Last weekend

Last weekend saw the first weekend of my trip that did not in some description involve working!

So...

We went to the Edinburgh Dungeons. However, the line waiting to get into the dungeons was so long we got to a menacing red light, took a picture then left.

I visited the famous Edinburgh Castle.

And I was introduced to the nightlife of Edinburgh.

And I got this snap of Hannah very much in the dancing zone :)

bx

Irn Bru

Having never tasted Scottish 'Irn Bru' in my life it was forced upon me by Hannah.

It was horrible!

bx

Cannon and Canon

Hannah was kind enough to show me the wonderful sights of the very small yet historical St Andrews. Considering she studied history at the famous university, she could not provide me with much history of the place itself, so here are some pictures instead!

We discovered amusing modern things to do with a cannon and a Canon camera.

Then it started to rain and rain and rain. We got rather wet.

But not to worry, we soon found a lovely traditional Scottish tea house to take shelter in...

What did I learn on my trip to St Andrews?

1) The weather is bizzare and varied on an hourly basis

2)...

... the whole place is stunning.

bx

Scoooooootland!!!

I am in Scoooootland!!! The drive here was quite good, although a haggis ran into the road wearing a kilt and I nearly hit it.

Recently I have travelled around England like a gypsy on cocaine and feel ready to drop! I am staying with Hannah and her family getting ready to do a talk in Edinburgh on Monday night, then travelling down the west coast towards Bristol. Can't write much more now as I am just about to head towards St Andrews university, followed by Dundee! Great thing is that Hannah is coming with me for the journey!

bx

Driving

Right then, I am probably going to be without internet for the next few weeks, so not sure when the next post shall be. I leave you with some pictures taken over the weekend whilst out and about.

This pic I took is without doubt my fave of the moment, it needs to be big to full appreciate it though, so click it!

A lone fishing boat with no friends.

Typical British holiday, in big coats, in the middle of winter, in a beach hut.

Driving into the sunset

Crazy lights of the motorway

bx

One week down!

So one week has gone in the wonderful world of recruitment tripping, so I thought I would update on two things that have happened so far.

Thing 1) I got my face in a picture to be used by the New York Times!!!

This came about because I went for lunch with the wonderful Oxford University careers lady. She has become quite a close contact since I showed her and her husband around Hong Kong some months ago. (click for the story)

So she took me to this fantastic old pub and we sat down at a fantastic old table and I ate a fantastic cheese roll. Amid all this fantastic we were suddenly interupted by a very out of place American accent which asked "excuse me, i'm writing an article about old pubs in Oxford and i'm taking pictures to use for the New York Times, would you mind being in them?" We turned to the owner of the accent and replied that we had no problem being in his paper, and he started snapping away.

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Thing 2) An old lady nearly crashed into my car.

After the Oxford presentation (which went really well) I began my drive to Warwick. Halfway there I was moving in slow traffic up a hill. Towards the top of the hill there were traffic lights which were the cause of the hold up, so I applied my handbrake and prepared to wait for the green light.

However, the car in front of me had different ideas. It began, (slowly at first), to roll backwards. A little bit concerned about this, I started to edge backwards as well. The approaching car did not stop coming though, so I started to reverse a little bit more as this car crept towards me at an ever increasing speed.

Whilst reversing, I looked ahead and saw the outline of the driver in front. I spotted the easy identifiable perm of an elderly lady driver. Not only that, her head was at an angle and drooping, indicating one of two things. She was either dead, or asleep.

By this time she had rolled back at least 1.5 meters. I then did what I should have done far earlier and applied my horn. At the loud honk the perm in front jerked upward, the car finally ceased the backwards journey towards my front bumper and shot away.

Thank god the old bat was not dead.

And now for more pictures of weekend home stuff

(another view from the hill)

dog walking at stupid o'clock in the morning is a worrying weetman development.

Worse still, the dogs think they own the place...

Artistic shot of dog and bench and tree

Sunday roast, mmmmmmm. (And the hand of a grandmother)

bx

Ben has landed

I have arrived in England!!!

The trip itself was pretty good, I slept for just over 8 hours of the flight so I don't feel too bad. I only really talked to one guy properly on the plane. He works as an aircraft loader for British Airways, I met him on his way back to London having spent the previous week arranging his wedding to a Filipino girlfriend.

After chatting I discovered that this forthcoming marriage will be the third Filipino wife for the guy (not all at the same time!). I wanted to ask how a London based man manages to meet and marry so many Filipino ladies half a world away. Then I realised, silly me, it's called the internet.

Some things I have noticed/done today.

1) The view from my bedroom window has changed considerably.

2) Seagulls! I swear I never see any in Hong Kong, but in England they own the sky.

3) Going for a walk around the hill that we live on was a good way to get fresh air...

... but it is more fun if you you drag some dogs along with you

Right, my brain is frazzled and the jetlag is setting in so i'm off to bed. I leave you with a Dorset sunset I just took from the back of our house.

bx