Archive for the 'Diary' Category

Quick Update

Published on 17 May 2012 in Diary. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

A busy couple of weeks! The last fixture of Norwich City’s Premier League season saw a lot of good-hearted banter with the Aston Villa fans on a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon.

The Saturday had seen tapas and shopping in Norwich with Jack before going ti watch Dark Shadows that evening. It didn’t quite live up to the hype but I enjoyed it anyway.

Lots of business development since then with lunches and dinners to attend so it was nice to be able to fit in dinner at Gaucho with Amy even it was a tad expensive.

In other work news, apart from work and meetings coming up in Manchester, I will also be lecturing in Vienna next month again – I’m hoping to be able to take GT over there for at least part of the time as well as our planned Venice trip as a prequel to her birthday in November.

Bank Holiday Weekend

Published on 9 May 2012 in Clothing, Diary, driving, Films, Hotels, knobheads, Roads and Work. 0 Comments

Well that was a busy one!

After a somewhat heavy session on Friday night at Abacus with colleagues – damn you Happy Hour! – Saturday found me packing for the weekend and heading over to GT for Saturday, including seeing “The Avengers”/”Avengers Assemble” (which I can recommend as a good, fun film) and a nice meal out afterwards.

Sunday morning and GT was running a half-marathon so I left at a reasonable time and headed off to Manchester with a stay at the comfortable Radisson Edwardian and an evening out at the Comedy Store‘s “King Gong” stand-up show with some very good (and some really awful) stand-up comics.

Monday was a day shopping at various stores in Manchester including a 20+ minute wait at Starbuck’s in the Arndale Centre for a coffee. I was somewhat disturbed though by this that I saw whilst walking through Top Shop:

I'm sorry? "Formal"? Jogger?

Then another night at the Radisson Edwardian that ended with me watching Homeland’s disappointing end (well, for the first series anyway): why do the US networks insist on keeping these series running on and on rather than actually developing a story with a start, a middle and an end? I won’t now bother with the second series.

Tuesday saw me mainly sitting in traffic jams on my way to Birmingham for a meeting and then back down to London. Somehow, despite excellent driving conditions, people had variously managed a series of crashes on the M6 and one on the A406 North Circular that closed it leading to really long tailbacks. How do people manage to crash in such excellent conditions?

Goodnight Vienna

Published on 29 April 2012 in Diary, Travel and Work. 0 Comments Tags: .

Well that was a busy week! The Friday before last, I was heading back in the rain from a meeting with a Client when my phone rang and a colleague asked if I’d be available to go to Vienna for a day the following week to do some training for another Client.  The answer, as always, was yes. When I got back to the office, it all started going pear-shaped…

It transpired it was two days’ training: join mid-morning with a German lawyer’s last session and then repeat on the Friday before an evening flight home; my colleague would be staying at the comfy Hotel de France. But there were problems: firstly, I couldn’t guarantee arriving on time if I travelled on Thursday morning, so I had to make arrangements to fly out on the Wednesday evening (which meant cancelling another meeting) and I couldn’t fly back on the Friday because all the flights back were fully booked, so I now needed to stay another night and fly home on Saturday which meant cancelling all my plans up in Norfolk.

By Tuesday, more changes were afoot: half the delegates were calling in sick, so the venue (which had been a lovely hotel in central Vienna) had been cancelled and we would be doing it at the Client’s offices 15km outside the city. This meant cancelling the hotels I had managed to find and instead I was put up in what was thankfully a four star guest house 5km from the offices, the Landhaus Tschipan. They had also asked us to condense two days’ of training into one, the Thursday and I still couldn’t get a flight back!

Wednesday was horribly wet in London but landing in Vienna that evening, I was greeted by a lovely warm evening and I went for some beers with the German lawyer to run through the slides and edit them down.

Thursday went very well indeed and when we had finished we realised all the HR staff had gone home and there was no-one to take us back or even arrange a taxi … so we walked the 5km back in full suits and carrying laptops in high 20s temperatures! We then changed and grabbed a taxi into central Vienna to meet up with my other two colleagues for beers and a meal before heading back.  Vienna is a beautiful city by night!

Friday morning I checked out of the Tschipan and headed to my hotel for Friday: the five star Steigenberger Hotel Herrenhof in the historic part of Vienna. A bit more work until lunchtime and then I headed out for a sightseeing wander around the shopping areas and the Naschtmarkt: some 10km in the sun and high 20s temperatures: no wonder I got sunburnt!

Back to the hotel to change before I met up with my colleagues at the University of Vienna where they’d been delivering a course for the post-graduate MSc Law course. Lovely ribs and beers before heading off to St Stephen’s Square for more café culture and beer and a wander down to the Danube itself. I finally stumbled into bed at 2.30am!

A light breakfast – or two – before heading back to the airport for a flight home … to the same cold and wet London I’d left behind. Ah well!

 

Kawasaki Day at the Ace Cafe

Published on 22 April 2012 in Ace Café, Diary, dyno, Kawasaki, Kawasaki Day, photos, Syndicated and ZRX1200R. Closed Tags: .

Today was Kawasaki Day at the Ace Cafe London. It was also the Virgin London Marathon and where I live the roads close at 8.00am. Despite GT taking part in the marathon – she managed a 4:00:44 finish time! – I headed off before the road closures to the Ace Cafe for Kawasaki Day, celebrating 40 years.

Of course, 11 and 23 mile markers en route were too good to pass unnoticed so I hoisted celebratory wheelies as I drove through!

Getting to the Ace at 8.00am I grabbed a cuppa and breakfast and then decided to have the ZRX dyno’d again now I’ve put some miles on it and the results were very impressive: 163.2bhp and 98ft/lb which even beat some poor bloke with a shiny ZZR1400 and Akra pipes!

Here are some photos too:

ZRX Tank Yes... Z900s ZX-10R H2 750 H1 Tank Chat H1 500 Zephyr Blue Rex Z1000 Tank Zephyr ZRXs Collage 7cyl KH606!

Weekend Break

Published on 3 April 2012 in Diary, Friends, Jimmy Choo, Photography, photoshoot and Travel. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Well what a great weekend that was!

Nipped over to GT’s after work on Friday for a lovely home-cooked meal before an early night as GT was up early on Saturday morning for another cheeky 20 mile run before breakfast! She’s almost ready for her seventh marathon in three weeks’ time; her third London Marathon.

So when she got back, I got up and we headed into Epsom: GT to get a pedicure and me for a coffee and porridge at Caffè Nero. Then we set off for our weekend destination…

GT was a tad hungry by now, so shortly after leaving hers (and returning to pick up some undies!), we stopped for lunch at the Bear in Oxshott. Lovely food too with huge sandwiches and excellent fillings plus some great choices of starters and sharing platters.

Then on to our hotel for the weekend: Luton Hoo where one of GT’s friends was celebrating her birthday that evening. I’d had a cunning plan and booked us a room in the Mansion House itself as I had (incorrectly) assumed we’d be eating in the main house rather than one of the other buildings on the estate so we wouldn’t need to walk anywhere or go out in the cold that night.

Luton Hoo

Luton Hoo

And we were greeted with a pleasant surprise: we were upgraded to a Mansion House Suite – usually a £500 night option – which was heroically impressive with its own sitting area, a massive bed, a lobby and separate bathroom, walk-in wardrobes, etc.

Manor House Suite

Manor House Suite

The bottle of champagne I’d ordered was there chilling in its ice bucket and so everything was great as we spent the afternoon with a photoshoot and sipping champagne. GT said she could easily get used to this! My favourite from the shoot is on my photography profiles/pages.

Time then to get dressed for dinner: GT in a new LBD and heels – GT had brought a selection of stilettos with her including the Jimmy Choos, of course – and me in a suit and tie.

We then realised that Lu’s birthday dinner was actually taking place in the brasserie which was a short taxi ride away – the hotel has a fleet of its own taxis to ferry guests around the estate – so off we went for more good food and wines with great company before heading back to the main house for a nightcap!

The next morning we had a late start with a leisurely breakfast in the restaurant before heading outside for a walk around the extensive gardens (and a quick play on their croquet lawn) before coming back for a pot of tea in their gardens in the warm spring sunshine.

More Tea, Vicar?

More Tea, Vicar?

Sadly, we then had to pack and head off home after lunch. A memorable weekend!

Pausing For Breath

Published on 26 March 2012 in Diary. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Well it’s been a hectic few weeks since I finished – albeit temporarily – in Wigan at the end of February.

Knowing I had a week or so without fee-earning, I decided to use some of my 2011 holiday entitlement and bugger off for a city break to Barcelona, staying in a suite at the Hotel 1898 right on La Rambla. Utter luxury and recommended! I grabbed some snaps whilst out and about which are on my photography site and Flickr.

The following week and I was back in London with a number of evening dos to go to including being entertained with GT at the Texas Embassy Cantina off Trafalgar Square: a great laugh with some lawyers I’d drink with any time.  And drink we did, which prompted an overnight stay with a shopping trip on my way in to work the following night to pick up a new shirt at London Bridge!

Hired Gun

Gunslingers

The weekend saw an invitation from a long-standing Client to celebrate a result we had had by having lunch at Caffe Mamma in Richmond followed by the England v Ireland 6 Nations rugby match at Twickenham. And lots of drinking.

England v Ireland

England v Ireland at Twickenham

The next week was busy with speaking engagements and evening meetings before a really epic weekend, starting with the Pop Will Eat Itself gig at the Electric Ballroom, Camden on the Friday after some excellent tapas at Bar Gansa.

Pop Will Eat Itself at the Electric Ballroom

The Poppies take to the stage at the Electric Ballroom

Then Saturday was spent up in Wymondham seeing Amy and her Uni mates before heading into Norwich for Nando’s and the Norwich v Wolves match with Jack. Sunday was more shopping before heading back down to London and work again this week. Some interesting work in the pipeline…

On the ball, City

On the ball, City!

A Year Is A Long Time In Politics

Published on 16 December 2011 in Diary. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

A year ago today, I moved my stuff out of my ex-girlfriend’s place knowing I would never be going back.

And I’ve not looked back since.

My life is great: work, family and relationships are all going from strength to strength and I’m doing stuff I enjoy doing without compromise and usually without fear. I have great plans for 2012 and beyond too, which is always good.

Of course I miss my Fireblade which was stolen from London a week later but every freedom has its price and I ploughed the insurance money back into my ZRX1200R so all’s well that ends well.

Party Time!

Published on 30 October 2011 in Diary. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

Well that was a busy weekend!

After my skydive at Skydive London on Friday – photos and videos to follow! – I got back to the apartment late, late on Friday night.

An early start on Saturday morning, as I was heading up to Norfolk to see my kids. Big pre-match lunch at Nando’s before going on to the Norwich v Blackburn match at Carrow Road. After the match – a real thriller and a well-deserved draw – I drove down to Epsom for GT’s 40th birthday party. She looked really gorgeous in the LBD from Ted Baker and French Connection killer heels that I’d picked out! Great food and a great atmosphere too at the Barley Mow where Phil and Cil took good care of all of us and in Cil’s case, slightly overdid the drinks…

Thank goodness the clocks went back, as it was a late night and I had an early start to head back up to Norfolk for Jack’s football and a family lunch before heading back down to London again!

When I got back, a text from a very good friend reminded me of this time last year: a Hallowe’en Party hosted – obviously to be the centre of attention as always! – by my ex-girlfriend in Grimsby. The exchange started something like this:

“This time last year…”

“…wearing masks and pretending to be someone else. And that was just [the ex]. The rest of us were having a Hallowe’en Party!”

Of course by this time, she was already cheating on me whilst professing undying love, etc. I wasn’t to know at this point that it was my wallet she actually loved and everything else was merely escorting… Still, Karma’s a bitch, as they say, and the ex’s new true love is apparently Jack Daniels. That, coupled with her inability to sleep these days – guilt maybe? Yeah right! – has really taken its toll on her looks, and of course her family have apparently all turned against her so she hasn’t even got them any more to use. She’s apparently clinging on to the poor sap who, like her, seems unable to maintain an er… I mean a relationship. I wonder if she told him about her claim last Christmas that she was pregnant by me as a ruse to get me back, even saying that she could ‘fix’ our relationship and lose the loser? Of course that pregnancy miraculously disappeared all by itself when she realised that I wasn’t having anything to do with her and wasn’t sure who the father might have been – one of many potentials – in the very unlikely event she was telling the truth!

All academic, really, and I honestly do thank her from the bottom of my heart: she saved me from throwing my life away with her and her duplicity before I’d wasted too much time (just far too much money) on her. I learned a valuable life lesson too: there will always be those who take advantage of good people like me. What goes around come around…

Oh wait – that’s a tattoo someone else has: the ex used to regularly take the piss out of her behind her back, despite this poor woman being a genuinely nice person. Of course now with the departure of her oldest and dearest friends – again used and lied to like the rest of us – it’s funny how this poor girl is now the ex’s supposed best friend! Still, given the poor lass was interested in the ex’s local hero before the ex ensured they didn’t get together, she’s clearly trying to keep any friends close and her enemies closer still. Trust is a wonderful thing and the levels of paranoia are high with her! It’s also interesting to note how she’s also trying to break up her friends’ relationships to feel better about her own inadequacies.

So the text exchange compared and contrasted my ex with GT: the differences couldn’t be more profound. It’s good to reflect on things sometimes and better to be thankful for where you are today. It’s funny how after I posted a photo of me in Madrid last week to Facebook, a number of friends commented on how much happier I look these days when compared to this time last year. How true!

4 Mile Thames Path Run

Published on 17 September 2011 in Diary, Garmin, Health and Running. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

I decided that I should go for a quick run this afternoon to make up for a mahoosive meal at Nando’s in Epsom last night – we won’t mention the cake and jelly at IKEA Croydon {shudder} – and knowing that it’s pasta and partying tonight.

So I chose a nice and easy 2 mile jog. I felt fine a mile into the route so carried on, and the same after a mile and a half so I decided I’d head on to the 2 mile mark before turning back. Worked well, I think.

Househunting

Published on 18 July 2011 in Diary and Home. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

A busy weekend: Saturday started off fairly well with an opticians’ appointment to have a contact lens check at Surrey Quays. On the plus side, there was no change in my prescription but on the minus side I was then forced to go food shopping in Tesco with my glasses on (due to the yellow dye they put in your eyes to check fit).

Then a very enjoyable evening in Epsom with a drink at the Assembly Rooms, followed by a meal at the excellent Cinnamon Spice Indian restaurant and then on to the Barley Mow for more drinks.

Sunday saw lots of bike racing on the telly – MotoGP and BSB – interspersed with househunting. It’s about time I sorted myself out something for the long-term and with my divorce pending, now’s the time to start looking if I buy new.

So off I went to see Berkeley Homes’ Kidbrooke Village Development. This isn’t too far out of London – 15 minutes’ train journey from London Bridge (near my office) but as it’s early on in the development, there’s nothing there yet in terms of shops, bars, restaurant and amenities. Lovely place though but the lack of my own secure and powered garage is still a major issue. Perhaps it’d be better to buy a house in Rotherhithe near where I am as this is a short bus ride from work and I can even walk it (and do!).

Then back home for a Thai stir fry and TV including “Salt” which I’d recorded. And copious wine…