Happy Birthday - Proxy fun run - Comrades

It's a significant day - in order of importance, Granny Rose celebrates her 77th birthday - wish we were all with her on the day in person - it's the Comrades, sitting here waiting for the live feed to start so I can watch the gun go off (will the feed work - yes, but sadly only 2 mins after the start gun, wtf?) - and then sticking with the running theme, our colleagues in the Philippines are hosting their third annual Financial Fun Run in Manila.  So I got up a bit more promptly than I ordinarily would on a Sunday and did a proxy 10km run (see the watch? 10.10km - the extra 100m just to make sure - I was definitely not going back).  Man it is brutally hot and humid at the moment - tropical SUMMER with a capital S (simply 100% humidity; cloud-bursts alternated with steaming bright sunshine, 30 degrees) so I struggled I confess - and ended up laying down a not-quite-olympic time of 1 hour and 4 minutes.  Its been a while since I ran 10kms, if I'd been mindful of time I'm sure I could have pushed below the hour, but still, properly knackered by the end - not remotely a runner, me.  My mate Warren Warner has flown to SA to run the Comrades, so I'll be looking out for him amongst the 20,000.  Pretty sure that I'll never run the Comrades, but I admit it has a certain appeal and mistique - might one make it.  The oldest runner this year is one Mr Vardy, age 77;  Granny Rose, what is all this Knysna chilling?

Movie makers

Aiden with his mates Jake, Nello and Ryan had a history project to do, which entailed making a documentary video about castles.  So for a brief while our lounge was transformed into a movie studio.  It was very cool how they worked together, no conflict, good co-operation, it was lovely.  

After the shooting, it it was editing time.  Sound was a bit of a challenge, but the volume switch resolves that and the presenters did well all.

Of course once done, a dose of FIFA is essential, those on the sidelines engrossed in their phones.  New world it is.

Over half a life ago

I was looking for an old memory stick to put the movie that Aiden and his mates made for their school project onto and came across these old pics, which made me smile - I think around 22 years old, last year of university - sound familiar?

With Mungo, camping and running trip in the Cedarberg

With Jacqui and Liza in Plett

The litter-tip pinball project

I remember making these with you, and indeed before that with Geordie.  So when Ev's homework assignment was to build a game of some sorts out of recycled and throwaway stuff, out came the old faithful (though one no longer gets wooden clothes-pegs here - so the flippers had to be built too.

Phone pics as proof of the origins of the materials - that cabinet door there, perfect.

Showing how it was cut to size.  We went with the approach of using manual tools - but eventually I lost patience with the sawing effort (which was more like chewing up the board) - so the jigsaw had to come out, and Ev got his first taste of why power-tools' scariness is well worth managing.

I think this was my grandfather's hand bradawl (which is threaded so that it actually can drill holes through wood).  Ev hard at work putting the hole in place for one of the paddle pins.

Putting in the pins for the elastics - enthusiastic hammerer.  Love the cat keeping an eye on proceedings, paws crossed in Holly style.

Some of the pins of course needed a bit of straightening - no thumbs were whacked though.

Looking good and game on!  Holly utterly keen to participate now, that ball rolling back and forth is just irresistible.

This is a late addition to this post - found one, smiling - you a week over 13 years ago, on the laundry step at G&G's house in Pretoria. 

Boys and balls - power dialing up

Sunday routine seems to be heading down to the marina field (patchy piece of earth perhaps) - now that rugby and soccer's seasons are over.  Thank you lord.  And summer means something here - it's brutally hot and humid at the moment.

Ev - head down on the connect, getting those big feet of his moving.  His placekick is the sole fading weakness in his keeper game, being much improved now.

Aiden can now generate effortless looking power - occasionally I have one coming my way and its no longer pleasant.

These bonefish in the marina seem to have the right idea; lounging about in the heat.  There's no scale in the pic, but the bigger ones are a foot and a half long.

What's been happening? Not much

Trying hard to focus on life outside work - though that is somewhat thin.  Cool thing though is that I'm loving the job at this moment.  Just had our regional team in town for two days of planning - it was great.  I'm completely on the straight and narrow - which makes parties such a drag, and no-one wants to hear about the endorphin loading of others.  My road rocket has a new chainring - that's exciting.  Facetiousness aside, if you ever get into cycling, think twice about getting a carbon frame (hard to avoid these days) - they are finicky and temperamental things.  Mine has an appetite for bottom bracket bearings (wtf, I have once before in my life needed new bottom bracket bearings - on an old bike that I rode in a river a lot).  So while carbon is an absolute delight when its working - doing this again I would opt for titanium - aluminium being a real bum chopper. The other thing that has changed a whole lot are gear ratios - reflecting the "everyman-ness" of modern cycling. Way back, bikes were 10 and 12 speed - running quite a tight spread of 5 gears at the back, and 53 + 39 tooth chain-rings at the front.  Nowadays the mamil-mobile is running a 50 + 34 with an 11-25 tooth cluster at the back, spread across 11 cogs.  Simon Osborne would be snorting at reading that: a granny gear with a 34/25 ratio - pretty close to 1 to 1.  Very un tour.  Thing is, the hill up to the main road from our village requires me to stand a 34/25 - humbling - but gravity is as gravity does. 90kgs doesn't help.  I was sub 70 in that pic with Mungo.  Eina!

It use to be...

That the days passed as hours, some of them junior primary school long hours, interminable; Now it is as if I wear 10 league boots, stepping at least a week at a time.  It was a lovely week - the joy of being at home; I want to say "simple stuff" - but its really massively complex, just everyday in nature. Next week too - beautifully at home - work in the office with colleagues, eat at night with people you love, people who make you feel A LOT.  I think this is maybe what prison's real punishment would be, losing the ones freedom to be at home in the evening, doing everyday things - and (click the blue link) then the huge delight of the weekends (made this video using Aiden's camera to try and convince him to come road cycling with me, its the road down to the beach which you know) On a quiet morning you can hit 75 going down here if you really let the big cog fly.  But this was nearly lunch time and there was traffic which got in the way.  Sad thing about a bicycle is that when you come out of a slipstream there really is no gas, so you rely on whatever hapless vehicle it is to let you past; the van was having none of it.  A beautiful bicycle is still my favorite ever way to roll.

Hope your weekend has been as cool as ours.  Just got home from a fiery morning watching Evan play 7s soccer.  He was so nervous, and then played like an absolute champ.  Aiden is still there playing this afternoon.  I could not do 10 hours on a Sunday - that is just a bridge too far - so am hoping it went well for him too.

And then for a smile - a final clip, "Homecoming"because I could not resist the song (something possibly thoroughly murdered on Jacaranda - but new to me via a Frenchman yesterday - my thanks to Desmond & the Tutus).

This is what cycling should really be ...

Sunrise yesterday out on the road towards the country club.  Absolutely loving cycling at the moment (no idea why anyone would want to ride a BMX as an alternative).  There is no way that I would ordinarily stop for a photo out on a morning ride - but such is the joy of modern mobile phones that you actually do have a camera that works on you, and secondly, for the past month I have been riding in that cloud down there as a matter of routine.  Bring on summer's heat and burn that stuff off already.

Another stress free birthday party (not)

Aiden decided that he wanted to celebrate his birthday (a month after the fact, such was April) by going BMX racing with a gang of his mates.  Mmmm.  I know the following about BMX:

1. Grandpa George refused to buy me one, because he thought they were toys and not real bicycles (in this regard he was unusually accurate, certainly they are not the most efficient forms of bicycle transport).  Consequently I spent a chunk of my life fantasizing about Redline and Hutch machines.
2. It is the number 1 sport for injuries in the Olympic games.  Yes indeed, if you want to stuff yourself up, look no further than your friendly BMX.

So with this in mind, and the comfort of Ange's incomparable planning (which included being armed with signed consent forms and a formidable first aid kit), we headed off to Hong Kong's BMX circuit with 15 hyperactive 11/12 year olds (many of whom had spent the morning at a soccer tournament - bearing in mind it is now 30 degrees with 100% humidity).  Click here for a view from Aiden's camera.  

We were not disappointed.  I spent a chunk of time staunching the flow of blood from wounds various, a couple of which could have used a stitch or two one suspects (you know, those ones that smile a bit).  Thank god for the unwearable kit (how we didn't lose a couple of kids to heatstroke is down only to Ange's excellent fluid replacement planning and luck).  There were two tracks, sadly all of these pics come from the beginner track (the main track starts with a huge downhill ramp (essentially part of a grandstand structure).  The reason for this is that as I was getting ready to take some pics of people on the main track, the good Harry Maddren went roaring down it, got some impressive air on the first jump, much to his surprise, and promptly buried himself in the skin ripping gravvely tarish stuff the damn thing is made of on the other side; blood pouring out of gashed elbow; photographic services suspended indefinitely.

Gary and Aiden (in the blue and white shirt) launch themselves onto the track.

Plenty of concentration, all a very good thing in my opinion.  One brake on a BMX.  If you need another you just use the road surface and your face.  The full face helmets are a very very good idea.

Truly terrifying, Ev and Fritz having just come down a big berm.  You ride BMXs standing up.  The saddle is really only there to stop yourself being thoroughly shagged by some part of the frame.  Ev got this conceptually, but felt strongly that he had to cycle sitting down.  It was pretty excruciating and anxiety provoking to watch (extended legs being much better shock-absorbers than skinny backsides). 

Aiden giving it stick approaching a ramp (take the pic now so you can close your eyes later).

Eighteen on the first of May

To my delight Ange has managed to tolerate me for eighteen years - no mean feat I'm sure (and certainly seems much more sure about it all than the woman in the background).  The four of us went out for lunch at Jamie's in Causway Bay - it was very cool - groovy inside, very cool Italian food (which remains a rarity in Hong Kong).  Ange managed to be consistent with the previous years by hiding away from the camera - this time behind Ev :-)

Aiden and Ev

Ev looking cool against the backdrop of a rare bit of Hong Kong graffiti.  He'd just bought the cap in one of the Mong Kok markets, looks cool with his save the rhino t-shirt

Ev cutting a move on his scooter across the square outside the Po Toi O temple with Aiden.

Aiden pontificating from his spot on the bean-bag, one hand casually stroking Holly, who is absolutely besotted with him.

Some work stuff

I try and avoid worky things, but I was on the road quite a bit in April, some of it unusual (some of it not, but still worth a pic).  For starts, how is this for a cracking view from the meeting rooms of a client in Sydney?  Amazing - bridge and opera-house all in one.  The colour is a bit weird, I think from the tint on the glass.  You can see the shadow of the building I'm in in the water in the foreground.

We also had the launch of our new program in China, lots of anxiety (thankfully misplaced) around this one.  The guy with me is the inestimable Rahul Keshap, who is the global head of the program, based in the US.  I convinced him to go for the the surprised/horrified look - this was before the event started and we had absolutely no idea how many people were actually going to turn up.  It's a false pic for a smile - in reality Rahul is unshakable, one of his many virtues.  In the end it was very well attended and successful, thanks to the efforts of our Beijing based colleagues who pulled off a little miracle - standing room only, and the big players in attendance.

I thought the below was pretty cool; its a photo of a piece of a giant model of the Beijing Financial District which is set out in the lobby of the building that one of our partners is based in.  Its hard to get an idea of the scale from the picture, but I would say around 10m x 10m with this sort of level of detail.  Very cool.

Party junk in April's mist

Ponti hits the South China Sea - time for an introduction to Hong Kong's famed party boats.  And he absolutely brought it.  It might be a 15 year hiatus from the Ponti, Angie and Richard "skop", but the enthusiasm remains.  

This picture sums up the April humidity perfectly.  There was simply so much water in the air that you could see it.
Here Ev, Aiden and Luke enjoy an inflated mattress roped to the back of the junk.

Ev makes his way back on deck for another noodle jump.

From left to right, Ben, Sebastian, Lettie, (a blonde visitor, name unkown) and Dylan soak up the water infused sun.

By the time the junk had sailed into Central the party was going full swing, Ponti in jubilant mood, Marcus working hard on getting one of his own.

A missing month - catch up time - PONTI!!

Unbelievable, that missing month of April - and a delightfully busy chunk of life it's been.  Here's an the catch-up, starting with the big news - Ponti came to visit - it was just the very best! Hard to put in words - like a homecoming in a human being.  We had such fun.

Ponti looking cool on the patio.  Fortunately it was actually cool (the difference between April and May has turned out to be about 8 degrees - though as you'll see in followings, it was massively damp and humid (the wettest April in 45 years, according to the newspapers).

The lovely Jordan was also an April gift - here are the gang of three reunited, sweating delightfully from a game of one-bounce.

Ponti contemplates the view - largely of water hanging in the air.

We took on Scott and Dylan at a game of doubles - the Pontster's tennis is looking pretty mean, which meant the old ballies destroyed the opposition (who had, in fairness, partied pretty much through the night before, and perhaps weren't at their very best).

Aiden's Stingrays 2 team played in the curtain-raiser shindig at the 7s and won, much to their delight (aided by a try saving tackle on the line in the dying moments by the Aidenator).