Nelson Mandella @ Millennium Square

Just down the road from the Walkabout

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Buddy @ The Strand

Charlotte, NC to London, UK

Last June I gave up my seat on my Miami to Denver flight and was given a $400 credit.  We used it to fly to Charlotte on March 3 to spend 2 weeks with Amy's family in Celebration of Lynn's 60th birthday.  We stayed mostly in Charlotte, but did drive down to Charleston for a day.

Starlight Express @ Apollo Victoria

Leeds United vs Middlesborough @ Elland Road

Leeds 1 (Robbie Keane 55) drew with Middlesborough 1 (Alan Boksic 27)

Leeds

Paul Robinson, Rio Ferdinand, Dominic Matteo,Gary Kelly, Lucas Radebe, Olivier Dacourt, David Batty, Lee Bowyer, Jason Wilcox, Mark Viduka, Robbie Keane (Alan Smith 75)

Middlesborough

Mark Schwarzer, Alan Boksic, Robbie Mustoe, Paul Okon, Christian Karembeu (Phil Stamp 66), Curtis Fleming, Steve Vickers, Dean Gordon, Gianluca Festa, Ugo Ehiogu, Hamilton Ricard (Noel Whelan 81)

Crowd: 39,251

Leeds vs Middlesbourough

Robbie Keane Scores A Penalty beyond Mark Schwarzer

Leeds Corner

Sick Of It All & 28 Days @ Cockpit

On the 12th of this month Evan, Andy, Randal and I went to The Cockpit in Leeds to see Sick Of It All. A good night of punk. The support band was the Australian band 28 Days, a good support act, whom the crowd was into.

I wish the opportunity to see bands in Leeds came more often, but working nights in the pub is the main hindrance. That, and I am still trying to save money.

The Crap Facts

This is my 188th concert.
The Cockpit is the 50th venue I've seen a concert.

This is my 2nd concert in Leeds.

This is my 2nd concert in West Yorkshire.

This is my 2nd concert in England.

This is my 2nd 28 Days concert.
Sick Of It All are the 245th band I've seen.

Leeds United vs Arsenal @ Elland Road

Sunday was the day I had been waiting for all my life. Andy, Evan, Amy and I made our way out to Elland Road to see Leeds play Arsenal. Wow! What a day! We so easily got caught up in the emotion of the fans, the singing and chanting and devotion to their team. And then there was the football. A rough game, but with plenty of skill as well. Leeds went on to win 1-0 and the fans left happy. Not even pouring rain, darkness, and the cold could dampen our spirits on the walk home.

Leeds 1 (Olivier Dacourt55) defeated Arsenal 0

Leeds

Paul Robinson, Gary Kelly, Lucas Radebe, Jonathan Woodgate, Ian Kelly, Erik Bakke, Olivier Dacourt, Lee Bowyer, Jason Wilcox, Mark Viduka, Alan Smith

Arsenal

Alex Manninger, Sylvinho, Tony Adams, Martin Keown, Oleg Luzhny, Patrick Viera, Lauren (Kanu 74), Robert Pires, Ray Parlour, Sylvain Wiltord, Thierry Henry

Crowd: 38,084

Massive, Beefcake & Me @ Elland Road

Reef @ Leeds Uni

On Thursday, Amy and I went out to Leeds University, just behind the pub, to see Reef. It’s the fourth time I’ve seen them and, once again they put on a great show and the crowd reacted accordingly.

The Crap Facts

This is my 187th concert.
Leeds Uni is the 49th venue I've seen a concert in.

Leeds is the 36th city I've seen a concert in.

West Yorkshire is the 6th state I've seen a concert in.
England is the 5th country I've seen a concert in.

This is my 4th Reef concert.
Reef are the 1st band I've seen in 3 states.

Drogheda, Ireland to Leeds, UK

Sunday’s weather was cold and wet. We went to a place known as the Hill of Tara where St Patrick played a significant role (I think) in an Irish war. I officially declare this place to be the coldest in the world. The freezing winds and driving rain went through your clothes as if they weren’t there. 

I couldn’t have been happier to get in the van and head to our next stop, the town of Trim. The plan here was to see a castle, but upon arrival we found the site closed, so off we went in search of lunch. We found a pub where the locals took a shining to this group of 20 odd and made our short stay so very pleasant. 

This is where our weekend ended. We went from here to the airport and all went our separate ways. I flew back in the pouring rain to Leeds, while Amy stayed with Kern, Reggae and Marie in Dun Laoghrie as she is meeting her father the following day to travel through Northern Ireland.

St Patrick, Hill Of Tara, Ireland

Drogheda, Ireland

On the Saturday we started off by going to Monasterboice High Cross. This is a ruined abbey in the middle of nowhere. I’m unsure of the significance but what remained was picturesque and quiet moving. Newgrange was next. This is a burial site northwest of Drogheda. Unfortunately there we too many people in our group (apparently bookings are required) so only some of the group saw it, while the rest of us went to a nearby pub and had lunch. We went back to Drogheda and did our own things for the late afternoon. Dinner was had at the Westcourt Hotel, a rather swank place where the food was great. Afterwards it was off to another pub, again to continue the celebrations.

Ruins of Monasterboice, Ireland

Cross of Monasterboice, Ireland

Leeds, UK to Drogheda, Ireland

Amy came back from Spain in time for the 2 of us to fly over to Ireland on the 3rd, to have a weekend with friends and celebrate Reggae’s 29th birthday. We were met at the airport by Creany and caught the bus into town from here. After a drink at the pub and a wander around town we were met by the others in the 3 minivans to head on up to Drogheda where we were to be based for the next 2 nights. 

We arrived in Drogheda and checked into the Green Door Hostel and immediately went to a restaurant for dinner. We ate Italian at Sorrento’s before moving on to Weaver’s Pub. It was here that others caught up with us and a good night was had by all. In the early hours some kicked on to a nightclub, but Amy and I headed home instead.

October

For my first weekend off in October (a Monday and Tuesday) Amy and I head down to Liverpool to take a look around. We get to see the Beatles Museum and the Tate Art Gallery both by the Mersey River. It is bitterly cold here and both off us are suffering from the flu. Amy leaves from Liverpool Airport to head to Spain for 3 - 4 weeks, while I went back to work.

I did manage to get to London for a night – mainly to pick up stuff I’d left at the Barnes’. That bus ride is a long one. I will take the train at every opportunity from now on. I did catch up with Saffa, Benno Jr, Andy White and Bert while down here. Had a great night out at Maxwell’s and Belushi’s.

September

Arrived in London on the 2nd and was fortunate enough to stay at Bert’s place. Not sure what I am going to do for work, as I need to get this hernia operation sorted out first. After seeing a doctor as soon as possible, he sorted me out with a referral to the British Hernia Center.

Had an interview for a job at the Walkabout Inn at Reading on the 6th. I was told that they were mainly looking for women but that Leeds were also looking for staff. I had an interview two days later with Jon Crook who offered me a job the next day. My start date is to be the 27th.

Some time after that I moved down to Barnesy’s at Kingston. They have a bigger place and wanted someone to house sit while they went to Spain for two weeks. I was more than happy to oblige. My only trip into the center of town was to spend a day wandering and to go to the Dali Museum. A great exhibition from my favorite artist. I’m pretty sure that some of the works were the part of a traveling exhibition in Florence I saw in 1998. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing his works of art. Pure genius! Afterwards I walked up to the National Portrait Gallery near Trafalgar Square. The gallery was displaying an exhibition of Australian photographers / personalities. A little bit of home in London.

Buckingham Palace, London

Houses Of Parliament, London

Dali Museum, London

Dali Musem & London Eye, London

On the 22nd I made my way up to Hendon to the British Hernia Center to have my problem resolved. The surgery took a couple of hours. I was under a local anesthetic and don’t remember any of the operation. The taxi back to Kingston was a bit blurry as well. The following two days saw me in pain and I was having trouble walking.

I delayed my trip to Leeds for two days to recover. I managed to catch a train to Leeds on the following Tuesday to start working the next day. I get to share a room with Pete and Fraser. The work is not too bad, but it will take a bit of get used to being on my feet for long periods of time. The aftermath / recovery from my operation is coming on nicely.

On the 29th Amy arrived from the USA. It is so good to see her again – can’t believe it has been seven weeks. She will stay in Leeds for a week before heading off for a trip to Spain.

New York, NY to London, England

As money is really low, I got up this morning and decided to catch the subway straight out to JFK.  I had ages to kill at the airport before my flight onto London and my next adventure was to begin – a 2 year visa to live and work in the UK.  At the airport I spent time reflecting on a great last 5 months, and looking forward to the future and hopefully more travels in Europe.

New York, NY

I was up early to make my way down to the Statue of Liberty Ferry, though not as early as I’d like as only the first ferry of the day gets to climb the statue to the crown.  Unfortunately that was not me.  I walked the whole island and climbed to her feet.  I took a heap of photos of her and the Manhattan skyline. 

Statue Of Liberty, New York

I took the ferry back to Manhattan, then a subway to the Natural History Museum and the Rose Science Center (again part of that City Pass).  These museums did not hold much interest for me and I got through them relatively quickly. 

Manhattan Skyline, New York

Afterwards I wandered aimlessly around the 70th – 79th Street areas.  Just looking around and taking in some of the local buildings. 

I went to the hostel, where I met up with Paul (a Dutch guy staying in the room).  We caught the subway to the World Trade Center (the tallest buildings in New York).  We went to the observation deck for an awesome night time view of the city before making the mistake of going on to the roof, where I almost shat myself.  My fear of heights is well known, but this is the worst it had ever been.  You ride up and escalator onto the roof and the only way to get back down is to walk along a perimeter (which seemed miles to me) to an escalator down.  I’m glad to say I’ve done it, but I would never do it again.  I was more than happy to be back on the ground.  With adrenaline overflowing, it was back to the hostel after this for my last night in the USA.

Times Square, New York