Wednesday, 26 June 2013

Been a while

Ok --so I have missed some days and for that I need to re-check that I really am going to be disciplined in posting daily.

So , having dropped Lynda off at the airport Sunday night, I was back to Heathrow at 5am on Monday morning to fly to Ireland to our Irish office. It is amazing the warmth of the welcome back after just 6 months.

They are a great crowd over there and do an amazing job.

So having got up at about 03.30 working all day , I then proceeded to be taken to dinner in the evening until around 2300 hrs---I was shattered. Also ended up paying for the bill, not quite sure how that works.

All day yesterday in the Intel plant and with a whole bunch more of very talented people. The work that had been installed in the same 6 month period is quite awesome in such complex circumstances.

Meetings and walk around's being the order of the day , I was at the airport in Dublin at 5pm for a 6pm flight that then was delayed until 6.30pm. This meant that I did not get to Heathrow until after 7.30pm which meant I had missed being able to buy my euromillions ticket which means I might have been a miwyonair Rodney.
So you think that's it and drive down to Swindon to a hotel I think I am booked in only to be told I am booked into one , about 15 miles away---eventually got in my room at 21.30.
Finally finished the crap situation by not being able to get a decent signal so we couldn't talk--she was trying to ring me and me doing the same.

Ok, so today is another day as they say and after all the reports I have written it was time to catch up with this.

Need a holiday, or at least get to be with my best mate-- (she who is in Greece right now).

Tuesday, 18 June 2013

Another Step forward

So i just learnt that uit is very easy just to miss a day of posting (in actual fact it is 2 days).

Sunday was brilliant with the Children and 2 of the grand kids for brunch--Lynda was dinamyte, and it was better service than Jacks Cafe--used to be one of the best restuarants in south london, in Battersea, though you would not go in there with a tie on or Jack would cut it off and pin to the wall.

When they had gone and we had cleared up , we settled down in the afternoon and watched the Quartet , with Billy Connelly, Maggie Smith , Tom Courtney and Pauline Collins-- really good feel good movie--anyone notice that there are loads of movies with the wrinklies in recently--Hotel Marigold is another.

So after a great weekend with Lynda it is in to head office yesterday--which means at least 3 nights away-- and the next steps to the Road Trip was in the purchase of an Acer V5-571 touch screen laptop, plus a load of bits to go with it.

Back there today to collect and have my trial run through -- hope the teacher is a patient person -- like all old timers, technology takes me a little longer to grasp.

The other thing i have to settle down and read up on is how to best use this blogg site-- need to get more in to dragging photo,s and stuff onto each posting ---need this sorting out before i get going on the trip, so i plan to do some practicing while Lynda is in greece.

What--- you mean i didnt mention that she is leaving me this weekend for a 2 week break in Aegina, well it is a girls week first and then a week on her own. It is true that someone needs to check up on the house and make sure that there are no problems---only real issue is that i have never had a boys 2 weeks away yet , even after having had the house there for 25 years.

Ah well--i only like being there when she is there anyway---it would never be the same without her there.

So thats it for the moment, still busy with loads to do, so better get on.
Win or lose, up the Blues

Saturday, 15 June 2013

post shopping

so we are back home having been to sutton to get the holiday cards primed--we are good to go.

little shopping in Asda sorted out a great pack of Moules which are gonna be served any minutes--cant wait--love em.

We went to Macro so we could do a wine stock up. box of 6 bottles of oyster bay, saugvingion blanc and 2 for 1 cases of isla negra from chile, box of white and a box of red= 12 bottles for £48 great deal.

We watched the trooping of the colour this morning , amazing what we still manage to cling on to from our heritage and the Queen looked amazing --what a woman.

Mind you --what a women my wife--organised this american holiday just like she has done for all the previous 9 we have done and come up with some amazing stopovers for is in mystical named places--Dodge City, Tombstone, Custer, Little Bighorn---amazing.

She has also organised brunch for tomorrow with all the children around and a couple of the grandchildren -- actually late breakfast--big fry up- wonder if it is Fathers day celebrations---like i said, an amazing lady.

right thats the moules demolished--so tasty.
Now whats for tonight--well, while i am not a great lover of the shows like The Voice, i have to say that watching Leah Mcfee last week i was blown away---she defies description and superlatives are useless, so i will watch eagerly when she is on and hope it is good.

I hope evryone has a great evening

The Weekend

So the weekend is here.
For me, if i sleep till after 7am then thats like a lay in for me. Mind you when your wife is up for running around making lunch and tea and toast for your daughter who has to go to work today , then you have no chance to sleep anyway.
I envy my wife , who can do all that then go back to bed and sleep some more.
So whats the plans for today-- relax for the first couple of hours, have some breakfast and get a report done from my visit to regional office yesterday, always better to get this out of the way before monday.

I think Lynda and i will be out and about today, always things to do but in partuicular getting things done in advance of the road trip in about 5 weeks time.

Might pop in to our road trip partners-Rod is desperatley trying to finish the redec he is doing in the hall and up the stairs and landings--i mean everything and he is a real perfectionist, so it most definately takes longer than if i were doing it. It is funny that in my long working life in construction, i have banged on to contractors regarding uality and meeting the specifications and yet when it comes to myself, while i try to do the best job possible, i never  quite get there and i only want to spend the minimum time on these type of jobs.

Mind you , my working days have tended to be between 10 and 14 hours working , and much of that not coming home in the week, where as Rod is home around 5pm so there were always evenings where stuff could get done.

Just heard our friend in Portland tripped and broke his foot, so praying for him that he will be ok when we get there in 5 weeks as this is the first real stop of our road trip and i need him to be ready for some jogging on the beach at Seaside--that is a real place in Oregon--where the end of the Oregon Trail finished by Lewis and Clarke back in the 19 century---and for some Greek dancing.

The sad thing is that he is a real active guy so he will be pretty pissed that he has to sit around doing nothing---he will be a bad patient so unlucky Anna.

Right time for another cup of tea and do some work before my darling wife gets up so will post later.

Friday, 14 June 2013

nearing the end of the week

So half a day to go till "school's" out.

I got home around 8pm last night and the journey was very slow from the west country up to london.

Loads of traffic and i still get blown away by the number of times that the motorway traffic goes to a crawl and when it gets clear again there was nothing in the way of jembs and accidents to slow it down--just people.

This meant that a little ELO, Deep Purple and finished with Stairway to Heaven was in order-- full blast and sharing it with my neighbours in adjacent cars--may not all be fans but youve gotta love the heads starting to move up and down.

In to Weybridge this morning, nice and early to miss all the traffic--was in Cafe Nero by just after 7am with a skinny latte and crouisant and on line doing emails--if i left leaving south london much later than 06.30, i would get stuck in traffic, and there are more chelsea tractors driving around the weybridge area , running little Harriet or Jeremy to and from private school who totally clog these roads up.

Nice regional office though, ground floor on a 2 story open plan office with views of cruising narrow boats being next to a canal-- really peaceful aspect.

So, have had my meetings and have a few tasks to do before i can get going but am looking forward to the weekend with Lynda---not sure what the plans are yet but i guess my social secretary will let me know tonight. whatever it is it will be good as we will be together.

Have a great weekend.

Thursday, 13 June 2013

Home tonight

Even after so many years of living away from home during the week, it is still hard work and frustrating to being away from family.
Years of working in obscure places -- red eye flights on a monday morning and late arrival home at the end of the week are real hard work and even today hard to come to terms with.
Whoever says to me how lucky i am to be flying all over the place over the years, gets short shrift from me. There is nothing glamourous about business flying, about rushing to and from airports, taxis here and there to meetings are nothing but irritations.

But i am starting to slow--at least i am not waiting till friday to go home, so only the M4 to manouver later + the M25 and back to south london.working in a local office to london tomorrow.

Went to look at the possible laptops that fit what i am looking for yesterday and have now honed in on an ACER V5 with touch screen as well so slowly getting into the world where most of the rest of it already are at.

Need to get it and get it set up in the next week or so, as i need it adjusted in order that i can at the least get on once a week to my company outlook email page.

Ok, so i know all the comments about not taking work on holiday but i cannot remember a time when i wasnt able to be contacted and to some extent thats even more relevent with the amount of time off i'm taking---got to at least know where the minefields and rose gardens are for when i return end of september.

So better do a bit, want to get done so i am not late in leaving.

Wednesday, 12 June 2013

the next day

So having achieved the first ever post and blog set-up, my plan is to gradually build up to the daily posting in advance of leaving for the States.

So today i plan to go to PC World to establish just exactly what Laptop i want to buy.

This aint easy for a complete Ludite like myself--all those years as a manager being able to get someone else to produce on a computor things that i would have had not chance of doing myself---the art of delegation i guess.

Never had a problem of putting things into print-- just the transfer into the IT world.

I need to that those that i got advise from on the type of laptop and capacities and stuff, now i just need to get some training when i get the machine, to make sure that i can turn it on and off properly.

In a week and a half the ladies who will be on the USA trip are going to Greece to top the tan up so another event in the meantime. It does mean that my best mate will host a boys night in his place that should be a good Craic in the ladies absense---he is a good cook so that helps.

Better get on with some reports--have a good day and another day closer to the trip
philip

Tuesday, 11 June 2013

new brave world

So this is it-- i now have a Blog . well it hasnt crashed the computor---yet.

I am going to be playing around with this for the next few weeks so that i can get used to it but i am pleased to be at least signed up and accepted.

My wife and i are going on a 3 month road trip over the USA in a few weeks time so i plan to do a daily report form the trip -- hopefully with pictures and other information of interest.

It will take me a while to get up to speed but i hope to get there eventually and make it reasonaqbly of interest.

Back to work
philip