I went to see a film at Rochester cinema. The tide was absolute tip top high as I drove along the road by the river Medway. I wasn’t sure how long the film was but I was curious to see the change that would happen when heading home. I rated this film on IMDb after watching it and I gave it a 6/10. There’s a whole list of rules for the scoring system so you should read this communication.
I quite enjoyed this film. I’m not really into superhero movies, I find them remarkably childish and immature – he who has the biggest fists wins. This film had some humanity in it. I liked the fact that Peter Parker had bruises and was hurt. I think we need to talk about physics and all that at some point but overall this was good fun. I definitely wasn’t expecting Jean Grey to turn up!
Another day another film to be watched now that the kids season has ended at the local cinema. The tide was low, which makes sense – I went to see this film around the same time as yesterday’s and the tide was low then. I will admit that the views over the river were great when I left the cinema as it was golden hour and the sun reflecting off the houses on the east bank looked pretty special. I rated this film on IMDb and it’s score was 6/10, there are RULES about the scoring system so you should read this communication.
I enjoyed this film. It was good fun. The action was sensible, although I’m not sure about the giant snake thing, but then the film never made claims to be an accurate representation of dinosaurs or similar. Honestly the most incredible thing in this film was the size of the house that the Platts lived in. We don’t have any clues as to what types of jobs the adults do but to make ends meet the father is delivering pizzas after losing his main job. The house is, fucking massive. I reckon they had to set this film in the early 1980s just to justify the size of the house and the type of neighbourhood.
I was somewhat surprised about three quarters of the way through the film with an incident involving a main character but this was resolved by the end of the movie – I’m not sure if I’m happy with that – it creates many paradoxes. To be fair, this film copes with the whole time travel thing quite well. I probably need to stop thinking about time as linear and consider other ideas.
I have just been looking up giant snake things as I didn’t particularly like that aspect of the film. I was bothered by the size of the snake. So, I found a page listing all the dinosaurs in the movie and then had a look at the Titanoboa.
I went to the cinema at Rochester. Finally there are some films on that aren’t just for kids. A few weeks ago I even went to see The Odyssey again, partly to enjoy the film and partly to be somewhere cooler than the oven that was “outside”. Even the second time that film was great, I loved it. This time I went to see a Statham film. You know what you are going to get with a Statham film, it delivered. On the way to the cinema I noted that the tide was quite low, mud banks visible aplenty. After the film I rated it on IMDb. This film scored 6/10 in my opinion, it is important that you understand the scoring system which is explained here.
This was a Statham film. It delivered. That’s my review.
There was quite a bit of murder in this film. A fair amount of shooting people in the head because it’s cool. A little bit of Americans to the rescue. Silly plot lines. And killing of all people involved in a human trafficking scheme rather than investigating and finding out who the customers were. It was a Statham film. You know what you are getting.
I’ve been to Wales, again. It was lovely. I stayed in Penmaenpool near the toll bridge, this is a village(?) close to Dolgellau. I saw many things. There were dolphins, seals, metal birds, trains, boats, canoes, aqueducts, sheep, cows, herons, lakes, rivers, tiny well maintained roads, mountains, and power stations. I even had a guided tour of Rheidol Power Station which was very cool, we saw the generator room and the turbine room. During the tour the guide suggested we visit the dams as one of them could be driven over and they were an important part of the generation system. So, we went there before returning home.
We drove through Gonigan, Pontarfynach [Devil’s Bridge], somewhere called Cymystwyth and then many miles of single track mountain road through the Elan Valley. When I say many miles, it was a loooong way. No phone signal. Just an assuredness that we would somehow get out at the other end. I didn’t know if we would see the dams and reservoirs or even if we were on the correct road. It turns out that the Elan Valley is a “dark skies” park. This makes sense. We definitely felt as though we were in the middle of nowwhere!
Elan Valley and Reservoirs
On the map look at the yellow road with the green dots. That’s the road we followed hoping to find the dams. We did find the correct dams and drove over the first one!
Craig Goch Dam
There was a car park on the east side of the dam. We stopped for a short while and took some pictures. I really liked the texture of the dam and the design of it. Considering it was made in the 1960s it looked a lot older and I liked that. After seeing this we drove home, there was plenty of mountain road left to traverse and then A roads before we got into England and motorways!
Craig Goch Dam Reservoir and Dam
The whole energy generation system was pretty impressive including how they built in a large drop for the water before Rheidol power station meaning that more energy could be extracted from the water. The power station wasn’t generating while we were there but there was a controller room which oversees all the water system. I was impressed.
I recently returned from some time in Mid-Wales and it was great being there. The temperatures was nice, ~20C, and there was even rain! We managed to see plenty of aircraft and heard many more. One day while near Llyn Tegid we saw some Texan IIs and Typhoons. I don’t have any pictures of those. It appears that they use this valley as an entrance to the Mach Loop. A little later while at our holiday cottage I saw this beast fly by:
A400M – Atlas – Mawddach Valley
On the day we actually chose to go to the Mach Loop we didn’t actually see anything when we were up high but we did see the US Air Force doing some stuff:
MC130J – Mach Loop
Then while walking up to a vantage point we had a couple of F35s pop by:
F35 – Lightning II – Mach Loop
We could often hear Hawk T2s flying around but I don’t think we saw one. They were often messing around at around 20,000ft so the noise was clear but the images weren’t. Shame really, would have been nice to see them, they were the only “regular” we didn’t see.
It’s time to say goodbye to a pair of excellent companions. These Merrell shoes have been with me for around ten years and it’s time to let them go. These are the second pair of Merrells I have loved. They have been everywhere with me. The waterproofing hasn’t worked for many years, they are “air conditioned” and finally I think I have to admit that they no longer are cushioned at the heels. I spent a long time walking around in them at the weekend and my heels noticed every bump in the ground. It is a shame and emotionally hard to send these off to the great dump in the land but they need to go.
Farewell Old Friends
I’m slightly annoyed as the newer version of these shoes are shaped slightly different and fit slightly different and I am not sure I like the change. I’m going to have to wear them around the house to get used to them. Eventually I will put the magnet things on them.
The next one occurs in this country after I’m dead (probably) so I made sure to experience this one. I almost forgot but I had set an alarm and so I went outside around 1800 last night and spent ninety minutes enjoying the spectacle. As I only remembered quite late I grabbed a box from upstairs, dusted it, and made a pinhole. It worked quite well. Here’s the view at 1850 hours local time:
August 2026 Solar Eclipse
The box was highly textured and so that’s the bumpy look to the image but he occlusion is clear. Later on it got darker and cooler which was lovely – it’s been too hot here the last few days and the day of writing this it is going to be a lot hotter, damn anthropogenic global warming. The best the eclipse got for me was around 1913 hours and here is that picture:
August 2026 Solar Eclipse – As good as it gets
I remember an eclipse from the past, I think it was in the late nineties. I was definitely in the garden at the ancestral home and made a pinhole camera for that one. I think it was the one that was best viewed in Cornwall but my memories seem mixed about all that, emotional and picture memories aren’t lining up I think. Yes, I did briefly look directly at the sun, but very briefly I’m not a complete twat!
Went to one of my favourite places recently. Got a flight with Smith to Hannover Airport after meeting Huw and Ruby at Heathrow, then a train to Hannover Hbf. We met up with a friend in town after visiting the aircraft museum. That evening we had some food at a rooftop bar. The Friday morning we had to get to Hildesheim and we got the train after our stay in the Panorama Hotel next to the redlight district. The train to Hildesheim was irritating as it stopped at Barnten for about an hour, actually kicking us off before another train came along and took us to our destination. Wristbands were collected and the bus to the airport worked. We arrived set up our camping area and rested. Zoe joined us for the afternoon and we played some card games. I was very drunk after supping something in the queue for the merchandise. Smith looked after me, thank goodness, and he has a better tolerance than me!
Unzucht – M’era Luna 2026
As with previous years’ write ups I will transfer my notes from my phone to here just as they are:
Saturday
Mortes – main stage. Pretty boring goth stuff. Two blokes and a female dancer.
Xandria – main stage. Female singer. Operatic metal. Much better than the first band. Pretty standard for their genre. They played THREE consecutive songs with key changes – gah!
Back to tent for a rest and then alcohol.
Unzucht – main stage. Fucking solid. Loved it.
Hocico – main stage. Pretty shit. Left after a song.
Lunch – somewhere, something. I can’t remember.
Tyske Ludder – club stage. Heavy but not as good as wanted.
Megaherz – main stage. Sound issues in first song!! Fucking loud. Middling band overall. I was expecting better. Mid tempo rock. Played Rock me Amadeus.
Combichrist – main stage. Fuck Yes! Pit.
Birthday Massacre – main stage. Too drunk to notice. It was OK I guess.
Back to tent.
Nachtmahr – club stage. Great. Place was packed and couldn’t see the band. Met Huw and Ruby.
Front Line Assembly – club stage. It was ok but got a bit boring so went for shower.
Front Line Assembly – M’era Luna 2026
Sunday
Final Selection – main stage. Upbeat goth electronic. Pretty decent goth voice. No variation within songs though so left during third song to see:
Synth Attack – club stage. Hard fast, distorted electro.
Sotiria – main stage. OK goth metal.
Went back to tent for a drink. Could hear Eisenfunk.
Jesus On Ecstasy – club stage. Heavy goth metal. Enjoyed. Goth.
Food.
The 69 Eyes – main stage. Goth rock. Nothing special.
Neuroticfish – could hear from tent. seemed fine. Drank some.
Aesthetic Perfection – club stage. Fucking great.
Aesthetic Perfection – M’era Luna 2026
Die Krupps – club stage. Fucknig great.
Die Krupps – M’era Luna 2026
After that is was back to the tent to get kit, then walk to the bus, get the train and walk to the hotel. Monday morning was nicely relaxed. Breakfast followed by a walk to the station. Train to airport. Met SCOTT from Phoenix, AZ. He was loud but fun. Drank lots as it seemed I was dehydrated. Flew back to Heathrow, got the car, almost got charged an extra £495 for parking and had to press the button to talk to someone. It felt like that took forever but it was soon sorted and drove home.
I just like aircraft. I don’t know why. But they are cool and I find them fascinating. On the recent Germany trip I took some pictures and forced Smith to go to the Aviation Museum Laatzen-Hannover. We’ve been visiting Hannover for quite a few years so this was my chance to visit this place which I’d seen from the train enroute to Hildesheim.
A380 – Heathrow Airport
This A380 was hiding from us at Heathrow. Smith and I left from Terminal 3 which was a little different to previous years when we used Terminal 5. The parking was slightly more complicated than at T5 but I coped. I had booked Meet and Greet parking and this worked well except for the number plate recognition camera part of it.
A400M – Hannover Airport
This Luftwaffe A400 was doing engine runs at Hannover Airport. It was starting up engines on one side only and running them. I’m not sure of the reasoning for this but I took this picture while waiting in the passport control queue.
Dornier Do 28 D “Bauernadler” – Aviation Museum Hannover-Laatzen
This little D028 was sitting outside the museum and, considering we had walked what felt like a long way, was a welcome site. We had got to the museum after walking through some bizarre urban exhibition area.
AN-2 – Aviation Museum Hannover-Laatzen
It was quite nice to see an AN-2. It’s such a proper rugged looking plane and we could also get in and look around. I half expected to see Indiana Jones in the back and some chickens and crates – it had that sort of feel.
AN20 Cockpit – Aviation Museum Hannover-Laatzen
The AN-2 cockpit. Lovely.
Junkers Jumo 004 A-022 – Aviation Museum Hannover-Laatzen
This engine was pretty cool. In fact all the engines were pretty cool. Smith wasn’t as impressed but he’s wrong. Above is the 22nd ever produced production jet engine. Really impressive to see this.
F104G Starfighter – Aviation Museum Hannover-Laatzen
The F104 is a silly plane. It’s too long and the wings are too small. Impressive to see one this close though and you could also have a look in the cockpit. The instruments seemed so basic, I can’t believe people flew these things and knew where they were going and also trained to intercept or bomb particular places!
Messerschmitt Me 209 V1 – Aviation Museum Hannover-Laatzen
D-INJR as recreated here in a 1:1.8 scale model was the world’s fastest propellor powered plane for about 25 years. It held the record from 1940ish until a highly modified Bearcat beat it later. I will say the Bearcat I saw fly at Duxford a few years ago was pretty impressive.
Aerospatiale SA-318 C Alouette II – Aviation Museum Hannover-Laatzen
A lovely example of a helicopter. The Alouette looks like it does a great job – excellent.
Boeing 747-87UF – Hannover Airport
I saw this B747 while waiting to leave Hannover airport and fly back to the UK. The freight look makes it look quite sinister I think. This particular plane shuttles between Brussels and Hannover mainly, nice to see.
Airbus A319-131 – Hannover Airport
This was our plane for the flight home. I tracked it coming into Hannover and got a couple of shots of it landing. It’s a pretty cute Airbus but not quite as neat as the A318. It was late arriving as, for some reason, the air conditioning wasn’t working properly at Heathrow and they had to delay the flight to make the aircraft comfortable for the passengers. We arrived back in the UK not too delayed though.
