HOLIDAY !!
No more posts for 2 weeks. I did try and work out how to post from my mobile phone but I have run out of time. Yes it is possible!
We are just about packed and it is only Sunday. This is amazing. Micahel is off fishing. Scarlett and David are out playing with Dominic and Angelica. Deborah is busy ironing the last few clothes.
We have just had a weather forecast phone call from Lou and it is 31-32 during the day and as hot during the night there as it is during the day here.
What am I looking forward to? Everything!
- watching
Torrevieja FC playing a friendly game ( last time the friendlies were anything but )
- having lovely tasting and cheap meals.
- seeing Lou and Pete and the pets again.
- enjoying a few beers at Chassis Bar.
- Having a terrifying day out at
Terra Mitica.
- beating the boys at go karts!
- swimming in the pool, swimming in the sea.
- taking time out to talk to Deborah about the future.
- Paella!
- Gambas!
- a few unknowns
Happy days are here again!
End of Another Era
Today was the last day at JPMorgan. I still think it is a brill place to work. Unfortunately I went through more managers in the 5 1/2 years than in my 17 years at Frizzells ! Maybe it is my influence that made one go to South Africa, another go to New Zealand, another have a nervous breakdown and so on and so on.
I have left a lot of good friends and colleagues there and feel very sad at the moment and scared in case I have made a very bad decision.
But I was getting stale in the work I was doing, especially as I was up against people who didn't seem to want the project to succeed. Paranoia setting in probably.
So 2 weeks holiday in sunny Spain and then heads down looking for my first contract again. No looking back. No regrets. Life is too short.
Anne's Mum ( piano teacher ) once said to her - "Life does not come up the garden path looking for you - you have to go out and get it".
Proms In The Park
On Saturday I took Scarlett and her piano teacher Anne ( I think she has met Mum, Dad and Ju already ! ) to the Proms In The Park at Meyrick Park. I had got tickets through JPMorgan so they provided blankets and a picnic. ( Scarlett had her first taste of salmon! )
It was brilliant. The music was all popular stuff and Scarlett screeched when they did the music from the Lord of the Rings film. Scheharezade was excellent as well. By that time it was dark and the laser show and fireworks were just the icing on the cake.
The BSO did an enc0re of Sorcerer's Apprentice and the fireworks seemed to fit the music perfectly.
It was good to talk to Anne outside the confines of her piano room. She has led quite a colourful life but still has quite a few ambitions left. She thinks she might get a drum kit soon !
Last Week's Catch-up
Still trying to catch up with my life here. Week commencing 31st July.....
Scarlett was enrolled on a week long drama course. 9:30 - 3:30 every day and then a show on the Friday. David got to play football again at long last with his new team Boscombe Albion. Michael and I hit the Speedway track on Wednesday.
Then the big day came. Friday! The show was called "Some Place Over The Rainbow", a Bournemouth-based version of Wizard of Oz ( i.e. follow the Holdenhurst Road etc etc ) and it was a hoot. Scarlett was very convincing in her first acting role, very confident and she llllllllllllllllllllllllloved it ! More to come from that young girl on the stage methinks. Piccies on blog to follow.
Madonna Concert
Phew! What a weekend. First biking then this. Life doesn't come much better. The 3 kids were deposited at freidns houses then we set off for Cardiff about 2:30. Coming over the Bristol toll we got stuck in what seemd like horrendous traffic. After about 30 minutes it suddenly cleared, like the clouds.
So we got to Cardiff park and ride about 6:00 in the end, parked up, had a quick cup of coffee and some sweet chili crisps ( yummy ) and then took teh yelow bus to the
Millennium Stadium.
The whole place was buzzing but we were a tad hungry so we sorted out where we were in the stadium then sought out the pizzza queue.
When we sat down about 7:15 Paul Oakenfold was DJing as support for the tour. Some driving tunes!
We were sitting next to a couple who looked like they had come off the set of a model shoot in South America. And she was wearing a Dolce and Gabbana spangly belt. Then a group of 2 couples came and sat in front. More about them later.
Madonna made her grand entrance at about 8:30. Wicked start. Amy's review says it better than I can.
"After reading the press reviews over the last few weeks I was wondering what it was actually going to be like. After reading the reviews that other tribers had done I thought well they are true Madge fans, so obviously the press had just got it all wrong. What can I say it was a brillant night. The atmosphere really started to buzz at about 8.30pm. A man over the other side of the arena to us started off Mexican waves and was getting people to stamp their feet and clap. At about 8.50pm the lights started to dim, then at about 8.55pm all the lights dimmed and I thought OMG were going to see Madge in a minute. I was so excited and could not believe that the time had actually come. Click on the Full Article link below to continue reading Amy's review.It all started with Future Lovers, this was amazing. As the disco ball started to open up their she was singing, all dressed in black. I could not believe that I was their. To be fair Madonna done all of the songs really well, apart from Let It Will Be. She really done the Confessions On A Dancefllor album justice. Live To Tell the crucifix. It was amazing, as it eleavated up towards the audience their she was with her thorns on her head. She done my 3 favourite songs off Confessions, Sorry and Get Together. Isaac was given alot of justice with Isaac singing and playing the horn (don't know if thats what it is called). During the concert she communicated with the crowd on several occassions which was ace, getting us to join in and hyping us up even more. She even mentioned about the air conditioning and how hot it was without it on, but the lucky bugger at one point had a fan on her, how unfair! The finale saw the arena get turned into one big dancefloor and disco. The cape which she has on during Hung Up was amazing with the flashing lights. Even though it was the last song she really hyped up the audience. Then unfortunateley it came to an end. The lights went down, everyone went quiet, you could feel the buzz had gone. not many people moving and just wondering will she, wont she come back on, even though we knew that there wasn't going to be an encore. Then all of a sudden of the screen came up 'Have you confessed?' Then the lights came up and everyone stared to go. Even though we paid £110 each for out tickets it was worth every penny. For a 47 year old, coming on 48 she is still full of energy and gives a good show. Despite the press reviews, just ignore them they are a load of rubbish. If you are a true Madonna fan then like I did you will just forget about them and think 'You'reonly jealous because you are not going to see her.' I can't wait for the next tour, bring it on Madonna. Thanks for a good night Madge, it was brill." Now for the downside - the queue trying to get out of the park-and-ride car park was horrendous and we didn't get home till 4:00 a.m. Euugh! Work in 4 hours.But it was worth it. Excellent show and can't wait for the DVD to see what she really looked like!
Triumph - Step 2
Having triumphed ( ooh that hurt! ) on my biker theory test, the next step came on Saturday 29th July. I enrolled to do my 1 day CBT ( Compulsory Basic Training ). This gives you the ability to go out on the public roads on a bike up to 125c.c. with L plates ( no passengers ) for 2 years I think before you have to pass the motorcycle test itself.
The company I did this with were
A2B Training. Spooky, I found out that the guy who runs it, and who instructed me on the day, was an ex-Bournemouth Dolphin and we had worked together on the initial web site!
So the day started at 9:00 a.m. where we met Paul and Dave the 2 instructors for the day. Also learning was John, a young lad who had had his new bike delivered on the day and was probably very excited about getting under way and on the road.
The first hour was spent chatting about road safety, why we were doing this, practical things such as insurance and looking at road signs etc. etc.
Then it was time to go to their training site. Yippee! I borrowed the full gear, helmet, gloves, jacket and looked as far from a hard biker as could be.
We were introduced to our bikes very gradually ( "hello bike, I'm Stu, please be gentle"! ) and spent quite a while going around their small track in first gear just slipping the clutch, which is allowed and encouraged on bikes, and then coming to a standstill in the safe position. Left foot, right foot on the brake. The first couple attempts were mega-wobbly and ended up with me scraping both feet along the road trying to stop. But we progressed.
Next we had to introduce second gear. Not a huge step you may think. But this meant co-ordinating 1 hand and 2 feet and you know how bad men are at multi-tasking. Going faster was a cinch but I was still struggling when it came to stopping. Now I had to stop from a faster speed the before so using my trainers as brakes were now not an option.
OK I cracked that in the end. Then came slow riding. Phew! I was good at that, slipping the clutch, using that and a dab of brakes to do tight figures of 8s and U turns ( doing it out on public highway later was another story though ).
Last thing for the morning was using the front brake as well. So that's both hands and both feet - nightmare! My emergency stops were quite comical as I slid on the first 4 or 5. I had been putting the clutch in too early. But now if a cat pulls out on me I can stop quickly...... survey the damage and the move on.
A quick sausage roll for lunch ( actually about 2:30 by now ) and we were ready for the road. Oh my God.
This was quite an event going around Parley, Ferndown and Poole with an instructor talking to you via intercom into your ear. "Command the road, command the road". This was one of the most frightening but exhilarating times of my life. I did get the hang of it quite well, probably with my road experience and cycling skills helping out.
John wasn't so happy at his new bike though, slamming it in and out of gear and getting very frustrated at junctions. I think he had his right foot on the brake at the same time as he was trying to pull away and kept stalling. I hope he is still alive and out there and enjoying his biking now.
The worst thing about it for me was that my left hand was almost completely numb at the end of the afternoon and I could hardly pull the clutch in at the end. I hope this isn't the sign of things to come.
So I am the proud owner of a CBT certificate now but still no bike. Why?
It seems mad to buy a 125 c.c. for a few months just to want to swap it in for a bigger one once I have taken the proper test. I haven't booked this yet but am looking for September while I am looking for another job ( a few posts on that in the future! )
Thanks to Paul and A2B for giving me the confidence on a bike and it has whetted my appetite still further. Roll on Direct Access training and Triumph - Step 3.
Apologies
How remiss. I haven't posted for about 2 weeks. I think there have been a number of cases recently where people have blogged from work and have been dismissed for it so now I post from home !
I will rectify my awful lack of items forthwith. Here come a plethora of posting because life has not been slow around here that's for sure.
