Breaking my back.

My garden is in the process of being re-landscaped. Work started around ten days ago and they haven't quite finished yet. They have removed all the large plants and trees from the garden and dug out a BBQ pit at the end of the garden where it used to drop away quite steeply. They have also re-laid the patio and made it much larger. There is only the pointing to do on the patio and the borders to be cleaned up by the gardeners. They're just waiting for a dry day to finish the pointing.

My garden after the biggest plants had been removed.

Removal of the very dubious patio. A lot of love went into that patio, but not a lot of skill.

Since my holiday week in Barcelona I've had back problems. For some reason the base of my spine really aches when I'm standing up or walking for long periods. Because of this I've not been exercising fully during the week or riding my bike as much as I would like to.

Another view of most of my back garden after they have dug out the BBQ pit at the end.

Initially I went to my doctor to see if he knew what might be up. He said that it wasn't a slipped disc or any torn muscles on my spine. He then suggested that I go for some x-rays at the local hospital. After I got the results, the x-rays showed nothing conclusive. His only advice was to rest it to hope that it got better.

The side of my house which was overgrown for the eleven years that I've lived here, now it's all lovely and gravelled.

I spoke to my fitness instructor Mark about my back and he said he would take a look at it during my next gym session with him. During the session he concluded that it was my hip flex flex muscle being contracted due to all the cycling and office work that I do on most days. Because of this extra pressure is put on the base of my spine, which is why when I stand up or walk for long periods it aches so much.

Anyhow as a result of this he has given me some extra stretching and gym exercises to stretch out my hip flexor and hopefully relieve the pressure on my back. There is almost certainly some muscle damage on my lower spine, which will probably take a bit longer to heal.

Laying the foundations of the BBQ pit.

Mark is also going to stop giving sessions at Esporta, the gym I go to. He says that they £600 a month that they charge for him to work there is just too much and I totally agree with him. He can still see me at a local sports academy, so I may consider changing gyms to this sports academy as well. Esporta charge me £54 a month and that's only for part time membership. I'll welcome a chance to change gyms to somewhere much cheaper.

The view from the pit to the back of my house.

This time last year I went on the Real Ale Wobble, I had signed up to go again this year with Wiki, Catherine and Peter. Unfortunately because of my back I couldn't really go, despite having paid up for the event already. I probably could have made the ride but it wouldn't have done any good for my back and probably made it much worse. After I told everyone else of my decision not to go, poor Wiki came down with a virus and bad knees, so she decided not to go, and because of this Catherine wasn't going to go. So Peter could have gone on his own, but decided obviously not to.

I'm quite annoyed that I couldn't do the wobble this year as I'm sure I would have really enjoyed it and it would have been a weekend to remember. Oh well maybe next year, and I really can't wait for my next bike riding weekend away with my good friends.

The state of my garden so far. Hopefully my next blog entry will show a completed garden.

Gridiron time in Wembley again!

Has it really been a year already since I was last at Wembley watching the American football?

After getting back from Barcelona, the following weekend was the annual Wembley NFL American football game. I met up with Phil and Dave in Milton Keynes, and was to meet Jason later on on Sunday at the stadium ground.

On Saturday morning I took the opportunity to get some exercise, since it had been a week since I had a decent work out. I had also been on holiday for a week, a sure way to put on some extra weight.

I decided to go for a short two hour bike ride around Milton Keynes at Phil's place.

Some nice steps that I decided not to ride down! They started off quite steep but levelled off towards the end.

I had a very pleasant ride around the Milton Keynes countryside. Initially I wasn't too lost, but after an hour I managed to get very lost as to where I was. I started out cycling around some roundabouts in Milton Keynes and the next thing I knew I was out in the countryside beside a canal. It was all very pleasant for a Saturday morning. I saw lots of dog walkers and joggers along the way.

The canal as it crosses over an aqueduct.

I cycled a few miles out to Cosgrove and back, most of the time taking turns whenever I thought the route looked more interesting than the path that I was following. I saw lots of narrow boats along the canal and while they looked interesting I wouldn't really ever want to live on one.

The canal turned out to be the Grand Union Canal that runs from Birmingham to London!

Once I got back from the ride my back was literally killing me. It hurt a little on the ride, and had been hurting over the past week while walking in Barcelona. However it wasn't until after my cycle ride that it really started to ache. I could barely sit down properly or stand up straight for the next couple of days!

On Sunday we made our way to the American football game at Wembley. In a case of last minute changes to plans, Phil managed to get 'mates rates' for a very nice Corus hotel beside the northern end of Hyde Park. We (Phil, Dave and I) had a double room each for a very cheap price in the centre of London. I even had a nice view of Hyde Park from my room.

Our seats this time in the stadium weren't as good as last year, as we were more in the far end seats towards the corner of the stadium. Still we had a good enough view of the cheerleaders last year, so this year it was time to actually concentrate on the game.

The two teams playing were the New Orleans Saints versus the San Diego Chargers. The Saints were going to be the home team so their cheerleaders appeared and we were all encouraged to support them as the home team.

Drew Brees making a pass while under pressure from the San Diego offence.

To be honest I wasn't really that bothered about the game this time around as both teams weren't that interesting to me. However the game turned out to be a very good high scoring one.

The usual suspects, Phil, Dave and Jason.

Well I had to take some photos of some cheerleaders with my camera.

The final score for the game was 37-32 to the Saints. We even managed to see a few touchdowns at our end of the field. It really did come down to the last minute of the game before the final winner was decided. The Chargers could have won the game on a last play hail mary lob into the end zone too.

A fat Burt Reynolds look alike being molested by the Saints mascot.

Video footage of one of the touchdowns. As it turned out this was the game decider.

On our way out of the stadium it was the usual long wait for the crowd to move though the nearest tube station. On the way were a few mounted policemen. As I approached one of the horses, it decided that it would take a nibble out of me! I guess I looked quite tasty to the horse and I think I should change my choice of deodorant.

The lovely horse that slobberer and took a nibble on my waterproof coat.

After the game Dave, Phil and I took a detour into London's Chinatown to have a late supper. We went to one of my favourite cheaper restaurants. I ordered some roast duck, salted pork, black bean eel and Chinese vegetables for us. The food was really good and it really reminded me of some of my mum's cooking. Very very tasty.

Once we got back to the hotel it had gone eleven, but none of us wanted to turn in quite yet. We spent the rest of the evening drinking and chatting at the hotel bar till gone one.

It was really good to meet up with my University mates once again, and a fun time was had by all, as per usual.

Barcelona Life.

Warning: There is a little explicit content on this web blog entry.

A couple of weeks ago Debbie and I took a five day trip out to Barcelona. I'd never been there before, but Debbie had lived there for a few months a few years back. We were both looking forward to some time away together.

We set off on Sunday afternoon with a short BMI flight from Manchester to Barcelona. From there we took a short train trip to the centre of the city. Our hotel, The Pratik was small but perfectly functional and very clean. There were some vending machines in the hotel lobby, as it didn't have a restaurant area. Of particular note was that some of the sandwiches had a sell by date of November!

Upon arrival we immediately took a walk along Las Ramblas to see some of the main tourist sights. We had some great seafood paella for our first evening meal there along the main stretch. One other thing we discovered in Barcelona was the number of gelato ice cream shops. I think we may have pigged out a little too much on them over the five days there. :-)

One very impressive entrance way!

I got my chance to try out my first bit of Spanish in one on the first night. I knew I managed to fool the man behind the counter after asking for a couple of ice creams and then he replied with a few sentences of Spanish, which totally threw me! I had to confess my English then and he then replied in English, which was much better than my Spanish. I guess he's used to dealing with English tourists.

One of the exotic windows on Casa Batllo. We visited the inside of this building later on.

There were loads of examples of Gaudi architecture throughout the city. I guess it's one of the things that most tourists go to Barcelona to see. Debbie is a particular fan of his work.

Debbie in front of some mural along the way to Park Guell.

On Monday after a fantastic breakfast of croissants and coffee, we went to Park Guell by bus,. Park Guell is the famous Gaudi park that was build for the Barcelona aristocracy. It was full of very strange buildings and sculptures and quite an introduction to Gaudi for me.

A runner doing some stretches along one of the coves in the park. What a fantastic place to be able to exercise in the morning!

The level of detail was amazing to see in each and every Gaudi piece. It was only an introduction of what was to come later on though.

We were fortunate with the weather as it was sunny and quite warm on the first three days and rained a little on the fourth and quite a bit on the day that we were due to leave. Because of this we decided to do the outdoor stuff early on and the interior of the buildings later on in the week.

A panoramic view of the top terraced area from the middle. I felt like I was in a bull-fighting ring at this point!

From the top of the terraced area you could see most of the city to the Mediterranean Sea. To be honest Barcelona doesn't really have a fantastic skyline. Most of the buildings are quite low down, but there are a couple of really striking landmarks in the city skyline. The Sagrada Familia and the Plaza de las Glorias, which looks like a multicoloured London gherkin.

Me sitting on the edge of the terraced area with Barcelona behind. You can see some of the detail of the crazy mosaic paving on the terraced walls.

Some of the strange lines and shapes of the gatehouse to the park.

Around the park there were various Mediterranean plants. Here's a close up of some aloe vera.

Me having some fun with the many water fountains around the park.

A James Bond moment in between the impressive support columns that hold up the terraced area.

From the park we took a gentle walk back to the city centre. Along the way we visited the rather impressive Sagrada Familia church. I wouldn't be understating it if I said that the building is one of the most impressive buildings that I've ever seen. While the Twin Towers were amazingly tall in impressive in their size. The church is just so much more amazing in the level of detail and size.

The outer view of the front of the church.

An example of the fantastic detail on the church walls.

It's still being built but despite this you can walk through and around the church and see most of it. They have obviously thought about keeping as much of it open to the public as possible during the construction period. I guess the church is also famous for having started construction in 1882 and still continuing today.

A zoomed in view of the inner church supports.

Once you step inside the church into the main entrance hall the immense size of the building hits you. It's just such a large open space with such an attention to every detail. Just sitting down on the side seats looking around had me in awe.

The main entrance way to the church. The construction scaffolding makes it look like a rocket launch pad.

A view of the back entrance to the church. Note the detail on the building. It just looks like a mess from a short distance but close up you can see each and every detail.

There were lifts to the top of the towers at the front of the building and also at the back. We only took the lifts at the back towers as the front ones had a considerable queue.

From the top of the tower you had a commanding view of the city. You could walk around the towers looking outwards and examining more of the details. There were also various supports interlinking the four rear towers, which could be traversed. On the lift up to the top of the tower Debbie suddenly realised that she is a little scared of heights. She did cope very well, but wouldn't go too near to the edge on the tower lookouts and struts.

The top of one of the towers.

Along one of the struts there was a fantastic stained glass window.

You can see the big difference between the old dull construction and the new areas though one of the windows in the tower.

While descending the tower lower down there was an amazing long spiral staircase. I managed to get this great shot of the steps going down.

On Monday evening we tried to find a recommended restaurant slightly off the tourist path in my guide book. The restaurant was just off Las Ramblas a few hundred yards along a street. What the guidebook didn't mention was that the street was along the immigrant quarter of the city. Along the way we encountered a small red light district and a few prostitutes plying their trade! Anyhow after a little searching around we finally found the restaurant but unfortunately for some reason it were closed for the day!

In the end we headed back to the main strip and picked a main restaurant. It turned out to be a meat feast BBQ grill house. Your choices on the menu consisted of meat, meat or some more meat. Oh, I did have a tomato and half a small jacket spud with my mixed grill. I think it was a bit of a tourist trap, but it was certainly better than eating along some of the dodgy places we saw around the red light district.

On Tuesday we took a trip down to the local meat and fish market. There were some great displays of fresh meat and fish that really reminded me of the Hong Kong markets. The only big difference being that the seafood in the Hong Kong markets were alive in cascading fish tanks while in Barcelona it was more like the traditional seafood on display on ice.

We had a fantastic seafood tapas lunch at one of the many restaurants around the busy market.

Opposite the market was a small museum of sex, which we had to take a quick tour of. I was very shocked to come across a bloke in the museum who was quite clearly playing with himself while viewing the images in the place!

Nuff said and just don't ask!

We also took a nice walk down to the Marina, which Las Ramblas leads down to. There was a very new entertainment area with some shops, restaurants and large cinema along the port.

In the centre of the gothic quarter of the city is Barcelona's main cathedral. It would be quite impressive on its own but after yesterdays church, it really didn't compare.

An interior view of the atmospheric cathedral.

In the evening we went out for a recommended sushi restaurant in the northern part of the city. It turned out to be a hidden gem of a restaurant with a gruff looking owner who was a spitting image of Mr Miyagi of The Karate Kid movie of he 80's. After the meal we went for what is Barcelona's most authentic gelato ice cream parlour. Needless to say the ice cream that we had was fantastic.

On Wednesday we decided to visit two of Gaudi's most popular buildings, the Casa Mila first, then the Casa Batllo.

The top terrace chimneys of Casa Mila. Gaudi would never consider conventional chimney tops, he had to make them detailed.

The great view from the terrace to the inner courtyard of Casa Mila.

The Casa Mila building is actually a functional apartment and office block so you could only visit the top terrace, top floor and one of the apartments. Inside the top floor was a museum showing the theory of the design of some of Gaudi's buildings, while on the lower floor they had preserved some furniture of Gaudi's time and also some of his own furniture pieces.

More of the detail of the chimneys.

From then we went to Casa Batllo which is Debbie's favourite Gaudi building. From the outside it really did stand out from everything around it. It's a fusion of organic and aquatic shapes and themes, while all the buildings around it are very uniform. To the right of the building is a Barclays bank, I couldn't think of anything any more different sharing the same space.

The rear dinning room of the building with the entrance way to the courtyard.

Again the building was still occupied on most floors, so we could only visit certain areas. I'm not sure whether I would prefer to live in the building or opposite it to see it every day I opened my curtains.

Pulling funny faces between the pillars.

More of the exotic Gaudi chimneys on top of Casa Batllo.

An example of the scales on the roof of the building.

Even on the top floor the servant's quarters were fantastically shaped.

In the centre of the building was a lift and small courtyard and also some great blue tiles. The tiles subtly turned a lighter blue towards the top to give the illusion of light when it was darker outside.

An example of the tiles in the centre courtyard. At the bottom of the window are slits, which could be simply opened to even out the temperature in the building. Old fashioned air con!

On our final evening out in Barcelona we went for tapas and plenty of beers. We were going to go from tapas bar to tapas bar having a little tapas at each one and a beer. In the end we only went to two tapas bars before we had had enough food, we did have plenty of beers though. A fantastic way to spend an evening out eating at a steady pace and drinking beer in between courses. I even sampled veal accidentally on one of the meat tapas dishes. I wouldn't say it was anything special, but would certainly not eat it again.

On the final morning in Barcelona we went back to the meat and seafood market to have a final seafood tapas lunch and to get some photos of the place.

One of the many seafood stalls.

Barcelona is an expensive city to eat out in, I'd say comparable to London in price. The food however is very good and I can thoroughly recommend the place to any seafood lovers like me, unlike London. I really enjoyed the generally friendly atmosphere in the city as well as all the Gaudi architecture.

How my back felt after the weeks walking.

I'm not sure why but the four days walking was really causing my lower back to ache. More on this on a later update.

We had quite a funny moment when on the final day we were buying some souvenir books. I said it would be better to pack all the books into our one backpack rather than separate them out. Since I'm quite used to walking around with a heavy backpack, so it didn't bother me. However with my bad back I couldn't walk too long with it, so Debbie had to carry the backpack most of the time.

I don't think she was so impressed with the idea of putting all the books into it, but she did see the funny side of me putting all the books into one bag and the letting her walk with it. Then to make matters worse I wanted to walk back up the hill to Casa Mila to buy a book that I had seen earlier on. :-)

Chilli anyone?

All in all it was a fantastic city and a fantastic few days holiday for me. I think the four full days that we had there were enough to explore the main tourist sites. Any more time there would probably be spent visiting the Olympic stadium or coliseum or the man made beach.

Long time no see...

Unfortunately it's been way too long since my last web blog update. I've just been much to busy with too many other things to do. Anyhow, here is the first of a few updates from things that I've been up to in the past month.

The new Cabot Circus shopping centre opened up in Bristol a few weeks ago. A week after it opened Debbie and I took the opportunity to pop down there. They have kept half of the old shopping centre and just added some new areas to the place. It's a shame that they didn't demolish the entire centre, as the old half looks really run down in comparison to the new parts.

A lot of thought has obviously gone into the planning of the new centre, as there is a new cinema and a few restaurants/bars on the top floor of the shopping area with easy access to the car park. Most of the shops are much the same as any other shops in a shopping centre, but they were all much bigger. The only big downer to the redevelopment as that they still insist on charging for parking spaces. It even costs £2.50 for late night parking there!

Here's the new Nandos at the shopping centre.

One of the best things about the new centre is that it has a Yo! Sushi!!! Despite it being an expensive meal, it's one of the things that I really love. If I could eat there twice a day and every day of the week then I would do. There is also a new official Apple store which is nice to have in Bristol.

I also went on a short ride along the Bristol to Bath cycle route on the same weekend. It was very foggy that morning, which made the ride all the more enjoyable. Despite it not raining the amount of moisture in the air meant that I was quite wet afterwards.

The fog made for a very atmospheric ride along the long cycle path tunnel.

On the following weekend I was up in Manchester to see Debbie. I took the opportunity to have a bike ride near her place. She lives in Stalybridge, which is ideally located next to the western edge of the Peak district. I'm really looking forward to many more rides around the Peaks in the coming months.

I went on a short local ride up towards the Hartshead Pike. I'd seen the tower near her place from a pub that we visited once before.

Here is the Pike.

It was a very nice ride around the local area. Most of the ride was on the roads to get towards the Pike, but some of it was also off road around the Pike.


I had a really nice long climb up to the Pike without stopping along the way. As per usual once I started to climb up the hill I didn't want to stop till I got to the top.

The ride up to the Pike. I saw a couple of joggers running around on the Saturday morning. They must have run up to the top, bloody nutters! ;-)