Manchester United (vs Stoke)

Saturday, 20 October 2012

I had been asked, more than once...why Leeds?

I applied to and was offered places at three universities in the UK: Edinburg, Nottingham, and Leeds. Initially, I had my heart set on going to Edinburg, on advice from a close friend who had studied in the UK that Edinburg is a beautiful city, and a highly reputable university to boot.

However, having been offered a place and given access to the detailed course content, I realised the MSc (Inclusive and Special Education) course offered by Edinburg had a fair number of modules pertaining to the education of pupils with Visual Impairment. Also, only certain modules will be offered in particular academic year. As my area of interest, and work, lies with education for children with cognitive learning difficulties rather than physical ones, going to Edinburg ran the risk me having to select modules of study unrelated to my interest or work.

So, that was that...leaving me with Nottingham and Leeds.

Both Nottingham and Leeds offer modules that are aligned to my requirements. Both Nottingham and Leeds are fairly large cities with the usual ammenities and convienience that come with city living. Both are ranked within the 50th-100th bracket of the QS World University Rankings (Nottingham being higher up than Leeds).

So, as far as I'm concern, very little seperated the two...until...I found out that Leeds was merely an hour away from the city of Manchester, compared to about two hours for Nottingham.

That was the clincher!

Apart from academic and professional considerations, my experience in the UK would definitely involve going to watch Manchester United play at Old Trafford.

I would not say that I'm a 'true blue' MU fan. I do not emblazon my vehicle with flashy MU decals. I would not have named my children, if they were boys, 'Beckham' or 'Giggs'. I do not even own any MU jerseys, original replica or replica replica.

It's just that I have been following them for the longest time...since 1982, when I was a 11-year-old kid in Primary five. Coming from an all-boy school, football was the de facto game of choice before school, during recess and sometimes, after school, while waiting for the school bus to pick us up. Every boy in my class picked an English first-division (what the premier league was known as back then) team to support. Actually, there were only two teams...everyone either chose Liverpool or MU.

As I was pretty ignorant back then, and had no idea that Manchester and Liverpool were actually cities in England, I thought a name with 'Liver' in it sounded awful (hated pig's liver as a child)...so I picked the other team.

So, I had been following the ups and downs of Manchester United since...

Old Trafford:
Mecca to MU fans all around the world.

Glory, glory Man United...!

Theatre of Dreams...

Kick-about before kick-off.

Scholes:
soon to be one of the 'Legends of United's Past'.

Rooney:
definitely a 'Legends of United's Present'...on track to becoming United's ALL-TIME top scorer.

Hernandez:
'Chicharito' or little pea, his preferred moniker...surely 'Legends of United's Future'. He so much reminds me of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer...the 'baby-faced assassin'.

Van Persie:
goalscorer extraordinaire.

Welbeck.

In action.



Dare I say..."possibly the 3 best strikers in the world at the moment".

The bench.

Giggs:
Another soon-to-be 'Legends of United's Past'. Actually, he's second on my list of "All-time Favourite United Players'...after King Cantona of course. My top five: 1.Eric Cantona 2.Ryan Giggs 3.Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 4.David Beckham 5.Mark Hughes. There were of course other 'Legends'...Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best etc. but the five on my list were United players after I started following them.



Crouch:
a player who is awkward to watch...but gets the ball in the back of the net. He scored a FANTASTIC goal last season.
You can catch it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVIgTii_w2s





Owen:
Liverpool - Real Madrid - Newcastle - Manchester United - Stoke City.

 

Watching United play at Old Trafford has been on the DDMD list at the back of my mind...my 'Die Die Must Do' list...checked.

 

It is the closest I got to re-capturing the 'football high' experienced at the National Stadium in Kallang during those keenly contested, adrenalin charged, expletive laced, Malaysia Semi-Pro League days in the early 90s.

 

It is all very addictive...more games to come.

 

By the way, United won 4-2...naturally.

 



Lake District

Friday, 12 October 2012

Another University union trip?...not this time.

 

As part of its efforts to provide students on its many MA courses the catalyst to make contact... establish friendships...seal bonds, the School of Education organises two residential trips per academic year to the famed Lake District and Peak District. The first being sometime in October; the second, sometime in May of the following year.

 

Without an iota of hesitation, I put my name down for the first trip to the Lake District...naturally.

 

Located within the county of Cumbria in the North-West, The Lake District National Park is the largest of England's National Parks.

 

The pictures speak for themselves...

 

Castlerigg Manor:
where we stayed. Originally built in the 1840s, the Manor today is a Catholic Youth Service Centre. The staff was most hospitable and the food excellent. My only grouse...the ICY cold toilet seat in the morning.

Skiddaw:
at 931m above sea-level, it is the 4th highest fell (mountain? hill?) of the Lake District.

Derwentwater:
third largest of 14 lakes of the Lake District.

Catbells:
the first two peaks on the left. From here, I thought: "looks quite tame...should be a stroll in the park..."

Catbells:
nearer. "Mmm...it's looks bigger than a while ago... still think it shouldn't pose too much of a problem..."



The Long March:
at the foot of Catbells, just beginning to ascend.
"@#$%*...what did I get myself into? Should've swallowed my ego and opted to sit leisurely by the water's edge and wait..."

Half way up the first peak:
the view was great...but I wasn't quite in the mood to appreciate the scenery. I kept my head down and focussed on putting one foot in front of the other...

On Catbells:
just after the first peak, walking towards the second. "Phew...almost didn't make it up".
It was tough for me...pay back for too much Lays and Ruffles while watching football on telly back home. Lucky for me the trudge up the second peak proved to be a tad easier...

a bit more...

nearly there...
(A rainbow!...you can vaguely see it)



Ta-da! Catbells...the summit.

Breathtaking...

Keswick:
one of several towns within the Lake District. It was a Saturday and hence the market was on.

Grasmere:
another town, home to Williams Wordsworth, the famous English poet. The churchyard is resting place to the Wordsworth family.

The little brook that runs just beside the churchyard...postcard worthy.



"Hey! Will someone tell her to TURN AROUND and take the picture...cos the REAL beauty's RIGHT HERE!!"

Latestest K-Pop duo? Models for toothpaste ad? or MIB...Maidens in Black?

Where's Paly (Patrick aw leong yen)?
My School of Education comrades-in-arms or...partners-in-crime : ) 

To sum up the weekend spent at the Lake District, it was...GREAT!
GREAT company! GREAT fun! GREAT experience!

The scenery was beautiful...but took GREAT effort too. The trouble was, having visited New Zealand, in particular the South Island, it was a case of deja vu...a bit of 'been there, seen that'.

And all I had to do then was...sit on my bum and be driven around.

Oxford

Saturday, 6 October 2012

Another Saturday...
Another University organised trip...
Another £18...

Told you I was a 'trip junkie'!!

An ominous thing happened the evening before the trip. When told of my impending visit to Oxford the following day, Dan, my Russian flatmate said Oxford is...fornicating boring. Not his exact words but something to that effect.

Well, like all good junkies, I disregarded the advice...



Oxford Castle.





Carfax Tower:
tower of the 14th century church of St Martin.

Hertford College's Bridge of Sighs:
built in 1913/1914, it was named after the Bridge of Sighs in Venice. The Venetian bridge connected the New Prison to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace and it was thought that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice through the windows, before being taken down to their cells...



Radcliffe Camera:
Built between 1737 and 1749, it houses two reading rooms. It's essentially a library for Oxford undergraduates.





Tom Tower of Christ Church College:
perhaps the most famous of the 38 colleges of Oxford University, whose Great Hall inspired the Hogwarts dining hall in the Harry Potter movies.

Meadow Building:
another part of Christ Church College.




Christ Church Meadow:
A scenic park just beside Christ Church College.



So...that's Oxford.
And my Russian flatmate is beginning to look like a wise man...

To be fair, Oxford has really grand and beautiful buildings with wonderful architecture. Perhaps, if I had not had to spend seven hours on the bus (2-way)...leaving only six hours (five actually, if I discount the hour spent queueing to get in and having lunch at a Japanese restaurant whose spicy ramen tasted Thai...) to explore the city , and had the opportunity to really see and 'feel' the city at a more leisurely and intimate level, I would have felt differently.

To my dear friend who went to Oxford...apologies Howe.

Stratford-upon-Avon

Saturday, 29 September 2012

 

On another one of many Leeds University Union "Give it a Go" trips, I visited the beautiful town of Stratford-upon-Avon, birthplace of...Bill.

Bill who? Bill the Bard...William Shakespeare.



The Gower Memorial:
presented to the town by Lord Ronald Gower in 1888, in appreciation of Shakespeare.

Located along the bank of River Avon...the beautiful and serene Bancroft Gardens.
On a Saturday, the gardens is busy with visitors. Very fittingly, there are buskers entertaining with music. I sat here for almost an hour enjoying a leisurely lunch, listening to a man playing on the electric violin...poetic.

The pedestrian friendly streets of the town, resplendent with traditional English buildings and shops.

The entrance to Shakespeare's birthplace.





















Bought these books at the gift shops. Sad to say, these are the only works of Shakespeare I had read...and only because I did English literature in secondary school and they were among the set text. 



The place where it all began...



Tricked you didn't I? No...then you are probably too cynical for your own good : )

                                                                                                                                                          
Confession: I stood outside Shakespeare's birthplace contemplating if I should spend £12.50 to see a 16th Century house... I decided that if I'm willing to spend £50 to see Manchester United play, I can afford the dozen quid to go in.

For a person who does not particularly have leanings towards things 'cultural', I have to admit I rather enjoyed the visit to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare birthplace included.

Somehow, for me, the town of Stratford-upon-Avon embodies what English towns should be like...traditional, warm and a little laid back.


Scarborough

Sunday, 16 September 2012

 

I visited Scarborough on my first weekend at the University. It was organised by the University Union. Aimed at giving students the opportunity to see more of the country, the Union puts together regular weekend day trips to various places of interest throughout the UK as part of its "Give it a Go" series.

 

I'm a self-confessed 'Union trip junkie'...I NEVER miss one if I can help it. Period.

I'm here alone, more than 14,000km away from family and friends...what else is there to do on a Saturday?

 

Anyway, Scaborough is a seaside town on the coast of North Yorkshire about 2 hours by bus from Leeds... 



 

The more peaceful North Bay, on the way up to the castle.



South Bay, from the castle.
(You can see the pier on the left of the picture. There'll be a 'reverse' photo from the pier later)

And finally...Scaborough Castle, or more precisely...the ruins of Scarborough Castle.



The castle was built by Henry II in the 1150s.



Another view of the castle.

Trying my hand at being 'artistic'. Successful?...you be the judge.

 The castle viewed from the pier.
(The 'reverse' photo mentioned previously)



The busy South Bay with its cafes, amusement arcades, theatres and entertainment facilities.
At the top of the hill, you can just about see St. Mary's Church, where English writer Anne Bronte is laid to rest in 1849.






The serene and stately interior of St. Mary's Church.
It's an ideal place to seek respite from the chilling winds outside and have a cup of afternoon tea...oh lovely, how very English!

The Grand Hotel seen from the pier.

The only thing significantly missing from the series of photos I had taken...Fish & Chips!

 

Due to its coastal locale, Scarborough is known for its fresh fish & chips. There's even a Harry Ramden's at Scarborough. For those of you 'old' enough to remember, there used to be a Harry Ramsden's Singapore at Kallang in the late 90s. It was just behind the MacDonalds/KFC drive-through. When I was still teaching at, now defunct, MINDS Guillemard Gardens School, I used to go there for late lunches after work...when the place would be deserted...and seats aplenty...such nostalgia, sigh.

Anyway, I did have fish & chips in Scarborough, but it wasn't at Harry Ramden's...because by the time I spotted my old buddy, Harry...I had already 'whacked' a large portion elsewhere. There'll be another time Harry...there'll be another time.

Maybe it's just me...the ones in Harry Ramsden's Kallang tasted better.