So the weekend before I headed off to Scotland I went down to Dorset with Nicola to do a one day glass blowing course at the Dorset Rural Skills Centre. Nicola has a car so we had a lovely day on Saturday making our way there.
The last time I was in Dorset (I think) was New Years in 1996 and it was absolutely freezing! It was the coldest winter, we had a house booked which didn't have central heating and generally it was miserable.
This time I was muchly impressed with the county and would love to go back...
We drove down to Poole and took the chain link ferry over to Studland Beach. This is all owned by the National Trust and is a lovely piece of coast. We had been considering going to Lulworth Cove, but we went for Tyneham Village instead, which was just fascinating. The beaches around Tyneham were being used by the military during WWII, and in November 1943 the villagers were told they would have to leave. They fully expected to return after the war, but the land was compulsorily purchased and they were never able to go back. It was very sad, and very eerie - you can only get to the village on the days that the MoD are not using the land around it.
After Tyneham Village I went and had a look around Corfe Castle. Aside from the scaffolding it was great! It was deliberately destroyed in the 1600s, and the ruins are amazing - lots of fab photo opportunities :-). As well as the couple below I've posted lots on Flickr so take a look.
Showing posts with label Holidays - 2007. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holidays - 2007. Show all posts
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Glass blowing - or glass mangling...
I was terrible!! Had a great time doing it, but I was rubbish! Nicola was much much better than me... Once I've got my pieces back I'll take some pictures and post them for everyone's amusement!
It is much harder than it looks - and our tutor Emsie made it look very easy indeed. I got so frustrated as it seemed so simple, and I just couldn't do it. Nicola took much more time than me however and I think that will be reflected in her pieces vs mine... It involves a lot of multi-tasking, which I had always thought I was ok at - little did I know! It felt like trying to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time...
Ah well - I won't be giving up my day job just yet. But now I do understand why hand blown glass is so much more expensive.
It is much harder than it looks - and our tutor Emsie made it look very easy indeed. I got so frustrated as it seemed so simple, and I just couldn't do it. Nicola took much more time than me however and I think that will be reflected in her pieces vs mine... It involves a lot of multi-tasking, which I had always thought I was ok at - little did I know! It felt like trying to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time...
Ah well - I won't be giving up my day job just yet. But now I do understand why hand blown glass is so much more expensive.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Oh yes - I've been on holiday....
But just haven't updated my blog for ages... Been a busy bee (doing not much) since I got back. But I am now starting to - read on!
I've added my photos to Flickr so check them out - and I'll keep updating this over the next few days...
I've added my photos to Flickr so check them out - and I'll keep updating this over the next few days...
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Where unforgettable moments happen every night...
The strapline of the Grand Ole Opry - and our show certainly had a couple! The thing I hadn't really realised was that the show was broadcast live. The acts got to do two songs each and in-between the compere would do the radio adverts for whichever company was sponsoring that section. And the ads really were like ads from the 1920s - very funny.
We didn't have any huge names (I've just noticed that Charlie Pride was on this weekend...), although we had a couple of old guys who had been in the Country Music Hall of Fame for a wee while - Jimmy Dickens and Porter Wagoner. We also had Legacy Five - a fundamentalist christian group. I won't link to their site... But they had a huge contingent of fans who just went crazy when they came on. Very odd to listen to happy clappy songs about the Book of Revelations and how we have to make sure we're on the right side of the dirt when the Lord comes down...
The finale was Jimmy Wayne - who also turned out to be on the Lord's side. While that is not a bad thing I just wasn't expecting so much Christian music at the Grand Ole Opry...
And my holiday was ended with the lovely experience of being upgraded on the flight home the next day. Brilliant!
We didn't have any huge names (I've just noticed that Charlie Pride was on this weekend...), although we had a couple of old guys who had been in the Country Music Hall of Fame for a wee while - Jimmy Dickens and Porter Wagoner. We also had Legacy Five - a fundamentalist christian group. I won't link to their site... But they had a huge contingent of fans who just went crazy when they came on. Very odd to listen to happy clappy songs about the Book of Revelations and how we have to make sure we're on the right side of the dirt when the Lord comes down...
The finale was Jimmy Wayne - who also turned out to be on the Lord's side. While that is not a bad thing I just wasn't expecting so much Christian music at the Grand Ole Opry...
And my holiday was ended with the lovely experience of being upgraded on the flight home the next day. Brilliant!
Friday, August 31, 2007
And time for a little bit of country...
Saturday Fleur and I sadly headed back to Nashville for my last night in the US of A. We stayed at the Gaylord Opry - an absolutely enormous hotel which apparently is similar to the ones in Las Vegas. It came complete with a river inside of it, (with its own little boat...), and huge gardens - all inside. It was handily situated very close to the Grand Old Opry and Opryland Mall - where I managed to spend a few more of my hard earned pennies before we headed off to the show :-).
Gaylord Opry Hotel
Gaylord Opry Hotel (1)
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
This is all inside - all under the roof of the Atrium.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Monday afternoon - time for a new state!
So on Monday afternoon my friend Fleur drove up from Bowling Green, Kentucky to pick me up. We had very vague plans - just that she would pick me up between 4.30 - 5.00 at the Museum. Fortunately it did all work and we found each other!
And so began a fab 5 days where I just hung out with Fleur, David, James and Alice. It was just lovely - bit of shopping, bit of sightseeing, lots of drinking coffee and chewing the fat - what more could you want from a holiday! Particular highlight was going to Glasgow, Kentucky (gave us much amusement!).
On Tuesday I went with Fleur to one of her bookgroups - the book was The Case of the Missing Books, and pretty universally was panned by everyone. So that isn't a recommendation from me!
Fleur and David were fantastic hosts, and it was lovely to finally meet her children! I'd seen Fleur when she was pregnant with James, but never met him until now!
And now Fleur is also blogging :-).
And so began a fab 5 days where I just hung out with Fleur, David, James and Alice. It was just lovely - bit of shopping, bit of sightseeing, lots of drinking coffee and chewing the fat - what more could you want from a holiday! Particular highlight was going to Glasgow, Kentucky (gave us much amusement!).
On Tuesday I went with Fleur to one of her bookgroups - the book was The Case of the Missing Books, and pretty universally was panned by everyone. So that isn't a recommendation from me!
Fleur and David were fantastic hosts, and it was lovely to finally meet her children! I'd seen Fleur when she was pregnant with James, but never met him until now!
And now Fleur is also blogging :-).
Fleur highland dancing in Glasgow (Kentucky)
Fleur highland dancing in Glasgow (Kentucky) (2)
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
Fleur bravely dancing in Glasgow...!!
Fleur and Alice in Bowling Green
Fleur and Alice in Bowling Green
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
Fleur and Alice - Alice wearing her new pink dress, bought on one of our shopping trips!
Monday, August 27, 2007
Bus travel US style...
On Monday morning it was up bright and early to catch my first every Greyhound bus from Memphis to Nashville.
They have a 'first come first served' approach so somewhat predictably I was worried about not getting on the bus! Being second in the queue meant I didn't have any worries on that score! But it was pretty full by the time we pulled out. Somewhat amazingly we were 40 minutes late leaving as we had waited for a connecting service to come in - not something I recall them doing in NZ!
Best bit though was sitting at the bus station in Jackson, listening to Johnny and June Cash singing Jackson :-).
Four hours later and I was in Nashville - home of country music!
They have a 'first come first served' approach so somewhat predictably I was worried about not getting on the bus! Being second in the queue meant I didn't have any worries on that score! But it was pretty full by the time we pulled out. Somewhat amazingly we were 40 minutes late leaving as we had waited for a connecting service to come in - not something I recall them doing in NZ!
Best bit though was sitting at the bus station in Jackson, listening to Johnny and June Cash singing Jackson :-).
Four hours later and I was in Nashville - home of country music!
Sing Me Back Home...
Monday afternoon was spent at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum - fortunately located just down the road from the bus station!
Very different from the Memphis music stories, but really interesting - lots of Johnny Cash stuff which was cool. And the Hall of Fame was really interesting to see who had made it. Nothing about alt-country tho - no Wilco or anything like that! Thats not country!! Sadly this museum didn't have quite as much music to listen to as the others I'd been to, so at times it seemed a bit static, but it was still so interesting.
Very different from the Memphis music stories, but really interesting - lots of Johnny Cash stuff which was cool. And the Hall of Fame was really interesting to see who had made it. Nothing about alt-country tho - no Wilco or anything like that! Thats not country!! Sadly this museum didn't have quite as much music to listen to as the others I'd been to, so at times it seemed a bit static, but it was still so interesting.
Sing me back home
Sing me back home
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
The start of the journey through country music...
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