My drive up from Bradford to Dundee for Leah’s birthday bash was quite enjoyable, especially given the great weather we seemed to luck out with this weekend. This is a good thing as it’s not the shortest drive in the world – around 5 hours. And for the duration you can almost see the pound [...]

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Just a quick update as I promised to post at least once a week! I’ve been down to my old stomping grounds to visit friends over the last few days. Briefly, I saw: Tony & June Sharon (oh, I wish I could tell you this embarrassing story but I’d get shot) Tracey Kim Steve Nic [...]

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Well, technically a safari park but I’m the pedantic one here so don’t go giving me any gyp. As past blog posts will show, I love zoos. Well, I love a good one – Hanoi was a little decrepit but on the whole I’ve been impressed with the animal welfare in them. Anything which encourages [...]

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My last morning in Chamonix was… eventful. Actually, one of the busiest working mornings I’ve had in a while. I was late into the office as I had to hand back the apartment to the people we’d rented it from. They were expecting Sophie, who handles the contracts, but had to deal with me instead. [...]

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Yup, had my last dinner in the Chamonix flat – El Paso Enchiladas. And darn good they were, too. The trick is, when you fold them, “stick” them shut with extra-hot salsa and a scattering of grated cheese before you pop them back in the oven. Yum.  Accompanied by my last bottle of out-of-date Newcastle [...]

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One restriction that can be very annoying these days is that of luggage weight. Another that really gets my goat is only being able to take one item of hand luggage onto a plane, unless you’re female in which case you can also carry on a handbag the size of Montana. There’s a simple way [...]

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If you can get away with a day-bag of reasonable dimensions, then do so. Make sure you don’t pack anything dangerous (Bowie knife, TNT, bottled water, 125g tube of toothpaste) in case you have problems with customs/security and get mistaken for a terrorist. Quite a few airlines will let you check-in in advance – often [...]

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Friday was a short day in the office until Chris drove me to Geneva airport for my Bristol flight. I’d opted to get my passport sorted in Newport so I could catch up with some people I’d otherwise not get a chance to see on my next trip home. Passing through security and so forth [...]

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LOCATE is a new service launched by the British Foreign Office today, and it seems a worthwhile one to register with. Paranoid freaks and those who wear aluminium pirate hats may as well stop reading now as you’ll assume it’s another way of the government keeping an eye on you… which it is and for [...]

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My flight back to the UK is officially booked. Friday next week, the 23rd, I’ll be on the easyJet flight from Geneva to Edinburgh, and then enjoying the wonderful public transportation we are blessed with in the UK. Unless some kind person wants to brave the roads and give me a lift! This won’t be [...]

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