Saturday 31 May 2014
Missed
A missed blog from last night. Frankly, I blame James Bond. If ITV will insist on showing Casino Royale late at night on a Friday, then what am I supposed to do?!
Highlight of yesterday was the first attempt at burgers (cheese-filled) from the Nicky's new (ish) burger cook book, accompanied by chips cooked in the new deep fat fryer.
So, maybe the new rule is that not only do we get the weekends off from healthy eating, maybe Fridays are exempt as well!
Highlight of yesterday was the first attempt at burgers (cheese-filled) from the Nicky's new (ish) burger cook book, accompanied by chips cooked in the new deep fat fryer.
So, maybe the new rule is that not only do we get the weekends off from healthy eating, maybe Fridays are exempt as well!
Thursday 29 May 2014
Nearly there
Just a brief post tonight, as we close in on the end of a long short week (if you see what I mean).
Looking forward to it being Friday, hopefully getting lots done at work so that I can head into a relaxing family weekend without a work backlog nagging away at me.
So, off to bed now, off to work in the morning, and head down to get as much done as possible!
Looking forward to it being Friday, hopefully getting lots done at work so that I can head into a relaxing family weekend without a work backlog nagging away at me.
So, off to bed now, off to work in the morning, and head down to get as much done as possible!
Wednesday 28 May 2014
Tuesday 27 May 2014
James
The last book that I read before heading off on my travels was the first volume of Clive James' memoirs (as it was one of the books in the Times+ offer that I have collected so far). It was brilliant, and I will be picking up volume two sometime soon.
I remember well his TV programmes, that must have hit their peak in my formative years. I think he was just about the cleverest and funniest person I saw on TV at that time. His shows were pretty much the best think about New Year.
It is sad to hear of his declining health, but there can be no question that his mind is still sharp. He was interviewed on the Today programme this morning - catch it here.
I remember well his TV programmes, that must have hit their peak in my formative years. I think he was just about the cleverest and funniest person I saw on TV at that time. His shows were pretty much the best think about New Year.
It is sad to hear of his declining health, but there can be no question that his mind is still sharp. He was interviewed on the Today programme this morning - catch it here.
Monday 26 May 2014
Home
Well it's fab to be home, and as a little bonus, I had an "I can see my house from here" moment as I came in to land yesterday evening.
Sunday 25 May 2014
Changi again
Here I am again at Changi - this time in the T3 Silver Kris lounge. All very pleasant - just enjoyed some breakfast and now having a hot chocolate from a machine that reminds me of Disney food courts!
Not a whole lot to report from this morning. My alarm went off at 8am, and I reluctantly didn't snooze it, but got up and started putting things in my case. Managed to fit everything in, and am confident that I didn't leave anything behind in the room, although bizarrely the one thing that I didn't recall packing was my hairbrush, and I don't think it got used this morning - still, I had it yesterday and I couldn't find it in my room anywhere, so I'm banking on it being in my case somewhere.
Once I'd checked out from the hotel (note - both hotels I've stayed in on this trip gave me the option to pay my bill in GBP - seems very civilised of them, and I think the rates were good as well, and no charge for an f/ex transaction on the credit card bill) I rolled my case along to the MRT station and got the train to the airport. Perfectly straightforward journey, maybe a few minutes longer than by taxi, but definitely made the 3 day MRT pass that I bought on Friday a bargain.
Check in was quick and easy, no lines anywhere, and now I'm contemplating whether to read my book for a while or to go for a stroll around the shops.
See you back in Blighty.
And finally, for anyone going to Wembley today - come on Rotherham!!
Not a whole lot to report from this morning. My alarm went off at 8am, and I reluctantly didn't snooze it, but got up and started putting things in my case. Managed to fit everything in, and am confident that I didn't leave anything behind in the room, although bizarrely the one thing that I didn't recall packing was my hairbrush, and I don't think it got used this morning - still, I had it yesterday and I couldn't find it in my room anywhere, so I'm banking on it being in my case somewhere.
Once I'd checked out from the hotel (note - both hotels I've stayed in on this trip gave me the option to pay my bill in GBP - seems very civilised of them, and I think the rates were good as well, and no charge for an f/ex transaction on the credit card bill) I rolled my case along to the MRT station and got the train to the airport. Perfectly straightforward journey, maybe a few minutes longer than by taxi, but definitely made the 3 day MRT pass that I bought on Friday a bargain.
Check in was quick and easy, no lines anywhere, and now I'm contemplating whether to read my book for a while or to go for a stroll around the shops.
See you back in Blighty.
And finally, for anyone going to Wembley today - come on Rotherham!!
Saturday 24 May 2014
Dinner
Didn't feel like the full on Fullerton for breakfast this morning, and so enjoyed a bit of extra time in bed before finally getting up and getting out there.
Wasn't in a mall kind of mood, and so wandered off down Boat Quay and Clarke Quay (note - no sign of any hospital beds in bars - Nicky, you know what I mean!). It was sunny and bright, and properly hot for most of the day today, and so after this much walking I was keen to stop in at the Funan Mall for a bit of air conditioning (as well as a very late breakfast or early lunch depending on your point of view).
By this point in the day, I'd still not had my morning coffee, but I was far too hot to contemplate a hot drink, so John, you'll be entertained to hear that I had an iced latte. And, it actually wasn't bad - or maybe the heat had got to me!
Once I'd stocked up with some water from the Seven 11, I climbed the steps into Fort Canning Park. I think that place is amazing, and it deserves a blog all of its own at some point in the future, especially as I can't be adding any photos today, as all pictures were taken with an actual camera rather than with my phone!
(By the way, whilst exploring Fort Canning Park, I noticed Hotel Fort Canning, which I don't remember from before. Sure enough, according to its Wikipedia article, it only opened in 2010. Looks rather nice - might have to add it to the ever-increasing list entitled 'Places for Nicky and Miff to stay in Singapore'.)
The Singapore National Museum is next to the park, and so I went in there once I'd been all around the park (again partly just to experience some aircon!). The place was full of seven year-olds, as they were having some sort of children's activity weekend. However, one of the fringe benefits was that they were doing free entrance to the exhibitions, which I think should normally have a charge.
One of the exhibitions was called Genesis, and was a series of photographs by a chap called Sebastiao Salgado, and it was totally awesome (and I mean that in the totally awesome sense, as opposed to the say it about most things approach favoured by Owen!). There was a book available of the photographs, but it was huge and I didn't fancy putting it in my case. (And sure enough Amazon have a copy at a cheaper price, so I may have to get that at some point.) If you want to get an idea of what I mean, try googling 'Sebastiao Salgado Genesis' and then click on the images tab.
Once I'd done with parks and museums I hopped on the MRT to City Link and had some mall time (including a Starbucks stop) before coming back to the hotel to shower and change before dinner.
Dinner was with a good friend (and potential colleague!) and given that we normally meet in Tunbridge Wells, was a pleasant change to our normal venues. Nothing specific to report - will continue holding my breath!
Wasn't in a mall kind of mood, and so wandered off down Boat Quay and Clarke Quay (note - no sign of any hospital beds in bars - Nicky, you know what I mean!). It was sunny and bright, and properly hot for most of the day today, and so after this much walking I was keen to stop in at the Funan Mall for a bit of air conditioning (as well as a very late breakfast or early lunch depending on your point of view).
By this point in the day, I'd still not had my morning coffee, but I was far too hot to contemplate a hot drink, so John, you'll be entertained to hear that I had an iced latte. And, it actually wasn't bad - or maybe the heat had got to me!
Once I'd stocked up with some water from the Seven 11, I climbed the steps into Fort Canning Park. I think that place is amazing, and it deserves a blog all of its own at some point in the future, especially as I can't be adding any photos today, as all pictures were taken with an actual camera rather than with my phone!
(By the way, whilst exploring Fort Canning Park, I noticed Hotel Fort Canning, which I don't remember from before. Sure enough, according to its Wikipedia article, it only opened in 2010. Looks rather nice - might have to add it to the ever-increasing list entitled 'Places for Nicky and Miff to stay in Singapore'.)
The Singapore National Museum is next to the park, and so I went in there once I'd been all around the park (again partly just to experience some aircon!). The place was full of seven year-olds, as they were having some sort of children's activity weekend. However, one of the fringe benefits was that they were doing free entrance to the exhibitions, which I think should normally have a charge.
One of the exhibitions was called Genesis, and was a series of photographs by a chap called Sebastiao Salgado, and it was totally awesome (and I mean that in the totally awesome sense, as opposed to the say it about most things approach favoured by Owen!). There was a book available of the photographs, but it was huge and I didn't fancy putting it in my case. (And sure enough Amazon have a copy at a cheaper price, so I may have to get that at some point.) If you want to get an idea of what I mean, try googling 'Sebastiao Salgado Genesis' and then click on the images tab.
Once I'd done with parks and museums I hopped on the MRT to City Link and had some mall time (including a Starbucks stop) before coming back to the hotel to shower and change before dinner.
Dinner was with a good friend (and potential colleague!) and given that we normally meet in Tunbridge Wells, was a pleasant change to our normal venues. Nothing specific to report - will continue holding my breath!
Friday 23 May 2014
Touring
Tired feet after a long day of touring around Singapore.
After breakfast, when I stepped out into the heat, the grey skies looked a little worrying, and sure enough it wasn't too long after I'd stepped out of the MRT in Chinatown that the heaven's opened. Thankfully the streets there are fairly narrow, and in some cases the awnings from one side nearly reach across to the other.
After Chinatown I went up to Little India, but found that to be very disappointing, so made my way across to the Kampong Glam district, but that let me down in my search for lacquer boxes. Took a photo of the temple there, but it isn't as good as this one (which now that I've found it turns out not to have the temple in, but was taken very nearby)!
The rain started coming down again, so I took shelter in a Starbucks at the bottom of the Concourse office building. I connected to their wifi, and ended up 'chatting' with Nicky thanks to the wonders of Facebook messaging for nearly an hour.
Then I started to head towards the hotel, stopping off on my way to admire the beauty and simplicity of the Singapore War Memorial.
After a rest at the hotel, it was back out this evening to take a stroll along Orchard Road.
It's difficult to know where to start with all of its shopping centres, and maybe it was a reflection of having been in and out of too many shops today, but I came back empty-handed.
After breakfast, when I stepped out into the heat, the grey skies looked a little worrying, and sure enough it wasn't too long after I'd stepped out of the MRT in Chinatown that the heaven's opened. Thankfully the streets there are fairly narrow, and in some cases the awnings from one side nearly reach across to the other.
After Chinatown I went up to Little India, but found that to be very disappointing, so made my way across to the Kampong Glam district, but that let me down in my search for lacquer boxes. Took a photo of the temple there, but it isn't as good as this one (which now that I've found it turns out not to have the temple in, but was taken very nearby)!
The rain started coming down again, so I took shelter in a Starbucks at the bottom of the Concourse office building. I connected to their wifi, and ended up 'chatting' with Nicky thanks to the wonders of Facebook messaging for nearly an hour.
Then I started to head towards the hotel, stopping off on my way to admire the beauty and simplicity of the Singapore War Memorial.
After a rest at the hotel, it was back out this evening to take a stroll along Orchard Road.
It's difficult to know where to start with all of its shopping centres, and maybe it was a reflection of having been in and out of too many shops today, but I came back empty-handed.
Thursday 22 May 2014
Office
Time for a bit more work today, but at least the day started with a Fullerton breakfast. As it was pretty early, I sat outside, but it was already warming up nicely. Chances are I'll be a little later down to breakfast tomorrow, so I think I'll go for the inside option.
It was about a 15 minute walk to our office. Not particularly well signed due to there being renovation work done, and so I ended up asking in another office building and it turned out I was next door to where I wanted to be.
The day in the office went fine - our colleagues here seem happy with the work that we've done, and for some of the day whilst they were reviewing, I was able to get on with catching up on some UK work.
Here's the view from the 32nd floor meeting room we were using.
Once back at the hotel this evening (via a quick detour for some Merlion pictures - on the actual camera rather than the phone!) I caught up with home, and then headed for a dip in the pool which was most refreshing.
And this evening I've been back to the Marina Bay Sands. I went on the train, and note the picture below - looking at the two sides of the barrier stretching away from me, one is before the turnstiles, and one is after. Not sure this would work too well in London!
I had a good look around the shops, and even picked something up for Nicky in Frey Wille (although she does already know what it is!). The shopping centre has some interesting features including a little canal, a crazy fountain, and the largest Gucci store I have ever seen!
I had a snack in a café called Toast Box. Might have to look out for them on my tours over the next few days for snacking purposes - looking at their website it seems there are plenty around.
Went into the casino, which was an interesting experience - lots of table games that I didn't recognise at all. Also, 2c (i.e. 1p) slots were available, but I didn't bother - life's too short! Went and found some S$2.50 roulette and cashed in S$50. However, the table wasn't much fun - the rest of the players were almost as miserable as the croupier. I realised that I wasn't having fun after 9 or 10 spins (at which point I was breaking even or maybe a little up) so I decided to play a little more aggressively. Two more spins and I was out of the game, but with few regrets really!
Caught the train (change at Bugis) back here, and now it's time for bed.
It was about a 15 minute walk to our office. Not particularly well signed due to there being renovation work done, and so I ended up asking in another office building and it turned out I was next door to where I wanted to be.
The day in the office went fine - our colleagues here seem happy with the work that we've done, and for some of the day whilst they were reviewing, I was able to get on with catching up on some UK work.
Here's the view from the 32nd floor meeting room we were using.
Once back at the hotel this evening (via a quick detour for some Merlion pictures - on the actual camera rather than the phone!) I caught up with home, and then headed for a dip in the pool which was most refreshing.
And this evening I've been back to the Marina Bay Sands. I went on the train, and note the picture below - looking at the two sides of the barrier stretching away from me, one is before the turnstiles, and one is after. Not sure this would work too well in London!
I had a good look around the shops, and even picked something up for Nicky in Frey Wille (although she does already know what it is!). The shopping centre has some interesting features including a little canal, a crazy fountain, and the largest Gucci store I have ever seen!
I had a snack in a café called Toast Box. Might have to look out for them on my tours over the next few days for snacking purposes - looking at their website it seems there are plenty around.
Went into the casino, which was an interesting experience - lots of table games that I didn't recognise at all. Also, 2c (i.e. 1p) slots were available, but I didn't bother - life's too short! Went and found some S$2.50 roulette and cashed in S$50. However, the table wasn't much fun - the rest of the players were almost as miserable as the croupier. I realised that I wasn't having fun after 9 or 10 spins (at which point I was breaking even or maybe a little up) so I decided to play a little more aggressively. Two more spins and I was out of the game, but with few regrets really!
Caught the train (change at Bugis) back here, and now it's time for bed.
Wednesday 21 May 2014
Singapore
Singapore is a great place. I forgotten how much I like it.
My flight from KL was uneventful - we were off pretty much on time, and again I was on the front row of the plane. The stewardesses just about had time to give us a sandwich and a drink before we started coming down to land. By then it was dark, but the lights from all of the tankers and cargo ships just outside the port were clear to see, followed by lots of neat-looking apartment buildings, before crossing a train depot with lots of sidings (looked exactly like a model railway from above - even down to what appeared to be sprinkled on and stuck down grass in between the sidings!) before landing at the modern marvel that is Changi airport.
And this time it wasn't raining!
I keep reading about Changi from its former life. It gets several mentions in The Railway Man, Eric Lomax's powerful book, and then more recently in the first volume of Clive James's memoirs. He explained the sad story of his father being there, and his mother not knowing whether he was alive or dead, discovering that he had survived the war, only to be killed on his way home when the plane he was on crashed.
It is amazing to think that in just two generations, the place has changed beyond any recognition.
Being on the front row of the plane meant that I was off first, and therefore ahead of the game when I got to the immigration hall. Not that it mattered, as I had my choice of desks. No wait at all for my case, and then into the only line which was for the taxis, although I can't have waited more than five minutes.
The only disappointing thing was my taxi driver who was a bit of a nutcase. Someone carved him up a little towards the start of our journey, and from that point onwards he decided to drive like a loony.
Obviously I was far too British and reserved to actually say anything, but I took pleasure in giving him no tip at all, and because he didn't have the right change, he had to give me S$1 too much back.
Hah! That'll teach him!
The Fullerton seems to be much the same as ever - i.e. wonderful.
First thing was to get set up on the wireless and give Nicky a call, and then I headed out for a stroll and to get some food.
As you will see from the following pictures, things have changed a little since I was last here five years ago. That time, Marina Bay was a building site, and now it is the famous three-towered hotel complete with sky-park, shopping and a casino.
Wandering through the shopping centre and it was spectacularly upmarket. Try out this link to get a sense of what I mean. The alarming thing is that I was talking to Nicky earlier on about gifts to bring home!!!
I also wandered into the casino, and boldly made for the entrance to see what would happen. Sure enough one of the security guys came over to speak to me, and pleasingly, the only thing that they were bothered about was the fact that I didn't have my passport with me. The fact that I was wearing shorts and t-shirt didn't seem to concern them. Might have to remember to pop my passport in my pocket when I am out and about later in the week!
Took the lovely MRT back to the hotel (the only underground system in the world that Nicky is happy to go on!), and walking back through the lobby was looking at some old pictures of Singapore and the Fullerton (back in its post office days). The interesting thing that I hadn't appreciated was that the Fullerton used to be at the mouth of the river, i.e. everything to the East, including Marina Bay is built on reclaimed land.
Right, off to bed now. Early start for a trip to our Singapore office tomorrow.
My flight from KL was uneventful - we were off pretty much on time, and again I was on the front row of the plane. The stewardesses just about had time to give us a sandwich and a drink before we started coming down to land. By then it was dark, but the lights from all of the tankers and cargo ships just outside the port were clear to see, followed by lots of neat-looking apartment buildings, before crossing a train depot with lots of sidings (looked exactly like a model railway from above - even down to what appeared to be sprinkled on and stuck down grass in between the sidings!) before landing at the modern marvel that is Changi airport.
And this time it wasn't raining!
I keep reading about Changi from its former life. It gets several mentions in The Railway Man, Eric Lomax's powerful book, and then more recently in the first volume of Clive James's memoirs. He explained the sad story of his father being there, and his mother not knowing whether he was alive or dead, discovering that he had survived the war, only to be killed on his way home when the plane he was on crashed.
It is amazing to think that in just two generations, the place has changed beyond any recognition.
Being on the front row of the plane meant that I was off first, and therefore ahead of the game when I got to the immigration hall. Not that it mattered, as I had my choice of desks. No wait at all for my case, and then into the only line which was for the taxis, although I can't have waited more than five minutes.
The only disappointing thing was my taxi driver who was a bit of a nutcase. Someone carved him up a little towards the start of our journey, and from that point onwards he decided to drive like a loony.
Obviously I was far too British and reserved to actually say anything, but I took pleasure in giving him no tip at all, and because he didn't have the right change, he had to give me S$1 too much back.
Hah! That'll teach him!
The Fullerton seems to be much the same as ever - i.e. wonderful.
First thing was to get set up on the wireless and give Nicky a call, and then I headed out for a stroll and to get some food.
As you will see from the following pictures, things have changed a little since I was last here five years ago. That time, Marina Bay was a building site, and now it is the famous three-towered hotel complete with sky-park, shopping and a casino.
Wandering through the shopping centre and it was spectacularly upmarket. Try out this link to get a sense of what I mean. The alarming thing is that I was talking to Nicky earlier on about gifts to bring home!!!
I also wandered into the casino, and boldly made for the entrance to see what would happen. Sure enough one of the security guys came over to speak to me, and pleasingly, the only thing that they were bothered about was the fact that I didn't have my passport with me. The fact that I was wearing shorts and t-shirt didn't seem to concern them. Might have to remember to pop my passport in my pocket when I am out and about later in the week!
Took the lovely MRT back to the hotel (the only underground system in the world that Nicky is happy to go on!), and walking back through the lobby was looking at some old pictures of Singapore and the Fullerton (back in its post office days). The interesting thing that I hadn't appreciated was that the Fullerton used to be at the mouth of the river, i.e. everything to the East, including Marina Bay is built on reclaimed land.
Right, off to bed now. Early start for a trip to our Singapore office tomorrow.
Airport
Another post from an airport lounge, this time KLIA. Last time I was leaving this airport, I was heading back to Singapore to meet up with Nicky. Sadly she won't be there this time, although I have just enjoyed a long chat with her thanks to the wonders of wireless internet, lounge wifi, and Microsoft Lync.
That last time, my flight got delayed by a few hours, and I ended up stuck in that lounge for longer than I wanted. However, I do remember that it was possibly the nicest airport lounge I have ever been in - I remember enjoying a silver service dinner, some very comfy sofas, and being extremely tempted to go for a haircut! Admittedly that was the first class part of the lounge, thanks to the upgrade privileges of the people I was travelling with. Sadly, that must have been at the other terminal at KLIA, as the lounge here is frankly disappointing. Just one room with a few rows of chairs plus a side with drinks and snacks (and yes, I know, how tragic am I - complaining about the hardships of business class travel!).
The journey to the airport went smoothly. I'd booked a taxi, and it picked me up at the hotel at 2.30, and took about 50 mins to get here. I continue to be amazed at the amount of building work and development that is going on. I remember reading that KL is a city of about 6 million people, and it seems like a large proportion of them live in high rise apartment blocks - there are hundreds of them, with many more being built. It isn't uncommon to see buildings with 20+ floors of living space, and they tend to be built on top of parking garages of 5 or more storeys, making each building extremely tall.
Driving out of the city, the oil palm plants start to appear, although there were several instances where the plantations didn't appear to be particularly well looked after, and some cases where they appeared to have stopped cultivating altogether - I expect that these were ones which had been sold for redevelopment for other uses. As we approached the airport, there was one area that was obviously previous plantation land (given what was all around it) but which had been cleared and had hoardings up advertising an outlet mall coming in 2015. It may be a false impression from my brief stay, but I get the feeling that shopping may be a national (or at least a city) pastime. Where I was staying (which was in the Petaling Jaya district) there was a large mall connected to my hotel - the 1Utama mall - which had 100s of stores, and where we met our colleagues on Monday evening - the Pavilion mall - seemed even newer, larger and shinier. And now that I take a look at the front page of its website, I was probably right - it claims 1.37 million sq ft of retail space and over 500 stores. (By the way, for comparison, Bluewater has about 300 stores, but is a little bit bigger by square footage. However, KL likes to boast that it has 60 or more shopping malls!)
The other noticeable thing about my taxi journey to the airport was the radio station, which was playing my kind of music. Now that I have looked it up online (thanks to googling 'Kuala Lumpur 105.7'!) I discover that it is called "Lite FM" - probably tells you all you need to know about my tastes in pop music! Mind you, I am willing to defend it, as it kicked off with one of my very favourites by Stephen Bishop. Maybe I'll add it to my favourite stations on TuneIn, and listen to it on Sonos at home!
Having arrived at the airport, I was clearly one of the first for the evening flight to Singapore, as they were just opening the check-in desk, so I was front of the queue. Gatwick and Heathrow could learn a lot from this airport, as I walked straight through the boarding card, passport and security checks within a single pause or wait in line.
Earlier on today I enjoyed a bit of a lie in, which was a very welcome luxury, before heading down to breakfast at about 9.15. I took more advantage of the buffet spread than over the last couple of days, including getting them to make me an omelette. Then I packed up and checked out (I was quite pleased with my packing skills - normally that's Nicky's domain, but I seemed to manage ok! Mind you, maybe I should keep that quiet - my carefully cultivated air of incompetence has enabled me to stay in charge of books and chargers only when packing for recent family holidays!) before setting up camp in the hotel lounge with a coffee, a laptop, and a full up inbox to sort out. I didn't do too badly, and got the number of messages down to single figures.
A quick stroll into Utama to grab some lunch, and back to hotel for taxi.
I'll leave you with a few pictures. They are, in chronological order:
1. Where I spent the work day yesterday.
2. The view from the terrace outside our restaurant where we went for dinner yesterday.
3. A grainy and poorly focused zoom in on the Petronas Towers.
4. My hotel room.
5. The chocolate twist I had with my lunch - 60p well spent!
By the way, thanks for the comments on previous posts, and Mum and Dad - great to hear that you are heading up to Kent to see N & J, and Dad - enjoyed your comments about the maths problem - you do like to complicate things! Yes it's a quadratic equation, but bearing in mind it was set for a year 9 group, chances that the solutions would be complex are pretty slim!
Right, next stop Singapore!
That last time, my flight got delayed by a few hours, and I ended up stuck in that lounge for longer than I wanted. However, I do remember that it was possibly the nicest airport lounge I have ever been in - I remember enjoying a silver service dinner, some very comfy sofas, and being extremely tempted to go for a haircut! Admittedly that was the first class part of the lounge, thanks to the upgrade privileges of the people I was travelling with. Sadly, that must have been at the other terminal at KLIA, as the lounge here is frankly disappointing. Just one room with a few rows of chairs plus a side with drinks and snacks (and yes, I know, how tragic am I - complaining about the hardships of business class travel!).
The journey to the airport went smoothly. I'd booked a taxi, and it picked me up at the hotel at 2.30, and took about 50 mins to get here. I continue to be amazed at the amount of building work and development that is going on. I remember reading that KL is a city of about 6 million people, and it seems like a large proportion of them live in high rise apartment blocks - there are hundreds of them, with many more being built. It isn't uncommon to see buildings with 20+ floors of living space, and they tend to be built on top of parking garages of 5 or more storeys, making each building extremely tall.
Driving out of the city, the oil palm plants start to appear, although there were several instances where the plantations didn't appear to be particularly well looked after, and some cases where they appeared to have stopped cultivating altogether - I expect that these were ones which had been sold for redevelopment for other uses. As we approached the airport, there was one area that was obviously previous plantation land (given what was all around it) but which had been cleared and had hoardings up advertising an outlet mall coming in 2015. It may be a false impression from my brief stay, but I get the feeling that shopping may be a national (or at least a city) pastime. Where I was staying (which was in the Petaling Jaya district) there was a large mall connected to my hotel - the 1Utama mall - which had 100s of stores, and where we met our colleagues on Monday evening - the Pavilion mall - seemed even newer, larger and shinier. And now that I take a look at the front page of its website, I was probably right - it claims 1.37 million sq ft of retail space and over 500 stores. (By the way, for comparison, Bluewater has about 300 stores, but is a little bit bigger by square footage. However, KL likes to boast that it has 60 or more shopping malls!)
The other noticeable thing about my taxi journey to the airport was the radio station, which was playing my kind of music. Now that I have looked it up online (thanks to googling 'Kuala Lumpur 105.7'!) I discover that it is called "Lite FM" - probably tells you all you need to know about my tastes in pop music! Mind you, I am willing to defend it, as it kicked off with one of my very favourites by Stephen Bishop. Maybe I'll add it to my favourite stations on TuneIn, and listen to it on Sonos at home!
Having arrived at the airport, I was clearly one of the first for the evening flight to Singapore, as they were just opening the check-in desk, so I was front of the queue. Gatwick and Heathrow could learn a lot from this airport, as I walked straight through the boarding card, passport and security checks within a single pause or wait in line.
Earlier on today I enjoyed a bit of a lie in, which was a very welcome luxury, before heading down to breakfast at about 9.15. I took more advantage of the buffet spread than over the last couple of days, including getting them to make me an omelette. Then I packed up and checked out (I was quite pleased with my packing skills - normally that's Nicky's domain, but I seemed to manage ok! Mind you, maybe I should keep that quiet - my carefully cultivated air of incompetence has enabled me to stay in charge of books and chargers only when packing for recent family holidays!) before setting up camp in the hotel lounge with a coffee, a laptop, and a full up inbox to sort out. I didn't do too badly, and got the number of messages down to single figures.
A quick stroll into Utama to grab some lunch, and back to hotel for taxi.
I'll leave you with a few pictures. They are, in chronological order:
1. Where I spent the work day yesterday.
2. The view from the terrace outside our restaurant where we went for dinner yesterday.
3. A grainy and poorly focused zoom in on the Petronas Towers.
4. My hotel room.
5. The chocolate twist I had with my lunch - 60p well spent!
By the way, thanks for the comments on previous posts, and Mum and Dad - great to hear that you are heading up to Kent to see N & J, and Dad - enjoyed your comments about the maths problem - you do like to complicate things! Yes it's a quadratic equation, but bearing in mind it was set for a year 9 group, chances that the solutions would be complex are pretty slim!
Right, next stop Singapore!
Monday 19 May 2014
Late
Today's post is going to be rather brief, as it is actually already tomorrow, and by quite some margin, where I am.
So, I'll let a few pictures do the talking and head off to bed.
So, I'll let a few pictures do the talking and head off to bed.
Sunday 18 May 2014
Changi
Arrived safely at Changi, and am now tucked away in the Singapore Airlines lounge at T2 (having taken the shuttle train from T3 where we landed). I have a couple of hours to kill between flights - inbuilt cautiousness after the Washington debacle - but can happily kill time in here - non stop free food and drink, a computer to sit at and type blogs to my heart's content, and wireless internet meaning that I've already downloaded all of the Sunday Times onto my ipad, and so can study the 2014 Rich List!
We were a few minutes late in leaving Heathrow, caused by waiting for the refueling to finish, but once we were up and away, the flight itself was fine. Unlike my normal routine, I didn't spend the whole time reading (although I did get through about half of Malcolm Gladwell's book) but decided to watch a few movies. So, I enjoyed The Wolf of Wall Street and American Hustle before turning my seat into a bed and getting a bit of shut eye.
(By the way, just checked on Wikipedia, and not surprised to see that both films got a load of Oscar nominations, but am surprised to see that neither of them actually won any. Both DiCaprio and Bale were superb, as was Amy Adams. Maybe I should watch Dallas Buyers Club on the way home, as that was the one that pinched the statuettes.)
Food was up to its usual standards (and don't you love the way I say that as if I was a regular traveller with Singapore Airlines - I wish, I wish, maybe someday in the future my job will call for it (!!!) - I think it must be at least five years since I came this way). The lovely chicken satays served before dinner, a prawn salad starter, pork in a chinese sauce with rice for main, finished off with tiramisu. And that was me being restrained - I declined the offers of wine with the meal, as well as the port and cheese afterwards!
I don't think I slept very much. Most of the time I spent dozing whilst listening to the ipod. I got through all of the Kings Singers Colouring Book, and Mark Schulz's live album, as well as a few other bits and pieces.
Unfortunately, the first track on Mark Schulz's album is a beautiful song called "When You Come Home" which includes the following lyrics:
When you come home
No matter how far
Run through the door
And into my arms
It's where you are loved
It's where you belong
And I will be here
When you come home.
Not the easiest of songs to listen to when you are speeding away from home at hundreds of miles an hour!
Once I was done with snoozing, I put the TV back on and watched another film - this time a rather more flippant one - the second of the Ron Burgandy films. Let's just say it passed the time, and leave it at that!
I went for the continental option from the breakfast selection (fruit plate, juice, croissant, cereal, coffee) and after a few more pages of my book, we were landing back on terra firma.
So far feeling fine jet-lag-wise, but will have to see how I am doing when I get to my hotel in KL later on. I may add some more to this post later on.
I'll leave you now with a few photos of the lounge, and maybe a link to a video on Youtube as well.
(By the way, don't forgot yesterday's request for comments - applies for the entire time I'm away - please.)
We were a few minutes late in leaving Heathrow, caused by waiting for the refueling to finish, but once we were up and away, the flight itself was fine. Unlike my normal routine, I didn't spend the whole time reading (although I did get through about half of Malcolm Gladwell's book) but decided to watch a few movies. So, I enjoyed The Wolf of Wall Street and American Hustle before turning my seat into a bed and getting a bit of shut eye.
(By the way, just checked on Wikipedia, and not surprised to see that both films got a load of Oscar nominations, but am surprised to see that neither of them actually won any. Both DiCaprio and Bale were superb, as was Amy Adams. Maybe I should watch Dallas Buyers Club on the way home, as that was the one that pinched the statuettes.)
Food was up to its usual standards (and don't you love the way I say that as if I was a regular traveller with Singapore Airlines - I wish, I wish, maybe someday in the future my job will call for it (!!!) - I think it must be at least five years since I came this way). The lovely chicken satays served before dinner, a prawn salad starter, pork in a chinese sauce with rice for main, finished off with tiramisu. And that was me being restrained - I declined the offers of wine with the meal, as well as the port and cheese afterwards!
I don't think I slept very much. Most of the time I spent dozing whilst listening to the ipod. I got through all of the Kings Singers Colouring Book, and Mark Schulz's live album, as well as a few other bits and pieces.
Unfortunately, the first track on Mark Schulz's album is a beautiful song called "When You Come Home" which includes the following lyrics:
When you come home
No matter how far
Run through the door
And into my arms
It's where you are loved
It's where you belong
And I will be here
When you come home.
Not the easiest of songs to listen to when you are speeding away from home at hundreds of miles an hour!
Once I was done with snoozing, I put the TV back on and watched another film - this time a rather more flippant one - the second of the Ron Burgandy films. Let's just say it passed the time, and leave it at that!
I went for the continental option from the breakfast selection (fruit plate, juice, croissant, cereal, coffee) and after a few more pages of my book, we were landing back on terra firma.
So far feeling fine jet-lag-wise, but will have to see how I am doing when I get to my hotel in KL later on. I may add some more to this post later on.
I'll leave you now with a few photos of the lounge, and maybe a link to a video on Youtube as well.
(By the way, don't forgot yesterday's request for comments - applies for the entire time I'm away - please.)
Saturday 17 May 2014
Lounge
Arrived safely at the Singapore Airlines lounge at T3, and have an hour and a bit before they call my flight for boarding. Am just tucking in to their food and drink selection (and am now making my iPad screen greasy as I type with fingers that have just put away some cheese and biscuits). By the way, whilst on the topic of food, the scales said 12 st 8 lb this morning. Feel free to run a sweepstake on what they might say when I get back after a week of staying in hotels and being ferried around. Nicky has a bit of an advantage on this game as she has seen the Fullerton breakfasts (although I'm not sure if I am allowed to go to the afternoon chocolate buffet!).
Getting packed up with final things went fine this morning - not thought of anything that I've forgotten yet. Done my airport chore of getting some currency - no doubt got fleeced on the rates, but not much choice really as I'd failed to get any during the week. Also bought a new luggage tag for the case as realised on the way to the airport that I'd not got one.
As always, hardest part is saying goodbye. Missing everyone already.
Right, I think I might raid some more food and drink, choose which book to start reading, and make sure to phone home before I get on the plane.
Hopefully, next blog will be from Changi after a nice long sleep on the flight.
By the way, if you're reading this, do me a favour and leave a comment - will be a nice way to keep in touch whilst I'm a long way from home.
Getting packed up with final things went fine this morning - not thought of anything that I've forgotten yet. Done my airport chore of getting some currency - no doubt got fleeced on the rates, but not much choice really as I'd failed to get any during the week. Also bought a new luggage tag for the case as realised on the way to the airport that I'd not got one.
As always, hardest part is saying goodbye. Missing everyone already.
Right, I think I might raid some more food and drink, choose which book to start reading, and make sure to phone home before I get on the plane.
Hopefully, next blog will be from Changi after a nice long sleep on the flight.
By the way, if you're reading this, do me a favour and leave a comment - will be a nice way to keep in touch whilst I'm a long way from home.
Friday 16 May 2014
Thursday 15 May 2014
To do
Maidstone seminar this morning, followed by farm and construction tour this afternoon. All fine and dandy, but doesn't really get much ticked off the to do list prior to heading East on Saturday.
Wednesday 14 May 2014
Flights
Holiday flights paid for today, and now less than ten weeks until we go.
Next up will be getting the Disney tickets sorted so we can start booking Fastpasses as per the new system with its 60 day booking window.
(Note - for 'paid', read 'added to the 0% credit card that doesn't actually need to be paid until Autumn 2015!')
Next up will be getting the Disney tickets sorted so we can start booking Fastpasses as per the new system with its 60 day booking window.
(Note - for 'paid', read 'added to the 0% credit card that doesn't actually need to be paid until Autumn 2015!')
Tuesday 13 May 2014
EP
This evening, Jake shared with me one of the questions he had in his EP maths paper today.
It was:
There are two sets of four consecutive numbers such that the sum of the four numbers is equal to the first multiplied by the last. What are those two sets?
He got it right.
It was:
There are two sets of four consecutive numbers such that the sum of the four numbers is equal to the first multiplied by the last. What are those two sets?
He got it right.
Monday 12 May 2014
Baker Street
A lunch meeting to attend in Reading today, and so I spent a fair amount of the day on trains. The transfer from St Pancras across to Paddington is reasonably straightforward on the tube, and I smiled to myself as I went through Baker Street whilst reading The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
Sadly, the smile didn't last too long, as I realised that I was on a Metropolitan Line train, and what's more, it's quite a long way from Baker Street to Finchley Road, where I dashed across to the other platform, and headed back on a southbound train to Baker Street where I could pick up a Circle Line train that was actually going to make it all the way to Paddington.
Ended up on a slightly later train out of Paddington than the one I had originally intended, but still made it in time for the lunch meeting - just!
Sadly, the smile didn't last too long, as I realised that I was on a Metropolitan Line train, and what's more, it's quite a long way from Baker Street to Finchley Road, where I dashed across to the other platform, and headed back on a southbound train to Baker Street where I could pick up a Circle Line train that was actually going to make it all the way to Paddington.
Ended up on a slightly later train out of Paddington than the one I had originally intended, but still made it in time for the lunch meeting - just!
Sunday 11 May 2014
Return
And he returned in good spirits, which was a relief all round. I'm sure we'll gradually get to hear more about it in the coming days, but stories of getting lost, ripping trousers on barbed wire fences, being hungry, and getting chased by sheep are being told with a smile.
Phew!
Phew!
D of E
So, forgot to blog last night - obviously sent into a mind-numbing slumber by the bonkers-ness that is the Eurovision Song Contest. Went to bed when the scoring started and dropped off pretty quickly when it was clear that we weren't going to win for having a decent song, and that everybody loves a freak show.
Yesterday was mostly filled with distractions, or at least attempted distractions, after Nicky dropped Jake off for his practice D of E expedition. Attempts to think about other things weren't helped by the weather, as each time the heavens opened, we couldn't help but wonder about what they were up to and whether they were getting soaked.
No doubt we will hear all about it when he returns shortly. We just hope that he enjoyed it and that he is keen and looking forward to the real thing next month.
Yesterday was mostly filled with distractions, or at least attempted distractions, after Nicky dropped Jake off for his practice D of E expedition. Attempts to think about other things weren't helped by the weather, as each time the heavens opened, we couldn't help but wonder about what they were up to and whether they were getting soaked.
No doubt we will hear all about it when he returns shortly. We just hope that he enjoyed it and that he is keen and looking forward to the real thing next month.
Friday 9 May 2014
Times
Back at the end of January, I signed up for the half price offer for subscription to the Times newspaper. Well, the three months of special offer pricing has expired now, but I think that I will keep up the subscription for the time being.
Today's paper had lots of things that caught my eye:
Today's paper had lots of things that caught my eye:
- good news that the economy seems to have clambered back to where it was before it fell of a cliff in 2007/8;
- Angelina Jolie (and Brad Pitt) on the cover, as she's in London to promote the new Disney film Maleficent, which is out at the end of this month, and which may well be worth a trip to the cinema to watch;
- a rather amazing double page spread Etihad advert for their "Residence" cabin which is available for the A380 - a three room private cabin which looks truly amazing (check it out here);
- a great little article tucked away on p34 under the headline "Digital leaders back future of books on paper" which is essentially saying that previous reports of the demise of books on the printed page might turn out to be rather premature;
- Celebrity Watch, which is always fun!;
- Friday's Bricks and Mortar supplement, with details of the semi-detached house on the market for £5.5m (available to admire on the Hamptons website here). Hopefully very much the exception rather than the rule (bubble, anyone?!);
- an advert for the Sunday Times rich list which will be out a week on Sunday (a rather voyeuristic pleasure I know). I'll have to ask Nicky to get that week's Sunday paper for me, as I'll be rather a long way from home then;
- news in the business section that Apple might be able to buy Beats Headphones - a story Jake might be interested to hear about; and
- the obituary of Colin Pillinger, a proper mad professor, and sporter of the best sideburns since Isaac Asimov.
When we were camped out in Brighton at the start of the year, rather busy with work, as a brief diversion over lunch, we would turn to the register of birthdays, and one person would read out some of the familiar names, and the rest would try to guess their ages. Well, there are some good names on today's list:
- Alan Bennett (80) - one of our very best writers;
- James L Brooks (74) - described in the paper for being the director of Terms of Endearment, but Simpsons fans will recognise his name for a different reason;
- Vince Cable (71) - possibly the only good reason for the Conservatives being in coalition with the Lib Dems;
- Billy Joel (65) - singer of occasional concerts in London (although sometimes Elton John has to fill in for him!);
- Geraldine McEwan (82) - famous actress, but for me will always be the scary Mortianna in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Had some great scenes with Alan Rickman hamming it up as the Sheriff of Nottingham.
And one other thing, if there was any doubt as to whether The Times was the newspaper for me - 10 across in the T2 crossword today:
Accounts checker (7) - AUDITOR
To wrap up today's post, a rather lovely photograph.
Thursday 8 May 2014
Airport
A post composed at the airport in Kos whilst waiting for our flight home.
It was a full-sized coach that came to pick
us up at the hotel this morning, rather than the minibus that took us from the
airport on Thursday, and we had a few more pick-up points before rejoining the
main road to the airport, meaning that we saw a little more of the northern
coast of Kos on our way back. It was a mixed bag – a few more very nice-looking
hotels and resorts (although I would have to say none as nice as our boutique
hotel – already I am biased) and some of the more typical Mediterranean hotels.
The rule that says that where a few decent-sized value hotels are gathered
together, there you will find a ‘super-market’, a shop selling beach towels and
cheap souvenirs, and a bar/restaurant, very possibly advertising the
availability of Sky Sports, seems to hold good here as it does for so many
destinations favoured by British holidaymakers.
Riding along in the coach, and enjoying the
scenery, I was surprised by how far we climbed up as we came away from the
coast. The mountains, often with a topping of cloud, have been part of the
background for the last few days, and I had forgotten that we had descended
from part way up in the dark on Thursday night. Many of the buildings are
topped with solar panels –sensible, I suppose, in a climate like this, and as Nicky
had noticed when we were strolling into Kos town, the solar panel apparatus
includes a large metallic cylinder. I’ve no idea how that forms part of the
necessary power generation, maybe I should look it up sometime. Also from the
bus we noticed lots more of the model churches by the roadside, often in the
front gardens of houses. Maybe a way of sharing your devotion with the wider
world, a symbol of bringing your faith back home – perhaps another question for
Wikipedia at some point.
The impression was that the range and
variety of buildings along the roadside was pretty wide, but then again, maybe
that’s just a factor of unfamiliarity with a new country and a destination we
haven’t visited before. There always seems to be far more unfinished construction
projects than I am used to in places like this – lots of concrete shells that
are yet to be filled in. There was one just along the road from our hotel, and
I wonder whether we will see much progress with it next time that we visit (he
said hopefully!). The concrete shells often have the steel reinforcing rods
poking out of the ends (I can claim some degree of familiarity with this
construction technique – after all, one of my clients supplies the steel rods
to the construction industry, and another one of them uses them in building the
concrete frames), but the strange thing that I noticed was that there were
quite a few finished buildings which still had the rods sticking up out of
their roofs. Some were straight, and some had been bent over at the top so that
they resembled walking canes. Surely this can’t be a sensible thing to do –
won’t the rain run down the steel rods and into the concrete causing it to
weaken?
Once we got to the airport, check-in and
security were pretty straightforward (including the compulsory numpties arguing
with the check-in staff about their baggage allowance and trying to re-pack
cases at the desk) and it looks like we are the only flight going out in the
next few hours.
Wednesday 7 May 2014
Pancras pentominoes
Following on from yesterday's post with London pictures, when I arrived at St Pancras yesterday, I noticed a new display structure hanging from the roof (where previously both Olympic rings and clouds have been spotted).
Some tessellated pantomimes - anyone would think that they've been reading my blog.
As I mentioned in my previous post, depending on your point of view about rotation, there are either 12 or 18 distinct pentominoes, and similarly depending on the classification, the St Pancras tessellation uses either one or two different tiles in the shape.
This gets me to thinking, I wonder how many of the pentominoes successfully tile the plane, and it seems to me that to do this properly, rotation shouldn't be allowed, so the St Pancras arrangement doesn't count, and the question should be considered as a score out of 18.
The answer may well be in Marcus du Sautoy's Finding Moonshine, but I'm not going to look there, I'm going to have a little think about it (and may have to ask Nicky if I can have some of her squared paper to try things out)!
The answer is definitely at least one (tiling with a 5x1 tile seems pretty easy!) but less than 18 (can't picture a way in which the 'U'-shaped pentomino will tile). I'll get back to you on a more exact answer sometime.
Some tessellated pantomimes - anyone would think that they've been reading my blog.
As I mentioned in my previous post, depending on your point of view about rotation, there are either 12 or 18 distinct pentominoes, and similarly depending on the classification, the St Pancras tessellation uses either one or two different tiles in the shape.
This gets me to thinking, I wonder how many of the pentominoes successfully tile the plane, and it seems to me that to do this properly, rotation shouldn't be allowed, so the St Pancras arrangement doesn't count, and the question should be considered as a score out of 18.
The answer may well be in Marcus du Sautoy's Finding Moonshine, but I'm not going to look there, I'm going to have a little think about it (and may have to ask Nicky if I can have some of her squared paper to try things out)!
The answer is definitely at least one (tiling with a 5x1 tile seems pretty easy!) but less than 18 (can't picture a way in which the 'U'-shaped pentomino will tile). I'll get back to you on a more exact answer sometime.
Tuesday 6 May 2014
Literary locations
The very best thing about going on holiday is spending time with the ones you love, and the very best thing about going on holiday as a couple is getting to spend some quality time with that very special person.
Thereafter, everything else is a bonus - the chance to relax and unwind for a few days, the pampering of a luxury hotel, the overindulgence of those buffet breakfasts (although there is payback for that when you stand on the scales after coming home) and the chance to see things in better focus from a distance and take a moment to reflect (maybe more on that in another post someday).
On top of all of that great stuff, is a chance to catch up on some reading, mostly on the plane and by the pool.
The first book that I finished (having started it a few days before we went) was Popco by Scarlett Thomas. It makes me want to learn a bit more about the Voynich Manuscript, as well as re-read Simon Singh's Code Book (although as I look around me in the study now, I can't find it anywhere - I can see the Maths of the Simpsons book that Mum bought for me in Paris last year, but not the Code Book - I wonder if this means that I read a borrowed copy before?).
The second book that I read was Saturday by Ian McEwan, which takes place on a single day in 2003, and which I pretty much read on a single day on holiday (although I read it on a Sunday), and then on the flight home I finished Julian Barnes' Levels of Life, which I had made a brief start on before leaving home, but I didn't get into the main section of the book until at 38,000ft. A short, but especially moving book, I did need to look out of the window of the plane for a while after I had finished it, and wipe away a few tears.
I turned the tears into laughter by making a start on Notes From a Small Island (another one of the Sunday Times / Waterstones £2.99 books - loving that Times+ offer). Bryson starts by reminiscing about his first arrival in the UK in 1973, and the book follows his farewell tour 20 years later and reflects on how the country has changed during that time. Given that we are now another 21 years further on, it is interesting to be reminded about our country in 1993, and how things have moved on again.
At an early stage in the book, Bryson talks about his time at the Times, and remembers the bitter disputes with the unions in the 1980s when Fleet Street stopped being Fleet Street, and moved to Wapping. One thing that I didn't know was that actually The Times wasn't on Fleet Street anyway, as their offices were on Gray's Inn Road.
I was back to work today (always a joy after holidays) and had a meeting to attend in London this afternoon. So my time in Crawley was fairly brief this morning before heading round back round the M25, leaving the car at Ebbsfleet, and getting on the train. As I managed to dash straight from the car to the ticket machine to the platform and onto a train, I was in London a little earlier than expected and so decided to walk from St Pancras to the office. And, the easiest route is to walk all the way down Gray's Inn Road.
A little bit of hurried iPhone research on the way, and I thought that I could tell which was the old Times building, and sure enough, here it is.
Emboldened by my success in finding literary locations, once my meeting had finished, I decided to see if I could find some more. So, I walked along Holborn, up Southampton Row, diagonally across Russell Square, through various parts of the University of London, up Tottenham Court Road, stopped to take a couple of pictures of where Maple Street crosses it and turns into University Street on the other side, and then on to Fitzroy Square, where I took a picture of some of the houses around the square, and one looking south to the BT tower.
The reason for the walk and the photos - well the best way to find out would be to read some Ian McEwan.
Thereafter, everything else is a bonus - the chance to relax and unwind for a few days, the pampering of a luxury hotel, the overindulgence of those buffet breakfasts (although there is payback for that when you stand on the scales after coming home) and the chance to see things in better focus from a distance and take a moment to reflect (maybe more on that in another post someday).
On top of all of that great stuff, is a chance to catch up on some reading, mostly on the plane and by the pool.
The first book that I finished (having started it a few days before we went) was Popco by Scarlett Thomas. It makes me want to learn a bit more about the Voynich Manuscript, as well as re-read Simon Singh's Code Book (although as I look around me in the study now, I can't find it anywhere - I can see the Maths of the Simpsons book that Mum bought for me in Paris last year, but not the Code Book - I wonder if this means that I read a borrowed copy before?).
The second book that I read was Saturday by Ian McEwan, which takes place on a single day in 2003, and which I pretty much read on a single day on holiday (although I read it on a Sunday), and then on the flight home I finished Julian Barnes' Levels of Life, which I had made a brief start on before leaving home, but I didn't get into the main section of the book until at 38,000ft. A short, but especially moving book, I did need to look out of the window of the plane for a while after I had finished it, and wipe away a few tears.
I turned the tears into laughter by making a start on Notes From a Small Island (another one of the Sunday Times / Waterstones £2.99 books - loving that Times+ offer). Bryson starts by reminiscing about his first arrival in the UK in 1973, and the book follows his farewell tour 20 years later and reflects on how the country has changed during that time. Given that we are now another 21 years further on, it is interesting to be reminded about our country in 1993, and how things have moved on again.
At an early stage in the book, Bryson talks about his time at the Times, and remembers the bitter disputes with the unions in the 1980s when Fleet Street stopped being Fleet Street, and moved to Wapping. One thing that I didn't know was that actually The Times wasn't on Fleet Street anyway, as their offices were on Gray's Inn Road.
I was back to work today (always a joy after holidays) and had a meeting to attend in London this afternoon. So my time in Crawley was fairly brief this morning before heading round back round the M25, leaving the car at Ebbsfleet, and getting on the train. As I managed to dash straight from the car to the ticket machine to the platform and onto a train, I was in London a little earlier than expected and so decided to walk from St Pancras to the office. And, the easiest route is to walk all the way down Gray's Inn Road.
A little bit of hurried iPhone research on the way, and I thought that I could tell which was the old Times building, and sure enough, here it is.
Emboldened by my success in finding literary locations, once my meeting had finished, I decided to see if I could find some more. So, I walked along Holborn, up Southampton Row, diagonally across Russell Square, through various parts of the University of London, up Tottenham Court Road, stopped to take a couple of pictures of where Maple Street crosses it and turns into University Street on the other side, and then on to Fitzroy Square, where I took a picture of some of the houses around the square, and one looking south to the BT tower.
The reason for the walk and the photos - well the best way to find out would be to read some Ian McEwan.
Monday 5 May 2014
Sunday 4 May 2014
Kos3
Another blog post where the writing won't really be done this evening. For now, suffice it to say that we had a very relaxing and chilled out kind of day, that I've had my hot chocolate, and I'm just about ready for bed.
Night night all.
Night night all.
Saturday 3 May 2014
Kos2
OK, back from Sunday breakfast (windy day today - table inside) and now there is time to blog a little more properly. The highlights from yesterday included:
- a lazy morning around the pool reading and getting a little bit red around the arms and neck;
- toasties for lunch at the poolside restaurant;
- me requesting a bit of extra after lunch poolside time so that I could finish off my book (Popco - which deserves another post all of its own at some later date);
- a wander into Kos town, including Nicky getting excited about finally finding a shop that would sell her a blusher brush, and a few 'designer' purchases from the tourist stores;
- ice creams in one of the cafes around the edge of the town square;
- a very nice meal at the Cuvee, the hotel restaurant which claims a couple of Michelin stars. One of the amuse-bouches that they brought us, a chilled pea soup, was not particularly well received, but the food that they actually brought us was fantastic;
- my dessert came in a plant pot;
- we enjoyed a cocktail each and shared a bottle of wine, hence the lack of proper blogging after dinner yesterday.
Friday 2 May 2014
Kos
A reasonably early start today, even if we are two hours ahead of BST. At least, I thought it was a reasonably easy start, but it turned out that Nicky had been posting messages on Facebook about needing to lever me out of bed.
Breakfast at the hotel was as breakfasts at 5* hotels should be - coffee and juice brought to the table and lots to choose from (so we chose most of it!) at the buffet. Having filled up on cereal, pastries and chocolate mousse (well, if they put it out at breakfast time it somehow seemed rude not to partake!) I didn't have any space left for cooked, or at least I thought I didn't until Nicky's French toast arrived, and then I did manage to squeeze in a mouthful or two.
Fortified for the day ahead, we set out for the walk into town, and as advertised, it was about 20 minutes. The most common sights on the way in were bike rental places or shops selling a similar line of souvenirs (beach towels with a map of Kos and an impressive display of "designer" products at surprisingly cheap prices!).
Once we'd made it into town we stopped for a drink by the harbour before strolling through the narrow streets, finding some more interesting stores, as well as some impressive historic sites. We found Hippocrates Square, with what I can only assume was the tree he sat beneath a couple of thousand years ago - it certainly looked old enough (Bec - we did think about buying you a souvenir scroll with the Hippocratic oath on it, but resisted the urge - thought we might get in trouble!).
We also found an archaeological site that you could wander around and climb all over the ruins, which was pretty amazing. There were even original mosaic floors that were only partially uncovered. By this point I had pinched the borrowed SLR camera from Nicky, and did take rather a lot of pictures.
After our excavations, we had built up an appetite, and so headed back down towards the harbour and one of the restaurants there. We decided to have a selection of starters rather than main courses so that we could try a few different things. Key points to note - stuffed vine leaves aren't bad, the meatballs were tasty, and the fried local cheese with honey was truly unpleasant.
After lunch, we wandered back towards the hotel, picking up a gift for Jake on our way back - one of those designer products at a bargain price! After our shopping we made a detour and walked most of the way back along the beach.
Back at the hotel it was time for some proper sunbathing and so we set up camp on some loungers by the pool. I had planned to go in for a dip, but a combination of early season and unheated pool meant that I didn't get past sitting on the edge dangling my legs in up to the knees. And I had to keep moving to make sure that I didn't lose feeling in my toes.
We came in as the sun was going down, and walked over to the beach to enjoy the sunset.
The plan for dinner was to walk along the road to the famous Taverna Mike, but when we got there we discovered that it opens for the season tomorrow, so we came back here and enjoyed the Friday night barbecue.
And now, I am sat here tapping away whilst I wait for some photos to upload so that I can add them to this post. (But uploading is being slow so I am going to publish this for now, and then maybe add the photos later.)
Saturday morning update: here in no particular order are a the photos that have now uploaded.
Breakfast at the hotel was as breakfasts at 5* hotels should be - coffee and juice brought to the table and lots to choose from (so we chose most of it!) at the buffet. Having filled up on cereal, pastries and chocolate mousse (well, if they put it out at breakfast time it somehow seemed rude not to partake!) I didn't have any space left for cooked, or at least I thought I didn't until Nicky's French toast arrived, and then I did manage to squeeze in a mouthful or two.
Fortified for the day ahead, we set out for the walk into town, and as advertised, it was about 20 minutes. The most common sights on the way in were bike rental places or shops selling a similar line of souvenirs (beach towels with a map of Kos and an impressive display of "designer" products at surprisingly cheap prices!).
Once we'd made it into town we stopped for a drink by the harbour before strolling through the narrow streets, finding some more interesting stores, as well as some impressive historic sites. We found Hippocrates Square, with what I can only assume was the tree he sat beneath a couple of thousand years ago - it certainly looked old enough (Bec - we did think about buying you a souvenir scroll with the Hippocratic oath on it, but resisted the urge - thought we might get in trouble!).
We also found an archaeological site that you could wander around and climb all over the ruins, which was pretty amazing. There were even original mosaic floors that were only partially uncovered. By this point I had pinched the borrowed SLR camera from Nicky, and did take rather a lot of pictures.
After our excavations, we had built up an appetite, and so headed back down towards the harbour and one of the restaurants there. We decided to have a selection of starters rather than main courses so that we could try a few different things. Key points to note - stuffed vine leaves aren't bad, the meatballs were tasty, and the fried local cheese with honey was truly unpleasant.
After lunch, we wandered back towards the hotel, picking up a gift for Jake on our way back - one of those designer products at a bargain price! After our shopping we made a detour and walked most of the way back along the beach.
Back at the hotel it was time for some proper sunbathing and so we set up camp on some loungers by the pool. I had planned to go in for a dip, but a combination of early season and unheated pool meant that I didn't get past sitting on the edge dangling my legs in up to the knees. And I had to keep moving to make sure that I didn't lose feeling in my toes.
We came in as the sun was going down, and walked over to the beach to enjoy the sunset.
The plan for dinner was to walk along the road to the famous Taverna Mike, but when we got there we discovered that it opens for the season tomorrow, so we came back here and enjoyed the Friday night barbecue.
And now, I am sat here tapping away whilst I wait for some photos to upload so that I can add them to this post. (But uploading is being slow so I am going to publish this for now, and then maybe add the photos later.)
Saturday morning update: here in no particular order are a the photos that have now uploaded.
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