the month that was...

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Work

Last month was my last full month of employment with MHR. As of August I’ll be working as a contractor in London. More news on this in next month’s blog

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Family

It’s been a busy month for Alan and Charlene’s family with the newest addition to the family, little Katie. Jon, Fred and I went round for a visit to see the beautiful little’n. Alan showed me pictures of Hollie as a new born, they look the spit of each other.

Talking of Hollie, she’s growing so quickly and running around constantly; a very sociable character and a lot of fun to be around. Her vocabulary and personality is slowly developing, so is her agility. Given the latter, for purpose of safety, Alan has had to change the location of the TV from the stand to hanging it on the wall.

The Fred Clarke household had the pleasure of entertaining Aunty Christine, Jane and Uncle Graham. It was great to catch up with the latest news. All are doing fantastically.

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Travel - Tour du Mont Blanc

I took 2 weeks off last week to complete the Tour Du Mont Blanc.

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Unusual

The weather has played it’s part in making the world of the West Midlands that little stranger this month. I got out on the bike, headed over to Whitacre Heath to find a number of puddles that I had to literally had to swim through.

The downpour has definitely assisted in making the grass grow in one front garden up the road from home (I think their mower is awaiting new parts). I would not like to ride a trike in the English summer. It’s more like a mobile bucket than a breath of fresh air.

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York, England

York has deeper history than any other city I’ve visited in the UK (Bath aside). The gateway to the north used by the Romans and once where the King held residence. It’s streets are, much like Lille, awash with artisan shops housed in historic architecture.

York Minster Cathedral is the centre piece of the city that dominates the vista from anywhere and everywhere. While you are there you have to visit Shambles market. It serves delicious food.

On my return home the train stopped at Sheffield where I had a quick look round. Another impressive city; I managed to find the Crucible, the home of snooker.

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Lille, France

When I booked a weekend away, using my “courtesy” Eurostar ticket I didn’t know the Euro 2016 finals would be on. It transformed the atmosphere of the city somewhat, turning it from a sleeping giant to a giant sing along.

I definitely recommend visiting Lille for a couple of days. It has many artisan shops, beautiful architecture, lots of iconic tit-bits e.g., the Citadel and the food is beautiful. Just remember to book a table for dinner to avoid disappointment.

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The Arts

Book

I have started reading a book on Germany’s fight against the Russian forces in the second world war. So far, Germany is 1-0 up with 85 minutes to play! From little I’ve read, Stalin is a monster and, knowing the end result, Germany must have cocked up big time!

Music

Want to listen to an excellent Alternative music album? Give The Preatures’ album “Blue planet eyes” a listen. It is sublime.

TV

It’s refreshing seeing a man from Birmingham talk passionately about a cultural topic “The French Revolution: Tearing up History”. He identifies artistic artifacts in Paris that are visible on the streets and in the art galleries that tell a story of how the people of France rose up to quash the ruling class of the time.

Painting

I’m still beavering away with my brushes. My latest work is called “Bluebells of Solihull”.

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Toastmasters

I’m officially a committee member (Secretary) of my club, Bullring Toastmasters. The new committee met for its first meeting in Birmingham City Centre. Items for discussion ranged from club membership to educationals.

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50th ParkRun

Would you believe it, June saw me achieve a milestone. I completed my 50th Park Run at the picturesque Kingsbury Waterpark. I remember my first, back in the days when there was no competition for car parking spaces. It’s such a popular event nowadays, owing to the way it’s superbly organised.

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The Great Midland Run (Sutton Coldfield Fun Run) 14k

What an event! 14 kilometres of undulating Terra firma hrough Sutton Coldfield Town Centre and Sutton Park. It started slowly because of the masses and ended in sprint fashion (the last few miles were all downhill).

When I returned to my bike parked up the road, the kind staff of the fantastic Under Pressure Espresso showed me to my safely stowed away personal items.

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Out and About with Dad

The weather has had it’s ups; when this is the case Dad and I have made the most of it. We’ve been round:

The Back Garden

Arden Hall Park

The Bradford Arms

Lichfield

Birmingham City Centre

Babbs Mill Pool

Dad is walking really well. He’s losing weight too through exercising. He now has to wear a belt with his jeans.

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Meetup with Rob, Trace and Doug

I am so happy to have caught up with Rob & Tracey, and of course Doug. I’m lucky to have such amazing friends like them. Ella, Rob & Tracey’s daughter was quite shy initially, but managed to get out her shell as the day unfolded. We ended up in our old local, the Bradford Arms in Castle Bromwich, for a water and natter.

Tracey is due her 2nd, a boy, in the coming weeks. All the best with the birth. There was mention of a meetup in August, with the rest Rob and Tracey’s family. Fingers crossed i’ll see them again soon.

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Meetup with Jon and Sean

I first worked with Sean (Irish bloke with the beard) back in 2007 at LloydsTSB in Birmingham City Centre. I later caught up with him in Tasmania, Australia back in 2011 when I was based in Melbourne working for the testing consultancy K.J.Ross and Associates.

Around the same time I worked a gig in Sydney with Jon (South African bloke in foreground). Sean and Jon worked together soon after that.

Anyway, somehow, all of us were in Brum in June so decided to meet up with Stacey (Jon’s wife) in tow. I booked the Itihaas restaurant in Birmingham City Centre for the Friday. It was great catching up; the grub was seemingly splendid too.

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June Barbecue at Brothers

After a mammoth 30 mile bike ride around North Warwickshire (those bloody hills!) we finished the day with some mixed weather and a well deserved BBQ. We popped over to Sainsbury’s before-hand to buy the food fresh for the day. Hollie (Alan and Charlie’s little’n’) was loving it in the supermarket. I even had a blast with proceedings on the barbie. I made sure everything was well done.

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Food Experiences

The White Horse, Ruddington, UK

The beer festival was in full swing at the start of June. A work colleague organised a lunch at one of the “swankier” pub food establishments in the rich town of Ruddington. I ordered the pork belly, which for a pub meal was beautifully presented and tasted out of the world.

Adams Restaurant, Birmingham, UK

Food taste, presentation and service on another level. I will never forget that amazing hour. The best restaurant experience in my lifetime.

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Recommended Coffee Beans

This month I’ve been mostly tasting bland, dark roasted coffee... then this came along. This bag of beans that I picked up from coffee shop “Norm Coffee” in Istanbul, Turkey have the perfect taste profile. You can’t go wrong with Ethiopian or Kenyan, sweet tasting, like warm Ribena:)

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My Coffee Art

I’m getting a bit more confident with the coffee art, still not as splendid as it could be. If I get time I’ll get onto youtube and get some refresher tips.