Back from York

Just had 4 days 'off the radar' (a little) in York.
Managed a few cultural highlights.
First of these was Disney's BOLT, which was really great: a great pace to the film, nice "Incredible Journey" subtext in the middle with the road trip section: loved Rhino the hamster...



Second was SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, which was exhilerating: great claustrophobic soundtrack and gripping. Below one of several films from FOX Official Movie site.



Sure both these films have their place in the GEOGRAPHY classroom...
Also had a nice meal in the Assembly Rooms, which is now an Ask chain restaurant, just round the corner from York Minster, Guy Fawkes' place and all...
Also took in a rather fine Bruichladdich 16 year old which had been in a Margaux cask - rather delicious, and did some serious shopping in the (never ending) sales: some nice North Face and Rohan, plus a soft-shell jacket.
Trip over to Harrogate as well to meet up with Val V and listen to some live jazz in the Harrogate Brasserie.

Catching up on a few other things as well:
1. Nice BLDG BLOG post link to article on the suburbs: the 'new American slums'.
2. Goathland in the North Yorkshire moors fighting to save its 'HEARTBEAT' - importance of tourism to rural economies - more on that to come...
3. Noel's updated WWW REVISITED Web 2.0 links - looking forward to some Olympics 2012 'action' as well...
4. Browsing nearly 900 pictures in #uksnow FLICKR photoset
5. Got a royalty cheque for £15.06 after my WALKING WORLD WALK was downloaded quite a few times last year. Thanks to all those who downloaded it and walked it...
7. Made a superhero thanks to the SUPERHERO FACTORY (thanks to Angela Maiers for tipoff)

Driving up noticed that I passed through an area of Lincolnshire that had been rebranded as districtnk and a guide which had the name yorkshiresouth rather than, er, South Yorkshire.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On the trail of the 'Detectorists'

Image
As I was in Suffolk last week, I headed for Framlingham as I knew that there were various locations from the series 'Detectorists' and also a wonderful pub just a few miles away where we could go for lunch. Parked up in the Market Square, and from there it was a short walk to several locations. Here are plenty more on a map. Managed to track down four locations: the outside of the 'Two Brewers' pub (the interior was filmed elsewhere), Lance's upstairs flat, the shop where Lance's former partner sells Spiritual goods and scented candles, and the village hall where the DMDC met. Here's me outside said hut. Don't forget the uniformbooks book of course. Still available and an excellent read.
Read more

Jonathan Meades on Sustainability

Image
Have blogged about Jonathan Meades before, and his particular presentation style which I like... Lunchtime today was spent in the company of the first in the series "Off-Kilter", made for BBC Scotland and was about Aberdeen . I liked the look of the area known as Fitty. Towards the end, he moved on to Donald Trump and his controversial plans for a golf course in the sand dunes close to Aberdeen. He called the planned development "New Trumpton on Sea" and talked about gated communities and their absentee residents. He riffed on the idea of ' sustainability ' and how every architect and development trumpeted its sustainable credentials. New words like : "Sustain-abulous" and "Sustain-astic" ! Called it "architectural correctness"... "It's a slogan of conformist unoriginality..." "The very act of making a building is energy hungry and vastly wasteful even if the building is an eco-igloo of Fairtrade otter dropp...
Read more

Edexcel Cultural Geography Contexts

Image
Those teachers who have opted for the Edexcel 'A' level specification in the UK (for students aged 16-18), there is a unit called "The World of Cultural Diversity" . Today, the pre-release titles were announced. Students will be expected to prepare OPTION 4: The World of Cultural Diversity • Explore what is meant by a global culture, how it is defined and, if it exists, what its characteristics are. • Research contrasting locations, some of which show the effects of cultural globalisation and others which seem to be resisting the process. Would be interested in hearing the thoughts of any blog readers on any suggested resources or thoughts on these particular contexts...
Read more