Blackpool - the queen of the west coast. This is one place you must visit, if you are visiting the west coast of England. Mind you, Liverpool is as beautiful and old-worldish, but much more commercial. This I suppose is understandable because of the importance of Liverpool in English maritime folklore.
India, seems so far away, when we see the orderliness and pristine purity associated with nature, in places such as Blackpool - society is held responsible for maintaining the beauty of an amazing place. "Blackpool is 30" implies that you can see little cars purring away behind one another at 30 miles an hour, to ensure that pedestrians and trams get leeway when they should, and who needs loud ferraris in a seaside resort anyway?
The Blackpool tower - mighty enough to rival the Eifel tower, the promenade - a sea-facing stretch of sandy beach,lined with grassy walking tracks and the longest sea facing line of little cottages I have seen, makes Blackpool a place ideally situated to take the weight off your leaden feet. Pity I can't be here longer. Maybe next time, I get a client here, I can do more, see more and perhaps live more of my life.
There are several hotels in Blackpool, and I have stayed in two of them - The De Vere - a divine pearl lining the string of gems making up hospitality chain, and the Hilton - up to hilt in executive types. Mind you, both cater to different tastes, but the cut and dry method of hospitality practiced by the larger chains sometimes does make you wonder about questions such as 'Why?','How?' etc.
Finally, an ode to the beauty of this beautiful little town -
The gentle sea, murmers to me
A silent breeze whispers its breath
A wandering sea-gull's shrill cry
Overwhelmed, it escapes me- a gentle sigh
Blackpool, at journey's end, has won my heart
I wish in vain, for it all, again to start
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Leaving Do
Yesternight I had my leaving do - a sort of farewell party in which a few colleagues got together to recount incidents and milstones which had made the 6 month stay so remarkable.
Had been the entire day in Blackpool, and had to drive to Leeds to host the party.
The evening kicked off with a bunch of drinks (Vodka to Cider...with beers in between) at the Scarborough Taps - a favourite, old English drinking house in Leeds - known for Tetleys beer(which incidentally) is bottled right outside my house(Cheers maetee!!!)
Then came the 'walking the line' bit - trying to walk steadily towards our dinner destination which exotically enough was named "Spice Quarter at the Millenium Square" - pretty close to Leeds Metropolitan University(Leeds Met Rocks Dude ...)
The restaurant was nicely laid out - with drinks in the basement (a very posh sit-out and good service) and a lavish buffet spread on the first floor. Everyone had another couple of rounds of drinks and then went upstairs for dinner(walking the line, walking the line ...yet)
Dinner was a merry affair, with the hazelnut bites dipped in the amazing chocolate fountain(amazing piece of culinary innovation). Dinner was a mish-mash of indian, italian and thai - very good food. Imagine having a masala dosa(pretty good one too) in Leeds, and finishin off your meal with a ras'malai' (Shwe - 'malai' this time) and gulab jamun. The service staff were amazing and the the crowd profile - was generally mid-twenties with a sizeable section of posh seniors thrown in as well.
Loads of photos, with Katy almost drenched in Chocolate - a la me. Thereafter, started the smoke and the haze. 'Sheesha' time boys and girls - with senior managers joining in too. Apple and mint sheehsas were in order, followed by rounds upon rounds of drinks (neat schotch mostly)
Finally with everyone well over the legal limit, bye byes were said and fervent prayers were uttered that we meet each other over the coming week(what with the state of inebriateness that all of us were generally in!)
That was a night- truly well spent
Had been the entire day in Blackpool, and had to drive to Leeds to host the party.
The evening kicked off with a bunch of drinks (Vodka to Cider...with beers in between) at the Scarborough Taps - a favourite, old English drinking house in Leeds - known for Tetleys beer(which incidentally) is bottled right outside my house(Cheers maetee!!!)
Then came the 'walking the line' bit - trying to walk steadily towards our dinner destination which exotically enough was named "Spice Quarter at the Millenium Square" - pretty close to Leeds Metropolitan University(Leeds Met Rocks Dude ...)
The restaurant was nicely laid out - with drinks in the basement (a very posh sit-out and good service) and a lavish buffet spread on the first floor. Everyone had another couple of rounds of drinks and then went upstairs for dinner(walking the line, walking the line ...yet)
Dinner was a merry affair, with the hazelnut bites dipped in the amazing chocolate fountain(amazing piece of culinary innovation). Dinner was a mish-mash of indian, italian and thai - very good food. Imagine having a masala dosa(pretty good one too) in Leeds, and finishin off your meal with a ras'malai' (Shwe - 'malai' this time) and gulab jamun. The service staff were amazing and the the crowd profile - was generally mid-twenties with a sizeable section of posh seniors thrown in as well.
Loads of photos, with Katy almost drenched in Chocolate - a la me. Thereafter, started the smoke and the haze. 'Sheesha' time boys and girls - with senior managers joining in too. Apple and mint sheehsas were in order, followed by rounds upon rounds of drinks (neat schotch mostly)
Finally with everyone well over the legal limit, bye byes were said and fervent prayers were uttered that we meet each other over the coming week(what with the state of inebriateness that all of us were generally in!)
That was a night- truly well spent
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
A New Start
Who am I?
A pretty level headed sort of chap with a wide variety of interests ranging from pulse jets to the love-life of mite-sized ants.
Disclaimer
My thoughts published here are entirely mine and do not represent the thoughts of any particular organisation or entity.
Why did I start this blog?
Exchange my views with a bunch of like-minded souls, people who like to think beyond the mundane, and explore intellectual territories which would normally seem to be outside their ken.
Topics
Could virtually be anything under the sun - This is important. I will try and maintain threads detailing the randomness, as far as I can.
A pretty level headed sort of chap with a wide variety of interests ranging from pulse jets to the love-life of mite-sized ants.
Disclaimer
My thoughts published here are entirely mine and do not represent the thoughts of any particular organisation or entity.
Why did I start this blog?
Exchange my views with a bunch of like-minded souls, people who like to think beyond the mundane, and explore intellectual territories which would normally seem to be outside their ken.
Topics
Could virtually be anything under the sun - This is important. I will try and maintain threads detailing the randomness, as far as I can.
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