Quick catch up, review of the year & plans for 2009.

I seem to have failed to post on here for quite some considerable time. I have been as busy as usual but somehow not found the time to post, so let me address that now with a brief catch up. In November I spent a cheery weekend with my younger brother and his family in Sussex. I hadn't seen them since our Dover camping expedition and it was around a year since I had visited them at home. The weather was cold and predominantly wet and I was battling a streaming cold. However the welcome was warm and the hospitality was it's usual excellence.

We spent a very engaging morning at the Tangmere Military Air Museum. They have an excellent array of aircraft including amongst many others, the McDonnell Douglas F4 Phantom, the Sea Harrier FRS2, the English Electric Lightning, The Hawker Hurricane and The Spitfire. In addition they have several displays of military memorabilia mostly pertaining to the 2nd World War in which Tangmere played a major part in the Battle of Britain.

The museum was excellent and a very inviting diversion given the monsoon conditions outside. I even managed to land the Sopwith Camel on the flight simulator, much to the disgust of the man who was running it. I suspect he was hoping that I would get into a right mess so that he could take over and heroically bring it down safely in time for tea and medals. I didn't tell him I have a pilots licence. Ha ! It was great to see the Sussex branch of the family and, as my departure left both children in tears, I guess they were pleased to see me as well !

Also in November I attended the Top Gear Live show in Birmingham. As last year, this was a 90 minute show presented by the Top Gear trio of Clarkson, Hammond and May. It was contained once again within the MPH Prestige Motor Show and the Classic Motor Show. I'd attended this show the previous year and posted my trip in the blog. The show was much the same although I did get to spend more time at the Classic Car Show section this time. The Classic Car Show was largely populated by bespectacled, beardy men in greasy overalls who had clearly spent much longer in their sheds, lovingly restoring their Ford Capri's and Austin 7s, than they had with their wives ! All of the exhibits were fantastic though so their hard work (and wife neglect) in those sheds and garages had clearly paid off. The Police stand, along with numerous police vehicles from many era's, had The Tardis from Doctor Who on display but the queue to have a picture taken with it was enormous so I gave it a wide berth. After all, it's just a blue wooden shed that despite rumours to the contrary, is the same size on the inside as it looks from the outside! The Top Gear Live show was very entertaining but I didn't feel it quite matched up to the previous years display. The driving stunts were still excellent, although having seen the car stunt show at The Walt Disney Studios in Paris last year, it felt a little flat. Still, it's always enjoyable to spend time in the same hall as Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May so it was still a great day. However, back in the MPH Show, I'm sad to report that the tremendous curves of the 2008 Land Rover were missing this year and regrettably Land Rover had not been replaced her..... sorry it, with a new model, so no photos of lovingly buffed bumpers this year I'm afraid !

As seems to be the custom these days, I made my now annual trip to Southern France for the Christmas period. Unlike last year when I was alone, this Christmas was spent with my elder brother and his family and my Mum and Dad, with whom I travelled. Dad had arranged a hire car and so I found myself once again doing battle with the french drivers coming down the hill from Montauroux ! I hate that hill. If the ditches at the lower sections don't get you, the narrow, twisty, steep bits will, especially when the locals seem to drive down the middle of the road straight at you. Christmas 2007 was cold, wet and windy. The weather had come down from the North which meant it had passed over the snow covered Alps. This entailed me spending most of my 2007 trip shivering in front of the fire. Thankfully Christmas 2008 was much more agreeable, very Spring like with blue skies, sunshine and a pleasant warmth, at least during hours of daylight. There was a lot of snow on the nearby hills however, as can be seen in my photo's taken whilst walking the dogs one afternoon.


The above photo is of Monaco which I took when we visited for the evening to participate in the Ice karting. The evening in Monaco was, for me at least, the highlight of the trip. We arrived there late afternoon, spent an hour or so wandering through the fabulous Christmas market and then headed for the swimming pool which had been turned it into an ice rink for the winter. My brother and his daughter went ice skating whilst we watched from the stands. It was during this time that I slipped and fell onto a concrete block cracking my shin and spilling blood everywhere. Even now some 7-8 weeks later I've still got a large dent in my leg which will be there for the rest of my life I assume. Eventually the skating ended and was replaced by the ice karts. Me, my brother and the children went karting whilst Mum, Dad and Sis in law watched from the stands. Dad was in charge of filming the event, which he did brilliantly as you'll see in the video below. Before changing into racing safety gear my niece had worn her highest heels and a bobble hat all designed to give her that important few centimeters to get her past the height restriction. She made it...just. She's only 10 and had never karted on ice before. The first lap was quite slow but she soon got the hang of it and was tearing around the track at top speed for the rest of the race. My kart (No1) was definitely slower than my brothers but he did beat me fair and square so I can't complain. Well, In fact I can. You see in order to get past, he did bump me at the bend forcing me wide which gave him the opportunity to take the inside line and pass me on the straight. :0) He subsequently took the flag and I came in a plucky second. Great fun. We ended the evening by driving from La Rascasse restaurant, where the car was parked, to the casino (to take a look at the very attractive Christmas lights) and then back through Monaco towards the motorway. This trip entailed driving an entire lap of the Formula 1 circuit including that unique hairpin bend and through the famous tunnel under the Fairmont Hotel. Shame I was driving a Toyota Aygo !



We did have a drama though, earlier in the day. They have 2 golden retriever puppies who somehow got out and ran off. We spent 2 hours looking for them without success. At the end of my brothers garden is a forest and literally thousands of square kilometers of woodland, fields, hillsides and open country. Dogs never go far from their pack, nor their territory but in that space they really could have been anywhere. Luckily, a local man found them and phoned the house as both dogs had tags on. So we got them back but my god, I had walked myself silly for that two hour period.

A very enjoyable few days away, wonderful hospitality, a non UK Christmas (which is always good) and it was great to spend time with Mum, Dad & the French based branch of the family.

So that was another year ended. 2008 was generally a good year with very few dramas to report. I worked for 6 months for a major financial organisation, which I thoroughly enjoyed and was very sad to leave. Since leaving I've worked for another organisation in a different industry but I've never really settled and I've never felt that I've been asked to use my skill set at all. I'm supposed to be there until July this year but I'm not sure I'll make it to the end of the contract. I'll get itchy feet and leave for something new and more "me" than I'm doing currently.

Other than the enforced change of job, nothing much has really changed in my life this year.. never a bad thing. I finished the year with less hair than when It started. These days I have to carry my dandruff around in my pocket ! The year had several highlights; all of which I've posted here. Standouts were my trips to Palma, Berlin, Florence and Jersey as well as the camping weekend in Kent.

For 2009, I'd like to be settled and working in a job that I really want. I'd also like to try and get over to Africa this year. I've got a plan but I'm not sure whether it'll come off.... I'll let you know.

Reading back over the posts from 2008 it has become apparent that 'Weird Weekends' has evolved into a weekend city break travelogue. This was never the intention but I'm happy to continue in this vein as travelling is my passion. As such I've lots of plans for 'Weird Weekends' once again this year. I've already booked trips to both Southern and Northern France, Barcelona, Geneva and New York. I've also booked to see concerts by Britney, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Oasis and the brilliant American comedian, Larry the Cable Guy. I've also made a firm commitment to go camping with younger bro and his family again, most probably in the Cotswolds or somewhere in that part of the country. I'm also desperately looking for a sensibly priced ticket to Cyprus to see my mate Jayne who lives out there these days. I'm sure that I'll sneak in a quick trip to Disneyland Paris before the year is out and I would like another few hours in Jersey if I can find both a gap in the calendar & a cheap flight to do so.

Of all of my planned trips, I'm really looking forward to going to New York. I've missed the USA, I've not been there since my whistle stop World tour of 2005. I love the US and now they've got Obama, I haven’t seen them this happy since they invented the McRib.

Things that made me smile this week

Whilst listening to the Isles of Scilly 'Radio Scilly' on my fantastic Internet radio the other day, I became aware of how small & intimate the Islands community is. The stations sports bulletins included the very latest scores from the Darts league taking place in various pubs across the Islands !

On another occasion , they ran a competition and announced that the couple who normally ring in immediately with the correct answers were on holiday that week so everybody else had a much better chance of winning.

Hmmmmmmm Isles of Scilly, now I've never been there. I must look into that. And on that note....... Until the next time.