Birthday

So had the big-five-0 this weekend, and it was three days of celebrations. Firstly, there was a party for everyone on the Friday. I am the person on the right of this photo. Now you might think that the Hawaiian shirt is to celebrate the 5-0, but alas this is just my normal dress sense. The party involved people from all over the place, current colleagues, ex-students and employees, ex-people from a start-up I had in Bristol, and people I go walking with. Much Prosecco later we ended arriving home at two in the morning. 

Saturday was a quiter day, Ellie (my daughter) cooked an English breakfast as a hangover cure. Before which I was shocked as River Song, Ellie and Oliver (my son) had bought me a Fender Stratocaster for my birthday. Now just need to learn how to play it! But in any case it makes almost as much noise as my shirts.

Finally on Sunday we went to my favourite Italian restaurant, Il Michelangelo, in Weston-Super-Mare. River Song and I found this a few months back. We went in thinking we could get a quick Pizza after taking some photos of the piers in Weston. A few hours later we came out totally stuffed. It really is a proper Italian restaurant, serving great food. And the staff are amazing fun. We had a party of ten today, ranging from five to eighty in age. The staff were great and the food was also amazing.

I had a  starter of mussels, with a main course of lamb shank. Both of which were excellent. The lamb shank being particularly well cooked, it just fell off the bone. All washed down with some nice Pinot Grigio.

Admin, admin, admin

It is considered that moving house is one of lifes most stressful events. So I am now in the pains of moving so it should all be stress city. Well it is, but not because of the moving house. That is quite easy really, you just phone a removal company up, ask them to give a quote, and then tell them to pack everything up and move it from A to B. I suppose things are simpler as I will be moving into River Song's existing flat in the New Year. We are looking for new places, but there is little around worth looking at, at the moment.

So if moving house is not causing the stress, then what is? Well just about everything else. You see it is not just me that is moving, but also most of my team of researchers (PhD students and Post-Docs). Now that means getting their contracts sorted out in the new University, transfering the grants and projects which are not moving, sorting out what happens to those who are not moving, working out what happens with the projects and grants which are not moving. There seems a million and one little things which need doing, and unlike moving house you just cannot phone someone up and pay them to sort it out.

In addition there is also the little matter of the Steve McGarrett of a birthday which is coming up this weekend. Now there will be no trip to Hawaii for the birthday, but the big five-0, will be celebrated by three days of celebrations.

Travel Connections

One thing I will not miss about Bristol is the awful travel connections to major cities. Do not get me started on the Bristol to London train journey (fast, but very expensive). For now let us concentrate on international connections.  

Bristol Airport used to have half decent air connections to the major cities of Europe. But since British Airways pulled out of this market we are left with either low cost carriers, or high cost ones. The connections to Brussels and Schipol being very expensive if you do not book months in advance. Last week I had the delight of traveling to Paris from Bristol airport. I needed to be in Paris for a lunch time meeting. So lets get what this involves:

• Wake up at four in the morning so as to get a 50 quid taxi to the airport
• Arrive at Paris CDG, Terminal 3, along with another plane from Canada. So about 300 odd people want to get through passport control in the smallest terminal, or what is in my opinion the worlds second worst major airport (after LAX). On this day only has one person checking the passports, and the automatic machines are not working. Why we cannot be part of Schengen I have no idea (see previous post on how nuts the British are about Europe)!
• Finally through the passport control and the fun begins. Luggage is lost! So wait around T3 for ages whilst my details are taken. Clearly should not have put luggage in hold, but I am on a long trip involving Paris, Brussels, Washington DC, Brussels (again) and then back to Bristol. So kind of have a bit of luggage.
• Then get to the delights of the "fast" (ho-ho) rail connection from Charles de Gaulle airport into central Paris, a.k.a. RER B. What other major European capital would put up with a slow train from their major international airport into the centre of the capital? I mean even the idiot Brits sorted this out with the Heathrow Express a decade or so back. In the land of the TGV clearly one would not want to encourage foreign business engagement with a fast train from the airport would you?

Now compare this to what would have happened once I live in Leuven...

• Get up about 09.00
• Short twenty minute trip from Leuven to Brussels Zuid
• Nice fast train (about 90 minutes) right into the centre of Paris.
• For a tiny supplement you get first class and a meal

Roll on moving to Leuven....