Here is a selection of the best bits from my blog over the past month:
The month started in amazing fashion with Crystal Palace beating Manchester United at Old Trafford. The opening goal was stunning. The first weekend was really busy - visiting a number of parts of the country. In Cambridge I took this picture of a truly crazy busker.
The final '5 on the fifth' went live - it was sad to say goodbye to this monthly posting, but it had come to a natural end in my opinion.
Need I say anything about the gorgeous Dan Broughton? Mmmmmm. And I included a posting about Charlie Siem who Pete is currently obsessed with!
I think one of my favourite images of the month is the one taken from France looking towards England when we went for the weekend early in the month.
Harry Judd won Strictly Come Dancing and he appeared on the front of gay magazine Attitude with a bulge that was just a bit eye catching! And speaking of bulges, I included a posting on Olympic Hopeful Liam Tancock. And after a break, I posted a 30 Second Movie from our Christmas in Paris.
And the year ends with a record number of blog postings in a calendar year. Roll on 2012.
This is further to my previous posting about our trip to Paris. At lunch, we had a great meal. As we finished our main course, an older man started playing the accordian. A few minutes later, another man joined in. Then an old lady started singing and a couple danced between courses! We ordered more wine. A guitarist turned up, followed by a flute player and another accordion player!
I filmed a little (in HD!) of this unexpected entertainment to share with you:
I am back after 4 days in Paris which was a gift from me to Pete - an early birthday present for his 40th.
We got up at 4am(!) on Christmas Eve to get to the airport, arriving at the hotel near to the Eiffel Tower late morning. We started exploring - there was plenty going on including Christmas markets.
On Christmas day we had a leisurely breakfast and began a slow walk through the quiet city. A few cafes were open and even a few shops. We walked for a couple of hours and after a beer or two, had lunch on Rue Mouffetard. It was a fun, crazy and memorable long lunch - I will explain more on the next blog posting.
We then went to the cinema to see the average but watchable New Years Eve (Zac Efron has a small part). Its surprising, but there are so many cinemas in Paris - far more than London. Afterwards we walked up the Champs Élysées enjoying the market along with several thousand other people! It was packed and the traffic at a standstill. Absolutely nothing like Christmas in England! On Boxing Day, it was warm with blue skies and we rented bikes and cycled miles and miles. It's a great way to see any city as you take back streets and experience so much. We cycled along the canal and went into the cafe on Rue Le Pic (the one where they filmed Amelie). The staff there looked like models! We cycled all day and were knackered at the end of it. At dinner, there was an annoying 50something American guy who talked loudly so that everyone could hear, disturbing all in the small restaurant and who looked a complete twat with curly hair down to his waist and big bushy moustache - he looked like the Lion from the Wizard Of Oz!
Today we have taken it easy with a walk around the cool area called Passy and lunch near the Pompidou. As I type, we are on our way home.
For those who don't know Paris, it still surprises me how much graffiti there is, homeless people and a lot of aggressive beggars, especially groups of Romanian women hassling you.
Anyway, to sum up... we ate a lot, we walked a lot, we had fun! Here are a few Instagram Pictures to being going on with:
In the latest of my series of fit and cute Olympic hopefuls for team GB, let me introduce you to 26 year old, Liam Tancock. It's fair to say that Britain hasn't had much success in the pool in the recent decades - but perhaps 2012 is the year. Liam swims backstroke and has set a couple of world records!
On Tuesday, I was in London for a "meeting" with my local colleagues Dan and Adrian - starting at 2.30 in the afternoon. As we had finished as the top region in the country, we felt that we deserved to celebrate our success. We had far too many drinks for my levels of control and a ****ing hot curry. I was, to put it mildly, really pissed come 10pm as I got a train home.
We had a really great time chatting - some silly, some very serious and some random conversations. I am lucky to work with interesting and witty people.
Wednesday was planned as a "working from home day" and I sat sorting spreadsheets for several hours while my head reminded me that beer is not always my friend. I was also dog sitting for Pete's brother. This isn't the greatest picture due to the low light and not wanting to use a flash, but this is Max. He sat next to me for the whole day and having known me since he was 6 weeks old, he's more than happy at our house (he even knows where the dog biscuits are kept!)...
As you will have heard, North Korean oppressive dictator Kim Jong Il passed away over the weekend. He was just 69 years old, but laid claim to golfing skills that would make greats like Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Walter Hagen weep with envy.
In 1994, the man "set a record" that is likely to stand forever. Playing his first round of golf on a regulation PGA style 18-hole course, Kim Jong Il scored 11 holes-in-one while he carded a stunning 38 UNDER par. Seventeen bodyguards were on hand to witness and attest the score.
Sadly, the golfing world outside of North Korea has yet to accept this round of golf as legitimate.
I heard this is on the radio today and was surprised... Don't look up the answer - have a guess first and I will post the answer as a comment in due course:
You are sailing from the Caribbean to the Pacific ocean via the Panama Canal. When you travel along the canal, what direction are you travelling in?
We had a team meeting in Edinburgh on Thursday (though I went up on Wednesday morning for more fun fun meetings). The usual 30(ish) was augmented with guests from other departments. We had various presentations and some lighthearted quizes in the afternoon.
At the end of the day, I was presented with one of three awards up for grabs as the "best overall contributor to the team in 2011". As you may have picked up by now, I do enough to get by at work, but this year I had a little luck with being involved in a couple of important projects and also looking after some of our most important and successful clients. The nice thing is that the award is for voted for by everyone in the room.
In the evening, we went out for a meal and then on to a bar. The attendees by this point included one of the days guests: he is 23, blond and cute. He is on a graduate placement with the marketing dept and was ultra confident. We chatted about films and the year he just spent in Paris. He was a bit camp with a lovely local Edinburgh accent, fit and with a gay ribbon on his coat. Now I would have betted money on him being gay, but I was wrong! He explained how he met his girlfriend in Paris. The guy was straight! My gaydar was way off. Calibration required I think.
Friday was a crappy journey home, with delays at the airport. I was glad to get him... very tired and in need of sleep catch-up.
Pete went to a classical concert recently as a guest of one of his clients and bowled over by the guest violinist - Charlie Siem. Now poor Charlie has so little going for him: he's an Eton educated guy who is a renowned musician that plays priceless violins, is a model for Dunhill and drives a Porsche with Swiss plates (Pete saw it). How sickening that my genes weren't as nice as his! He sure is talented - there is a BBC News clip here.
