Scouse (/skaʊs/; formally known as Liverpool English or Merseyside English is an accent and dialect of English associated with Liverpool and the surrounding county of Merseyside. …
Scouse is also a general term for this pan-ethnic community or Liverpudlians in general. The accent is named after scouse, a stew eaten by sailors and locals. …
You can’t be called a “scouser” unless you eat this stew — every day, I assume. 😀
Lunya restaurant was recommended. Their version has a Catalan twist.
I’m 65 years young today.
Give me ALL the pensions. 😀
Last year I was in Lisbon for 64.
For the 62nd I was in Nepal.
53rd was in Porto, Portugal.
I’m usually travelling the world on my birthday.
30 years ago I decided on my far-from-typical philosophy.
Life is short. Too short to waste working. Do what you want.
Financially my plan was to “retire” from age 33 to 65 — then go back to work full-time when I’m no good for anything else. At age-65. Today.
I can do that as a Gymnastics coach. There are plenty of elderly full-time Gymnastics coaches.
Sounded a brilliant plan. But I think I’ll put off un-retirement for a while longer.
Perhaps until I’m medically tied down.
All the best from Liverpool, England. I’m here for the World Gymnastics Championships.
What’s next? … I’m researching sunny European hiking destinations. Azores? Canary Islands?
Birmingham and Manchester are both sprawling British cities, both famed for their influence during the Industrial Revolution.
While I had a poor first impression of Birmingham, I liked Manchester right off the train.
The first thing I saw was this tribute to the wounded of WW I.
War is Hell.
Manchester acquired the nickname Cottonopolis during the early 19th century owing to a massive number of textile factories.
The Science and Industry Museum does a terrific job explaining the city legacy.
John Rylands (7 February 1801 – 11 December 1888) was the owner of the largest textile manufacturing concern in the United Kingdom, and Manchester‘s first multi-millionaire.
The John Rylands Library, which opened to the public in 1900, was founded by Enriqueta Augustina Rylands in memory of her husband.
A tourist attraction today, it reminded me more of a Cathedral than library.
End of October, the best foliage I saw was at the University of Manchester.
To move coal and goods, canals were built across the nation. And it was walking those canals that I most enjoyed as a tourist in 2022.
I stayed at a hostel on Potato Wharf where narrowboats are stored and travellers moor. Warren Long and family once parked here for 2 nights in a rented narrowboat.
I’d return to Manchester anytime.
After a good flight from Canada, I arrived Birmingham during a booming rain storm. In the dark. Late Saturday night.
Stopping for a bite to eat, a local asked where I was going.
Liverpool, I replied.
He recommended I not stay long in Birmingham. 😀 Nothing to see here.
The empty, dark streets were a bit scary. Maps.me directed me through a parking structure.
I was relieved to finally get to my hostel about 9pm.
NEXT morning, just across from the hostel was this street art. 😀
It was a grungy part of town.
Weather improving — but still threatening.
Britannia ruled the waves because men wanted to find more sunshine. 😀
Normally I like weird cities.
But decided to flee Birmingham in fewer than 24 hours.
En route to the train station, I did find one MUST SEE attraction.
When pandemic cancelled all my travel and Gymnastics coaching gigs, I took the time to improve my video editing. It’s become my main hobby.
Three phases (so far):
After posting my French Creek tribute, I declared I was GOOD ENOUGH at video editing technology for my purposes. I could sit down at a table with a professional video editor and understand 75% of what they were talking about. 😀
Far more difficult is to decide on what story to tell. And to tell it effectively. Many super skillful editors struggle finding their next story.
I threw this short video together quickly as a teaser for my How to Survive the West Coast Trail videos. But in some weird way, it’s evocative of that wild and challenging hike. It tells the story well
I’m particularly happy with the audio.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Putting these together is incredibly time consuming.
I kept trying to find ways to improve my efficiency. And that ended up evolving into my personal style of video — as of October 2022, at least. Who knows what’s next? 😀
I posted Valencia, Spain in January 2022. My edits today are all similar. But I’m adding more personal drone footage rather than drone stock video.
What is my style?
Challenging for me is finding the right music for each story.
One of my best edits was Norway Highlights. I credit the song — Odesza Higher Ground — as once I decided on the soundtrack, it was easy to decide where to put each clip. In the example, below, the colours are music blocks to be filled with scenes I decide upon later.
Increasingly I’m picking music first, shooting the video later.
Odesza is my favourite band right now. Very popular for YouTube edits.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
What’s next?
I’ve been studying Colour Grading through a course called … Color Grading Academy.
It’s a very complicated process.
Some of the best video editors online send out their final product for Colour experts to finish. An art, not a science.
Things I’ve decided NOT to use:
P.S.
I posted the Englishman River Falls hike in November 2020 and again in October 2022. I’ve definitely improved.
Click PLAY or watch the Nov 2020 edit on YouTube. I was quite happy with it. But NOW I’m wondering what weird colour grade I was experimenting with at that time. 😀
Click PLAY or watch the Oct 2022 edit on YouTube.
I cycled Gabriola in the Canadian Gulf Islands in 2020. And again in 2022.
Easy access via a 20-minute ferry service from Nanaimo.
Small. With a full-time population of about 4500, I could live on Gabriola.
Grocery store. Liquor store. Library.
3 provincial parks—Gabriola Sands Provincial Park on the northwest shore, Sandwell Provincial Park on the northeast shore, and Drumbeg Provincial Park on the east shore—as well as Descanso Bay Regional Park and an adjacent community park near the ferry terminal.
There’s a hippie vibe.
Only 14 kilometres long, I cycled all the main roadways. Took plenty of detours. Cycled some of the many hiking trails. And still had my tent set up by 6pm same day.
Out at Goats on the Roof on VANCOUVER ISLAND there’s a fire engine with a grill on the roof.
Recommended.
Dad and I quite liked both the burger and dog.
Tempting.
BEST of the bunch right now seems to be the BURLEY COHO XC SINGLE WHEEL SUSPENSION CARGO TRAILER.
I love the kickstand. It holds up the bike, as well.
Hike-a-bike will be tougher, for sure. I might want to avoid steep hills. This adds 20 pounds to your total weight. When cycling, however, you don’t notice the weight.
Expensive at U.S. $500. As little as $350 if you get a deal.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Here’s a HIKER who was initially dubious of whether he’s want to add this to his gear shed. Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I cycled the San Juan Islands in 2016.
I need to do the Canadian Gulf Islands. Soon.
Perhaps autumn 2022.
“Mexico” was the opening track of his 1975 album Gorilla. …
Graham Nash and David Crosby sing backup vocals.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
It’s been covered by many, many others. Jimmy Buffet OFTEN. 😀
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. Jimmy and JT.
Rick McCharles 