Selfie

A quick lego selfie took on the beach in Bray (Ireland) during our visit last week.

2018 in Review – Music

2018 was a good year for me, musically. Not only did I have more opportunity to listen to music than I have in recent years, I also attended a fair number of concerts and expanded my listening scope even more.

As always, I rely on Last.fm to provide me with my listening stats, which has become a lot easier since I use Spotify to listen and there is a native integration between the two services. It means that even the music I listen to on my Xbox while gaming is scrobbled seamlessly, which makes me very happy.

The Charts

While I didn’t get to listen to music nearly as much as I would have liked, I did scrobble more songs than before and listened to a total of 5190 songs, apparently.

Absolutely not surprising me is that Ensiferum is, again, my top artist for the year. This is mostly because I absolutely love them, but also because I got to see them live again this year, which always causes a spike in listening.

I did listen to a fair bit of new music this year…

What’s not reflected are a few bands I discovered towards the end of the year, so didn’t get to listen to them enough to make an impact, but they should show up on the charts for 2019.

The concerts

We were lucky enough to head into London for a few concerts this year. We started the year off with Epica, supported by Myrkur in April, then saw Ensiferum and Ex Deo in May. Over the summer, the husband attended Wacken again, while I went off to Lollapalooza in Paris to see Rag n Bone Man, Jess Glynne, The Killers and the Gorillaz. We had a very busy November/December, and managed to squeeze in Powerwolf, Nightwish, Peter Murphy doing 40 years of Bauhaus, and Dimmu Borgir and friends.

While I always love Ensiferum and Powerwolf and seeing them live in smaller venues was fantastic (as opposed to seeing them at Wacken which has been the experience for the last few years), for me, the standout was seeing Peter Murphy as it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It brought back so many memories of my late teens, early twenties and it was great to get the old body dancing again

I really enjoyed seeing Ex Deo as well, and the introduction to Myrkur was very welcome.

Now that we have figured out this concert thing, we have already bought tickets to a number of events for the next year, including our tickets for WOA 2019 – which brings with it the opportunity to see many favourites, including Opeth (!!!) and The Sisters of Mercy.

Reach for the skies

Nothing to say today. Well, I have lots to say but no words to say them. So here’s a picture I took last week when we visited Canary Warf.

On future planning, upcoming events and hidden art

It is hard to believe that a short two years ago, we were rushing around madly trying to sell our home and belongings, arrange our visas and planning for the biggest adventure we could imagine. It feels like we have been in the UK for a lifetime already.

We have been talking about our next steps recently, as our visas only allow us to be in the UK for five years, and we don’t want to leave it for the last minute and get caught with our pants down. And while we have a few options we are mulling over, the one thing we know for certain is that we simply do not want to return to South Africa. We rather enjoy being so close to the things we enjoy, and cannot imagine living in that constant state of fear again.

But really, for us it is about the lifestyle that we’ve always wanted. Going to Wacken now means a quick 1.5 hour flight to Hamburg, rather than the 10-18 hour flights from the Southern Hemisphere, which means we can now attend every year. We can also go to gigs and events all around the UK without having to apply for a visa and saving for a year or two. And while we are here, we are going to do this as much as possible. Which is why we have already lined up tickets for the following:

• Powerwolf and Amaranthe in November
• The Unnoficial Stargate Convention in November
• Nightwish in December
• Peter Murphy in December

And the husband is going to see Dimmu Borgir and Kreator in December as well.

We’re also planning to see Turisas and Korpiklaani in February, and I am going to try and see George Ezra in March. And then there is also the opportunity to see great minds like Professor Brian Cox share the wonders of science with vast audiences.

We took a wander through London again yesterday, and my bestie Mandy introduced us to a wonder that’s been hidden right under our noses, the Graffiti Tunnel located under Waterloo Station. It’s actually called the Leake Street Tunnel and was first turned into a street art gallery by the famous Banksy. It is now a legal space for street artists to show off their skills, and it truly is a magnificent sight. I took some photos, but they really don’t do the space justice.

A Parisienne interlude

The offspring and I visited Paris over the last weekend. It was both our first time visiting Paris, and we had a great time. We saw as many of the traditional touristy spots as possible in the short time we had available, and attended Lollapalooza Paris on Sunday.

On Summertime

Summer in England is truly a glorious time, but this year is especially summery. The northern hemisphere has been wrapped in a bit of a heatwave, if you haven’t noticed, which has meant long, hot, sunny days that remind me of my childhood, and of the descriptions of summer days from Good Omens.

The warmer weather has allowed us to do more activities away from home, cycle through the forest in the evening and attend events in London more happily. We’ve had lunch with good friends, attended London Pride and a Star Wars party (of which, sadly, I took no pictures)

My favourite picture from the last two weeks that I am happy to share is this one:

Hope you are having a fabulous summer.

On Outings and New Loves

On Friday, the husband and I headed out into London for a bit of a celebration, as it was our anniversary recently and his birthday next week. He wanted to go see Epica, so we headed off to the O2 Forum in Kentish Town for a night of good metal.

While Epica have filtered into my playlists here and there, I have to admit that I was not overly familiar with their music and could not really call myself a fan. I had also not heard of the two supporting acts before.

When we walked in, Oceans of Slumber were on stage already and well into their set. Unfortunately, it was not a sound that grabbed me. The lead singer had an amazing voice, but, to me, it seemed like the rest of the music did not support her voice – instead, it seemed to be a bit of a competitive situation on stage, as if three different bands were trying to play at the same time. I was surprised to discover they have been going since 2011 and have 3 albums under their belt already.

I will try and listen to their studio albums before passing final judgement some time, but it will take some convincing for them to make it into any of my playlists on a full time basis.

Next up was Myrkur. I’d never heard of them, unfortunately, but within 10 seconds of their first song, I declared my undying love, and immediately followed them on Spotify.

I would offer up my soul or a bowl of lentils for more of this, and look forward to listening to Myrkur a LOT more in future.

Epica put on a fantastic show. They are engaging and entertaining, and really know how to get the crowd involved in the show. Simone Simons has a lovely voice and a fantastic energy, and they are certainly fabulous musicians too, and will also definitely become a more regular feature of my playlists. But, for me, the show was stolen by the synth/piano player, Coen Janssen, who rolled the synth around like a scooter when not playing, and acting out the songs in the most comedic ways. He had me in stiches at time, and it was wonderful. It is great to see a metal band who, while playing fairly serious music, doesn’t take things too seriously.

All in all, a great night out, and the O2 Forum is definitely a great venue – small enough to be intimate while big enough to fit big sound without feeling crowded and claustrophobic.

One of the perks of travelling as much for work as I do is that I get to rake up hotel loyalty points, which allows us to stay in places that may not always be possible. For my birthday, we visited Cardiff and stayed in a hotel there using loyalty points, so for the husband’s birthday, I decided we would do the same. We were fortunate enough to get a great room at a hotel in Islington with a lovely view of the London skyline.

On Saturday, we went for a walk-around Greenwich, which I think is one of my favourite areas of London. The husband had not been there before, so I had to go show him around the Old Royal Naval College, which was also the set for a famous scene in Thor: The Dark World and makes for gorgeous photos too.

Spring finally decided to arrive in England yesterday, and, when the sun shines, this is truly a glorious place to be.

Our next big outing will be going to see Ensiferum and Ex Deo at the O2 Academy in Islington on 1 May, and the ability to do these things is one of the main reasons we wanted to live in the UK and so close to London. I am ridiculously exited for this concert, because Ensiferum has been one of my favourite bands for the last 8 years or so, and I have recently fallen a little bit in love with Ex Deo.

On Eisenbahnliebe and a cat

I have always had a fondness for larger modes of transport, and, in particular, trains and airplanes. One of my earliest nightmares is being stuck inside a car, while one of my favourite memories is my paternal grandmother taking me on a train journey from our home town to Pretoria, where my grandparents lived. She would pack a lovely picnic basket, and take the train all the way from Pretoria to collect me in our town, and then ride all the way back with me. We had our own compartment, and I would listen to the clickety-clack of the wheels on the rail all the way.

My husband and I visited Germany a few times while we lived in South Africa, and I would make sure to plan long railway journeys as part of our visits. We took the train from Frankfurt to various big cities, through the Black Forest and across the breadth of Germany, and it was glorious. The clickety-clack of the wheels on the rail is gone, and the trains now move at 230km/hour or faster, but the love for the long metal tubes has not diminished.

In South Africa, I got to use the Gautrain on a regular basis, which reminded me a little of the high speed ICE trains in Germany, and introduced me to using trains as part of my daily commute, and I loved it. And now, living in the UK, this is my daily life. I have been fortunate enough to use trains to criss-cross this beautiful country over the last 18 months, and I am still in awe of this marvelous creation. And while not all trains are equal, I really enjoy the experience of being on a train, and simply cannot imagine travelling any other way.

And, with that, I leave you with a picture of our neighbour’s cat, who frequently comes around to greet us, and may, on occassion, follow us around the estate. He is also not terribly fond of taking pictures, so this is a rare, unblurry photo of him.

On Snow and other Marvels

I have been avoiding the news for the past week again, because I am feeling a bit of outrage fatigue again. But, if unless you have been living under a rock, you may have noticed that the UK had a little snow storm this week.

I was lucky enough to be working with a customer in London on Tuesday when the snow started, and found myself constantly distracted. Growing up in the Southern Hemisphere, my exposure to the white stuff has been very limited, and I have never really experienced a full blown snow storm.

We woke up on Wednesday morning to a scene from Narnia.

I travelled up north for a customer visit on Wednesday evening, much against advice from others and common sense. And while I was a little worried about being stranded in the middle of nowhere, I really enjoyed the adventure of travelling against the odds. The journey felt like one of those going home for x holiday movies, and I did provide me with the opportunity to take some more great photos

By Friday, it had been snowing for a few days and our housing estate was an absolute wonderland with enough snow for a little snowball fight.

We really enjoyed playing the snow, but were grateful when the snow stopped falling and melted away by Saturday afternoon. It has been a great distraction from everything else at the right time for me.

I’ve made a point of watching each of the Marvel movies in the cinemas as they were released, but unfortunately missed Thor: Ragnarok last year. Which is a pity, because it was directed by one of my favourites, Taika Waititi, who was responsible for one of my favourite movies, What We Do in the Shadows (if you haven’t watched it yet, what’re you waiting for – it is absolute gold!).

The latest installment in the Thor series was nothing short of magnificent. I loved the relationship between Thor and Hulk, and all the Loki karma. And well, Jeff Goldblum.

We’ve also been working our way through Marvel: Agents of SHIELD recently, as I discovered we can watch it on Amazon, and it has been really good to get immersed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially with Avengers: Infinity Wars just around the corner. And it has really cemented me as a Marvel fangirl.

Glimpses of wealth and colour

It is quite a thing, this blogging regularly again. Because I have specifically made it a goal this year, and booked time in my calendar for it, my brain has kicked back into gear and I start thinking about content for my next blog post halfway through the week already.

Because I travel a fair bit for work, I get to stay in hotels fairly often, and, because I have learned the value of loyalty points, I try and stay with the same chain wherever I go. As a result, I recently hit gold status with this hotel chain. The result is that I now get breakfast for free, access to the executive lounge where I can eat and drink for free and loads of other benefits.

And I realised that this is a small glimpse into the world of the wealthy, and this is just how it works. When you have and do not need, you get. The wealthy receive free gifts and food and many things they do not need, simply because they are wealthy. And those who really need rarely receive. I know this is a simplistic take on it, and I may expand on it in future in a more eloquent way.

I travelled to Leeds for work this week, which is one of my favourite places to travel to in England. I also like the journey because I travel via London King’s Cross, which is one of my favourite stations in London, and it is quite photogenic.

On Leviathans and Small Treks

It has been three months and 4 days since my last cigarette.I started smoking not long after my 13th birthday, and smoked pretty much consistently since then. And I have pretended to try and quit before, each time a roaring failure because the love for smoking was stronger than the will to quit. But our new life has meant a big reduction in stress, and so, finally, the will to quit has grown stronger than the love for smoking. I still miss the action of smoking, taking a long drag on a cigarette, inhaling the smoke deep into my lungs and then feeling like a dragon as I exhale – but not as frequently as I used to. I now only think about having a smoke once every few days. I am sure as the months go on, the frequency will reduce even more until I no longer think about it at all.

What I don’t miss is struggling to breathe and smelling like a nightclub and coughing and having to find an ashtray and the constant constant constant craving and burning money. And this will motivate me to remain quit, even when I dream about smoking all night long.

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It is probably no secret by now that I am currently a tiny little bit obsessed with The Expanse series, both TV and books. I fell in love mid-way through the first episode of Season 1, but reading the books really cemented the obsession for me. I am only ⅔ through the third book now, but I had this epiphany last night about why I love the series so much – other than the fact that it is an absolutely brilliant space opera, of course.

Each book, so far, starts with a number of different stories seemingly unrelated on completely different tracks, and things apparently spin out of control and then the stories start intertwining until they end in one beautiful point, and it reminds me of spiral galaxies or tropical storms or star aloes.

(images not my own, found on bing search)

I travelled to Leicester for work this week, which gave me a good opportunity to try out the camera on my new phone.

While I missing having a camera button on the phone, I am getting used to having to take a couple of extra steps to take a photo, and I am quite happy with the quality of the pictures.