"I was alone, falling free, trying my best not to forget..."

OK, I am a bad blogger.
Only one poxy post in the whole of September is simply not good enough, eh?
It's not like I haven't thought about posting, there's probably not a day goes by where I don't compose part of a post in my head. I'm forever doing that.
I just haven't sat at the computer & physically done it.
It would be very true to say that I don't have the passion or enthusiasm for my blog that I used to have in it's heyday. It is also a fact that I'm not ready to abandon it either. Mainly because of of you, the reader. There are far too many people out there that I care about to sever the ties.
So I'm getting back into the saddle.
Allow me to take you through some of my recent thoughts & experiences...

"There might be buildings & pretty things to see like that but architecture won't do"
I awoke in my hotel with some degree of excitement. I'd been waiting all week for this day. I got dressed & wondered down to the railway station. At the ticket office I whipped out my crib sheet of Czech phrases that my interpreter had helped me compile & correctly bought a return ticket to Prague. It cost about £1.50. Digressing for a moment, the prices of everything were wonderfully inexpensive. Less than a quid for a pint, £1.50 for a packet of fags & about 2 quid for a decent meal. Nice!
Anyway, as my train snaked it's way into the Czech capital I realised with mild horror that the camera I was going to use had been left back at the plant in Beroun. Bollocks! There was no way I could visit Prague & take no photographs so action was required. I had been wanting to buy myself a decent digital camera for some time so I figured I'd take advantage of the lovely Czech prices & finally buy myself one. Which I did in my first half an hour in the city.
Result!
Armed with my new toy I started exploring the city in earnest. I wondered around with no real purpose or destination. After a short while I found myself at the river Vltava. I decide to take a boat trip.














This proved to be a great decision as it allowed me to familiarise myself with the layout of the city & all it's attractions. Afterwards I strolled along the river to the famous Charles' Bridge.














I crossed the bridge & decided to head for the mighty St Vitus cathedral that dominates the whole city. By now I had been in Prague for a couple of hours & I was getting a little miffed with the enormous amount of tourists filling the old streets. I know; pots & kettles & all that, but it really did get on my nerves a little.
Some time later I arrived, sweaty & breathless, at the top of the hill where the cathedral stands. I then entered the great church & proceeded to climb the 287 steps of the very cramped spiral staircase to the top of the south tower. It was not pleasant toil, I tell thee. Not only was it physically gruelling, it also emitted the scent of thousands of sweaty stairclimbers past. Eeew.
It was of course a worthwhile effort when greeted by the spectacular views of this very beautiful city.














By the time I'd descended those bloody stairs I was thoroughly fed up of walking about on my own. So I went back to the old town square & sat myself down in the George & Dragon for six hours of live Premiership football & several pints of Stella. The place was absolutely chock-a-block with English stag parties. Stag do's are great when you're a part of them but as an outsider I just found all the lairiness to be rather intimidating. Then I toddled somewhat erratically back to the station & caught the train back to Beroun.
The next day I headed back into Prague again. This time I trawled around a few more of the sights before returning to the George & Dragon to watch my beloved Leeds United lose to an injury time goal against Wolves (Well done ST).
As the title alludes to, I didn't actually have a wonderful time in Prague. It is unquestionably an extremely beautiful city. The architecture is nothing short of wondrous with even the most unspectacular buildings boasting ornate carvings & statuettes.
I was lonely though, I had no one to share my experiences with & it really took the shine off my visit. Obviously, I spent a lot of alone time in Lyon but Lyon was my home & I soon felt like I was part of the city. That couldn't be achieved in just 2 days in Prague.
I'm very thankful for the opportunity to see such a famous place, I just wish I had some company while I was there.
Oh well...















"Oh you handsome devil"
It's quite well known that if you get called something often enough you'll start to believe it. Usually (in my experience anyway) this will be something quite negative. However I have been the very welcome recipient of some positive conditioning.
Seems that after all these years of worrying that my attractiveness was on a par with a bullfrog, I am actually handsome!
Who knew?!!
In recent weeks there has been many an encouraging sign affirming this. Obviously Nice is forever telling me but the other week I turned round in the nightclub & actually caught someone doing an "Oh my god he's gorgeous!" face at Nice when she pointed me out to someone. Also while I was doing Karaoke the other week a couple of ladies were overheard saying "Ooh, he's so fit!" about me. One of the Czech ladies I worked with practically swooned in my presence! And of course there have been comments here in blogland too, not least after my freshly cropped hair picture taken in Amsterdam.
So I guess it's official; Flash is indeed a handsome devil.
Hurrah!

"Travel round, I travel around"
Unless you're new here (does that actually happen anymore? Are there ever new people here?) you'll know that I have become something of travelerer over the last 12 months. In honour of those travels I have made a little piece of "art" based upon my journeys. I had been amassing a little collection of keepsakes from these jaunts such as tickets, flyers & other such stuff. I decided to put them on display in a collage type affair with some of my favourite photos. I'll just grab my camera & see if I can get a decent picture of it so I can show you... Hang on...














Apologies for the reflection of the flashbulb. Unavoidable at this time, I'm afraid.
So what can we see? Well, from Lyon there are 5 photos, a boarding pass, an Olympique Lyonnais lighter, A hotel key card from the City Suites, my metro pass, a metro ticket, a flyer for the Smoking Dog pub, my Coldplay ticket & a plastic hippopotamus that was once stuck into a rather succulent steak.
From NYC we have 4 photos, a boarding pass, a ticket for the Empire State building, a subway ticket (which I reckon has at least 5 trips still valid on it!) & a couple of quarters.
From Amsterdam there's just one photo, a boarding pass, a receipt from the hotel & a train ticket.
From Kaiserslautern there's one photo & my world cup ticket.
From Prague (& Beroun) there are 3 photos, a boarding pass & a fifty Koruna note.
There are also several Euro coins on there too.
I really enjoyed putting it together & I love seeing it whenever I walk into my home.

"Turn off the TV, look at a book"
Though I am hardly a bookworm, I have read quite a few books in the last year or so. 9, I think.
Now I know I'm not alone in this, as Dream Girl has expressed the same feelings to me, but I almost always find myself disappointed in the endings of novels. With the exception of the much-maligned Dan Brown's "Angels & Demons" & "The Da Vinci code" I usually find myself thinking "What? That's the end? Hmph!". It's not like I haven't enjoyed reading the actual book. In most cases I've really gotten into the book & maybe that's what amplifies my disappointment with the lacklustre endings.
For those booky types among you the 9 books in question were:

• Angels & Demons
• The Da Vinci Code
• Deception point
• Digital Fortress (All by Dan Brown)
• A year in the Merde (Stephen Clarke)
• A long way down (Nick Hornby)
• Velocity (Dean Koontz)
• Timeline (Michael Crichton) - Great book/Bloody dreadful movie
• Cocaine nights (J.G. Ballard)

I also started reading Atlantis but it's a big pile of steaming plop so it remains unfinished.
So do you guys often find yourselves hacked off with the ends of your books?

Anyway, I'm back & I'm gonna make a big effort to keep it that way.
Time will tell, eh?