tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11078507571324795012012-01-27T21:59:22.118ZYatterings of Stephen Woodward....links in grey take you through to related websites....try clicking the titles of the blog as these may take you elsewhere to related sites. The main themes I'm interested in are: firstly, the Midlands as a social, economic and environmental zone; secondly, psychology, mental health and well-being; thirdly, the arts, especially in the Midlands...happy surfing....Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.comBlogger1871100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-17763456373471954612011-09-18T15:31:00.001+01:002011-09-18T15:39:37.518+01:00

It was a truly wonderful sight to see the Moors victory yesterday. There are shots of the Altrincham game on flickr and they're okay - looking like a Shakespeare comedy or drama. It's very poor form to laugh at the opposition when they're starring defeat in the face. I can't say that I like anyone to do this, but yesterday was possibly one occasion when any of the Solihull Moors faithful

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-72086314955052571612011-09-07T22:56:00.000+01:002011-09-07T23:29:53.578+01:00

I mentioned to a work colleague earlier today that I was seeing a young lady this evening and as internet dates sometimes tend, it didn't go quite as well as I had anticipated. Blind dates are something that I have done before and to a degree, I find they are notorious for adding to the stress of an already stressful event. Having only seen a picture of the lady that I'm going to meet I knew

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-66728863184717776372010-11-16T23:01:00.004Z2010-11-16T23:18:33.685Z

Following a few good performances Mutual Division 6 Team has won it's first team game. I wondered how long it would take but having played three, won one, drawn one and lost one we've finally achieved a victory as a team. Beating the West Midlands' Police Team was something I thought I'd relish but in actual fact there was very little in the way the Police's play that made me think their training

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-3577373610763993602010-10-30T11:39:00.004+01:002010-10-30T12:20:29.328+01:00

It's not that long since the cuts have been announced and there are going to be a few hundred thousand people who are going to find themselves in a position that I did - looking for a job during a severe recession. I've had a few doubts about the level of caring conservatism that David Cameron genuinely wishes to put into practice. There were the comments about the looneys and fruitcakes of UKIP

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-64605063637776410262010-08-07T10:59:00.004+01:002010-08-07T11:17:30.112+01:00

I've always hated paparazzi scum snatching shots of famous people, annoying the innocent and just getting in the way of reasonable people relaxing. Then I saw Alex McLeish standing around in the Directors area of Solihull Moors and couldn't resist grabbing a shot of the great man who has done so much with Blues in such a short space of time. On the subject of Blues, I didn't think I'd want to

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-32195207460069169972010-06-27T23:44:00.005+01:002010-06-28T00:28:10.648+01:00

While I was never a critic of Fabio Capello I don't think there are that many people who would feel comfortable vouching for him at present. It was a quite disappointing display by England on so many levels that I would rather forget about it. There was something very clinical about the observations that the commentators and pundits made that made it all so clear that a reasonably good England

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-284156020254627852010-06-13T22:43:00.005+01:002010-06-18T22:00:17.817+01:00

Reading through a few of the magazine articles that I'd seen over the last few months on the lead up to the world cup, there were several tongue-in-cheek comments regarding the likelihood of a faultering start from the England team. Perhaps no-one should feel surprised, we should all remind ourselves of the dodgy beginnings of the 1990 world cup against Ireland and the fact that most sides that

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-6744240395249060962010-04-15T17:51:00.004+01:002010-04-15T19:25:01.095+01:00

PLEASE VOTE IN THE POLL LOCATED ON THE TOP LEFT OF THE PAGE.....The government claim to be doing a great deal to tackle the major problems linked to drugs and their misuse. Although I have a degree in psychology and an MSc in public health and health promotion, I'm more skeptical about the real reasons that drug misuse tends to be linked so closely with a number of social and individual problems

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-39982789966523493282010-04-10T19:40:00.004+01:002010-04-10T20:01:00.352+01:00

Sitting at the back of Rush Hour Blues running through a few notes I'd made on my photographic exploits over the last twenty five years did leave me feeling the need to be a bit more disciplined. I hadn't really been ruthless in any respects photographically speaking and not really made any progress beyond reasonable amateur status - there has been something a bit lacking in the images I'd worked

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-37510367240401068032010-04-09T12:10:00.005+01:002010-04-09T12:36:22.532+01:00

Attending the hustings in Balsall Heath last night was quite interesting. It was not attended by Roger Godsiff MP who thought it would be hijacked by party activists - to a point I think it was but with the degree of pressure the government have been under to ensure that there is a real chance of engagement with marginalised Muslim communities to reduce the chances of terrorism, he could have

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-35282868868338776342010-03-29T16:52:00.007+01:002010-03-30T10:49:05.265+01:00

The jazz community is a little bit of a fringe society in a number of respects and being on the edge of it does leave you just a little bit marginalised. Nonetheless, being at a Fat Chops gig does leave me feeling just a little bit like I'm on the way to getting myself into an elderly underground thing. It's quite an institution in many respects - hope it last much longer. Slideshow is relatively

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-4872005237749502322010-03-27T11:18:00.005Z2010-03-27T12:05:37.026Z

I picked up a leaflet last night from the foyer area of Symphony Hall during the interval when watching the Rush Hour Blues Poll Winners, the University of Birmingham Big Band. This leaflet told me all I think I needed to know about the East-Side area which I guess is partly inspired by the Lunar Society. What I thought may be suitable for the Birmingham area, largely to keep Cockneys happy would

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-48947041758499853002010-03-12T22:35:00.006Z2010-03-12T22:54:34.418Z

I've been wearing sunglasses for a while now - nothing that unusual about that I guess but I've had a reduction in the low levels of tension that I tend to suffer from and on balance less of a feeling of pending headache that would be impossible to escape from. It was an issue that I raised with a health service representative who suggested I did a little basic research on the matter as there

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-322363088755497882010-03-08T20:50:00.006Z2010-03-08T21:34:46.092Z

The concept of doing something in the same style as a jazz musician is something of a cliche in the arts - Jackson Pollock painted in the same manner as a jazz musician, Jack Kerouac wrote prose in a long continuous flow like a soloist and I, well what was it that I did? This is rather more difficult to explain than I can really express. It was a number of years ago at Swanshurst when I was at

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-71491964274932850872010-02-26T22:00:00.002Z2010-02-26T22:06:36.585Z

Just think Rembrandt used to spend hours getting his models to pose. Leonardo Da Vinci used to get very frustrated over the Mona Lisa and yet in just a few seconds I can conjour up something just as good with the most unlikely models in the world - my relatives. I'm sure anyone who is connected to fine art would agree with me, anyone who is worth talking to at least. There is just such poise,

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-39536870697856998242010-02-18T17:52:00.004Z2010-02-25T13:12:22.514Z

While I've never been known for perfect gender politics, I generally haven't engaged in much in the way of extreme sexism which is what I felt I was being accused of when I was taken into a meeting to discuss my careless conduct with regard to a poetry pamphlet that I'd left on the desktop that I'd been using. A colleague had found it and read through it and described it as offensive. I didn't

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-12554162523090103342010-02-15T11:33:00.003Z2010-02-15T11:45:02.628Z

As I arrived at the ground on Saturday afternoon I heard that Corby were the dominant force in the first ten minutes. This was not to remain, the balance of possession changed and the team who took their chances was Solihull Moors. The slideshow has a shot of the header which rebounded off the crossbar and the challenges that resulted in the third Moors goal. It was a really enthralling game that

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-45257998856322639172009-12-28T22:28:00.002Z2009-12-28T22:40:44.362Z

Well, an enthralling game of sorts - I did take a large number of shots again - I can't wait for the light to come back so I can take shots without the blur that's created by low light. It's been interesting trying to get to grips with sports photography but I have reached a bit of an early plateau. There are action shots close in on the players that I can take, there are shots of the ball as

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-7393304222487854132009-11-28T20:28:00.010Z2009-12-03T18:29:06.516Z

While many of my views on politics may not be that well thought through and Id say I'm definately not what I'd class as well informed, I think there's a distinct possibility that I am right on a few occasions every now and again regarding a few relatively important issues: the naivity of the Labour Party Leader, Gordon Brown to state there was an end to boom and bust when the UK economy is so

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-77191889987672006072009-10-25T20:57:00.004Z2009-10-25T21:15:17.081Z

After several years away from non-league football, the display of football on Saturday at the home ground of Solihull Moors was a refreshing experience that brought back a number of good memories of the years I supported Moor Green when they played at The Moorlands on Sherwood Road, Hall Green. The quality of the football had improved, Solihull Moors, by my opinion at least frequently outclassing

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-87905039192702343552009-08-29T19:57:00.003+01:002009-08-29T20:06:38.753+01:00

T'was a merry day with very little to show for the effort I was making. At the start of a bank holiday get all of the naff jobs out of the way quite quickly and then get on with a few things that will be a bit more fun. As I was trying to get on with a few of the naff jobs I was hoping that they'd be done and the little ones arrived scampering around the house and garden full of the joys of life.

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-77900714096296222702009-08-28T20:58:00.003+01:002009-08-28T21:07:45.200+01:00

Another job begins and all the questions hanging over the last few jobs I've had seem to evaporate. I've made efforts to get to grips with what was going on in the last few years and while the occasional conscientious employer has tried to get to grips with the issues I've been putting forward, I haven't managed to resolve any of the underlying questions regarding how some people may get pushed

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-88168256972673781912009-07-23T00:43:00.004+01:002009-08-23T14:21:55.770+01:00

Gardening wasn't high on the agenda earlier this year but I must admit to having got some form of bug. It makes me feel like I'm near the sea - that sense of timelessness and freedom away from the pressures of daily strains. There's so much in the way of water just standing around at the top of the garden after a few weeks of rain, I'm wondering if any of it will be used over the coming months

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-79794056909653239982009-06-27T00:30:00.005+01:002009-07-25T11:38:44.248+01:00

The changing man, Mr. Paul Weller, was live at Cannock Chase I guess I can say last night because it was yesterday as we creep into the early hours of Saturday the 27th of June. I watched the gig from a position not too far from the sound desk - the sound was by the way excellent if you do get a chance to see how much better the forestry commission are at organising gigs than they are at saving

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-85981356014649374252009-05-27T13:52:00.007+01:002009-05-27T14:01:58.680+01:00

Both ZappaJazz and Courtney Pine shots are online - nearly a month since I took them...the urgency has gone from my photography at present. Despite having a few ideas of what to take photographs of while I was working on Lower Essex Street, while I was working on the reception of a probation office, I didn't get anything done. I guess the feeling of originality has been lost from much of what I

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-82231911980834451602009-04-18T02:31:00.003+01:002009-04-18T10:39:53.760+01:00

Well, I saw the band, I did the photos and then didn't do anything about them until quite late in the day. I like the band, Grand Pianoramax, quite a lot - it was a pretty good gig but was there something lacking just a little bit somewhere for me - though I'm used to seeing five piece bands all the time these days with only Bee Bop to draw from. I don't think the balance in the band is quite

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-40964655245162233522009-03-03T18:05:00.005Z2009-03-03T19:46:59.395Z

Statistically, it's about ten times more likely that someone in their twenties will suffer from depression than their 1950's counterpart. Some of the 'facts' about depression and the increases in morbidity rates that have taken place in the last fifty years of a number of categories of mental illness are what can only be classed as alarming. I am not convinced that there are the bio-psycho-social

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-53188365084382836982009-02-17T18:55:00.004Z2009-02-17T19:18:18.678Z

It happened to me a few weeks ago. I met someone in a job centre whom I saw going red quite easily...I don't know if I should state this but I think it wasn't our first meeting. I seemed to have some recovered memory as I quite frequently do of an incident which occurred on the canal towpath that I must have been cycling along on my way to work one morning when I worked at Teleperformance. There

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-23001699922204837942009-02-15T08:15:00.003Z2009-02-15T09:07:36.072Z

Dear All, Friday was the funeral of an uncle of mine and later in the day I went along to the Rush Hour Blues in the foyer of Symphony Hall. Uncle Les was a very charismatic type of person to me and my brothers - in some ways he seemed much larger than life. My parents had interests, but they didn't seem quite so colourful or expressive as the things that Les seemed to get up to. He had quite a

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-9466451748579752692009-02-08T21:18:00.002Z2009-02-08T22:01:57.118Z

More duff photographs from the Symphony Hall Foyer Commuter Jazz event which was held on Friday 6th January. Steve Yenga & Crossroad Collision did a couple of good sets which went down really well. I was surprised so many frozen pensioners who seem only to live for jazz on a Friday made so much noise....maybe they weren't put off by the snow because they all come out of a freezer on a Friday

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-32397959899597924352009-02-06T12:19:00.002Z2009-02-06T12:37:22.034Z

It's been a week now since I paid up the funds for the tribunal through tribunal action. I don't feel particularly confident at present, they didn't seem to know what they were doing. Watched a bit of Folk America on BBC4 this week - it was good to see Graham Nash and David Crosby - teach your childrenteach your children is a bit of a classic. Nothing much has happened this week. Can I do a

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-23225301943412798592009-01-30T22:03:00.004Z2009-01-30T22:32:05.289Z

There are a few more shots on flickr of Simon Harris & The Bright Size Gypsies at Rush Hour Blues tonight. It was not a bad show and the sound quality was also pretty good on the whole, guitar solos sounding particularly good. The shots are weak if I say so myself but I like one or two. From a couple of weeks ago, shots of the Barry Green Trio from the 23rd January 2009 are also online. I didn't

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-80206701957788936292009-01-10T01:48:00.003Z2009-01-13T00:13:09.543Z

Chris Aldridge and Beebe were pretty good last night, it was great to see Levi with Brian again. I'll finally get around to buying a CD from them one day.

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-90813148219642026042008-12-28T10:46:00.006Z2008-12-28T22:44:24.361Z

It doesn't seem like that long since I logged in and started writing about what had been happening. It is really feels like only a few days since I last wrote about what I was doing but it’s about a month. I've been pleased on the whole with the last few weeks of my life - I haven't achieved anything special but I have at least stopped drinking and this has left me in a position where I can stop

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-37073238908723320642008-12-01T14:04:00.002Z2008-12-01T14:22:42.462Z

It wasn't much to achieve this weekend but I managed to get my sleeping patterns back in place. I don't know what the research into sleeping patterns involved at the University of Plymouth, but it does strike me as being a good area to research. I don't have major problems with the amount I sleep, what tends to happen is that I don't have a great deal of control over which eight hours in the day

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-73328765206216723922008-11-26T14:21:00.002Z2008-11-26T14:58:58.988Z

I don't know what I was expecting when I booked my ticket for Herbie Hancock at Symphony Hall a few months ago. It was a show that I think probably fell into the ranks of indescipherable progressive jazz that is only of note because of how lacking in melody it can be. I had quite long spells in the gig when I couldn't fathom out what I was meant to be listening to and then almost suddenly, as if

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-89596103670728729482008-11-16T01:32:00.004Z2008-11-16T01:39:54.869Z

Carole Westwood and Archie Cotterell Trio played Rush Hour Blues on Friday. I caught most of the first set which was quite nice - shame her kids got embarassed. I thought they were okay. I went along to the Hall Green Ward Committee meeting held in Hall Green School afterwards which was worth having attended if only to see the how things were handled - I'd only been to Kings Norton Ward meetings

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-63772536950393285962008-11-14T13:18:00.006Z2008-11-14T14:07:48.933Z

It strikes me that in a city the size of Birmingham there are probably a few hundred people who have been the subject of action of the authorities, whether UK based authorities or those overseas, for the purposes of state control, social management or however we prefer the notion of illegal government activity to be termed which is supposedly carried out in the name of national security. I don't

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-7240028564520390612008-11-09T21:44:00.002Z2008-11-09T21:57:11.879Z

Friday, I saw the The Tomorrow Band as part of Gigbeth which appeared to be a relatively successful undertaking. I like Chris a lot as a saxophonist but the band although intentionally bare in some respects could do with a couple of other members - either Levi or Rob on keys and one of the many trumpet players on the local scene - it's only my opinion though. The band which came on before them,

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-92025775619329385142008-11-01T13:04:00.003Z2008-11-01T13:14:51.999Z

In some respects this is just another saturday - I don't feel very much at ease with the notion of continuing with this blog and not tying it into the themes that it is meant to linked with more strongly. I should be doing what I do to very strong effect and I don't know if I'll get round to doing it but who knows maybe I will actually get round to applying myself one day....There are some shots

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-37173840410781005042008-10-29T21:46:00.004Z2008-10-31T20:23:12.018Z

I didn't realise when I was sat in the lectures that were part of the MSc in Public health and health promotion at the University of Manchester why there was constant reference to 'interventions' rather projects schemes or programmes. These would be regarded as more suitable terms for health promotion activity within say the context of regeneration funded initiatives which is one of the major

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-53348414712960751642008-10-27T10:36:00.003Z2008-10-27T10:46:55.058Z

Well, I wanted to get to more gigs this year and in some respects it wasn't bad to see a band who were just starting off on the live scene - I don't doubt everyone there wanted to offer just a little advice but on an open mike night it's about people getting up infront of a crowd in order to have an experience which is going to lead to them improving. I took over a hundred shots of the band at

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-3836203985892529622008-10-18T11:54:00.010+01:002008-10-18T13:16:46.571+01:00

Have you ever, like I did yesterday, seen a woman and thought that you were looking at the most beautiful woman in the world? I can't really say that I was entirely wrong about the waitress who I asked if I could take shots of - she did look entirely wonderful in every respect. The shameful thing about it was that I didn't really think that she was actually that attractive until I'd done just a

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-25383744833218998772008-10-14T18:18:00.004+01:002008-10-31T20:18:00.773Z

I'm currently lounging around in a hostel that I've had a little de ja vu in, this non-paranormal experience does make me feel very much as if I should be here. I did only want to spend two days here but that could easily change to four if not longer. It will be nice to get out tomorrow on the bike that I've hired - the walk to Barberino along the Poggibonsi road was really quite nice and it

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-55177035258579575902008-10-06T23:00:00.003+01:002008-10-06T23:09:31.917+01:00

So, didn't get the RBS job. Don't know why yet - I'll hopefully get feedback tomorrow. I did have forms of alarm bells going off in my head when I was leaving the interview and whether or not it was the people from RBS that I met in the pub at the back of the UGC on Broad St when I saw walk the line with a mate I can't say at this point. Why there were signs up on the walls of the toilets in the

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-44629123784213263942008-10-01T20:20:00.005+01:002008-10-01T20:42:58.206+01:00

Again, I've no real idea how I did in the interview that I had this afternoon for Royal Bank of Scotland. I think it would be a nice place to work for a few months, stretching into years and I assume that they would be roughly as they presented themselves to be. Nothing is guaranteed but this would be a good first job to get after the return from Central America where I had a relatively good

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-72739389012833502302008-09-30T12:32:00.005+01:002008-10-11T20:54:31.532+01:00

Inspired now to almost complete reading a Bronte novel after seeing the family home and the village the girls grew up in. I shouldn't forget Branwell, the son who drank himself to death more or less - sad family tale in many respects. The two eldest daughters didn't make it into their teens and all of the one's who did were dead before they were fifty. The father of the family Patrick Brunty, who

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-73161501609605575862008-09-25T00:06:00.004+01:002008-09-25T13:28:41.760+01:00

Here are the shots of Maylight from tonight.... like the band on the whole - why did they only play 15 minutes though....?On a completely unrelated matter, I was looking at some tsunami comments I'd made on an old blog. It's interesting that they were viewed and not really commented upon. While I was working on the Three Estates New Deal for Communities project I tried to get a conspiracy theory

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-35558289833205925742008-09-24T15:43:00.004+01:002008-09-24T16:51:56.503+01:00

Spell it out, say the bleeding obvious. Well, it's professional advice on a number of levels really. It's what people get told to say to each other in some instances. Shouldn't be cynical about the assistance that I'm getting at present. It's really been very good having the contact with work directions that I have had. To the side is a glass lantern that sits in the window of the Bulls Head in

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-77254623424737493902008-09-23T09:50:00.003+01:002008-09-23T10:01:54.028+01:00

After what was really not a bad gig at the CBSO Centre Stan Tracey's Hexad seem to be the best slide show that I've put up on flickr recently. There are a few other things in my recent UK shots but not a lot to mention - just failed photo-essays. These shots of Quiver from an age ago aren't bad. Will be job hunting more and more in the next few days now it's mandatory that I attend Work

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-334135179235988402008-09-15T17:53:00.002+01:002008-09-15T18:26:03.742+01:00

There are a few shots of the Levellers online from the arts fest gig last night at Centenary Square cick the link forthe levellers. It wasn't a bad show by any stretch of the imagination though I guess that I can't really say that indie pop with the flavour of folk and punk that is so obvious in their work is my favourite thing in the world, it does come across well on a Glastonbury like stage in

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-12416484003002938562008-09-14T17:42:00.004+01:002008-09-14T18:27:35.828+01:00

There are shots online from earlier today of Tony Jacobs with Fat Chops or the slide show of the same shots if you're lazy. They're not fantastic despite having worked on the sharpness and colour balance a little. I was going to suggest that Fat Chops all wear styles of Gap khaki but I don't think it would really do anything major to add to the ambience of the place. It works because the music

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-66269454799802963702008-09-13T10:55:00.004+01:002008-09-13T11:20:35.384+01:00

The shots I took of the Bryan Corbett Quartet are online - some are okay. I don't think I've taken a whole series of shots of a gig and never got one of the bass player with his eyes open. Maybe he sleepwalked to the gig....There are also shots of the old haunts in Manchester, so much to answer for. They're mostly shots of architechture. Lots has changed in the city centre and in Withington, an

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-30301005554780333062008-09-07T20:32:00.003+01:002008-09-07T21:22:51.969+01:00

Months now since getting back from Central America and I'm now in a position to get on with my life. My mind is still, I've got abilities of concentration and memory that I didn't think I'd ever regain to the extent I have and I can now exercise without feeling as if my head will cave in. I've got a rather outlandish project of trying to get to grips with Italian and reading up on Tuscany and

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-89078042157569883942008-09-04T10:19:00.003+01:002008-09-04T10:47:40.426+01:00

After a few weeks of job hunting I've managed to get a few more applications in the post and find a few more job hunting sites. It's been a rather frustrating time. I was hoping to find work within about a fortnight to a month and I don't think for a moment that I expected to be waiting around the two month mark which is what it will reach a week on Friday. There's a bit of jazz on the horizon in

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-3292616904083257912008-08-26T10:45:00.005+01:002008-08-26T11:19:44.448+01:00

Don't know where I saw this type of shot before but I guess that it was in some art students work on women and society. The photoessay, last batchelor pad, is rather weak and to most will just be an excuse to have pictures of the 'most attractive women in world' online somewhere with rather purile splats of paint over them. The colours were dropped down to contribute to the muted feel of the

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-20356529890952135452008-08-25T13:13:00.004+01:002008-08-25T13:30:04.042+01:00

The shots of Bryan Corbett's band playing at Rush Hour Blues are what I can call okay in the form of a photo-essay. It's not what I call that good a piece of work but some of the images are quite pleasing.There are some other shots that have gone online that are from the family album from years ago. Most of them were taken by my mother who seemed quite frequently to place the subjects of the

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-83535975656683018362008-08-23T18:56:00.002+01:002008-08-23T19:05:16.582+01:00

Interesting though it may be to get a call from an agency who are possibly only registering candidates because they have so little in the way of jobs coming through, I do find that I can still fill my time even though this only seems to happen about once a fortnight at present. I have spent much of this week looking into the possessions that I have and then reorganising them. It's been

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-61951223428872160562008-08-18T22:13:00.006+01:002008-08-18T23:49:42.042+01:00

Another day spent sorting out the rubbish I own that I used to call possessions. It was a day of hitting the blankets and duvets, hard not that most of them are worth keeping, hen the 'Pièce de résistance' - working through all the decorating and DIY equipment that was the centre of my life for four years. What an enthralling way to spend an afternoon. I found all manner of screws and nuts and

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-24961434067781080282008-08-17T19:25:00.004+01:002008-08-18T20:40:57.294+01:00

I'm still job hunting to no avail and I don't think that I can really do very much more than what I've been doing. I've had to make a major stocktake of my life and my possessions of recent and there are too many projects that I've tried to get on with that have only left me achieving very little rather than a lot. I don't know to what extent I can really control what I do within the scope of a

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-56027304567017979802008-08-11T07:03:00.004+01:002008-08-11T07:29:22.315+01:00

Finally, as if it really mattered in any way, I've put up some shots of the gig that Percy's bandplayed at Commuter Jazz in March of this year. In the digital age it's nice to be able to get to a gig and then get home do a little work on some shots in the digital darkroom, or on your PC at a gig - and get some shots online within minutes of the gig finishing. These took me around six months to

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-23617726203297485682008-08-08T22:42:00.004+01:002008-08-11T07:48:00.730+01:00

Well after the four weeks I've been job hunting I've done remarkably badly. I don't think I can really do very much more than I have and I've found very little in the way of opportunity. Four weeks is not a long time to be unemployed I guess and I did get back from central America without too much in the way of plans for how I was to get work and it does always tend to be more difficult to get

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-49723991974049375362008-08-02T01:56:00.004+01:002008-08-06T09:32:18.312+01:00

Well, hectic times and this is all I can really do is upload some rather puerile shots of the afternoon I spent in a park at the bottom of the high street in Leamington Spa(30-03-08). The Leamington shots do bring me some pleasure. It’s a nice enough town and late afternoon sunshine does give it a rather pleasant tint – I didn’t have the digital SLR set on 'faithful' so the camera was adding in

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-23587996148693656802008-07-30T22:54:00.002+01:002008-07-30T22:58:53.978+01:00

There is nothing to report on the front of the ruthless and jobless job hunting I've been doing over the last few weeks. I guess the credit crunch has really taken effect. Why we can't admit to being in a recession I don't know. I've finally uploaded some shots of the Marlboro Vichyssoise photos taken at the back of central library. They're a bit lacking but I guess most of the anecdotal

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-28938588302827667072008-07-27T09:20:00.003+01:002008-07-27T11:39:03.227+01:00

Having seen it on the back of a bus I've decided to add the same link as the guy or woman who writes Birmingham - it's not shit which obviously only does make you feel that it is in some way or other. This is the link to the FREE DAY SAVER that is being offered by Travel West Midlands at present. A day saver is a day long bus ticket that usually can be used on any bus after 9.30am for the whole

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-80830793646883454452008-07-26T22:06:00.003+01:002008-07-26T22:23:30.949+01:00

At the end of week two without a job I find myself meeting up with an old friend and going for a drink in Barnt Green. I don't know why I wanted to get to Barnt Green, I guess it's the type of place you go if you have a life of some form or other and you have not been a total failure in everything you've attempted. It's nice to hang out in those types of places and pretend that you're one of the

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-21491672376686646872008-07-22T17:23:00.004+01:002008-07-22T19:05:56.103+01:00

After spending just a week trying to get a job I've had very little in the way of success. The 'credit crunch' seems to be the flavour of the month as a phrase to describe the impending recession which I am not sure if it will take place or not. I’ve signed on with a couple of agencies and tried to get my CV sent to several others but nothing is really coming forward at present. One job

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-85550926261934985732008-07-19T10:13:00.004+01:002008-07-19T12:06:58.807+01:00

I don't know if it's age that has made me logon to a website and start looking into my family history but it was something that I started to do earlier on today. I've seen a few people around who look a little like my Grandparents - or like myself more to the point. It has made me wonder if there's any genetic connection as we have an unlimited number of relatives, what tends to be the case in

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-67270953925724959942008-07-18T21:20:00.002+01:002008-07-18T21:33:40.961+01:00

Well, I didn't have a camera this evening but I did manage to get to commuter jazz and watch most of the performance which to me was really just sweet music. I love the loud crazy atmosphere of the flamenco styled dancers and I just love the overall feel of the really quite amazing strumming and picking of flamenco guitar. It tends to be better when it's played in a manner of UK folk because a

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-68050385935477739662008-07-16T22:25:00.004+01:002008-08-06T09:36:41.113+01:00

Back in Brum for a few days and I've managed to do all sorts of things including getting my car MOT'ed, get rid of the laptop that I managed to break quite significantly and get hold of this nice new-ish Toshiba. I've done hundreds of things and spent a considerable amount of time on the phone - ordering this and dealing with that. It has been a busy. There have been hundreds of things to do and

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-4096405370364690722008-07-13T23:44:00.004+01:002008-07-13T23:53:37.848+01:00

Well, I've got the things that I left at Morningside - despite having lost one or two of them along the way owning to a few drinks I had in the Rocket before leaving Coventry. It was good to see the place again and how picturesque the rather unappealing sights are. I like the city on the whole. Back in Birmingham now and ready to face what life deals me - I hope I can do a little about the types

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-3387029019439817802008-07-12T08:28:00.004+01:002008-07-12T09:13:35.569+01:00

I feel settled, rested and more focused than I was three months ago, so to a large extent I do feel as if there's been a more than a moderate success in sorting myself out of the last quarter through this long haul backpacking trip. It hasn't been without expense - I would have preferred to have done more throughout the trip and not to have had the two bouts of illness that left me without

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-63079082083149925602008-07-11T06:12:00.009+01:002008-07-14T07:10:48.823+01:00

Up about seven after about a further eleven hours sleep and time to think about hitting some of the galleries in the West Midlands when I get back after having had the experience that I have in the galleries in Madrid over the last few days. It has helped keep me a composed state of mind and to retain what I class as normality - which if I have to develop more than a passing interest in fine art

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-32306066222259642082008-07-10T17:14:00.005+01:002008-07-10T18:35:45.785+01:00

So, I've had several cameras over the last few years and I haven't heard of Edwards Steichen until today. The exhibition space in Madrid is well organised as you'd imagine with this being the country that gave Miro, Picasso and Dali to the world. What struck me as unusual today was what a strong template Steichen had provided to form the contemporary exhibition over fifty years ago, which still

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-23408501494494498232008-07-10T15:42:00.002+01:002008-07-10T15:58:33.215+01:00

MIDLANDS VIEWS: The five key areas of this blog.What does this site have for me? Personal development issues, professional development issues.. The Midlands as a social, economic and environmental zone. What is driving change in the area? Are there going to be key changes taking place in the next few years that we are aware of? What is the nature of the social cultural and political change that

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-24775781368059907152008-07-09T07:59:00.005+01:002008-07-10T15:41:26.915+01:00

Having cut and paste something the other day on how to build a successful blog I decided against the post. There was something that left me feeling very much bereft of why I blog - it is partly to express myself and not just to highlight issues which I think may be of substance in terms of the issues of the day. Of the notes I made they tended to reduce down to the following :-The process of

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-77253816993368476482008-07-08T23:38:00.003+01:002008-07-09T00:02:17.959+01:00

I went to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection today. If you can't be bothered to read just watch this it's a clip from Educating Rita and while I only liked the film on a couple of levels when it came out, mostly as a comedy, it does manage to capture some of the complexities of the class jump and broadening awareness of the wider world, including artistic appreciation. That is really how it felt

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-87153782308899483482008-07-08T09:23:00.003+01:002008-07-08T22:58:09.230+01:00

I had forgotten why I tend to stay in the smaller hostels when I go backpacking until this morning when I had to get through the bathroom of Cat Hostel at eight o'clock with about forty other people coming through the system at the same time. It wasn't something that I'd tried to do since I'd been in some of the larger hostels in Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand. Being in the larger places

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-67009161767721648492008-07-07T14:36:00.005+01:002008-07-07T15:05:29.622+01:00

Well being totally unused to holidays having only really been to Pontins and on backpacking breaks I totally underestimated how busy Madrid was going to be at this time of year. I've been here for a few hours now and have just had to go online to make reservations to stay in what seems like a reasonable hostal which is pretty central - it's called the 'Mad Hostal', if that gives any indication of

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-55147207851879552008-07-06T21:57:00.004+01:002008-07-06T22:59:47.502+01:00

Must admit that it was really disappointing this morning to get the taxi from the Hotel Trocamundo to the airport. In the distance from the hotel there was the sight of the Costa Rican rain forest and the hotel reception was well stocked with information on tours around the area including rain forest tours that looked like they'd have a flavour of excitement. The way the rain forest is portrayed

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-69942928436595190112008-07-06T01:48:00.006+01:002008-07-06T02:51:11.953+01:00

Well, made it here last night. Went out of Nicaragua from Granada to Rivas and then to the border which was not great ordeal. Immediately, as I got into Costa Rica things changed, perhaps only very slightly but there was a noticeable difference that there didn´t really seem to be anywhere else with border crossings elsewhere in Central America.Costa Rica has a much closer alliance with the USA

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-69106177924744982442008-07-03T18:23:00.007+01:002008-07-03T22:00:02.341+01:00

Haven't been as ill as I was yesterday since Antigua - it was a pretty hellish cold. I've managed to at least get up today, yesterday I only made it to the corner shop and a few dodgy chemists to get some lemsips or what ever the local equivalent is. Today, I try to reset the date of my flight and sort myself out to head towards San Jose, Costa Rica in the next day or two. I may be flying out on

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-34977565856191684172008-07-02T01:45:00.003+01:002008-07-02T02:43:51.538+01:00

This place is very cool as cities go - it certainly does feel steeped in history. Haven't managed to take shots yet, that is tomorrow as is a trip to La Isla De Ometempe. Shots are online now of Leon, the shots of the journey to Leon from Esteli and a few shots of Managua to Granada. I didn't stay in the capital city for long - like the other Central American capitals there's a slightly higher

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-84113561078681405382008-07-01T18:41:00.002+01:002008-07-01T18:59:47.803+01:00

For years I found it amusing that a friend of Andy Bishop had come home drunk and then found himself in his parents bedroom as the light came on and he realised that he was urinating in their wardrobe. I don't know why this type of image caused me such mirth for so long, after all the man had only been out drinking and had then had one of those short memory blanks which resulted in him finding

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-30074794166827094592008-06-30T14:30:00.003+01:002008-06-30T14:57:11.668+01:00

Up early for the first time in ages and on to Leon this morning which is a couple of hours away. There's a beach not far from there and I'll possibly be able to catch a little sun before I leave Central America. I didn't come here for the sun and to get back to Britain glowing a golden brown but it seems a bit of a waste to not do this while I'm here. I haven't really 'done' beaches since I've

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-91621302274758765842008-06-29T22:20:00.004+01:002008-06-30T05:29:44.729+01:00

It has been an interesting few days despite the fact that I’ve been rather lazy. I did manage to get up and go for a bike ride yesterday, to hire a cycle from Café Luz is a whole 25 cordobas – about sixty pence. It’s something that my budget would stretch to, I must admit. There weren’t any really clearly laid out routes to try out – there’s a waterfall about an hours walk away from here and I

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-65540043082229721802008-06-28T01:01:00.005+01:002008-06-28T02:46:06.897+01:00

I've been in Esteli for about 24 hours and I don't imagine that I'll want to leave tomorrow but I have to get to Costa Rica fairly soon. I've been sat in Cafe Luz and have stuffed myself with fajitas and drank way too much coffee today. It's run on a not-for-profit basis to support the local voluntary sector and is run by an English woman, Jane Boyd, from Leicestershire. It's got a really nice

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-56837610774360795082008-06-26T00:11:00.006+01:002008-06-26T06:37:17.793+01:00

After so many border crossings today didn't feel that special, perhaps entering a country that you haven't been in before should feel pretty good. I did make it across the border and have to sweat just a little because I had got about $10.00US on me and there were rumours flying around that there was not a cash point - or cajero automatico in Ocatal where I am currently staying. After finding two

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-63655938385892660662008-06-22T05:29:00.002+01:002008-06-22T06:10:15.589+01:00

I was up at about 6.30am this morning to get the boat across to Rocky Point to make the 'fun dives'. I guess this is the general term that is used to describe any dive which isn't geared towards contributing to a qualification nor employment. The dives were both pretty good. The first did leave me feeling very light headed and rather weak afterwards. The second nearly sent me into a deep sleep

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-66436085124504226432008-06-21T01:58:00.004+01:002008-06-22T05:29:01.660+01:00

I was a little tense this afternoon shortly before starting the refresher course but it went well. There was nothing else in the water around us, me and the Canadian instructor, Noami or Nora, or whatever her name was. I don't think that she was bad at all if you're round this way and looking for diving lessons. It was a little unusual when she started one of the skills tests which was to remove

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-20520790128696016902008-06-20T02:11:00.005+01:002008-06-20T03:59:58.935+01:00

Up late today after about twelve hours sleep. I didn't mean to sleep that much but I can't do a fat lot about it now. I saw the Euro 2008 game between Germany and Portugal with a German guy in the corner of the restaurant, though restaurant is a little complimentary on the whole for what the place was like, cheering his team on. Ballack appeared to push the marker in the back to me before scoring

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-82291867943046971872008-06-19T01:18:00.006+01:002008-06-19T23:34:39.946+01:00

Well, found my way through the smokey metropolis known as San Pedro Sula and have bussed to La Ceiba. With only a short wait I managed to get the ferry to Utila which seems like a bit of tropical paradise so far. In backpacker terms it's got the usual features, Bob Marley playing the background of a hotel cum hostal that has dorm beds for $3US a night - it's quite a funky place to be though the

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-53870205365649240782008-06-18T15:35:00.003+01:002008-06-18T16:05:26.014+01:00

Up early, most likely off to La Ceiba today barring major problems, catastrophes and slow chicken buses. Last night I headed off to get something to eat after consuming a few beers and I didn't have too much of a problem finding a place though it was a little like walking around a rather faceless city dominated by multi-national corporations. I don't know if it was five or six blocks east to the

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-83958327210992521782008-06-17T21:15:00.008+01:002008-06-18T07:18:05.742+01:00

It was meant to be a day when I made some attempt to get myself towards the Bay Islands and the tropical paradise that they represent. I woke up to late for this to be worth considering. It'll take about half an hour to get to the terminal, another fifteen minutes to get a bus and three and a half hours to get to La Ceiba. It's only something that is worth attempting in the morning. I started

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-9505616656459428972008-06-17T03:57:00.006+01:002008-06-18T03:01:39.747+01:00

It's a real shame that today I was misinformed by staff in the otherwise excellent Cafe Via Via. A few Salva Vidas too many last night and I did slightly oversleep and not make it back into the ruins at Copan. I made my way at about midday via La Entrada to San Pedro hoping to catch a connecting bus from there to La Ceiba, the port from which you can get to Roatan, the island where I may do a

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-12157675626136802112008-06-16T19:49:00.003+01:002008-06-17T03:40:35.609+01:00

Time to leave. Didn't manage to see as much of the ruins as I would have liked. I did like the layout and presentation of what is there as a world heritage site. From 250AD to 900AD the city dominated the region, in effect it was the Mayan ‘Capital’. It is more significant now because of the hieroglyphics and sculpture rather than the scale of the structures, so perhaps they were just plain lazy

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-87465124511326911932008-06-15T04:25:00.008+01:002008-06-26T04:10:33.370+01:00

The van pulled into Parque Central at about four this afternoon. Copan Ruinas is, as far as it seems so far, quite a nice little town. I feel very much at home as a result of the rather globalised feel of the particular cafe that I'm in, it's been done out in much the same way as many of the Central American themed places in the UK as far as I recall. The style does lack something in terms of the

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-41530309604399587592008-06-14T18:01:00.002+01:002008-06-14T18:53:23.680+01:00

Up late yet again. Haven't managed to do what I wanted in terms of finishing uploads to flickr and I was hoping that I would get the shots uploaded for all of yesterday for Balneario Aguas Termales, stick insect which is a bit of a joke and into Honduras and the shots of the bus journey from Metapan to El Poy. None of them are complete or have been sequenced as I would like but I guess that this

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-77514864507461923642008-06-13T01:02:00.006+01:002008-06-18T05:08:13.029+01:00

Last night I made the first major gaff of backpacking that I've done on this trip missing the stop I wanted to make in Santa Rosa de Copan. I was advised by the English speaking passengers on the bus that my best bet was to get off at Sula and found myself in a small town which had one guest house and one hotel. I don't know if there was much in the way of entertainment there but I found both the

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107850757132479501.post-36894322821268191262008-06-10T06:31:00.006+01:002008-06-10T07:33:34.553+01:00

Over the past few years I have raised a number of issues with public sector staff including parliamentarians, voluntary advice workers and crime and disorder staff. What I've experienced is a general refusal to acknowledge the issues I've put forward which are classed as conspiratorial, paranoid or delusional despite the fact that academic articles have been used to support the arguments made.

Steve W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04417943963182478197noreply@blogger.com0