Fast Cars

I'm not much into fast cars, racing, horsepower, and all that stuff, but I had an opportunity I just couldn't pass up. I spent the last couple of days at a work event that was held at Mercedes-Benz World in the UK. In between our last meeting and dinner, we were given the chance to ride along with some of the professional drivers who take the cars out on the test track. I ended up riding in a Mercedes C63 AMG. I can tell you it has 460 horsepower and the people who buy this car go through 2 days of drivers' training. As my driver said, they need to learn how to "respect the car" and how to "handle it".

We zipped around loads of corners, cones, curves, straight-aways, and areas made to simulate ice. We went from naught to eighty and back to naught in a matter of seconds (yes - the British say "naught" instead of zero, I find myself doing the same). I never thought to consider that this 10 - 15 minute little "drive" might actually make me car sick. It did. Riding shotgun didn't help. Ten minutes in and I wasn't feeling so well..... Here's a little bit of how it went - AMG experience. They didn't need the water sprayers on; it was raining. My driver just kept saying, "it's really slippery out here" as we slid and spun everywhere. I'm glad I did it - but it's a once in a lifetime thing. No need to experience it again.


Tonight I went to a "leaving do". That's what you do here when someone is leaving the business for another job - you go to the pub for a "leaving do". Had a pint and dinner and called it an early evening. I'm sure it'll go on until the wee hours of the morning though.

A little more Brit' speak - I said, "ya' all right?" to someone yesterday. I think that was a first. Definitely not more than a second.

Level 2

I've officially declared a Heat Health Watch in my bedroom. At eighty-six degrees, it qualifies. It may be a night downstairs on the sofa - where it's a bone-chilling 80 degrees. A few more days, and we should be back down to the low 70's, high 60's.

The bamboo shot up another 5 inches since yesterday, and is now towering above the yardstick.

It's a Heatwave!

We are in the middle of a heatwave, and it's not something I enjoy. Extreme temperatures (hot or cold) are not the norm here. My home, along with many others, does not have air conditioning. And that's fine for 50 - 51 weeks of the year. But when the heat comes - it's miserable. I've got the fans going and am trying to bring the temperature in the bedroom down to something under eighty degrees (it's 83 in there now). A sudden downpour isn't helping, as I've had to close the windows.

Of course, there is humour to be found. The Met Office has officially issued a summer heat alert; the Heat Health Watch is at "Level 2 - Alert and Readiness". Similar to the terror alert system (and any other status report in the UK), the levels are colour coded; Level 2 is Yellow. The official definition -

Level 2 is "Triggered as soon as the risk is 60% or above for threshold temperatures being reached in one or more regions on at least two consecutive days and the intervening night. This is an important stage for social and healthcare services who will be working to ensure readiness and swift action to reduce harm from a potential heatwave. Advice: Heatwaves can be dangerous, especially for the very young, very old or those with chronic diseases."

Are you wondering what the "threshold temperature" is for determining whether or not a Heat Health Watch is enacted? 86 degrees. That's just a normal summer day back in Ohio. Although it would be worse in Ohio. The humidity here isn't bad at all, it' only 40%. Regardless - I need it to cool down. I can't keep my windows open at night because there are no screens! I've already had 2 bats in the house - I'm not looking for any more!

Okay - on to the final chapter in the saga of the "fast as a speeding bullet" bamboo plant. It's been 2 days since the last picture - and we've got another 8 inches of growth. It really does amaze me - it's grown 14 inches in just 6 days.

Faster Than a Speeding Bullett

So yesterday's bamboo watch brought 3 inches of growth in 3 days. Maybe it's because we had a little rain, but we've got another 3 inches of growth in the last 22 hours.

It may not be easy to see in the pictures, but it's gone from 21 to 24 inches since 19.30 last night. Last night you could read "Wooster, Ohio" on the yardstick; today you can't. No trick photography.




















I'll try to find something a bit more exciting to do soon. Right now, I'm swamped with some projects at work.

But really, you all secretly want your own bamboo plant, don't you?

Watching Paint Dry

You might think I'm incredibly bored - after all, I've resorted to watching bamboo grow. A bit more exciting than watching paint dry, but still... The bamboo has grown 4 inches in 3 days.

Photo taken 26 Jun 7.30pm



















I stayed out of town last night, as I was working up north. It's amazing. You go 200 miles north and it's a noticeable difference in the time it gets dark. It was 10pm and there were still blue skies. I don't know what time it got dark - I pulled the shades and went to bed.

Funky sideways shot out a hotel window that wouldn't open more than a couple of inches (10pm)















I got to talking about accents today with some of my British colleagues. Apparently I (and all other Americans) can't pronounce "pub" correctly. And as always, we Americans just don't sound posh. One girl did mention her first trip to the States and her first conversation with an American - "I never actually talked to an American before. They started talking and it was so cool!"

Bamboo and Cooties

I hear that bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world (at least among the "woody" plants). As luck would have it, I have some bamboo plants just outside my door. I've noticed before how quickly they grow - often a noticeable difference in a day or two. What were sprouts last summer are now at least 8 feet tall. This year, I've decided to track one of them. I have been looking for a sprout and couldn't find any. And now, all of a sudden, I've got one that's almost a foot and half tall.

Photo taken about 8pm, 23 Jun. I'll check back in a few days.




















On another topic, I've had one of those awful summer colds that just makes you feel miserable. Apparently, I must have looked miserable as well. A colleague at work said to me, "looks like you've got the lurgy" (rhymes with Fergie). Depending on the source, I've either got an illness or disease that is not serious, or I've got the cooties.

Menswear and Perfume

I've been putting this post off for months, and I just can't hold back any longer. There are a lot of little differences between the US and the UK. Differences - not necessarily good or bad, right or wrong - just differences. Believe it or not, I've adjusted to my dorm-size refrigerator and freezer. I've adjusted to my tiny washing machine. I've adjusted to the fact that there are no outlets or light switches in the bathroom. I've adjusted to the fact that I don't have window screens, and that the ginormous spiders in my house are there to take care of the flying bugs that find their way inside. I've even adjusted to the fact that closets are a luxury of which my bedroom is not familiar. All that said, there are a couple of things I just can not adjust to - menswear and perfume.

We'll start with the menswear. The normal working attire of most men is a nice dress shirt and trousers. Many wear ties as well. What they don't wear is an undershirt. Perhaps it's just that I spent the first 40+ years of my life in the US, where an undershirt is a staple of life for men, but I feel that a "professional presence" is lost when you can see the colour of a man's skin tone through his shirt. To round off the look, the shirt is tucked into a nice pair of trousers. Trousers that have belt loops. Belt loops which no serve no purpose. That's right. There are about 3,000 people working in the building I work in. About half of those are men. I saw 2 belts today; neither gentleman was British.

Moving on to the perfume. If you're trying to earn back some of the money you lost in the market, I'd buy stock in any British perfume company. Seriously ladies, a little dab'll do ya. It doesn't take half a bottle. This is not a "once-in-awhile someone puts on too much perfume" kind of thing. It's a daily occurrence. I am not exaggerating - there are times when all I can do is hold my breath and walk away.

From Wikipedia, "Training for freediving can take many forms and be done on the land. One example is the apnea walk. This consists of a preparation "breathe-up", followed by a short (typically 1 minute) breath hold taken at rest. Without breaking the hold, the participant then initiates a walk for as far as they can, until it becomes necessary to breathe again. Athletes can do close to 400 meters in training this way."

I think I'm about ready for competition.

Walking in the Moors

I went on an 8 mile walk in the North York Moors yesterday. The weather was beautiful and so were the sights. In total, there were about 25 of us who went. We used the event to build teamwork and we also raised over £2,200 for Cancer Research. Truth be told, I think we only made it about 7 miles. We were running short on time (long lunch service at one of the pubs), had too much fun along the way and had achy feet at about 6 miles in.

On the drive to our starting point, we had great views of the North Sea - and I've heard there are some nice shorelines in the area. With miles of footpaths, beautiful villages, and great scenery - I'll be going back again.

North York Moors

A Little Love from Home

How cool is it to come home from a business trip and find a big bag of Wild Bill's Beef Jerky in the mailbox! Yep - a little love from home! If you're not familiar with Wild Bill's - it's worth seeking out. You may have to mail order it, as it's not widely available. Many thanks to Ruby and Charles for forking out all the money to send the world's best beef jerky all the way to Northamptonshire! Oh - and congrats on your recent wedding - you two are perfect for each other.















On another note, I'm starting to worry about me. Remember when I said "cheers" and alarmed myself? Well, 18 months later, it happened again. Only I wasn't so alarmed. Mind you though, this is only the second time I've "cheers'd" someone. It didn't stop there. I've been working out of town the last couple of days and drove home tonight. As is often the case, the traffic was awful. All 3 lanes on the motorway were at a standstill and backed up for 11 miles. A colleauge of mine had left about 30 minutes earlier, so I called him to see how much longer I might be in park on the motorway. I got his voicemail and left a message, which went a little something like, "how long is this traffic jam? I really don't fancy sitting on the motorway all night!". Yes, I said fancy. I know this will shock some of you - but it happened. But hey, I had a big bag of beef jerky in the mailbox when I got home. That helped to ease that 4 hour drive.

Well, I'm off to the Yorkshire moors tomorrow. Hope to have some nice pictures to post sometime Saturday night.

No Title For This One

It's been very "un-Britishlike" here lately - the sun has been shining and the temperature has been soaring above 70. It isn't likely to hold up, which is a shame because I've got an 8 mile walk to do on the 12th of June. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I'd prefer we didn't have to walk across the moors in the wind and rain.

I've got a few miscellaneous pictures to share.

This was between Stonehenge and Old Wardour Castle. I don't know the original purpose of the structure, but it's now being used as a house.














I like this sign - the British government has taken the time to precisely define "large" and "slow".













A short break from Britain's drink culture.

Talent?

Talk of Susan Boyle is worldwide. If you're that one person who hasn't paid attention to the news or the internet, Susan Boyle stunned Britain when she appeared on "Britain's Got Talent" and sang a song from Les Miserables. I hear it was incredible (I actually missed this episode, but a friend of mine told me she almost cried!).




















And maybe you heard about Shaheen Jafargholi - a young lad who also captured the hearts of everyone in the UK with his soulful singing.














But, before anyone goes thinking that every act on Britain's Got Talent is an undiscovered star, let me share with you what else we have to put up with. This is one that likely won't hit CNN.com or Larry King. I can't post the video here, so will have to leave you with this link to Mr. Methane. The looks from Simon Cowell say it all! The judges don't even vote on this one!

And for something completely unexpected, check out Gregg Pritchard's audition. I guarantee you will be surprised. He made it through to the next round, despite the fact that Simon couldn't bring himself to vote. All he could say was, "I haven't got a bloody clue". Again, the looks on Simon's face throughout make this one to watch. Hang with it until the end, the judges comments are half the fun.

The Welland Viaduct

Yesterday I took a drive to Harringworth and Seaton to see the Welland Viaduct and take a walk. The viaduct is a railway viaduct that is about 3/4 of a mile long with 82 arches that each have a 40 foot span. It's the longest masonry viaduct across a valley in Britain.

On the way, I drove through Rockingham, home of Rockingham Motor Speedway and Rockingham castle. It's a small picturesque village and one I think I'll return to to visit the castle.

We've had two incredible days during the long weekend. As expected, today is gray. That makes it a bit easier for me to get my work done!

Pictures of the Viaduct

Sunny Days

So far, it's been a beautiful bank holiday weekend. Sunny skies and 21C /70F - it doesn't get much better.

I've been out and about playing tourist. Yesterday, some friends and I took a road trip and headed south-west with an agenda of rocks, castles, and cathedrals, followed by the obligatory visit to a pub for dinner.

First stop - Stonehenge. Yes, I've been there before (twice), but I never tire of it. The place is shrouded in mystery, and every time I visit, I come up with new theories of what it all means. Yesterday's visit was a first in that it was warm and dry outside!














After Stonehenge, it was off to Old Wardour Castle, near Tisbury in Wiltshire. Getting there was an event in itself. I originally thought Jane, my TomTom navigation system, was taking us on a joy ride through one-lane B roads. We even gave up and turned around at one point. As it turned out though, she knew where she was going.

The setting for Wardour Castle is unbelievable - it looks out over a lake and a large valley. The castle was built in the late 14th century and unlike many others, Wardour combined luxury with strength. It had 35 rooms, a hexagonal tower house, and a central courtyard. A great setting combined with great views brought out lots of families and picnic lunches. Fun fact - part of "Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves" was filmed here.


























































































































The final stop was Salisbury Cathedral. The cathedral was built in 1220 and has the tallest church spire in the UK (404 feet). It also contains the best preserved of only four surviving original Magna Carta, written in 1215.


























































































We ended the day with dinner at a pub in Salisbury. I had to settle for a burger, as there was no Salisbury Steak on the menu!

Bug Free Furniture

Sometimes I amaze myself. There are many things that I've done over the past two years that I can blame on learning how to live in a foreign country. Tonight was not one of those times. I was feeling all good about myself having finally dusted the upstairs furniture. I left the can of Pledge on the banister because I had to carry a load of clothes downstairs to be laundered. A bit later I went back up to grab the Pledge and put it away. Only there was no can of Pledge on the banister. Nope. Sitting right there in front of me was a can of Raid bug spray. I'll never know how I managed to dust furniture in two bedrooms without realising I was using bug spray.

It's a three day holiday weekend and I'm going to head out and be a tourist tomorrow. Look for pictures soon.