The second day of our holiday – and the frenetic experiences of yesterday’s flight seem a million miles away. The very purpose of an airport is to pack a large number of people into a small number of metal tins, before launching them to a foreign field. It can never be a pleasant experience. Our…
Corsets for Carcassonne?
We flew to Carcassonne this morning. Working in the Nordics means that I fly on average two to three times a week. On that basis it was something of a busman’s holiday. Or rather a frequent-flyer’s holiday. But this was quite a different experience. Firstly I was flying from East Midlands Airport – 10 minutes…
Teamwork on a Bike
Originally posted on Unwrapping The World:
Cycle road racing is the perfect example of real team work – where success demands the graft and skill of each individual working together in perfect harmony. I have to confess to be new to this sport. I have always been a solo cyclist, competing against the clock and…
Nine reasons England failed
1. Fear of Failure. We sparkled against Italy with a liberty and fearlessness unknown in England teams. No worries – Gerrard and Lampard’s little speech to the team after that game reminded them how dreadful it would be to go out of the world cup at the group stages. Traditional fear of failure was restored.…
Let’s hear it for – Melancholy !
Originally posted on Unwrapping The World:
Ahhhh Melancholy – one of my favourite words. Mel-an-choly. Mel-an-choly. It is a line of poetry, a stanza in itself. So less depressing than depression. An interlude rather than a condition. An adagio rather than a grave. “Melancholy is the pleasure of being sad” said Victor Hugo, and as the writer…
Three (annoying) Blokes on a Plane
The thing about travelling alone on a plane, is that whilst we can chose our own seat, we cannot chose who takes the seat next to us. Last week I ventured on three planes between Copenhagen, Oslo and Helsinki. I carefully selected aisle seats in each case, and as near as possible to the front…
Confessions of a Cheer Dad
Originally posted on Unwrapping The World:
Cheerleading is probably not what you think it is. You may have visions of teenage dancers in two-bit skirts and coloured pom-poms whipping up the crowd at some sporting event. But it has become a tremendously demanding and technical competitive sport for real athletes. It is a mix of…
Employ me … and my family?
The Danes put their families first – literally. At least the five who we interviewed this week did. First up was Matias who proudly handed us each a carefully constructed A4 sheet all about himself. His life (so far) – on a page. “Age 37” he stated, then “Live with Helene, together we have Jonas…
Much Ado about Nothing
5am. Not a great time for my Mind to wake up. My Body objected. He just wanted to stay in the warmth and softness of the duvet. So his eyes registered the low numbers on the clock and transmitted this information to my Mind. Then he buried himself under the duvet, in the expectation that…
The Plausibility of Pistorius
Originally posted on Unwrapping The World:
I am fascinated by the whole Oscar Pistorius tragedy. Not because he is famous, not because he is an athlete and not because he has prosthetic legs. But because he has shot and killed another human (Reeva Steenkamp), confessed openly to this, whilst at the same time constructing almost…
Unwrapping The World 