Book and Beer

In The Old Ways Macfarlane examines the routes that mark - and in many cases lie submerged within or beneath - the British landscape. And not just the British landscape, but Spain and Palestine too. He draws out the connections between pathways and stories, reflecting on the different kinds of thinking and writing there have been inspired by travelling on foot.

Macfarlane is a lyrical, eloquent writer, whose portfolio of interests encompasses art, geology, map-making, poetry, environmentalism and adventure. As he goes about this he is guided by the spirits of many who have gone before him; perhaps the most significant of these is the poet Edward Thomas, with the artist Eric Ravilious another.

This is both a book about journeys and a journey in its own right - into the past, but also into the self. It is scholarly, informative, moving and thought-provoking. All I can say really is wow, what a beautiful and inspiring book, makes me want to get off my arse and go for a walk. The beer was good too :)

Book and Beer

I found the first half of this book quite hard going but later in the book it really gets going and I did look forward to reading the other two parts of the trilogy but my desire for reading fantasy has gone at the moment and I fancy a change so will read the other two books when I'm in the mood!

Characterisation is the key to good story-telling and that is where this book succeeds and keeps the reader engaged. By keeping the backdrop tightly contained the author has allowed the characters to come to the fore, and as a result they and their battles are the key drivers to the story.

The world building aspect of this book was very standard and straightforward, not particularly exciting but the real winner here is the plot. The writing style is also straightforward and accessible, an easy read!

I'd recommend this book if you like your fantasy stuff!

Great beer too! :)

The ECB Knights - Cruise No 1

Last night was my first ride out with the "ECB Knights" on my single speed! The ECB Knights are Nick, owner of East Coast Bicycles (ECB), Colin, his best mate and a rag tag bunch of ECB customers who've bought single speed and fixed gear bikes from ECB, which now includes myself.
One of the things I was looking forward to (apart from getting to and from work quicker) was participating in these regular Tuesday evening bike rides,, open to anyone with a fixed/single geared bike where a different route is undertaken each week but always finishes at Pave bar.

I had been very excited about my first ride since getting my bike last Friday and when yesterday finally arrived I literally couldn't wait. When it got to less then an hour before I was due to depart for East Coast Bicycles (the 19:00 meeting point) I suddenly started feeling very nervous and started worrying that my fitness levels were not going to be of a high enough standard.
Finally the time came and just as I opened the door to set off the sky opened up and the rain began to pour down. I immediately hesitated and tried convincing my self I would foolishly be the only one to turn up. I then thought it stupid that after being excited and waiting for so long about doing this, that I should go anyway and just see what happened.

A few minutes later I arrived at ECB and already there was a guy waiting outside with his bike whilst Nick and Col locked up the shop. Sure enough after another minute or so a couple of other lads turned up and then another one, then another and another, until there were eleven of us!
Pleased with the turn out Nick suggested we set of, much to our delight the rain had also stopped. Colin also informed us he would be filming the ride with a bike mounted video camera...cool! I too had brought along my camera to snap a few pics during the journey.

We headed from the shop along my route to work and turned off near the Hull College at the periphery of the city center to head across to The Deep and then onto the river front. We then cycled along the river front to the North Sea Ferry terminal, here we then cut onto the terminal access roads and headed over to Hedon Road and back towards the city center. We then changed course and headed past my work and onto Wilmington Bridge (of which I have previously taken pictures of on this blog) and headed down a few bike paths back to Princes Ave and Pave bar. The route took approx 50 minutes and was at a good speed which I found easy to keep, my worries were totally unfounded!

We locked the bikes up outside Pave and enjoyed a few beers and talked about bikes and I had a comical discussion about Jazz (a Jazz band were playing in Pave) before the short ride home! Very enjoyable, can't wait for next week!