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So today ended up being me in a hopeless battle against bureaucracy. Very frustrating and fruitless. Basically it all went a little something like this
Me: I'd like my student loan cheque please.
Evil Loans Desk Man: *takes out cheque* oh no, I see you're not fully registered.*puts cheque back*
Me: What?! Why?
ELDM: The Fees Section is incomplete. Go to the Fees Desk.
Me: *joins massive queue for Fees Desk*
Fees Desk Lady: I'm sorry, you haven't selected how you're going to pay us the £5400 you owe us this year in fees.
Me: Oh God. I'm from the Isle of Man. The government pay them. Incidentally, FIVE THOUSAND POUNDS!
FDL: Well, they haven't sent us a letter confirming that. And yes, welcome back to Britain, everything costs more now.
Me: Ok, I'll phone them and ask why.
Manx Education Dept: You haven't sent us a print out of your last years results.
Me: I was on a Year Abroad. I have no results. You just pass it by doing it. What do you want, plane tickets?
MED: Hmm. Well, just send us a confirmation of your registration for this year.
Me: I can't register until you say you'll pay my fees.
MED: Can't confirm that til you're registered.
Me: Arg!
Nice Fees Desk Lady: Oh dear, would you like a winegum?
/endrant
And now, a much lovelier thing. It's a meme questionnaire thing that I was actually sent on Facebook and am shamelessly stealing. Its about place you know and their attractions.
1. What 5 things should a visitor to the place you grew up do?
I grew up in lots of places, but mostly a village called Ramsey in the Isle of Man.
a) Go up the big hill, it's called Lhurgey Frissel. I kid you not. There is a lovely view of the whole of the north of the island and it's a gorgeous walk past a waterfall and through fields and a forest.
b) Take the tram from Ramsey to Douglas, and then the horse tram down the prom. The electric tram is old and noisy and occasionally terrifying (cliff edges!) and great fun. Though if you get a horse tram driver called Richard ask for another. I've known him since he was 12, trust me on this.
c) Drive over the Mountain Road. There's no speed limit so you can go as fast as you like...
d) Go see the celtic crosses at Maughold. They're over 2000 years old and incredibly beautiful and well preserved.
e) Have tea in the conservatory at the Grove Museum. It's lovely and the cake is amazing. The house is a working Victorian farm museum. Also, it's next door to my house, so I kinda have to love it.
2. What 5 things should a visitor to the place you live now do?
I escaped the Isle and now live in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
a) Go see the Leeds Rugby League team play. The support they get is brilliant. There are pies. And they are pretty much guaranteed to win, as they are amazing. Oh, and cute men in shorts... (if cricket is more your thing it's next door. Cute men in whites.)
b) Go shopping in the arcades. There are lots of covered arcades in Leeds, which range from cute little independent shops to a collection of designer stores, all contained within lovely Victorian architecture.
c) Go see a band. There is live music literally every night of the week, any sort of music you like and loads of different size venues. Some of them are in tiny weeny bars where you get too hot and everyone chats to everyone about the music. They are my favourite.
d) Take the slow train out into the countryside. The countryside around Leeds is gorgeous, all old mills and huge hills and tiny towns with bizarre names (Kirkby Overblow and Appleton Wisk are my favourite.)
e) This one only really works in summer. Go to the park, most people call it Hyde Park but older types call it Woodhouse Moor. It's usually full of people, all kinds of people not just students, having barbeques and playing games and music. The district of Hyde Park is very diverse and a pretty damn good example of intergration. IMO, anyway.
Pick a country you have visited. What 5 things should people do there beyond the obvious?
I'm picking France because I've visited it a Lot. I'd say do the obvious stuff as well, the Eiffel Tower especially, but also do this stuff.
a) Go to Nantes and see Les Machines d'Ile. It is amazing. Awesome. Super-mega-hyper cool, as my french students would say! They have a collection of giant mechanical animals. Fish the size of cars and, the crowning glory, a Giant Mechanical Elephant. Seriously, look it up, it's incredible. Barely anyone knows about it but it's so cool. I can't recommend it enough.
b) Go to Monet's Gardens in Giverney. There is the famous Water Gardens where Monet painted the Water Lilies, but also another set of beautiful bedded gardens. They are out of this world beautiful, and you can look round Monet's house as well. It's a hour or so outside Paris and totally worth the trip. And some of the best disabled access I've seen in France.
c) Le Festival du Champagne. Takes place in the Champagne region (duh) every year. You pay for a special champagne flute and then drive and walk round lots of vineyards trying the champagne for free. It's a really fun thing to do, whole villages get involved and there are decorations and events. A really cool way to experience real French culture, not just some touristy put on thing.
d) The Dune du Pilat. It's the biggest sand dune in Europe. It's 117 metres tall! And the cool thing, or one of the cool things about it, is that you drive through woods for ages and then all of a sudden there it is. It literally goes into the forest, it's weird but great. And the view is of course outstanding. There is pretty much no Health and Safety so you can go where you like, and then run down it at the end.
e) Go see Nantes, Bordeaux, Avignon, Frejus, Sospel, Reims and Grandville! France is a country where you can just drive and find somewhere incredible.
That was good fun. Tell me about your towns!
Me: I'd like my student loan cheque please.
Evil Loans Desk Man: *takes out cheque* oh no, I see you're not fully registered.*puts cheque back*
Me: What?! Why?
ELDM: The Fees Section is incomplete. Go to the Fees Desk.
Me: *joins massive queue for Fees Desk*
Fees Desk Lady: I'm sorry, you haven't selected how you're going to pay us the £5400 you owe us this year in fees.
Me: Oh God. I'm from the Isle of Man. The government pay them. Incidentally, FIVE THOUSAND POUNDS!
FDL: Well, they haven't sent us a letter confirming that. And yes, welcome back to Britain, everything costs more now.
Me: Ok, I'll phone them and ask why.
Manx Education Dept: You haven't sent us a print out of your last years results.
Me: I was on a Year Abroad. I have no results. You just pass it by doing it. What do you want, plane tickets?
MED: Hmm. Well, just send us a confirmation of your registration for this year.
Me: I can't register until you say you'll pay my fees.
MED: Can't confirm that til you're registered.
Me: Arg!
Nice Fees Desk Lady: Oh dear, would you like a winegum?
/endrant
And now, a much lovelier thing. It's a meme questionnaire thing that I was actually sent on Facebook and am shamelessly stealing. Its about place you know and their attractions.
1. What 5 things should a visitor to the place you grew up do?
I grew up in lots of places, but mostly a village called Ramsey in the Isle of Man.
a) Go up the big hill, it's called Lhurgey Frissel. I kid you not. There is a lovely view of the whole of the north of the island and it's a gorgeous walk past a waterfall and through fields and a forest.
b) Take the tram from Ramsey to Douglas, and then the horse tram down the prom. The electric tram is old and noisy and occasionally terrifying (cliff edges!) and great fun. Though if you get a horse tram driver called Richard ask for another. I've known him since he was 12, trust me on this.
c) Drive over the Mountain Road. There's no speed limit so you can go as fast as you like...
d) Go see the celtic crosses at Maughold. They're over 2000 years old and incredibly beautiful and well preserved.
e) Have tea in the conservatory at the Grove Museum. It's lovely and the cake is amazing. The house is a working Victorian farm museum. Also, it's next door to my house, so I kinda have to love it.
2. What 5 things should a visitor to the place you live now do?
I escaped the Isle and now live in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
a) Go see the Leeds Rugby League team play. The support they get is brilliant. There are pies. And they are pretty much guaranteed to win, as they are amazing. Oh, and cute men in shorts... (if cricket is more your thing it's next door. Cute men in whites.)
b) Go shopping in the arcades. There are lots of covered arcades in Leeds, which range from cute little independent shops to a collection of designer stores, all contained within lovely Victorian architecture.
c) Go see a band. There is live music literally every night of the week, any sort of music you like and loads of different size venues. Some of them are in tiny weeny bars where you get too hot and everyone chats to everyone about the music. They are my favourite.
d) Take the slow train out into the countryside. The countryside around Leeds is gorgeous, all old mills and huge hills and tiny towns with bizarre names (Kirkby Overblow and Appleton Wisk are my favourite.)
e) This one only really works in summer. Go to the park, most people call it Hyde Park but older types call it Woodhouse Moor. It's usually full of people, all kinds of people not just students, having barbeques and playing games and music. The district of Hyde Park is very diverse and a pretty damn good example of intergration. IMO, anyway.
Pick a country you have visited. What 5 things should people do there beyond the obvious?
I'm picking France because I've visited it a Lot. I'd say do the obvious stuff as well, the Eiffel Tower especially, but also do this stuff.
a) Go to Nantes and see Les Machines d'Ile. It is amazing. Awesome. Super-mega-hyper cool, as my french students would say! They have a collection of giant mechanical animals. Fish the size of cars and, the crowning glory, a Giant Mechanical Elephant. Seriously, look it up, it's incredible. Barely anyone knows about it but it's so cool. I can't recommend it enough.
b) Go to Monet's Gardens in Giverney. There is the famous Water Gardens where Monet painted the Water Lilies, but also another set of beautiful bedded gardens. They are out of this world beautiful, and you can look round Monet's house as well. It's a hour or so outside Paris and totally worth the trip. And some of the best disabled access I've seen in France.
c) Le Festival du Champagne. Takes place in the Champagne region (duh) every year. You pay for a special champagne flute and then drive and walk round lots of vineyards trying the champagne for free. It's a really fun thing to do, whole villages get involved and there are decorations and events. A really cool way to experience real French culture, not just some touristy put on thing.
d) The Dune du Pilat. It's the biggest sand dune in Europe. It's 117 metres tall! And the cool thing, or one of the cool things about it, is that you drive through woods for ages and then all of a sudden there it is. It literally goes into the forest, it's weird but great. And the view is of course outstanding. There is pretty much no Health and Safety so you can go where you like, and then run down it at the end.
e) Go see Nantes, Bordeaux, Avignon, Frejus, Sospel, Reims and Grandville! France is a country where you can just drive and find somewhere incredible.
That was good fun. Tell me about your towns!
no subject
Date: 2008-09-17 08:30 pm (UTC)Nice meme... curse you, I am supposed to be doing homework, not memes. A and B for France sound incredible, I definitely have to see more of that country.
Actually, all of your suggestions sound marvellous. Clearly I am going to have to take a girlfriend!trip to the UK and then visit my French buds and tell them to take me places. Specifically these places.