A lonely night

The cold winter night was at its bitter best. But thankfully the cold blanket was calm and not being blown about by wind making the cold prick. The white snow blanket on the ground made the city seem like an oasis on white sand desert. He walked in no hurry, devouring every ounce of the winter night’s beauty. Though his mackintosh was pulled tightly over him, he felt the chillness in the air on his face. His nose had the reddish tinge. He walked slowly along the banks of Tyne, admiring the twinkling lights and the monuments built along it. The bridges stood proud illuminated with twinkling colourful lights, inviting the passers by to stop and admire. He admired and walked about, to nowhere in particular.

The serenity was only broken by the occasional pub he passed which had the gentry drinking and making merry. “Holiday season is the best”, he thought, “so vibrant and abuzz with activity yet comes with peace of mind”. The bend on the road along the river brought him to the city church. ‘Make poverty history’ claimed a big banner on the church. “Huh, Impossible”, thought he pessimistically and walked on. Right there at the corner, the tramp with a saxophone and a dog sat and was trying hard to reproduce what sounded like a Kenny G. He didn’t care tupence about the beggar who was sure to drink with his money. He walked on, caring for nothing else but not slipping on hardened snow patches. The fun part was to leave your footprint on the soft snow which hadn’t been trodden upon. The continuous snowing soon made your footprint disappear giving a chance to another pedestrian trying to have fun.

The ‘Pitcher and Piano’ was the place he thought befitting to mull over things. The slow music, the view of the Tyne and the bridges wearing white garb was the perfect way to spend an evening alone. All he could see inside the pub was some couples in cosy corners, a few old timers sitting and talking over pitcher of Guinness. He ordered a Stella and was soon lost in thoughts with strains of music reaching his ears. “A lonely night but, beautiful”, thought he.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Though I am not the person who celebrates Christmas, I have listened to various carols and Christmas songs from school days. ‘Jingle Bells’ was, and I suppose still is the most common and mass favourite song. There are many other which I like viz ”Rudolph, the red nosed reindeer”, “Santa’s coming to town” etc. But the one which tops my favourites list is the one following. It is BEST to hear when sung by Bing Crosby. I finally managed to get a CD with Bing Crosby singing this and have been listening to it over and over again. Here are the lyrics when you wish to sing along with Crosby –

Oh, the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful;
And since we've no place to go,
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Man, it doesn't show signs of stoppin',
And I brought me some corn for poppin';

The lights are turned way down low,
Let it snow, let it snow.

When we finally kiss good night,
How I'll hate goin' out in the storm;
But if you really hold me tight,
All the way home I'll be warm.

And, the fire is slowly dyin',
And, my dear, we're still goodbye-in';
But as long as you love me so,
Let it snow, let it snow and snow.

---- Instrumental Interlude ----

When we finally kiss good night,
How I'll hate goin' out in the storm;
But if you really grab me tight,
All the way home I'll be warm.

Oh, the fire is slowly dyin',
And, my dear, we're still goodbye-in';
But as long as you love me so,
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Have a Merry Xmas and a very happy new year all of you!! Cheers and make merry!

Greenwich

The trip to London was as good as the previous six jaunts. When the alarm sounded and told me rise & shine on a Sunday, I was only happy to get up. I was in London and all set to feast my eyes on this metropolis where modernity mingles effortlessly with history.

The only tourist place I hadn’t visited before beckoned me and I did give in, Greenwich. From London Victoria station, the tube took me to the remarkably well built and stunning Canary Wharf station. Canary Wharf is where the skyscrapers are built in London, a contrast to the testimonials of the old architecture elsewhere in London. The sky kissing glass edifices of Citigroup, Barclays, HSBC etc. stood like stalwarts right outside the station gleaming at the passers by. A huge LCD screen was constantly getting updated with the latest world news right in front of the Reuters. The coffee bar next to it was bustling with activity. I was to catch a DLR train (Dockland Light Railway) to Cutty Sark station. Cutty Sark station gets its name from the one of the last sailing clippers which is permanently docked at Greenwich.

Winter time is when sun bids goodbye to Europe at around half three in the afternoon. The most valuable thing in winter is daylight and I had to make the most of what was available. After a considerable time at Cutty Sark, I made my way to National Maritime Museum and Royal Observatory. Museum boasts of exhibits of importance from the British naval history, in short, it encompasses Naval History in an enclosure. Behind he museum is the road flanked by trees whose leaves had been stolen by autumn. The twilight made the scenic surroundings etch a permanent picture in my memory. The orange glow among the trees only enhanced the beauty.


The thoroughfare led to the Royal Observatory which stands on a hillock. Though the building wasn’t all that impressive, but it still is considered the holy place when modern astronomy is the religion. The Prime Meridian passes through the observatory. It is marked by a brass strip in the courtyard where the cameras were clicking with everyone trying to sit on either side of it. The new addition, a bright Green Laser, shines across the London sky, for us to view the imaginary prime meridian. Standing on zero degrees Longitude…half of me on the eastern hemisphere, half on the western hemisphere, the London skyline was nothing less than captivating.

A few quiet moments and some photographs later, I was ready to call it a day, and a good day at that. Hopefully, the lazy me will sleep allowing me to write about the other places in London and the neighbourhood visited.

London Sightseeing again..

Me off to an xmas party at 'The Trocadero' in London and will be roaming around London again. I never seem to get the enough of this exquisite and fantabulous city. There will be a travelogue soon. Read the travelogue when I visited London for the very first time, here.

Cheers.

Blog Sins

A usual question thrown at me if I ever ask for a topic to blog to non-blogger friends: “Why blog when there is nothing to blog on?”
Ah, BlogGod, forgive these ignorant non-bloggers, they know not what they not doing!

Blogger’s block oft rears its ugly head in bloggers’ brains.But the thought of sinning may remove blogger-block in no time. Ergo, here goes.
The preacher Dinesh iterates the sins of the blogging world. The number of sins committed decides on whether your blog rots in blog-hell or enjoys sunny weather in blog-heaven’s beach resort.

1. Numero uno, there is no reason to own a blog and not blog. It’s a cardinal sin to have a blog which isn’t constantly updated. Sin #1 is not updating your blog at regular intervals.
2. Secondly, copying blogs from other blogs is one of the biggest sins you can commit. This can be equated to murder. Nobody forces you to blog. So, if you’ve got itchy hands to copy, better wash your hands with soap, rather than bootlegging someone’s blog and calling it yours.
3. Agreed that your blog is what you want it to be, but there is no reason that you just crap in your blog with posts having neither head nor tail.
4. There are always topics for you to blog on. Complaints of not finding topics to blog on, is not reason good enough in BlogChitragupta’s / St.BlogPeter’s blogs to reduce your sin count.
5. Another felony you should refrain from is using it to demean others or other’s blogs. Yes, you can post your views but in a decent manner, downright dirty is not the way. A corner seat in Bloghell will be reserved instantly if this is committed.
6. Comment spamming other blogs will lead to nice spanking by the blog-demon in blog-hell.
7. Last but not the least, cauldron full of hot oil awaits you if you disrespect ‘desi-bloggers’.

There might be many more to list and missing out on blog sins is again a small sin. Thus, I need bloggers’ help to make a comprehensive guide of blog-sins. An acclaimed blog-jury will decide on what to add and as a special prize, a place in blog heaven can be reserved :).

Cheers