What's OCD in German...?

I'm not the neatest person ever to walk this earth but I like order and I like to plan things. I think this is something that has developed as I've got older. I don't like surprises. I like to know what's coming and I take great comfort from sticking to a schedule; it makes me feel secure. Some might say I take this to the point of obsession.

Take holidays, for instance. Many of you will know that I like to plan my runs using Google Earth. And my forthcoming trip to Berlin has not escaped this treatment. I've managed to plan one run which takes me along the Spree and past the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate and I'm already looking at alternative routes, should that one prove a little busy. Another thing I like to do before a holiday is plan my schedule of things I'd like to see.

At the moment, I'm planning my Berlin schedule; flicking through my guidebook, scouring the internet and talking to friends who have already visited. Below is an aspirational list of things that I'd like to see in Berlin and I've already started to shoehorn this schedule into the eight days that I'm there.

I have a spreadsheet called Berlin Itinerary with every day split into 3 periods: morning, afternoon and evening. Each day I open my spreadsheet and shuffle the items below to try and get a more efficient fit. Could this be OCD or what?

If there's anything I've missed that you think I really should see, let me know and I'll try squeeze it in. Here's the list so far...

Olympic Stadium
Le Corbusier House
Schloss Charlottenberg
Bahnhof Zoo
Museum of Photography
Story of Berlin
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche
KaDeWe
Tiergarten
Tiergartenstrasse
Neues Ufer
Bauhaus Museum
Berliner Philhamoniker – Eroica
Berliner Dom
Pergamon Museum
Alte Nationalgalerie
Altes Museum
DDR Museum
Alexander Platz
Fernsehturm
Real Berlin Experience
Eastside Gallery
Friedrichshain
Schloss Sanssouci
Sanssouci Picture Gallery
Orangerie
Neues Palais
Chinesisches Haus
Schloss Charlottenhof
Neue Nationalgalerie
Festival of Lights – Opening Ceremony
Festival of Lights – Lightship Tour
Reichstag
Pariser Platz
Brandenburg Gate
Unter Den Linden
Haus am Checkpoint Charlie Museum
Bebelplatz
Gendarmenmarkt
Jüdischen Museum
Berlinische Galerie
Führerbunker
Stasi Exhibition
Gay Memorial
Holocaust Memorial

1 Year Ago:

Nevermind being Googled, I've been Street Viewed...

Don't Rain On My Parade (III)...

And so, after a rather damp Bristol Pride and a less than sunny Manchester Pride, Yahweh saw fit to bless Cardiff Mardi Gras with wall to wall sunshine on Saturday. Surely, if God agreed with Cardinal O'Brien, the leader of the Catholic Church in Scotland, that gay marriage is a grotesque subversion, he wouldn't have given us such a glorious day.

Maybe, instead, he chose to punish us in other ways; by ensuring that the the bar prices at the Mardi Gras were sky high whilst the quality of entertainment was abysmally low. I could've endured the worthy speeches had they been punctuated by something interesting to keep me occupied in between. However, some children dancing and someone from S Club 7 lip-synching and dancing rather badly just wasn't enough to keep me going. Indeed, the only thing that did sustain me was the excellent company.

In the end, despite the prohibitive prices, the alcohol won out. I was, by late afternoon, wide-eyed and legless. The promise of Heather Small topping the bill was, I have to say, a stretch too far. I had to be assisted off the field and, in an attempt to revive me, taken for something to eat at a restaurant in the town centre where I accidentally set fire to my napkin (or so I'm told).

I look forward to a better Mardi Gras in Cardiff next year where fast track queues for ticket holders move quicker than the queues for non-ticket holders, where there's a better show of entertainment throughout the day, where alcohol is priced fairly and there's more of a choice, where the food is a little more varied than chips with everything and where I'm not getting collared every 30 seconds by someone wanting me to complete a bloody survey. Having had my bitch, I must say that I'm pleased it happened and I'm glad I went. We all had a lot of fun.

1 Year Ago:

A period of re-adjustment...

Don't Rain On My Parade (II)...

Despite some initially pessimistic weather forecasts, Manchester Pride 2012 wasn't quite the wash out we were led to believe it would be. Saturday's Parade down Deansgate was bathed by blue skies to start with but got a little greyer by the time it reached the Village. There were stretches of sunshine that saw everyone spill out onto Canal Street and sudden showers that saw everyone run for cover again. Indeed, the same on/off weather persisted through much of Saturday, Sunday and well into Monday. I'm pleased to say that everyone's spirits weren't dampened by these occasional showers.

I guess many of us take Pride events for granted nowadays. Time was when they were more of a political rally than the carnival that we see today. I for one am pleased that they have become more of a fun event rather than the heavily policed, grim marches they once were. Now the police march with us. The theme this year was ‘Queer’d Science’, in honour of the centenary of the birth of Alan Turing, who was appallingly treated by the authorities over his homosexuality. How times change.

I was so pleased to see so many families out enjoying Manchester Pride over the weekend; there were so many kids at the event in the afternoon. And I was also pleased to see some pretty big companies, proud to sponsor Manchester Pride; companies such as easyJet, RBS Group, The Co-operative and Selfridges. It's a sign of acceptance; it's a sign of the times.

How disheartening then to wake on Sunday morning to the news that Cardinal O'Brien was to lead the Scottish Catholic Church in reading out a letter in each of the Church's parishes in Scotland criticising the Scottish government for plans to introduce gay marriage. How out of touch can these people get?

You may remember that Cardinal O'Brien called plans for gay marriage a "grotesque subversion" back in March. Having been part of Manchester Pride this weekend and seeing all the smiles and laughter and fun, I believe that the only grotesque subversion is the Scottish Catholic Church and Cardinal O'Brien.

After a damp Bristol Pride and the patchy weather that beset Manchester, let's hope that God sees fit to bathe Cardiff Mardi Gras this coming weekend in glorious sunshine. I'd pray for such weather, if I believed there was even the smallest outside chance that he existed.

1 Year Ago:

A little too highbrow...

Where in the world...?

I don't find it easy choosing holiday destinations. I don't mean those sun & sand holidays where one beach is much like another; they're easy to choose. No, I mean the city break type holiday where I try to go to somewhere that interests me, somewhere with plenty of exploring potential; somewhere that can keep me curious for at least a week.

In recent years I've been to New York, Rome, Lisbon, Madrid and Istanbul. As you might expect from that list, all of them held my attention for the entire stay and some I'd be more than happy to return to for further exploration. Usually, by early Spring, a city will suggest itself and after a little fact finding I'll book a flight and hotel. This year nothing has suggested itself.

I think the reason is because this year's holiday coincides with my 50th birthday and I've been under some pressure (all self generated) to find somewhere special. So in addition to satisfying all the usual criteria, this year's destination has to be somewhere worthy of a landmark birthday, somewhere that I can look back on fondly in my (anec)dotage.

Should I opt for a beach holiday and just let this landmark slip by in a haze of suntan spray and alcohol? Should I settle for a city that I've been to before? At least that way I know what to expect and where exactly I should spend my actual 50th? Should I choose one of those destinations that are sometimes referred to as the holiday of a lifetime? Tokyo, San Fransisco and Buenos Aires are three that have offered themselves up as contenders to bankrupt me as I slide into my sixth decade.

Last weekend I finally booked somewhere. This place has always been on the list but I've never quite managed to visit. Strange really why it didn't occur to me earlier in the year but within minutes of thinking about it, I'd checked out a few recommendations on Trip Advisor, booked the hotel and was researching flights from the UK.

This city has been fixed in my imagination since my teenage reading of Christopher Isherwood's early novels. A growing awareness of gay history and the liberal outlook of the Weimar Republic further rooted it in my mind. So where have I chosen to pass my half century? Berlin, of course, and I'm so excited!

1 Year Ago:

Infected...

Cycling matters...

Us cyclists are a funny lot; we love to point at motorists and accuse them of driving without due care and attention and then off we go and break the rules ourselves. We jump lights, ignore one way streets, cycle on pavements and we approach signalling as an optional extra (if the mood takes us). Of course, I'm not talking about every cyclist and the majority of them that break the rules don't do it all the time.

I have to admit, I sometimes break the rules myself but, along with all rule breakers, I'd argue that  there are very good reasons for doing so. Honest! My ride to work every morning takes me up a broad pavemented avenue in Cardiff called Lloyd George (Boy George, as I call it) Avenue. A cycle lane runs adjacent to to this broad pavement and yet I always cycle on the pavement. Why? Because the cycle lane is punctuated with barriers at every junction whereas the pavement is not. Also, the cycle lane is frequently blocked by kids playing and parked cars. Excusable? Probably not.

My journey also takes me through two pedestrianised areas in the town centre: The Hayes and Queen Street. You're allowed to cycle through The Hayes but you are not allowed to cycle through Queen Street, despite the fact that one segues into the other and with no clear and obvious signage. It's confusing. The police in one area of Cardiff have decided to target pavement cyclists, taking a zero tolerance approach with those caught, by issuing them with fixed penalty notices. I guess that murders and burglaries aren't quite as profitable. Who says that crime doesn't pay!

And talking about profit, some of you may remember my complaint to Cardff Bus in May. Well after much prompting and further complaints about their lack of response, they eventually got back to me over two months later. This tardiness by them gave me ample opportunity to fizz, fester and frustrate; the result of which is I have cancelled my £50 a month season ticket and opted to cycle to work instead - whatever the weather. I've fitted my bike with mudguards and bought myself a waterproof cycling jacket and trousers and still had change out of £50. Next month I move into profit!

Last Saturday I cycled the Taff Trail from Merthyr Tydfil to Cardiff with my friend Howard. The weather was beautiful, the views stunning and I almost reached a state of cycling Nirvana... Until I hit Pontypridd, where the trail runs out along with any signage to guide you to where to pick it up again. What a shining example of shitsville this place is. It's confusing, it's dangerous and it's enough to make you jump lights, ignore one way streets, cycle on pavements and approach signalling as an optional extra. Really!

1 Year Ago:

The ladies who lunch...