British powerboat grandprix

Its been a great weekend here in plymouth...the temperature has been right up there and it feels atleast as warm as one would feel in India....and i constantly get asked the question if i`m reminded of home.
Whats made this weekend more interesting is that Plymouth is playing host to the Honda sponsored Bristish powerboat grand prix. An amazing event of boat racing where awesome million pound boats race it out at upto 160 miles per hour during an 18 lap course.

As usual the venue once again is the plymouth Hoe and i set out to find out what the buzz was all about. As i set out from my room i could already hear the roar of the engines as they begun the qualification laps and i was yet a mile away.
I was intrigued to find out what the response of the public would be, because although everyone seemed to be aware on this annual event, there seemed to be no hype about it.
my first view of the boats was as i came over a hillock and caught an overview of the boats whizzing past and away from sight to disappear as specks into the horizon. i wondered if such spectacles could keep the british public occupied throughout the weekend.
It was only when i got there and spent a few hours observing things that i realised that the thrill was not in the event itself.... For Honda it was a great opportunity to display their wares and test their latest powerboat technology and even clich a few sales, but for the people the race seemed to be only of secondary significance.
I began to understand that most of them were only using the event as an excuse, to congregate, to laze around, to lie in the sun and feel good...with such amazing weather, that was always going to be the case....the spirit of a british weekender....make hay while sunshines.

Although the boats with their awesome power did put on some great displays i soon lost interest in them and the crowd continued with entertaining themslves while occasionally diverting their attention to the event at hand.

There were side displays and events too, not the least of which was a band of boys and girls who had created musical instruments from junk like barrels, and metal pipes. they clearly stole the show and had the crowds cheering.( for those with an interest in vintage cars , do check out the photoalbums by clicking the link on the right column)
After a while of my own sunbathing and lazing around and when i had my fill of the noisy boats i headed back to my room, a little bit wiser on the attitudes of the general British public.( dont ask me who one the race..i dont care and i dont think half the crowd do anyway!)

Car boot sale

Hi Everybody,
Apologies for staying out of touch for so long..the rythm of life has been such that nothing worth mentioning has been happening and what has been happening is better not mentioned. This update come to you mainly in view of the London blasts. While expressing condolences to those lifes lost and injured,i am relieved to assure you all that neither myself nor anybody known to me has been affected by the same.
I have been quite surprised to note that despite the media attention the incident has not had much of an impact on the spirits of the people here. Life has gone on pretty normally. A great many exciting events have been occurring over the past few weeks including Wimbledon, the Live8 concert, G8 summit, Eng-Aus cricket matches and more and yet more is coming up . It is that time of the year when the sun is brightest and weekends are spent lazing around and sunbasking.
This weekend has been predicted to experience a heat wave and the people are out in numbers enjoying the sunshine. The plymouth Hoe is naturally the centre of attention with plenty of lawns to lie around and enough pools for all age groups.
However what i wanted to share with you today is about something called a Car boot sale. When i first heard the term i was not sure if they sold cars or boots..but as i understood later it was both...and everything in between.
so what is a car boot sale? It is simply a sale in which people(sellers) sell their unwanted items from the boot (trunk) of their car.


It is amazing what you can buy at a car boot sale. everything from teacups, to golf balls to electronic items to books clothes and computers....and of course boots and even the odd car.The prices are incredibly cheap and its mostly a place where sellers are hoping to sell away their items rather than look for a profit. These sales are a treasure trove for collectors and hobbyists and are frequented by antique hunters looking around for the unsuspecting housewife who maybe seeling of an unknown treasure for a pittance!
The thrill of a carboot sale is in finding an item you so desire at a fabulous price...and the golden rule ofcourse is if u like it buy it...if u wait the extra minute it may be gone.