After an insanely painful trip to Tahiti we finally arrived in Papeete, the main island (population: 26,181). We spend the night there before heading to Bora Bora and did have time to explore the downtown. A few things came to mind:

• All of the shops are centered on the docks where the huge cruise liners dock.
• Everywhere you turn there are black pearls. We spent time in the Robert Wan Museum which provides a fascinating history of pearls and of the man who controls the majority of the pearl trade in Tahiti. Take a moment to learn about the pearl trade here – cool stuff.

• Flowers are EVERYWHERE. When we entered the central open market, we came upon the flower market and it was breathtaking. Obviously, their climate supports the tropical plants that we pay dearly for in NA and Europe …  but it was a bit surprising to see the public bathrooms sink lined with flowers that would have cost hundreds of dollars in Canada.

• I would not stay in Papeete if I were traveling to Tahiti. It is a central town and a bit industrial. Stay over night if you need to but head to the islands …. Papeete is a bit dirty, tired and our hotel (Sheraton Hotel Tahiti) – while on the ocean – was not one I would stay in for more than a night and if I were traveling all the way to Tahiti and staying in that hotel – I would be SORELY disappointed as there is no real beach and it faces out on the shipping port. If you click there website, it is a good example of buyer beware as the site paints a different picture.

The next morning, we boarded the plane and headed to Bora Bora. I took the following pictures from the plane. Awesome.

The last one is now my laptop background (smile).

If you go to London there are a host of ‘must do’ things. One of them is the London Eye:

The London Eye, also known as the Millennium Wheel, is a Ferris Wheel (or observation wheel) in London, England. At the time of building, it was the biggest in the world, although there are now larger wheels, such as The Star of Nanchang, which was opened in May 2006. The Singapore Flyer, at 15 metres taller than the London Eye, is due to open in early 2008.^[1]

The London Eye has become the most popular paid visitor attraction in the UK, visited by over 3.5 million people a year.[1]

The London Eye stands 135 metres (443 ft) high on the western end of Jubilee Gardens, on the South Bank of the River Thames in London, England, between Westminster and Hungerford Bridges.

Personally, I am scared of heights and this thing goes WAY up there. However, we could not have picked a better day as the sun was shining bright. You could see for miles. The only problem was that we bought our tickets (you buy a ticket for a certain time) and the wheel skipped a cycle so we were stuck in an unusually long line. In retrospect, we should have paid the extra price (£50) and saved 1.5 hours by buying express tickets.

That being said, we were with friends and it was fun to catch up while the kids ran around in the huge park. Unfortunately, I did not bring a proper camera and so the below are from the boy’s point and shoot. Many are ‘cloudy’ because the sun was so incredibly bright! Sorry, where is the rain?

A long way down.

As we walked from the exhibit. YET ANOTHER sunny day in Britain. The weather has been amazing since the family arrived in July.

Over the last week we have done a ton of exploring. Two weekends ago we went into London and explored the Star Wars Exhibit. Was it for me or the kids? We can say that it was enjoyed by all, with the highlight being my son being called out of the crowd during the Jedi show to fight Darth Vader (smile).

It is amazing to see the detail that the special effects artists put into the models and costumes. Oh .. if I could only get hold of one of these costumes for Halloween … Very cool.

The event is being held at the old County Hall in London where the London mayor and council used to hold their meetings. The history of the hall and the London mayor is very interesting (We were with friends who related the story to me):

For sixty four years County Hall served as the headquarters of local government for London. During the 1980s the then powerful GLC (led by Ken Livingstone) was locked in conflict with the British Government. Since the Parliament buildings were just across the river from County Hall, the facade of County Hall frequently served as a billboard for anti-government slogans. When the government of Margaret Thatcher abolished the GLC in 1986, County Hall lost its role as the seat of London’s government. The building remained in use by the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) until its abolition in 1990 when the building was transferred to the London Residuary Body and eventually sold to private investors.

Of interest, Ken Livingstone is the current Mayor of London and seen as one of its’ greatest mayors. I think this is what fascinates me so much about England, everything here has an interesting history.

What Star Wars picture would be complete without the big guy himself?

We had a few Canadian friends visit us over the week. Our first group of friends were in Europe looking at places to live (they are considering a lifestyle change) while our second friend was returning from a 6 day walk across the Sahara desert where it was either REALLY hot or REALLY cold (in the evening).

The finished the 6th day by walking over a hill to see an actual oasis. Wow – and I thought we were adventurous…

The oasis. Want a Coke?

Tourists about to go ATVing at the oasis. Count me in.

Note the way the camels front legs are tied. That is how they are kept close in the evening (As there is nothing to tie them to).

1. People on motorcycles are mad in the UK. They have ABSOLUTELY no regard for their lives. On a busy road where you are flying down at 100 KM/H, they will straddle the white line and navigate between you and oncoming traffic. And the police? They do not care (at least I have never seen anyone pulled over). It is mad and I would wager that if someone were to look at motorcycle fatalities they would realize the impact.

2. The schools work the kids really hard but give them a break every couple months. Our boys are on a mid-term break for 10 days right now. They are very happy.

3. People don’t really celebrate Halloween in the UK, but retailers are trying hard to bring it to the UK. I spent a load at Costco stocking up (and have eaten a bag of chocolate bars already).

4. The UK does celebrate Guy Fawkes Day (Bonfire night) on November 5th. They burn effigies of Guy, light bonfires and set off fireworks to celebrate:

The tradition of Guy Fawkes-related bonfires actually began the very same year as the failed coup. The Plot was foiled in the night between the 4th and 5th of November 1605. Already on the 5th, agitated Londoners who knew little more than that their King had been saved, joyfully lit bonfires in thanksgiving. As years progressed, however, the ritual became more elaborate.

Soon, people began placing effigies onto bonfires, and fireworks were added to the celebrations. Effigies of Guy Fawkes, and sometimes those of the Pope, graced the pyres. Still today, some communities throw dummies of both Guy Fawkes and the Pope on the bonfire (and even those of a contemporary politician or two), although the gesture is seen by most as a quirky tradition, rather than an expression of hostility towards the Pope.

Preparations for Bonfire Night celebrations include making a dummy of Guy Fawkes, which is called "the Guy". Some children even keep up an old tradition of walking in the streets, carrying "the Guy" they have just made, and beg passersby for "a penny for the Guy." The kids use the money to buy fireworks for the evening festivities.

On the night itself, Guy is placed on top of the bonfire, which is then set alight; and fireworks displays fill the sky.

The extent of the celebrations and the size of the bonfire varies from one community to the next. Lewes, in the South East of England, is famous for its Bonfire Night festivities and consistently attracts thousands of people each year to participate.

Bonfire Night is not only celebrated in Britain. The tradition crossed the oceans and established itself in the British colonies during the centuries. It was actively celebrated in New England as "Pope Day" as late as the 18th century. Today, November 5th bonfires still light up in far out places like New Zealand and Newfoundland in Canada.

5. Pharmacies are weird. They call them the ‘chemist’. When you go into them, most drugs are behind this plastic or glass barrier and require supervised assistance. For example, I wanted Ibuprofen – which is a pretty common drug. It was behind the glass case and required assistance. Where did the assistance come from? A pharmacist or registered nurse? Nope. A 16 year old high school student. Now that makes sense. When I started quizzing her on what training she had to give me that drug, she just looked at me with a blank look (LOL). 

The adventure continues.

This weekend we had our first interaction with the National Health Service in the UK. On Friday my son had a run in with an iron fence (The fence did not budge, his cheek did).

As a Canadian, national health care is nothing new. However, the UK approach was interesting from a few perspectives:

1. We went to a minor injury clinic. The full emergency room features of this hospital had been removed a while ago due to cut backs. There was a big sign that said ‘No doctor here’. We were treated by a nurse who was competent and very friendly (she did a great job). But, to see no doctor there was very interesting.

2. The line was the same (About 45 minutes), although there were significantly fewer people in the waiting room than I was expecting.

3. They did not ask for ID. This was the most shocking. In Canada, you go through a grilling before you are served and if you don’t have an ID card – good luck, they will turn you away. In Britain they asked for the name and address and then went on about serving our son. When I offered my corporate private health information they did not require it. Through the process I signed nothing and presented no ID.

Now, I know I look trustworthy and the kind of guy that most people just want to reach out to and help in whatever way they can (wink), but no ID was very odd. Over the weekend, I had a friend explain it in this way: The cost of implementing a national ID scheme would be billions and the associated support costs would be through the roof. Canadian’s are familiar with this. National Gun Registry and the proposed cost of $119M ballooning to over $1B ring a bell?

So, they implemented a policy of letting the immigration department do it’s job of controlling illegal residents and assume that whoever comes through the door deserves treatment.

WOW. Refreshing approach – how many millions/billions could be put back into the system by implementing this approach in Canada?

I was in Barcelona last week for meetings and stayed at the Vincci Condal Mar which I can only describe as a W wanna be that has not been updated since the early 70’s. See posts below.

One of the interesting things about many European hotels is the lack of irons. Below is a note from a colleague on the iron situation:

Apparently some guest borrowed one once and burned their bed linen and now they don’t offer them anymore.   Just like they don’t offer adapters for U.S. power – I guess someone didn’t return one once.  I guess if one guest ordered room service once and punched the delivery person they would stop room service too.  Or if someone broke the phone they would rip out phones from all the rooms too.  I guess the hotel business is not a service industry here.  I guess it’s all about THEM not about the GUESTS! 

My iron issue went like this:

8AM: Realize there is no iron, call reception where I am told ‘No irons. Housekeeping will iron your shirt for you, but they cannot do it until 10AM or later and need several hours as they are busy right now – cleaning rooms’

805AM: After a heated discussion around how he will find someone to iron my shirt ASAP or send me an iron as I cannot go to a "£$%£! meeting with a wrinkled shirt he tells me that he will call me back.

815AM: Calls me back. OK, he has spoken to housekeeping and they can make this EXTRA SPECIAL, ONE TIME ONLY, NEVER TO BE REPEATED exception to iron my shirt.

830AM: Housekeeper shows up with someone from reception to iron my shirt.

850AM: Shirt shows up ironed. I am late for my meeting and I think they charged me 9 Euros.

Europeans DEFINITELY have a different view of customer service.

A benefit of working in Europe is that you get dragged to meetings in other countries like Spain and cities like Barcelona. The problem with these events? Every hotel looks the same. I look forward to a visionary meeting planner actually scheduling an hour or two for us to emerge from the meeting room to walk around and enjoy the area.

A few quick observations about Barcelona:

1. The tourist areas are beautiful and the architecture magnificent. I have seen none of it (but will be back with the family)

2. The siesta is alive and well. They take an afternoon nap and restaurants don’t open until 8:30, getting busy at 10:00. The bars don’t get busy until 2AM. How do these people work?

3. While taking a taxi from the airport with a few ‘mates’, we had a funny experience with the driver. It started with it being made clear that he did not speak English. Fine, we communicated our location and set off in the taxi where he promptly turned up the radio. To which I laughed ‘Well, I guess because he does not speak English he thought that the best approach is to drown us out with bad 80’s music’ (It was a Spanish version of Dire Straits) … which resulted in his turning the volume down. We laughed again.

4. There is also a big disparity between the tourist areas and where other people live (the slums). A friend of mine in the Canadian air force described Barcelona this way:

Barcelona is nice so long as you don’t look behind the huge barriers erected along all of the freeways.  They put them in place just prior to the 92 Olympics to prevent the world from seeing the vast amount of slums and shanty towns prevalent there.  Stick to the beaches and the standard tourist attractions and you won’t be disappointed.

From the top of the hotel …

While walking to the hotel …

 

From the hotel roof …

5. A guy on the team was mugged while walking around downtown at 1AM. The thieves are VERY good. In his case they slipped his wallet out and back without his noticing (And they left him 5 euros for a cab)

6. There were scooters everywhere. I would bet they outnumber cars.

I thought of the trip as a recon trip for the family. We will go back, sticking to the cool spots.

A few pictures in the evening on a plane traveling to Spain. The clouds went as far as  you could see.

A few things I have learned about the UK in the last couple weeks ….

• Read here on why the British are forming mobile kill squads to take out gray squirrels.
• A Horray Henry was described to me as someone who has come from the ‘upper class’ and acts as such down at the yacht club but then walks out to the car park and drives away in his 1982 Subaru. Formal definition:

hearty young British upper-class man: a young upper-class man who wears conservative clothes and behaves and speaks in a loud, extrovert manner.

• Gazumping is the process where a bid is put in on a house and the contract is not binding until the very last day and the seller can accept a higher offer. It costs people in the UK a fortune each year. In the end, it comes up to the integrity of the seller as the law is not built to protect the buyer:

The verb "gazump" means to refuse to formalise a sale agreement at the last minute in order to accept a higher offer. The word is thought by some people to have come from the Yiddish word gazumph meaning to swindle or overcharge, which became gangster slang in the 1920s.

After hitting the Imperial War Museum we decided to take a walk along the south bank of the River Thames. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the sun was shining and the streets were bustling. We did not step into any additional sites but walked past the Star Wars exhibit, the London Eye and a river lined with artists.

The Imperial War Museum has signs everywhere. These signs caught my eye.

From WWI, one of many trench signs:

From WWII, German spies were everywhere.

There were many reminders to families to keep their children out of London and in the evacuated countryside. I cannot imagine doing it, sending our young kids to people that we do not know.

The Dig for Victory campaign was a common theme through the WWII exhibits as the British government worked to combat the food shortage.

In today’s world dominated by automation, this sign caught my eye:

And this is a poignant reminder of what really happens in war – these quotes are from people at the end of WWII. Bad picture, I was carrying a small portable and it was poorly lighted.

The mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, made a significant change when he first entered office to drive culture and tourism: he made all of the museums free (You only pay for special attractions). As a new entrant to the UK culture it is an amazing fringe benefit that we are enjoying thoroughly.

As part of our ‘Go do something cool every weekend’ strategy we went with friends to the Imperial War Museum in London last weekend. What an experience.

Of course, the museum itself is architecturally spectacular and when you walk inside it is overflowing with the modern history of warfare, covering each major war in detail and extending to the very serious topics of genocide and the holocaust.

Two of the most interesting exhibits were the WWI and WWII exhibits which attempted to recreate the feel of the war.

The WWI exhibit has a display called ‘The trench’ where they have recreated what it would have been like to live and fight in a WWI trench. I was struck by the futility of it. You stand in this 8 foot deep trench, meters away from your opponent and then when the HQ sends out the order you climb up and over the edge, running across an open field while machine gun bullets fly. Crazy.

The WWII exhibit has you experience what it was like to live in London during the Battle of Britain. You climb into a air raid shelter and then progressively move through the destruction of London with narration along the way. It truly brought home the price that the British people paid during the way. They suffered through rationing, having their children taken from them (Children were evacuated to the countryside – without their parents to live with strangers. This is covered in depth in The Children’s War exhibit) and destruction that rivaled areas of Europe. ‘The Blitz’ (Sustained bombing of England in preparation for an invasion) started with London being bombed 57 nights in a row and during a short 9 month period more than 1M buildings were destroyed or damaged. As we walked through the exhibit, it left us with a clear view of what many people suffered during WWII with buildings in tatters and life torn asunder.

While standing at one display we had the good fortune to engage with a man who remembers the war through the lens of a child. While they were tough times, he also remembered how exciting it was, standing outside his house watching the fighters and bombers overhead. He told us the story of the night that a unarmed British trainer sacrificed itself by crashing into a German bomber rather than let it get past. The next day he and his mate ran to the crash site and were able to salvage a piece of the tail (The German plane crashed in a field next to his house).

For all of Europe the sacrifice did not end in 1945. I found this note about life after the war particularly interesting:

It was still a period of great austerity. Rationing did not end until 1954 and there were shortages of food and fuel. Even bread, freely available during the war, was now rationed. Although several New Towns were being planned around the country and bomb-damaged housing was gradually being rebuilt, many families were still living in emergency ‘prefab’ homes.

In the end, the whole experience left me with a sense of thankfulness. So many have sacrificed so much to secure the freedom we enjoy today.

This is from the tail of a German fighter who shot down a LOT of Allied bombers. If I remember correctly, he shot down 10 in one night on his most victorious night.

This Jagdpanther tank destroyer is a particularly interesting display, the story is below.

As with most of our museum trips, we did not see it all. Four hours is just not enough time …

A few weeks ago we caught the police at Twickenham Stadium. We trained there and enjoyed an amazing evening as it is an open air stadium and the weather was beautiful (cloudless, 22 degrees).

I had been looking forward to this concert for a while and enjoyed watching the Police swan song but I did notice a few things:

• Sting did not seem as into it as the other 2. Maybe going from the cerebral songs and his ‘art’ to singing ‘do-do-do, da-da-da’ is demoralizing.
• They altered the music too much. I know, you are artists, you are showing your flair and how much you have evolved. But, we came to hear the songs we loved not some flaky rendition which candidly brings the song down. I don’t want to hear some random 6 minute guitar solo that never existed before.
• The demographics were clearly 35 and over. Looking around – that was obvious. Felt bad for the starter band, no one showed up and it was clearly not their demographic. And they were good to …

I had heard that the reason why they were coming back is that they felt that The Police was not getting its due as a band that helped shape rock history and this is their attempt to ensure that The Police goes down in the history books as one that shaped rock music.

Whatever the reason, it was fun. I just wish they would have stuck to the original sheet music (smile). Below are a few awful pictures from my cell phone. Enjoy.

This weekend I had a ‘thankful’ moment as I looked around and marveled at that which surrounded us.
Every weekend we do one outing to experience beautiful Britain. This weekend we headed to Windsor for the Windsor festival and a children’s classical concert.

The concert itself was amazing. The elastic band was a full orchestra with oboes, flutes, violins, cellos, a bass section and on …. The conductor was suitably wacky for the kids interjecting humor and fun into Strauss, Mozart and one of my personal favorites Souza (and he spoke of the marches he wrote which I fondly remember playing as a kid). Souza had quite the interesting childhood:

John was born in Washington, D.C., to John António de Sousa and Maria Elisabeth Trinkhaus. His parents were of Portuguese, Spanish and Bavarian (German) descent; his grandparents were Portuguese refugees. Sousa started his music education, playing the violin, as a pupil of John Esputa and G. F. Benkert for harmony and musical composition at the age of six. He was found to have absolute pitch. When John reached the age of 13, his father, a trombonist in the Marine Band, enlisted his son in the United States Marine Corps as an apprentice. John served his apprenticeship for seven years, until 1875, and apparently learned to play all the wind instruments while honing his mettle with the violin.

And what topped it off was that it was held in a minor hall (think old, small performance room with tiered seating for perhaps 200) at Eton, one of the most prestigious boys schools in the world (Founded in the 1400s). My moment came as the music played and I looked out the window at the church … Amazing.

Sorry, no pictures from me. I forgot the camera in the kitchen (smile).

It is interesting to see the remnants of a feudal society so prominently embedded into modern day culture, the concept of Lords and Ladies, the monarchy and the associated class system (which may be taboo to speak of .. not sure). I broached the subject the other day with a question ‘Do the British see the wealth which the monarchy has accumulated as taken from them, built on the backs of the labor of the common man or as a proud part of history and theirs?’

The response after an awkward silence: ‘The Queen protects those estates and wealth for us’.

To date the monarchy is worth an estimated £2.7Bn and cost the taxpayer £88m a year. The Center for Citizenship has some very interesting views on the monarchy and why it continues to exist:

The wildest excuse for the existence of the monarchy is that "it interprets the nation to itself!" If that is so, we are a dysfunctional people, who lack the confidence needed for self-government, and prefer inherited status to success achieved through talent and hard work.

The monarchy also is commonly said to be a unifying force.

This argument is in part based on the idea that a head of state who is not elected is, therefore, non-partisan. An elected president, it is said, would not have the support of those who voted for another candidate. She would be unable to act as a unifying force therefore. This argument has always lacked force for republicans in particular as they are necessarily alienated by an hereditary head of state. Monarchist law bars them from parliament, the judiciary, the police and some military posts.

What credibility was left for this part of the monarchist case was eliminated in September 2002 by none other than the heir to Britain’s chief public office, Charles Windsor. It was revealed that he had been making determined efforts to use his status as the monarch’s son to persuade the government to change a number of its policies to match his beliefs. He had taken partisan positions on such issues as human rights laws, government regulations and the proposed ban on hunting foxes. The idea that as head of state when his mother died he would united the people of Britain as no politician could was shown to be invalid.

Monarchists have also claimed that the monarchy holds together the nations that make up the United Kingdom

Monarchical Britain has in fact been coming apart at the seams for some time. Scotland has successfully demanded its own parliament and may be moving towards independence. Wales has a strong nationalist movement. And Northern Ireland spent many years until recently in a state of near-war because of the desire of many of its people to unite with the republican majority of Ireland. During the weekend of queen Windsor’s 2002 jubilee celebrations her most loyal followers in Northern Ireland were rioting and shooting at the police.

Read the rest of the article here – fascinating stuff. The site goes on to speak about the components of the British democracy that are decidedly undemocratic. As a Canadian this is not unlike that which I hold in the lowest of regard and the highest of contempt – the home of nepotism – the Canadian senate:

The early Americans said that "All men are created equal" but failed to live up to the ideal. The British, with their European cynicism, have never really believed that an ideal was worth aspiring to. Although they like to think of themselves as presenting a model of democracy, their characteristic mistaking of "class" for quality has left them satisfied with something well short of perfection.

The highest public office, that of head of state, is open only to the members of the Windsor-Mountbatten family, the "royal" family. Although Britain now has large numbers of citizens of Caribbean, African and Asian origins, no Briton of African or Asian ancestry may become head of state. The monarchy is, quite simply, a racist institution.

The British like to refer to the British Parliament as the "mother" of legislative bodies. They mean to imply that the democratic legislature is their country’s gift to the world.

But that is far from being the truth. Britain has no written constitution to guarantee the rights of the people. And in fact Britain’s Parliament is so grossly undemocratic that the truth is hard to believe. Its structure reflects not the spirit of government of the people by the people but the ancient division of British society into "commoners" and aristocracy.

The legislative chamber for the democratically elected representatives of the people is known significantly as the "lower house," or the House of Commons. The "upper" house, the House of Lords is unelected. The government of Britain is thus divided between the common people and the Lords. And the House of Lords is really composed of people who call themselves "Lords." They believe that they are entitled to privileges of esteem and power. And they are recognised by the law of the land as having them!

None of these so-called lords have been elected to their positions in the legislature. Some were put there by the ruling party of the time. Some, incredibly, inherited their seats in the legislature from their fathers, who sat there before them!

No prize for deciding whether a country that tolerates this at the start of the twenty-first century can make any claim to be able to teach the world about democracy.

It is true to say that when the House of Lords gets too out of line with the wishes of the Commons, its decisions may be over-ruled, with some time and trouble. Nonetheless, here is a crew who have no right in a democratic society to any special say in the legislative process. A crowd whose presumptions would rule out them of consideration in any society with a truly democratic spirit. Yet in the "mother of democracies" they are allowed to initiate legislation as if they had been elected by the people. And to amend, obstruct and delay the laws proposed by the representatives of the people.

Not even in its elective government is Britain free from the power of inherited privilege. Every member of Parliament (like every police officer) must swear an oath of allegiance to the monarch. Republicans whose sense of honour will not permit them to lie about whom they owe their duty to, are thus excluded from representing the people.

While all of this carries on, the BBC bemoans the decline of social mobility, where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer despite efforts to prop up the lower class who remain very much ‘classed’.

Social mobility is on the decline in Britain despite the expansion of higher education, says Tory David Willetts.

The shadow education secretary says opportunities have increased for middle-class women but not for the poorest in society.

In a speech to the National Extension College, Mr Willetts said the best way to help social mobility would be to get all primary children reading well.

He also stressed the importance of vocational training to encourage boys.

‘Reversing trend’

Explaining his fears about social mobility, Mr Willetts said: "Of course it is right to widen opportunities for women, but paradoxically at the same time this has strengthened some of the forces passing on income and wealth from one generation to the next.

"Increasing equality between the sexes has meant increased inequality between social classes."

Fascinating and perplexing personally. But that is why I am here, not to judge but to learn.

The selection of a 2nd car has been an interesting process. We settled on our first car easily – it is a company car and I decided to take one for the team as we needed something big to get around in when we toured the country side. I went for the BMW 525d Estate – great car that is easily capable of hitting 120 (mph).

The 2nd car was a much tougher decision. What is needed for getting around town? Big or small? After testing a few different cars – BMW 1 Series, Audi A3, the mini was chosen for a very simple reason: size.

Over here the roads are VERY tight and the parking spots even tighter. A small car is amazing. Plus, this is a really cool car and the 25 degree – sunny weather they are having here (since July!) doesn’t hurt either ….

As I have stated, in most shops if you buy a coffee you can only get milk. I truly DETEST milk in my coffee. In the coffee shops in my office (which include a Starbucks), all they have is milk. Truly a single big gripe for me.

I had a breakfast meeting in the Ascot Starbucks this morning before an all day meeting and I asked ‘Any chance you have pouring cream for my coffee?’ She smiled and provided a magical answer ‘Yes’.

Made my day. Milk in coffee sucks (smile).

The price to fill my car? £60. That is $132. I will never complain about Canadian gasoline taxes again. Thank goodness for the company gas card (I love Europe).

The price to get the boy’s hair cut at the Aveda salon down the street last minute? £50 or $120 CDN.

Seeing The Police at the open air Twickenham Stadium last night? Priceless.

A few weeks ago my new corporate car was delivered, a BMW 5 series (I love Europe). I went for diesel (because everyone does) and have been enjoying it until I realized … it is haunted.

Whenever I am driving the radio will randomly come on. One moment it is quiet, the next moment some local radio station is blaring the traffic. I shut it off. A few minutes go by, it comes back on. Or I am listening to my Zune (there is an auxiliary in jack) and all of a sudden it will switch to a radio station blaring the traffic.

With a new car, this is particularly annoying as I thought it was broken. The guys in the office had a good laugh when I told them about my haunted car. Turns out that the UK has a system called the RDS (Radio Data Systems):

The development of RDS started some 20 years ago in the European Broadcasting Union, EBU. The developers aimed at making radio receivers very user-friendly, especially car radios when these are used where a transmitter network with a number of alternative frequencies (AF) are present. In addition listeners should be enabled to see the programme service name (PS) on an eight character alpha-numerical display and the transmitter frequency information, displayed on non-RDS radios, is then only used, in the background, by an RDS radio. All this has become possible by the using, for many years, microprocessor controlled PLL tuner technology, permitting a radio to be retuned within milliseconds. During this process the audio signal is muted which, because of the short time, is usually not detected by the ear. Thus, the radio is able to choose the transmitter frequency, among a number of alternatives that gives the best reception quality. It is also ensured that the switch-over is made to exactly the same programme service by performing a kind of identity check using the programme identity (PI) code.

Travel information with RDS is possible using the Travel Programme (TP) and Travel Announcement (TA) flags. Information is broadcast for motorists, identified in parallel with the ARI system with the corresponding RDS features TP/TA. But ARI is now being replaced on a European scale, and its operation ceased in 2005. Although there are still some ARI stations in operation in some parts of Germany, this will no longer be so in 2007.

RDS is also used for the digitally coded Traffic Message Channel (TMC), which is introduced all over Europe within funded European Union projects.

Once a radio is tuned to a programme service broadcast within a network, using the RDS feature.

Enhanced Other Networks (EON) additional data about other programmes from the same broadcaster will be received. This enables the listener, according to his choice, to have his radio operating in an automatic switch-mode for travel information or a preferred Programme Type (PTY, e.g. News) and this information comes from a service that, at a given time, does not necessarily contain such travel information nor broadcasts the desired programme type.

The RDS travel information – which keeps taking over my radio is described as:

Travel Information. A very useful bit of information sent, is something called the ‘TA flag’. Standing for Traffic Announcement, this can be switched on when a radio station starts a travel report, and switched off at the end. The practical upshot of this, is that your RDS radio can switch to a station carrying travel news, or in a car, pause a cassette or a CD, when local travel news is broadcast. For more, see below.

Now, if I could just figure out how to turn this government funded service off!

A few weeks ago we found ourselves in that awkward in-between time during a move. We were in our new home with rental furniture, had unpacked the things that were air shipped over, were awaiting the arrival of our container and were exhausted from the last 3 months. We therefore decided to go on a quick vacation.

From the UK, you can go anywhere quickly. Surprisingly enough, Egypt and Dubai are only 4-5 hours away (That will be the spring destination). We landed on Portugal and the Algarve as it was close, hot and has beautiful beaches. We were not disappointed.

Thinking back on the trip, a few key things come to mind about Portugal:

• The beaches are beautiful and the scenery spectacular. There were towering cliffs, beautiful sunsets and long beaches with soft sand. We spent hours exploring every nook and cranny of the cliffs, rocks and trees. The boys loved it: washed up crabs, shells, unique rocks, really cool bugs and hermit crabs …. 

• The water is very, very cold. There is only one strategy – run in.
• I learned about the blue flag beaches (a quality standard for beaches in Europe) and that many of Portugal’s beaches are public. It was busy on our beach, but it provided interesting insight into the culture as the locals emerged with their families to hang out on the beach. It was refreshing to see so many families playing on the beach together …

• My sandcastle strategy failed due to the tides. In the Algarve the tides go out in the morning and come in dramatically through the day (changing the beach landscape by 40 or 50 feet) making it almost impossible to build a castle that would last the day .. so I got my exercise.

I will miss the gelato (which we had 2X a day) ….

I was in all day meetings over the last couple days doing business reviews and at one point, due to presentations going longer, was starving. So, I popped onto Communicator and asked my assistant to bring over a sandwich and some chips. The request for chips was made by someone else – I don’t need them at lunch.

She arrived with sandwiches and french fries. You see, chips are french fries and crisps are chips in the UK. This article provides some very interesting insight into the differences in language. To share a few … they confuse me every day …. (smile)

British — North American:

aerofoil — airfoil
aeroplane — airplane
agony aunt — advice columnist
anticlockwise — counter-clockwise
articulated lorry — tractor-trailer
asymmetric bars — uneven bars
aubergine — eggplant
blanket bath — sponge bath
bonnet (of car) — hood
boot (of a car) — trunk
bowls — lawn bowling
brawn (the food) — headcheese
breeze block — cinder block
bumbag — fanny pack
candy floss — cotton candy
car park — parking lot/garage
central reservation — median strip
chips — French fries
cling film — plastic wrap
common seal — harbor seal
consumer durables — durable goods
cornflour — cornstarch
cot — crib
cotton bud — cotton swab
cotton wool — absorbent cotton
courgette — zucchini
crash barrier — guardrail
crisps — chips or potato chips
cross-ply — bias-ply
current account — checking account
cut-throat razor — straight razor
dialling tone — dial tone
double cream — heavy cream
double-declutch — double-clutch
draughts — checkers
drawing pin — thumb tack
drink-driving — drunk driving
driving licence — driver’s license
dummy — pacifier
dustbin — trash/garbage can
eat in (of restaurant) — for here
engaged (of a telephone) — busy
estate car — station wagon
ex-directory — unlisted
eyebath — eyecup
financial year — fiscal year
fire brigade — fire department
firelighter — fire starter
fringe — bangs
full board — American plan
gear lever — gearshift
green fingers — green thumb
groundsman — groundskeeper
holidaymaker — vacationer
hundreds and thousands — sprinkles
indicator (on car) — turn signal
Joe Bloggs — Joe Blow
Joe Public — John Q. Public
jump lead — jumper cable
ladybird — ladybug
level crossing — grade crossing
lift (in building) — elevator
lolly (lollipop) — Popsicle (trademark)
loo — john
maize — corn
mangetout — snow peas
maths — math
monkey tricks — monkeyshines
motorway — expressway/freeway
mum — mom
nappy — diaper
noughts and crosses — tic-tac-toe number plate — license plate
off-licence — liquor store
opencast — open-pit
paddling pool — wading pool
pay packet — pay envelop
pedestrian crossing — crosswalk
petrol — gasoline/gas
physiotherapy — physical therapy
plain chocolate — dark chocolate
plain flour — all-purpose flour
post code — zip code
postal vote — absentee ballot
poste restante — general delivery
press-up — pushup
punchbag — punching bag
pushchair — stroller
queue — line
razor shell — razor clam
real tennis — court tennis
recorded delivery — certified mail
reverse the charges — call collect
reversing light — backup light
room only — European plan
roundabout (in road) — traffic circle
rowing boat — rowboat
sailing boat — sailboat
self-raising flour — self-rising flour shopping trolley — shopping cart skirting board — baseboard
sleeping partner — silent partner
splashback — backsplash
storm in a teacup — tempest in a teapot
surtitle — supertitle
terraced house — row house
toffee apple — candy apple
trainers — sneakers
tram — streetcar or trolley car
transport café — truck stop
twelve-bore — twelve-gauge
vest — undershirt
waistcoat — vest
white spirit — mineral spirits
windscreen — windshield
worktop — countertop
zebra crossing — crosswalk
zed — zee

As I blogged in the past, I am a quality coffee convert and find it difficult to carry on without a great cup of coffee in the morning. I only drink 1 or 2 cups a day – so it needs to be good.

The last few months in the UK have seen our family revert to the old style of coffee (in this case, using a French press) and it was rather awful. This was further exacerbated by our confusion over cream. You see, the British LOVE their cream but they love it for their food – not their coffee.

In fact, if you walk into a shop and ask for a coffee with cream they grab some monster 50% clotted cream and drop it in. The supermarkets are not much better, shelves and shelves of creams but which to use? Finally, at the Waitrose where we have decided to shop thanks to their great selection of specialty products, we found it – they call it ‘pouring cream’ which I believe is around 10%.

But after a month, it was decided that a new coffee maker was needed (We sold the old one in Canada as the power transformer it needed would have taken up half the kitchen counter – they draw a ton of power!). After much research I settled on the Jura Impressa F70 which the guy at UK Coffee called a good ‘compromise’ between the high end and mid range. I guess that my handing over an arm and a leg was also a good ‘compromise’.

Despite the high price, I have to admit that I am BLOWN AWAY on two fronts:

1. You can adjust everything with a simple flip of the dial. I love that a dial allows me to control how many ML goes into every cup.

2. It comes with an automatic milk frother. This contraption is quite simple – put a cup of milk beside the machine and turn the knob. The steam builds and through a vacuum sucks the milk up the tube and fires it out of the nozzle frothed. Now, do I get the satisfaction of making the perfect frothed milk? No. But if I a wanted, I could, it has the same attachment. But what I do get is a simple system that provides amazing froth in seconds and candidly, it has a much better touch than I ever had. Amazing – and yes, my coffee does look like that (wink).

Now I know you are saying, it is mad to spend that much on coffee. I look at it this way – $3 per day at Starbucks adds up really fast. This thing will pay for itself in about 2 years .. and in the meantime, if I want a GREAT cup of coffee, it is 1 button away. Plus, I love a great cup of coffee and if you cannot indulge here and there, why work so hard?

Cheerio.

When we were over on our house/school hunting trip in May we watched a documentary on CCTV use in Britain. It walked through the evolution of CCTV in Britain and showed some scary footage – used to capture criminals. According to the UK HomeOffice site, the goal of CCTV is as follows:

Welcome to the Home Office CCTV website. The crime Reduction Programme CCTV Initiative provided over £170 million worth of funding to over 680 CCTV schemes. These schemes will be an important tool in the fight against crime in town centres, shopping centres, rural areas, car parks and transport links across England and Wales.

According to this site, the UK has more than 4 million cameras and if you walk through London you will end up on more than 300 cameras. In the documentary, they showed how CCTV was used to print each vehicle as it entered London, flagging suspicious vehicles (i.e. flagged criminals, stolen vehicles, etc.) in under 20 seconds.

Wikipedia has an interesting write up on the history of CCTV noting:

After the bombings of London on 7 July 2005, CCTV footage was used to identify the bombers. The media was surprised that few tube trains actually had CCTV cameras, and there were some calls for this to be increased.

The interesting evolution of the CCTV is the ‘talking CCTV’. In the documentary, they showed a few drunk revelers staggering down the street and one grabbing a sign and taking it with him until the CCTV called out ‘You, in the blue shirt, you are being monitored by the police. Put that sign back’. He spun around, shocked and then slowly put it back … worth a laugh.

On a personal level, they don’t bother me. There are many sites that make the big brother connection, but one has to wonder – if you are not doing anything wrong – who cares? All I had to watch was this man standing alone at 12PM after a nightshift at a bus stop when 4 hooligans came out of nowhere and attack him viciously – all caught on camera. Five minutes later, all 4 of them were in custody and an ambulance was on site.

The Science Museum had a different view of the CCTV ..

This weekend is a long weekend in England and we took the time to tour the London Science Museum. On the train ride into London we chose this exhibit as the Science of Spying exhibit is coming to an end September 2nd.

The interesting thing about this museum and the Natural History Museum is that they are both free. The majority of the exhibits are free to tour with the facilities generating revenue through government sponsorship and the ‘special’ events. For example, it was £32 to go through the spying exhibit ($70CDN).

It was a fascinating tour where they took you through a mock mission, exposed a multitude of interactive stations and of course, offered an interesting selection of spy gadgets for purchase at the end. The boys chose the edible paper. What they found out was that it may be edible, but it tastes awful.

We will need to go back, we spent 4 hours there and barely scratched the surface. As we exited, we came across the naval and aeronautics area. Spitfires, Hurricanes, Harrier Jumpjets …. We need to go back. The pictures below are washed out, it was getting late and they were rushing us. Next time ..

I remain amazed at the architecture – just a common building in the area. Note the detail on the brickwork …

I have been told that to become truly British (As in British Empire style), I need to learn a few sports: football (never say soccer), rugby and cricket with their 5 day matches.

The following was sent to me: Cricket explained to the foreigner:

You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that’s in the side that’s in goes out, and when he’s out he comes in and the next man goes in until he’s out. When they are all out, the side that’s out comes in and the side that’s been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out.

When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the men have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game.

While at Windsor I was taking a video of the guard and noticed as he marched that his trousers were ripped! I started to laugh and said to Narda and the boys ‘Maybe I should tell him?’

The boys taught me a lesson, they thought my laughing was mean and that if I went and told him he would be embarrassed. Funny, I stepped back and realized that they were right – my laughing at that poor guys predicament was wrong. A lesson I was glad for.

We did our first ‘tourist’ event two weeks ago when we made a trip to Windsor castle. The town of Windsor is beautiful and according to some of our new neighbors, it is the place to go shopping.

Throughout the village, that surrounds the castle, are these old, multi-color buildings that have been converted into restaurants and shops. I marvel at how the below building is commonplace in the UK but steeped in history. Imagine what it would have been like in the 1400s?

I walked through the building while we waited for our food and was amazed at the huge wood beams and brickwork that was hundreds and hundreds of years old. That being said, the food was awful (smile).

We spent the afternoon touring the castle and the boys loved it. After all, who would not love touring a castle with the arrow slits, huge walls, guards and myriad of sites?

At the entrance to the castle you are handed a listening device (With 2 tracks, one for children – one for adults). As you tour through the castle you see numbered spots (Approximately 35) where you stop, hold the device to your ear and listen to the history. It was fascinating as it talked about the history of the castle, the defense benefits to being on a hill, what each room held and was used for (i.e. Where the king or Queen would dress) and the lore of the castle. It brought the castle to life and allowed us to avoid standing in one of those huge crowds while straining to hear a tour guide slowly (and painfully) guide you through.

Inside the castle apartments, no pictures were allowed, which is too bad. It is spectacular, filled with armor, weapons and priceless treasures (Collected over the century as the British Empire expanded). It was also fascinating to learn that all areas of the castle remain in full use. When dignitaries come, it will all be rearranged and used to host dinners and parties. Imagine being hosted at Windsor castle by the Queen?

All in all, a great start. We spent 3 hours there and plan to go back again in 6 months. We did not get through it all.

St. George’s chapel was closed, it was Sunday ….. I will catch a service there one day.

Notice the crooked house on the right ….

A cannon from an old ship …

We arrived back from the Algarve on Thursday night, the rental guys cam in and moved out our rental furniture so that the moving company could complete the last leg of our moving journey this morning – the big move in.

Not sure where it will all go as he place is a bit smaller than in Canada (The UK is an island!) nor do I envy the movers. They need to drop the container at the roadway and shuttle in the contents on a small van – load by load. It will be a long day for them!

It will be nice to be settled, finally.

We are on our way to Portugal and the Algarve for a week. A vacation that is long overdue. It looks like a beautiful spot, trip report on my return. It will be an eventful few weeks as we are off to Ireland right after that.

A description of the Algarve:

The Algarve is hilly, but traversed with rich valleys. Its highest point is the mountain range of Monchique, with a maximum altitude of 906m (Peak of the Fóia).

It is composed of 5,412 square kilometres with approximately 410,000 permanent inhabitants (density of 76 inhabitants per square kilometre). This figure increases to over a million people at the height of summer due to an influx of tourists.

The region is also the home of the Ria Formosa lagoon, a nature reserve of over 170 square kilometres and a stopping place for hundreds of different birds.

The Algarve is a popular destination for tourism, primarily because of its beaches, Mediterranean climate, safety and relatively low costs. The length of the south-facing coastline is approximately 155 kilometres. Beyond the westernmost point of Cape St Vincent it stretches a further 50 kilometres to the north. The coastline is notable for picturesque limestone caves and grottoes, particularly around Lagos, which are accessible by powerboat. Praia da Marinha, Lagoa was classified as one of the 100 most beautiful and well preserved beaches of the world. There are many other beautiful and famous summer places such as Albufeira, Vilamoura, Portimão, Lagos, Armação de Pêra, Quarteira, Monte Gordo and Tavira. It is also host to the annual Algarve Cup invitational tournament for national teams in women’s football.

And the weather is definitely the kind of weather I like. Let the sand castle building begin!

I was at an offsite held at the Bailiffscourt Hotel & Health Spa in Climping. A stones throw from a pebble beach (which is really just a big beach with no sand and lots of rocks) it was introduced as ‘the fake Bailiffscourt’.

In a country of 400 year old buildings, it would appear that a building built in the 1920’s is a faker. The history:

Built in the 1920’s by the late Sir Walter Guinness – a family retreat, and an architectural wonder. Original stone and wood work was gathered from all over England to make up the series of buildings that is Bailiffscourt.

Gothic mullioned windows overlook the rose clad courtyard, whilst narrow passageways lead you through a series of intimate lounges and sitting rooms.

Many of the public rooms feature open log fires, and a wealth of fine antiques, tapestries and abundance of fresh flowers throughout the hotel.

Climping Beach is a few minute walk away and for the sailing enthusiasts Littlehampton Marina, is just five minutes drive away and Chichester Harbour a 15 minute drive from the hotel.

Set in 30 acres of parkland, with moats and small streams, there is an abundance of wild life to be seen, all of which is closely guarded by our own peacocks.

The unofficial story was that Sir Walter didn’t want people ruining his beach. So he bought up a bunch of land and built the retreat. It is an amazing retreat and to me, looked very genuine and very old. As for their peacocks, I can attest to their presence. They left their calling card all over my car.

A few pictures here.

I had the good fortune to go to an offsite over the last 2 days in Climping, West Sussex. The drive to Climping was an interesting one. It was only 56 miles (Have not changed the loaner car’s navigation to KM yet) but was about 1 hour and 45 minutes as no drive in the UK is simple.

The drive involved short bursts of speed and then a roundabout. This makes for interesting driving (You must always pay attention) but also means that you get to truly experience an area. It is a much different drive than one in North America where you whip down a highway with the towns passing by unknown and untouched by your eye.

I found myself looking intently at the homes, villages and scenery as I passed by. Unfortunately, I forgot my proper camera but have gotten in the habit of carrying an older 4MP Canon for an emergency.

As I drove I passed this home and had to turn around and snap a few pictures linked here. The sign said ‘Duchess Lodge’ and the stone fence extended a few miles back to another such structure. I can only surmise that it was at one point a guard tower for a crown property.

Note the television aerial on the top (smile). Amazing.

I was asked a few days ago what foods I will miss from Canada. Interestingly enough, none really. The Canadian food experience is a multi-cultural one, from all over the world. I may miss a few restaurants that I love like the great little Indian place in Barrie, but other than that, nothing sticks out in my mind.

The one thing I may miss is the convenience. Within 15 minutes I could buy anything that I need. Not so in Britain. Due to every building being 400+ years old, there is a certain lack of urban planning which means that finding the store that you need is very tough.

Case in point: yesterday our air shipment arrived (the Sharp Aquos looks amazing). One of the cables on our son’s new bike had come loose and after much futzing, I could not put it back together. So we had to find a bike shop and after speaking to the neighbours and the security guy, it became apparent that the closest bike shop was 25 minutes away (We don’t have broadband yet, so we could not use the internet).

Off we went and 3 minutes beyond our house Narda exclaimed ‘wait, there is a bike shop there!’. Now, obviously, this arose from the fact that we do not know the area and because we did not have an effective way to find information. However, in speaking with the bike shop owner on the topic he provided some insight.

The area where we live consists of many interconnected but independent villages and many people do not know what is in two or three towns over, because there are so many and it is a maze.

This is also very exciting. Going 5 minutes further means a whole new experience …

According to this BBC article, the UK is having the wettest weather since 1766. For the record, 1766 is when the UK government started recording the weather. However, according to several articles that I read in the paper this weekend, summer starts in the UK August 15th where we should face sun and above average temperature.  

On a personal note, the family arrived in the UK late Friday night and we had an amazing weekend, with rain in the evenings and sun during the day. We closed off the weekend with a BBQ with some new neighbours.  

A great weekend.

As an aside, ‘Singing in the Rain‘ is one of my favourite old movies. 

The family is landed in the UK. The new house is furnished with rental furniture. Our air shipment sits in UK customs waiting to be released (hopefully soon, it has the new LCD, clothes and the kids bikes/toys!). The boat arrives in the UK last week of August.

In other words, we are in moving purgatory.

Next week they install Sky and our broadband service. Our phone was up and running from BT in less than 12 hours (Amazing). Which left a problem, how do I get any work done. The hole created by a lack of internet access is quite large (especially when you are trying to settle a house). My PALM TREO 750 is fine for email and some limited browsing, but what to do?

Use the phone as a broadband connection. Thanks to the simple ‘Internet Sharing’ tool, my phone is acting as a 3G internet access point. Simply plugged it into the laptop, Vista found the driver in 20 seconds and off it went. Not that fast, but fast enough.

Technology sure is wonderful (When I don’t mess it up!).

• A root canal
• Being shocked into reality by an angry guy on a bike as he bangs on your window and threatens to kill you because you cut him off
• Hitting your thumb with a hammer
• Having someone key your car, while you are in it
• Listening to Apple fan boys go on and on and on and on about Microsoft’s (well .. maybe not). 

On a positive note, below is a picture from the terrace of our new home. Yes, it backs onto a stable.

• Do you sell the house? (We are: http://3kingstreet.spaces.live.com/)
• When are you coming back? Time will tell.
• What do you store, sell, throw out, recycle and ship?

The last one alone has been months of work. Imagine going through you house and having to decide what stays and goes, then inventory everything (We took a full day, laptop and Excel in hand and inventoried the entire house. It was painful, and surprising).

At this point with the movers coming Monday, it is down to three categories:

1. Store: Put it in an offsite storage in Canada with very little access to it for some future date. It costs $150 every time you want to access the container.

2. Air shipment: Send a small amount via air to be with us in the first week. The essentials and not very much. Looks like the bikes, a computer and a few other things are going to make it into this pile.

3. Ship: Over ground, to a ship, across the ocean, through customs and on to our new abode in 4 to 10 weeks. It is interesting to watch the guy come into the house to figure this one out. He walks around with a pocket pc itemizing things (takes 2-3 hours) and then tells you if it will all fit. He said we are on the edge, about 95% of the container full so we better be careful. Luckily, we have eliminated 4 big items since then, so we should be good (fingers crossed).

That being said, it has been great to purge. I never knew how many old video cables I had …

The concept of old is an interesting one. In Canada, we live in what is considered an ‘old‘ house, built in the late 1800s. When you go to Europe, your perception of old changes dramatically.

We will be moving to a town called Virginia Water and everywhere you go there is history. Even the pubs have history. I was in The Bull in Sonning this week (A pub) that can be traced back to the 1400’s and that is old hat. There is so much history.

           

I had the good fortune to add to the pubs verbal history by providing a humorous story. While sitting with a work colleague, I had a really tough time with the lamb and my dull knife. In a fit of clumsiness, I pulled on the lamb, a piece came loose and sent a wave of mint sauce up and over the plate onto my light blue golf shirt and dress pants. To which my friend turned to the person next to us and said ‘He is Canadian’ with a shrug.

If you go to the Virginia Water web site and browse the history tab, they provide the option of going back to the 1st century. From Wikipedia:

Virginia Water is a large village, a lake and, originally, a stream, the village being in the borough of Runnymede in Surrey and the bodies of water stretching over the borders of Runnymede, Old Windsor and Sunninghill and Ascot, all in England.

The village takes its name from the lake which is in the nearby Windsor Great Park. The lake’s name was transferred from a previous stream which was probably named after the ‘Virgin Queen’, Elizabeth I.

Pasted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Water>

 

        

I love listening to the British, Irish, Welsh and others who live in jolly old England. One of the things I learned from sales is the concept of being an anthropologist, as said by Peter Drucker:    

"Be maniacal about managing relationships – you are the business anthropologist. Brilliant network relationship management is not an accident. It is not catch it as it comes. Football analogies are cute, but deep relationships and understanding of the politics pay for private school"

So every conversation is a new one, full of nuance and learning. But, there are two common phrases I cannot use (so far):

• Mate: A term of endearment, not unlike calling someone a ‘buddy’. For me, this word is a verb, not a noun.
• Toilet: People in the UK don’t call it a bathroom or a washroom. It is toilet. No, I point out, that is but one of the items in there. There is a sink, urinal and a few other things. Plus, it just sounds crude. They find that funny. I am trying to adopt the word ‘loo’ but have been informed that using that term is girly (LOL).   

I am sure there will be more. As an aside, they drink their beer cold. I have yet to drink a warm beer. I have acquired a taste for Guinness, more of a meal than a drink.

I have not been blogging for a while for a simple reason; I am in the process of an international move, to the United Kingdom (Outside London).

When people find out, they have one of two reactions:

• One reaction is the one that my wife gets frequently: ‘Oh, really? Are you happy with that or were you forced to go because of Michael’s work? You know it rains there right?’
• The other reaction is the one you would expect, congratulations and a spat of questions. What job? Why? What a great experience!   

For us, it was a journey that started 3 years ago. I still remember those initial conversations which centred around the question of ‘Is this it?’ We discussed that life was pretty good. Nice house, lots of friends, close to family, great job with career options and close to lots of great activities. But was this it?

I will openly admit, it is a question I probably never would have asked if left to my own devices. But the more we talked about it, the more we realized that we were up for something else.

And so, I decided to change jobs. I have a few friends who remember when I made that mental change. It was pretty cut and dry, I simply changed my goal from reducing my handicap (It was approaching single digit after much hard work) and pursued a new role.

I had to fight hard to get that role (Long story, corporate memory is an interesting thing) but got it. Over the last 2 1/2 years, thanks to a great team and hard work meeting opportunity, it all paid off and we did very well. Because of that, I began pursuing the next stage of the plan, getting the word out that I was interested in a move and voila, a year earlier than I planned, we are moving.

Never estimate the power of goals.

The adventure begins.