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Wednesday 13 November 2013

Hallé Orchestra

Hello again, you appear to have stumbled upon another blog post of mine! Very recently I was fortunate enough to see the Hallé Orchestra perform at Bridgewater Hall. So if you are interested in classical music and even if you aren't, this post will be perfect for you!

Hallé Orchestra

The Hallé Orchestra, for the vigilant, have been mentioned in this blog before (here). They are a world-class orchestra, based in Manchester. They do regular performances at Bridgewater Hall, but have been known to venture elsewhere, such as Jodrell Bank. For a complete novice in classical music, I have to admit I was skeptical as to whether I would enjoy an evening performance of pieces which I was unfamiliar with. Well, I had nothing to fear. The mixture of the beautifully designed hall (below) and the extremely talented orchestra ensured that I was in for an experience I'll happily have again.
Have a look at that. Breathtaking.

The Pieces

I'll list the pieces which they played, if you want to go and have a listen: 
Stravinsky-Symphonies of Wind Instruments
Mendelssohn-Violin Concerto in E minor
Tchaikovsky-Symphony No.5

If those mean nothing to you, you're in the same boat I was. But it didn't matter that you had no idea how the music went, as you could very easily lose yourself to the music. I think this was the nature of the Hallé.

The piece by Stravinsky was most probably my favourite of the evening, a 10 minute piece performed purely by wind instruments. It was short enough that you could listen to it when you had a small bit of time, yet it still contained all of the elements of classical music you would expect to find, if you wanted to delve into the genre.

The Orchestra, just warming up.
The piece by Tchaikovsky was performed in the 2nd half, after the interval. It was a piece which demanded its own section, a thrilling foray through the voices of many, many instruments, spaced with audacious pauses. These pauses could catch a beginner, like myself, out. Luckily, I had an experienced listener sitting next to me, so I knew when to react. So be careful when listening to that one in public, or risk looking the fool.

When?

The performance which I saw was part of the Thursday series by the Hallé, which takes place at Bridgewater Hall.

Cost?

The cost depends, if you are a student, then the cost is £3 on the door! Huzzah! You can get the experience of seeing a world-class orchestra for a shaving of what you would expect the price to be. Winners all around, so don't miss out!

Thursday 31 October 2013

MSF 2013- 21st Century Coffee House (Penny University)

Lucky you, you've stumbled across an explosive blog post, with lasers and fire! I'm not a liar, you really have. Recently I went to a the Penny University event at the Manchester Science Festival (MSF) 2013 and I want to tell you all about it. So grab a coffee, sit back and relax...

21st Century Coffee House- Penny University Live


Yes, you did read that correctly. University for one pence. I must admit, it's not technically a whole degree for 1p, rather some talks by experts in their respective fields for 1p. If you did the maths though, you would still see it is much better value than £9000 a year! 

21st Century Coffee House? Penny University?

Yes, the name stems from 17/18th century coffee houses, which cost only 1p to enter. It didn't matter which class you were, as long as you paid 1p, you could enter and join in with discussions. They apparently very quickly became well-known as alternative places for learning, as you could speak with scholars outside of the traditional university environment. You could also get coffee there.

This event had a similar theme, where it cost 1p to enter and you could then buy coffee and listen to experts talk about their research in their specific fields. Hosted at MOSI's cafe, there were talks by 5 people, plus a quick intro about coffee and the old coffee houses themselves. 

The talks were about a wide range of topics, from bronze-age mummies to how we may have a possible cure for cystic fibrosis. The bronze-age mummy talk was very interesting for me in particular, as apparently quite a lot of mummies found in the British Isles were actually a mish-mash of various different bodies! Lovely. Another talk was on how smog is created over cities, especially in the morning, how this relates to climate change and some of the events being taken to prevent this increase in temperature. This included an example which involved oranges and lasers! 

Oranges and Lasers?

Science right there.
Yes, that famous combination, oranges and lasers. Originally, the laser was directed through the vial, but the beam wasn't visible. The orange peel acted as a pollutant, which reacted with some ozone which was already in the vial. When Sarah Moller (the speaker, pictured) shined a laser through the vial, the laser could be seen! This showed that the principle of how clouds work, by having particles which the water can grab onto. This creates bigger particles, which gets more water. You see the point. 

But this wasn't the only experiment of the night. No, no. No. Make way for exploding custard!

Exploding Custard!

Yes, exploding custard! Science communicator Ian Russell isn't a scientist. But he is brilliant science communicator and has been doing a show for years, all over the place, to get kids interested in science. This has taken him to places like the Royal Institution in London and even to Russia! He explained to the audience how children can notice things that adults can't. Why? Because adults are boring and have had most of the creativity drummed out of them at school. Startling, but it's true. 

Not to leave the audience on a low, he then showed us one of the tricks he uses in his show. That was exploding custard powder. By having the custard in powder form and mixing it with a lot of air at a high temperature, you can make it explode! So that's what he did. Have a look:
Put the powder in the tub, ready for all the air and fire...

BOOM!

Ta-dah! Exploding custard!

Cost?

It's in the name! Penny university! It cost one pence to get in and then you could buy coffee for extra.

Will It Happen Again?

Alas, this was a one-off event for the Manchester Science Festival. However, there are plenty more awesome science events during the rest of the festival. So have a look at the guide here and see what you fancy. If you want to find out more about the Penny University, their website is here. But for now, I'm going to try and cram in some more science festival fun! Bye!

Monday 28 October 2013

Interview with Simon Singh.

Recently, at the Manchester Science Festival 2013, I caught up with Simon Singh. Simon is the author of the bestselling "Fermat's Last Theorem" and has recently written a book about the maths hidden within "The Simpsons". The book is titled "The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets" and I spoke to him about the famous yellow family...


Saturday 26 October 2013

MSF 2013- Science Showoff

Hello! The time is upon us, by that I mean the Manchester Science Festival (MSF) 2013 is here! This great city is currently experiencing a flurry of science-related activity, which anyone can get in on. However, there are so many events for you to go to, what happens if you miss some? Don't worry, that's where I come in. Over the period of the festival I will be visiting several events and shortly afterwards, I will be blogging about them. You can then use my blog as a guide to see whether you should visit these events the next time they are town. Anyway, enough chat! Let's get down to business...

Science Showoff


What?

I have to admit, it's quite a jazzy logo.
Science Showoff is an open mic night for scientists, teachers, students or just anyone who wants to talk to an audience about science. Each person gets roughly 8-10 minutes to talk about their topic of choice. They are generally aided by background slides, but don't be mistaken, this isn't a lecture. These talks are humorous, intriguing and relaxed. You get a range of performing styles, from the traditional (person talking to the audience for 8 minutes) to the bizarre (somebody not saying a word). 

Who?

The general set up. The lack of people is because this was
during the intermission, so they are at the bar.
The entire show was comprised of 7 performers, each doing a 10 (ish) piece. Yet the show needed somebody to make sure the show ran smoothly. This role was filled by Steve Cross, a man who prided himself on not knowing any science. This may sound odd, having a scientific novice hosting a show all about science, but it worked extremely well. This was mainly because he was a very laid back and funny individual, who was not above mocking certain members of the audience (chemists) and giving anecdotes.

It would take too much space to list all of the brilliant acts in depth, so I'll try and give a quick overview of my favourite 3 acts:

Katie Steckles- Without saying a single word or using any limbs to control an instrument, she played several tunes using a floppy disk drive. One of my favourite moments was when she played the Eastenders theme using the drive, recreating the opening sequence by using google maps to zoom out over London.

Tom Bishop- Talked all about the behaviour of "weaver ants" in the rainforest. One of the best things I learnt from him was that to form their many nests out of leaves, weaver ants will squeeze their young larvae. This forces a glue out of the larvae, which is used to stick the leaves together.

Yes, those are the lyrics to the chorus.
Chella Quint- "Adventures in Menstruating". An interesting title, I know. Chella took the audience on a journey through the advertising history of period products, as she tried to eliminate the social stigma about periods and make us all "period positive". A highly informative talk, I was unaware that the advertising techniques for period products haven't changed in over 80 years. We're on to you bodyform. Her piece was then rounded off with a song titled "The Crimson Tide", which was designed to explain the menstruation cycle as though it were being done on Sesame Street. A tad strange, but very enjoyable.

When?

Sadly, Science Showoff was only on once during the MSF. They do tours of the country and visit several cities. They are also in London a fair bit. However, I am sure they will be making a reappearance in Manchester very soon. Their website can be found here.

Why?

Why? Because it's fun, that's why.

How?

Now you're just being silly.

Is There Anything Similar?

Luckily for you, there are some similar events happening during the MSF. There is "Punk Science", hosted at MOSI, by two comedic members of the Science Museum. They plan to explain how humans love, laugh and feel pain, using very loose scientific demonstrations. There is also "Bright Club", which I believe aims to be a mixture of comedy, music and anything vaguely related to science. So never fear, the MSF schedule (found here) has you covered!

Saturday 19 October 2013

#Hooked Silent Disco Preview

Hello again! Hardly a day goes by now when I don't see the editing page of a blog post, but there is no use complaining! So what was I up to this time? Well, let me indulge you in my travels (again)...

#Hooked

Not part of the research,
but it does show a lot of
people. And it's at MOSI.
No, it's not a twitter campaign for fishermen and sailors. In fact, it's a new exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Manchester. The idea behind it is that when you listen to a song, there are certain parts where you have to nod your head and sing along. These parts are called the "hook" of the song and believe me, you know one when you hear one (Paul Simon anyone? No? Just me?).

For a while, MOSI have been getting people to tell them the catchiest song they know, so they can try and identify what makes a song catchy. This is all part of a larger experiment, to help scientists understand our musical memory, the data of which could be used in Alzheimer's disease research.


Yet, they need a lot of data and that means they need a lot of people. This is where we all come in! They need more people to listen to songs and identify these "hooks". So to get people to come, MOSI are organising several events for the Manchester Science Festival (MSF) based around these catchy tunes. 

Silent Disco

These screens will cause you to either have a blast from the past,
or you'll be laughing at the crazy advertising
of yesteryear.
This is where I come in. One of the events for the MSF based around "hooks" is a "silent disco"! A "silent disco", for those for don't know, is not exactly silent. Everyone is given a pair of fancy headphones, which are able to tune into multiple channels. On each of these channels, different music is playing. So you can effectively have a different disco to everybody else if you want! This isn't an ordinary silent disco though (an odd phrase), as all the songs being played are ones identified by the general public as the catchiest tunes around. So you won't be able to stop yourself dancing!

The preview was recently, which is what I was invited to. I got to try out this silent disco and I have to tell you, it was a lot of fun. I was up and dancing after a few songs and it was contagious. Once a few people were dancing, more and more people joined in. This was only at the preview, so at the actual event it's going to be heaving!

Dates

Now that I've got you "hooked" (I couldn't help myself), I best tell you about the date of the main silent disco. It is happening on Wednesday 30th October 2013, starting at 7PM. It's coupled with a free chat with the creator of #Hooked and special guests, about what makes music catchy and addictive. The actual disco will be starting later on and will cost a £5 deposit (for the headphones, I assume).

See you there, I hope you bring your best shapes. I know I will!

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Play Expo 2013

Hello all, it would appear all has been quiet recently and I haven't been up to much! Do not worry, very soon you will be inundated with blog posts and you won't be able to move! For the moment, however, you will have to savour this one.

I recently went to a convention called "Play Expo". Think of it as a place where new video games are shown, where you can try them out and also a place where you can do some retro gaming. Sounds like fun, if you're in to that sort of thing. Luckily, I am.

Games

Some guys playing Assassin's Creed 4
Right then, to the good stuff. The brand new games and technology that was being shown off. There were famous developers there; Nintendo was there (showing off the Wii U and 3DS),  Sony was there with Ubisoft (showing off Assassin's Creed 4), but strangely Microsoft weren't there with the Xbox One. Missed a trick there. While I tried these consoles out and found them to be a lot of fun, one piece of tech really sticks in my mind. This piece of tech was called the "Oculus Rift".

Imagine you were playing a game where you were flying a spitfire. Now imagine you were placed right into the cockpit and you were in the game. This is what the Oculus Rift does. It's almost a set of binoculars, but each eye piece acts as a screen, so all you can see is the game. Sounds good so far? It gets better. The best bit is when you turn your head. When you look around, so does the game. This meant you could look around the cockpit and over the wings just by turning your head. You were truly in the game.
Just look at that guy, he's not
even in our world anymore.

It was pretty bizarre at first, but soon you were doing flips in the plane and having a great time. Word of warning though, doing these daredevil tricks can make your stomach feel a bit odd. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Retro Gaming

Ahh memories.
For those who are fans of gaming from yesteryear, you don't have to worry. There was a whole section set up with old consoles and PC games, so you could play all your old favourites. For me, these included DOOM, Command & Conquer and Mario Kart 64. I love DOOM so much.

Multiplayer gaming on old consoles was also available, so my friends and I indulged some time in playing Super Smash Bros, the aforementioned Mario Kart 64 and Bomberman, to name a few. Old fashioned computer multiplayer was there as well, with several computers connected up to play games like Quake.

There was pretty much a console there for everyone, but if you weren't a fan of consoles, there were plenty of pinball machines to keep you entertained for hours. If you aren't a fan of pinball machines, don't go?

Cosplay

Yes, there was cosplay. No, I did not partake. For those who don't know, cosplay is basically people dressing up as their favourite characters from games, comics, art, anything really. Some people put a lot of time into their costumes and it shows. Some people, not so much. 

Not official cosplay, this was Nintendo's effort.
I just love the picture.
Play Expo did have a cosplay competition, where people could show off their efforts and be judged by a panel. For someone who had never watched a cosplay competition before, this was a bit bizarre. By the end of it, I did have a new found appreciation for the art. I shan't be doing it though. Not for a while.

Location

The convention was based at the EventCity centre in Manchester, which is right next to the Trafford Centre. Incredibly easy to get to by bus, as my friends and I found to our relief. 

Dates

The convention occurs in Manchester in mid-October time every year. Tickets vary in price, depending on whether you are going for the day or the whole weekend. It runs for both Saturday and Sunday, so you can buy a weekend ticket and spend your whole weekend gaming! Huzzah!



Monday 30 September 2013

Real Ale Festival at MOSI

Hello again! As you may have guessed, the majority of these travel posts are dictated by where I have been volunteering. Well done if you got that at home. Anyway, this post is no different. I was recently volunteering at the MOSI Real Ale Festival, which you can have the pleasure* of reading about.

I believe this was called "Black Magic". Yummy.

Beer

Yes, for those of you that know me, I do like a drink. So this was certainly the place for me. On offer were approximately 90 different types of beer and cider, so there was a wide range of choice. The beers were reasonably priced for a festival, being on average £3 a pint. The bottles, however were more expensive. It did depend on how fancy you wanted to get. I believe I saw several 33cl bottles for about £4. To be fair, these were bottles of beer which incorporated several different types of flavours and ingredients.

Cost

To get into the festival itself, it cost £5 for the general public and £4 for concession (members of CAMRA, OAP's, students). This did strike me as expensive, but the event was a fundraiser for the museum and they do have to make money somehow. The bars were cashless, meaning you had to buy redeemable tokens at the entrance. They were refundable, but an unfortunate by-product of this was that if you had 50p left over, it didn't seem worth trying to refund it. This could be avoided by clever spending, or you could deal with it and donate it to MOSI. The donation solution was used by several people, earning the museum a nice extra bit of cash. 

Glasses were free to use during the event, which was a nice touch. Obviously you had to give them back at the end, but if you liked the design you could buy a clean one for £3 on your way out. If you wanted one for free, you would very likely be having a word with the security guard on your way out.

Somewhere in there is the main bar.

Music

From what I can remember, it was very good music. Think classic rock and general rock. Good stuff.

Location

If you hadn't guessed, it was in the power hall at the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Manchester. The power hall acted as an apt setting, providing several engines and steam-driven machinery from times gone by to marvel at.

Summary

This was the third real ale festival at MOSI, which I believe overall was a successful event. My only qualm is the cost of getting in, with the concession only knocking £1 off the price. Yet like I said earlier, the museum has to make money somehow. The festival should be running next September, but there is also the Manchester beer and cider festival in the new year if you can't wait until then. 

*Pleasure not guaranteed.

Thursday 26 September 2013

Brains at MOSI.

Hello all, I was worried that I wouldn't be posting in a while. How foolish I was. As a proof of this, I shall regale you with the following story, the story of my trip to the brains exhibition. Sit tight.

Exhibition

The exhibition was entitled "Brains: The Mind as Matter". The theme of the event, as you may have guessed, was the brain. The brain, the organ which determines how we spend our days, which decisions we make and which holds all of our memories. Yet the event is not as science-orientated as you would think. In order to not frighten anybody away with science, there was a large emphasis on science meeting art. This meld of science and art ensures that the event is easily enjoyed by all. As proof of art being on equal ground with science, the exhibition had commissioned a specialist artist to create some rather spectacular prints. I will come back to this later, as there is much more to be discussed.

Slice of human. 
The exhibition was split into 4 sections, each one regarding a different surgical practice involving the brain. The section  titles were vague, with titles such as "Giving/Taking" and "Cutting/Treating", to allow several avenues regarding the brain to be explored.

Sections

The sections were enjoyable for visitors of varying interest, there were articles explaining the different neurological practices for those who were fascinated, but it was just as easy to stare at brains in jars, if you so wished. The exhibits ranged from rare surgical textbooks regarding the brain (one from the famous surgeon Andreas Vesalius), through the aforementioned prints, to slices of the human body and the brain. One fascinating exhibit was of a human spinal cord, which was being preserved for all to see. I will admit, it was slightly strange to see that on a Tuesday afternoon.

Above: The work of Andreas Vesalius.

Above: Brains in jars. Lovely.



Above: The spinal cord, in all its glory.






There were also video exhibits, which explained different methods of testing, scanning, measuring (etc) the brain. I will leave those to you to watch. Get back to me, tell me how they are.

Location

The exhibition itself is currently (at time of writing) on the first floor of the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI- http://www.mosi.org.uk/). In my opinion, MOSI was a bit of a strange location (My original thought was that it might have been better suited in the environment of the Manchester museum), however I was proved wrong. It serves as a pallet cleanser for those (like myself) who would normally visit MOSI for its exhibits on the physical sciences. Another benefit for MOSI being used is that the exhibits from Manchester itself seem to belong in the historically mancunian environment of MOSI.

Above: A resin cast of the blood vessels in the brain. The resin is 
pumped into the vessels, where it solidifies. The rest of the brain is 
corroded away with acid, resulting in this exquisite view of what 
feeds the brain.

Art

As previously mentioned, in order to not appear as another purely scientific exhibition, MOSI took some artistic influence. This came in the form of Daksha Patel, a wonderful woman who did some inspired work for the collection. Her works used the brain as the overarching theme, unsurprisingly for the event, to produce works which included a print of the human nervous system and an unstable piece of art depicting the brain. Like all good art, you can (like myself) look at it and just enjoy how it looks, or you can search for a deeper meaning. I think I'll stick with just admiring the pretty pictures. 

As I mentioned previously, the entire exhibition aims to put science and art on equal ground. The best example of this is to the right, in the resin cast of the blood vessels in the brain. Call me pretentious (go ahead), but I truly think it shows how art can come up from even the most scientific regimes.

Cost

Completely free! This is not a case of it being free to get into the main museum and being charged to get into the special exhibition. No, it is completely free if you want. If you do wish to show your gratitude, you can make a (recommended £3) donation to MOSI at their entrance.

Summary

An exhibition about brains, which isn't puts science and art on a level playing field. It sounds strange, risky even, but I think (or my brain does) that it is a risk which works. Why does it work? Well I've already tried to explain it, so I'll leave it to you. Go ahead and find out, it's open until the 4th of January.

Thursday 12 September 2013

My day in London.

Hello again! Before you leave, let me tell you this: Just because this post is about London, it doesn't mean I've run out of ideas. On the contrary, in fact I hope to show you somewhere you may not have known about the big (overused) city.

My Location Within London

I started my day early, so I fortunate enough to be in Trafalgar square at 9 AM. At this time of day it isn't too burdened by tourists, so you are able to easy move about and get some decent photographs if you wish. You don't have to worry much about people walking into your pictures, which is always a relief. To prove the lack of people, I took some pictures! Have a look:


Notice the lack of people climbing on the lions.
St Martin-in-the-Fields.

Hahn/Cock. Yes, a giant blue cockerel.
Yes, a giant blue cockerel is occupying the fourth plinth at Trafalgar square at the time of writing. I was confused as well, but it does make an interesting addition. I also went into St Martin-in-the-Fields, a very nice inside, with plenty of the homeless having a nap.

Pub

You've heard it before, you'll hear it again. Drinking in central London is expensive. However, you can save yourself some dough if you use the happy hour, like I did. Happy hour brought a pint down from over £4 to £3. The bar I went to was called Kamique, it was a cocktail bar with a wide range of Mojitos. I would recommend it to anyone in the area who has a lot of cash to spend.

Comedy club

Now, the real reason I'm writing this post isn't to bore you about overused London landmarks. No, in the evening some friends and I went to the Lion's Den Comedy Club. Located in the west end of London, in an underground nightclub. Tuesday night is the open mic night, called the Lion's Den Comedy Car Crash, where anybody can turn up and perform.  The acts had 4 and a half minutes to do their sketch, before they were thrown off the stage. If they didn't finish, well, the MC would make sure they wrapped up abruptly. It might seem brutal, but it worked.  

The Lion's Den in all its glory.
Due to the nature of it being an open mic scenario, there was the risk of there not being a single act who made you laugh. However, I was pleasantly surprised the mixture of talent. There was a person who played guitar, a person who read from their diary, even a person who did some hip-hop! 

The entry price was £4, which was a good deal for the amount of acts that were on. However, the price of drinks in the club was, in my opinion, extortionate. A friend paid £4.85 for a bottle of lager. This boils down to the location (west end of London) and the fact it was a club.

Summary

If you have never been to an open mic night before, then I recommend the Lion's Den (website here- http://www.lionsdencomedy.co.uk/comedycarcrash.html). It was easy to get into and the acts were easy enough to laugh along with. As for the bit about Trafalgar square, well, you knew all that already. I just wanted to show you a few pictures.

Friday 6 September 2013

Live from Jodrell Bank- Transmission 007

Hello! Just as you thought I did very little travelling, I manage to get some in the last few weeks of summer! Shortly after my visit to the Towersey Village Festival (previous post- I recommend giving it a read), I was fortunate enough to do some volunteering up north. The event in question was "Live from Jodrell Bank" (http://www.livefromjodrellbank.com/), of which transmission 007 shall be the focus today.

Background

The "Live from Jodrell Bank" transmissions began a few years back, the reasons for it are unbeknownst to me. However, it is still powering on today. Which is great news for music fans, as some big names have assembled at Jodrell in the past, including Elbow and New Order. Transmission 007 (they are all named this way) was headlined by the Hallé Orchestra, with a few other classical supporting acts.

Lovell Telescope

Ignoring the musicians, the Lovell Telescope (named after Sir Bernard Lovell) was the headliner. Just over 76m in diameter (over 8 Routemaster buses!), it strikes an imposing figure. Impressive though it may be, it is there everyday. The musicians weren't. If you desperate for information, please go the Jodrell Bank website (http://www.jodrellbank.net/).
The Lovell Telescope- in all its glory.

Science Arena

In this event, the science definitely did not try and take a back seat. There was a wide range of stalls, ranging from the scientifically simple (solar system bracelets) to the celestially complex (Square Kilometre Array). There was of course the Manchester staple, graphene. Yet, physics shared the stage with atmospheric scientists and even some wacky chemists! Each of the stalls were interactive, with guests being able to fire rockets, look at moon rocks and even make some light-up badges! All of the people in the science arena were very approachable and incredibly knowledgeable, as you would hope. For the quieter people, there were several talks given by leading scientists.

Sadly, it is not without some disappointment. An issue I had with the science arena in this transmission was that it seemed very separated from the music arena. For an event that seemed to promote science alongside music, you could potentially go the whole day without seeing any science-based activity. I was told this was not the case at previous transmissions, so we will have to wait and see for the future.

The beginnings of the science arena. Notice various flags for different topics.

Transportation

I recommend driving down, or getting one of the coach packages. Or something that will drop you right at the door. The reason for this is that the nearest train station is a 2 mile walk away. So unless you want to leave the event early to get the last train, I recommend driving and parking. There is a parking fee (grumble), but the advanced one is a bit cheaper.

Music Arena

As I mentioned previously, separated from the science arena. The majority of the music arena was very well laid out, with the food and drink stands at the back. There were several performances throughout the day, including a talk from the people's favourite Tim O'Brien. For the main Hallé performance, the Lovell telescope was used as a backdrop, on which various projections were done. I'll go into this further in a bit. While the music arena was generally well laid out, with the Lovell telescope behind the music stage, there were a few issues.

One issue was the position of the ice cream vans. Mr Whippy vans were placed in the middle of the crowd (towards the back), causing anybody sitting nearby to hear classical music with a mechanical hum overtone. This needed to be addressed. Another issue was the toss-up between having amazing seats or having a good view of the telescope. If you were at the side, like I was, you got an amazing view of the telescope and an okay view of the stage. On the other hand, if you were at the front, you got an amazing view of the stage and no view of the telescope. This is hopefully something that would be sorted for future performances, as I believe this layout hasn't always been the case for the transmissions.
Above and below: Day and night from roughly the same spot. Notice how if
you were very close to the stage, you would block out the telescope.
Right: Day and night from roughly the same spot, to the side of the stage.











Hallé- "A Concert Inspired by the Stars"

A magnificent projection of a nebula, to accompany the music.
The main act were the Hallé orchestra, as previously mentioned. They were performing classical pieces with planetary relations, along with several science-fiction themes. For a classical beginner but long time science-fiction fan like myself, it was heaven. The few classical pieces which I knew (e.g The Planets by Holst, along with The Blue Danube) were performed exquisitely and the science-fiction themes (Dr Who, Star Trek, Star Wars, Independence Day to name a few) were done with such energy you couldn't help but smile. The concert was split into two halves. The first allowed for the turning of the Lovell telescope, to "The Blue Danube", which was a fantastic choice of music for the occasion. The Lovell telescope was used as a backdrop on which several scenes were projected, however this only really occurred during the second half. This meant the first half felt a bit like they weren't using the telescope to its full potential. This was not the case in the second half, where it was used for sweeping travels through the solar system and the cosmos. All in all, the Hallé did a brilliant job and took control of the arena like very few can.

 A Very Special Birthday

The event landed on the 100th birthday of Sir Bernard Lovell, the man who really kick-started radio astronomy. Without him, the event wouldn't have been possible. To commemorate this event, the Lovell telescope was used to show a feature about his life and the evolution of Jodrell Bank. It was a very fitting tribute and was very touching, especially for a physics nut like myself.

Summary

On a whole, I would say transmission 007 was a success. There were a few niggling placement issues, but these can be dealt with for future events. The Hallé were a fantastic booking, the playlist was brilliant for those, like myself, who were new to classical music. If there was a similar event next year, would I go again? Try and stop me.

Thursday 5 September 2013

49th Towersey Village Festival

Hello again, it has been a while. Recently, I have been to the Towersey Village Festival (TVF- http://www.towerseyfestival.com/). Not as exotic as Dublin, I know, but still an interesting journey. The reason for my visit was due to volunteering on a physics-based stall, but that isn't important. What is important is what I thought of the event.

Background

This was the 49th TVF, which traditionally takes place on the August bank holiday weekend. They didn't seem to worry about larger festivals taking their audience away. The main genre of music was folk, though you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. You didn't have to venture far to find bands performing "gypsy-jazz", reggae and rock n' roll. This all acted to allow new people such as myself to find something new which they enjoyed (for me it was the gypsy-jazz).

Beer (and Food)

If you wanted it to be, you could ensure that this was hardly a sober event. On offer were 20 real ales (at a guess), all from independent breweries around the country. The wonderful thing about independent ales is that if you find a bad one (unlikely), you aren't likely to have it again soon. If you find a good one, well, that's just a bonus. The ales varied in colour and taste, from flaxen to dark, bitter to not-so-bitter. For those who wanted to test their tastebuds, there was an one off ale-tasting event on the Friday morning, which you had to be aware of. It wasn't on the main schedule and had a low capacity, resulting in several people only finding out when it was too late and being turned away.

Food was available, but if you are low on funds then I recommend taking your own. Nothing against the festival itself, it's just festival food prices. Sorry.

Dance


There was wide variety of dancing on offer, ranging from drunken stumbling to waltz. Granted the waltz was part of a ceilidh, but it was there. Ceilidh dancing, for the uneducated (like myself), is a group dance. It involves a lot of spinning, turning and hopping, which means you can get caught up in it very quickly. If you are a novice, like myself, then take the following advice. Have a drink (a real ale perhaps?), turn up nearer the beginning of the event, grab a partner (politely) and just get involved. Believe me, you want to dance in it while you can.

Bands

The bands, as I mentioned previously, was mainly of the folk genre. However, other types were easily available. One of my favourite bands there was called Manière des Bohémiens. They were a gypsy-folk/eastern European swing band, who weren't afraid to suddenly delve into a bit of classical music. I found them to be a refreshingly intense change from the mainstream, who were more than able to get the crowd jumping. They are also all fantastic guys, who were very easy to chat to and to drink with!

Manière des Bohémiens
                                                                                                       

                                                                



Another band who I enjoyed thoroughly were a band called Orkestra Del Sol. Through the use of brass instruments, which you would normally associate with slow and dull music, they delivered a truly electrifying show. They were more than happy to laugh at themselves (and the audience) through the use of props (fake hair), quick drama pieces (a Towersey news report) and on-stage music battles. If you ever see the name Orkestra Del Sol against a more mainstream band at a festival, I say this from my soul (sol?) that you should ditch the mainstream and see the Orkestra. You will not regret it.

Orkestra Del Sol, in all their glory. Notice the dressed up man in the middle.


















Those were two of my favourite bands at Towersey, I could rattle on about so many more (Sunjay Brayne, Jess Morgan, etc...) but I would bore you.

Location

If you going there by car, great. You'll be fine, as there was free parking. If you are not as lucky (like myself) and go by train and walk the rest, here is a word of warning. Get a decent map. I'm not talking Google maps. Go for Ordnance Survey as a lot of the walking takes place on public paths through fields, rather than roads. Other that than, you'll be fine (Watch out for the cows).

Summary

To sum it up: If you need to detach yourself from the everyday world for a while, then there is no better place. Ditch the laptop, smartphone and all-sorts and grab a partner for the ceilidh. Thank me later. Perhaps with a real ale?

Sunday 14 July 2013

Dublin

I recently visited Dublin, the capital of Ireland, with a few friends. The aim of the trip was to let off some steam and reunite after our respective first years at university. I can tell that you are not interested in reading about my friends and I. I can see that you want to know the main jewel of the emerald isle. Here are my bitesize reviews:

Phoenix park
Dublin's main park. Home to the Wellington monument (Wiki it) a very impressive monument, home to the president of Ireland, the zoo and several aesthetically pleasing landscapes. Right next the courthouse if that is your sort of thing. I saw some bikes available for hire near the main entrance. Park score- 7/10. Lacks a lake, but to be fair I didn't really venture that far in.

St Stephen's Green
A nice, well maintained park south of the river. Near some pubs. Google it. A small-medium inner city park, containing a lake, gazebos, several pathways and a drunken man at 5 PM. He provided plenty of entertainment. Park score- 7.5/10. It knows what it is, you don't come out of it thinking you missed a lot.

The Guinness storehouse
Google it. I personally found it very good, I apparently pulled the "perfect pint". Several samples available as well while progressing through. Word of advice, book your tickets online so it is cheaper. Also, good views of Dublin from the top of the storehouse.

Brilliant view of Dublin.
Pub pint prices
€4-5. Seriously. You have to remember that you are in the capital of Ireland, so drinks will be pricey. Pricey yes, but the service you get is brilliant. Also, I personally couldn't taste much difference between the Guinness of the UK and the Guinness of Ireland.

Trams (Luas)
Very good, very fun. Come on, trams are trains in the middle of the road. Who wouldn't love that. We visited a town named Dundrum (south of Dublin) using the tram. More on that later.

James Joyce House
Shut when we were there, to the disappointment of one of my friends.

Leprechaun Museum
Brilliant. An innovative museum explaining their culture and history, while keeping it light-hearted and entertaining. €10 for students, €12 for adults. Definitely worth it, I highly recommend drawing a picture at the end and getting it framed.
A masterpiece by an artist who will be forgotten by time.

Food
Breakfast- I recommend Court's Coffee shop, next to O'Shea's pub on the south bank of the river. A filling cooked breakfast for €5, with free refills on tea and coffee.
Dinner- The "oriental restaurant quarter" as the map called it. Down Parnell street, find somewhere reasonably priced and enjoy! Exploring is all part of the fun.

People
Very friendly. If you are lost, just stand somewhere and look lost. Looking at a map or a street sign with a look of confusion also helps. We found the Irish are just as friendly as you would think.

Spar
No, I didn't misspell "spa". There are seemingly "Spar" cornershops everywhere. Keep an eye out.

Postboxes
Green.
Green.

Dublin
A commendable city, if you want a quick getaway from the UK or elsewhere it is ideal. If you want somewhere which seems a little further away from home, try a city where the first language isn't English. 

Have fun!




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