Out & About
St Patricks Day
As St Paddy’s day rolled around, I found myself working out the London office for a change.
This worked out to be very handy, because there was a half-decent Irish pub just round the corner. As always on St Paddy’s day, they were handing out the silly hats and glow sticks whenever large quantities of Guinness were purchased.
As it was the 250th anniversary of Guinness, the lads and I of course obliged and by the time we finished up some 6 hours later, we had amassed a pretty fair collection of both hats and glowsticks as you can see from the Photos. Eventually, I staggered off into the darkness, wearing a hat covered in glow sticks. I had wisely elected to leave the car at home and I slept comfortably on the train all the way back to Basingstoke.
As I stumbled over the doorstep and carefully swayed into the kitchen, I was asked “How many pints?”. All I could say was “Count the glowsticks. I’m off to bed” … *Hic*
+37Snow and Chaos
Last night’s heavy snowfall (at least by British standards) has predictably caused the usual commuter chaos today.
Large sections of the rail network have shutdown completely, London buses, trains and even the tube have largely ground to a halt and the roads are, by all accounts jam-packed.
And all for less than 6 inches of snow.
Why is that?
+16UCB bash
…at the George was a good one. Nice to see familiar faces I haven’t seen for awhile. Also nice to see that the future is lookin’ good for a great team, who are riding off into the sunset, but shortly to return better than ever!
See you all at the 2009 launch.
And remember…
Slide!
+26Hawk Conservancy Trust: A Grand Day Out
When the skies suddenly cleared and the sun burst forth in an unusually enthusiastic style this weekend, we knew it was too good to miss and headed out for the day on Sunday.
We had decided to visit the Hawk Conservancy Trust, located near Weyhill, just outside Andover. We hadn’t visited the Trust before, but had heard glowing reports from friends within the Sealed Knot.
Just before 1:30pm, we strolled through the visitor’s centre and into the main grounds, armed with a complimentary copy of the trust’s highly informative booklet and map. We immediately headed up to watch the “Valley of the Eagles Flying Display”.
+11What’s on YOUR list?
A couple of weeks back, Su was telling me about a book called “Time Enough for Love” by noted Sci-fi author: Robert A. Heinlein.
In this book, the main character Lazarus Long (who as part of a genetics rejuvenation experiment has managed to live over two thousand years) has a conversation, in which he states:-
+24Hyde Park 2008
What can I say? A good gig (especially Sunday). Beautiful weather, excellent music from both classic and more contemporary acts. A little more commercial now that the Hard Rock cafe have taken over but not unbearably so.
All in all, a great weekend, spent with good friends in a pretty cool place.
Thanks folks!
Photos now available – Check em out!
+13Beale Park – Worth a stroll
It was a gorgeous sunny day, our options were working in the garden or a day trip somewhere interesting … there was no contest. 
I suggested the Child-Beale Trust. I hadn’t been there in years and Phil had never been. The Thames valley and surrounding area is particularly picturesque, so it seemed like a good idea.
Beale Park was formed by Gilbert Beale in 1956 who decided to donate this beautiful 350-acre park to ‘the people’ by converting it from private farmland into a non-profit making, charitable trust. More information about the history of the park is available on the Beale Park website.
+12