Jul
24
“Leavin’! On A Jet Plane….”
July 24, 2008 | 7 Comments
This is the huge news. Following my stint in San Francisco at the end of last year/start of this, I’m going back. For a couple of years. With The Mrs. And the cat.
I was actually asked to do this just before I came back to Blighty at the end of March, but it’s taken a long time to get sorted. However, I now have my shiny new US visa, and The Mrs has his (and that’s a saga and a half…) and will be leaving within the week.
Jinkies!
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24
I’m Not Dead!
July 24, 2008 | Comments Off
I have, however, been monumentally busy and have been dealing with preparing for a fairly huge life change, or which more later. However, just to let anyone who’s interested know I am still alive and kicking.
I’l be back properly shortly with an All-New, All-Different More a way of life…., featuring:
Proper content, not just ramblings about things I’ve done!*
A totally new look and feel! **
News of some new and interesting endeavours! ***
A new location!****
* Maybe.
** Almost certainly not really.
*** If The Mrs and I can get our acts together.
**** Actually, really, yes to this one. See next post.
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14
Ha. Ha. Ha.
May 14, 2008 | Comments Off
Almost a year ago I commented that the Radio Four 6.30pm ‘comedy’ slot frequently featured productions that aren’t deserving of the description. I was put in mind of this as I drove home last night.
Yes, it’s my sad duty to inform you that Claire In The Community is back to waste Sally Philips’ abilities for a new run of gratingly unfunny fluff about (wait for it) the misadventures of a not-as-right-on-as-she’d-like-to-think social worker. And the fact that the writers called her Claire specifically in order to make a pun in the title (which should be against the rules of comedy anyway) probably tells you everything you need to know.
Avoid.
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24
Yes
April 24, 2008 | Comments Off
The last couple of posts have appeared in one go despite being dated last weekend. I wrote them then but wasn’t online to post them and decided to leave them true to their moment (or something).
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20
And On The Subject of Hotels
April 20, 2008 | 2 Comments
I feel qualified to make a few observations:
- The practice of having someone come in and ‘turn down’ my bed is the single weirdest thing I’ve ever come across. The chocolate on the pillow is just the punctuation mark on the weirdness.
- If you need to fold the ends of the toilet roll into a point to make sure I know you’ve serviced my room, then there’s something wrong with the way you service a room.
- It doesn’t matter how many packets of non-dairy creamer you put in my room, I’m never, ever, going to use your tea and coffee making facilities if there’s no milk to put in the product.
- Minibar prices are by definition criminal.
- No human being can possibly need that many pillows.
- The cheap-and-nastiness of the complimentary toiletries is always in inverse proportion to the amount of them hotels provide.
- Room rates provided on booking that don’t include all relevant taxes are evil and ought to be illegal.
- Good looking hotel staff who visit your room for any reason never make the kind of offers porn movies might lead you to expect.
- The opposite of point 8 is inevitably true.
Apr
18
An “Am I In A Film?” Moment
April 18, 2008 | 7 Comments
Every now and then it’s brought home to me that my current lifestyle is a slightly unreal one. I spend a lot of my time away from home, flying around the world, staying in hotels, and eating on my own in cafes and restaurants. The international jet-setting lifestyle has some advantages, and I’m sure many people would like to give it a go, but a lot of the time it feels a bit repetitive and I feel like I just want to be at home with The Mrs and Gramsci.
And then every now and then I have a moment like the one last night that just makes me grin as I think about it and note that while it could potentially happen if I didn’t travel as much as I do, I’d probably not be in that type of situation at home.
I went out after work to get something to eat and drink, and ended up in a bar down the street from the hotel I usually stay in while in SF. I like the place because it allows that thing that’s incredibly difficult to find in the UK - a place where you can sit at the bar for a drink or two and then have a meal without being made to move to a table. So I got there last night, ordered a glass of wine and started perusing the menu, ordered some food and then settled in with a newspaper. A woman came and sat at a barstool a couple along, and said a general “hello” to those around her as she settled in. We exchanged some ‘eating alone’ pleasantries, then I returned my focus to my food when it arrived.
As I was eating, she made a couple of comments, and I responded as politely as I could, but without particularly (as far as I was aware) engaging. As I was heading towards the bottom of my second glass of wine and was starting to think about getting the check, she caught my eye and asked if she could buy me another drink. I said I needed to head back to the hotel and do some work (technically a lie), and she looked very disappointed. So I apologised and started trying to catch the barman’s eye. When I looked back in her direction, she was rummaging in her bag, and pulled out a hotel key card which she held up for me to see, and raised an eyebrow.
Convinced that what appeared to be happening couldn’t actually be, I furrowed my brow quizzically at her and she nodded very clearly. At the same moment I became aware that the the clearly entertained barman was looking on somewhat expectantly, and I suddenly felt like I was an actor in a drama whose plot I didn’t recognise. As if to underscore her intentions, she very deliberately winked at me. Seriously out of my depth at this point, I could only think of one thing to do, (and this is the ‘am I in a movie?’ moment): I raised my left hand, fingers slightly spread, palm towards me, and showed her my wedding ring.
And then got the hell out of there.
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17
And The Verdict…
April 17, 2008 | Comments Off
… on Virgin America is:
There’s no reason ever to use another US Domestic airline if I’m flying a route VA cover. It was excellent, and reminded me a lot of the way it used to feel to fly Virgin Atlantic before they started to feel a bit big and corporate and run by accountants.
Highly, HIGHLY recommended.
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16
Another Morning, Another Airport
April 16, 2008 | Comments Off
If it’s Wednesday and 5am, this must be JFK. Oh god I’m tired. I’ve slept terribly the last two nights, and woke up this morning with a horrible ‘hotel air conditioning’ headache. Still, I get to experience Virgin America for the first time in a couple of hours, which is keeping the plane spotter in me alert.
San Francisco here I come.
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14
The Ground Force Experience
April 14, 2008 | 1 Comment
A couple of years ago, when The Mrs and I were living in his flat, we capitalized on the fact that we were going off to Sweden for a week to get the bathroom refitted. It was a very pleasant experience to leave the old bathroom on a Monday morning and return to a new one on the Friday night.
So during my sojourn in North America this week, our old lawn and beds will be ripped up, and replaced with a Mediterranean style space of raised beds, gravel paths, benches and lemon tree. This to go with the rather lovely table and chairs we just recently took delivery of to make the patio a bit more usable and some nice plants in pots, including an olive tree from around the same point.
I’m oddly excited by the prospect of getting back on Saturday morning to find the whole place transformed.
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10
Yes!
April 10, 2008 | Comments Off
UK wrong to halt Saudi arms probe
I can’t think that I’ve been as happy to read a headline since The Guardian’s the day after the Aitken judgement (”He lied and lied and lied and lied” in case you need a reminder). The shutting down of that enquiry was a disgrace of huge proportions. Bending over to the threats of the Saudis who didn’t want their dirty laundry aired and used the threat of non-collaboration over security issues was shameful, and I’m delighted that someone with some clout has stood up and said so, in stark contrast with the position of our less-than-glorious leaders.
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