Happy joint Birthday - Aurora & Andrew

 Today is a very special day as it's a joint birthday for my younger brother Andrew and his beautiful little daughter Aurora. He is 38 years young and she is a big girl of 5 and very cheeky at that!

Christmas Christmas Christmas

Or should I be politically correct (thanks bureaucracy), and call this time of year ‘Seasonal Greetings’ so I don’t offend anybody! Anyway enough of this as I don’t want to get into a debate on what is or isn’t accepted, or waffle on about what I did or did not do over the festive season, so I will kept this short and sweet. So what have I done? Well here is a quick synopsis, so hold on to the reigns of your Reindeer, sit comfortably in your sleigh and enjoy the ride. Early December I had a return squash game with Monica and this time I beat her 3-2, so I’m actually improving. And I hope Santa brings me a new squash racket then she will have no chance, that’s provided that I don’t over indulge and eat too much food, otherwise I will be wobbling around the court. Next, I had several ‘Apéros’ at work, with friends and neighbours. Additionally a few Christmas lunches and dinners, then left the sunny snow covered mountains of Switzerland behind and headed of for the damp, wet and windy south coast of England returning to the UK for Christmas with my family and friends. From the 24th to 30th I stayed with my sister and her family, which was great fun catching up as this was the longest period I have actually stayed with them, but well worth it. A little hectic at times as she has two sons aged 13 and 6, but all in all a great time. Then off to my parents on the 30th till the 3rd when it was time to return back to Switzerland and home, well a second sort of home. My parents had just arrived back from a 7 day break to Italy and had enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Europe on their coach trip. As the weather was pretty bad and the heavy winds had arrived in the UK a lot of New Years Eve outdoor parties and events were cancelled, so we (my parents and I), just stayed indoors and played silly games, which was also very nice and completely different from last year as I was in New York. So having caught up with friends and family the 10 days disappeared very fast and it was time to return to Switzerland and a new year ahead to look forward to.

Gatwick Airport

If you are preparing for you holiday, business travel or any other type of destination, then Gatwick airport is not the place to help you relax. Why? Because of the hustle and bustle once you arrive. As an example, I arrived on the train from Brighton, on an old (maybe it was modern) but nevertheless a train that did not seem to fit into today’s modern world, as you seem to feel every bump of the journey. Although pretty strange as the train is on rails, but it was no comparison to the smooth quiet trains of Western Europe, yes those on the other side of our little island. Anyway I made it (not a bad journey) and as it was mid afternoon then the train was pretty much empty, so I did not have to hunt for somewhere to stow my bags….. and now that I have degreased it’s time to be back on track…. So having arrived at Gatwick nice and early I managed to get an “A” boarding with easyJet, wow you say, but this is some achievement as I have never managed that before. But this does not guarantee a good seat; I have still have to do the ‘supermarket dash’ to get one of my choice, weaving in and out of the elderly and the children that have priority boarding, or for an extra price a privileged boarding pass, whoopee! So having waited for the elderly, the children and families, then the privileged (mugs that paid more), it was then my turn to board. But I still managed to get my chosen seat, so there! But before I get on to that I will step back a bit and explain my frustration, well more my ‘grumpy old man’ syndrome. Once through the security checks and into the duty free section of the airport I had a 2 hour wait as my easyJet plane was delayed (what a surprise), therefore with fingers crossed I hoped I would get home the same day. So with the delay and getting to the airport early all I wanted was some peace and quiet so I could catch up with some light reading or work on my laptop. But in the absence of a quiet area I could not find this little place of solitude and I had to endure the noise, which I can only compare as a discothèque. The continuous popular (crap if you ask me), music so damn loud that everyone had to shout to be heard. This just adds to the overall ambiance which does not help anyone relax. To add to the already deafening noise, there are children crying, or maybe screaming to be heard by their parents who are also shouting at each other, then the loud bastards on their mobile phones shouting above the music, the mobility car for the elderly beeping along with an ear piercing screech, but to top it all, the ‘per de resistance’ is the PA system that blurts out every few minutes to advise people of their departure gate or the regular rubbish such as …your baggage will be removed and destroyed if it is not filled up to the brim with duty free alcohol and cigarettes.. So no wonder kids are hyperactive before their trip and people wound up and agitated, as this is not a pleasant place to be. Let alone the shops luring you in with cheaper than high street prices, so get in fast and spend some more money, you fat overweight lard arses. I’m glad that mobile phones are not permitted on a plane (yet this is to come), as you would never get any peace and quiet in today’s ‘rat race’. My ideal world would be to have some quieter more somber music, even pipe music, a lot lower in volume and have some chill out areas for people to relax and read or just to prepare for the journey ahead. Maybe I’m turning into an old fart, but go to Gatwick and try for yourself… Happy Holidays :-)

Indoor cycling convention

Wow, we made it!
Today was the 'cycling convention' a 5 hour indoor cycling day, basically open to non members of the sports centre also. Well we, Arif and myself arrived early to ensure we got a bike for the first hour. So arriving at 10am we made sure we selected our bikes, adjusted these to suit and placed our towels and drinks bottle on them so we could guarantee we were at least going to do the first hour, starting at 11am. Well the room soon filled up and the 50 bikes were all taken with more people eagerly waiting to participate outside. So the 5 teachers set us off and took turns throughout the 5 hours to lead and give us a taste of their personality, music and endurance. So having completed the first hour, Arif and I decided to go for the next. After a 5 minute break, to change participants and top up our water bottles we were set for the next hour. This continued for 4 hours and although we felt our bodies were now suffering, we thought lets do the final hour. So after an energy bar, a banana, more drinks, we went the final hurdle and completed the 5 hours. This was a massive achievement for us, as we were both suffering after 4 hours, but to show the Swiss that us Brits have the staying power to keep going was worth the suffering. If you check out the link you will see a picture of me taking a well deserved drink. The teachers did not stay the full 5 hours, they changed throughout but all started the first and ended on the last.
Big thanks to Arif for his support and commitment to go the journey. Lance Armstrong eat my shorts! :-)

Riding holiday - Spain

Well what a week! Absolutely fantastic and I can highly recommend this if you want to de-stress or unwind from the ‘rat-race’ and enjoy a fun week with some complete strangers, although not so strange as we all have one big thing in common, yes you guessed it…horse riding, not the other riding, although that would also be welcome! So where do I start telling you about this week? Maybe a bit about the location, or a bit about the people, or maybe just the weather (as it’s a lot better than in other parts of Europe for this time of year), or maybe just ramble on and hope you can get the gist of what’s going on. Okay well hold on to you reins it’s going to be a bumpy ride! Before I begin, you may be asking why a horse riding holiday? Well why not! Have you ever experienced one? No neither have I and as it’s been a while since I last rode a horse, well actually about 9 years ago when I lived in East Sussex in England and thoroughly enjoyed it then. So I thought… do I put this idea to bed and never ride again, or do I actually do something about it? So as you see I chose the later. I then checked out what was available as I had no idea where to go and what to look for. Luckily for me there’s the internet and Google, so after a relatively simple search I found the ‘Rancho Ferrer’ in Rubite near Granada in Spain. I checked out some others but found this was the best bet as it is run by an English family (Mike and Annemarie) and the village is mainly (I stand corrected), all English Ex Pats, but still with a real Spanish touch. I then picked a singles week, which does not mean you have to be single, it is mainly applies to individuals rather than families, which was perfect and booked up the next available slot, which was November 18th, (this was back in September as they are very busy). Having arrived at Malaga airport, I met up with other riders arriving from the UK. Lucky for me our flights were around the same time, as I was flying in from Basel in Switzerland, so this worked out nicely. Once we met Bob (our chauffeur), Chris & Jane (a couple), Mia (who unfortunately arrived first so had a 2 hour wait for the rest of us, we set off for the Ranch, which is around a 2 hour car journey away and pretty remote to say the least, but this just added to the beauty and tranquility of the place and not the typical Spanish ‘Costa del Sol’ holiday. Arriving around 10pm we met up with the others that had arrived earlier in the day and got ourselves settle in for the night in our own quaint villa apartments, ready to start the riding the next day, being Sunday. I could not wait for Sunday and it arrived to a marvelous sunny and warm day. So jumping out of bed I was full of excitement and a little trepidation as it had been a while since I last rode and I did not know if I would be up to the standard of the other 6 riders. I had breakfast, from our lavishly stocked fridge and thought I would follow this with a few stretches I had learnt at Pilates to try and limber up a little so I was not too stiff on my horse. We all met at the stables around 9:30am and were split into two groups as this was easier to manage us and all the horses. My group consisted of: Eta (our young group leader who is only 20 and lives at the Ranch), Jane & Chris, Kirsi and myself. The second group was lead by Maria consisted of: Emma, Mia and Seonaid. We had initially been allocated horses and depending on how we settled in with these would determine the group we were in and whether we kept the same horse for the duration of the week. For me I had Rubio, a beautiful temperament (big) white male horse, who became my best friend and buddy this week as we both bonded and had a mutual respect for one another. It also helped that I always brought him an apple a day and let him make many ‘pit stops’ for snacks on route. As we set off, one behind the other, I did have some fears that I may fall off, especially as the Ranch and village is situated up in the mountains, and all the excursions were up and down the mountains, along tight and narrow pathways with sheer drops and very rough rocky tracks. As you see from the pictures, we all wore our own riding hats, gloves and appropriate gear, yes very sexy! The first day was a familiarisation of rider, horse and terrain, so was only about 2.5 hours and nothing too exhilarating or challenging, but still nothing to what I was used too. Having all arrived back, safe and sound, we then had the afternoons free to entertain ourselves until 20:30 when we all meet for dinner in the bar. Seonaid and her husband Ian (their second time at the Ranch this year, and for Ian a non rider stuck to hill climbing and sightseeing), had hired a car so they went off exploring. Chris & Jane made use of the apartment, the sun terrace and the local surroundings, and as Kirsi (our Finish lady, now living in Holland) had a car, Emma, Mia and I accompanied her on some trips to other Spanish villages and towns. We went to visit several places, such as; Bubion, Motril, Castillo Árabe (a castle) and saw the snow on top of the Sierra Nevada mountain, all very beautiful. I was surprised to see how inexpensive everything was, from food to drinks and most things in general. It goes to show that Northern Europe, Switzerland, the Netherlands and especially the UK rip you off for the price of goods. We enjoyed a drink and free tapas in the bars for four people for around 4 Euros. Even with food and drinks for four people it was around 15-20 Euros, so very cheap. After each day’s riding I relaxed in the ‘hot-tub’ watching the sun set over the mountains and the magnificent cloud formation as it changed shape and colour. As if horse riding was not enough, I was encouraged to go mountain biking to the top of the mountain, which on a horse is a challenge but cycling, well I think you have to be crazy, cos this nearly killed me as my legs were already spent with the riding. But to my amazement I made it and enjoyed the downhill through the pine trees back to the village, although this was not for the faint hearted as this was not easy with the narrow tracks and rocks. Yes Mum I did wear a safety helmet! When Friday arrived I was sad this was going to be the last day and last ride, although the longest as we were out for 5.5 hours, and having a break for a picnic for lunch was much welcomed. My right carf and my back ached before we set off, due to the double dose of exercise on Thursday, but we all made it back safely to the Ranch in one piece, so the week was pretty much error free and no major injuries. The evening entertainment was a free forum, so we could do as we pleased within reason, so after dinner and a few glasses of wine we played silly games, such as, Trivial Pursuits, Charades and Pictionary, which was great fun with plenty of joviality and laughter as the local villages often came down to the bar and joined in. Other highlights were the food, this was fantastic and Don (the Chief) made some very special local Spanish dishes. Annemarie our hostess also cooked on Don’s day off and made some exquisite deserts, so I’m sure we all put on weight this week, so the horses must notice this by Friday and would be glad to get rid of us, well at least until the next group turn up. I can not endorse enough the great week I had and I would highly recommend it. This was all made possible and special thanks to everyone I met, the horses of course, the weather, food and Spain.

Letting one slip!

Letting one slip can be an embarrassing moment and not one you wish to remember or to be reminded of, but for me this was such a funny moment. Well it all started at another Pilates class, you know; The Pilates Method represents a unique approach to exercise that develops body awareness, improving and changing the body's postural and alignment habits and increasing flexibility and ease of movement. Well the ease of movement obviously worked! I can gladly say it ‘was not me!’ So what happened I hear you say? Well about 3 quarters the way through the class, after a lot of controlled breathing and leg and arm movement it was time to do some back rolls, with you legs raised and knees bent and controlled rolling back and forth on your back, stretching out your arms then legs and rolling back into a ball. Well with a class of 97% girls I can vouch that this was not a guy! What? Okay, well as we were all rolling back and forth you have to watch out with this movement that you don’t release something else. For me I’m clenching my butt cheeks as I roll, which makes this doubly hard but quite manageable with the right control. Little can I say for one of the girl’s that let out an enormous fart, so long and loud the room shook and I felt the reverberating tremor shock wave across the floor. Wow, what a whopper I thought and collapsed to the floor trying hard not to burst out laughing. I looked around and nobody reacted, which surprised me, as I found this unbelievable and faught hard to stop myself laughing. Luckily for me I was at the back of the class so I could pull my t-shirt over my face and roll up into a ball and try the heavy breathing technique to calm myself down. As the class continued, I struggled to compose myself and carry on, as my whole body was now limp and my breathing all out of sync. Anyway the class came to an end and we packed up the mats and equipment and we all left the room. Once outside, my buddy Arif said, did you hear that fart? At that point this confirmed it was not a squeaky floor mat on the wooden floor but a real bottom blast and I just pissed (not literally), myself laughing so much so I had tears rolling down my face and I felt weak and rubbery, as if someone had removed all my bones and I could not support myself anymore. Well after a shower and several hours later I had recovered, but I do feel sorry for the girl. I can just image she goes to work afterwards and tells her friends and says, you wouldn't believe what happened in my Pilates class, but then again she is not English so would not have seen the funny side and the amusement was only for me! I can’t wait for the next class, and I surely will keep off the Beans the night before!!!

Squash

Today was another sporting day, well not quite how I expected as I played squash for the first time in 2 years and was it tough? Yeah, too right! I played against my friend Monika from the ‘Scwellenmatteli Restaurant’ and she beat me! Not just once, or twice but I think it was 4 times in a row, but as I started to improve the games got closer and then I won the last game. So she better watch out cos I’m starting to find my form again. Next time I will take the blind fold off!

2fast4me!

It's quite strange as I was talking about Guinness World Record's in my 'Noise Annoys' posting when I came across this interesting story. I think I will stick to voice calls, it's still quicker! A 16-year-old Singaporean student has broken the Guinness World Record for typing the fastest text (SMS) message, according to Reuters. Ang Chuang Yang claimed the title when he entered 160 characters in just 41.52 seconds. The 160-character, 26-word message he raced through is set down by Guinness. It reads: "The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality, they seldom attack a human". I wonder if this is with or without Predictive text?

Exercise Exercise Exercise

This week was a busy one as I went exercising 8 times. Well I wanted to get off to a good start, so I went Friday, Saturday, Sunday, (not Monday as I was too busy at work), Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Wow! You may say, but will I keep it up? Good question, but then I have had some variety. So what did I do? Well here goes; Spinning, Pilates (hard going, but full of hot girls), regular gym work, Badminton (although elsewhere) and cycling (up the Gurten, this was an extra). So one week later I was knackered, so I have taken this weekend off from exercise and just done a little walking instead. Actually after the first couple of days I was buzzing with energy, after 4 days I was feeling the aches and after a week I was fit for nothing. But now, well I’m ready to start again…...

Keeping Fit!

Today I ventured out in the cold (it was bloody freezing today) and went along to a relatively new sports centre to enquire about joining. The good thing is it is pretty close, only about 10 minutes cycle away and in the Stade de Suisse national football stadium in Wankdorf. I went with Arif, my fellow British neighbour from the lovely loft apartment upstairs from me. Once we arrived I was only too pleased to get inside the 'Arena-fitness' as it was cold outside and the staff were very friendly and the ambiance and equipment was great, which soon warmed me up. So after a guided tour (thanks Arif), and a free 'Spinning' class and sweating a few pints (whoops, liters! sorry we are metric here) I was suitably impressed enough to join.

So I'm off for my offical induction tomorrow, so I will tell you more then.. good night!

Leeds United vs Southend United

Football, football, football! Well as I was in the UK and with my brother and nephew from the States (New York), then we had to go and show him the 'beautiful game' so he could learn that this is real 'Football' the game you use your foot! And not the American version that wear so much body amour you wonder what on earth they are playing, so please don't insult us and call this 'Soccer' which again is the wrong word, after all the English invented Football!

Anyway before we go off on a tangent and discuss them and us, lets get back to the game in hand. This was the first time Michael had the pleasure to go to an English football game and as this was local to my brother Andy's place, then Leeds it was. The game was an important one as this was the 3rd round of the Carling Cup and a game Leeds needed to win. But this was not to be, and they lost miserably 2-0 against Southend United, 'who you may say,' well exactly. And would you believe it, the very next game Leeds had to play was Southend as a normal league game, and with their new Coach 'Denis Wise' 5' 4" ex Wimbledon man, they only went and beat them 2-0. It's a funny old game!!!

Aurora & Steed

Noise Annoys, did your Mama ever tell you noise annoys?

Do you get a bit ‘Pissed off’ when you are on public transport and there are some really annoying people? Well I was on the train from Bern to Geneva airport, ready for my holiday to the UK on a very quiet train in the early afternoon. For the first 20 or so minutes the carriage was very quiet, no speaking and people happily reading books, papers, or just having 40 winks relaxing with the sun shining through the window. When the silence was very rudely broken by a disturbing and booming voice several seats away. Without having to turn my head I knew this guy had no consideration for his fellow passengers and (in French) managed to talk for the next 30 minutes until we (the rest of the passengers, probably whole train), were glad that he finally got off at Lausanne. But prior to that, around 10 minutes into this guy’s conversation another guy had to make a call (in Portuguese), seemingly having to compete with the first guy for the loudest mobile phone conversation on a train. So next time I travel on a train, I will try and find the quiet carriage and take my book and keep away from the people that are obviously training for the Olympics’ or the Guinness Book of Records for the most annoying people on public transport record! I’m not saying don’t use your phone or personal entertainment system, but do have some consideration for other travelers.

Al today Gore tomorrow!

I have just arrived home from a night at the movies (I say movies cos it was an American film), and I was quite shocked by what I saw. Having looked through the local “What’s on guide,” my friend and I decided to see what English speaking films were showing and ended up selecting AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, staring Al Gore! Al who, you may say, wasn’t he the ‘would be president?’ Well actually he should have been the president of the United States of America hadn’t it been for some very dodgy going on’s in Florida, but then this is another story, well probably one you already know if you saw the “controversial” movie; Fahrenheit 9/11. Anyway lets get back on track, as I normally say when I find myself going off on a tangent and digressing away from the topic in hand. So what was the movie all about, you may ask? Well before I go into all the detail (as it’s better described on the web link), I will give you the very highlights and you can read the rest for yourself. So basically the movie was a documented summary (otherwise we would have been in the cinema for days), to highlight the Greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide (CO2 levels) emitted, especially by the America people. Al Gore was the presenter, although also studies the effect of the world’s population and the lifestyles that contribute to Global Warming. After all the most dangerous threat to our planet, besides a nuclear war, is all the crap we pump into the atmosphere on a daily basis. Millions upon millions of tones of greenhouse gases, which are being trapped inside the earths atmosphere that cannot escape, therefore building up and creating an ecological climate change that is already effecting wild life, the weather and causing widespread disasters. We all see the daily effects of this on the news, but we don’t seem to associate this to the rubbish we are pumping into the atmosphere, hiding behind the skeptics (not the scientists), and we say, ‘What wonderful weather we are having for this time of year, it’s very nice I don’t need to wear my jacket!’ Forgetting that where there is an action then there must be a reaction, after all, one cannot work without the other. So for all the lovely warm weather we are having in the autumn months, what is happening elsewhere? Well as I said you only have to read the paper, or watch the TV news. Here are a few examples; widespread continental droughts, (although the Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets are melting), excessive amounts of rainfall and flooding, mud slides, tornados, hurricanes, freezing winters, baking hot summers, etc, etc… Not forgetting the other man-made disasters, such as; systematic destroying of the rainforests, land filled sites, sea dumping, oil spillages, etc, etc. Basically we are a throwaway society and if something is out-of-sight, then it’s out-of-mind and we really don’t care! Well we better wake up and ‘smell the coffee’ as this problem will just not go away, and will not stop, a bit like the Terminator in the movie. But there is hope, we can rebuild (like the 6 million dollar man), and stop this ticking time bomb if we all make a conscious effort to reduce our own pollutions and change some bad habits (mine included). If the governments got tough and really made a conscious effort to help educate people on their bad behaviors and concentrate on greener more friendly energies. Anyway, before I waffle on and on, go and see the movie and make up you own mind, after all this is only my point of view! BTW I don’t drive a car in Switzerland, I use public transport, cycle or walk, so this is part of my contribution and I wear my underpants inside out every other day, so can get an extra day’s use, thus saving on the washing and detergents!

Funny moments!

I was just surfing through other people’s blog's when I inadvertently came across a very funny story, well I thought it was anyway, so I have attached the link so you can read it also. The story that caught my eye is; “Sitting near people who fart” and don’t ask me how or why I found this as it was purely an accident, but so damn funny I thought I would share this and add my own experience, well not quite my mine own personal experience but a situation I was in that left me traumatized for years, and when I still recall the incident I can't help but laugh. Over the years I have shared this with numerous friends and family, and we can still get a great laugh from it today, nearly 18 years from conception and it is as fresh (well not that fresh anymore) in my mind as it was then. Okay I will get on with the story, but you have to remember telling a good story and writing it down is never the same as verbally, so you may loose some of the fun and excitement, but nevertheless let me try and capture that moment and very fond memory. I was sort of between jobs at 23, so took a job as a delivery driver for a large electrical retail store in Brighton. A job between jobs you might say, while I was trying to find out what the hell I’m going to do with my life and ended up doing this, although I still think that in my current job aswell. Well as a delivery driver I often had to maneuver a large truck and a heavy cargo through the back streets of Brighton and on Saturday's it was never easy on your own, so I happened to have a ‘driver's mate’ to assist me, especially with carrying bloody heavy washing machines (the combination washer and tumble dryer) which were the worst, usually to the top floor apartments with no elevator and the narrowest of staircases. Anyway we digress, so lets get back on track. So it was one of those warm summer Saturday mornings when we had a delivery that changed our lives and has scared me with an inprint that may never dissapear. Having unloaded a washing machine from the back of the truck and carried into a very large open plan kitchen, the lady of the house asked if we would mind un-boxing it to make sure there was no damage. Normally we don’t, but as she asked nicely then we thought this is not a problem and we set about un-boxing the electrical appliance. Before I forget (the key part to the story), the woman had a young daughter, about 12 years old and a little tubby to say the least. So whilst my buddy and I set about removing the machine from the box (one opposite the other), in a room that besides the noise of us removing the box, was in fact deadly silent, because they were waiting with great anticipation of this lovely new washing machine. When all of a sudden, out of nowhere, there was a thunderous rasp, a bellowing clap, a rip-roaring firecracker of a fart I ever did hear, that shook the house. I looked up at my buddy, him at me, we both turned to the mother and daughter and then back to each other, our eyes filling up with tears and our cheeks about to explode. But no!, we managed with great effort, and a lot of lip biting, to hold back from collapsing to the floor in uncontrollable laughter. We struggled on for a few minutes, trying desperately hard not to make eye contact with each other, although letting out the odd little hiss and giggle every so often, but we managed to hold back and retain ourselves. We were both about to burst, our cheeks were at full pressure, our legs just able to hold our bodies in a semi upright position, and we so badly wanted to get the hell out of there with the empty box and paperwork signed so we could finally let it all out. But no!, we were not given this opportunity as the culprit, the 12 years old girl, only had to apologies and say she was sorry, actually saying "excuse me!" This was the icing on the cake, the pièce de ré‧sis‧tance, for at that moment of honesty, I could no longer hold my composure and burst out laughing, so much so that I could not stand up anymore. My legs went to jelly and I slumped over the nice new washing machine (trying to get in and hide, would have been better), eyes filled with tears and in uncontrollable laughter. My buddy grabbed the empty box and made a beeline for the door, also in uncontrollable fits of laughter, weaving through the kitchen as if he was drunk to the door and leaving me to get the paperwork signed. Once I finally picked myself up from the floor and managed to walk over to the woman, although somewhat shaky and eyes filled with tears, I was just about to open my mouth and ask her to sign the paperwork for her lovely new washing machine, she had to apologies for her daughters disgusting behavior. At that point I musterd up enough voice, although blurting this out, to say something like, “oh it’s fine, no problem” before I burst out laughing again. She signed, I left and the rest is history, so they say. But all that day and for weeks to follow I could not get the sound of that wonderful fart out of my head, but the funniest thing was, we would have both managed to get outside of her house, home free to laugh, had the daughter not apologized. I know this is a very silly adolescent story, but if you were there I’m sure you would have enjoyed it as much as us! When we finally finished the day's work we went back to the office to tell our colleagues about our adventurous day and you can image what it was like trying to tell such a story.......

Croatia 2-0 England

England coach Steve McClaren's tactical re-shuffle to a 3-5-2 formation was brutally exposed as his side barely mounted an attack worthy of the name. And on the back of a poor performance in the goalless draw against Macedonia at Old Trafford, it left McClaren's supposedly brave new era looking distinctly underwhelming.

Paul Robinson was left embarrassed as England crashed to a dismal defeat against Croatia in the Euro 2008 qualifier in Zagreb. Eduardo's header had given Croatia a deserved 61st-minute lead before keeper Robinson was involved in a nightmare moment eight minutes later. Gary Neville's back-pass struck a divot as Robinson went to clear, and he watched in agony as the ball rolled in. Robinson had previously produced a string of saves to keep Croatia at bay. This was yet another terrible performance from England and would bringing back Beckham make any difference, or should the whole team be replaced?

England vs Macedonia

Macedonia was confident of handling England and they did the job well. Another poor performance from England ended in no score. An excellent result for Scotland beating France 1-0.

Brighton, Hove and Worthing

Well today the weather was a lot better, actually warm and sunny (what a surprise!), so I went into Brighton to take some pictures. After getting dropped off by my parents I wandered through the North Lanes, on to the seafront, past the Brighton Palace pier, whoops, now know as just the Brighton pier, then along the pebbled beach to what's left of the West Pier (poor thing), back through The Lanes (the other ones, better known as the South Lanes), into the shopping centre (Churchill Square), along into Hove, then hopped on the bus to Worthing where I met up with Betty (my sister Elizabeth). One thing that was very much in common everywhere I went was the abundance of cafes. I can not believe how many cafes, bars and restaurants there are now. Obviously people have way too much money and too much free time as they were all busy.

Curry night

Have you ever fancied a curry; well for me England is the place to have one. Having lived abroad I always look forward to the number 1 top English food, yes a curry. Never hurry a curry, I say! English curries are made especially for the English palette and you can not get them anywhere else in the world quite the same (well not that I have found). I was picked up by my very good friend Darren, (who I have not seen for a couple of years, so this will have to change as the years are flying by now and we are not getting any younger) and we then went around to his parent who were waiting there with his new wife and daughter to see me. It’s always great catching up with friends and their families, especially after a number of years, so this was quite special. As we drove into his parent’s driveway, I had a flash of déjà vu and felt this was 20 years ago when we both worked as engineers for BT and arrived back at his parent’s house for lunch. It’s really strange how time and the years fly by and before you know it you wake up and you are a lot older. Actually it is frightening because the memories are so vivid that it does not seem so long ago, but then I think once you get over 30, the time appears to speed up even quicker. So get out there and seize the day, don’t waste it, and don’t put things off for tomorrow, as we all know tomorrow never comes! Anyway before I go all nostalgic and venture off down memory lane I went out for dinner (at a new curry house in Rottindean called ‘Sea of Spice’), where we (Darren, Caroline and myself) indulged in a great curry. Mine was a Chicken Dansak, quite a hot curry, which has a gruesome after affect, so everyone will have to stay well clear of me for the next couple of days, or wear a gas mask! It was great to catch up on old times with Darren and to also meet his beautiful and charming wife Caroline. Here is a picture of the family.

Graffiti, love it or loath it!

Graffiti, graffiti all around, sometimes up sometimes down but always around, is it coming to your town or is it already there? Having lived abroad and now currently living in Switzerland I found I have mixed with different cultures, religions and a variety of different people along the way, but one thing that seems pretty much in common is the different variants of vandalism, for a better word. Whether we decide to hide behind the softer term; Graffiti (as if this is ok), or Tagging, Scrawling, Scoring, Scratching, Knifing, or whatever term you wish to make up or use, it is all plain and simple vandalism. I admit that some graffiti (unauthorized writing or drawings on a surface in a public place), is artistic, but then this is also depended on the eye of the beholder and could therefore be offensive to another. So should we allow it, tolerate it, or do something about it? Having lived in London, Amsterdam and now Switzerland and traveled extensively throughout Europe, I find this is not just a UK problem but a world problem. If you have ever had the pleasure of visiting Switzerland you will be shocked by the amount of Graffiti as it’s everywhere. Especially at the train stations, which is normally the first thing you see when arriving in such a beautiful country. Why, I ask myself is there so much? Well unfortunately I don’t have the answers, but do have a possible solution! Get tough, zero tolerance! I agree with freedom of expression and democracy but is this is going just a little too far, as a more suitable forum can be used for people to be heard or even seen (maybe not something these people would like as they are normally hidden). Anyway going back to my point, I can not believe the amount of Graffiti in Switzerland as it seems to me to be the greatest and most visible in Europe. A possible solution could be; if all aerosol cans (which are the most common instrument used) can only be purchased by someone who has registered (name, address and id), then surely this would start to build up a pattern of the types of user. Okay, some people buy aerosols for other purposes, as I remember popping down to my local Halfords store when I was younger and buying several cans, but then this was to do body work repairs to my cars. Maybe another idea (this is being introduced to 12 regions in the UK), to have what they call ‘Graffiti watch’ patrols, who monitor new/fresh graffiti and they steam clean this off straight away, therefore leaving no visible trace, which may deter the culprits as their nice handiwork will be a costly waste of time. Also tougher penalties if (which seems pretty hard) once caught, together with a ‘mug shot’ of them in the paper to embarrass them further and also top this off with a nice fine, community service and criminal record. The problem may never go away, but we need to try to curb this, especially the spraying or etching of public transport windows, private residents walls, bus stops, letter boxes, road sighs, bridges, lampposts, trees (yes this seems crazy), trains, trucks, commercial building, you name it, you will find a tag everywhere. Look out for yourself when you are next on a train, especially in Switzerland! I appreciate Tagging and Graffiti are not the same, but the common denominator is most of it is unauthorized and vandalism and needs to be stopped or designated areas set aside where it can be tolerated and controlled, such as some of these artistic pictures taken on a perimeter wall of a building/construction site in Brighton. Although (giving some credit), graffiti that is artistic could be put to some good use at designated areas, such as under some bridges, along a train track, on a temporary fence around a building site (as noted), or where the artist has been sanctioned to carry out an artistic project for the local council, etc. But Tagging, well this is the lowest form of vandalism and is no better that a dog leaving its mark on a lamppost.