London, yeah!

I am currently in the Montreal Airport on the way home, waiting for my plane. Thank you Montreal for having free wireless. Apologies for being behind in the posts, but I figured I'd better live the adventure and blog about it in the gaps between. I hope you agree.

Last I left off, Greg and I had just arrived in London - city of history and expense. We were wonderfully able to stay with my Aunt and Uncle (thank you!) in London, allowing us to exist in the expensive big city world.

London was a "coming home" of sorts for me - having lived there (England) for the past year. Goodbye euros and hello pounds! London was the last stop for Greg who had never been to England before. My only regret was that I didn't see my cousin Nicky (and Rav) and my newborn niece Mia in those four days. Next time...

We began by diving right into the Thames. We walked the entire length of the river from Westminster Abby, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben to Tower Bridge and back. South and North sides. It was a wonderfully exhausting walk that gave us great views of St. Paul's Cathedral, Tate Modern, London Tower, Shakespeare's Theater and the London Eye (which is so expensive, you had to sell your soul for the high view. We opted to keep our soul and steal a view from the top of the Tate Modern - for free!)

What tour of London isn't complete without a trip to one of my fav places on Earth - the Natural History Museum. Greg was impressed by the dinosaur skeletons and I was impressed by the lack of crushing crowds. Everyone wins! The robotic T-Rex was exceptionally good this time round. Scaring kids...hehe...

After introducing Greg to the 'Pub Life' in England ("Can anyone murder a Guinness?"), we explored Leicester Square and picked up half-price tickets to two "Broadway" shows: Avenue Q and Spamalot. Both beyond spectacular and a very nice change from the norm Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables.

Avenue Q is a small show about life in on a run-down street on the edges of New York, where 20 and 30-somethings search for their purpose while dealing with adult situations. Also, most of the characters are puppets. Imagine Sesame Street all grown up and having lost all it's money. Princeton (puppet) moves into a tenement run by Gary Coleman, falls in love (and other stuff) with Kate Monster (puppet), and lives with other puppets and humans. Trekkie Monster (Cookie Monster without ANY morals) stole the show. Left humming the songs. Highly hilarious!

The next night, we had back row of the top top back balcony nosebleed seats for Monty Python's Spamalot. With the last tickets available, we entered the theater only to be told to talk to this woman. Confused, we go and see her. We are then suddenly upgraded to floor seats with fantastic views! A few minutes later, the curtain rises and the laughs never stop. In fact, I'd have to say that Spamalot (The Search for the Holy Grail movie put to musical) was one of the funniest things I had ever seen, ever. If it comes to Vancouver, SEE IT. Your muscle spasmed face and sore sides will thank you!

And we had one more treat for us before we left. Cousin Dave had alerted me to a special film opening we all attended our last night in London. Death Proof, Quentin Tarantino's new film, was premiere-ing at the theater Dave works at - The Ritzy in Brixton. Not only would we see the film, but Tarantino himself (master of Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill) was there for a question period! One of my film mentors passed me going into the cinema, looked at me and said, "Hey there!"

The film was actually better than I expected (sexy girls getting stalked and killed by Kurt Russel and his killer car) and Tarantino was great. He did not fail to show off his arrogance, child-like giggles and general happy director guy. Very cool!

Goodbye to Greg...
And on to New York for me!

100th Post!

This is the 100th Post on Bond's Blog! Time to celebrate!

And the timing couldn't be more appropriate:

• Today is my birthday!
• I am finishing my time here in England, and moving on!
• And it's the one year anniversary of my blog!

Truly perfect!

I can't believe it has been one year since I've started blogging (August 2006!) What a ride it's been! I wrote in my first ever post, Blog the First: " ...my plan is to document my travels in this blog for the next year (in an attempt to reduce the number of mass emails!)"

And I have been. I thought it appropriate to celebrate the 100th Post by listing the top 10 things I will miss about England, specifically Birmingham. I leave the city for good on August 14th - one week from now - and I want to chronicle what I've enjoyed here, as much for my own benefit as yours!

(I know, two list posts in a row. I blame Mitch for it! Yell at him!)

- 10 Things I Will Miss About Birmingham -

1. Harborne: The town I live in! 9 pubs, 8 charity shops, 7 restaurants, 6 banks, 3 supermarkets, 2 bookstores (one called Bond's Books - one reason I wanted to live here!), 2 chip shops, the Subway, the Blockbuster, the Home Bargains, the Art Store, the park, and the community center. The Harborne Carnival brings everyone together once a year. Feels good here!
   
2. Architecture: Birmingham is trying so hard. Amongst the run down dirty parts of the city, there are wonderful buildings and amazing architecture that I will miss looking at: the bulbous Selfridges building covered with thousands of mirrored disks, the stone Art Gallery and Victoria Square with the beautiful fountain and steps, the tall thin alien BT Tower, the many red brick houses, and the new modern style of Centenary Square and Brindley Place with it's open spaces, statues, and canals!
   
3. A Cup'a Tea: After being in England a year, I appreciate the taste of a good cup of tea! One teabag, into hot water, very short steep time, squash the teabag with the spoon, one sugar, dash of milk, stir....and sip. Mmmmm...
   
4. Pub Culture: More than just a place to drink, the pub is a meeting place, a landmark, a comfort zone, a restaurant, a games room, a Quiz Night, and the place to take a date! British life revolves around the local pub (mine is the Varsity - 22 seconds from my door to the pub, sober. And 5-20 minutes after a couple - usually due to a stop for a kebab 'n' chips or a Subway! Mmmm...)
   
5. Proximity to Europe: The bounty of Europe is just a short flight across the channel! And it is so easy and cheap to get there; EasyJet and RyanAir. Anywhere you want - France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Greece... so simple!
   
6. The Pound: I will miss earning money in pounds. I love looking at my bank balance and converting it into Canadian dollars in my head! It makes me giggle with delight! Although, the downside is that I have to rent a movie for 4 quid (= $ 9.50 !!!!)
   
7. The Safety of the Streets: Broad St in particular, where the nightlife is. Police, CCTV cameras, and well lit areas abound in this city which used to have a reputation as being dirty and dangerous. Now, it parts of it are clean and very safe. On more than one occasion, I have walked home late at night always feeling very safe!
   
8. My House: 13 Albany Road - the site of many parties, dinners, movie and game nights, TV viewings (Hollyoaks and Big Brother..), arguments, sleep-ins, painting times, quiets moments, days off, no heat, film scenes, barbecues, ant infestations, lunar eclipses, accidents, police talks, and late nights! A three-legged cat we call 'Stubs' or 'Stubby' visits us frequently! I'll miss my big room and it's wooden floors, high ceilings, and sink.
   
9. Family so close: It has been spectacular having so much of my family so close in England! On my Mom's side - Dave, Naomi, and Gloria, and on my Dad's side - my Granny, Nigel and Joyce, Tim and Meena, Elaine and Richard, Sarah and Abby, Yasmeen, Escandar, Rocheen, Angie and John, Lara and James, Nicky, Rav and baby Mia! I also consider my good friends Marianne, Duncan, and Nathalie family too! I will miss them all!
   
10. Friends: So many new friends! I'll miss mostly my housemates - Roger, Leon, Lee, Emily, and Andy. I'll also miss Lewis, Zoe, Karl, Catherine, Lisa, Ian, Teresa, Hassen, Renata, Katerina, Kate, Sophie, Debbie, Cate, Mary, Tina, Nicky, Claire, Michelle, Faye, and Sarah. I've made some fantastic friends who will stay with me my whole life, for which I am very happy!

So there we go: the top 10 things I will miss about Birmingham. But what next? The Traveler moves on...

• August 16 - fly to Madrid, then meet Greg in Lisbon
• August 19 to September 5 - travel around Portugal and Spain, taking in Lagos, Seville, Valencia, Ibiza, and Barcelona, including La Tomatina (tomato fight festival!)
• September 5 to 10 - show Greg around London (might visit Birmingham one last time)
• September 10 to 15 - spend a week in New York City, before flying home!
• Later - Move to South Korea for a year to teach English with my friend Steve!

Whew, a full packed summer! Only a week left in England and I have to spend most of it packing and cleaning my house.

That finishes my 100th post! Wish me luck on my travels and on another exciting year of blogging!

York Horse Races

This weekend, I traveled to the old Viking/Roman town of York to visit my cousin Lara and her boyfriend James. It was a wonderful weekend hanging out with them and James' parents and brother and girlfriend. Highlights included a huge curry (where we guessed the amount of food needed dead on!) and a huge tapas lunch in a Spanish Restaurant in the town center (to get me ready for my visit to Spain: T-17 days and counting!!!)

But the real treat was going to the annual York Horse Races, where we all participated in a spot of horse betting! The following photos will illustrate how posh the afternoon was - men in suits and ties, women in dresses and big hats. BIG HATS! The hilarity of the attire was brought out with the weather, which was sunny but windy! All the hats and dresses sailed off and billowed like yachts in a gale.

At 2 pounds a bet, it wasn't an expensive affair. As a newbie to horse betting, I needed to know how to choose the winning horse. We scrutinized the horses in the parade ring (looking for that 'fast look' and a heart-shaped bum, apparently), we studied the jockeys as they mounted their beast (jockeys are short!), and we compared statistics of past races and horse performance.

In the end, I just picked the horse with the name I liked best.

First Race: my money was on Nevada Desert... and it won! 10 pounds!

Second Race: I looked for a natural sounding name - Gull Wing... and it won!! 10 pounds!

Third Race: No way will I win again. I choose another nature/flying named horse - Wing Collar... and it won!!! Amazing! Another 10 pounds!!

I was on a roll of a lifetime! Up 30 quid, there was no stopping me!

Fourth Race: Continue the trend - Eagle Mountain... and it wo... lost. In fact, I think it came last.

Fifth Race : Lost. Sixth: Lost. Seventh and Eighth: Lost as well...

Oh well, my three win winning streak still rocked (3/8), and I took home 20 pounds! James probably had the worst luck, were one of his horses stayed in the starting gate, not to race at all. The horses must wonder why they are being made to run... perhaps James' horse had an epiphany and took a stand. Or perhaps it's just a bad racehorse.

Click on any photo to enlarge it!

Canada Day in the UK!

Pete Bond brings Canada Day to Birmingham!

Sunday brought July 1st - Confederation Day for Canada - and my British friends and I celebrated in style! As the only Canadian, I was in the perfect position to educate the masses:

-Canada is the second largest country in the World.
-Canada loves Hockey (Vancouver Canucks!)
-Canadian Animals
-Canada is NOT American (we are Northern North Americans!)
-Famous Canadians (Micheal J Fox, Brian Adams, etc... but also Lois Maxwell (Mrs. Moneypenny!), Rachel McAdams, William Shatner (Kirk!), Alex Trebec (Jeperody!), James Cameron (Titanic/Terminator!), Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City!), Matthew Perry (Friends!), Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss (the Matrix!), Alexander Graham Bell (telephone!), and Margot Kidder (Lois Lane!) Whew!

We decorated the house with Canadiana (my info posters, map, and my flag!) and Emily cooked some incredibly tasty 'Canadian' food! Canadian Won-Ton, Pizza, and Soup. (Thanks so much, Em!)

And BEER!!! Unfortunately, we could not find Canadian beer (Is Coors Canadian?), so Ian and Lisa put Canadian stickers on Fosters (yeah, they thought Australian was close to Canadian... both colonies?) Karl and Catherine brought maple syrup, Canadian Dry soda, pancakes, and beef jerky! Claire brought Canadian Club whiskey! This is what the British think Canadians consume!

After a failed bonfire, we discovered an artifact from the past! While fanning the fire with a serving tray, it was hit too hard and broke. Within the tray we discovered some old newspaper. As the rain started to fall, we salvaged the old yellowed paper and brought it inside. Increadible, the newspaper was dated August 27th, 1950! I'll post pics soon, because the articles are fascinating! More on it soon...

With such a discovery under our belt, Canada Day couldn't have got better. Yet it did! At the end of the night, we went to the Harborne Legion (2 doors down!). They had an open mic for the regulars ('regulars' being of an average age of 81!), and the dancing began! 6 young fit single 20-somethings dancing with 40 old wrinkled frisky 80-somethings... It was a fantastically fun time!

Happy Canada Day!

Life Update

Well, it seems that my future is leaning more and more towards the Far East, specifically Korea. I have rejected my job here for next year, and my roommates and I have just found out that we are all evicted as of September, so the time is right for a change.

But this is what I have been planning for the last few months. A pause in teaching school and a try in teaching English. 6 months to a year in Korea (depending which type of job I go for), and then a bit of travel around South East Asia - Thailand, Vietnam, Laos - getting my scuba diving certificate, before returning to Vancouver.

My good friend, Steve and I are looking for work in Korea, preferably in a university (better hours, pay, and holidays), and will either head over for October or February. This summer, another good friend, Greg, is coming across the pond to travel around Portugal and Spain in August. I am then planning a stop over in New York on the way back from the UK, as I have always wanted to experience the city. Ghostbusters, King Kong, Gangs of New York, Big, When Harry Met Sally, Friends, Mad about You, and Sex and the City as well as the American Museum of Natural History and the Empire State Building call me.

On another film note, Tony's Empire, my first film, has been seen over 175 times in the last two weeks on YouTube. With such a success behind us, Albany Road Studios (my roommates and friend's film company) have decided to make another film! This one will be a direct sequel to Tony's Empire, taking place about two weeks after and will focus on Leon's sister and the Birmingham Police Department. It is a much more adventurous script, but I am itching to apply myself again after learning from my mistakes the first time around.

I will finish off the script today and will start production sometime next week. Tony's Empire 2 (working title) will have a much larger cast and more locations. I will be trying to 'show off' Birmingham this time around.

As for tomorrow - Canada Day, we are having a Canadian dinner with Canadian music and drinks. It should be fun! I'll post about it Monday...

With that, I say to everyone, "HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!"

Bond Family Reunion '07

This weekend I attended a family reunion in Henley-on-Thames, at my Grandmother and Uncle's houses! Cousins, aunts, uncles, boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives, sisters, and brothers all flooded into Nigel's house and ate Joyce's amazing food.

Here are a few photos of the Bond Reunion Event '07:

John, Granny, and Angie

Lara running from the coming rain storm!

Nigel's Girls: Lara, Angie, and a pregnant Nicky!

Yasmeen, Tim, and Dad

Meena, Angie, Rocheen, and Lara

Joyce, James, Meena, Lara, Rocheen, and John

The Bond Brothers: Dad, Nigel, and Tim

The Bond Cousins: Yasmeen, Nicky, Angie, Me, Rocheen, Lara
(missing are Lisa and Escandar)

The New Parents: Nicky, Rav, and Baby!

Funniest Picture Award: James through binoculars!

O2 Wireless Festival - London

This weekend I partook in another of the traditional English events - the Outdoor Summer Festival. Specifically, the O2 Wireless Festival in Hyde Park, London. In it's second year running, the festival has lined-up quite the musical line-up!


Bands playing over the four days include the Kaiser Chiefs, The White Stripes, the Gotan Project, and Queens of the Stone Age. But I only attended the Saturday, meaning I missed all of the above... but that's alright because Daft Punk headlined Saturday! Daft Punk, LCD Soundsystem, CCS, the Klaxons, Calvin Harris, and Mutemath rocked it out!


And ROCK they did! Daft Punk was amazing - two guys with robot heads began their set with the notes from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the thumping electro music didn't let up until Around the World finished!

Summer Festivals are curious things. Lazing about with thousands of people, some costumed (saw some amazing cross dressing and stilted Batman and Superman!) Cheepish beer and food kiosks, four stages, carnival rides, and an amazing vibe rule the day. Even the weather cooperated - short stints of rain amongst beautiful sunshine!


I went down to London with Roger, Lewis, Emily, and Zoe and had a great time. I stayed with cousin Dave and saw cousin Naomi this morning. They were getting themselves ready for the King of Festivals: Glastonbury. 10 times bigger than O2 makes it the largest festival in the UK! Someday, I'll hit that one. Someday...

Happy Father's Day to all those fathers out there! (Dad!)

New Film is Finished!

"Hilarious!"
"Better than Good!"
"Not that bad!"
"Well, I've seen better!"
"Well done, son!"
"Best film I've ever seen ..... in the last 20 minutes!"
"Exciting in parts!"
"I liked the good bits!"

These and many others are actual comments made by actual people who have seen this actual film!


Tony's Empire: Harborne Hitmen is a 23 minute shortish action/comedy/gangster no-budget film, staring my roommates and myself "acting" as mafioso gangsters and hitmen. Shot entirely on location in Birmingham, England, the movie tells the dark tale of a group of mob friends that suspect one of them is an undercover cop. But which one? I play the gang's boss - Tony - who deals with the dirty rat.

WARNING: The film is rated R due to constant strong language (swearing) and scenes of violence and torture (with a knife!) Viewer discretion is advised...

Watch it now on YouTube below. It is in three parts, so make sure you watch them all!
Tony's Empire - Part 1
Tony's Empire - Part 2
Tony's Empire - Part 3

This is the first official film I have ever solely directed and edited and I am quite proud of it! Please let me know what you think! Tell me your favorite part and which part could be better!
All this will help me the next time... (can anyone smell a sequel?!...)

So, sit back, relax, and enjoy Tony's Empire: Harborne Hitmen!

4.3 and Game 3

Here is a quick post to show that England is not so different from Western Canada.

Saturday morning, the Kent area in Southern England was shaken by a 4.3 magnitude earthquake, rattling windows and collapsing some chimneys. The epicenter was located off the coast in the English Channel, near Folkestone. It was the largest tremor since 2002. Back home, BC is long overdue for a major earthquake...

I did not feel yesterday's earthquake at all for two reasons:

1. Birmingham is very far from Kent.
2. I was sleeping, having gone to bed at 5am. No, I was not partying, but listening through the internet 1040AM radio to the Canucks playing Game 2 against the Ducks! And we won!!! Go Canucks Go! (I then slept until 11am, and then finished season 1 of 24).

Tonight is Game 3 in Vancouver, and I am debating staying up and listening to it. The puck drops at 5pm Van time, which is 11pm UK time - not too bad! So here's to our Canucks! Go get 'em!!!


I have begun to play around with Photoshop and this is my first result.

Disco for 6-10 year olds

Today after school, a disco was held for the students! So, when the last bell rang, all the children filed into the hall set up with disco lights, dj table on stage, food tables at the back, and pumping music from the speakers. Kids are dancing, kids are eating, kids are singing, kids are spending (apparently an event like this disco will bring in over 200 pounds!)

The songs ranged from the nostalgic ("Can't touch this") to the inappropriate ("my Humps"). "I predict a riot" by Kaiser Chiefs and "Monster" by the Automatic ("What's that coming over the hill? Is it a monster? Is it a monster?") were real crowd pleasers! And what was the addictive substance the kids were ingesting? Well sugar of coarse! The kids were high as kites!

And what of Mr. Bond? Did he participate? But of coarse, for a bit. Can't let them think you are having too much fun as a teacher! What a great moral boost for the kids and for the school spirit!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I hope everyone out there has a wonderful St. Patty's Day and embrace the Irish spirit wholeheartedly! Have a Guinness, wear some green, dance a jig, play the fiddle, and enjoy the day.

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day on my blog, I've posted pictures of Birmingham's St. Patrick's Day Parade I went to. Slante!

Waiting for the parade in Digbeth...

The crowds bracing the cold air... with beers.

Even the Pope came out the bless the Parade!

Street cleaner getting into the ...um... spirits.

Debbie and I in the crowd

Ian and Lisa - friends

Kids love Tonka Trucks!

Some dogs make great handbags

I also love my Irish Quarter

Go go Irish-mobile!

Invisible floats!

March of the Bagpipes!

March of the Other Bagpipes!

Look! It's the Irish Bigfoot! Give us back out Guinness!

Young Irish Elton John

Artsy Balloon Reflection pic

Lisa bearing the cold with only a shirt and a beer.

And after, back to Hennessey's for drinks!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!