Reading the newspaper this morning.....

.....I came across this report. Now, as I said in an earlier entry, I suffer from psoriasis myself, so you can imagine the way my heart leapt when I read the article. I honestly hadn't realised that so many people are affected by this illness, but I hope that this advance in treatment makes it's way into the mainstream NHS soon. As alluded to in this BBC article, whilst it may not be a life threatening illness, it is a life-altering one. It affects how you perceive yourself, and can colour your interaction with others. Roll on the day when they have a cure....

Budapest again

Budapest at night
Originally uploaded by Fearless Fred

Well, I had to do another trip to Budapest this week, to follow up with one of the new accounts I met last time I was over there. This time it was a "there'n'back" trip (where I fly out and back the same day) so I didn't get any chance to see any sights. Instead, here's a photo from my trip last month...

As for the travel, it all went well, until I left Luton to drive home. Not only are the roadworks on the M1 *still* going on, but they also decided to close part of it southbound that night. The detour may only have been a few miles, but the traffic slowed to about walking pace. I think it must've added about 45 minutes to the drive, so I got home close to 1am Friday morning. Of course, by the time you've driven for a few hours, you're awake from the concentration, so sleep doesn't come easily, even if you're tired.

Rugby

Well, it's been a tumultuous few days in English rugby.I'm not going to come down off the fence bout the changes until after they've played under the new system. No, what this posting is really about is me with a big smile on my face as I've got a ticket to see 'Quins play their last home math of the season! Now, here's to a good day out (and hoping we beat Sale that day)...

It's Wednesday, so it must be Ljubljana

Old Town Ljubljana
Originally uploaded by Fearless Fred

So, the trips have started up again. Last week was Budapest, and then Ljubljana this week. Not much to say really, except I still dislike Stanstead. It seems every time I go there, I'm flying at an ungodly hour....

2008 and all that

Well, I realise it's been a few months since I last posted anything. Sorry! It's just that there hasn't really been too much to say. Life goes on as normal round these parts. Work is keeping me fairly busy, with a few trips coming up to Slovenia, France, Netherlands, and maybe the Nordic region. If I get the chance, I'll try to blog from there...

I've booked my holiday already (a first for me to be so organised so early!). I'll be spending 5 days (4 nights) in Krakow in the summer. This year'll be a bit different, as I'm planning on taking the laptop with me, so I can blog/post photos to flickr/email folks while I'm there! So, look forward to that in a few months time.

Anyone got any good recipes for chicken? I've got a fair few already, but I'm always on the look out for more...

End of the year...

So, that's 2007 nearly over with. Strange to think that a year's gone by, really. Christmas went okay at the parents, although with my sister, brother-in-law, and niece are now in Australia for 15 months, it was a bit strained when it came time to leave. Still, now that the parents are now hooked up with a webcam, it should make things easier. Thank goodness for the internet! Now I'm just going to make of the final couple of days off before going back to work....

The end of November

Palac Kultury i Nauki
Originally uploaded by Fearless Fred

November's been fairly busy at work, hence not much time for blogging. Most of it's been in the office, but I did go over to Poland for a couple of days near the beginning of the month. It was a case of fly to Krakow for a meeting, then drive to Katowice that evening. I had to do a presentation at a seminar/conference the next day, then off to the train station to catch a train up to Warsaw that evening, and do the whole thing again the following day, then catch the last flight back, so I got home about 12:30am!

For some reason, the local office booked us in to the Marriott (expensive) in Warsaw. The sales guy I was with decided he wanted to go to a specific restaurant that night, but couldn't remember exactly where it was, so we spent maybe half an hour walking around, trying to find this place. I was lucky enough to have a room looking towards the Palac Kultury i Nauki (Palace of Culture) as you can see by the photo.

It was a shame that I didn't get to see Krakow. It's supposed to be a really nice place to visit. I'm planning on going there next year for my holiday, and I've already found what looks like a really good hotel that's close to the centre. With a bit of luck, they won't have started booking up for next summer yet....