Ugh, paperwork.

Sep. 2nd, 2025 01:24 am[personal profile] tyger
tyger: Vanitas fanart, looking really grumpy. (Vanitas - grumpyface)

Sooo made the stupid call, have to get info on their special form from ex-work, so who even KNOWS when that'll get back to me. :/ :/ :/ So annoying!

Other than that, nothing amazing today really. I am Officially Late with the pokemon event, too, gotta get those last two shinies before I download the new update whoops >>;;;; Gonna have to focus on that tomorrow, rather than minecraft!

Something something bed now, I feel like there was something else but I forget orz orz orz

Code deploy happening shortly

Aug. 31st, 2025 07:37 pm[staff profile] mark posting in [site community profile] dw_maintenance
mark: A photo of Mark kneeling on top of the Taal Volcano in the Philippines. It was a long hike. (Default)

Per the [site community profile] dw_news post regarding the MS/TN blocks, we are doing a small code push shortly in order to get the code live. As per usual, please let us know if you see anything wonky.

There is some code cleanup we've been doing that is going out with this push but I don't think there is any new/reworked functionality, so it should be pretty invisible if all goes well.

denise: Image: Me, facing away from camera, on top of the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome (Default)

A reminder to everyone that starting tomorrow, we are being forced to block access to any IP address that geolocates to the state of Mississippi for legal reasons while we and Netchoice continue fighting the law in court. People whose IP addresses geolocate to Mississippi will only be able to access a page that explains the issue and lets them know that we'll be back to offer them service as soon as the legal risk to us is less existential.

The block page will include the apology but I'll repeat it here: we don't do geolocation ourselves, so we're limited to the geolocation ability of our network provider. Our anti-spam geolocation blocks have shown us that their geolocation database has a number of mistakes in it. If one of your friends who doesn't live in Mississippi gets the block message, there is nothing we can do on our end to adjust the block, because we don't control it. The only way to fix a mistaken block is to change your IP address to one that doesn't register as being in Mississippi, either by disconnecting your internet connection and reconnecting it (if you don't have a static IP address) or using a VPN.

In related news, the judge in our challenge to Tennessee's social media age verification, parental consent, and parental surveillance law (which we are also part of the fight against!) ruled last month that we had not met the threshold for a temporary injunction preventing the state from enforcing the law while the court case proceeds.

The Tennesee law is less onerous than the Mississippi law and the fines for violating it are slightly less ruinous (slightly), but it's still a risk to us. While the fight goes on, we've decided to prevent any new account signups from anyone under 18 in Tennessee to protect ourselves against risk. We do not need to block access from the whole state: this only applies to new account creation.

Because we don't do any geolocation on our users and our network provider's geolocation services only apply to blocking access to the site entirely, the way we're implementing this is a new mandatory question on the account creation form asking if you live in Tennessee. If you do, you'll be unable to register an account if you're under 18, not just the under 13 restriction mandated by COPPA. Like the restrictions on the state of Mississippi, we absolutely hate having to do this, we're sorry, and we hope we'll be able to undo it as soon as possible.

Finally, I'd like to thank every one of you who's commented with a message of support for this fight or who's bought paid time to help keep us running. The fact we're entirely user-supported and you all genuinely understand why this fight is so important for everyone is a huge part of why we can continue to do this work. I've also sent a lot of your comments to the lawyers who are fighting the actual battles in court, and they find your wholehearted support just as encouraging and motivating as I do. Thank you all once again for being the best users any social media site could ever hope for. You make me proud and even more determined to yell at state attorneys general on your behalf.

spiralsheep: Sheep wearing an eyepatch (Default)
- Current reading quote:
I was trying to maintain conversation as he rattled mugs and spoons, but I was incredibly distracted by a taxidermied wallaby staring blankly at me across the room. Eventually, unable to continue without acknowledging it, I said, 'Andy, there's a stuffed wallaby in your kitchen.'
Andy looked up from the kettle to the wallaby and laughed, 'He doesn't say very much,' he offered, before returning to the tea. No further explanation was forthcoming.

- Some people can't be helped, the map reading edition:
I offered to help direct a couple of all-day walkers, who were lost despite standing next to a literal signpost for their next destination. I showed them where they were on their map and explained verbally where they were going next. We were walking the same path for a short distance so I even walked along with them and pointed to each landmark on their map as we passed. I explained I would be taking an earlier footpath to the right that would cut out a small corner of their route and suggested they accompany me instead of walking slightly further and through a farmyard, but they declined. I repeated yet again that they should turn right through the farmyard and showed them on their map. I could hear them arguing when they reached the farmyard and I waited to see if they turned right and walked across the field below me but, no, they inevitably turned left away from the farmyard and 180 degrees opposite to their intended destination which was still some miles away over another ridge. One can only hope that when they reached the next inhabited road somebody with a sense of direction offered to drive them back to their car because I'm honestly not sure they were going to make it any other way.
[/possibly they have the opposite of whatever migrating birds have and Persistent Directional Wrongness is a disability but I feel it's more likely they were subjects of an Ancient Curse]

- Pleasing occurrences:
25: Serendipitous reading.
26: Had positive conversations with two neighbours met individually in town.
26: Found a very new book I wanted was unexpectedly on the shelves in a local library.
26: Decided to start a new reading challenge, an a-z type, which is my third set for this year as I'd completed the first and second by April.
27: Spotted new invertebrates in my garden.
28: Was treated to a vanilla soya milkshake and had a delightful flashback to the last time I ate vanilla ice cream which was in St Ives in Cornwall.
29: Had a very pleasant walk. Saw a new-to-me invertebrate in the meadow behind my house.
30: Productive day full of small satisfactions. :-)

Minor habitat improvements )

Blegh

Sep. 1st, 2025 12:58 am[personal profile] tyger
tyger: Axel, looking sad. (Axel - needs hugs)

I woke up properly - in that I didn't immediately want to go back to sleep - at about 3pm today, heh. So I think I'm more or less better now? But that was a LOT of sleeping orz orz orz. And walking around the block with Mama was. Exhausting. Bleh. Still, at least it was over pretty quickly, honestly! Just annoying while it was happening.

REALLY did not do much else today, though. Played some Minecraft after tea, but that's about it, hahaha. Tomorrow is a weekday though so I'mma have to make another fucking phonecall uuuuuugh, I'm gonna be on hold for like an hour again I just know it. =_= Still, if I call when I wake up, they'll at least _answer the goddamn phone. Eventually.

Anyway still pretty early for me but I'm sleepy already so I'mma bed, yes. >: Sleeeeeeeep.

Sick

Aug. 30th, 2025 11:09 pm[personal profile] tyger
tyger: Luxord's Avatar Kingdom chibi. Text: Luxord (Luxord - chibi)

Yeah, today I have been sick. Got up and was up for like three hours! Watching the stream Azy was doing! Aaaand then I had to go to bed because I felt like crap and didn't quite throw up but I was close, you know?

Surfaced for long enough to have a drink in the middle of the afternoon, and then was out of it until dinnertime. Even now I've only been up another like. Four and a half hours, and it's really mostly been this long because I was waiting for my hair to dry properly before going back to bed. (Showering is good for you though so didn't object when Mama insisted.)

Anyway my bones hurt and I'm so tired so back to bed for me! Ugh, so annoying, ruining all my plans, fucking body...

An Attempt Was Made!

Aug. 30th, 2025 01:55 am[personal profile] tyger
tyger: Riku=Replica animation, fading into the dark.  Text: まあ いいか (Replica - まあ いいか)

To-Do list was partially successful!

I did the first two things on it, but when it came to the third... well. It was a 'do an art' type dotpoint, and I definitely tried, but also. Failed. Drawing is hard!

Didn't get to the last dotpoint (shinies), but will take the switch to bed with me and try there for a bit, I think.

Going to bed earlier than normal, because Azy is planning on streaming in the morning (my time, it's late afternoon over there). Hopefully I'll sleep! If I don't so much, well, at least I don't have anything I have to do tomorrow. Other than shower again, bleh, but I've got a family thing on Sunday I said I'd go to. Bleeeeh.

spiralsheep: Sheep wearing an eyepatch (Default)
thefridayfive posted my questions this week so I suppose I'd better answer them, lol. As these represent some of my pet obsessions, the regulars already know what I'll say. Apologies for the repetitions.

I'm interested in all your answers as usual. )
I've upcycled a few things, often trash or charity shop finds, but usually as art rather than for practical purposes. The largest is a garden sculpture that looks like curling art nouveau plant stems with leaves, that I made out of part of an old metal bed head I hauled out of the community woodland when we were clearing the rubbish dumped there. One of my friends makes flowers out of charity shop glasses and plates. I have a couple of slightly broken antique bottles I'd like the tops ground off to make vases.

Bleh?? Bleh.

Aug. 29th, 2025 03:26 am[personal profile] tyger
tyger: Roxas, smirking. (Roxas - smirk)

Didn't do a whole lot today, brain was pretty jiiiiii. Did help Mama move some furniture, though, so that was useful! And I showered!

Did manage to make myself find my to-do list notepad, so I've written down a to-do list for tomorrow! Hopefully that'll mean I actually do some stuff on it! >: >: >:

One of those things is going shopping with Mama, which we're doing in the morning, though, so I... need to go to bed... >>;;;;

House: more occupied

Aug. 28th, 2025 03:47 am[personal profile] tyger
tyger: Random pattern from the Re:coded Ultimania, messed with until it's white on a black background. (Kingdom Hearts - pattern)

Parents got home today! House is now louder, and also I am probably gonna get harassed into being awake during the day and not napping more, bleh. Not looking forward to that. But it's good they're home safe! :D

Nothing much other than that, mainly just me giving myself space to adjust. Also small housekeeping tasks, blah blah blah. Nothing too interesting.

Intended to go to bed a bit earlier than this but Oh Well...

spiralsheep: Sheep wearing an eyepatch (Default)
Reading: 86 books to 27 Aug 2025 (and 5 dnfs).

81. Perspectives, by Laurent Binet (translated by Sam Taylor), 3.5/5.
A murder mystery novel set in Florence in the 1550s and using historical people as characters. I like the epistolary format and wide variety of correspondents. I especially enjoyed the conspiracy of idealistic artists against pragmatic politicians (and am not even miffed that the historians were all supporting the politicians). Also, Binet managed to pull off the only funny joke about the French military surrendering, and the person he chose to deliver it was the best possible choice.

82. The Passengers on the Hankyu Line, by Hiro Arikawa (translated by Allison Markin Powell), 3.5/5.
A Japanese, slice of life, composite novel or short story cycle that does exactly what it says in the title by introducing us to various railway passengers and their interactions.

Quote:
a person alone
without any kind of distraction
looking animated
is very conspicuous.
*

But none of the characters are alone for too long. Mostly a gentle and positive read, with multiple happy endings, although I didn't think the last two wrap-up stories in the suite were as good as the cycle they were concluding.

83. Accidental Darlings, by Crystal Jeans, 2025, historical lgbt novel, 4.5/5.

Lgb(t) historical-ish novel set in the interwar period, with a coming of age theme in a broadly found-family framework, and a style I can only describe as gothy Dickensian modernism in a surprisingly smooth medley without choppy changes of tone or key. The author is also particularly a Bronte fan. This novel was a serendipitous choice from the library because if I'd had an accurate description then I wouldn't've picked it: orphan, scary aunt, large dilapidated house, vicious servant, local bigots, ageing bright young things. I found it a compelling read with enjoyable moments and a well-earned fabulous ending, a smidgin of hope in a glassful of resilience. The in-jokes in the epilogue chapter boosted it overall from a 4 to a 4.5/5 because lmao (literally!).

Warnings: the dogs die (yes, two are murdered, but it's fair to add that humans also die through illness and accident), and emetophobes should avoid this (within the first 100 pages there's a child, a haemophobe twice, and a dog, and it doesn't stop there).

Quotes
- (I didn't know what kind of dog he was but he reminded me of an overgrown gerbil.)
[Me: corgi? Honestly, I need suggestions and opinions here, plz.]

Cut for one of the v words, y'know like vuvuzela. )

Tuesday? Tuesday.

Aug. 27th, 2025 03:17 am[personal profile] tyger
tyger: Isaac and Miria, grinning. (Isaac and Miria -  ...na :D?)

Today there was a lot of moving things around, which was. Exhausting. But! It's done, so shit will hopefully not be flipped tomorrow, which was the plan!

Other than that... finally updated pokemon for the new set of shinies! Got 4/6 already, yay! And beat the raid boss pretty easily, too, which was nice. :3 Didn't even have to train anything up!

Um... I feel like there really should be more, but I've gone very jiiii so I'm just gonna. Go to bed now. Yes.

spiralsheep: Sheep wearing an eyepatch (Default)
Mascots: while I was on holiday in Conwy I found a rare sixteenth century reference to the mascot genus Gritty, best known for the endemic North American species Gritty philadelphus, adopted as genius of the Philadelphia Flyers. The Gritty I saw, probably a representation of the endangered Welsh species Gritty gwyneddii, was depicted in plasterwork or pargetting in several rooms at Plas Mawr, notably in a dated overmantel* completed in 1580. There were several other heraldic emblems such as the ever popular severed Englishman's head motif. Also, why are red stockings such a thing? Answers on a postcard c/o Dr Freud....

* Note: an overmantel goes over a mantelpiece, while an overmantle goes over clothes.

Gritty gwyneddii in pargetting, 1580, at Plas Mawr in Conwy

Plastered and nsfw )
denise: Image: Me, facing away from camera, on top of the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome (Default)

I'll start with the tl;dr summary to make sure everyone sees it and then explain further: As of September 1, we will temporarily be forced to block access to Dreamwidth from all IP addresses that geolocate to Mississippi for legal reasons. This block will need to continue until we either win the legal case entirely, or the district court issues another injunction preventing Mississippi from enforcing their social media age verification and parental consent law against us.

Mississippi residents, we are so, so sorry. We really don't want to do this, but the legal fight we and Netchoice have been fighting for you had a temporary setback last week. We genuinely and honestly believe that we're going to win it in the end, but the Fifth Circuit appellate court said that the district judge was wrong to issue the preliminary injunction back in June that would have maintained the status quo and prevented the state from enforcing the law requiring any social media website (which is very broadly defined, and which we definitely qualify as) to deanonymize and age-verify all users and obtain parental permission from the parent of anyone under 18 who wants to open an account.

Netchoice took that appellate ruling up to the Supreme Court, who declined to overrule the Fifth Circuit with no explanation -- except for Justice Kavanaugh agreeing that we are likely to win the fight in the end, but saying that it's no big deal to let the state enforce the law in the meantime.

Needless to say, it's a big deal to let the state enforce the law in the meantime. The Mississippi law is a breathtaking state overreach: it forces us to verify the identity and age of every person who accesses Dreamwidth from the state of Mississippi and determine who's under the age of 18 by collecting identity documents, to save that highly personal and sensitive information, and then to obtain a permission slip from those users' parents to allow them to finish creating an account. It also forces us to change our moderation policies and stop anyone under 18 from accessing a wide variety of legal and beneficial speech because the state of Mississippi doesn't like it -- which, given the way Dreamwidth works, would mean blocking people from talking about those things at all. (And if you think you know exactly what kind of content the state of Mississippi doesn't like, you're absolutely right.)

Needless to say, we don't want to do that, either. Even if we wanted to, though, we can't: the resources it would take for us to build the systems that would let us do it are well beyond our capacity. You can read the sworn declaration I provided to the court for some examples of how unworkable these requirements are in practice. (That isn't even everything! The lawyers gave me a page limit!)

Unfortunately, the penalties for failing to comply with the Mississippi law are incredibly steep: fines of $10,000 per user from Mississippi who we don't have identity documents verifying age for, per incident -- which means every time someone from Mississippi loaded Dreamwidth, we'd potentially owe Mississippi $10,000. Even a single $10,000 fine would be rough for us, but the per-user, per-incident nature of the actual fine structure is an existential threat. And because we're part of the organization suing Mississippi over it, and were explicitly named in the now-overturned preliminary injunction, we think the risk of the state deciding to engage in retaliatory prosecution while the full legal challenge continues to work its way through the courts is a lot higher than we're comfortable with. Mississippi has been itching to issue those fines for a while, and while normally we wouldn't worry much because we're a small and obscure site, the fact that we've been yelling at them in court about the law being unconstitutional means the chance of them lumping us in with the big social media giants and trying to fine us is just too high for us to want to risk it. (The excellent lawyers we've been working with are Netchoice's lawyers, not ours!)

All of this means we've made the extremely painful decision that our only possible option for the time being is to block Mississippi IP addresses from accessing Dreamwidth, until we win the case. (And I repeat: I am absolutely incredibly confident we'll win the case. And apparently Justice Kavanaugh agrees!) I repeat: I am so, so sorry. This is the last thing we wanted to do, and I've been fighting my ass off for the last three years to prevent it. But, as everyone who follows the legal system knows, the Fifth Circuit is gonna do what it's gonna do, whether or not what they want to do has any relationship to the actual law.

We don't collect geolocation information ourselves, and we have no idea which of our users are residents of Mississippi. (We also don't want to know that, unless you choose to tell us.) Because of that, and because access to highly accurate geolocation databases is extremely expensive, our only option is to use our network provider's geolocation-based blocking to prevent connections from IP addresses they identify as being from Mississippi from even reaching Dreamwidth in the first place. I have no idea how accurate their geolocation is, and it's possible that some people not in Mississippi might also be affected by this block. (The inaccuracy of geolocation is only, like, the 27th most important reason on the list of "why this law is practically impossible for any site to comply with, much less a tiny site like us".)

If your IP address is identified as coming from Mississippi, beginning on September 1, you'll see a shorter, simpler version of this message and be unable to proceed to the site itself. If you would otherwise be affected, but you have a VPN or proxy service that masks your IP address and changes where your connection appears to come from, you won't get the block message, and you can keep using Dreamwidth the way you usually would.

On a completely unrelated note while I have you all here, have I mentioned lately that I really like ProtonVPN's service, privacy practices, and pricing? They also have a free tier available that, although limited to one device, has no ads or data caps and doesn't log your activity, unlike most of the free VPN services out there. VPNs are an excellent privacy and security tool that every user of the internet should be familiar with! We aren't affiliated with Proton and we don't get any kickbacks if you sign up with them, but I'm a satisfied customer and I wanted to take this chance to let you know that.

Again, we're so incredibly sorry to have to make this announcement, and I personally promise you that I will continue to fight this law, and all of the others like it that various states are passing, with every inch of the New Jersey-bred stubborn fightiness you've come to know and love over the last 16 years. The instant we think it's less legally risky for us to allow connections from Mississippi IP addresses, we'll undo the block and let you know.

Monday. Ugh.

Aug. 26th, 2025 02:39 am[personal profile] tyger
tyger: FFVII!Yuffie, grinning.  Text: Yuffie (Yuffie - :D)

Soooo totally bombed a phone interview thing today, so that sucked. Was one of those job agency ones so not much was likely to come of it anyway, but the way my brain went TOTALLY BLANK and I couldn't even remember basic-ass shit was uh. Not encouraging. Sigh. I fucking hate phone calls, though this shit happens to me in person as well. Bleh.

Still, at least I got a call and gave it a go, it's exp if nothing else. Maybe I won't freeze up so bad next time! >:

Other than that... bunch of cleaning/tidying, as planned! Finished watching Tonari no Youkai-san, which is an extremely cute mostly-slice-of-life anime. Not sure if I mentioned I was watching it here or not. Anyway, it's pretty clearly aimed at primary school aged kids, but it's super cute and the worldbuilding is fantastic. (The last episode did make my cry like a bitch because of course it did. Happy end though!!!) Definite rec there, particularly if you like worldbuilding!

spiralsheep: Sheep wearing an eyepatch (Default)
My current reading is incidentally on point, lol:

82. [...] taking in the recommendation of a woman with whom she'd just had such a candid exchange in the span of a single stop on the train, she nodded, and said, 'I think I will do just that.'

83. I came down to find her spooning mould out of the jam, her hair tied up tighter than ever.

[eighty-something.] She can't believe there's a product labeled "wild Chilean baby pears." How superlatively exotic. She can't believe how tender and naked and raw the little pear bodies seem. She can't believe there are so many jars - rows and rows of jars, their storage the same as their display. How museum-like it seems: each jar a group of individuals dated and labeled as one type, then preserved in fluid.

Out and about:
- Perused two art exhibitions.
- Urban nature walk with friends.

Habitat:
- Left fossils on benches and play equipment during school holidays.
- Glass and batteries (including taped lithium) to recycling points.
- Propped succulents freecycled.
- Gave the spiraea its annual haircut.
- That one species of plant which gives me mild contact dermatitis was growing through along the cracks in the main garden path, and competing with my beloved creeping thyme, but I remembered to weed it out just before I had a bath to minimise my reaction. Also removed half a dozen sycamore and ash tree saplings that had eluded me earlier this year.

An annoyance, but also curry!

Aug. 25th, 2025 04:19 am[personal profile] tyger
tyger: A surskit with a heart above it.  Text: chuu! (pokémon - surskit)

Home improvement project aftermath related grump. Damnit Sibling. )

But! I also made curry this evening! Pretty pleased with it, yesss. The chicken ribs are good, too! They have the whole rib bones in them, unlike with pork ribs where they're chopped up the other way, so they're pretty easy to eat. Might have had them before, in like, korean fried chicken or whatever? Not sure though, the rib bones are pretty distinctive and I don't THINK I have.

Other than that... nothing much! Will need to step up on the whole getting my shit together/tidied up things though I just realised there's only a couple of days before my parents are home now! At least I've kept up with the kitchen, despite my hatred of dishes...

Saturday!

Aug. 24th, 2025 03:51 am[personal profile] tyger
tyger: (KH!)Cid, smirking.  Text: ...well damn. (Cid - Well damn)

I went shopping again! I did. Uh. More shopping than I expected to, even though I didn't get many things? Like. I bought stuff from five different shops that is so many. (For me. I know some people enjoy shopping, but I find it exhausting.) Most of it was food, but I also got a new hairbrush (badly needed, my current one is losing tines and is kinda bald in patches now), plus like. Toothbrushes and stuff.

Didn't actually make curry tonight I am sleepy so I rambled about food stuff for. A bit. )

Uhhh what else. Did some washing! And some tidying up of the stuff from the floor job, plus moving shit back into here. I really need to get back onto pokemon, there should be another set of shinies out, plus a raid. I'll at least put it on the charger tonight before I pass out, that's a start...

Speaking of I should definitely get ready for bed now ugh it's 4am brains why are you like this.

Rice!!!!

Aug. 23rd, 2025 02:24 am[personal profile] tyger
tyger: A surskit with a heart above it.  Text: chuu! (pokémon - surskit)

So I went down to the shops today, and I got rice! It's sushi rice, specifically! So tasty! I tend to buy Japanese rice, but my parents tend to buy basmati - which is also good! I like it a lot! But it means it's what we usually eat so when I'm the one getting rice I get something else for a change. And I DO really like Japanese-style rice varieties, so yeah. Happy me! :D

Did mean that I couldn't actually get a lot of other food, though. XD;; 5kg bag takes up most of my backpack! Add the milk (and they only had 3 liters, AGAIN, wtf), and yeah. Not a lot. Soooo I'll have to go back down again tomorrow and get meat and veg to go in curry! I remembered I had a packet of Golden Curry mix so I'mma make that! :D

Other than that, nothing major today. Reading, minecraft, you know. Standard me things.

spiralsheep: Sheep wearing an eyepatch (Default)
1. Have you ever stayed in a hostel? If so, where? Did you like it? If you haven't stayed in a hostel, would you?

Yes, stayed in many YHA youth hostels in women's dorms when I was younger. Some better than others in facilities or location but all excellent in price. I stopped because the people using them changed and I was no longer safe as a solo traveller. I was unlucky to be booked into a large dorm in the Lake District with the remainder of the dorm filled by one group of white middle-class women who decided to harass me. As it was my last night, and a Bank Holiday weekend so I knew there wouldn't be any alternative accommodation available nearby, I ignored them and went to bed early. I was subsequently "accidentally" kicked and trodden on several times. In the morning they got up early so I pretended I was asleep until they'd gone down to breakfast, then packed up to leave and have breakfast elsewhere. By the time I got downstairs they'd complained to the hostel warden and everyone else about me (don't know what lies they made-up) so everyone glared at me while the young warden, who was clearly relieved I was leaving and he wouldn't have to sort out a dispute, escorted me to the door. I'll emphasise that was my one and only negative experience in years of using many YHA hostels and was balanced out by many positive experiences, temporary friendships, safety in the companionship of other women travellers, and helpful wardens.

ETA: But if I'd grown up in a time and place where everybody had cameras in their pockets and immediate access to harassment via online posting then I probably wouldn't have risked hostel dorms, just for the record.
 
2. What is your favourite airport that you've been to? Why? 

Airports? No, thank you! Railway stations provide an endless variety of fabulousness though: architectural delights, public art, trains (most recently one with Paddington Bear on the side), and that atmosphere of humans in purposeful motion (outside depressing commuter hours, obv). Don't recall any notably good bus stations.
 
3. What is the best museum you have visited on vacation?

Recently? Plas Mawr. But I love almost all museums, especially the small quirky local ones about a single subject or obviously mostly run by one dedicated soul. The most unexpectedly good museum was the Cumberland Pencil Museum, now the Derwent Pencil Museum, that I was dragged to by friends. The best Big Day Out was the Black Country Living Museum. And my childhood fave was the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum, which in those days was basically a bunch of slightly random old farm buildings I enjoyed playing in with my family (also my introduction to the concept of the garderobe, lol).
 
4. Have you ever made friends while traveling whom you keep in touch with on a regular basis?

Pre-internet I met an Aussie woman in a Youth Hostel in England who was my holiday BFF for a couple of days and we kept in touch by letter when she went to live in Sweden. Then she came over to London for a few days so we went to the theatre together to see the Rocky Horror Show, lol. Then she joined a Christian commune and we lost touch.
And a couple of lesbians from Yorkshire invited me to stay with them after I rescued them from a spider in the YHA hostel in Boscastle.
But best of all are the BFFs for a day: people you meet and share perfect hours with then never see again. My first ever cup of Lapsang Souchong was a gift from an older solo traveller from New Zealand who had camped near my home village as a Girl Guide and was the only person I've met away from there who knew where it was. Or even random strangers who poke their noses into my life to share their local knowledge with a passing visitor, such as the White Van Man in central London who stopped and crossed three lanes of traffic to tell me the bus stop I was waiting at was in a temporary diversion and I needed to walk around the corner to a different stop.

5. Have you ever had a conversation with a seatmate on a plane?

No, but on trains and buses, yes. Especially, to repeat myself, kind people sharing their local knowledge with a passing visitor. Cardiff commuter woman saved me several minutes of potential frustration by explaining the layout of Cardiff Central Station and where the back exit is. And on a train I once reassured a man leading a group walk he had prepared using a map and google earth that there was indeed an extremely unlikely set of stairs where he needed them to be and his group wouldn't have to detour a long way around.
The most recent was on my way back from North Wales when a woman carrying a balloon animal sat next to me, and I eventually asked her if she'd twisted it herself as I'd only ever seen them made by street entertainers at the seaside, and she explained that her party were travelling home from the seaside where they'd acquired the pale pink quadruped of dubious species.

6. Et vous?

October 2013

S M T W T F S
  12345
6789101112
13141516171819
2021 2223242526
2728293031  

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Sep. 2nd, 2025 02:52 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios