Kevin's blog
One of the things that I wanted to try on this site was to run a blog that would be easy to update... let's see how we go? I will archive off each months blogs if this page gets too big. Expect random rambles.
Download 2007 - 8th to 10th June 2007
The Download Festival is one of Metals biggest festivals in the UK and I had a weekend pass and a determination to go and see some of the best bands in the world. This years line up was truly impressive with Headliners My Chemical Romance, Linkin Park and Iron Maiden and support acts who would normally head line in their own right - including Evanescence, Within Temptation, Aiden, 30 Seconds to Mars and Biffy Clyro.
The festival started many years ago by rock legend Ozzy Osbourne as “Monster of Rock” and over the years has had many ups and downs. This years huge bands testify that they are getting something right and the crowd was estimated at 70 thousand! Bright sunny days and friendly metal fans made the weekend a really enjoyable experience – though standing in a field for hours at a time made me feel my age!
Another half decade - 30th May 2007
There are some birthdays that slip passed with scarcely a raised eyebrow. Another year to add on and to be honest in some years I’ve had to think carefully about how old I am. Not senility so much as indifference – most years its hardly seems to matter. Oh this year you’re 42. Now you’re 43. The difference between them is numeric. Then there are years like this one. I’ve turned 45. This is the mid-point in the decade and 50 seems to loom in a way that it didn’t when I had the safety of being on the up side of my forties.
It was also very nice to get some emails reminding me about how old I am and invitations for dinner. The down side of a mid-week birthday is being in a clients office in London where the work goes on around you and you feel less tempted to buy cream cakes for one and all.
All in all forty five sounds like a very grown up number – perhaps it’s time I considered growing up? Then again I just bought myself a nice new acoustic guitar in my favourite colour. Maybe I’ll think about growing up next year?
Other trainers – 29th May 2007
I attended a course delivered by a “subject matter expert” at the very nice conference centre attached to the Department of Trade and Industry. I think its perhaps one of those unfortunate things about being a Trainer myself that I am overly critical of other trainers (lower case t intentional). The course was stapled together with elements from their two day course and almost entirely failed to nail the courses intended topic. The trainer hadn’t prepared, criticised the course as one she hadn’t written and got confused and lost when she deviated from the exercises. I honestly think good training is about talent, preparation and knowledge – fall down on one of the three and it’s a poor course – fail on all three and it’s a trial of patience.
Despite being unhappy with the course and her performance, and even though we failed to cover the important material adequately and finished late – I somehow felt mean when giving her a less than glowing appraisal. Below is the modern monstrosity which is the Department of Trade and Industry building.
Still the upside of the day was having an hour to wander around Parliament Square before the course and try out my new Casio digital camera. London has some truly beautiful gothic buildings! I also treated myself to a “Full English Breakfast” – something which I haven’t had in ages and ages. Below is Westminster Abbey which is almost next door to the Dept. Trade and Industry - a gothic glory of a building!
Raja Daswani - 30th April 2007
I had an appointment to see Raja Daswani, the famous Hong Kong tailor today. Mr Daswani has made a very nice business making bespoke suits in his Hong Kong workshops for a fraction of the price of a Saville Row suit. I've been hunting for a decent tailor for a long time. Vincent's of Marlborough comes the closest with an excellent eye for measurement and a nice range of colours. I was only disappointed that my "bespoke suit" wasn't made by him at all, it was made in Germany by some very gifted eastern Europeans. For a couple of thousand I expected the man to do his own suit.
I've tried a couple of companies online - Blackstones Tailoring and A Suit That Fits. Blackstones sent me a suit made of polyester instead of the marino wool I had ordered and took four months to do it. They were keen to correct their error and two months later had produced a suit in the right material but with trouser legs that became skin tight after the knee. That was the limit of their customer service and I was told that their suits are "rather streamlined". The problem, once again is that they do not make the suits - they simply order them from Germany. All the talk of a Bespoke Suit is a nonsense. They are made to measure and built by machine.
A Suit That Fits made me one really nice suit and I ordered a second with high hopes. The total lack of quality control meant the second suits fabric was nasty - full of small "invisible mends" where the fabric had holed at some point. Furious tirades at them resulted in the offer of a free bespoke shirt... "worth up to £90". How pathetic. Well I decided they would never get my business again and I would keep looking for a tailor and I was wondering how Mr Daswani will measure up?
I arrived at the Hilton Hotel, Paddington and headed up to the second floor. The appointment I had was for 4:30 and I was a little surprised to find three other people being dealt with at the same time. I was offered a few choices of fabric meeting my request for a green or brown material and quickly found something I liked. In fairness there were dozens of material books on every available surface. The cost of a lightweight Super 110 material in plain green? £900. You are joking I shot back - look at the quality Micky (my shiek saleman) replied. Yes - its a tollerably nice Super 110... not a superior grade of cloth really. We haggled and I agreed to a hugely reduced fee for two suits. It's all part of the hard sell game - but I suspect many people lured by the promise of a cheap made to measure suit (forget bespoke this is NOT the experience on offer) will either leave disappointed or with a massive hole in their credit card. I hope the suits measure up.
Lost Prophets - April 20th 2007
I was really looking forward to seeing the band for the second time - first time I saw them they opened for Linkin Park! Opening for the Welsh band this time were two huge names in the world of Emo and Metal - Taking Back Sunday and Aiden. Actually two bands I would have paid to see headline so a brilliant gig all in all... the only down side was the distance for a Friday after work. Birmingham is a long drive from WIltshire and waiting until after ten for a band makes a long long evening. I guess the old pipe and slippers routine is drawing ever closer for me like some dark spider crawling in the night. Until then I'll enjoy the rock bands thank you very much.Brilliant gig with a huge amount of energy from the three bands!
Watches - April 19th 2007
Those very nice people at Citizen watches sent me an extra link for my Eco-Drive Chronograph, so i took the watch into the local Jewelers in town and got the link added. They only charged me £3 and the watch now fits perfectly. I really like watches. They are one of my weaknesses. I have one Omega, six Brietlings and a dozen or so silver pocket watches from the past two hundred years. I also have a number of odd watches that have caught my fancy - from my Casio Sea-Pathfinder to my latest - the orange faced Eco-Drive. What these both have in common is being powered by light. The Omega and Breitlings are kinetic drives which is nice - but whats wrong with electricity? I like the idea of the watch being powered by daylight. My other weaknesses include gadgets... I'm sure you'll hear a lot about my quest for the ultimate mobile phone.
Space Invaders - April 19th 2007
I'm not thinking of the cute 1980's arcade game (although I remember it will a smile) but rather the tendency of males to spread out. I've noticed on the tube trip into London how some males will sit with their legs as wide as they can get them or cross their legs to take up more space... and then these invaders are agrivated when you try to sit down. Not that I'm a small person my self. At 6 feet 4 inches and 18 stones I take up my fair share of room. The thing is I don't deliberately try and take up other peoples too... I wonder if its just ancient ape behaviour coming to the surface? Next time you take a trip on the underground watch out for the invaders.
Salazar II - 14th April 2007
I bought a new corn snake from Porton - a really cute Orange Candy Cane (Pantherophis guttatus). I've named him Salazar the second after my original Ghost Corn Snake. Corn snakes make really nice pets but they are prone to escaping. My Ghost corn snake got out and I've never seen him again, poor thing is presumably dead.
Salazar II settled in really quickly, he was in shed mode as you can see from the picture below - his eyes misted - so I was really surprised at how active he was exploring his new home. I risked feeding him following day and he polished off two pinkies and sat in the artificial leaves of the desert plant basking happily.
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