A Castle and a Concert
Ahh days off. Ain't they grand.
Another Friday off, and I managed to dodge the bullet of getting called into work. My plan was to go to visit John and Marian, whom I hadn't seen since Christmas. I was awoken at 8:30am by a call from work. I grumbled and hissed and Tom said he'd call me back at 10:00. So the entire morning was spent wondering whether I'd be bullied into calling off my plans to go to work. By noon I hadn't gotten the call and was on the Red Arrow to Derby so I knew I was homefree.
I got to South Derbyshire around 1:30pm, greeted by John, Marian and their dog Penny. It was the perfect weather for taking a drive in the countryside. They had decided it might be nice to go to Elvaston Castle, just ten miles or so up the road, the area where they had grown up during the War.
We parked at the church in Alvaston (not to be confused with neighbouring Elvaston) and walked toward Elvaston and its Elizabethan castle. The castle was once home to the Harrington's, and the grounds have in recent times become Elvaston Castle Country Park. There are equine stables, a cricket ground, and a large duckpond. A new topiary garden was added in the mid-twentieth century. The castle itself, as far as I know, is not really used for anything. After returning to Findern, we had a nice supper and relaxed a bit before I headed back on the Viallager and Red Arrow to Nottingham.
The next morning at work there was more begging from the bosses, wanting me to work in the evening. I refused, as I had tickets to a concert in the evening and had specifically asked for the time off. Luckily they dropped the request when they realised it was a futile endeavour.
That evening I headed to Nottingham Arena to see Nine Inch Nails, the second time in as many years as I've seen them. I arrived at the arena a bit before the show to have a look at the place. This would be the first arena I had been to in England. The layout is standard arena: ice surface and seating in the middle, food stands, WCs and circulation around the outside. It was pretty barebones, seating about five thousand in the stands and about another thirty-five hundred on the ice surface.
The band was supported by Liverpool's Ladytron, who would have sounded better in a smaller venue, but then again I'm automatically a little more critical of arena shows. They later did a DJ set at a smaller venue.
Trent Reznor and crew, who must have felt special being in a city with the River Trent running through it, played for about an hour and half, hitting all their classics and edging in about three of the newest ones. This show is more the tailend of the last tour than the start of the new one. The set was very simple. Gone were the giant draping screens of the last show. Three hanging lights and fog provided most of the effect on stage, coupled with Geordie's guitar-swinging antics. I was impressed for the second time.
This past week has been rather laid back as well. I've managed to go an entire week without working a double shift. I think the chef is really getting to understand the idea that I'm here to travel more than to work.
The other night at work there was a booking for twenty-five earlier in the evening. They didn't show up and then later called back to tell us that their bus had broken down and they would be there a half-hour later. That time passed and they still hadn't shown up. We started formulating ideas as to what was going on. Probably a stag or hen party planning a night out. They'd likely get into town and be too hungry to sit down at a restaurant, opting instead for take-away or fast food. We were optimistically expecting a no-show or cancellation so we could clean down the kitchen and go home. At around 9:15pm they called back and said they would there in fifteen minutes. We were gutted.
About fifteen minutes later, Amy, one of the servers, burst into the kitchen, and informed me that there were twenty-five Canadian girls in red jackets coming down the road toward the restaurant. Apparently some kind of sports team (initially they speculated rugby, but I later learned it was synchronised skating). I was excited to be cooking for Canadians, and as suspected, most of them ordered chicken Caesar salads. Unfortunately I didn't get to talk to them and find out what they were doing here, but a quick internet search revealed that they are in town for the Synchronized Skating World Challenge Cup for Juniors 2007 this coming weekend.
More adventures to come perhaps. I'm considering a daytrip to a nearby city that I have yet to visit, perhaps Sheffield or Leicester. We shall see.
Cheers.
Another Friday off, and I managed to dodge the bullet of getting called into work. My plan was to go to visit John and Marian, whom I hadn't seen since Christmas. I was awoken at 8:30am by a call from work. I grumbled and hissed and Tom said he'd call me back at 10:00. So the entire morning was spent wondering whether I'd be bullied into calling off my plans to go to work. By noon I hadn't gotten the call and was on the Red Arrow to Derby so I knew I was homefree.
I got to South Derbyshire around 1:30pm, greeted by John, Marian and their dog Penny. It was the perfect weather for taking a drive in the countryside. They had decided it might be nice to go to Elvaston Castle, just ten miles or so up the road, the area where they had grown up during the War.
We parked at the church in Alvaston (not to be confused with neighbouring Elvaston) and walked toward Elvaston and its Elizabethan castle. The castle was once home to the Harrington's, and the grounds have in recent times become Elvaston Castle Country Park. There are equine stables, a cricket ground, and a large duckpond. A new topiary garden was added in the mid-twentieth century. The castle itself, as far as I know, is not really used for anything. After returning to Findern, we had a nice supper and relaxed a bit before I headed back on the Viallager and Red Arrow to Nottingham.
The next morning at work there was more begging from the bosses, wanting me to work in the evening. I refused, as I had tickets to a concert in the evening and had specifically asked for the time off. Luckily they dropped the request when they realised it was a futile endeavour.
That evening I headed to Nottingham Arena to see Nine Inch Nails, the second time in as many years as I've seen them. I arrived at the arena a bit before the show to have a look at the place. This would be the first arena I had been to in England. The layout is standard arena: ice surface and seating in the middle, food stands, WCs and circulation around the outside. It was pretty barebones, seating about five thousand in the stands and about another thirty-five hundred on the ice surface.
The band was supported by Liverpool's Ladytron, who would have sounded better in a smaller venue, but then again I'm automatically a little more critical of arena shows. They later did a DJ set at a smaller venue.
Trent Reznor and crew, who must have felt special being in a city with the River Trent running through it, played for about an hour and half, hitting all their classics and edging in about three of the newest ones. This show is more the tailend of the last tour than the start of the new one. The set was very simple. Gone were the giant draping screens of the last show. Three hanging lights and fog provided most of the effect on stage, coupled with Geordie's guitar-swinging antics. I was impressed for the second time.
This past week has been rather laid back as well. I've managed to go an entire week without working a double shift. I think the chef is really getting to understand the idea that I'm here to travel more than to work.
The other night at work there was a booking for twenty-five earlier in the evening. They didn't show up and then later called back to tell us that their bus had broken down and they would be there a half-hour later. That time passed and they still hadn't shown up. We started formulating ideas as to what was going on. Probably a stag or hen party planning a night out. They'd likely get into town and be too hungry to sit down at a restaurant, opting instead for take-away or fast food. We were optimistically expecting a no-show or cancellation so we could clean down the kitchen and go home. At around 9:15pm they called back and said they would there in fifteen minutes. We were gutted.
About fifteen minutes later, Amy, one of the servers, burst into the kitchen, and informed me that there were twenty-five Canadian girls in red jackets coming down the road toward the restaurant. Apparently some kind of sports team (initially they speculated rugby, but I later learned it was synchronised skating). I was excited to be cooking for Canadians, and as suspected, most of them ordered chicken Caesar salads. Unfortunately I didn't get to talk to them and find out what they were doing here, but a quick internet search revealed that they are in town for the Synchronized Skating World Challenge Cup for Juniors 2007 this coming weekend.
More adventures to come perhaps. I'm considering a daytrip to a nearby city that I have yet to visit, perhaps Sheffield or Leicester. We shall see.
Cheers.
posted by Mark Bauche at 5:04 PM
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