Jack the Ripper Exhibit - 25th of October

Shortly after we started dating, Carolyn moved from her swanky apartment in Oxford Street to the East End of London. It's a very nice area now, but this is where the 'Jack the Ripper' murders occurred. Spending so much time there made us interested in the Ripper story. We've read Donald Rumbelow's book, traipsed around East London on Rumbelow's walking tour and this Saturday went to the exhibit at the Museum in Docklands which includes the original 'Dear Boss' letter as well as the James Maybrick diary. All very interesting.

Brussels - 20th to 24th of October

Over the last few months I've been working on a big Citrix project for the second largest bank in Brussels. I work in the sky scraper to the left. It's an impressive building but it really comes alive at night when it puts on an incredible light show - video. I wouldn't like to be working late when that show kicks off. The other thing to watch out for with this building are the revolving doors, check out this security camera video. Apart from the beer and the food, the best thing about Brussels is the architecture. The Grand Place is the most beautiful square I have ever seen:

Where's Wally/Waldo?

Can you find Wally/Waldo (AKA Andy)? Apparently the USA and Canada are the only countries who call him Waldo. Not the greatest photo and the President got my name wrong but apart from that it's pretty cool. Unfortunately some annoying bearded dwarf managed to push himself in front of Carolyn.

Cambridge - 18th of October

Despite spending most of the weekend catching up on work, Carolyn and I still found time to head down to Cambridge for a few hours. We wandered around for a while until we stumbled upon the Tourist Information centre where we signed up for a walking tour. Surprisingly, we were taken to the Bridge of Sighs. Could have sworn that was in Venice ;-) The highlight, for me anyway, was dinner in the Eagle Pub which has an RAF bar where Second World War airmen burnt their names and squadron numbers into the ceiling with lighters and lipstick (wonder where they got that from?).

Cork, Ireland - 13th to 16th of October

Top of the Morning to you! I'm working on a project in Cork; this is the second time I've worked over here now and I really love it. The Maryborough hotel is a real gem, it's located just outside Cork and is surrounded by very beautiful lush green gardens.
A couple of the guys from work showed me around Cork City on Wednesday night. I had a great time and particularly enjoyed the Hi-B bar, complete with a landlord who apparently throws you out if you don't drink fast enough - brilliant.

The White Cliffs of Dover - 12th of October

The National Trust has a brilliant website complete with top notch documents detailing various coastal walks. So last Sunday, Carolyn and I packed up a picnic and drove all the way down to Dover so we could hike along a four mile path on top of the White Cliffs of Dover. The views were nothing short of spectacular. Being male, I was particular transfixed by the ferries coming in and out of the port; it was a bit like watching a man sized playset. After a couple of miles we tucked into our picnic - close to the South Foreland Lighthouse. This was the scene of Marconi's first ship-to-shore wireless message and the first international wireless transmission. Carolyn and I seem to stalk the long dead Italian scientific genius - first the Twin Lights in Highlands New York, then Marconi House in London and now South Foreland.

Carolyn's grandfather remembers seeing the White Cliffs of Dover from the sea when he was in the Merchant Navy in World War II transporting vital supplies to the UK.

On the way home we took the coastal road to Hastings - somewhere I've always wanted to visit but never been. Turns out that nothing much has happened there since 1066.

AddisonLee = AWESOME Customer Service

I've been using AddisonLee Minicabs for a while now to take me on the first leg of work trips. That is until I discovered their AWESOME Customer Service Department.

A few weeks ago I was waiting for a car to take me to the train station - pickup was set at 3:30. The driver finally texted/called me at 3:43 to let me know that he had arrived. Not a big deal as I still made the train. A few weeks later I find a suspicious four pound charge on my credit card. The AWESOME customer service department tell me that this charge was for more than fifteen minutes of waiting time and e-mailed me the GPS track (shown) as proof. The AddisonLee 'proof' also shows their car touring around the area between 15:34:23 and 15:43:21 looking for my address (or hookers - who knows). This would be enough for most organisations to cough up but not good old AddisonLee who are still thinking about it whilst also telling me they don't care if I use them anymore.

Another time, Addison Lee sent me a text message saying the car would be 20 minutes late. With this delay I would miss my train and then flight so cancelled the booking over the phone. A few weeks later (you guessed it!) I spot another suspicious charge on my credit card. AddisonLee initially tried to tell me that this was because I kept their driver waiting but eventually changed their mind and gave me a refund after I pointed out that their car never arrived.

Yet another AWESOME experience was when an AddisonLee driver picked me up who could hardly speak English. He managed to drive on the wrong side of the road, shoot through stop lights, get stopped by the police and searched under the Terrorism Act.

I think I might find another minicab company, what do you think?

Go West - 28th of September

Carolyn and I look for any excuse to go for a drive these days thanks to our new MINI Cooper! So with this in mind we headed down to the South West of England to visit some of my old haunts, including a hill called Brent Knoll.

Carolyn even tried a wild Blackberry whilst climbing to the top. I think this might be the first wild food she has ever eaten ;-) On the way home we drove through Brean Sands and as luck would have it went right through a British Country and Western Festival. Here are some photos of the gun slinging Brits on their way to the O.K. Corral to have a gun fight and do some line dancing (AWESOME huh?):

UPDATE: I found a video of a flag march from the Country and Western Festival at Brean Sands on youtube. Is it just me or does the Pontins sign ruin the effect? The South will rise again (in South West England - some restrictions apply)!