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The Great Escape
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| Thursday, July 27, 2006 |
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Last Saturday a few of us were sitting down in our coffee morning at Bermondsey, wondering how we could escape the summer heat. It seemed the temperatures were hitting record highs on a daily basis. We had originally planned to go to Hyde Park, but while the Serpentine is a beautiful lake to boat on, it’s a bit murky for swimming. So going there on a sweltering hot day would be a little like going to the Toronto Beaches to escape the heat (lovely sand beach, but swim in Lake Ontario?? Ewww!).
In the end we decided to make a trip to Claire’s hometown of Eastbourne. The train is usually a very efficient and relaxing way to get around almost anywhere in Europe. Or, at least we thought so until Saturday ...
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And Then the Unthinkable Happened
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| Friday, July 21, 2006 |
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Some interesting things in the news this past week. Peace in the Middle East, money growing on trees, a drought in London, and someone claiming to see Elvis alive. Wot?? Did you say a *dought* in London??
Yes, a drought in the Land of Sandwiches and (winter) Drizzle. If anyone was worried we would be missing the hot, muggy Toronto summer, please spare your pity for someone else. British temperatures this week exceeded such holiday destinations as Athens, Bermuda, Rome and the Gaza Strip. Last Wednesday, at 36.6C, the hottest July day ever in England was recorded. As for rain, I dunno, maybe you’ll find it somewhere in Germany still crying over the World Cup.
The difference here, is that a scorching day like this simply means “an unbearably hot day”, whereas in Toronto it would mean “an unbearably hot day with rolling brownouts”. The reason of course, is that the only places here with air conditioning are offices, shopping malls, and somewhere at the bottom of an iced caramel macchiatto...
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Remembering 7/7
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| Friday, July 07, 2006 |
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One year ago today, 4 suicide bombers killed 52 people in the London Underground system and on a double-decker bus. At noon today, the city observed two minutes of silence. Even the people and traffic outside stopped to think and show respect to the victims.
July 7, 2005 is a day that will forever be etched into my memory. Mel and I were quite excited in the days leading up to it. We hadn’t told anyone except for family, but it looked pretty certain that we were going to be moving to London later that year.
Even before we moved, we were beginning to feel like we were part of the city. We’d been reading up on areas to live in, I was getting Mel’s settlement visa and my British passport organized. It was neat to think we were going to move to the land where my family came from.
When we woke to the news that morning, it wasn’t to the familiar voice of Andy Barry on CBC. It was to the sound of sirens, and the announcement of terrorist bombs going off in London just hours earlier. My heart started pounding and my eyes were wide open. I felt such a mix of emotions. Like when you first heard about the 9/11 attacks, or the Challenger disaster way back when, it’s a moment I’ll never forget.
This city has withstood scores of IRA bombs and German air raids, something we know nothing of in Canada. Its people don’t give up easily, but there are many suffering the wounds even a year later.
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To Scotland. Och!
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| Thursday, July 06, 2006 |
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This past weekend we took a train up to Scotland to attend Byrne and Lois’s wedding. Glad to report that the hitching ceremony went off without a glitch! The train journey from King’s Cross to Inverness took 8-9 hours, and the flight back 1.5 hours. The train was very relaxing, and we enjoyed some lovely scenery along the way.
At one point during the reception, the lights dimmed and the main door opened to a shadowy figure obscured by dry ice and silhouetted by flood lights. Who was this strange figure? Could it be a horse-riding mounty? Bryne’s local Tim Horton’s employee in all his grandeur?? ...
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Football Hooligans
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| Thursday, June 22, 2006 |
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Well two things are certain: summer has arrived… and so has the World Cup! Believe it or not, in Mel’s plant they have setup tele’s at various locations so that workers can watch when a game is on. Otherwise, the company will be faced with huge productivity losses due to people calling in sick. Even in my office there is a cordoned off area for watching the match.
The BBC has also setup giant screens at various locations across London to televise the games. There is one at Canary Wharf just a few minutes from our flat. Early on the morning of the first game (England vs. Paraguay) people were already saving seats on the grass, and 6,000 had turned out to watch by the time the game started. If we were around we too would have braved the sun and heat to get a little taste of football fever. Instead we attended the Family Missions Day conference in south London. For more than one reason it turns out it was a good thing we did...
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Cheats and Thieves at the Vatican
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| Saturday, June 17, 2006 |
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Mark is flat on his back recovering from an operation to fix a slipped disc (ouch!). In his new found spare time he put together this clip of a funny video we took when we were in Rome. Read on for some background info.
While in Rome we visited Vatican City to see St. Peter’s Basilica. It was most amusing how people tried to butt into the entrance line for the Basilica. The line up was about an hour long, and only the last bit was barricaded. We witnessed a few different tactics, so get out your pen and paper as this may be of interest ...
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To the Land of My Forefathers
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| Tuesday, June 06, 2006 |
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This weekend we made a long overdue trip up to Yorkshire to visit my aunt and uncle, cousins, and other extended family and friends. My aunt and uncle live in a 200 year old farm house in the countryside of the Yorkshire Dales. It is a very beautiful part of the country – an area of rolling hills, stone walled pastures, and plenty of cows and sheep. I have many happy childhood memories of the farmhouse, where my grandma would bake us pies and big roast beef dinners with yummy Yorkshire puddings.
It was a lovely sunny day, so Mel and I took a drive to Brimham Rocks, a national park with fascinating rock formations carved by glaciers. My brother and I used to run and climb all over the rocks, while my grandma of course would stay petrified down below. I didn’t need to relive the not-so-happy childhood memory of getting stung by nettles though: Mel relived it for me. But as they say, you really haven’t had the full English experience until you’ve had a good frolic in a patch of nettles! ...
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Taking My Chances at Chancery Lane
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| Friday, May 19, 2006 |
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I survived my first week of work. I’ve accepted a six month contract with Price Waterhouse Coopers in the City (at Chancery Lane). I’ll be doing consultancy work for an energy company, and interestingly enough, working on a piece of software that estimates how much it costs to send employees on assignments to other countries.
It’s a bit sad to be leaving HSBC, but in the end, working with people a few thousand miles away does get pretty lonely. I’m leaving behind an extremely talented team, a great bunch of people, and IMHO the finest online trading site in Canadian brokerage! :) I hope one day we’ll work together again.
As for our cruise, it was brilliant! I can’t say enough good things about Holland America… or Mel’s mum for taking us! Our first time cruising and I guess we’ve been quite spoiled. For ports of call, we visited Rome, Vatican City, Monte Carlo, Florence, Pisa, Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona, Tunisia, Sicily and Naples. A lot of sites to see in 10 days.
It’s nice to be home though, even if it still feels like we’re onboard a ship. Glad I didn’t get pulled over in the first few days back because I couldn’t have managed to walk in a straight line! Nothing like good old terra firma, yeah?
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When in Rome...
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| Thursday, April 27, 2006 |
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Do as the Romans do. I don’t really know what that involves, besides cappuccino and pizza, but I guess we’ll find out on Friday. At 18:30 we’re flying to Rome and joining a 10 day cruise with Mel’s mum and bro Mark. I know, I know, it must seem like all we do is fly around these days, but honestly this time it’s all about Mark. The big guy is wrapping up his university years and has even attended the sacred iron ring ceremony (which I hear is what all engineers have to go through to try and add some significance to their degree – ouch! – Mel just pinched me). Soon he’ll be convocating up there with the rest of his classmates.
So yeah, this is Mark’s big trip after uni. It’s all about him you see, but we really will try and enjoy ourselves as well, if we can manage ;-) Never been on a cruise before but it will be a great way to see a lot of different sites in the Mediterranean.
Congratulations are also on order for my own bro John, who just finished his MBA at Ivey this term. Good on ya mates!
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The Woes of Owning a Ferrari
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| Wednesday, April 19, 2006 |
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I had a rather amusing phone message on our answering service when I got home last night. “Hi Simon. We haven’t met, but I’m living in the penthouse upstairs and have known your landlord for a couple of years now. The reason I’m calling is that we’ve just bought a new Ferrari and it turns out to be too big for our parking spot. I noticed that your spot is extra large and wondered if we could arrange a trade somehow.” Not sure whether she meant trading cars or parking spaces, I thought I had better return the call to clarify.
I have to admit that I did notice the “new Ferrari” when I parked last night. Kind of hard to miss really! A brand new 2006 red F430, which apparently had been on order for two years. I didn’t know they were so big though. I suppose this *is* England, and in a country where everything is somewhat miniaturized, it shouldn’t be too surprising that a Ferrari would have trouble fitting in a parking spot. After all, the engine itself is probably the same size as our whole car...
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