Another day at the races. Today was qualifying. We got there for 10ish, plenty of time to wander around and watch weird audience games, people watch and then take in final practice. We met up with Hiro, whom I had met last February in Barcelona for F1 testing. He’d managed to go to 4 GPs, […]
Japan Day 7: Suzuka
So today was the day, the start of the event we have built our holiday around, the Japanese Grand Prix. At the start of the week, rain was predicted, but the day dawned sunny and bright and stayed that way. it was 29C at the track and the only use of umbrellas was for shade. […]
Japan Day 6: Hakone and travel
Sleeping on a futon to the sound of a waterfall is definitely an experience. A good night sleep. The breakfast this morning was also an experience, very, very different and will no alternatives. Grilled fish, salad, pickles, chicken/okra, miso soup, rice and a soft boiled egg. I had a go at everything – and finished […]
Japan Day 5: Hakone
So today we said goodbye to Tokyo and escaped to the wilds of Hakone, a mountainous region to the south-west of the capital. First up, we said goodbye to our suitcases, sending them by the luggage transport system direct to Nagoya. The we boarded a series of trains. First the underground line. Then the local […]
Japan Day 4: Tokyo still
Our last full day in Tokyo. As I said yesterday, we were planning a split strategy. Sofia went off to the zoo to see pandas and then to an out of town theme park to see Hello Kitty! I carried on in town. First up, the Tokyo National Museum, to look at the history of […]
Japan Day 3: Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan, Day 3. Today was a day built on changes. The original plan was to visit a bunch of museums, all around Ueno Park. The problem was that neither of us had properly read the guidebooks and failed to realise that they all close on a Monday! We first of all wondered through the […]
Japan Day 2: Tokyo continues
An early awakening, 6am, but nothing earlier than usual. So jetlag appears to not be hitting too hard today. First up, the hotel breakfast. Rice and meatballs and miso soup. Plus coffee and chocolate bread. Today was going to be a fairly light day. We caught the tube over to Shibuya to take a look […]
The London Marathon
You know, some things seem like a good idea at the time. Way back in April, before I’d ever run my first race, the ballot for the 2014 London Marathon opened and the proceeded to close pretty quickly. 125,000 people signed up for the possibility of 25,000 places in the London Marathon. I was one […]
Meeting the challenge
Way back in January, I took at look at my ambitions for 2013. One f them, in typical New Year fashion, as a physical change. I’d tried before, and failed, but hoped that by adding another dimension to my tracking would make a difference. And it absolutely did. Using the Fitbit, Myfitnesspal and a long […]
2013 Week 10
2 Mar to 8th Mar After the quiet of last week, this week was a little more exciting. Reading Reinventing sustainability: Why brand talk about responsibility is cheap. I’m working on some sustainability projects at work and slowly adding to my reading. This reflects research that we have done, in that you need to act […]
2013 Week 9
Sat 23rd Feb – Fri 1 Mar You’d think i could do this, wouldn’t you. One post a week, that’s all I need. But no, I end up doing other things over the weekend and then at work time and the one post gets left behind until major catch up sessions like this one! So […]
2013 Week 8
A quick follow up to catch up the weeks. Reading Fitbit talks about tracking and privacy. I’m using a Fitbit and I love it. Just wearing it makes me think about being more active, to climb the stairs instead of the escalator. As mentioned in the article, the ecosystem is great and I hope increased […]
2013: Change, Connect, Challenge
So yesterday, I took a look back on the mixed bag of 2012. But am I going to do something different in the upcoming year, or just let the world drift on as it is and see what happens. As you may guess from the title, the answer to that is no. 2013 HAS to […]
2012 Review
How was 2012 for you? For me, it was pretty good – although not so good for some of the people around me who faced their own set of hard challenges. But taking a look back at what my ambitions for the year were, they were not as successful as they should have been. For […]
Playing the tourist
I decided to take a day playing tourist around London yesterday, something I do often other places, but rarely around the town i live in. The day started with Westminster Abbey. At £16 entry, it’s not cheap and unlike StPauls there’s no right to re-entry across the year, it’s a one stop deal. It’s expensive […]
Past and Future 2012
Time to look back and look forward again. So how did I get on with my ambitions for the last year? So here are the 2011 ambitions. 1. Lose 1 stone. Again, not a huge target, but it’s achievable with minimal changes. I’ve got the iphone apps all set up, with Shapeup for food tracking […]
Motorsport at the Palace
I like F1, a fandom that has crept up on me over the last few years, but my experience of in-person car events has been limited to work related trips, the Paris Motor Show (which was far more shiney than any tech show) and a McLaren F1 test day at Silverstone (the benefit of working […]
A Media Circus
With all the political shenanigans, I thought I’d wander down to Westminster to take a look at the media circus and see what was going on. All the news groups have mini studios set up and lots of politicians, ex-politicians and other commenters were coming and going. I was busy just taking in the atmosphere […]
New Year’s Ambitions
This year, I’m not making any New Year’s resolutions, but am stating some ambitions for the year. I’m only starting with 2, although more may be added later. 1. Be able to run 5k. It’s been a long time since I could do this comfortably, so the ambition is to get back into shape to […]
Guardian Gagged
According to the Guardian they have been prevented from reporting on a story concerning a question that is going to be asked in Parliament this week. They say: The only fact the Guardian can report is that the case involves the London solicitors Carter-Ruck, who specialise in suing the media for clients, who include individuals […]