Travel Stuff
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It WILL Be Fine
For me, one of the joys of travel is getting off the tourist trail and sampling some local life. Mixing with ordinary folk, learning about their culture and finding out what makes them tick. The great thing about Malta is that it’s a small place, so that shouldn’t be too hard, right? Well, that might…
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There Goes The Neighbourhood
It’s hard to believe, but I’m about to enter my tenth year living in Raleigh Square. It can’t be that bad then. There’ve been lots of changes down the years, but one thing has remained a constant in my life. Or rather it did until it suddenly closed down. The Sir John Borlase Warren was,…
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You’re English – rescue me!
By the evening of day two I’m pretty confident of my bearings in Lille, so I take another stroll around the main square and then back towards Rue Messana to see if there’s any more cabaret on at Le Sherwood. Sadly, I’m disappointed. Nothing gets going in Lille until late evening, and at about 6.30pm…
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Taking The Piscine
Lille looks a lot better in the morning sunshine. It’s cold and dry, so a good day to get exploring some more. Although come to think of it, it didn’t look too bad last night either. I cross town to Wazemmes, one of the most multi cultural parts of Lille, and home to a real…
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A Load of Crepe
Normally when I arrive in a new city I’m pretty quick in getting my bearings, and Lille is no exception. Although its streets twist and turn it’s essentially a compact place, and no sooner have I walked out of the hotel I’m in the Place du Theatre, and next to it the Grand Place. Ye…
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Il Pleut. Et petit.
With great engineering projects come great big tunnels, and as the train races through Kent my ears are constantly popping as we enter and exit. I’m grateful for my old companion, the extra strong mint. The rest of the journey is pretty uneventful and my arrival in Lille is accompanied by a heavy hail shower.…
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Bon Voyage
Security at St Pancras is pretty tight, considering that it’s just a train journey. Airline style scanners check people’s bags, but as far as free travel throughout the EU is concerned, the French customs man at the passport booth gives me a stereotypical shrug. Compared with the rest of the station’s grandiose, the Eurostar waiting…
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The Lille Good Factor
Let’s face it, most people of my age didn’t do O Level French or German at school because they actually enjoyed it. Not where I come from anyway. The primary purpose of “learning” a language at school was to get a cheap holiday abroad via that essential rite of passage – the Foreign Exchange Trip.…
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A Ropey Encounter
One of my favourite films of all time is Anchorman. It wasn’t ground breaking. It had no outstanding sound effects. No evocative storyline. But it did contain the unforgettable line from weatherman Brick Tamland : “I love lamp”. Although to be fair, I first said it in The Ropewalk two full years beforehand. The futuristic,…
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My Kind Of Town
I love travelling and I love blogging about it. But all too often I experience extraordinary things, right on my doorstep, and singularly fail to record them in any way, shape or form. But not today. Today I combined the best part of my job with one of the best journeys I’ve taken in a…
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