It's very rare, in the history of this blog, for the month of June to go by without a single mention of my birthday, but that's just what's happened this year. That's not through lack of things to blog about - quite the reverse. If nothing else, the small fact that I'm now less than a year from turning 40 is something to write about. So, yay! 39!
For my birthday, my girlfriend and I had a cool day out at the Tower of London. I've been meaning to go back there for years, as the only other time I've been was a school trip, wayback when. Since I remember so little of the original trip, it's probably not surprising that it all seemed completely new... either they've changed things around a lot in the intervening years, I've forgotten more about it than I thought, or it's a mixture of both. Probably the latter, since I've heard tell of Living History shows (in addition to the beefeaters and guards), though there were none in evidence the day we went.
For anyone looking to go to the Tower, I would heartily recommend going on the London Walks tour, since that offers not only a fascinating load of history about the tower, its occupants, and the politics of the time, but it also gets you into the Tower cheaper. The whole thing got off to a bad start, with the guide arriving about 45 minutes late, but the walk - taking in areas outside the Tower grounds as well as inside - was very lively and interesting (London Walks generally are very good!). Once the guide left us - the tour finishes in the interminable queue for the Crown Jewels - things became a bit more random, as there's virtually no structure to the Tower as a tourist attraction. You can pick up a map, and then you are set upon your way. There's plenty to see and experience but, after such a brilliant guided tour, I felt something of a spare part. Some sections of the grounds are very definitely one-way systems, with rope barriers preventing visitors going where they shouldn't. Gift shops are everywhere and, while there's some crossover in the products available, most have something unique somewhere in their stock.
Interesting fact about the guards at the Tower: If you're in their way when they're marching, they shout "Make way for the Queen!"... and they really do expect you to make way for them. Also, the reason the queue for the jewels is so long isn't the jewels themselves... but an unaccountably hypnotic video presentation in the room before. People just bunch up in the doorway, so my advice would be to move straight on as soon as you see that room.
We ended up staying quite late and, despite the day being overcast and quite rainy at times, I ended up with some slight sunburn on my nose, forehead and, very probably, the top of my head where my hair is thinning - I do keep forgetting to wear a hat and/or use sunscreen...
I've also been a bit unwell lately. On my final day at my last job, I was struck by either food poisoning or a stomach bug of some kind (the latter being very common in that office - at one point, barely a fortnight went by without someone on my team getting a stomach bug and, judging by the sound effects in the Gents, it was just as common on other floors). About a week later, the same kind of thing happened to me at home (seemed very likely to be food poisoning that time, since I'd eaten something that was a little past it's 'Best Before' date). Just yesterday, the same thing happened again... though it's not exactly the same. This round came with terrible stomach cramps (which woke me up during the night and required pain killers) and a couple of other symptoms I shan't mention. Suffice it to say, I've made an appointment with my GP.
Just to add to the fun, after my ant infestation back in April, I've notices wasps flying in and out of a hole left by a loose and protruding board beneath the guttering around the roof. At some point, I shall have to call in the exterminators again... but I've only seen two or three at most for the moment - no sign of any swarming. I shouldn't be procrastinating, but it's another expense I can do without right now.
On a similar note, I received a letter from the managing agents of my flats - asking for a little over two and a half thousand pounds, to ensure the roof works can go ahead. Now, on the one hand, this is great news, and exactly what I've been hoping for over the last two or three years... On the other hand, they basically wanted the money within ten days of the date of the letter when, only a couple of years ago, I had to stump up just over two thousand for roof works which didn't happen. I had expected, based on my many conversations and email exchanges with the managing agents, that the landlord would foot the bill and then recoup the money in service charge. I did not expect to have to pay for roof works before they happened... not after last time. I wrote back to the managing agents, saying as much... and it took a week for them to get back to me, saying only that they would get back to me...
In other news, I've seen a few movies recently... World War Z is roundly described as having only the title in common with the book. It was a fairly dull, generic zombie movie in which the CGI hordes frequently behaved like a fluid, rather than crowds of former people. It also had a rather politically dodgy sequence where the singing of a group of Muslim refugees caused the swift downfall of a Jewish safe zone. I gather the book was quite far-reaching - evidently beyond Hollywood, either in terms of budget or intelligence and insight... Or possibly both. Perhaps I'll pick up the book, and see what the story was supposed to be about.
Man of Steel wasn't quite the triumphal return of Superman I'd hoped for. On balance, despite its flaws, I much prefer Superman Returns. Superman is one of those heroes that just doesn't do 'gritty', so this virtually monochromatic reboot, with it's jumpy camera work and dark tone seemed like something else altogether. Henry Cavill was great, Amy Adams was better than I'd expected as Lois Lane (I should expect better of her, but since I've only seen her do comedy thusfar, playing a seasoned investigative journalist seemed like a stretch... then again, I haven't like the casting of Lois Lane in any version of Superman in my lifetime!). The premise was superficially similar to Christopher Reeve's Superman 2, in that it featured General Zod and his cohorts arriving on Earth. The rest was like that rash of 'alien invasion' flicks that hit a couple of years ago. If this is paving the way for a Justice League movie, I suspect it's still a good few years off... The Avengers worked by coming after two Iron Man movies and one each of Thor and Captain America. Justice League would require a deeper look into this new Superman and, at the very least, introduce this continuity's Batman and Wonder Woman... the latter being a contentious property at best.
Movies aren't the only things I've been seeing lately, though. My girlfriend invited me to the recording of a Greg Proops podcast uptown, which was a very entertaining evening. I remember Proops from Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and had listened to one of his podcasts a few months back, so I had a fair idea what to expect. Seeing something like that in person is always a treat, though, and since each show is a completely new podcast, it was a unique experience.
A couple of days later, I took my girlfriend to see Derren Brown's new live show, Infamous. Due to the nature of the show, they ask that everyone in the audience keeps quiet about the content, so I won't go into detail. It wasn't as new and unique as I'd hoped - quite a few parts of the show were repackaged from previous tours - though it was an incredibly good evening, and seeing his performances is always a treat. The Palace Theatre is a beautiful venue - intricate carvings adorn the balconies and boxes, and it has the labyrinthine layout of all old London theatres. I've been wanting to see Derren Brown live for many years now, having seen previous shows when they turned up on television, and will probably try to see his next show, whenever that might be.
One thing I will mention, since it's not directly related to the content of the show, is that one of the possible 'volunteers' seemed to be faking his trance-like state. While most seemed genuinely hypnotised, this one guy, when 'dismissed' behaved very differently from the others, stretching and yawning as if he'd literally been asleep on his feet. I was only a little disappointed that I didn't succumb to the trance... Part of me was terrified by Mr Brown's description of what we should be feeling, so I found myself very deliberately checking myself every few moments. Weirdly, it's been said of me before that I'd never relax enough to let anyone hypnotise me, and I guess that evening served as confirmation.
Since finishing my last job, I've spent rather too long worrying about my lack of 'productivity' and not enough time striving to be productive. That lasted a good couple of weeks then, last week, I actually managed to start getting stuff done. On a whim, I did some sketching. I started adding to my other blogs. I finally got this update written, when some of this stuff could have been written about two or three weeks ago.
Still, any progress is good progress, right?
