I was aware of the drama The Affair and liked the actors but for some reason stayed away as thought it may be melodramatic nonsense. Then it cleaned up at Globes so thought , well worth a quick look. Within first 10 minutes I was hooked. After 30 minutes and they flicked perspective and retold the same story I may have even been salivating. They had the whole bag of tricks – time jumps, narrative flips etc. Sometimes we started with her side first, sometimes the second half followed on rather than retold. All good stuff. And simmering all underneath was a police murder investigation with our two mad rooters front and centre. I gave up chocolate for one day so I could concentrate on episodes 4-6 more fully. I knew there were 10 episodes – this was getting tasty
Then the boom was lowered. Once invested in a story, especially a mystery, I stay away for reviews and forums. By sad chance I became aware there was a second season. Ok there is also a second season of The Missing but it is a new story, same writers. Dont slit your wrists just yet. It was with 10 minutes to go in episode 10 that gloom descended and suddenly we had Revenge 2 on our hands – admittedly with better plot, direction, acting…….There would be no satisfactory conclusion and we would be waiting until October 2015 for next episode
Devoted fans would know of my admiration for the Fawlty Towers model where you tell your story and piss off. They would also be aware of my loathing of the Lost model where you get to end of season 1 and there is a bloody trap door all of a sudden to 12 more seasons!
Ok I will line up in Oct 2015 because this is such a good yarn but they had a chance to really create something special here and instead went with something very good and also a guaranteed money maker. Its a complex story and so will need a refresher when October 2015 rolls around
I feel dudded somehow.
Like Cary Grant walked into the room and didnt see the wheelchair
A week is a long time in politics so a 3 week campaign is your basic nightmare. The LNP will win for 2 main reasons. They have a massive majority and a weak opposition. Like in the recent test cricket sometimes it aint how good you are but rather how bad they are. Cowbell is making it a presidential type campaign because Anastasia Beaverhausen is beige personified. Love or hate the Red Ranga she had a certain presence. Simply having a chickie babe as leader does not guaranteee electoral success. Of interest though locally are the fanciful claims by the opposition here that they will reopen the closed Pathology department at the Maryborough Hospital. It is a nonsense and anyone voting for that reason is kidding themselves. It does bring out the usual ratbag brigade in the comments section of the newspaper though. Serial posters who simply have a view on everything and need to share it regardless of any apparent insight or knowledge on the particular subject. If you want to vote regarding the loss of services locally kick out the incumbent for not supporting us – dont vote in someone making ludicrous promises.
The Golden Globes have come and gone and while always great to see My Tina and Her Amy together it wasnt their best show. The “Would You Rather” game was good and a couple of good one liners but the Cosby joke was always going to get the soundbite and the Korean bit was lame and racial stereotyping at its worst. And simply not funny. Unlike many though MT cannot be accused of being a late comer to the Cosby tale having called him out way back in Season 3 of 30 Rock. Yes it is a link to a link…..
The other certainty of course was that someone would say “Je Suis Charlie” and get a standing ovation. Most presenters were awkward or embarrassing with Wig and Heder leading the way in a cringeful skit that simply was not funny. Magilla and Don Cheezel were great and Clooney all class. Some surprise winners I guess but the clear champs on the night were The Affair and Boyhood. Birdman is very good – or at least Keaton is – but dont get the comedy category. On the local front just finished The Code which was very good and The Good Wife has had a stunning start to the second half of Season 6 although not convinced should have taken on the very complex Ferguson issue. Outside of that, well it is Screener Season folks
There were some good moments in the recent test series with India but really the inept Indian bowling attack has simply prolonged a couple of Aussie test careers methinks. Flat tracks generally make for dull games only saved here by a couple of batting collapses. Smith is batting the house down and is an exceptional fielder only surpassed by his tendency to whine. First there was the runout which was all his fault but no the quick point had to come out. Then Spidercamgate. It may be distracting – tough shit, take it like a man. Or if you dont like the new technology bought in hand back 100k of your salary. By all means raise your concerns as Captain but do it behind closed doors noy out in the middle like some schoolkid who dropped his jelly beans in the mud. Still wonder if some bowling attacks wil lwork him out in the future with his tendency to walk across the stumps. Time will tell
Newsflash. Queensland summers suck. As the late great Robin Williams would say. It is hot, damn hot
On the bright side, trip to NYC is less than 6 weeks away now and while the snow may have passed by then it should still be pleasantly cool methinks. My efforts to spend my birthday evening at The Jimmy Fallon Tonight Show failed miserably. Apparently there is a 30 sec window once a month at 2 am Aussie time to get tickets for the next month. Larry David stage show starts the week after I leave. Looks like beer and burgers with occasional Flat White will have to do. Security will no doubt be high but what can you do. Go with the flow, hope for the best and sit near the black box.
Well everyone else does eh. Random thoughts in no particular order and obviously reflective of only what I have seen or experienced. Dont get your panties in a twist if Kardashian Kapers et al does not appear in any worst of life list – I dont watch it. Of course with early onset Alzheimers hovering there is probably stuff I loved I simply forgot about – 364 days is a long time, one day at a time.
Best TV of 2014
Fargo was the best new show for moi especially the way they based it on the movie but didnt. Billy Bob was perfect. Solid runs by the faithful like OITNB, HOC, Good Wife, MM and Americans. UK continues to deliver quality drama especially in the mini series ilk like Happy Valley and The Missing along with returning Line of Duty. Most pleasant surprise of the year was Black Mirror – always great when you discover a show late and suddenly there a few seasons to watch. There was one piece of TV though that have rewatched a few times over the year – The Keating Interviews with Kerry 0’Brien. Now, love him or loathe him he is a fascinating character and when you see some of the clowns we have today attempt to speak on some subjects it is great to roll this one out to hear someone who had a view on everything and could actually express himself succinctly and often with wit. As someone who does not watch much animated at all Rick and Morty was a surprising treat
Most Disappointing TV of 2014. As opposed to worst because I simply dont watch some crap. Bit of a Melbourne Cup field here but lets see if we can narrow it down.
SOA was generally a good season but a poor self-indulgent ending left a sour taste. Same with Homeland – a good season until one of the worst season finales in recorded history. The Fall Season 2 had all the hype but no real substance as simply a competent 6 parter dragged out over 12 episodes and then still left hanging a bit. The Mentalist is simply rubbish now.
The Titanic Award for Rapidly Sinking Quality in Media. Channel 9. Their news is padded with fluff, their morning show is Ricki Lake on Valium and even their cricket telecast is dull most of the time. Their reporting of major events like the Sydney Siege is generally embarrassing. To be fair 7 and 10 are likely worst – dont watch them
Biggest Media Circus The death of Phillip Hughes was tragic. The following weeks of coverage inexplicable really. Did not take long for the mourning cricketers to return to same old behaviour
Best Movies of 2014 Remembering previously outlined criteria not a lot to choose from here as watch much more TV than movies
Nightcrawler was a standout and Gone Girl very solid. Edge of Tomorrow was a pleasant surprise. Much like with Rick and Morty was suprised how much I ebjoyed The Lego Movie. Snowpiercer was an interesting ride and Grand Budapest suitably bizarre
Most Disappointing Movies of 2014
Dont get all the love for Guardians of the Galaxy. Amazing Spiderman 2 was anything but. Chef was vastly overrated. There are worse movies out there certainly – but I didnt see them
Best Sporting Moments of 2104 The Rise of Ricciardo. Brisbane Roar winning A league. Two golf majors for Rory. Waratahs win Super 12. Steve Smiths batting this series. Rabbitohs win NRL
Worst Sporting Moment of 2014 The Blues win SOO. Where is the fun in that ?
Favorite Book of 2014Still Fooling ‘Em.Gone Girl a close second. I dont read much
Favorite Music of 2014 Darlene Love singing Christmas Baby Please Come Home for the 753rd time on Letterman
Best New Holiday Destination of 2014. Berlin.
Biggest Bitch in the World 2014 Berlin Bahn Service Desk Attendant
Most Disappointing New Holiday Destination Tough one really as all holidays are great as are all cities but would have to say the cost of living in Copenhagen combined with a very poor hotel room gives it the nod in a very small field
Best OS Coffee in 2014Coffee to Go in Aix-En-Provence
Worst OS Coffee in 2014 Talk about your Melbourne Cup field! The clear winner though was some cafe in Millau whose name and location was immediately wiped from my memory luckily
Best CLP of 2014 CLP
Worst CLP of 2014. Still 2 days to go……
Best Photo of 2014 Saw some great sights and took some great photos. The Festival of Lights in Berlin was holding a slender lead until my GC1 came up with the clear winner only a couple of weeks ago
Remember the good old days when everyone discussed and debated the Sopranos series finale. Went on for weeks. Some loved it, some hated it. I started out disliking the ambiguity of it all but slowly came around to actually thinking it rather brilliant. It ran for 6 seasons – about the max for a show methinks. Mad Men will bow out next year after a similar run. Devoted followers would know of my admiration/angst over the brilliance of Fawlty Towers 12 episode model – everyone a classic, leave them wanting more. Of course comedy and drama are different animals.
Then we had the lumberjack episode of Dexter . Whenever there is a bad series finale these days inevitably the Dexter Lumberjack conclusion is used as the gold standard for worst series finale ever. Unlikely to ever be beaten – but damn there are some writers out there that are giving it a bloody good crack
SOA finished after 7 seasons with a completely stupid final scene/ last 5 minutes. Sutter shot his load early in the previous two excellent episodes but will sadly be remembered most for the finale. Whether you go with the Jesus symbolism or whatever does not matter – if the 3 hr police pursuit prior did not put you in the land of nod then you are a better man than me Gungadin. His love of drawn out musical montages also increased with time. Sadly
Lotta people creamed their jeans over The Fall Season 2 – too be fair most of that was the sight of Scully in uniform. It was drawn out drama to start with – should have been one season of 8 episodes like The Missing. Now The Missing had a slightly ambiguous ending too but that is ok as it was a self contained season and it fitted in with the general theme of the show. The Fall had so many plausibility issues already with the way that Spector wandered the streets of a CCTV-obsessed city with gay abandon that the only thing that could save it – apart from Scullys uniform tearing – was a definitive ending. But no – we just have to tease the possibility of a third season ca ching ca ching and go out with a self indulgent final last scene
Homeland has a bipolar clown as its main and most annoying character which is kind of fitting as it reflects my attitude with the show. Initially the fact that his wife only called Brody by his last name as well was enough to reach for the pills but in between the annoying there was some good stuff. Each season though you think will I watch it again? Of course you do – but you may just have finally done me a favour folks with one of the worst season endings (as opposed to series endings) have seen since lumberjacks were falling out of trees. There had been some tense moments and good set up prior to finale – and then we got a fucking episode of Days of Our Lives!! Seriously I am at a loss of words to describe the narrative shift – 90% of the episode devoted to bloody Nut job, her dead dad, her missing mum, her carrot top kid and a CIA operative who wants to bone her bad but then realised fighting the Taliban would be a more rewarding experience.
Of course these days we also have the mid-season finale. Sometimes this is left on a poignant moment like The Good Wife and other times it is simply “Ok time for Egg Nog folks, see ya next year” as with most others . In summary then I cant recall a satisfactory season/midseason/series finale this year and that tells me a lot about the current state of television and why I much prefer my drama in the short mini series version that UK do so well
And then we also have the shows that simply stayed at least one season too long. Front and centre at present is The Mentalist. It is simply drivel since Jane and Lisbon went all gooey eyed at each other. TV Sitcom 101 first rule is – keep the sexual tension going, no nooky nooky or show goes crappy crappy. Here endeth the lesson.
I see Larry David is quoted as saying he may not do a final season of Curb due to some left over ill will from negative comments about the Seinfeld finale – which I actually liked. Got news for ya Sonny – whether you do another season or not there will always be a final season.
Only difference is you may not have written it that way!
The Striped One returned to competitive golf this morning – in his own tournament. Shot 77. Maybe not a massive surprise after such a lay off. Until you watch the round. It wasnt snap hook drives, lack of distance control, putting woes. He chunked at least 4 chips! Now anyone who has played golf with a certain dedication would understand the mental anquish of the dreaded yips. Usually affects putting but can also affect chipping – ask Brett Ogle. Not suggesting it is at that stage yet but the next couple of rounds will be fascinating to watch. If he can come back from that display quickly then he truly is a master of his mind. If not, say goodbye Tiger.
10 years ago it was assumed he would beat Jacks record of 18 majors. He has 14. There didnt appear to be a lot of opposition and lets face it they were a tad intimidated by a Tiger on the prowl. Golf is a mental game and often just seeing his name zooming up leader board could affect some players. Then he got some injuries while some other players got some belief. People were still rooting for him though . Speaking of which, his off course stick work was then revealed and the star lost some of its lustre. He no longer intimidated but could still play – won 5 times in 2013 , no majors but no mean feat. When he was on he was still the one to beat but he was on less regularly. Then more injuries and an aging body start to catch up. Young guys like Rory have learnt from Tiger and pumped up – and dumped annoying girlfriends. These guys are athletes even though some still like checked pants.
Trust me once your body starts to go and the niggles add up there is no getting it back – once you reach a certain age. Even with a die hard effort old Father Time marches on. Like his half sister Mother Nature he can be a real bitch. Just more predictable
So set your alarms for tomorrow boys and girls. You may be seeing the end of a sporting phenomenon or the rebirth of a true legend . Either way Jack can rest easy methinks
Its been almost a month since we returned from Europe 2014 so must be time to look at the next big one. Common sense says that should be a couple of years away but then I have never been accused of being over endowed, at least in the area of common sense. Enter the voice of reason AKA CLP. As someone who still works and has no plans on retiring anytime soon there are factors other than simple finances to consider. And I do have a solo trip to USA early next year to fill in the gaps. So CLP suggest as a MOL I should start coming up with a few plans. Now given my abhorrence of acronymns this confused me a bit until explained it stood for “Man of Leisure”. So I replied “you could be LOL?” She replied “more like ROFL” . When I suggested “Really Old Fat Lady ?” she said “No ya clown those acronymns are already taken!” Younguns eh. So after a couple of Bex and a lie down it was time to get serious.
I suggested a couple of weeks at Brighton taking in the cloud on a nice deck chair; CLP suggested we climb Mt Everest. Clearly some common ground was required. Given that we are still moderately mobile and capable it seemed sensible to be a bit more adventurous while we still can. We like to combine some well known places like Paris and a few new countries each trip. Greece looms as a definite possibility both with Athens and Islands on the agenda. Athens is a tad isolated from other European countries by train but planes are always a possibility. Then comes Budapest which has always appealed much like Prague. What other countries could fit within the parameters of “slightly adventurous zimmer frame friendly”
Russia of course. Once again not the easiest place to get to by train – one famous one not withstanding. Moscow and St Petersberg appeal. CLP discovered you could get an overnight ferry from Helsinki to St Petersberg. Suddenly a 4th new country was added and things were starting to take shape. And it is easier to get to Helsinki from Budapest then into Russia. Now the plan will likely change a lot over the next 6 months but that is part of the fun isnt it.
Brisvegas – Dubai – Athens – Island – Budapest – Helsinki – St Petersberg – Moscow – Dubai – Brisvegas.
Tragic, plain and simple. By all accounts, and irrespective of any sporting talent, he was a genuine nice guy who showed some of the prima donnas in sport how to handle the ebbs and flows of professional sport with grace and dignity. One is reminded of the old adage about a parent should never have to bury a child. One can only imagine the pain and suffering of the family. In reality though why is so much coverage devoted to this one event in a world where tragedy occurs every day? If easily offended maybe stop reading now although really should you be following this blog anyway??
I noted in other media commitments that while the 2014 version of news reporting allowed me to keep up to date with any new developments, once the tragedy was confirmed it would have been great to get in the old time machine and whisk back to 1970. There the news would have been relayed on the 3 pm Radio news and we would have had time to digest it before some more information would have been supplied in a dignified and short news story by Mike Higgins on the 6pm bulletin. Once. Fast forward back to 2014 and the golf is rightly interrupted to bring the sad news to the nation. Then the nonsense starts and we have a Kochie eulogy rolling out within 5 minutes. Fuck me slowly. For the next hours we see a “news” station bringing us every minute detail, every celebrity sighting at hospital, every moronic tweet from non sporting clowns including Clive Palmer!! Of course you can turn off the TV as I did but it still burns me that is how media behaves these days – and of course three days later shows no signs of abating. Channel 9 is televising the funeral – Why?? To catch a glimpse of Warnie and see if he has a new squeeze, or better still a new rug?
The Gabba test has been postponed and it was always going to be a tough call. With the funeral in Sydney on Wednesday it is a bit much to expect players to attend as they would certainly want to and then get to Gabba and prepare for test next day. Not sure what the answer is but believe they need to get back to playing as soon as possible. No one expects Mitch to steam in at 150k in that first over and let fly but eventually he will – because he has to. That is cricket and it is a professional sport generating a shitload of money. Remember the Alex McKinnon tragedy. Ok he did not die, but still catastrophic. Who could imagine footballers tearing in again in tackles after that? But they did. Within 6 weeks we had head high tackles, lifing, spearing……. its human nature .
Time for a reality check. Phillip was a talented good cricketer and a fringe test player which makes him in the top 30 cricketers in Australia say. Maybe top 100 in world? He was never going to be a great of the game but likely would have played more tests. His technique ensured he would unlikely ever be a permanent test fixture. One thinks of the first time diving judge at the Olympics who gives a 10 to the first dive he sees. Where does he go from there? So as tragic as this event this, especially for the family and friends, what would the coverage be if it had been Michael Clarke for example – or Sachin Tendulkar? We already had the message from the Queen. Maybe the Pope and then its only old Whiskers himself. Another old adage is a “picture paints a thousand words” and there have been some wonderful and respectful images in recent days including the leave the bat out or stopping sporting events at 63 minutes. There has also been the ugly side of human nature with the “Phil Hughes Memorabilia” framed images on sale at Ebay the next day ala WWOS tat.
There is tragedy everywhere if you look for it and often it can come down to simple bad luck as with Hughes. The storms that ripped through Brisbane could easily have claimed a life – maybe a child caught under a crashing tree. Luckily it did not. On a side note – why does the media have to dumb everything down? Apparently there was 97 tonnes of rubbish to be cleared away after the storm. Gee I cant fathom how much that is – cue gifted reporter ” in other words the equivalent of 24 elephants” WTF?? I looked at CLP all confused. She simply replied “imagine 106 Giraffes dear” Ah ok thanks, that makes sense.
When this event first occurred and we saw the images of him falling flat to the ground we were shocked and concerned. The distress on fellow players only intensified our concern. Most people suspected the worse I imagine and this was confirmed 48 hrs later. All the right things were said, including concern for the bowler. But then the media machine kicked into hyper drive looking for that unique angle or simply to quench what they consider the undeniable thirst for news that the great unwashed have. I am more in the Joe Friday mold folks – “all we want are the facts”. Instead we get caught up in the media dragnet.
Eventually there will a semblance of return to normal for the sports mad Aussie populace. Cricket will go on as did Rugby League.
But there can never be a return to normal for the Hughes family ever again. No amount of well intentioned “reporting” can ever change that. Lets leave them in peace
No not inappropriate selfies – that is another blog with a paid subscription. As threatened previously these are awards in various categories for our recent trip to Europe. Like their namesake they are a complex enigma that may not always make sense. In the category of transport for example then BC in Emirates is without peer but Blind Freddy would know that. It also comes with a whopping price tag so looking more for that enjoyment factor or bang for buck or simple whimsy. Figure it out yourself. We were very fortunate to stay with friends in both Spain and Italy and these are excluded from the awards because they were easily the best accommodation/food packages but are not available to your average punter (Note clever Cup Tie In). The more advanced amongst you would recognise that a Flushie when given is the exact opposite and indicates a far from ideal experience even allowing for fact you may indeed be surrounded by a bunch of foreigners as well
Accomodation We used a mix of VRBO apartments and hotels organised by Railbookers. Apartments are great for stays beyond 2-3 days and also offer the benefit of laundary facilities. All accommodation was good really but lets not sit on a fence here.
Flashie – Hotel Internazionale Bologna. An unexpected oasis in the middle of downtime great unwashed Bologna. Walking distance to station, spacious, good bar, good breakfast
Flushie – Our “Hamlet” at Millau. Real mixed bag with the best view of any accommodation we had but simply poor service from owner, no wireless, had to drive to anything
Transport All plane travel was fine and as some was BC you would expect that. German Wings check in was a bit dodgy but the small planes were fine for the money. Being held up by late passengers at Dubai was a pain so just shoot the bastards. Train travel is like the little girl – when it is good it is very good, when it is bad it is horrid. If I ever say I am doing a self drive through Europe ever again just shoot me – do us both a favour
Flashie – Freciarossa train from Chambery to Milan. All ran on time, at seat service (first class), comfortable ride
Flushie- TGV high Speed Barcelona to NFI. We escaped relatively easily only having one major disruption to Perpignan. Suckers going on to Paris were in for a world of hurt with zero information or explanation really. Very shoddy treatment of tourists and shows worse side of French Arrogance
HM – The Bitch of Berlin really deserves her own category methinks but for now lets just not forget her
HM2 – The Paris Airport Shuttle organised through Viator was hopeless. Late, non communicative, and drove to unscheduled stops. Avoid at all costs
Food There were some standout feasts on this trip from the Jules Verne experience (for a price) to the amazing Gibas Seafood Restaurant adjacent to the Adriatic but am going to plug for a late comer – the revolving Al Dawaar lunch buffet (with endless wine!) in the Hyatt Regency Dubai. It was simply the best spread of its type I can recall and when you throw in all the wine you can drink for $90 each then it is also surprisingly good value
Flashie – Al Dawaar (yes suspense may have been lost on this announcement)
Flushie – none really. If you order the wrong food clip yaself around the ear
Alcohol Yes Please. Oh sorry, thought you were taking orders. It was all good of course and in Europe you do get generous portions of wine. The beer could be colder in most places but again good size. Coldest beer was probably in Dubai at the end
Flashie – all alcohol is good
Flushie – see above
Hot Drinks Sadly this category includes the beer served on ICE trains (ironic eh?) and in Centre Del Mon in Perpignan. We invariably found at least one good coffee in each town – and plenty of bad ones. Paris was a struggle as always. Italy was helped by local knowledge – its all in how you order. Barcelona was odd – a Cortado in morning at place was great, same order same place next day was crap. There was a very clear winner and loser though
Flashie – Coffee to Go in Aix-En-Provence
Flushie – and I think it had been. Some shit hole near the river in Millau. It gave Swill a bad name. Simply undrinkable and I did try trust me
Tours. The bane of any holiday for me but none were horrid enough to get a Flushie although the bus trip to Dresden threatened early on. The tour of The Catacombs was poorly organised too for a “skip the line” deal. There was a clear winner though as we always find on holidays – if you want to get a great overview of a city do a Segway
Flashie – Berlin City Segway Tours
Museums/Cathedrals/Dead People Usually my absolute favourite part of any city and there were so many contenders zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, oops sorry dozed off while thinking about them
Flashie – La Sagrada Familia. Outside facade largely blocked by scaffolding but interior simply stunning
Flushie – Take your Pick especially if they charged me to get in
HM – Rodin Museum. Simple but effective and relaxing in great surroundings
Surprise Packet Montserrat . Had no idea we would go there but our friends in Spain detoured on way to Barcelona. Simply amazing place and vista
And so it all ends. Check out at Hyatt was smooth as expected although despite being asked twice if we had used mini-bar and confirming twice NO we still had to wait for an in room confirmation it appears. Never happened before . Poor form. I do love Emirates but a bit tired of Dubai . The chauffeur was monosyllabic at best but got us there in good time. The BC check in was busy and mainly serviced by unhappy ladies it appears. Still it is a massive terminal now and we then took a train to our gates which is the A380 hub I assume. Nice lounge of course and better still dedicated entry via skylane to upper deck of plane – no more buses! Boarded in plenty of time and things looking good allowing for some delay as very busy airport. But no apparently we had to wait for some late passengers, missed ” our window” and didn’t leave until an hour later. Yes sitting in BC lie flat beds waiting is not akin to getting teeth pulled agreed but still if you have rules bloody stick to them! What is the point of sticking up signs everywhere that “boarding closes 20 mins before departure. If not on you will not be allowed on ” . Bullshit as usual. Like every organised tour you go on there is always some asshole who holds everyone else up and they are allowed to live yet alone keep doing it. Let them board the plane and get to start of runway. Then stop , announce their names loudly as in”…. will now be leaving us ” and send them down the emergency Shute and let them walk back to terminal in 36 degrees heat. They won’t do it again.
Food and drink is excellent and plentiful of course. Even in relative comfort I won’t sleep during the 14 hrs. I will wake CLP up in 5 hrs and see if she did ! Sign off now from A Second Crack and when life returns to almost normal in a couple of days hand out some ” Flashies” awards in various categories
And about time. I was searching for some Ebola to offload some fluids quickly . Too soon? Well there has been some hysteria to be fair but if ya follow da Flashman ya know what to expect
Dubai has not really worked out this time although still relaxing and a fantastic lunch yesterday. Entering the testosterone laden world of Dubai is not intimidating per se but not exactly welcoming either although the service level is extreme. Almost to the point you want to buck in and help too just to break the master slave routine. This will sound odd, if not a tad racist, but really just tired of foreigners everywhere. They all talk incessantly and loudly. And the tourists are the worst , especially this place swarming with elderly Japanese. Some of those ladies can pack it away at the breakfast buffet let me tell you. The hotel is in an isolated ,and somewhat run down, part of the city. The pool and surrounds is in the shade all afternoon and no Hubbly Bubbly available at all. Fond memories of watching the sun go down through a smoke filled haze while sipping a beer are but a distant memory . The pool is invariably full of young kids getting swimming lessons from one very busy guy. Luckily he was born with a suntan. At least I look good around the pool with the number of hirsuite overweight local men lounging around . The fit ones are out playing cricket in the car park. For men that don’t shave they sure use a lot of aftershave- and the cheap kind judging by the lifts ! They congregate in packs and think they enjoy the intimidating facade really.
So we will shall sit by the pool this morning and then head into Dubai mall after to check it out. The tall thingy is all booked out – yes surprisingly poor planning by experienced travellers like us – unless you want to spend $130 AU each to skip the line. We skipped it alright. Then back to the pool for the afternoon and catch some , well, shade I guess. We may sneak in one last beer after ban lifted at 7 pm. Or not. Books are open, place your bets….
As said before it has been a wonderful holiday full of new experiences but am ready to get home. BC on the way home should ease some of the stress . After all have to start planning next one.
Oh that’s right it’s a solo trip to NYC next February 😎
flashman181 