'Hehehe.......'Travlers Tales.
Moderators: Orlion, balon!, aliantha
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Orlion
- The Gap Into Spam
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Indeed she can, but I will break them apart! Mwahaha! And who will stop me? You? Jay? Don't make me guffaw!Avatar wrote:Because you spelled it " Travlers Tales" is why.peter wrote:Why does my search for 'travellers tales' throw up nothing of the thread I started of this name some while ago?
Ali can merge these few posts with it if you want.
--A
'Tis dream to think that Reason can
Govern the reasoning creature, man.
- Herman Melville
I am Lazarus, come from the dead,
Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all!
"All creation is a huge, ornate, imaginary, and unintended fiction; if it could be deciphered it would yield a single shocking word."
-John Crowley
Govern the reasoning creature, man.
- Herman Melville
I am Lazarus, come from the dead,
Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all!
"All creation is a huge, ornate, imaginary, and unintended fiction; if it could be deciphered it would yield a single shocking word."
-John Crowley
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peter
- The Gap Into Spam
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- Been thanked: 6 times
Time for some restaurant tales [thanks to Av!]
I went into a restaurant in Dheli, reported to be the 'best in India'. I ordered a starter which was delivered with some salad. As the waiter was describing the dish I spotted a small greenfly on one of the lettuce leaves and in mock horror said to the man "Whats this!"
He was mortified and reached for the plate to remove it but I laughed and picking up the leaf and blowing the insect to the floor, told him it was ok, not to worry. Just then another one came out from under a second leaf and I said "Look - there's another!" He peered down at the plate and said "Yes - so it is," and reaching forward smeared it of the plate with his thumb and walked off.
I was pleased to find a chinese restaurant in Havana so the wife and I went straight in for a meal. We started with cabbage soup and followed it up with spring rolls filled with cabbage. The main course was sweet and sour chicken served on a bed of cabbage - we passed on the dessert. All in all we estimated we had eaten about a cabbage apiece.
The Oriental Hotel in Bankok houses one of the best Chinese reataurants in Asia but has some odd dishes on offer. The prawn soup my wife requested would have come as a nast shock had not the waitress whispered to her as she ordered "Madam does realise that the prawns in this soup are alive."
I went into a restaurant in Dheli, reported to be the 'best in India'. I ordered a starter which was delivered with some salad. As the waiter was describing the dish I spotted a small greenfly on one of the lettuce leaves and in mock horror said to the man "Whats this!"
He was mortified and reached for the plate to remove it but I laughed and picking up the leaf and blowing the insect to the floor, told him it was ok, not to worry. Just then another one came out from under a second leaf and I said "Look - there's another!" He peered down at the plate and said "Yes - so it is," and reaching forward smeared it of the plate with his thumb and walked off.
I was pleased to find a chinese restaurant in Havana so the wife and I went straight in for a meal. We started with cabbage soup and followed it up with spring rolls filled with cabbage. The main course was sweet and sour chicken served on a bed of cabbage - we passed on the dessert. All in all we estimated we had eaten about a cabbage apiece.
The Oriental Hotel in Bankok houses one of the best Chinese reataurants in Asia but has some odd dishes on offer. The prawn soup my wife requested would have come as a nast shock had not the waitress whispered to her as she ordered "Madam does realise that the prawns in this soup are alive."
The truth is a Lion and does not need protection. Once free it will look after itself.
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
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michaelm
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 1454
- Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2014 6:56 pm
- Location: location, location
Not something that happened to me, but I remember a guy who was a great storyteller relating the tale of him traveling in semi-rural Ireland touring with a 3 piece jazz combo who were playing a chain of hotels.
This occurred only a few years before the telling if I remember correctly, so it would have been something like mid to late 80s.
The drummer from said band had never traveled to Ireland before, and had little clue what to expect. When they arrived at the hotel they were surprised to see that instead of the typical hotel appearance of that chain, it was smaller and had been converted from what might have been a large residence at some point.
When they walked up to the desk, no one was behind the desk, but there was a woman in typical housekeeping dress in the lobby vacuuming. She turned the vacuum off and said "Sorry, I'll get someone to help you". She went through a door and disappeared for about 5 minutes with no one coming to the desk. Eventually the door behind the desk opened, and the same woman who had been doing the vacuuming came out, only now wearing a dress suit. She looked at them and in all seriousness just said "Can I help you?"
They played their first gig to an almost empty hotel and on the first night just drank in the hotel bar then went to bed. In the morning they each had to leave their rooms to shower as it was an old hotel and they weren't en suite rooms. The first thing that the guy relating the story saw was the same cleaner/receptionist woman outside his room ironing the curtains in the hallway with a steam iron...
Anyway, they played their second night to almost no audience and decided to head out of the hotel and find a local pub. They were given directions (by the same woman) and in no time at all got lost. With few buildings around they struggled to get their bearings, but while they were walking they saw a pub, so they went in. The bar area they went into was small with almost no furniture in it, only a few bar stools at the bar and an armchair, in which was sat an old man smoking a pipe with a small glass of whiskey on the table next to him. They nodded or said hello to them, and he acknowledged them by taking his pipe out of his mouth and nodding.
Seating themselves at the bar they waited for someone to come to the bar. Looking around it didn't seem well stocked, but they did see some bottles of whiskey, so they waited. After a few minutes they wondered if anyone knew they were there, and one of them spotted a bell behind the bar, so he reached over and rang it. They looked at the old man to see if they did the right thing, and he took his pipe out of his mouth and nodded.
After another 10 minutes of waiting they decided to ask the old man if anyone was around to serve him. One of them said to him "Do you think anyone will come out to serve us drinks?"
He replied "Oh, I wouldn't think so, this is my house - it hasn't been a pub for almost 20 years".
They ended up drinking in the hotel again that night...
On the last morning there, at breakfast, the same woman who seemed to do everything came to their table to serve them. She asked what they wanted and one of them said "Could I have some bacon dripping in grease, with some overcooked broken fried eggs on a cracked plate with cold baked beans and some burned toast?"
She said "I'm sorry, I can't do that", to which he replied "Why not, that's what I got yesterday?"
In response she just said "I'll see what I can do" and came back with pretty much what he ordered.
This occurred only a few years before the telling if I remember correctly, so it would have been something like mid to late 80s.
The drummer from said band had never traveled to Ireland before, and had little clue what to expect. When they arrived at the hotel they were surprised to see that instead of the typical hotel appearance of that chain, it was smaller and had been converted from what might have been a large residence at some point.
When they walked up to the desk, no one was behind the desk, but there was a woman in typical housekeeping dress in the lobby vacuuming. She turned the vacuum off and said "Sorry, I'll get someone to help you". She went through a door and disappeared for about 5 minutes with no one coming to the desk. Eventually the door behind the desk opened, and the same woman who had been doing the vacuuming came out, only now wearing a dress suit. She looked at them and in all seriousness just said "Can I help you?"
They played their first gig to an almost empty hotel and on the first night just drank in the hotel bar then went to bed. In the morning they each had to leave their rooms to shower as it was an old hotel and they weren't en suite rooms. The first thing that the guy relating the story saw was the same cleaner/receptionist woman outside his room ironing the curtains in the hallway with a steam iron...
Anyway, they played their second night to almost no audience and decided to head out of the hotel and find a local pub. They were given directions (by the same woman) and in no time at all got lost. With few buildings around they struggled to get their bearings, but while they were walking they saw a pub, so they went in. The bar area they went into was small with almost no furniture in it, only a few bar stools at the bar and an armchair, in which was sat an old man smoking a pipe with a small glass of whiskey on the table next to him. They nodded or said hello to them, and he acknowledged them by taking his pipe out of his mouth and nodding.
Seating themselves at the bar they waited for someone to come to the bar. Looking around it didn't seem well stocked, but they did see some bottles of whiskey, so they waited. After a few minutes they wondered if anyone knew they were there, and one of them spotted a bell behind the bar, so he reached over and rang it. They looked at the old man to see if they did the right thing, and he took his pipe out of his mouth and nodded.
After another 10 minutes of waiting they decided to ask the old man if anyone was around to serve him. One of them said to him "Do you think anyone will come out to serve us drinks?"
He replied "Oh, I wouldn't think so, this is my house - it hasn't been a pub for almost 20 years".
They ended up drinking in the hotel again that night...
On the last morning there, at breakfast, the same woman who seemed to do everything came to their table to serve them. She asked what they wanted and one of them said "Could I have some bacon dripping in grease, with some overcooked broken fried eggs on a cracked plate with cold baked beans and some burned toast?"
She said "I'm sorry, I can't do that", to which he replied "Why not, that's what I got yesterday?"
In response she just said "I'll see what I can do" and came back with pretty much what he ordered.
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aliantha
- blueberries on steroids
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Orlion wrote:Indeed she can, but I will break them apart! Mwahaha! And who will stop me? You? Jay? Don't make me guffaw!Avatar wrote:Because you spelled it " Travlers Tales" is why.peter wrote:Why does my search for 'travellers tales' throw up nothing of the thread I started of this name some while ago?
Ali can merge these few posts with it if you want.
--A
I'd say, "Let me know what you want me to do," peter, but....
EZ Board Survivor
"Dreaming isn't good for you unless you do the things it tells you to." -- Three Dog Night (via the GI)
https://www.hearth-myth.com/
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Orlion
- The Gap Into Spam
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My reign of terror continues! Mwahaha! 
'Tis dream to think that Reason can
Govern the reasoning creature, man.
- Herman Melville
I am Lazarus, come from the dead,
Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all!
"All creation is a huge, ornate, imaginary, and unintended fiction; if it could be deciphered it would yield a single shocking word."
-John Crowley
Govern the reasoning creature, man.
- Herman Melville
I am Lazarus, come from the dead,
Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all!
"All creation is a huge, ornate, imaginary, and unintended fiction; if it could be deciphered it would yield a single shocking word."
-John Crowley
-
JIkj fjds j
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 1058
- Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2014 8:41 pm
- Location: 24i v o ot
The Poor Man's Apollo
A Poor Man's Apollo
Travelling down from Scotland to south-east England, many years ago, I stayed a little while en-route in Manchester. Things hadn't turned out quite as I'd planned and my money was getting low. I had to vacate my comfy lodgings for a cheaper place or else I might have to pack in the adventure and return home, north of the border.
I found a B&B on the Hyde Rd. and, man this was one crummy dive.
The place I was at stood opposite the Apollo theatre, an old building I at first thought derelict.
It wasn't until one evening I noticed a large queue of people stretching away up the street and so asked a resident if he knew what was going on. He told me it was the Apollo and also knew that evening Mark Knopfler, of the Dire Straits, was performing on his solo tour.
I remember feeling a tad dejected. How fortunate I thought, all those lucky people to be out for the evening with friends seeing a rock concert. Here was I, stuck in a crummy B&B with nothing to do. So as they gradually all disappeared into the Apollo I switched on the TV in the lounge.
To my complete amazement the TV announced a Jools Holland presentation of a Mark Knopfler concert recorded several months earlier that year.
So there you have it. A poor man's Apollo. One of those bizarre coincidences that can only have happen when travelling.
Travelling down from Scotland to south-east England, many years ago, I stayed a little while en-route in Manchester. Things hadn't turned out quite as I'd planned and my money was getting low. I had to vacate my comfy lodgings for a cheaper place or else I might have to pack in the adventure and return home, north of the border.
I found a B&B on the Hyde Rd. and, man this was one crummy dive.
The place I was at stood opposite the Apollo theatre, an old building I at first thought derelict.
It wasn't until one evening I noticed a large queue of people stretching away up the street and so asked a resident if he knew what was going on. He told me it was the Apollo and also knew that evening Mark Knopfler, of the Dire Straits, was performing on his solo tour.
I remember feeling a tad dejected. How fortunate I thought, all those lucky people to be out for the evening with friends seeing a rock concert. Here was I, stuck in a crummy B&B with nothing to do. So as they gradually all disappeared into the Apollo I switched on the TV in the lounge.
To my complete amazement the TV announced a Jools Holland presentation of a Mark Knopfler concert recorded several months earlier that year.
So there you have it. A poor man's Apollo. One of those bizarre coincidences that can only have happen when travelling.
Last edited by JIkj fjds j on Sat Jan 24, 2015 4:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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peter
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Great Band B stories Guys!
I too was travelling in The South of Ireland and after many nights staying in my [poor quality] tent I decided to spend a night in the [relative] luxury of a B&B. The one I chose was out in the sticks, a lone building in the middle of a bleak moor. There were a number of other guests and we atempted to raise our spirits with a few pints of Guiness, but it wasn't really working and so we went of to our rooms. Settling down to sleep in the damp uncomfortable bed, I was disturbed by a commotion out in the corridor and so went out to see what was going on. One of my earlier drinking partners was out in the draughty hall in his night gear babbling about something in his room and thinking he was perhaps a bit mad I went in to investigate To my horror the room was infested with the great biggest f**k off spiders you have ever seen! These mothers would have sat in the palm of your hand with thick hairy legs and eyes like organ stops. In a sweat I told him that he'd have to request another room and returned shakily to my own. I once again got into bed and turned out the light only to become aware some minutes later of a scratching above my head. Pulling the light chord I discovered to my horror one of the brutes on the wall not a foot above my head. Such was my night of luxury in Ireland!
The truth is a Lion and does not need protection. Once free it will look after itself.
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
-
michaelm
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 1454
- Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2014 6:56 pm
- Location: location, location
Ah, now if we're talking Ireland...
Back in something like the early to mid 90s, some friends of mine wanting to go camping across Ireland for a week and I decided to go with them. The problem was, three of the five of us had very little money, so we decided to try hitch hiking rather than spend money on trains, buses, etc.
We drove to Swansea and took the night ferry over to Cork. We ended up sitting with a group of 3 Irish guys going home who had guitars, and we had a couple with us too, so we sat up all night drinking beer and Cointreau.
Needless to say, by the following morning we were pretty wiped, so we got off the ferry and wandered around Cork a little until we realized we needed to rest for a while. Me and one other guy hadn't slept at all, so we found a nice quiet spot near the river that was sat/laid down at and I know that I slept for a couple of hours. Anyway, we decided to draw straws to see who went in pairs and who was the odd person as we figured that 3 too large a group to get a ride. I drew the short straw.
I found a place near the highway that looked good, and stuck out my thumb every time a car went past. Within ten minutes a guy pulled over a hundred feet ahead of me so I hurried up to him. He leaned over his seat and opened the rear door and asked where I was going. We had planned to head to a town called Macroom, so I told him - he said he was going right through the town so he would drop me off wherever I wanted. I put my backpack and guitar in the back and opened the front door. As I was closing the door he started pulling away, so I thought "seatbelt" and grabbed it. As I pulled it across to fasten it, I noticed that this guy was completed naked... I had noticed he had no shirt on when he pulled up, but it was a hot day so I didn't think anything of it.
For a few minutes I just sat there not knowing what to do or say, just thinking that I was heading to where I wanted to go. He then turned to me and said in a very casual voice "So why are you heading to Macroom then?" At that point I figured that I had a ride, I didn't need to look at the guy while I was talking to him and I could have a conversation with him and just get out when we got to Macroom, so we just talked on the way and completely ignored the fact that he was naked.
Before we separated, the five of us had arranged to meet at the bus station in Macroom as we knew there was one there, so I asked the guy if he could drop me off there and he dropped me at the top of the hill leading down to the bus station. As I walked down the hill I could see there was a pub just before the bus station and I could see two of my friends sitting outside drinking. As I walked up to them they reacted to what they had just seen on TV - it was the first boxing match that Mike Tyson had when he was released from prison and he knocked his opponent out in a minute and a half - one of them said to me "You are not going to believe what we just saw!", to which I replied "No, you are not going to believe what I just saw!"
We waited there for much of the day and the other two friends didn't turn up. This was before the time that everyone had a cell phone, so we couldn't find out what happened. What we did notice as it got later is that everyone except for us was dressed as cowboys and indians - Macroom has a Wild West Festival one weekend a year, and we got there on that weekend. Basically everyone dresses up and gets shit faced that weekend, so we joined in and as we stood out by not being dressed up and because of our accents, we were invited to all kinds of events that night and didn't know what to do. As the pubs started closing, we found out about the one night club in town that would be open for hours to come, so we went there. When we got there we found that it was expensive to get in, and the two guys with me didn't really want to pay the fee to get in. One of them stated talking to a girl outside and found out that she was the singer of a band playing there that night. She told us to go to their truck, start unloading things and walk in the stage door as if we were their roadies - as soon as we got in they told us to go get a drink and didn't need to help them anymore.
It was a riot in the place, and no one was in the least bit sober. There was a girl who kept asking me to dance, and she asked if she and her friend could hang out with us after. All kinds of strange things happened, such as a woman at the bar trying to feel me up, and then a few minutes later introducing me to her husband; one of my friends being hit on by a guy dressed in women's clothing with a full beard; lots of people offering to buy us drink after drink; and all kinds of invites to house parties.
When the place closed, we ended up hanging out with the girl who was asking me to dance and her friend, so we broke open a bottle of tequila and got into an even worse state. Anyway, I ended up walking the girls home and after we had dropped off the girl's friend, I walked back with her to her house, thinking I got lucky until we got there and she said it was her father's house and said goodnight. I then realized I was incredibly drunk and had no clue where I was in relation to where we were camped. I must have walked around for two hours until I saw a bridge that I knew we camped near and then found the tent. I collapsed part way into the tent and slept.
The following morning me and one of the other guys headed out for breakfast as we couldn't persuade the other guy to get up. As we got to a few shops we saw our other two friends - they only got a ride half way, but spent the night at a rural pub where they were treated like royalty. We had breakfast and heading back to our other friend who still hadn't got up, so we took the tent up from around him.
We headed to a few other places on the way such as Killarney, Tralee (where locals tried to rob one of my friends, and where later in the night we completely lost one of our friends and didn't find him again until we got back to England), and finally ended up in Dingle.
Dingle was a blast too - we spent most of our time with a group of girls who were musicians busking in Dingle and had a great time. During the day the girls were trying to make money and did well, but a couple of my friends tried and were not doing well. I have no clue why, but I sat and played one song and made more money than my friends had made in sitting there for hours - All or Nothing by the Small Faces.
Throughout our time there we got lock ins in pubs, had a great welcome from most of the locals and generally got very, very drunk.
I took the bus back to Cork while one of my friends hitch hiked North to Dublin, we had lost one and the other two hitch hiked to Cork. We met in Cork on the morning the ferry was leaving, but still didn't see the guy we lost. When we got back to Swansea one guy got a ride quick, and two of us then got a ride, but only to Newport. In Newport we didn't get a ride and it was getting dark - we looked for somewhere to sleep and in a small park we found a two storey kid's play house, so we slept in there for the night. The following morning we went and got breakfast and I had had enough of hitch hiking so I went and got the train home while my friend hitched a ride back (and still got back before me).
All in all one of the best vacations I ever had (and I've shortened much of what went on to keep it shorter...)
Back in something like the early to mid 90s, some friends of mine wanting to go camping across Ireland for a week and I decided to go with them. The problem was, three of the five of us had very little money, so we decided to try hitch hiking rather than spend money on trains, buses, etc.
We drove to Swansea and took the night ferry over to Cork. We ended up sitting with a group of 3 Irish guys going home who had guitars, and we had a couple with us too, so we sat up all night drinking beer and Cointreau.
Needless to say, by the following morning we were pretty wiped, so we got off the ferry and wandered around Cork a little until we realized we needed to rest for a while. Me and one other guy hadn't slept at all, so we found a nice quiet spot near the river that was sat/laid down at and I know that I slept for a couple of hours. Anyway, we decided to draw straws to see who went in pairs and who was the odd person as we figured that 3 too large a group to get a ride. I drew the short straw.
I found a place near the highway that looked good, and stuck out my thumb every time a car went past. Within ten minutes a guy pulled over a hundred feet ahead of me so I hurried up to him. He leaned over his seat and opened the rear door and asked where I was going. We had planned to head to a town called Macroom, so I told him - he said he was going right through the town so he would drop me off wherever I wanted. I put my backpack and guitar in the back and opened the front door. As I was closing the door he started pulling away, so I thought "seatbelt" and grabbed it. As I pulled it across to fasten it, I noticed that this guy was completed naked... I had noticed he had no shirt on when he pulled up, but it was a hot day so I didn't think anything of it.
For a few minutes I just sat there not knowing what to do or say, just thinking that I was heading to where I wanted to go. He then turned to me and said in a very casual voice "So why are you heading to Macroom then?" At that point I figured that I had a ride, I didn't need to look at the guy while I was talking to him and I could have a conversation with him and just get out when we got to Macroom, so we just talked on the way and completely ignored the fact that he was naked.
Before we separated, the five of us had arranged to meet at the bus station in Macroom as we knew there was one there, so I asked the guy if he could drop me off there and he dropped me at the top of the hill leading down to the bus station. As I walked down the hill I could see there was a pub just before the bus station and I could see two of my friends sitting outside drinking. As I walked up to them they reacted to what they had just seen on TV - it was the first boxing match that Mike Tyson had when he was released from prison and he knocked his opponent out in a minute and a half - one of them said to me "You are not going to believe what we just saw!", to which I replied "No, you are not going to believe what I just saw!"
We waited there for much of the day and the other two friends didn't turn up. This was before the time that everyone had a cell phone, so we couldn't find out what happened. What we did notice as it got later is that everyone except for us was dressed as cowboys and indians - Macroom has a Wild West Festival one weekend a year, and we got there on that weekend. Basically everyone dresses up and gets shit faced that weekend, so we joined in and as we stood out by not being dressed up and because of our accents, we were invited to all kinds of events that night and didn't know what to do. As the pubs started closing, we found out about the one night club in town that would be open for hours to come, so we went there. When we got there we found that it was expensive to get in, and the two guys with me didn't really want to pay the fee to get in. One of them stated talking to a girl outside and found out that she was the singer of a band playing there that night. She told us to go to their truck, start unloading things and walk in the stage door as if we were their roadies - as soon as we got in they told us to go get a drink and didn't need to help them anymore.
It was a riot in the place, and no one was in the least bit sober. There was a girl who kept asking me to dance, and she asked if she and her friend could hang out with us after. All kinds of strange things happened, such as a woman at the bar trying to feel me up, and then a few minutes later introducing me to her husband; one of my friends being hit on by a guy dressed in women's clothing with a full beard; lots of people offering to buy us drink after drink; and all kinds of invites to house parties.
When the place closed, we ended up hanging out with the girl who was asking me to dance and her friend, so we broke open a bottle of tequila and got into an even worse state. Anyway, I ended up walking the girls home and after we had dropped off the girl's friend, I walked back with her to her house, thinking I got lucky until we got there and she said it was her father's house and said goodnight. I then realized I was incredibly drunk and had no clue where I was in relation to where we were camped. I must have walked around for two hours until I saw a bridge that I knew we camped near and then found the tent. I collapsed part way into the tent and slept.
The following morning me and one of the other guys headed out for breakfast as we couldn't persuade the other guy to get up. As we got to a few shops we saw our other two friends - they only got a ride half way, but spent the night at a rural pub where they were treated like royalty. We had breakfast and heading back to our other friend who still hadn't got up, so we took the tent up from around him.
We headed to a few other places on the way such as Killarney, Tralee (where locals tried to rob one of my friends, and where later in the night we completely lost one of our friends and didn't find him again until we got back to England), and finally ended up in Dingle.
Dingle was a blast too - we spent most of our time with a group of girls who were musicians busking in Dingle and had a great time. During the day the girls were trying to make money and did well, but a couple of my friends tried and were not doing well. I have no clue why, but I sat and played one song and made more money than my friends had made in sitting there for hours - All or Nothing by the Small Faces.
Throughout our time there we got lock ins in pubs, had a great welcome from most of the locals and generally got very, very drunk.
I took the bus back to Cork while one of my friends hitch hiked North to Dublin, we had lost one and the other two hitch hiked to Cork. We met in Cork on the morning the ferry was leaving, but still didn't see the guy we lost. When we got back to Swansea one guy got a ride quick, and two of us then got a ride, but only to Newport. In Newport we didn't get a ride and it was getting dark - we looked for somewhere to sleep and in a small park we found a two storey kid's play house, so we slept in there for the night. The following morning we went and got breakfast and I had had enough of hitch hiking so I went and got the train home while my friend hitched a ride back (and still got back before me).
All in all one of the best vacations I ever had (and I've shortened much of what went on to keep it shorter...)
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peter
- The Gap Into Spam
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Awesome story Michaelm! Man I'd love to have seen your face when you saw your driver was naked.
I spent two weeks down in the Dingle Peninsula during my Irish perambulations - mostly in a small town called Kenmare. They had a route through the mountains called 'the Ring Of Kerry' [IIRC], but also a smaller one called The Ring of Burra [again] which I thought better. I actually 'kised the Blarney stone' while I was there [yes - you can really do it]. While camping in Kenmare I stayed on a farm where I was the only camper there - in fact I was the only tourist there - and not suprising; the site had no amenities at all, and I mean none! It was however cheap. Jack and John, the two guys who lived on the farm were wonderful laid-back Irish guys who spent most nights getting pissed [in the end with me also] in the pub a mile back toward town. They never did any farm work that I could see but seemed to survive somehow. John said one day he would show me something special, and after a slash and climb session through a piece of untamed wood we came upon a huge round boulder balanced on a post of granite some 15 feet high. It was one of those ice-age phenomena left behind by a retreating glacier - a huge 'musroom' in stone and quite magical. I became friends with a german guitarist who was travelling to study the old folk music of the south and spent a wonderfull day on the shores of a lake outside Kenmare [surely not the sea - my memory of so long ago is not clear on this - no, not the sea] listening to him play the songs he had learned. One of the most peacefull and reflective days I have ever spent. Ireland - you gotta love it! [Bastards kept nicking my pints of Guiness though! ]
I spent two weeks down in the Dingle Peninsula during my Irish perambulations - mostly in a small town called Kenmare. They had a route through the mountains called 'the Ring Of Kerry' [IIRC], but also a smaller one called The Ring of Burra [again] which I thought better. I actually 'kised the Blarney stone' while I was there [yes - you can really do it]. While camping in Kenmare I stayed on a farm where I was the only camper there - in fact I was the only tourist there - and not suprising; the site had no amenities at all, and I mean none! It was however cheap. Jack and John, the two guys who lived on the farm were wonderful laid-back Irish guys who spent most nights getting pissed [in the end with me also] in the pub a mile back toward town. They never did any farm work that I could see but seemed to survive somehow. John said one day he would show me something special, and after a slash and climb session through a piece of untamed wood we came upon a huge round boulder balanced on a post of granite some 15 feet high. It was one of those ice-age phenomena left behind by a retreating glacier - a huge 'musroom' in stone and quite magical. I became friends with a german guitarist who was travelling to study the old folk music of the south and spent a wonderfull day on the shores of a lake outside Kenmare [surely not the sea - my memory of so long ago is not clear on this - no, not the sea] listening to him play the songs he had learned. One of the most peacefull and reflective days I have ever spent. Ireland - you gotta love it! [Bastards kept nicking my pints of Guiness though!
]The truth is a Lion and does not need protection. Once free it will look after itself.
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
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michaelm
- The Gap Into Spam
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I have a few stories from around the world and a lot from the UK where I used to travel for work quite a bit in the early 90s (for maybe 2 to 3 years) when I toured with theater shows.
One that sticks out is when I started working on a show where I was taken on as the stage manager and worked with three others - the sound guy who I knew from past work, and the two assistant stage managers. We started out a few weeks before the tour started, building part of the set in a large building in Clevedon near Bristol.
The two ASMs both had motorcycles, and one of them was dating the sound guy and giving him a ride back into Bristol every night. I was being given a ride by one of the show's producers, but on two nights he wasn't there, so they arranged for the other producer to give me a ride. Turns out he didn't get that I needed a ride both nights and only gave me a ride the first night then left without me the second night.
It was middle of winter in an unheated building with no decent place to sleep. The other three guys could head back to Bristol but I couldn't. There was the possibility of getting a ride from the rider with no pillion passenger, but I had no helmet, so as we worked (we needed to complete something that we knew would take us to maybe 11pm) we thought about it. At one point one of the girls realized that one of the actors had left a makeup kit there, so they suggested that I use it to darken my skin and we make a turban out of towels and I claim to be a Sikh and didn't need to wear a helmet...
Anyway, at some point one of the ASMs started looking at materials we had to hand, and from a cardboard box and black duct tape, she made something that looked like a motorcycle helmet. We took a light colored piece of lighting gel to use as a visor and taped it to the front, and we had what would pass for a motorcycle helmet to any passing police car.
We rode back without taking major highways, which made it over 20 miles, and when we got back I hugged the girl who gave me a ride all that way with nothing but cardboard and duct tape on my head.
***
Incidentally, at that time I recall on that journey back that we passed through a town called Portishead and that I also saw a flyer in Bristol for a band that had the same name. Shame I didn't go see them before they were famous.
One that sticks out is when I started working on a show where I was taken on as the stage manager and worked with three others - the sound guy who I knew from past work, and the two assistant stage managers. We started out a few weeks before the tour started, building part of the set in a large building in Clevedon near Bristol.
The two ASMs both had motorcycles, and one of them was dating the sound guy and giving him a ride back into Bristol every night. I was being given a ride by one of the show's producers, but on two nights he wasn't there, so they arranged for the other producer to give me a ride. Turns out he didn't get that I needed a ride both nights and only gave me a ride the first night then left without me the second night.
It was middle of winter in an unheated building with no decent place to sleep. The other three guys could head back to Bristol but I couldn't. There was the possibility of getting a ride from the rider with no pillion passenger, but I had no helmet, so as we worked (we needed to complete something that we knew would take us to maybe 11pm) we thought about it. At one point one of the girls realized that one of the actors had left a makeup kit there, so they suggested that I use it to darken my skin and we make a turban out of towels and I claim to be a Sikh and didn't need to wear a helmet...
Anyway, at some point one of the ASMs started looking at materials we had to hand, and from a cardboard box and black duct tape, she made something that looked like a motorcycle helmet. We took a light colored piece of lighting gel to use as a visor and taped it to the front, and we had what would pass for a motorcycle helmet to any passing police car.
We rode back without taking major highways, which made it over 20 miles, and when we got back I hugged the girl who gave me a ride all that way with nothing but cardboard and duct tape on my head.
***
Incidentally, at that time I recall on that journey back that we passed through a town called Portishead and that I also saw a flyer in Bristol for a band that had the same name. Shame I didn't go see them before they were famous.
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peter
- The Gap Into Spam
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Ahh yes - motorcycle stories! Reminds me of the time I rode pillion down through France on my friends large and powerfull Kawasaki 850 [?]. He had recently bought it and I guess wanted to give it a try so I came up to London and we rode down to Portsmouth [IIRC] and boarded a ferry to the continent. We spent a day riding south and toward the end of it had made good progress. We spotted some bikers on a garage forecourt and pulled in to refuel and have a look at the bikes. Alas we were still a little raw and had not quite found our feet on the bike, which resulted in us pulling gracefully up to the pump and then equally gracefully falling over sideways onto the ground.
The truth is a Lion and does not need protection. Once free it will look after itself.
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
-
michaelm
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 1454
- Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2014 6:56 pm
- Location: location, location
A bit of an aside from the travelers' tales, but that reminded me of a bunch of guys that I knew when I was around 18 or 19 who did a lot of riding. At one time there was a race of sorts between a pub just outside of Portsmouth (where I lived at the time) to a pub somewhere further East along the coast. They would go in numbers and when someone shouted that it was time for the race, everyone would run outside and start riding towards the target pub.
Anyway, one year a guy I knew who was really good friends with an older biker was at the pub (I didn't go) and when they went him and his brother took their car to meet them at the other end. They guy they knew rode an older Triumph which couldn't match the top speed of some of the Japanese bikes that the younger kids had, but somehow he made up time by keeping going when the others had to stop for a pee because of the beers they had drank before starting.
When they got to the other end they asked the older guy how he managed to not have to pee like everyone else, and his answer was "Who says I didn't?", at which point they noticed the huge wet stains all across his jeans. He just sat there on his bike with a huge grin on his face...
Pretty mild compared to some of the stories that guy told about the Angels that he knew though.
Anyway, one year a guy I knew who was really good friends with an older biker was at the pub (I didn't go) and when they went him and his brother took their car to meet them at the other end. They guy they knew rode an older Triumph which couldn't match the top speed of some of the Japanese bikes that the younger kids had, but somehow he made up time by keeping going when the others had to stop for a pee because of the beers they had drank before starting.
When they got to the other end they asked the older guy how he managed to not have to pee like everyone else, and his answer was "Who says I didn't?", at which point they noticed the huge wet stains all across his jeans. He just sat there on his bike with a huge grin on his face...
Pretty mild compared to some of the stories that guy told about the Angels that he knew though.
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michaelm
- The Gap Into Spam
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So while I'm on a roll I'll keep relating tales...
I spent some time living in Australia in 1999/2000, and while I was there we took advantage of there being virtually 24 hour drinking. One place we used to drink in the Northbridge area of Perth (where I lived) was called "The Bog", which was a kind of faux-Irish pub that opened from 6pm to 6am. Looking at street view of Google Maps I think the building itself is no longer there, which is a shame as I had a lot of good times there.
One night in particular stands out when all of us who were sharing a house (7 of us) went there one night and left at various points during the evening as we had enough to drink. Most of us drank before leaving the house to get a head start, so to speak, and smoked a couple of joints. When we got there we watched the band that was playing and generally had a great time with locals, friends, backpackers and whoever else was there.
They had a wide range of 'shooters' (Australian equivalent of liquor in a shot glass, downed in one), and that night we had a few on top of the beer we drank. By something like 10pm we left, but after drinking at the house, me and one of the other guys decided to go back at something like 2am. When we got there the bouncer refused to let me in as he said I was too drunk, but he said he'd let the other guy with me in, at which point he was crying with laughter saying that's ridiculous as he could barely stand up or talk without slurring and I was nowhere near as bad. The bouncer seemed to realize that it was the truth, but stuck by his original statement, so we went back to the house.
When we got back everyone had headed to bed for the night, so we both opened a beer and lit up another joint. The joint really killed us on top of being so drunk, but the other guy suddenly stood up and said "We're on a mission - we need to go back to the Bog and get in and get drinks!" At first I didn't realize he was serious, but he was. Neither of us was in any condition to walk in a straight line by now and we shuffled to the door giggling and barely able to do anything requiring coordination.
The Bog was less than 10 minutes walk away, but it seemed like it took an hour to get there. I recall seeing a couple of girls we knew on the way and the guy with me completely misjudged stopping while walking and fell over...
We got there determined to go in, and the bouncer was stood inside, maybe 10 feet away from the door. Ready to use all our persuasive powers of argument, we walked up but he didn't come over to us. I think he actually pretended not to see us as he didn't want to go through the hassle of arguing with us, so we slipped in and went to the bar.
It was about 3am by then, which meant no band on and the place was only about half full. I went to the bar and when I ordered a couple of beers the barmaid looked at me trying to judge whether to cut me off or not. I quickly said "We're only here to get one beer then we're leaving", so she served me.
We drank the beers and walked back to the house, satisfied that we had accomplished what I had thought to be an impossible mission.
I spent some time living in Australia in 1999/2000, and while I was there we took advantage of there being virtually 24 hour drinking. One place we used to drink in the Northbridge area of Perth (where I lived) was called "The Bog", which was a kind of faux-Irish pub that opened from 6pm to 6am. Looking at street view of Google Maps I think the building itself is no longer there, which is a shame as I had a lot of good times there.
One night in particular stands out when all of us who were sharing a house (7 of us) went there one night and left at various points during the evening as we had enough to drink. Most of us drank before leaving the house to get a head start, so to speak, and smoked a couple of joints. When we got there we watched the band that was playing and generally had a great time with locals, friends, backpackers and whoever else was there.
They had a wide range of 'shooters' (Australian equivalent of liquor in a shot glass, downed in one), and that night we had a few on top of the beer we drank. By something like 10pm we left, but after drinking at the house, me and one of the other guys decided to go back at something like 2am. When we got there the bouncer refused to let me in as he said I was too drunk, but he said he'd let the other guy with me in, at which point he was crying with laughter saying that's ridiculous as he could barely stand up or talk without slurring and I was nowhere near as bad. The bouncer seemed to realize that it was the truth, but stuck by his original statement, so we went back to the house.
When we got back everyone had headed to bed for the night, so we both opened a beer and lit up another joint. The joint really killed us on top of being so drunk, but the other guy suddenly stood up and said "We're on a mission - we need to go back to the Bog and get in and get drinks!" At first I didn't realize he was serious, but he was. Neither of us was in any condition to walk in a straight line by now and we shuffled to the door giggling and barely able to do anything requiring coordination.
The Bog was less than 10 minutes walk away, but it seemed like it took an hour to get there. I recall seeing a couple of girls we knew on the way and the guy with me completely misjudged stopping while walking and fell over...
We got there determined to go in, and the bouncer was stood inside, maybe 10 feet away from the door. Ready to use all our persuasive powers of argument, we walked up but he didn't come over to us. I think he actually pretended not to see us as he didn't want to go through the hassle of arguing with us, so we slipped in and went to the bar.
It was about 3am by then, which meant no band on and the place was only about half full. I went to the bar and when I ordered a couple of beers the barmaid looked at me trying to judge whether to cut me off or not. I quickly said "We're only here to get one beer then we're leaving", so she served me.
We drank the beers and walked back to the house, satisfied that we had accomplished what I had thought to be an impossible mission.
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Fist and Faith
- Magister Vitae
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Difficult to say, but that might be the best story ever told.peter wrote:Standing on the deck of The QM2 waiting for it to leave New-York harbour I noticed that our neighbour by the railings was none other than Terry Waite, the Archbishop of Canteburys envoy who survived 5 years chained to a Beirut cellar wall in solitary confinement, by the terrorist organisation Hezbollah. With neither company or friend to ease his ordeal he sustained himself by prayer and the reciting of long passages of the Common Book of Prayer, which he had learned by rote while at seminary years earlier. We were passengers on the liners return maiden trans-atlantic voyage and to mark this historic occasion [which I fell into quite by chance, but thats another story] the Mayor of New-York had arranged a Fireworks and Fireboat display to send us off. Glasses of champagne in hand we waited expectantly untill suddenly a few desultory rockets and sparklers briefly lit up the sky. Waite turned to me "I didn't think much of that!" he said, and I responded, "No - I think that was just the warm up; It's about to start anytime now."
He shook his head "No - that's the lot I'm afraid" he said, turning to leave. At that moment a massive display comenced comprising of hundreds of rockets, streamers, whirling wheels and fire-crackers. The sky was lit from end to end and fireboats sprayed their hydrants high into the air over the flotilla of small boats in the water below us. As the last firework died in the sky and silence finally returned I turned to Waite with a grin on my face and said "Oh ye of little faith!"
All lies and jest
Still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest -Paul Simon
Still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest -Paul Simon
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peter
- The Gap Into Spam
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- Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:08 am
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Surely you mean 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' Fist?
The truth is a Lion and does not need protection. Once free it will look after itself.
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
....and the glory of the world becomes less than it was....
'Have we not served you well'
'Of course - you know you have.'
'Then let it end.'
We are the Bloodguard
-
Fist and Faith
- Magister Vitae
- Posts: 23705
- Joined: Sun Dec 01, 2002 8:14 pm
- Has thanked: 6 times
- Been thanked: 33 times
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michaelm
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 1454
- Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2014 6:56 pm
- Location: location, location
Anyone ever been to Singapore airport? Probably the best airport I've ever been to in my life and certainly one of the cleanest.
The one time I went there I headed to one of the bathrooms and was surprised to see a guy in uniform in there with bucket and mop, standing to attention and holding the mop as if he was on parade with a rifle at his side.
It amused me that every time someone came out of a stall he was in there immediately to clean it. I have never seen that anywhere else in my life ever.
The one time I went there I headed to one of the bathrooms and was surprised to see a guy in uniform in there with bucket and mop, standing to attention and holding the mop as if he was on parade with a rifle at his side.
It amused me that every time someone came out of a stall he was in there immediately to clean it. I have never seen that anywhere else in my life ever.