LATEST: RENAULT ZE, BA001 and W BCN!

Let´s get all up-to-date!!!

Renault is showing the new concept ZE in this year´s Frankfurt Motor Show. The new concept ZE. ZERO emissions. Renault has unveiled 4 electric cars. Totally electric. Full battery lasts for 160km and can reach speeds of up to 140km/h. Not ideal but it´s a start? Look for videos in you tube.above: the Fluence Z.E. (nice!)

below: the Kangoo Z.E.

BA001: British Airways flight BA001 is back on the departures board after Concorde went out of service: The airline has launched services from London City Airport to New York JFK on Airbus318 aircraft with 32 all business class seats! Two daily departures BA001/BA003 from mid october except on weekends.

BARCELONA has a new landmark opened today: The W Barcelona hotel, at the end of the Barceloneta beach. Not as nice as the Burj in Dubai but well, it´ll do! Luxury accomodation that will compete with the newly opened hotel OMM and Barcelona ME hotels, the 1898 and the Grand Central, and soon to follow the Mandarin Oriental. Are we expecting lots of rich tourists then???

TEST

testing: updating my blog via email!!!

MAGÍ - 30ANYS

My brother made 30!!! hAPPY BIRTHDAY BRO!

BRUNO - 24 HOURS

I hope Bruno had the best time ever while transiting London. 24 hours is not much and I have been working and all but we managed to do a London Night Tour including some bars in Soho!

LAST NIGHT OF THE PROMS

Yesterday was the Last Night of the PROMS. This event is quite espectacular and I love it.

The Proms, (The BBC Proms), is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts held in the Royal Albert Hall in London. Founded in 1895, each season currently consists of over 70 concerts, and additional Proms in the Park events across the UK on the last night.

Proms is short for promenade concert. The Proms were originally created to reach an audience not used to go to concerts and listen to music, that´s why audiences were allowed to stand, promenade and stroll and even eat and drink. Promming now refers to the use of the standing areas inside the hall (the arena and gallery) for which ticket prices are much lower than for the reserved seating. (and you can still eat and drink!)

The Last Night concert is very different from the others. The concert is traditionally in a lighter party mood, with flags and balloons and crackers allowed. It consists of popular classics followed by a series of British patriotic pieces. This sequence begins with "Land of Hope and Glory", Edward Elgar´s March, followed by Thomas Arne´s "Rule, Britannia!" and concludes with Hubert Parry´s "Jerusalem" and the British National Anthem "God save our gracious Queen" .

The guest conductor this year on the Last Night was David Robertson, from Boston, and he gave a very good little speech toward the end, talking how terrible humans are to other humans because of their differences. In an orchestra, every musician, every instrument and the way it plays and makes the sound are all different and yet, we need them all to complete the orchestra, we can´t spare not one single one of them.

Bravo!

watch the finale at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/events/Proms/b00mvfl6/

watch from 1.10.00 ...

BCN: LA DIADA, BEARS SITGES AND THE NEW TERMINAL

Quick trip again to BCN for my days OFF!

Flew for the first time to the brand new terminal 1 at BCN airport. It´s huge and beautiful. I was there when we actually opened the old terminal back in 1991 and we thought back then how beautilful it was and how big, we wondered if we were ever going to fill up all those gates?

Well, the answer is yes, so much so that the new terminal has now been built. So same feelings are back and I hope in a few years time it becomes busy and crowded. Economy growth. The world is smaller and smaller. A long trip to Singapur or Hong Kong was a once in a lifetime thing... now it is closer than you think.

This time I went straight down to Sant Salvador as my family were awaiting for a big reunion and to celebrate La Diada or the national day of Catalunya.

And on the same day a big bear party in Sitges, I went with Sergi and found Jonathan, met Kath & Gina, and saw Jesus as well. A good night out!

The crew at Queenz bar... I know some of them ;o)

Now, two hours and back to work! -and it´s sunday!! :o(

11 de setembre, Diada Nacional de Catalunya

GROW UP

So yes, I´m 38, but still growing up. Part of being a manager is becoming a credible and respected person. At a meeting today infront of 14 other managers I work with I had to expose a problem and a possible solution and get them to agree to that.

Not a single sentence I could finish without some of them having a laugh, taking the issue lightly, and interrumping with their absurd comments. This has deflated me now.

I need to learn to say what I think and their behaviour was unacceptable. I expect respect and to be listened to when I talk serious work matters.

Now, I should not blog about this, I should have spoken up about it there and then.

Lesson learned?

Watch the space...

in the meantime....

some eyes to cheer me up!

LATE FOR WORK!

Today I was late for work. Two cars parked on my street were blocking it as there was no room left for anyone to drive through... have you heard that one before?

Why would someone do that?

It´s a thirty pound fine for causing an obstruction unnecessarily plus 150 extra to pay for recovery because after calling the police, the only solution was to tow one of the cars away.

Back in the office they obviously didn´t believe me!

see below Vicky (my little blue Fiesta) blocked by the Mitsubishi Warrior and the Fiat Punto.

BCN: LAURA & IRINA

The trip was too quick. I must now return to Barcelona pronto next weekend because my friend Carla became mother for the second time. Daugther Laura is doing fine and I owe a visit!

On the other hand, my sister-in-law is doing fine and Irina is all fine and well, Can´t wait to be a real uncle in February!!!

BCN: JUAN, MATHIEU and THE PUERTO RICAN!

After some rather disappointing news at work I decided to jump on a plane to Barcelona.

Well, not really disappointing, just frustrated to the fact that I did not get a promotion, but the question is, did I really want it after all? no.

I feel in need of change, but, define change... not sure what change I really need or I am looking for. Best is to stay put and try and grab opportunities, when they happen. This one was not meant to be. We shall celebrate!

On my flight down to Barcelona I met Juan, a flight attendant, who was a successful lawyer but one day he decided he wanted change, the opportunity came, and next minute he left his career to become cabin crew, and he doesn´t regret it at all. His work flexibility allows him to every now and then still help out at the Courts. He is now no longer under the huge pressure he had before and is enjoying life better. He was brave!

I think change is always good, if it´s a success then you celebrate the change, if it is failure you can still make out a positive: you have learnt what it is you definetely don´t want.

Let´s change!

On one of the nights out I met french supermarket manager Mathieu. Lovely guy. (Agh! Is he the one?) He is not a hunk but he has definetely nice eyes, beautiful face, a true gentleman! I am not looking for a perfect body after all, just a nice persona! Unfortunately I had to decline an invite for a second night out as I had dinner already arranged with the boys and it was my last night. We went for an evening diner menu at restaurant Unico. Not nice. Food was not all that good at all! It gave me indigestion. The food. And Mathieu, who happened to be dinning at the same place with some other bloke! Not sure who the other guy was but he definetely avoided any conversation to take place and simply said hi... hm...

So that was embarrassing really... especially when my friends asked -oh! Is he not the one you met yesterday? meaning -you´ve been dumped - again!

What cheered me up though was the loveliest dark skinned hyper white teethed tall and fit puerto rican that I met whilst waiting for my return flight to board. This lovely creature sat next to me -with his girlfriend- I tried to be cool and avoid any type of eye contact, I did not want to give him the pleasure to think that I fancied the thing in the slightest! Minding my own business I see they both leave when my flight is called (yes! they´re on my flight!!) ... but no, they don´t join the queue at the gate (damn!) Nevermind. Two minutes later he comes back. Alone. Smiles and asks are you not going on that flight? I said yes I am but I´ll wait till there´s no queue... I tried to look like, you know, done this so many times! - it worked! he was really interested and kept asking questions about me and we had a nice chat. He was coming to London but unfortunately on a different flight, they were confused with all these codeshare business... I quickly enquired and he said yes, he was travelling with his girlfriend (¿?) I left it at that and said my goodbye. How rude of me I never asked his name, shook his hand... (where was the girlfriend gone???) but hey, I am a true expert on M.O.´s. And guess what, he is up in London and I am sitting home writing this... talk about wasting time!

LET´S CHANGE!!!

NASSER AND RAMADAN

I went down to Comptons and Barcode monday night. Both were surprisingly mega busy for a monday!!!
Had a good time with some colleagues from work and other friends and I met lovely Nasser.
Nasser is from the Middle East and quite young. He is in London studying. He is very good looking also!

So we was talking and the subject of Ramadan came up. It reminded me that it´s Ramadan in Malaysia too so I wondered how was Julian getting on with it? We are now in Ramadan. The ninth month of the Islamic Calendar in which all participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured; from dawn until dusk. Fasting is meant to teach the Muslim patience, modesty and spirituality.
I asked Nasser if sex was included and the answer was yes so no sex activities for a month! (so, when is Ramadan over again?...)

Nasser wasn´t drinking even though it was completely dark outside, and I sussed also then that nothing would happen, which is totally fine. (mmm.. yeah..)

I then started asking about gay life where he is from, and he said that if you are single and young and seen with a woman is terribly bad, so it is better to hang out with men, so it is quite ok for the gay!

Nasser claimed homosexual acts were quite common... quite undetectable for the foreign people but easy for the ones in the know. Myth or true?

mmm... new gay holiday destination: Saudi Arabia!

EYES

AWFUL DAY AT WORK

What a day...

Not feeling very good at the moment, is it a midlife crisis? After all, am nearly 40!
Anyway... back from my trips really concentrating into work these days, and that drains me.

How awful a day can be, when:
My boss wants me to host his boss and show him around the offices and where we work. Hurrah! I have been trusted to do that job, my golden opportunity to impress, not only my boss, but also the boss of the bosses! Sooo cool. But there is a drawback. Should I be open and sincere and show him everything or should I be politically correct and hide some of the annoying facts and act like if they didn´t exist...

I opted for the first one, so ooops now I am worried I may have spoken too much.

After the boss boss left, I had to deal with one of my employees, I had to give him an appraisal and tell him how STRONG a woker he is... hurrah!

Until ooops... the guy is not happy and he does not believe at all he is strong, he is actually excellent/outstanding... how dare I rate him so low. God. It´s only a job, 8 hours of your day, but hey, the guy was really angry at me.

I then was told that our Chairman (higher up than my boss´s boss) is coming around... hurrah! It´s always nice to shake hands with the hierarchy no? No. Not always. Especially when something goes wrong and now the guy expects a full report asap on his desk.

As if all these were not enough, I ended up the day going to a job interview within the company to move up as a business manager rather than an operational shift manager. And I realised after such a long day I never had time to prepare. Not a bit.

I mean, honestly, how can I sleep at night??

ps. the interview went ok... results next week.

JULIAN 24 HOURS

And in between his travels around the world in pursuit for love Julian had a stopover in London. Just 24 hours but memorable indeed...

Dinner was fab at Prezzo in Brentfort which brought up fond memories of my friend Ross the hairdresser whom I don´t see any more... I used to live nearby like 4 years ago and we briefly dated. Nothing more. Julian got to talk to Martin his ex too. So it was all like a lost love call.

Bob was the happiest as we used one of his vouchers which was a bit complicated as in you pay for this and you get that and you are allowed this but not that so he ended up paying the whole bill. Which wasn´t much. I hope!

Plans for future trips where laid out so following the big next hols in October we talked about some Dubai trip for November. We´ll see!

Thanks Bob for dinner and also for the belated birthday card. I know, I know, .. my diary is always too full.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)

BCN OR NOT BCN

Well, 2 days off only this week so I am not going to Barcelona for the Circuit Festival. So I am going to miss all the beauties showing off at the rather expensive club parties. mmm. What if my potential bf is there and I miss the chance? Well, all I do is MO´s anyway so I am staying in the UK. (Am I trying to convice myself?)

David and Ali have invited me to Dubai next week.. agr shall I go? Money would be the potential problem for this one... I should save and not spend.

Eggy wants me also to pop by in Zurich before he returns to Indonesia for good... another little trip I could do.

And I have always wanted to pop down to Nice to see Surita and Jerome now that they´ll be parents for the second time.

I wish I was rich!

POSTCARD FROM SAIGON

Regards from Saigon... Oscar has sent us a message with a suggestion for the next Carnival... 17 us dollars a piece... a bargain deal of sparkle and elegance!!!

fenomenal!

EMBARRASSING MOMENTS

Today has been a better day. Work seems to do it for me!. (sad)
This morning though I have been to a clinic with a close friend of mine who did not want to go on his own. An NHS Sexual Clinic. My friend has had some misspractices and needed some testing.
Let´s admit it. It´s horrible. It´s embarrassing. Everybody on the waiting room is avoiding eye contact because why are we all there, eh? because we have been naughty and caught something. Then there´s the young lad all loud and macho... I can smell from a mile he is actually having an embarrassment moment too but he is dealing with it by pretending it´s all cool and normal.

And my friend went in, and they did all the tests. They stick a thing in your penis and take a couple of swabs from your anus. It´s all for your own good to get tested and cured if something is wrong, but nevertheless, there is some stigma attached to it that makes it a horrible moment. Because, let´s face it, we are all self'conscious of our own bodies and having some stranger opening your cheeks to stick some up your bump, for the wrong reasons, it is indeed not pleasureable.

Agh! so, It might have to be me next week, to get a health check...

GOODWOOD HORSE RACING

...And I have discovered a very British tradition that I love: Horse Racing. A day at the races is a thrill, the betting, the drinking, the races, the horses, and the picnic. It can´t get any more British! I loved it and I can´t wait to do it again!

Careful organisation and attention to detail to guarantee success: If you can´t be chaffeur driven -let alone helicoptered in!- then the best option is a little group in a minivan. I saw full coaches too with the ultimate picnic: posh tables and chairs, gazibos and silverware...

We settled with the minivan option... nicely parked at the side of the main car park, on a perfect spot near the trees for the table and the chairs... homemade food accompanied by Asda 2-for-1 snaks and plenty of bubbly and wine. This set the mood for the first race at 14:10pm. 7 races in total, different horses and different prizes and you place your bets before each race.

You get all the information about the horse, the jockey, when did the horse last run, when did the horse last win, where has the horse travelled from, its weight, the handicap (weight added to the horse if the jockey and/or the equipment makes it too light compared to other horses in the same race, so all horses weight more or less the same) and the number. All horses have peculiar names: Aunt Fanny, Xtension, Braveheart, Ocean Transit, Perfect Flight, Spanish Bounty, Purissima... to name a few!

Once you´ve analysed all this information you then check the odds: 40/1 means for every pound you bet you get 40 if the horse wins. Odds go from like 100/1 if it is very unlikely the horse wins to a 4/1 if it is very clear it will win, then you get only 4 pounds for every pound you bet...

There are also several ways to bet: minimum bet is 2 pounds. The most common bets are to win -you only get the prize if the horse comes 1st- and you can bet "each way" so you also win if the horse makes 2nd or 3rd place, but you only win one quarter of the return. There are also more complex bets called reverse and I can´t explain, I got lost!

Anyway, indeed a great day out, learnt lots, lost 20 quid, and had great fun! That´s even though we had to do the picnic inside the van... british summer hey, rain rain rain!

all the ladies...

and the gents....

me and my girl...

and the horses at full speed just about to cross the finish line...

DAYS OFF...

For a change this time I had some time OFF in the UK. I always tend to run and go to Spain but not this time, even though it is the middle of the summer!
Sooo, with all the time in my hands I planned to do lots. And I mean lots! I had stuff to do from work because I am a bit behind in the office, I wanted to file bills and stuff lying on my desk, and iron those shirts because they are an eye sore on the chair! Buy food, cook, go for a run, ah yes and also sort out my GP because ever since I moved to Staines I kept the one I had in my previous neighbourhood, so it´s time to change that. I also wanted to look into my mortgage plan and wise up a bit financially.

Two days have passed and yes, you´ve guessed it, I have done nothing! nothing nothing nothing!
Well, bought the food, renewed my car tax disk and booked some tickets online for a forthcoming holiday in October... but that´s all...
Ah! and had one date too... I went out monday night with this lovely guy, really nice, but I am really not "up for the labour" as we would say in Spain, something like I am not up for it, not excited about it... :o(

why oh why!

Tomorrow is my third day off, but it is full already with a day out to the horseraces. My first time! so again, nothing will be done.

why oh why!

SIMON´S BIRTHDAY

Happy Birthday for Simon at the Anglers Pub in Teddington....

...here some of the Brazilian mafia.

who is the lucky man....

...and this is Serge... whatch him for he´ll be famous one day!

EYES

BIRTHDAY BIRTHDAY!!

Així que després d´una farra la nit de dissabte, que vaig anar a dormir a una hora que no es pot publicar aquí, diumenge va ser un dinar a Sant Salvador amb la family, pastís i cava. I el millor regal d´aniversari el del meu germà, que d´aquí a set mesos serà pare i jo tiet, però de veritat!

Moltes felicitats Anna i Magí!!!!!

Sooo... after the longest night clubbing, which saw me getting into bed when the sun was up and shining, we drove with Jordi down the coast to Sant Salvador for lunch with my family... cake and all to celebrate my birthday! And I got the best birthday present EVER! My brother is going to be dad in seven months from now! Iam gonna be a real uncle!

Congratulations Anna and Magí!!!!

BIRTHDAY BIRTHDAY!

omg!...

OFF TO BCN AGAIN!

Night out with work mates... Jone and Juanvi

and the boys!

The rain and the wind don´t stop so it is Barcelona again...

Back next week!!

LONDON PRIDE - 4JULY

no room to the left...

no room to the right...

oops... some wrong with the camera...

again!!!??!!

our american friends... Trennard, Richard and Tommy, (from Virginia...)

Happy Independence Day!

friends from work

-.-