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The key part of that sentence is 'used to be'. He'll be 59 on Sunday.Quote:
Originally Posted by walpurgis
He's very thoughtful with family though - even when my youngest brother, who was keeping Tony's share of our inheritance in his bank, spent most of it (about £22,000), he didn't get punched. And Tony knows he will never get that money back.
I'm just glad I spent my share sharpish (half of it on me stereo).
If you don't think you have a black sheep in your family, it's probably you. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Macca
Oh it is me there's no doubt about that.
Hmm. It's a toss up between me and my brother. Both of us have what might euphemistically be described as chequered pasts, as we were a bit naughty when we were younger.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
Nothing like a bit of chequered past to build character. The most interesting people will probably have one. Probably the naughtiest thing I ever did was running through fields of wheat with Theresa May. :D
Did you end up rimming her? If so, you get 500 extra 'bad boy' brownie points, and a 'Brucie Bonus' of £50, for having performed fellatio.
Marco.
Spent the whole of this afternoon at Tate Modern, London. Hadn't been there for a couple of years, so it was good to visit the place again.
I used to be a regular 'culture vulture', visiting London twice a week to attend concerts, exhibitions and visit art galleries and museums - but for various reasons it dropped off considerably in the '00s.
I'm not admitting to anything! Anne Widdecombe would have my balls in a vice if she found out I'd been unfaithful. Now that did take some rimming. Luckily there's a bus route round it.
Sorry about that Barry.Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
I've not visited London for over 36 years and I keep promising myself a visit, but it's just so expensive. I did visit a museum there when I was fourteen, can't remember which but I remember a mummy, Rameses something I think.
I'm still a regular visitor to London (it's only 35 minutes by train), but my visits to museums and galleries are not as frequent there as they used to be. As I said it has been two years since I last visited the Tate Modern gallery.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
Apropos your museum visit, was it to see the Tutankhamun exhibition at the British Museum in 1972?
Ramses 2nd statue is in British museum in London I think. Or was
Well, it was during school summer holidays, 1973, so could be. We were only in London for 2 nights, so my mum was trying to cram as much stuff in as possible.Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
When you can get a week's holiday somewhere sunny for less than a weekend there, it's pretty hard to justify. But that, as well as a visit to Barcelona to re-visit the Sagrada Familia (proposed completion in about 7 years) are on my bucket list. I know, my ambitions aren't very lofty, but I'm being realistic. :)
Ha - respect for finding a wet patch under that lot!Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
Marco.
How busy are these galleries and museums, generally, Barry?Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
Del and I rather enjoy that sort of thing, but not if you have to stand waiting in long queues to pay (and then get in), which has been my experience in the past in big cities. mostly abroad though, not London.
I'm a 'walk right up and pay, then go straight in' kinda guy, with these things, or as near to that as possible. If I can't do that, and have to wait in queues, for any significant amount of time, then forget it!:nono:
Also, if it's too crowded inside, and you're bumping into folk all the time, whilst trying to see the exhibits, that's not for me either.
Marco [doesn't 'do' crowds or queues].
Have visited the V&A, Imperial War & Natural History Museums within the last couple of years; V&A & Imperial War we walked straight in, slight wait (about ten minutes?) for the Natural History. Ok moving about inside, we got to the V&A first thing so had it to ourself.
Imperial War
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Cheers, Roy. Ten minutes would be at the upper limit of my patience, so could just about handle that, if that was roughly the norm. How crowded are these places, generally, when you get inside?
Marco.
V&A was empty, imperial war comfortable, natural history was busier but you could still move about easily, busiest bit was to see the animatronic T. rex but you could swerve that anyway.
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Cool. I suppose it'd depend on the time of year you went, too:)
I just have (bad) memories of standing in long queues abroad, in the heat, waiting to get into the likes of Versailles, or the Colosseum in Rome, often giving up and telling Del I'll wait for her in the pub!!:D
And you hear all sorts of horror stories of folk waiting for HOURS to get into Disneyland... Feck that pish. That's a penance, not a holiday!!:doh:
Marco.
Yes, I recall a day out during school holidays to Thorpe Park & only getting on 5 rides, never again.
Yeah, all that kind of shite. Why on earth do folks do it? If you're on holiday or have a day off, surely the idea is to relax and de-stress, not the opposite!!
It's the same on Bank Holiday Mondays: all the sheep head for *exactly* the same seaside locations, getting stuck in huge traffic jams, to and from their destinations, and when they eventually arrive at their destination, they can't get parked!!!:D
Bloody madness:mental:
Marco.
Went to Tate Modern ( Bankside one ) during school holiday s few years back and not too crowded at all, quite an enjoyable day out in fact.
My brain unable to understand everything there of course but if your into that sort of thing well worth going to I would have thought.
Best bit for me was the panoramic views across London showing famous landmarks and river Thames from the restaurant area.
You would need a good few days though Marco to see much of London, and a week would be more like it I would say. Happy ( 2 days ago birthday ) btw.
https://youtu.be/W2JI0k9HuZk
Marco.
Didn't bother looking for one. Provided my own lube and hoped for the best. Tbh, I came and went pretty much unnoticed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
I went to Alton Towers a few years ago, and in the queues for the rides there were signs which helpfully told you how long you were going to wait at a given point (20mins. from here, 50 mins. from here and so on). I managed to fit in about six rides, with about 90% of my time spent queuing. It was quite expensive to get in, and having seen what it's like there I wouldn't go back even if it was free. :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
It's worse during the holiday periods and over bank holidays. Weekend are also busy, for obvious reasons.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
For 'landmark' exhibitions galleries will sell out weeks in advance, but since the duration of the exhibition is several months, you can usually find a time to visit at some point midway between the opening and closing dates; at the start and coming up to the closing dates, exhibitions are almost certain to be fully booked.
The exhibition at the Tate Modern we went to see was "Picasso 1932", which has proved to be especially popular. I booked on-line, but had to delay my visit by a week to find an 'available' day.
With popular exhibitions, in order to shepherd the number of visitors the tickets are timed, so the exhibition rooms don't become overcrowded. Understandable - but I don't like it. Like you I want to walk up, buy my ticket and walk in. On this occasion, because the on-line booking system didn't work (as I often find happens), I phoned up and spoke to someone who assured me that because I was booking a week in advance, I could choose the entry time I liked. You are not limited to this time; you can arrive later as we did, and there is no limit on how long you can stay, though the organisers usually assume about an hour is all one will take.
But I have had to queue for several hours to get into a popular exhibition (or in the example I'm about to cite, an exposition). In 1989 I remember queuing for about two to three hours to get in to see the Gaugin exhibition at the Grande Palais in Paris. I was with a friend, had a good book with me to read, it was a fine sunny day and there was an ice cream van parked nearby selling glaces and cold drinks. And yes, it was well worth the wait.
Interesting stuff, Barry. However, even with a good book and a supply of ice-cream, I doubt I would've had the patience to have waited for several hours. It's just not my idea of fun, as I'd get bored and fed up pretty quickly, just hanging around.
How did you manage to retain your place in the queue (whilst I presume seated) reading a book and eating ice-cream?:)
Marco.
You probably know this already but if you become a member at Tate you can just rock up and walk in whenever you like.Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
For £120 a year you get a "member plus guest" - it's not cheap, but the Picasso is £22 a ticket, so if you go to see three exhibitions a year it's worth it. Plus you get access to nice members rooms and it's not at all policed so you can lend the cards to friends very easily.
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If I lived in or around London, and was a regular exhibition goer, that's what I'd be doing! Much more convenient, relaxing, and keeps one away from the riff-raff!;)
Marco.
I remember going to the Science Museum, would have been about 1964.
We went to see the Terracotta Army exhibition in Liverpool a few weeks ago. Even though it was "school holidays" it was actually a very nice experience. On your ticket you have an entry time which means no queuing to get in and no over crowding when in there.
Anyone remember the original release of No Earthly Connection by Rick Wakemen that came with a bit of mirrored foil that you made into a tube to use to view the distorted image on the album cover? You could look down the inside too and look at the reflected image of a picture of the earth IIRC, which would be similar to the above, but I can't remember what it looked like.Quote:
Originally Posted by walpurgis
. Managed to queue for 4 hours in a field at Wimbledon this year ( mad I know ) but at least you get to lay down on the grass for long periodsQuote:
Originally Posted by Marco
so not too bad ( Gulp ) .But once inside the tennis is amazing to watch live much better than viewing on tv and stewards, shop staff were so helpful and friendly with
not a jobsworth insight !
That's the point of going with a friend: one of you goes to buy the ice creams, the other keeps the place in the queue. The book was Daphne Du Maurier's 'Jamaica Inn' which I found quite engrossing, so the time passed quickly.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Yes, they all do membership: the Tate; RA; Southbank etc. Will probably join next year. I hadn't realised it was "member plus guest", so that makes it even more attractive.Quote:
Originally Posted by rdpx
Agree with your comment on the presumption of honesty - we were given OAP concession when we booked and no questions were asked. :)
Lol - pity the poor bugger who was made to stand there all that time in the heat, while you sat back reading your book, licking an ice-cream!;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
Marco.
:doh: You don't understand: one of you goes to buy the ice creams/drinks for both of you, then returns to the queue, where your place has been kept by the other person. Then later the rôles are reversed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Lol - I do understand... Whatever way you cut it, it still involves a lot of standing around, overall, for BOTH of you, if you're talking nearly three hours before you get in!
Feck that for a game of soldiers...:nono:
Marco.
I'm with you Marco. I simply won't do anything that involves waiting in queues for ages.
Yeah, Geoff, each to their own, I suppose... For me, life's too short. The only way I'd entertain that would be if there was a pub nearby, so I could sit in comfort and have a few cold beers, while I was waiting!!:D
Unfortunately, I'm not known for my patience, and queues/crowds just get me down.
Marco.
In 1989 there was no way of easily pre-booking tickets for a foreign exhibition. It was long before the internet.Quote:
Originally Posted by walpurgis
Repotted my Dracena today
It’s gone from this
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To this in 8 years
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Little known fact - There was a tribe of Native North Americans who used the trunks of Dracenas to make arrow shafts for hunting and protection. This tribe became extinct a long time ago, and looking at the trunk of Roy's example, I'm not surprised.
What is a Dracena? It looks like a type of palm.
Ok for firing round corners though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pigmy Pony
Think it's classified as a succulent Geoff but, yes, the way it grows and sheds leaves is very palm like.Quote:
Originally Posted by walpurgis
The wife said “ you need new trainers , look at the heels “
Sod that I said ........
Sorted [emoji16]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...bf71950b50.jpg
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Trainers are terrible for your feet... better with a stout pair of brogues [emoji23]
Mate I have a gorgeous pair of loake brogue boots , I’m using the trainers for short walks while my leg heals.Quote:
Originally Posted by struth
Bought these beautiful Italian hiking boots last year then literally broke my quadriceps tendon 2 weeks later.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...9adae9c82f.jpg
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These days I favour the 'Chelsea boot'Quote:
Originally Posted by struth
I love the Chelsea boots but I have a high instep so I can’t get them on ! Plus I’m a size 13 [emoji20]Quote:
Originally Posted by Roy S
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They’re all the more convenient for being slip ons.
There is one pair of brogues on the rack
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