This was the route for my first training run for the Richmond Half-Marathon. Took me about 30 minutes and fortunately I ran with a friend, otherwise I would probably have turned back after 10 minutes.
Outcomes:
1. Pain in my left gluteus maximus
2. Dead quadriceps muscles
3. Terrible apprehension that in 2 months time, I will have to do 2.5 hours of this!!
Wednesday, February 23
Wednesday, February 16
The Corporate London Olympics!!
The pricing for most events for the Olympics needs to be reconsidered by the Olympic Committee. It is a little absurd that the cheapest tickets for the main events is not than less 50GBP.
There are other absurdities in the pricing strategy. The triathalon held in Hyde Park requires a 20GBP admission fee,this is not for seating, but for general admission. The organisers kindly let us know that we can view parts of the cycling route for the triathalon for free...really now, considering you have 20 km of cycling to do and some of it has to be outside Hyde Park.
The pricing strategists haven't learnt any lessons from the Beijing Olympics or the Commonwealth Games where prices to athletics heats and preliminary events were priced so high that we witnessed empty stands in many venues.
The Olympics are the premier competition for a few sports like athletics, gymnastics, swimming, fencing and it's a great opportunity to see the best in the world compete at their peak against each other. The current pricing scheme virtually refuses entry to events to students, families and others who cannot afford to imagine spending 50 pounds on a single day for an event. The Olympics in London is a great opportunity kids across the UK, but especially London, to get really excited and dream to emulate these athletes. What's the point if your parents cannot afford to take you to see Tom Daley diving or Jessica Ennis win gold!!
Lord Coe must seriously reconsider whether he plans to retrieve his 500 million sales revenue through corporate hospitality or genuinely have an all-inclusive Olympics that will be remembered for the enthusiasm and participation of every Londoner.
There are other absurdities in the pricing strategy. The triathalon held in Hyde Park requires a 20GBP admission fee,this is not for seating, but for general admission. The organisers kindly let us know that we can view parts of the cycling route for the triathalon for free...really now, considering you have 20 km of cycling to do and some of it has to be outside Hyde Park.
The pricing strategists haven't learnt any lessons from the Beijing Olympics or the Commonwealth Games where prices to athletics heats and preliminary events were priced so high that we witnessed empty stands in many venues.
The Olympics are the premier competition for a few sports like athletics, gymnastics, swimming, fencing and it's a great opportunity to see the best in the world compete at their peak against each other. The current pricing scheme virtually refuses entry to events to students, families and others who cannot afford to imagine spending 50 pounds on a single day for an event. The Olympics in London is a great opportunity kids across the UK, but especially London, to get really excited and dream to emulate these athletes. What's the point if your parents cannot afford to take you to see Tom Daley diving or Jessica Ennis win gold!!
Lord Coe must seriously reconsider whether he plans to retrieve his 500 million sales revenue through corporate hospitality or genuinely have an all-inclusive Olympics that will be remembered for the enthusiasm and participation of every Londoner.
Thursday, September 9
Monday, January 18
Banana curve
I am in the lab, listening to the Australian Open on the BBC, eating a Banana and trying to budget for a grant.
All this multi-tasking has led my brain to wonder why the banana is shaped like a "banana"? What happened in evolution for the banana to be shaped so? Are there other fruits shaped like a banana? What protective feature does its shape confer?
Truly bizarre...
All this multi-tasking has led my brain to wonder why the banana is shaped like a "banana"? What happened in evolution for the banana to be shaped so? Are there other fruits shaped like a banana? What protective feature does its shape confer?
Truly bizarre...
Monday, August 31
BBC Proms visit
Finally got tickets for the proms for Friday to hear Stephen Hough play Tchaikovsky's Concert Fantasia. Mother, The Little One, The Kiddo and Kiddo's best friends (AK) were having an early celebration of the Kiddo's 25th! 25..wow...never thought he would grow up.
The concert was fantastic. I have often heard the proms and seen it on iplayer, but from the sheer grandeur of the Royal Albert Hall to the gorgeous 20 foot organ forming the backdrop for the symphony to the riveting phenomenal music it was a memorable experience. Next time its standing for 5 quid for me.
I can barely sing and nor can I really appreciate music but this sort of live concert really allowed me to understand the different instruments being used, the pauses, emphasis and just the sheer tempo and feeling with which the music is being played. When I hear music as a recording, I often can't distinguish the different instruments being used but when I see the different instruments coming in at different times during the symphony I can really appreciate the sound they are making.
The Concerto Fantasia was great and I am slowly becoming a fan of Stephen Hough (who incidentally has a MacArthur Genius award). The cello piece, variations on a Rococo theme played by Steven Isserlis was amazing. I have never seen a cello performance like it before.Amazing..
The final piece played by the orchestra was Tchaikovsky's Francesca da Rimini which is based on Dante's Inferno. This was absolutely unbelievable. The story is about Francesca who is on the cusp of Hell hearing the howling winds about her and the fire down below. You can hear the winds howling when the strings in the orchestra play that bit and if you close your ideas you can imagine yourself standing on some cliff with winds howling about it and thunder all around you screaming at you to jump.
Anyway, it was fantastic and I think we all came out feeling overwhelmed and a little bit awed by the music.
The evening was capped off by dinner at Il Falcioniere which we found through the internet. Its a family run Italian restaurant near the South Kensington tube station. We loved the food. The food was very simple, nothing fancy but, the food was very tasty, flavourful and each dish had a unique taste to it (unlike Italian chain restaurants like Ask which probably make one white and one tomato sauce and add different meats and veggies).
Try the tiramisu if you do visit..fantastic!
The concert was fantastic. I have often heard the proms and seen it on iplayer, but from the sheer grandeur of the Royal Albert Hall to the gorgeous 20 foot organ forming the backdrop for the symphony to the riveting phenomenal music it was a memorable experience. Next time its standing for 5 quid for me.
I can barely sing and nor can I really appreciate music but this sort of live concert really allowed me to understand the different instruments being used, the pauses, emphasis and just the sheer tempo and feeling with which the music is being played. When I hear music as a recording, I often can't distinguish the different instruments being used but when I see the different instruments coming in at different times during the symphony I can really appreciate the sound they are making.
The Concerto Fantasia was great and I am slowly becoming a fan of Stephen Hough (who incidentally has a MacArthur Genius award). The cello piece, variations on a Rococo theme played by Steven Isserlis was amazing. I have never seen a cello performance like it before.Amazing..
The final piece played by the orchestra was Tchaikovsky's Francesca da Rimini which is based on Dante's Inferno. This was absolutely unbelievable. The story is about Francesca who is on the cusp of Hell hearing the howling winds about her and the fire down below. You can hear the winds howling when the strings in the orchestra play that bit and if you close your ideas you can imagine yourself standing on some cliff with winds howling about it and thunder all around you screaming at you to jump.
Anyway, it was fantastic and I think we all came out feeling overwhelmed and a little bit awed by the music.
The evening was capped off by dinner at Il Falcioniere which we found through the internet. Its a family run Italian restaurant near the South Kensington tube station. We loved the food. The food was very simple, nothing fancy but, the food was very tasty, flavourful and each dish had a unique taste to it (unlike Italian chain restaurants like Ask which probably make one white and one tomato sauce and add different meats and veggies).
Try the tiramisu if you do visit..fantastic!
Friday, August 28
My first 10 days in London
Time | Date | Event |
7:15 am | Sunday, 21st June | Land at Heathrow |
9 am | Sunday, 21st June | Immigration Health check (x-ray taken) |
11:30 am | Sunday, 21st June | Reach Kiddo's flat: 13,Thames Circle, London E14 |
10 am | Monday,22nd June | Property viewing Canary Wharf |
10 am | Tuesday,23rd June | Property viewing |
3:25 pm | Tuesday, 23rdJune | First meeting with new boss AL |
3:26 pm | Tuesday, 23rdJune | Asked to read journal article in 10 minutes (Presumed it was some sort of test or a lab induction routine) |
3:40 pm | Tuesday, 23rdJune | Meeting regarding an Expression of Interest call which I am to write (This was getting a bit crazy. I was meant to officially start work 9 days later on the 1st of July) |
10 am | Wednesday,24thJune | Property viewing London Bridge area |
12:30 pm | Wednesday,24thJune | At work in ICL working on EoI – 69 hours to deadline (The deadline was Friday, 26th June – 1pm) |
11:17 am | Friday,26th June | Calls from Barnard Marcus for flat deposit – 1.5 hours to deadline |
12:30 pm | Friday,26th June | Back and forth emails with boss about EoI – 30 minutes to deadline |
12:58 pm | Friday,26th June | Application submitted – 2 minutes before deadline |
1:00 pm | Friday,26th June | Adrenaline surge is settling – Heart rate dropping to normal |
1:15 pm | Friday,26th June | Calls to Barnard Marcus about getting guarantor |
1:30 pm | Friday,26th June | Multiple emails and forms to fill from credit rating agency for house |
2:00 pm | Friday,26th June | Holding deposit made on Sinclair Road flat |
9 am | Wednesday,1st July | Official start of job in AL lab |
4:00 pm | Wednesday,1st July | Appointment at BM to sign papers for Sinclair Road flat |
4:30 pm | Wednesday,1st July | Keys of new London place in hand |
5:30 pm | Wednesday,1st July | Meet Landlady at OUR new Flat |
6:00 pm | Wednesday,1st July | Sitting on couch in our new Flat. Big Sigh!!!!! |
Monday, August 17
MoTD
MoTD has started! I am happy.
For some reason, I love MoTD (for the uninitiated Match of The Day). It shows the premiership matches on Saturday and Sunday at 10pm and I hate missing it. I don't have to watch a full match, they show me highlihgts and then we have analysis. Fantastic..every game..about 15 minutes and we are done. How much more time can you spend on football matches which are played over 9 months every year.
I missed Saturday's one and am terribly annoyed at the BBC for not showing it on iplayer!! I suppose I should really be annoyed at Sky for not giving BBC the rights..but whatever!
Arsenal are back, although I doubt they will be able to keep up the same form for the rest of the year. Liverpool have started badly, will come back mid-season and fall off towards the end. Man U did just enough and will up the tempo slowly through the entire season, peaking perfectly.
Man City should be fun..if nothing else but to show that money doesn't always win you trophies.
....and the final Test on Friday...mouth watering weekend of sport!
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