nathan bentley's personal playground...

Last Saturday I was over East for Paul Lomax’s engagement party in Canary Wharf. After a great time (thanks Paul), a group of us headed back towards central London to continue the partying - with the Jubilee line undergoing weekend maintenance, we decided the fastest (and easiest) way to get back would be to take a water taxi to Embankment then wander until we found somewhere suitable to continue drinking.

After the initial excitement of taking a clipper wore off (a first, despite living in London for a number of years), it was quickly replaced by the excitement of seeing the BA London Eye “dressed up” for Gay Pride.

I’d have taken a photo if it wasn’t for the fact that I was sans phone/camera, however, if somehow to make up for it, I managed to find a video of the Eye, in all its multi-colour glory.

Truly awesome. My respect for the Eye just keeps on growing.

My most recently favoured series, Dexter (based on the novel “Darkly Dreaming Dexter” - also worth a read), is back for its second season in the UK. I’d highly recommend a look if, like me, you’re a fan of dark humour, intelligent plotlines and a cast worth their weight in gold.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the series, Dexter, named after the program’s protagonist Dexter Morgan, is based around the life of a blood spatter pattern analyst who, in his spare time, doubles up as a serial killer. Of course, there’s always a twist - in this case, Dexter is a “conciencious” serial killer - only killing people who he classifies as evil - and proceeds throughout the series to silently remove murderer, after rapist, after psychopath from the streets of Miami.

As always, I won’t give too much away - other than to say that the series dives straight in and continues the pace of the first series perfectly. Be warned - the series isn’t for the faint of heart, especially those who find the sight of blood disturbing, and the humour can be incredibly dry - if you’re easily bored, you may find the effort a little much at some points.

Dexter starts on FX on the 6th July - if like me you can’t wait that long, I’m reliably informed that there are torrents of the season available across the internet.

enjoy.

Firstly, and to start, I’ve got a legitimate reason for not having posted anything for a while.

Secondly, I’m about to dive out of the office, so this post is going to have to be a short one.

Back to that first point… I’m back! From Mexico! Riviera Maya to be more specific (on the Caribbean coast, near Tulum). I’m moderately tanned, somewhat relaxed, and missing the hell out of being waited on with cocktails and food all day long. London met my return with about 5 minutes of sun, before finally reverting to a nice solid grey sky - kinda fitting when you’ve spent 12 hours on a plane, followed by another hour on various trains and tubes.

Anyway, before I ramble on (and make myself even later), here is the very brief summary of my holiday:

• Took a taxi to the airport. With a taxi driver who couldn’t drive, or navigate, and who took 2 hours to get to Gatwick
• Almost missed the plane, but instead, after some schmoozing at the check in desk, managed to get upgraded to increased leg-room
• Took a 12 hour flight to Cancun
• Followed by a 3 hour bus ride to Riveria Maya
• Finally stopped travelling. Got greeted by waiters handing me cocktails. Bliss.
• Explored hotel and beach. White sands, crystal blue seas, no clouds. Check
• Took a trip to Chichen-Itza. Gorped like an idiot at the incredible architecture.
• Went to Xel-Ha, swam with dolphins (incredible!), snorkelled, and lounged in luxery. All in an eco friendly resort.
• Rode speed boats through the mangroves on the coast before snorkelling around the coral and attempting to take photos of the crazy fish.
• Got bitten by aforementioned crazy fish. Now have small teethmarks in my finger.
• Ate at a mexican-japanese restaurant where the food tasted like chinese takeaway. Top marks for effort though (the guy on the hotplate who was spinning knives on his fingers and juggling eggs was a real treat)
• Got drunk in a swimming pool with a bunch of Americans.
• Flew back!

I’ll update this blog with a bunch of content once things settle down at work - the vids of dolphins, speed boats and ancient temples will come as soon as I manage to edit the footage (taken with a Hi-def digital camcorder - in 720p glory!)

Nath.