My weekend

[venta]

It was Hastings Jack-in-the-Green festival this weekend, so I was down there dancing rapper in the odd pub or two. For a few reasons I felt a bit disconnected from the festival this year, so I hope the people who were involved did it properly, and that the sun will shine for the rest of the summer.

(The Hastings festival involves a Jack, or Green Man, made of leaves, who dances through the streets all day, and then is "killed" at the castle in the late afternoon. Killing him symbolises the death of winter, and ensures a good summer.)

We were dancing yesterday and Sunday, but most of the action is really on the Monday, when we couldn't get a team together. Samantha and I watched the procession go past - the Jack and his Bogies (men in green rags, with drums, who guard him), various Giants, morris teams of all kinds, more people hitting drums than you can imagine (or possibly want), what looked like a few local covens, people with poi, and, well, just people who seemed to feel like it. It's said that all you need in New Orleans for a parade is a marching band - in Hastings on bank holiday Monday, all you need is a drum. Start playing, and people will join in. Hundreds of 'em. Really.

Hastings town centre is a an odd place. It's very much split into the New Town (looks a bit run-down, full of low-end shops, full of fights on a Saturday night), and the Old Town (looks very quaint, full of antiques shops, everywhere decked out in green branches and ribbons for the festival). The dichotomy does make it feel like a place that isn't very comfortable with itself. In addition, it seems it still has a lot of local rivalry among the different fishing families (sound more like clans...). I'm not sure I like it, in many ways...

Hastings does, however, do books shops well. There are two second hand bookshops in particular that I'd probably drive all the way down there just to visit. One is a smallish shop stacked to the gunnels with books - I don't think you could seriously look through everything they have in under a couple of days, and that would involve some hard-core shifting of piles of stock. Better, everything is gloriously cheap - I bought two carrier bags full of books, and paid just over eight quid for the privilege. The other bookshop is more realistically priced, but has the most extensive and eclectic (and well-ordered) stock I've seen in ages. I now have enough books to last me the rest of the year, at least.

Oh, and on bank holiday Monday, Hastings is full of bikers. Full, I tell you. According to one of my colleagues, it's the May Bank Holiday Run - "the most boring run of the year". Which doesn't stop them turning out in their thousands, adding engine noise and burnt rubber to the green paint and drumming. I always find it strange to see huge blokes, all leathers and tattoos, sitting about drinking cups of tea and eating doughnuts.

It does mean that driving home is... interesting. The roads are full (again, full I tell you) of bikes. All along the A21 back towards London there are drifts of people sitting at junctions or on bridges, purely to watch the bikes go by... which seems strange, but I do kind of enjoy watching them. I'm a bit unconvinced by the person who'd covered their helmet in pink plush fur, though.

It does seem that with bikes, unlike cars, there is a certain correspondence between engine size and competence. Any idiot can drive a 2 litre car (and often they do). But on the whole, it does seem to be the case that the riders who nearly kill you doing stupid things are all on relatively small-engined bikes, and the larger ones may well overtake you at high speed, but will at least do so safely. This does not apply to Goldwing riders, who appear to think they're tractors. Nor does it apply to anyone riding a bike in Kawasaki green, who all, without exception, appear to be twats. (ach? Nick? Anyone? Any basis for this, or am I making it up?)

I have no idea what sort of bikes the two people who went past me riding on rear-wheels only, on the wrong side of the road, just before a blind summit were on. At least we didn't see them in pieces later...


I've fallen behind with my nominations for Designated Hero of the Week. I don't think we've had one since I came back from Whitby.

However, last week's designated hero is Chris C, for once again providing me with some new music in a timely and unexpected manner.

Continuing the Chris theme, the previous week's hero should have been ao_lai for being most generous with both his car and his sobriety, and thus allowing Toby, Frances and I to drink large amounts of beer on the way home from work on Friday.

Comments

[neilh.livejournal.com]

It does seem that with bikes, unlike cars, there is a certain correspondence between engine size and competence. Any idiot can drive a 2 litre car (and often they do).

Hrrrumph!

But on the whole, it does seem to be the case that the riders who nearly kill you doing stupid things are all on relatively small-engined bikes, and the larger ones may well overtake you at high speed, but will at least do so safely.

I would guess there is a certain amount of natural selection going on...

[venta.livejournal.com]

Hrrrumph!

I hasten to point out that there are also many perfectly sane and sensible drivers of two litre cars, specifically including neilh :)

And where are you going to put them?

[wimble.livejournal.com]

I bought two carrier bags full of books

I think that's got your birthday present sorted then.

Re: And where are you going to put them?

[venta.livejournal.com]

A good point :)

However, Andy got a new bookshelf at the weekend and generously donated me a shelfsworth, so my book status is at least no worse than it was before.

Re: And where are you going to put them?

[wimble.livejournal.com]

Until next shopping trip then?

[floralaetifica.livejournal.com]

Poi?

poi

[wimble.livejournal.com]

According to dictionary.com: A Hawaiian food made from the tuber of the taro that is cooked, pounded to a paste, and fermented.

Not, I think, what was meant.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Poi are basically things-on-strings - you hold one in each hand, and then whirl them round your head and body in pretty patterns. I think they're Australian-aboriginal in origin (though I'm not sure about that). "Things" vary from paper streamers to balls of fire... though not, to the best of my knowledge, edible tubers, whatever diciontary.com says.

If keris is awake yet (or if dennyd is passing through?) they can probably give you a better idea.

[keris.livejournal.com]

Tennis balls on strings! Yay!!!!!!!

They're Maori. And great fun. You can spot someone who has done too many drugs as they get very transfixed.

(but don't expect jugglers to be friendly to you if you're playing with them ;o) )
More info here including instructions on some pretty patterns you can do.

Mmm bookshopr

[leathellin.livejournal.com]

So how do you find these bookshops? Just in case I need the information at any future point ;-)

Re: Mmm bookshopr

[venta.livejournal.com]

The Book Centre is on West Street, which runs off the sea front. It's usually got a nice friendly sign saying "Books" posting it off the main street.

The High Street Bookshop (http://www.highstreetbookshop.co.uk/) is on the, er, High Street. Pop into the Jenny Lind for a drink on the way there, and the First In Last Out on the way back. They're both lovely :)

[venta.livejournal.com]

I actually meant just the green bike, but green leathers probably make it worse.

Like the idea that wearing a baseball cap halves your IQ, wearing it backwards quarters it.

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

Wasn't Simon's Ninja green?

[venta.livejournal.com]

No idea... remember, it only counts if it's that particularly vile shade of acid green used by Kawasaki. (About the colour of the above icon, if you're not familiar...)

(Elizabeth-uses-icon shocker)

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

Yes, it was definitely that colour.

Further investigation reveals that it was a ZX60, and thus not all that big of a Kawasaki.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Ah, well.
If the cap fits...

[narenek.livejournal.com]

Theoretically the way motorbike licenses work is that if you're under 21 and want to ride you have to spend 2 years on a bike with 33 BHP or less (if you're over 21 or hit it during the two years you may take a test on a bigger bike and go straight to the big engines).

Those forced to ride small bikes are either young and inexperienced, or just too poor to afford something bigger.

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

There's also the insurance issue - it's difficult to get insurance on a big bikes unless you have n months/years of experience on only marginally smaller bikes.

Well, either that's the reason or else the insurance companies have cottoned on that my workmates keep crashing, and are lying to them for their own good.

[(Anonymous)]

But on the whole, it does seem to be the case that the riders who nearly kill you doing stupid things are all on relatively small-engined bikes, and the larger ones may well overtake you at high speed, but will at least do so safely

agreed :) its all about the boys (ok,ok, and girls) and their toys -
The peeps on the bigger bikes can't afford to trash the bike into the side of the cars they overtake, so go past as quickly as possible to minimise the time they (or the bike) are in danger.
The peeps on the smaller bikes (like me) have such a hard time going at any serious speed when out in the clear that they have to make advantage of any 'potential' gap :p, thus getting where they're going in any sensible time. Its also a bit of a buzz seeing how small a gap you can fit through - especially when the right-hand-side of the gap is moving towards you at 60mph :D
The peeps on the (stolen, undoubtedly) 50cc mopeds don't really care about anything, let alone their own safety, so are happy to ignore any road sense and hurtle along at 30 mph to the exclusion of all other traffic.