Reach for the tap

So, today someone I have known for YEARS invited me to join "We Want Tap" on Facebook (which, by the way, is the most fantastic thing ever invented. I actually have a date on Saturday with someone I used to work with who I haven't seen for about 5 years). At first I thought it was going to be some sort of Downing Street petition to put Fred Astaire and Jimmy Slyde back on the map, but then I realised it is an ACTUAL MOVEMENT to get people to drink tap water over bottled water. Seeing as the UK has some of the world's most clean/pure drinking water in the world, this makes total sense. I'm just kicking myself that I didn't market this - I always drink tap water!

Anyhow, "We Want Tap" is a great way to get the British (and, hopefully, worldwide) public to realise that our water is plenty good enough to drink and that it'll probably mean that a few less birds get caught up in all the plastic bottles we have floating around. And it's got to be better on the wallet, seeing as a litre of bottled mineral water costs more than a litre of gasoline. Try it!

A day with the one little monster who makes me think that maybe kids aren't such a bad idea...

Ho-hum...

Do you think Capitalists would be allowed to do this in other countries? (Photos taken on the street right outside my office).


At least there was someone trying to make the best of an otherwise disturbing situation:

Brussels - Part II

On the second day I did more walking around the center and less hiking to see buildings miles away.


I took this picture, because he looks strangely like Schnarf:


See?


This guy owned a fantastic Belgian chocolate shop. He made all his own truffles and stuff...


And this shop sold cookies. The mannequin in the window was great!



I did do some trekking out of the city to see the Basilique, (after having a Belgian waffle with melted dark chocolate). It was really grey, so the photos aren't too good, but this building was absolutely magnificent. I had to make do with taking photos from the outside only - there was a da Vinci exhibition inside so cameras were verboten, and in the church part there was a funeral. I don't think they would have appreciated me barging in to snap the architecture.



This, I found hilarious! A picture of the Mannekin Pis - do not pee in the garden...


By this time, my Eurostar train was about 2 hours from leaving and I still had to collect my bags from the hotel and make my way to the Midi, so I had to leave.

Brussels is a beautiful city, and I'd recommend it to everyone who travels to Europe.

Brussels - Part I

So, I decided to go to Brussels at the last minute. I was in Amsterdam and then Paris for work, and then got on a train on Friday for some chocolate, waffles and mussels. No, I didn't go entirely for good food, but I did partake in the eating of bad things and drinking of Belgian beer while I cleared my head for an entire 27 hours.

I spent most of Friday morning wandering around the Grand Place, people-watching and taking pictures.


I wandered up side alleys and different streets, and took a couple of photos on my way to the Manneken Pis.



Then I came across a busker who looked like Santa - he had a beautiful electro-acoustic and was singing John Denver, Johnny Cash, Creedence Clearwater Revival and others. He was fantastic and drew the biggest crowd than any other street entertainer I saw the whole time I was there.



I took a walk out to the Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudule. It was quite a trek, but it was the most beautiful cathedral I've seen in a long time. I went down to the crypt to see what the original church was like, before looking around the rest of the building.





Then I headed through the Parc du Bruxelle over to the Palace de la Nation - it must be pretty important, because you're not allowed inside - there's a lot of guarded space between the road where tourists can view the building, and the entrance.


By this time I'd been walking for about 4 hours and had covered about 16 miles. I headed back in to the center where I found the St. Hubert shopping gallery and had a beer, before heading back to the hotel for a shower before finding somewhere for dinner.

Open Letter to Spring

Yo, dude, 'sup?

Where you at? It's coming toward the end of the financial year and there is no sign of you at all. Yeah, you sprouted a few daffodils and even a crocus here and there, but that's all I've seen of you since last year. Winter has been here long enough and he's outstayed his welcome BIG TIME. Wet-footprints-trailed-through-the-house-muddy-shoes-on-the-coffee-table-stinking-smell-of-damp kind of overstay. It's about time you moved back in and kicked this snotty, spiky little troll out. Like yesterday.

Thank you muchly,

Little Sausage

Shopping

Shopping is great. Not only do you get to buy things (!) but it's a great excuse to people-watch. I usually stop and take stock in a coffee shop whose windows face on to the street. Last Saturday I went shopping and all I wanted was a belt. I wandered in and out of many shops looking for just the right belt and as I was one shop away from giving up, I was stopped by a (really cute) guy who waved a leaflet at me, and asked me to attend some rap/hip-hop/RnB evening at the local pentecostal church. I said no, it's not really my thing, thank you very much, and explained how, even though I had been brought up as a Catholic, in a Catholic family, in a Catholic country, the faith I had as a child was lost when my father died. We chatted, outside on the high street, for what seemed like ages - it was about -2^oC with intermittent snow showers, my fingers felt as if they were about to drop off and he looked absolutely frozen and so I asked him if he would like a coffee at Starbucks to warm up a little. The smile he gave me then lit up his entire face and we sat, having coffee, for about 2 hours.

I don't really remember what we talked about, but I know that I was able to open up to this complete stranger more than I have ever opened up to anyone before, and when I left I felt as if a great weight had been lifted. Strange. As much as it pained me, I had to go before all the shops closed. We exchanged cards and he called me on Easter Sunday, inviting me out the following weekend. That's this weekend, as in, 3 days from now. And I'm stressing about what to wear. Lame.