Tag: legend

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Better Luck Second And Third Time

I went with KL to Brighton for the second time within a month. The plan was to experience the i360 and hopefully to be able to see outside this time. The last time we went it was foggy and we couldn’t see a thing. This time we travelled and the weather seemed good. We were lucky and the visibility was clear up to a height of around 150 metres so the views this time were excellent.

Brighton East, The View From The i360.
Brighton East, The View From The i360.

While enjoying the ride I accidentally knocked over an expensive drink of ginger beer so once we had returned to earth I told the staff. I also pointed out the various buttons behind the bar to K, these were the ones that controlled the UFO shaped observatory. The person in charge of the experience seemed so impressed I had taken an interest in his knobs that he asked if we wanted to stay on and ride again. We accepted.

While in the i360 I looked at the altimeter on my watch out of curiosity. Below is a picture of the watch once we had returned to earth the second time.

Brighton Day - Altitude
Brighton Day – Altitude

Apart from the disgusting hairs on my arm you can see I’ve marked four sections. The describe the following parts of the day:

A – Being at home.
B – The journey to Brighton.
C – The first ride in the i360.
D – The second ride in the i360.

It’s nice to see that parts of the watch that I paid for really seem to work. I’m curious as to how sensitive the watch is to pressure changes. I might investigate.

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I’d Been Aiming For This

Over the time of playing the recent chapter/season or whatever it’s called of Fortnite I had hoped that the opportunity to jump the train in a vehicle would arise. I had tried before and it didn’t really work. But recently I did manage it and I managed to capture the video of it. I have removed the sound as other people were talking while I did this.

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Not Bright But Excellent

For my birthday recently the Legend and I travelled to Brighton to experience the views of the south coast of England from the i360. This isn’t the latest iPhone or other shitty Apple device and it’s not the newest video streaming platform from the BBC. The i360 is a UFO shaped glass viewing platform that towers 138 metres above the beach. The platform starts at ground level and is then winched to max height where it stays for a while before being lowered back down and generating some power from the gravitational potential energy. The views are meant to be spectacular.

Monochrome i360 Landing
Monochrome i360 Landing

We had lunch in a restaurant close to the i360 on the front, the place was called Pinello and the food was delicious. I had a lovely mocktail. Next we joined the non-existent queue for the i360. Our bags were searched and we waited for the ride. There were about eight people in total in the UFO so we had a very peaceful time. Also, It was foggy. For the entire journey we couldn’t see a thing except white outside of the windows.

i360 In The Clouds
i360 In The Clouds

The Legend and I bagsed a sofa and we sat there enjoying the non-view and drinking flavoured champagne or something like that. After our landing back on Earth we perused the shop and then went to the pier to experience the sea-side proper.

Gorgeous Brighton Coastline
Gorgeous Brighton Coastline

Once the interesting things were completed we headed back home. As soon as we rose north of the South Downs the weather was actually sunny!

Brighton West Pier
Brighton West Pier
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It Takes Skill

A favourite thing to do in the game Fortnite is to drive around and surprise people. Even better is to be in a convoy of a few vehicles just driving around the map because it’s fun. I recently drove through some of the Underworld and then somehow managed to park my Jeep exactly sideways in a corridor – it takes skill.

Just Park - Fortnite
Just Park – Fortnite
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Delightful Television – Delightful Day

Yesterday the Legend crew took a trip to West Horsley House. It’s the location where most of the BBC series Ghosts was filmed. If you like the series then you’ll understand that the house is a pretty big feature of the show.

West Horsley Place - BBC Ghosts Filming Location
West Horsley Place – BBC Ghosts Filming Location

The open day was ticketed to avoid there being too many people around, also the car parking was somewhat limited. We rolled up in our luxury minibus, hired for the day, but not quite luxury enough for the wheels to be correctly balanced or the doors to close without needing an extra shove. Coffee and some snacks were downloaded into the living bodies and then we wandered around the place.

West Horsley Place - Fanny's Window
West Horsley Place – Fanny’s Window

There were plenty of Ghosts fans and superfans wandering around. I found it fascinating how much they changed the look of the interior for the show and the dressing that was required to do that. I also liked the fact that filming the show used almost every part of the house.

West Horsley Place - The Drawing Room
West Horsley Place – The Drawing Room

Seeing the same rooms and furniture that was used for Ghosts, and also some feature films, it was a lovely sense of familiarity along with the first time of being there. A bit like when I went to LA and saw things that I’d seen all along on TV and film. I think to get the most out of the time at the house it’s probably important to have recently watched the show and then re-watch it all upon return.

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Tanks And The Forest

Towards the end of my summer period of “not-work” I went to the New Forest with the families. The weather was medium for most of the time allowing shorts and t-shirts but it did get chilly overnight in the tents. The campsite was Hollands Wood which was quite large but maximum occupancy levels were enough to keep it feeling quiet. Driving through the moors was very interesting – the idea that this level of wilderness exists in the south of England was surprising.

The maze of paths at Hollands Wood

One of the reasons the New Forest was chosen was that it was on the way to the Tank Museum at Bovington. People in my house play War Thunder and while it’s not my game of choice they are both pretty good at tank recognition – I am not. The number of tanks, the history, the show, the arena, all made for an excellent visit.

Sherman Tank - Fury - Bovington Tank Museum
Sherman Tank – Fury – Bovington Tank Museum

I found it interesting seeing all the different tanks and I took a lot of photographs, but, I will admit that once I got home all the different tanks kind of blurred into one! A big heavy metal thing with a gun sticking out of it. The kids had a great time and loved seeing the tanks in real life. We all had a ride on a Vietnam was era troop carrier, it took us around the arena a few times and was great fun if dirty and noisy!

Tracked Personnel Carrier - Bovington Tank Museum
Tracked Personnel Carrier – Bovington Tank Museum

I guess I’ll try and find another place like this for next year. Something with planes, trains and automobiles.

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Good Plant Placement

During our visit to the Harry Potter Studios I made sure to do a “deep look”. There’s no point just observing the surface stuff. It’s more fun to casually observe that and then look closer at the design and construction of everything else. Enjoy the overall spectacle and then look to see how it’s put together. During a drink break I noticed these:

Leavesden Being Really Clever
Leavesden Being Really Clever

These plants were visible through one of the sky lights and I decided that the studios were either really clever or just plain fortunate. So, plants are great. They like the sun (mostly) and they produce natural shade. The make places “warmer”, we all like plants in rooms or buildings, they add nature back into our sterile buildings. So, firstly, just seeing plants was nice. Then, they also filter the sun light heading into the building, making it less harsh, providing a more comfortable indoors. Finally, they just look good.

This has made me think more about the imminent crisis of climate change – I say imminent but it is happening now and has been happening for a while, history will judge the 1980s as the start of it all – we have to start doing things now to maintain a habitable country. We need to start planting trees in our streets. Right down the middle. We need to reduce car usage. But the trees would be nice. Imagine looking down most streets and seeing trees and flowers. The impact of extra trees in terms of CO2 capture would be minimal. But the cooling effect and shade provided by those trees would be immeasurable over the country. Actually that’s hyperbole, it could be measured, quite easily, but I’m trying to make a point. Now I’m starting to think that I should start a movement to push for trees and plants along all streets, let’s turn our country into one of boulevards.

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The Studio Experience

The Legend and I went for a tour around the Harry Potter studios near Watford in the recent past and I thought I would add my impressions of the place here.

Welcome To The Office
Welcome To The Office

It was a hot day when we travelled and I was very glad that there was some form of cooling system in the buildings. Our tour started at a particular time with some small talks and a grand entrance to the Hogwarts dining room hall. I was impressed and the production and direction was impressive. They did shove us out of the hall quite quickly but I had seen enough of it by then. None of the staff were rude, they were all remarkably upbeat and chipper.

Being able to see the movie sets used in the real films was really quite amazing. I really liked the Great Hall. Some of the smaller sets were really interesting and to see the level of detail that the prop makers had achieved was amazing. Every book had proper writing all the way through and all flasks were labelled etc. Absolutely amazing.

There were plenty of animatronic beasts lurking around and the detail and complexity that went into all the beasts was second to none. I was reminded of how much effort and planning goes into making a movie like this. After the script based on a book you then have all the art work that helps make the creations come true. After the development art work there’s more development and making the animals, sets and costumes. Then there’s the main act of filming it all.

Hogwarts School Of Wizardry
Hogwarts School Of Wizardry

It was a curious site to see the sets built up and looking remarkably real inside but then noticing that the outside is just scaffolding with wood work. Such a simple background to a complex interior. Of the large sets on display the interior of Gringots Bank, I think, was the one that I was most impressed with. A magnificent sight of marble (fake), gold (fake) and dragons (fake). Diagon Alley was recreated along with Kings Cross Station Platform 9 3/4. The whole tour is a very impressive sight. To see these places in reality was like those dreams when you are just waking up, seemingly real and unreal at the same time.

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It’s Gotta Hurt

I was playing some Team Rumble mode Fortnite the other day trying to get headshots with an assault rifle for some stupid quest. Then I got Thundersticked.

I died shortly after that. But not from the stick through the chest!!

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A Striking Day

I’ve been taking part in the teacher strikes recently. Interestingly the disruption would happen whether I went in to school or not. As the managers can’t tell who will be in school they can’t ensure the safety and supervision of the pupils, therefore they have to make decisions well in advance of the day about who is going to be in school attending lessons and who is being taught remotely by staff who aren’t striking. I could turn up to work on those strike days and get paid, but I’m known as one of the more “militant” members of staff and I don’t think politically it would be a good idea to threaten strike and then turn up. I put “militant” in quotes as I’m pretty sure that just means standing up for workers’ rights.

During the most recent strike day I took a trip to Dover Castle and then the Battle Of Britain Memorial, both of these are in a corner of Kent. Dover Castle is impressive and full of so much history from Roman lighthouses to Operation Dynamo planning rooms and beyond. The BoB memorial was poignant.

Junkers Stuka Sculpture
Junkers Stuka Sculpture – Battle Of Britain Memorial
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