…grayblog…

Category: work

  • Sneaky update when I should be working…

    … it’s too hot to concentrate properly. Actually, I’m not sure it is the heat, per se, so much as the humidity. Anyway, recent weeks in bullet points, and in no particular order:

    • Charlie and Pete’s wedding at Lancing College. Was fabulous. Involved very large quantities of food and even larger quantities of alcohol – two things essential for any successful wedding.
    • Neil and Emma’s wedding at a hotel near Uckfield. Still more nosh and booze, plus funky music. And a rare opportunity for the Old Howardians to have a meeting – Sarah, David, Louise and Andy were present.
    • A lengthy trip to the Netherlands and Belgium with PFE-supporter Mike, involving lots of visits and meetings (about 15, I think), driving for more than 1500 miles in six days, a particularly dodgy hotel in Lochristi and an impressive journey in a gathering storm across the Markerwaarddijk.
    • A much shorter trip to the Irish Republic, mainly visiting a trade show at the Punchestown Racecourse. Note to travellers – BA are now just as cheap and often cheaper than easyjet or Ryanair, with the added advantages of more comfortable seats, free coffee or tea, a sandwich and an allocated seat.
    • Hels has had a hearing test. She was forced to go private, as the NHS waiting list just for a test is two years. Well done Mr Blair. Anyway, the results were not overly encouraging, and more tests are planned, including an MRI scan. H is definitely nervous about this.
    • Barbeque at Charlie and Pete’s – more food, more drink, good company.
    • Flat sales update: with two agents now working on mine, there is plenty of interest, but still no offers. We are now in the summer holidays, which is the worst time of year to sell a flat, but we keep trying. H’s flat is back on the market, but is not fetching huge amounts of interest at the moment. We’re resigned to not having a home together by the wedding, but we’ve managed so far, so managing for a little longer will be an irritation, not a disaster. What’s more important is that we now need to borrow money for the wedding – thankfully, the Bank of Dad is offering good terms at the moment.

    I’m sure that there is much more to tell you, but it’s too hot to type much, and I don’t really have the time either. So, to keep you all happy, here are some piccies:

    Maarkermeer
    The Maarkermeer with storm approaching.

    Boomkwekerijmuseum
    The Boomkwekerijmuseum – a museum dedicated to nurseries growing woody plants, in Boskoop, Netherlands.

    Spathiphyllums
    You know Peace lilies – Spathiphyllums – that they sell in Marks and Spencer? Here they are produced on factory scale, mostly mechanised, disappearing off as far as the eye can see.

    More when I get round to it/feel like it.

  • So tired

    Whose idea was it to get up at 4am to fly to Ireland?
    Either way, a worthwhile trip and I’m glad I’ve got a decent hotel to get some sleep in.
    More tomorrow.

  • Splinter Inside

    You know how it is – you’re sitting in a restaurant in Alphen an der Rijn and you spot someone wearing an "I’m blogging this" t-shirt. So you go an introduce yourself and exchange URIs. It’s the only polite thing to do!

    In other news – I really miss Hels.
    And this trip is really useful already, with only two of five working days completed.

  • On the road again

    Today, I shall be driving with (PFE-supporter and friend) Mike to Rotterdam, via Le Shuttle. We’re undertaking a week-long tour of the Netherlands and Belgium to visit a whole host of plant growers, propagators and breeders’ agents. It’ll be hard work and tiring, but hopefully we will get a little downtime in as well – Mike and I usually try to get to a few decent restaurants on these trips, as well as a sight or two if there is time (recent conquests include Essen cathedral treasury and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam).

    So, expect quiet here this week. I’ll have my laptop with me, so infrequent updates should be possible – just don’t expect much rambling, nor any long-winded airport monologues. Monologuing is hard to do when driving.

  • Geek?

    It’s the little things that keep me happy – like successfully setting up my laptop so that I check my email and surf the web via my mobile phone. Undoubtedly only likely to be used infrequently, and almost certain to be very expensive when I do – but it could be useful functionality one day.

  • Personal news update:

    Not much to write about at the moment. Work is still the dominant feature in life.

    • Drove 375 miles yesterday to deliver some plants to Cambridgeshire. Driving a Transit Luton in a strong wind is never much fun.
    • Took Hels’s car for its MOT test today. It failed. I’ve been and purchased the parts required to make it pass, and Tim is kindly fitting them. However, he’s already hit a problem, though hopefully it can be remedied quickly.
    • I’m currently printing all the inserts for the wedding invitations (where to stay, how to find it, etc.). We should get them in the post next week.
    • I’m working my way through a huge backlog of work emails that I’ve filed but not yet replied to or dealt with. PFE has reached a stage where an admin assistant would be useful, but the money is not available to pay for it. So it looks increasingly like I’ll be working longer hours to try and get everything done. Still, at least I remain in total control of everything, and I guess that is a positive.
    • And, whilst losing the football last night is a disappointment, I can see absolutely no justification for this idiotic behaviour.

  • Wet weekend in West Dean

    Well, it rained, although only in the form of showers, but enough to dent visitor numbers somewhat. But it wasn’t disastrous, and overall it’s been a pretty good weekend, providing someuseful income for PFE.
    Next year will be the tenth Garden Event that I’ve organised at West Dean, a frightening statistic in itself. Already, we’re formulating ideas for ways to celebrate that – my favourite suggestion so far is a champagne bar.

  • I need more sleep

    West Dean was very successful yesterday – if the weather holds, then today should be every bit as good. If you didn’t make it yesterday, (hi Sacha!) then come along today if you can.
    In other matters: Black Eyed Peas – Let’s Get It Started. Surely I can’t be the only person who for ages has thought that they were singing "Let’s get retarded in here"

  • Wednesday? Thursday? Sunday? Who knows?

    The days continue to blend into a sea of work, but at least I was home by 7.15 tonight, and ticked off several major tasks during the day. Coming home to trans-Atlantic answerphone messages is cheering too. As was finding that one of the local papers has got a chunk of editorial about my event this weekend.

  • Tuesdaydump

    Still incredibly busy and short of time:

    • Started work at 8.30am and got home at 10pm – a little better than yesterday, not least because I didn’t spend the whole day driving around.
    • The Two Things, via LMG
    • The normally quietly spoken Mervyn King has opened his mouth and put his foot in it – certainly not helpful for those of us that have little choice but to sell now.
    • On the plus side, both Hels’s flat and mine were subject to viewings today.

    OK – more work to do and then a late night trans-Atlantic telephone call to make. Not very exciting for you, but it’s likely to be like this until I get through this week and next.