It's a busy week. I've done my hours for the week (and some) already. And I have a 7am meeting tomorrow to keep things rolling. Next week won't be any better. I have a two-day evaluation meeting on Monday/Tuesday with folks from London and Southampton. It'll be very intense and I'll have work to do between times.
I'm in Junction 28. I think I was somewhat unfair in my original comments on J28.It is a bit of a throwback to the 70s, but the food is very thoughtfully cooked & of good quality, and the staff are well-trained. They have a private dining room; I'm bringing my evaluation team here on Monday evening so that we can make the most of the two days, i.e. a working dinner (getting best value for taxpayers!).
Sue & George (landlord)'s son Richard works here on occasions. He's just got a good job in London, starting September. He's heading off on a world tour on Easter Sunday, making the most of his time between now and September. Lucky devil!
It's a very big place, though it doesn't feel big because it's divided into separate dining rooms. Despite its size and the financial squeeze, it's very well used - reflecting the quality and value-for-money.
I left work after 9pm last night, so dinner was a pint and a packet of crisps (cheese & onion) in the Tredegar Arms :(
Tonight, in J28, I had creamy seafood risotto starter (nicely sized, not too big) followed by baked trout with baked sweet potato. All very nice, but potato was more than I could comfortably eat. I finished with Tiramisu with a dousing of coffee - very nice indeed.
I actually attended fencing on Monday - my first appearance in perhaps 2 months. I enjoyed it and wasn't as knackered as I might have expected, although my legs felt a bit tight for the next day or so. I didn't fence very well, but what can you expect after a 2 month lay-off.
Off to bed now...
Thursday, 25 March 2010
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Spring has sprung
-Andy (sent from my Windows Mobile device)
Monday, 15 March 2010
Last minute tactics
-Andy (sent from my Windows Mobile device)
Disaster!
Argh. I forgot to pack my pyjamas. I hope there's no fire in the night!!
On the plus side, I'm in my room and unpacked in time to watch Raymond in his kitchen. Salmon and beetroot. Nice.
Oh, did you notice I skipped fencing tonight?! My excuse being that I needed to do a blog post for NOTE: and I have an early start tomorrow. I haven't been for weeks. I MUST go next week.
However, last Monday I saw film A Bit Of Tom Jones at the Arts Centre. Very funny. Made just down the road from Newport, on a very small budget, but getting a lot of news coverage. Well deserved. The film's director brought the can of film with him to the Arts Centre and spoke to us beforehand and explained the background, etc.
On the plus side, I'm in my room and unpacked in time to watch Raymond in his kitchen. Salmon and beetroot. Nice.
Oh, did you notice I skipped fencing tonight?! My excuse being that I needed to do a blog post for NOTE: and I have an early start tomorrow. I haven't been for weeks. I MUST go next week.
However, last Monday I saw film A Bit Of Tom Jones at the Arts Centre. Very funny. Made just down the road from Newport, on a very small budget, but getting a lot of news coverage. Well deserved. The film's director brought the can of film with him to the Arts Centre and spoke to us beforehand and explained the background, etc.
Medal picture
-Andy (sent from my Windows Mobile device)
Trevor's bought a new car
I forgot to say, Trevor's bought a new car (well, new to him). It's a 54-reg blue MG TF (soft-top sports car). No doubt we'll get to see it soon. Stay tuned for pictures (but don't hold your breath coz he hasn't paid for it yet... it was a bit of an impulse buy methinks)
Back by popular demand
Okay J & Flo, you better be reading this ;)
The weekend was an odd one. As I sit here in the Tredegar Arms and reflect, it doesn't seem like I was actually at home all weekend. However, any amount of driving and sitting around was worth the pleasure of seeing J and his team win silver. Elf was very focused, put all of his energy into it, and offered good leadership; J and Noisy backed him up in their own individual styles. They made a good team.
Flo was a star, sitting around patiently all weekend; taking a turn in the tuck shop to relieve her boredom. Tim awarded her Fencer of the Week, which pleased her greatly.
I hope J gets some good results this week at Crystal Palace. He deserves it and it'll be interesting to compare his results between foil and epee (and sabre!).
Prior to writing this post I just finished my NOTE: blog posts for tomorrow. It's great that I can schedule them to be automatically posted when it suits me; so I can write the posts when it suits me and then see them automatically published at the same time on the same day each week, so the audience know what to expect (and when to expect it). I'm pleased with the growing audience. I seem to have found a solid 150 subscribers and (with a few fluctuations) it's on an upward trend. 200 here I come! However, I've got some distance to go to match the 4,000 subscribers that I used to have for my email newsletter. And it was worth the effort because I got a number of contracts on the back of people knowing me. Indeed, I noticed a couple of weeks ago that there were a handful of folks at ONS who subscribed to my email newsletter (including Keith who interviewed me for my current project!).
I'm off to the ONS office in Titchfield (near Southampton) tomorrow. It's a 3 hour journey, so it'll be an early start (leaving Newport at 7am) and a late return. Paul Wharin's staying in Cardiff for a couple of nights (I used to work with him at MAFF and BT and Motorola) so I'm meeting him tomorrow night when I get back from Titchfield. It'll be a long day. Oh, and I need to text George to request brekkie at 6:30am. Hang on... there, done (although George is bound to deny all knowledge of the text in the morning anyway).
Well, time to leave Tredegar Arms and ... [ah, Sue just texted confirmation of early Brekkie (Sue's reliable, so my tea and toast are secured)] ... head back to B&B to unpack and pop into bed.
Bon nuit y'all
The weekend was an odd one. As I sit here in the Tredegar Arms and reflect, it doesn't seem like I was actually at home all weekend. However, any amount of driving and sitting around was worth the pleasure of seeing J and his team win silver. Elf was very focused, put all of his energy into it, and offered good leadership; J and Noisy backed him up in their own individual styles. They made a good team.
Flo was a star, sitting around patiently all weekend; taking a turn in the tuck shop to relieve her boredom. Tim awarded her Fencer of the Week, which pleased her greatly.
I hope J gets some good results this week at Crystal Palace. He deserves it and it'll be interesting to compare his results between foil and epee (and sabre!).
Prior to writing this post I just finished my NOTE: blog posts for tomorrow. It's great that I can schedule them to be automatically posted when it suits me; so I can write the posts when it suits me and then see them automatically published at the same time on the same day each week, so the audience know what to expect (and when to expect it). I'm pleased with the growing audience. I seem to have found a solid 150 subscribers and (with a few fluctuations) it's on an upward trend. 200 here I come! However, I've got some distance to go to match the 4,000 subscribers that I used to have for my email newsletter. And it was worth the effort because I got a number of contracts on the back of people knowing me. Indeed, I noticed a couple of weeks ago that there were a handful of folks at ONS who subscribed to my email newsletter (including Keith who interviewed me for my current project!).
I'm off to the ONS office in Titchfield (near Southampton) tomorrow. It's a 3 hour journey, so it'll be an early start (leaving Newport at 7am) and a late return. Paul Wharin's staying in Cardiff for a couple of nights (I used to work with him at MAFF and BT and Motorola) so I'm meeting him tomorrow night when I get back from Titchfield. It'll be a long day. Oh, and I need to text George to request brekkie at 6:30am. Hang on... there, done (although George is bound to deny all knowledge of the text in the morning anyway).
Well, time to leave Tredegar Arms and ... [ah, Sue just texted confirmation of early Brekkie (Sue's reliable, so my tea and toast are secured)] ... head back to B&B to unpack and pop into bed.
Bon nuit y'all
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