Scargill

Archive for January, 2015

Perhaps you though I was going to say something relevant about Spain? No… that’s a pub in Brussels – on the corner of Grand Place to be precise and the image you see is half way up the stairs. My trip this week to Brussels went well other than a shocker on timescales which means we need to work more quickly than we’d anticipated.

Our work with ESCO is about to be set in stone and translated into multiple languages – which is gratifying one the one hand but one always would like to do better. I’m like that with some of my electronics – I have to force myself to actually finish something off and move on because you can always improve what you’ve done.

Anyway I’m back – I’m down in London actually for another round of meetings but during my brief stay in Belgium I managed, despite the rather nasty tail end of the flu to meet up with some chums as well as getting a great deal of work done.  When I get a minute I’ll post some more of my pictures up.

This week starts with a trip to Belgium via London – I can’t believe I have to sit around in Heathrow for a couple of hours – sitting here making sure my laptop is up to date so I can do something useful with the time. First stop this week will be Brussels  We have some work to complete rapidly for the EU ESCO project with the international team I’ve been working with now for, well, approaching a couple of years I guess and I’m hoping to meet up with an old pal while I’m over there for a few drinks at the King of Spain in Grand Place (that’s if the remnants of flu will allow it) on Monday night.

2 days of intense meetings in Brussels then I’m back to London – Victoria area for 2 days of FSB meetings – and that just about wraps the week up once you take travel into account. I’ve spent much of the weekend buried in paperwork but this evening we had a very pleasant wine tasting evening in Bellingham, Northumberland.

And that’s about it – I’ve been working on my technical blog which is topping 3,000 page views a day… who would have thought it. The outcome is a vast hike in knowledge thanks to being able to bounce ideas of so many people so next weekend I plan to start constructing some new kit to take to Spain with us in February to bring our home over there into the 21st century.

Both of us have been really bad this week with the flu but Maureen is now starting to come around, I think I have another couple of days to go, can’t stop sneezing right now. Nothing else is new.

Well, that was different. Tuesday night I was all set to go off to 2 days of meetings in Blackpool, I had my case all packed, the car running to warm it up as the weather was taking a turn for the worse.

My wife Maureen had been suffering with flu and had lost days sleeping because of it and I thought I was getting away with it – a slight tickly cough but nothing more. I was in the hallway getting my coat and Maureen spotted that I was leaning against the wall dozing off. Given that it’s a 2+ hour drive to Blackpool, nearer 3 hours in poor weather, she didn’t want me to go. I objected at first but I could actually feel myself going downhill by the second – that’s never happened to me.

I took my coat off and went to bed – around teatime. 20 hours or so later I was awake, but unable to do anything due to a stinking bad head and ribs that felt as if they’d been crushed.

It’s now Thursday. I’m up and typing but it’s not going to last – I’ve almost zero motivation (which anyone who knows me will tell you is “unusual”).  The backlog of email is nerve-racking to say the least but it’ll have to wait.

So if anyone thinks I’m ignoring them – I’m not – and for those who’ve already been in touch, concerned, thanks awfully. We’ll both be just fine.