December 2009
6 posts
Important - please read!
I’m moving my blogging to a slightly differently-titled blog at Wordpress, so please all click on over to my new home by clicking here.
Is a brake really necessary on a bicycle?
This blog entry features Hot Velodrome Action, in Hampshire, including pics kindly loaned by Bree*.
It had been planned for several weeks, so I’d been getting more and more excited about my first turn on a real live velodrome, part of Calshot Activities Centre near Southampton. Staying with the wonderful and gracious Lindsey, who battled through the crappiest of colds to look after her...
Spoiler?
I have a pet hate that’s quite hard to explain, and covers quite a wide range of situations. Basically, I love anticipation. I love NOT knowing something, but knowing that I’ll discover it. This isn’t an unusual thing - very few people buy a book, skip to the final pages, read them, and then happily start the book already knowing how it ends. Admittedly one of those few is my...
An Even Break?
What did the “break” key used to do on ’80s computers? Why don’t we have it any more?
Xmas food is appearing at a terrifying rate in the office kitchen. after yesterday’s biscuit-fest, we have a wonderfully traditional and delicious stollen in there:
It’s not the fluffiest of cakes, but it’s truly delicious, and a spot of extra chewing brings...
Call that lunch?
An M&S “Fireburst Rice Salad” isn’t the first thing to come to mind when I think of December foodstuffs, but it’s what I had for lunch. Disclaimer: the main reason I chose it was because this morning there were chocolate biscuits and cookies in the office kitchen and I ate 6 (six) of them. And number 7 is waiting for me for afternoon tea (edit: also nos. 8 and 9).
I...
Oops?
Sorry guys - so much for an entry every day (the weekend was never supposed to count, though). Nagging by Allan (the new fragrance for Xmas 2009) has encouraged me to put fist to keyboard and type any old crap to fill space and shut him up. I didn’t say that out loud, did I? Anyway.
How about those new-style parking meters, the ones where you stick your cash in and get a sticky...
November 2009
8 posts
The first day of the week - alphabetically?
…was the easiest question in tonight’s pub quiz, attended by me and (forgive the twitterism, but since this is being published on Twitter and is probably where most of my readers come from) @breekom, @golfpunkgirl, @benbenbenbenben and @leewinter.
It took place at the Stinging Nettle in Shepherds Bush - Bree and I had been having a quiet drink there a month or so ago and had overheard...
Size does matter?
My friend Liv suggested this addendum to yesterday’s post. Some see the popularity of exhibitions such as Anish Kapoor as a renaissance in the public appreciation of art; but as Liv pointed out, how many of the punters who queue to see Kapoor’s Big Art are actually interested in the more standard formats?
I blame the Tate Modern’s Turbine Gallery. It DEMANDS Big Art. It also...
Kapoor or Caravaggio?
This isn’t a discussion on the merits of two very different forms of art. This is a “wot I done on my weekend” post, less interesting but undoubtedly less long-winded and pretentious than the former would have been.
Yesterday afternoon, B and I (having allowed ourselves the luxury of waiting for the torrential rain to subside) trundled into town to see the Anish Kapoor...
Unnecessary question mark?
Tumblr’s bizarre thinking means if I want people to respond to my blog posts, I need to put a question mark in the title. I’m an attention whore, so of course I do, which is why I’ll likely be moving to Wordpress just as soon as I can work out the baffling complex set of things I can do to customise my blogging experience. As long as I get dozens of witty response, and thousands...
Fancy an Argentinian?
As part of an attempt to eat well of as many different cuisines as possible, I got to experience real Argentinian food last night at Buen Ayre. There was no question it would be all about the steak, but fortunately they do several mixed grills (part of a thankfully short and simple menu - when we did Korean a couple of months ago we all gratefully and, somewhat pathetically, put ourselves in the...
Scammed?
I’m wondering if I try and write an entry every day whether the blog will become vital and coherent, or I’ll just end up typing rubbish (incl. meta rubbish, like a post wondering about itself, for example). Can’t hurt to try.
I’m thinking at the moment about identity theft, being hacked on the internets, that kind of thing. There must be a massive trail of me all over...
Personal training c/d?
This morning I just had my 3rd personal training session (my 4th if you count my hardcore free weights hour in the gym with Harry, which I probably should as I hope it’s not going to be a one-off). Bree and I are paying a delightful Serb (who, despite being straight, male and in his late 20s, loves the Backstreet Boys and JLS) a staggering sum of money to make us sweat and suffer.
And...
Comments?
The photo of me at the top of this blog is woefully out of date. I’m ten pounds heavier, and have been rocking some kind of varying-length stubble for the last 9 months. I like to think I look cosier. More cuddly maybe?
I nudged a friend about why she wasn’t blogging any more earlier today, so rather than be a filthy hypocrite, here’s a wee update on things in and around me...
August 2009
1 post
Parenting? Piece of cake...
Bree and I did twelve hours of babysitting on Saturday, a two and a half year old girl and a one year old lad. The girl is a bit of a minx but the boy is ultra-well behaved. It was a lovely day - we took them first to Sainsburys, where they sat in the trolley and were happy and cute and no trouble, and then to the park, where we spent half an hour in the playground then an hour or so walking and...
July 2009
1 post
Same as it ever was?
I went to pick up Bree from the airport last night. As I stood in terminal three checking out the new arrivals, I watched a muslim man, not looking where he was going, ram his trolley into the back of an orthodox jew. You could have cut the tension with a knife.
(actually you couldn’t, it was fine, he apologised, got a glare in return, and life continued. It tickled me for some reason,...
June 2009
5 posts
Myers-Briggs redux
I stumbled across an old blog of mine earlier and it mentioned in passing that I was an ENFJ. So I did the test again.
I am still an ENFJ.
I also came across this piece of prescience (from January 2003):
“I have discovered that the British economy is centred on a corporate structure so unstable that it’ll make the Albanian pyramid disaster look like a picnic”
Ride 24 - part 3
There are a few aspects of the race I didn’t really mention in the last two parts, but which deserve a bit of blog space. As everyone knows, the event took place at Dunsfold airfield, where Top Gear race and test cars. I had thought, initially, we’d be racing on the actual top gear track, Chicago, Gambon etc., but when I looked into it I realised that it’s actually only a tiny...
Ride 24 part 2 - do you like stats?
So, the riding itself. I’d intended to pace myself to an extent, but for some reason it’s genuinely hard to go slower than you know you can. Into the wind, willingly dropping the pace seems foolish as you’ll be grinding away longer and sacrificing momentum; with the wind behind you, it’s a joy to ride and it would be silly not to take full advantage. So that’s what...
Ride 24 - part 1
It’s Sunday evening, and me and my thighs are sitting on the sofa watching Top Gear. The track challenge is of particular interest to me tonight, as for most of the last 36 hours I have been pounding round it on a German superbike.
That’s slightly disingenuous - only 6 of the 24 hours was I actually on the track. Thankfully I had three teammates to take up the slack (and there was...
Enough, do you think?
I’ve bought a lot of bike stuff lately. I thought, after a while, I’d essentially have verything I needed and only occasionally have to replace stuff that had worn out. Indeed, about 4 months ago I was browsing Wiggle and I couldn’t see anything I wanted - not even unnecessary adornments. And then…
I’m not sure exactly what happened - I bought a couple of things for...
May 2009
5 posts
Orta? I hardly know 'er! ?
Back from a long weekend in the Italian lakes, and since I’m not a very good blogger (and no-one reads this) I’m not sure I have the energy to write a comprehensive reporting back report. So here’s the first in a selection of vignettes (is that the right word?).
1. Bree took this photo, so I can’t claim credit, but how about this for most judgemental/hopeful shop name:
...
Cheat
So Manny Ramirez has just been banned for 50 games for taking HCG, a female hormone used to mask steroid use. It’s fair to say Manny is, along with Alex Rodriguez (who earlier this season confessed to steroid use in 2001-2003), the biggest star in baseball. I am conflicted - drug cheats exposed is good, but it’s becoming pretty clear that a HUGE number of baseball stars have beeen...
Eyes bigger than stomach, official
Matt, Harry and I did an alternative loop of SW Surrey yesterday. It was nippy, and rained for about 20 minutes, but the wind was gusty rather than strength-sapping and 60 miles with a substantial break for an even more substantial lunch is really quite civilised.
We drove the bikes to Newlands Corner, on the crest of the North Downs outside Guildford, and rode a clockwise loop via Petworth in...
Pomegranate & cranberry, a marketing triumph
Damn but M&S pomegranate and cranberry soft gums are a dystopian yuppie mindfuck totally delicious! They have “real juice” in them (so does Sunny Delight and the carton of ruby breakfast that’s been in my fridge for 2 months, but I wouldn’t want to consume them) so they’ve got to be healthy! “Beef gelatine”, too. Wine gums for the chattering classes....
Too post-prandial to work
My annual desire to revive my blog is, apparently, upon me. Hurray! So just a selection of random thoughts to kick off:
one of the young women with premises near my office has added to the usual selling points (busty, friendly, own hair etc) that she provides “cold drinks”. Is this a kinky new euphemism, or an experiment in running a bar?
when good things happen, the laws of the...
August 2008
1 post
Road trip
Does it count as a road trip when you do it on your own? Next week I’m going to Scotland to see friends, watch clients’ shows at the Edinburgh festival, and a combination of the two. What still has to be worked out is the logistics of the whole kaboodle, but I *think* I have places to stay (one in Embra and one in Glasgow) so fingers crossed it’ll work out.
What I am...
July 2008
13 posts
Cycling and knees - an unnatural coupling →
All about what riding does to your knees. It’s not terribly encouraging.
What's brown and sticky
I’m not that brown but the stickiness makes up for it. Having come down with a fever last night (with temperatures approaching the 90s) I spent today off work at home and pretty much focused on my sweating. The temperature in my bedroom has just ticked under 80 degrees for the first time since, I dunno, the middle of last week so I guess it may be approaching acceptable levels again.
New...
Invite to Gipsy House
Riding for the Roald Dahl Foundation has resulted in an invitation for the three of us to tea at Gipsy House, Roald’s pad, with his widow Liccy and the other people who’ve done charity work for the Foundation. Blimey!
On TV
Apparently Meridian’s local 6pm news show features our ride! I am going to check it out after 6.30 at http://www.itvlocal.com/meridian/localtoyou/ - you can too, you lucky things.
At the hotel in Gournay-en-bray after the best afternoon’s cycling ever. Tailwinds, i love you so much!
Mark has arrived in Newhaven and is drinking maybe the most welcome cup of tea ever. 90 mins till the ferry goes, though…
On the ferry, eating rillette, pie, cornichons, rice, meatballs, beans, cake and cheese. And wine.
At our second drink break. Astonishingly, we’ve been in the lead pack both legs, though waiting for everyone takes SO LONG. I’m invincible!
Emailing an update from the front line
Can Mark update Tumblr by email? My guess is no (he failed with Twitter). Current weather forecast for tomorrow: London: 21 degrees, light showers, SW wind at 14mph. Newhaven: 18 degrees, light showers, SW wind at 22mph. i.e. it’s going to suck.
Another phone test as they seem to have changed the number…
The saga of how to get three chaps, three bikes and three bags (plus) from Wandsworth to Crystal Palace at early o’clock has been solved!
Pre-cycle prep
I’ve bought SO MUCH CRAP for this ride to Paris. In all, I must have spent two grand on bikes and bike accessories in the last twelve months, and it all feels worthwhile, in the same way that it’s impossible to feel guilty for buying a novel. I’m bettering myself, okay?
Today - and hopefully the final purchase before heading off, bleary-eyed but carb-loaded to the gills, at...