a massive Elvis fan.

There are 4 sets of traffic lights in the Faroes,and I've now experienced three quarters of them.I'm staying at Hotel Tórshavn which is right in the centre of town overlooking the harbour.This is the view from my room.

Actually taken at 11pm one night.That building is the town hall.I do hope the mayor didn't see me in my pants.

I rush out to find the Tutl shop because Leadberry are playing there at 4.There are concerts at 4pm every afternoon in summer from various Faroese bands,singers,musicians.No news on who's there tomorrow but I've heard Leadberry before and they're OK.Tutl is actually literally 2 minutes from my hotel,and Tórshavn is the world's smallest capital city,but I go the wrong way and end up at SMS shopping centre.I buy some food at Miklagardur and try to ring my mum from one of the payphones.It's seemingly impossible to ring the UK from the Faroes (you can't do it from the hotel either),so I give up and go home.I go a different way and find Tutl.Leadberry have nearly finished their set.From what I hear they're actually loads better live than on CD.I imagine this is what Ruben Cossani would sound like if they sang in English.

You know those typical Scandinavian jumpers with the loud patterns? Well loads of people wear them in the Faroes,from babies to old men.My favourite one so far was worn by a guy about my age- it was grey with lines of black snowflakes and black puffins.Amazing.

Go back to the hotel and the news is on Kringvarp Føroya.The programme is called Dagur & Vika and it's not on every day because they don't have the staff.The first thing I see is that Brandur Enni lookalike from the plane and all the others.Turns out they came third at the Inter-Island Gymnastics behind the Isle of Man and Jersey.

I have a takeaway pizza for dinner from Cafe Sandwich.65 kroner for a margherita.It tastes alright.

Check emails and things at reception.They're playing All I Remember From Last Night Is You,one of my favourite songs from Teitur's latest album.Definitely the best hotel I've stayed in :)

I hardly sleep,as is customary for my first night anywhere abroad.For most of the night I'm in that funny state of half-sleeping,half-awake,which leads me to drink (without being fully aware of it) a whole 1,5 litre bottle of this before I give up and get out of bed at 5.30am.

It's a joy to see silly brand names in the Faroes that I can add to my collection.But it gave me awful acid reflux all the next day.

Miscellaneous post #15

2011-07-27T10:29:00.001+01:00

From an interview with Charlie Connelly,author of Attention All Shipping.

Who is your ideal travelling companion?

If I’m working I much prefer travelling alone...It gives me the freedom to change plans on a whim and the freedom to go back to the hotel room at 7pm if I like and spend the evening sprawled on the bed wearing just my pants, watching the news in a language I don’t understand while eating crisps from a family-sized bag balanced on my chest.

Amen to that.

Speaking of which,I'm going to write about my Faroes trip soon.

:(

2011-07-14T14:25:00.003+01:00

I'm back from the class and tranquility of Tórshavn,where women can safely leave their babies in prams outside of a shop for 5 minutes,to Gillingham where I've just seen a man piss up a tree next to my car.Without a doubt the highlight of my trip was the free,unexpected mini-gig by Jens Marni at Tutl on Tuesday.I think the title of this song is quite appropriate for the moment...

Bei bei!

2011-07-11T07:11:00.002+01:00

Leaving for the airport in a minute.I'll be incognito until Thursday.That's the wrong word,but it sounds cool.Basically my phone doesn't work in the Faroes and I don't know if there's free internet anywhere.But anyway,I'll leave you with this song by Mark No Limits- the band that Teitur was in when he was 17.This song is a cover of an old Faroese kids' song that's been translated into other Scandinavian language and sung by the likes of Friðrik Ómar.It's called Singing the Same Song.

All I need is within my reach

2011-06-30T11:17:00.003+01:00

I hope you like PVE's temporary makeover in honour of my upcoming trip to the Faroes.As I said last time,I've been researching a bit of Faroese music in the last few days,and a lot of it has come from the brilliant programme MÚS on Sjónvarp Føroya.It's sort of like The Chart Show I suppose (remember that?!) but with presenters (Eyðun Müller Thomsen who is rather fit,and Vanja Vukotich who reminds me of Sarah Millican) in a grungy studio,and lots of vox pops from people saying what music they like.Anyway I've watched 3 episodes so far and although there's been no mention of Teitur (scandalous),they have showed Brandur's new (few months old) song,which is at number 2 in the Faroese charts.I think you'll know what I mean when I say that although I love Brandur,he has seemed like a bit of a Paradise Oskar type in the past.But now he's all grown up and cool and has gone a slightly electro.Oh,and he's obviously been watching Black Swan...

Miscellaneous post #14

2011-06-24T21:39:00.002+01:00

I've been on another Faroese musical odyssey today,more about that later.Anyway,during it,I came across this video.I thought it was so bizarre I just had to post it.It's Faroese Westlife,though it's also rather reminiscent of Father Ted's My Lovely Horse video...

27 days...

2011-06-14T11:50:00.001+01:00

@raquelita411:
- Had such a nice dream about the Faroe Islands last night.If it's even 10% as good in real life as it was in my dream,I'll be very pleased.
9 Jun

@FaroePodcast: I once had such dreams. When I got to the Faroes, it was much, much better. Truly a magical experience.
9 Jun

It was just a small misunderstanding

2011-06-13T11:31:00.004+01:00

A few weeks ago I wrote about the best programme to be shown on British telly for a long time.The day after I wrote that post,the series finished,with a final episode that made me laugh,cry and cringe in equal measure.But despite the cult following,the final two episodes were (apparently) watched by 96,000 and 56,000 people respectively and so I think it's quite clear that the BBC aren't going to pick up the next 2 series.Well I was certainly not going to be satisfied with leaving the story there,so off I went to eBay to buy the Day Shift and Prison Shift DVDs.

Day Shift (Dagvaktin) sees the trio reunited and working at a hotel in the Westfjords.I was rather excited about this as I worked with the Westfjords regional authorities once so I was intrigued to see what the place looked like.Turns out it's a bit bleak with no mobile reception and it's certainly no place for city boy Ólafur,who is only attracted to the job because of the promise of free food and accomodation.Of course,all is not as it seems,and after a long and arduous drive northwards with Georg (constantly recording notes on his dictaphone for his Masters thesis),it doesn't take long for Ólafur to get into the same kind of sticky situations that he got into in Night Shift.We also meet his dad Hannes,as well as plenty of other new,regular characters such as Gugga the hotel manager (pictured above),Óðinn (Georg's new friend) and the local WI group.Oh,and there are also more cameo appearances,notably from Stefan Hilmarsson (Eurovision 1991) and Bjork (who Georg refers to as a "retarded schoolgirl on her way to a costume party.")

Georg is on great form as always in this series coming out with one-liners such as "what infernal method of driving is this?!" and boring everyone with his views on socialism and what Iceland can learn from the Soviets.He's as manipulative as ever,worming his way into a management position that isn't his to take,and (most importantly) getting Daníel into big trouble after a night out goes horribly wrong.Daníel is working at the hotel before Georg and Ólafur arrive,having gone to the Westfjords to "find himself".Of course,any happiness that any character in these three series experiences is fleeting,and it's not long before he's a nervous wreck again.Just in time for a surprise visit from Ylfa at the end of the series...

Though Day Shift has some brilliant comedy moments (Ólafur trapped in a mobile sauna and having a conversation with himself is the funniest thing I'd seen in a while),the overall tone of the series is very dark indeed,and it takes a while to get used to after Night Shift.Even Flemming Geir has gone all emo and sweary- although I suppose that's to be expected if you have a dad like Georg :) But there are some very touching scenes,and we get to find out some of the reasons why the characters behave like they do.Again,the final episode is sad,funny and cringeworthy- Ólafur crying to Daníel that he feels like a failure made my eyes rather damp.Although they are all good,Pétur Jóhann Sigfússon is,in my opinion,a brilliant actor who makes Ólafur so much more than a one-dimensional idiot that we've seen in many other programmes before.

Of the three series,Day Shift is probably my least favourite,although that statement is completely redundant,as to ask that question would be like asking me to choose my favourite member of A Friend in London- it's just not possible,as they're all perfect :) It just takes a while longer to get into this series than it did with Night Shift,but if you grew to love the characters as much as I did during Monday nights at the Shell garage on Laugarvegur,then it's a must-see.

Miscellaneous post #13?

2011-06-02T00:51:00.002+01:00

This is Curly Wurly Snake.He lives on Ruben's dashboard.

What's happened since I last blogged properly part 2

2011-05-29T20:50:00.002+01:00

Shock news all around as I ended my 3 year love affair with the man who inspired this post on Work Your Magic. Aleksei,you're still beautiful,you're still funny,and by God you're still a better performer than Eric Saade,but like Craig David once said- I just don't love you no more ;)

Now.I feel awful for Aleksei after all his hard work at Eurovision.In the back of my mind I can't help but be slightly pleased that the Eurovision Conspiracy Theorists' idea that "Russia will always do well whatever they send" has just been disproved,but he didn't deserve to come 15th,and he certainly didn't deserve the headline of this Russian newspaper article. But God,that performance was cheesy wasn't it?! That,combined with the promo-people building Lyosha up as an amazing macho man just put me off of him a bit.

But don't worry.The Russian-shaped void in my life has already been well and truly filled by four Danish guys.Hmm,I wonder who they could be...?

I'd be happy to take them all on to be honest,although I do have a particular liking for Ash (the bassist in the very Scandinavian jumper).Contrary to my original thought that Tim was the one from the bustling metropolis that is Tønder (a town so exciting I once spent 2 whole hours there),it's actually Ash.He doesn't have much to say,he's beautiful and he just seems to be an all-round sweetie.But as I say,the others are all just as lovely really :)

Anyway,more about their music another time (on WYM probably).I'll leave you with a link to Afil TV,which is just brilliant,and this song What a Way,the video to which actually stars Thure Lindhardt,looking so different to how he does in Angels and Demons that I didn't recognise him at all.

Personnel on the forecourt

2011-05-29T19:50:00.004+01:00

Without doubt the best thing on telly these days is (rather dark) Icelandic comedy Næturvaktin (Night Shift).

BBC Four are showing it as part of their Iceland season,and it seems to have acquired a bit of a cult following online (particularly on Digital Spy).You might not think that a comedy revolving around 3 characters working nights at a petrol station would be all that funny,and indeed,it probably is funnier if (like me) you have worked nights at a petrol station.But the attitude of communist boss Georg (played by the actual mayor of Reykjavik- seen here slagging off Denmark) is hilarious and often outrageous.He also comes out with some classic one-liners ("there are many things in here a diseased mind would covet").His flowery language and stern tone of voice are even more humorous considering that he has 5 degrees (psychology, sociology, pedagogy, political science and a teaching qualification) yet works as a lowly shift supervisor at a garage.Basically if you've ever worked in retail,chances are you've had a boss like Georg.

The other main characters are Daníel and Ólafur.Daníel starts working at the garage in the first episode and is a university dropout prone to anxiety attacks and depression at work- particularly when confronted by a member of his family or old university friend.Well we've all been there...He's the only one with a brain and sense of rationality and is generally in a bemused state.

Ólafur ("a doer,not a thinker") is a loveable idiot who gets taken advantage of by pretty much everyone.He's full of big dreams but doesn't get anywhere.He's the agent of a band called Sólin who have "a very good chance" of their latest song being played on the radio soon,but he also has ambitions of becoming a singer himself.This leads to a hilarious scene in episode 4 where he sings to Einar Bárðarson (Iceland's Simon Cowell) in the petrol station toilet hoping for a chance to appear on X Factor.

Speaking of Bárðarson,there are a few cameos made by Icelandic celebrities throughout the series,most excitingly (also in episode 4) by Birgitta Haukdal,with whom Ólafur gets into another awkward situation.

Næturvaktin is followed by two other series Dagvaktin (Day Shift) and Fangavaktin (Prison Shift),and then by a film,Bjarnfreðarson.Because of the unique setting of the petrol station,I wasn't sure in the beginning whether I would like the other series.But as time's gone on,I know I'd be gutted to miss out on them (seeing as it's very unlikely that the BBC will show them),and so last week I bought the DVD of Dagvaktin.Not sure about the state of the Icelandic postal system given recent events but I hope it will be here soon.The series finishes tomorrow and Monday nights won't be the same without Nordic comedy.

You can catch up on iPlayer until 6th June. As each episode is only around 25 minutes long,you'll have plenty of time to watch the whole series.

What's happened since I last blogged properly part 1

2011-05-25T11:18:00.016+01:00

In March I went back to the (grand)mother land after 9 years and had a rather nice,chilled-out time.Ate lots of nice food- if you're ever in Sorrento,you need to go to Bar Rita on Corso Italia,and also Bar Sottocoperta on Via degli Aranci for the best breakfast in the world...

...they also do caffè alla nocciola,which is a yummy speciality from the neighbouring Salerno province.It's basically an espresso with hazelnut cream in it but you just can't find hazelnut cream over here and have to use syrup instead,which isn't quite the same.

I also heard lots of good music on the music channels at my hotel and on the radio- most notably this...(I love the video too)

I got hooked on quiz shows L' Eredità and Affari Tuoi (Italian version of Deal or No Deal that is in fact referenced in Tranne Te).

I witnessed the (lack of) 150 anni dell'Unità d'Italia celebrations.It's Italy's 150th birthday this year,but apparantly only Rai Uno are interested in this fact,dedicating A WHOLE EVENING/NIGHT of programming to an immensely dull show about how great Italy is and major events in history.I love the Italian national anthem but I did get a bit bored of it...Anyway,when I asked some people in Sorrento what was happening in town to mark the occasion,I just got puzzled looks.

I met lots of lovely people- some Italian some not.As is widely-known,football is a pretty big deal in Italy,which works to my advantage when I'm in the south.Pretty much everybody down there supports Napoli (apart from my cousins,who in true glory-hunting fashion support Inter and AC Milan).So when you're related to this man,people get quite excited...

Giuseppe Taglialatela (otherwise known as Pino or Batman) was Napoli's goalkeeper on and off between 1986 and 1999.Despite never playing for Italy,Napoli fans loved him,and apparently still do (he's a commentator and appears on Napoli TV these days).Of course I had to drop his name into a few conversations,even though I've never met him (it's OK,my nan says she does it too when she's there),to instantly make me a more interesting person in the eyes of restaurant owners and various other people :) On the Sunday night,after having a lovely calzone at the restaurant round the corner from my hotel,the owner invited me back in the evening to watch the Napoli game with his family.I sat next to his very elderly father who spoke only Neapolitan,so I didn't understand a word,but it was still fun.

I actually made the trip to Naples on the bank holiday Thursday and was ripped off to the tune of €5 for the return train ticket (it's around €2 on normal days).Everyone should experience Italian train travel once in their lifetime.It's horrendously grubby,uncomfortable and packed full of people who have no qualms about snogging eachothers face off within your personal space,but it's so cheap and such a good opportunity for people-watching.Anyway,my mum always told me not to go to Naples because it's a dangerous,dirty place.Immediately after leaving the train station,I felt scared so went back in and stayed there.Thankfully there's some rather good shops there (CD shops for a start- these do not exist in Sorrento) and very nice,very cheap pizza.

I went to Capri on one of the only days that the weather was nice.Having not been on a jetfoil for many years,I forgot that sitting at the front is not good for the stomach,even when the water is calm.Anyway,my favourite book is I Love Capri by Belinda Jones,and I'd taken it with me to read for the second time.So I was rather pleased when by complete accident I came across Caesar's gardens which are mentioned in the book.The gardens overlook the Faraglioni rocks...

...and are a lovely relaxing place to spend an hour reading :) Other than that,well,I found Capri to be rather overrated.Ischia is much nicer,although I didn't get there this time on account of jetfoils not running from Sorrento in "winter",bad weather,extortionate prices etc etc.

I went to Herculaneum,which is quite a rough town actually.I wasn't even tempted by the €2 fresh pizza,so I went straight to the ruins,where this decoration was my favourite thing of all...

...apart from this dog who kept popping up everywhere like he was on a mission...

On the way back I stopped at Vico Equense but it was boring so I didn't stay long.

Back in Sorrento I accidentally wandered into I Giardini di Cataldo where a nice lady gave me samples of limoncello,orange liqueur,mandarin liqueur and other drinks made of basil and fennel.

I went back to the restaurant round the corner from the hotel and was greeted with "eh,Taglialatela!" by the owner.And then I only got charged €10 for my dinner.Which was a result.

On the last day I went to Amalfi on the bus.It's one thing "doing the Amalfi drive" in summer when the weather is lovely and you can see across the bay,quite another in thick fog and rain.On a normal day,the view (coming back into Sorrento) in the following picture is of Mount Vesuvius.Not that day though...

...Naturally,hairpin bends on steep mountains were all a bit much for the driver,and when we got to Massa Lubrense,he stopped,got out and had a fag before taking us back into Sorrento.

But despite the rain,Amalfi is still lovely.I've been once before but don't remember any of it,so I was pleasantly surprised by the cathedral.Especially its "Cloister of Paradise" which is Moorish in style and contains pretty mosaics like this one...

St Andrew (yes,the Scottish one) is the patron saint of Amalfi,and as such,the whole cathedral is named after him.Some of his bones (and head) are kept in the Duomo- in this area...

...who said Catholic churches were chintzy?!

And then it was time to go home.But not before purchasing some of the famous local inlaid wood,the world's most comfortable hoody,lemon soap,a Napoli flag for my car and Carthusia perfume for my dad.Oh,and a leather handbag of course.For me,not my dad.

It was a brilliant week,and the first "proper" holiday I've had for a long time.Even though I didn't get to see any of the family,there was more than enough to do,and as I said,even complete strangers are very welcoming and friendly.I was a bit worried before I went,as I've never been to southern Europe on my own before,but I felt just as at home there as I do in Germany,Denmark or Norway,and I got on fine linguistically.There's so much more to say,and so many more pictures,I could fill up a whole website.I'm just trying to convince my dad to take us there for Christmas this year.My nan told me today that the decorations in Piazza Tasso in Sorrento are beautiful,so I have to see them now!

Da da dam da da dam...

2011-03-23T23:31:00.001Z

"Tommy went to school and learnt about the ozone layer.Then he came home and said "dammit Mum,we've got to start recycling."

- The lyrics of Finland's Eurovision song according to Keira.

12 hours in Switzerland

2011-02-13T19:05:00.004Z

If you follow me on Twitter you'll know about my little adventure to Switzerland on Friday.Well it went very well indeed,it was a lovely day,despite the fact that I was in the office for nearly all of it.

Even getting up at 3am wasn't a problem,and I didn't feel tired at all throughout the whole day.That said,I did sleep *rather* well when I got home :) The flight to Zürich was great.I requested a window seat so I could take pictures of the sunrise,but it turned out to be an over-the-wing seat so I didn't bother in the end.But it was very pretty.And as well as being entertained by a ridiculous Belgian slapstick show on the telly, we also got a chocolate muffin and a mini Lindt chocolate bar.That's my kind of breakfast.

The train to Winterthur was no problem,although understanding the Swiss accent really is.It's a bit deflating when you've spent more than half your life speaking German only to find you can't understand a word of what they say in a country where it's a main language.Thankfully in the office,I think they realise this.Anyway,we spent most of the day speaking English,which was nice.All of my colleagues are lovely and friendly,as are the other interns,who came in from Paris and northern Italy for the day.We were all taken out for a rather posh lunch of salad,sweet and sour linguine with prawns,and a mass of chocolate mousse.Of course,this being Switzerland,there's a lot of code-switching going on in public,and so no sooner had someone finished a sentence in German,they were being answered in French,and someone was making a comment in Italian.It's quite mind-bending and makes you realise that this country really has a lot to answer for when it comes to teaching languages.

Most exciting part of the day was finding out that the web designer guy knows what Primark is.It was quite a surreal conversation really,especially as he also knew that their reputation isn't so good :) The other highlight was telling my (very condensed) version of the story of what happened/didn't happen between me and a certain person from northern Germany,and then being told that I shouldn't bother with German men.That I need to find myself a Swiss,because they're nicer and would treat me better.Ha! Watch this space then I suppose.

I asked if there was any Swiss music that I should listen to,as my current collection is a bit short (1 Michael von der Heide album and a few Lovebugs songs),and was told to check out Blick.But I haven't done yet.

My job offer was less of an offer than an assumption that I already knew about it and had accepted it.I will of course.I become a freelance translator when my contract is up in July and will be given some real-life clients who will apparently be a source of very regular work,and give me "enough money to live on."I liked that,that's something you wouldn't see on a Reed job description.

Shopping at Zürich airport was rather disappointing.Although I did manage to find the perfect present for James- a little tin in the shape of a Swiss bank vault filled with chocolate coins and gold bars.It's probably the best present I've ever got anyone,I just hope I don't feel tempted to open it before I see him next weekend.

But before leaving Winterthur,there was something I just had to find.Luckily,it was just round the corner from the office.

I think that beats every other amusing foreign sign I've ever seen.

Paris

2011-02-08T21:33:00.010Z

Things have got better since the last post.It's all been constant work since Christmas so I've not had time to notice anything else.I'm going to Switzerland for the day on Friday,going to see James in Wrexham next week,then Italy in 4 weeks time.But 2 weekends ago,I went to Paris with only my new semi-professional camera for company.

A window of the Notre Dame.

Seagulls on a wall.

The Pont de l'Archevêché in the 4th/5th,where you can see...

...Love locks.Where two people basically write their names on a padlock and lock it somewhere.Apparently they do this in Italy too.My mum saw them in Rome.Anyway,this one was on its own in a little garden,but they are actually...

...all over the bridge!

When you find yourself in Levallois on a Sunday morning,you must go to the market in the sports hall.Everyone is cheerful and friendly despite the freezing cold and the smells of various types of cheese,fruits,fresh fish and crêpes all mingle together,creating an experience you'll never find in this country.Breakfast should be followed by a visit to l'Île de la Grande Jatte- a favourite spot for the impressionists and the place I spent most of my free time when I lived in France despite realising that's what it was.

Under the Pont de Levallois.

A panorama of wintry trees.

Of course no trip abroad is complete without...

...a bad translation.

And no trip to Paris is complete without a trip to Les Enfants de la Cuisine on the Boulevard de Sébastopol for one of their legendary white chocolate tarts.

C'est beau la vie :)

Good riddance

2010-12-31T00:11:00.002Z

Unlike good old Kim Frank from Echt,my time didn't come in 2010 and it doesn't look like it's going to now.

It hasn't all been bad.I had an absolutely wonderful trip to Germany at Easter,saw my musical hero a few weeks previous and enjoyed the best Eurovision since 2003.And I graduated of course.

But since I've been back here everything's all kind of gone pear-shaped.I spent 4 very long months of being unemployed before getting a job I hate (though by Christ am I grateful for the money...),I've been told I've got hypertension and am waiting for my blood tests and the likes so I can find out why,and I've just spent Christmas in bed with a weird cold virus thing I caught from somebody at work.On top of this,my lovely mental demons have come back meaning that I seem to have become even more bitter and twisted than usual,get practically no enjoyment out of anything anymore and resent many people for many things.An ex-friend of mine who left this shitheap called Medway to do something with his life said to me once that life is what you make of it.Maybe but I believe you do need a certain amount of luck to make it anything worthwhile at all.And some people I know really do seem to have it in spades.So it's been a pretty "dark" last few months I suppose you could say.The last time I felt anything at all like this was 7 years ago during sixth form,which is definitely a time I'd like to forget.

Other people I know rely on clichés that seem to be quoted from self-help books that they plaster all over Facebook when they're a bit sad,others are (inexplicably to me) only properly happy when they're in a relationship.But I'm doing things like I did in 2005.I'm going to stay in this shit job tidying up after chavs until I have enough money to bugger off for a while.Last time it was Oslo- this time I need somewhere a bit more unique.I'm planning a trip for July to go to the Faroes,then on to Iceland and then down to Paris.Only for a few weeks but I'm hoping I'll feel the effects for a few months at least.

Other than that,we've put our house up for sale and will hopefully be moving somewhere a lot better than this sometime soon.And I'm going to Wales to see James again in a few weeks.I can't believe it's been 6 months since we last saw eachother.Then of course in May,my second biggest ambition will be achieved when I go to Düsseldorf with Keira to watch the Jury Final.Which means that next year automatically becomes at least 56 times better than this one,doesn't it?

This is the best song I've heard all year.Like Adel Tawil,Xavier Naidoo has one of those voices that makes everything he sings sound like a lullaby- even if this one is an occasionally sweary lullaby.I still don't understand the inclusion of a couple of lines of English in it,but they summarise the song perfectly if you don't speak German.

Happy New Year.

:)

2010-12-05T23:00:00.002Z

I never scored the winning goal for my home team*

2010-11-16T12:16:00.002Z

Back in March,me and Keira went to see Teitur in London,where he sang quite a few songs from his now released fifth album Let the Dog Drive Home (at least it's been released in Scandinavia anyway).One of my favourite songs from that night was Freight Train,for which there's a proper (slightly bizarre) video,which distracts a bit from the lovely lyrics.Anyway,here it is.

*Someone had better score for Teitur's home team tonight.Yesterday I did a bet in the bookies for the first time ever on Scotland to beat the Faroes 2-1.

Crochet worms

2010-11-12T22:17:00.002Z

Last week I took up crocheting.I'm a big fan of doilies and wanted to make some of them for my room,but it turns out that's way too hard for someone as slow as me.So all I've managed to make so far (by accident) is this wormy thing.

I sewed eyes on him this evening but I'm thinking of crocheting a few legs on to make him into a proteus.I bet no one else in the world has a crocheted proteus :)

Herzlichen Glückwünsch

2010-11-04T17:27:00.002Z

Emma bought me those,as well as a card that screams some weird personalised birthday song at me.

Shabs got me a pretty fabulous bag from Wallis which is rather posh- it's just the right size for my Filofax and purse.I got ear muffs and a cuddly zebra from Dima (I've already got zebras called Deborah and Sakis,so I need to think of a name for this one),and fingerless gloves/mittens from Marco.Yes my pets buy me presents.And I just got home from Maidstone to find Keira's present waiting for me- it's a hematite necklace which matches the jumper I'm wearing now and the boots my mum bought me,which is quite handy :)

I also got lots of cards and money which I don't know what to do with yet.I was tempted by some shoes in Deichmann in Maidstone today (Deichmann is the shop in Kiel where I bought these amazing trainers which have since disintegrated at the front),when I found out I can fit into a size 4,but decided it needs a bit of extra thought first.I did however buy some of the Christmassy themed pyjamas that Primark have in- they're blue and covered in polar bears and have sparkly buttons.Sounds garish,but they're nothing compared to Shabana's fleecy gingerbread man ones :)

Raquelita does ćevapčići

2010-11-02T13:18:00.002Z

This morning I was listening to the iPod when this song came on...

...and it reminded me so much of Croatia and the Balkan,Balkan,Balkans that I had the urge to make ćevapčići for dinner.Ćevapčići are sausage/kebab things made of pork,beef and lamb and they're eaten all over the Balkans.Apart from pizza and chips with mayonnaise,it's the only thing I remember eating in Croatia both times I've been there,so they must have been nice.So I've been to Tulip in Chatham this morning (the best thing about Medway- it's the Eastern European supermarket that sells incredibly fresh vegetables and halal meat,nice sweets and scary looking Russian ready meals in tins with Cyrillic writing on),and I bought some flatbread and a massive jar of ajvar to go with them.

If it turns out rubbish I'm blaming Milan and his lovely summery music :)

Hello!

2010-10-13T20:15:00.003+01:00

Wow it's been a long time since I've been on here.I've got a definite preference for Twitter these days,being too lazy to write anything else.Either way there's not much to report,life is pretty boring back in Gillingham.I've been sitting in all day watching the Chilean miners on telly,and haven't failed to be a bit emotional about it like many other people.I think it was Bill Turnbull on Breakfast today who said "it's nice having some good news to report".True dat,as all the Kent chavs used to say in the 90s :)

The news coverage has well and truly distracted me from working today,so I've done about 45 minutes in total.I finally got a job as a German translator working for a Swiss company.It's only for 12 hours a week and the pay is pretty poor,but the experience is so valuable I had to say yes.It's approximately 598 times easier to get a job with a foreign company than it is over here.Foreign companies tend to trust you to be what you say you are instead of making you go through 4 rounds of interviews for a job which is essentially just jumped-up data entry.I'm still looking for something else to do as well as this,but there's no pressure now for it to be language-based,as I've already got that covered.It's come at the right time too,I've been having hypertension problems because of the stress of having no money and nothing to do,I feel a lot calmer now.

What else have I done...I spent a very enjoyable Saturday in Guildford with Keira and our ex-housemate.Lunch at da Gennaros is always something to look forward to,and after tomato soup and a massive pizza,I felt pleasantly plump for the rest of the day.I'm incredibly plump at the minute actually,but the less said about that the better.I guess that's an occupational hazard of working from home with just a fat,snoring cat and a whingy dog for company.But it's all outweighed (excuse the pun) by being able to work in your dressing gown whilst singing along to Ruben Cossani songs :)

And that's it really.Going to London with Keira to see Plans for Tomorrow, part of the BFI's international film festival, on Sunday,then seeing Maria and Sophie in Reading next Friday,and then the week after that it'll be my birthday.Which I'm not really excited about at all.Although I will be if I can manage to get tickets to see Gino d'Acampo at the Love Food festival in London :)

Dienstag ist X-Tag!

2010-09-01T14:44:00.002+01:00

As I said last time,I've really been getting into German X Factor,which started a few days before our own latest series.I've caught up with most of the episodes now,though I was too late for one of them- Vox Now is like iPlayer and only lets you watch things for a week,then you have to pay for them.Anyway,the audition stages are all over now,and these are some of my favourite contestants so far.

Jörg Müller-Lornsen was on yesterday's episode and he's a bit like a soulful Tom Dice.He sang a cover of Herbert Grönemeyer's Flugzeuge im Bauch,a breakup song with some rather nice lyrics.Grönemeyer really is an acquired taste,but Jörg put his own twist on the song and it was much nicer.Also,he's from Lübeck and lives in Kiel,which automatically makes him at least 50% better than everyone else :) (As you should expect from German telly,there's a lot of talking,and he doesn't start singing til 2 minutes in).He's through to bootcamp,and I hope to hear him sing in English at some point.That kind of singing voice doesn't always suit the German language I find.

Florian (from Hamburg) and Esther (from somewhere else) met on an aeroplane (Florian is a flight attendant apparantly).I don't think I've ever heard a woman sing Nessun Dorma before,but Esther is great,and when they sing together,it's actually amazing.I'm quite biased though,Nessun Dorma is my favourite opera song and it's never failed to make me cry :) They went through to bootcamp,but as the judges said,they might not get very far as opera singers in a pop competition.

On one of the shows last week,Alexander sang another Herbert Grönemeyer song called Halt Mich.He's adorable and he has a lovely voice.Rather attractive judge Till Brönner might just have the winner in his category.

Finally,I love Klaudia.Partly because she sung one of my favourite songs (Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy) and it wasn't perfect,partly because she plays guitar,but mostly because of her cool style and her attitude.At the start of the video she says "I don't have a boyfriend and I don't want one,I don't need to be validated by a man."I wish I'd have been that cool when I was 16.

As far as the judges go,I'm not that excited about George Glueck.I find him a bit boring.But he has worked with Ich+Ich and Falco,so he must be alright really.Til Brönner is easy on the eye and makes the odd funny comment,but Sarah Connor is my favourite,she seems a really nice person but tells the contestants like it is when necessary.As for presenter,actor Jochen Schropp,well,Google Image him,you won't regret it.

My new favourite picture

2010-08-29T22:06:00.003+01:00

Even though it makes me look like one of those sad "dancing pet" Britain's Got Talent acts :)

This one gives you a better idea of the size of Marco,all 16lbs of him.It's probably not natural for a cat to be that big,but ever since he got beaten up by a fox,he hasn't liked going out much.

I've just noticed I haven't been on here for over a month.Well I've not been doing much.I've spent most of the last 2 weeks at Shabana's.Me,her and Emma drove to Norwich and back one day (there was a purpose,it wasn't for fun :) ),been shopping in various places,had our first ever night out in Medway and are going for a picnic on Tuesday.Apart from that I had my first experience of commuting (getting the 5.55am coach up to London- not fun) for an interview I had last week.Oh,and we went to Bournemouth last weekend for the airshow which was then cancelled due to the awful weather.Still,Dima enjoyed himself.We couldn't go anywhere without a string of people commenting on how cute he is and wanting to stroke him.Dima is the biggest queen in the dog world and he loved the attention.Needless to say,the 3 hour trip back to Kent in the car with a wet dog was quite ghastly.

I've also become slightly obsessed with German X Factor this weekend,having caught up on most of the series so far on the wonderful Vox Now.But more about that another time...

I knead you now...

2010-07-22T17:22:00.003+01:00

...as Agnes sung once (sort of).I've had that song in my head for 2 days now,maybe that's what inspired me to make bread this afternoon.That,and the fact that we don't have any in the house as usual and I can't be bothered to walk to the shop.Anyway,it's got about 10 minutes before it needs to go in the oven,so I thought I'd quickly tell you what I've been doing today.

Just caught the last 5km of today's apparantly most difficult stage of Le Tour.Like many people I'm wondering why Andy Schleck (who Yahoo's resident blogger said looks like a cross between a horse and a cherub- more of the latter,thank you very much) hasn't attempted before now to attack Contador's 8 second lead.Maybe he actually feels quite confident about the time trial,which the media have already gifted to Contador?We'll have to see.But congratulations to him for winning the stage today,in the most horrendous weather conditions.

Anyway,I missed most of the stage because I was in Whitstable today.Apparantly it's been raining hard in Medway today,but just 30 minutes down the road on the coast,it was brilliant sunshine,and my arms look a bit red now.

Pictures...

Sheppey to the west...

Essex to the north...

and a boat...

Large parts of the county may be crap,but the coast is pretty.

21 energy gels and a deep-fried turkey

2010-07-13T13:27:00.001+01:00

I'm loving this new Specialized advert which I noticed for the first time in today's Tour coverage on Eurosport.

I'm completely in love with Andy Schleck,and am enjoying catching up with his blog on Cycling News.Cute,funny and Luxembourgish.That's a winning combination if you ask me.

Anyway I'm off to do some cycling of my own now.I've joined the gym up the road on a month's trial,so I'm making the most of the nice comfy exercise bikes with iPod docks while I can.

In other news...

2010-07-08T00:01:00.001+01:00

Yahoo's Blazin' Saddles blog on Cavendish's misfortune:

Many people will be happy to witness this extraordinary meltdown from someone who makes even Nicklas Bendtner look humble.

LOLZ!

Et il continue...

2010-07-07T23:35:00.003+01:00

Up until about 9.15 this evening,today was going very well.This morning I got a letter offering me an interview next week for a job that I applied for last month.It's all very exciting,as it's almost the same job that I did in Germany,but on my doorstep and means I'd go to Belgium and France a lot.Which leads me nicely on to the Tour de France,which had its first full day in the country it takes its name from today.

It's been an incredibly exciting first few stages with lots of dramatic crashes,a sort-of protest about said dramatic crashes,and Norway's Thor Hushovd getting his revenge for the protest about said dramatic crashes,by winning yesterday's stage.

Though I'm disappointed about the lack of the beautiful and charismatic Tom Boonen this year,it turns out I've got quite a lot of other favourite riders after all.I agree with Thor (Norway's version of "I agree with Nick"?),in that Fabian Cancellara shouldn't have organised the protest non-sprint the other day,but other than that,I am a big fan of the Swiss guy.Similarly,I've taken to the Schleck brothers.This may or may not be due to my ongoing fascination with all things Luxembourgish,but they just seem like nice guys,who've both had a hard time in this year's Tour.Despite being covered in cuts and bruises,Andy's doing very well and will hopefully be in with a big chance of winning the white jersey this year.And I hope Frank recovers quickly from his broken collarbone which he had surgery on last night.

Then of course there's Edvald who I mentioned in my last post.Following a not-so-good day yesterday,he finished in an amazing third place today,and is whizzing his way up the leaderboard for the white jersey,quite a way in front of our own Mark Cavendish (who I'm also strangely drawn to this year,I bought his autobiography and everything).I hope Norway are very proud of him,even if VG didn't give him the headline story he deserved this afternoon.

Of course it's hard to keep up with all the goings on of a race of such magnitude.So hurrah for websites like Cycling News.The Daily Dispatch is good reading for someone like me who actually knows nothing about the sport and can't even ride a bike.Yesterday's little article about Edvald made me giggle.

Mr. Verbosity....ummm, not

Team Sky's Edvald Boasson Hagen on whether he asked his teammates for advice before tackling his first Tour de France: "No, I haven't spoken much with them. I don't speak much generally." He can say that again...but probably won't.

And made me love him even more,obviously.

Le Tour commence!

2010-07-03T11:08:00.003+01:00

I'm in a sports dilemmma today.At 3 o clock Germany are playing Argentina.I was pretty sure die Deutsche were going to beat England last week but this time I'm not so sure.It'll probably be the last time I see them,so I'd like to watch that.

But,today is the start of the Tour de France,which is just as exciting.This year's edition starts in Rotterdam and today there will be an 8,9km time trial in the city.Now I'm particularly looking forward to this year's Tour because of the new British Team Sky.British sports coverage is so UK-centric that I'm sure there'll be lots of attention given to this team,not least because a certain Bradley Wiggins is riding for them.But I'm more excited about this guy...

When I went to Norway with James in 2007,one of the copies of VG that I bought (and still have...obviously :) ) had a whole page dedicated to Edvald Boasson Hagen,proclaiming him to be very good indeed,and possibly Norway's next big thing in the cycling arena.He's set to make his Tour debut today and is seen by some of the other riders to be a threat in the time trial prologue.

As my favourite rider (Tom Boonen) isn't riding this year,I'll be supporting Edvald all the way,though it wouldn't be completely tragic if Fabian Cancellara had a good Tour either :)

I'm taking it badly

2010-06-30T01:55:00.002+01:00

Was it really that long ago?
It doesn't matter anymore.
All I'll say is- There used to be somebody.

I'm taking it badly.
Neither of us did anything wrong- it just didn't work out.
All I'll say is that I've given up hope now.

I'm taking it badly.
It follows me around town,churning inside me,distracting me.
I can't go through it again.

I'm taking it badly.
All I'll say is- There used to be somebody.
I'm taking it badly.

[My translation of "Ich nehme es zu schwer" by Michel van Dyke]

My new hobby is translating German songs.I've never heard this one but I came across the lyrics just now and it interested me,partly because of who it is and partly because it's so short.I always wonder what the story is behind songs like this,and it makes me wish I was more creative with my own words.

Rendez-vous 98

2010-06-25T00:36:00.005+01:00

a.k.a, They Don't Make World Cup Opening Credits Like They Used To

My first World Cup was France 98.Well,technically it was Italia 90,but I was only 3 then so I don't remember it.In 1998 I was mad about football and had a France 98 quilt cover,stationery,even swimming costume! And I think we still have glasses in the kitchen cupboard with Footix the bird on.

Yugoslavia was still a country,my childhood hero Jürgen Klinsmann was playing,Italy were a good team...

Football aside though,I loved (and still do) ITV's credits.

So creative and colourful,I thought it was a great idea.And that song,Rendez-Vous 98 by Jean-Michel Jarre is a classic.You can hear the full song here.Sorry Jessy,I do love Allez Ola Olé,but Rendez-Vous does wipe the floor with it rather...

Anyway,those credits are probably the only thing ITV have done that they can be proud of in the last 12 years.

The BBC's were more subdued and serious,well it was about France after all.

That piece of music is Fauré's Pavane,and is of course used in Changes by Dima Bilan.

World Cup Gillingham Style

2010-06-25T00:04:00.003+01:00

Ugh,what a bad day.It started off OK- I got my degree results,and let's just say that all my Fabrika Zvezd watching these last few years has come in very handy- I got a first for my Russian presentation about reality TV! And for my dissertation,and for my essay and presentation about Viennese art.Overall,2:1.Not bad.

But then the football started.My two teams knocked out on the same day- that's grim.That said though,they both deserved it really.Italy have been either lazy or just plain rubbish all the way through the contest,until the last 20 minutes of today's game.I can honestly say I've never been so excited watching a football match as I was during that 20 minutes,it was amazing.I'd never seen Fabio Quagliarella before but I was intrigued about him seeing as he's from Castellammare di Stabia. That might not mean much to anyone else,but for me it's sort of like if someone from Canterbury made it into the England squad,he's a bit of a local boy.Not that I've ever actually been to Castellamare.I did go through it on a train 15 years ago though.Anyway,he did us proud.Along with Andrea Pirlo,he saved some dignity for the Azzurri in what could have been a humiliating defeat.Well,it still was I suppose,but at least it was exciting too :)

I can't say the same about Denmark.I can't say anything about Denmark really,they were shocking tonight,even if Japan were always going to be the better team.I'm loving this Honda chap,I don't think we've seen the last of his fab free kicks yet.

So all that's left for me now is Switzerland and Germany.I am so hoping that Germany thrash England on Sunday.I used to be a joint England/Italy fan when I was little,but the whole hype which surrounds England just kills it for me.England fans and players are,in a lot of cases,silly obnoxious people.I'm sure the same can be said for Italy,but I don't read their newspapers and I'm not subject to the constant biased media coverage we have here.England are not a brilliant team and their players would do well to remember that.Italy and Germany might not be quite the world-beating teams they once were,but at least they've behaved with decorum.

Everyone's going on about Argentina,which puts me off of them immediately.But I haven't seen them play yet.

Anyway,World Cup Fever hits everyone whether they admit it or not.My mum watched most of the Italy-New Zealand game with us on Sunday,making lots of educated comments such as:
- "what logo do Italy have on their shirts,is it a pizza?"

- "Why's everyone going on about how good New Zealand played,they only scored one goal,and that was illegal" (offside).

- (During the Italian National Anthem)- "Turn it up,I want to hear what they're singing" (she doesn't speak Italian)

- (About the Italians)- "He looks like a Roman soldier...so does he...so does he...look at the size of his nose!"

She watched a bit of the Denmark game tonight too,but only because she found Morten Olsen and the assistant manager funny because they looked so miserable.She didn't think much of Denmark's kit though- "it's very ill-fitting".(Also,Cameroon's is a horrible colour,but Holland's is good,it really stands out).

Even my 81 year old nan's getting in on it,though she wasn't sure which flag to put up."Italy are not very good,but did you see England? They need to start scoring goals otherwise Fabio won't be very happy."

Good news!

2010-06-16T23:48:00.002+01:00

My application form for the Faroese Summer Institute actually found its way to Tórshavn- they just emailed me to say it's been recieved and that I'll hear from them in erm, April next year.It's a good start though.Guess I'd better start saving (from where,I don't know) just in case.Even if I don't get accepted though,I'll still be going over there next summer at some point.

Speaking of the Faroe Islands,I recently finished Charlie Connelly's excellent book,Attention All Shipping:A Journey Round the Shipping Forecast.The subject matter is pretty self-explanatory,and it's a very funny book indeed.Especially if you've ever been bored stiff in Denmark after exhausting all the fun opportunities that small towns on the Jutland Peninsula have to offer.

Blah blah blah...

2010-06-11T01:47:00.002+01:00

It's my last night in Guildford for the time being,which feels a bit odd,and anticlimatic.Last night all of us language people went out on the world's most pathetic pub crawl.We spent 2 hours in Wetherspoons followed by a further 2 hours in the Kings Head.But it was good fun.I have one friend in particular who cracks me up so much with his odd,misplaced comments and jokes that no one else really gets,I'll miss him a lot.Especially as we only met this year,so I feel like I don't know him that well.

Actually none of us really spoke to eachother that much before this year started.I used to go for Chinese on a Monday with the boys,but that was about it.Now I've grown quite fond of them,even if they do insist on calling themselves the Three Musketeers and hero worship our department's Health and Safety guy.Me,Maria and Sophie have an unbreakable bond forged by enduring the "charms" of Paris,so we'll see eachother again,probably next week actually.

This year has been a lot of fun,despite far too much work and stress from other areas.I've made sure it's been fun,following a year of hardly seeing anyone in France and Germany,and 2 years of hardly leaving the house before that.There's a small chance that a job doing what I did in Germany (only this time on my doorstep) will be coming my way in a few weeks.It pays well,is something I know I'd enjoy a lot,involves very regular travel and means I can live at home.But Kent's not the same anymore.Especially not after I found out today that my best friend from home is moving to the Midlands in a few months time.Guildford is where proper home is now,and so as the tenth (and best) Doctor said just before he regenerated: "I don't wanna go..." (Only not as emotional.That regeneration scene still makes me want to cry :/)

Just like Aladdin...with cocktails

2010-05-29T02:32:00.002+01:00

Had a really good night tonight with the ladies.Went with Amy,Sophie and Maria to see Sex and the City 2,followed by dinner at Zizzi with added Keira.I discovered that my stomach has somehow turned into a bottomless pit- after eating 3 courses (not like me),I didn't have the uncomfortable feeling that makes you need to walk home with your jeans half unzipped like I normally do.It's quite alarming,but I do seem to be accustomed to eating a lot of food lately.Also went to Jamie's Italian on Tuesday with James and ate a ton of pasta and arancini there too.Better make the most of it though,there are no nice restaurants in Kent.

I enjoyed SATC,despite the negative reviews that have appeared in the papers this week.It opens with the most over-the-top gay wedding the world has ever seen,complete with swans and Liza Minnelli.Then there's a bit of dicking about in New York before they all go to Abu Dhabi and get into all sorts of hilarious scrapes.Well,that's an overstatement.The Abu Dhabi bits are a bit clichéd and predictable,although I did love Samantha's butler Abdul ("as in Paula") and Omid Djalili's brief appearance as the hotel manager.Samantha is probably the only character who hasn't changed at all,which I'm glad about,as she's always been my favourite.But the others,who've all settled down and are now married (with kids in the case of Charlotte and Miranda) have just got a bit dull.A lesson to us all maybe?

Oh well

2010-05-28T00:13:00.003+01:00

So disappointed for InCulto tonight,and the lovely beautiful Michael and his wonderful backing singers and golden silk suit.There are others who I wanted to see go through too,but those were the main ones,even though it was never really going to happen.Tonight's semi was so much stronger than Tuesday's,that some of the best songs were always going to miss out.That doesn't excuse the likes of Ukraine and Ireland going through though.

Still,Harel's in the final (near the end too,how super!),so let's drown our sorrows by looking at him.

I need a lie down now.

Miscellaneous post #12

2010-05-27T02:34:00.003+01:00

Following on from my Faroese adventure this afternoon,the cool people from The Faroe Islands Podcast are following me on Twitter.I haven't had the chance to listen to any of the podcasts yet,but from reading the blog,it all looks very interesting.There's lots of stuff about Faroese music,lovely pictures and stories from foreigners who've spent time there.I just hope in 15 months time that PVE will be coming to you from Tórshavn :)

Miscellaneous post #11

2010-05-26T17:09:00.002+01:00

At the Post Office:

Me- "I need to send this to the Faroe Islands"
Cashier 1- "I'm sorry I don't know this place" (well I'm sure the Royal Mail do)
Cashier 2- "Faro is in Portugal"
Me- "I know,but the Faroe Islands are between Iceland and Scotland"
Cashier 2- ".........Iceland? And it's an island?"
Me- "Yes"
Cashier 2- "Is it part of Europe?"
Me- "Yes"
Cashier 2- "Erm,60p then"

Just as well I'm applying 11 months early.It might get there by the deadline.

It's you I've always wanted

2010-05-23T23:58:00.003+01:00

Is it just me or are there more attractive men in this year's Eurovision than normal? Harel,Didrik,Peter...Well my new favourite is Michael anyway.I'm not so keen on the current facial hair thing he's got going on,but in some of the publicity shots,he's quite beautiful.That wasn't the point of this post anyway.The point was that I've just come across the German version of Il Pleut de l'Or,my early favourite song of this year.It's called Es Regnet Gold,and though the lyrics are essentially quite similar,they're a bit less dramatic and a bit more...accessible?

I will blog again

2010-05-23T22:14:00.004+01:00

As Lara Fabian would probably sing if she did a geek-orientated remix of her famous song.

I haven't blogged much at all lately,for a number of reasons.Firstly,from 14th-22nd,I didn't have any internet.Which was a complete pain in the arse not only as I had my last ever 2 bits of coursework to do last week but also because no one seemed to know (or care) what the problem was,even though they established early on that it was nothing to do with my computer.But it's worked OK since Friday.For now.

Finally finished my stupid amount of work,and indeed had my last ever lecture on Friday.Now all that's left is my Russian exam on Tuesday,a German speaking exam on "the cultural and artistic development of Vienna" (yawn) on the 2nd,and a similar French one about my dissertation on the 7th.Speaking of which...

I'm so glad that's finished.

But apart from working all the time,I've managed to feed lots of ducks in the last few weeks,been bullied by geese,got sunburnt,found my perfect job in the perfect location which I'm yet to apply for,ate a lot of chocolate and got very,very excited about Eurovision.All these updates of rehearsals and photos from Oslo are making me very jealous indeed.Not just because it's my dream to sing at Eurovision,but also because Oslo is my spiritual home and I really want to go back there.Shopping on Karl Johans Gate,sunny afternoons at Aker Brygge and Slottsparken,cheap food at Narvesen...*sigh*.Looks like I'll just have to make do with a day in Paris sometime in the next few months though- doesn't look like I'm having a proper holiday any time in the near future,though I'm still pestering my dad to persuade him Christmas in Sorrento would be very nice.

Я вас любил(a)

2010-05-13T00:25:00.004+01:00

I loved you once: perhaps that love has yet
To die down thoroughly within my soul;
But let it not dismay you any longer;
I have no wish to cause you any sorrow.
I loved you wordlessly, without a hope,
By shyness tortured, or by jealousy.
I loved you with such tenderness and candor
And pray God grants you to be loved that way again.

Today we did presentations in our Russian class.It was the first proper presentation we've ever done,and though expectations were low all round,our teacher said he thought they were all really good.Really really good in fact :) Mine was of course about Reality TV in Russia.Russian media has been a subject that's fascinated me for a long time,and I wish I knew enough of the language to be able to read about it properly and from a Russian perspective.But I managed to fit in a pretty picture of Aleksei Vorobyov,and everyone laughed at the video of Prohor "you don't understand: you're stars,I'm a legend" Shalyapin.

Everyone else's presentations were a bit more traditional though.One of my friends spoke about Pushkin,and she introduced us to his poem Ya vas Lyubil (I loved you).I thought the words were lovely,so I thought I'd share them here.

Election Fever!

2010-05-06T16:29:00.003+01:00

I'm indecisive about most things,so deciding who to vote for today has been very tricky indeed,even though I've been reading the papers for the last month,watched all the debates and listened to everything I can on Radio 4.Maybe this is a typical Kent characteristic though.My home constituency of Gillingham and Rainham is the Conservative's top target seat (I thought it always was Conservative,shows how much I know),and the Tories only need a swing of 0,2% to win it.Same with Sittingbourne&Sheppey (I used to work in Sittingbourne),they're Labour's top priority.So maybe we're all indecisive people who just don't know what to think.Saying that,Guildford is the Lib Dem's number one target,and I think they're going to get it.You'd think of Surrey as being the ultimate poster region for the Conservatives,but with all us students seeing nothing but yellow,it's not always that simple in Guildford.

Having watched all the leaders debates on telly,I,like most of the country fell in love with Mr Clegg,for many reasons.He's not 100% British,he has a foreign wife,he's a great public speaker,worked for the Commission and speaks 5 languages.And he's very attractive.Basically he's everything I want to be.But you can't really vote for a party based on their leader,which is something I think people don't always remember.Different towns and regions have different priorities,which is why I think Guildford's version of Question Time,where all of the candidates explained their policies to us would be a great idea in any constituency.

All I knew before is that I didn't want to vote Labour.For a start I hate some of their unfair policies,but mostly,after 13 years,it's definitely time for a change.If I'd voted in Gillingham I probably would have voted Conservative.Their team was the only one who bothered to knock on doors (even if my mum did refuse to talk to them!),and their candidate had good ideas for the town.But I voted in Guildford,and like everyone else I know who voted here,went for the Lib Dems.I know it's a clichéd thing for students to do,and they do have some massive holes in their policies.But ultimately we all have our own particular areas of interest.For me,Europe is the deciding factor.I'd feel immoral voting for a party that doesn't want the UK to be part of the EU,even though I don't believe there'll ever be a referendum on our membership no matter who's in charge.

I'm going round James' later to watch the results,though I'm sure he'll be asleep long before Gillingham&Rainham declare at 5am.He might manage Guildford's at 1.30.Then tomorrow I'm back off to my potentially Tory hometown for the weekend.It's all very exciting!

Guess,,,

2010-04-30T12:48:00.001+01:00

...who's interviewing Josh (Eurovision Josh of course) next week? Very exciting :) :) :) I love my radio station!

20-20 Hindsight

2010-04-28T14:19:00.003+01:00

Is the name of Aleksander With's blog which he's just mentioned on Twitter.I thought I'd link to it because I love reading blogs about everyday life,and also because he has some great photos on there.There aren't many posts so far but I look forward to reading more later.

Look!

2010-04-18T22:10:00.005+01:00

It's me feeding a zebra! She's adorable.

(photo courtesy of Keira :) )

Last Friday I went to Herts to see Keira.After a nightmare train trip up there (partly because of my mistake,partly because of other people making life difficult for everyone else),I arrived in Broxbourne and we went to Paradise Wildlife Park.Keira took me to see the zebra first,as they're my favourite animal in the world EVER,and she gobbled half of my vegetable mix.

My other favourites there were this guy...

...who despite being tired was an exhibitionist and stood at the front for ages.

This guy...

...who's so ugly he's cute.

And of course,this one...

:)

Tomorrow I'm off to North Wales/Chester to see James.Hopefully the train journey won't be too traumatic.I've got plenty of Russian work to be getting on with on the way.Have sort of given up on my dissertation now,only 900 words left (!),a bit of translation and a bit of referencing,and I think I can manage that back in Guildford.Anyway,I haven't been to Wales for 12 years so I'm looking forward to it,even though the temperature is forecast to be half of what it is in Kent :/ Possible updates while I'm there,but if not,meet you back here on Wednesday evening!

Die Liebe liebt mich nicht

2010-04-17T00:01:00.003+01:00

As mentioned previously,I bought Revolverheld's new album In Farbe last week in Germany.They've definitely taken a new turn with their music- everything's happy for a start.So this song doesn't really fit.But that's one reason why I like it,it's the Revolverheld we know and love :) The lyrics are a bit...strong I suppose but they're quite nice.I've translated parts of it at the bottom.

Oh love
What are you doing to me
It’s never easy with you

Sometimes you make me happy,
But most of the time you don't
You tear at my wounds,
But still I drink to you

I don't understand you when you talk to me,
It's all too much for me
Maybe I just don't believe in you anymore

I've tried it all,
Love doesn't love me
I'm deprived,
Love doesn't love me

Can't we agree to chase the doubts away,
I've tried everything
Love doesn't love me

I'm talking to myself,trying to conquer my demon
But even that isn't working for me

Germany Day 2

2010-04-16T22:36:00.003+01:00

Readers of the Twilight saga will know that vampires don't sleep.I felt like a vampire on Thursday morning,just waiting around all night for a socially acceptable hour to come so I could get up and have a shower.Despite a very long day the day before,and taking my nice new German anti-anxiety/sleeping tablets,I literally didn't sleep for a minute.Which isn't unusual for me on holiday,but I did feel half-dead on the train to Flensburg.The bit past Eckernförde anyway.Up until then our tiny train was filled with kids going on a school trip and making a nuisance of themselves.I can't stand kids of any shape or size,but these ones did make me laugh,just because I usually think of foreign kids being so much better behaved than British ones.

After getting told off by a Deutsche Bahn man for not signing my ticket before leaving Kiel (what sort of stupid system is that anyway?),I soon woke up when we arrived in my second favourite city (Oslo is still my first love,even if I haven't been there in years).This was my mum's first time in Flensburg and her first impression was "it smells of manure and it's unnaturally quiet".Of course,erm,that's why I love it :/ First stop was the Sankt Nikolai church,in which I would love to get married one day,even if it is situated atop a potentially dangerous slope.I lit a candle for the same person I've been lighting candles for for a while now,and then we went to the Flensburg Galerie,which is where the trouble started.

Two hours and €100 later,we left,having bought: 2 cute little spoons from Danish department store Sinnerup,a green top with an emo teddy bear on it from Mister Lady,5 CDs (Revolverheld's new one,both of Ruben Cossani's,one by Clueso and one by Ich+Ich),and the cutest ever grey top with a family of zebras on.As I'd wanted to buy this top on a previous trip to Flensburg and it was still there nearly 18 months later,I thought it was a sign that I had to buy it.Mother of course didn't buy anything,except lunch,from Eis Cafe Milano,which not only does yummy ham and cheese toasties,but also,and I have to put this in bold capitals LOW FAT ICE CREAM..Though we didn't try it,and no pictures are available,I would urge anyone in the general Flensburg area to go and have one.They're mini works of art if nothing else.I've yet to see anywhere else in the world that sells low fat ice cream spaghetti carbonara.It was so cute!

I didn't buy anything else,apart from a couple of postcards in Karstadt.And a KitKat at the station.

We didn't do much else other than walk along the harbour,though my mum was more interested in looking at the wedding dress shop than the fjord.

There was a distinct lack of both beautiful men and Danish cars that Thursday,which made me conclude that the beautiful men of Flensburg are all in fact Danes who only come down at weekends.Shame.

On the way back to Kiel I got told off by another Deutsche Bahn man for accidentally dropping a ticket on the floor.Time might have taken away my Danish hot dog place and my favourite Karstadt,but it hasn't done anything for making Deutsche Bahn employees more cheerful and friendly.That's kind of comforting.

We missed the live music at the Kieler Brauerei which probably sounded more exciting than it actually was,and instead went for dinner at Block House,a steak house which again is rammed at weekends but was practically empty on Thursday.Had a massive cheeseburger on garlic bread (?) which I know for a fact had over 50g of fat in it (50g is my RDA) followed by Ungarisch flavour Funny Frisch crisps back at the hotel.I'd always wondered what the mysterious "Hungarian" flavour of my favourite crisps was,until my mum pointed out that there was a picture of a paprika on the packet.Mystery solved.

2 hours of German version of Wife Swap (Frauentausch) on RTL later,and I had a very good night's sleep,which may or may not be thanks to my new tablets :)

Pictures...

2010-04-14T22:38:00.002+01:00

...of my recent trip to Germany are here if you're interested.None of them are very good,but I've written informative captions where appropriate :) Will finish writing about it all later this week hopefully.Dissertation has been getting in the way the last few days.That and Eclipse,the third book in the Twilight series...

Everything is hanging by a thread

2010-04-13T11:17:00.003+01:00

Nothing like a bit of Ich + Ich to calm you down when you're dissertating.(I'm still around the 5000 word mark but have just started translating,hoping that it'll grow a bit.It's grown by 8 words so far...) This is Umarme Mich,from Ich + Ich's first album,one of many that I bought in Germany last week.It's so...chilled :)

Germany Day 1

2010-04-11T11:19:00.004+01:00

I love Easyjet.The "check in online 60 days before you fly" system means that you can get to the airport at the last minute and not have to sit around for ages.Even better when the flight itself is only 70 minutes like Gatwick-Hamburg.After a quick McDonalds breakfast (the start of many "bad" things I ate,I forsee massive weight gain this week),we took off at 7.20 and were in Kiel at 11.45.It had been 15 months since I was last in the capital of SH,but it didn't feel like I'd been away at all.Though my mum couldn't remember where anything was and kept getting confused every time we came out of a shop,I didn't get lost once,which is quite something for me.

First stop was Cafe Fiedler on Europaplatz,with their funky zebra print seats and massive quiches.But we just had a quick drink before checking into the hotel around the corner.It seemed Wednesday was the first sunny day of the year in Kiel,as all of the outdoor seats in the cafes and pubs were all taken,and from the hotel window we could see them lounging around on the little bridges and humps in Europaplatz.We felt a bit out of place in winter coats.

Spent the afternoon on Holstenstraße.Zara is being demolished to make way for a big Vero Moda shop,but apart from that,everything was as it was 15 months ago.Even Woolworths is still there! The one major exception though,is Karstadt and the Wurst von Kiel Danish hotdog place outside.Seeing it all empty actually made me really sad,so I had to ask the guy on the sausage cart what had happened.Apparently Karstadt only closed 5 weeks ago,which I'm surprised about,as it was always very popular.Judging by the huge number of shops which were advertising for staff along Holstenstraße too,Germany appears to be starting to recover from "der Krise".I had a think about whether I'd move back to Kiel to work in a shop.It almost makes sense.There isn't the stigma attached to working in retail like there is here.It isn't seen as a step down,or an easy option,it's just as valid and respectable a career choice as any.

Didn't buy anything on Wednesday,just made a mental list of things that might fit into my hand luggage should I choose to buy them later: shoes in XBags,a bag in XBags,a black coat from Madonna (€12!) and a folder with zebras on it.

Had dinner at Cup&Cino on Kehdenstraße.Really it's an Italian coffee house,but I had the most yummy Gemüseauflauf which was very German.I don't know how to translate Gemüseauflauf,but basically it's lots of vegetables mixed with potato and an insanely creamy,herby sauce,baked in the oven with cheese on top and served with crusty bread.I couldn't manage it all,probably because of the huge yogurt and berry milkshake I had with it.

There was a guy in the restaurant wearing a black and white THW Kiel scarf,and a few more walked past the window too.You don't normally see them,so I assumed the handball team were playing that night.As our hotel was right opposite the flashy Sparkassen Arena,we went to have a look.Turns out it was a local derby against SG Flensburg-Handewitt,which Kiel eventually won 29-23.I don't know anything about handball,but I know that THW Kiel are the best team in Germany,having won the league a record amount of times,and that they're nicknamed The Zebras.This is Hein Daddel (named after THW's most legendary player),their cute mascot.

Back to the hotel afterwards,and a quick watch of RTL,whose schedule now seems to consist entirely of German copies of British programmes.

Flensburg tomorrow!

Back!

2010-04-10T18:04:00.001+01:00

Back in gloomy Britain after 3 lovely days in Deutschland.Will write about it later.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T23:33:00.004+01:00

Hope everyone's eating loads of chocolate or celebrating the resurrection of Jesus or whatever.I watched the Pope for about 10 minutes this morning,but apart from that I'm very disappointed in the amount of Easter stuff that's been on this weekend.Nothing remotely festive.So thank God for InCulto.

Update

2010-04-02T23:15:00.002+01:00

I'm over 4000 words into my dissertation now,which equates to about 57% completion I think.I'm rubbish at making words out of nothing,writing crap for the sake of filling up a wordcount.My essays have always been about quality over quantity.At school when we used to get an hour to write a 4 page essay about Keats' dull poetry or whatever,mine used to be little more than half a page.Only one of my teachers ever agreed that being concise can actually be quite a good thing,and so it continues now.I still do have points in my dissertation that I haven't properly researched yet,but to get another 3000+ words out of it will be stretching me quite a lot.Added to the fact that so far most of it is in English and needs to be translated into French some time soon,and maybe you can see why I've been feeling a lot of stress in the last few days.

Today I went on a shopping trip to Maidstone with Emma and Shabana,neither of whom I've seen since before Christmas.Emma has a real job now so it makes scheduling rather difficult.Anyway,after a massive cockup at Gillingham Station,we ended up on the HS1 instead of a normal train to Strood.HS1 might sound like a virus,but it's the funky new blue high-speed trains,which I think are the first ones to be used in the UK.They run on the same tracks that the Eurostar uses,so it's a lovely smooth ride (in an impossibly clean carriage!) instead of the bumpy,grubby experience that is the usual Southeastern trains.Sadly we were only on it for 10 minutes and then had to transfer to aforementioned bumpy,grubby normal train for the rest of the trip.

Though the others bought loads of stuff,I was very frugal and made do with a £6 brown leather (allegedly) belt from the French market.We get a lot of French markets down here,they all come over from Rouen and invade our high streets with the delicious smell of pastries and various types of salami.Yum.One guy was selling tarts,so I asked him (en français bien sûr) if he has any white chocolate ones.I didn't catch all of what he said but it was along the lines of "no,they're for the Swiss.We're French." Hmm...

I came home to a massive lasagne courtesy of my nan,and a bag full of chocolatey things and a cuddly Easter chick from my aunt/uncle/cousin.But all I can think about is this sodding essay.Bring on May 5th when it'll all be over.

Miscellaneous post #10

2010-04-02T23:02:00.003+01:00

I just watched Vicky Cristina Barcelona,which is something I've been meaning to do for a long time.Put very basically,it's about how beautiful,charming foreign men with mentally unstable girlfriends/ex-wives may be addictive but are really not good for you in the long run,even when fate gives you a small bit of hope that things could end happily ever after.Needless to say,I thought it was a great film :) Also made me remember how yummy Javier Bardem is,and how much I love Penelope Cruz.

I'm still not Schlieri's girlfriend

2010-03-29T23:36:00.002+01:00

Just by chance,I was looking through the archives of PVE,and discovered that today (well the next 20 minutes) is actually the second birthday of my second-born blog! Happy birthday blog,look,you can share one of the cute little Maison Blanc cupcakes we bought Sophie for her birthday.

Sooooo much has changed in the 2 years since I started writing PVE,I've lived in 5 different houses,which is quite impressive,I've seen my musical hero in concert twice,I put on 26 pounds and lost 16 of them...But some things never change.Namely,the way in which an alarmingly high number of visitors come across this blog.More people than I care to count end up here through googling "Gregor Schlierenzauer's girlfriend." I can assure you that I am not her,though I imagine I would be immeasurably more happy if I was ;)

Anyway,other interesting searches resulting in this blog include:
- "skinny french guys naked" (someone in central France)
- "dover ferries" (someone in India)
- "prohor shalyapin speak english?" (someone in America)

Now for the final one,I can be of service.Yes,yes he does speak English.

God I miss Fabrika Zvezd...

Thanks to the 3000ish people who've taken the time to read any of the rubbish I've written on here.It's much appreciated :)

Yesterday...

2010-03-27T23:52:00.002Z

...was a very busy day for me,starting with my gym induction at the new and pretty special (read: ridiculously expensive) Surrey Sports Park.It certainly ain't built for students to use,and will cost about a million times more than the £12 a month we're paying when it opens properly.But more about that another time.

After that,me and Keira went straight off to London to the Chocolate Festival,where there were many lovely things to eat and look at.Dinner and fab non-alcoholic cocktails at Las Iguanas,followed by an hour and a half in the company of the wonderful Teitur Lassen,which you can read about here,because I actually wrote a review this time!

When we got home we stuffed our faces with chips and chocolate covered pretzels,listened to some schlager and threw balls of various sizes around Keira's room,which resulted in some amusing pictures of me,her and Rich.The perfect end to a busy semester!

Back in Kent for a month now,though I have a lot of work to do,as well as various other things.Next stop: Germany in 11 days time!

Don't know why I still fall apart for you

2010-03-23T00:59:00.003Z

The other night I was familiarising myself with the work of Sarah Connor.Probably something to do with Radio Flensburg,I can't remember.Normally when I'm choosing songs to listen to,I'll read the lyrics first as an indicator of whether I think it's worth pursuing.Fall Apart was one that I felt worth pursuing.Not least because it's probably one of about 4 songs of Sarah's that isn't all about sexual innuendo,the words actually have some substance.It turned out the tune is pretty damn good too.It sort of gets better and better,the verses are good,the bridge is cool,and the chorus is fabulous.

What do you use to patch up an injured mallard?

2010-03-22T13:39:00.003Z

Duck tape! Hahahahahahahahahahaha. :/

Myself and Rich were having lunch just now when we were unexpectedly joined by a guest.

I'm calling her Diana.Assuming the brown ones are the girls,I can never remember.

She came waddling down the grass like she owned the place and then sat staring at us through the window until I threw some bread out.It fell in the gutter though and she made a big drama out of jumping down to get it.I don't know what's wrong with the lake these days but we're finding ducks everywhere at the minute.There were 2 outside reception the other day sounding like they were having a good moan.I think they would have come in and sat in the armchairs had I not shut the door quickly behind me.

Please come back to the quiet generation

2010-03-18T12:37:00.002Z

The sun's out for the first time in about 5 years,as of next week we have a whole month off,and in 8 days time we're going to the Southbank Chocolate Festival and then to see Teitur.Today is one of those days where you can't help but feel happy.And Louis Louis is one of those songs that can't help but make you feel happy.

I tried so hard not being a part of you

2010-03-17T00:20:00.002Z

Good old Radio Flensburg has delivered the goods again.Tuned in for the first time in ages this evening to be greeted by this lovely song.As far as I can tell,Synje Norland is a northerner and that so far,she's only released one album.Tried So Hard is the only song I've heard from it so far,but if the rest of it is anything like this,it's probably pretty super.I'll be looking out for it when I'm in Flensburg in 3 weeks time.

Eurovision Windmachine

2010-03-16T01:12:00.002Z

Just came across a very amusing Eurovision blog.It's auf Deutsch,but Google Translate's German efforts are normally quite good.I should know,I've used it enough times in my coursework...Anyway,the idea of our song being called "That Sounds Good to Pete" made me chuckle,so go and read!

Sexy Russian Boy*

2010-03-14T03:24:00.002Z

I bet World's Most Beautiful Man Aleksei Vorobyov would have appreciated the effort I made to look nice tonight.And I bet he's not vulgar,is neither emotionally stunted or unstable.And I bet his shows are a lot of fun.Especially if you happen to be in the front row during the slow bit in Reality.

*Tina Karol had a song called that once.

I think this story needs another ending

2010-03-12T00:29:00.003Z

I absolutely adore this song...

I've only listened to it twice so far,so don't really have the words to describe it yet.It's not often I hear a song and love it immediately,but this is definitely one of those songs.Who knew there was so much musical talent in the Faroe Islands?! So much criminally underated talent too.

Greeks and Eurovision and Smorgasbords

2010-03-09T23:34:00.007Z

As promised before,here's my lobster :)

And my lizard on a rock

My mum and dad certainly delivered on the tat front :)

Just got back from a nice evening in London with James- probably the least stressful trip to London I've ever had.Started off at the Scandinavian Kitchen,where the Smørrebrød was lovely (expensive too,but I guess that's all part of the Scandinavian Experience).I had Norwegian meatballs,prawns and roast beef with remoulade.Yum.

Speaking of which...

So happy.

The recording of Recorded for Training Purposes at Broadcasting House was great.It lasted nearly 2 hours,everyone there was lovely and civil and not annoying in the slightest,and the chairs were really comfortable.

And of course I'm going back up to London with Keira on Friday to see Your Country Needs You.Very exciting,even though I don't really have any interest in who wins or what our song is.But Alexander Rybak and Bruno Tonioli will be there,so that's all good :) I don't even like Rybak,but Fairytale has been my ringtone for ages now,so there must be something there :)

iExhibition was good fun last night,even if we did get bullied off stage by the Greeks.They didn't have anything personal against me and Keira,just everyone in general by the sound of it.We weren't playing "the right music". Read: we weren't playing Greek music.Which we would have done if they'd have given us the chance,but we were forced to cut our set short because of their moaning.The Greeks at this university get too much their own way,they're the worst noise perpetrators here,they're messy and very arrogant.I've been to Greece,and everyone I met there was lovely and friendly.As are the few Greeks I personally know here.But it does seem to be a Brits Abroad syndrome for the majority unfortunately.Despite all that though,last night was still fun.I was a bit scared to start with,as there were literally a few hundred people there,and seeing as we normally have 6 listeners on the show...But people were dancing to our music,even Trend by Mediengruppe Telekommander.

Di's boyfriend took some pictures of us,which is cool,even though we do look a bit worried in this one...

But I could either have that one,or one of us visibly singing,or one of Keira doing air guitar to the Work Your Magic remix :)

Miscellaneous post #9

2010-03-09T14:23:00.001Z

Guess who's going to Your Country Needs You on Friday? :)

iFestival

2010-03-08T18:49:00.002Z

Although this morning I really wasn't in the mood,I'm really looking forward DJ-ing at the union now.We've found some very cool tracks and shall be playing as follows:

- Mediengruppe Telekommander: Trend
- Philter: My French Connection
- Ruslana: Wild Dances
- Dima K: Work Your Magic (Deep Zone Remix,obviously)
- Basshunter: DoTA
- Anna Abreu: Vinegar
- Antti Tuisku: Levoton (amazing intro!)
- Christophe Willem: Berlin
- Dima B: Gore Zima
- Sakis: Ola Kala

Because you have to cater for the Greeks.That much we have learned.

I hope he's happy that he has you

2010-03-08T00:18:00.003Z

How heartbreakingly lovely is this song?

It's Harel Skaat in case you were too busy reading the words to notice.Israel's ESC final is coming up this weekend,I can't wait :) Anyway,I love that song (Ve at it's called).I wasn't that fussed about it until I read the translation.

I've been in a bit of a Harel mood this weekend,I'd forgotten about this song until I saw it in my youtube favourites.Which is odd,seeing as it's one of the best songs I've discovered this year.I forget what Kama od Efshar means,but either way I like to think of this song as an Israeli version of Love is All Around :)

In other news,I've been back in Kent this weekend,a bit of a spontaneous thing only decided on Friday.Done lots of visiting,not very much work,and a fair bit of eating.Oh,and I'm now the proud owner of a purple lobster with springy legs,as mentioned before.He wasn't quite what I expected,but there shall be a picture tomorrow.

Also,I've just filled out the application form for the European Studies Masters in Germany.I can't afford to do it and am still not sure I want to do any more studying,but I can't let the chance go by.Especially as in just over 4 weeks time I'll be in Flensburg and will undoubtedly fall in love with the place all over again.

Anyway,I have to go to bed now.Need to be in Guildford for 11 tomorrow,which means getting up at 8ish to catch the train at 9ish.I need to give in a translation,go to the gym,buy new headphones,work out 2 playlists,find something nice to wear for DJing at the Union,eat,DJ at the Union,do Sounds of Europe.In that order.Ugh.Hopefully James will be around again to help with the show.Even if it does just mean picking track numbers at random :)

Miscellaneous post #8

2010-03-04T00:46:00.002Z

This is me today

Only less cute.

I haven't felt this rough in a long time.I knew I had a cold coming on Monday when I was on the train back to Guildford.I had to blow my nose at every stop on the way to Victoria,which was embarassing as I tend to make a hell of a lot of noise when I blow my nose.But despite lots of German Grippostad C tablets (my saviours when I lived in Kiel),and tons of tissue,it's just getting worse.I literally didn't sleep last night because I was so hot and uncomfortable,so there was no chance of me getting to lectures today.I tried sleeping throughout the day but just ended up having weird hallucinogenic half-dreams about massive dragonflies and stuff.It was a bit scary :/

Other than that it's been a good week so far.Monday's Sounds of Europe was so much fun thanks to our guest.Never in a million years did I think James would want to be on the radio but he really enjoyed it and it's gone to his head now.He's hoping to become the next presenter of Women's Hour on Radio 4.

Last night we went to see the Archbishop of Canterbury who was doing an interview which I think was broadcast on BBC Surrey.It was really interesting,and although I spent most of the time concentrating on not sneezing,I remember one person asking "how can you believe in God when there is no scientific proof he exists?" Answer- "Do you need a scientific reason for why you prefer broccoli over peas?" True dat :)

One more lecture this week and then I think I'm going to spend the weekend making culinary delights.I've got polenta and sundried tomatoes in the cupboard but I have no idea what to do with them as yet.I also promised James a chicken and mushroom risotto about 2 months ago so I should probably do that too.Speaking of food,I'm quite excited about going to Scandinavian Kitchen on Tuesday.We're going to Broadcasting House for a Radio 4 show recording and this place is 5 minutes away from it.I'll be going to stock up on Danish remoulade which is one of the things I miss most about Schleswig-Holstein.But looking at the Smørrebrød and everything on the website,I think the bank account could take a bit of a beating :)

Miscellaneous post #7

2010-02-26T23:36:00.003Z

I'm now a quarter of the way through my dissertation.That's quite a nice feeling.Especially as I have the rest of it planned out too.Bit annoying that all the work I put into it when I was in France was for nothing,but if it means the whole thing is going to be better,I'll go along with that.Still lots of work to do though,I have a lot of research into gay adoption laws in Germany to do,plan a French presentation about the Lisbon Treaty,a Russian one about Russian Reality TV,and write an essay about Vienna :/

Anyway,another 2lbs off this week,God knows how.That's a total of 16lbs lost so far,which seems an insane amount.I don't really deserve to have lost all that seeing as I've not really made any effort at all,but again,I'm not complaining.My new motivation to go to the gym is that I have several episodes of Tintin to watch on my ipod when I'm there :) That,and fitting into my lovely Norwegian coat that I haven't been able to wear for the last 18 months or so.

Mentally I'm feeling slightly better than last week.I've been on the Valerian Root for a week now and am down to 2 tablets a day.It seems to be working OK.Also had a chat with my aunt last night- I never knew she used to be an anxiety counsellor,so that helps :) She's going to send me some relaxation CDs,which I think will be good.Of course,nothing in the world will help me sleep against the noise and bass vibrations we get in our house in Guildford,but there's not long now til that'll all be over.

Mother and Father rang again today.They're in Fuerteventura and apparantly there's some big drag cabaret thing happening tonight.I'm very jealous,even though they're not actually going to it.Am happy to hear that they've bought me more tat though.I love the kitsch,plastic tat that's so abundant in Mediterranean countries.I had loads of lacy fans from Italy and Spain when I was little but they seem to have disappeared.But when I have my own house I want a brightly coloured room that's full of the stuff,so that's why I asked them to buy me the naffest things they can find.So far I have one of the aforementioned lacy fans, a flamenco dancer fridge magnet,and erm, a big purple lobster with springy legs :/ There are other things too but they won't tell me what they are.

Oh,I watched a BBC programme last night called Art of Russia.I think it was the last in the series,but luckily it was all about Communist Art, "Socialist Realism".As a big fan of this genre,as mentioned here,it was all very interesting.I can't believe the lovely sculptures of engineers and farmers in the Moscow metro are still untouched though.If that was in the London Underground they would have disappeared long ago.

It's far from over

2010-02-21T13:15:00.002Z

The last few weeks have been proper rubbish here.Having big motivation problems with work,though I'm still not stressed about it because it will get done eventually because it has to.I'm going home next week to concentrate on my dissertation.There won't be anyone at home so I'll have all the silence I need and none of the distractions I don't.

I've been having massive anxiety problems too.This has been going on for at least a year but just seems to be getting worse to the point that I'm seeing someone about it,doing all these breathing exercises,and am on various herbal tablets to try and stop it.I find walking helps too,especially at night.I was getting ready to go out at 1 o clock this morning but ended up in the kitchen having a chat with my housemate for a few hours about Wispa Gold and Tuc biscuits and the likes.That helped too,and was probably a better option than going for a walk,seeing how frosty it was last night.

Other rubbish things have happened in the past week too,but we don't talk about those anymore.

But as any good counsellor would tell you,you should think about the positives.Well,I bought some daffodils yesterday and they bloomed over night to give me a nice surprise in the corner of my room this morning.I always find daffodils cheerful.It means spring can't be too far away.Also,I've lost around a stone now.I haven't been eating well or exercising at all in the last couple of weeks,but I'm still fitting into my old size 14 stuff again,which was what I wanted,even if I do still need to lose another half a stone or so.

The best thing though,is that I have my old friend back,after a very long time of not talking.He has a blog,which is here,he's from Flensburg and he has very good taste in music :) Such as this song,which I've listened to a crazy amount this weekend.

I'm not crazy I'm just a little unwell...

2010-02-06T13:38:00.002Z

Here's the most criminally underated Norwegian singer ever (Kjartan Salvesen) singing a song with very nice lyrics (Unwell by Matchbox Twenty).It starts about 55 seconds in.He only sings one verse,so all the words are underneath.

All day staring at the ceiling making friends with shadows on my wall
All night hearing voices telling me that I should get some sleep
Because tomorrow might be good for something
Hold on, feeling like I'm headed for a breakdown
And I don't know why

But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell
I know, right now you can't tell
But stay a while and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me

I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired
I know, right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me
And how I used to be, me

I'm talking to myself in public, dodging glances on the train
And I know, I know they've all been talking about me
I can hear them whisper, and it makes me think
There must be something wrong with me
Out of all the hours thinking, somehow I've lost my mind

But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell
I know, right now you can't tell
But stay a while and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me

I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired
I know, right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me
And how I used to be

I've been talking in my sleep
Pretty soon they'll come to get me
Yeah, they're taking me away

I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell
I know, right now you can't tell
But stay a while and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me

I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired
I know, right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me
And how I used to be yeah, how I used to be

How I used to be
Well, I'm just a little unwell
How I used to be, how I used to be
I'm just a little unwell

This is my new desktop picture

2010-01-30T17:47:00.002Z

Isn't it cute? :)

Glee...

2010-01-14T22:43:00.002Z

...I am full of it.Nothing to do with that new programme of course,what I refer to is the fact that I just bought tickets to go and see Teitur in London in March at the Southbank Centre- you don't even need a travelcard to get there from Guildford! Did I mention these tickets are for front row seats? You could say I'm a bit excited :)

Jamie and Tintin

2010-01-13T14:59:00.004Z

More snow in Guildford today meant that lessons were cancelled,which was nice,as I was meant to have a Russian exam today.I did revise for it last night- I listened to Dima Koldun,one of whose songs is called Ty Uletish (You'll Fly Away).That's a verb of motion,which is exactly what the test was about.It's been postponed to next week now,so in that time I'll have to listen to Sevara Nazarkhan's A On Ne Prishyol so I can learn another verb.

We also made a new cocktail last night,whilst listening to the Work Your Magic remix- taking us as close back to the good old days as you can get without a 32 inch telly and comfy furniture.It's called Tintin (said with a Russian accent),and it's made from Russkiy Standard,pureed banana,tinned peaches and syrup and orange juice.The banana does make it very foamy,but if you put it through a seive before drinking,it's fine.

This morning we made Jamie...

He's melted a bit now so his nose and one of his eyes have fallen off.But he's something new to look at when we're eating lunch.

Meine Zeit wird kommen im Jahr 2010?

2009-12-30T21:14:00.003Z

As my own little blogosphere here and at WYM limps sorrily towards the end of another 12 months,I thought I'd better do the decent thing and wish anyone who's still reading a Happy New Year,a Felice Nuovo Anno et cetera et cetera.

As I said last time,this year has been pretty rubbish compared to 2008,so I'm looking forward to seeing the back of it so to speak.It's been quite eventful though,I've lived in 3 countries since January,which is something not many people can say,and I thank everyone who's read this blog since my European adventures began,I hope you've found it a bit entertaining or something :)

Next year will be a scary year in that my time in Guildford will finish and I have to decide what to do next.I've still heard nothing about my application to the Foreign Office,but hopefully news will come soon in one form or another.

Anyway,I don't want to end on a downer,so I wish you all a Happy New Year again,and ask you to stay healthy and fabulous :)

Never give up on someone who you can't go a day without thinking about

2009-11-28T16:04:00.002Z

I wonder what the time limit on that really is though? When does thinking about someone every day turn into "you're a weirdo" territory?

I'm having trouble typing this at the minute.I just sustained a cut to the index finger whilst carrying out that hazardous activity of eating an apple.It's OK,I didn't actually bite myself,I'm paranoid about breaking my teeth so I have to eat apples with a knife.It slipped.Ouch.

Bit disappointed (but not surprised) to discover that the pound I'd lost in the last few days is back on now :( Me and Sophie went to Maria's house last night to celebrate the end of the crappiest fortnight in history in terms of work.And we ate a lot of pizza and Pringles and Aero and pancakes with Nutella.I haven't eaten Nutella since I lived in France,so I hope this isn't the reawakening of the obsession.

Generally doing quite well on the weight loss front though.Lost over half a stone now,all in about 6 weeks too,which is nice.And I'm not following any mad diet as well.I don't believe in depriving yourself of things you like,so this has all been done through 40 minute (very relaxed) sessions at the gym 3 times a week.Sometimes 5.My jeans are actually getting too big for me now,which is nice,but does mean I look like a tramp.Oh well.

Started Christmas shopping today.Well I bought James's present at least.And he knows what it is,so that's not very exciting.I can't believe it's nearly December already,though I'm happy it is.This year has been rubbish really.After the best year of my life in 2007-8,this has been the complete opposite.2009 literally started terribly- with me throwing up in the bathroom as of 3am on New Years' Day.Prawns I think were the culprits.Then I left Germany and went to France for 5 of the most boring months of my life.Sometime around then (probably the end of last year actually),my relationship (in the non-romantic sense of the word) with someone I cared about a lot ended for no real reason.I hate to talk about it for the simple reason that I don't think other people would understand at all,but right or wrong,it's something I think about a lot.

Coming back to Guildford has been nice,but I can feel my relationships with other people breaking down every day.Some of my best friends too,which is a bit rubbish.I guess it's natural,but still.Why do good things have to change?I'm looking forward to leaving university,but if I could relive second year all over again,that would be completely fabulous.

Then there's the work overload situation and the fact that the (seemingly) constant noise from other people/the union means I sleep even less than is normal for me.Next week I'm seeing the doctor,but I'm really not convinced that Valium is going to help the matter.I've been on it twice before (once when I was a baby,that shows how abnormal I am),but I remember its effectiveness being quite limited on me when I was 9,so God knows what it'll be like now.I feel like I shouldn't have to resort to medication but I have to do something.I've spoken to one of my teachers too,who said she'll try and help me.

On the good side though,I have made some good friends this year- friends who will probably be staying around the Guildford area after next year,which will be cool.I decided a while ago that I don't want to go back to Kent for any length of time,I want to move here permanently as soon as possible.Whether this will be to do a European Politics Masters or working somewhere,I don't know.Actually I'm going to apply for a Masters at Flensburg University too,but whether I could live abroad again for 2 years seems a bit questionable at the minute.

Speaking of Flensburg,I'm going back at Easter :) Easyjet are my heroes at the moment- they're starting flights from Gatwick (my local airport) to Hamburg as of February,which will be super.I'm going back to Kiel with my mum and will hopefully get the chance to go on my favourite train journey in the world to freezing cold Flensburg.I've never seen it in Spring,but I bet it's lovely :)

Das weiße Band

2009-11-13T16:53:00.002Z

Tonight I'm going to the British Film Institute with James to watch the new film Das weiße Band (The White Ribbon).It's set in a north German village,and some scenes were filmed in Lübeck- the rest is shot around Berlin,which isn't Northern Germany to me,but whatever.I'm not sure of the plot exactly,but they've just been talking about it on Radio 4,and apparantly it's "radical" and "unnerving" and is about "creepy kids".Which sounds promising :)

Oh,I also went to Marks and Spencer's Penny Bazaar this morning.We didn't have all that much selection at our store,but I bought a money tin,tea towel,notebook,socks and a mug.All for 5p :) I think all shops should do something like this.

My life is complete...

2009-11-09T13:54:00.002Z

...now I have one of these

I've been a bit envious of James's DAB alarm clock since I saw it 6 weeks ago,so was excited to discover that Tesco sells them pretty cheaply.I love it so much,now I can listen to Radio 4 all night without thinking about batteries :) I'm listening to it now- they just mentioned Schleswig-Holstein on the General Knowledge quiz :)

Big up the Medway posse!

2009-11-06T17:12:00.002Z

I wondered why loads of my friends from Kent had joined the "Medway Posse" group on Facebook.I missed TV Burp on Saturday you see...

Wikipedia tells us that he's actually from Woking.Which is just as...full of charm as Medway :)

Felice Compleanno

2009-11-05T21:48:00.007Z

Despite having to get up early to revise for my Russian test yesterday morning- my birthday was really rather fab.I got a very nice bag and matching purse from my mummy,and a (as yet) unnamed teddy bear from Dima and Marko.And Paperchase goodies from James.And my notice board is now full of very nice cards,most of which are rather glitzy.

We couldn't get a table at Jamie's Italian as was the plan,so we went to Da Gennaro's instead,which I think I would have preferred anyway- it's very quiet,and the people who run it are from Caserta,which is quite near Ischia.We had very nice wine and pasta,followed by a surprise cake that Maria and Sophie had made for me that day...

James had bought me a nice chocolate one from Marks and Spencers too,but that one's a bit too far gone to take a picture of now.

After dinner,we went to Flares,the seventies club which is pretty much the only evening establishment in Guildford I'll ever go to.Keira bought me this...

Well not just me,obviously,everyone had some.It's a Blue Lagoon,and it was yummy.

Then we did some more pictures...

Yes,it's your favourite Europop DJs! And yes,I wore my coat in a nightclub.

Oh,and here's me under a glitterball...

The dancefloor is all cool and changes colour,and what with the glitterballs and the smoke machine,I felt a bit like a Eurovision star :) Ahem...

Tonight in comparison has been really boring.Though we did go to watch the Stoke Park fireworks.Not in Stoke Park,that would be silly to walk all the way there in the rain.Luckily we're about 100 metres away from the top of a hill where we could see everything probably better than the people who were actually there.No pictures though,as my camera is rubbish in the dark.

Positive spin

2009-10-29T00:27:00.003Z

It's half past midnight and I've been sitting here in a public computer room working for nearly an hour.There are two other people here,who I don't know but who are making me feel slightly comforted that I'm not the only one.You see,Wednesdays are Union nights here,meaning the bass from the club which is about 50 metres from our house makes my light fitting vibrate and rattle,and generally keeps me up from 10pm til 3am.I cannot sleep through this.Anyone who can sleep through this is abnormal and wrong in the head and probably not human.This happens at least 3 times a week now,and combined with the fact that the people who live in the house nextdoor are inconsiderate arseholes who love to screech their inane conversations at high volume,means I'm really not getting much sleep at all,and consequently am in a bad mood most of the time,have chronically aching muscles,and look like death.

But...

I have a lot of work to do.I'm not complaining about this,as that's what you should expect from university.If you are at university and don't like it,you should probably leave and go back home to mummy and daddy who will do everything for you.So I thought I'd take advantage of these no-sleep nights,and use them to do my work.It's been quite successful so far,I managed to write a whole story about Teitur this evening.About when I went to see him in Denmark that is.We're doing a course in German Presenting Skills,and we have to tell stories in an interesting way tomorrow afternoon.

I'm managing the work-life balance thing quite well this year too I think.I was pretty much a recluse in first year,and a lot of second year too.So I want to make the most of this year and actually do things.I went to Pizza Express with James this evening,which was lovely,even if I am spending far too much money on food these days.Seems we've pretty much decided on going here for my birthday next Wednesday,though I haven't really invited anyone yet as it's all come around pretty fast,so it will be interesting to see who comes :/

Had a nice chat with some people on my course earlier.It seems odd how nobody in our department really spoke to eachother for the first two years,so I hope we haven't left it too late to actually become good friends.Either way,I'm glad they're around.The next 8 months would be a bit lonely otherwise.

Miscellaneous post #6

2009-10-25T21:52:00.002Z

Quick blog time.

Been stupidly busy ever since I've been here,despite having a 4 day weekend,there's still just not enough time to fit everything in.Work+gym+shopping+washing+Sounds of Europe+socialising=too much.But it's all good fun.Actually last week was terrible for many reasons,but now I'm busy again,I'm forgetting about it.Have already lost nearly 2lbs at the gym,though I think I might have put quite a lot of that back on this evening thanks to the lovely big salami I bought on Friday.Ah well,gym again tomorrow probably.I love the reclining bikes,managed nearly 12km on that today,but will never manage more than 2 on the treadmill...

Been working on my German essay this evening- the most enjoyable essay I'll ever have written as it's all about Flensburg :) Even started a bit on my dissertation tonight too.Should really be making the most of the very rare quiet time you get here for sleeping,but this is the first time since I've been here that I've been motivated to do some work.

Anyway,listen to Sounds of Europe tomorrow,I think it'll be an interesting show this week.We've got all the normal stuff,but also the results of my recent foray into the Uzbek,Armenian and Azeri pop scenes.I'm looking forward to it anyway :)

Flying Doctors

2009-10-08T02:10:00.004+01:00

All going nicely in G-Town so far- have very nice housemates,though I do only see one of them most of the time.Seem to have anti Norwegian walls which keep repelling my Norway flag every time I stick it to them.Met a nice German man yesterday and a nice Russian one too- turns out I can still understand Russian after all,which is a nice feeling.Been very busy in general,but if all goes according to plan (I really hope all goes according to plan),I'll be off to London tomorrow night to see Teitur.But for now,bed.The bass has stopped,I should make the most of it :)

Update- it hasn't all gone according to plan- booooooo :( But he has just released an interesting UK album which is a hybrid of all the others,so hopefully there'll be more shows soonish.As for tonight,I'll just have to watch Eastenders and enjoy it I suppose :)

The road to dreamland is blocked

2009-09-27T23:10:00.003+01:00

This will probably be my last post for a bit.Spare me the tears now,I'm sure you can go without hearing about my mundane life for a few weeks ;) I'm devilishly busy getting ready to go back to Guildford on Saturday,and it's pretty much a certainty that my computer won't work there when I get back,for God knows how long.

Been busy lately with driving and things.I have a car (with paisley seats!) but don't know how to drive it,so want to learn as soon as possible.It's going well so far.I'd recommend automatic lessons to anyone.People make it sound like a big deal that you won't be able to drive a manual,but I don't plan on getting through 2 cars a year,and I'm sure automatics are easier to find than they say.But I've had 3 lessons so far,and already I've driven all around Gillingham,done "country roads",big roundabouts on the A2,emergency stops,winding narrow roads with cars parked on both sides and I'm pretty good at parking too.I haven't quite got the laws of physics yet,in that hills make you go downwards faster,so I have actually broken the speed limit once or twice,but overall,I think I'm doing quite well for someone with no common sense and hatred of doing anything practical that involves thinking and concentrating.

Also had a very nice day in Greenwich last Thursday.Myself and my aunt planned this trip to London nearly a year ago and it's only just happened.Bought a very pretty little ceramic bowl from Jerusalem at the market,and Chinese wooden bangles that make me thankful I have the wrists of a 5 year old.We went to the Observatory,which I always find fascinating.I'm generally completely uninterested in science of all kinds,but I've always loved astronomy and the concept of space and time.Also had an interesting pizza at Pizza Express- it's a new thing I think,and is called a "light pizza",because it has a big hole cut out of the middle and replaced with salad.A nice idea,but I did feel a bit cheated.

Today I've been packing,which is always a nightmare.Still have more to do as well.I really don't want to go back to the discomfort of campus accommodation and all the associated bad memories,but at the same time,I can't wait to start going to the gym,having lost only 2lbs in 3 months :) James has sold the idea of spinning classes to me on account that they involve music and glitterballs,so I think I'll be going to that.Actually I know a few people who've signed up to the gym,so that gives me more motivation to go,as if fitting into nice clothes again wasn't enough.

Then there's the small matter of Sounds of Europe to think about.Looks like we'll be back on Monday 5th from 9-11pm,giving us not very much time to think of songs to play.We've both amassed lots of new stuff during the year away,but there's also quite a bit that we discovered just after ending the show last May.I raided my nan's music collection today,but decided Gianni Morandi and Neapolitan folk songs are probably not what the show needs.I did take Patrizio Buanne's album with me though,so may find something on there,though what I've heard so far is roughly 26 times cheesier than a Quattro Formaggio,so we'll see.

Also agonising over whether to go and see Teitur in Shepherds Bush next Thursday.It'll be October 8th,which is a sort of anniversary for me....of the last time I saw him.I badly want to go,but one slip up on the tube/bus front,and I won't be back in Guildford til around 7 the next morning.In the meantime,here's a song of his that I discovered last week,I really like it,I think it's the only Danish one he's ever done.It's called Syner (Visions).

Twitter is great Part 2

2009-09-23T21:08:00.002+01:00

Thanks to Derren Brown's twitter page,I just discovered Charlie Brooker has written another book- The Hell of it All.As I'm just about to finish Screen Burn,this is very welcome news indeed.Even if it is all his old Guardian columns,most of which I read during long and tedious workdays in a certain capital city :)

You love me and want to move to Norway?

2009-09-22T15:02:00.002+01:00

The (irregular) PVE telly round-up:

- Peep Show (C4): Hooray,Peep Show is back at last! I've been a fan ever since the first series- a series where I empathised so much with Mark Corrigan,it was a bit scary.It seemed to have lost its way a bit in the last few series (though Guildford was mentioned once,so bonus points there),but last Friday's episode was just as good as ever.Ultimately it's all about Schadenfreude really- the situations that Mark especially gets himself into are so predictable (the whole German thing this week),but his reactions (coupled with his self-loathing) are always funny.Then there's the two or three lines from each episode that stick in your head all week."A chance would be a fine thing..."

- How Not to Live Your Life (BBC2): I saw the first series when it was repeated on BBC2 during July and August,and was very pleased to see the new series is being shown on BBC3 on Tuesdays at 10.30.Don is a bit of a loser who's inherited a house (and its mortgage repayments) from his nan.Last series was all about his love for flatmate Abby and hatred of her boyfriend.This series,she's gone away for a few months,leaving Don depressed and sulky.The old lady slapping him round the face and telling him to "cheer up,you pathetic little c**t" is probably the funniest thing I've seen on telly for a while.

- Shooting Stars (BBC2): Another programme I've loved for years.I would say I was too young to understand the humour properly the first time around,but for me,it's always been about George Dawes anyway.He doesn't have as much to say as he used to,but his songs are still brilliant- as silly and catchy as anything Tim Vine would write.Hip Hop is the Best has always been my favourite...There's been a lot of negative feedback about this comeback,but I find it just as funny as the originals.I wasn't sure about Angelos to start with,but he's growing on me now.

- Grouchy Young Men (Sky 3): Not sure if this is a proper series or just a one-off,but I enjoyed what I saw of it.I used to watch Grumpy Old Men/Women and secretly agreed with most of what they said,so I'm pleased to see there are miserable people closer to my age too :) I hope there'll be more episodes sometime soon.

- Dolce Vito- Dream Restaurant (C4): Heard a lot of negative stuff about this show too,but I really enjoyed it.A nice bit of escapist TV for a Thursday night,in the same way Holiday,A Place in the Sun and all of those type programmes are.In case you didn't see it,it follows restaurant owner Vito try to open a British restaurant in Italy.After several potential deals on sites from Benevento to Florence fall through,he finally settles on a place in Bologna,serving up a menu of things like Ploughmans Lunch,fillet steaks,fish and chips and prawn cocktail.It all looks very nice too.Vito was born in Campania (the best part of Italy of course,as that's where my family are from too :) ),but moved to the UK at the age of 1.But despite that,he's still as Italian as they come- loud and very excitable,a contrast to his fabulous (also Anglo-Italian) fiancée,who is also seen a lot helping out with business negotiations.There are also plenty of gratuitous shots of his Alfa Romeo,which is always nice.

- X Factor (ITV): Still not convinced about the new format.I don't like Britain's Got Talent,and that is essentially what the early stages of this is now.That said though,my favourite so far is a guy whose name I can't remember now,but he had big hair and sang Sex on Fire.He was amazing,but that audition probably wouldn't have worked without the audience.So,swings and roundabouts as they say.Boot Camp next,this is the most boring part of the whole programme for me,so I'm not too bothered about what happens there.

- Derren Brown: The Events (C4): I'd never seen anything Derren Brown had done before the Lottery thing,but I've been enjoying this series and the vast amount of discussion surrounding it.People have been going a bit mad about the Lottery programme,and I just can't understand why.He's made it clear that he isn't a psychic,but an illusionist,so what were they expecting? The events themselves aside,I've found the two programmes so far very entertaining.I haven't won the Lottery yet,and I didn't get stuck to my chair,but I am inexplicably finding Derren more attractive every week.It must be magic :)

I sacrificed myself to make you want me

2009-09-21T23:35:00.003+01:00

I'm having "one of those evenings".One of those evenings that shouldn't happen anymore,but still do.So what better than to listen to Kings of Convenience,providers of always lovely music and words.This video is rather mystical and relaxing too.