@ Saturday, 28. Jun, 2008 – 18:59:00
Matty and I rode out to Whitstable along the Crab and Winkle Way this morning for lunch, a beer in the Whitstable Oyster Fisheries Bar, a walk around town and along to the harbour... and a potter on the beach, of course! The weather has been great today - perfect for a bike ride to the seaside!
@ Friday, 27. Jun, 2008 – 10:47:35
After 3pm today I will be a free man! However, I have lots of stuff to do before I leave today, mostly administrative and rather boring... It will be rather odd when Monday morning arrives when I'll have no reason at all to get out of bed 
@ Thursday, 26. Jun, 2008 – 19:30:52
An evening of dirty beer drinking began in the garden of the White Hart, where they have a nice big plasma screen for watching sports and Spitfire on tap... Further revelment ensued in the Cherry Tree and Brian and I had a few nightcaps in The Loft...
@ Wednesday, 25. Jun, 2008 – 11:40:06
I may have posted about this before but even if I did, this deserves another airing! I like this country, but the more I travel, the more I realise how bloody expensive everything is, especially travel...
Berlin: Single anywhere on the S-Bahn, incl Schoenefeld = €2.80
New York: Day pass for any bus/train to go anywhere, incl JFK = $7.50
Madrid: 10 tickets to go anywhere on the Metro, incl Barajas = €5.65
Tokyo: Day pass for any Metro train, incl Narita = ¥710
London: Underground pass for Zones 1-6, incl Heathrow only = £13.80
The subway in New York is fantastically air-conditioned and very pleasant even in the height of summer and runs all through the night. The S-Bahn is spotlessly clean and efficient, from my experience yesterday. The Madrid Metro is the largest system in the world yet runs very smoothly right through until almost 2am in the morning.
Somehow, all these cities manage to provide an efficient transport service for their capital city at a fraction of the cost of London... So, can somebody tell me what the hell is going on here?
@ Wednesday, 25. Jun, 2008 – 10:36:46
Didn't get to see much of Berlin at all yesterday. Due to the flight delay in the morning, I had no time to hang around, so on arrival I was straight on the S-Bahn and on my way to Wedding, a station in the North West of the city. Made it to reception with just a few minutes to spare, after struggling to double Windsor knot my tie around the corner - They're real buggers to get right, those things! Anyway, I had 4 half hour interviews which were pretty relaxed - no bench tests, technical questions or anything. The one surprise was that I'd pretty much have to learn German to get on out there. Unlike my current company and similar companies in Switzerland, which are truly multinational, this place is thoroughly German. E-mails, chit-chat, lunch, banter is all Deutche! After we'd finished, I had to race straight back to the station at Wedding and get on the train back to the airport! In fact, my only real taste of Germany was a bottle of Berliner Kindl which I picked up for the flight home.
I should find out whether I'll be offered a position early next week.
@ Tuesday, 24. Jun, 2008 – 10:12:01
@ Tuesday, 24. Jun, 2008 – 08:08:01
My flight out to Berlin is delayed so i'm parked in Yo Sushi in Gatwick North Terminal waiting for some okonomiyaki...
@ Monday, 23. Jun, 2008 – 10:27:13
It's my last week at work here! Discounting interview day tomorrow leaves just 4 days left in the office! However, I already have a couple of projects lined up that are going to keep me busy...
My father is about to submit a Building Notice to the local council this week informing them of his plans for an extension to the house. Work will then commence in earnest beginning with the laying of foundations, which I will be helping out with along with the rest of the build.
In addition, I have a few jobs to do in my own house, which I have been meaning to do for ages.
@ Monday, 23. Jun, 2008 – 10:15:15
Off for my interview tomorrow morning, so I'll have to busy myself with duties such as shoe finding, shirt ironing, CV printing and company website perusing this evening... At least I won't miss any football though as there aren't any games scheduled for this evening.
My flight lands in Berlin at 11:50 but my interview doesn't start until 15:00 so I reckon I should have time to scout out somewhere for a nice lunch and a beer. Then after the interview I have to race back to the airport for a 18:30 flight back to Gatwick. It'll be a hectic day, but better than being stuck here in the office!
@ Sunday, 22. Jun, 2008 – 19:21:32
The Motorcycle Diaries
The Lives of Others
Juno
Irreversible
Brick
Swimming Pool
Shaft
Inland Empire
Pan's Labyrinth
@ Sunday, 22. Jun, 2008 – 18:17:57
Okay, okay, I know Spain don't have a good record in big tournaments and Italy are the World Cup Holders, but I've just got a feeling that Spain can do it tonight, especially as Italy are without their main playmaker and free-kick taker, Pirlo, through suspension... I've placed a bet that Spain will win in normal time 2-1. Hope my heart is right and my head is wrong...
Also, put a few quid on David Villa to score first...
10 minutes: A bright start by Spain, who are keeping the ball well but finding it difficult to find any chink in the Italian's well organised defence. One slight annoyance is the yellow card for Iniesta... The ref's obviously not prepared to tolerate any mischief tonight.
20 minutes: I feel Italy are definitely feeling the absence of Pirlo and Gattusso, both suspended as their midfield look a little lightweight to me. Perotta has hardly been in the game and Toni hasn't had a sniff! I hope just hope the Spanish can find something to breach that defence.
25 minutes: Villa almost sneaks a free kick round the wall and to the left of Buffon, but the Italian keeper manages to scramble across and save comfortably in the end. Italy getting into the game a bit now...
35 minutes: Couple of shots from Silva and Xavi in the last few minutes so Spain are finding gaps here and there, albeit from a long way out. Will Toni actually score in this tournament? Maybe I should have bet on that!
40 minutes: Toni finally gets a half chance after a decent cross from the left. It bounces off a Spanish head though and the Spanish make a break down the left with Torres, who superbly outwits Zambrotta but has his shot blocked. Silva picks up the ball and narrowly misses the right of the goal with a shot along the ground that looks to have Buffon slightly worried.
Half Time: Not exactly the most interesting half of football you're likely to see, although Silva was robbed of a free-kick and accused of diving by the ref towards the end there, so that made for a spot of controversy at least.
50 minutes: Iniesta got a great ball just outside the penalty box but manages to mis-control the ball! Silva has another chance of a shot on goal and it looks like Spain are keen for an early second-half goal here. Toni has a great chance to head Italy ahead but he misses and is just ruled off-side anyway.
55 minutes: This is increasingly looking like nil-nil. The Italians are playing like the arsenal of old - defending with everything and flicking the odd ball up to Toni to see if he can use his height advantage and nod one in. Spain are playing everything on the deck but can't seem to find a way through.
60 minutes: Marvellous save from Casillas keeps the scores at nil-nil after a bit of ping-pong in the penalty area culminates in a shot from Cameronesi (I think?)
Full Time: Too much drama to keep updating here. Both of my bets are now duds! Still, extra time looks like it could be more interesting with the introduction of Fabregas for Spain.
Spain win on penalties!
@ Friday, 20. Jun, 2008 – 21:51:58
I popped into Oddbins on my way home to pick a few beers to sup whilst watching the football this evening and I came across some Punk IPA which I thought I'd have a go at. At 6% it packs quite a punch but I liked it enough to check out the website of the brewery, Brew Dog, and found out that this stuff is basically made by a couple of Scottish dudes who like beer and set up their own micro-brewery last year. Nice work!
@ Thursday, 19. Jun, 2008 – 19:30:20
Beckoning another Craig family outing to the White Hart, to mark the occasion. We also half watched the Portugal Vs Germany game whilst having dinner.
@ Wednesday, 18. Jun, 2008 – 10:36:19
Every fifteen minutes from about 8pm the lake in front of the Bellagio springs into life as hundreds of fountains spray and sway in a remarkably choreographed display to a variety songs. On Saturday night, whilst in Las Vegas, we managed to catch the classic Frank Sinatra track 'Luck be a Lady' and it was absolutely magnificent! I don't have a video camera or anything, but I found rather a good YouTube video taken recently which is identical to the display that we saw. I don't know if you quite pick this up from this clip, but the fountains fire the water so high, under such pressure that they actually sound like fireworks when they go off - awesome!
@ Sunday, 15. Jun, 2008 – 23:00:55
A photo of New York New York on the south crossroads of the strip in Las Vegas.
@ Sunday, 15. Jun, 2008 – 19:30:06
Where it all began in Las Vegas, apparently. Still home to some of the original old casinos such as Binions, The Golden Nugget and The Fremont Casino. The last pic below is of the pool in the Golden Nugget and you should just about be able to make out a tube running from right to left. That's one of the pool's water slides which goes through the central shark tank... Nice.
@ Sunday, 15. Jun, 2008 – 09:30:42
The weekend brunches in the hotels are something of a tradition in Las Vegas so we went doen the the one at the Wynn on Sunday morning and it was amazing! It was about $30, if I remember rightly, and you can sit in there for as long as you like and help yourself to the most exotic breakfast buffet I have ever seen, including meats, cheeses, sushi, shrimps, toffee apples, pancakes, waffles, salads, cereals, strawberries & cream, melons, french toast, spanish rice, pasta, pizza, eggs benedict, crispy fried chicken, scrambled eggs, sausages, fairy cakes, vegetables, savoury and sweet pies and tarts and I could go on...
@ Saturday, 14. Jun, 2008 – 23:59:27
We didn't really gamble that much as we were too busy eating, drinking, laughing at generally ridiculous stuff in Las Vegas but we did get rather drunk on Saturday night and have a go at a Roulette machine in the Wynn casino and were quite chuffed with winning a few dollars before retiring to bed in the early hours of Sunday morning as the sun rose in the Nevada desert...
@ Saturday, 14. Jun, 2008 – 12:00:32
Had another chilled day by the pool this morning scoffing tortila chips with salsa and guacamole, listening to The Ting Tings on my iPod, supping ice cold Coronas, checking out the honeys and taking an occasional dip in the pool to cool off in the searing heat...
On a shopping mission in the huge mall opposite the Wynn now. I was tipped off by the guys about a shop called Boot Star which I have just visited to purchase some fabulous new cowboy boots, handmade in Mexico. Just dropped into the Apple store for this quick blog update and then we're out for a lengthy, boozy session along the strip, taking in the sights and sounds of the mega hotel/casinos: MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, New York New York, Paris, Bally's, The Bellagio (must catch the fountains which kick off every 15 minutes), The Venetian, The Pallazo and ending up at our own fine oasis, The Wynn, slightly the worse for wear!
PS. Las Vegas is cool! I'm definitely heading over again for a long weekend!
@ Friday, 13. Jun, 2008 – 16:00:05
Our helicopter trip was awsome! We had a limo pick us up at the hotel and made the short drive to the airstrip and hung around for a bit drinking juice, champagne and snacks in the lounge. Our pilot, Chuck , introduced himself and we off in no time after attaching life preservers and donning our headsets. It was my first time in a helicopter and I found the flight remarkably smooth, although extremely noisy if you remove the headsets! We flew out over Lake Las Vegas (home to many big stars apparently) and onto the hoover dam (which looked tiny from the helicopter), then over the many basins of Lake Meade, which formed over a seven year period after the completion of the dam. Finally, we climbed from quite a way out to get over the top of the ridge of the Grand Canyon and then down into the basin past the skywalk thing and landed in a little patch next to the Colorado River.
@ Friday, 13. Jun, 2008 – 13:00:59
The weather is super hot and the sky is totally blue, so we've been down at the pool for most of the day having a few beers and taking a dip now and then - fantastic!
Just off now to meet our limo to take us to the airstrip for our jet helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon...
@ Thursday, 12. Jun, 2008 – 17:00:05
Well, we arrived in Las Vegas okay yesterday and checked into our hotel, which is amazing! We're on the 57th floor so the view out of the room is great. The windows are floor-to-ceiling and tinted so you can roam about admiring the view in your pants!
Leon immediately spotted the iPod dock and put some tunes on.
@ Thursday, 12. Jun, 2008 – 13:00:00
Found one of these at JFK before getting our flight out to Las Vegas - Brilliant!
