Mum and Dad visited over the weekend and brought a Welsh Hogget for us to roast and eat on Saturday. Hoggets are last year's lambs. One year old, but before they grow their first two adult teeth. The weekend was very pleasant. Sunny with a bit of a breeze to keep things cool. We were joined by Niki's parents on Sunday for a Barbecue.
Monday 30 April 2007
Wednesday 18 April 2007
Busy week
Started the week with two days in London. A solid days meetings for the first day followed by morning meetings, an early trip home and then the Table AGM in the evening. Down in London again tomorrow and off to Italy with Congleton Table on Friday. The plane leaves at 6.30 in the morning so it's another early start! The itinerary looks good though. Mr Hogg has certainly done well with the organising. More from Italy when I get back.
Friday 13 April 2007
Home from Amsterdam
I have just returned from a couple of days in Amsterdam. I went out on Wednesday on the 0605 KLM flight out of Manchester. It isn't great getting up at that time in the morning but the local taxi company (b-tax) got me to the airport on time and I had no problems checking in.
I checked my rucksack in as hold luggage but when I went through security it was apparent that other people were carrying larger bags. As a learning point, it's worth trying to get your bag on with you rather than check it in. As it happened, my bag was the first off at the other end. I also need to remember to pack small containers of toiletries in a transparent bag. I had my shaving gel and deodorant seized (not really, the Dutch are so nice) by security officials at Schipol because the Dutch only allow 100ml containers.
The first day's meetings were in the main Amsterdam office for the entire day with a sandwich lunch. Things looked up in the evening when our host took us on a walking tour of Amsterdam city (including the inevitable Red Light District) followed by a dinner at an Italian restaurant. I stayed in the Hotel Pulitzer and recovered from my early start in this prize winning hotel.
We went out to BSL computing (http://www.brightside.nl/) on the second day to look at the news feed management system that they are putting together for us. I was very impressed. The system takes a number of in bound feeds from dedicated suppliers or RSS feeds and stores the information in a database for later retrieval and publishing in news letters, RSS feeds etc.
My trip finished with a meal at a Japanese restaurant on the outskirts of town. Another note to self - don't sit down for a fancy, multi-course prepared as you eat meal when you have a plane to catch. The taxi driver was very good though and got me to the airport quickly.
I checked my rucksack in as hold luggage but when I went through security it was apparent that other people were carrying larger bags. As a learning point, it's worth trying to get your bag on with you rather than check it in. As it happened, my bag was the first off at the other end. I also need to remember to pack small containers of toiletries in a transparent bag. I had my shaving gel and deodorant seized (not really, the Dutch are so nice) by security officials at Schipol because the Dutch only allow 100ml containers.
The first day's meetings were in the main Amsterdam office for the entire day with a sandwich lunch. Things looked up in the evening when our host took us on a walking tour of Amsterdam city (including the inevitable Red Light District) followed by a dinner at an Italian restaurant. I stayed in the Hotel Pulitzer and recovered from my early start in this prize winning hotel.
We went out to BSL computing (http://www.brightside.nl/) on the second day to look at the news feed management system that they are putting together for us. I was very impressed. The system takes a number of in bound feeds from dedicated suppliers or RSS feeds and stores the information in a database for later retrieval and publishing in news letters, RSS feeds etc.
My trip finished with a meal at a Japanese restaurant on the outskirts of town. Another note to self - don't sit down for a fancy, multi-course prepared as you eat meal when you have a plane to catch. The taxi driver was very good though and got me to the airport quickly.
Tuesday 3 April 2007
Bone Idol in Cambridge
I spent most of last week in sunny (and slightly foggy) Cambridge attending training on Autonomy IDOL version 7. The training course was held at Autonomy HQ in Cambridge and was attended by a mixed bunch of contractors and consultants. Matt Nevada gave the course and was also happy to extol the virtues of the Grafton centre and Yorkshire Tea.
The weather was warm and sunny which allowed for a little exploring with some of the other attendees after the course had finished. Cambridge seemed nice but the hotel (University Arms) was a let down.
The weather was warm and sunny which allowed for a little exploring with some of the other attendees after the course had finished. Cambridge seemed nice but the hotel (University Arms) was a let down.
Updated Links for Nat and Martin's Wedding
The Photographer has uploaded the photos: http://www.pbase.com/distantsun/natalie__martin
Dom and Ellie have also added a link to the main site on their web page (http://members.optusnet.com.au/domandellie/Frontpage.htm). I have sent a DVD of the photos and video to Kent, Aberdovey and Umina Beach. Anyone else who would like a copy should drop me a line.
Dom and Ellie have also added a link to the main site on their web page (http://members.optusnet.com.au/domandellie/Frontpage.htm). I have sent a DVD of the photos and video to Kent, Aberdovey and Umina Beach. Anyone else who would like a copy should drop me a line.
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