June 2004 Archives

Matt's most esteemed appearance in a publication to date - The Sun

Cor, wot a stunna etc etc etc......

He tells me he's amended his CV accordingly.

aka Phil's cousin Andrew's wedding on Saturday, in deepest Sussex. It was lovely, nothwithstanding the rainy weather. A fabulous setting, fantastic food, lots of dancing (I discovered Phil likes disco and will even dance to it!!) and intros to rellies on the Carruthers side of the family. I took lots of photos for Sue, seeing as she couldn't make it over from The Falklands.

It took an age to get back yesterday (Sunday train schedules), and we spent the afternoon reading and snoozing, thankful that the downpour gave us an ideal excuse to veg in front of the Last Days of Disco.

Hazel and I have just returned weary and wan from an excellent weekend in Leeds/Saltaire, celebrating Cat's 30th birthday.

We spent a very pleasant Saturday avoiding the rain, mooching around Saltaire, built by philanthropist Titus Salt, and the eponymous Salt's Mill complex, now converted into a fine collection of eateries and shops.

The main event on Saturday was Cat's Big Night Out, and after a celebratory glass of champagne, we took the train into Leeds to meet up with the rest of the birthday party people at the Cactus Lounge, and from there moved next door for drinks at the Wardrobe, and thence (oh how the mighty are fallen) to the Walkabout where we were outshone by the Pink Ladies hen party on the dance floor, and almost everyone else on the drinking front.

Sunday was a decidedly more relaxed affair, with tea and toast and telly taking us gently through the morning, before we went round to Cat's parents for a fantastic Birthday BBQ - despite the rain!

Back to London on the train, in a speedy 2 1/2 hours.

... Phil's latest project at Poke went live today - www.jamieoliver.com - and look - Great Aunt Phyl's fruitcake is the first item in the recipe swap forum!!

The public beta of TheyWorkForYou.com launched on Sunday at NotCon04 ... that's the good news.

The bad news - for me - is that I still don't get Phil's time as the beta phase "will last for a while as we unpick all the bugs and tweak the features."

Ah well, it's all in a good cause, I s'pose....

"Everything MPs say in the House of Commons is recorded in a document called Hansard.

TheyWorkForYou.com helps make sense of this vital democratic resource and, crucially, allows you to add your own comments and links to the official transcripts of Parliament."

mmmm, a cold beer, a bowl of deep fried broad beans and The OC *. Sunday evening's don't get much better.

I've been buried in OU Project Management M865 studies and working on the first assignment for what feels like an age. But, TMA 1 is done (all be the inevitable editing to get closer to the word limit - sigh) and I've decided that I need to have something Good on the horizon to keep me motivated. The Barbican flat buying looks like it's going to take an absolute age, if indeed it comes to fruition (I'm keeping my head in the sand on that one a bit I fear), so that leaves the good old standby of holidays.....

So, I've dug out my bumf from plannings past, primed Hazel and we're going to be looking at trips to China and the 'Stans in 2005. The contenders are:

Something from Silk Road Tours (but - ouch - they're expensive and maybe a bit too posh for our tastes and pockets)
Good old Intrepid Travel .... except that they aren't running the *ideal* trip (Ancient Road of the Traders) in 2005 :( which leaves either China or Uzbekistan
Far Frontiers - again, expensive
Adventure Bound - aka The Imaginative Traveller ... hmm and it looks like they only do Uzbekistan or Mongolia out of Central Asia. Although Jewel of the Silk Road looks interesting... World Expeditions, another aussie outfit, so that could be a good sign
CTS Horizons
China Holidays - but their Silk Road tour is only 9 days

oooooooh. I think i've found it:
Silk Road to Samarkand via Kashgar
... but still e.x.p.e.n.s.i.v.e and looking at the brief itinery, there's travel almost everyday, so maybe not so much time actullay *in* places .... hmmm