Archives for November 2007
Babs Al Sham
Today’s image was originally going to be of the Dubai Equestrian Centre, a gambling-free green grassed race course in the middle of the Arabian desert. But I lost my phone, and the photos on it, so please be content with this view from the hotel balcony.
The awayday
In the middle of the desert, camels, falcons and breakout sessions abound.
At Heathrow T4
There was a time, not so long ago, when a trip to the airport was exciting. It promised adventure, new horizons, plastic food and a range of second tier movies.
But time moves on and finally travel becomes a chore, a means of getting somewhere else. With this, my 13th flight of the month, my carbon footprint is officially size large and there’s nothing I’d look forward to more than a good night’s sleep.
Uh-oh
Confirmed.
Suited and booted
And so, for the first time in several years, I have to contemplate wearing a shirt and tie to work. New day, new job and the challenge of working five days a week returns.
I’m looking forward to it – wish me luck.
The leak
Look here people – I never promised that posting a photo every day was going to be consistenly interesting. On the day after I left for my holidays my downstairs neighbours decided to report a leak from my kitchen, with claims of ‘the ceiling about to fall down’ and ‘plaster coming off the walls’.
Of course it wasn’t that bad but there was still a few hundred quids worth of damage, all of which was causd by a fitting that required an eight turn to tight up.
Thanks to M. for popping up to check it out and turn off the boiler. A wasted day.
South Beach
Yep, the final tourist stop of my trip. South Beach is a honey trap full of slow moving traffic and expensive hotels, but it retains a sense of futuristic glamour and monied class – never before have I seen three different Bentleys (including one in cream, eurgh) on one block, outside of a car showroom.
A frustrating day from the 90 minute wait to collect a car, to the extra $15 penalty when leaving the car park. Time to go home.
Aboard the Coral Queen
“It was the worst day of diving I’ve ever had” said Kim, the South African-Scouser instructor. Exaggeration possibly, but with visibility down to about two metres and a significant swell Puerto Rico won’t be top of my dive experiences. Although I think I was just unlucky…
Thanksgiving news
On the way from San Francisco to San Juan I picked up a copy of the Dallas Morning News. This pile (photographed in the Irish pub at half six in the morning, all class me) is all inserts for Day After Thanksgiving sales – stores open as early as 4am. If you think Britain is focused on the January sales, ask yourself if you’ve ever queued early Boxing Day morning for the John Lewis sale.
This is America.
Aboard the USS Pampanito
Deep in the bowels of the USS Pampanito on San Francisco’s dockside stand ranks of dials, valves and motors from one of the US Navy’s hundreds of diesel-powered WW2 submarines.
Always remarkable to see the tiny space within which 85 men lived and worked for months at a time.
It’s next door to the Jermiah O’Brien that we boarded a couple of years ago.
