You might be confused in the Stars Wars movies that have been a big hit in the big screen. The history of star wars movies can provide you how the hit movie started and made it to one of the most top grossing film in the movie industry. This modern phenomenon that revolved around the life story of Luke Skywalker and Anakin Skywalker has greatly influenced the movie perception of the western world. The history of stars wars could be date back with the textbook written for Anakin Skywalker’s rise to being a Jedi, to his fall, love interest and his coming back to power again.
George Lucas, the one responsible for the creation of Stars wars has written a basic story about Anakin Skywalker. The story was divided into trilogies for it was written in a very long manner. Lucas initially offered the story of the movie to Universal Studios but was rejected thinking the story was ridiculous. 20th Century Fox accepted the movie and released the first original trilogy in 1977 which became an instant hit. The worldwide phenomenon Stars Wars got spread like a popular culture among movie viewers and critics. The history of star wars movies tells us how the movie was a culture happening which was immediately followed by two other sequels in an interval of every three years.
The history of star wars movies would tell that the an episode entitled A new Hope which was shown in the theaters in May, 1977 was a big sensation in North America and accumulated hundreds of million dollars in its showing day in terms of its ticket sales. The next sequel released in 1980, The Empire Strike Back had a total cost of more than $30 million. But despite the overrun of the high cost, the film itself was able to gross a total of $220 million, being recognized as one of the top grossing films of all time.
George Lucas announced in May 1996 that it has already signed an agreement with Pepsico to film the new prequel trilogies, which involves setting the story years before the original trilogy. The years that follow this announcement marked the coming back of the Star War movies in theaters. The history of star wars movies dates back during the post-1978 when it was such a big hit and received so much appreciation from the viewing public. People used to wait in line to go see star wars movies. Even recently during the release of the new movies people would go wait for hours just to get a good seat and make sure the tickets were not sold out.
The history of star wars movies from the time George Lucas is still conceptualizing the story features a futuristic effect where the main characters are concerned with Jedi’s, knights, princesses and creatures outside the galaxy. By the year 1997, Lucas released special edition versions of Star Wars movies which was edited and improved with the new technology in video formatting. After two decades, the prequel trilogy continued the legacy of the original trilogy; the Phantom Menace was released on May 19, 1999; Attack of the clones on May 16, 2002 and the Revenge of the Sith which was released on May 19, 2005.
A friend of my named, Bob, was staying in Los Angeles in the spring of 1968 when I was seventeen years old. Bob asked me, “Would you drive me to a rock concert at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino, California? I’ll pay for the gas and buy you a ticket to the concert if you’ll take me.”
“Sure”, I replied, “Who’s playing?”
“It’s a really far out guy named Jimi Hendrix. He’s the most bitchin dude I’ve ever heard. His group is called The Jimi Hendrix Experience.”
“I’ve never heard of him, but that’s okay I always like to see the latest rock-and-roll. I’ll need to get a map to figure out how to drive there. That’s a really long drive and will probably take about two hours. ”
Bob was ecstatic; “Far out, I will score the tickets right away. Later.”
That week I spoke to a friend of mine named Clay and told him, “I’m going to be taking my friend Bob to a concert out in San Bernardino to see some guy named Jimi Hendrix.”
Clay exploded with, “You’ve got to take me with you. I just love Jimi Hendrix’s righteous music. I’ll buy a ticket and help pay for the gas if you will take me?”
“Solid,” I replied, “I always like going to a concert with a lot of people. So get your ticket and meet at my house this Saturday. I’m sure Bob will have no problems about your jamming with us.”
“I’m stoked. Catch you on Saturday,” Clay said.
The three of us gathered at my house early that Saturday afternoon, Bob had brought his 35 mm camera to record the event. We set out for our rock concert journey in my 1967 lime green Ford Mustang. Bob kept stating over and over, “Hendrix has just got to play my favorite song “Purple Haze” it’s the grooviest song I’ve ever heard. I can’t wait for you to be able to hear that song.”
Many hippies with their long hair, beads, feathers, leather and non-conformist attitude of peace and love, were gathered outside the Swing Auditorium, which looked like a high school gymnasium building. The three of us were far from being hippies; we were middle class not willing to live the free lifestyle, usually drug laden, that so many flower children were involved in. It was a typical rock concert to me except it was taking place in a very out of the way location; I was use to concerts taking place in Hollywood. My main concern at that moment was remembering where the car was parked so we could find it quickly after the concert.
The three of us entered the auditorium and were disheartened to see that it was open seating. There were no assigned seats so it was a free-for-all on where you sat. I really hated this type of concert seating because if you got up to go to the bathroom you would lose your seat or your place in the crowd. The auditorium had space for about 1000 people. Bob said, “I want to get as close to the stage as possible. Let’s make a beeline to the front of the stage.” I looked up and noticed a poster hanging next to the stage. It was a picture of a young black man with crazy hair, looking very arrogant and sexy. I only liked rock-and-roll music so I was beginning to think that I was going to hear black soul music.
There were folding chairs surrounding the outer perimeter of the stage. Toward the front of the stage there was no chairs, it was just an open floor for people to stand on. Bob led the two of us to the very front of the stage, pushing and shoving whoever was in his path. I was glad that there were two young men with me so that I would not be beat up or hassled by the fans. I knew that mild hippies could go berserk without too much provocation from my previous experience of being attacked, trampled by fans, and beaten up by police at previous concerts. It was impossible for us to talk because of the loud noise of the crowd. We staked out our positions at the front of the stage.
The fire marshal came out and made an announcement, “This concert is going to be canceled due to the fire hazard of so many people unruly in this auditorium. If you don’t sit down immediately we will close down this concert.”
Suddenly this black man came on to the darkened stage and yelled into the microphone, “Shut the fuck up, I want to play.” The entire auditorium went silent and everyone sat down immediately. “Who was that?” I couldn’t see who it was because of the darkness on the stage; I had never heard anything like this being said to an audience before.
The fire marshal came back and said to the crowd,” OK because you’re all cooperating we will let this concert continue.”
The lights came on the stage; there were already musical instruments set up just waiting for the performers to bring them to life. The crowd started going crazy with excitement. The three of us were being pushed very hard into the wall of the stage. The stage was approximately five feet high and I felt like a tomato being squished against the stage, I couldn’t get any closer unless I was on the stage. I was slightly separated by a few feet from Bob and Clay, but they were still within eye contact, it reassured me to see their faces as any moment I could be pushed down or trampled by the body’s pushing me into the stage.
From offstage came these two white men with crazy Afro’s looking like tendrils reaching into the universe, one sat at the drums, the other picked up a bass guitar to play. The anxiety of the crowd increased when out came the same black man I had seen on the poster. “So this is Jimi Hendrix,” I thought to myself. He was wearing maroon colored velvet pants with an embroidered jacket, beautifully spaced out hair and carrying a white guitar. He was smiling and spoke to the crowd, “Good evening everybody, it’s really cool that you all shut up so I could play. I just want to groove with you this evening. So let me just, ah, get you experienced.” I recognized the voice as the one who had said earlier “Shut the fuck up I want to play”.
The moment Jimi strummed the first note of the guitar the audience went crazy with excitement and I realized I was not going to see a Motown soul artist. I maintained my place next to the stage as the audience was so entranced by the music they were no longer pushing and shoving. Jimi started playing a song called, “Fire”. The sounds emanating from his guitar were like a foreign language to me, mysterious, beautiful, different and dangerous. Jimi contorted his face with each chord movement; it was like seeing the chords even if you didn’t know them. The music was so loud it physically penetrated my body. It was as though I had become the instrument that he was playing. I was moving to each sound he made without any control of my body.
The next song he played changed my life forever; it was called “Purple Haze”, just like Bob had promised it was one of the greatest songs I had ever heard. During this number the time came for his solo, Jimi started playing the guitar with his teeth! Jimi didn’t miss a single chord, the music was perfect. Never had I seen anybody play the guitar with his teeth. I was mesmerized by this performance. Next he flung his guitar behind his back and continued to play, never missing a note, his face was ecstatic. I did not know any of his music so each song was a revelation to me. To my left I saw Bob clicking away on his camera-taking photograph after photograph.
Just when I thought I had seen everything Jimi surprised me further, during the song “Are You Experienced?” Jimi started his solo and went down on his knees with his guitar between his legs, moving it back and forth along his crotch, simulating masturbation. I had never seen anything like this in my life. I couldn’t believe what he was doing in front of the crowd of people. It was as though his own music sexually stimulated him. When Jimi had finished the masturbation simulation he stood up and went over to the large speakers with his guitar in front of him. Jimi started slamming his body and the guitar up against the speakers as though he was having sex with them, never missing a chord of music. The more intense the music became the faster and harder he slammed into the speakers, it was as though the music was both ecstasy and agony for Jimi.
My body continued to vibrate as Jimi played on for the next 45 minutes. I could not consciously think as the music played, every fiber of my brain was filled with music the likes of which it had never experienced before or since. There were moments in the music where I felt like I was falling backwards in time, and then Jimi would propel me forward into outer space. It became evident why the group was called “The Jimi Hendrix Experience”; there was no way you could listen to the music without experiencing your life differently from that point on.
When the concert was over Jimi said to the crowd, “It was really groovy tonight, I’m glad I was able to share my music. I wish you all peace and love.” When he exited the stage the entire auditorium went ballistic begging him to come back, which he did. His encore was the climax of the evening for me, as he played “The Star Spangled Banner” unlike any version I had ever heard before. I could just feel the bombs bursting in air and the bullets flying by, as the sounds emanated from his guitar. How this one man captured the sound of war in his guitar was amazing, the mark of a true genius.
Jimi blew kisses to the audience as he and his band exited for the last time. He left like he entered, smiling. This man seemed to truly love what he was doing at that moment. I was still feeling stunned by this experience when Bob and Clay joined me. They were just delirious about the music. As we were exiting the building there were vendors selling two different albums by Jimi Hendrix. I had to purchase the albums right then and there; I did not want to go home without being able to take a part of that experience with me.
My ears were still ringing from the vibrations of the music. The three of us were very quiet on the drive back home. We were just letting what had happened to us absorb into our beings; we each knew that we had been changed by this experience.
This point was brought home to me the next day. I took my two prized Jimi Hendrix albums to my girlfriend Donna’s house so she could hear the incredible masterful music I had just been enlightened by the night before. “You’re really going to like this musician. He is like nothing you have ever heard before. I can’t get over this concert,” I told her while placing the album on the record player.
She sat quietly through the first two songs before she exclaimed, “Turn that music off. It sounds like Martian music.” She wanted her music to be simple and uncomplicated. I now resonated to a different vibration. I knew I was not the same young girl I had been before. My change was mirrored to me by my girlfriend’s reaction. My consciousness had been altered forever by the magic of Jimi Hendrix’s music.
Author Bio: World renowned Native American Psychic Cherokee Billie has been working as a Clairvoyant advisor for over 25 years. She receives messages that will change your life! She helps her clients to connect with their Soul’s Path, bringing peace and joy into their daily lives Fast – Straightforward Answers! http://www.cherokeebillie.com
I’m not a fan of reality shows like Big Brother but I enjoy watching Britain’s Got Talent. On Saturday the 2009 series kicked off to a great start and I’m looking forward to watching it unfold in the coming weeks.
It’s good for the soul to see somebody coming out of nowhere and doing well, but not all of the competitors are good. Some are downright embarrassing, like the 60 year old who wanted to be a professional dancer. He just stood and swayed while waving his arms in the air. If it wasn’t for the audiences amusing reaction it would have been awfully boring.
However, I’m going to look at the positives and the acts who shone for me. My favourite was Flawless a dance act from North London. They were absolutely superb, very different and the best dance act that I’ve seen in a long time. You can see for yourself if you look on Youtube.
Another act that turned out to be amazing was Susan Boyle. Who would have thought when she entered the stage that she could sing so well. A dowdy middle aged Scottish lass who looked more like a school dinner lady than a world class singer. The audience and panel were laughing at her, but blimey she showed them!
I wasn’t too sure about Stavros Flatley Dancers at first. The father and son dance act were a total surprise and very funny if you could ignore their stomachs and man boobs jiggling about. The expressions on the 12 year olds face were hilarious and his father wasn’t so far behind. One of the most entertaining acts that I’ve seen and almost as entertaining as Signature who came second in the competition last year.
I would have liked to include videos of the acts from this year that I’ve mentioned, but they are unavailable at present. Instead I’ve treated you to a couple of videos of Signature who were my favourite last year.
I’ve watched Eastenders regularly ever since it first appeared on UK screens on February 19th 1985 and it’s one of those programmes that I watch despite being fed up with the misery and gloom generally seen on there.
I was really cheesed off last week when they killed off Danielle just as Ronnie realised that she was Danielle’s birthmother. This was after 7 months of will she or won’t she tell Ronnie. At times Ronnie was downright nasty to her unknown daughter and I thought ‘if only you knew’. Danielle’s character gradually turned into a whining annoying teenager who needed putting out of her misery, but not by a car.
What I would have liked to see was Danielle telling Ronnie months earlier and the building up of a relationship between new found mother and daughter. It happens in the real world and is a more likely scenario than the high drama of Danielle’s death.
Now we are left with Ronnie who suffered with loss and guilt for years after her father made her give up Danielle and being told by her evil father Archie that she was dead, now having to come to terms with the loss a second time. Not to mention what she will feel about helping her unknown daughter abort her grandchild.
That’s a whole lot of misery for us to watch, but soap writers do not like to give us any happy ever after storylines. They keep the viewing figures up with high drama, disasters and misery. You can’t have a soap birth or wedding without something going wrong and Peggy’s wedding went so wrong it was unbelievable and didn’t mirror true life.
At least we were all able to enjoy manipulater Archie’s comeuppance. He was one mean piece of work, but then so is his missus Peggy so perhaps they deserved each other. Archies manipulations were so obvious to all of us who viewed the programme, yet Peggy and all of those around her except for Pat only noticed at the last minute.
Asking her son Phil to kill her new husband was pure evil and taking Peggy’s character to an all time low. Would anybody right in their head ask their child to murder from them and then turn against them when they don’t. No way, but Phil doesn’t get my sympathy.
Heck he’s been at mummy’s beck and call for too long, he needs to cut those apron strings and concentrate on his cute son Ben not his mother. The attempts at making him look menacing when threatening Archie after kidnapping him just didn’t work for me. Now we hear that the alchoholic in him is going to come out again, poor Ben he doesn’t deserve such horrible relatives.
Then we’ve had the Branning marriage break up and Lauren trying to kill her father. It looks like that horrible slimey Max is going to worm his way back into Tanyas bed – a disaster waiting to happen!
Pretty Whitney is going through the aftermath of being abused and Ricky gets verbally abused by his ex Bianca despite helping her with her family.
Eastenders writers – please give us some happy storylines that reflect real life and more humour, give us more normal families. If it wasn’t for the Masoods, Mo Harris, Jane Beale and her brother Christian the programme would be totally miserable and not worth watching.
How does $0,40 cent per bottle of excellent home brewed beer sound to you? With an average of beer prices being over $1,- per bottle, brewing your own beer is cheap and can save you a lot of money. You need to be smart in this time of financial crisis and if you like making things yourself then the beer price of your own product will amaze you. You do something you like, you save some money and have a great batch of beer to enjoy, what more do you want?
To brew a large amount of beer (six gallons) and pay a good price for your beer you better buy a proper beer brewing kit. This will be your biggest investment and will cost you about $100,- to $120,- this also includes the ingredients for your first batch. But this investment will start making you money before you know it.
The beer prices of your own homemade beer depend on the ingredients you will use for the next batches. You can go to your local home brew store and buy everything separate but you can also buy a so called beer kit packages. These kind of packages contain everything you need to make a new batch of beer and they are available in many of your favorite flavors. The price of these beer kit packages for 6 gallons are between $25 to $30. Your per-bottle cost will run around $0.40 inclusive write down cost for the kit.
Cost of ingredients can vary
In 2000 the price of hop was about 2 dollar a pound, in 2007 the price was extreme and went up to 26 dollar a pound, this was because of a bad growing season. So if you can grow your own hop in your area we advise you to do so. This means the beer prices varies also over the years and that also counts for your own beer prices. But still in all those years brewing your own beer has been cheaper than buying it. Although it might be saving you just a little bit of money.
Beer prices do not depend on the equipment
Well of course you need to make much more beer to pay your beer brewing equipment of over $300,- then you do when you buy a kit from around $100,- but the prices of equipment have not increased much over the years, this means that the cost of investment have remained fairly constant. So the best you can do is keep the investment as low as you can.
You can also save money by loosing the cost of bottles and caps and to put your finished beer in a keg. You do need to invest in a couple of kegs and a tap but you can get better beer prices if you divided these cost up among the number of times you can use these kegs and taps. This way you can actually reduce the beer prices per gallon even further. But at a price of less than 0.50 cents per bottle of excellent homemade beer who needs to?
Author Bio: The author of this article, Drew Brown, has one hobby and he loves to share it with the world. On his website BrewingYourOwn. com he tells you all about beer brewing equipment and beer making supplies.
Nelly Furtado is one of the most dynamic stars in pop music today. Since the release of her first album “Whoa, Nelly!” in 2000, she’s consistently pushed the boundaries of music genres by incorporating influences from music around the world. Nelly Furtado songs have won a Grammy, six Juno awards and one MTV Europe Music Award.
Born in Canada in 1978, Furtado was inspired to sing and perform at an early age. She started singing at 4 and began writing her own lyrics at 12. Shortly before she graduated from secondary school, she began making contacts within the rap and hip hop community in Toronto. A solo performance at the 1997 Honey Jam in Toronto caught the attention of Gerald Eaton and Brian West, two members of the group The Philosopher Kings. The duo helped Furtado create a demo which led to a deal with DreamWorks records. Her first single appeared on the soundtrack album for the film Brokedown Palace.
Eaton and West helped Furtado produce her debut album “Whoa Nelly!” The album was released in October of 2000 to rave reviews. The hit single “I’m Like a Bird” eventually won Furtado her first Grammy award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Additional hits from the album were “Turn Off the Light” and “On the Radio (Remember the Days). The Nelly Furtado video for the former showcased her multicultural background.
The album was critically acclaimed for her unique musical style and fresh approach to pop music. Her cultural background gave the album a unique mix of genres and sounds. Furtado is of Portuguese descent and speaks Spanish, Portuguese and Hindi.
Her second album, “Folklore”, was released in November of 2003 shortly after the birth of her daughter, Nevis. Due to poor promotion by the label, the album was less successful than her first album. The singles from the album were “Powerless (Say What You Want)” and “Try”. The song “Forca” from the album was used as the official anthem of the 2004 European Football Championship. The song “Childhood Dreams” was dedicated to her daughter.
In 2006, Furtado’s third and most successful album to date was released. “Loose” was primarily produced by the hip hop producer Timbaland which is evident in the album’s hip hop and R&B sound. Although many of her old fans rejected Furtado’s new direction, the album produced number one hits across the globe. The singles “Promiscuous”, “Maneater”, “Say It Right” and “All Good Things (Come to an End)” topped charts in many different countries due to Nelly Furtado videos and radio play.
In addition to singing, Furtado has recently added acting to her list of skills. She made her debut in the 2006 movie “Nobody’s Hero” and had a role in 2008′s “Max Payne” movie. She has also appeared on television in the shows CSI: New York and Roswell.
Even though many of the lyrics on her album “Loose” are sexually suggestive, Furtado has repeatedly rejected attempts by outside influences to oversexualize her image. She turned down $500,000 that was offered to her by Playboy to use Nelly Furtado pictures. She refuses to pose in sexy outfits for magazines, and was very upset when a men’s magazine digitally removed portions of her outfit so it appeared more revealing.
Furtado plans to release her fourth album between May and August of 2009. She will be recording songs in English and Spanish for the new record. She will also be recording an entire album in Spanish and an additional album in Portuguese.
Author Bio: Searching for music videos online? Come check out the largest collection of music videos online featuring all of the most popular artists and bands, including Nelly Furtado music videos, Beyonce and Akon.
Bluewater Productions has recently launched biography comics that hit the stands like a storm. The publishing company started two series, Female Force and Political Power. The Female Force series showcase the lives of powerful female leaders. The soon to be released Michelle Obama Female Force comic book is expected to outsell the Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton bio-comics.
Michelle Obama gained a lot of media attention during his husband’s presidential campaign. Her eloquent and intelligent speeches have made her a public figure. She strongly advocates women’s rights and supported her husband’s political career without compromising her role as a mother. These traits earned her the respect of the American people. Michelle Obama has graced the covers of several fashion magazines and her fashion sense can rival that of Jacqueline Kennedy. These admirable traits are the basis of the Michelle Obama Female Force bio-comic that is set to be released on April 25.
The bio-comic chronicles her middle-class upbringing from the South Side of Chicago, her time at Princeton and her life on the campaign trail. It touches very little on Malia and Sasha, just enough to reflect how her role as a mother became a big part of what the people admire about this woman. The comic book is more of a tribute to the strong independent that she is.
The Michelle Obama Female Force comic book may not show her leaping out of a building like Wonder Woman, but it shows the amazing things she has done in her life. She is depicted as a superhero sans the superpowers. As with all the women in the series, Michelle’s positive qualities are highlighted. No mention of her controversial speeches was made. Darren Davis, president of Bluewater Productions, hopes that the bio-comic will become an inspiration for young women across the country.
The cover shows Michelle Obama in a sleeveless top with arms crossed, highlighting her famous arms. Early reaction to the Michelle Obama Female Force comic book is overwhelmingly good. Advanced orders have reached 40,000 copies, prompting distributors to accepting further orders until Bluewater Productions catches up with the demand. It will sell for $3.99. And although it is yet to be released on April 25, it has already become a huge success in ebay, where thousands were sold last month in bulk orders. The biographical comic is expected to be the top-selling independent comic by April.
The publishing company hopes that the highly publicized Michelle Obama Female Force comic book will be used as a teaching tool for children who have trouble reading. It will be easier for young girls to relate to someone as real as Michelle Obama. The comic book can very well serve this purpose of inspiring children as it tells the tale of an influential woman who is helping shape modern history.
The First Lady is a force to reckon with, a superhero amidst the economically troubled office and male-oriented world. The Michelle Obama Female Force comic book is more than deserving of the anticipation and attention it is getting.
Whether you’re thinking of visiting Britain this year or like me, you’re a local thinking of staying at home, Cumbria’s Lake District National Park offers scenery rarely surpassed elsewhere in Europe. The region, established as a National Park in 1951, is known for its distinctive landscape of greystone farmhouses, lakes and rugged mountains known here as fells – a word derived from the time of the Vikings.
Most visitors to the Lake District National Park arrive from the M6 motorway via Kendal. This is also the route of the rail access to the central Lakes with the line terminating at the busy town of Windermere which along with its neighbouring town of Bowness on the shore of Lake Windermere is one of the most popular destinations in the region. Here though I shall outline where the main tourist centres are as well as give a few – not too biased – ideas on some of the best places to visit.
Following the main A591 north from Windermere you will come to Ambleside, another popular destination situated at the northern end of Lake Windermere. A far more rewarding way of travelling though is to take the lake steamer which serves as a regular water taxi between Bowness and Waterhead near Ambleside. The boat service also heads down to the Lake’s southern end at Lakeside where you can visit the Aquarium of the Lakes – busy at holiday periods but worth the visit – go midweek if you can! North of Ambleside you will come to Rydal then Grasmere where Dove Cottage – the former home of William Wordsworth – is to be found.
The A591 continues to the market town of Keswick set below Skiddaw by the shores of Derwentwater with its many wooded islands. From Keswick, minor roads lead into the deep enclosed valley of Borrowdale which cuts into the mountains to the South. Borrowdale is the start point for hikes up the lowest and the highest of the Wainwrights – Castle Crag and Scafell Pike respectively. The Wainwrights – for the non fellwalker – are the fells or mountains of the Lake District as categorised by AW Wainwright the author of what are still – in the opinion of many – the best guidebooks to walking in Lakeland.
Another popular outing from Keswick is to visit Castlerigg Stone Circle – an ancient monument that graces the walls of just about every Lakeland art gallery! In real life it is in a truly wonderful setting overlooking the hidden valley of St Johns in the Vale. As with any popular spot though – if you can go when everyone else is somewhere else, you will better experience the atmosphere of the place!
The other main town within the National Park, is Coniston, situated somewhat out on its own, more or less due West of Windermere by Coniston Water. Coniston Water was the scene of Donald Campbell’s tragic water speed record attempts and his memory is honoured by the town’s beer Bluebird – as good a pint as you will find anywhere. Coniston or Ambleside are good bases for those wishing to visit Langdale, the popular hiking destination dominated by the jagged outline of the Langdale Pikes. Equally, the literery tourist can easily visit the nearby Brantwood – John Ruskin’s former home – and Hill Top Farm the home of Beatrix Potter.
The western Lake District is somewhat cut off from the popular tourist centres by the wild and mountainous nature of the intervening country but therein lies part of its appeal. The valley of Wasdale – home of England’s highest mountain Scafell Pike and its deepest lake Wastwater – is one of my own favorites anywhere and the vista of Great Gable’s rocky pyramid seen from Wastwater was actually voted “Britain’s Favorite View” in a television poll. These western dales though, have a certain wild beauty that contrasts with the pretty lanes and villages of Grasmere and Rydal.
Another spectacular mountain scene is to be found in the Buttermere Valley with the half mile high wall of High Stile falling to the still waters of Buttermere. Between these two valleys lies Ennerdale where – in in the upper reaches of the valley – you will find a sense of real remoteness as you will in the upper part of Eskdale further to the South.
Another of my own favorites of the Lake District is in the East of the region. Ullswater is perhaps the most beautiful of the lakes, extending for 10 miles from Pooley Bridge to Patterdale at the base of Helvellyn. Only a few small villages including the charming Glenridding line the lake shore with much of its length being woodland and open fellside. Ullswater too can be travelled by lake steamer – a highly recommended trip. From a remote beach amongst the trees the view up towards the head of the lake is wonderful in any weather and when the rain sweeps the fells and the cloud curtains the high tops, it doesn’t dull the scene – it just adds drama.
I haven’t mentioned all that the Lake District has to offer here as that would take too long for somewhere I have been visiting since childhood, but I hope That I’ve given some ideas. My own reason for visits is to walk in the mountains or cycle quiet tracks and lanes but equally there is plenty to occupy the watersports enthusiast, the wildlife watcher or the historian.
I believe that travel is one of the greatest adventures of life and, having lived in Africa for over 40 years, I never fail to be amazed by the very special moments one can experience whilst travelling on this special continent.
On a visit to Botswana I discovered a real gem – the elephant experience at Stanley’s Camp in the Okavango. The Okavango, in the north west of Botswana, is a 6 000 square mile inland delta, the largest of its kind in the world. The delta’s lagoons and islands are home to huge numbers of wild animals, including elephant, hippo, lion, cheetah, buffalo, many species of antelope and abundant avian life.
The camp itself was simple but wonderful, with great staff and great food – all in the middle of the bush. However please not that this is camping in great style. I have laughed many times when I’ve told clients that they will be sleeping in a tent and they have said “We don’t do camping!”. Well, take it from me (and I’ve been to lots of camps in Botswana), these tents are absolute luxury – usually about 8 x 4 m (26 x 13 ft) in size, raised off the ground and with lovely en suite bathrooms plus private decks overlooking the bush. You get every modern convenience, and sleeping in a “tent” makes it all the more exciting when you hear lion roaring in the night!
This particular camp (and its sister camp, Baines) offers a unique experience – walking in the bush with three African elephants that are used to humans. The elephants’ owner, Doug, has been working and living with these giants for many years and not only are these jumbos obedient but love people too! The “Walk with the Elephants” interaction involves an approximately four hour gentle morning walk in the bush with the animals, whilst Doug tells you all about their habits and personalities, and demonstrates their features. You’ll feel their skin, tails and feet, look in their mouths to see their amazing molars and really get to know them. You also get to lead them by the trunk! But you don’t get to ride them, as that wouldn’t be natural.
It was an awesome experience for me and I believe that all travelers who are interested in wildlife would be “wild” for this opportunity. At the end of the walk you are treated to a lovely picnic lunch in the bush, whilst the elephants wander off to feed, supervised by Doug’s lovely wife, Sandy. You may ask “were you scared?” The answer is “yes! I was very frightened at first”, but with Doug’s calm love, deep trust and long experience with these great beasts, it became impossible not to relax and enjoy the absolute thrill of this incredible adventure. I left my new friends – Jabu, Marula and Thembi – feeling very privileged to have experienced such a close and emotional encounter with elephants.
The elephant walk every morning with their devoted “father” whether or not there are camp guests coming along. It’s not at all commercial and you really get to grips with elephants and their life in the Botswana bush.
Doug also runs courses for the local community schools, where the kids come camping for a few days (in very basic tents) and learn to appreciate elephants, wild animals in general and the importance of conservation in Botswana. By expanding awareness of eco-friendly tourism, this project makes a great contribution to the future well-being of the rural population.
Botswana is a marvelous destination and there are wonderful camps in different parts of the country that can make for a memorable safari. The cherry on the top is the close proximity to the spectacular Victoria Falls, a definite “must see” at least once in your life.
Jacquie Stafford has lived in Africa for over 40 years and has a passion for travel and wildlife. She now designs personalised tours to some of Africa’s most exciting destinations. For more insights on safari life visit her website – http://www.kunjani.co.za
Nepal and Tibet are now hugely popular destinations for trekking holidays (with the Annapurna Circuit and the Everest Base Camp trek reckoned as two of the best treks in the world) but it wasn’t always so.
The Himalaya, for a long time, remained the last blank on the map, an uncharted and unexplored land. Nepal, Tibet and the other Himalayan nations were closed to outsiders for centuries (most until well into the twentieth century), their lands and people a mystery. Myths clung to the mountains, and none more so than the myth of Shangri La.
Shangri La in the West
In 1933, James Hilton published Lost Horizon, perhaps inspired by a combination of Buddhist myth and the Everest trekking expeditions of the time. Set in the aftermath of a plane crash in the Himalaya, the British and American survivors find themselves at the hidden Buddhist monastery of Shangri La, a utopian “heaven on earth” where the inhabitants enjoy a prolonged life of near immortality.
Just like any other myth, the popularity of the myth Shangri La was inevitably affected by the state of the world at any time. With a world economy wracked by the great depression, and the great powers sliding towards fascism, communism, and eventual world war, the idea of an escape in the mountains held an understandable appeal.
In a strange twist of fate, the myth found an unusually receptive audience with the Nazis. Fascinated by the occult and the concept of the master race, the regime was understandably drawn to the idea of a perfect place where eternal life was possible. In 1938 they tried to find it – a Nazi expedition went trekking around Everest and the Himalaya in search of the mythical place.
Shangri La in the East
Lost Horizon was the book that sparked western imagination, but the idea of a paradise hidden in the Himalaya originated centuries before James Hilton set his typewriter in motion, or any westerner went trekking to Everest and the Himalaya. Known as Shambala, the Buddhist myths of the Himalaya speak of a hidden kingdom of the enlightened, governed according to the highest precepts of Buddhism.
Like every Buddhist myth, Shambala has both an “outer” interpretation (that it refers to an actual hidden kingdom) and an “inner” one (that it refers to a state of being or a place of spiritual contentment.)
The Final Word?
Today, Tibet and Nepal have both been thoroughly explored. The world’s highest mountain has been conquered a thousand times over, and Everest Base Camp treks are massively popular amongst more adventurous travellers. The idea of an actual kingdom of Shangri La hidden away in the mountains may only be entertained by the most wild conspiracy theorists, but the myth lingers on. With almost no part of the earth left unexplored, except for the deepest parts of the ocean, there will always be a part of us that craves the mystery that Shangri La offers.
The Dali Lama, when asked about Buddhism’s most popular myth, had this to say:
“Nowadays, no one knows where Shambala is. Although it is said to exist, people cannot see it, or communicate with it in an ordinary way. Some people say it is located in another world, others that it is an ideal land, a place of the imagination. Some say it was a real place, which cannot now be found. Some believe there are openings into that world which may be accessed from this one. Whatever the truth of that, the search for Shambala traditionally begins as an outer journey that becomes a journey of inner exploration and discovery.”
Jude Limburn Turner is the Marketing Manager for Mountain Kingdoms, an adventure tour company who for over 20 years have been the premier choice for the superlative Everest base camp (http://www.mountainkingdoms.com/everest-base-camp.ihtml). They offer treks and tours worldwide.
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