This is London Marathon Race Director David Bedford. A very well
respected and senior figure in one of the largest sporting events in
the world.
He is wearing a dress.
And high heels.
And a feather boa.
And a bin bag.
DB was on stage in front of around 200 people at the Meet The Experts
day and was hugely entertaining.
The previous couple of hours was filled with a stream of very
knowledgeable people giving advice on subjects ranging from nutrition
and training (fascinating), to Virgin's corporate strategy behind
their website (yaaaawn), to what to expect on the day (yikes!). The
common threads through all of the above presentations were
professionalism, expertise and polished corporate slickness.
So, given David's seniority and august status within the hierarchy of
the VLM, I was expecting great things.
I will share with you the nugget of advice, culled from DB's many
years of marathon experience, that I enjoyed the most. And I quote:
"if you decide to shag yer missus wearing your finisher's medal, make
sure you sling it behind your neck. It's made of metal and you'll
knock her bloody teeth out if you don't."
He even put on a medal and got down on hands and knees on the stage to
demonstrate. Just in case any of the audience were struggling to
visualise the concept.
I am writing this on a train hurtling northward and I am still
cackling to myself.
Thankyou David, you were worth the journey alone. In a world of
corporate-sponsored, on-message platitudes, you'll do for me.
NDC
Saturday, 29 January 2011
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Venti 21/365
Why do I get the vaguely disappointed look from the girl behind the
counter when I just ask for a large latte to take away?
She corrects my request every time.
"One venti latte to go. Anything else?"
A little game of caffeine cat-and-mouse at the start of the day.
NDC
counter when I just ask for a large latte to take away?
She corrects my request every time.
"One venti latte to go. Anything else?"
A little game of caffeine cat-and-mouse at the start of the day.
NDC
Monday, 24 January 2011
Serendipity
I like to think I'm a lucky man.
I have my shares of ups and downs, sometimes I feel very hard done by, but on the whole I think that the sun shines on my life.
Well. I'm currently engaged in a project to document a year of my life through one photo per day. If you use Flickr, you'll know the gig.
Last night I spotted a rather nice composition sitting on the chest of drawers. A moment's work with the iPhone and this is the result:
I was just looking for something that spoke about the day, and necklaces had been the subject of much discussion over the weekend so it seemed (in a rather prosaic way) to be a relevant image.
I know there are some details that might be better, but the sentiment of the thing speaks volumes to me. Hell, even the lighting is warm due to the iPhone's woeful white balance algorithms.
It says way more to me than the effort expended on making the image would merit.
To quote the illustrious Dirk Gently, "Sometime we don't end up where we intended to go, but we get to where we need to be".
Quite.
NDC
I have my shares of ups and downs, sometimes I feel very hard done by, but on the whole I think that the sun shines on my life.
- I have a son who is the absolute apple of my eye.
- I am at the beginning of an adventure that will last a lifetime.
- I have a (complicated) family that are frankly incredible - and I mean that in a very good way.
- I have no idea what my doctor's name is.
Well. I'm currently engaged in a project to document a year of my life through one photo per day. If you use Flickr, you'll know the gig.
Last night I spotted a rather nice composition sitting on the chest of drawers. A moment's work with the iPhone and this is the result:
I was just looking for something that spoke about the day, and necklaces had been the subject of much discussion over the weekend so it seemed (in a rather prosaic way) to be a relevant image.
I know there are some details that might be better, but the sentiment of the thing speaks volumes to me. Hell, even the lighting is warm due to the iPhone's woeful white balance algorithms.
It says way more to me than the effort expended on making the image would merit.
To quote the illustrious Dirk Gently, "Sometime we don't end up where we intended to go, but we get to where we need to be".
Quite.
NDC
Friday, 21 January 2011
Deep joy 17/365
Well, it finally arrived and I am a happy happy bunny.
Yes, I know that this picture is almost entirely devoid of any artistic or technical merit. Do I care?
I do not.
Because the small, vaguely artistic part of me now has its mojo back.
NDC
Yes, I know that this picture is almost entirely devoid of any artistic or technical merit. Do I care?
I do not.
Because the small, vaguely artistic part of me now has its mojo back.
NDC
Thursday, 20 January 2011
Ping!
Chocolate Cake in a Mug.
Ingredients:
2 mugs
1 infectiously enthusiastic child
1 Adult old enough to know better
1 Trip to Sainsbury's for eggs
1 Microwave
Various other ingredients
1 infectiously enthusiastic child
1 Adult old enough to know better
1 Trip to Sainsbury's for eggs
1 Microwave
Various other ingredients
Method:
Leave child and adult in a warm kitchen until a plan forms
Place carefully into car and head for Sainsbury's to buy eggs
Place eggs (and other chocolatey, floury, milky stuff) into mugs and place in microwave.
Watch carefully as adult gets over-excited about chocolate cake IN A MUG.
Yes I know I'm so very mad, bad and dangerous to know. Rock 'n roll, baby.
NDC
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Post Zero
Well well, my very first post.
I guess I should start out with a long, deep introspection of my reasons for starting to blog. A raison d'etre for my putting pixel to plasma, but I suspect the resulting long, long list list would be very, very dull.
Suffice to say a photographic project and some cajoling by a blogging black belt buddy (dontcha just love alliteration?) got me to thinking about recording the day to day stuff that concerns me. I am a serial failee at diary keeping, but I have a nostalgic streak a mile wide that makes me keep trying.
Hopefully my impressively short attention span will be balanced by my love of a new adventure, technology and all things internet-y, resulting in more than 3 posts.
Time will be the judge of that.
NDC
I guess I should start out with a long, deep introspection of my reasons for starting to blog. A raison d'etre for my putting pixel to plasma, but I suspect the resulting long, long list list would be very, very dull.
Suffice to say a photographic project and some cajoling by a blogging black belt buddy (dontcha just love alliteration?) got me to thinking about recording the day to day stuff that concerns me. I am a serial failee at diary keeping, but I have a nostalgic streak a mile wide that makes me keep trying.
Hopefully my impressively short attention span will be balanced by my love of a new adventure, technology and all things internet-y, resulting in more than 3 posts.
Time will be the judge of that.
NDC
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