File under: Great Big Story, video games, 8 bit, pixels, arcades

I've been really unfortunate this year, in that my holiday to Las Vegas meant I had to miss the majority of Huddersfield Literature Festival, which I have been trying to support for around 3 years now. Although Huddersfield isn't a city, size wise it has a lot to offer in terms of events and I don't really see why we should be travelling to Leeds or Manchester all the time. We need to get people to come to us!

However, I did arrive back on British shores in time to see Sir Patrick Stewart, also a supporter of the festival, do a question and answer session at Huddersfield Town Hall.

He's a wonderful storyteller and it is such a shame that it wasn't longer because there were so many interesting tales about his life, both personally and professionally. It was a good mixture of the two and it allowed him to shine light on his father's (and subsequently the entire family's) struggle with Post-Tramatic-Stress-Disorder, gained through the war. This was something Patrick had not been aware of until he did the popular TV series Who Do You Think You Are. As a consequence, he now supports two charities: Refuge (domestic violence) 'for his mother' and Combat Stress (armed forces) 'for his father'.

He also talked at length about his rise through theatre and how he managed to bag the role of Jean-Luc Picard onboard the USS Enterprise.

​I'm really hoping he will make another longer appearance at next year's festival because I'm sure he has many more incredible stories.

File under: Sir Patrick Stewart, Huddersfield Literature Festival, Huddersfield Town Hall, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Professor Xavier, Star Trek The Next Generation, X-Men

File under: Las Vegas, casinos, neon lights, strip, gambling, sightseeing

On Saturday I decided to walk on down to the Pinball Hall Of Fame, which is a small warehouse building that is open to the public, with no entry fee. In it you can find all manner of pinball machines, all lovingly restored to working order for you to go and play.
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There's a machine for every person, celebrating the finest films, TV shows and bands. The collection also features some older arcade games, that aren't necessarily pinball, but will still bring back some really fond memories for those of you belonging to the very first arcade generation. Well worth checking out.

File under: Pinball Hall Of Fame, Las Vegas, arcade, games

A lot of the attention on Vegas is centred on the main strip and that's understandable. But if you catch a bus on the strip, be sure to ride it all the way down to Freemont Street (take the express bus). This is original Vegas and for a fraction of the price. Food is a lot cheaper down there if you're looking for a place to eat.

The buses are regular and you can get 24 hour tickets that only cost $8. And when they say 24 hours, they mean 24 hours. Those tickets don't expire at midnight, they expire a full day on from when you bought them. I'm pretty sure you can also get 3 day and weekly tickets as well. When you're done on the strip you can head on down to Freemont Street for a party.

​There's plenty of street entertainment, but after a certain hour I'd leave the kids at home because some of those girls and guys aren't shy with their clothing choices.

File under: Freemont Street, Las Vegas

All The Small Things | Footloose Part 1 | Footloose Part 2
Should I Stay (Or Should I Go Now) ​

File under: Alter Ego, Freemont Street, Las Vegas, All The Small Things, Footloose, Living On A Prayer, Should I Stay (Or Should I Go Now), Blink 182, Kenny Loggins, Bon Jovi, The Clash

File under: Last Stop, Arizona

File under: I passed this on the way to the Grand Canyon, Dolan Springs, Arizona

File under: Grand Canyon, Arizona