Archive for the 'Travel' Category
Bad Signs 11 Sep 2005
They’re fairly consistent across the world, little signs that indicate road and traffic status, telling you of a reduced speed limit or warning you of fog. In the UK they were fairly basic, limited simply to speed and fog warnings now, however, we seem to be coming to the end of an expensive makeover to [...]
The Final Countdown 8 Aug 2005
(Feel free to hum along if you know the 80s classic of the same title) I’m firmly into my final week in Holland, I’m on the plane at the end of the week, headed back to the UK and two weeks off. Am I looking foward to it? Oh, yes. Don’t get me wrong, I [...]
Flat as a Pancake 19 Jul 2005
I’m always astounded when we take off and land on my bi-weekly trips to and from the Netherlands. Everyone knows Holland is flat, and I mean real flat, but just how flat it is cannot be described. I thought parts of the UK were flat, perhaps they are, but there’s no comparison. I did a [...]
Driving Me ‘Round the Bend 24 Apr 2005
I’ve been driving to one of the other offices in Holland for the last couple of weeks and I think I’m getting a feel for the Dutch driving experience. I’ve driven in a few different countries and the drivers all seem to have a different style, the Dutch are no exception. When I started on [...]
Who’s a Mug 12 Apr 2005
I would like to apologise in advance, this turned into something of a rant. One thing I would like to complain about regarding my apartment at the hotel is that the crockery supplied is somewhat wanting. I like a good cup of tea as I’ve mentioned before. Let’s face it, I’m English, the country wouldn’t [...]
My NY 4 Apr 2005
I was in NY for a few days last week, mainly doing shopping (we’d all done the sights before). I haven’t been on holiday abroad in a while and it was nice to see that some things hadn’t changed: they still think cramming people into planes is a good idea; US customs, while more high-tech, [...]
Outta Time 27 Mar 2005
I was talking with my Dutch colleagues again the other day and was amazed at some more strange (at least to me) things in the Dutch language. Take numbers for example. The Dutch are all fine up to 20, then they do something strange. 21 for example, is said (in Dutch) 1 and 20. Now, [...]
It’s Rubbing Off 25 Mar 2005
I’m starting to think I’ve been ‘in country’ too long. The reason for this is I have found myself saying ‘yeah-yeah’ a lot, and I can’t stop. A lot of my Dutch colleagues say it (well ‘yah-yah’) and I’m assuming I’ve picked it up from them. I’ve tried controlling it and I can’t, I only [...]
For Your Comfort and Safety 27 Feb 2005
My parents are recently back from a trip to New Zealand, part of which was a couple of flights over various Lord of the Rings locations (it was a competition win). These were done in little four-seater planes. My dad was telling me about them: Dad: He gave us a safety briefing before we took [...]
Sign Language 23 Feb 2005
I always remember, though I’ve long since forgotten the source, reading that should aliens land in Italy they would believe humans communicated using gestures and that speech was used only for emphasis. The rest of the world tends to work the other way around, but working in a country which has a native language I’m [...]