FATMANINUK

Getting to London

Getting to London

In a dramatic change of pace and scenery, I traveled to London last weekend to check out the sights. A feeling of discomfort had been welling up for some time and finally I reached a point where I had to get out of Crawley. I didn’t want to spend another weekend going to the city center and just hanging out. So after a lot of deliberation between going on Saturday or Sunday, I decided to go on Saturday itself. So, on Saturday morning, with Ronnie’s camera, a bottle of water and a packet of Mars Flapjacks for refreshment, I set out towards London. First point in my journey was to get to Gatwick airport. At Gatwick airport, I had to ride the little shuttle between the terminals.

I tried clicking a picture of the monorail, but this is what came out.

It’s actually a monorail goingby as I am in another one. So it got a very whizzy look like in the cartoons when stuff moves at high speed.

Then I bought a ticket for the Gatwick express which runs from Gatwick airport to London Victoria. It gets to London Victoria in half an hour and doesn’t stop anywhere in between.

There was this American couple sitting near me who was also visiting London. The guy was loud. Infact he was so loud, you could hear him chewing his gum from the next compartment. In between the continuous chatter of chewing gum, he would make some loud comments to his wife who was more interested in a book which she was reading. So Mr. Loud goes ahead and scans through his Guide to Britian and compares with a map of London he had. My interest in these two waned as I moved onto checking the scenery outside. Most of the trains that passed me went by so fast; it was gone in the blink of an eye.
But the excitement of getting to London, was always at the back of my head, and so during the entire ride, I was trying to figure out what I would do and how I would travel. As my eyes darted over a complicated map of the London underground interspersed with the various tourist attractions, a pretty voice informed the travelers that they had reached London Victoria and thanked them for traveling on the Gatwick express.

And that was that. I was in London. Finally.

Back with a blog

As i had mentioned in my last entry, unless I get any really good fotos or interesting topics to write about, I wouldnt write anything. But honestly, its because of my own lethargy and also because life had become mundane again. Its getting pretty repetitive and boring. Well, i am going to go ahead and say it... Crawley sucks!!
Another thing that bothers me is that my nightlife is as exciting as watching plants grow. I dread weekends. Infact, this situation has led me to enjoy an alternative lifestyle. Every evening I watch a lot of the telly!! So, after almost three weeks of being here, all I can claim to have done is that I have spent quite a large part of my time watching the tv. Its sad, I know, especially when u consider the kind of stuff you get to watch. Let me begin my sordid tale with a little observation about the kind of programming available on the UK television networks which are free to air and available through the little antenna in my room. Too much reality TV.
Firstly, it surprised me that most people dont have cable tv. A large chunk of the population have the little antenna thingie which I remember us in India having in the 80's before cable came along. And you get about 5 channels on that. And what exciting channels they are. I was lucky to catch the most weirdest and most crass program which I have ever seen in my life. I think it ranks among the Worlds crappiest reality shows. Its called Big Brother and it had been running in UK for the last five years. The basic premise is that a large bunch of people are put into a house and filmed 24x7. That's it. And every week , people vote one of these persons inside the "Big Brother house" out. Its so utterly unbelievably stupid because its basically voyeurism. These bunch of people, including women even bathe on live tv. Its so big, even the papers cover it, and there's so much gossip associated with it as well. My only comment is to defer to the highly learned Obelix who once said, "These British are crazy!"
Second in my list of shows that I cant believe are on TV is a show called SuperNanny. The premise is pretty simple, if parents cant control their kids, call in super nanny. She'll teach em to behave and parents can be happy again. Its a reality show. Dad and mom look like duffers. Children are evil and scheming. Supernanny saves the day.
Next on the my "top of the pops" is Transformations or something of a similar name. It also deals with changing people who have problems by putting them away for a 10 days or so, and filming them going through their change. Its sad really... but I guess it makes for interesting TV.
If you move away from the overdose of reality tv, then u come to the daily soaps. They are as crappy as they are in India. From Coronation Street to Eastenders to Emmersdale, they are all pretty much the same and go on and on.
They do show movies, which are good and are a relief from the remaining crap on tv. And then there's football, cricket, and quiz shows.
One thing I really liked was the pedigree comedy which comes on BBC 2 and LOST on Channel 4. So there u go.. my little entry on what's on in UK.. Please if u do come, be somewhere where they have cable, or satellite tv. Coz the local tv sucks.

A comment on the society at large

I didnt end up posting yesterday, and somehow I dont see myself doing a lot of posting in the near future unless I can figure out some interesting pictures to go with the blog. Ofcourse, its not that I dont mind writing, which as a lot of people are aware, is something I really like doing but the fact is, most of the time, my writing is pretty much droning and it just goes on and on about nothing in general, only a seemingly endless waste of ti....
Right.
I guess that's that.
Must find interesting pictures which I can post. But, I have a set of pics, I call emergency pics. If I run out of interesting stuff, I shall post them. As an example, consider this.

Its the footpath.
On the way to the city center.
In Crawley.

Even more interesting to note is that the footpath is divided into two sections, one for people to walk and the other for cyclists.

Anybody got a gun?
Right.

Now, I hope I can stress on the need for interesting photos. Or else there will be more of these. On the other hand, trivia such as this gives the reader a better understanding of the Britian.
In that sense, here's a big advice, if you are travelling on the underground, in London, don't run.
But on the other hand, now it seems, he wasn't shot because he ran or because he wore a jacket. Now it seems only the police can tell us why they shot the guy five times in the head for no particular reason... five times... Brings us back to an interesting social commentary, Who will mind the people who mind us?
But what really is pretty apalling is the weird attitude that the British govt has started to adopt with people who voice their opinions. True, people making flagrant and potentially inflamatory comments should be punished, but deportment?? Paranoia knows no end...
Another thing I want to write about is the quality of entertainment on TV... but I'll leave that to the next post... If I dont, I'd end up with pics like this

Its Crawley stores, in the early morning.
Using an exposure setting of +1.
In the camera on the phone...
Nothing interesting in this picture...
Nothing I can even speak of...

Must find interesting snaps!!

Point to Ponder

During my movie watching spree, I happened to visit the loo in the multiplex. (By the way, did I mention, there's a bar in the multiplex as well)... Anyway, here's the thing...

Observe the thing on the wall on the far side of the picture. Any guesses what it is?

Here's the close up of it. Well, people, I pondered over this, but I cant figure it out. Why put a condom vending machine here? Hmm... Any ideas?

Another year has passed

I'll start with the 13th. It was a Saturday. And after a week at the Old Rectory Guest House (of which I do have photos, but not from the outside!), I ended up in a new place. For the sake of not enjoying a good but costly life during the month that I am in UK, I have decided to shift from a 35 pound bed and breakfast place (with ensuite bathroom) to a non breakfast, just bed and shared bathroom place for 75 pounds. The difference being the first place was 35 per day, and the other is 75 per week. So, I have moved in with a gujju family in Langley Green, who I think are second generation brits. But the husband tries to speak in hindi with me, and its a nice touch. Although, the lady seemed a little suspicious of me (Dont know why. I am such a nice guy!), I moved in and dumped my luggage. They have two cute kids who generally make a lot of noise. Then, I went to the nearby market and checked out the scene. Well, food wise, there was a grocery and booze shop, a supermarket and booze shop, one fish and chip shop, one kabab joint, and a cyber cafe. A little disappointing, considering there were more booze shops in my last location. Also, no pub around here. I also got a chance to use their Hoover washing machine, but it rained and drying my clothes got shifted from outside to my room. So there I was with a damp room, and that was how Saturday came to a close.
Sunday, the day, I turned 27, I treated myself to a couple of movies, one of which I would recommend. Crash, a very nice tale consisting of an ensemble cast with interwoven stories... Definitely worth the watch. I have taken some snaps of the theater, which I am sure are interesting, and I shall put them up shortly. But I wanted to take a break from the general photo blogging to just write a few lines for a change. It was a very weird and lonely birthday, but it was an experience by itself. Lets see where I end up next year.
Here's a pic of the place I shifted to..

Bus, Can, Can

I ended up clicking some stuff because they were there. So, I gotta upload them now just for the heck of it...

Look, Virgin Cola... They even have Virgin Credit Cards, Virgin Trains, and Virgin Holidays...
Anything more, and Richard Branson can buy some islands and call it Virgin Islands (oh, wait... that's already there too!!)

The local bus service is very efficient and a real delight to travel in. They display next stop, have a detailed map of the route in which they are travelling and stop only at bus stops... not wherever you feel like!! At every bus stop, there's a detailed schedule of all buses stopping at this stop and also where each bus goes. For anybody who ends up in UK for the first time, as long as you know where to go, you can easily find your way using the buses!!

Look, the local pub... So inviting... and ever so British... I wonder if they needed to fly so many of those flags? "In case you didnt notice, we are British!"... This one's known as the Rose and Crown... Trivia: There was this program on BBC which outlined the concept that the British drink too much... hmm.. maybe its because booze is available everywhere...

I couldnt help this.. Look everybody, its a Ducati... how cool is that!!

And every body has an amazing phone here... they get it free with their talk plan... that's a motoral razr... btw... why cant we do this in India?

Local stuff

Moving on from the usual crap about where I work and where I stay (yet to come... wait for that!), some of the usual stuff u expect to find in UK... (British and all that tish tosh!)...
Exhibit A:

The famous phone booth and next to it, the post box!

Next Exhibit B:

What can we do without the ale??? Imagine they have been making booze since 1790!!

And guess where these ale goes?

All that beer... look, guys... it goes into that pub!! I want to go there too!!

Alright, besides the usual, here's something u dont see everyday...

No, no... I havent gone in there yet... hmmm.. should i?? :-)

work, work...

Ok, here we go, pics of the place where i work... virgin atlantic....head office!!

And this is located in the crawley business quarter!!

People even come to office on things like these

and some even have this!!

On the "M something"

After that lil flashback, i got back to staring at the road.. It was a highway..... A British Motorway, referred to as M-something ... like the NH-something in India. (at both places replace "something" with a number!)

yes, nice big roads,then..

Remembering Kolkata

So, here I am in the bus. Its 3.00 pm UK time, but 7.30 pm Indian time. I've been travelling for more than 10 hrs... and then i had this small nostalgic memory of the TQ i stayed in for the past three weeks. Ya, and this memory still has to do with the fact that i have a picture of the TQ and I want to put it out.