Oil in Water 2009

Oil in Water 2009 - a different hotel but at the end of the day I really cannot see the difference between these hotels. For the rate we are paying we get good rooms, plenty of hot water and reasonably quiet, so no excuse for not getting a good night sleep. i think that there is a step above the level we are at, but for simple overnight stays then I don't think we need move to that level (as if that would be authorised for us anyway) So far, the worst I've had is the threat of a ghost in Snodland, but then that gives the Priory a bit of flavour that the typical travel lodge can't match.

We had out first solo flight, Alick and me. Ming-less: for only the second time since he started the clubs Ming has not been able to attend the workshop/club meeting and has had to leave it in Alick's hands. My job is to keep him away from the sea food.


People think these events are a jolly, but they are a lot of work. Yes, its out of the office (and all that means) and there is food and drink, but you are working from the minute a delegate sees you and that doesn't include any setup work you may have to do.
This time, we have the speaker's dinner on Wednesday night. Then as we don't have access to the room we have to setup first thing Thursday morning. The change of room layout for the Club meeting on Friday should be taken care of by the hotel, but then Alick and I will have to dismantle and pack all the gear to get back to EK as Hazel and Fiona are heading back Thursday evening.

The Speaker's Dinner was very good - out for Chinese at Zen Oriental on Bon Accord Crescent. It was a nice meal and gave me a chance to meet the speakers I hadn't met before. Had a few beers before heading back to the hotel where a few of us stayed up for a few more drinks.

Early start Thursday for breakfast and setting up the room. Best to leave Hazel to issue the orders and simply do what's asked/told. Doesn't take as long as expected but at least an hour before the scheduled start the first delegates being to arrive. In order to meet everyone, albeit quickly, I volunteer to man the badge desk. Minor panic as some of the speakers are late (locals) but not enough to delay proceedings. Things get off to a start while the Nigerian delgation decide whether to shower or attend the lecture.
Thursday went really well and the feedback looks positive. No major disasters that I noticed which is probably all that matters. I spend an hour in the pool/sauna and then meet Alick, Jon, Wolfgang, and Greg for dinner in the bar. Later on Stefan comes back from his walkabout in Aberdeen and joins us for another beer or so. A good but long day.
Friday is a little more relaxed. The club meetings are les formal and Alick and I got enough info over the last 2 nights to be informed of what the other club members feel for the future. Again we have tardy speakers but after making adjustments they arrive and nothing has to change. We have a full busy interactive meeting which overruns by almost an hour due to the conversation.

Afetr getting the room sorted and our gear packed Alick and I head back to EK getting there about 1930. I drop Alick off for about 2000 and finally get back to Troon for 2100 and fill the hire car for collection. I think Ming will be pleased.


**After this was written we found out that Ming had been sent ot St John New Brunswick instead of St Johns New Foundland. Sadly he found ut from the taxi driver when they couldn't find his hotel. It didn't stop him though - he got to the right St Jihns the next day and gave his 2 courses.

Straiton Hike

Went out this morning for the first of this year's hikes.
Had a great day. The weather was fantastic and we had a great turnout - about 21 in total including Mums, dads, and little sisters.
Afterwrads dave and I managed a quick beer while Shirly and dylan went for an ice cream. All in the name of supporting local business.
Roll on the next outing.

Limited Shelf life

I got a flyer through the door about a manager's special event being held this weekend where I bought my current car. As we had no other plans for today Ciaran and I decided to head out and see what they have. Ciaran would have loved to get a Prius or a Celica or MR2 but there was little chance of that - Prius doesn't suit my drive (or pocket) and both the mr2 and Celica are out of production. In all honesty I didn't expect to buy anything and was only interested to finding out what my 7 year old car would be worth. I will admit that i wasn't happy with the car though - over the 2 plus years I've had it its had a series of electrical problems in different systems. An expensisve and difficult thing to resolve.
So we arrived at the garage and looked about for a bit before being approached by the salesman. As we were 'interested' in the Auris (the Corolla replacement) we were offered a test drive in the 5 door TR model.
Once we got back to the garage the haggling started. In order to get my info I went along with it all - specificed what model I would want, features and the trade in value for my old car. Of course, what he ofered wasn't near what I would like for it (but then is it ever?). He ran the numbers and came back to me - way to much, but I expected that. He offered a bit more for my trade in and re-ran the numbers. If I took their finance deal they would add more onto the trade in so he re-ran the numbers. Much better this time, almost reasonable. however, I had a service/MOT due and my preferred colour would not be available for 16 weeks (Tpyota build to order). They would pay for the service/MOT and any work if the new car wasn't available by then. The salesman explained that the weekend deal was only for the weekend and that their bonus depended on them hitting the targets, which, at 1600 Sunday evening with only 2 hours remaining, they still hadn't.
By this time the deal wasn't that bad and I was seriously considering it. I then asked about the steering wheel audio controls. "Not on this model, only on the next one up." "Oh, its funny how its the little things you get used to" "Wait here". Off he popped and when he came back asked how fixed was I on the colour I choose as he could get me the next model up, in silver, next week, for the same price, if I signed now.


Went and bought a new car today, I get it next week. Got a great deal. Not a colour I would normally go for, but silver is neutral enough and I'm looking forward to it.

Blair Drummond

We had our annual Staff day out today, this year at Blair Drummond Safari Park.
Like most of these events it was alright, not fantastic, but certainly a nice gesture by management.
The park is nice and you certainly can get quite close to the animals, depending on their nature, sometimes very close. Yo also get an idea of how big some animals are. I was amazed at just how big the camels were, despite seeing them often enough on TV.
There was also the play park, the pedal boats, and the zip line, so it was a busy day despite the weather.
Still, at the back of my mind, there was an uneasy feeling. seeing the animals captive was a bit depressing despite knowing that their natural habitat was probably under threat ad that the animals almost certainly wouldn't be alive if they were not in captivity somewhere.
Still I think it took a hard heart not to feel pity for the tiger as it lapped its enclosure. The info board told us about the hundreds of square km thta a normal adult would range in and it compared poorly to the few acres available.