Travel

Just got back into London after a fantastic trip. Even had good weather, it snowed in Dallas and hit lows of -20 degrees CELSIUS in Chicago with the wind chill factor taking things down as low as -35 !!!! A pity the Chicago Bears didn’t win the Superbowl ‘cos I actually postponed my flight till the following day so I could stay and celebrate with the millions of fans who were hoping for a Bears victory.

I’ll write something soon about my trip but I’ll leave two photos with you, the beautiful city skyline (notice the frozen lake) from the Sears Tower and my shirt put up as a trophy when I ran (actually I walked, because gentlemen never run) over 400 yards down the main bar street to Wrigley Field and back again completely topless to take a photo outside Wrigley. My prize - the look of utter dismay on peoples faces along the way, free drinks the entire night and notoriety forever in the Ivy on Clark! Ever tried walking completely topless in -20 F (-29 C)?

I’m flying out first thing tomorrow morning so I thought I’d check the weather report for Chicago, just to check there wasn’t gonna be a nip in the air.

What the………..YES, THATS FAHRENHEIT!

Las Vegas, MGM Grand, 5th May, “The Superfight of the Decade”, the highest grossing boxing match in history, the Golden Boy vs the Pretty Boy, De La Hoya vs Mayweather!!! I have 2 tickets which cost $750 each, my mate bought 2 and they also cost $750 each, so in effect we have shelled out for 4 tickets at a cost of $3000. Not only are we gonna hire a convertible (can’t get that damn GT-H) and drive between LA and Vegas but we’re also staying in the MGM Grand for the weekend of the fight, gonna play a bit of high stakes Blackjack and maybe some no limit hold’em poker.You might think this all sounds a bit expensive, forgetaboutit, check this out, theres 2 of us and we have 4 tickets, we’re selling 2 of them and paying for our whole trip!

After much pontification I have decided ………………. I will be going to Oktoberfest this year!

It will probably be the first weekend and it looks like I will be putting together my own package. At the moment, even this late in the day, I think I can get a three night (leave Friday return Monday) stay, flights included for about £350 (3* Hotel). If we stay at the say hotel as last year, all they have left is quad rooms, and the cost per person including flights is about £450 through PP Travel.

The Munich Beerfest, if you do it right, is possibly the most fun you’ll ever have with a beer in your hand! After we left last year all 5 of us were categoric in our resolve to return this year. Situations have changed, Truman has gone back to Aus and Russell is “in Luuuv” and saving for a mortgage. Kramer is really keen to return and, as of yesterday, so am I. You only live once, and the memories from the beerfest stay with you for life.

I know a few people who are really keen to go this year, if you’re up for it, and trust me you should be, then email me and in the next 2 weeks I will book us flights and accommodation.

Hey Hey! Look what I have managed to do! I am half way to sorting out my problem with the $%^*& laptop so I am able to start uploading a few photos. The first few are from Live 8 in London, I didn’t get my camera out much but there is a funny shot of myself, Paul Onions (From the band - Onions and the Bumasters) and Terry Aston. Check out the Live8 photos by clicking here.

My photos of DC are a combination of both the times I was out there. On the first trip we went to go see the Balitmore Orioles play, on the second trip we watched the Washington Nationals. First trip site seeing, second trip theme park. I have taken a few of the photos from each gallery and combined it into one. Go take a look at the DC photos by clicking here.

I’ll try get a few more up in the next few days - Trumans Farewell photos, India and Estonia trip next up!

Wow, what an awesome week I’ve had. Even though I have had internet access the entire time I’ve been here I just haven’t had the time to get round to updating the site. I AM still alive but with work and play taking up 23 hours of my day there isn’t much time to do anything else. Hooked up with all the same cool people I met last time I was here nd literally met loads more. My new favourite drinking destinations in this small planet we live on are Chadwicks and Union Street in Old Town Alexandria. I have had some of the best late night bar parties ever! Its one of those long classic movie style bars with a whole bunch of cool people from all walks drinking everything from a “Tight Snatch” (no joking) to a regular Bud. The best thing is that once you know a few regulars and introduce yourself to the finest barmen in the world then you’ll all set for a few thousand rounds on the house - yes in the US my second favourite four letter F word is FREE.

This weekend I went down to Richmond Virginia to visit an amazing theme park aka Rollercoaster Heaven called Paramount Kings Dominion. I steamed through the place managing to go on every single ride in one day - including all 9 rollercoasters!

Tomorrow night I’m off to watch another baseball game. I have learnt a lot about the rules of baseball since I’ve been here to the point where I am actually able to grasp the concept of the in-field fly rule!

I should be back in London this weekend if all goes well but I will try and update the site before I get home.

Saying of the week “C’mon now, Git R Done” (Larry the Cable Guy)

Hi everyone. I am back from my short “work” excursion to Washington DC. Wow, what an enjoyable trip! The weather was well in excess of 30 C everyday so naturally the shirt was off every chance I got in true brit style. I came back with a bit of tan and a new nickname of Short Chief White Belly!!

Managed to get to see all the sights of DC e.g. White House, Capitol, Wash. Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Iwo Jima Mem etc etc. Some of them were really spectacular while others you could Read the rest of this entry »

Terry Aston decided to send out an email today on this past weekends tour to Estonia. Here it is -Classic!!

Having sufficiently recovered from our excursion to Tallinn i feel i must deliver the first official report……

Best Move: The Monk booking the hotel

Read the rest of this entry »

Back at work this morning bright and breezy after a really hard weekend. Tallinn was fantastic! I still can’t believe that it was communist and behind the iron curtain only a few years ago. It is as modern as any western European city and a great weekend getaway from London. The city is Read the rest of this entry »

Wow, I haven’t updated the site in a little while now. My laptop has been given me some problems lately so updating from home has been difficult. If anyone knows how to sort out “Kernal Panic” on a Mac please let me know!

Its been a busy week in London! I started my new job on Monday and so far so good. I have toured the three sites in London and I can say that I am suitably impressed. The weather has been fantsatic in London this week and so Wednesday was spent driving around Surrey with the convertible roof down inspecting golf driving ranges! Yeehaa what a job! Next week Tuesday I am off to Washington DC for a week of “hard work”!

Before I venture across to the USA there is the small matter of an Albion reunion to the great unknown of Estonia. Ten of us are of to the capital, Tallinn, tonight at 6pm for a holiday that promises to be……..well lets just say we have no idea about what we’re going to do over there but for most of us it is our first trip behind the old Iron Curtain and we’ve heard the beer is cheap, need I say more! I will need some serious recovery time on Monday efore flying out to DC!

So in a few ours its of to medieval Tallinn, for a hangover inducing weekend! I still think I’m feeling a bit tender after our braai and subsequent nightclub experiance on Wednesday. I got home early so “The Don” and I decided to do a bit of shopping for a braai that night. The sun hides behind the green hills of London at about 21h45 so in the evening there is plenty of time to braai cow and sheep and drink a few cold Buds.

Long evening of storytelling cut short “The Don” aka Bumfleas and I decided that a little session in Kingston would end the night perfectly. BAD idea, don’t get me wrong we had a blast and we discovered the home of the Kingston squirrel but I was not a happy little boy the next morning when I woke up. Consequently last night was spent at home and tonight, well, that’ll be spent on the plane, drinking with the lads I suppose. We get there quite late so we need an airport jump start.

Hey good news, the leg, or knee I should say, is feeling a lot better and I am inally off the crutches. I still have a sever limp but my ROM is getting better and it is all “on the mend” as they say here! India itself was an amazing place but the whole ordeal of the operation and cost etc etc was atrocious. So much easier to be on Private Health (Medical Aid). Trust me!!

I will try and get some India and Estonia photos on the website next week.

Well, I’m here safe and sound. This city is C-R-A-Z-Y. I am so excited about going to explore it. There are about 16 million people living here and it really shows. I have never experienced a car ride like I have just taken from the airport. We have dodged cars, bikes, people, street kids, goats etc, had two slight accidents and narrowly avoided a major pile-up. It was fun!

The efficiency and service here is amazing. My hotel is fantastic, everyone is so friendly and well organised. Wireless throughout the whole hotel so as long as I will try and update the site regularly.

Gonna go have some lunch now and maybe hit the hotel pool to take advantage of the cloudless 35 degree heat!

Well peeps I’m back from a mad weekend in Cardiff! Yes, we all know Man Utd were robbed, but things like that happen in sport and I can truly say that it was a fantastic experiance to be sitting at a game that was watched by an estimated 400 million people around the world. I will get the photos onto the site as soon as my life has returned to relative normality.

I am trying to tie up everything at my current job because Friday is my last day. I will be spending most nights this week at work till about 10pm. Manic!!!! Of course work is only a sideline that gives me something to do in the daylight hours. I have been frantically trying to organise my midweek MRI scan and Orthopaedic consultation this week. Finally it has been arranged for Wednesday at a price that in some countries would be considered lottery winnings to retire on. Based on the results I will in all likelyhood fly to Mumbai (formerly Bombay) on Saturday and have a consultation with Dr Anant Joshi on Monday followed by an operation on Tuesday. Do a little bit of siteseeing around Bombay and then back to London.

On Saturday the 4th June I have arranged our 1995 Glenwood school reunion for all the guys in London so obviously I would like to be back, recovery permitting, by then.

Yes, it is frantic here at the moment. I have just realised I need a visa to go to India, emergency visa queue here we come - (Do you know any other words in the english language with 4 or more vowels in a row eg. queue) - Then get a last minute flight followed by a hotel booking and I’ll be ready and set to go and experiance the joys of being anaethetised and opened up by somebody I’ve never even laid eyes on, in a country I’ve never visited and surrounded by a over a billion people I ‘ve never met!! Oh well, don’t ask if I’m nervous and don’t ask me silly questions like “Do you know anybody over there?” The beach promenade looks beautiful, I’ll reduce the photo so you can’t see what its really like!

I have spoken to my new colleagues at Topgolf and, great guys that they are, they have happily told me that my knee is top priority and I should get that sorted before worrying about anything else. Which means thankfully I will start the new job on the 6th June.

Spoke to the doctor today and I am fairly confident now that I am making the right move. The Doc is highly recommended (The Indian cricket team doctor) and the facilities are world class. India is a fascinating and beautiful country renowned for its technical excellence. I’ll be back alive and kicking (with two legs hopefully)!!!!

Just saw this cool little tool on Grayskulls site. It basically shows all the countries I have been to. Heres hoping that in the next few years my little red painter dude sitting somewhere on that map is going to start going crazy…….. Read the rest of this entry »

Ok so I have promised for the last few days to write a little bit about Dubai. I have managed to put a quick photo gallery together showing some of the photographs so go check them out here

Dubai Apr ‘05
(click on this link to go to the photos)

Dubai is one seriously amazing city! Its in the middle of the desert and yet it has the look and feel of a modern metropolis. I felt really comfortable Read the rest of this entry »

Time to leave the sunny shores (yeah right) of Ingalund and head back to the homeland for a short blast in SA for Ryan Spicer’s wedding. It promises to be a week to remember if, after the amount of alcohol I am about to consume, I can remember anything!! Going to spend Friday night driving with the Boat and Kirk down to Durbs, then up at sparrows for the start of Strat’s bulls party spectacular, enjoy the activities of the day and night, then up at sparrows again for a trip up the Zululand coast for a Sunday feast at the Prawnshack. Theeennnn the next day I’m off to Zimbali Golf course to enjoy a chilled day at one of the most spectacular (and most expensive!) courses in SA.

Of course in the middle of all this I have to find time to see Mum and Debbie up in Joburg. So I’m flying up for Deb’s birthday on the 6th April for a couple of days. I’ll obviously also get to see my Gran, Nicola & Gummi, Deb’s mates etc….oh and I almost forgot, Debs and Pierre have abought a new place in Jozi and I’m dying to see their nuwe palais.

It’ll be back down to Durbs for a few days catch up with the rest of the Brewery Boys and then ….The Wedding :-)………..jeez have they really been together for 10 years. Better than I have ever done They suit each other down to the ground and have always both seemed really happy with each other. I’m proud to call them my friends and I think they make a great couple, so to Ryan and Phillipa - CONGRATULATIONS in advance!!!

I’ll be drinking on Mr Ryan Spicer’s tab at the wedding so you must know that I’m going to drink like a Chav in Faliraki ! Its not often you get to drink on Strat and I’ll be drinking the bar as dry as a watering hole in Dubai! Which very subtely, sublety, SUBLTETY ….F&*% ….leads me onto my next destination. I am flying to Dubai the day after the wedding and I’ll spend three days there exploring on my pat. SO, if anyone has been to Dubai please give me some ideas on cool things to do.

See you later, baked potata!