UK Travel: Bewdley - Clementine's Coffee

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photo from Clementines' facebook page

Clementine's Coffee was our first stop off on a recent trip to Bewdley, after checking in to our hotel.  Having had an early start we were in need of caffeine and calories, and Clementine's certainly looked after us!

photo from Clementines' facebook page

Inside the decor is simple and homely, with a "home-made" aesthetic - upcycled non-uniform items and natural wood finished tables garnished with old-fashioned fabrics and modest floral centre-pieces.  It's a café that feels cared for, and loved through and through.

photo from Clementines' facebook page

The feeling of a place well-kept transfers also to the service.  Clementine's clearly value their customers - polite manner can be expected, and the food is delicious and artfully presented: the salad that accompanied my perfectly-cooked jacket potato is possibly the most colourful that I have ever seen!

photo from Clementines' facebook page

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A Few Words on Cultural Misunderstandings

This week Lionel Messi came under criticism for a seemingly generous gesture made during an interview on an Egyptian television station:  He offered his match boots to the presenter to be sold off at auction for charity.

photo from BBC article

Full story on BBC's website

The problem:  in Egypt and other Arab countries the feet are seen as low and dirty, as they are closest to the ground.  As a consequence, deliberately showing the soles of ones shoes to a person is considered incredibly rude.  There are also insults that incorporate vocabulary for shoes, and shoes have been thrown at political figures as a sign of disrespect (for example, George Bush).

But is Messi's ignorance of the Arabic culture so grave here?

Should an increasingly globally aware society instead understand the lack of malice in the gesture, and accept it for what was intended, as the TV host appeared to do - something for which she has been heavily criticised.

photo from BBC article

With the public involvement of politicians, could it be the case that this incident is actually being blown out of proportion for political gain?

These are difficult questions to answer, and I am far from qualified to do so!  I would love to hear your thoughts though, especially if you are of arabic origin.

Either way, it is food for thought.  Does a global media teach us to be more accepting of other cultures?  Or is it a tool to spread mistrust of that which we do not understand across the world, thus digging deeper the cultural rifts that are already present?

I suspect that there are excellent arguments for both sides.

Lonely Planet App

Most of you travelling enthusiasts will already be familiar with the name Lonely Planet.  For those of you that aren't, they are a force to be reckoned with in the world of travel journalism and, like any successful company in this day and age, they have an app.  As far as I'm aware this is available to download for apple and android devices.

The opening interface for the app is gorgeous.  It lists the cities with guides available alphabetically and with full colour photos, as the image to the left shows.  Any guides that you have already downloaded feature at the top of this page, and downloading is just two clicks away.  Nice and simple!

Selecting a guide to view opens a "discover" interface that shows a variety of options that will appeal to all kinds of tourists and can be explored in more detail at a touch.  These include a map loaded with location widgets, for the casual adventurer, a list of basic categories below for those looking for something specific (a restaurant, attractions, etc.), and a section labelled "interests" which I view as a list of itineraries tailored to tourists with particular hobbies or holiday goals (e.g. romantic attractions, museums or highlights).

Let's start from the top of the page, with the map.  As you can see to the right, the map's location widgets are coloured differently and show symbols relating to 6 fundamental categories, which feature below.  This is simple, but intuitive, allowing the user to examine in more detail only those places that relate to what they need.  If you need a restaurant, no need to tap through bars, shops and attractions until you find one!

Selecting the map will give you the option to download it to work offline, which is great.  Unfortunately, though, the map does seem a little sparse.  For the purpose of reviewing this app I picked somewhere that I have explored recently and fairly thoroughly - Seattle.  When there we stayed in Lower Queen Anne, a district rich in restaurants and bars.  This area doesn't have a great deal to show for it in the app.  Indeed, there are whole streets with no places of interest marked where I know that there were cafés, pubs, book-shops and more.

Unfortunately, this observation that there are, in my opinion, noteworthy locations that have been omitted is not exclusive to the map.  The symbols featuring underneath the map on the "discover" page link to the same locations, just categorised.  Trawling through I did perceive some bars and restaurants that I would recommend to anyone which were just not there - one of these being an excellent German Bier-Halle themed bar that I've seen rivalled nowhere else outside of Germany.  Surely, this should feature?

On the plus side, the functionality of the app is competent here.  The various category lists can be re-ordered according to preference:  recommended, nearby, price range, or sub-category.  Ideal if you're looking locally, working to a budget or have a hankering for a particular cuisine!

The "interests" recommendations (seen above and the the left) also left me a bit disappointed.  These are not the same for each guide and are supposedly tailored to the specialities of each location.  And yet when I think of Seattle I think gastronomy, coffee, breweries/distilleries, sport - none of which are represented in these recommendations.  Even the existing lists seem incomplete, with the EMP museum featuring in the "highlights" list, but nowhere to be found within "museums".

Overall, there are some holes in the content for this app.  I'm hoping that the content is being regularly updated and that certain venues just haven't been sufficiently tested to feature yet.  I do have to remind myself, though, that Lonely Planet is not the same as Trip Advisor, in that's it is not made up of user reviews, rather recommendations for tourists by professional journalists.  Some of the places I enjoyed just might not be noteworthy enough to feature.

I wouldn't replace my physical travel guide with this app just yet, but it is free to download, and could prove a useful companion whilst out and about.

Spanish Music

Today once more we're delving into the world of foreign language music, and as Spanish is a widely spoken language across the globe, you can expect some diversity in the tracks below.

Some Trending Sounds:

Hasta El Amanecer - Nicky Jam

This American born artist of Puerto-Rican descent just wants a lady to stay with him until dawn (Hasta el Amanecer).  You know... rumba, liquor, pleasure...that stuff.  All perfectly innocent I'm sure!

(Jenga is a form of pleasure, right?!!)

Por Fin Te Encontré - Cali Y El Dandee feat. Juan Magan

"I finally found you" - this one's actually pretty soppy.  There's a LOT of te amo and te quiero's in the chorus' (I love you's).  Where's Annie Lennox when you need her?

These Columbians are really quite morbid and suffocating in their ecstasy at their lady being "finally single".  There's a lot of imagery alluding to death, dying and heaven in this one.  Romantic!

Bajo El Agua - Manuel Medrano

I got nothin' witty to say about this one...Columbian artist...love song...

Sounds nice though!

From the vaults:

 Adentro - Calle 13

My kind of rap!  Puerto Rican Calle 13 go on a bit of a rant with Inside (Adentro).  They urge rappers to consider the impact of their messages and understand the reality of true hardship.  Respect.

Listen to my "in-progress" Spotify playlist HERE

For my "in-progress" YouTube playlist, click HERE

Please feel free to suggest new tracks to me

British Sign Language

I recently completed a beginners' British Sign Language (BSL) course online and it's given me the bug to continue with this fascinating language.  I thought it worthwhile to share my progress and learnings with you all.

The course in question was with British-Sign.  As I recall it cost around £20 and was a great initial insight into a language that I knew absolutely nothing about prior to commencing the course.

I did not know, for example, that BSL is not derivative of English at all, but has evolved in much the same way as a spoken language would, within the community that uses it.  In this way there are regional variations on sign language, much like with any spoken language.

This is demonstrated further, as BSL is unique to Britain, with other English-speaking countries (namely U.S.A and Australia) having their own organic sign languages.

There is a distinction, also, between the terms deaf and Deaf, the former (in a nutshell) being those who have become deaf later in life and identify to varying degrees with the Deaf community, many of whom will remain part of the hearing community and lip-read as well as being able to sign.  The latter are those who have always been Deaf and whose social interactions remain almost exclusively within the Deaf community.

To continue my learning I have begun with the Teach Yourself book and DVD series, which is wonderfully set out to explain the grammar and body language of BSL, visually demonstrating the signs brilliantly on page as well as through video.

The photo below shows the kind of diagram included in the book, with indicators used to denote features of body language - an important feature of BSL.  An example below is the crossing out of the word "you".  This is to indicate that the word does not need to be mouthed by the signer.

Below are a couple of short videos of me practising my new vocabulary, along with some notes on technique that I have picked up.  If you know BSL, and spot a mistake in my signing, please do feel free to comment, as I am learning and currently do not know any other signers for practise!

Hello, how are you?

Some technique tips:

- Remember to use facial expressions to communicate along with your signing:

- Questions can be shown by raising your eyebrows.

- Answers can be made clearer by nodding to show affirmation, or shaking your head to contradict.

- Resist the urge to translate from "pidgin" English.  The signs need to become "vocabulary" in their own right for signing to flow naturally.

- Mouthing words is usual, but is not always required.  Two such examples, are the words "me" and "you", as pointing is sufficient denotation for these.

- Pointing in BSL is not considered rude - you are simply communicating, there is no other stigma attached.

I'm well, thank you!

Language Nerd Swag: Personal Library Kit

Just what the overly-generous lender of books has always wanted:  a loan-shark style kit to guilt-trip their borrowers into returning their precious books, with a dash of Library nostalgia thrown in for good measure!

There are no lump-hammers or leg posts included here.  What you will get, though, is a date stamp, ink pad, pencil, 20 pockets and 20 checkout cards.  A "fun and gentle" reminder to your borrowers that they do need to give your shit back, and by a certain date no less!  Guaranteed to help you to keep friends for longer!

photo from foyles.co.uk

...and even if this won't actually force your borrowers to give that beloved literature back, it's a neat way to keep track of who you've lent to.  If you're anything like me you constantly forget.

The only downside I can see to this product is that, for me, books are art.  It's the reason I don't own a kindle, the reason I don't use book plates or metal book marks, the reason I don't lend books to "spine-benders" and the reason why I always threw a massive hissy-fit whenever I'd be asked in literature classes to annotate a text.  On these grounds I might be a bit too much of a purist, and not enough of a lover of the library aesthetic to be gluing pockets to the inside covers of my favourite books.

photo from foyles.co.uk

The Personal Library Kit can be purchased on the high street at Foyle's (£11.95) and Waterstones (also £11.95).  Amazon, of course, also sell at £10.99

ISBN: 9781601060723

Refills are available, but are pretty hard to come by, even online, for any reasonable price.  It'd probably cost you less to just buy an entirely new kit when you run out.

German Soap Update - Alles Was Zählt (February)

Our main Story right now is a soap stable:  cheating spouses! 

watch Alles Was Zählt: RTL NOW

Power couples Bea & Ingo, and Lena & Marian have been planning to build a house together with Ben and Iva, only everything is going wrong and they're losing money fast.  The fellas have resorted to stripping (actually not the first time they have done this), and the ladies have speculated on the Stock Market and flirted with phone sex.  The final straw comes, though, when Ben pulls out of the build, and Marian admits that he's stolen money from his young adoptive son to make ends meet.  Our power couples fight, Bea and Marian get drunk, and.... well, you can guess the rest.

Marian & Bea: whoops!

Bea in particular is racked by guilt and confesses to Ingo, but leaves Marian out of it (kind of under duress from Marian - the bastard!).  Poor Bea has suffered the most with this.  There's quite a beautiful scene after her confession where she accidentally destroys a gingerbread house (symbolism!!!) and has a bit of a cry to the tune of John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" whilst Ingo rampages in the street.

Is Bea's subconscious trying to tell her something?

Ingo does forgive her, but her suffering doesn't end there.  Then come the creepy "shot on shiteo" sepia dreams where she is in hospital, no one is listening to her and there's a creepy animated stuffed monkey in the foreground.  Could this have a wider meaning?

Yes, of course it does.  She's pregnant!  Always use protection, kids!

Vocab:

Wer? - Who?
jemanden vögeln - to shag, to fuck
betrunken - drunk (adjective)
sich an nichts erinnern - to not be able to remember anything

jemanden betrügen - to cheat on someone

sich streiten - to argue, to fight

etwas bereuen - to regret something

in die Kiste hüpfen/in die Kiste steigen  - to jump/get into bed (with someone)

die Kiste - literally: a box/crate.  Colloquially: bed, "the sack"

der Ausrutscher  - a one-off, a slip-up

"bleib locker!" - "be/stay cool!"

die Klappe halten - to keep one's mouth/gob/trap shut

Jenny Steinkamp

In our other stories, Jenny Steinkamp is guilt-tripping her parents into speculating on their assets.  After yet another failed marriage and a tequila-fuelled self-pity fest she's now playing the "you've always seen me as a failure" card to convince them to invest in her ideas.  So she's now training until-recently paralysed Marie and promising the local press a Gold medal in the upcoming German Nationals.  Under these conditions she's convinced a multi-millionaire (who's conveniently currently in the area) to invest in rebuilding the Steinkamp centre's ice rink.  She also has aspirations to hold the Nationals there, despite a venue already having been decided upon, but the German Nationals' representative might be interested in more than just her business proposal...

a lot now rests on Marie's shoulders...

Vocab:

allein(e) - alone

der Neuanfang - new start

die Eishalle - ice rink

glücklich sein - to be happy
das Sorgenkind - problem child

der Rückbau - revitalisation (building)

Sylvie: now featuring in Christoph's nightmares

Christoph is still struggling with having seen ex-wife Sylvie shoot herself in the head.  He's been on a bit of an adrenaline bender whilst his fiancé Vanessa's been away.  The usual:  bought a motorbike, did some speeding, got license confiscated, ran a red light without said license, learnt to hold his breath under water for 3 minutes....

OK, so the last one there lost me a little.

Christoph & Vanessa at the crime scene

Vocab:

die rote Ampel - red light

professionelle Hilfe - professional help

zu schnell - too fast

der Tod - death

der Führerschein - driving license

sich zum Affen machen - to make a fool of oneself

der Affe - monkey

der Verräter - snitch, traitor

zurechnungsfähig - sane

Thomas: idiot!

His best friend Thomas has been trying, but failing to keep him on the straight and narrow.  Thomas has been a bit preoccupied of late though, trying to assert his masculinity against aforementioned multi-millionaire and love rival Pacheluber for the not-so-fair hand of the manipulative Isabelle.  He split up with Isabelle for cheating on him with his own son and lying about having lost her baby during the resulting argument.  But now he wants her back.

Isabelle: liar!

The "who can cycle the fastest" competition as the Steinkamp gym was astoundingly subtle, and jumping into bed with town bike, Brigitte Schnell was also a great plan to win the "lovely" Isabelle back.

He's a doctor and should be intelligent enough to know better!

Vocab

provozieren - to provoke

ignorieren - to ignore
der Blumenstrauß - bunch of flowers

sich untersuchen lassen - to get a check-up (there may have been a slight innuendo here)