Yearly Archives: 2004

Selina’s graduation from Liverpool University

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Today was Selina’s graduation ceremony at Liverpool University where she had gained her First class honours degree.  Up and away in good time, good trip up the motorway until the M62 where we were stationary for half an hour.

Headed for the halls of residence where we had three rooms for the night, changed and caught a taxi to Liverpool University campus.  First stop was to pick up the mortarboard and gown, then onto a reception where we met Selina’s tutors.  The ceremony was in the Philharmonic theatre at 15.00.  We all filed in early and were seated in our allocated places.  The presentations took place at a fast and orderly rate.

After the ceremony we managed a quick tour of the city and docks, then a Chinese meal on the waterfront.  It was then back to the halls of residence for the night, via the excellent men’s toilets and the Philharmonic bar on Hope Street.  The pub has really very ornate marble urinals, well worth viewing.  After sleeping at the halls of residence, we had an excellent breakfast.

Tuesday was spent at Albert docks looking around the Maritime museum, followed by a tour of the city and the docks in an amphibious American wartime DUKW.  These Ducks were being run by The Yellow Duckmarine and had names the names of Wacker Quacker 1 and 2.  

After the tour it was back in the car home, leaving Selina behind for the graduation ball.

Last week in Edinburgh with Royal Bank of Scotland

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This last week spent at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was helping support the system after it had gone live.  Really there were very few problems.

The main event of the week was on Thursday when Mary Devine, Ed Aldridge and I went out for a celebratory drink and meal.  We started off with cocktails at a bar called Tonic, then on to a restaurant called Ricks.  One of these trendy fusion restaurant.  Actually had a very good meal.  Picked up quite a good tip on cooking which I have presented to Rosemary a couple of times.

After this on to three clubs:

First DROP KICK MURPHYS  on Merchant Street just off Grass Market.  This place is under George IV street in the arches.  Fairly empty. 

Second on to Faith on Cow Gate.  We stayed for our free shooter and then a beer.   Not quite our scene.  

Finally on to Whistle Binkies where we stayed until chucking out time at three. I had a dance with Mary.  There was a small bit of trouble at the end where some over enthusiastic bouncers hurt a man as they ejected him.  We were sitting right next to this group and they had not caused any problems all evening.  Definitely light as I made my way back to my hotel.

The bank and my company each gave Mary and I a bottle of champagne.  Very nice.

Sunday morning at Royal Bank of Scotland

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Up early into the office at 8.30.  Had been raining, looks like a showery day.  Simon was in looking at the Mail Transport problem.  Not much I can do to help.

Lots of drilling and hammering going on, probably repairing the outside of the building where an old office block has been demolished. Turning the site into some smart apartments.  Anyway the worked caused the fire alarms to go off, and four fire engines turned up.

The whole of the system is now working The problem was caused by missing packages, for DB2 7 FP10 not being bound on the mainframe.

So we left at around 16:00 for a few beers and whisky in Clarks Bar across the road from the bank.  Afterwards back to the Petit Paris for a meal of Frogs Legs, followed by a 12 ounce steak.  Lovely.

Next on to the Liquorice club for some entertainment, and then Whistle Binkies.  Early to bed at 23.00

Weekend at Royal Bank of Scotland

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My first weekend in Edinburgh.  Had a bit of a lie in, then a lazy breakfast in the hotel.  Slow walk down the to the office where I arrived at 10.30  The upgrades appeared to be going well and ahead of schedule.

The users came in and did their testing, and eventually a PO was scheduled for transmission.  Unfortunatly the last link in the chain failed.  The mail transform program was unable to connect to DB2.  Stayed in the office, not being a great help (not my code) until 10 in the evening.

Walked home and went straight to bed.  No alcohol.

A week at the Royal Bank of Scotland, Edinburgh

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Monday

Today I used the local taxi firm to ferry me to Luton.  My car needs MOT and probably some work to cure all the clunking sounds from underneath.  Anyway staying away for 12 days, the taxi is a lot cheaper then parking at Luton.  Arrived at Luton in plenty of time,  I had a ticket number of 62, first time I have been less than 100.

Arrived at Edinburgh well on time, but was delayed at the cash machine.  Needed some cash to get into Edinburgh.

Weather was fairly nice, was able to sit outside on the pavement chairs and tables for my happy hour supper at Petit Paris.  Went the whole hog, and had three courses.  Some lovely asparagus tips and smoked Scottish Salmon to start with.  Followed on by Chicken in a Madera sauce with vegetables, Finally their excellent crème brulle.  Then the embarrassment, I had gone out with no means of paying.  No problem popped back to the hotel for my cards.  Now I had been thinking of going to a new restaurant called Blonde that would have been a severe embarrassment, and a long walk.

Afterwards stayed in my room and watched England qualify through to the quarter finals.

Tuesday

Sunny all day, and then clouded over for the evening.  Met up with Yura, and walked to Blonde where we ate.  Nice meal, of raw Salmon to start, then I had Venison cooked in a red wine and chocolate sauce.  Finally had a a marmalade flavoured source with my sweet.

Stopped at a pub on the way back just outside of St Leonards Street police station for a pint and to watch the football matches.  Back to the hotel, and then out again to Whistle Binkies to see an excellent rock band play.  The played excellent loud and  heavy rock.    Their drummer was incredible.  Unfortunately I have no idea of their name.

Wednesday

Started off a miserable day.  Windy and heavy drizzle.  It then rained all day, except for a small gap in the evening, which tempted me out without my jacket.  Big mistake started to rain again, and was still raining at 1.30 am as I went to bed.

Stayed late at the bank, and had a bit of pizza, then met up with Yura for a meal at the Songkran on Stafford Street.  This is a Thai restaurant run by a couple of Thai sisters.  I must admit I was not very hungry and just had a Thai Green curry and some beers.  On leaving the phone free zone of the restaurant I picked up my messages which resulted in me jogging through the appalling rain to meet up with Ed and Mary in the Villager on George the IV bridge, where we stayed until closing time at 1.00am.  Mary had travelled to Edinburgh to participate in her Yoga class.  Hopefully we will see her back at the bank on Friday and Saturday.

Thursday

Still raining.  It must now have been raining virtually solidly for over 24 hours.  Its so dull and miserable.  After work I went to watch the England/Portugal match at Sportsters a nightclub on Market Street with a few Bank people.  Good venue, masses of TV screens including one huge cinema sized screen.   Quite an enjoyable evening despite the result.

Oh and it has stopped raining.

You may wonder why there is no mention of food today.  Could be because today was a liquid only diet.

Friday

Today is a lovely sunny clear day.  Quite warm walking into work, bought a Danish and a coffee on the way to work.

After work walker up the road with Mary for a drink at the fish tank.  Left her to catch her train back home, I walked back to the Bank for a drink in Clarks Bar with Andy Laing, Simon Stone, Neil Saunders and Willis Scott.  Afterwards on to Indigo Yard with Neil and Simon.   Trendy bar.  It was a lovely evening, so we were able to sit outside.

Left there at around 10.30, picked up some fish and chips on the high street, and then to Whistle Binkies to listen to a couple of bands until 1.30 in the morning.  The first band, who were already playing, were called The Rodents, original guitar rock and covers. They were quite good, though unappreciated by most.  The second band I saw were called Big Hand, a Latino funk band.  They appeared to be liked by the punters,  I stayed for the first half and then decided I should be in bed, implementation weekend was starting.  The road back to the hotel, Cow Gate was mobbed with people waiting to get into the night clubs. 

Edinburgh working at RBS for the week

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Monday

Caught the Easyjet flight from Luton in the warm sunny south, left on time, arrived on time, really good journey.

Weather not so good in Edinburgh, windy and cold.  I cannot believe it, but the weather forecast on Tuesday said how good the weather had been, with 28 degrees in Aberdeen and now it was coming to an end.  They must live in a different universe.  A guy in my office rides a motorbike, he went home a different way to his usual route, to keep off the main road because of the strong wind.  He then was stopped by a fallen tree, and had to back track, then dropped the bike in a guest of wind as he was edging on to the main road.  Luckily not too much damage.

Met up with Yura and visited Izzi for some Sushi and some Chinese.  He was going back on Tuesday because all the people from Standard Life he had arranged to work with were off sick.

At last I have a userid for the Banks network, which has taken 9 months to get.

Tuesday

Today is a bright windy cold front type of day, which warmed up nicely as the day progressed.  The evening was a T-shirt evening.  Had to walk back to the hotel at lunchtime to pick up my keys so I could get my portable out of the desk.  Met the waiter at Petit Paris who greeted me as a long lost friend.  I said I would be in to night.  Despite walking to the hotel at 1.00pm, I still failed to hear the cannon fire from the castle.

After work took a walk along Salisbury crags. It was a beautiful view of the city today with excellent visibility.  On the way to the crags stopped off at a fish and chip shop and bought a deep-fried battered Mars bar.  It was excellent. After walking south down the crags, I then headed west into the city and then up St Leonard’s Road.  This time I did actually see the police station in which Rebus works.  It is a fairly modern looking brick building, with glass office like doors to the reception area.  There was a restaurant opposite called Blondes, which is mentioned in the one of the Rebus books and has been recommended to me.  I must pay it a visit one day.  Seems to have several fish dishes on the menu.

It was then back to Petit Paris for a quick supper just before 10.00, where I had a Monk Fish Stew followed by a crepe.  Met up with Ed for a drink in the Bow Bar.

Wednesday

Another nice day in Edinburgh, not overly hot, just nice.   There was nothing to report about the day.

In the evening went for the special at Petit Paris.  Oh no, they almost could not seat me, but in the end found a table for me downstairs.  Had the filo wrapped deep fried goats cheese, followed by pork on a bed of mashed pastry.  All this washed down with a demi-litre of wine.  During the meal had a phone conversation with Steve Allen who was attending the Walker reunited get together.

Then it was on to the Western bar, which is quite close to the hotel, for a bit of entertainment.  Afterwards it was time for Whistle Binkies where I saw Blackjack Blues Band play.  Quite good.

During the evening it drizzled a little, not enough though to stop me walking around in a tee shirt.  Must be the Newcastle part of the Cedar Company rubbing off on to me.

Thursday

Into work today, was a dress down day, but the dress had to be red and white to celebrate the Swiss/English football match.  Not many from the bank were participating in this.

Back to Petit Paris for the early evening meal, missing the football.  Tonight I had the terrine of pigeon breast followed by a steak.  Not much else happened, stayed in tonight watching TV and Big Brother.

Friday

Checked out of the Apex International, despite not staying there for several weeks, the receptionist greeted me by name.   How nice.

There was a slight drizzle on the walk to work.  I left work early to get the 4.30 flight back to Luton, the rain was pouring down at this stage.

About home

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Today was an excellent day.  Spent quite a long time in the garden mowing the field and lawn.  After mowing the lawn I attempted to fill the cracks in the lawn with sand.  These cracks have been there for years; caused by the clay soil and the excavations of the moles.  I must have used almost ¾ of a cubic meter of sand.

Finished the day with a BBQ and wine.  Drowning our sorrows after the defeat of England by France in Euro 2004.  Never mind we will get them in the finals.

I was not pleased with a RBS manager who bet on England to win.  He said, “no matter the result, he would be happy”.

Gonville and Caius May Week Party

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This Saturday was the Gonville & Cauis College May Week Party for Benefactors.  We set off at around 9.45, arriving at Harvey Court at 11.00 where we could not park, so back to the Park and Ride. Selina and Graham went off to peruse the shops, and we walked to the college.  On the way stopped off at a craft fare to purchase a gift for Barbara and Tony’s new baby Thomas.

At the party met up with Chris Finden-Browne and his wife.  We had met Chris and their son Fergus at the previous party.  There was a mass of excellent food on offer.

After he lunch and the speech from the master, we went on to see a presentation on The Box of Delights. This was a box of papers and pictures from David Bach being presented to the college by Dr. Philip Marriott.  David Bach was the second of five children and graduated from the University of Vienna with Doctorates in Philosophy and Philology.   He devoted himself to Journalism and moved to England after the First World War.  David had a great love of music. Philip had inherited these papers.

During the presentation we heard a number of recitals from Joseph Mills, with Francesca Massey and James Davies on piano.

Next was a presentation from the Bursar, he went into the cost of running the college, their plans for the new building on West Road, the cost of the library and the money he needed.

After this we had a tea in the masters garden, and then back on home. 

The weather could have been better.  There were lots of showers during the meal and the tea.  We were able to step into the Masters Lodge.

Edinburgh

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Tuesday

Flew from Luton in the bright warm sunshine, only to land at Edinburgh on a cold cloudy day.  Visibility was so poor, we didn’t see the ground until we were down to 100 meters.  The weather never cleared up, with low cloud all day, obscuring views of Carlton hill and Edinburgh castle.

Stayed at the Thistle on Leith Walk tonight.  Apparently most of the hotels in Edinburgh were full.  Managed to get a booking into the Apex City for the following nights.

Met up with Yura Usvyat for a meal at Thai Me Up.  Had an Excellent Red Curry, which was pretty hot.

Wednesday

The sun shone today, but there were showers as well.  While Yura and I were eating in the Indian restaurant Zest, the heavens opened and there was torrential rain.  Luckily (no one had jackets because it was a nice warm evening), by the time we had finished the weather was nice again. 

Managed to move into the Apex City on Grass market.  A far better location than where the Thistle resides.

Thursday

Today started as a lovely clear sunny morning.  Weather forecast though predicts the same heavy showers as Wednesday.

Worked fairly late tonight making some modifications to the code for installation after the product goes live.  Met up with Yura for a meal at the Mussel Inn.  Good old-fashioned thunderstorm just as we were going out at 20.00.  Borrowed an umbrella from the hotel lost property.  At the Mussel inn (very crowded, had to wait for a table), I had grilled herring fillets with crumbled feta cheese as a starter, followed by grilled bream on a bed of crushed potato.

Friday

Slight drizzle as I headed to work, but cleared up during the day.

Spent the morning testing my code changes, and then out to lunch with the bank team for a pre going live celebration drink and meal.

Back to work, and then home on the 18.05 Easyjet flight.  It almost left on time, we were all on the plane, and no problems with air traffic control, but we had no fuel.  Eventually left 20 minutes late.

Edinburgh

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This was supposed to be my last visit to the bank for a couple of weeks.  Arrived at the bank pretty much on time, despite the plane being delayed by air traffic for a couple of hours. 

In the evening a meal at Petit Paris, soup followed rabbit washed down with a demi-litre of vin rouge.  Thought it was a bit early to go to bed, so a quick visit to Whistle Binkies to hear a few bands.  First band was a seven piece group called JFK, with flutes, sax and guitars.  Different.  I am told they will be playing again.  Next another band, quite good and heavy, never found out what they were called.

On Wednesday, just as I was about to leave, I heard I was to be back next week on Tuesday.  Oh well.