01.31.07
Posted in Sport at 9:48 am by Guy
Cricket South Africa released the names of the 15 man squad to contest the up-and-coming one-day series against Pakistan, and at the same time showed their hand for the world cup starting on March 11. The 5 one-day games against Pakistan are the last before the team jet off for the West Indies to take up their place as the second best one-day side in the world to contest for the biggest cricketing trophy. Major changes to the squad are therefore unlikely. Read the rest of this entry »
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01.29.07
Posted in Games, Sport at 10:04 am by Guy
The Super 14 and the 6 Nations kicks off in the next couple of weeks, and as usual the Chateau Toby fantasy rugby league will be up and running on Test Rugby! I have left it rather late this year to send out a reminder, but you have all of 5 days to get your picks in. Usual rules apply, and if you have played before then simply log in with your previous details. The league is set up and ready to go.
For those of you who prefer spreadbetting, then head over to Mudders’ website and sign up for Mudrugby. All you have to do each week is pick your winner of each game and the margin of victory. Simple. For the first time you can also choose whether to lob in a few bob with a winner takes all kitty. Payment is not obligatory though, and you can just play for bragging rights - have a look at the rules here.
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01.28.07
Posted in Entertainment at 22:30 pm by Guy
Its been longer than I can remember that I headed to the bioscope on a Saturday night. What a come back it was. Yesterday, Sar and I piled into some Nandos with Jo and Ryan before taking our seats for Blood Diamond - strangely enough two rows in front of Kam, John, Danyel and Mike!
Desipte the hype I hadn’t actually read that much about Blood Diamond before watching it, but the basis of the story is not complicated - conflict diamonds in war torn Sierra Leone. Simple concept - superb acting - brilliant execution. One of the best movies I have seen in a long LONG time, but not one that I think I could put myself through again any time soon - it was hard hitting and eerily real. Leonardo DiCaprio is really good in this - he’s not one of my favourite actors, but he pulls off the South African well and I thought his script was good, although the accent deserted him at times. The star of the show though has to be Djimon Housnou aka Solomon Vendy. His performance was mind blowing, and left more than one viewer with teary eyes.
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01.27.07
Posted in General at 12:13 pm by Guy
Yesterday was my last day at Bettridge Turner & Partners (aka BTP-Hyder), a rather surreal day and experience. As strange as it is, at the age of 29 (or 28 at the time) I have never had to resign from a job before. And, even as weird as resigning was, the impact never really sunk in because I had a 2 month notice, and we have been so busy at work that yesterday kind of just arrived and all of a sardine I was packing my box well after-hours in an empty office.
I am incredibly excited about what lies ahead, and to be perfectly honest, I also feel like the weight of the world has lifted off my shoulders because I can now focus completely on one job instead of trying to start a business whilst keeping the day job! I am also in no doubt that I have made the right decision.
Having said all this, I did have a really good time working at BT-P. I remember a while back living with Chris and Phil, and then Amy, how that everyone thought that I was such a ‘weird-o’ because I genuinely enjoyed my job. No Blue Mondays, and no problem getting up in the morning to head to the office. Until I took 3 days in November last year for a virus, I hadn’t taken a days sick leave in 4 years. The thought of not going to work never even crossed my mind. I would imagine that very few people have ever realised this kind of satisfaction, not only from their profession, but particularly from a specific job. I do not underestimate how fortunate I have been over the past four years.
But, when Tony came to me last year with a proposal to launch our own company, it was like offering a pie on the naked body of his secretary to John Prescott, or the option of bombing the sh1t out of a middle-eastern country to George Bush - it didn’t require much time or thought. I have always been a goal orientated person, and after achieving previous professional goals, I had until my 30th to either become Chartered or be running my own business. Tick.
Engineering is booming all around the world, not only the construction industry, but more so for engineers in the planning industry. Construction is what everyone sees, and what everyone associates with being an engineer. However, it is the years of planning and design that actually ‘make’ a project, and the arena which is shaping the world. Tony Blair and his labour government have stitched the industry up in so much red tape that you need a specialist to guide and project manage all projects - everything from building a prefabricated conservatory onto your kitchen, to the redevelopment of the Battersea Power Station. Engineers have been drawn further and further into ‘property’ development, and it has become crucial for all consultants in the UK to recognise that they cannot necessarily survive by churning out the design work anymore. Engineers need to ‘get amongst’, ‘push the envelope’ and get involved in projects at the cutting edge, the front end - the real estate end. Tightening environmental laws and the phased implementation of European law is squeezing the margins of developers, and engineers have to be on hand to solve problems and shape developments at the very earliest possible opportunity - sometimes long before title deeds are exchanged on a piece of land. Developers want to know what they are in for long before they shell out millions of pounds on a site which could potentially be hamstrung for development by a the random spotting of a lesser-striped badger 5km away in 1976. The reality is that environmental groups are becoming increasingly powerful, and genuinely have the authority to prevent inappropriate development. It is our job to resolve these issues and maximise appropriate development on every site as the country has a housing shortage and development is desperately needed.
This is what we will be doing, solving problems, and shaping the world as you know it.
www.waterenvironment.co.uk
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01.24.07
Posted in General at 11:04 am by Guy
To say that it has been a mild winter thus far would be an understatement with daily high temperatures consistently hovering in the 10 – 13 range; the average temperature for March/April in London. This weekend the wind turned from a SW to a Northerly and with it, icy cold winds and weather from the north. So although well overdue, but not completely surprising that we awoke this morning to a whiteout! Snow has finally fallen, a fall it did, as this is the most snow I’ve had to scrape off my car. One of the guys in the office has suggested that it is probably the heaviest snow fall for one night that he has seen in a decade – cool! Rumour has it that it is bucketing down snow all over Europe, which bodes well for Grayskull’s boarding trip – lucky bast@rd!
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Posted in General at 10:12 am by Guy
I must say, Billy Elliott is an amazing show, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. As I noted below, not being a big fan of the ballet and having endured the movie, I ws not originally that interested. But following numerous good reports, we decided to stump up a few of the queens best and go watch it. And well worth the money it was. The star (Colin Bates I think it is at the moment) was really good, and stood out from the rest.
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01.23.07
Posted in General at 17:54 pm by Guy
Taking the night off tonight from my moonlightin and heading into the the ‘city’ to catch a bit of theatre. Its been a while since we last hit the West End - could have been Evita just before Amy left for NZ. Sar and I are joining Jo and Ryan for a spot of graze at Chez Gerrard and then to watch the highly acclaimed Billy Elliott. I’m be prefectly honest, and when it first came out I wasn’t convinced, but it has rave reviews and we have great seats, so here’s to another great evening at the theatre!!
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01.21.07
Posted in General at 18:15 pm by Guy
A big thanks to everyone who celebrated with us on Friday night at our engagement party. The Common Room in Wimbledon Village was heaving with mates and Sarah and I are grateful to all of you for making the effort, and too all those who brought presents as well. Thanks Dave for driving 2 1/2 hours from Watford, and to Jo and Ryan for helping us get the pressies back to headquarters.
I have uploaded the photo’s here so check them out!
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01.16.07
Posted in General at 23:32 pm by Guy
I promised to detail my latest earth shattering life news in a post, but I’ve decided to leave you all hanging for a couple more weeks.
However, to whet your appetite, this is the sign of the future:
Its only a matter of time.
Thursday February 1st 2007.
15 days and counting.
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01.04.07
Posted in General at 19:58 pm by Guy
Not that I need a distraction at the moment with only 3 weeks to go until the launch of my new consultancy….. oh wait, I haven’t told any of you about that yet! Yeesh, that’s going to take a while to explain…..
But in the meantime, I have been distracted from posting on this site over the past couple of days by our blog site for the big trip to the Cricket world cup in teh West Indies. At last count by one of the girls it is only 14 weeks till we depart these sodden shores for the bright sun, white sand, chrystal water and yummy rum of Barbados, Bequia and St Lucia. So, until I find the time to post the remainder of my South Africa trip, as well as the very exciting news that I have joined forces with a good friend and work colleague to start our own engineering consultancy, visit the West Indies Tor blog and watch the preparations unfold.
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