Hubert goes to Birmingham

Hubert and I went to Birmingham for the weekend to visit Hubert's good friend Okkle, as it had been a while since the last visit. On Saturday the 28th of February, Hubert packed his brand new backpack with his packed lunch, hot water bottle and blanket, he felt this was all he would require on his journey, as Okkle would surely be a good host and provide anything else he needed. Tickets in hand, we boarded the train after much confusion at the platform. Both myself and Hubert are not good with trains, but after speaking to the train driver (who was very polite but sadly, not wearing the rather fun, stereotypical train driver's cap) we discovered the correct locomotive. Hubert enjoyed the journey greatly, looking at the fellow sheep in the fields we passed, and getting his ticket stamped by the ticket man. He did not however, enjoy the rather grumpy chap that joined the train in Gloucester and sat in the seat next to him.

When we arrived at Birmingham New Street Station, Hubert was a little upset to find he was not allowed to keep his newly stamped ticket, and shed a small tear when he had to part with this keepsake of his. He had been looking forward to putting the ticket in his scrapbook. It was only a short walk to arrive at the home of Okkle, and Hubert was comforted to find we were situated near the BT Tower. (The BT Tower is so tall that if you were to get lost in Birmingham, all you would need to do is work your way towards it and all would be well.) Upon entering Okkle's flat, Hubert was worned of a new addition to the household, Pepper, a little cat. Hubert decided Pepper would make a fabulous addidition to his growing friends list, and was excited to be meeting her...Pepper however, didn't quite see things in the same light. Although the initial "hello's" were fairly polite, Pepper then chose to maul at Hubert's face. It's safe to say that he wasn't best pleased, and doesn't think he will be adding Pepper to his friends list just yet. He does feel that he will eventually win her over with his charm though.

Shortly after this, when Pepper had left the room, Hubert tucked into his packed lunch and watched some animated short films with Okkle and I, and then we made the group decision to go and see Bolt in 3D. This would also give Hubert the chance to explore this city. Along the route to the cinema, Hubert made sure that we could always see part of the BT Tower...just incase. Although Okkle lives in Birmingham and knows his way around, Hubert didn't quite trust his ability to navigate. We discovered a wonderful statue near the town hall, and Hubert decided since he could not yet add Pepper as a friend, he would add this odd bronze fellow. Hubert enjoyed his photoshoot, tucked up in the bronze arms.

Further along the cinema trail, Hubert also spotted a rather grand gold statue, which he was not too impressed by. He thought it looked rather tacky, but then he's not that much of an art critic. We then followed the "Walk of the Stars" towards the cinema. We saw many names that Hubert recognised, such as Jasper Carrot and Ozzy Osbourne, and then we found Hubert's long-term idol, Murray Walker. We took a photo of that star for the album, mostly because Hubert wouldn't let us leave until we did. Eventually, we reached the fabled cinema. The cinema tickets were purchased from a somewhat grumpy woman that thrust the 3D glasses into our hand and then mumbled a little as we walked away. Hubert said it wasn't very polite of her, which I suppose is true. The escalators took us up to the third floor where we waited outside Screen 12 with a lot of small, bouncy humans. Hubert and Okkle couldn't help but laugh when two teenage girls stood underneath a large, neon sign that said "7" asking a man which door led to screen 7. Hubert does worry about the modern education system.

Excitedly, Hubert leapt into his seat three rows from the back and donned his 3D glasses. He was shocked and delighted to find that even the adverts were projected in the new Real-D 3D, and completely immersed himself in the experience. The woman sat in the seat next to him did stare at him quite a lot throughout the course of the film, Hubert is not entirely sure why... Now it's time for:

HUBERT'S MIGHTY FILM REVIEW! - Bolt in 3D

"Bolt is a really nice story which is touching to the heart and comical, although somewhat Truman Show-esque. It is very well animated, and Bolt is a character I really felt I conected with, as some films have characters that you are meant to care for...but do not. All in all, I really enjoyed it and I give it a rating of 4 out of 5 BAA's."

Ok, that's done with. He really wanted to write a review. After the fil.m we had the trek back to Okkle's, Hubert saw lots of pretty trees covered in lights, the walk of the stars again, and he even met Queen Victoria! Well...sort of...

After a good nights rest it was almost time to head home, and Hubert wanted to go outside and see the local wildlife before packing his bag. Before heading outside, he wished Okkle a happ St David's Day...although Okkle had said happy St Patrick's day. Hubert found this hilarious. Hubert then went across the road to the cemetery to do this, and enjoyed feeding the little birdletts. Not long after this, Hubert's friends brother, James, arrived to drive Hubert and I back home. Hubert's friends mother also came, "mum". A fond farewell was said to Okkle and Pepper the maul master, Okkle gave Hubert a parting gift of a shiney new badge with a bird on it, and then the long drive home began. The scenic route was taken, avoiding all the motorways. We passed through Herefordshire and the like, and saw a lot of wonderful scenery that Hubert liked. When finally reaching home, Hubert was glad to be back once again, so he could show off his new Okkle badge to all his local friends.

ADDITION: After leaving the home of Okkle,Hubert received a call to say there had been a fire in the building! Pepper and Okkle are ok, and nothing in his home was damaged, there is just a lot of smoke damage in the corridors *phew*

Click here for the Birmingham Photo Set.

Animated Exeter! 13/02/09

Yes, Hubert officially attended his first animation festival! Whee! Well, it wasn't that much of a "whee" situation really. Let's see if we can explain.

Hubert's friend, also known as me, was invited to attend the screening of her film at the festival, of course, Hubert was first to jump in there and claim the spare ticket! So, ticket's in hand, Hubert and I packed that night and set off for the English land of Exeter. (Those English can be a little odd towards Welsh Sheep so Hubert was cautious and included a can of pepper spray in his bag). We got into Hubert's friends brothers car...known as "James" (a good name for a driver don't you think? "Home James!") On the way to the land of Exeter we picked up another of Hubert's friends, Chris.

It was a long journey, which included travelling packed lunches and even a stop at a service station, which Hubert decided was highly over-priced...yet he still bought a chocolate bar. Which he failed to eat. Instead, his friend's ate it. It was good.

Hubert has just pointed out, it is at this point, or possibly earlier, I should have informed you that this adventure lasted three days, and so could cover a lot of typing. Just letting you know. On with the tale!

Day 1:

So Hubert and his friends arrived at Exeter and...instantly got lost. It is a confusing place, a lot different to the land of Wales. It was ok though, Hubert had his trusted compass and we all found our way to the youth hostel at which we were staying. Chris and Hubert had packed sleeping bags, as the room was only due to have one bed, but to our surprise it contained three! Hubert chose the top bunk and settled in quite nicely.

The time was noticed, and all three of us headed towards the building called "The Phoenix" to see Hubert's friends film. This is where the not so "whee" part starts to come in. On arrival we met two other animators and friends of Hubert, Grindle and Steven, and after queuing for a while, were ushered into the seats in the cinema. The screening began, and a hush fell over the crowd…the first few films were received with rounds of applause…and then…the projector broke. Yup. Broke. Hubert leapt from his seat in a rage and battered the group of Bournemouth animators in the seats next to us…

No, not really, I think that’s what he wanted to do though, but in reality we sat there for a few minutes waiting for an image to appear, then a voice came over the speaker system “could everyone please go to the Best of the West awards reception outside while we fix the projector?” So everyone went outside for a while, Hubert had a lemon and coke while I made do with my free glass of orange juice. After a short interval of mingling and socializing, everyone returned to the cinema and a few more films were shown before time ran out and everyone had to leave. Hubert was happy that they just managed to squeeze in my film before this point, and although a lot of people had left, it was still seen by a few. This made him smile.

Chris, Hubert and myself headed off on the short trek “home” after that screening, home being the youth hostel. On the way we obtained some chips and a large sausage in batter, Hubert does like his chips. Sadly, they were not quite as good as the ones from his previous adventure in Usk, they were however, still edible. On arriving at the hostel, everyone took to their beds and had a good nights sleep.

Day 2:

After a rather relaxed and lazy morning, we all managed to gather up enough energy to force ourselves onto the English streets in search of some breakfast. After walking much farther than was actually required in the pursuit of food, Hubert decided we should enter Café Nero and formulate a new game plan, as our current hunting tactics were quite obviously failing. Upon sitting on a seat at the back of the café, Hubert noticed a remarkably small human, also known as a child, sat on a table opposite waving a light blue balloon. A few moments later, another one of these remarkably small humans walked into the café with a larger human, and was also handed a light blue balloon. Hubert said he liked the balloons, not because he has a fixation with them (after his last adventure) but purely because he thought the colour would bring out the shine in his eyes.


It was at this point, Chris took matters into his own hands. He went up to the Café Nero staff member behind the counter, and explained how Hubert had travelled all the way from sunny Wales only to be disappointed by this land of Exeter. He then asked if Hubert may have a balloon to cheer him up after this great disappointment. The staff member pondered for a moment and then Hubert was given a mighty blue balloon! This made him ever so happy, and all other small humans that saw him during the day were most surely envious.

After this wonderful gift from the Café Nero, we continued on our travels and ended up at the Aardman Exhibition where Hubert was very impressed to come face to face with the Were-rabbit. He did not flinch, and for this fact, he was proud. Continuing from this, food was finally obtained, in the form of a sausage sandwich. It was collected from another café that was situated in a hole in the wall, Hubert commented on how extraordinary this was. I just remarked upon the sausages, which were very tasty.

Further exploration of Exeter followed, viewing and juggling at many old buildings and towers. Hubert was most impressed by the architecture. He also commented on the large quantities of ducks, swans and geese. All of which did not seem to like him…unless you count him as a food group. A meeting with Hubert’s friend Grindle also took place, and both were most happy to relive the afternoon’s rugby, where Wales beat England. Hoorah for the Welsh! Hubert made sure he had his pepper spray to hand that evening while we walked home. On this second night, Hubert took the double bed and enjoyed the rolling space so much that he spent half the night doing backflips. It was quite entertaining.

Day 3:

An early morning started the final day of the adventure, as James was coming to collect the three of us and check out had to be done at the Hostel by 11am. With the arrival of James, bags were placed in the car, and then Hubert wanted to explore Exeter one last time. We all trekked off for a final look around, and ended up back at the Phoenix, where there was a sci-fi and comic book expo. Sadly, this expo comprised of about five people selling comic books and Greedo from Star Wars. Hubert had met Greedo before, and was pleasantly surprised to see this friend once again. They shared a biscuit and a short chat, before James stated it was time to leave.

Once again, the long journey took place, complete with another service station stop, and another uneaten, over-priced chocolate bar purchased by Hubert. After paying for said item, he realised he actually wanted the Toffee Crisp and not the Galaxy Caramel he had bought, this upset him, because he had run out of money. One thing that did cheer up Hubert on the journey home was that he got to see the giant Wicker man…he failed to snap a decent photo though.


Click here to see the Photo Set from Exeter.

Hot Air Ballooning on 27-09-2008

As the date clearly states above, this is one of the backtracked adventures of Hubert. It took place on the 27th of September 2008, when Hubert was lucky enough to be taken up in a Hot Air Balloon over the Usk Valley. It wasn't the warmest of days for such a venture, nor was it the sunniest...but at least it wasn't raining!

After a fairly short drive to a place called Chainbridge, we had arrived at the flight take off destination. Chainbridge is a rather odd place in all honesty, as it's named after the "Chainbridge" ... which has no chains. It's solid metal. Oh well. Oh, it is at this point I would like to point out that the car ride was kindly providided by Hubert's friends father, we shall call him Dad as that is what he is and it takes a lot less typing.

Back to the story! There was a short wait while other balloon goer's arrived at the site, some very nervous. After around 15 minutes, everyone had shown up and then the balloon carriers, baskets and pilots showed up. There was a brief talk where all that were going up for the flight had to show their passes, and then we all moved into the field.

Two balloons were leaving from our field, so the group separated. We were then instructed on how to open up the balloon from the truck, and all the flyers set to unwravelling the enormous thing. Hubert found it very daunting, as a woman next to us dropped the heavy fabric on him. It was at this point he decided to sit out on setting up the balloon. After this, the pilot gave us a safety talk. This..."upset" Hubert.
"DO NOT have anything around your neck, long hair, necklaces, bags, cameras...when we land the basket can tip and it can get caught under it as we are dragged along...this can decapitate you. Or choke you. DO NOT go near the fire. DO NOT let go of the hand rails during take off or landing and DO NOT be standing at this point, you MUST be seated. DO NOT lean out of the basket..."
You get the idea. It went on for a while, and you can see why it could set nerves into even the most lion-hearted of adventurers. I spoke to Hubert and managed to calm him down enough to get him in the basket. I followed with a tremendous leap that resulted in me hitting my head on one of the gas cannisters, not my wisest move ever, but it seemed to lighten Hubert's mood a little more.

The next thing we knew, we were up! Drifting along, with just the sounds of the burners disrupting the peace. The second balloon launched from our field drifted up slowly behind us, the passengers waving to Hubert as he sipped his orange juice. It was very tranquil and wonderful. Hubert's ears popped but that didn't seem to matter, he enjoyed the experience, and seeing fellow sheep below made him all the more happy! He even got a wave off a man in a microlite and off some people in a truck when we were flying lower.

The flight seemed to end all too quickly, and we found ourselves in a another field. This was when we were instructed to pack away the enormous balloon into a bag half the size of the basket. An impossible task you ask?? Well! Not for Hubert...that's a lie actually...he did try to help at one point but I don't even think he managed to squeeze a thimble sized amount of air out of the thing. He did try though. So that's something at least. In the end he resigned himself to sitting on the sidelines shouting directions. Some of the other flyer's weren't too pleased but I managed to stop them mobbing him.

Finally came the landrover ride back to the original field so everyone could head home. Hubert took this time to reflect on all of the days experiences, and he realised how lucky he was to have flown in a hot air balloon...as it's not a common thing these days. He said that he'd recommend it to anyone, and that it's well worth the fear!

Click here if you want to see the Photo Set. At the moment it's just a selection, I shall attempt to upload the rest as soon as I can.

Oh, and on the drive back home, Dad stopped and Hubert had chips from possibly the best chip shop in the world, it's in Usk. They were good. He smelt like salt and vinegar for days...

Hello There!

Hello there from Hubert! He will frequently be referred to in the third person...as I've noticed he finds it difficult to type. I will however, attempt to interpret his intentions to the best of my ability.

This blog is actually starting a bit late after Hubert's first adventures, so we have a lot to catch up on! I will be trying to do that as soon as possible so we don't fall too far behind. Upcoming will be his trip over the Usk Valley and his trip to Animated Exeter, so if you're interested in seeing pictures and stories you should check back!