Friday, November 30, 2012

Work emails that make you smile

Here is a classic. I just had to share this one. This is a short email trail from my work yesterday. Names have been omitted to protect the retarded.

    From:J    Sent: 11/29/2012 01:10 PM ZE4    To: 
    Subject: Warning from Health and safety authority. No cat food inside the facility.

Hi all,
Please stop immediately to provide foods for cats as we are being warned by the health and safety officials. 
The official has pointed out that this is attracting large number of cats inside our warehouse which creates a great risk for forklift drivers, cats are bouncing out of pallets in the morning as soon as reachtruck starts its operation. 
Thanks for your cooperation. 

Thanks and regards 
J


Bouncing? Bouncing??! Do cats bounce??


First reply....
 Subject: Re: Warning from Health and safety authority. No cat food inside the facility.

Hi J,
Thanks for that update.
Next time the "Health & Safety" officials are here, could you ask them to check the fire escape from the upstairs office.
I am sure that  would be a much more pressing matter for them. 

Best regards 
K


Second reply ....



Subject: Re: Warning from Health and safety authority. No cat food inside the facility.

Agree but maybe if we give the cats hard hats and high viz jackets then it may be acceptable as they will be easier to be seen??


S


Oh how it brightened my day ..... :-)


Monday, November 26, 2012

Yas 10K Run

Well like a mad fool I entered myself for the 10K run round the Yas Marina Circuit, which took place on Saturday. The event was raising money for Operation Smile so I figured it was worthwhile even if I didn't finish! A couple of weeks ago though, I did manage to complete 10K around the circuit at one of the Train Yas nights , although I did walk for about 4-5 minutes after 8k. So, I kind of thought that at least I could complete the race.

Some of our friends had also said they were going to register, but bottled it (!), leaving myself and our friend Amanda to run together.



I started off well and was banging in 6, or sub 6 minute kilometres ....and then we started lap two. Lap two sent us down the pit lane and up the pit re-entry tunnel. The "down" bit was fine, but then there was an "up" bit which nearly bloody killed me. Still, I resisted the urge to walk and carried on running, but from there my times were never as good. 

So, my final time was 1:02:40, which I was pretty chuffed with for my first 10K race. Stats below....





Because Caz is pretty crap with a camera (no she really is lol) this is the only shot we have of me approaching the finish line...




Me and Amanda after....looking suitably knackered!



And then finally back home....




Well, I think i have started something now! I am actually starting to look at other 10K events next year and in September last year there was an indoor 20K, which if they repeat, might be a goal for next year! 

....as my darling eldest daughter said ... "who is this person, and what have they done with my Buddha father! "







Saturday, November 24, 2012

Jessica's Graduation

I went home for a long weekend last week to attend Jessica's graduation. It also gave me a chance to see Alice and Alfie again. It was a short but sweet weekend, also fitting in a visit to my parents on the way up to Coventry.

Alfie is such a cute baby (and yeah I know I would say that!) and I'm so proud of what a great mum Alice is, and Josh her boyfriend is also a great dad.





He is quite a giggler now as you can see below.... :-)


Jessica's graduation was held at Coventry Cathedral which is a great venue for it. She looked lovely and was my second cause for feeling proud! 



Jess and her boyfriend Greg.





Here's a quick clip of the ceremony.....



All of us after the ceremony....



Sunday, November 11, 2012

Me and my monkey !

There was one of the best news stories ever in one of the local papers this week. Aside from the sad fact that someone actually died, it is one of the funniest stories I have seen! You just have to read the comments left online too...made me crease up!

Here's the story...


Love rival killed by man walking monkey


A drugged-up man who was enjoying a walk in Dubai with his pet primate attacked his neighbour, poured sand in his mouth and left him for dead after a row over a woman.
The 31-year-old Emirati appeared before Dubai Court of First Instance on Tuesday where he admitted a charge of assault leading to death.
He told the court he was walking his monkey past his neighbour’s house in Al Rashidiya when the man came out and the duo started rowing about a barmaid. 
“He told me to stay away from his girlfriend, who works at a bar,” the defendant stated in official records. 
The defendant said the neighbour then challenged him to a fight so they headed to a deserted area. He tethered his pet monkey and the men started brawling. 
“He attacked me with a razor, then he threw sand into my face and poked me in the eye,” the Emirati defendant said. “I punched him in the face and kicked him until he fell down. Then I bit his nose and put some sand into his mouth.” 
The attacker said he stopped the assault when he realised the man was having difficulty breathing. The defendant added: “He asked me for some water so I went to a nearby house and got some. I returned and noticed his condition was getting worse so I took my monkey and returned home.” 
He claims he told his brother what happened and he then called the victim’s brother. Emergency services were called to the scene but the man was already dead. 
The victim died from head injuries and internal bleeding. The defendant confessed to attacking him while under the influence of illegal painkillers.
Here's the story online - you have to read the comments ! :-) 

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Abu Dhabi F1 Weekend

We have just had a great weekend with my brother, Steve and his wife, Dora, who came over for the F1 weekend. Steve has been before, to the first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but it was a first visit for Dora. So, inevitably, we did some of the tourist visits again. I actually like showing people around and don't really get tired of seeing some of the best sights, like the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque below....






On Friday we spent a day in Dubai. We hit a couple of malls, they went to "At the Top" at Burj Khalifa, we went to the old Spice Souq and Gold Souq and in the afternoon we spent some time at "The Walk" by Jumeirah Beach. We saw this nice "Cobra" car....






We stopped at Bob's Easy Diner for lunch......




....I was a bit worried about what Walter was doing with his wife on the beach though - you can get arrested for that out here!



I was also a bit worried when they brought these out......



...but (phew) they were for the sticky Buffalo Wings!


Dora and Caz went to a spa on Saturday while me and Steve went to the track. And then Sunday was F1 race day. For once the Abu dhabi GP was a really interesting and exciting race, with lots of incident.  Before it has been a fairly boring "parade", so it was a nice change.

....gotta love the Safety Car!



Jenson Button......



Lewis Hamilton...


Hamilton getting pole in Qualifying....







...and a quick video clip showing the first lap and last lap from our position in the North Grandstand. The leading four on the final lap were all World Championship winners: Raikkonen , Alonso, Vettel and Button.