London Orbital by Iain Sinclair

 I finally finished reading this very engrossing book, which I bought at a charity shop last year in Dymchurch, Kent.

It’s the experiences of a group of friends led by Iain Sinclair on walks around London, roughly following the M25 motorway, it is set during turn of the century in 1999, a time which I remember well as I was going through a major upheaval in my life. 

The theme of these walks was about mental health with a focus on mental institutions both current and former that they passed on the way. They passed many locations which were crime scenes and where famous people once resided. I found the stories very interesting even though some were dark. What I liked most was the accounts of every day sights like small roadside cafes, retail parks, business parks etc the things that are overlooked when we ramble.  That, plus the memories of early years the Blair government struck a chord on me.  

London Orbital is well worth reading if you are into the local history of outer London from the last days of the twentieth century.

The English:a portrait of a people by Jeremy Paxman

 There have been a few occasions in my life where I picked up a book for a quick browse of the first few pages and decided I will read it to the end regardless of whether I am in the middle of another book.  “The English: a portrait of a people” by Jeremy Paxman is one of them. 

For those that don’t know Paxman is a former news reader and presenter of BBC Newsnight, he is famous for his pitbull like interviews of those in power.  And he happened to write a few books.  Here Paxman gives his unique take on the English people, what shaped them and how they will adapt to a changing world.  Published in 1998, in the early days of the Blair government and long before Brexit and the migrant crisis, it focuses mostly on the upper classes without much on the peasants and working classes.  It looks at English attitudes to behaviour, patriotism, food, culture and even sex. However, it dwells too much on cliches such as the stiff upper lip and “playing the game”.  I do acknowledge the role of physical activity and competitive sports has had on the English psyche but to say it has a role in building the British Empire is over doing it. 

However I found this book unputdownable due to it being so readable and, to a lesser extent, entertaining.  It would have been better if it dealt with the white working class a bit more and it completely glosses over the effects of immigration on English society from the twentieth century onwards.

Severn Valley Railway

I’ve just discovered an excuse to go to Worcestershire on my next UK visit, thanks Geoff.

PSP games I bought during my Summer UK visit

 Here are the PSP games I bought during my UK visit last month, you can see a pattern here. Some games are timeless and live on in the latest consoles.  A majority will appear in future blog posts.

Everton vs Manchester United

 I’ve just finished listening to the first half of Everton versus Manchester United at Good…, sorry Hill Dickinson.  An action packed first half with Bruno Fernandes coming close early on. I’m a great critic of the BBC, especially in its news output but nothing beats BBC commentary on live sport, especially in football and cricket.  Now I’m off to get a cuppa.

Unlocking Zaxxon

 During my January visit to the UK this year I bought the Sega Mega Drive Collection for the Sony PSP.  This was partly due to my love of retro gaming and the fact I never owned a Sega Mega Drive.  I later discovered that one of my favourite 1980s arcade games, Zaxxon, is part of the bundle.  Unfortunately it’s a locked game and to unlock it I need to play every game in the bundle first, including the locked bonus ones.  If you don’t know about Zaxxon, here’s a quick video.

In the last few days I have started in my quest to unlock Zaxxon.  The bonus first game I am trying to unlock is Astro Blaster, and to do this, I need to complete the first episode of Comix Zone.  A beat them up adventure game set in a future dystopian New York, full of mutants and zombies.  Its the first time I have come across Comix Zone, and I’m yet to complete the first episode, unusually for a vintage game, you don’t have your number of lives.  Instead you have a health bar, when it reaches zero it’s game over.  Therefore it adds a greater challenge so I have a bit of work to do.

In praise of …… youth hostels

 During my week long visit to Sheringham, I stayed at the local YHA youth hostel.  I have stayed in youth hostels across many countries since the 1990s, the majority of times in the UK.  I admit that I stay in them to save money when I travel alone, although I have stayed in them a few times when travelling with wife or child.  

Another attraction youth hostels have for me is that most have a laundry room, meaning I don’t need to pack so much clothes.  On top of that is the self catering kitchen where guests can cook their own meals, again saving money on eating out. I made the most of the kitchen at Sheringham youth hostel.  Yes, I had to use a shared bathroom but that wasn’t a great issue for me.  This time I reserved a single room rather than a dormitory room for extra privacy. 

I do remember the very social atmosphere in youth hostels lounges when I first used them back then, but not this time.  Maybe things have changed.

Sadly the number of YHA hostels have declined greatly since the 1990s, with more scheduled to close.  I hope I can continue staying in them during future UK visits.