Back in action!

French keyboards are different to ours! The letters are in the wrong place. It's been a damn busy week. Last Monday, I did a Jack The Ripper walking tour of Whitechapel in London, checking out the murder scenes and what still exists from 1888. It was led by a pretty blonde who's writing not one but TWO books on the fascinating subject (AW - she knows the guy who wrote the book on Tumblety, but apparently new evidence has ruled him out completely. Damn!). I was going to check out a ukulele store called The Duke Of Uke while I was there, but it's closed on Mondays! Just my luck. However, I did have an absinthe in a pub called The Ten Bells. It opened in 1753 and was a favourite haunt of the Ripper's victims. On Tuesday, I went to beautiful Paris and visited some amazing museums before coming to Brittany (where I am now) for my friend's wedding. I'm glad to say it all went off without a hitch. Great day. And someone gave me two Euros for playing 'When I'm Cleaning Windows' on the steps of the chateau where the reception was being held. Tomorrow, I head to Cognac (hic). More from me when I return to London on Friday...

It's been another busy week in Blighty. On Tuesday, I headed to my aunt and uncle's house in the small, picturesque village of Braughing in Hertfordshire. The lovely house they live in was originally built as a general store in about 1850, but it's not unusual to see buildings dating back to the 1500s. A highlight was visiting my great-grandmother's former house in a place called Wallington, which is just up the road from George Orwell's old cottage and opposite the barn that's said to have inspired him to write 'Animal Farm'. We also went to WW2 fighter base Duxford, which houses one of the most impressive collections of vintage aircraft in the world. I came back to London on Friday and on Saturday night my other aunt took me to see the spectacular stage version of 'The Lord Of The Rings' at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane. I hope it eventually goes to Oz 'cos it's damn hard to describe! It was about three hours long (with a 20-minute interval) and covered the epic story quite comprehensively. The effects were incredibly incredible and the acting was spot-on, particularly from the Orcs that invaded the audience about halfway through! I can't recommend it highly enough. In other news, I sat in a pub called the Beehive yesterday with a few other footy fans (including a midget) and watched a boring game between Liverpool and Portsmouth while trying a few more 'real ales'. I dunno why they're called 'real ales', but the combo gave me a real headache. The next exciting instalment will include random ukulele talk and everyone's favourite serial killer Jack The Ripper! Stay tuned...

Formby lives!

On Saturday morning, I took a high-speed Virgin 'tilting' train (it tilts into the corners to improve its aerodynamic flow) to Stockport, changed to a regular choo-choo and went on to Blackpool for the George Formby festival. I didn't see Old Trafford as I passed through Manchester, but I did get a good view of the Reebok Stadium (home of the Premier League's Bolton Wanderers). Blackpool's a funny place - a peculiar mix of dilapidated Victorian splendour and seaside-town tackiness. The Illuminations along the promenade were disappointing, but I did happen to find the Dr Who Monster Museum, which houses a lot of original props and costumes from the classic sci-fi show. I spent most of my time inside the magnificent Winter Gardens - an elaborate Victorian exhibition centre consisting of bars, ballrooms and theatres. The Formby fest was absolutely incredible. After joining the GF Society, I went into the Spanish Hall and the first thing I saw was a 'thrash', where anyone who wants to gets up and plays en masse. The standard of uke playing blew me away as most of the members (including a 10-year-old girl!) had pretty much mastered Formby's famous 'split stroke'. The members are some of the nicest people you could ever meet and I was lucky enough to be invited back to a hotel (thanks Laura) where some of them were staying and ended up jamming until 2:30am! On Sunday, they even let me play on stage at the Winter Gardens. I did 'Five Foot Two' and 'Our Sergeant Major'. One of the coolest things was meeting Dennis Taylor, a former GFS bigwig who actually featured my grandfather on his web site (check it out here: http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/dennis.taylor/Page_034_richard_maingot.htm). One of the best weekends I've ever had.

Londonium

I arrived in London on the night of the fifth after changing planes in Helsinki. Both flights were good. Yesterday, I went on the London Eye with my aunt (I'm staying with her and my uncle in their historic 1885 flat on Edgware Road). One revolution takes about half an hour. It's definitely worth doing as you get a great view of the Houses Of Parliament and a few other landmarks. I also had a quick look around trendy Covent Garden. Today, I visited St Paul's Cathedral for the first time and was duly impressed. It's a magnificent building, designed by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire destroyed the previous Gothic cathedral in 1666. There are 434 extremely worn and narrow steps to the top of its famous dome and its crypt is home to the likes of WW2 Field Marshall 'Monty' Montgomery and, awesomely, Lord Nelson. Venturing to the other side of the Thames, I checked out the new Globe Theatre (didn't have time for a proper tour) and dropped into the Tate Modern art gallery. Tomorrow, I catch a train to Blackpool (should take just over four hours) for the George Formby Society's annual exhibition!Much ukeing and hilarity are sure to ensue...

Pandas!

Yes, I went to see some pandas today at Ocean Park - a Disney-esque theme park on the south side of Hong Kong Island. How would I describe them? I think lazy, degenerate Ewoks just about covers it. Two of the teddy bear creatures were fast asleep (one woke up later) and the two new ones - Le Le and Ying Ying - kept themselves amused by stealing each other's bamboo and play-fighting. Very cute. I picked up my new green suit today. Had it custom made in two days by mister Johnny Nawaz of Romantic Fashions! Indian/Middle Eastern tailors are like a plague over here. You can't walk down the street without being propositioned by five or more. I just had some fresh steamed mussels with garlic and 640ml of San Miguel beer for under AUS$10 at the Temple Street Night Market. Time to go pack - my flight for Helsinki leaves at 9:45am.
PS - Dan, I couldn't get the dried panda penis - sorry, mate. And I just realised I spelt "restaurant" wrong in that last entry. I didn't have time to spell check as the PC I was using at the Hard Rock Cafe suddenly went all Chinese...

Sore feet

Today was a big one. I hopped the ferry from Kowloon (where my tops YMCA hotel is) to Hong Kong Island (34 cents one way!) and headed for Victoria Peak and its famous tram that's been in constant operation since 1888. It's steep, really steep...and there's only one cable pulling it. At the top, not only did I find a brilliant view, but also a Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restuarant! I ate cajun shrimp and drank a pint of Tsing-Tao while watching boats in the harbour. I decided to walk down the mountain to the next tram station...couldn't find it and ended up on a two-hour journey through a tropical rainforest. I then set out in search of the Mid-Level Escalator - the longest escalator in the world. I knew it'd be long, but holy hell! The thing's incredible. I also visited the Man Mo Temple, which was so full of incence, I could harldy breathe. Tomorrow, operation panda begins...

Hello Hong Kong!

It's not even been four hours since I arrived in Hong Kong and here's my first blog entry! Not bad, eh? Flight over was OK, but was sandwiched between two blokes, one of whom liked the odd cough. However, I was impressed by the new-to-me Qantas entertainment system. I managed to see three decent films - "Sunshine", "Paris, Je T'aime" and "The Shooter". Will try and do another entry tomorrow. I've got lots planned...TTFN.