| |
|
Mar 2008 |
|
|
|
March 2008
THIS PAGE TO BE REVIEWED BEFORE PUBLISHING
Sat 1 Mar
Well... I had fully been expecting the Film Club round for dinner this evening and had not suspected for even one moment that it had all been a ruse for a delayed surprise party for my fortieth birthday. Right up until Mark and Elisa’s arrival at around four o’clock I had no idea. In fact, even when they turned up my first reaction was “uh oh, what about the film club dinner?” But then I realised what had been going on, just as I noticed Barry’s smiling face outside, along with Ed, Alison, Margaret and Mark. Rob turned up a little later. All day Ness had been busy cooking and preparing delicious Moroccan dishes for tonight’s dinner and got the place ready to receive guests. I had done various chores to help but Ness had done 90% of the work. It was great to have our friends round and it was a great evening, even if I did take some expectation to some of our friends table manners and lack of social graces, e.g. multiple shouted conversations, and so on.
Sun 2 Mar
We cleared up from last night, while Mark and Elisa made no signs of getting out of bed to help. A little later the others came round and we stood in the kitchen having cups of tea. Barry and Ed had to leave early to catch their train. Mark and Rob went for a run along the beach and came back sweaty. We went for a walk to the harbour and rocks, and I couldn’t let Mark outdo me on the climb to the front of the rocks! Back at our house we had a delicious buffet lunch and then together with Mark and Elisa drove everyone to the airport and saw them off. At home we finished off clearing up, lit a crackling fire and settled comfortably in front of the TV and watched Time Team. It felt like a perfect Sunday. Before going to bed we packed our bags for tomorrow morning.
Mon 3 Mar
We got up early and drove to Edinburgh airport, where we both checked in for our respective flights, went through the separate security checks and had some breakfast in the departures lounge before boarding our flights. This is now our new start of the week routine and I hate it. Not so much the flight or travel itself, which is not bad at all, but the necessity to be away from each other and from home and from a “normal” home life. I have a very good idea in mind of how I would like this to be ideally but it just seems impossible to realise, and I’m just not coming to terms with it. Enfin… I collected my hire car at Cardiff, a decent and zippy electric blue Ford Focus. At the office I continued to try and figure out what exactly I was supposed to be doing. I had brought my yerba mate and tea making contraptions with me, and was glad to have some of the bitter Argentinean tea, as much for the “novelty” and “ritual” as for the taste. Room service dinner at the hotel.
Tue 4 Mar
Day at work and room service dinner at the hotel.
Wed 5 Mar
Day at work and room service dinner at the hotel.
Thu 6 Mar
Morning at DVLA. Most IBMers left early to head for an off-site event, the annual DVLA programme “kick-off”, which I had opted out of as we have Nessie’s dad coming to visit – a convenient excuse as I didn’t really fancy mustering the fake enthusiasm that usually is required at such events. The morning flew by and then I was back on my way to Edinburgh. Sweaty drunk Welshmen at Cardiff airport. I found Ness and Boss Hogg at the Costa at Edinburgh airport, collected my luggage and we drove home to North Berwick. At home we got a log fire going in the lounge and had Anderson’s rib-eye steaks for dinner.
Fri 7 Mar
I worked from home today and locked myself away in the study, while Ness and Boss Hogg had a quiet day around the house. Ness made a sumptuous buffet lunch, with cous-cous, salads, cheeses, meats, etc. I downed tools at around one o’clock and by three o’clock we were on our way to Glencoe for the weekend. Ness had made a booking at the Clachaig Inn, which I remembered as an atmospheric place in grand scenic surroundings. The weather was grey and wet. Traffic on the city bypass was very heavy, but even so we still managed to get to Glencoe after only about a three hour drive, through places whose names are now familiar to me – Callander, Crianlarich, etc. From Callander onwards we entered the beautiful scenery of the Trossachs, and from here on it was a pleasure to drive, even if the clouds did limit the visibility quite severely. The hilltops were covered in snow. We stopped for petrol at Tyndrum and reached the Clachaig Inn at around half past six. By now it was starting to get dark, the rain was even heavier and the clouds obscured the spectacular views. In a way it added to the mystery of the scene. It was a shame for Ness and Boss Hogg, who had never been to these parts before, but it also meant that there was room left for the imagination, rather than a bang-wallop have-it-all-at-once impact. We checked in at the Clachaig, which actually was rather more basic than I remembered it, and had dinner in the walker’s Boot Bar round the back. Atmospheric, certainly, but not exactly Boss Hogg’s cup of tea I reckoned.
Sat 8 Mar
Ness and I had been poring over the Lonely Planet and the various leaflets in the hotel to come up with some ideas for what to do. The obvious thing to do was walking of course, but with Boss Hogg that was out of the question. He has never been a healthy person and walking is one of his weakest points. Combined with sciatica, back trouble, gout, etc. Even an easy walk was not going to be possible, and instead we tried to come up with more leisurely pursuits. The weather was still wet and not really conducive to walking anyway, with swollen streams running down the hills, soggy bogs, and rapidly running rivers. Over breakfast we decided that we would go for a driving tour. We also decided to make this a round-trip back to North Berwick and cancelled tonight’s stay at the Clachaig. From here we then made a grand circular tour, heading as far as Inverness, which I had not really expected. It reminded me of our holiday in 1991, when Ness and I made a tour of the Lake District and Scotland. This time we were following the route the other way round, but the various places and views somehow were familiar to me. There was one spot where there was a monument (name?) and a small car park, with views over the valley and hills in the distance, and I remembered that we had stopped here in 1991. At eleven o’clock we stopped by Ben Nevis and had hoped to take the cable car but unfortunately that was closed due to high winds. A sign said it might re-open at noon, but we didn’t fancy waiting here for an hour, and it looked unlikely anyway. The scenery was grand though, green pine trees, snow on the hills, etc. We passed through Fort Augustus, Drumnadrochit, along Loch Ness, and arrived in Inverness at around one o’clock. Ness and Boss Hogg were all for carrying on and stopping for lunch at a country pub later on, but I knew there would not be many of these, or even any! The centre of Inverness, by the river, was actually quite picturesque. The river Ness was flowing fast and was swollen and almost threatened to flood the streets. For lunch we went to the smart modern Peat restaurant, by the river. Ness and Boss Hogg had posh mince’n’tatties, and I had half a lobster. A very civilized lunch. From here we carried on and headed south. We made a few more stops, such as at Aviemore, which had the air of a typical mountain ski resort town. It looked very un-British, and in fact reminded me more of Pucon, in Chile, with its high street lined with tourist and outdoor shops. We drove along a small road through the pine trees and along a lake to the visitors centre, from where I sent a card to Mama. Ness and I swapped driving a couple of times. On the stretch from Aviemore to the Forth Boss Hogg kipped in the back as we drove along the smooth A9 and then M80. and we got back to North Berwick by about seven o’clock. I think we were all glad we had made this call as it meant we had still seen a bit of the Highlands and at the same had the benefit of a night at home. Along the way we had stopped to buy some coal, logs and kindling, and I had another go at making a fire. I’m still perfecting the art! Ness had suggested to build the fire with a layer of coals first and then logs. The logs on their own do look good and give a wonderful crackle, but they don’t generate much heat. The coals were much more effective. We had “cold cuts” and salads for dinner and afterwards watched a Morse episode on DVD. The lounge now really feels homey, a lovely room to be in.
Sun 9 Mar
Despite some clouds, the morning looked bright and all three of us were of a similar mind to go for a beach walk before breakfast. We made a flask of tea and walked to Tea Rock. The going was a bit slower with Nessie’s dad but the main thing was that we were out enjoying the fresh air. Instead of the usual 45 minutes we did it in just under two and a half hours, including a visit to Anderson’s to get a leg of lamb for dinner and essential ingredients for breakfast. Back home Ness made a “Scottish breakfast” with all the trimmings. For the rest of the day we relaxed and took it easy. Boss watched some football on TV, I went out and bough a “dustbuster”, we each eventually got round to having a shower, etc. It was just a lovely relaxing Sunday afternoon. I got another fire going, even better this time, using more coals and banking them up to throw more heat into the room. A bit of a shock when a fire engine pulled up outside with blue lights flashing – turned out to be a chimney fire at a house two doors down, but for a moment we thought it might have been us! In the evening we had a lovely roast lamb dinner and afterwards sat talking in the lounge upstairs. I had my customary coffee and oude jenever.
Mon 10 Mar
The early morning weather reports spoke of heavy rain and storm winds, and I mentally braced myself for a miserable day’s travel delays and queuing. I left home at 6.30am and surprisingly had a smooth drive and flight (bit bumpy but nothing unusual) to Cardiff. Long delay waiting for bags and a slow drive to the office meant that I only got there by about noon. Worked the afternoon and got to my hotel around six or seven o’clock. So far I had not really noticed much of the bad weather which had been hitting the UK and South Wales in particular, but in the evening I did start to notice that it was very windy outside. On the TV the news was all about the storm, with comparisons to the 1987 storm, which I remember well as it was only shortly after my arrival in the UK. I went out to take a look at the sea. There is a small patio on a raised bank by the hotel car park and from here I had a little grandstand all of my own. I went back to my room to get the little camera and returned to the patio. Waves were crashing into the promenade, kicking up three or four metres with a big bash into the walls. Sometimes the receding waves collided with an incoming one and produced the same effect a short distance from the shore. Some people had braved the elements to walk along the promenade and experience the storm, getting splashed by the waves. I tried to take a few pictures and recorded a short little clip, but it was too dark to be any good. On TV there was more news about the bad weather. Back in my room I had room service and called Ness in North Berwick. Now and then I could feel the force of the storm battering the hotel in my room, as a low thud shook the floor.
Tue 11 Mar
According to the news, the highest recorded wind speed last night had been at Mumbles, just a couple of miles along the coast from here, pretty much on the same bay, but in the morning it all looked clear. Day at work, trying to make sense of it all. There is a lot of information to take in and I’m beginning to feel a little overwhelmed by the amount of documentation, and not too sure what exactly I’m supposed to be doing. In the evening, back at the hotel, the weather worsened again and the storm was back, although not as fierce as last night. Curled up with J in bed.
Wed 12 Mar
As I pulled out of the hotel car park I spotted Mark Oldfield, the senior IBM architect here and my “boss”. I waved him over and gave him and another IBMer a lift to DVLA. Mark simply switched his laptop on and the other guy read his paper. Not very sociable I thought, but at the same time I was quite happy to simply listen to the radio. In the morning I had a “workshop” but it was all rather vague talking and hand-waving, partly my own. Received my DVLA pass today. I now also have a permanent desk with a desktop PC, a logon, etc. Hurried back to my hotel room in the evening, and spent time doing stuff like adding to my Google maps, world trip diary, web site entries, etc. Had an excellent rib-eye steak for dinner, cooked perfectly.
Thu 13 Mar
“Going home” day! Even though it has only been the third week of commuting to Swansea, I am already getting used to a new routine, and Thursday is now “going home” day. It’s not a bad deal I guess, but I do resent having to be away from home during the week. Anyway… I spotted another IBMer outside the hotel this morning and gave him a lift. Rao, originally from Madras but now living in Stockport, was far more sociable than my “passengers” yesterday and we talked about shared IBM frustrations, shared resentment at working away from home when the promise that had been held out was quite different, and so on. He also confirmed my belief that Indian restaurants in the UK don’t serve genuine Indian food, but that with some effort you can find the real deal – provided you know where to look! He said he has contacts in Scotland and was going to try and dig out some info for me. At the office I spent several hours doing “stuff”, beginning to make more sense of it all. I now know about ClearCase and TestDirector, and Noel, the architect I’m taking over from, showed me how to “raise a change request”. Before long it was time to head for the airport and catch my flight back to Edinburgh. Drunk Welshmen at the airport again. Not rugby fans but the Welsh Indoor Bowls team, some of whom were not allowed on the plane because of their abusive behaviour to the staff. Policemen armed to the hilt with big machine guns were in attendance. What’s happening to this country? Is it the same in Europe? I keep thinking that my mental comparisons between Britain and the rest of Europe, collectively, are maybe mistaken… Drove home from Edinburgh airport, and there was enough time to head for the spa to steam and soak. Afterwards we got the fire going at home. We seem to be getting this down to a fine art now: a little bit of kindling wood to rest a firelight on, and then build up a small bank of coal round the back, light it, and once it has caught, add a log or two on top.
Fri 14 Mar
We both worked from home today, Ness in the study upstairs and I at the kitchen table downstairs. Had a call with Ian, my manager, to go over PBC (“Personal Business Commitments”, IBM speak for your targets, against which your performance is evaluated) and IDP (“Individual Development Plan”, i.e. training etc.) It went well. In the final two minutes of the call I got my point about having to work away from home in. Still not sure how to get this right, but I am not happy to just let it ride and carry on doing this ridiculous weekly commuting as a lifestyle. I had imagined our post-world trip lifestyles quite differently, and for a brief period last year it seemed to be working out, where we were able to meet in town for lunch, or at the end of the day to go for a meal, a film or a play, or simply spend the evening together at home. Rest of the day dawdled by. Paul dropped by for some more finishing touches.
Sat 15 Mar
Over breakfast we went over the list of shopping, errands, to-dos, etc. First stop was Fort Kinnaird, to try to get a refund on the duff HP printer and have a look for a laptop for Boss Hogg. No luck with the printer, the choice of laptops was bewildering, etc. We also tried to get to the local Jessops but just trying to park the car we were started to feel irritable – the traffic, the busy atmosphere, etc. and we fled Fort Kinnaird and headed into town for the rest of the errands. John Lewis for lunch – aborted, half an hour wait – and TV – too many to choose from. Stuart Christie for trousers – unsuccessful. Tiso for some gloves and a headlamp for our Libyan friends. By now it was around five o’clock and as a very late lunch/very early dinner we went to “GBK”, “gourmet burger kitchen”, on George Street. We had planned to go to the cinema afterwards to see the Juliette Binoche film at the Film House but it didn’t start until quarter to nine and we had around two hours to kill. Instead we found HMV on Princes Street still open and bought a selection of DVD’s and headed home. We got the fire going again, and watched The Good Shepherd.
Sun 16 Mar
Nice lazy slow start. In the afternoon we went for a good long beach walk, past Tea Rock and to the nice beach beyond. Great to have some fresh air and movement. The scenery is stunning, even if we have got used to having it around now, it is a special thing to have all this on our doorstep. On the way back we stopped at the spa. We did beef olives and fried potatoes for dinner, and I tried to make “jus” but it didn’t quite work out how I had hoped/imagined. Bags packed for tomorrow morning, and we lit another fire and watched Mr. & Mrs. Smith, which looked inane.
Mon 17 Mar
We both did our “regular” commute to Swansea and Brighton respectively. At the end of the day I headed straight for the Marriott and into my hotel room, unpacked, ordered room service and called Mama and Ness.
Tue 18 Mar
Day at work and evening in my hotel room. I have my Argentinean mate with me and it’s now a regular routine for me to head to the cafeteria on the ground floor of the office for a flask of hot water, and to be slurping away from my gourd through the day.
Wed 19 Mar
Day at work and evening in my hotel room.
Thu 20 Mar
Morning at work. It was very quiet in the office as many people had already taken off for the Easter break. I travelled home in the afternoon and met Ness at Edinburgh airport. Nessie’s flight landed around the same time as mine, but we had to wait for about an hour for her luggage to come off the plane. Stopped at Sainsbury’s on the way back to get supplies for the weekend as we’ll have Caz, Andy, Joe, Ben and Bud visiting us. Looking forward to that. Ness made a tasty nasi goreng with saté, sambal nanas, topped with a fried egg, for dinner. Delicious.
Fri 21 Mar
Around two o’clock we went out. Ness had prepared some rolls with the leftover prawns and a flask of tea, and our plan had been to sit on one of the benches by the beach to have our lunch and get a couple of lungfuls of fresh air. As soon as we went out we could feel the strong winds and the bitter cold, and turning round the corner we saw that the tide was very high, with the waves coming all the way to the back of the beach, with the spray even blowing over the benches! The sunlight lit up the white crests on the big waves which were rolling in and crashing against the harbour wall, with the dark skies providing a dramatic backdrop. I had taken the camera with me and got some excellent shots. Ness, wearing her skirt, was far too cold to stay put here, and at any rate the waves crashing on the harbour were far too much of a temptation anyway, so we headed in that direction. The tide was about as high as we can recall seeing it, although the owners of the cottages by the harbour had not placed sandbags as they had last year. The waves were smashing into the harbour wall and the rocks, and we both got thoroughly soaked by a surprise wave by the racing hut. I was sort of putting myself in the frame for it, admittedly, but what surprised us was the speed and extra distance the water covered, to also soak Ness who was stood at a bit of a distance with the camera – a couple of excellent shots.
Sat 22 Mar
It was cold today, with the wind still from the north. Andy called in the morning to let us know they would be with us around three o’clock, but I led Ness to believe it would be one o’clock, with the idea of buying a couple of hours to chill out. We got everything ready, cleaned around the house, did shopping, etc. In the end they arrived around four o’clock, with some supplies from Seahouses – kippers, smoked mussels, smoked prawns. Our big bright lounge was a hit, and in the evening we relaxed in the lounge, with the open fire going, and with a varied selection of music.
Sun 23 Mar, Easter
After a slow start, and getting six people through the single bathroom, we made it out for a beach walk at some stage. The skies were wonderfully clear, but it was bitterly cold, with a stiff wind from the north. The high tides had altered the beach. The cold was so intense that you could feel it up your nostrils. The S. Luca van was out but we didn’t buy ice creams. Change of plans and we cut up through town, through the Lodge gardens, and from here we carried on up to the Law. It hadn’t been “the plan” but now there was momentum enough to get us all, including Ben!, to climb the hill. Ness and Caz were a bit dismayed but they weren’t to be outdone. Lots of walkers on the Law, including some egg-throwers. We had not been able to find the egg-throwing competition on the beach. At the top of the Law it was cold and very windy, but the views were stunning. Excellent. We returned home – not really in the mood to stop at a pub on the way back – and for the rest of the afternoon and evening simply relaxed at home. Ness and Caz prepared a delicious roast lamb dinner and I looked after the open fire. A great day. Oh, Caz found my mobile in the car, where I had lost it since Thursday.
Mon 24 Mar
After breakfast the Sarneys packed up and set off around midday. We whizzed round the house to clear up and by four o’clock we were plonked in front of the TV and watched The Lives of Others, an excellent German film, one of the cinema club recommendations. I lit the fire, we had hot chocolate with dark rum. Nessie’s cold had by now really hit and she was feeling very under the weather. Ness had made a cottage pie with the left-over lamb. Packed our bags for the next two weeks. In bed by ten o’clock.
Tue 25 Mar
An early start for both of us and we drove to the airport for our respective flights. There was a long queue at the check-in desk for my bmibaby flight. Ness got through her BA check-in rather quicker but due to the long queues at security only just managed to make her flight, unlike her luggage which got left behind and was delivered later in the day to her hotel in Brighton. Ness texted me during the day to let me know she had gone to the hotel and spent the day in bed with a cold. She had been feeling pretty ropey this morning and if it wasn’t for the fact that her flights were already booked and not changeable, would probably have stayed at home in the first place.
Wed 26 Mar
Day at DVLA office. I really don’t think I actually did anything of real value – of course I did “stuff”, but I honestly can’t remember what! Room service in my room.
Thu 27 Mar
Day at DVLA. Had good intentions of spending the day finally reading those design documents (I have managed to print them at least!) but my project manager had indicated that the “optional” invitation to this afternoon’s workshop was not very optional. Great – four hours spent in a brightly lit air-conditioned poky room along wit |