hey, it's summer
Jul. 30th, 2007 09:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
llywelaNice to see the sun once in a while, no?
Barbeque Bill my Turkish neighbour - the one whose back door is about five feet from mine and who shares garden space with me - has now invested in a large garden umbrella. Not because he wants to shelter himself from the sun (ha!) while sitting out in the garden. No, it is to provide cover for his precious barbeque, so he can continue to barbeque every morsal of food that enters his mouth even when it's pouring with rain. Now, I like a barbeque as much as the next person, but honestly. Obsessed much?
Am paying close attention to the local news at the moment, after spotting some breaking news in the South Wales Echo over the weekend. Apparently plans have been announced for a new £450m riverside village which is to sweep away 33 acres of industrial decay between Dumballs Road and the River Taff, creating new homes, a commercial quarter, a five-star hotel and a pedestrian and cycle bridge over the river. Why do I care? Because my office building sits right in the middle of the proposed development area.
Apparently, planning applications were lodged earlier this month after more than two years of talks with almost 30 landowners, which...I'd have to wonder if my beloved employers are among the landowners being negotiated with. Part of me suspects they might be, as it would explain why they are letting the building fall into such complete and utter wrack and ruin. But in that case, why would they be spending money ripping the courtroom out and turning it into a new meeting room? It's curious. We've all been saying for years that this is prime development land, and that that's got to be the reason the building is never repaired. If they do get a sizeable payoff for it, we (my branch of the overall umbrella organisation) are going to have to be on the ball to make sure they give us our share to pay for removal expenses. Especially since we've wanted to move out for years - had a new office all picked out and everything - and head office wouldn't let us.
Definitely one to keep an eye on.
Watched the first episode of The Tudors last night. It's very HBO! The similarities to Rome are pretty apparent right from the start - that same heady mix of sex and political machinations. Difficult to keep track of who's who so far, not least because it's set in the 16th century when practically everyone shared the same half dozen names! They are all Thomas, Henry or Charles if they are men, or Anne, Catherine, Jane or Mary for the women! Found myself wishing I knew more detail about the ins and outs of courtly life during the reign of Henry VIII, especially when the Boleyn family came onto the scene. Because...the forthcoming treaty to be signed in France, that's when Henry famously met Anne Boleyn for the first time, I believe. But I had an idea that Anne's younger sister Mary was already in service to Queen Catherine by this time - she was Henry's mistress for several years and had a couple of children with him. So maybe I'm remembering the details wrong. Or maybe the show is playing a little fast and loose with the history. I found myself longing to re-read Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl while I watched! but I'm probably better off not conducting research of any kind, but just watching the story as it is presented on screen.
I've always liked Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and continue to like him in this, even though his Irish accent wasn't as well disguised as it probably should have been.
Be interesting to see how the show develops from here.
Barbeque Bill my Turkish neighbour - the one whose back door is about five feet from mine and who shares garden space with me - has now invested in a large garden umbrella. Not because he wants to shelter himself from the sun (ha!) while sitting out in the garden. No, it is to provide cover for his precious barbeque, so he can continue to barbeque every morsal of food that enters his mouth even when it's pouring with rain. Now, I like a barbeque as much as the next person, but honestly. Obsessed much?
Am paying close attention to the local news at the moment, after spotting some breaking news in the South Wales Echo over the weekend. Apparently plans have been announced for a new £450m riverside village which is to sweep away 33 acres of industrial decay between Dumballs Road and the River Taff, creating new homes, a commercial quarter, a five-star hotel and a pedestrian and cycle bridge over the river. Why do I care? Because my office building sits right in the middle of the proposed development area.
Apparently, planning applications were lodged earlier this month after more than two years of talks with almost 30 landowners, which...I'd have to wonder if my beloved employers are among the landowners being negotiated with. Part of me suspects they might be, as it would explain why they are letting the building fall into such complete and utter wrack and ruin. But in that case, why would they be spending money ripping the courtroom out and turning it into a new meeting room? It's curious. We've all been saying for years that this is prime development land, and that that's got to be the reason the building is never repaired. If they do get a sizeable payoff for it, we (my branch of the overall umbrella organisation) are going to have to be on the ball to make sure they give us our share to pay for removal expenses. Especially since we've wanted to move out for years - had a new office all picked out and everything - and head office wouldn't let us.
Definitely one to keep an eye on.
Watched the first episode of The Tudors last night. It's very HBO! The similarities to Rome are pretty apparent right from the start - that same heady mix of sex and political machinations. Difficult to keep track of who's who so far, not least because it's set in the 16th century when practically everyone shared the same half dozen names! They are all Thomas, Henry or Charles if they are men, or Anne, Catherine, Jane or Mary for the women! Found myself wishing I knew more detail about the ins and outs of courtly life during the reign of Henry VIII, especially when the Boleyn family came onto the scene. Because...the forthcoming treaty to be signed in France, that's when Henry famously met Anne Boleyn for the first time, I believe. But I had an idea that Anne's younger sister Mary was already in service to Queen Catherine by this time - she was Henry's mistress for several years and had a couple of children with him. So maybe I'm remembering the details wrong. Or maybe the show is playing a little fast and loose with the history. I found myself longing to re-read Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl while I watched! but I'm probably better off not conducting research of any kind, but just watching the story as it is presented on screen.
I've always liked Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and continue to like him in this, even though his Irish accent wasn't as well disguised as it probably should have been.
Be interesting to see how the show develops from here.
