First Business trip in over a year

How life can change, just two years ago I left home nearly every Sunday evening and got home late on a Friday night. My life was hotels, airports, stations and commuting. Having studied tourism and always wanted to travel, it was a good life, great to get paid to actually see many of the cities of the UK and Europe. But as ones priorities have changed since marrying Dusan, well my new job kind of fitted in perfectly with that.

Thursday evening however I had my first business trip in about 15 months. Never quite understood why in all of my work related trips I ended up so many times in Birmingham and yet have hardly ever been to Manchester, but I won’t complain. I actually love Birmingham. It’s a great size city, you can walk from to practically anywhere in the city within 10 minutes and has the new and very fabulous Bull Ring Shopping Centre now which has about 300 shops enough to fill anyone’s retail therapy needs. Add to that you have all the other shops that exist in the city centre, the lovely Christmas German Market with all it’s festive joy and a nice large gay scene. Well enough to keep anyone happy.

I took the train up and got into my hotel room around 1830. I can’t knock the Mal Masion. The service is fabulous, the beds are comfy and the food is divine. Let’s be honest that when you are away from home you don’t want anything less comfortable than you have at home right?

Unlike when I first worked in Birmingham and was based there for 6 months back in 1999, I no longer felt the need or desire to go out late on a school night. I did take a wander down to Hurst Street to just see how things looked but nothing much had changed. There was however a sense that the recession seemed far more severe in the midlands than in London. Restaurants that had been a steadfast when I was based there in 2007 had closed, the tables still laid and ready to dine but notices of foreclosure posted in the window. Habitat was closing down with a sign saying the nearest store would now be Solihull. (They do say Solihull is the poshest part of the midlands). Maybe it’s the only area that still has money. The old Woolworth building lay empty and stripped of it’s fittings and several other units were empty. A new commercial building had been constructed in the financial district near to where I worked. My colleagues informed me that it was empty and it’s owners could not afford to fit the interior. Furthermore the cranes that were erected to build another stood still. I was told they cost £60,000 to erect and dissemble and have just been left standing as no one can afford to do anything with them. It seemed a far cry from London, where a walk down Oxford Street on Thursday Evening was so packed with shoppers carrying dozens of bags in the build up to Christmas. Eating at the Ivy and La Caprice in the last month, both fully booked with limitation on the time you can actually spend at your table.

The Virgin Train service from Euston to Birmingham New Street on the newly improved line is now amazingly fast, taking just under 90 minutes between the two cities. I barely had time to read my paper and enjoy a glass of wine and we were arriving.
It was a good 24 hour trip and nice to have a night away for work once again and back in time now to enjoy the weekend. Think I will put up the Christmas tree today. :-)

Discounted Shopping Bonanza night with Emily

It was our 3rd years running of atteneding the Carnaby Street 20% discount shopping night. The street turns into a party and they have free booze. Yes free booze. So we started in Replay where while we browsed we were offered a free glass of Champagne (well it was actually Cava), then onto Kingley Court. Kingley Court had a free cocktails and so we sipped as we enjoyed the shops around Kingley Court.

From there Emily decided she wanted to buy as a cocktail as we were going to buy her dinner for her Birthday treat. So off we went to a basement bar. Enjoying a divine Esspresso Martini which was absolutely fabulous. Spotting a table that said "Reserved for Richard from 8PM". Well it was only 7, we had plenty of time before it was required. So we sat and enjoyed our cocktails before heading onto Soho. Emily had said she enjoyed Thai Food and I just happened to know a fabulous Thai restaurant in Soho. We tucked into a vegetarian feast (Emilys a Veggie), followed by Fritters and Pancakes. Yummy.

So much for the shopping, but we did have a fabulous time. Was great to spend some quality time with Emily, Happy belated Birthday love.

I should be so lucky...

Best friends, dear friends, loved ones. There are so many people in life you come in touch with, you build bonds with and you make a choice. A choice on whether to see them again and build on those foundations or to let it pass on by.

I guess I am one of the former. One whom takes those friends and makes them into something special. I am so lucky to have so many dear dear friends. Some so close you can rely on them no matter what. Ones that will love you through thick or thin.

Sometimes I forget in my stressfull life, with the woes of work, recession and war in Afghanistan how lucky I am. To have such wonderful friends, to be lucky at work to actually enjoy my work and most of all, to have such a loving wonderful husband whom I adore.

I often have my friends tell me how lucky I am to have someone to come home to and to love and take care of me. You know what, I am. I don't always think about it but occasionally you have to recognise how much of a lucky bitch (Lucky Bitches) I am.

I guess what I need to do is actually reflect on my own life more and appreciate what I have. Thank you to everyone who'm is dear. Especially those that have been there and are always there no matter what. Life may be a chore at times and be hard to get through the odd day but when the worst is thrown at you, those very friends were there as my backbone of life.

Someone, you know who you are, once taught me that if the man I loved was worth fighting for I should fight fight fight until I either have my man or die trying. Well it wasn't easy, it took years of fighting with immigration and the powers that be but eventually we were allowed to be together and true love is absolutely a wonderful thing.

This weekend having watched the whole of X Factor I found myself singing the Roy Orbison hit, Crying. It was my stalwart of songs to sing in the shower along with Living is without you. I no longer sing that so what does that say? I found my man, I am no longer crying and my friends, my life is great. Thank you all for being a part of it and rock on the weekned. She's back. The return of DTPM!

Collectors for Remembrance Day

As Poppy Day approached collectors started to appear at various train and tube stations accross the capital. I was amazed at how much time some of the collectors gave spotting the same person there at 745AM as was there when I went home some 12 hours later.

Thursday instead of the lone collector in a suit he was joined by at least a half dozen young men all in Army fatigues. I think it is the first time that one has felt that remembrance was about the young brave soldiers who are out in the Middle East fighting today rather than those that served in the first or second World Wars. Joining the young men and the collectors was another young man, dressed again in fatigues and playing on the bag pipes. It was quite a touching moment to see this men collecting in memory of their collegues and I found it quite shocking how few people wore a Poppy. Every news reader or television presenter wears one, but how many of your average Joe's has one?

So today we honour each and every one of the Men & Women that have and still do work on in honour of our country and brave their lives in order to protect our way of life. The fact that Gordon Brown then just signs half of our rights away without a referendum is another matter entirely.

Meanwhile the weather has turned wintery. The leaves have fallen and the cold has set in. It makes waking up and getting ready in the mornings so much harder. It is barely light by 7AM as I leave for work. I am determined that I will not gain weight this winter and will keep up my excercise routine, although I do confess I had a week off last week as my work load had me at the office until almost 730PM a couple of times last week.

Saturday with a real nip in the air I decided against going out cooked a nice meal for the two of us and enjoyed a quiet night in.

Meanwhile the bar in our complex that opened just over a year ago closed without warning last week. You could tell it was going to happen. The place was simply always empty. The recession litterally happened just after it opened and in truth, it was simply in the wrong place. Why would I choose to go and sit in a bar 50 feet from my front door and pay £5 for a glass of wine when I can invite my friends into the flat and enjoy a bottle. It didn't help that during the summer months they insisted on having a band or Disc Jockey on Saturday's and Sunday's. Being posistioned directly below the flats and facing our building and two others, I like many others were annoyed at the noise blasting out as late as Midnight on a Sunday Evening. I can't help but think that with that being the second one to close the whole idea of a restaurant / cafe in a residential complex is not such a good idea. Meanwhile the shop is a complete con. The bottles of wine are at least £2 more than I pay in the shop just outside the complex and considering the owners have just bought a new Lexus, don't think I will frequent their store while they are charging through the nose. How nice it would be to have a M&S Food where the bar used to live. After all, if people will pay those sort of prices for a Quickymart, they would clearly pay for M&S. We can but hope eh?

With one month to go until my software launch, I have a feeling I will be rather busy at work for the next few weeks. Watch this space. Happy November.

If they sack scientists for telling the truth, why should we believe them?

Last weeks news that the Home Secretary fired the Governments advisor for revealing the truth over drugs and their dangers.

What baffles me the most is that this is the scientist they hired to guide them on policy but because the findings happened to be that the use of Alcohol and Tobacco is far worse than certain drugs was fired. Surely this simply proves that they are are ignoring the facts of science in place of putting policy's first.

This has baffled me when later the same day I see a Government paid for advertisement about the Government guidelines as to how much one should drink in any week. Well as the news plays over about Professor Nutt's sacking I thought to myself, why should I or anyone listen to them? After all they don't listen to what the scientists say if they don't agree with it. It is like being told as a child "Don't do that" and your inquisitive little mind would ask "Why?", only be told "Because I said so". It simply proves that this Government doesn't have the balls to discuss sensitive subjects and will simply brush it under the carpet. Pretend it doesn't exist.

I would like to say back to the Government that the more that the reason people drink more and more these days is simply because they can. They enjoy getting drunk and being able to forget their lives because in truth, its no easy place out there. In the bustle of a metropolis like London where you daily commute of six miles can take an hour each way in cramped carriages. When the majority of your income goes to the Exchequer in a tax of sorts. Be it income tax, VAT, or the 80% tax on fuel or Tobacco. It's an expensive place. The levels of stress are high and alcohol is an escape for many. I kid you not, I enjoy a glass of red wine too. But if I want to enjoy a bit more than a glass on the odd occasion that's for me to decide and not Government policy thank you very much. Like it should have been my choice to vote on a referendum on us adopting the new EU treaty. But unlike our fellow Irishmen we were given no such chance.

Meanwhile as they merge us further into Europe I read that the EU now wants to stop us having the right to return faulty goods to shops? When did the EU actually represent the people? Rather than the Eurocrats?

Meanwhile I would like to suggest that the route of the violent problems caused by binge drinking is down to a simple fact. There is no discipline anymore. You have changed the rules so much that teachers have no respect. The kids get away with whatever they want at school. Take a journey by train into London's West End during half term and there are kids everywhere. You will see them on the trains, scribing gravity, being rowdy and disrespect full. I spotted some at Liverpool Street playing around on a custodians golf buggy. A Police Officer asked them what they were doing and they just laughed at him. No respect even for a police officer. No wonder there is a break down in the values of young people today. But then if they get no respect at home, they are not made to show their respect at school and lets be honest, nobody seriously respects Gordon Brown and his policies is there any respect at all? Furthermore, is it possible to return respect to Britain after so long? I like many are pro the return of National Service. Bring back discipline in the schools. Did it harm anyone in my years at school to be threatened with a caning if you stepped beyond the line? The most a teacher can do these days is put you in detention. They can't even expel a child these days as "Exclusion is not fair". Talk about softening the standards. Meanwhile each child leaves school with an A or A* because they can't possibly show a child that they are failing. The schools dare not get a bad grad and slip on the results league and the government has invested billions more on providing an education that results in them not being able to read or write but they all gained the best possible grades? Perhaps rather than sack the scientists and people they hire to offer them facts they might listen. But then that would be too sensible wouldn't it?