It's been a bit longer than intended for me to get round to writing this. I always find something else to do instead.
On Friday, I managed to get myself out of bed at 6am. I am not generally a morning person but managed it and was ready to go and pick my Dad up at 7am. Fortunately, at that time the roads leading to the M1 were not too busy so I didn't have any real scary incidents.
I ended up driving for the majority of the journey with my Dad was navigating. He couldn't map read and drive at the same time. The first real problem we encountered was in Sheffield. There was a massive road accident right in the middle of town. The part we needed to get through. The original plan to stop in Sheffield for some geeky tram trips had to be hastily scrapped and instead I got to practice my clutch control on Sheffield's many hills and drive behind a lot of trams that were also stuck in traffic. Eventually we got through and carried on to just outside Wakefield for the National Coal Mining Museum.
As with any self respecting coal mining museum, there was a trip underground. This involved getting a hard hat and safety gear then cramming into a lift with 15 other people to descend 140 metres into the mine. The chap providing the tour was from Barnsley and enjoyed using various distinctive Barnsley phrases to confuse the more southern members of the group. Despite banging my head a couple of times on the low ceilings, it was a detailed tour and fairly interesting. Perhaps went on a bit too long though.
The next day we drove back via Sheffield so we could get our fix of tram riding. Luckily there were no accidents or traffic jams on this occasion. We took a tram from Meadowhall shopping centre and tried to find an Industrial Museum. We found the museum but unfortunately it was shut on a Saturday and we were there on a Saturday. Instead we had a wander about before catching the tram back to Meadowhall and starting the journey home.
This part was slightly more stressful. There were a lot more crazy people out on the road. There were people doing 80/90 miles per hour undertaking and the odd annoying truck. I managed to keep my cool and we made it back to south west London by about 6pm.
Now it's back to normal life - pottering about in the suburbs of London. I got a trip to Essex for work on Monday but that mostly involved giving a presentation and enduring noisy school children on the train back to Liverpool Street.
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
Trips and other plans
At the beginning of the year, I set myself a few targets. Most of which I haven't done too well with despite rebranding them from the more normal term of new year's resolutions.
One of my targets for 2012 was to do a road trip. Since January, I have managed several road trips. Driving to glamorous destinations including Cardiff, Bournemouth, Brighton and Plymouth. My next big trip is on Friday when I am driving to the North of the UK for the first time.
I've done all the preparation - checking the oil, tyre pressures and attempting to clean the car. Now all I have to do is negotiate my way onto the M1 and head towards Huddersfield. Easy right? Fortunately for my fellow road users, it will not just be me on this journey. On this occasion, I will be splitting the driving with my dad.
The plan is to visit Sheffield then head onto the National Coal Mining museum near Wakefield. Staying over in Huddersfield for the night then heading back, probably through a few other fun towns along the way. Maybe not as glamorous as some trips but hopefully it should be fun and the driving won't be too complicated.
I am trying to make an effort to update this blog more regularly so I will write an update on how I get on after the trip.
I also have a conference to attend for work at the end of next month. That too is in a less glamorous location - Croydon. I've only been to one conference before for work and it was two days of awkward team building moments. Fortunately there is an evening do where a lot of people drink too much and do silly things. On the last conference, I enjoyed the complimentary wine a bit too much and was feeling a bit delicate for the group presentation the following day. Not good. This year, I have to give a 10 minute presentation by myself on the merits of being on the staff panel. Perhaps I will provide an update on how that one goes too?
The big exciting trip to somewhere new and fun is in January. I am going to TOKYO! I've always wanted to go to Japan and since my sister will also be there at the same time following her Malaysian adventures, I thought this was the ideal opportunity. Regardless of any less exciting blog updates in the meantime, I will definitely try to keep a record of the trip here.
One of my targets for 2012 was to do a road trip. Since January, I have managed several road trips. Driving to glamorous destinations including Cardiff, Bournemouth, Brighton and Plymouth. My next big trip is on Friday when I am driving to the North of the UK for the first time.
I've done all the preparation - checking the oil, tyre pressures and attempting to clean the car. Now all I have to do is negotiate my way onto the M1 and head towards Huddersfield. Easy right? Fortunately for my fellow road users, it will not just be me on this journey. On this occasion, I will be splitting the driving with my dad.
The plan is to visit Sheffield then head onto the National Coal Mining museum near Wakefield. Staying over in Huddersfield for the night then heading back, probably through a few other fun towns along the way. Maybe not as glamorous as some trips but hopefully it should be fun and the driving won't be too complicated.
I am trying to make an effort to update this blog more regularly so I will write an update on how I get on after the trip.
I also have a conference to attend for work at the end of next month. That too is in a less glamorous location - Croydon. I've only been to one conference before for work and it was two days of awkward team building moments. Fortunately there is an evening do where a lot of people drink too much and do silly things. On the last conference, I enjoyed the complimentary wine a bit too much and was feeling a bit delicate for the group presentation the following day. Not good. This year, I have to give a 10 minute presentation by myself on the merits of being on the staff panel. Perhaps I will provide an update on how that one goes too?
The big exciting trip to somewhere new and fun is in January. I am going to TOKYO! I've always wanted to go to Japan and since my sister will also be there at the same time following her Malaysian adventures, I thought this was the ideal opportunity. Regardless of any less exciting blog updates in the meantime, I will definitely try to keep a record of the trip here.
Thursday, 16 August 2012
Wonderful West Country
Last week my sister (Megan) and I embarked on the longest road trip either of us had done since passing our driving tests .
We drove from Teddington (south west London) to Plymouth. A journey of about 215 miles on some rather windy, hilly roads. There were also inconsiderate truck drivers, traffic jams and our own attempts to navigate to add into the mix. Luckily we made it there in one piece without any major incidents. Yay!
Here is a picture of the more traffic free part of our journey...
We stayed with our aunt, Glyn, in the Mutley area of Plymouth. Handy for all the student bars and not too far from the centre of Plymouth.
On the saturday, we took the train down to Cornwall to visit Looe. Megan was keen to swim in the sea so as soon as we arrived in Looe, we headed straight to the beach. I don't normally go for trying to get into the sea beyond paddling depth but decided to be brave. Once I overcame the initial chill, it was actually really nice.
In the evening, Glyn hosted a party at her house to celebrate her birthday. It had a hippy theme so everyone dug out their long hair wigs, tie dye, flares and other hippy accessories. Here's a pic of me and Meg in our hippy outfits...
What you can't see in this picture is Megan's awesome hippy trousers, really added to the hippy look. The party itself was really good. Glyn has some very cool and interesting friends who had all put in a lot of effort for their costumes. There was even a hippy themed jamming session featuring a guy singing on guitar with a tambourine and flute to keep him company.
On sunday, we decided to stay in Plymouth. We took a walk down the hill to the city centre and explored the fairly new Drake Circus shopping centre before heading to the harbour area. We decided that the Plymouth Aquarium was an essential place to visit. I love aquariums! I get very transfixed by all the different sea creatures, particularly the jelly fish. They also had some amazing octopi (I think that's the right plural for more than one octopus) and mini sharks.
By monday it was time to go home. Unfortunately, the weather conditions on the way home were not so friendly. We had to contend with pouring rain and fog on the windy, hilly roads that took us back towards London. It was a scary driving experience for us both but we made it. Hopefully, we can do more cool road trips like this and feel much more confident as a result of doing this.
We drove from Teddington (south west London) to Plymouth. A journey of about 215 miles on some rather windy, hilly roads. There were also inconsiderate truck drivers, traffic jams and our own attempts to navigate to add into the mix. Luckily we made it there in one piece without any major incidents. Yay!
Here is a picture of the more traffic free part of our journey...
We stayed with our aunt, Glyn, in the Mutley area of Plymouth. Handy for all the student bars and not too far from the centre of Plymouth.
On the saturday, we took the train down to Cornwall to visit Looe. Megan was keen to swim in the sea so as soon as we arrived in Looe, we headed straight to the beach. I don't normally go for trying to get into the sea beyond paddling depth but decided to be brave. Once I overcame the initial chill, it was actually really nice.
In the evening, Glyn hosted a party at her house to celebrate her birthday. It had a hippy theme so everyone dug out their long hair wigs, tie dye, flares and other hippy accessories. Here's a pic of me and Meg in our hippy outfits...
On sunday, we decided to stay in Plymouth. We took a walk down the hill to the city centre and explored the fairly new Drake Circus shopping centre before heading to the harbour area. We decided that the Plymouth Aquarium was an essential place to visit. I love aquariums! I get very transfixed by all the different sea creatures, particularly the jelly fish. They also had some amazing octopi (I think that's the right plural for more than one octopus) and mini sharks.
By monday it was time to go home. Unfortunately, the weather conditions on the way home were not so friendly. We had to contend with pouring rain and fog on the windy, hilly roads that took us back towards London. It was a scary driving experience for us both but we made it. Hopefully, we can do more cool road trips like this and feel much more confident as a result of doing this.
Monday, 6 August 2012
Driving me crazy, 2012
Following my last driving related post back in 2010, I would like to announce that I passed my driving test first time on 8th November 2011. With two minors. Clearly the many driving disasters along the way were worth the trouble.
When I finally did pass my test, my Dad provided me with the following advice: "now you have passed your test, the learning really begins". At the time, I thought this was all a little patronising and was not really sure I could handle traumatic driving experiences all by myself.
Fortunately, in the nine months since I have passed I have not had any major incidents. I had visions of dramatic crashes, particularly on the first occasion I went on the motorway. Then again, I'm not sure any sane people decide that the M25 is the best motorway to start with.
Embarrassingly, I have had a couple of minor incidents. On one occasion, I was trying to reverse out of a parking space and knocked my wing mirror off by clipping it on a metal post. Stylish. On another occasion, I was trying to manouvre out of a tight space in an underground car park and ended up getting a bit too friendly with a van. Leaving a dent along the side of my car and the van completely unharmed. Luckily, my Dad has helped me fix these problems and make my car look less battered. He has fixed my wing mirror and beaten out the dent I put in the car. Perhaps his original post test comment wasn't quite as patronising as I orginally thought?
I'm planning a road trip down to Plymouth with my sister on Friday. I'm going to add an update on that trip once I get back with a view to using this blog more frequently from now on.
Demonstrating my driving skills by not moving in a car park and letting Colin the Cat take all the credit...
When I finally did pass my test, my Dad provided me with the following advice: "now you have passed your test, the learning really begins". At the time, I thought this was all a little patronising and was not really sure I could handle traumatic driving experiences all by myself.
Fortunately, in the nine months since I have passed I have not had any major incidents. I had visions of dramatic crashes, particularly on the first occasion I went on the motorway. Then again, I'm not sure any sane people decide that the M25 is the best motorway to start with.
Embarrassingly, I have had a couple of minor incidents. On one occasion, I was trying to reverse out of a parking space and knocked my wing mirror off by clipping it on a metal post. Stylish. On another occasion, I was trying to manouvre out of a tight space in an underground car park and ended up getting a bit too friendly with a van. Leaving a dent along the side of my car and the van completely unharmed. Luckily, my Dad has helped me fix these problems and make my car look less battered. He has fixed my wing mirror and beaten out the dent I put in the car. Perhaps his original post test comment wasn't quite as patronising as I orginally thought?
I'm planning a road trip down to Plymouth with my sister on Friday. I'm going to add an update on that trip once I get back with a view to using this blog more frequently from now on.
Demonstrating my driving skills by not moving in a car park and letting Colin the Cat take all the credit...
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
About this blog, the stories and the updates it contains.
Someone at work asked me today whether I ever wrote the stories I tell down. It reminded me that I had set this blog up some time ago with the intention to do just that.
I haven't decided whether I will publicise this or to leave it as it is, in a dark corner of the internet most people don't stumble across. I think I will have to see how it goes and whether I manage to add more stories over the next few months. I also feel it is worth establishing whether I can write stories in an interesting, compelling and maybe even vaguely amusing way.
All the stories and the updates on this page are taken from my life. I have developed a habit of finding myself in odd situations, having clumsy moments or generally causing chaos.
I haven't decided whether I will publicise this or to leave it as it is, in a dark corner of the internet most people don't stumble across. I think I will have to see how it goes and whether I manage to add more stories over the next few months. I also feel it is worth establishing whether I can write stories in an interesting, compelling and maybe even vaguely amusing way.
All the stories and the updates on this page are taken from my life. I have developed a habit of finding myself in odd situations, having clumsy moments or generally causing chaos.
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