Back to Work!

At short notice (1730 on Tuesday) I got called in to run a two day CMI accredited middle management leadership programme for a sick colleague on Thursday and Friday. Agreed to do it and spent Tuesday evening and Wednesday working my little socks off to get ready - no prep time payment though! Loads to pick up (around 200 pages) and the programme could've been much better designed (far too much material, too many questionnaires, nothing for activists, etc).

Beautiful venue in the Surrey Hills but nervous as anything, took the view that as long as I was one page ahead then I was OK. Lots of the stuff was familiar on Day 1 and it went OK - lovely delegates. Day two was good, as I felt more confident, even though I knew the afternoon session would cause me problems because I simply couldn't get my head around what was wanted. Decided - using my judgement of the delegates and in the spirit of adult learning - to level with them and we worked through the Oshry total system power model really well together. Got a thank you from the group and really pleasing feedback to compensate for being totally wiped out by the effort. Happy days!

Holiday 2010

Notes kept on my Blackberry charting this year's holiday. Had intended to edit and write them up properly but somehow can't be bothered. Next year I'll take the laptop and do a proper job!

Day 1 - early train, marvellous automated check in, just time to grab coffee and papers and go! Good trip, no hold ups, picnic at aire. Domaine Borgnat, Escolives-Ste-Camille in Burgundy: leek tart, jambon a la chablisienne, fromage, cerises sabayon. Aligote, chardonnay, cremant blanc de noir, pinot noir x 3, pinot gris rose, ratafia liquer! Lovely greeting from Regine. Great room, nice pool, bad weather, cave tour with delightful Benjamin, fantastic hospitality, common board like pilgrims "a cote la gacieuse pte eglise"!

Day 2 nice bfast, bought wine, weather poor, cold n rainy. Sandwich lunch arr Venejan at abt 1600 no one about! Les anes. Eventually found JM who'd been Chez Mamie. Nadine home abt 1930, dinner of duck in honey, cheese, chestnut ice cream and vin + China China!

Day 3 visited Jeanne at Bourg St Andeol and lunched with Nadine and JM at Pierrelatte - salad, dorade, creme caramel, vin rose - all excellent. Pm to Anduze et foret de bambou and Les fumades avec JM. Dinner avec Steph n Flo - toms n mozarella, pork or andouillette! Cheese n gateau, vin de chusclan.

Day 4 au revoir venejan, via la cave, coop wine from Mamie et JM n bottle of cuvee Helly Cabrol, 1\100 bottles! Good drive to diano marina, hotel v packagey but fine. Proper riviera town. Stopped to view Monaco en route. Each days drive has been 4 or 5 hours - good and manageable. Nice meal, menu turistico, but hotel v noisy by railway line and echoey, dogs barking! Surprisingly good kip tho

Day 5 began and ended badly! Car stuck in car park for 30 mins and got here after good drive - loads of tunnels and bridges, chaotic coffee stop - to be allocated non lake view caravan, moved to top of site to van we had 1st time here. Lunch and dinner on site. Girls arrived safely at about 1400 - excellent taxi service from VRN

Day 6 supermarket and pool in morning, bbq lunch and dinner, lake in afternoon, nothing much more to say. Txt from BJ at Como.

Day 7 woke to heavy rain but calmed down to let us take boat to Garda - had planned Malcesine but decided against because of need to change to schnellboot and hanging around in greyness, wind and damp. Very rough en route, waves crashing over boat and soaking people. Chatted to Tony and Chris, on their way to Bardolino, no heart to tell them that Garda much nicer. Coffee on front, lunch at Bussano(?) and boat back. Still v rough - Diane soaked as well as man from morning, Chris through toilet door - hysterical! Heard later that Sirmione closed all day and many boats cancelled - we were lucky. Introduced Chris and Tony to pirlone at Oswaldo and to honey at Angelo's. Dinner with girls at Fausto - excellent vongole for me.

Day 8 - bliss, moved to lake view, no 42. Scouted out other vans and 24 - 27 on upper terrace and most on lower are fine for next time. Beaut day, over to Salo for coffee, pm by van and then up to see Rita's flat - beautiful and big but no lake view so slightly in quandary, plus isolated - maybe good way to learn Italian tho! Given coffee and grappa and driven to Baia de Vento! Tony and Chris for drinks and with them to Fausto for dinner - cotelete milanese. Looks as tho Oswaldo closed for winter - place becoming quite melancholy now.


Day 9 - coffee at Oswaldo - not closed! - before quick trip to Gardone for pirlone plus lovely pickled chillies. Came back for lunch, sat by pool, went to Chiusure for wine, no cash so arranged to collect tomorrow. Had bbq burgers and salamis.

Day 10 - collected wine, said goodbye to Marcella, coffee at Oswaldo again and boat to Salo. Wander, pirlone, lovely lunch at Molo, ice cream at duomo, boat back, photos with Rita, farewell to Angelo, pharmacy with Em, packed, farewell to Alan and Vicky, beer on terrace, drinks with Rita at Oswaldo, Fausto for lovely meal with Em and Romy and able to say goodbye to Sandro on way back - perfetto! Glass of wine for nightcap and arrivederci Eden, l'anno prossimo

Day 11 - on the road early and in drizzle. Road to A4 and A4 itself murder, especially round Milan. Frejus tunnel much nicer than St Gothard two years ago and made really good time to Bar Sur Seine. Stayed in a log cabin at Domaine de Foolz(!) found it in Michelin guide. Had an excellent dinner, top quality cuisine knocking dear old Robert Thompson's offering into a cocked hat!




Day 12 - Lovely breakfast and gracious host. On the road again, 250 miles or so to go. Beautiful morning, sun behind mist, autumn chasing us home. On train just after one, five hours earlier than planned, marvellous. And so to home .....

One of the best holidays we've ever had. Here's to next year!