Rooftop Romance

A not so social traveller

For those regular readers who have been wondering where James is and why he hasn't posted anything of late the answer is: I'm in India. I feel that it answers both of the questions! Anyway I am lucky enough to have an iPad and a decent internet connection so I thought I would post a small piece to keep you all amused. You troublesome lot, you!

 

Sadly though, it's not so much an amusing blog post but more of a grumpy old man piece.

 

As most of you know I regularly travel to India, as much as I can really. However, it has been two years since my last visit and while the mountains are the same and the brilliantly bonkers people are still here there has been a shift in the culture of travellers. Before, if you were travelling alone, you could walk into a restaurant or cafe and strike up a conversation with another fellow traveller over a chai or whatever your tipple is. Now you would struggle and the reason? Technology. I walked into a restaurant I have been going to for the last seven years were there would always be a little group of fellow travellers, a cacophony of different accents and now you only hear the technological click of buttons. I sat there sipping my hot Honey and Lemon (delicious by the way) feeling somewhat mournful as if something of our spirit of adventure had died. We were sat in the shadow of the Himalayas and as I sneakily walked around the customers I saw two people playing Angry Birds, one texting, another watching Homeland and at least ten people chatting on Facebook. People would rather be face down in a pile of Apps then witness the true majesty of nature. I drank my now slightly tainted drink and left, choosing to buy street food and chat to the shop owner then stare longingly at an apple logo.

 

I thought perhaps I am just being cynical and that it's not happening all over, but as I stared into each coffee house and restaurant along the road they were filled with people on their laptops, their iPads and phones. What a sad people we have become when rather than getting out there and experiencing incredible India we would still rather Instragram our lunch half way across the world. The hotel is the same, where once was a throng of people sat downstairs around the guitar, now they surround the wi-fi connection, like neanderthals around fire choosing to ignore the likes of me, dying to hear about their travels. Travelling is all about sharing experiences. So man next to me, please stop listening to Taylor Swift songs on Youtube and chat to me!

 

My Desk – The 50,000th hit

I made a vow that when I got to 50,000 hits on this old thing I would post a photo of my desk as a way to say thank you to all you brilliant readers and so you could see where the magic happens. So here it is in all it’s, ummm, glory.

It is a literal manifestation of my brain; quite a bit bonkers, cluttered and full of useless thing. For the keener eyes in the house might notice some of the many weird and wonderful things that adorn my workspace.

Now I’ve shown you mine, you show me yours…

Early Morning

 

Follow me Home

Why spell check is my favourite invention of all time

I love to write but I’m partially illiterate on the side.

Teachers, tutors and lectures alike sang from the same hymn sheet when it came to my grammar. That it was down to laziness, stupidity or –the best comment on an essay- “are you doing this to test my sanity?”

The wonders of dyslexia.

I can read over my work a myriad of times and while the errors may seem glaring to others, they seemed hidden to me. The obvious fades into oblivion when grammar is introduced. Even with someone leaning over my shoulder tutting away they would pass by me undetected like Where’s Wally at a knitted jumper convention.

Sometimes it helps cut the frustration of dyslexia if you can just find a way to laugh at your situation. Although who ever decided to call it dyslexia had a horrible sense of humour. I used to spell it Disexica but it sounds more like an erotic planet than a learning disability looking back at it now.

But whilst twenty something years have passed with my own personal enigma of English thwarting a well dressed sentence help is finally at hand. I call my grammatical saviour, my Punctuation Pirate.

I shouldn’t tease, as my pirate’s work has been crucial in the past whether it be essays, job applications or –yes- even blog posts.

After I’ve posted a blog post a few hours pass, then the phone call.

It begins with a sigh, a hushed swear word then the corrections commence. Thick and fast they come; the ‘I’ve told you about this a thousand times’ or the ‘I really don’t understand what this sentence means’ and the unsurprisingly echoes of my school years, ‘are you doing this to test my sanity?’

Dyslexia should not be something to be embarrassed about I struggle with grammar and spelling, always have and maybe always will. So to anyone else out there reading this; be proud of your dyslexia it can be hard and incredibly frustrating but you are never alone. We can’t all have our own pirates fighting our battles but smile at your silly mistakes and remember they are what make us human.

Going for Gold

Here is a glimpse into my blog post that I will be posting early September (put it in your diaries now) after I have been to my last Olympic event. How could a blogger from the UK, who loves sports not write about our Olympics!

Until then I will be running a series on the street art of Paris so please make sure you have subscribed so you don’t miss out on a single one!

Running to Music

Still so very sore.

Yes I did it, I managed to get across the finish line! Proof at the bottom of the post. Thank you so much to everyone who donated. Here is my playlist that kept me running through the rain, contributed by those lovely people that donated and a few of my own handpicked songs.

See if you can guess which ones were mine…

 

1. Beatles – Here comes the sun

2. Kayne West et al – All of the lights

3. Bruce Springsteen – Dancing in the dark

4. The Atomic Fireballs – Man With The Hex (thank you to Noeline Smith, go visit her stunning photography blog)

5. Shaggy – Mr. Bombastic

6. Bruce Springsteen – Born to run

7. Florence and the Machine – No light, no light

8. Tinie Tempah – Written in the stars

9. Alex Clare – Too close

10. Bon Jovi – Living on a prayer

11. Marvin Gay – Ain’t no mountain high enough

12. Leconfield Acoustics (my band!) – Play the last key

13. Bruce Springsteen – Born in the US

14. Florence and the Machine – Shake it out

15. James Morrison – One life

16. Carly Rae Jepsen – Call me maybe (surprisingly helpful)

 

 

 

Love Locks in Paris

I first saw these paranormal activity in Rome, three years ago, on the railings of a church by the Trevi Fountain.

Back then I thought it was unique to that church. I posted a photograph of it on here and quickly found out that it was anything but unique, stretching even as far as China.

Nevertheless, seeing them again in Paris still tugs at my rusty heart strings.

Lovers from around the globe have come to add their own testimony of love, engraving their initials on the padlocks – be it a pretty pink bike lock or a heavy duty brick of steel – fastening it to the railings, and tossing the keys into the Seine in a declaration of undying love.

There are currently over 2,000 locks on the Pont de l’Archevêché with a view of Notre Dame. Apparently love is very good for the padlock business.

 

“We’ll always have Paris”, goes the saying and now thanks to a simple security system Paris will always have a bit of you.

Sunset through the Crops