So… just in case you didn’t know some clever scientists are turning on a Big Machine in CERN today (depending on your timezone).

They may make (small) Black Holes…

They also made this video

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j50ZssEojtM]

This may well be, my last blog post. Lucky escape I guess.

If not – my friend Nick is now on blogger.. worth a look.

It’s a funny old place 39 Fendalton Road… there are a pretty odd bunch living here – and yes, I suppose I do count myself in that category :) Happily really.

Anyway – Had the mulled wine & mince pie party on Friday night which was a great success… unfortunately was too busy filling glasses & heating pies to remember that I should have been taking pictures :) Sigh. Anyway… onto Saturday night… which was organised by Val – one of the denizens of 39… (Flat 5 I think – and the one in the middle of this picture…

The older lady behind Val is Mrs. Bennett – our landlady. She is – oh.. 84 ish I think… and really lovely. The only bad thing about living here (besides the cold).. is that I wonder if I will ever find such a great bunch of people to live with in a massive rambling house with a river and a big garden for cheap rent! One thinks not.

Anyway – just in case you thought I’d not put up any embarrassing pictures of myself.. Here’s me – and Steve & Michelle. Aren’t they a beautiful couple ;)

Then today Steve took me up Foggy Peak (1741m).. It’s not super high – but it was pretty icy on the way up – so it was my first foray into ice-axe and crampons in a while.. Mountaineering is … well.. it’s OK as long as you don’t make any mistakes. And then you need to be quick to rescue yourself (depending on conditions..) As once you get up momentum sliding down a hill it can be a quick trip to a long fall.. Foggy Peak however is a doddle.. really – anyone reading this could do it :)

There was a nice view from the top – and we met about 5 other people out for a walk..

Finally… this picture is of Steve holding up his glove..

The reason for this picture is that Steve dropped his glove about 20m down from the summit – and this is where he finally found it on the way back down (well, a slight diversion to check if it was there!). That’s a long long slide for a glove. Imagine how fast you’d be going if you didn’t stop yourself if you slipped? ;)

I had to be in Wellington for a few days with work… I was there to go on a Crystal Reports course – definitely worth doing… but as it was entry level, and there was no exam, I took the opportunity to get out during the evenings :)

Met up with my friend Jackie from college who I’d not seen in ages. She is now doing buckets of mountaineering and general outdoorsyness. Excellent.

Then on Thursday headed out to comedy with a pretty eclectic mix! There was Glynn & Jayne, Catherine and Matt (from work), Tim (Scouts!) and Ronan (Primary School). Unfortunately – the pictures on my funky new mobile phone are… rubbish :) hehe, still… I wasn’t expecting too much.

I spent the weekend staying with Glynn and Jayne. Glynn has a ridiculous amount of computing equipment. Crazy. Really enjoyable weekend though.. we had a hilarious sing-star kinda night by picking out one-hit-wonders from SongZa. Great. Glynn managed to win at our game of Risk too. Unfortunately Jayne and I spent the entire time trying to annihilate each other… and then Glynn demolished us both. It’s always the quiet ones!

This little coastal walk is literally 5 minutes from where they live.. it’s a pretty stunning location really.

So, had a great day up at porters (who have recently started linking to snowpool – YAY :) .. Berit, Rob, Maaike & I headed up – and it was a beautiful day. It was a slightly slow start to the season – but really taking off now.

Also, had a lovely surprise – a letter from my niece (and God-daughter) Orianna

Finally – I think this gives what seems to be a relatively concise and correct insight into some of the things I think about from time to time… being Economy, Energy and Environment. It’s 20 short videos (only 16 live at the moment though)… enjoy – and lemme know what you think.. The Crash Course starts getting interesting about chapter 7.. but worth watching from the start.

One of the things I love about London is the Museums.. they raped and pillaged the world and brought it all back. The sticks are Tally Sticks – and old form of money.. sure we may go back to it yet.. I mean what does 3 Trillion dollars of debt really mean for a currency?

Anyway.. also saw a statue of me. Made before I was born sure, but definitely me in mind.

On my last night had dinner with my cousin Beth who I’ve not seen in an age – and not before she married Stephen..

So yes, a great trip.. I had been planning on coming back in May – but not quite sure now.. Glynno is getting married in March and I’m not sure how much extra holiday I can get… now that I’m permanent I suspect there is less scope.. but sure we’ll see.

The flight back was great – I think the funniest thing was sitting down and watching Black Sheep. It’s a spoof horror.. not the one to watch over dinner, of lamb ;)