So here it is, a week since my last post already! Just for all you Albertans, the sun is shining here and the weather is quite mild - certainly nothing like the cold temperatures and snow that you have out there! Just thought I'd rub that in!
The weekend was great with the twins. We had lots of fun, without running around too much. Saw the huge Christmas tree in Covent Garden, went to the Tower of London, did my Saturday morning shopping, and lots of crafts and playdough and stuff like that. They had brought the "Mary Poppins" DVD and I had "Narnia", so we watched those while they were busy painting and playdoughing! We really enjoyed our time together. The trip to take them home was something else, however....
We got a bit of a late start on Sunday, as the girls wanted to go inline skating (they had brought their skates), and then there was the general dawdling and fooling around while they got packed and stuff. We jumped on the tube to Waterloo station, and got there without incident. It's important to understand that it wasn't just me and two 8-year-olds; we had a daypack full to bursting with their clothes, a small wheeled suitcase with their inline skates, and two other largish bags containing various and sundry other stuff, including the thinkgs they bought with the spending money their mom gave them. The girls helped me as best they could, but a lot of it was too heavy for them to carry for very long. We managed to make it to Waterloo station by 2ish, and then I realized we hadn't eaten lunch. So, we (and all our bags) went into Burger King to grab a bite. That done, I had promised the girls I would get them a Starbucks frozen caramel frappucino thing (sans caffeine!) so I had to leave the girls upstairs with all the bags and run downstairs to get this. Then we go to look at the board for the next train to Brookwood. Normally they run every half hour or so. I couldn't see any trains to Brookwood; there were just trains to Weybridge with a rail replacement bus services to Brookwood. I went into the information place and was advised that they were doing work on the tracks and there wouldn't be a train to Brookwood for another hour and a half!! So, we jumped on the Weybridge train. This was going to delay us a bit. We got into Weybridge in just under an hour, and went out to the bus stand. I was told then that there was no bus to Brookwood, but that we would have to take a bus to Woking and change there for a bus to Brookwood! Sigh. So, we load ourselves and our bags on the bus and I amuse the girls by reading from the book that I bought them (we had already played hangman and a card game and I was bored with both!). We got into Woking in about 20 minutes, and discovered that the bus to Brookwood wasn't due to leave for 25 minutes! We went into the station and it was small and there were no seats. So the girls and I plopped down on the floor and I read another chapter of the book (so glad I had that along!). The bus finally arrives, and it is a coach - fairly old, narrow aisles and very steep narrow stairs up into it! I struggled with all the stuff up into the coach (the girls could barely make it up the stairs, they were so steep). By now we had been travelling for and hour and 45 minutes. It took another 20 minutes to make Brookwood (one of the girls fell asleep), at which point we had to walk another 10 minutes to their house. A 2 hour trip that would normally take 50 minutes! I was knackered. I stopped at their house for a cup of tea and then headed back to Waterloo. Fortunately, the train was back up and running, so it was quick and smooth back into Waterloo, and indeed even the tube was on my side, with my trains waiting for me on the platforms. What a day!!
Monday night I had choir practice. We did some really nice songs. I don't think I'll be singing in the Christmas carol concert with the choir, however. We only have four Monday rehearsals and I've already missed one and will miss next week as well. In addition, he's planned another 3 hour rehearsal for the Saturday afternoon of the concert, and I just can't manage that. It's too much. Maybe next year, but I need to bring my voice back to form slowly.
This weekend my friend Donna is coming out from Calgary - I'm really looking forward to her visit. We are going to the Princess Diana photo exhibition at Kensington Palace on Saturday and Mamma Mia on Monday night. She leaves for Malta on Tuesday, and I am flying out on Thursday afternoon to spend the weekend there with her. We're going on a jeep safari on Gozo, the north island, and are also spending a day horseback riding. I'm really looking forward to it!
There are several Christmas carol concerts going on at the Royal Albert Hall, so I'm going to try to go to one of them, if I can find someone to go with.
That's all for now! Au revoir!
29 November 2006
22 November 2006
Royal Albert Hall
Well, my faith in the youth of this country has been restored! After my rant about Big Brother and ASBOs, I'm sure you were all thinking that I hated it here. And it can be depressing. But all the youth are not like that, and this was proved to me last night.
I went to a performance put on by the Surrey County Arts Council at the Royal Albert Hall. First of all....WOW! The Royal Albert Hall is spectacular! Amazing! Gorgeous! I was awestruck to be in such a building. It's huge and lush and beautiful! I forgot my camera, so I didn't get any good pictures, just a couple of really bad ones on my phone, which I refuse to show anyone because they are too awful. I was seated down close to the stage, and not only are the seats not squashed close together, but they swivel!! So, it was quite comfortable! Anyway, on to the concert.
I went originally because the twins' primary school was performing. I didn't really know anything about it, except that a bunch of primary schools from Surrey County were going to be performing. It turned out to be a big performing arts extravaganza called "The Unknown Region". There was an 800-member primary school mass choir, a 400ish-member secondary school mass choir, multiple orchestras (jazz, philharmonic, wind, percussion, harp), a youth choir that was fantastic, and a samba band! It was quite long, but I didn't want to leave! Over 1700 performers in all, almost all youth. Quite amazing. It was a high quality performance, with two premieres of original pieces composed by participants. I think my favourite was the jazz ensemble; they played a few big band pieces and some more traditional jazz. I was so impressed with all these kids putting in the time and effort to practice and perform - it really gave me new hope for the youth of the country. And what a great experience for them - to perform in the Royal Albert Hall! The evening ended by the audience singing "Jerusalem" and "Land of Hope and Glory", during the last repetition of which they dropped purple ballons!! It ended at about 10:00 pm, which is awfully late for some of those kids, but they were so hyped up it didn't seem to matter!
As you can imagine, trying to find two little girls amongst 800 children was quite the feat, but I managed to find the group afterwards by the sign they were holding up for their school so parents could find them. It also helped that their mom texted me to tell me what colour their school uniforms were (all children here wear school uniforms). The girls were happy to see me and I could tell they were glad that I came. Leeann said she had been looking for me in the audience. They were up at the top by the organ, so it was no wonder I couldn't find them at the intermission or during my scans of the areas the children were seated in!
Well, that's that! I will definitely be looking for excuses to go to the Royal Albert Hall again soon!!
I went to a performance put on by the Surrey County Arts Council at the Royal Albert Hall. First of all....WOW! The Royal Albert Hall is spectacular! Amazing! Gorgeous! I was awestruck to be in such a building. It's huge and lush and beautiful! I forgot my camera, so I didn't get any good pictures, just a couple of really bad ones on my phone, which I refuse to show anyone because they are too awful. I was seated down close to the stage, and not only are the seats not squashed close together, but they swivel!! So, it was quite comfortable! Anyway, on to the concert.
I went originally because the twins' primary school was performing. I didn't really know anything about it, except that a bunch of primary schools from Surrey County were going to be performing. It turned out to be a big performing arts extravaganza called "The Unknown Region". There was an 800-member primary school mass choir, a 400ish-member secondary school mass choir, multiple orchestras (jazz, philharmonic, wind, percussion, harp), a youth choir that was fantastic, and a samba band! It was quite long, but I didn't want to leave! Over 1700 performers in all, almost all youth. Quite amazing. It was a high quality performance, with two premieres of original pieces composed by participants. I think my favourite was the jazz ensemble; they played a few big band pieces and some more traditional jazz. I was so impressed with all these kids putting in the time and effort to practice and perform - it really gave me new hope for the youth of the country. And what a great experience for them - to perform in the Royal Albert Hall! The evening ended by the audience singing "Jerusalem" and "Land of Hope and Glory", during the last repetition of which they dropped purple ballons!! It ended at about 10:00 pm, which is awfully late for some of those kids, but they were so hyped up it didn't seem to matter!
As you can imagine, trying to find two little girls amongst 800 children was quite the feat, but I managed to find the group afterwards by the sign they were holding up for their school so parents could find them. It also helped that their mom texted me to tell me what colour their school uniforms were (all children here wear school uniforms). The girls were happy to see me and I could tell they were glad that I came. Leeann said she had been looking for me in the audience. They were up at the top by the organ, so it was no wonder I couldn't find them at the intermission or during my scans of the areas the children were seated in!
Well, that's that! I will definitely be looking for excuses to go to the Royal Albert Hall again soon!!
20 November 2006
Busy weekend!
Friday night - Casino Royale
Great movie! I'm not the biggest James Bond fan, nor do I like action movies particularly. I went to this movie because I got free tickets. And I thoroughly enjoyed it! It was action, all right, but intelligent action scenes that never got boring. Lots to think about, lots of interesting characters. Not as many gimmicks, both technical and verbal, and just an all around great movie. I would definitely go see it again! And actually pay for it this time! lol
Saturday - Concert
Saturday morning I got up to do my regular (when I'm here!) Saturday shopping. We had rehearsal at 2:00, so I wanted to get it all done by noon so I could have a relaxed lunch and a rest before I went. I had to find a "bit of red" to wear to the concert. David asked us to wear all black with "a bit of red", which meant a scarf or pin or necklace or something. The men wore black suits with white shirts, black ties and a red pocket thingy. So, I needed to find the something red, since the only scarf I have with red on it is covered in red lips! I found a really lovely largish red sequined pointsetta, which was perfect and exactly the price I was prepared to pay (Thank you God!). Did the rest of my shopping and headed home. Smallish, relaxed lunch and off to rehearsal. Three hours later, my voice was hoarse! I went back home, had a nice relaxing bath and a light supper, and tried to rest up before the performance at 7:30. It all went off quite well. We did the best we could, and although it was far from perfect, the audience members I talked to said it was quite lovely and they couldn't tell our mistakes! Good thing! Afterwards, myself and a friend that came to watch, Carole, went over to Jane's place for a soiree with food and wine. Very nice! Jane is an amazing cook, so the food was wonderful, and she has such interesting friends that we had a lovely time. Home late, though!
Sunday - Church and Sunday Lunch
Almost missed church - I slept in until 10:30 (it starts at 11:00). So I was a couple minutes late, but not too bad! Great sermon. Went for lunch afterwards to a lady's named Wendy. There was another girl, Nicola, who lives right across the road from me. We want to start doing things together. A couple also came, long-time church members. They were great fun - very funny and quite intelligent. We had great conversation - digging into bible passages, discussing politics, etc. This was Nicola's first time at Gunnersbury, and in fact the first time she had really attended any church service, so she had lots of questions, which we answered. It was a great day, and lunch went quite late! Met a friend after that for supper and a chat.
So, that's my weekend. More choir practice tonight because in a month we are doing a Christmas Carol concert with a local primary school. As my Grandma Brown always said, "No rest for the wicked, and the righteous don't need any!"
Tomorrow night, the twins (Paul's girls) are singing with a bunch of other primary school choirs from their country, Surrey, at the Royal Albert Hall, so I'm going to watch them. Their mom can't come because she has to work, and Paul is in Iraq of course, so they are excited that I'm going to be there. Not sure if I'll get to talk to them, but I'll try. Haven't been to the Royal Albert Hall yet, so I'm looking forward to it!! It's beautiful from the outside!
Gotta run - lunch hour is over!!
Great movie! I'm not the biggest James Bond fan, nor do I like action movies particularly. I went to this movie because I got free tickets. And I thoroughly enjoyed it! It was action, all right, but intelligent action scenes that never got boring. Lots to think about, lots of interesting characters. Not as many gimmicks, both technical and verbal, and just an all around great movie. I would definitely go see it again! And actually pay for it this time! lol
Saturday - Concert
Saturday morning I got up to do my regular (when I'm here!) Saturday shopping. We had rehearsal at 2:00, so I wanted to get it all done by noon so I could have a relaxed lunch and a rest before I went. I had to find a "bit of red" to wear to the concert. David asked us to wear all black with "a bit of red", which meant a scarf or pin or necklace or something. The men wore black suits with white shirts, black ties and a red pocket thingy. So, I needed to find the something red, since the only scarf I have with red on it is covered in red lips! I found a really lovely largish red sequined pointsetta, which was perfect and exactly the price I was prepared to pay (Thank you God!). Did the rest of my shopping and headed home. Smallish, relaxed lunch and off to rehearsal. Three hours later, my voice was hoarse! I went back home, had a nice relaxing bath and a light supper, and tried to rest up before the performance at 7:30. It all went off quite well. We did the best we could, and although it was far from perfect, the audience members I talked to said it was quite lovely and they couldn't tell our mistakes! Good thing! Afterwards, myself and a friend that came to watch, Carole, went over to Jane's place for a soiree with food and wine. Very nice! Jane is an amazing cook, so the food was wonderful, and she has such interesting friends that we had a lovely time. Home late, though!
Sunday - Church and Sunday Lunch
Almost missed church - I slept in until 10:30 (it starts at 11:00). So I was a couple minutes late, but not too bad! Great sermon. Went for lunch afterwards to a lady's named Wendy. There was another girl, Nicola, who lives right across the road from me. We want to start doing things together. A couple also came, long-time church members. They were great fun - very funny and quite intelligent. We had great conversation - digging into bible passages, discussing politics, etc. This was Nicola's first time at Gunnersbury, and in fact the first time she had really attended any church service, so she had lots of questions, which we answered. It was a great day, and lunch went quite late! Met a friend after that for supper and a chat.
So, that's my weekend. More choir practice tonight because in a month we are doing a Christmas Carol concert with a local primary school. As my Grandma Brown always said, "No rest for the wicked, and the righteous don't need any!"
Tomorrow night, the twins (Paul's girls) are singing with a bunch of other primary school choirs from their country, Surrey, at the Royal Albert Hall, so I'm going to watch them. Their mom can't come because she has to work, and Paul is in Iraq of course, so they are excited that I'm going to be there. Not sure if I'll get to talk to them, but I'll try. Haven't been to the Royal Albert Hall yet, so I'm looking forward to it!! It's beautiful from the outside!
Gotta run - lunch hour is over!!
16 November 2006
Big Brother and ASBOs
Is it Thursday again already? It seems like I just posted that blog! lol
So, I'm trying to write a Christmas letter, and failing miserably. It seems that all my creativity gets used up in writing these blogs and I have nothing left! Maybe I should just cut and paste bits from past blogs! Naw, that would take too long. I'll keep at it.
So, what has happened lately. Let's see...
Weekend was spent shopping and cleaning. My friend, Steve, came over on Saturday night for supper (I actually cooked something healthy!) and we watched MI:3. Great flick. That and church the next morning were the social events of my weekend! Meeting more people every week at church, and people recognize me and come up to chat, which is nice. I feel very welcome and comfortable there, that's for sure.
Busy week at work. Lots of things to catch up on and projects to work on. Our choir concert is on Saturday night, so we had an extra long rehearsal on Monday night, have another two hour rehearsal tonight and another two hour rehearsal on Saturday afternoon! But, we're starting to pull it together; on Monday night we rehearsed with the soprano soloist and it was beautiful! They are recording the concert, so I will be able to hear it (because you can't really hear it properly when you're singing in it!) and will send a copy to mom and dad so they can hear it too.
I have two tickets to the new James Bond movie, Casino Royale, for Friday night. I got them from a supplier, so there is a small schmooze event beforehand with beverages and appetizers. Steve is going with me, since he was mentioning last Saturday that he really wanted to see it. I won't be home much in the next few days!
Hmmm...that's really all I can say about what I've been up to. An observation I made recently; England is going increasing "Big Brother". I'm not a particularly private person, but I don't like the fact that the average person is caught on closed circuit tv 300 times every day in London! There are cameras everywhere - ostensibly for safety. However, the crime continues seemingly unabated. And, now they're talking about monitoring everything that isn't already monitored. I just heard about a catering company that has tracking devices installed in all their vehicles so they know where their staff are at all times, and it won't be long until all the cars here have that. The government controls so much of life here, it's frightening - and I'm not easily frightened by things like that. Also, the youth culture here is disturbingly violent. Most adults are afraid to tell kids off about anything, because as often as not, they will turn on the adult and injure or kill them (honestly - its in the papers all the time!) Even parents seem to be scared of their kids. And, I'm not talking about yelling at or abusing the kids, I'm talking about asking them to keep the noise down when they are playing their music on the street because it's midnight and people are trying to sleep. Kids are targeting certain people they don't like and throwing rocks through their windows, vandalizing their houses, shouting at them on the street, hanging around outside their house and playing loud music. The police seem to be able to do nothing more than give them an "Anti-Social Behaviour Order" (called an ASBO), which has become a badge of honour amongst these kids. It's a scary time over here. It makes me realize how great it is in Canada and how luck I am to be able to move back eventually!
So, that's some of the bad side of England. But, honestly, I'm having a great adventure over here. I'm looking forward to skating at the Tower of London and going caroling at Hampton Court Palace! It will be a fun December and then I'm back in Canada for three weeks!! Yahoo!
So, I'm trying to write a Christmas letter, and failing miserably. It seems that all my creativity gets used up in writing these blogs and I have nothing left! Maybe I should just cut and paste bits from past blogs! Naw, that would take too long. I'll keep at it.
So, what has happened lately. Let's see...
Weekend was spent shopping and cleaning. My friend, Steve, came over on Saturday night for supper (I actually cooked something healthy!) and we watched MI:3. Great flick. That and church the next morning were the social events of my weekend! Meeting more people every week at church, and people recognize me and come up to chat, which is nice. I feel very welcome and comfortable there, that's for sure.
Busy week at work. Lots of things to catch up on and projects to work on. Our choir concert is on Saturday night, so we had an extra long rehearsal on Monday night, have another two hour rehearsal tonight and another two hour rehearsal on Saturday afternoon! But, we're starting to pull it together; on Monday night we rehearsed with the soprano soloist and it was beautiful! They are recording the concert, so I will be able to hear it (because you can't really hear it properly when you're singing in it!) and will send a copy to mom and dad so they can hear it too.
I have two tickets to the new James Bond movie, Casino Royale, for Friday night. I got them from a supplier, so there is a small schmooze event beforehand with beverages and appetizers. Steve is going with me, since he was mentioning last Saturday that he really wanted to see it. I won't be home much in the next few days!
Hmmm...that's really all I can say about what I've been up to. An observation I made recently; England is going increasing "Big Brother". I'm not a particularly private person, but I don't like the fact that the average person is caught on closed circuit tv 300 times every day in London! There are cameras everywhere - ostensibly for safety. However, the crime continues seemingly unabated. And, now they're talking about monitoring everything that isn't already monitored. I just heard about a catering company that has tracking devices installed in all their vehicles so they know where their staff are at all times, and it won't be long until all the cars here have that. The government controls so much of life here, it's frightening - and I'm not easily frightened by things like that. Also, the youth culture here is disturbingly violent. Most adults are afraid to tell kids off about anything, because as often as not, they will turn on the adult and injure or kill them (honestly - its in the papers all the time!) Even parents seem to be scared of their kids. And, I'm not talking about yelling at or abusing the kids, I'm talking about asking them to keep the noise down when they are playing their music on the street because it's midnight and people are trying to sleep. Kids are targeting certain people they don't like and throwing rocks through their windows, vandalizing their houses, shouting at them on the street, hanging around outside their house and playing loud music. The police seem to be able to do nothing more than give them an "Anti-Social Behaviour Order" (called an ASBO), which has become a badge of honour amongst these kids. It's a scary time over here. It makes me realize how great it is in Canada and how luck I am to be able to move back eventually!
So, that's some of the bad side of England. But, honestly, I'm having a great adventure over here. I'm looking forward to skating at the Tower of London and going caroling at Hampton Court Palace! It will be a fun December and then I'm back in Canada for three weeks!! Yahoo!
09 November 2006
Home again, home again, jiggetty-jig
Ok, for those of you that are culturally challenged and don't know what I'm on about with the title to this blog, it's a children's verse that goes:
To market, to market, to buy a fat pig
Home again, home again, jiggetty-jig
Consider yourself enlightened!
So, just got back (well, yesterday) from my brief trip to Canada. Got there on Saturday afternoon, headed straight to my hair stylist for a cut. He's totally awesome! His name is Wayne and he works at Jibreal Salon, in Bridgleand (where the General Hospital used to be). So, got a cute new hairstyle, and got a manicure while I was there, too. So cheap compared to London! Home to Linden and the Country Cousins Restaurant for some yummy honey-lemon chicken, as only the CCR can make it! Not much changes in Linden, it's very comforting for someone like me who is always traveling around. I love the atmosphere and the people and just everything about the town. I always feel like I want to give it a big hug (that might be a bit tough)!
Church on Sunday in Linden was amazing, as always. A lot of people were surprised to see me, and I was warmly welcomed. The sermon was fantastic and very thought provoking, as usual. We went to Calgary to do some shopping afterwards - things are so cheap compared to the UK - it was great! Mom and dad made a wonderful Alberta beef steak dinner that night, with Greek salad (my favourite!) and saskatoon-rhubarb pie! I felt very spoiled!
Monday morning early I was driving into Calgary. Had a fair bit of stuff to get done before the board meeting the next day. I went into Gentry to get set up, and found out their receptionist had called in sick, so I sat at her desk and answered the phone! I hooked up the computer to do some work as well, but so many people wanted to chat with me and catch up, that I had trouble getting anything done! It was nice to see everyone, though. We all went out to lunch at Palimino's across the street - it's a very fun place and has great BBQ! Back in the afternoon to madly dash around to get everything done that I didn't get done in the morning. Connie Nischuk, my counterpart at Gentry, was an enormous help! My brain was a bit scattered and she was invaluable to help keep me organized!! I don't know what I would have done without her!!
Went out for after-work drinks with some of my CIRI friends - so much fun!! I wanted to stay all night - it was so good to be back with the gang. However, I had a directors dinner that I had to go to, so left and was late meeting the guys at the hotel for that. I still had to get changed, so I sent everyone else off in a cab and told them the driver would know where the River Cafe was. I forgot I wasn't in London, where the cabbies actually know the city! The cab driver didn't know where it was, even though it has been there for ages and is quite well-known. Better training regulations really are needed - its ridiculous that someone can walk off the plane to Calgary and start driving cab the next day. They really should have to do some training. In London, the cabbies have to train and study for at least 3 years! It's called "The Knowledge", and makes taking a cab in London a pleasure!! I don't mind paying in the least if I can say the destination and then sit back, confident that they will get me where I'm going without me having to direct them all the way. Thus endeth the rant.
So the cabbie drops them off at a different restaurant, "QHaute" (used to be "La Caille on the Bow"), which is a fair distance from the River Cafe, although they are both on the river, and they have to walk all the way to the restaurant from there, in minus three degree weather. I never heard the end of it, when I finally got to dinner, moaning on about having to walk 5 miles in the freezing cold, etc, etc! My cabbie didn't know where it was either, but fortunately I did. Lovely dinner, but completely knackered by the end of it (jet lag) and was glad to get back to the hotel and into my bed - very comfortable beds at the Hyatt, by the way!
The next morning was a mad rush of Audit Committee meeting, Board meeting, getting everyone sorted with cabs (which I screwed up royally!). My cousin, Kevin Esau, took me to the airport. It was great to catch up with him - we get along really well and used to go for lunch in Calgary every so often. He is someone that I feel quite close to. So it was nice to be able to spend some time with him.
Overnight flight back to London, straight into the office. I am still tired today!! Thank goodness the weekend is close! I have an extra choir practice tonight with just the sopranos. Not looking forward to it because I'm tired and have a great wodge of laundry to do, but I am not even close to ready for the concert next Saturday, so I need the practice! And, I know that I'll enjoy myself once I get going.
Later, gator!!
To market, to market, to buy a fat pig
Home again, home again, jiggetty-jig
Consider yourself enlightened!
So, just got back (well, yesterday) from my brief trip to Canada. Got there on Saturday afternoon, headed straight to my hair stylist for a cut. He's totally awesome! His name is Wayne and he works at Jibreal Salon, in Bridgleand (where the General Hospital used to be). So, got a cute new hairstyle, and got a manicure while I was there, too. So cheap compared to London! Home to Linden and the Country Cousins Restaurant for some yummy honey-lemon chicken, as only the CCR can make it! Not much changes in Linden, it's very comforting for someone like me who is always traveling around. I love the atmosphere and the people and just everything about the town. I always feel like I want to give it a big hug (that might be a bit tough)!
Church on Sunday in Linden was amazing, as always. A lot of people were surprised to see me, and I was warmly welcomed. The sermon was fantastic and very thought provoking, as usual. We went to Calgary to do some shopping afterwards - things are so cheap compared to the UK - it was great! Mom and dad made a wonderful Alberta beef steak dinner that night, with Greek salad (my favourite!) and saskatoon-rhubarb pie! I felt very spoiled!
Monday morning early I was driving into Calgary. Had a fair bit of stuff to get done before the board meeting the next day. I went into Gentry to get set up, and found out their receptionist had called in sick, so I sat at her desk and answered the phone! I hooked up the computer to do some work as well, but so many people wanted to chat with me and catch up, that I had trouble getting anything done! It was nice to see everyone, though. We all went out to lunch at Palimino's across the street - it's a very fun place and has great BBQ! Back in the afternoon to madly dash around to get everything done that I didn't get done in the morning. Connie Nischuk, my counterpart at Gentry, was an enormous help! My brain was a bit scattered and she was invaluable to help keep me organized!! I don't know what I would have done without her!!
Went out for after-work drinks with some of my CIRI friends - so much fun!! I wanted to stay all night - it was so good to be back with the gang. However, I had a directors dinner that I had to go to, so left and was late meeting the guys at the hotel for that. I still had to get changed, so I sent everyone else off in a cab and told them the driver would know where the River Cafe was. I forgot I wasn't in London, where the cabbies actually know the city! The cab driver didn't know where it was, even though it has been there for ages and is quite well-known. Better training regulations really are needed - its ridiculous that someone can walk off the plane to Calgary and start driving cab the next day. They really should have to do some training. In London, the cabbies have to train and study for at least 3 years! It's called "The Knowledge", and makes taking a cab in London a pleasure!! I don't mind paying in the least if I can say the destination and then sit back, confident that they will get me where I'm going without me having to direct them all the way. Thus endeth the rant.
So the cabbie drops them off at a different restaurant, "QHaute" (used to be "La Caille on the Bow"), which is a fair distance from the River Cafe, although they are both on the river, and they have to walk all the way to the restaurant from there, in minus three degree weather. I never heard the end of it, when I finally got to dinner, moaning on about having to walk 5 miles in the freezing cold, etc, etc! My cabbie didn't know where it was either, but fortunately I did. Lovely dinner, but completely knackered by the end of it (jet lag) and was glad to get back to the hotel and into my bed - very comfortable beds at the Hyatt, by the way!
The next morning was a mad rush of Audit Committee meeting, Board meeting, getting everyone sorted with cabs (which I screwed up royally!). My cousin, Kevin Esau, took me to the airport. It was great to catch up with him - we get along really well and used to go for lunch in Calgary every so often. He is someone that I feel quite close to. So it was nice to be able to spend some time with him.
Overnight flight back to London, straight into the office. I am still tired today!! Thank goodness the weekend is close! I have an extra choir practice tonight with just the sopranos. Not looking forward to it because I'm tired and have a great wodge of laundry to do, but I am not even close to ready for the concert next Saturday, so I need the practice! And, I know that I'll enjoy myself once I get going.
Later, gator!!
03 November 2006
The Queen
Hello!! Beautiful day here in London - sun shining, crisp and cool. And it's Friday! Hooray!
Anyway, went to see the movie, The Queen, last night. I went with a new friend, Shannon, who is from Calgary and was involved in IR there. I didn't know her there, but we have mutual friends and she was given my contact info when she moved over here. She's great - we had fun.
The Queen was a fantastic movie. I would recommend it highly. It was a sensitive yet accurate portrayal of the unique challenges and personality of the monarchy here in the UK. I am a big fan of HRH Queen Elizabeth II, much more so since I've been living here and have truly come to understand how hard she works and how awful her job is. I am so thankful that I'm not her! She lives in a gilded cage - surrounded by wealth and privilege and seemingly very powerful, yet trapped by her position and responsibilities. And, it's not like she can just "quit" and get another job. She didn't even ask for this one. Yet she carries off her duties with grace and aplomb and makes it all seem easy. The movie was about her and her reaction during the time surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. It explains a lot of the seemingly cold response from the royal family, and gives a glimpse into life behind the mask. It also deals with issues of motherhood and duty and the expression of emotion. It is definitely a must-see. No dogdy language or nudity - you could bring your young children, but they would be bored silly (assuming they aren't already silly!). Well worth the money (and it's more expensive over here!).
I'm flying to Canada tomorrow - spending a couple of nights with my parents in Linden, and then off to Calgary for Monday and Tuesday for meetings and whatnot. I fly back to London on Tuesday afternoon, arriving back on Wednesday morning and heading straight back into work. I'll be back in Canada for 3 weeks at Christmas and in January, so this is just a work-related trip with an extra day for family.
I'm planning to go to Malta for a weekend at the beginning of December. I have kept in touch with the woman I met on the plane trip down the first time, Donna (May 17 2006 blog), and she is going back to Malta, stopping in London to stay with me for a few days. I'm pretty excited about that. In Malta, we've arranged for a horseback riding trip around one of the smaller islands, and a trip to M'dina, the ancient capital city, known as "The Silent City" (they're not going to know what hit them when I get there!! haha!!)
Anyway, better get to work. Cya!
Anyway, went to see the movie, The Queen, last night. I went with a new friend, Shannon, who is from Calgary and was involved in IR there. I didn't know her there, but we have mutual friends and she was given my contact info when she moved over here. She's great - we had fun.
The Queen was a fantastic movie. I would recommend it highly. It was a sensitive yet accurate portrayal of the unique challenges and personality of the monarchy here in the UK. I am a big fan of HRH Queen Elizabeth II, much more so since I've been living here and have truly come to understand how hard she works and how awful her job is. I am so thankful that I'm not her! She lives in a gilded cage - surrounded by wealth and privilege and seemingly very powerful, yet trapped by her position and responsibilities. And, it's not like she can just "quit" and get another job. She didn't even ask for this one. Yet she carries off her duties with grace and aplomb and makes it all seem easy. The movie was about her and her reaction during the time surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. It explains a lot of the seemingly cold response from the royal family, and gives a glimpse into life behind the mask. It also deals with issues of motherhood and duty and the expression of emotion. It is definitely a must-see. No dogdy language or nudity - you could bring your young children, but they would be bored silly (assuming they aren't already silly!). Well worth the money (and it's more expensive over here!).
I'm flying to Canada tomorrow - spending a couple of nights with my parents in Linden, and then off to Calgary for Monday and Tuesday for meetings and whatnot. I fly back to London on Tuesday afternoon, arriving back on Wednesday morning and heading straight back into work. I'll be back in Canada for 3 weeks at Christmas and in January, so this is just a work-related trip with an extra day for family.
I'm planning to go to Malta for a weekend at the beginning of December. I have kept in touch with the woman I met on the plane trip down the first time, Donna (May 17 2006 blog), and she is going back to Malta, stopping in London to stay with me for a few days. I'm pretty excited about that. In Malta, we've arranged for a horseback riding trip around one of the smaller islands, and a trip to M'dina, the ancient capital city, known as "The Silent City" (they're not going to know what hit them when I get there!! haha!!)
Anyway, better get to work. Cya!
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