Greece – Part 2

After the coach journey to Olympia, we entered into the site of the first Olympic Games. Another amble around the site ending up in a game of cards followed, until we met in the actual stadium where most people (excluding me and 2 of my friends) on the trip took part in a race. It was a very uneventful spectacle, but the one of my friends that did compete did come second. After an look around the museum for what felt like an age, we returned to our hotel for another round of cards. On the balcony of our hotel room, an apple was thrown around until it was very bruised, and then repeatedly smashed against my head as a forfeit for losing a card game the night before (The creativity of my friends is matched by none). The resulting mess took a while to clean up before the room inspection after dinner, but the easy access to the balcony below made the task slightly more enjoyable. After dinner, another round of Ring of fire commenced and lasted until the early hours of the morning, when a woman on the balcony next to us leaned over and whispered in a very heavy Australian accent “Could you please keep it down!”. The next day even a stern talking to from the lead teacher on the trip didn’t stop us from mocking the woman’s accent mercilessly.

The next morning we woke up with a feeling of grogginess you can only achieve on extremely minimal sleep, and realised with a knock on the door that we were late for breakfast yet again. The nights activities had taken a toll. After breakfast the day consisted of a journey to Tolon, where we would be spending the next two days, but stopping off at some ancient sites on the way. As had become ritual at this point, the coach journeys had become our place of rest and our main place to catch up on sleep, but today due to our stop-start journey, we couldn’t even find solace on the coach. The visits to Bassae and Tiryins were clouded out by our tiredness and as always we took some pictures, walked around for a little, took in the sights and went to play some more cards. As we arrived at the final destination of our journey in Tolon, we had finally accumulated enough hours of sleep to be ready to sneak out of our hotel, with some other guys in my year who also came on the trip and go to a small pier on the beach and play another round of Ring of Fire, as was tradition. The addition of new members to the game created a new atmosphere, resulting in the ingestion of toilet paper by one of our guests and another of them being Spartan kicked into the sea. After these two unlucky souls had left to return the the hotel, the rest of us remained playing the game until a couple of German lads rocked up and joined us. Together we broke through whatever language barrier there was (their English was not that great) and taught then the rules to Ring of Fire. After another round we discovered that we were no match for the Germans in terms of drinking, and we went and explored the town, venturing into a bar to do suicide shots. Finally we returned to the beach, finished off the last of our drinks, and said our farewells, but not before getting a picture. We returned to the hotel elated after being let down by two of our guests.

The penultimate day started off as the others did, with a dreary walk downstairs for breakfast, followed by a period of sleep on the coach before arriving at Mycenae, a truly magestic ruin. After walking to the top, taking yet more pictures and walking back down again, we slumped in the shade of one of the huge walls and ate our lunch and conversed about the deteriorating state of the human race (a change from the usual card game). After another overestimation of how long we wanted to be at the site, our teachers led us off to another stadium, this one much smaller than the one at Olympia. The walk through the tunnel leading into this stadium was quite an intense experience and you can imagine what it was like to be a Roman walking in there. Fortunately for us, the tunnel provided shade and a cool breeze, perfect conditions for four 17 year olds nursing epic hangovers.

After we returned to our hotel at around 7, we ate a light dinner, possibly one of the best tasting of the trip, in anticipation of the activities of the night to come. At around 11, after all the room checks had been done, the four of us, leaving our previous night’s guests behind went to a restaurant we had checked out the evening before. The meal was absolutely fantastic, and if I never have a King Prawn Souvlaki again, I’ll be damned. The red wine to go with it epitomized the ‘culture time’ we had planned for ourselves. The fireworks that were being set off on a pier behind us were an added touch to what was the best night of the trip. After our very respectable dinner, we ventured back to the pier to finish off all the drinks we had bought on the trip in another game of Ring of fire (it’s becoming a bit repetitive isn’t it). Culture time was over. After drinking copious amounts of liquid courage, we took ourselves to a bar that our waitress had mentioned to us earlier in the night. At the Gorilla Bar, we met some very friendly Greek ladies and gentlemen, and proceeded to have a great time with them. After sharing a drink and getting a picture, we walked further along the beach to a clean part, devoid of sea urchins we had spotted before, where we had a little midnight dip, although it was maybe 3 in the morning at that time. After that we had tired ourselves out, even for our standards, and returned to the hotel, only to play a new drinking game called Horse Race. We finally reached our limits at 4 in the morning when we collapsed on our beds from exhaustion.

Waking up at 7:30 was an impossible task, which proved correct as we woke up at 8:15 to a very loud and obnoxious knock on the door telling us we had missed breakfast. A speedy trip down to get some orange juice followed, which proved very strenuous on only 4 hours sleep, and we left the hotel for what was to be the final time. The journey home was a convoluted one, stopping off at two destinations before returning to the airport in Athens for the flight back to England. This also meant our coach time was very broken up and resulted in one of the worst sleeps of my existence. However, the sights at the canal at Corinth and from the temple of Poseidon were astonishing and worth the trip. The final day consisted of relaxing at every opportunity and more picture-taking at some of the more picturesque destinations of the trip. The flight back was a time to reminisce about all the good times we had, as well as a time to get up to more antics, as for some reason the panic button on my seat kept lighting up, leading to a talking to from one of the cabin crew.

All in all the trip was a massive success, extremely memorable with some great quotes that can’t be explained without extensive context, and definitely my best time away with the school. I will always look back on this with fondness and rose-tinted glasses.

Greece – Part 1

School trips are difficult to know how good it’s going to be until you finally go, and it was exactly the same with this Latin trip to Greece. Just the fact that it was a Latin trip was enough to turn some people off. But a few (3) friends and I decided it was worth it and off we went.

As soon as we met at Sainsbury’s car park there was an air of unhappiness around us, possibly due to the 3:15 meet time. The coach journey and following plane journey did nothing to lift our spirits. But as we exited the airport, the atmosphere we came for hit us. The hustle and bustle of Athens is exactly what we needed to bring our spirits up. Later on, after we had checked into the hotel, we trekked up to the Acropolis and saw some great feats of architecture and magnificent views. An afternoon venture into Athens for ice cream turned into us being dragged away from some vendors/beggars trying to sell us their bracelets. A loss of €5 to these men for a bracelet that lasted 5 hours will never be forgotten. The day ended with a very eventful game of Ring of Fire between the four of us (This game will reappear later).

The next day, due to the intensity of the game and the fact that we only slept for 4 hours over 2 days, we were a bit more chilled out. Another day in Athens involved a trip to more ancient and cultural sites around the Acropolis. The 3 hour coach drive to Delphi where we were staying next was uneventful, but the exceptional meal and round of cards that followed as we reached our hotel made up for it. The evenings activities made life feel like a movie, with a perfect view, perfect music and perfect people.

Day 3 started with the best breakfast of the trip so far and continued to the ancient sites in Delphi, including an Oracle where a priestess inhaled noxious fumes from the earth and predicted the future for people who wanted to know (we did gain something about Roman culture from the trip). Eating lunch in the blazing sun with no shade was definitely not the best idea from the teachers along with telling us to go and see a site that we weren’t allowed to. The evening meal was at the same restaurant and was a more English dish, roast chicken and potatoes. The nighttime activities included another trip for ice cream where we walked straight past the ice cream shop while getting lost, only to walk back to the same place. Our gift of a huge tub of ice cream for one of the teachers brought our spirits up and finally led to another game of ring of fire, although slightly more muted than the last. Seeing the stars on the balcony of our room felt like another movie moment, one of many more that occurred on the trip.

Views – Drake

This is a review I knew I had to do. This album was so hyped up from 2014, had so many setbacks and now it’s finally here. How could I not review it? So let’s dive in.

First of all, I need to get one thing out there. This is a very divisive album. From 2014 everyone was thinking Views, or Views from the 6 as it was called at the time, was going to be a very rap-heavy album. Lots of bars, less of the emotional, too in his feelings Drake. Then when If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late came out in 2015, the hype intensified. The lyrical, rapping Drake was back. Now What A Time To Be Alive arrives and the bar for Views From The 6 has been set incredibly high. And finally the album drops. Name changed to just Views. That almost typifies how I feel about this album. We lost a part of the album that I think a lot of people wanted. Drake is a very versatile artist, but first and foremost in the eyes of many he is a rapper. So to lack the high quality bars that we expect from Drake (or maybe that’s just me) is quite a surprise. Now that’s off my chest; the actual review.

Views is still a good album overall. The whole album has a nice flow in almost every aspect, the instrumentals, the verses, the content. The trap influenced songs like Hype, Faithful and Grammys use the hi-hats and deep sub-bass very well to achieve that sound. And the more dancehall influenced songs, One Dance and Controlla, have the light, warm feel that they should have. It’s as if he made them specifically for those summer days when you don’t do anything but chill outside. This album is like the Drake portfolio. It demonstrates his near mastery of multiple genres as well as his rapping ability that he seems to tease his fans with.

Weston Road Flows is comfortably one of my favourites on the album. The track has a simple beat, smooth melodies and most importantly, Drake actually rapping and telling a story. His constant flow of bars on bars is really what I wanted from more of the album. On the other end of the genre spectrum, Controlla is something we haven’t really seen Drake do often on a heavily Caribbean, dancehall inspired track. His lilting singing voice over the very summery track is a refreshing move from the more bass heavy Still Here. Drake pulls of this style with a finesse that only he has.

Views is, in some aspects, a concept album. The obvious theme of love and relationships is there in the majority of the songs and is typical of a Drake album. As always with a Drake album it is a good album, has its standout tracks and the tracks to put you in your feelings. But for me it’s an incomplete album. It has everything we expected and more apart from one thing. Bars. One of the most acclaimed lines on the album “turn the 6 upside down it’s a 9 now” is woefully basic. I for one can’t understand the hype around the bars on this album. His storytelling lyricism is there but the punchlines and one liners are not up to standard or there aren’t enough of them. That is the only thing that stops me from fully embracing this album as one of Drake’s best.

99.9% – Kaytranada

99.9% is a hip-hop album by Montreal producer Kaytranada that dropped a few weeks ago on the 6 May. I say hip-hop but there is a blend of multiple genres he used to create his beats, such as electronic, dance and funk. It is this variety in his influences that makes 99.9% the album it is. The merging of guitar riffs and drum beats with very synthetic sounds go together like bread and butter.

The instrumentation is integral to this album as Kaytranada is a producer and not a lyricist. And it does not disappoint. The continuous introduction of new elements and alternate rhythms keeps each track feeling fresh throughout and due to the wide variety of influences and different genres on the album, the sound is very diverse.

Standout tracks for me are ones where he doesn’t have any lyrics over his beats and he can present his creativity to its fullest. Track Uno, Life Spots and Breakdance Lesson N1 are prime examples of this unbridled creativity coming out in the music. The metamorphosis of one rhythm into another, especially in Track Uno,  demonstrates Kaytranada’s talent as a producer. And that is not to take away from tracks with lyrical features. Glowed Up featuring Anderson .Paak is an illustration of when the beat and the vocals go together seamlessly.

Overall I honestly think this album has been one of my favourites so far this year, and with summer quickly approaching it will be in my playlists for a while. The whole album just has a feel good factor that just keeps you replaying every track.

Introduction To Blogging

Learning. It’s a very nuanced word. For people my age, it can evoke feelings of dread, exasperation and unease. For others it might be reminiscent of school days and classrooms they haven’t set foot in for years. For me, learning is part of life, and an integral part at that. Everything I do is as a result of curiosity and a sense of wanting to know more.

This brings me to the purpose of this blog. I know a great many people who write blogs and I’ve been a wallflower, watching this whole new dimension from the outside instead of immersing myself as I am now. Curiosity makes itself known in my life again. So now here I am. Starting out on this new journey of blogging. I have no expectations, nothing to anticipate. Just ideas.

Mainly, music and fashion are the biggest influences in my life and will be what the majority of this blog will be about. But I will also be writing about my life in general and things I experience. Hopefully enough happens in my life for me to write about, but you never know. Carpe diem might be an appropriate maxim to follow.

So to sum up in a sentence, this is about the life and times of Douglas Bailey, a  student, interested in a great deal and with a new platform to share it all.

Enjoy!