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We did it!!

Matt Little — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 13:38:00 GMT

Vic and I completed the Pedal for Scotland Glasgow to Edinburgh bike ride on Sunday. The weather was awful - it rained solidly for 4 1/2 hours but it was fun (in a semi-masochistic way).

I finished the ride in about 4 hours 40 minutes which was a little more that I had hoped, but I had calculated my ideal time based upon the route being 47 miles. Once I started, I discovered that it was 55 miles this year! (See here, especially the line "Even though 47.5 miles might seem like a huge distance...") Not too bad in that case.

My goals (in order) were to

Finish
Average 10-12 mph
Not to stop except at the four official stops
Not to have to push the bike at any point.

I managed all those goals, averaging 11.5 mph (including the time at the four stops) and managed the whole ride without dismounting - even up the road hills from South Queensferry to Dalmenie. They were a killer given that we had cycled over 40 miles by then.

Thanks to everyone who sponsored us both. Once you include gift aid, we managed to raise £862 for Alzheimer Scotland.

Will I do it again? Probably. Next time I will definitely be taking a road bike as oppose to my mountain bike though.

What was that film?

Matt Little — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 13:26:00 GMT

We took Rebecca to see Surf's Up at the cinema yesterday. It was her first cinema outing since Claire took her to "Mum & Toddler Cinema" when she was just a few months old.

I was interested to see how she would cope with being in a cinema for 90 minutes. It went fairly well - she got bored half way through and no amount of coaxing would apparently convince her that she didn't want to go home, but then on the way out of the door she saw the poster for the movie complete with penguins and decided that she wanted to see the penguins again!

Popcorn - Rebecca couldn't work out what to make of it. She loved the sweet taste and really enjoyed eating it, but then decided that she hated it because of the bits. And then decided 10 minutes later, that she loved it because of the taste, but then decided that she hated it because of the bits. And then decided 10 minutes later, that she loved it because of the taste, but then decided that she hated it because of the bits.

You get the idea.

So here is my question - I am sure that I have seen a film in which a young kid shows his moves on the waves, but gets knocked back in the first competition that he enters. A wizened, old guru teaches him that cutting the waves is fine and winning is fine, but it is not the most important thing, etc, etc. This was the plot of Surf's Up too, but what was that other film?

I'm stumped, help me out!

Want, want, want, want want

Matt Little — Sat, 26 May 2007 19:06:00 GMT

I really want a pair of these. Yes, that is correct, they serve no purpose other than fun, but wow - they look fun.

Check the video here, here and here.

I wonder if my medical insurance covers that?

:-)

Freedom of Information

Matt Little — Thu, 24 May 2007 10:04:00 GMT

I heard an interview on Radio 4 this morning with the Information Commissioner who was discussing some of the malicious and vacuous requests made under the Freedom of Information Act.

He highlighted some examples including the individual who made 700 requests of a local Police Force in one year (I bet he had got a couple of speeding tickets or something). Another example was a request made to the government to reveal the cost of the make-up used by Tony Blair.

And then genius and the point of this story. A request made to the FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office). Remember, that these are the people who employ the ambassadors across the world.

The request was for the total cost of Ferrero Rocher chocolates used in Ambassadors' Parties across the world. What a genius request.

For those who don't understand it, you can check this article which discusses the immortal line "Monsieur, with these Rocher, you're really spoiling us". You can see the ad (in Italian - but it will jog your memory) here.

A Matter of Perspective

Matt Little — Mon, 07 May 2007 10:43:00 GMT

Rebecca was out at the Butterfly Farm the other day and suddenly started shouting "Crocodile, Crocodile". I was a little concerned, I have to admit.

I couldn't see one, until Rebecca got really close and pointed out..... a lizard. Rebecca has only seen crocodiles in books and a lizard does look fairly similar. An adult would know it was a different animal because of the size; Rebecca has no concept of the size of things she sees in books.

It is odd how little people see things, especially those things they have only experienced through books.

Prague - Part 3

Matt Little — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 16:48:00 GMT

On our second full day in Prague, we decided to hire a walking guide to show us some of the hidden parts of the city.

We followed the advice in the Lonely Planet book and hired George. At first, I thought that we were paying George a lot of money for a few hours (1500 Czk - approx £37.50) but I can honestly say that it was money really well spent.

George turned up at our hotel and we just told him what we wanted to see! We hadn't been to the castle or the Jewish quarter and we wanted to see them. You may have also noticed a lack of talk about the local food. So had we, and we wanted to go somewhere for lunch that served 'real' Czech food.

We set off and took a walk towards Charles Bridge and then ducked behind the Maltese embassy. It was amazing - we had walked along this street a couple of time but we hadn't noticed the odd water-mark half way up the buildings in the area. This mark was several metres above the pavement level and had been the height of the flood in 2003! Whole areas of Prague had been underwater and you could see areas where people had repaired/repainted buildings (sometimes badly). We also saw the John Lennon wall - interesting if a little odd.

George then took us to see a building overlooking Charles Bridge. It seemed a little familiar and he then explained that the building (and the bridge) had been used in the film Mission Impossible I.

We then spent the next few hours being shown around the castle and the Jewish quarter. The best bit was that we felt we saw things that others were just missing. There were crowds of people at the castle, but George always knew a way to get the best sights whilst letting others 'crowd' around sights.

George then took us for lunch. Yum, yum - a micro-brewery that served 'real' Czech food. The best bit was having someone to decipher the menu and explain the history behind some of the dishes. It is illegal in the Czech Republic to charge foreigners a higher rate than for locals. Most places, however, offer daily specials at a reduced rate but as this menu changes so frequently, it is not translated in to English (unlike just about every other menu in Prague). Of course with George there we could take advantage of any of the dishes. And the beer brewed on site. Did I mention the beer? :-) [If it is illegal to charge less for locals, how come the funicular railway appears to charge nothing for people who have lived in Prague for 35 years or over?]

Looking back on it, it was money well spent. £40 for two people for about 4.75 hours. You can't really complain about that.

The afternoon was taken up with some shopping (actually, the afternoon was taken up with walking around shops filtering out the 'rubbish' looking for something to bring back as gifts for people - we didn't really succeed). We ended up in a great café - Café Savoy - for a coffee - it had the most amazing ceiling you will ever see in a café.

Claire sorted the location for dinner that night [Staropramen Brewery] - which is why we took the wrong tram, then got on the correct tram and but got off too early. Hunted round for the restaurant. Got very odd looks when we went into the brewery reception looking for the restaurant. Found the restaurant only to find that we should have booked.

We ate at an Italian restaurant instead! I can't remember the name but we had nice starters, great pizzas, several beers and coffee for about £12.

[Apparently the dinner here is good!]

Our last day was taken easy, with a little more shopping [rubbish filtering] before we got a car to the airport.

The trip was great - Prague (Praha) is an amazing city with some amazing sights. The beer was good and overall the visit was fairly inexpensive. I can heartily recommend Hotel Julian and George's walking tours and also getting a cheap travel ticket. We didn't have any problems with pick-pockets or anything such whilst we were there (although we were careful) and we both look forward to hopefully go back sometime soon.

Prague - more to follow

Matt Little — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 15:33:00 GMT

There is more to follow about Prague, but my fingers are sore now, so it will have to wait until tomorrow.

Prague - Part 1

Matt Little — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 15:12:00 GMT

In between my two jobs, I took 10 days holiday. Claire had always wanted to go to Prague, so I secretly organised a three-night stay away.

It was a bit of a challenge as, unlike numerous people I know who have done it, I couldn't fly with Czech Airlines from Edinburgh as they no longer fly from the airport. I could have flown with Jet2 from Edinburgh, but the flight days weren't the best.

Instead, we flew with EasyJet from Newcastle. I have had a couple of bad experiences with EasyJet before, but this time there were no delays or complications. If they ever stop the 'free seating' policy, then I might even make then one of my top choices.

Once we got there, we got a car to the Hotel Julian, our home for the next couple of days. The hotel was great - we had a huge double room with a fantastic bathroom including power shower. Helpfully, the room had a safe, international TV and all rooms had free access to WiFi (which made phoning home very, very cheap).

If you read review of the hotel and its location, it is worth noting the following:

The hotel is only 15 minutes walk from Charles Bridge in Mala Strana.
It is a nice area with some good restaurants and local pubs
The area is quite and does not suffer from some of the problems that blight the more tourist-centred parts.
You can get anywhere via tram - the nearest tram stop is 2 minutes walk from the hotel but importantly doesn't run directly in front of the hotel, so you won't be disturbed.
The staff are helpful and friendly - something not universal in all Prague hotels and they speak really good English also.
As this hotel is viewed by many as 'a bit out of the way' the rates are far better than some more central, less appealing places.

The hotel boasted a great library to relax in before going out for dinner. It also had a pub in the basement which seemed empty at all times and lacked atmosphere. Dinner if you wanted it was served in the pub.

On the first night, we headed out to a Mexican restaurant (don't ask why). The Cantina in Prague was really nice. Fairly reasonable too. Portions were very generous - Claire and I both had to leave some of the excellent main course; we just couldn't manage it.

We awoke on day 2 and after having used the huge bathroom (did I mention the power shower) we went for breakfast. The hotel did a cooked breakfast (by no means universal in all hotels) but we generally stuck to the continental options.

Part 2 to follow.....

Why Is It Snow Fun Anymore

Matt Little — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 09:49:00 GMT

Snow - I do love it. Do you remember the days when you saw snow and your immediate thoughts were - "Cool, sledging" or maybe "Yahey - no school today".

Now I find myself thinking "Crikey, how am I going to get that lot off the car?" or "I hope the roads are clear, I have a load of work to do today. I bet the gritter didn't go out last night"

Where did all the fun go?

Ice - Where did it go?

Matt Little — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 09:09:00 GMT

I went out last night to put a cover on the car windscreen so that the screen didn't freeze up overnight. I was out at about 7pm and all the cars in the street were already completely frozen up.

I spent 10 minutes defrosting the screen and windows and putting the cover on the windscreen.

Imagine my surprise this morning when I came out to the car and found not a single sign of ice anywhere. I can't remember a time when it was so cold in the afternoon that it actually got warmer during the night thereby defrosting the ice that had already frozen.